There are no spoilers in this review.PLOT: The second animated film adaptation of the anime and manga series Bleach features a valuable artifact known as the "King's Seal" stolen in Soul Society.
THE GOOD: Story. While I liked Memories of Nobody for its unique style from the anime series, I thought that the story was rather weak. I think Noriyuki Abe realized this weakness and brought in Michiko Yokote to help write a stronger story for The DiamondDust Rebellion. The movie completely grabbed my attention within the first few minutes as the King's Seal is stolen almost immediately.
Character development. Another complaint I have with the first movie was the character development. The villain wasn't memorable and the new character of Senna was weak and boring. DiamondDust does a lot better by using the 10th Division's captain (one of my favorite characters and most popular Bleach character according to a Japanese poll), Tōshirō Hitsugaya. His background story has already been explained a little in the anime, and even more thoroughly in the manga. But his relationship to the villain in this film is what really sets this movie apart from its predecessor.
THE BAD: Action. I wasn't that impressed with the fight scenes in this movie. Compared to the anime series, and even the first movie, I found the action sequences to be quite uneventful and out of place. Also, I was hoping for a longer fight sequence between Hitsugaya and Ichigo.
Animation. It's not so much that the animation is bad, but it's basically the same quality as the anime. You would think they would spend a little more time in improving the look of things.
THE END: I used to not really care for anime too much. Lately, I've grown to like it very much. I blame Bleach for this mostly because when I got all caught up in the anime episodes, I got bored and decided to read the manga (since the manga is further ahead story-wise). Once I got all caught up in the manga chapters, I got bored and decided to read other mangas. Once I got all caught up reading other mangas, I got bored and watched their anime equivalents. Once I got all caught up watching their anime episodes, I got bored and started to explore other anime (so far, I've watched Kimikiss pure rouge, True Tears, finishing up Honey & Clover, started watching Clannad, Vampire Knight, and Naruto). Turns out, I have a thing for comedy/romance/coming-of-age anime. Wow, that could have been a totally different blog post. Time to get back on track. If you're not a fan of Bleach, you're not going to like this movie. If you are a fan of Bleach, you're going to like this movie. Bleach is one of the best anime of all-time. If you just want to see what all the hype is about with Bleach, watched the first few episodes of the anime (download here). If you aren't hooked by then, you never will be. Also, look for the third Bleach movie called Fade to Black, I Call Your Name to be released on December 13, 2008.
DISCUSS: Do you like Bleach? What do you like/dislike about anime in general? Who is your favorite Bleach character? Who is your least favorite Bleach character? Are you looking forward to the third movie?
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