Bleach

If you are looking to enjoy anime you should watch it without Filler.

For anyone who enjoys action anime, this is the stuff to watch. Bleach revolves around Kurosaki Ichigo, a regular always-grouchy high-schooler who for some strange reason is able to see the souls of the dead around him. Although they are not usually dangerous, there are some called 'hollows' that aim to eat the regular ones, and on one fateful night, his entire family is put in danger by them. A death god, Kuchiki Rukia, happens to be there to battle these creatures, and after a dangerous mistake she is forced to give her powers to Ichigo in order to defeat the monster.

Henceforth, Ichigo has to take over her duties as a death god, protecting good spirits and other humans from hollows. The action in this series is stylish and fast paced, and the story line has you wanting more almost every episode. Ichigo is funny because of his ever-grouchy personality, and his friends are just as hilarious in their own way.

If you watch any anime at all this year, make Bleach number 1 on that list.

Okay let's get the facts straight.

I noticed the rating for Bleach is 8.8/10. I'm adding my own comment here in an attempt to get that beyond 9.

For starters, I'm 29 years old, male and was never an anime or cartoon fan. Throughout my teenage years, I've only got hooked to Dragonball Z(15-18 years). That's it. Gundam Seed did appealed to me once in a while but I was totally not into anime for almost more than a decade. I suppose I got matured and that these kiddies stuff are waay past my time and not my type anymore. Damn I was wrong when I incidentally stumbled onto Bleach one day while changing through channels on TV. I was transported to my childhood days just after watching 2 episodes and instantly got hooked to the series like an eager blood-sucking leech.

It is wonderful to live in a fantasy world and that is the reason Bleach is so watchable. The excellent scripted storyline and wonderful varied characters will bring out the child in every man or woman. Watching the character of Ichigo develops from a normal kid to one that has super-natural powers is a rewarding journey, not to mention his what-you-call-that powerful 'bankai' that enables him to prevail in most of his battles with other powerful villains. The ups and downs throughout the journey from resisting turning into a hollow to becoming a shinigami had made this series so much enjoyable to watch. Coupled with his allies, from the cute little girl who can summon cute little angels to the cool-looking bloke with his deadly bow and arrows, and not to mention the powerful and indestructible Byakuya(did I spell that correctly?). Man talking about that guy. I saw him taking down Ichigo in one chapter without much effort at all along the alley on one fateful night which he took Rukia to Soul Society with him after that, leaving Ichigo as good as dead. I then thought to myself, how the hell is Ichigo going to bring his level up to that of Byakuya's if he were to match his powers and to save Rukia from the gallows? Anticipating what's going to happen next, the show ended. booo... Wait till the next episode comes by. duh.... See? The level of addiction is high as every time you anticipate the twists and turns of the story 30 minutes had passed.

Great stuff. Highly recommended even for age 30+ and above.

So it's finally hit the US shores. Bleach. What is Bleach exactly? In simple turns it's Yu Yu Hakusho meets 7 Samurai, except substitute the 7 for a much much larger number. The story revolves around 15 year old Ichigo Kurosaki who seems to able to see dead people, except he's not as emo as that 6th Sense Kid. By a chance encounter he meets Rukia who is a Soul Reaper, or to the old fans "shinigami". She cannot be seen by humans, but strangely enough Ichigo and can see her and even touch her. After being completely knocked to the ground she strangely stares at Ichigo surprised and bewildered. Her job is to send souls that are worthy to the "Soul Society" which is a much much less divine heaven. She must also battle and defeat Hollows which are evil souls that have gone astray. A bit much? Not really, this is just the basis of the series but after episode 14 or 15 I guarantee you the excitement factor will jump through the roof. I am glad to say that Cartoon Network kept the original intro Asterisk by Orange Range, same with the ending credits. Bleach has always had the great music w/ the fashionable intros. Overall it's a mystic story with a modern day twist and am sure it'll appeal to anyone any age. The voice acting is on par and decided to use Johnny Yong Bosch, you may remember him as the Black Power Ranger or as Vash the Stampede's voice. Overall I don't see any major problems, good clean fun and clear skies ahead. Let's just hope they don't dumb down Bleach like they did Naruto. So here's to Bleach and it's successful first run on US soil..

ps I'm surprised they kept in the word "Zanpakutou", that's a very good sign.

I first saw the Bleach manga, and I was absolutely trapped by the story, mixture of Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball, Samurai 7; even though Bleach has a signature of its own.

Usually, when I watch an anime AFTER I read the manga, I get a little bit disappointed, because of poor animation, misplaced character voice acting, etc. But Bleach, far from letting me down, got me even more hooked to the story.

Kurosaki Ichigo, a middle-schooler from Karakura Town, has a very rare ability: he can see dead people. This ability will find itself enhanced one night that Ichigo accidentally meets Kuchiki Rukia, a Shinigami (Death God). Rukia, as all other Shinigamis, dedicates her time to slay Hollows, monsters that devour human souls. Just watch the first chapter... you'll get hooked right away.

Here's a little thing you should know. Bleach manga writer, Kubo Tite, is still drawing Bleach. So the story is not over. So, how does this affect the anime? Bleach, starting in chapter 63 or so, begins what is commonly known as a "filler": chapters on the anime that are not drawn in the manga, created with the sole purpose of giving the author time to finish the manga.

Bleach's filler is... um... not so good. At least, not as good as the non-filler anime. You can watch it, but it will not add much to the real story. The real "second season" of Bleach comes around the 105th episode or so. And it absolutely, definitely, seriously, no-kidding-around-on-this-one, ROCKS!!

The only thing I have against Bleach, and so I put a 9 Vote to it, is that I don't like long series, such as Naruto or One Piece. In fact, I don't watch either, but Bleach, I'll watch it until it ends, because it is seriously worth it. Trust me, it's great.