BLEACH DVD COLLECTION 10: HUECO MUNDO
September 12th 2011 23:11
Based on the original Bleach manga by: Tite Kubo
Director: Noriyuki Abe
Screenplay by: Masahi Sogo et al
Producers: Noriko Kobayashi (TV Tokyo), Yukio Yoshimura & Ken Hagino
Starring: Johnny Yong Bosch (Ichigo Kurosaki), Michelle Ruff (Rukia Kuchiki), Jamieson Price (Chad), Derek Stephen Prince (Uryu Ishida), Brian Beacock (Yumichika Ayesagawa), Kate Higgins (Karin Kurosaki), Stephanie Sheh (Orihime Inoue), Dan Woren (Byakuya Kuchiki) Wally Wingert (Renji Abarai), Colleen O’Shaughnessey (Nel Tu), Michael P Greco (Pesche Gatiche), Pete Sepenuk (Dondachakka), Doug Erholz (Gin Ichimaru), Tony Oliver (Ulquiorra), Keith Silverstein (Aaroniero Arrurerie), Wendee Lee (Aaroniero Arrurerie), Travis Wallingham (Ashido), Lex Lang (Runuganga), Peter Spellos (Dordonni), Tricia Pierce (Cirucci), Greg Eagles (Gatenbainne), Michael Lindsay (Rudborn), Dave Mallow (‘Kaien Shiba’), Kyle Herbert (Sosuke Aizen) & David Rasner (Kaname Tosen)
English Version produced by: VIZ Media LLC
Released by: Madman Entertainment
Running Time: 300 minutes Rating: M
In the Bleach universe there are two particular types of spirits, wholes who are the spirits of the recently deceased and are looking for a way to cross over and hollows, monsters usually with white skull like masks covering their faces and a hole in their chest. Hollows are noted for preying on wholes as well as those with strong spiritual energy and thus are a constant thorn in the side of soul reapers, those who guide the wholes onto the next stage of existence and reap hollows so that they too can find some release from their own self inflicted torment. But where the heck do the hollows come from? Frequently in episodes of Bleach we see hollows sort of slide into the world of the living but where is it that they’re coming from? The world of Hueco Mundo, this is the abode of the hollows and also the abode of something far more dangerous…
Part of this dark, sombre locales uniqueness though derives from its current overlord, the former captain of Fifth Company and arch traitor Sosuke Aizen. Aizen has set up shop in the barren reaches of Hueco Mundo at a sprawling fortress complex called Las Noches. Seen from a distance the vast sprawling fortress palace seems to defy the mind, it’s sheer size causes one to stop and ponder just how big it is and whether or not it’s a close as it looks or far away and thus truly immense. All part of the plan, Lord Aizen enjoys working mind games on his enemies and unnerving them even before a blow has been aimed or an attack launched and the very structure of Las Noches has been geared towards that particular ends.
Ichigo, Chad and Uryu have made their way into the deeps of Hueco Mundo in order to rescue their friend Orihime who has been captured by the Arrancars under Lord Aizen’s orders. Having defeated the two gatekeepers set to prevent unwanted incursions into the domain of Lord Aizen the three reach the surface and discover the immensity of the place that they’re in. Hueco Mundo is a world that seems to be steeped in an eternal night and filled with nothing but endless sand and the desiccated remains of what once might have been trees, kind of looks like the Australian outback or the deserts sands of the Sahara. It’s definitely not a friendly looking piece of real estate by anyone’s stretch of the imagination and doubtless lurking beneath the potentially shifting sands are countless hostile foes and dangers…or are they…
Once on the desert sands gazing off at Las Noches rather than encounter marauding soul eating hollows our three heroes suddenly find themselves witness an unusual scene, a small human child running away from three rather unusual, in fact decidedly bizarre looking, hollows. Acting without hesitation Ichigo springs into action to save this helpless child whilst Chad and Uryu look to take out the three hollows…only to discover that the child is a hollow as well and when the nature of the other three are taken into consideration they’re the most unhollow like bunch of hollows they’ve ever come across. The group consists of Nel Tu, an arrancar and her two brothers Pesche Gatiche and Dondachakka along with their pet Bawabawa. Once the misconceptions are out of the way an unlikely alliance is formed between Ichigo and his friends and the hollows. Riding on the back of Bawabawa they all head off for Las Noches…
And that was their first mistake or so it would seem, as they approach the fortress palace of Lord Aizen a huge form raises from the desert, the form of Runagunga, Guardian of the White Sands. The attacks of the three appear to have little to no affect on this colossus, just when things appear to be hopeless though a sudden blast of freezing ice encases the guardian and he shatters into a thousand pieces shimmering on the desert sand. It seems that help has arrived from an unexpected quarter – Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai have ventured from the Soul Society to aid Ichgio and friends. And thus its game on as the unlikely crew gather themselves up and resume their journey onwards to Las Noches and the rescuing of Orihime.
Bleach DVD Collection 10 has all the cool things you’d expect from Bleach, gripping fights, humour, pathos and an engaging cast of characters along with a classic storyline – the princess who has to rescued from the suave and ingenious villain along with his sinister henchmen. Throw in some bizarre sidekicks, a little bit of side line commentary and the whole thing is a sublime pleasure to watch. My only problem with it all is the fact that Lord Aizen or Aizen-sama as he’s referred to in the Japanese has got this humungous set up along with an army of transformed hollows all in an amazingly short space of time? The time frames between his leaving the Soul Society and Ichigo and co breaking into Hueco Mundo are relatively short, no more than months and here he is with an infrastructure that would have taken at least years to put up…or else Menos are really fast construction workers…If you’re a Bleach tragic like me then you’ll love this DVD collection, if not I’d suggest perhaps looking elsewhere.
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