Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation Blu-ray Movie Review

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation continues the epic action-adventure anime series. Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation continues the franchise that began with fan-favorite Bleach. The series is based on the original manga from creator Tite Kubo. Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation features animation produced by studio Pierrot (Bleach, Bleach: Memories in the Rain).

From producers Yoshihiro Tominaga (Mr. Osomatsu, Akudama Drive), Tasuku Honda (Haikyu!! To The Top,  Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Separation), Makoto Hijikata (Twin Star Exorcists, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations), and Genki Negishi (Kaguya-sama: Love is War -Ultra Romantic-, Kaguya-sama: Love is War -The First Kiss That Never Ends-), Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation ramps up the action. Fans of the saga will be thrilled to come back for more epic fights and thrills. Ichigo Kurosaki (Masakazu Morita) has returned. Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation also features voice-performances by Fumiko Orikasa and Masakazu Morita.

Everything has been leading up to this moment. The epic blood was has begun. Now things are getting dangerous. Soul Reapers and Quincies are battling it out in the epic war. Now that the Quincies are fighting with all their might, the Soul Reapers have even more obstacles to face down. Things are escalating quickly. The battlestage is far from over and only a few may survive the fall. The epic showdown is underway and who can make it out alive? Ichigo has now joined in on the epic fight. Ichigo’s arrival might be too late. The invading warriors are already taking out lives – one after another and the bodies keep dropping to the ground.

Yhwach, the Quincies Father, leads the way as the bloodbath unravels. Not only is Yhwach causing more damage and death, he soon chooses who will be his successor. The Soul Society has a lot of danger in store for themselves and Yhwach is sure to cause even more damage with a successor. The successor isn’t as expected and more drama occurs behind the scenes -stirring up emotions with the clan. On the bright side, Uryu begins to understand his destiny after learning the truths of his grandfather’s personal diaries.

Fans will be thrilled to have Ichigo Kurosaki back. The character has always been a huge part of the anime series. The franchise continues the journey and fans will delight in revisiting their favorite character and the supporting cast of characters. The fandom loves the characters and their hip, compelling, and notable roles.

Another essential part of the production is the character design work. The character designs for the anime are by Masashi Kudo (Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion). Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation continues the epic odyssey with fun and engaging designs for the main characters. The designs by Kudo work well for the anime and help to expand upon the horizon of the anime series. The designs certainly are true to the style of the original anime while diving into a new artistic direction simultaneously.

One of the foundational and important aspects of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation is the animation. The animation is integral and vital to the production. The aesthetic and artistry of the production is essential.

The animation features compelling visuals by art director Yoshio Tanioka (Valkyria Chronicles, Star Blazers 2202). The animation team on Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation continues to deliver the goods as audiences anticipate. The chief animation direction by Kumiko Takayanagi (Samurai Flamenco, Natsuyuki Rendezvous), Kiyoshi Komatsubara (Sengoku Night Blood, Chivalry of a Failed Knight), Michio Hasegawa (The "Hentai" Prince and the Stony Cat., PERSONA 5 the Animation), and Masashi Kudo (Survival Game Club!, The Wings of Rean) adds to the production values, too.

The animation team provides stunning visuals, compelling aesthetic flourishes, and vibrancy that is enormous fun. The animators bring a modern aesthetic style to the series and it departs somewhat in style from the original Bleach anime. The new series animation feels true to the original Bleach anime while heading into new terrain. Fans will find the differences compelling while also being happy that much of the core style has remained true to what came before.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation features cinematography by Kazuhiro Yamada (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Attack on Titan). The cinematography does a nice job of highlighting the cool animation. The cinematography helps to showcase the artistry of the production with the visuals quite organic looking. The visual language of the cinematography ebbs and flows between aesthetic qualities showing the darker and lighter elements of the series style. The cinematographer uses lighting on the production well and brings out the best in the animation, too.

Featuring a score composed by Shirō Sagisu (Bleach, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time), Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation offers fans a compelling score. The music has fun energy and style. The score works well for the backbone of the series – the action. The action has adrenaline and style through the score. The music certainly adds to the production. The composer understands the saga as someone returning to the franchise after composing music for the original.  

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation is written by Tomohisa Taguchi (The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes, Akudama Drive) and Masaki Hiramatsu (Toriko, The Garden of Sinners).  Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation continues the journey from the first part. Expanding on the saga, the continuation provides more epic thrills for fans. The writing builds more, approaching the finale. The characters are once more on a journey. Fans who are following along will be thrilled to return.

Directed by Tomohisa Taguchi (Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna), Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation is a compelling effort. An impressive directorial effort that will appeal to the fans who are along for the ride. The series is certainly aimed at established fans of the original Bleach saga. Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation offers die-hard enthusiasts something to look forward to. Action fans and the core fanbase aren’t going to want to miss out on Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by VIZ Media, Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The high-definition presentation capably presents the series animation. A crisp and pleasing video presentation and one that rewards fans with a vibrant aesthetic. The style is certainly in contrast to the original Bleach anime.

The original Bleach anime was mostly comprised of standard-definition video and the animation was only upscaled on the previously released sets by distributor VIZ. The original anime saga featured softer looking animation and far less visual clarity and the anime looked considerably less robust and colorful compared to the new saga. The new saga features vastly superior native high-definition animation and the aesthetic achieved is something that benefits greatly from the Blu-ray disc treatment. The animation is engaging and beautiful on the release.

Despite the obvious advantages of the presentation of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation, the series also has a somewhat naturally soft aesthetic. The animation is crisper than on previous Bleach sagas but it is still not as crisp as the most detailed looking modern anime series. Encoding also has some occasional issues. Banding is visible and isn't too great looking at times. Sometimes the banding can be an obvious distraction and the release even retains some video noise, too.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio encoding capably preserves the soundstage and sound direction by Yukio Nagasaki (One Piece Film Z, Digimon: Data Squad). The lossless also handles the sound effects well and the stereo audio capably integrates the action effects. The score is also well reproduced on the release. The music is crystal clear and sounds great overall. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. Despite the lack of a 5.1 surround option, the lossless audio sounds pleasing and should please enthusiasts.

One of the advantages of physical media and the Blu-ray disc format is the lossless audio encoding. The lossless audio encoding makes a good difference for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts seeking the best possible audio quality. The presentation can "eek" out the best in the audio with lossless audio encoding and that is one of the foundations of physical media and a distinct difference from lossy audio on streaming video services.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The limited collector's edition features a gorgeously designed art box. The chipboard art box adds to the value of the package design. The deluxe packaging features premium features and the texture is both sturdy and nice to hold in hand. The collectors release features a blue cover that is nice looking and makes a solid impression. The inner-case package includes different key artwork from the outer collectable box. The release is simple in design but highly beautiful looking. It deserves the nice "premium" moniker for collectors looking for a nice set for their collection.

The box-set also provides fans with a deluxe booklet featuring 72 pages of behind-the-scenes content. The booklet provides the same amount of content as what was provided in the first box-set. The new booklet features an episode guide, a behind-the- scenes section, and character design section. With gorgeous art featured throughout the booklet and some key episode information for series fans, it certainly is a solid booklet that helps to round out the quality of the collector's release.

On disc supplements include:

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Lookback (Episodes 11-24) (HD, 5:14)

Eien – Tatsuya Kitani Official Music Video (HD, 3:10)

Special Ending Episodes 25 & 26 (HD, 4:01)

Art Gallery includes 37 click-through slides of illustrations.

Clean Opening and Ending (HD, 2:59)

Promotional Videos (HD, 6:35)

More from VIZ (HD, 1:17)

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation features incredible action-packed fun for devotees. The odyssey of the anime continues in Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Part 2: The Separation. The animation is impressive and devoted fans will be thrilled to return to the saga.

The Blu-ray release features an impressive high-definition presentation. The release also includes lossless audio. The set provides some on-disc supplements to round-out the package. The set is packaged in a gorgeous collectable chipboard artbox and the package design helps the set stand out. The release also includes a hefty 72-page booklet with an episode guide, character designs, and behind the scenes information. Fans of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War will be pleased with the nice box-set.