7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Hell – A place where beings that have committed mortal sins during their lifetime are sent. It is a realm where even Soul Reapers are forbidden to interfere. When a group of vicious Sinners plot to escape from this eternal prison, they discover that Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki is the key to their freedom. The Sinners launch an attack and in the process kidnap Ichigo's younger sister Yuzu and take her to Hell. With the help of a mysterious man named Kokuto, Ichigo and his friends must now travel into the depths of Hell to stop the Sinners and save Yuzu, unaware that their actions could bring Hell to the World of the Living.
Starring: Masakazu Morita, Fumiko Orikasa, Kazuya Nakai, Noriaki Sugiyama, Kentarô Itô (I)Anime | 100% |
Foreign | 91% |
Action | 55% |
Adventure | 36% |
Supernatural | 18% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Bleach is one of those franchises that feels like it’s been around forever, but which for whatever reason doesn’t seem to excite the same rabid fan reaction that some other quite similar anime do. As was mentioned in our review of Bleach Movie 3: Fade to Black, Bleach weaves together a number of different elements which some anime fans may find awfully similar to such outings as Yu Yu Hakusho, Soul Eater, and Gungrave. Probably the most salient comparison is to Yu Yu Hakusho, for as in that popular anime, Bleach focuses on a young man who is tasked with keeping our dimension safe from invading malevolent spirits. In the case of Bleach, the hero Ichigo Kurasaki doesn’t have exactly the same “infirmity” as the lead character in Yu Yu Hakusho, but the same general conceit of battling demons from another realm is front and center in both, even if the two anime handle the subject in fairly different manners. Bleach has obviously been an incredibly popular enterprise, as is obvious from the tens of millions of copies of the manga version having been sold, and the anime having chalked up not just a formidable run but also having spawned several feature films, of which Hell Verse is the fourth. This 2010 installment in the long running Bleach story is certainly enjoyable on its own terms, but its relatively rote and predictable approach may be the most pointed argument that explains why there doesn’t seem to be the same level of intensity in Bleach’s fanbase as is routinely seen with other anime (this is obviously a gross generalization, and I’m sure there are “rabid” fans of Bleach who would vociferously disagree with this assessment).
Bleach: Hell Verse is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Viz Pictures with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Much like Bleach Movie 3: Fade to Black, this is another great looking high definition presentation, with crystal clear imagery and razor sharp line detail. The one kind of middling aspect here, and a rather surprising one, is the kind of "blah" CGI in some of the Hell sequences, where basic shapes are rendered without much feeling for depth or texture, looking for all the world like those very earliest CGI animated efforts that made "environments" out of globes, triangles and cubes. Other than that perhaps niggling failure, though, this is a wonderfully sharp, beautifully colorful, presentation that offers a lot to look at.
Bleach: Hell Verse offers both the original Japanese language track in a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix, as well as a very good English dub, similarly in a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. Both language tracks are virtually identical in terms of mix and surround placement, with perhaps just a tad less amplitude in the Japanese track, something that continues to happen on many of these anime releases. Both tracks feature some excellent LFE and surround activity in the action sequences. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is also very good on both of these well done audio options.
Bleach: Hell Verse isn't going to set the world on fire (no pun intended), but it's entertaining enough and will certainly be of interest to longtime Bleach fans. There's nothing too surprising here (even the "big twist" that happens toward the third act with regard to one of the characters), but the film is a good combination of bristling action sequences, a bit of heartstring tugging personal drama, and Bleach's rather peculiar sense of humor. The best thing about this film is its often gorgeous animation, which shines through exceedingly well on this Blu-ray. The audio mixes are also very well done. Recommended.
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