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(More customer reviews)The Bounts have finally invaded the Soul Society, and all hell is about to break loose... very, very slowly.
In fact, it takes quite some time for the final leg of the Bount arc to fully unfold in "Bleach Box Set 5," and it ends up being a pretty uneven and sputtery ending. There are some truly brilliant ideas, epic fights and the reappearance of many favorite Soul Reapers... but there are also a number of plot holes and some fights that are just the same ol' same ol'.
The Bounts invade the Soul Society at last, and quickly begin staging a rebellion in the forests near the Seireitei; meanwhile, Ichigo and his friends alert the Soul Reapers to the approaching danger and prepare for battle. But being in the Soul Society has given the Bounts a new advantage -- Rukia is quickly defeated, and even powerful captains like Byakuya are having a tough time fighting against Kariya and the other Bounts.
But Kariya doesn't just plan to defeat the captains -- he plans to tap into a half-forgotten power sealed within the Seireitei's foundations, and use it to destroy the entire Soul Society. The only person who may be able to help stop him is Ran'Tao, an exiled Soul Reaper scientist who created the Bounts in the first place. But with the clock ticking to doomsday, Ichigo will have to put his life on the line and fight the superpowered Kariya once and for all.
As endings go, "Bleach Box Set 5" is kind of lackluster -- there's a lot of frenetic fighting interspersed with long stretches of infodumping/flashbacks. What's more, a number of basic plot holes crop up, such as Soi Fon forgetting her own zanpakuto's power, or Kyoraku and Ukitake (the most powerful battle captains) being assigned to... flip through library books. And the whole "sealing the Jokai Crests" subplot just sort of fades away.
The writers also fail miserably at creating any kind of dramatic build-up -- you never get the feeling that anyone actually thinks that Kariya WILL destroy the Soul Society. With only a few hours until doomsday, the Soul Reapers... have a potluck dinner and NAP?
Fortunately, the writers did manage to come up with some suitably epic fight scenes, including a bloody desperate fight between a weakened Rukia and a supercharged Yoshino, and creepy mad scientist Mayuri fighting against an arrogant old coot. And there are some funny moments sprinkled through the story ("AAAAAAAAAA... an exploding egg!") to lighten the overall mood, as well as some supercharged Bount powers that make the Soul Reapers' duties a lot harder.
Pretty much everybody gets some attention in these episodes -- Byakuya's affection for Rukia, Ichigo's steadfast determination, and the ever-pragmatic Zaraki gets to wipe the floor (both physically and philosophically) with the whiny, hypocritical Ichinose. And an extra episode at the end of the season provides flashbacks of Rukia's first solo assignment, Renji's promotion, and Ichigo's "ordinary" life prior to becoming a Soul Reaper (including comforting a little girl killed in a car crash).
"Bleach Box Set 5" is a rather uneven and holey ending to the first filler arc of this anime, but there are enough highlights here to make it still worth watching -- mostly the fights, and the final episode.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Bleach Uncut Box Set: Season 5 - The Assault
Back in the World of the Living, Ichigo Kurosaki has been officially recognized as a Substitute Soul Reaper by the Soul Society. Then trouble comes to Karakura Town in the form of Visoreds, a group of ex-Soul Reapers that have crossed over into the realm of the Hollows. As they try to recruit Ichigo to their side, it is revealed that former Captain Sosuke Aizen is attempting to create an army of Hollows with Soul Reaper powers called Arrancars. It will take Ichigo and friends along with a detachment of Soul Reapers to keep them from destroying the town.
Click here for more information about Bleach Uncut Box Set: Season 5 - The Assault
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