Bleach: Uncut - Set 14

I know alot of people are complaining about the prices of the bleach dvd sets, but what alot of you don't remember is when they used to to release the series in single dvds seperately with only 3 to 4 episodes on a dvd for about $20-$25. This was even true for other animes in the past, it wasn't until later that a series was released in a whole box set with a cheaper price. I know only 12 episodes a box set for around $30-$35 doesn't seem like a good deal especially when they first started to release the box sets of bleach which were around 20 episodes or more for the same price, but they also stopped releasing them in the single dvd and started to just sell them in box sets, so I think this is a happy medium for Viz.

My only complaint with Viz is how they are releasing the format of the bleach anime. Episodes 1-168 were done in the 4:3 or standard defintion. Episodes 169 and then on were done in the 16:9 or widescreen format. But it seems Viz wants to keep the english dub version in its 4:3 standard even after episode 169. This leads to the episodes getting cropped off and sacrificing quality and not getting the whole picture. This becomes espcially apparent at the beginning of the anime when they are showing the episode's number and at the end of it with the words "to be continued" be cropped or cut off. I hope they correct this flaw in the future.

I have noticed that they are releasing episodes digitally via the playstation store through the PS3 and it seems that they are up to the point of having the lastest episodes that air on adult swim on cartoon network shortly after. You can also purchase either the SD or HD version of the show starting with season 16 and after. I hope they make this option availible for physical copies like bluray in the near future, especially seeing how the Bleach moives, Fade to Black and the Hell Chapter have bluray options availible in the ntsc region.

So this may be considered filler and it is pretty short but I really enjoyed this season. I'm actually surprised that they put as many episodes as they did into this set, but its honestly a really enjoyable season.

Once again these episodes leave the main arc in Hueco Mundo but this is not the same as other filler. In this set we get to see the story of the Vizards and how they became what they are in the present. The set takes place about a hundred years in the past and really delves into Kisuke Urahara's back story. There are a lot of appearances by various Soul Reapers, including Hisagi, Byakuya, Gin, and Aizen. Its an interesting story of intrigue, betrayal, and how the Soul Society is run.

After episode 213 we get a couple episodes about Kon...great. They are just run of the mill comic relief fillers and they are entertaining to a degree. I don't really like Kon so the two episodes really weren't for me.

At 215 sort of return to the main arc. The Arrancar start their attack on the world of the living and are met by Soul Reapers. The lieutenants start fighting lower level Arrancars and Ichigo continues his fight in Hueco Mundo. They are really great episodes but this set doesn't get very far into them before it stops.

In short the filler in the middle is annoying and the last episodes are a build-up that will pay off in the next set. However, the reason I plan on buying this is the episodes at the beginning where we get to learn some of the back story on the Vizards and Soul Reapers. The price has been talked to death so again I will not speak on it. The episodes in this themselves are great and well worth the watch.

I love Bleach, but like most everyone else I'm tired of all the extra crap they use to take up space. This DVD set takes us back to the beginning of the madness caused by Aizen. He was only a lieutenant at the time. He started his hollow experiments. Shinji and the other visords became his victims. We also see how Kisuke and Yoruichi became outcasts as well. This is a very interesting arc for a change. After that there are a few episodes where Kon plays at being a power ranger or something equally retarded, and finally the battle with Aizen and his Aspada begins in the fake Karakura town. I may be speaking too soon, but I think were on the verge of seeing the really important stuff. I enjoyed this DVD set and I'm looking forward to set 15 and the 4th movie in December.