Monday 14th January saw the release of Bleach Series 10 Part 1, the first half of the third instalment of the Arrancar Arc: Arrancar vs Shinigami, consisting of episodes 190-201. For those who aren’t too familiar with Bleach, or who need a brief recap (after all those fillers), seeming as Bleach does have a habit of running a few rings around the point, before finally reaching it, then let me give you a very brief background.

The series follows Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends. At the very beginning of the anime Ichigo became a substitute Shinigami, receiving Soul Reaper powers. Think of a Shinigami as a friendlier version of the grim reaper, only with supernatural abilities, whose job it is to protect souls. A Shinigami ensures these souls make it to the Soul Society (their version of the afterlife, and a literal place spirits progress to once they have ‘moved on’). One of the major antagonists in Bleach are the Hollows - souls who were previously humans and have transformed, with their physical appearance no longer representing that of a human. Ichigo, his friends and the Shinigami have had many battles with Hollows. Admittedly, Ichigo and the Shinigami weren’t always on good terms, with a few battles fought along the way, but now support each other (most of the time).

This series continues on in the battle between the Shinigami and the Arrancar (a more powerful version of a Hollow), resembling something closer to that of a human compared to that of a Hollow. Unlike a hollow, Arrancar possess a Zanpakuto (kick-ass sword with power), like a Shinigami does. Then you have the Espada, the ten strongest Arrancar, each with their ‘number’ ranking - the smaller the number the higher the ranking and stronger the Espada.

Many, many episodes ago, Orihime Inoue, one of Ichigo’s friends (these two certainly make for a cute pairing) was taken to Hueco Mundo by the Arrancar, under orders by Aizen, a Shinigami and previously one of the Captains in Soul Society, but is now one of the big bads. The story continues in the midst of their rescue mission. But not much progresses from there in these episodes. Several epic battles, a few laughs, a few surprises along the way. Being a continuation of one of the more exciting arcs, made it a little disappointing with the lack of seeming progression within the story.

Towards the end of Part 1, there is a very brief moment when we see a possible progression with Orihime’s powers, however small the apparent relevance in these episodes, but perhaps it is enough to get the ball rolling for her to be much more kick-ass in the terms of offence with her gifts in the future. Lets see where they take this.

This release is certainly for those already with a fondness for Bleach (something I too have a soft-spot for, but sometimes its more of a love-hate relationship - love Bleach, hate the fillers). Anyone who is new to the world of Bleach would be advised to start from the very beginning of the entire anime, otherwise confusion will most certainly take hold. On the plus side each episode has an episode recap, and after these recaps, the beginning of the episode is basically an extract from the end of the previous episode, which can be helpful in refreshing your memory, but sometimes can get really annoying.

The final episode ends mid-battle, creating anticipation for the next instalment and hope that there’s much more progression in the next part of Series 10.

Bleach Series 10 Part 1 is out now on DVD from Manga Entertainment.

The beginning of the month saw the remastered return of Earth’s defender in this re-release of Dragon Ball Z Series 5, which marks the return of Earth’s Special Forces and follows the Z Fighters on their mission to protect the Earth, once again. The return of this dialogue-driven anime, is being made available again for original fans and newcomers to the series. Allowing us the chance to experience some of the magic once again, and to cling to days gone past. Taking you back to simpler times, but Dragon Ball Z is anything but...

As a re-release this series isn’t exactly new to many, with anyone watching likely being familiar with these episodes - it is one of the most popular anime of all time after all. And, at the very least you will have heard of the show.

Series 5 sees a new threat, genetically created from Earth’s greatest martial arts masters; Cell (ultimate creation by Dr Gero) is a formidable foe whose thirst for power makes him perhaps one of the most dangerous of opponents to date. Cell intends to absorb energy in order to become stronger, on his quest to change from ‘imperfect’ ‘to perfect’ in order to obtain his ultimate form. And, because of his genetic cocktail of warriors, he has the ability to fish out a warrior’s weakness and take advantage, a bit like he does with Vegeta. Knowing of Vegeta’s thirst for battle, Cell managed to somehow manipulate Vegeta, getting him to agree that he would allow Cell to absorb another Android in order to power-up. The very thing they were trying to stop from happening, even after all the effort that had been put into eradicating Cell. But allowing Cell to absorb android 18 potentially puts the entire universe at risk. Risky business indeed. Meanwhile, practice makes perfect with Goku and Gohan, in Gohan’s quest to super charge to ‘Super Saiyan’ in an attempt to save the day and defeat the villain.

Having not previously watched many of the episodes, I found that I enjoyed the series, however, admittedly, I did find it slighty slow. But there is plenty of action and super-fuelled characters to keep fans happy. And a good old trip back down memory lane. Enjoy

Dragon Ball Z Series 5 is out now on DVDs from Manga Entertainment

Reviews by Samantha Buttigieg