board77

'Otaku' means maniac, but it's used affectionately amongst English-speaking anime fans. You FF lot are a bunch of otaku.

ANN has this to say. I swear he's listing the wrong episodes for America. He seems to be one behind. Surely it should be episode 25 tonight? Anyway, YTV's Canada, isn't it.

Quote:

Bleach
(Cartoon Network)
Sunday March 4 12:00am - Episode 24 (Repeats Sun Mar 4 3:00am)

Having caught up with the wayward Kuukaku Shiba and her doof of a brother, Ganju, Ichigo and the others do what all the other action-based Shonen Jump characters do: training! Specifically, training to control their "spirit energy" to form a sort of cannonball capable of breaking through the otherwise-impregnable Soul Society.

(YTV)
Friday March 9 10:30pm - Episode 26 (Repeats Sat Mar 10 2:00am)

Confound those Canuckians for getting new Bleach episodes before us! I eagerly and maliciously anticipate a situation similar to what happened with Naruto; wherein YTV had a slight lead on US viewers, until a ridiculous amount of marathons on Cartoon Network's part put them a half-dozen episodes ahead. You might think, given the other nutty claims made on The Click over the past year, that I'm kidding, but I'm not. I actually anticipate this. I am a sad, sad man. Anyway, episode 26 of Bleach is about them using the aforementioned cannonballs and breaking into the Soul Society, and the chaos such an event causes.

That's what I thought you meant, but I like to be sure!

Yeah that one that he just described as going to be on tonight was on last night. Unless they are going to repeat it. And since I have no idea what YTV is, it's a good bet that it is Canadian...or at least not American.

~Sid

There's only one dubbed episode aired a week. The dub is fairly appalling, IMHO. Ichigo's great (go, Green Ranger, go!) and Rukia's very good (but doesn't do what Japanese Rukia did, and put on a cute act every time Ichigo's friends are around). Ganju is another matter. He's children's action cartoon henchman #2 circa 1985. Urgh.
Abarai Renji can't say his own name. AhBAReye? It's freakin' Ahbereye. Not quite as bad as the cock up in the Japanese where everyone calls Gin 'Ghin', but Matsumoto (who knows him rather intimately) persists in referring to him as 'Jin'. Chad and Keigo are amazing in English. It's a shame they both have so few lines. Chad gets all the little grunts spot on, and when he did speak he could actually hit the right octave and everything!
And as for Urahara... He was voiced by Miki Shin'ichiro in Japanese. And what have they replaced him with?!? He sounds about twenty. And stoned. Not like a hyperactive and whimsical forty-year-old. Not that appearance has anything to do with age for the dead in Bleach. Poor Hitsugaya-taichou is stuck looking ten.
Scratch the Urahara comment though, Gin has the worst dub I have ever heard. And I've seen Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece and Revolutionary Girl Utena dubbed. Gin has an Osaka accent, right? Contextually it makes him come off as very rural and a bit rude at times. Very laid back, mildly humorous accent. So if you're changing the voices for a bunch of North USA accents, the perfect replacement would seem to me to be Texan for Gin. Did they? Did they hell! Poor Gin (can't believe I pitied him for a moment there, I'm sure he's raping his fukutaichou o_0) got saddled with someone trying to put on an upper-class English accent.

*incandescent*

*~Pips~*

LOL, Pips! Well I'll get through the bad dubbing somehow. I know the Japanese versions are better, but I just have an easier time understanding everything if I watch it in English first. I do agree though Ichigo's voice was great and some of the other's were really bad, but I don't know their names yet.

So are you saying that it will be a repeat tonight? Ah well, if it is I'll just keep my eyes peeled for the new episode this week.

~Sid

Well if you want to catch up with the ones that you missed on TV, here's Lunar's sub of . There *is* a dub up there somewhere... *sigh* *search*
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfO6AJozonc]Here you go. Philistine.

*~Pips~*

HeeHee!! Well I just watched the first episode and though I thought it was a little overwrought and nerdy, I LOVED it! LOL!! It rocked!

So do I take it that Soul Reapers aren't born human and then become Soul Reapers upon death? They are something else entirely? That's what I got from that first episode anyway. I know there has to be exposition so everyone knows what is going on, but I thought it sounded forced in this episode. On the positive side I did think that Ichigo was freakin' awesome even if I find the thought of a high school Soul Reaper a little nerdy. Oh and I though his black-haired sister was really hot as well (I don't remember her name and if I did there is NO way I'd know how to spell it! LOL!), plus I liked her personality in this episode.

So my final verdict is that it is a little nerdy, but mostly cool. I have a hard time not loving this kind of stuff even when I can see the flaws. The rockin' stuff outweighs it.

Oh and now I am TOTALLY going to draw Ichigo. I may suck at drawing real life things, but boy can I draw cartoons! LOL! He'll be easy to draw.

~Sid

Oh and one more thought. Is there any particular reason why Bleach is on Adult Swim? Besides the cursing, I didn't see anything particularly adult about it. It definitely seems geared more for teens than adults. Not that that is a bad thing, I was just wondering.

~Sid

Well Bleach was initially serialised in Weekly Shounen Jump, which is a boy's comic anthology. But to be quite honest everyone I know who likes it is female and rather a lot older than the target demographic of shounen shows. Renji's tattoos probably have something to do with it. Later episodes are hella bloody, I know that. It's quite a long and involved story too. I doubt I'd have followed it all when I was a kid.

There are two ways in which you can become a Shinigami. You can be a soul with reiatsu, like Ichigo, Karin or Yuzu, die ordinarily and train at the Shinigami Academy in Soul Society. This is how Rukia and Renji became Shinigami. (My guess on Rukia is that she died of starvation as a baby, but there haven't really been any hints on Renji at all). Then there are those born in the afterlife. It doesn't seem to happen very often. The biologically related families of Soul Society are the nobles; there were originally five high noble houses, but the Shiba house fell into disrepute. Children born into a noble house generally have exceptionally high reiatsu, and make good Shinigami. Byakuya is the head of the high noble house of Kuchiki. The other named high noble house is Shihouin, which becomes important later. Two others have yet to be defined (rampant speculation!) Then there are the minor noble houses, which also turn out candidates with exceptionally high reiatsu. Ukitake-taichou is presumably head of his house (it's mentioned that he works to support six younger siblings, but that Ukitake is a noble house). Shunsui-taichou is a noble too, despite his habit of getting hammered on sake and crashing out on his desk. So yes... two ways of becoming a Shinigami. Both ways you have to train, which seems to be always at the Academy. Incidentally if Renji graduated forty years ago, in the 2066th year since the foundation of the Academy, it's mentioned that Shunsui and Ukitake were the first who graduated. That makes them over 2,106 years old.

Okay, so it's maybe not the most intellectual of shows, but it's so fun to get into.

*~Pips~*

Oh yeah, and the black-haired Kurosaki sibling is Karin. Also, I really didn't like Bleach much when I first started reading and watching it a year ago. I got given book one (Strawberry and the Soul Reapers) for Christmas, and when I was depressed over the new year I decided to see if there was a fansubbed series about. I downloaded the Lunar version since it came as fifty episodes in one folder and about three months later (presumably after episode sixteen, when Rukia was arrested) something finally clicked, and I adored it.

And if you think the names are hard, just wait until the Soul Society arc really gets going. You've got the taichou and fukutaichou of every division to remember, plus lower-ranked members like Ikkaku, Yumichika, Maki-maki (haha), Rikichi, Hanatarou, Kiyone and Sentarou. They started running an "Illustrated Shinigami Guide" at the end of every episode to help people actually remember the names. I loved the traits they picked on to remind people... Unohana-taichou: "Mummy!". She seriously does look like everybody's mother.

*~Pips~*

Triple post, haha! Here's the present I started making you last night.

AWESOME! Did you draw it? Can I use it for my sig?

Karin, I should be able to remember and spell that. So are there any other episodes in that link? I just saw episode one, but granted I didn't look too hard.

~Sid

That's what it's for. I did think about giving it a caption- something like
"One film. Two specials. Two novels. Three soundtracks. Three artbooks. Five radio show compilation CDs. Eleven character CDs. A rock musical. Fourteen computer games. Twenty-six books. One hundred and seventeen episodes. One hundred and fifty-two characters. And counting, always counting.
What the shit have I gotten myself into?"

The original picture was a panel in the manga. I redrew and coloured it in Photoshop. I find Ichigo really hard to draw, so it helped a lot to have such a close reference!

I can't wait until you start doing fanart for Bleach too.

*~Pips~*

Did you want it dubbed or subbed? *in progress*

Dubbed
1. A Shinigami is Born! 2. 3.
2. Pay or Play 2. 3.
3. Sibling Rivalry 2. 3.
4. And Your Bird Can Speak 2. 3.
5. Beat The Invisible Enemy! 2. 3.
6. Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo 2. 3.
7. Greetings from a Stuffed Toy 2. 3.
8. June 17, a Memory of Rain 2. 3.
9. Unbeatable Enemy 2. 3.
10. Assault on Trip at Sacred Ground! 2. 3.
11. The Legendary Quincy 2. 3.
12. A Gentle Right Arm 2. 3.
13. Flower and Hollow 2. 3.
14. Back to Back, A Fight To The Death! 2. 3.
15. Kon's Great Plan 2. 3.
16. Encounter: Abarai Renji! 2. 3.
17. Ichigo Dies! 2. 3.
18. Reclaim! The Power of the Shinigami 2. 3.
19. Ichigo Becomes A Hollow 2. 3.
20. Ichimaru the Silver Shadow 2. 3.
21. Enter! The World of the Shinigami 2. 3.
22. The Man Who Hates Shinigami 2. 3.
23. The Sentence of Rukia, Before the Fourteenth Day 2. 3.

Subbed
1. The Day I Became A Shinigami
2. A Shinigami's Work
3. The Older Brother's Wish, The Younger Sister's Wish
4. Cursed Parakeet
5. Beat The Invisible Enemy!
6. Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo
7. Greetings from a Stuffed Toy
8. June 17, a Memory of Rain
9. Unbeatable Enemy
10. Assault on Trip at Sacred Ground!
11. The Legendary Quincy
12. A Gentle Right Arm
13. Flower and Hollow
14. Back to Back, A Fight To The Death!
15. Kon's Great Plan
16. Encounter: Abarai Renji!
17. Ichigo Dies!
18. Reclaim! The Power of the Shinigami
19. Ichigo Becomes A Hollow
20. Ichimaru the Silver Shadow
21. Enter! The World of the Shinigami
22. The Man Who Hates Shinigami
23. The Sentence of Rukia, Before the Fourteenth Day

Look, look Pips! I thought of a good caption too!

OK, I'm going to start watching all of those. I would say one a night, but I know if I get caught up in the story, I'll watch it practically non-stop! LOL! It's happened before.

Thank you for all your hard work collecting the episodes for me to watch. You're such a doll!

~Sid

No, I'm a filthy crack dealer!

*~Pips~*

Probably!

I just watched episode 2 and I liked it a lot more than the first one. The whole thing about that girl's (I will eventuallly learn names, I swear!) brother was really sad and tragic. Oh and the exposition this time didn't sound nearly so forced. The show is really funny at points too. I laughed at Ichigo saying that Rukia's drawing sucked in the first episode and him seeing that she was staying in his closet in this episode. Does that red-haired girl's friend have a crush on her? I kind of got that impression, but I could be wrong. Anyway that was a great episode.

I really like the music as well in Bleach...what I could hear of it anyway! LOL! My kiddies were awfully loud!

~Sid

Yep. Double Dutch to me.

Rukia's drawing skills= THE joke of Bleach. Well, that and her love of rabbits. And, briefly, people saying "BOHAHAHAHA". :lmao:
Anyway, wait until you see how her brother's drawings look. o_0
The humour lets up for action and drama sometimes, but there's always something amusing happening in Bleach. Episode 117 came out last week, and I've not laughed so hard in ages.
Tatsuki, the girl with black hair (I adore her) doesn't seem to fancy Orihime, unless it's subconscious. I've often speculated the same thing. She seems desperate to protect her from lesbian molestation, and in a sense that could go either way. Orihime's feelings are possibly the only current definite love interest in Bleach. With so many characters different interpretations are left open. I wasn't joking when I said I think the taichou of third division is abusing his fukutaichou. I think that's implied hard enough to be neo-canon, but GinRan shippers seem to refuse to see it.

I think the setup of the first episode made exposition a little frantic. If you had to learn everything to fight at that second you'd probably be a little overwhelmed too. If they did it any other way there wouldn't have been any fighting in the first episode. It didn't really bother me, but at that point I'd already read the first book, where I suspect things happen more slowly.

Bleach music: It's better in the manga! No, really. In the manga characters are assigned a theme tune. Some of them are absolutely fantastic. Rukia's is beautiful. "Wing-Stock," by Ashley MacIsaac. Ichigo is "News from the Front" by Bad Religion. The background music of the anime is good, but unintentionally amusing at times. Aha, English speakers watching the sub definitely get the best of both worlds. For a start, if you watch the sub you can tell when somebody's talking in English. And sometimes the English isn't so appropriate.

Like Ichigo's hardcore macho battle music...
"If you wanna see some action
Gotta be the centre of attraction
Make sure that they've got their eyes on you
Like the face that you see in every magazine

Be the focus of attention
Be the name that everyone must mention
Come out from the shadows, it's your time
'Cos tonight is the night for everyone to see

It's natural
You know that this is what you gotta be
It must be your destiny
Sensational
And you believe that this is what you've waited for
And it's you that they all adore

And baby, now you feel like number one
Shining bright for everyone
Living out your fantasy, the
Brightest star for all to see
Now you feel like number one
Shining bright for everyone
Living out your fantasy, you're the
Brightest star that's ever been

Feel the heat that's all around you
Flashing lights and ecstasy surround you
Everyone wants a piece of you
You're the queen of the scene, living in a dream."

*~Pips~*

Isn't a manga a comic? And if so how can it have music?

Quote:

Tatsuki, the girl with black hair (I adore her)

Ooooo! I do too! I'm going to watch more tonight. In fact after the kids go to bed, I bet I can watch every episode that you just posted...and if not I am going to try.

~Sid

That's what I mean! It's silly that the author's music choice can influence your view of the characters so much, but his choices are so good. He just names the song, artist and album whenever he adds a character profile to the manga. Some of them are very telling.

Seeing as you've been watching the dub, here's the translation for the theme tunes for episodes 1-13.

Opening theme: *~Asterisk~ by Orange Range
Rays of light from the stars in the night sky above
send a plea from across the ages
with colours that haven't faded.
It's somebody's cry, reflected in those sparkling eyes
A wish carried on the wind, a request from the moon
to live as fully as possible, day by day.
So that our wishes too, will be in someone's heart someday
Let's shine on like that star

One, two, and so the bells echo, spreading far and wide in the depths of my heart
A legendary stardrop; inside there are so many narrow paths etched out
With time the ages pass; a shooting star passes without a sound
Close your eyes and listen hard, and maybe you'll hear a "goodbye".

A black and white photo of the entire sky, a rumbling muffler - white breath
Just wanna get a little closer, I'll race to the high ground up there
Taking out my huge telescope, out of the lens came stardust
Time after time, an epic from across the ages

Now that the light is released
surely it can't fail, across time it's got to reach someone
The light of glory is right across the way
It's the story I'm about to weave with you all.

With my birth cry, a small light and a great light met across space and time
Their shine became one, to begin a new story
Like a constellation that connects the dots,
why shouldn't we create a lovely painting for someone?
Take a look above you; see, it's a winter diamond
This slow-moving galaxy, soon enough, will give you your courage back

This sky is the only one there is; it spreads over all. And beyond the sea,
right now, new life takes breath, and life is cut off, while stars shine on, like goddesses
continuing a long journey, or starting anew; in spring, summer, fall and winter
even a second is enough, just a moment is enough, to engrave my thoughts, to shine without end across the ages

The story goes on in the heart
the "you" of that day takes a night train

Rays of light from the stars in the night sky above
send a plea from across the ages
with colours that haven't faded
It's somebody's cry, reflected in those sparkling eyes
A wish carried on the wind, a request from the moon
to live as fully as possible, day by day
Rays of light from the stars in the night sky above
send a plea from across the ages
with colours that haven't faded
So that our wishes, too, will be in someone's heart someday,
let's shine on like that star

Let's shine on like that star.

Ending theme: Life is Like a Boat by Rie Fu.
Nobody knows who I really am
I never felt this empty before
And if I ever need someone to come along
Who's gonna comfort me and keep me strong?

We are all rowing the boat of fate
The waves keep on comin' and we can't escape
But if we ever get lost on our way
The waves would guide you through another day

Heaving a sigh faraway, seeming to have grown transparent
Although I could think in the darkness, I've only been blindfolded

Give me your prayers and wait for a new day
until that end where the vividly shining sea is

Nobody knows who I really am
Maybe they just don't give a damn
But if I ever need someone to come along
I know you would follow me, and keep me strong

People's hearts are moving, they come to wish to be free
In a new epoque, the moon is again accompanying the boat

And every time I see your face,
The oceans heave up to my heart
You make me wanna strain at the oars,
And soon I can see the shore

Oh, I can see the shore
When will I.... can see the shore?

I want you to know who I really am
I never thought I'd feel this way towards you
And if you ever need someone to come along
I will follow you, and keep you strong

The journey is still continuing even on calm days
The moon still illuminates the boat in a new epoque

Give me your prayers and wait for a new day
until that end where the vividly shining sea is

And every time I see your face,
The oceans heave up to my heart
You make me wanna strain at the oars,
And soon I can see the shore

Row the boat of of fate
Although waves flow from and to the future
and threaten to overwhelm us
that's also a wonderful journey
Every journey's a wonderful journey

This is totally the wrong part of the anime for that song though. Once you know a bit of Rukia's backstory it's perfect.

*~Pips~*