Subculture Anime Blog

Looking from high places, things that usually cannot be seen become clear.

Summary:

The researches in Soul Society discover a disturbance in the balance of the two worlds. Meanwhile in Karakura, Ichigo and Rukia dispatch a hollow and preform a soul burial on the small girl who was being chased by it. However, they pick up something strange afterwards, and run to find many white beings in the town. They decide that they are not hollows, but a shinigami girl appears to destroy all of them. In the commotion, Kon sees a group of green suited people in the crowd. In the aftermath, they find the girl in normal clothing, and she introduces herself as Senna. Meanwhile in the Soul Society, a large gap appears in the sky with a view of the human world. Rukia tries to get information from Senna, but she doesn’t have any of the answers she needs. Rukia leaves Senna up to Ichigo as she leaves for Soul Society, so he chases Senna as she runs away. As Ichigo loses her, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto appear in front of him. They stop by Urahara’s shop, where they explain the situation. The white beings Ichigo saw earlier are described as blanks, or vacant souls. Kon also brings up the people he saw earlier.

While they investigate the situation further, Ichigo is sent back to the city to find Senna. He finds her in a crowded meeting place, and she makes a scene by walking on the lights high above the area. Senna agrees to help out Ichigo, as she describes her reason for liking high places. Ichigo buys her a new ribbon, and she happily puts it on in the bathroom. However, on her way out, the view of the city reminds her of her father. Ichigo finds that Senna is nowhere to be found, and the once lively meeting place has become barren. Senna has made her way to a graveyard, wanting to prove something. However, the blanks appear in front of her, and one of the people in green attempt to capture her. Ichigo appears in time to save her, by cutting off the man’s arm. The Dark Ones disappear for the time being, so Ichigo brings Senna back to his house. This causes the usual pestering from his family, and he finds that she has fallen fast asleep when he looks into his room. That night, Ichigo gets an updated report from Urahara.

The next day, Ichigo takes Senna to the city again. He becomes disturbed after remembering the feeling he had the previous night, and finds that Senna has left his side. However, she has not gone far. Senna convinces Ichigo to accompany her in helping a small boy find his father. Ichigo doesn’t believe that it is possible for a soul, but they eventually come across the festival that the boy was looking for. He is reunited with his father, and they describe it as Senna’s doing even though she does not realize it. Shortly afterwards, the people around them disappear, and members of the Soul Society appear. They order Ichigo to hand over Senna, but he won’t allow it. The Dark Ones suddenly appear, breaking up the group. The shinigami and the Dark Ones engage in battle, but it ends when Senna attempts to attack the leader Ganryu. Ichigo attempts to stop him in bankai form, but he is easily cast aside from one of Ganryu’s stabs. After being healed by Orihime, Ichigo goes back out into the city to search. He finds Senna’s ribbon, and when Rukia tries to apologize, he expresses that it is not her fault. He remembers that when Senna tried to remember her memories, she was shaking. Ichigo regrets at the thought that he couldn’t save her.

Remembering Senna’s words, Ichigo has Rukia come with her to the top of a ferris wheel. From there, they discover a portal at the riverside. Ichigo jumps in on his own, swearing that he will save Senna. In that world, Senna is being held by the Dark Ones for their purposes. With the blanks flowing towards her, she will be used as the core of a gate. If the Dark Ones were too succeed, both Soul Society and the real world would be destroyed. Soul Society has its own ways to deal with the problem, and Yamamoto denies help for Ichigo when Rukia requests it. Ichigo rushes into the middle of the Dark Ones alone, but a group of shinigami gather in the real world with plans to help him. When Ichigo seems to be outnumbered, the group appears to fend off many members of the Dark Ones. Ichigo seems to have the lower hand against Ganryu, but his power increases at the thought of saving Senna. At the same moment, Soul Society unleashes their plans. Ichigo and the shinigami successfully finish off the Dark Ones, and Ichigo greets Senna in the aftermath.

Ichigo reappears to the real world with Senna, and the Soul Society cheers at the successful mission. Ichigo prepares to give Senna back the ribbon she lost, but it flies off into the distance. Everyone finds that the two worlds have not stopped shifting, despite the destruction of the core. Senna realizes that she is the cause, and she refuses to let the world be destroyed despite her fears. Even though Ichigo does not want to lose her, she does not want the world that Ichigo exists in to be destroyed. Senna asks Ichigo for a favor, and she has him take her to the graveyard she tried to visit earlier. She asks him to confirm the names on one of the graves as her eyes start going blank, and Ichigo assures her that she certainly existed in this world. Senna wishes to meet Ichigo again, as she slowly disappears from his back. Rukia explains to Ichigo that the balance would soon be returned to both worlds, and Ichigo expresses that he can still hear Senna’s words. Later while Ichigo is walking in the city, a large gust of wind passes. He catches a red ribbon, and a girl resembling Senna runs by him. With this, he looks into the distance with a smile.

ED: “Sen no Yoru wo Koete” by Aqua Timez – a pretty good song that lasts the full duration of the credits. This band also plays the current opening theme of the TV series. Don’t miss the post ending scene!

Impression:

If you were expecting me to write a detailed summary for this movie, you’re crazy. I hardly had the time to even watch it, or write this post. I guess I just want to increase my portfolio of movies and ovas blogged! Well, onto the review. I probably wasn’t looking forward to this movie as much as many of the Bleach fans out there, but I do like Bleach a little bit. I liked it a lot more when the gang was still in Karakura, and Ichigo was just discovering his powers. The soul burial concepts and hollows were really cool, but they totally went away from that! Personally, I think the going to Soul Society and the Hollow worlds or whatever is really lame. I was talking to my friend who is watching the english version recently, and it just makes me remember that Bleach used to be cool. Oops, I better start talking about the movie before I get flamed.

Luckily, this movie kind of went back to the roots of what made me like this show. The bulk of the setting was in the town, and there were lots of little jokes like Ichigo almost losing his real body. Ichigo’s interaction with Senna gave off that slight slice of life feel that I really like, which made me appreciate the movie a lot. Senna is a very interesting character, and she succeeded in making me feel the attachment to the character. I really loved the background she had, and it was really sad to see her struggle to regain her memories. Her shinigami moves were also pretty freaking cool. I loved the autumn leaves. Many of her lines were also really good, particularly the one I quoted above. The red ribbon gave off a powerful form of symbolism, and the bittersweet message at the end of the movie had me pretty moved. It probably helped that Senna’s character was played by Saito Chiwa, who I love for her roles in shows like Aria, DearS, Kamichu, and Keroro Gunsou.

Besides the nice messages given off on the side, the actual plot was pretty basic. It was basically another damsel in distress story that I’ve seen way too much in Bleach or any other shounen show. I mean, come on. The “Dark Ones” were also pretty pathetic excuses for antagonists. I was kind of hoping that we would see a bit more action from some of the major characters, but I guess what we got was pretty acceptable too. All of the captains’ final battles were really cool, and I mean really cool. The movie was just long enough to give them plenty of time to create some really badass scenes against the baddies. Ichigo’s fights were satisfying as well, but I laughed when I saw the “DBZ” style fighting at more than one point.

I have some mixed feelings about the animation and production of this movie. At some points, the animation was astonishing. At other times, it looked no different from a regular episode of anime. I didn’t know they could have inconsistent animation in movies too! Either way, I can’t say I was disappointed by any of it. I greatly enjoyed many of the scenes, particularly those in the city like the overviews of the town. The fights were also very fluid, especially when compared to those in the TV series. As far as the sound goes, I am pretty disappointed. Though they did have some nice tracks, I really wish they would get some new music. I’ve been hearing the same freaking bgm since the first episode of the show, and I’m really getting tired of that vocal theme they always play. It hurts my brain. I did enjoy the ending theme by the Aqua times though. I always have a soft spot for JPop.

In the end, Bleach: Memories of Nobody made me remember many of the good points that made me like Bleach a long time ago. I think I will probably take some time to watch it again as soon as it gets out of filler hell. I’ll just keep up with the other regular blogs to find out when that will be. Bleach is probably the one mainstream shounen show that I can actually stand. Another movie, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, is hitting Japan some time in December. I’ll probably watch that when I get my hands on it as well, and I might even blog it. Who knows, that will be awhile from now. Well, back to studying.