It's a rollercoaster (or perhaps Ferris Wheel?) of hijinx and drama in this explosive Bleach Double Feature pack. Follow Ichigo and his ragtag crew of humans, Soul Reapers and others as they defend the living and the dead from the various wackos out to crush the worlds. With Memories of Nobody and The DiamondDust Rebellion, you'll have tons of epic action.

Memories of Nobody

It's just an average day when the movie opens. Well, an average day for Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper. Soul Society’s throwing a fit because a mysterious pocket dimension is forming within the Dangai (the limbo between Soul Society and Earth). Ichigo? He's just out to finish up a Hollow Hunt with Rukia. Then he stumbles across a flock of strange, fluffy (and oddly adorable) spirits running around the city. Naturally, they're hostile. Plus their mere presence in this realm is a sign that an even greater threat's a-brewing.

...Like I said, average day for Ichigo.

He and Rukia find themselves surrounded, but a mysterious, spunky soul reaper named Senna comes to their aid. Yet, while she makes short work of these wooly spirits (called Blanks), she also dodges all of Ichigo and Rukia's questions. Senna cheerfully explains that, apparently, she can't even recall which Soul Reaper squad is her own or what the Blanks even are.

Rukia departs to gather more intel and leaves Ichigo to try to get at least some explanation from Senna. Ichigo isn't exactly thrilled with his new role as escort, however; especially since Senna would rather enjoy festivals and Ferris Wheel rides than look for (or give) answers. Naturally, Ichigo isn't one to waste time having fun when there's danger afoot. 

The Soul Society, meanwhile, has realized that this other dimension is pulling both the worlds of the living and the dead onto a collision course. Urahara figures that it must be the Valley of Screams, a lens-like plane of existence formed by the Blanks. Blanks, he explains, are Souls that failed to reach Soul Society and have lost their memories while awaiting rebirth. Valleys of Screams are perfectly natural, but someone is deliberately growing one big enough to throw all the other worlds out of balance. This someone is a band of rogue Soul Reapers calling themselves the Dark Ones, and they're out to destroy the The Soul Society in revenge for their banishment. To make things even worse, Senna is the key to their plans. The race is on to save Senna and stop the collapse of all the worlds!

And by race, we mean a bunch of fights! Lot and lots and lots of fights! With 'splosions!

The DiamondDust Rebellion

The DiamondDust Rebellion deals primarily with Captain Hitsugaya. The Soul King, we learn, has decreed one of his most sacred treasures be moved to a more secure keeping place. The artifact (called the Oin) contains power so vast that its very appearance and abilities are strictly classified. Since this is exactly the kind of thing most villains drool over, Head Captain Yamamoto dispatches all the Soul Reapers of The Soul Society to stand guard and ensure that no villain gets anywhere near it.

Yamamoto (of course) had every reason to be afraid, for the caravan is beset by Yin and Yan, a duo of fire and electricity-wielding Arrancar girls. Captain Hitsugaya quickly steps into the fray, but reacts in horror upon meeting a third assailant, and this one possesses the power of ice. The same power, in fact, as Hitsugaya himself! The trio of villains departs, but Hitsugaya breaks command and follows in hot pursuit, an act which the rest of The Soul Society views as abandonment of his post and the rest of the Squad 10 and, even worse, evidence that he was in on the plan to steal the Oin all along. Given the massive stakes, Yamamoto demands Hitsugaya's arrest on charges of insubordination and suspicion of treason.

Ichigo, however, discovers Hitsugaya hiding near his house. Hitsugaya refuses to explain his actions, evading and even attacking Ichigo when he demands an explanation (and/or that he at least rests long enough to recover from his gaping sword wound. Seriously, he might want to get that looked at.)

But even as Ichigo and Hitsugaya's other friends scramble to clear his name, Hitsugaya has his own demons to face. Namely that the ice-wielding villain, Kusaka, is actually his old friend from yesteryear. The Soul Society is all about balance, and anything that threatens said balance must be eliminated. As such, when both Hitsugaya and Kusaka gained the ice dragon Zanpakuto named Hyorinmaru, the Central 46 Council mandates that “THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!” and orders both to fight to the death. Hitsugaya's victory meant not only ending Kusaka's life (apparently), but also erasing all evidence of Kusaka's having ever existed. In the present, however, Kusaka has survived, wants revenge, now has the power of a sacred artifact AND the Soul Society is all-too-eager looking the other way. Fun times.

Gotta say, these made for a fun watch! Both movies are deliciously action-y with plenty of 'splosions and some fantastic animation. Plus, it's just nice to have a Bleach story stay bite-sized, and not have to wait as the arc spreads out across multiple seasons.

Also—strange observation—both movies featured an evil tree forming near the climax of the plot. I'm guessing that Tite Kubo fell out of one of those as a kid or something? I’m not complaining though—like everything else in these flicks, they look fantastic!

Preferences-wise, I gotta go with The DiamondDust Rebellion as my personal favorite. I enjoyed catching a glimpse of Hitsugaya's back story, and overall it just feels a lot more personal. (Plus there are a lot more plot twists, and you really can't have enough of those!) Yin and Yan, Kusaka's henchwomen, were also quite fun—heck, they even got "Final Boss" transformations all their own! In contrast, the Dark Ones from Memories of Nobody could've definitely gotten more focus. Really wish we found out more about those guys!

Whether you're a fan of Bleach or just like watching cool heroes fighting battles against omnicidal villains with crazy hair, this set of movies will not fail to entertain. As ever, Bleach is action anime at its slickest!

English & Japanese 2.0 Audio / English Subtitles
Special Features: Omake, Production Art
Bleach Double Feature is available here!

© Tite Kubo/Shueisha, TV TOKYO, dentsu, Pierrot  © BMP 2007

by Chris Turner