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Bleach Episodes

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Episode 01: The Day I Became A Shinigami

Details

The Synopsis

The episode opens up with Kuchiki Rukia in her Death God/Soul Reaper (they are referred to either name, and for these reviews will be referred to as Soul Reapers) entering the city. She senses that there are Hollows present, and an almost overwhelming alien power that threatens to cloud the signal of those Hollows.
Kurosaki Ichigo is beating up some street kids who had been skateboarding down the street, carelessly knocking over a small bottle of flowers. Ichigo informs them that it had been an offering to a little girl who had died there, and that if they continue their behavior, the next batch of flowers will be meant for their graves. The skateboarders high tail and run, and Ichigo rights the upset flowers and says his farewells to the ghost-girl there.
Ichigo, 15 years old and a high school student, has been seeing ghosts ever since he can remember. As he returns home, he opens the door to the dining room for dinner when he is assaulted by an irate father, scolding him for disregarding the scheduled dinner time at 7:00 PM sharp. Ichigo yells back that this isn't the way he should treat his son after Ichigo had just gone out of his way to save a ghost. The two have a brief tussle, all the while under the silent gazes of Ichigo's younger sisters. Ichigo finally gets up and says forget it, and returns to his room. Karin, one of the younger sisters, tells their father that it's all their father's fault. Ichigo had been seeing more and more ghosts lately, and they have been causing him problems. There is also an old poltergeist that has been roaming around the Kursaki household for the past few days. No matter how many times Ichigo has exorcized the annoying ghost, it has kept coming back.
The next day, the streets are filled with frightened screams as some invisible creature digs claw marks into the walls and its footsteps crush buildings. It chases after the girl-ghost Ichigo had saved the other day. Ichigo is walking along the same street when he notices the commotion, and is startled to see his girl-ghost running for her "afterlife." He runs with her, asking her what that creature he sees behind her is and what it wants with her. She replies that she doesn't know. At that point, Rukia shows up and destroys the Hollow with one slash of her sword aimed directly at its masked head. Ichigo is thoroughly confused and surprised. Rukia ignores him as she disappears after her work is done. That night, Ichigo is lying on his bed when he notices the black butterfly he had seen earlier that day just before Rukia's appearance. As expected, Rukia appears right after he sees it fly over his window. Ichigo immediately asks her what she is doing there and what she wants. Rukia completely ignores his onslaught of questions, and silently mutters that she senses "it" there. She makes her way easily into Ichigo's bedroom, and is suddenly kicked from behind by Ichigo's foot, followed by Ichigo's frantic scolding for ignoring him. Rukia is very surprised that a human can see her, and even touch her. Ichigo is confused, and Rukia explains to him that she is a Soul Reaper. Ichigo refuses to believe such things exist, and Rukia exclaims that he believes in Hollows, yet he won't believe in Soul Reapers. Ichigo tells her that he has never seen a Soul Reaper before, and Rukia retorts that he is looking at one right now.
She binds him with a Kidoh, a high level spell which only a Soul Reaper can perform. Rukia, in frustration, begins to draw him diagrams to explain so that "even an idiot" could understand. She tells him that Soul Reapers are the ones who destroy all the Hollows, which try to eat good souls. Soul Reapers also save lost souls and send them to Soul Society, where all good souls go to after death. Ichigo suddenly hears the cry of a Hollow, and asks Rukia why she isn't going after it. Rukia tells him that she hasn't been able to sense its presence for sometime - as if some other force is addling her senses. Suddenly she, too, hears the cry of the Hollow, and is surprised she hadn't sensed it earlier. Yuzu appears crawling up the stairs in pain, telling her brother Ichigo that Karin is in trouble. She faints and Ichigo rushes after Rukia, who has made her way down the stairs. She tells him to stay out of the way, but Ichigo sees Karin in the hands of the Hollow and fights the Kidoh that Rukia had bound him with. Rukia warns him that fighting the Kidoh will harm his soul, but Ichigo manages to break the seal, much to her surprise. He runs towards the Hollow with a chair in his hands, but is easily dodged by the creature. Rukia, running after him, strikes one of the Hollow's limbs, forcing it to release Karin into Ichigo's arms.
Rukia suddenly understands. She tells Ichigo that for some reason his powers had been concealed his whole life, and for that reason she and the Hollows had been unable to sense him. But when he had touched his female-ghost friend earlier that day, his powers had been released, and lured the Hollow over and obstructed a Soul Reaper's senses. Ichigo, realizing that he was the cause of his family's danger, rushes over to the Hollow and tells it to fight him like a man. The Hollow howls loudly and charges forward, only to find its jaws clamed not on Ichigo but on Rukia's shoulder. Rukia scolds Ichigo for his idiotic thoughts, and that at this rate they will only end up as food for the Hollows. She manages to cut the Hollow's face slightly before crawling over to the side of the street, sporting a bad wound on her upper body. She tells Ichigo that if he wants to save his family, he will have to become a Soul Reaper himself, and tells him to strike her sword, the Soul Striker, into his chest. They formally introduce each other to the other, he as Kurosaki Ichigo, and she as Kuchiki Rukia, before they push the sword into Ichigo's chest. A blinding light engulfs the pair and suddenly Ichigo reappears in the black robes of the Soul Reaper, with a huge sword in his hands. He strikes at the attacking Hollow blindingly fast, directing its attention away from Rukia. Rukia is surprised - she intended only to give him half of her power, but he had taken it all. Her once-black robes are now white, and she watches Ichigo as he attacks and destroys the Hollow as he strikes its mask.

The Review

The art is very nicely done - not the typical coloring you see in most anime. In this one, they actually took the time to include proper shading rather than placing dead colors together to create the traditional cartoon effect. I loved the mix of humor and serious moments - most emphasized in this episode when Rukia entered Ichigo's room. Her bad drawing skills were an excellent match to her calm and forbidding demeanor.

Screenshots