It’s rare that a Shonen Action movie based on a popular
manga title actually decides to break some norms. In this case, Bleach 2 decides to take much
of the focus away from it’s main character and give someone else a chance to
shine. This sad tale for one of Bleach’s
most popular characters, Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, is a much better attempt at
an event level film than Memories of Nobody, even if the last third just
decides to say screw it and go back to those norms once again, kind of a
stumbling block really.
One of Bleach’s double edged Zanpakuto…er swords, is its
ginormous cast. After introducing
Ichigo, Rukia and a few other characters in its first season, the second season
and beyond exploded with an abundance of new characters courtesy of its
expansion into the Soul Society. True,
Renji, Byakuya, Kenpachi and Soi Fon, to name a few, had their followers. But Toshiro’s popularity, at the time, was
beyond theirs and The Diamond Dust Rebellion’s story celebrates that popularity
and giving the character more depth than he ever really needed. Ichigo and the others may be around but this
is definitely Toshiro’s movie. On his
own, wounded and hunted by everyone he called an ally, the Soul Reaper Captain
still shines through his stubborn conviction and one very tragic incident from
his past. His rival/former friend Kusaka
has plenty of reason to be angry but he seems more interesting in the past than
in the present, where he’s your stereotypical “Destroy the World” villain of
the week. Thankfully, Toshiro provides
enough dramatic weight for both characters.
Even without saying much, Toshiro conveys emotions he’d rarely show in
the TV Series and its worth a head nod to the animation department for being
able to do all of this with a few glances and the simple look in Toshiro’s
eyes.
Of course, Bleach is naturally Ichigo’s starring vehicle
but he doesn’t really overshadow Toshiro’s presence. The movie seems quite content with him being
the passenger this time around and even manages to tie the stories of the two
characters together in nice ways. Ichigo
can relate and sympathize with pretty much everyone he comes into contact
with. It feels more personal with
Toshiro because of all they’ve been through together. Heck it feels more personal for just about
everyone who has a main part in the film.
Rangiku, Toshiro’s Lieutenant, especially feels the absence of her
commander and friend and you know there are plenty of other Soul Reapers who
want to help. Probably the only
character who annoys me in this regard is Head Captain Yamamoto, who, much like
every other time in the series, seems willing to jump right to the death
penalty without hearing all the facts or assessing the situation beyond “he
sneezed therefore he must die”. Even in
the flashbacks you can see how the totally messed up laws of the Soul Society
lead to the tragedy of Toshiro and Kusaka.
I’d sympathize more with Kusaka if he were a better executed character
but, again, Toshiro’s drama carries the weight to highlight just how stupid the
Soul Society’s main powers can be sometimes (more like all the time but that’s
a discussion for another time).
The much better story and pacing help The Diamond Dust
Rebellion soar above Memories of Nobody in no time at all. That plus the better animation and the
emphasis on a beloved characters plight make the first two thirds of this movie
a good watch. That’s not to say the last
act is bad…it just falls back into the “hey let’s get everyone involved in the
final battle again, even if it’s just a quick second cameo for some.” Had it just been Toshiro, Ichigo, Rukia,
Renji and Rangiku going after Kusaka it would have been alright because they
were all involved in the films plot plenty.
Adding in extra characters to pad out the runtime and deliver more
action just feels like a misstep when the movie had been more of a personal
battle revolving around one character.
Another big misstep The Diamond Dust Rebellion encounters is making
several references to ongoing arcs from the TV Show. Mentions of Arrancar, Momo Hinamori and Gin
Ichimaru will definitely make ones head scratch if they don’t know who or what
those characters are. Granted some of
the Dragon Ball Z movies did reference events from the show but did them in
smart ways, even integrating them into the main plot (i.e. Cooler’s flashback
of Frieza blowing up Planet Vegeta at the beginning of the film). Here it just feels like theyre really trying
to fit The Diamond Dust Rebellion into official cannon. An approach like that works for something
like say Inuyasha 3, which focused on an important part of Inuyasha and
Sheshomaru’s history, as Inuyasha’s story is so big and sprawling and with
decent gaps between arcs where that could fit.
Bleach’s main story is pretty tight in continuity, so The Diamond Dust
Rebellion has a harder time trying to pull this off.
Despite a flawed final act, Bleach: The Diamond Dust
Rebellion is a much better entry in the film series. Giving the spotlight to someone other than
Ichigo was a welcome change. The
animation, while not perfect, was a great improvement over Memories of Nobody. The action was great and there was a weight
to the story that made it feel important.
Had the finale been trimmed of its fat and Kusaka made a bit more
sympathetic in the present, I might say this movie was a home run. Still, it isn’t bad at all and is a film I
would definitely recommend to fans of the series…especially fans of the white
haired tiny bad ass that is Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya.
8/10
Two down, two to go.
Let’s hope that the other films are just as good here. Now…who’s ready to watch Ichigo fight the
whole Soul Society again? Oh…I said
again? Uh oh. See ya next week for my review of Bleach: The Movie 3-Fade to Black.
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