4 stars for the ever impressive Bleach
Bleach Series 12 Part 03 concludes the Zanpakutō: The Alternate Tale story-line and follows directly from the events of the previous release, so I would strongly recommend watching parts 01 and 02 before reading this, so as not to spoil the story.
The DVD contains episodes 254 to 265 and offers both dubbed and Japanese with English subtitles.
We find Ichigo and friends where we left them, Muramasa’s hold over the Zanpakutō is broken and they return to fight at their masters sides in the final battle with Muramasa’s hollow form.
As Ichigo goes inside the giant dome to fight Muramasa in Kōga’s inner world, the Shinigami and their Zanpakutō struggle to both close the Garganta to prevent the arrival of hundreds more Gillians and kill the ones who are already here.
This sees the end of the Zanpakutō Rebellion event, but as a consequence starts the Tōjū Campaign. Many lower level soul reapers were killed during the rebellion, leaving the 13 Court Guard Squads with a new problem, the Tōjū, otherwise known as Sword Beasts – Zanpakutō without masters. These unfortunate creatures are destined to lose control and turn wild, for a Zanpakutō cannot survive indefinitely without its master.
It is up to the guards of the Seireite to kill the Sword Beasts before they can do further damage. However they are facing their own problems, as they try to adjust to life together with their manifested Zanpakutō. We begin to see all the individual personalities come out, as they learn to live independently and form relationships with one another.
With a thrilling climax, this is a great ending to the Zanpakutō: The Alternate Tale arc. Although this is a filler series, it is very entertaining and a good story. The animation is very nice and there is plenty of humour, especially Ichigo’s constant complaining about his lack of air time and wanting to get back to the main story-line. Never fear, back to it next time!
This is obviously a must have for all Bleach fans and well worth considering getting into if you are not already (although you will have some catching up to do!)
Bleach Series 12 part 3 is available to buy on DVD from 17th Feb 2014
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3Cb-fsOY54