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Reviews
Bleach: Burîchi: Shinigami ni natchatta hi (2004)
A Surprisingly Intriguing Opening (a review by an anime novice)
I rarely do reviews for anything and I've always been the proudly belligerent type who shuns anime as a whole - Honestly, all I could ever bear to watch (since the pokemon days of yore in my middle school years) was Avatar, which as any true anime fan will tell you, isn't really anime at all.
So, as a relative anime virgin, I heard some of my more open-minded art major friends discussing the plot of Bleach, which, aside from having an instantly intriguing title, apparently had a cool plot as well. I put down my preconceptions and gave it a go.
In this episode we meet Ichigo, a slightly smug pile of attitude who gets a rude awakening when he discovers that there's more to the spirit world he saw as exclusively his own when he meets a Reaper named Rukia.
To give more detail on such a short episode would be spoilerific, so I'll stop. Here's what I'm getting at: Speaking to non-anime fans, like myself: this pilot episode may force you to concede that anime IS a valid art form, if occasionally sketchy. Some of the humor in this pilot is slightly off in timing and some of the lines are a bit negotiable, but overall it's an entertaining opener that makes me want to see what happens next, for better or for worse. Coming from someone who had little patience for this animation style, that's no mean feat. Give it a try. You may be surprised.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Restless (2000)
Fantastically Unorthodox - Entirely Whedonesque
Here...there be no spoilers. The review posted here earlier did this phenomenal, hilarious and insightful finale no justice, so let's set the record straight.
Joss Whedon is well-known for doing things his own way - and in this episode of Buffy he does so, showing off his quirky goodness by allowing us a finale that is not action-packed, as is custom, but rather thoughtful and amusing - a wonderful wind-down from all that's come before. "Restless" is like the antidote to the anxiety that built up in the season preceding it. However, despite the fact that the entire episode takes place within the dreams of the main characters and has little to do with events in the world, in this episode we get to know our beloved Scooby Gang better than we have. Xander's worries and Willow's insecurities...all that noise.
In seeing the dreams of the Scooby Gang we see them anew. Also, we meet The Cheese Man, a cult favorite (you know you want some) Seriously? No complaints. Watch and enjoy. The mere existence of an episode such as this is evidence of what's so wonderful about Whedon and his Buffyverse.