Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy

One word: Rushed. Seriously, this moved along waay to fast. I felt like it was over before it had properly started. If I look away from that, this was... well, interesting. I kinda liked the main evil guy, but they didn't give us enough info on him. They also explained things rather poorly, leaving me to guess (alternately read on the Net) what really happened. I was also mildly surprised, at least, to see Renji with a real gun. I was like "it's Bleach, not some kind of Western action movie!" And how could he fire his gun on a shinigami anyway? Oh, well. I really liked the end, where we got to see almost all of the shinigami captains in real-world outfits. That was pretty cool, and a good plus. Thne theme they used at the end wasn't that, though.

As a whole, Bleach is an excellent anime, with excellent characters, good music, a moving plot, and thus you have a constant desire to find out what happens in the next episode. Everything, from the plot to the characters to the battles gets developed within an arc, which is about 25-30 episodes, give or take. That's where the biggest inherent problem lies with The Sealed Sword Frenzy. What has to be done in this 25-minute OVA is start and develop a plot, introduce and develop a new villain, and have Ichigo fight and defeat said villain, something that usually takes an entire arc in the series. As a result, the plot has to move quickly in order to get everything accomplished in 25 minutes, and as a result, plot and character development are extremely weak. It also doesn't help that the main villain gets next to no dialogue, but at least his motives are explained. One can feel that the OVA was made on a strict budget, since the animation quality is at least 2 steps behind the anime series, and the battles extremely watered down, especially the result of Ichigo's first encounter with the villain. The only place where I felt the animators spent time with the art was in executing the villain's special attack in the final battle. And then the plot problem comes back. The problem of having to devote time to explain who the villain is and what his motive is, which makes the battles extremely short and disengaging. And since there is no plot development, the struggle between the two fighting sides isn't gritty and can barely be felt at all. What exactly is the purpose of this OVA? It wasn't made to be a masterpiece and just uses the Bleach name to promote itself as a reason to watch it. I wouldn't say it's a complete waste of time, but if you choose to skip it, you're not missing much.

This short OVA could've been better developed in a movie format, extending the 33 minutes to an hour, maybe; it might've been funner. The story is interesting, although it is poorly explained, and too rushed. The newly introduced character, Baishin, is kinda interesting although it's not too original. It reminded me multiple times of Zaraki, since he can barely feel the slashes other people do to him. He has some interesting, unexplained techniques, but his story remains somewhat in the shadows (the basics are explained but with very little details). The rest of the characters are developed just as they are in the series, except maybe in the comical scenes, where Renji is dressed up as a "cop", shooting bullets carelessly. Art is just as good as the series, with very nice fight scenes and detailed characters and surroundings. Most of the sounds and songs, as well, are taken directly from the series; they're fine. I must say that this short OVA made me laugh a couple of times (Zaraki's train-chasing was pretty funny), and entertained me overall. If you're already into Bleach, I'd say you should watch this OVA, specially if you're just now finishing the Soul Society arch in the series.

For more than half an hour of time at it's disposal, it proved pretty interesting and compact. That feeling was however a little disrupted by the exces Shinigami fit into this time-line, some of them not having any reason to be there in the first place (a good example being Zaraki who chases wild gooses from time to time in the anime). The "antagonist" is portraid rather good, but in practice he lacks most his qualities, "gains" out of nowhere new ones and proves too useless in the end. The atmosphere was however agreable and rather open, and the graphic very good. All in all, it deserves watching, even if just for the rather well made humouros scenes throught this "short movie".

Bleach OVA: The Sealed Sword Frenzy is just a silly 32 minute special where a guy named Baishin undoes his seal and needs to be either killed or resealed. While it can be considered an extended filler episode, it has its merits. That being the humor. Despite being portrayed as something very serious, the silliness that was missing in Bleach after the first arc can be seen such as using the lack of understanding of Renji and Rukia about the living world and how Ichigo or others react to it. A lot of characters are involved mainly just because. Unlike in the movies, there is no massive Bankai spam. In total only 3 Bankais are released but only 2 mattered for the story. The fight against Baishin is entertaining somewhat, certainly more than most Bleach movie fights. Criticism is that some characters have some plot induced stupidity by not doing the obvious. There is also a massive inconsistency in power jumps like between Ichigo's Shikai to his Bankai compared to other characters. Also the fact there is another enemy that can summon hollows for some reason especially when there is no hint justifying for such ability to exist. Also there is a scene where Rukia in her Shinigami form tries to lead human to safety which is hilarious knowing she is invisible to them. Finally Baishin's implied motivation why he does what he does makes no sense as we can't sympathise why he wants what he wants. If you like early Bleach humor, it is definitively worth a watch. Otherwise don't expect too much. The concept of what Baishin is, is also interesting and hasn't been done in Bleach before or after.

STORY: 6 I have to say, the story left a lot to be desired. It seemed to cram in a whole lot into the short period of time that was alloted for the whole episode. Also, battle scenes lasted for a very short period of time, and one of the things I like about Bleach is the action scenes. Also, the reason I picked up the OVA was because I was wondering how a few characters who hadn't met in the Anime actually knew each other, when I didn't recall them meeting. The OVA explains it, but the time line is messed up as there are certain things that get rearanged, but it IS an OVA, no? However, there is a big question of when would this have taken place in the time line... it really can't be awnsered. ART: 7 This was a disapointment. The Bleach anime has more line quality then the OVA does. The shadows are scethced in with aditional lines. There is no leaving anything to different colors in the Anime. However, here... it is pretty much base color scheme for all of the art work. On the side, there were a few perks. The special one time showing of the new character... let's just say, his design was very detailed. However, again... there was very little added shadowing that I have come to expect, at least by this time in the series. CHARACTER: 10 This is what I think the OVA is worth watching for. It gives a tiny little bit more depth to all of the characters. Characters that weren't fleshed out, become more fleshed, and some of our favorite characters are given a nice twist to them. ENJOYMENT: 9 I have to say, my favorite part of this was the humor, and the utter sillyness of this OVA. That is the other thing that it is worth watching for. It does a very good job of buidling up the humor here. OVERALL: 7 It could have been definatly better. I was actually expecting something more then this, but it was rather... how to put it... rushed.

Bleach is a weird series, it has so many fans and way too little content, especially compared to the rest of the big three. Out of the only three OVA episodes, this one had it the most with the most boring and convoluted villain of the week that gets both introduced and nerfed in the same episode, somewhat, an analogy of what every unnecessarily long filler arc in the series should have been. Looking at you “The New Captain Amagai” arc. The animation was inconsistent with what the quality of the art offered, the music is good but utilized badly, sometimes not matching the tone of the scenes they were layered on top of. However the comedy was nailed, Renji handling a shotgun at the beginning is now one of the comedic highlights of the entire series.

A short OVA that had the potential to be much better. Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy is the kind of special that presents an interesting idea, but clearly suffers from its short runtime. Looking back today, the feeling is that there was material for something much more impactful, but everything ends up being rushed and without the necessary development to truly stand out. The OVA's main focus is the villain, Baishin, an extremely powerful ancient shinigami who possesses several sealed swords scattered throughout his body. The idea itself is interesting, especially within the Bleach universe, where zanpakutous have so much narrative weight. However, the execution makes the character seem very superficial. At several points, it seems that his construction boils down to just: "he uses many swords, but when he fights seriously he uses his bare hands, so he must be absurdly strong." The problem is that this alone doesn't sustain a memorable antagonist. The character lacks depth. The OVA attempts to create a mysterious aura around him, but there isn't enough time to explore his motivations, past, or personality. Everything happens too quickly. In about 30 minutes, the anime needs to present the conflict, introduce the villain, develop the threat, and still fit in two important fights. The result: nothing has the impact it should. This is the OVA's biggest weakness. The story has a good foundation, mainly because it plays with concepts related to the Soul Society and zanpakutous, but the script handles everything in a very artificial way. Events seem to happen because they need to happen quickly, not because they were built naturally. At several points, I felt the special wanted to sound epic, but didn't have time to achieve that. The fights suffer from the same problem. They are visually cool and have that classic Bleach energy from the old era, but they lack tension and emotional weight. Everything is so rushed that the viewer can barely absorb the threat before the confrontation is over. This leaves the OVA with a constant feeling of "wasted potential." Even so, one thing I really liked was the nostalgia. Revisiting the classic Bleach aesthetic was a lot of fun. The art direction, the spiritual effects, and the battle style manage to bring back that strong identity that made the franchise so popular in the 2000s. There's a very specific charm to this older phase of the anime. The soundtrack also helps a lot with this, bringing that typical atmosphere of the series that immediately evokes the early arcs. The animation, considering the time period, is also good. It's nothing extraordinary, but it fulfills its role well and manages to deliver some interesting action scenes. The problem was never the visuals, but rather the extremely compressed script. In the end, Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy is an OVA that entertains more through nostalgia and the affection fans have for the franchise than through the quality of the story itself. It's not offensively bad, but it also fails to make an impact precisely because everything seems rushed. It's that classic case of an interesting idea that needed more time to breathe and be developed properly. If it had been movie-length or at least had a few more episodes to delve deeper into the villain and the conflict, it might have been something truly memorable within the Bleach universe. But as it is, it ends up being just a forgettable special with a few cool moments. It's difficult to recommend this OVA to anyone other than fans of the franchise wanting to consume more Bleach content or feel nostalgic for the classic series. Rating: 5/10. =================================================================================================================Versão em Português===================================== Um OVA curto que tinha potencial para ser muito melhor. Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy é o tipo de especial que apresenta uma ideia interessante, mas claramente sofre por causa do pouco tempo de duração. Revendo hoje, a sensação que fica é que existia material para algo muito mais impactante, porém tudo acaba sendo acelerado demais e sem o desenvolvimento necessário para realmente marcar. O grande foco do OVA é o vilão, Baishin, um antigo shinigami extremamente poderoso que possui várias espadas seladas espalhadas pelo seu corpo. A ideia em si é até interessante, principalmente dentro do universo de Bleach, onde as zanpakutous possuem tanto peso narrativo. Porém, a execução faz o personagem parecer muito superficial. Em vários momentos parece que a construção dele se resume apenas a: “ele usa muitas espadas, mas quando luta sério usa as mãos vazias, então ele deve ser absurdamente forte”. O problema é que isso sozinho não sustenta um antagonista memorável. Falta profundidade para o personagem. O OVA tenta criar uma aura misteriosa ao redor dele, mas não existe tempo suficiente para explorar suas motivações, passado ou personalidade. Tudo acontece rápido demais. Em cerca de 30 minutos o anime precisa apresentar o conflito, introduzir o vilão, desenvolver a ameaça e ainda encaixar duas lutas importantes. Resultado: nada tem o impacto que deveria. Essa é a maior fraqueza do OVA. A história até possui uma base boa, principalmente por brincar com conceitos ligados à Soul Society e às zanpakutous, mas o roteiro trabalha tudo de forma muito artificial. Os acontecimentos parecem acontecer porque precisam acontecer rápido, não porque foram construídos naturalmente. Em vários momentos senti que o especial queria soar épico, mas não teve tempo para conquistar isso. As lutas acabam sofrendo pelo mesmo problema. Elas são visualmente legais e possuem aquela energia clássica de Bleach da era antiga, mas faltam tensão e peso emocional. Tudo é tão corrido que o espectador mal consegue absorver a ameaça antes do confronto já acabar. Isso deixa o OVA com uma sensação constante de “potencial desperdiçado”. Mesmo assim, uma coisa que gostei bastante foi a nostalgia. Rever a estética clássica de Bleach foi muito divertido. A direção de arte, os efeitos espirituais e o estilo das batalhas conseguem trazer aquela identidade forte que fez a franquia se tornar tão popular nos anos 2000. Existe um charme muito específico nessa fase antiga do anime. A trilha sonora também ajuda bastante nisso, trazendo aquela atmosfera típica da série que imediatamente remete aos primeiros arcos. A animação, considerando a época, também é boa. Não é nada extraordinário, mas cumpre bem seu papel e consegue entregar algumas cenas de ação interessantes. O problema nunca foi o visual, e sim o roteiro extremamente comprimido. No fim, Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy é um OVA que entretém mais pela nostalgia e pelo carinho que os fãs têm pela franquia do que pela qualidade da história em si. Ele não é ofensivamente ruim, mas também não consegue deixar impacto justamente porque tudo parece apressado. É aquele clássico caso de uma ideia interessante que precisava de mais tempo para respirar e ser desenvolvida corretamente. Se tivesse duração de filme ou ao menos mais alguns episódios para aprofundar o vilão e o conflito, talvez pudesse ser algo realmente memorável dentro do universo de Bleach. Mas do jeito que ficou, acaba sendo apenas um especial esquecível com alguns momentos legais. Fica difícil recomendar esse OVA para alguém além de fãs da franquia querendo consumir mais conteúdo de Bleach ou sentir nostalgia da série clássica. Nota: 5/10.

The second OVA that Bleach dropped is not as good as the previous but at least an original story, a semi-interesting at that. The premise seemed cool but it just didn't do a good job in making me care about the villain at all. We at least got vintage nostalgic Bleach action and a return of likable characters like the captains. By the way that scene with Renji with the gun is NUTS. Aside from like Starrk, that's the first time I've seen someone use a gun. A damn shotgun at that. The action is cool and more bromance but that's particularly it. If you can count the end credits though... The fashion displays were absolute baller. It's no secret that Tite Kubo was a madman at the fashion sense and this perfectly describes it. Just a good OVA I suppose.