Search - Bleach Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion on DVD

The boy with the icy soul

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 05/31/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of all the characters in the popular manga/anime "Bleach," Toshiro Hitsugaya is amongst the most popular.

And he even got his own movie: "Bleach Movie 2: The Diamond Dust Rebellion," a beautifully animated anime that takes the ice-slinging child genius into an encounter with his own past (along with Ichigo and the others, of course). It has some basic canon flaws (since when can Ichigo fly?) but the storyline and animation are truly lovely.

While the Ouin is being transported, the procession is attacked and robbed -- and Hitsugaya unexpectedly takes off. Being an old fart who loves to blame people, Yamamoto puts the entire division under house arrest.

Meanwhile, Ichigo shelters an exhausted, badly-injured Hitsugaya -- only to have the boy-captain run away after one night, after muttering something about "Kusaka." His friends start sniffing around for evidence of this Kusaka, while the wounded Hitsugaya is tottering around Karakura -- and an execution order has been put on his head.

Then Captain Kyoraku is nearly killed by Hyorinmaru, at the same time that Hitsugaya was fighting Kira and Hisagi. During a battle with the mysterious Kusaka, Ichigo realizes who he is and why the Soul Society tried to kill him -- and how much power the Ouin his given him. Now Hitsugaya is determined to stop Kusaka, but Ichigo is determined that he won't be the only one to fight...

Perhaps the biggest problem with "The Diamond Dust Rebellion" is that it plays fast-and-loose with some of "Bleach's" canon, such as the idea that two people can have the same zanpakuto's spirit.

But if that can be overlooked, then "The Diamond Dust Rebellion" is a pretty brilliant piece of work -- more focused and intense than the first "Bleach" movie, and beautifully animated. The animation is precise, detailed and smooth, and everything is bathed in pale frosty light and wintry clouds, augmented by explosions of ice and blasts of mist and snow.

And it has plenty of amazing action sequences (a moonlit fight at a shrine) and some lovely visuals (the ornate cloud-borne procession in the first scene), right up to a spectacular climactic fight between Kusaka and all the most powerful Soul Reapers. Fortunately to keep things from becoming too grim, the writers also included a bit of comic relief -- namely Renji's method of "resuscitating" an unconscious Ichigo. Let's just say it doesn't involve mouth to mouth.

Obviously Hitsugaya gets the most development in this movie -- he's always been an icy loner, but here we get a glimpse of his past losses and a lone friendship. And once more, he tries to take on all the responsibility so others will be spared. Thankfully, the flashbacks are oblique enough that at first we don't realize what he's doing, or why.

Ichigo comes in a close second, since he's had that lone-wolf/tough guy act in the past, and it seems pretty natural that he'd want to help out someone who has the same emotional problems. But a lot of other characters get little spurts of attention -- the kindly Ukitake, shrewd Kyoraku, his uptight lieutenant Nanao (who loses her cool after he's injured), rough-edged Renji, and many others.

Even the villain is well done, since you can see how he ended up so bitter and vengeful -- although his little sidekicks are basically cannon fodder.

"Bleach Movie 2: The Diamond Dust Rebellion" is a far smoother ride than the previous "Bleach" movie, with brilliant animation and a stunning ride into Hitsugaya's clouded past."

Bleach: DiamondDust Rebellion Review

Gigan300 | TN | 10/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This film is without a doubt one of the greatest anime films I've seen. What he first film did wrong, this film does right. What was done right in the first film, it was done right again in this one, but even better. I really liked the action in this film A LOT. Seriously, this film has just some great action in it. The scene where Kusaka(the villain) transforms into a dragon, and then Kenpachi just charges at him was FREAKIN AWESOME. You even get an epic battle that involves the whole 13 Court Guard Squad, and yes even Head Captain Yamamotto fights. The drama with Hitsugaya wanting to take on the his burden alone was done greatly. Kusaka, the villain, was great, and you could really pity the character. Kusaka also comes off as cold when he kills his subordinates, the arrancar chicks. The score in this film was great, it even seemed dark in a couple of scenes. The story serves more like a mystery, which was nice. The main thing I liked was that you got more interaction with the other characters, unlike the first film. Chad and Ishida actually fight in this film(albeit briefly). My favorite scene(s) would have to be when Kenpachi charges at Kusaka, and when Soi-fon and Yoruichi fight. Also, you get to see Ichigo don his Hollow mask, but that only lasts for one moment. Hitsugaya in my opinion is one the most overrated characters in the Bleach universe, but he was just awesome in this film.

The only thing I didn't like was the whole "I'm gonna take vengeance on Soul Society" storyline, which I feel has been over-used.

You can read the review I made about the special features on the disc here:

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Great edition

Alasse Sedai | 09/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I gave this movie a four not because its a bad movie per say but because it just seemed rather abrupt toward the end. The product description tells a good description of the story so i'll say nothing about that other then it was a pretty interesting concept.

Toward the end of the movie however, the last battle was rather abrupt and seemed like it was just sort of thrown together last minute. For an example you saw Kenny knock down a tower and then you didn't see him again at all....where did he go?

I loved the music and if I could find the soundtrack here in America I would buy it in a heartbeat. Although the Jaws music while the Captain of squad 8 was taking a walk was a bit much. However, what do you expect with Bleach corny sometimes but always a good time.

Voice acting wise, I watched this in Japanese and I don't like the voice actors for the Japanese dub. The woman doing Toshiro's voice is clearly a woman and has a voice that is way to young sounding. Toshiro I believe should sound older because of how long he's lived, its many many human lifetimes in Soul Society. So for Bleach I prefer the English voices and they did a great job as always. So all and all good movie but seems a bit on the abrupt side."

One Of The BEST Anime Movies I've Ever Seen!!!!

Rockstar Romeraux | Baker,Louisiana | 10/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first Bleach Movie to me i'll admit wasn't a good feature film start for Bleach. But they cleaned it up really good with the sequal, Diamond Dust Rebellion. The movie is pretty good plot wise. Someone from Hitsugaia's past is back, and want's to settle a score, that could put both the world of the living and the soul society in peril. Sounds good right? right. Now to the action....SUPURB!!! The animation is very good for this movie, and I love how EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE'S favorate characters have a crucial role in this film. Everyone from Kenpachi to Renji, to the old bald guy, to even the young bald dude, all see some action in this one. Plus, for the first time in a Bleach feature, Ichigo uses his hollow mask. AWSOME!! Overall I give Bleach Diamond Dust Rebellion a 5/5, even if your not a fan of the sereis, you can't go wrong with this movie."