Bleach Movie 1 - Memories of Nobody: Good for newcomers to Bleach, but has its weak points

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on February 8, 2012 at 3:15 PM

This is a good movie, a probable must-watch for Bleach fans, and quite good for newcomers to Bleach or to anime in general as well. It’s enjoyable, and if you’ve got an afternoon off, it might be a good pastime. The fillers in the original anime’s storyline are definitely more of a waste of time.

The story of “Memories of Nobody” isn’t the most original (meaning, it’s pretty predictable) but has its charm, although compared to the anime it seems to come out of nowhere. You’ll probably get used to it over the course, but since the story’s detached from Bleach’s main plotline, the beginning is rather confusing.

The end is a tad rushed, but once you know the whole back story, it easily makes sense; you just have to be patient with your own confusion. “Memories of Nobody” closes some gaps in the original Bleach storyline, especially concerning Soul Society, but it opens new ones as well.

Characters? Senna, the protagonist of the movie, is likeable, though her story’s really clichéd on the surface. (Explanation, anyone? Beware of filler and movie spoilers though. – Filler begins => random person comes out of nowhere => it becomes clear that random person is chased by some equally random villain who wants to kill them for an equally random reason => they suddenly play a big-ass role in a hyper conflict that never was so much as mentioned before in the first place… Yes, I am exaggerating, but if you boil the fillers of Bleach down to their very bones, that’s the exact concept you’ll get. Anybody watched the Reigai Invasion arc? – Spoiler End. -) Anyway, Senna is quite charming, and once you learn about her back story, it is well thought-out, which might make up for that small fail.

(SPOILER WARNING) I appreciate that for once, a good character seems to die in this anime. Until the last filler, the only people who died in the original storyline were the bad ones – the good ones just disappeared once they weren’t needed anymore. (SPOILER END)

The relationship between Senna and Ichigo is well portrayed, almost realistic as far as that’s possible in a half-supernatural universe, and just as Senna’s development, it is enjoyable to watch. The ending is touching in a way; it didn’t make me cry (heck, I’m a tomboy, okay?!) but it was emotional as far as Bleach goes. Quite unexpected, I dare say. It’s actually the first time in the series Ichigo really showed emotion other than “I’m gonna protect my friends and the world and just save the day on a side note” and “Hey you foe over there, I’m kicking your ass.”

In contrast, the antagonists of this movie are a complete failure. I’m aware that you can’t put a lot of character development in a 1:30 “episode” but the antagonists lack any developed personality or reason for their actions. They’re just the generic and a bit random foes you’ll find in any anime filler. “Mwahaha, I’m gonna take over the world. – Shit, I failed.” It’s quite sad, since “Memories of Nobody” could have surpassed the original series by far in terms of story had the characters been on their usual level of development. (I’m not exactly talking about Aizen here, by the way.)

Fighting and dialogue are more or less balanced since the first part and very last minutes don’t rely heavily on battle. Genre-wise, the storyline contains mystery with suspense, some drama, a touch of romance, and the unavoidable action. The dialogue is above the usual Bleach level, mostly due to Senna’s and Ichigo’s relationship, although it still has its really clichéd moments. In terms of animation, the battle scenes could have been better. Now I could very well have been spoilt so far concerning animation, but it’s not the overall Bleach-minus-fillers level. However, the music is well-done and fits the atmosphere. Senna’s theme especially is lovable. And the ending song got stuck in my ears. Random Warning: Don’t try to get stuck songs from your ears by listening to others exaggeratedly. You’ll end up with several songs stuck. It happened to me the other day… and… it’s annoying. XD

Ahem. Sorry. Got sidetracked.

For entertainment, “Memories of Nobody” has a few jokes, but that’s all. The storyline’s fine, the animation not quite Bleach’s overall level, and the characters… Senna’s well done, but if the villains get any paler, they’ll fade like spirits (I’m kidding, dudes). However, Senna’s relationship with Ichigo pretty much saves this movie. It’s enjoyable, yes, but as most movies, this basically is a filler. A fine pastime, but definitely no must-watch – unless you’re a Bleach fan who can’t miss a single episode.