A Tale Of Two Openings OR That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Guy Who Got Everything He Wanted
By: Spencer
Spencer from Blake & Spencer Get Jumped shares his thoughts on the opening episodes of both Chainsaw Man and Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War! You can hear more from Spencer here!
Part One: Real Men Colorize in Pink! [Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War episode 1]
Bleach is back! Let me say that again, BLEACH IS BACK! It is without a doubt one of the most influential anime and manga of all time and it also is one of the most beautiful Shonen ever made. Does it have it's flaws, sure, all anime do but OG Bleach sure had one of the most glaring ones that we have ever seen. The problem with the first anime is that the speed of the release was blisteringly fast compared to the creators speed of putting out the manga. It is because of that fact that Kubo pulled the plug on the anime behind waning viewership. There have been some of though that kept up with the manga exclusively after the end of the anime and thought that the final arc might have been Kubo's masterpiece. Alas, because of the issues with the original run of the series we might never see it turned into an animated form. That was until Kubo went back to Studio Pierrot to revive their fallen one of the big three. It had been a horrible end to a wonderful series plagued by so much fluff and filler.
So, after watching the first episode what do I think? I was floored honestly. Nothing could have brought back more nostalgia mixed with pure and unadulterated hype. Is there a beautiful color palate that is so full of neons and crispness that you almost have to find something salty afterwards to cut the richness. Hell yes. The opening alone with the mix of almost grey-scale and bright neon pink will blow you away. Not mention the captivating midway images that are shown to you to mark the breaks. Is the quality of the anime hold up to the previous standard that end of show Bleach had? Oh yeah, that is right here too. The fights are fast paced and clean, the powers stunning, and the pacing is perfect. There is one small thing that got stuck in my head though, which was that they used some CGI on the hollows that don't matter. You immediately get over it because then comes out the most nostalgic thing of all, the freaking Ichigo battle music. Not only is the opener a banger and the ending credits but it has all of the moody music that you loved from the origional. Is it worth your time to pick this show back up? Yes, if the first episode is any indication we are in for a wild ride and some of the best Shonen Trash pleasing moments of the year.
Part Two: Wait he is a chainsaw... and a man? [Chainsaw Man episode 1]
One of the most inportant manga to come out of the in the past five years has definitely been this gem called Chainsaw Man. It came on the scene as one of the weirdest, brutal, and captivating manga ever. When I first picked it up I thought, "Yeah, this is going to be a fun romp for a couple of chapters but I am not sure if this is going to go the distance." However, I was very very wrong. The world is rich, the characters are complex, and the fight sequences are on point. Now, when you get a manga that comes along that gets both fan and critical praise it probably is likely to get an anime adaptation. This one took a little longer than most. We started back in 2018 and it took the manga to reach a possible end and being revived in order to finally see the first episodes come to fruition.
So, let's talk about this adaptation. First and foremost, for you at home who are squeamish at the though of CGI marring the anime version of your favorite manga you might have to skip this one. There is a ton of CGI in this show and I say this as someone who is not a fan of CGI, it did not bother me. In the first episode there are a couple of moments that stick out like a sore thumb but other than those it sails along following faithfully to the source material. I have no idea if they are going to get all of the characters right or the brutality and blueness that comes along later. However, I think that the first episode (especially the opener) were a solid A-. Please let this show get better as it goes along just like the manga does. Let me just do a quick prayer to the altar of Saint Goku just in case.