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With three DVD releases of Bount episodes and a new movie, Diamonddust Rebellion, Bleach is the king of all things shonen!

Whether you want some Bount action, a fracas in the Soul Society or a battle in Hueco Mundo, Bleach is everywhere at once, and fans are glad. The release of The Diamonddus Rebellion shows that the people behind the anime clearly know what fans want, and that is a brawl of Soul Society proportions. Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya’s tenth division is tasked to protect the transfer of a sacred object, and the procession gets attacked. Toshiro is wounded while pursuing one of the culprits, and then the unthinkable happens - the little white haired fan favorite is pegged as the guy behind the heist. He goes on the run in the human world with Ichigo at his back. Toshiros’ fiercest advocate, Rangiku Matsumoto, has her hands tied when the remaining tenth division is confined to barracks for investigation, but the crew we know and love in the world of the living is eagerly on the case, and what they find is startling: Toshiro’s zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru, once belonged to two people, Toshiro and his academy friend, Kusaka. With the mystery of what happened between Toshiro and Kusaka, and the missing artifact, this movie begins as a mystery and ends up as a battle of monumental proportions where anyone who has a bankai steps up and kicks ass. Ichigo’s hollow mask makes an appearance, which puts the timeline of this film roughly around the Hueco Mundo storyline that’s currently playing out on Adult Swim.

Diamonddust Rebellion is amazing. From the first moments of the film with the procession, it’s apparent just how beautiful the art is going to be, and the new music added to the Bleach soundtrack rotation is also fantastic. And though Bleach has always had some pretty stellar art, it is the fighting that fans tune in for, and fighting is what makes this movie so friggin’ spectacular. Everybody’s bed is out on display, and the Soul Reapers all man up (including the broads) in a staggering display of bad ass.

In volume 18 of the DVD release, the gang spends the first two episodes post battle at a hospital with Uruyu, who is still powerless in this Bount filler arc. But the hospital isn’t as safe as the gang wants it to be; after two episodes fighting with child-like Bounts who have water powers, Uruyu runs away to try and keep the others safe, feeling he is the intended target. He’s intercepted by a friendly-seeming Bount, Yoshino, who tries to protect him. Alas, it does not work, and Uruyu is taken to Bount central, Jin Kariya’s mansion. We also get a good look at some bad guy backstory, which is nice.

In volume 19, the battle of Bount villa rages. And enter Maki Ichinose, a former Soul Reaper who has teamed up with the Bounts, much to the dismay of Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji. Lucky for our gang, there’s an attempt at an overthrow during all this mess, and for a little bit it’s doll-on-doll action (dolls being the Bount version of a zanpakuto; autonomous creatures who fight for their owners, each with special their own special properties). When the battle winds down and Uruyu is back in his sick bed (this time at Urihara’s shop, and with Yoshino wounded at his side), the soul society’s R&D department (headed by the freakish and rude Mayuri Kurotsuchi) gets a little info on the bitter relationship between Bounts and Quincies. Ganju makes a return (on a boar, no less, though not his Bonnie) and makes for some hilarious training with Ichigo, and Renji experiences coffee for the first time. In the end, though, one of the Bounts will not survive.

Volume 20 brings us more Bount-ish backstory, focusing specifically on Go Koga and his doll, Dalk, a big metal woman made out of smaller metal spheres. Crazy and a little too fond of hurting people, Dalk transforms into a spider-thing when the Bounts gain extra powers through the use of the bitto, mosquito-like creatures who suck the souls from living humans and produce a purplish fluid that the Bounts then drink to power up.

Though the first episode of volume 20 is silly fun and the last mostly a flashback, there’s still plenty of action and one very cool ending on the last episode - an ending that will make you look up the release date of volume 21 as soon as the episode ends (October 20th, you dirty junkie).

The theme song on these discs, “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” by the Beat Crusaders (the same guys who did “Hit in the USA”, the theme song for Beck) is my fav since “Asterisk”, the first and best of all Bleach theme songs.

Want more Bleach? Catch episodes on Adult Swim every Saturday night, and read manga volume 28 which just hit bookstores. Anyone familiar with the series can tell you that it’s the king of anime\manga, and you won’t be disappointed.

(Amanda Rush is an avid anime fan, and thinks that Kenpachi is the best of the thirteen captains. Got a different opinion? Tell her on Twitter: @brokenamanda)