Bleach KaraBuri!: Gotei Juusan Yatai Daisakusen!

-- Story --
The premise is that the 13 Squads of Soul Society need to make some merchandise to sell at the "real world" Jump Festival. Each squad has a short, ~1 minute segment. There is also a small introduction at the beginning.

Each part is self-contained, containing a gag or joke, and a funny product. The humor is not bad either.

Final Rating: 6

-- Art --
The art is fairly typical of the "old style" of Bleach anime. There isn't a lot of animated scenes, probably because it is a low budget short. However, it is not bad. They don't re-use any old footage that I ... noticed.

Final Rating: 7

-- Sound --
The sound was fairly non-existent, relying more on voices and jokes to carry it along. Some basic sound effects for humorous purposes, it was ok.

Final Rating: 5

-- Character --
The characters acted quite silly and not like their usual selves from the main anime. There is no character development whatsoever. But then, it is a gag short, and is not to be serious. They still have good dynamics with each other.

Final Rating: 6

-- Enjoyment --
Some sections were quite funny, and some were a bit "meh". But the jokes were good and it was enjoyable even for something so short.

Final rating: 6

-- Overall --

Don't worry about watching this if you haven't already watched the first series to the end. The movies are not essential. But if you haven't watched the first series, you won't understand many of the jokes, such as Hinamori's "Glasses Cookies".

Should you watch this?
Well, if you enjoyed the main anime, yes. But it's not essential. You're not really missing anything amazing or special. It's ultimately just a few somewhat cheap jokes and advertising the Jump Festival of 2008.

Final Rating: 7

"Bleach KaraBuri!: Gotei Juusan Yatai Daisakusen!" (also known as Bleach Jump Festa 2008 or Bleach Colorful!), is a short, comedic OVA. Released during the Jump Festa Anime Tour 2008, this 12-minute episode presents a lighthearted take on the Bleach characters, emphasizing humor over serious plot development.

Strengths:
Concept: The OVA's comedic tone is a refreshing break from the usual intense narrative of Bleach. It successfully brings out the characters’ lighter sides, particularly through their interactions in mundane, non-battle settings​.

Characters: Fans get to see well-loved characters in more casual, funny situations, which adds depth to their personalities beyond their usual shinigami roles​.

Execution: The animation quality by Studio Pierrot ... remains solid, capturing the humor with exaggerated expressions and quirky scenarios​.

Weaknesses:
There is very little of importance in this fan service. Boobs. The boobs theme of Rangiku Matsumoto is not explored.


Given the overall tone, this episode is primarily aimed at Bleach fans who are already familiar with the characters and their dynamics. This OVA will serve as a delightful addition for fans of the series, particularly those who wish to enjoy a light and amusing detour from the main storyline. Despite the lack of necessity for understanding the main plot, it serves as a pleasant fan service.

After 9 years, MAL suddenly decided to add an old OVA to the database. If you're like me, you probably just had your Bleach hopes and dreams crushed after finding out. Sadly, this not something new. It's been around since 2008. It's basically just a gag bit about the captains of the soul society thinking up ideas for the Jump Festa.

Story: 5/10
The bleach characters are basically just thinking up ideas for the Jump Festa. You can see the characters (mainly the captains and vice-captains) and their individual personalities acting all goofy, but it's really not that funny or entertaining in my opinion.

Art: 3/10 ...
By today's standards, the art is actually pretty bad. It's basically a crappy version of the show's art from 2008.

Sound: 8/10
The sound is basically the same catchy bleach music from the series. The character voices are all the same. Still pretty good.

Characters: 6/10
The same characters from the show, but they're much more goofy because this is a gag bit. You don't really see Ichigo until the end.

Enjoyment: 6/10
It was alright. Wouldn't recommend that you watch this unless you've seen the show or are really in the need of some Bleach nostalgia.

Overall:6/10
Meh. Should've been added 8 years ago.