DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ActionBLEACH
SPECIAL ActionBLEACH: The Sealed Sword Frenzy
MOVIE ActionBLEACH: MEMORIES OF NOBODY
MOVIE ActionBLEACH: The DiamondDust Rebellion - Mou Hitotsu no Hyourinmaru
MOVIE ActionBLEACH: Fade to Black - Kimi no Na wo Yobu
MOVIE ActionBLEACH: Jigoku-hen
OVA ComedyBLEACH Colorful!: Gotei Juusan Yatai Daisakusen!
ANIME ActionBLEACH: Sennen Kessen-hen
ONA ActionBURN THE WITCH
SPECIAL ActionBLEACH: memories in the rain
SPECIAL ActionBLEACH 20th PV

REVIEWS

• 

  Bola08

  75/100
  Uma ótima obra com uma pitada de "decepção sequencial"...

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  Em um breve resumo, poderia simplesmente dizer q ele possui uma ótima história (um enredo bastante trabalhado) com uma pitada de "quebra de ritmo decepcionante"..

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  Achei muito bom, a história principal é sensacional, realmente ela faz vc se concentrar nela... porém os Fillers atrapalham muito o desenvolvimento dela.. eles aparecem em momentos cruciais, tirando totalmente sua intonação com os acontecimentos.. O desenvolvimento geral do anime foi bom (ele possui umas cenas chatas e cenas sensacionais, mas isso varia conforme Arco ), e seu final foi legal, mas decepcionante. A evolução e dificuldade enfrentadas pelos personagem são interessantes, a evolução N é muito percebida em certos personagens q já são fortes, mas em outros, elas são bem efetivas.. A trilha sono dele é boa, N se destaca muito mas N é ruim..

  PONTOS FORTES

  • Personagens: Cada personagens possui um estilo e um carisma q combina muito com sua pessoa, eles são bem trabalhados e "engraçados" (dentro do possível). Cada personalidade é aproveitada dentro do Anime perfeitamente....
  • Humor: Ele N lá grande coisa, mas é bem legal, serve mais para quebrar uma expectativa do que para ser propriamente dito como "engraçado" .
  • Desenvolvimento: Achei isso muito bom nele (tirando os fillers o anime fica com um sequencia muito boa), ele pode ser lento mas na hora q tem q aparecer ele vem com tudo..

  PONTOS FRACOS

  • Fillers: Eles realmente são chatos... chegam a durar quase q 30 EPs seguidos, oq atrapalha no desenrolar da história, e deixa VC com vontade de parar de assistir, pq eles realmente aparacem em horas crucias (antes das grandes lutas). .
  • Final: Ele foi bom, mas N esperava q houvesse alguns fatos q fizeram com q ele se desenvolvesse: para a luta contra o Aizen, o Ichigo atinge a sua forma mais forte, ele fica OverPower (nem o capitão geral do seireitei conseguiria bater nele) porém, ele ativa o seu Final getsuga tenshoul, q é quando ele se torna o próprio Getsuga tenshoul, só q, ao ativá-lo, o custo é seu poder de Shinigame, simplesmente ele deixa de ser um Shinigame, ai entra no ultimo arco, q foi bom, o ichigo recebe devolta seu poder de Shinigame, mas N queria q ele tivesse se rebaixado daquele poder OverPower....

  Recomendo o Anime, mas é melhor, na minha mera opinião, q vc pule os Fillers, eles só vão te encher... somente um "Fillers" (a sequencia toda) q realmente é interessante, fora isso, eles entram no meio dos arcos, então pule eles....

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• 

  ChillLaChill

  80/100
  Clearly this is a case of style over substance

  Bleach was a show I had disregarded for the longest time, finding it boring. To my surprise, I unexpectedly found myself returning to it and actually enjoying it. It was one of the few shows that introduced me to anime during my early days. However, back in 2008/2009, there were only a limited number of dubbed episodes available, and streaming services weren't as accessible as they are today. Consequently, I put the show off entirely and didn't consider reading the manga either. When the anime concluded in 2012 with little fanfare, I didn't pay much attention. I had only made it so far as the Soul Society arc and had no idea what had happened since. Days turned into years until 2015 when I decided to give Bleach another chance.

  As I revisited the show, I scoured the internet to watch the openings, hoping to rekindle that sense of nostalgia. It wasn't until I came across Ranbu no Melody (Opening 13) that my interest truly piqued. I felt compelled to return to the show, if only to experience that opening in its episode. But I didn't just want to watch Bleach; I was determined to dedicate my time and effort to fully immerse myself in it. Was it worth it? Well, to some extent. Bleach follows a standard Shonen plot, with Ichigo, an ordinary high school student, gaining supernatural powers and realizing his duty to protect everyone and everything around him. Along the way, he faces increasingly powerful foes, grows stronger, and confronts challenging adversaries. Bleach strikes a fine balance between comedy and action, often eliciting unexpected laughter from me.

  Bleach is separated into larger arcs, that are followed up by smaller ones.

  THE SOUL SOCIETY
  -Human Realm
  -Soul Society

  ARRANCAR
  -Human Real
  -Hueco Mundo
  -Fake Karakura Town

  The first season, known as "The Substitute," is set in our world and follows Ichigo's journey into becoming a Soul Reaper. The arc concludes with Ichigo's mission to rescue his friend Rukia, from whom he received his powers illegitimately. This leads to the Soul Society arc, which revolves around the rescue mission for Rukia. While it's widely regarded as the pinnacle of the show by many, it's not necessarily the peak of Bleach for me. Despite the consistent quality of the show, the Soul Society arc stands out because it introduces us to new enemies and a fresh storyline. The arc benefits from its stable pacing and the novelty of exploring a new aspect of the universe. It's a captivating twist of events as Ichigo confronts a series of intriguing antagonists, particularly within the unique setting of the Soul Society.

  The Soul Society arc shows us lots, but often explanations are so contrived. The writer Tite Kubo has a knack for his stylistic approach. What's often cool to the eye, is never fully translated well when it comes to dialogue. One moment you might understand a concept about the world, and then the next it's confusing you. The more glaring issue is the placement of the arc because it's as if this was written to be the finale of the entire series. In reality, this isn't the case. The Soul Society arc has it's a fair share of problems, partly because of the way it was adapted. The action fit perfectly in the manga, and it resonated with me. The anime adapted it but drew out scenes to an annoyingly boring degree, partly due to its syndicated run on television. The worst part of it all was the included recaps in the middle of fights. Regardless of how epic the fight was in the manga, the Bleach anime likes to dump exposition in order to fill time for their televised viewing. The transition to the Hueco Mundo arc in the manga was terrible as well, but it happened and this was not some easy fix. But where Bleach lacked in pacing, it made up for in strong sequences. The Hueco Mundo arc comes into play right after in the anime and is adapted so well in the beginning. The pacing happens so fast, and things carry on at a reasonably good pace. It was a breath of fresh air for me. Fights didn't take more than a few episodes to conclude, and it's a real shame the rest of Bleach didn't have that noticeably better pacing when it wasn't waiting on manga chapters. It closely followed the manga without losing anything in translation.

  Now, let's delve into the issue of filler content. Skipping it can make the difference between experiencing "good" Bleach and settling for "okay" Bleach. Often, filler episodes don't significantly impact the main storyline; they're treated as separate entities. However, in the Bleach anime, this isn't always the case. Filler characters sometimes find their way into crucial plot points, detracting from the significance of certain scenes.

  My main gripe arose when a particular character revealed themselves to be a Soul Reaper during a pivotal moment. The reaction of the filler characters present dampened the impact of the reveal. Having read the manga alongside watching the show, I was eagerly anticipating these moments. But seeing these filler characters shoehorned into the main plot was disappointing. While I could overlook it, it added to the list of issues I had with the Bleach anime. The decision to integrate them into one of the battles further exacerbated the problem. I would have preferred if they were entirely forgotten rather than wasting screen time on their inclusion, regardless of continuity.

  Some may dismiss this as nitpicking, but for me, it was distracting and detracted from the immersion. Referencing an arc I hadn't seen prior only compounded the frustration, especially knowing these characters exist in the main story.

  Moving on, the Hueco Mundo arc introduces visually striking antagonists like Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. While the setting is captivating, the arc overstays its welcome. The repetitive pattern of fights, exposition, and plot progression becomes tiresome to watch. I had hoped the anime would address the pacing issues from the manga, but unfortunately, it falls short in this regard. It's a missed opportunity, considering how evident these pacing problems were in the original material.

  Conversely, the Fullbringer arc, though often labeled as the most filler-like, diverges significantly from the typical Bleach formula. Despite being canon, it offers a refreshing departure from the usual narrative structure. Exploring emotionally heavy themes, it provides insights into Ichigo's character, even as his ultimate goal remains unclear. While some may find fault with the development of Fullbringer characters and their relevance to Bleach's world, I found the arc enjoyable for its compelling moments and thematic depth.

  Bleach truly shines in its characters and their distinct designs. The diverse cast of twenty-plus characters each leaves a memorable impression, except perhaps for Don Kanoji, who's a bit hit or miss. The fantastic character interactions and conflicts in the Bleach anime make it worth watching. Now that both the anime and manga have concluded, let's delve deeper into some aspects of Bleach.

  Should You Skip the Fillers?
  Yes, you should skip them. But there's one thing you should do: finish Bleach and catch up on the manga. If you want more, you can come back to the filler episodes and entertain yourself there without having it interfere with the main plot.

  Should I Read the Manga Instead?
  I'd say yes if you don't have the time. But if you come to love the Bleach manga, then watch the show. The anime has great openings, and the emotional segments are portrayed to a better degree since it has more cinematic flair. The manga is good, but it suffers from pacing issues, like in the Hueco Mundo arc, which consists mainly of fights for several volumes. I honestly couldn't imagine reading this arc during a chapter release in Shonen Jump. Good lord, there's a whole lot of nothing for entire volumes.

  Then Does the Manga Surpass the Anime?
  Only marginally, by 0.5 of a star, because of its more faithful execution of the main story, which is a given. The manga lacks filler, making it a breeze to get through the dry arcs. Hopefully, they can do some story fixes with the new adaptation of the Thousand-Year Blood War, but I won't hold my breath.

  Is the Show Itself Worth Watching Then?
  Bleach is a blast; it's fun, regardless of the smaller problems. It's one of the preferred former "Big Three" that I was so glad to be watching. The show helps to illustrate the awesome action sequences and some of the emotional moments.

  What Are the Best Arcs of Bleach Then?

  Thousand-Year Blood War, but I'm willing to debate that after the atrocious ending.
  Soul Society is about as equal as the Hueco Mundo (for me at least).
  Fullbringer, but again, I'm also willing to debate this one. It can be interchanged depending on how I feel.
  I Can't Complete It, Isn't It Like 300+ Episodes?
  As I said, you can skip the fillers, thus reducing the show's length and making it more digestible. Believe it or not, the actual show is comprised of 49% filler, so don't feel bad about skipping. But if you seriously don't have the time, yes, read the manga; it's good. But come back to the show to see the scenes animated. Seriously, the show does improve some of those parts because it has the music and visuals to really bring the scenes to life. So don't avoid the anime entirely. If there's one thing perfect about Bleach, it's the openings. There are no bad ones.

  Closing Thoughts
  Now that's over with, I can conclude with my thoughts. Bleach is a great show, but the problems lie in two places: the filler and the source material. A certain female gets stabbed, not once, but numerous times through the chest. Yet, she somehow survives every single time that happens. It wasn't two standard parts either; this happens at very dramatic parts in which you're supposed to feel emotionally invested. When characters are resurrected by Kubo, it's hard to feel like there are stakes. If you want an emotional buildup, just write the characters' deaths properly and be done with it. Don't cater to the fanbase's popularity; it never works, and this is a clear example of fan-pandering that's kept certain characters alive. Bleach has some horribly bad "ass-pull" moments that become more apparent the further along you go. The stakes seem to lower with every new arc, as every "good guy" seems to survive regardless of how they died. All too often, people who should die, just don't, and it's ironically more painful keeping them alive. There's always that sense that they'll just return in the next arc, which leads to some underwhelming tension. This is more the fault of Kubo, who just couldn't be bothered to make a story that shakes up the formula. The final manga arc more than makes up for this to a point, but it feels like petty wish-fulfillment than a genuine attempt to tell a good high-stakes story. There are still many moments in which I felt compelled to put Bleach down and never return again, and finishing it just broke me mentally. I had invested hours upon hours of reading, watching, and fanboying over Bleach only for Kubo to tarnish all my respect for the series within the span of one chapter.

  The newest arc, despite feeling great at the beginning, fell back into the Bleach formula. Good guy faces off with a bad guy who shows up, bad guy gets killed but reveals his true power, and then we see the hero's new Bankai; it's the same tired story structure that stretches itself over an entire arc, AGAIN. I will say this, recalling previous characters from past arcs was nice, if a bit fanservicey. Using surviving antagonists was cool too; I just wish Kubo would've used them in an Avengers-style final battle. I could write a whole review of the manga, but I thought it would be more appropriate to put here in my anime review. Bleach is returning, so I'll probably be watching it to see what direction they take it, but I'm past the point of caring about how it's handled the characters. Bleach is worth watching as the character dynamics feel fully realized in an animated format. It's just a shame that Kubo can't seem to write meaningful story arcs because there are some great scenarios that get mishandled that keep it from being anything special.

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• 

  CobaltoNoBlu

  90/100
  "When the Spanish Guitar Starts Strumming, I Start Sweating"

  At the start of this year, I began a re-watch of bleach for a few reasons. First off the last arc in the manga was being animated and I wanted to remember all the content. Another reason was for the pure nostalgia of watching one of my favorite shows as a kid. Finally, and I think this turned out to be the most important: I wanted to discover if the show I cherished as a kid could still impact me as an adult who had a much more diverse spread of shows under their belt. I can say now that in that last point I was wrong, it impacted me a lot more.

  I'll try and space out this review in a few sections, there will be spoilers and I'll go into detail on a few parts. I want to address the flaws in the show first before I can talk about the better parts of the show.

  Note: I did not watch any filler content for the sake of I couldn't be bothered and I wanted to finish this rematch before the new anime aired

  *The struggles of being a 2000's era shounen*

  Bleach struggles a lot from purely an adaption level. There are times where the story is paced very well and things flow into each other very nicely (i.e Soul Society) and times where the pacing accelerates to the point where the watcher is almost lost (i.e End of Fullbringer Arc). This doesn't affect the show too much but it's worth noting as the difference between the good pacing and poor pacing is noticeable much more to me than in other shows.

  Like most shounen shows (even in this age), Bleach suffers from what I like to call "Right-Arrow Syndrome" which is essentially when the show forces you to skip illegal levels of recap and empty space in order to get to the new content in the episode. I might be biased but I don't really mind this too much as shounen anime is nothing new to me but with bleach, it's a bit different. Usually, I'd just skip 5-7 minutes into the episode to get to the new stuff but with bleach, because 99% of the openings are bangers I had to watch the opening and then skip the recap, small but worth noting.

  *Aizen was disappointing*

  First, let me preface, Aizen was a decent villain until the last part of the Arrancar arc, where he becomes no more relevant than a normal hollow. Aizen is a villain that you hate from start to end, for the pure fact that nothing seems to faze him no matter how much the characters we grow to care about try. To me Aizen never had a motive worth caring about, he was simply a good villain to give Ichigo a reason to grow and become strong. This isn't just for Aizen, even Ginjo to a point never really had a motive that mattered, their purposes were simply to be obstacles for Ichigo to overcome (along with other stuff which I'll get to later).

  *Orihime was flat for 90% of the show*

  Orihime is a character that I could never put my hand on just right. She does a lot in terms of her actions and growth, but my god this is a dramatic case of "actions over words" because for every physical thing she does in the show she says "Kurosaki-Kun" twice. It's a real shame because she has a lot of development silently but none of that is actually shown until the Fullbringer Arc. She triples her vocabulary in three episodes of that arc than the previous 300 episodes. I think she ends up being a great side character and the fact that she, along with Chad and Uryu are able to stay relevant throughout the entirety of the anime is something that needs to be addressed alongside this.

  Now I wanna talk about what Bleach does well, and what it does really well because this show has a lot.

  *When the Spanish Guitar Starts Strumming I start Sweating*

  Bleach's music was in a league of its own. From the openings to the battle OST's the music was standout to any shounen shows airing at the same time. The scratchy guitar makes your spine tingle, to Ichigo's battle theme which varied in hype depending on the stage of the fight. There are so many notable sounds in Bleach that enhance the quality of the show. The way that they use music to direct a fight was a treat to watch, although the slower-paced episodes definitely did not keep up. There's a moment in Soul Society where Ichigo has just finished defeating Byakuya and Aizen shows up. His theme starts playing softly and it goes into one of the most hype set up moments where Ichigo gets a direct hit on Aizen, only for him to be stopped with a finger. At that same exact moment the music cuts-dead. This sense of chills you get completely changes your perspective on the gap between Aizen and Ichigo and raises the stakes of the show.

  Addressing the title, the Espada/Arrancar Arc introduced Spanish guitar into the OST, which was without a doubt the single greatest directional choice to be made in a show. The thematic tone that is set from watching someone lose all hope in their life to the sound of the soft guitar is something that sticks with me, at this point, it's a Pavlov. The fact that they were able to integrate this into the show so well was something that I didn't fully realize until near the end of the Fullbringer arc. There was a big gap in the time that we heard the guitar (end of Arrancar arc to the end of fullbringer arc) but as soon as I heard it, goosebumps ran down my entire body.

  Lastly, I'll end by saying Bleach's openings and endings are incredible with a notable discography that includes many favorites. In addition, the visual themes that are presented are a treat to watch.

  *Where Bleach sets itself apart*

  Every shounen show has that first "real" arc. The first one to have stakes with all the main cast. It's the arc that pulls you in for the long run. Naruto has the Mist-Village Arc, One Piece had Arlong Park (although this you can argue is not the first), and so on and so forth. I think I can say in Bleach's case, "The Soul Society Arc is the best first arc in any shounen new age and old age." The arc is set up so that you have one storyline merge into another one like on a highway. The way that they use Rukia as a ramp to connect the climax of the Soul Society Arc to the Arrancar arc is something that I am amazed by. It sets up all the major characters and storylines all in one arc with high stakes and hype battles. I don't think there were many flaws in this arc if any. You can say that Ichigo had a way too big of a power spike in this arc but I think you're going down the wrong can of worms if you want to address any form of power scaling in bleach.

  This mostly brings me to the end of the review, in short 2000's shounen format is not the most enjoyable to watch and bleach has amazing music and a banger first arc to set up the show. There is one thing I want to address and it's the one thing that surprised me the most in this re-watch: Ichigo.

  *Ichigo*

  I never once thought of Ichigo as a protagonist who had any real depth to him. I always saw him as just a monotone teenage protagonist who just wanted to "protect his friends". This isn't necessarily false, but it's a drastic oversimplification of his character. One of my biggest misconceptions, even upon rewatching, was that Ichigo was able to work through his trauma of losing his mom upon his first encounter with Grand Fisher in the first few episodes of Bleach. His change of attitude was not that he was over it, but that he wouldn't let it happen to anyone else. This is supported by the fact that there is a clear change in his attitude towards his shinigami "responsibilities" . Ichigo has abandonment trauma and he projects that onto everyone he cares for with an obsession of being someone who needs to protect people to feel valued. This is highlighted beautifully in the Fullbringer arc, where Ichigo loses everything he values most and breaks as a result. The clear change in attitude when he has power vs when he feels vulnerable and useless is almost exaggerated in this arc. Ichigo even addresses the fact that his protectionism is because of his guilt from not being able to save his mom, and being responsible (in his mind) for her death, although this is done subtly. I've heard that Ichigo's character falls flat here but this is an anime-only review so I won't entertain any of those ideas. Ichigo was not the boring straight-headed protagonist I thought he was. He was a 17 year old with trauma who had to work through his grief through trial and hardship.

  That brings me to the end of this review, the last arc's anime adaptation is only a month from now and so if you are feeling nostalgic I'd recommend watching this again, and not to find some deeper meaning in the show, but just to enjoy it.

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