Ranked #357

Bleach

Bleach is one of the three so-called "mainstream shonen animes"; together with Naruto and One Piece these three are immensely popular, and the topic of endless comparison among their fans set out to prove that their favorite is the best out of them. They simply refuse to exit their fanboyism to view the series in an objective light, which is a shame, because they are probably missing out on great adventures, which is the case of Bleach in many ways. If you want my review short and good, give Bleach a try no matter what people have said, as it, despite a lot of shortcomings, presents a most interesting and enthralling universe.

The concept seems pretty basic at first; there's the Soul Reapers (Shinigami), empowered souls who guide departed human souls to Soul Society, the afterlife deimension, formed after a Feudal Japan. They also fight Hollows, evil and malevolent spirits, to protect living humans and souls alike. So, I assume you have read the plot summary, which covers the basics of the first story arc, which is basically the arc where we are introduced to the main main cast of Bleach; the standard, headstrong, rash and protective teenage shonen hero, his voice of reason in the form of a girl, his arrogant beglassed rival, the ditzy klutz girl with big boobs, and the large, stoic type.

Towards the end of said arc however, a real plot appears, events are set into motion, and before long, it has escalated into an assault on said Soul Society a rescue mission from our team of 4-5 heroes, who fight their way through shinigami of all kinds trying to reach their goal, conveniently placed in the middle of this Society. In this arc, you'll get lots of great action and meaningful fights, bottled together with an extremely large and colorful cast of characters, flashbacks and an interesting plot. It all builds up one hell of an end to the arc, 60 or so episodes into the show, where a most intersting twist takes place. And said arc ending is in each and every way the climax of Bleach.

Which is its problem. From there it goes steep downhill to two arcs of slow-paced filler, which lowers your excitement a great deal of levels, and from there the show never manages to get you hooked as much as it did during the Soul Society arc. It does get some interesting new aspects and revelations durign the following Arrancar arc, but it never gets really exciting, nor does it get that much greater during the Hueco Mundo arc. It's just too much fighting, and a re-used "save the damsel in distress" plot. The colorful cast is not seen as much anymore, and aside some interesting emotional developments courtesy of the former klutz girl, there's not a lot to it, and most fights don't have the same enthralling depth to them which made the fights in SS so unique. Now it's more a display of unique powers, and whatever motivations the bad guys had for their fighting is revealed only after the actual fights, which in ways ruins things. Also, there's a few plot holes to speak of, but nothing large.

However, aside the completely random filler arc (which re-used several plot elements from the story), Bleach has shown potential for improvement lately, and it keeps expanding its cast endlessly, which makes the universe seem living in many ways, so we can all only hope that Bleach will improve gradually. However, I sincerely doubt that it will ever be restored to how great it was at its peak, namely the Soul Society rescue arc.

It does have a lot of shortcomings, yet it is a most enjoyable watch still. Now, why is that? The answer is the unexpectancy factor it has. Due to its vast cast and great universe, you can't really know what comes next, only make qualified guesses. What kinds of powers will that character have? What is the villain really up to? And what's with that guy? What will happen next? Who knows, who knows. So one could say that the true strength of Bleach lies in its cast, which can bring about mysteries, plot twists and other aspects of awesomeness, and cover up for a somewhat lacking storyline.

So what about the asesthetics? there's plenty of people who believe that the visual and auditory aspects of anime are just as important as any plot or character development. And Bleach delivers here, in many ways.

The animation quality is quite the hassle to discuss, because it is so varying in quality. At its worst it has low frame rates, offset character designs and framed action, while at its best it is vivid, meticulous and full of soft motions and beautifully animated special and lighting effects. Most of the time however, it is decent. Not average, but not in any way anything bragworthy. Expect some ups and downs in this department.

The soundtrack however, is very great. It is greatly varied, and is renewed per story arc, introducing new tunes often whilst keeping the old ones around too, and this variation is intrinsical of any above-average soundtrack. It stays perfectly in tone and atmosphere with the current events, and feature everything from upbreat, adrenaline-pumping electric guitar pieces to melliflous piano pieces, and standard comedic moment tracks. The opening and endign themes feature a lot of types and genres, from the serene and sentimental to rap and rock. And pop, of course.

I said it in the beginning, and I'll say it again; try out Bleach at least once, desptie what Narutard, shonen haters or anyone else have said. It's pretty enjoyable despite its lacks and faults, mostly in thanks to its great cast.

To 'Not Helpful' voters (and you 'Helpful' voters too): Feedback greatly appreciated =) read more

Bleach has become one of the most popular anime around, and is commonly if not always, compared to Naruto. Hated by many, loved by many, this anime will be watched by virtually everyone who dives into the anime world.

Story: The story, or perhaps setting to be more accurate, is quite unique. Shinigami, or Soul Reapers, that have their own special society watch over the souls in the living world. Each Shinigami carries a unique sword(soul slayer) or Zanpaktou that has its own unique name and abilities based on the wielder's style and personality. Alongside them are the Hollow, and two subgroups later to be known as the Vaizard and Arrancar. It is this unique setting that gives Bleach the power to create so many characters under such a captivating environments, and this I believe, is one of the story's strong points. In terms of plot, it isn't very strong. The whole 'rescue a friend' is seen in pretty much every anime, and the whole 'I need to get stronger to protect my friends' is equally overdone. But I personally enjoy watching series with this type of theme, so I can't mark it down because of such overdone plot devices. But Bleach also comprises by adding a few twists into a seemingly transparent storyline, and it is here that I again am impressed. Bleach isn't just about mindless violence, its about friends striving to help each other, looking out for each other and improving themselves. Theres a bit of romance tossed in too, so thats a bit of a plus. The great setting and positive themes of friendship and perseverance made me give this an : 8/10

Characters: Bleach has a huge number of characters, some of them developed fairly well, otherwise poorly. But it is the huge cast of such unique and usually admirable individuals that makes this anime so captivating. You just hold your breath everytime someone pops into release their soul slayer or release their Bankai. It's because of all these characters and their own unique swords and abilities that makes the fights in this anime worth watching. You just can't wait to see what the characters are capable of. In terms of character development, I would say that it isn't bad, especially in terms of Ichigo who starts off as a badass that can take down most hollows with ease. In time, (particularly the current arc) he realizes how insignificant he really is, and tries his hardest to get stronger. The same is similar for the other characters such as Chad. Although most of the character development is in terms of strength and not so much in personality, I still rate the characters high for their largely unique cast: 8/10

Sound: This I find, is one of Bleach's strongest qualities. The soundtracks really intensify the battles and make even the smallest things seem cool. Thats that Bleach is good at - making things seem cool, and the soundtrack is a key and necessary component. But it isn't just the action scenes. It makes the sad and thoughtful moments come alive, in addition to the mysterious and tense situations Bleach presents. It's also accompanied by some of the best opening and closings I've seen in anime, in terms of both music and visuals. They greatly depict the story and the songs set the mood beautifully. 10/10

Art/Animation: I have little to say here. The art is quite good for the most parts, and I loved the coloring in the first few arcs, particularly the bright glowly/misty colors. Most of the fights are animated very smoothly with a variety of scenes and angles and such. Its on par with most anime these days: 8/10

Overall: Bleach is one of my favorite anime, being one of the first I ever watched. I know most people consider it over rated, repetitive and predictable, but hey, it presents some epic fights and follows them through nicely. Most of the fights are a good length (couple episodes) and I'm a fan of swords and people who power up, so what can I say, this anime is gold to me. If you're the type that doesn't care too much about a complicated story or deep compelling characters and you just want to see some epic fights, Bleach is right for you. This deserves an 8/10 overall (bogged down with fillers too much, although I didn't take that into account while rating. Fillers aren't part of the show, just don't watch them =/ ), but I personally love it and rated it a 10/10 on my list. read more

Story:
Bleach is a mixed bag as far as story goes. The first arc (ep1-63), which covers the soul society, is interesting and engaging. It contains both action and a good plot. However, after episode 63 things go downhill. A lot. The Bount arc which follows it isn't even in the manga and has no relevance to the overall story, as well as being entirely uninteresting. It picks up a bit when the story shifts back to the plotline of the manga, but there isn't much of a plot to follow at that point. Basically, the main characters fight the bad guys from there on out with little else of interest to be found. If the action was great, it might make up for this, but it isn't. While it isn't terrible, it is never enough to carry the anime by itself. In addition, there are frequent fillers, which I would recommend ignoring entirely if you decide to watch this.
Aside from the generally uneventful plot, Bleach suffers from an unwillingness to kill off anyone. Despite having tons of shinigami, Bleach never kills off a single one. The only characters who ever die are the bad guys, and very few of them ever perish either.
If I were rating only the first arc, I would give this a 7 or an 8, but the decay which has happened since then forces me to drop it significantly to a 5.

Art:
Character design is excellent, overall very solid animation. It does occasionally have issues though.

Sound:
Sound is generally good, music appropriate to the mood. No complaints here.

Character:
This is where Bleach should shine, but doesn't. As said before, character design is great. However, there are so many characters that none of them get any sort of development. With the sheer volume of characters in the show, even main characters are often forgotten for several episodes. Most of the characters seem like they would be interesting if developed, but they simply aren't.

Overall:
I would recommend watching the first 63 episodes and dropping it there. Aside from the Turn Back the Pendulum story (206-212) there is essentially nothing of value plotwise after that point.
If you're only in it for the action, I suppose Bleach is a decent show. But even in that case, you could do much better. read more

If you are about to watch bleach and are about to go watch the first few episodes, then your in for a treat.

The first/introductory arc of bleach is an brilliant show of anime, truley somthing worth watching. But the problem in my eyes is that it goes very much down hill from there. Some fans (and myself) do believe it will pick up a little from time to time but ultimatly it is not going to wow you with complex or ingaging plot.

As with alot of popular anime bleach very quickly gets lost in an unnessicary and almost unwatchably long train of fillers, drawn out fights and repetition on powers and jokes. Unless your new to anime or are caught in its fandom frenzy, then you will probably not beable to sit through the 100's of episodes to come.

Story -6- as explained above it takes along time for anything to happen after the first arc. It does have a twists but nothing that will not become blatantly obvious. The fight scenes are not too bad, but most characters only posses about 2 or 3 moves, so it can get boring after their powers have been introduced. The plot lines do run for a while into the story but are usually summed up before starting a new set of events. There are alot of filler arcs that will literally come at any time they see fit, and will plague you with non-cannon storys, they are sometimes funny but generally are just in the way.

Art -7- as such a long anime, the style and animation changes during the corse of the show. It is good in parts but is not consistent and is sometimes misleading to the actual abilities of a character.

Sound -9- bleach has alot of different tracks related to it, both for the credits and show. When i look back on it, bleach fans are really spoilt for choice in this area.

Characters -7- the characters are introduced well in bleach, and get some development, but not as much as you would expect in such a long series. Expect to be juggling names by the end though as it has alot of main and supporting characters (but hey at least their names are easy to remeber). Unfortuantly there will often be parts of this anime that will make you question where all the characters have gone though, as there are so many.

Enjoyment -7- this is possibly the most subjective and overlapping category, but generally i would say that bleach does have a certian charm the will have you wanting more (even if you dont know why). I highly enjoyed the first arc and liked the manga that (imo) will make up for some of the problems of popular anime. But as ive said - you wont enjoy this unless you can strap yourself in for a long anime.

Overall -6- im going to be fair, its good in places but has alot of faults. If i where you i would have a think about watching this series, and dont just dive in without knowing that you will be watching for a long time. read more

Bleach is a mixed blessing for me personally, it does many things right, and fails at others. It suffers from what we call "mainstream anime" - don't get me wrong, bleach was the first anime series I ever watched, and actually got me into this whole scene - for that i'm thankful.

There are hardly any complaints about the story, but it's nothing out of the ordinary or anything worth praising - the main problem is all the delays, when you desperately want to know what happens next - suddenly the tension breaks down and we're left watching a filler series, which has no impact or relation to the story, nothing, zero.

The art direction is absolutely great, which can be seen most vividly during the various fights between the characters. While it tends to keep itself serious when it needs to, whenever the mood lightens or humor is added, the art is always appropriate.

Sound is basically your own personal opinion, whether you like the voice acting or not is up to you - I personally thought Rukia sounded like a chicken screeching throughout the series. Same goes for the intro and end themes, of which I think there are about five in total (<-5 intros 5 ends) -there'll be at least one which will make you puke uncontrollably and others will put you into a hazy exotic coma.

The characters could easily be a 10/10 as the series even takes the time to expand on every one of them, except at times you're left wondering, what's the point of spending time on someone who'll never show up again?

When 1/4 of the entire series is a filler, it should logically receive 3/4 of a perfect score. I highly recommend people to skip the bounto arc which appears around episode 70, all the way to around 108, as it has NO effect on the story, many pretend it didn't even happen. And currently 170+ is another abomination in the making. But aside from those enjoy the rest of the series with nearly atleast one fight per 1-2 episodes.

Mainstream anime exists to have many viewers, they're afraid to take risks and make interesting decisions - they'll pull you in and make you sit through 250+ episodes, each 20 minutes long - when only maybe 100 of those are relevant to the story. If i can make a recommendation, I suggest reading the manga instead. read more

Story: 7/10

The story of Bleach is fantastic at times and dull at others. Episodes can you leave you at the edge of your seat, unable to stand the thought of having to wait till next week to see what happens next, or begging for current plot to end and to get to the next part where something interesting happens. (Especially if you read the manga in addition to watching the anime) When the story isn't filler it is usually exciting, fast paced, and with plenty of action and epic fight scenes. Unfortunately the filler is why the story loses points as none of it so far has been enjoyable to watch or added anything in terms of character development or exciting plot lines. While the plot isn't very unique, the old tried and true "I must get stronger to save my friends" routine, it does have some interesting plot twists that make it not as predictable as you would think and the conflict between the world of the Shinigami and the world of the Hollow and its impact on Earth, who is caught in the middle, is very fun to watch.

Art: 8/10

The art is good compared to a lot of anime I have seen. Nothing groundbreaking but still pretty good. I've noticed a slight lapse in quality during some of the filler but that might just be my imagination.

Sound: 9/10

Bleach has a few sound tracks that they reuse and are very well matched up with the mood of the scene. When Ichigo is getting smacked around by a bad guy it will play some dramatic, sinister music. When something sad is happening, it will play sad music. When Ichigo just had one of those "I believe in myself" moments where he unlocks some sort of hidden power in order to overcome a situation, the music reflects that beautifully as well.

Character: 8/10

Some characters are extremely well developed and interesting while others exist for the sole purpose of showing off their large breasts. (coughMatsumodocough) Ichigo begins the show as a rather selfish, uncaring person who wants nothing to do with the Shinigami and we get to witness the change in him as he begins to place the welfare of others over his own. Eventually he meets plenty of other memorable characters that are hilarious or awesome in their own way while being mixed in with annoying characters that you wish would hurry up an die. The reason I began to love this show is because of the interaction between Rukia and Ichigo. Their conflicting personalities and the way they play off each other's sarcasm got me hooked on this show right at the start. There are a few other character pairs in this show who make me laugh every time they are together, such as Kenpachi and Yachiru, but none come close to Rukia and Ichigo. There is a little romance thrown in but nothing too deep. In short, you will come across quite a few memorable characters in this show that alone make it worth watching.

Enjoyment: 9/10

I love watching Bleach. The fight scenes are great to watch and its a blast trying to predict what happens next and being surprised the following week. The only reason this part does not get a 10 is because of how bad the filler is. It is not fun to watch and leaves you desperate for it to get back to the real story. This show has made my Thursdays far more enjoyable.

Overall: 8/10

All in all this is a show worth watching. If you like action then this is the show for you. If you like a unique and intricate plot then you might not enjoy it as much. The show has its good and its bad but the good far outweighs the bad in my opinion. It certainly isn't the best anime out there but it definitely holds a place among the front of the pack. read more

Many people say that this anime is awesome, but it isn't. Bleach is just a generic shounen with a repeating story and undeveloped characters. The first 63 episodes were ok, but after that the whole series went downhill.

Story:

At the start we are introduced to a spiky orange hair boy named Ichigo who can somehow see ghosts. His family got attacked by a monster named hollow, and became a shinigami (Death God) thanks to a girl named Rukia. The first few episodes contained mostly hollow slaying and nothing worth mentioning happened. After that begun the Soul Society arc. Fights, fights, fights, power up! Yeah, you can describe it like that. Bleach has way to many boring fillers. I think you get my point? Nothing interesting and original at all.

Art:

One word: Bad. As time passed by the art got worse. The character designs look nice. Many female characters have big breasts and look like they came from a ecchi anime. In the latest few episodes the characters looked "misshapen".

Sound:

Probably the only think that's very good in this series. At the time I wrote this review Bleach had 10 opening and 19 ending songs, they were mostly good. The music fits the mood, and the voice acting is well done, but the bad dialogs ruin everything (example, "your sword will never cut me").

Characters:

Ewww, probably the worst thing in Bleach. There are many useless characters who never do anything. Character development doesn't exist (in other words they are the same as at the time they were introduced).

Enjoyment:

I did enjoy the start of the series, but now I am wondering why am I even watching it. Repeating the same things over and over again...

Overall:

Bleach is not a horrible anime. If you like anime with random sword swinging, people randomly getting stronger, undeveloped characters etc. etc. go ahead and watch it. I'd rather recommend you to watch other shounen like One Piece or Hunter x Hunter instead of Bleach. read more

Story:

Bleach is a shounen anime and with that, people generally expect a decent story with interesting fights, unfortunetly, you don't get that with Bleach. The plot, or lack of one generally stays with the same formula throughout every arc. Ichigo gets a power-up, someone gets kidnapped, Ichigo gets depressed, Ichigo saves them, rinse and repeat. If that weren't bad enough, only bad guys die, while that may not be a problem for some people, the fact that a good guy cannot die really limits the amount of suspense a fight can have. It works for One Piece only because One Piece has a good story and characters that are developed well enough to carry the story. Bleach just doesn't have that. But some positives are that the fights are pretty decent, though there are a bit too many at times.

Art:

Studio Pierrot does the art and animation. Just like with Naruto, some episodes are hit or miss in terms of animation, though, they seem to do a better job with Bleach.

Sound:

The music is pretty good and fits the atmosphere of the anime. I also feel the music has gotten better through the series as it has gone along.

Character:

This is the area where Bleach could most improve. Kubo Tite did an amazing job with character designs and EVERY character looks simply awesome, but under their flashy exterior, is nothing. These characters, aside from Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia, are severly underdeveloped. They feel shallow and hollow. They are so forgettable, that I don't even know everyone's name, and I'm at episode 150.

Enjoyment:

I think you get a fair amount of enjoyment out of Bleach. It's far from a masterpiece, but it can be enjoyed, as long as you take it for what it is and accept the limitations placed on it by its creator.

Overall:

If you're a fan of shounen anime, watch Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter, Rurouni Kenshin, and One Piece instead, though if you've already seen those, then Bleach would be a last alternative.


read more

Bleach really has a lot of ups and downs. While some parts of the anime are very catchy and enjoyable, others are incredible boring and make it hard to go on watching it.
The very same goes to the plot of Bleach: There are some very interesting storyparts, as well as many plotholes and odds in the story (For example take a look at Soul Society - I'll never get why people grow up and die in a place they came to after they died on earth ...).
The humour used in Bleach also has his ups and downs. Even though many jokes might not even scratch your lips, others will make you laugh hard enough to almost fall off your chair.
The show always reaches his top when Ichigo is about to fight seriously, since those fight scenes are usually pretty cool, even though they are mostly kinda overdone.

Bleach in general is a pretty enjoyable anime, especially the first few episodes are very entertaining and humorous. It's a shame it has some very boring story parts, many plotholes, many filler episodes and does not have much development in character relationships ... :( read more

I can't take this show anymore. I tried, I really did, but there's so many negative aspects to Bleach that I just can't watch this uninspired, bloated, one-track show. This is a prime example of action shonen titles gone wrong.
STORY: There WAS a story. Something that started off pretty good in fact, until Tite Kubo topped himself with the first Soul Society arc. This part was enjoyable, Ichigo and his friend on a mission to rescue Rukia. Simple, yet effective, something you would expect from a typical shonen series.
However it becomes very clear that little thought went into how to follow this storyline. Like Dragonball Z, which I reviewed eariler, once this arc of the show is complete, the rest just feels like padding and filler. I know that most of it is filler and it's a constant recurring theme with a lot of manga/anime tranisitions, but Bleach has derailed from it's original concept so far, it makes me wonder why the hell some things are still happening. Why is Ichigo still a substitute Soul Reaper? How in the hell is he able to achieve bankai if he's still alive? Why not just launch an all out assault on Hueco Mundo if they have time to send random captains and squads to earth just to dick around for 20 episodes? I thought the premise of the story was defeating hollows, performing a seiru on lost souls, and sending them whatever happened to that? Instead, they make up new forms of hollows, then upgrading them to arrancars, them to espadas, and then vizereds! And don't forget about the OTHER forms of hollows called hashucehs, or whatever! FAIL!!!
ART: The art is good and detailed, but it's easy to forget that these are supposed to be high shcool students. There are way too many soul reapers and their designs ranged from generic to just flat-out scary. It doesn't help that they all have the exact same uniform, despite different ranks and squads. There's lots of squad jargon in this, so when you hear Rangiku scream "Hang on, members of squad five and seven will be there for back-up", just translate that into "some generic red-shirts will be there!" The villans all look completely ridiculous, especially the released form of arrancars and espadas. They look like failed Pokemon critters made out of petrified egg noodles. But still the art is still decent and some of the atmosphere looks nice, the battle scenes are vibrant and action-packed, so it does pass on that scale, as it's knows it's fans like action.
SOUND: The english dub of this show is incredibly grating. If I wasn't hearing Johnny Yong Bosch snarling "You Bastard" every time someone does anything short asking him what the time is, it's listening to the terribly dubbed voices of the horrible excuse of comic relief this this show has to offer. They actually manage to make these "personalities" even more unfunny then they really are. The soundtrack is passable, but leaves no real impression on any scene thats taking place, except for the "wacky comedy music"(jazz hands) to let you know that it's okay to laugh at whats going on right now. This show just insults me with how stupid it thinks I really am that I need phoned-in, whimsical music to remind me that jokes are being told. Focus on making the scene funny first, then get back to me.
CHARACTER: Oh, you want personality and character development? No, not in Bleach. All character development must be presented in exposition flashbacks in order to save time for the next fight scene. Despite the diversity of characters in this anime, the males and females have limited traits that define whos who. Most of the guys are either boorish, loud and obnoxious, and most of the women are shrill, abrasive, and annoying.
And I have to say, of all the shonen main characters I've watched over the years, I can't think of one thats as poorly written as Ichigo Kurosaki. There's no real direction as to what this character is supposed to be. In the beginning, he's supposed to be a delinquent, I guess, but I never quite believed it. He wants to fight to defend people, but treats his friends like shit, especially other male characters, to the point where I stopped caring about him. He's just another macho, male, chauvanistic, power craving Z Fighter knockoff who turns into a whiny emo git the second a stronger bad guy punches him around a few times, and if anyone like Byakyua or Kenpachi shows up, he has to try his best to assert his male dominance like an old lion getting kicked out of the pride. FAIL!!!!!!
ENJOYMENT: There's just way too many uncalled for fight scenes in Bleach to stay interested. And once you start getting into character's bankais, the stupidity is cranked to the 32nd power. Characters get new powers out of nowhere with little explanation how they aquired them, the villians are nothing more than brutish thugs with petty grudges and don't do much else, the Soul Society is about as organized and efficient as your local Blockbuster and serves no real purpose other than a lame platform for the latest villian assault on it, a good chunk of the comedy is unoriginal and unfunny (short people jokes, hormone-driven jokes etc.), and is it me, or is this the desolate, lifeless version of Japan in anime history? It's giving Ronin Warriors a run for it's money.
OVERALL: I just don't have the patience to sit through another +200 episode shonen title. Maybe if there was some sort of structure, or direction, it's just not good enough to deserve to be this long. Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. But as long as it's marketable, Bleach, and titles alike will continue to go on and on, long past the point when it was fresh and different. Now it's just another shonen title, keeping the seat warm for the next big thing, like Naruto did for it. read more