A bad adaptation of a good manga

Apr 9, 2021 12:49 PM

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Aug 2020

278

I've been trying to rewatch Bleach recently and it's been... a taxing experience. Cut dialogue and scenes from the manga that are essential to character development, bizarre changes to cannon that are retconed only a few episodes later, and that awful, awful pacing in the later parts of the Soul Society arc. Not to mention the extremely limited animation in many of the early episodes.

I'm glad I got into Bleach through this anime, but through the eyes of an old man, the overall presentation does not hit as hard as it did when I was 13. Nor as hard as it does when I read the manga, so the story does hold up, just not in this adaptation. It can be very, very boring to watch at times, especially when you know they're dragging stuff out.

However, my biggest issue with the anime has to do with its filler. Might sound like a redundant argument, but hear me out. My issue isn't that it has filler, it's that it's so poorly implemented. Cutting away mid arc, to go back to the end of a previous arc, to give us a new story arc that has no relevance to the current arc... Yeah, it doesn't make for a very organic watch. If you wanted to watch every episode of the show in order, you can expect a very frustrating and often times confusing experience as the story is put on hold needlessly.

I get why the filler is there, but Pierrot should really have pulled an Inuyasha or Black Clover, and just taken the show off air until a certain arc had finished in the manga. It makes the show so much worse in hindsight.

But, maybe that's just me. It would be great to hear other people's thoughts on the adaptation.

Apr 9, 2021 1:56 PM

xinocollus

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Jul 2020

i agree with you on this... the ride has been full of ups and downs... the worst part about bleach is its fillers... bount arc is the worst because it is a filler arc that introduces canon characters and we are forced to watch it... but overall if you skip the rest of the fillers it is quite the experience... sometimes it felt dragged out for instance the last arc and some parts in the middle... the hype of the fights hit hard tho that's why i would give it a rating of 7.7/10

Apr 9, 2021 2:10 PM

HaGor28

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Feb 2021

I dont read manga idk bad or good but ost's was so good

Apr 9, 2021 3:13 PM

AmazingMatt

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May 2019

248

I'm currently watching it and I'm in episode 60, I wouldn't say BAD adaptation, it's a nice one imo, sure, all the fillers and the background stories are a bit annoying, but it's an almost full adaptation, which is quite rare and it isn't that bad there are still many parts that were 10/10 for me, for example the battle between Ichigo and Byakuya was amazing, Ichigo's first bankai was amazingly animated.
If they were to readapt the manga, I'm sure that the animation would be better (or the same) and 99.9% sure that they won't do as many fillers as they did. Don't forget that they made this anime while the manga continued, they had to prolong it in order to stay in pace...

Apr 9, 2021 3:21 PM

Gray009

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Apr 2021

277

Good anime and good manga

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Apr 9, 2021 6:03 PM

JayDaAnimeLord

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Oct 2020

596

Great adaptation of a great manga , yeah some parts were removed and some fillers came but they did amazing

"Hard work is worthless for those that don’t believe in themselves" - Naruto Uzumaki

Apr 9, 2021 6:05 PM

Mikasa

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Mar 2012

6994

I think it's a decent adaptation of a bad manga. Pierrot are really good at animating, but the content was just bad.

End Zionazism

Apr 9, 2021 7:13 PM

Mosuman-san

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Apr 2021

Yeah, they could have told the same story in probably 1/3 the episodes. It started back in the day when producers assumed that a shounen anime needed to be on tv constantly to remain relevant. Thankfully that has changed a lot in the last 10 years.

Apr 9, 2021 7:45 PM

Madao_Taizo

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Jun 2020

208

It's probably because of studio Pierrot, the same will happen if they adapt the TYBW arc.

Apr 9, 2021 9:36 PM

#10

Humble-illusion

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Mar 2019

I think only problem was the censorship and tone of the series...it just takes away the gravity of the situation.Also fillers weren't an issue for me coz i skipped them all first and later watched it.
Anime: 9/10
Manga:10/10

Apr 9, 2021 9:52 PM

#11

Sensei_1

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Aug 2019

245

The reason bleach is one of my favorite anime is because of its OSTs so I would say it's a great adaptation. The only part of the manga I read was the TYBW and it felt just like the anime, not Any better

Apr 10, 2021 12:16 AM

#12

Devil-san

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Nov 2020

335

I love bleach...
I have also re-watched the series before...
And I agree that some parts were boring coz of the fillers but still it's one of my favourites and I like it a lot...
So, I'm sorry I may sound biased coz I am but, I can't agree with you on this...
For me it's a great adaptation...

Devil-sanApr 10, 2021 12:19 AM

Apr 10, 2021 1:44 AM

#13

sigmund_NA

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Jun 2020

I agree. I am the type who wants to watch in order everything. But it was a terrible mistake.the very last filler was pretty good in my opinion, but the rest was just bad filler and poorly placed.i genuinely loved the anime, but there was a lot could put my finger on story wise in the anime. Mostly the stuff you mentioned.

Apr 10, 2021 12:07 PM

#14

WillyBeamin__

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Jul 2020

I just finished the Ichigo Grimmjow fight just to get thrown into a filler that took place way before anything that’s currently taken place, I got so frustrated that I’m taking a break from Bleach and I don’t know when imma watch it again.

Apr 10, 2021 12:42 PM

#15

CrazyButNot4U

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Mar 2013

3231

I agree with you Thread Poster even though I didn't read the Manga. Some parts really are off from the adaptation and not fluid enough to satisfy the audiences (dragging it out? Yup but enjoyable). For me, its a decent animation considering the time it was made and it may not have any remake because there's a sequel coming up and is stalled for some time because of the current pandemic.

It's not that I dislike this genre but... to add unnecessary fan services to/in/for heroines
and ultimately destroys her character and personality; their purity tarnished because of it,
is the only thing I hope to not happen to them. For that sole purity is my fan service.

Apr 10, 2021 10:34 PM

#16

Zackack99

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Jul 2020

1120

Yeah, the pacing is certainly an issue that I have with Bleach as well; the filler to me can be really boring sometimes and things do feel dragged out as well. I haven't read the manga, but I really enjoyed the Soul Society Arc, but the filler arc after that was really boring; the same thing with the Arrancar arc, there was a filler arc during that arc specifically (although I enjoyed the Zanpakuto rebellion arc) and it felt like it took a long time to finish.

Apr 11, 2021 8:36 AM

#17

Fullmettle

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Aug 2020

278

Okay, some people have brought up the OST and feel stupid for not mentioning it in my original post. Bleach has a very, very good soundtrack, so good that I think it actually carries some of the poorer episodes. I mean I found episodes that I didn't like the content of more enjoyable to watch because of the music.

It conveys tone almost perfectly, and it really elevates the adaptation, creating this sound that's uniquely Bleach, to the point that you can actually here the ost's influence in Bleach games that were worked on by different composers. So yeah, definetly gains points for it's awesome ost.

Apr 11, 2021 8:52 AM

#18

Fullmettle

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Aug 2020

278

Mikasa said:
I think it's a decent adaptation of a bad manga. Pierrot are really good at animating, but the content was just bad.

I want to draw attention your comment about studio Pierrot because I think this is important, regardless of your thoughts on the manga because I do disagree with that.

Some extremely talented people worked on this adaptation, and I think they do deserve credit for it. While I think Studio Pierrot shouldn't have adapted this series as a weekly anime, and that that's where a lot of its issues come from (filler and pacing), the artwork and in some cases the animation can be pretty spectacular. Clearly some higher-ups at Pierrot didn't understand that the manga's pacing was better suited to shorter seasons, or didn't care, which is why this adaptation doesn't hold up for me.

So kudos to the animators that spent 9 years working on this TV series, they deserve so much respect, even if their bosses don't.

Apr 11, 2021 9:00 AM

#19

Fullmettle

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Aug 2020

278

sigmund_NA said:
I agree. I am the type who wants to watch in order everything. But it was a terrible mistake.the very last filler was pretty good in my opinion, but the rest was just bad filler and poorly placed.i genuinely loved the anime, but there was a lot could put my finger on story wise in the anime. Mostly the stuff you mentioned.

I genuinely hate that HAVE to watch shows in order haha. I think I just like the idea of experiencing shows as close to how they were originally intended to be watched as possible, so with shows that are heavy on the filler, it can be a painful experience at times.

So this brings up an interesting point, and that's the fluidity of the watching experience. If you go into a show 100% blind, and don't know what is or isn't filler, then in my opinion a good adaptation places the filler so expertly that you might not even realise it is filler unless someone tells you. You mentioned the last filler arc in Bleach and I think that's a good example of this... but unfortunately, there are tons of episodes that aren't. Entire story arcs, in fact.

May 27, 2021 8:12 AM

#20

sigmund_NA

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Jun 2020

Yup. Most of the fillers are horribly placed, and just doesn't make sense. I like how Gintama does it. Well, that said. It's easier for Gintama because everything is parody and comedy. They can just continue how they normally do. But in a show like Bleach, the way they did it just doesn't work, and it kind of ruins the main story, at least for someone like me and you that likes watching every damn thing haha. Like the Bount arc is place ok, but you just now instantly that it's filler, because the quality of the storytelling is missing.

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A bad adaptation of a good manga

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