Critic Rating: 5/10
Unfortunately, I have to consider Bleach dropped. Once the whole Aizen mess wrapped up, I completely lost interest. I am happy the ending of that whole storyline could easily have served as a series ending. I am content to say Ichigo and his friends lived happily ever after and ignore the fact the series just keeps going and going and going.
I did some research on the manga's later arcs, and I did find myself intrigued by the back story concerning Ichigo's parents. Although, it also struck me as being a little too soapy. I don't know. I may have to give the manga a shot.
Anyway, from a fan perspective, this series is a delight. Unfortunately, after the Bount Saga, the overall quality of the main arcs weaken. However, there are still iconic moments. It's just too difficult to weigh the pros and cons. For all of the tedious filler, it often felt worth it just to get to Ulquiorra vs. Ichigo, or the revelation of Gin, or many other amazingly heart wrenching moments. Still, after the first two arcs, the parts seem greater than the whole. Stunning sequences, but overall weak story structures.
The filler arcs were mostly not that bad. The Bounts I thought was amazing, and I did not know at first it was filler because it fit in with the continuity. The themes of oppression, of denying a minority group, led to complex characters who at times really did make me tear up. Anime excels at making the political personal. Yoshino and ideas of motherhood, cult personality vs. individuality, and martyrdom opened my heart and mind. However, the series is so long, I'm not sure if I will be rewatching anytime soon to expound on those ideas.
And still, there are some gender issues. The main female characters, Orihime and Rukia, are way too sacrificial and weak. Rukia is more interesting as a character study. But I just couldn't with Orihime. At first, I was interested in how she wanted to be stronger, then in how to make her healing powers, a passive power, work in a culture that values active aggression. However, her sacrificing moment was annoying. I know she's not meant to be an Einstein, but the fact that one stupid decision lead to such a huge story arc with so freakin' many episodes, one my absolute favorite, is bittersweet. And yet still, her confrontation with jealously shows how strong her heart is (even if often to the setback of her friends).
The filler arcs are usually too slow in the beginning and wonderfully epic in their ending. The Captain Amagai arc was the worst upfront. The Muramasa arc became redundant in the middle as the same characters used the same powers over and over and the epilogue arc with the Sword Beasts brought the overall quality down further. Still, the proper ending was philosophical and beautiful.
Again, Bleach's highs and lows are in constant dual with me. There were too many arrancars. I am happy the filler arcs were there, but they were all too long. If this whole series were edited down, it would have been a masterpiece. Instead, it's a personal favorite that is good with often extended moments of poignant beauty.
Some more thoughts:
The overall world building has some shaky ideas. The citizens of the Soul Society act like they are a completely different race from humans; yet they really are just humans that have died. Their estrangement with the living does not often make sense.
Also, the series was difficult to adjust to at first. In the beginning, the stories are episodic. Each episode has Ichigo battling a hollow, and the story lines build, getting bigger. Once they enter the social society, I could not believe how decompressed the storytelling became. Battles took on many episodes. Once I skipped ahead to see how long before the Soul Society Arc ended. When I got the gist, I settled into it and enjoyed.
Like the iconic, and often templated, DBZ, Bleach works on a power up model. For some this might be tedious. However, it did not bother me, mainly because of the drama and conflict provided by Ichigo's dark side.
Like many in this genre, the sheer charisma of the characters and the epic spectacles which each have their own (often more interesting) stories kept me from probing the holes too deeply. Unfortunately, the inability to close read the world building without it falling apart leads to a low critic score.
