Lets Talk The Big 3 (Anime shows)

[anthony87]

I like them. Sure they've got flaws, like Ichigo having the powers of fucking EVERYTHING by this point and just Sasuke in general but the flaws hardly ruin the experience.

I am a little disappointed that the Bleach anime ended when it did considering what's been happening in the manga lately. I'm holding out hope for a new movie or something like that to cover the final story arc.

 

[FPLOON]

Before I give my two bits/cents/munny/gald/etc. on this topic, I will like to say that less than 24 hours before I posted this reply[footnote]It was about 3 in the morning Pacific Standard Time[/footnote], I was reading a 18-page forum post on this exact topic and it ended up derailing into an argument over One Piece's planned arcs and unexpected twist that seemed like they were planned from the beginning...

Not a bad way to deprive myself from sleep even more than a post that tickles my fancy for more than 10 pages... LOL..

*ahem* Anyway...

snip (Big 3 Edition)

Now, I have seen these three series multiple occasions and (no matter what anyone says about them) I'm still watching/reading them... (and will probably still until they do end... *sarcastic gulp*)

Yes, both Naruto and Bleach are basically DBZ with a different setting/concept paste over it (although I do remember someone saying how Bleach was DBZ with swords and that made me laugh sincerely), but at least Bleach has one more main arc to go through before it does end (although apparently it's going to be as long or even longer as the entire Arrancar/Hueco Mundo arc, which that's... uh... going to be interesting... to me...) and Naruto... well... You can place your bets on either Bleach or Naruto ending before the other at this point...

One Piece, however, is nowhere close to being done... And, luckily, is the only one out of the "Big 3" where a good majority of those that choose One Piece over both Naruto and Bleach are more than happy that it's still going to this day.

In my opinion, One Piece had the best start off out of the "Big 3" basically because of how it was originally set up. Of course it's also the series that, I feel, is the one that you would need the most dedication to watch/read because of how it was originally set up. Naruto is the simplest to get into because it starts off pretty simple. Bleach is debatable because of how the first two arcs seem to almost juxtapose themselves when you really think about it. (But, then again, both Naruto and Shippuden have their juxtapose moments, but I digress...)

Overall, will I be sad when either of these series end? Nope... Will I be satisfied when they do end? That's debatable... Will it be worth it either way? If I live or die based on this question alone... Right now, I would say "Yes"...

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to find a[nother] thread that ask about possible replacements for the "Big 3"...

captcha: fair or foul
*shifty eyes* That's feels like a loaded question, captcha...

 

[TheEvilGenius]

Oh, my. It certainly doesn't seem like there's much for me to add to this thread. So I'm going to add something to it anyway.

Naruto hasn't been anywhere near truly engrossing since the end of the Chuunin exams. That fight between him and Sasuke was pretty badass. After that, it sorta falls apart. Actually, it really falls apart. Sakura is still basically useless outside of a single fight. Sasuke has plot armor of ridiculous proportions. Most of my favorite characters get little to no screen time (Shikamaru, Temari, Hinata). The fights went from reasonably clever ninjutsu to wallhax competitions complete with portals and shit.

Bleach... should have ended. Seriously. After the defeat of Aizen, Bleach should have ended. The set-up was perfect. Main bad guy beaten, Soul Society saved, friends said goodbye to each other. Seriously. It should have ended. Aside from that, my main problems are that Ichigo solves all of his problems with Getsuga Tenshou. Kubo does nothing more than give Ichigo the same powers as his enemies. Byakuya has a bankai? So does Ichigo! High-powered hollows show up? Oh, look! A mask!

Spoiler

Quincies attack? Gee, it's sure is a good thing that ichigo's mom was a quincy and he inherited her powers isn't it?

The sheer laziness of it all kills it for me. I'm only reading for the check in the box. My favorite characters (read: anyone who's not ichigo) don't get enough screen time.

One Piece is fine the way it is. It showed its true potential as a series during the CP-9 and Marineford arcs and hasn't gotten back to that level of good since then, but it's not bad. All of the characters are an entertaining kind of wacky. Plus the fights and fruit-powers can get pretty creative sometimes.


Personally, I think the best animes are the ones that few, sadly, have heard of. Utawarerumono, Tears to Tiara, Spice and Wolf, Binbougami Ga! I could go on... so I will. Great Teacher Onizuka, Ah! My Goddess, Black Lagoon, Broken Blade, Golden Boy, Katanagatari, Vandread, etc.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

Cowboy Bebop was my gateway Anime...I don't count Sailor Moon, since I was a small child and...ok, the transformation scenes were interesting as a 12 year old, I won't lie.

That said, Bleach was a big thing for me, since it was dubbed (pretty damned well) and aired on Adult Swim when I was usually awake anyway. I haven't seen much of Naruto or One Piece, so can't really comment (Aside from the 500+ episodes thing. Jesus Christ. End.), but I've seen most of Bleach and enjoyed a good bit of it.

As many others have said, the Soul Society arc was, by far, the best, but some later fight scenes and story elements were pretty neat. It just took for fucking ever to get to them.

The concept of filler, by itself, makes me sad.

Nowadays, I'm into much, much shorter shows. The 13-48 episode range is about right, depending on the narrative and how it concludes.

Then again, I've sort of just drifted into Slice of Life and comedy/ecchi stuff. ._. It's light-hearted and serves as a smile-inducing activity, rather than a depressing one. Though there is definitely something to be said about a good drama, like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, or actiony romp, like Black Lagoon.

There's a lot out there to enjoy.

 

[TheLastSeraphim]

For me. Bleach over all was enjoyable, the story did start to fade into left field, but enjoyable. I did read a lot of the Manga while overseas.

Never really could get into One Piece, The art Overall put me off, and the fact its over 300 episodes long thats a bit much to start watching, I did catch an episode here and there on toonami, but it never really drew me in.

As for Naruto, its probably one of the only animes I've watched that made me want to shoot my TV. Naruto(character) Is beyond annoying to listen to, its like nails glued to a belt sander ran over a chalkboard. And for the "powers" the characters have, Let see you Use Jutsu when I tie you down and Take a Hammer to your Hands.

 

[Shock and Awe]

I could honestly never get that into any of them. I can't say exactly what irks me about them, its a lot of little things. They are way to long(for me FMA is about as long as something can be and hold up) they strike me as really bland, and they fall into the trap that many long running animes fall into; they get way to big. DBZ fell into this one. I mean having that kind of power and destruction in average fights kind of makes it hard to relate to. This is something that I think FMA was good in avoiding. The characters never really got to that level of utter ridiculousness that I couldn't relate anymore.

 

[captainballsack]

I don't watch them, as I don't have the patience, but I don't think they're bad animes. I think they all have really fleshed out universes, and I really loved the Naruto plot.

I actually quite liked the original Naruto series. I felt it was paced a lot better than Bleach, One Piece, and DragonBall Z, but when it came to Shippuden, it just moved so, so slowly, and all the characters became a little bit overpowered (almost exactly like DBZ).

I don't watch these shows, but I don't think they are bad by any stretch of the imagination. They're great shows with great characters, but unless you're apart of some fandom, it's hard to keep on top of them.

 

[Nazulu]

All these shows suffer from the usual anime cliche's and drag out some parts wayyyyy too long. However, I watched them because they have their 'moments', special fight scenes or really funny bits and pieces. Same with DBZ, Inuyasha, yadda, yadda.

Naruto is my favourite out of the lot, though I stopped caring when Shippuden came in (except for the Sasori fight). It started off really funny and every now and again they would have these really well animated episodes (watch episode 133), including I just found the powers more interesting.

 

[sabercrusader]

Uh, I used to be really big into Naruto, but I stopped watching the anime a little after the Pain Arc. I started reading the manga from that point, and I've kept up with the manga and will likely see it through to the end.

Never could get into Bleach. It may be good for all I know, but it just doesn't interest me much to be perfectly honest.

I'm actually getting into One Piece. I've watched it a lot recently and I'm in the beginning of the Alabasta Arc. I like the art style, and I really like the characters. Plus, it has it's comedy moments, I don't normally laugh while watching an anime but yeah, One Piece has given me a good laugh a few times. I really like it, though I can see why others wouldn't, in fact, until recently, I hated it. Though that's probably because I watched the 4Kids dub when I was a kid.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I'll start by saying that I have stopped following the One Piece anime (just because of how ridiculous it's gotten), I still read Bleach, but have not watched the anime for some time, and I also still read Naruto: Shippuden, but I despise the voice acting in all dubs.

I do believe that they will all end at some point; Bleach was suppose to end a while back, but was brought back for two final arcs and Naruto's Shippuden part might be close to ending, but might continue on to Part 3. In terms of One Piece, that series is going to go on forever, which isn't a bad thing if the fans are still interested in the series.

 

[Innegativeion]

Alright, can someone perhaps riddle me this?

One Piece is called that because of the treasure.

Naruto is called that because of the protagonist.

Why the fuck is Bleach called 'Bleach'?

I haven't seen an episode of it (haven't been into shonin-type stuff since I finished DBZ in my early years), but I've always been curious about this. I once asked an acquaintance who watched it if it was called 'Bleach' because it's about the afterlife. You know... bleached white like ghosts, or bones, or angels, or heaven, or hollows or whatever. They insisted that wasn't it.

 

[infinity_turtles]

Why the fuck is Bleach called 'Bleach'?

It's supposed to be named that because of the main character's hair color. It hardly matters now with the way the series ended up going, but it was supposed to series was originally going to be more of a monster of the week style like it started out, with the school playing a bigger role. And with the school playing a bigger role, there was gonna be a lot more angst about fitting in. Early on the series touches on the main character being made ostracized because people think he bleached and dyed his hair like some sort of stereotypical delinquent. The series went in a totally different direction though so the name ended up not really meaning anything.

Anyway, I keep getting surprised that people still think of Bleach as one of the Big Three. It's waning in popularity nowadays and most places seem to be replacing it with Toriko on the Big 3 front.

 

[CleverCover]

I've watched all three a long looooong time ago and only remember one now in fondness.

Bleach: I highly disliked this show. Once season 1 ended, for some reason I stopped liking Ichigo, Orihime, and Rukia to the point where I was actively waiting for them to get beaten up. And then the impossible amounts of filler came up that one day I turned to watch it on Adult Swim. Still like Chad and the archer dude and Tatsuki(?) though.

One Piece: I feel like I should give it another chance since I watched it and dismissed it during its 4kids phase. 4kids Luffy was bad.

Naruto: Loved the everloving crap out of this one. Still do. Just waiting for it to finally have an ending and something to make sense. Did it end yet?

These shows have taught me something though. Never start anything unless the anime/manga is finished. Looking at you too Case Closed.

 

[Oly J]

I watch and plan to eventually finish watching Naruto. watched a few season of Bleach got into it for a while but stopped around season 4, and feel oddly little desire to revisit it, never watched One Piece

if you want anime with a decent run time I can name a few, (they've probably been named at least once)

Death Note, good run time though not fighting oriented

Claymore, little on the short side I think but pretty damn good

Soul Eater, all the makings of any in the big 3 apart from the length

Hellsing Ultimate, plan to get the rest of that eventually

Elfen Lied, short but OH MY GOD THE FEELS

Ghosthunt, kinda "Death Note meets Scooby Doo" but with very little death and no talking dog

Bamboo Blade, light-hearted and not too long,

Hetalia: Axis Powers, many episodes but all very short, not so much a story as a series of skits

Fate/Stay Night, personally I loved this one, not sure how I'd describe it though,

there are more but I'll stop for now

 

[chinangel]

my issues with the Big Three are pretty simple.

Well for starters, all 3 started around the time i was in high school. I am now almost 30. That is ridiculous.

The filler arcs are retarded and boring and all three seem to be trying to out DBZ, DBZ. The characters in all 3 are pretty interchangable and fairly boring, and Naruto especially is collapsing under its own weight. Meanwhile, One Piece is content to just grind and grind and grind and go absolutely no where and Bleach is...well...Bleach. I'm pretty sure that's self-explanatory.

ALl three are effectively the same anime, though Naruto holds a special place in anime hell for me: due to it's ham-handed attempt to make every villain sympathetic. It's so tiredly predictable.

So I have long-since abandoned these three for fairer weather, though I'm keeping Fairy Tale at arms length (God with the way it spins it's tires you'd think that Eiichiro Oda made it)

 

[VodkaKnight]

I guess that the amount of shit all of them have by now vastly outweighs the good.
No series is ever good for the length Bleach has been going.
And it's just too massive a slog to get all the new episodes, so by now, it's mostly only the people that have been around since the first 50 episodes.
And with no end?
All they're doing is padding it out, or just adding more and more story arcs. A long series is good if it's episodic, but all One Piece is now is just a padded out method of finding a treasure.
The amount of filler, and recycled ideas, by now, definitely are by now more common than original and plot-related episodes.
TL;DR version: Too much filler, running out of ideas.

 

[Tzatziki3301]

I'm a Naruto fan (with that avatar? gee, y'a think?! etc.) but I agree on the amount of filler episodes spoiling things.

I know why they exist, because when you can hoover up more than ten volumes of the manga in one episode, eventually you are going to hit a point where you are animating stuff that hasn't finished being written yet. Bleach has it worse (it felt) and the show just stopped grabbing me early on. One Piece is enjoyable (especially since we finally have it on DVD in the UK) but only to a point. Problem with the big 3 is annoying lead characters. Naruto the main character is annoying, Itchigo is annoying and Luffy is annoying. Its the support characters I watch it for (and no, I don't mean just Sasuke the plot device pin-up boy) and the supporting casts in Bleach and One Piece can't hold a candle to the variety and interest of the other ninja kids. Don't get me wrong, there are the support stars in both, but for me, no-one beats Shikamaru, Ino and Chojii or even Sakura in terms of invested, emotional story arc (yes, you have to stick with them to see them shine).

When the filler gets too much, go back to the Manga. The comics have zero filler, the writers just don't have the time to devote to random tangents so everything drives forwards. Sure, some of the battles bloat a little, and twists get introduced that you raise an eyebrow at and wonder why they deemed it necessary.

Spoiler

(This Pain fight is awesome, keep it going a few more issues! But how? I dunno... maybe one of them resurrects the others? Ok, yeah, that works, but now what? Naruto hasn't used Nine-tails in a while, why not bring that out? Yeah but how? I dunno, kill off a love-interest?)

BUT... in the comics we are reaching THE END. Yes, the anime goes on and on and on, but the final horizon is in sight, and so far its been a corker. Read the originals, go back to the anime afterwards.

 

[KOMega]

Naruto and Bleach were alright starting out but they somehow fell away from me as it continued until I just full on dropped them.
One piece looks like good fun and stuff, and I'd watch it.

Unfortunately the big three really are BIG.

If I didn't keep pace and kept following along I wouldn't know where to continue off of. I want to watch one of them? Then I see the hundreds of episodes and I go, ehhhhhh I don't think I can do that. Especially since not every episode is super good or anything.

Still as a gateway, I'd say these three are alright.
DBZ, Card Captor Sakura and Gundam (I dunno pick one of them. Wing I guess.) I think are effective gateways, since they are famous enough that someone outside of anime would have at least heard of one of these.

I started with .hack//sign, but I wouldn't suggest that for an introduction to anime.

Also I want to start watching Girls and Panzer. The tank fights look fun.

 

[Paradoxrifts]

A big part of why I enjoy anime is the 26 episode or 13 episode format, so I tend to avoid anything that runs for longer than that including those mentioned by the original poster.