Should I try Bleach again?

[samgdawg]

So I remember being really into Bleach a few years ago and while still being aware of its immense backlog of episodes I'd need to watch, I got really into it. I enjoyed all the characters, thought the music and style were great, and genuinely enjoyed its fighting and cliches. Until the Bount arc. The Bount arc just bored me to tears. I couldn't care about any of the villains, just wanted it to be over, and was all around bored and disappointed in Bleach for dropping the ball so hard. So, my question to you is should I try Bleach again? If so, should I muscle through the Bount arc when I get there? Or just jump over it to the next arc?

 

[Queen Michael]

I don't think you should give Bleach a second chance. But I hate that series, so I might be biased.

 

[madwarper]

So I remember being really into Bleach a few years ago

Manga or anime? Because, the anime did get really shit filler...

Until the Bount arc.

So... Anime. The Bount arc was just the reskinned Chapter Black from YuYuHakusho, and it wasn't the worst filler they've had. I've got to say the parasitic slug weapon wielding ninjas were way worse.

So, my question to you is should I try Bleach again?

If you liked it, you might give it a shot.

Or just jump over it to the next arc?

I'd recommend skipping all the filler arcs.

Also, in case you weren't aware, the anime is "finished" (or cancelled, due to losing viewers). Though the manga is still being produced, on what I assume it its final arc.

Spoiler

 

[ItouKaiji]

If you want to watch Bleach then you should one check a filler guide and skip all the filler episodes then watch to episode 310 then drop it like a hot potato. It might sound like a long way to get to 310 but about half the episodes are non-essential filler you can skip.You'll know when to stop because it'll feel like the logical stopping place for the series.Everything after episode 310 is garbage. The Fullbring arc is easily as bad as any of the filler arcs despite being cannon.

If Bleach had ended after 310 I might have had a modicum of respect for the series. There's a pretty distinct slide in quality after the end of the Soul Society arc, but there's still some good stuff in there with a few cool fights and characters.

And whatever you don't don't pick up the manga after the point where the series ends. It will kill any feeling you have for the characters or the series. This is supposed to be Bleach's final arc and it is the shittiest most illogical one yet. Also Bach is boring as fuck as a villain.

Even Chair-kun doesn't make things better.

 

[chuckman1]

Personally, I only liked the first season. So watch that and when you inevitably get bored drop it. I really liked the humorous tone and grew bored fast in season 2. Anyone else face this phenomenon?

 

[ItouKaiji]

I wouldn't be surprised with anyone getting bored because Bleach kept doing the same basic story arc over and over again just worse each time Kubo tried to make things bigger. He did fine when it was a smaller more intimate story but as soon as he tried to create a wider world things started to go south. It's pretty obvious Bleach was created with what Kubo thought was cool in mind rather than with any real structure which is why there are all kinds holes in the mythology and story.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Get the whole batch and prepare to fast-forward most of it, I do like Bleach but most of their nonsense is not worth anyone's time.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Try mixing it with Schnapps, it'll make your death taste nice. Wait, the anime?

...eh, Go ahead. It can't hurt you.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Avoid the filler like the plague. (Bleach and Naruto filler is what made me give up on anime.) The Bount arc is ok, but it's more of the same from the last arcs (and future arcs), where Ichigo must overcome his inner reluctance to fight at full strength, in order to defeat the foe that only he can. After that filler, they don't even try to fit any more filler arcs into the timeline properly, and the quality of anything not based on the manga drops with each new, tacked-on story.

Haven't checked on the manga since about 30 chapters into what is supposed to be the final arc, but if you read that, it is better than preceding Fullbringer story. (In fact, skip/read the cliffnotes on that one, too.)

 

[SmugFrog]

I would say yes, if it works with your whites and helps get them more clean, then go for it. Sometimes I clean with it, but you have to be very careful not to get it on your colored clothes.

If you're abusing Bleach, and thinking about doing it again, get help. There are support groups out there for substance abuse: http://www.samhsa.gov/find-help

 

[happyninja42]

Maybe watch like the first 3/4's of season 1. You know, the only part of the show that was actually about dealing with the souls of the dead and defending the world against them. Once the show turns into Naruto fighting game mode, drop it like a bad habit.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

Skip the filler and you should be good is my recommendation..and yes it's worth it to pick it back up, because the final arc is one of the best in my opinion.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Honestly no, saved your time and what remaining love for the franchise but NOT watching the rest of it!

Ok sure you are missing out the cool characters introduse during the Espada arc and onward but it became such a bored and it only get worse!

 

[ItouKaiji]

snip

Skip the filler using this guide - http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=266473 - and you're golden.
People like to hate on Bleach due to a combination of the Coldplay effect and intollerace for batshit insane over the top campness but I can't give it enough praise for that very campness.

I kinda wish Bleach were either batshit insane or over the top campy. The only recent times it's been close to campy was with:

Marilyn Manson

Spoiler

Which was meant to be taken seriously.

Nacho Libre

Spoiler

Who was very annoying and lasted way longer than the joke was funny.

And then there was the Love Guru

Spoiler

Which was like reading some bad stoner musings except less funny or self aware.

 

[Korenith]

No you should not. You've already seen the best the series has to offer and whatever you imagine happens next is better than what actually got produced. Even if you skip all the filler as people have suggested it's still a terribly paced story, with too many characters that the writer has no clue what to do with, and power creep so ridiculous that the final method to defeat the big bad might as well have been a magic "defeat baddie" spell for all the sense it made.

Oh and it even tries to explain away the poorly thought out way Ichigo has been able to defeat opponents who are actually way stronger than him as evidenced by what they can do later in the series. The results are laughable.

If you want a half decent shonen anime One Piece is much better but also on episode 6 billion so bear that in mind before you get invested.

 

[Mahorfeus]

As someone who actually likes Bleach, I'd urge you to stay away from the anime.

Asides from Pierrot's usual bastardization of Kubo's artwork, the entire Arrancar arc is utterly rife with padding and filler arcs that they could not be bothered to at least try to fit into the main story's continuity. Believe it or not, the Bount arc was actually the best filler arc of the bunch, for at least aspiring to create original villains. Sitting through the psychotic shitfest that was the Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arc is ill-advised, even more so for its short "sequel" arc, which made me genuinely question whether Pierrot was even trying anymore.

God help you if you do make it past the Arrancar arc, because then you'll have to contend with the Invasion arc, which is the most horrific thing ever. In that case, they actually rewrote the ending of the Arrancar arc, thereby ruining any emotional investment that came with it. I actually thought the Fullbringer arc was actually good (in the beginning, at least), but it was admittedly a terrible arc to end the anime with. It leaves way too much open, and was functionally just a means of transitioning to the next arc, which is another thing entirely.

At any rate, if the Bount arc is what made you quit, then yes, I would suggest that you give it another go. Either stick with the manga or just skip past all the filler bits in the anime (though you'd still have to deal with the padding).

If you want to preserve your sanity, one thing you need to accept is that from the get-go Ichigo is the most powerful character in the series, and that his ability to live up to that is held back by contrived plot devices. That may or may not be your cup of tea.

 

[loa]

Eh.
That time is better spent on hunter x hunter or attack on titan or even dragon ball z which is terrible but enjoyably so.

 

[Mangod]

I'd actually recommend that you get into the manga again, because of how utterly insane this trainwreck has gotten. We've not just gone off the rails, we're gaining speed, while careening along on the roof...

The Quincy arc is just laughable to me. Ywach is just everything that was bad about Aizen cranked up to 11 [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VillainSue], Soul Society have officially become one [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FusionDance] with the Idiot Ball [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IdiotBall], and last I checked, Ichigo & Co. got punted off a platform, and have been falling for the last month [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3lyrbVk_40].

"Day 2, and I'm still falling to the surface of the earth, consumed by Quincy hatred and diminishing self-worth. I was meant to kill Ywach, and I hardly left a scar! PS: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

"Day 3 -AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA this drop goes very far."

 

[sanquin]

I don't think it's worth giving another try. I thought it to be an incredibly good anime at first. Then I found anime like Log Horizon, Fate/Zero, Hellsing Ultimate, Accel World, Soul Eater, Code Geass, Gurren Langann, One Piece, etc. Now I see it as that average nostalgic anime I grew up with. As it was one of the first anime I saw, not counting pokemon and DBZ. If anything, I'd recommend Fairy Tail or One Piece over Bleach.