Should I try Bleach again?

[Fox12]

No. I hated that series when I was in its target audience. Couldn't bother now. Watch Serial Experiments Lain instead. Or Berserk.

I may skip to the end to see if Ryukia and what's-his-face ever hooked up. Otherwise, I don't care. And you shouldn't either.

 

[syaoran728]

Seeing how the anime got canceled you would probably be wasting your time if you go back to that. As for the manga, I'm not sure. I read all the way through the Aizen arc and it was pretty meh. I haven't touched the recent stuff because the full-bring arc was complete shit(it was a key factor in getting the anime canceled). My advice pick a different title from Shounen Jump and read that instead. One Piece is great. I recently read all of Naruto now that its concluded and I had fun. Toriko is okay. Gintama and Assassination Classroom are some of the funniest things in manga right now. Finally Shokugeki no Souma is the most awesome manga running in Jump right now.

 

[Story]

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

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

I laughed. Especially since being drunk while watching Bleach is a totally valid suggestion.

No, OP, I don't think it is worth your time. Then again, I stopped watching after the end of the Arrancar arc so maybe I'm biased but I can't but feel there are way more better anime and even shonen anime out there you should watch instead.

 

[GabeZhul]

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.

The thing is Bleach was a very good anime/manga. There was a reason it became on of the big tree along Naruto and One Piece. The problem is that Kubo had a plot planned out until the end of the Soul Society Arc and its big twist (which was really good, both the arc and the twist). However he really didn't have anything else.

Not only that, with the Soul Society arc done he suddenly had about fifty new characters with their own back-stories, fun powers ripe for display and, most importantly, rabid fanbase that wanted to see them in favor of some other characters. Because of that characters who used to be main characters, such as Chad and Orihime and even Rukia got demoted to completely ineffectual side-characters facing off against (and usually losing to) gimmicky side-villains while the popular captains like Kenpachi, Byakuya and Hitsugaya took center stage... Only to be side-tracked when even more characters entered the fray when the Arrancar arc started bloating the cast even further with the Arrancar, the Visored and all the other random minibosses.

I would say this is the reason why Bleach fell apart: Kubo loves creating distinct, over-the-top character designs and powers, and he wants his characters to demonstrate these powers. Because of this there are always huge mobs of new, over-designed enemies showing up for the heroes to defeat in long battles, but when those enemies become popular they join the cast and therefore there have to be even more new enemies so they can show off too, and then some of those guys also join the main cast and so on and so forth, leading to a slow but steady balooning of pointless fights with increasingly implausible powers. This leaves everything else; plot, characters and general narrative sense secondary in service of churning out even more characters and combat-powers (which is the reason behind the blatant rehashing of old plots), and Kubo could get away with all of this because early Bleach was good enough to cater enough of a fan-support to make him untouchable by the editors.

Hell, in a way Kubo is still untouchable. Bleach is consistently tanking the Shounen Jump rankings, but they keep publishing it just because it's Bleach, a once popular and still widely recognized brand.

 

[ArcaneGamer]

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?

I really haven't seen the series up to that point, myself, so I'll just recommend a somewhat similar series, if only in tone: Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan. The art is good, the characters likable, and the story's good once it gets going.

 

[lord canti]

I wouldn't recommend it honestly. In fact, the only reason I'm still reading it is out of obligation to finish a story that I've been invested in for several years. Though it's still a good deal better than Naruto was at the end.

 

[KenAri]

Deleted: Double Post.

 

[KenAri]

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?

The Bount arc was the first major filler season. That can be safely skipped. The first season by far trumps everything else, but the rest aren't necessarily bad if you liked what Bleach was. Now you're older a lot of the typical shonen things might annoy you where they didn't before, because Bleach is riddled with them. But if you do fancy carrying on, search Google for a 'How to watch Bleach without filler', or 'What Bleach episodes are filler?' sort of thing; those lists exist.

 

[Fox12]

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."

Meanwhile, in Berserk

Guts: hey, we're we supposed to be doing something?

Schierke: besides chilling on this boat? No.

Guts: oh, okay then.

Caska: *drool*

 

[balladbird]

I'd say give it a shot. I'm biased the other way, though. I adored the arrancar arc, and considered the espada some of the highlights of the series; and while the fullbringer arc was nothing to write home about, it features some great shifts in tone, and the scenes where Ichigo realizes what Tsukishima's power is, and the effect it's having on everyone he knows, are some of the BEST atmospheric horror you'll ever find in shonen.

I can't deny that every year sees the quality of the series drop a little, but eh, people love to be hyperbolic about it. It's a very average series, in my opinion. speaking of:

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]

can't deny this, and it does suck, but the man IS named for the abrahamic god, after all. Kubo seems to be trying to trade off how stupidly perfect his new villain is by reducing the competence of his last two darlings: Urahara and Aizen.

I admit, I got immense satisfaction from Urahara finally NOT knowing something, and seeing Aizen get trolled twice in one chapter (including one time by a random sternritter?) yeah... that was satisfying. those two are usually so infallible they're boring.

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]

Soul Society is outclassed anyway. I think the fact they're trying to do anything at all is fairly cute.

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].

It's only been a couple chapters since the fall, and they haven't been the focus of any chapters since then: haven't even appeared once since the chapter they were dropped. Trying to make it sound like every week since then has been them falling is just dishonest.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Eh, I'd recommend against it. I liked Bleach, but lost interest after it got too damned long and confusing. And the irritatingly over-powered villains pissed me right the hell off. (Looking at you Aizen...)

 

[FPLOON]

Unless you REALLY like Orihime as a character...

But seriously, skip the fillers and then continue with the manga... unless you REALLY do not like Aizen as a character...

Other than that, no matter what choice you take, just know that you made the right choice at that particular moment in time...

 

[samgdawg]

OK, thanks everyone for all the feedback. This has been really informative and useful with all your input.
CAPTCHA: wash whites separately. Are we sure the captcha hasn't become self-aware?

 

[samgdawg]

Are they still on that? I stopped reading after they killed Cthulhu.

What. Killed Cthulhu? Ok, I was interested in Berserk before but now I know I have to watch it.

 

[Fox12]

Are they still on that? I stopped reading after they killed Cthulhu.

What. Killed Cthulhu? Ok, I was interested in Berserk before but now I know I have to watch it.

Dude, cthulu is a Tuesday night for Guts.

In all seriousness, though, the series may be more then you expect. If you want an epic dark/horror fantasy story with lots of action then... well, Berserk is all those things, but it's much, much more. It's like turning to Neon Genesis, when all you were looking for was a fighting robot show.

It's highly recommended : )

 

[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.

The thing is Bleach was a very good anime/manga. There was a reason it became on of the big tree along Naruto and One Piece. The problem is that Kubo had a plot planned out until the end of the Soul Society Arc and its big twist (which was really good, both the arc and the twist). However he really didn't have anything else.

Not only that, with the Soul Society arc done he suddenly had about fifty new characters with their own back-stories, fun powers ripe for display and, most importantly, rabid fanbase that wanted to see them in favor of some other characters. Because of that characters who used to be main characters, such as Chad and Orihime and even Rukia got demoted to completely ineffectual side-characters facing off against (and usually losing to) gimmicky side-villains while the popular captains like Kenpachi, Byakuya and Hitsugaya took center stage... Only to be side-tracked when even more characters entered the fray when the Arrancar arc started bloating the cast even further with the Arrancar, the Visored and all the other random minibosses.

I would say this is the reason why Bleach fell apart: Kubo loves creating distinct, over-the-top character designs and powers, and he wants his characters to demonstrate these powers. Because of this there are always huge mobs of new, over-designed enemies showing up for the heroes to defeat in long battles, but when those enemies become popular they join the cast and therefore there have to be even more new enemies so they can show off too, and then some of those guys also join the main cast and so on and so forth, leading to a slow but steady balooning of pointless fights with increasingly implausible powers. This leaves everything else; plot, characters and general narrative sense secondary in service of churning out even more characters and combat-powers (which is the reason behind the blatant rehashing of old plots), and Kubo could get away with all of this because early Bleach was good enough to cater enough of a fan-support to make him untouchable by the editors.

Hell, in a way Kubo is still untouchable. Bleach is consistently tanking the Shounen Jump rankings, but they keep publishing it just because it's Bleach, a once popular and still widely recognized brand.

Good, coherent explanation of what's going on behind the scenes. I don't know how accurate it all is, but it would make sense. As you're right, bleach started going downhill after the soul society arc. The arrancar arc was still pretty okay, the espada after that with Aizen making his move was just one big, drawn out, bloated mash-up of different battles. Etc.

 

[Avalanche91]

Honestly: no. No, you should not. The manga has become such a incomprehensible mess. Ichigo is the C-plot in his own story. The Quincy are the most boring villains since the final boss in Naruto, their leader is Aizen minus the charm (but with amazing facial hair) and the story just keeps pulling shit out of its ass.

I mean I get it. Bleach was good. The Rukia retrieval arc and argueably the Hueco Mundo arc were pretty great and it was rightfully part of 'the big 3' but it lost its soul. Instead of developping Ichigo and his merry band, we've been developping the Gotei 13. Instead of seeing Ichigo struggle with this new threat, we've seen the Gotei 13. Instead of giving Ichigo a personal stake in this conflict, we've seen the goddamn Gotei 13. Soi Fon has had more to do than Ichigo this arc. Who is our protagonist?!

I still follow the manga but by god does it need to finish already.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

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

I am of this opinion.

Every time this show was on Adult Swim i'd watch it and I never had ANY idea what was going on.

 

[Mangod]

I'd say give it a shot. I'm biased the other way, though. I adored the arrancar arc, and considered the espada some of the highlights of the series; and while the fullbringer arc was nothing to write home about, it features some great shifts in tone, and the scenes where Ichigo realizes what Tsukishima's power is, and the effect it's having on everyone he knows, are some of the BEST atmospheric horror you'll ever find in shonen.

I can't deny that every year sees the quality of the series drop a little, but eh, people love to be hyperbolic about it. It's a very average series, in my opinion. speaking of:

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]

can't deny this, and it does suck, but the man IS named for the abrahamic god, after all. Kubo seems to be trying to trade off how stupidly perfect his new villain is by reducing the competence of his last two darlings: Urahara and Aizen.

I admit, I got immense satisfaction from Urahara finally NOT knowing something, and seeing Aizen get trolled twice in one chapter (including one time by a random sternritter?) yeah... that was satisfying. those two are usually so infallible they're boring.

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]

Soul Society is outclassed anyway. I think the fact they're trying to do anything at all is fairly cute.

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].

It's only been a couple chapters since the fall, and they haven't been the focus of any chapters since then: haven't even appeared once since the chapter they were dropped. Trying to make it sound like every week since then has been them falling is just dishonest.

Facetious joke about falling aside...

I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone pick up Bleach, for the same reason that I would, in hindsight, tell people not to pick up Naruto. Even if it's just to "see how it ends" to which I would respond with another Yahtzee quote: "Better to just snap the limb off before it grows nerves."

Perhaps it is better to drop the series before your fond memories of it get dragged down with all the drek. But then, that's just the perspective of someone who's been burned already.