Ever since the original Dragonball first premiered in 1984, modern shonen manga has gone through so much change, evolution, and deconstruction in the decades that come after its appearance. And while the future of shonen manga seems to be even brighter with newer entries like My Hero Academia, Jujitsu Kaisen, and Black Clover still kicking as of the making of this post, I don't think we should ever forget about the shonen manga that took that first step into both diversifying and modernizing it into what we experience now. And that is the Shonen Big 3 of the early 2000s: Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach by Tite Kubo.
I had grown up with Naruto ever since I was a kid, and it was the first real anime I had come to experience if we are not talking Pokemon. And despite my anime list growing by leaps and bounds over the decades after that, I've never come to experience the 2, only feel their influence. Even after 20 years, each series has still managed to find life within other forms, each upholding long-lasting legacies. I was always going to get into each series eventually. Still, due to the massive amount of free time, Covid 19 has left me, my hunger to experience more anime and media to further my writing, and my anime club's severe lack of diversity, I decided to follow my anime club's founder direction and finally get into Bleach. So sit back and relax, dear reader, as I give my experience over the manga that once took the world by storm.
Note
Before we begin, I have to make a couple of things clear. I'm focusing on the Bleach manga throughout the first half (pre-time skip), so any ignorance over certain plot points is my bad. I know a couple of things about bleach. However, I'm still relatively blind to said plot points, so for now, you'll be getting my personal opinion on for me in the clearest form of the author's vision without any supplementary elements to help it (TLDR: don't expect me to geek out over Number One). Finally, please be respectful of my opinion, spoiler alert, but I like Bleach. I wouldn't have read over 420 chapters in like 2 to 3 months if I didn't like it, so I think I got to call myself a real fan, now onto the summary for newcomers.
Summary
In the peaceful Kanakura Town, a young boy named Ichigo Kurosaki lives a relatively peaceful life. Or as peaceful as you can get when you're born with the ability to see dead people. You see, ever since he was a little kid, Ichigo has always been able to see souls as well as people and has often helped them out on his merry way. However, this plight would extend even further when he discovered the truth of souls that aren't able to shed the mortal coil, the truth about the demonic, soul-eating creatures known as hollows. This truth would soon become all the more clear when his family gets attacked by one. Ichigo tries in vain to defeat the hollow, only to be intervened by another spiritual woman who goes by Rukia. However, both of their efforts combined couldn't stop the hollow, leaving Rukia no choice but to give her power to Ichigo, hoping that the young boy's spiritual prowess combined with her mystical zanpakuto would be enough to win the day.
And with the deal made, Ichigo not only managed to defeat the hollow but also adopt the role of substitute soul reaper, a mysterious society tasked with purging souls and sending them to the afterlife. Unfortunately for Ichigo, his new title and hidden heritage will breed all-new challenges as soon enough, he'll realize he'll have to get a helluva lot stronger if he's going to protect the town he loves.
Cast/Presentation
Normally I would put these categories separately, but you'll see in a minute why I put both together. One of my biggest gripes in shonen is often the inclusion of a big cast, mainly because they can end up cluttering the memory banks and often lead to wasted potential. And while Bleach still plenty suffers from that, it's easily one of the best shonen to do it. I don't think I've ever seen a cast with this much diversity in body types, sexualities, ethnicities, and just plain style.
Kubo seems to be a great guy who just has a knack for cool design concepts and fashion, with only jojos being able to compete in that regard (though I'll take a bleach outfit any day of the week out of pure realism). Especially when you realize that most of the characters are limited to black and white uniforms to signify their allegiance. If we are going for the design awards, it hands down goes to the Gotei 13 and Espada. More so the Espada since despite the limitations of the white robes, numbers, broken parts of their mask, and the holes on their body and I can remember almost every single member with their amazingly distinct designs. That's why I can't talk about these two sections separately since even without words, I can get an amazing sense of the characters no problem.
Speaking of the characters, we get into our center of attraction and resident strawberry blonde: Ichigo Kurosaki. I've heard a lot of shit gets thrown his way, but honestly, I think Ichigo is a good character. He's a massive tsundere of the 2000s; his rather punk-like attitude, a permanent scowl, and showing off make him rather entertaining when on a roll, but I stay for Ichigo's mushy, often exposed insides. That being the fact that Ichigo probably adopted this persona after the death of his mother, as he seeks to maintain a strong persona while at the same time helping everyone under his watch. And I by no means think this is a bad character trait for Ichigo, unlike other shonen Bleach is a bit of urban fantasy, so I think there's nothing wrong with this teenager wanting a normal life relatability and humanity compared to other protags. I know it may have played up the edge factor. Still, I honestly wished they played up this inner struggle more, the fact that Ichigo unhealthily has to risk and give up so much to protect his family because no one else can be emphasized more. That said, this, unfortunately, does make Ichigo a completely reactive character as a result which is a bit different compared to his shonen comrades and creates slight story issues.
Filling out the main cast, we've got Rukia as well. While some see the other half of a shipping war, I see really good friends. Rukia, for the most part, is someone who helps everyone else but herself, all while being a lovable ass troll about it. I think her serving as Ichigo's mentor is supposed to flip on her relationship with Kaien, just in a more casual fan. Next up, we have Orihime, the bae. Long story short, Orihime is the only one who doesn't share the singular brain cell of the cast. She is very absent-minded, happy, and over-imaginative but this usually hides a serene emotional intelligence and empathy often overlooked by people both in and out of the story. And finally, we have the highly studious show off Ishida, the overprotective teddy man named Chad, and the recklessly ambitious Renji to hollow out the main cast. There are many other characters introduced, but I'll talk about them when they are most important. Now let's finally get into the overview.
Substitute Shinigami
Is it weird that I already feel nostalgic about this arc? Just me? Okay, just me then. Honestly, I don't have much to say about the first arc. I think this overall serves as a great introduction to the mentality of our main cast. Lowkey, I also miss the low-ranked hollows themselves as their monstrous designs and more distinct humanity add an extra layer of personality that certain arrancars will miss later. The Kankura Town characters largely are also pretty cool too; if I'm going to get window dressing, then this is what I like with Don Kanojo, Tatsuki, Kon, Keigo, Mizuiro, and Chizuru doing a good job at making the town feel alive. And the early introduction to Quincy's, Shinigami, and Hollow's feel new and fresh compared to other fantasy races, and I love that they get expanded upon later. It honestly makes the whole show feel entirely different from what comes later since I think Bleach can work as a slice of life rather than a pure high fantasy beat em up.
My favorite parts are probably the introduction of the fisherman and Ishida's introduction. I think both served as really good ways to flesh out the characters, and for better or worse, it's some of their best moments. The saving grace of the arc is honestly Ichigo and Rukia's relationship as we see them go from typical acquaintances to genuine friends that understand each other despite each other's attempts to push the other away. It does make the build-up to the next arc better.
Soul Society
I'mma is honest here; I'm confused why this arc is where Bleach should've peaked or ended to some people considering it gets carried by the end. I didn't enjoy it, but this arc both blew away my expectations and soured them and not in the way people think. But yeah, I'm a sucker for any shonen arc that involves a group of friends risking life and limb in enemy territory to save someone, so I was excited. The overall look and grandiose nature of soul society open more possibilities and can scratch the itch of many questions fans had prior. The proper introduction of the zanpakuto and, by extension, Bankai also instantly make the action far more stylistically diverse while also getting into some massive badassery. They also add a lot more introspection and interesting discussion on certain characters, making Ichigo's zangetsu reveal all the cooler. It all makes Soul Society feel like a whole new world.
That's where my praises kind of end, however. Because I'm sorry, man but soul society kind of sucks. From what I understand, I die and go to soul society. I effectively never see my family again. I have to live in poverty; I can still die, get hungry, get sick, and still age. So that just makes me ask, why the hell do I want to die here? It's also so weird that every character in soul society talks like they didn't have human lives before coming here, and it bothers me greatly. If we are talking about the Gotei 13 themselves, it arguably gets worse. I get that they were manipulated by Aizen, but my god, are they incompetent. This entire organization, effectively speaking, all had trouble taking out a couple of kids. Hell, Ishida and Orihime were outsmarting them for days without anyone caring. And if the captains weren't fighting the gang or Ichigo, they were going after each other like cats and dogs. I remind you that to kill freaking Rukia; this group wanted to nuke her very existence with a million zanpuakto? Like overkill much? But since they threw so many characters in so little time, I found the conflict interesting but not the most engaging.
The danger also feels somewhat mitigated as we see Ichigo in a matter of days surpass captains with hundreds of years on them. Once again, I think that the introduction of hollow Ichigo and zangetsu is some great stuff as we see his resolve harden. However, by the time I got to around Renji vs. Byuakaua, my enjoyment of the back-to-back fights reached an all-time high. I won't lie and say that Ichigo mopping the floor with Byukaua in Bankai wasn't a rush.
Aizen's reveal is the thing that saved it. Aizen giving Momo the wrong type of penetration put my serotonin levels at a heaven-like high. Especially since Momo is my least favorite character in Bleach (mainly because of my prior knowledge of Aizen and the fact that I feel like I have to be sorry for her, especially when she tries to kill every person she sees), him messing over all of Soul Society will probably be one of the most iconic villains reveals ever and saved the arc for me.
Arrancar arc
I don't have much to say on this arc. Once again, I'll praise the exploration of previously established topics as both the Arrancars and Vizards are incredibly cool concepts. Some of the fights are okay but not amazing, and the story is fine. I think that the best moments of the arc are easily the emotional throughline with Ichigo and Orihime. Ichigo having to man up and grow up faster than anyone would like to protect what he likes is amazing, along with his interactions with his inner hollow. I also really like Orihime's struggle as I think her emotions about her limited abilities are relatable, especially with how powerful the verse is. It makes us remember that at the end, these characters are still 15 years old who are still way out of their depth. It doesn't explain why soul society thought that it was a good idea not to tell Orihime was a literal ctrl z for reality, but I guess that at least gives us Hueco Mundo to explore soooo.
Hueco Mundo
Now, this is where the Espada finally gets to show their full force. While these guys aren't my favorite villain team, I see why they've gained their infamy amongst shonen protags. They are the peak of Bleach's character design, and I think their relations are interesting. Unlike most villains, I think their cockiness gets earned with their unique abilities and strategies. It's only sad that due to their immense power, their defeats feel somewhat anticlimactic (looking at you, Aannero). Still, I think that the Espada's survival of the fittest mentality and throwaway nature makes them quite ruthless and does make them more interesting story-wise since they are all in it for themselves. Either way, Hueco Mundo has some very stylish fights. I love the natural evolutions of Ishida and Chad's abilities, even if both them and Orihime get upstaged way too early. The new faces like Nel are also welcome, and I hope that Hueco Mundo, in general, gets more lively as time goes on. Of course, Ichigo vs Grimmjow has to steal the show as both in and out of manga; it's one of the most evenly matched bouts in the series with like every panel being stand-out moments. And that little moment at the end where we see the Gotei 13 roll up in the fake Kanakura Town is awesome, and the only time I liked them.
Fake Kankura Town
Here we go to the final arc, people! Let's gooooooooo! I have to admit that the beginning arc kind of shows a running issue of Bleach, that being the balance between Soul Society and Kankura Town. What I mean is what made the Soul Society arc exciting was the fact that we felt the characters that we've come to know so well were in danger because we had those small moments of levity and time to attach to them. They were a group of friends rather than organization. Because of the vastness of the Gotei 13 plus the knowledge of Ichigo vs Ulquiorra, it made a lot of the early fights very hard to sit through and also makes things impersonal in regards to Aizen and Ichigo. The Vizards, in comparison, made things interesting again because they had time to establish their motivations and interactions as a group properly.
But speaking of Ichigo vs Ulquiorra, I can see why it was named one of the most iconic shonen fights. All of the Espada are supposed to represent aspects of death, but Ulquiorra highlights this feeling of despair so much. Ichigo's increased strength and fighting experience mean almost nothing in this grand conflict as we seem to get pushed in a battle that's scale will probably never be topped. Other fights in Bleach may be bigger, but scale is always about the feeling rather than the pure destruction, which is something that this fight does well. Vasto Lorde is honestly the best Ichigo, and seeing literally wreck the world is amazing, and I kinda wish he went even further. But what's even more amazing, I think, is the ending, where Ulquiorra, after spending most of his time on panel discussing the point of the heart, finally finds it at his end. All while trying to be consoled by arguably the most compassionate character in the series is probably the most poetic moment in Bleach.
By the time Aizen gets the ball rolling, my investment once again peaks, even if Aizen's very appearance makes the Espada and Visored almost worthless. Still, he's a quote machine, and his mind-bending tactics on Ichigo had me laughing by the page when he got Momo stabbed again. Speaking of Aizen and Ichigo, their final battle feels symbolically satisfying but not narratively. We know so little of both the Dangai and the inner self that I kind of wish the drama got built up more. Like Ichigo effectively both completely fusing with the powers, he's fresh off White taking over while at the same time forcing himself to give up what is effectively a piece of himself have built up so much more. And don't misunderstand me. I get the irony of Aizen vs Ichigo, mainly that by technically following Aizen's plan, he managed to surpass him is poetic justice at its finest. And with all that being said, we get treated to what I think could be a pretty bittersweet ending to the series since Ichigo would've gotten what he wanted at the cost of all the friends he made along the way. It wouldn't be the most satisfying to most, but it would've been for me. Of course, the opinion might change as the fullbringer arc rolls around.
Epilogue
And with the first half of bleach done and my continuous critique of the series, what do I think? Overall, Bleach is a series with a gigantically lovable and memorable cast that unfortunately never gets enough screen time in the presence of the cheat code that is Ichigo, Aizen, and other villains of the series. And while Bleach has style and lots of room for interpretation with its interesting world, it also means that there is a lot of showboating that makes certain feats feel very unimpactful. Does this mean I hate Bleach, or does this mean I think it's the massive part of my childhood that I will carry over in my lifetime? No and no.
At the end of day, I don't think Bleach is my favorite shonen, but it's certainly made me more appreciative of it. Reading Bleach feels almost like a time capsule of sorts, even for someone who had already experienced older anime like Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragonball. It reminded me of how revolutionary something like Naruto was when having an underdog protagonist in the mainstream. It reminded me of how anime like HxH took so much care into how their power system works to avoid random asspulls. It reminded me of the hype that I would feel when watching something like Dragonball, the anime that got me into anime. It reminded me of how I'm probably going to feel once My Hero Academia, the shonen that not only broke free from bad tropes and the anime that helped carry me through high school is going to end. Bleach by itself is never going to be the anime that I grew up on. I just can't share that experience. However, it has made shonen from all ages more a part of my heart. Seeing all these different stories is probably half the reason I even started trying to make my own.
Because despite that 12 to 18 tagline, shonen, just like anime, will exist far after we grow up. Because as long as we humans have dreams and experience doubt, shonen will exist to pick us back up. I'm glad Bleach has taught me that and even if the series does sour in the end. I'll be happy to at least see it through to the end. And hopefully, you will, too, once I get into the next part and share my thoughts with all of you. But until then, have a good day.