Bleach was a show I had disregarded for the longest time finding it boring. To my surprise I unexpectedly found myself returning to it and actually enjoying it. It was one of the few shows that introduced me to anime during my early days. However back in 2008/2009 there were only a limited number of dubbed episodes available and streaming services werent as accessible as they are today. Consequently I put the show off entirely and didnt consider reading the manga either. When the anime concluded in 2012 with little fanfare I didnt pay much attention. I had only made it so far as the Soul Society arc and had no idea what had happened since. Days turned into years until 2015 when I decided to give Bleach another chance. As I revisited the show I scoured the internet to watch the openings hoping to rekindle that sense of nostalgia. It wasnt until I came across Ranbu no Melody Opening 13 that my interest truly piqued. I felt compelled to return to the show if only to experience that opening in its episode. But I didnt just want to watch Bleach I was determined to dedicate my time and effort to fully immerse myself in it. Was it worth it? Well to some extent. Bleach follows a standard Shonen plot with Ichigo an ordinary high school student gaining supernatural powers and realizing his duty to protect everyone and everything around him. Along the way he faces increasingly powerful foes grows stronger and confronts challenging adversaries. Bleach strikes a fine balance between comedy and action often eliciting unexpected laughter from me. Bleach is separated into larger arcs that are followed up by smaller ones. THE SOUL SOCIETY Human Realm Soul Society ARRANCAR Human Real Hueco Mundo Fake Karakura Town The first season known as The Substitute is set in our world and follows Ichigos journey into becoming a Soul Reaper. The arc concludes with Ichigos mission to rescue his friend Rukia from whom he received his powers illegitimately. This leads to the Soul Society arc which revolves around the rescue mission for Rukia. While its widely regarded as the pinnacle of the show by many its not necessarily the peak of Bleach for me. Despite the consistent quality of the show the Soul Society arc stands out because it introduces us to new enemies and a fresh storyline. The arc benefits from its stable pacing and the novelty of exploring a new aspect of the universe. Its a captivating twist of events as Ichigo confronts a series of intriguing antagonists particularly within the unique setting of the Soul Society. The Soul Society arc shows us lots but often explanations are so contrived. The writer Tite Kubo has a knack for his stylistic approach. Whats often cool to the eye is never fully translated well when it comes to dialogue. One moment you might understand a concept about the world and then the next its confusing you. The more glaring issue is the placement of the arc because its as if this was written to be the finale of the entire series. In reality this isnt the case. The Soul Society arc has its a fair share of problems partly because of the way it was adapted. The action fit perfectly in the manga and it resonated with me. The anime adapted it but drew out scenes to an annoyingly boring degree partly due to its syndicated run on television. The worst part of it all was the included recaps in the middle of fights. Regardless of how epic the fight was in the manga the Bleach anime likes to dump exposition in order to fill time for their televised viewing. The transition to the Hueco Mundo arc in the manga was terrible as well but it happened and this was not some easy fix. But where Bleach lacked in pacing it made up for in strong sequences. The Hueco Mundo arc comes into play right after in the anime and is adapted so well in the beginning. The pacing happens so fast and things carry on at a reasonably good pace. It was a breath of fresh air for me. Fights didnt take more than a few episodes to conclude and its a real shame the rest of Bleach didnt have that noticeably better pacing when it wasnt waiting on manga chapters. It closely followed the manga without losing anything in translation. Now lets delve into the issue of filler content. Skipping it can make the difference between experiencing good Bleach and settling for okay Bleach. Often filler episodes dont significantly impact the main storyline theyre treated as separate entities. However in the Bleach anime this isnt always the case. Filler characters sometimes find their way into crucial plot points detracting from the significance of certain scenes. My main gripe arose when a particular character revealed themselves to be a Soul Reaper during a pivotal moment. The reaction of the filler characters present dampened the impact of the reveal. Having read the manga alongside watching the show I was eagerly anticipating these moments. But seeing these filler characters shoehorned into the main plot was disappointing. While I could overlook it it added to the list of issues I had with the Bleach anime. The decision to integrate them into one of the battles further exacerbated the problem. I would have preferred if they were entirely forgotten rather than wasting screen time on their inclusion regardless of continuity. Some may dismiss this as nitpicking but for me it was distracting and detracted from the immersion. Referencing an arc I hadnt seen prior only compounded the frustration especially knowing these characters exist in the main story. Moving on the Hueco Mundo arc introduces visually striking antagonists like Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. While the setting is captivating the arc overstays its welcome. The repetitive pattern of fights exposition and plot progression becomes tiresome to watch. I had hoped the anime would address the pacing issues from the manga but unfortunately it falls short in this regard. Its a missed opportunity considering how evident these pacing problems were in the original material. Conversely the Fullbringer arc though often labeled as the most fillerlike diverges significantly from the typical Bleach formula. Despite being canon it offers a refreshing departure from the usual narrative structure. Exploring emotionally heavy themes it provides insights into Ichigos character even as his ultimate goal remains unclear. While some may find fault with the development of Fullbringer characters and their relevance to Bleachs world I found the arc enjoyable for its compelling moments and thematic depth. Bleach truly shines in its characters and their distinct designs. The diverse cast of twentyplus characters each leaves a memorable impression except perhaps for Don Kanoji whos a bit hit or miss. The fantastic character interactions and conflicts in the Bleach anime make it worth watching. Now that both the anime and manga have concluded lets delve deeper into some aspects of Bleach. Should You Skip the Fillers? Yes you should skip them. But theres one thing you should do: finish Bleach and catch up on the manga. If you want more you can come back to the filler episodes and entertain yourself there without having it interfere with the main plot. Should I Read the Manga Instead? Id say yes if you dont have the time. But if you come to love the Bleach manga then watch the show. The anime has great openings and the emotional segments are portrayed to a better degree since it has more cinematic flair. The manga is good but it suffers from pacing issues like in the Hueco Mundo arc which consists mainly of fights for several volumes. I honestly couldnt imagine reading this arc during a chapter release in Shonen Jump. Good lord theres a whole lot of nothing for entire volumes. Then Does the Manga Surpass the Anime? Only marginally by 0.5 of a star because of its more faithful execution of the main story which is a given. The manga lacks filler making it a breeze to get through the dry arcs. Hopefully they can do some story fixes with the new adaptation of the ThousandYear Blood War but I wont hold my breath. Is the Show Itself Worth Watching Then? Bleach is a blast its fun regardless of the smaller problems. Its one of the preferred former Big Three that I was so glad to be watching. The show helps to illustrate the awesome action sequences and some of the emotional moments. What Are the Best Arcs of Bleach Then? ThousandYear Blood War but Im willing to debate that after the atrocious ending. Soul Society is about as equal as the Hueco Mundo for me at least. Fullbringer but again Im also willing to debate this one. It can be interchanged depending on how I feel. I Cant Complete It Isnt It Like 300+ Episodes? As I said you can skip the fillers thus reducing the shows length and making it more digestible. Believe it or not the actual show is comprised of 49 filler so dont feel bad about skipping. But if you seriously dont have the time yes read the manga its good. But come back to the show to see the scenes animated. Seriously the show does improve some of those parts because it has the music and visuals to really bring the scenes to life. So dont avoid the anime entirely. If theres one thing perfect about Bleach its the openings. There are no bad ones. Closing Thoughts Now thats over with I can conclude with my thoughts. Bleach is a great show but the problems lie in two places: the filler and the source material. A certain female gets stabbed not once but numerous times through the chest. Yet she somehow survives every single time that happens. It wasnt two standard parts either this happens at very dramatic parts in which youre supposed to feel emotionally invested. When characters are resurrected by Kubo its hard to feel like there are stakes. If you want an emotional buildup just write the characters deaths properly and be done with it. Dont cater to the fanbases popularity it never works and this is a clear example of fanpandering thats kept certain characters alive. Bleach has some horribly bad asspull moments that become more apparent the further along you go. The stakes seem to lower with every new arc as every good guy seems to survive regardless of how they died. All too often people who should die just dont and its ironically more painful keeping them alive. Theres always that sense that theyll just return in the next arc which leads to some underwhelming tension. This is more the fault of Kubo who just couldnt be bothered to make a story that shakes up the formula. The final manga arc more than makes up for this to a point but it feels like petty wishfulfillment than a genuine attempt to tell a good highstakes story. There are still many moments in which I felt compelled to put Bleach down and never return again and finishing it just broke me mentally. I had invested hours upon hours of reading watching and fanboying over Bleach only for Kubo to tarnish all my respect for the series within the span of one chapter. The newest arc despite feeling great at the beginning fell back into the Bleach formula. Good guy faces off with a bad guy who shows up bad guy gets killed but reveals his true power and then we see the heros new Bankai its the same tired story structure that stretches itself over an entire arc AGAIN. I will say this recalling previous characters from past arcs was nice if a bit fanservicey. Using surviving antagonists was cool too I just wish Kubo wouldve used them in an Avengersstyle final battle. I could write a whole review of the manga but I thought it would be more appropriate to put here in my anime review. Bleach is returning so Ill probably be watching it to see what direction they take it but Im past the point of caring about how its handled the characters. Bleach is worth watching as the character dynamics feel fully realized in an animated format. Its just a shame that Kubo cant seem to write meaningful story arcs because there are some great scenarios that get mishandled that keep it from being anything special.