I remember watching the first episode of Bleach (in October of 2004) and loving every aspect of it. Over the years, I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with it, as the production company, for various reasons, created entire story arcs that were not only senseless, but actually hurt the development of key characters.
Last week I told my Bleach gossip group that they could end the series in three episodes if they wanted. They did it in one. Sure, there is a lot to clean up, and I am really curious as to what will happen to a particular character, but I feel like the series is done. Wow.
I will still keep watching, until they try to stretch it so far with filler that they introduce ridiculous non-canon story arcs (they have already set one in motion a few months ago). I am happy to have watched it, and I am happy that other news is severely dampening the withdrawal pain.
Not that I am worried, I am sure there is a whole lotta fanfic out there to keep me satiated for years to come.
I never watched the show, but read the manga for a few hundred episodes – first in tankoban (since I was working at Viz then) and later on onemanga before they shut it down. There was something really poignant about it’s mix of cute and brutal that made it really special…
I actually talked to someone about this, and they implied that there is actually a lot more going on, and I was thinking about it, it makes sense. I am unsure how I feel about it, though, I kinda don’t want to get any more involved in it.
As for the manga, I think it is great! I don’t follow the scanlations like so many people that I prohibit from talking to me about Bleach (I can be very upsetting when I am given spoilers). I have about the first 20 volumes, and then I cut back because I literally don’t have the space for them.
The thing I like about the manga is that the pacing allows for them to reveal slightly more information that makes a lot of sense. For instance ( this is a spoiler from the first book), in the anime, Orihime’s brother was taking care of her when he passes away, but that is all they go into. In the manga it explains that he ran away from home with her as a baby because she was being abused by their parents(!!!). That goes a long way in explaining the attachment he has for her, and I while I don’t think the anime suffers from their exclusion, I think it would have had a lot more impact.
