The Anime That Never Ends Just Came to an End: Bleach
Greetings, ladies and
gentlemen! I’m back again this week with
a new review! This week, I will be
looking at one of the longest running animes of all time. I’ve joked and a called it “The Anime that Never
Ends”- a title that can be also used for other long-running shows like One Piece and Pokémon-, but as the title suggests, this show just recently came
to an end. But I’ll get more to that
later. For now, let’s get started on
this week’s review on the famous long-running anime Bleach.
Despite the title’s unusual name, Bleach has nothing to do with actual bleach. The show follows fifteen year-old Ichigo
Kurosaki, who since childhood has been able to see the souls of the dead. Ichigo is able to live with these powers,
until one fateful day. In his hometown
of Karakura Town, a series of strange events occur where invisible entities
have been plaguing the town. All of
these events come to a head when Ichigo meets a mysterious and hot-tempered
girl named Rukia Kuchki. Rukia claims
that she is what’s known as a Soul Reaper, and the mysterious entities
terrorizing Karakura Town are called Hollows- evil souls that can only be
defeated by purification. After a fierce
battle with one of these Hollows, Rukia is left unable to continue
fighting. Her only option? Give her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo. Ichigo becomes a substitute Soul Reaper and
defeats the Hollow. From there, a saga
began. And a very long one at that. Running for nearly ten years with three
hundred and sixty-six episodes, Bleach is
certainly one of the longest running animes in anime history.
Now I know I haven’t praised the
series all that much thus far. Honestly,
I’m sitting on the fence with this one. That’s
why Bleach gets a three and a half
out of a five star rating. For the most
part, the animation is decent. At the
beginning of the series, it’s pretty rough.
But towards its end, the animation cleaned up very nicely. And the story is also pretty decent. Though drawn out, it is pretty
entertaining. I have to admit, after the
first few episodes, I was pretty hooked.
However, this leads to some downsides.
Among one of the biggest downsides
to Bleach, and a very obvious one, is
this: it’s so f@#*$%g long (pardon my French)!
Seriously, I’m not even halfway through the series- in fact, I’m only
three and a half seasons in! Bleach becomes entertaining when you
first watch it, but at some point, it gets boring, which is another issue. Part of this has to do with a reoccurring
pattern seen throughout the series. At
the beginning of an episode-or season-, Ichigo is in the midst of a fierce
battle. Midway through, he takes a
serious blow that nearly kills him. And
by the end, he’s up on his feet and more powerful than ever. You can see it throughout the entire
series. So obviously, the two things
that have kept this series going- length and story- are the biggest pitfalls to
the show. But does that mean you should
avoid it at all costs? Of course not!
Though it would take a while to complete the series, it is certainly
worth your time. Just keep in mind, it’s
not perfect. And be warned, it is
long. Like I said, it would take a long
time to finish watching the series- I’m not
finished with the series.
Now, you may have heard me mention
that this marathon series recently completed its decade-long run. On November 1, 2014, Toonami aired the 366th
and final episode of Bleach. The series ended much sooner back in 2012 in
Japan. Many fans of the show may be
disappointed in this, but the show certainly lives in the hearts of those
fans-cheesy I know. My kudos to those
fans who have stuck with the series for as long as they have. You have more guts and dedication than I do!
So to finish off this week’s post,
let’s just say this long-running series meets a pretty mediocre level. Still, it certainly is worth trying
anyway. Who knows? Maybe you can sit through all three hundred
and sixty-six episodes. If you’re
interested in getting started, you can watch all the episodes online, primarily
at crunchyroll.com. You can also by the
series in season box sets wherever anime is sold. Well, I guess with that much said, that’s all
I have for this week. Until then, stay
tuned for more!
-Hanime
on Anime
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