I agree that Naruto sucks a lot nowadays, especially when it comes to waste lots of potentially interesting characters (Shino, Rock Lee, etc). Even Naruto’s potential is wasted. There’s only so many tricks you can do with Kage Bunshin. I’m not sure what Kishimoto (the author) plans about Hinata, but considering how little we got from Neji (whom is basically a stronger version of Hinata) in part II of the manga, I don’t expect much. My last hope is Shino, really.
The current villains were hyped as the ultimate badass group just to have most of their members defeated by a bunch of Chuunins (“middle-level ninja”). Oh yeah, I almost forgot, ranks mean nothing on Naruto. Pein/Pain started as the “leader” of the group, but it turns out he isn’t the real leader (what’s the point in calling him “leader”, then?), plus it was recently revealed he’s another eye-jutsu user (how many are left?) with hax skillz and a sad, sad background. As if Sasuke (and Itachi) wasn’t enough.
Sasuke is fricking annoying with his emo avenger pose, but I understand that his kind of character is part of many shonen series. What’s frustrating is how Naruto and every fricking character wants to rescue a TRAITOR (that’s the current mission, as far as I remember). It’s like Naruto has completely forgotten his original “become Hokage” dream.
I think Bleach has a lot less faults, but it fails a bit in the “wasting characters” department. Take for example, Chad. Ever since the first chapters I’ve thought this guys looked badass and had potential to do loads of cool stuff. He’s always shown alongside Ichigo and co., as part of the “main group”. But, how much has this guy done, actually? I also think Bleach lost a bit of the original, humorous “vibe” of the series, when it had less crazy bankai powers and more character interaction. But, the inevitable “fight stronger enemies and train” formula of Bleach is far better than Naruto’s.
You guys dislike One Piece? Yes, it’s far too long and some consider it too goofy, but it’s probably one of the best “shonen” out there, if you’re into that kind of manga/anime. It takes a while to enjoy it, though.
It’s just that Naruto doesn’t suck because it’s generic Shönen, it sucks because it’s not even good enough to be generic Shönen. There were some rorgivable aspects early on that made it bearable but the latter chapters are so… ugh.
Damnit, stop stealing my points before I have a chance to rant. No, Bleach is LEAGUES better than Naruto. I actually like it. But there’s still several bumps on it.
The initial complaint people have with Bleach is that it lost the charm it had at first. I’ve personally given up on that. It’s now stereotypical shönen and will always be, so I’ll settle for the cookie crumbs of humor we scarcely get and be happy. I’m also sad about the fact that Ichigo lately gets to say nothing but “I can’t lose/I will save her” and doesn’t have enough time to display more personality, even though we see it from time to time. The overall feeling is that Kubo still remembers how to do things right, but gets sidetracked for one reason or another and never ends up doing so.
The first big problem here is the current arc. Actually, no, not the Arc itself, but the way it’s being executed: Ho gets kidnapped, ragtag band of useless sidekicks + big hero band together and plow through armies of overpowering enemies to finally rescue her. What’s so bad about this isn’t the fact that it’s overdone as fuck, it’s the fact that IT’S EXACTLY WHAT THE LAST GODDAMN ARC WAS ALL ABOUT! For fuck’s sake, we even get equivalent characters with Grimmjow=Renji, Nel=Yoruichi and so on. I mean, DUDE!
Let’s also go about how, for the past year and so, the good guys have done nothing but get their asses royally handed to them. Yes, the Espada are supposed to be a really mighty bunch so at least one crushing defeat is necessary, but haven’t they dragged on long enough already? It’s only just now that anyone starts winning at anything. Couldn’t they just skip the three-digit guys? That way THAT segment would have been about the ass-handing and we’d already be at the winning part.
Now about individual characters…
Rukia. From the moment she returned I’ve been calling bullshit on her “Oh BTW, she’s actually strong” when she was getting moped in chapter one by a random Hollow. Distraction or not, she wasn’t anywhere near as strong as she’s made to be now. But now it just turned ridiculous: She’s killed an Espada. In a stage of the story in which Bankai is about as impressive as Super Saiyan 1 during the Buu saga, a chick with only Shikai actually managed to do what nobody else up to that point had achieved. Yeah… no.
Oh, of course she died, but that’s nothing, which leads to the next character.
Orihime. I admit, the revelation on her powers was fairly witty and interesting, but it introduced a very dangerous element, proven by how she rezzed Grimmjow: She’s now the equivalent of the Dragon Balls. Or rather, she’s the Dragon Boobs. As if anyone was actually dying at all before, we now have a character that ensures no one will ever die from here on either. That’s why nobody gives a shit about Rukia dying. Since it’s been hinted that the container for her powers is very frail, I REALLY hope she looses her skills at some point, otherwise this’ll turn to crap.
Uryuu. The Quincy’s concept of “Permanent” seems to work different from mine it seems, since he reverted his mighty sacrifice by… jumping? Running? What the fuck did he do anyway? Not to mention the really dramatic promise he made to his father was broken in a heartbeat with still no conceivable retaliation. Something MAY come, but the fact that everything’s going smooth seems to me like a really cheap crack. And even though all this goes on, he’s obviously not managed to kill his enemy yet; but that’s not his fault, after all he’s paired with…
Abarai “The Jobber” Renji. It’s an unwritten rule that Renji will never do anything important, and that anyone who pairs up with him will end up trashed. Let’s face it, the guy is a crapped-down Ichigo, bound by the chains of sidekickness. His pair with Uryuu MAY eventually kill that homo after a hundred chapters, but the fact that he STILL hasn’t done so doesn’t look good for him. Oh, and, what happened to his “training” with Urahara? It must have gone the same way as Naruto’s with Jiraiya’s (I.E. Hasn’t learnt shit).
And we so we end up with half-mexican buddy Chad. Now here’s a tragic case: a calm, collected, friendly, lovable and blatant Kamen Rider reference who’s thrown completely into the crapper. C’mon, after all the build up about his determination, he got swatted aside like a bug and forgotten. I told you fuckers that was gonna happen last year and I was right. I’m looking at you Spoony.
And Tatsuki. Where the HELL is Tatsuki? Everyone loves Tatsuki, she’s awesome. Except that looking at Chad, you can tell the odds of her becoming relevant aren’t exactly looking peachy. Even more, the ONLY way she’ll now get any sort of role is by some really bullshit Deus Ex, since she hasn’t done a single bit of training, yet needs to reach the level of the current powerhouses to have any sort of importance. She still stuck at “Oh, hey, I can see ghosts?” stage. Fuck, Don Kanonji has a better shot at getting a part logically than her now.
Speaking of characters who are not there… THE ENTIRE GOTEI 13! So yes, it was a suicide mission, are you telling me NOBODY had the balls to do it? Renji and Rukia were going, why not Byakuya? Why not Ikaku? WHY NOT KENPACHI!? The last two sure as hell ain’t known for their brains and practical mindset. And they’re no longer simply sneaking in, they are taking care of the entire Arrancar army, they could send SOMEONE to give a hand.
Or the Vaizards. Big build up there and then… nothing. They vanished.
About the other guys…
There’s several unknown or forgotten chumps around. The blind black dude and Gin haven’t done anything in years, Aizen just sits there in his stupidly oversized couch, then there’s the bunch of female Espada that haven’t even seen. And when the hell are we gonna see Number 1?
Speaking of bad guys, Grimmjow SO goddamn needs to either die or join Ichigo already. Yes, he’ll become either Renji 2.0 or fertilizer, I don’t fucking care, JUST GET OVER HIM ALREADY.
And we get to Nell, Yoruichi 2.0. I don’t mind her really. I liked her as a little tagalong only because she provided the aforementioned comic relief, and her telling Orihime to suck up her fear was nice. I also liked how she keeps her behaviour as a grown up. What bothers me is that she’s been on for three chapters and she’s ALREADY falling in the women-are-useless mold. I really hope she gets to kill someone important by the time this is over, because we already have Orihime and Rangiku for useless boob carriers and Rukia for useless female love-interest sidekick.
Rant end.
You guys dislike One Piece? Yes, it’s far too long and some consider it too goofy, but it’s probably one of the best “shonen” out there, if you’re into that kind of manga/anime. It takes a while to enjoy it, though.
Like I said, I stopped at 30 when I couldn’t put up with more of the Skiepiea’s shit. I have repeatedly heard it gets better, so that’s why I decided not to say anything.
I have never gotten into Naruto, and right about now I’m glad I have. I saw, like, two episodes back when it first started and didn’t really like the look of it. Bleach I got into right away when the anime started. I avoided One Piece for YEARS mostly because the art style put me off… but also because of the bad reputation it got due to 4Kids’s crappy job dubbing it. Now that Funimation has it picked up, I’m hoping it can build a better reputation over here. So far I’m impressed with it. It’s just a shame that Funi has to start up right before the weakest arc in One Piece. But, once they get through that it’ll be smooth sailing.
Totally agree with you there. There was a bit of humor around before the Hueco Mundo arc started up while Ichigo was with the Vizards. Not a lot, but it was nice.
It’s been argued to death already on every Bleach forum in existance… but that doesn’t mean you’re not right. I’m still hoping for Kubo to throw us a curve ball, but I think he used up his ability to be really surprising when he revealed Aizen as the villain.
I miss the time when Chad was thought of as strong and intimidating. Which was, what, episodes 1-6? He was used as a barometer in the current arc, just like the SS arc. He decimated everything in his way, until he encountered the first Captain/Espada and got swatted in one shot. Just to show the readers how much MORE POWERFUL (OVER 9000) the REAL enemies are. I really, REALLY hope he’ll get back up and do something meaningful before this arc is over, but I’m not counting on it. His loss to Nnoitra especially hurt given the fanfare over his new powerup, which he got the very chapter before.
If they get any more time, it’ll be in the Winter War. Same for the Vizards. Presuming it still happens, anyway. The current arc feels like filler before the real showdown. My own theory is that Kubo had planned to end Bleach after the Winter War, and was pressured to keep it going as long as possible, so he made up this HM bullshit to make the series last longer, which is probably why it all feels so familiar.
If Nel manages to defeat Nnoitra, I can forgive much of this arc. If only because it will be a rather major victory NOT in Ichigo’s hands.
Though chances are Ulquiorra will get out of his plot box immediately following that, causing Nel to run with Ichigo then put him through a training montage where he gets, like, Vizard Bankai or whatever the hell he needs to defeat Ulquiorra and end the arc with some surprising plot twist.
It’d be worth it to start reading OP after Skypiea. It really, really is a bad arc, but what follows it is pure gold. Hell, even the Davy Back Fight mini-arc that immediately follows Skypiea is far better than that entire saga. Foxy kicks ass.
I don’t think it’s possible for me to agree more about Bleach. Hell, I even enjoyed the post-Bount filler episodes of the anime because it wasn’t endlessly drawn out fights and instead went for comedy with characters who weren’t Ichigo’s inner circle of friends. Especially the Hitsugaya and Karin soccer episode.
I enjoyed about the first 20 episodes of Bleach, the four or so episodes where Ririn, Claude, and Nova were the “bad guys”, and maybe three in the middle. The rest are completely useless. Although I’m still watching it for some completely whacked-out reason. I must be a closet masochist.
Bleach filler is really hit or miss… more miss than hit.
I agree with Cid that I really preferred the Bount arc when the Modsouls were the bad guys (Except that Ririn had that obnoxious giggle).
The fillers in the middle of the Karakura Arrancar stuff were so-so. The Soccer ball episode was alright, the Kon one… not so much.
There’s more filler coming up now, as well. This one seems to be a full-blown mini arc that Kubo has reportedly designed. It’ll be called Forest of the Menos, it’ll go on for an undetermined amount of episodes, taking place before Ichigo and the others enter Las Noches. I’m kind of looking forward to this, in a way, if only because we’ll see more of the group together (more chances for interaction and comedy, particularly with Nel, Pesshe and Dondochakka) before they split up like a bunch of Scoobies. Though I’m probably just getting my hopes up.
I should note, though, that I saw the Bleach movie a week or two ago and was struck by how bittersweet it was. The story was quite touching, and it actually explored some angles which the series has largely been ignoring for the last, oh, 130 episodes. There were some scenes that were absolutely beautiful.
I always hate it more when a piece of media squanders its potential (see: Kingdom Hearts) than when it has no potential at all. 8-(
The shinigami cup bits at the end of the episodes are usually good for a laugh. I think that’s the main reason I haven’t given up on the anime yet. I haven’t given up on the manga yet because I hope Tatsuki will return one day.
I REALLY hope that is the real Kenpachi and not just another ‘inner world’ experience for Ichigo because if it is it means the Arc is FINALLY starting to become unpredictable compared to the SS arc, which is the one thing Bleach really needs right now, an end to redundancy.
So it really WAS the real Kenpachi, and not just Ichigo’s inner world being a dick again. And, not only Kenpachi, but Byakuya, Mayuri, and Unohana. Isane is there too, but she’s not seen in the pictures. This was really surprising.
Byakuya is there to save Rukia and fight the black Espada, whose name is something like Zomari Lulu, and he’s revealed to be the 7th Espada. That means now that the top three are Halibel, Stark, and the old guy. Kenpachi is, of course, going to be fighting Nnoitra, and he seems to have killed Tesla in this chapter as well. Yachiru might also be there, and that could lead to some cute interaction with Nel.
But, seriously, Mayuri coming to Ishida’s rescue (and Renji) and fighting Szayel almost seems like it’s out of a fanfic. And what is up with his new appearance?! As if he couldn’t have gotten freakier. He’s Captain Pharaoh Clown now! Unohana and Isane coming to Chad’s aid is just kinda strange, they’ve never at all interacted before. However he and Rukia are the most injured, so it makes sense that she’d go after one of them first. Unohana states she’s not there to fight, only to heal, but we’ll have to see how well the Executors behave. I’m also wondering if Chad will insist on saving Gatenbein too.
Anyway, I’m actually finding myself excited about Bleach again. Up until now the Hueco Mundo arc just seemed like it was totally recycling the Soul Society arc’s biggest events. I thought for sure I was going to guess where it was going to go next, and then Kubo pulls this. It’s good to know he can still surprise us.
That’s two out of three I got right. If Ikkaku shows up, someone will owe me money.
Speaking of which, I just randomly watched some chapters of the filler anime (The first Bleach anime chapters I’ve ever seen) and… well, bear in mind I don’t usually say this kind of thing but… GOOD LORD NEL IS SO DISGUSTINGLY CUTE! IT’S SO SUGARY AND SWEET I GOT DIABETES JUST FROM WATCHING HER.
Lightweight. She’s vaguely cute, and maybe some people think her speech impediment makes her more adorable, but having seen shows that are based on tiny adorable characters (Bottle Fairy, Potemayo), Nel is pretty average in appearance and only a little less annoying than English-dub Skuld.
The anime is 51 chapters behind the manga at this point. Unfortunately a new filler arc is starting in the next episode that will go on for an undetermined amount of time, so it’ll be awhile yet before the anime gets up to this point.
It feels like more than that. But then it’s only like 5 or 6 fights, isn’t it? The two triple-digits, Rukia vs. espada 9, Renji and Ishida vs espada 8 (still fricking ongoing), Ichigo vs Grimjaw, then espada 5. And they’re all pretty boring, too.
