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.
