Bleach used to be one of the biggest anime and manga series ever made. Bleach is still incredibly popular, but it’s no secret that it has had a rocky history when it comes to fan and critical reception. Bleach is one of the “Big Three” manga series. The Big Three is composed of One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. This is a term that describes these series. Let’s dive into why Bleach is the most underrated of them all.
Bleach’s Run in Shonen Jump
It must be stated how incredible Bleach was when it started in Shonen Jump. Tite Kubo, the author and artist of the series, grew up loving many manga series from Shonen Jump. One would be hard-pressed to find a creator in the manga realm that hasn’t been influenced by series like Fist of the North Star, Dragon Ball, and Yu Yu Hakusho. Kubo started his series with a fun, dynamic monster-of-the-week format. Ichigo, his main character, who was a substitute soul reaper with a big sword and an even bigger attitude, slayed monsters in style.
Once the first arc got started, that was when Bleach got into its stride. The “Soul Society” arc called on Ichigo and his friends to rescue their soul reaper friend, Rukia, from an untimely execution. This arc had stylish characters, pulse-pounding fights, and an incredible emotional stake to it. It was genius. After this arc, there were similarly great arcs, battles, and moments in the series. However, it was apparent that Kubo was struggling in regards to the storytelling a bit.
The Series’ Stagnation and Comeback
Many fans cite the “Fullbringer” arc, the penultimate story in the series, as being a low point. This is due to the changed format of the storytelling, but the writing here is still great. After this arc, the final storyline begins. Dubbed the “Thousand Year Blood War”, Bleach had its sights on going out with a bang. While this arc wasn’t perfect, it was everything fans wanted. Great fights, satisfying payoffs, and even more electric moments. Bleach gets a lot of hate for having little substance in terms of the story, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The series is by no means the deepest manga to ever be written. It’s for a Shonen or young male demographic, but it still has deep themes regarding death, violence, and life. It isn’t as deep as some other series like Berserk or Vagabond, but it doesn’t have to be. The series still does a great job of telling its themes and character journeys to the reader. It must be stated though how incredible this manga is visually. Out of all its contemporaries, Bleach has easily the best-looking fight scenes and character designs. Kubo uses shading and negative space perfectly. Some of his panels look like paintings, they’re so wonderfully illustrated.
The Modern Status
Bleach is a great series, and it’s in a very interesting spot right now. The anime has been adapting the last arc for the past couple of years in multiple parts. This is great because it gives the animators time to adapt the story well. Not to mention, the anime visually looks great, and the music? Bleach is universally known for having some of the best music in all of anime, so it’s phenomenal.
Bleach is even getting a new video game as well. Bleach Rebirth of Souls is a game to be released soon. There is no official release date, but visually the game looks incredible. There have been a couple of gameplay trailers on YouTube as well. Here’s hoping it’s a good time for the fans. And speaking of fans, their series is doing pretty well. The manga is done for the foreseeable future, though Kubo might write another one-shot. Bleach fans should keep their eyes peeled for any future content for this underrated series.
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