This is going to be a really scatterbrained post, I’m aware, but I just really need to ramble for a minute about something I like. So, over the last week or so, I’ve been trying to read the Bleach manga, out of a curiosity that was born from the most recent game, BLEACH: Rebirth of Souls. At the time of writing, I have just finished the Soul Society arc (so arc 2 of however many), and I wanna give my thoughts on a couple things. This series is old, but still: SPOILER WARNING FOR THE SUBSTITUTE SHINIGAMI & SOUL SOCIETY ARCS!!!!!
To start, for the 3 people that have never even held a manga before, BLEACH is a manga series written & drawn by Tite Kubo in 2001 all the way to 2016. It’s about a kid named Ichigo Kurosaki, who gets the powers of a Shinigami/Soul Reaper from someone named Rukia Kuchiki in order to protect his family & town from evil spirits named Hollows.
The first arc, Substitute Shinigami, is about Ichigo coming to terms with his new ghostly responsibilities while Rukia recovers her powers. This includes fighting Hollows, figuring out how to balance his school-life with it, finding some of his friends are also spiritually aware, and capping off with a fight against someone who wants to prove Soul Reapers suck shit. It’s a very fun way to start the story off, with lots of interesting things they introduce. After that, some other Soul Reapers show up, take Rukia to be executed for her crimes, & suddenly it’s a rescue mission into the home of said Reapers, this story moves quick when we get to the fighting.
But I really need to talk about Ichigo first. And Chad. And-yknow what I’ll just talk about the characters now.
OK, to start, Ichigo is an amazing protagonist. His design is basic but very well done, and I simply love how easy it is to empathize with his goal; he just wants power to be able to protect the people he cares about, and every single fight has that list of people grow bigger. Seeing him get his shit rocked, get told there’s no way he can win, only for him to shout that “if I’m gonna die, then I’m gonna win” is so blood-pumping, just AGHH.
His friends are also great. Orihime is adorably stupid, and I really like her shield powers. Uryu (that guy who wanted to show Soul Reapers suck) is really fun to see, and is the victim of a lot of jokes. But Chad.. Chad is the Chad. I love him so much, I got tilted when Ichigo said he never imagined Chad losing. Chekhov’s Gun is a bitch…
It might have some small issues since it was the start of BLEACH, but the Substitute Shinigami arc is really good! ...The Soul Society arc though… HOOOHHH THAT’S WHEN IT GETS HYPE AS FUCK.
Right away, we get introduced to so many people.. Renji, Byakuya, Kenpachi, Aizen… Almost all the major Soul Reapers that are shown off are all cool in some way, I can’t pick a favorite. OK that’s a lie, Kenpachi might be my favorite, he is an absolute freakshow of a man. Any time he’s on the page & fighting, it’s so much damn fun. Zangetsu is also really cool, I like that he’s in two halves, and one of them is Ichigo but even more of a loudmouth punk. He elevated the final Byakuya fight way higher than it already was, which is saying something cuz WOW EVERYONE GOT A COOL FIGHT. Even if my boy Chad lost his fight with Shunsui, he won in my heart...
All of these cool moments are only possible because Tite Kubo’s art is phenomenal. He’s really nailed that balance of over-the-top slapstick, mixed with intensity & dread, and he’s really good at selling strong emotions. He’s also freakishly good at making Aizen & Gin so uncomfortable to look at, especially after it’s made clear something’s going on with them.
Just, aough. It’s hard for me to put everything into coherent words, especially if those words are what everyone else thinks. But man… I get it. I get why BLEACH is so beloved. I haven’t been this excited to read in ages, and I can’t wait to see what ends up happening next.
Please read Bleach. It might start showing up in my art, so you’d better know what strain of autism I’ve acquired now.
OH MY GOD HE'S SO GOD DAMN COOL.