Gush / Bleach

• Aww, nothing for Bleach yet? The protagonist actually has layers to his characters rather than the Invincible Hero. And in that vein, he actually LOSES once in a while. The whole idea of the Soul Society is genius really. Love the fact that that's supposed to represent heaven, and it actually produces a more realistic version of the world than Karakura Town itself, what with the Soul Reapers of Seireitei that despite their claims to honor, live like kings as compared to those in the Rukongai/Rukon District. Even so, much love to the Soul Reapers too, especially Ukitake... and Byakuya... and Renji... and... Despite their use of loads of characters, almost all of them have depth and a distinct personality and a usually, a history too. ^_^ Not to mention Uryu Ishida is epic, epic win.
  • It's a case of awesome setting but the writer can't quite handle LALOC.
  • Speaking of that author, his previous series, Zombie Powder, showed off the same immensely entertaining near-overload of snark and awesome that the first few volumes of Bleach did while ending soon enough to evade the standard shonen decay into a generic action series that gripped its little brother. Yay for actually ending a series, especially with a characterization climax instead of a plot one.
    • Seconded so, so much. This troper adores Zombie Powder, oftentimes more than Bleach. Even without a proper ending, it's still one hell of a story.
  • Despite the series getting so much hate lately, the Hueco Mundo arc is a good exploration not only of the darker side of Bleach's setting, but also of some of the main characters' personalities. Rukia confronts her greatest failure AGAIN, but this time finds a way to resolve it. Chad only gets hints, what with his evolving powers, but I'm still hopeful. What takes the cake is Ichigo and Orihime's stories - it seems that Kubo took the time to show us the worst in their characters, and where they go from there still keeps my interest. Also, people call Bleach a shallow manga, but this troper can't help but think of some of the references to folklore like O-bon and Tanabata, and how Bleach still has the potential for using them in the future for more plot twists. The art is pretty, but it didn't start out 'that pretty', and I think his brand of fanservice is great that it's not only equal opportunity for both genders, he doesn't objectify his females the way other fanservice-y series do (like, say, Oh!Great). For example, he might draw big breasts, but there are also lots of girls in Bleach with other sizes, and this troper dares anyone to count any more than 3 panty shots in the manga (panty shots are extremely objectifying, IMO). Current accusations of sexism also fall flat for me because the men and women all get hurt equally on the battlefield - and he's not afraid to show the injuries messing up their looks. And, all in all, it looks so stylish in execution, even a chapter with no plot progression can be a treat to read. Plus the clothes are hot.
• Out of the 3 Shonen Leaders right now, Bleach has by far the best action. Not to mention that the humor is much more complex and the characters are well fleshed out. Unfortunately, Fillers have bad timing issues.
• Just starting this show, and already to decree: Bleach FTW! Ichigo makes a refreshingly original Shōnen hero, one who isn't a dumbass for once; not to mention, his theme, Number One. The other characters are top notch, the action can get insane, and honestly, since I'm going on a filler-free run, I'm watching the show of a lifetime. So in short, Bleach is good. Like, really good.
• Bleach has a mostly undeserved hatedom and is, if nothing else, an enjoyable series. Tsukishima is legitimately one of the most unnerving villains ever encountered, and to admit to wanting to see what the series without the Executive Meddling would have looked like.