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Tite Kubo's Bleach Manga Nears Ending
- Thread starter HypnoDarkrai
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Septimus Prime
Member
It'll be remembered for one thing: Aizen. They just don't make villains like him.
Septimus Prime
Member
0. Tatsuki - Even you forgot about her.
One.
At this point, I imagine Kubo will just write up another character book that will answer all the lingering plot threads. Because fuck actually telling a story when there's big flashy fight scenes!
Naruto got pretty bad after a while, but it's characters were very charismatic and the manga ended on a high note. Bleach on the other side... It's been a while since Bleach actually was fun. Ever since the fullbringer story, BLEACH best chapters were of the same quality as naruto's worst and, damn, that's pretty bad.
I never really thought Naruto got bad, I constantly enjoyed each arc over the years. My only gripe was the last arc went on for far too long and some parts in the middle seemed a bit too pointless and almost filler-ish but overall I really enjoyed it and I especially liked the last fight.
With Bleach, I really loved the first arc, Soul Society and about half of Hueco Mundo. By the end of the Hueco Mundo, I just really couldn't give a shit anymore since it was pretty crappy and was just reading it out of habit, I dropped it once the next arc started.
With Bleach, I really loved the first arc, Soul Society and about half of Hueco Mundo. By the end of the Hueco Mundo, I just really couldn't give a shit anymore since it was pretty crappy and was just reading it out of habit, I dropped it once the next arc started.
Not really his suicide bankai probably will pull other people I remember it zooming out showing a black bubble and Shunsui was in middle of it. It probably would trigger the whole of FKT and killed everyone
And others like Ichigo were clearly feeling his reiatsu from far off. You're probably right in that it'd take out everyone.
Except Aizen, naturally.
ShockingAlberto
Member
There was a point between Sasuke "killing" orochimaru and the start of the ninja war that was just really meandering and boring. It focused on Sasuke being super mega awesome the best, introduced the weird Pokemon-style elements that got left behind as quickly as it was introduced, pushed a lot of the cast to the side, and repeatedly picked up and dropped potential plotlines.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
I reckon Naruto managed to keep its hype due to its characters and even then many got sidelined. Bleach must of done a real bad job with its cast interactions. Crazy to think Rukia, who I thought was a main character, have such a small role in the past years.
Uzumaki Goku
Junior Member
Both Naruto and Bleach suffered as the series went on, both for various reasons.
Let's just hope that when One Piece ends we don't look back on it like "Man, it used to be so great but gradually got worse."
Let's just hope that when One Piece ends we don't look back on it like "Man, it used to be so great but gradually got worse."
Naruto got boring when they dropped orochimaru as the villain. The rest of villains where so shit they where boring. The ninja war fights had same template a villain was brought back he fought he his rival then was redeemed and let his rival kill him. They back orochimaru for no damn reason o expected a final fuck you where he attacked weakened heroes instead he did nothing and just disappeared.
Also what happened to Anko I remember she been knocked out then disappearing
Also what happened to Anko I remember she been knocked out then disappearing
Yeezus H. Christ
Banned
Kinda want to talk about Naruto now.
Naruto Shippuden was good/great (mediocre at some points like the Sai Arc) until the end of the Pain Arc. The whole Kage Summit Arc was kind of a mixed bag for me mostly because of Naruto's characterization and Sasuke's unimaginative powers. I really liked the five Kage, but overall it wasn't a very good arc.
The manga got a lot better when Naruto went to the Turtle Island to fight the Nine-Tails and learned about his parents' past, that whole segment was good.
But then we entered the war. Ugh. Most of the side character fights were pretty lame, even Choji's. Gedo Mazo was cool. Naruto/Killer Bee vs. Itachi/Nagato was okay.
I think this 50-chapter stretch from the beginning of the war until Naruto fought Tobi was when people started getting tired of Naruto. It was just filler fight upon filler fight for an entire year.
Naruto vs. Tobi and the Jinchuriki was awesome. Five Kage vs. Madara was decent, Sasuke/Itachi vs. Kabuto was plodded on and kind of a drag. But Naruto/Killer Bee/Kakashi/Guy vs. Tobi was awesome, the choreography was up there with Part 1 in terms of complexity and creativity.
Ten-Tails' intro was fine, although Neji's death was pretty forced. I honestly really enjoyed delving Madara/Hashirama's past, really explains what makes the former tick the way he does.
Can't say I liked the fight against suped-up Ten Tails very much. It only picks up when Obito becomes the host and starts wrecking shit. The way he was defeated was meh.
But then, Madara starts going on a rampage and it's awesome. He kills like everybody, it's great. Then Eight Gates comes in - fantastic fight - then Naruto/Sasuke's new powers which are for the most part quite cool. Then...
Kaguya. Worst villain, felt like a filler one. Those 10-15 chapters were just... so mediocre and unemotional. Man, the final Naruto/Sasuke fight and conflict resolution are good, but why the hell did Kishi feel the need to throw that in.
Overall? Naruto Shippuden isn't nearly what Part 1 was, but it has a lot of great moments and is good rather than bad for the majority of it. I'd give it a 6-6.5/10.
Naruto Shippuden was good/great (mediocre at some points like the Sai Arc) until the end of the Pain Arc. The whole Kage Summit Arc was kind of a mixed bag for me mostly because of Naruto's characterization and Sasuke's unimaginative powers. I really liked the five Kage, but overall it wasn't a very good arc.
The manga got a lot better when Naruto went to the Turtle Island to fight the Nine-Tails and learned about his parents' past, that whole segment was good.
But then we entered the war. Ugh. Most of the side character fights were pretty lame, even Choji's. Gedo Mazo was cool. Naruto/Killer Bee vs. Itachi/Nagato was okay.
I think this 50-chapter stretch from the beginning of the war until Naruto fought Tobi was when people started getting tired of Naruto. It was just filler fight upon filler fight for an entire year.
Naruto vs. Tobi and the Jinchuriki was awesome. Five Kage vs. Madara was decent, Sasuke/Itachi vs. Kabuto was plodded on and kind of a drag. But Naruto/Killer Bee/Kakashi/Guy vs. Tobi was awesome, the choreography was up there with Part 1 in terms of complexity and creativity.
Ten-Tails' intro was fine, although Neji's death was pretty forced. I honestly really enjoyed delving Madara/Hashirama's past, really explains what makes the former tick the way he does.
Can't say I liked the fight against suped-up Ten Tails very much. It only picks up when Obito becomes the host and starts wrecking shit. The way he was defeated was meh.
But then, Madara starts going on a rampage and it's awesome. He kills like everybody, it's great. Then Eight Gates comes in - fantastic fight - then Naruto/Sasuke's new powers which are for the most part quite cool. Then...
Kaguya. Worst villain, felt like a filler one. Those 10-15 chapters were just... so mediocre and unemotional. Man, the final Naruto/Sasuke fight and conflict resolution are good, but why the hell did Kishi feel the need to throw that in.
Overall? Naruto Shippuden isn't nearly what Part 1 was, but it has a lot of great moments and is good rather than bad for the majority of it. I'd give it a 6-6.5/10.
Riposte
Member
The recent arc, and even the Fullbringer arc, was better than 90% of the Hueco Mundo and all of the Aizen war mess (except for the flashbacks I guess). It's poorly put together and had its ending taken away from it (which isn't anything unique to this arc), but it managed to a whole lot more interesting simply from a battle shonen perspective (and a Kubo trolling perspective - which is what makes Bleach stand out) and Quincy were just better enemies. I'd argue Naruto's final arc was worse too.
Did he seriously never get comeuppance for killing Uryu's grandfather?
Uryu just let that shit go?
Nah Uryu just did what Uryu did which was be a boss about it. He never forgave Mayuri but he knew could not get away with killing him after SS. Instead Uryu is a reminder that Mayuri lost to him a Quincy boy who he looked down on.
Seriously Uryu is the best character in Bleach he true main character.
What? No. Hueco Mundo and FKT arcs were awful but this Quincy War is even worse than those two.
The Silver
Member
Quincies were crap, 26 irrelevant jackasses who only served as walls for the captains to show off and bounce their bankais off of.
Every villain group Kubo made was worse than the last, Captains > Espada > Xcution(only saved by Shima and his trolling) > Quincies. Kubo revealing he makes up new characters when he gets stuck says so much about how the series ended up.
Every villain group Kubo made was worse than the last, Captains > Espada > Xcution(only saved by Shima and his trolling) > Quincies. Kubo revealing he makes up new characters when he gets stuck says so much about how the series ended up.
ArgyleReptile
Banned
Nanao was running back towards him when he activated it, yet she got out fine. She even reached him right when he deactivated it, so she had to have been in its range.
Yeezus H. Christ
Banned
NOPE
Monochromaticx
Member
and even those were unsatisfying. we get nothing.
Riposte
Member
Your description for the Quincy applies to all of them, except for the Captains who got to play both roles. Quincy designs and variety puts them above the others as a group, again, except for Captains (and a handful of Vice-Captains), who got a lot of love from Kubo for over a decade.
ShockingAlberto
Member
You think Naruto's final arc was worse than this? Are you crazy?
I'd love to see you try.
Naruto's problems really started with the war. Before that it had some ups and downs, but was an overall fun experience. Pain arc was pretty great and Naruto really grew as a character, which made his parts quite good. Sasuke was a mixed bag though, but still not as bad.
The war that never ended was where things started to get bleached. I still don't know how kishimoto did that. Really boring and only got worse with time.
Still, it's ending was quite great with Sasuke and Naruto fighting. It ended well and i would grade it as B.
Bleach is an E.
The war that never ended was where things started to get bleached. I still don't know how kishimoto did that. Really boring and only got worse with time.
Still, it's ending was quite great with Sasuke and Naruto fighting. It ended well and i would grade it as B.
Bleach is an E.
Etrian Oddity
Member
I've never enjoyed Aizen nor have I understood the love for him.
He just comes off as a parody of villains, the always "gotcha!" in his pocket. He's just Naraku, but written so that his trolls disguise his failures and give the illusion that he has the upper hand.
Iono, maybe I'm just a hipster or anti-conformist, but I've never enjoyed him.
Shunsui is still best captain.
How come Aizen failed? He trolled not only the shinigamis but the readers too.
Despite all the flaws he has, Kubo excels at writing troll characters. Aizen and Shuu-chan trolling were superb.
I thought the final arc started of good but just went completely downhill after the first time the quinces invaded. They should have killed of Byakuya, could have been good character development for Renji and Rukia. The Royal Guard was completely underwhelming, Kenpachi shikai and bankai reveal were shit. Some of the fights were complete bullshit, with characters loosing fights due to explaining there abilities. Juha Bach still hasn't used the bankai he stole etc could go one forever. I feel that either Kubo just wants the manga to end so is rushing it or his editors are forcing him to end it quick.
Uryu did nothing the entire series though. His highlight remains that Mayuri fight back in Soul Society.
Which is hilarious when you consider their trajectory after that fight. Uryu became worthless, even in this arc which seems designed to make him relevant. And Mayuri became the most hax character in the series who always shows up to save everyone(including Uryu).
Eh, some of the Espada actually got a tiny bit of development at least.
Aizen is pure fuckery. Everyone loves fuckery.
Riposte
Member
It's crazy to think one crappy "war" arc is better than another? They make the same mistakes, are equally pointless to the overall plot, and is one giant excuse to have a bunch of fights at the end. Naruto falls deeper into the trope by having only three and half legitimate enemy characters, fighting-game-campaign zombies, and the villain role becoming hot potato at the final hour. Maybe it's not worse, but that accounts a lot more on the other being canceled. During it though, Bleach was the better dumb shonen.
Super Secret Spoilers for the final chapter:
Ichigo wakes up, turns towards Orihime and says "I had the strangest dream, I gained something called shinigami powers and fought a bunch of crazy people. There was this girl named Rukia who gave me my powers, who was going to be executed by her peers for doing it, so I went to this place called the Soul Society to save her. You, Chad, and Uryu were there too, and you all had your own powers, but you guys kind of sucked. After we saved her, a bunch of convoluted uninteresting nonsense happened that would be impossible to explain." Then Orihime tells him to shut the fuck up and to go back to bed.
Ichigo wakes up, turns towards Orihime and says "I had the strangest dream, I gained something called shinigami powers and fought a bunch of crazy people. There was this girl named Rukia who gave me my powers, who was going to be executed by her peers for doing it, so I went to this place called the Soul Society to save her. You, Chad, and Uryu were there too, and you all had your own powers, but you guys kind of sucked. After we saved her, a bunch of convoluted uninteresting nonsense happened that would be impossible to explain." Then Orihime tells him to shut the fuck up and to go back to bed.
MrSaturn99
Member
The only time Naruto reached Bleach levels for me was when they brought Kaguya the fuck out of nowhere. I spent the first few weeks of that fight in complete confusion.
(There's also Karin but she--and the rest of Sasuke's ragtag group, for that matter--was so inconsequential that it didn't really matter.)
Otherwise...naaaaah @ it being worse than Bleach's finale. It was massively flawed and problematic but overall it's not the incomprehensible dumpster fire Bleach has been.
(There's also Karin but she--and the rest of Sasuke's ragtag group, for that matter--was so inconsequential that it didn't really matter.)
Otherwise...naaaaah @ it being worse than Bleach's finale. It was massively flawed and problematic but overall it's not the incomprehensible dumpster fire Bleach has been.
The Silver
Member
Espada had good build up , they had some development as individual characters, Grimmjow and Ulq were solid rivals for Ichigo for a time and they felt like actual threats up until they jobbed.
and I already said the only thing saving Xcution for me was Shima's trolling which I found hilarious.
Yeezus H. Christ
Banned
Here's the thing: Naruto's war didn't last four years. It was bad for one year, then got into more personal fights, where it was more good than bad. Kaguya sticks out as a sore point, but even Kaguya is better than Yhwach.
'Fighting-game-campaign zombies' for twenty-ish chapters is definitely not worse than 200 chapters revolving around random Quincies fighting irrelevant side characters. You can't be serious.
I have no idea what you're saying, that Bleach gets an excuse for being so terrible because it was cancelled early? Are you saying before it was cancelled everything was sunshine and roses?
MrSaturn99
Member
To be fair, Naruto's war did last a long time too. I think it was at least over three years?
One Piece had the right idea by having its own war last thirty chapters (which amounted to over half a year). Granted, it wasn't the finale and it's been implied we'll get another one, so we'll see how that turns out.
One Piece had the right idea by having its own war last thirty chapters (which amounted to over half a year). Granted, it wasn't the finale and it's been implied we'll get another one, so we'll see how that turns out.
Riposte
Member
No, I'm saying Bleach's is worse because it was canceled early - so maybe Naruto's arc is better in the end. Not having a proper final Yhwach fight really torpedoes the whole thing, especially when Aizen finally got involved.
I think the disconnect is that I appreciate Bleach's absurdity, its Kubo-ness, which I will gladly take over a fairly straightforward version of the same sub-mediocre plot. I'm not praising either, but Bleach was just more intriguing even on a one to one scale. Up until then I would contend Naruto was the better manga, if not by a huge amount, but the final arc just didn't work for me at all and the finale was disappointing without having to be canceled.
Yeezus H. Christ
Banned
The actual Shinobi War lasted from 515 - 565 or something like that. Then it jumped into Naruto vs. Tobi, Kages vs. Madara, Sasuke/Itachi vs. Kabuto, Juubi vs. Alliance, etc.
Captain Commander should be on this list, as well. Blew his whole load (Bankai) on a doppelganger that only copied Juha Bach's likeness, and not his reiatsu. And this is coming off Yamamoto figuring out the secret to Complete Hypnosis by actually laying his hand on Aizen's sword. Dude has millennia of battle experience, but gets fooled by a damn copycat that couldn't even mimic the power level of a man who he fought with in the past. Then he gets completely overpowered and peaced out in a way ill-fitting of someone of his stature. I'm GLAD WSJ put the screws to this hack. Next Thursday can't come soon enough. Good riddance.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
Really, because I feel like the last few chapters were some of the best in the series (695-700, especially 699) and the ending only boosted its popularity, with Boruto the Movie topping it all off as a great conclusion to the series.
Is the Bleach ending ever going to get animated?
Riposte
Member
I don't think it's gradually getting worse, but post-timeskip feels much more inconsistent. Oda seems to be doing a counterpart for each of the earlier arcs, but I don't think it's always a favorable comparison, for various reasons, some may be due to the story just inevitably getting bigger and less tight. I have faith in it, but if he keeps returning to something like the finale of the previous arc, it could become a bit of a mess.
I agree. Naruto fainting was probably the low point for the series. The space flea from nowhere Big Bad was strange but Kishimoto had written himself into a box. I do have to admit, though, between Naruto the Last, Sarada Uchiha arc, and the Boruto movie, the series ended on fire.
(We'll ignore the Boruto manga which is looking ... bad.)
Septimus Prime
Member
That's a viable strategy in this series, though, since in this universe, every technique is more powerful than the one revealed prior to it (except Getsuga Tensho, somehow), so by forcing the strongest to reveal their strongest moves early, you can more easily overpower them.
ShockingAlberto
Member
The best thing about the qunicies is the insane corner Kubo Tite painted himself in.
The power creep just got so absurd that the final villains could only be killed by a deus ex machina.
The power creep just got so absurd that the final villains could only be killed by a deus ex machina.
Uno
Maybe if Adult Swim funds it.
The end of Pain invading Konoha was FAAAR worse than anything Bleach ever did, but I still think Naruto was for the most part better than Bleach even though I felt Naruto's last arc was a boring turd of an arc.
I gotta be honest...I don't have the confidence that the alluded to World War arc in One Piece will be that good. Marineford was good but it had a lot of issues battle scene wise, and if Dressrosa acts as a prelude to what we can expect for the world war I'm pretty worried. I'm trying to convince myself that I wasn't that enthused with Dressrosa because, outside of Doflamingo and Fujitora, I didn't really give a shit about the antagonists due to their lack of importance to the plot but I dunno.
Plus that war is gonna be MASSIVE, probably will have a larger cast of characters than Naruto/Bleach combined. I'm not sure Oda will be able to handle such a large number of characters in a satisfying way. I hope he can.
Riposte
Member
The way Doflamingo fought, and his ridiculous durability, makes me worried none of the fights with the big bads will be interesting. Doffy is suppose to be a trickster, especially compared to all the other main villains.
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