Bleach

[Ganjuu-kun]

Hey, has anyone else read Bleach? The convinience store I work at sells it, so I've read it a lot when no one's around. The saving Rukia part lasts like 10 books.... :smallbiggrin:

[Piedmon_Sama]

Yeah, and it was shortly after that I dropped it. It's a completely average Shounen manga in every way. The things that really annoyed me about it are how cliched the characters are (here's your rebellious, spunky hero! Here's his quiet, strong buddy and his snarky ingenue, and here's a questionably bisexual classmate to chase after him!), then the fact that there's like 55 characters to remember (now here's a legion of guys with HUGE WEAPONS, and they're all important to the plot!) and that NONE OF THEM DIE. EVER.

The whole ten books of the Soul Society arc, I was waiting for someone to die. Other than that poor sap Aizen killed, nobody dies despite dozens of fights going on throughout Soul Society. It's rediculous. What could the author possibly want to do with such a huge cast? Why are so many of them sticking around? Why should I even care, they're all so painfully GENERIC? Seriously, when you've got two guys filling the "Generic Rival" spot to counter your Main Hero--that's Renji and Ishida--you've got too many characters.

Now, to be fair to Bleach, the artwork is very good. And that's an insane understatement. The mangaka (I forget his name, sorry) is one of the few who can make a drawing of a woman that I would pin up on my wall and be proud to show. His action scenes are never confusing, which is trickier than it sounds in a Black and White medium. And a lot of his designs are actually pretty innovative. (Much as I despised Renji for being an overblown, cocky ass, his Ban Kai looks awesome. And the fact that his spirit is a baboon sent me into peals of giggling.)

[Closet_Skeleton]

I think the best arch in Bleach is the one after the Soul Society arch. However since I watched the anime up to then and swapped for the manga I can't really say...

It is too much of a Shonen series though. Some fights need to end but it's good when the fights are actually advancing the plot. The characters are slightly cliche but at least they get developed.

The weapons aren't all that huge, in fact, Ichigo's weapon gets smaller each new form it takes.

I did find myself watching an (horrendously cliche dating game based thing) anime today and just wishing Zeraki Kenpachi would come and kill every character. I won't be watching any more of that.

[Magnus_Samma]

Must... resist... urge... to hulk out... and kill unbelievers...

*ahem* I love Bleach. A lot. I think that having a large cast can only be a good thing. Most manga stories only focus on the main handful of characters, but Tite Kubo gives us a fleshed out world with a vast population of characters with their own unique and interesting backstories who are actually relevant to the plot. And they don't get picked off like flies for no good reason besides trying to make us invest ourselves emotionally in the plot. I -hate- it when other mangas do that. If you have a cool character, why waste their potential by killing them off? Keep them around, let them do more cool things.

I can't understand why anyone would call the characters in Bleach generic when almost all of them have their own unique looks and backstories. And they each get their own chances to shine, which is an -insane- juggling act that I think the author managed quite well. Sure there's a lot of fights, but what do you expect from a boy's manga? At least they're interesting and don't last for volumes at a time. I'll grant you that Bleach is very much a shounen manga, but it's hardly typical- I'd go so far as to say it's easily the best one I've ever read. It certainly beats Yu-Gi-Oh all to hell.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Well, let me offer the flip side of that statement: if nobody dies, and we know nobody's going to die, then why is anyone even bothering? Why should I care? Sometimes, to keep the audience interested and the story feeling impactful and real, a character has to die.

Like in Berserk: we all liked General Corbowitz. He was a funny character, with his overblown ego and utterly misplaced self-confidence. But it's the story of a war and he's an enemy commander. He can only escape so many times, and then either he has to die or the audience is just going to stop believing. They're going to remember that the thing they're watching is just a story, a story with no consequence--and why should we care to watch through a pointless story?

Another great example is in Full Metal Alchemist. It was a brilliant move, story-wise, to kill Colonel Hughes. It literally put every secondary character at risk---of course we can assume the Elric Brothers will come through alright, but characters like Mustang and Hawkeye were evidently not immune to death.

[B-Man]

I must say that I was not expecting Azien to do what he did. That's what keep me reading all... 258 chapters now? Yes, Bleach is you generic Shonen where the hero has a huge amount of power and is somehow isolated from the rest of his group until he begins to open up and is accepted. I'm just happy that the Bount (or Boundo, or Bounto) story arc is over. That filler arc was annoying, but I guess it did have more story behind it than the Naruto fillers. >.>

General things that I like about the series:
I guess that I really like the generic repressed hero who triumphs after believing in himself... or he triumphs because of a demon that's inside of him. I love the whole fact that Ichigo has the whole 'bad-ass' attitude but is still naïve.

Things I dislike:
The whole weak female role. In particularly, Orihime. She's so damn weak! Rukia does fall into this catagory for most of the anime, but she is stronger than Orihime by a long shot.

EDIT: More things I dislike:
Kon. I horribly despise Kon (in English and in Japanese). He's an annoyance that doesn't go away, he is so annoying in both dubbings. All the crying for Rukia (Nee-san, or Nee-sama) and quest for well-rounded ladies, it all isn't necessary.

[Hephaestus]

I havn't read Bleach in 3 or 4 months now but I have to say, I stopped when I realized before Ichigo fought an enemy of his, his enemies were powerful and evil and menacing. After he fights and defeats them however, they become comic relief characters, and this is true for almost all his opponents who wern't Hollows. I give bleach a :smallannoyed: and a double :smallyuk: :smallyuk:

[Closet_Skeleton]

Well, let me offer the flip side of that statement: if nobody dies, and we know nobody's going to die, then why is anyone even bothering? Why should I care? Sometimes, to keep the audience interested and the story feeling impactful and real, a character has to die.

Like in Berserk: we all liked General Corbowitz. He was a funny character, with his overblown ego and utterly misplaced self-confidence. But it's the story of a war and he's an enemy commander. He can only escape so many times, and then either he has to die or the audience is just going to stop believing. They're going to remember that the thing they're watching is just a story, a story with no consequence--and why should we care to watch through a pointless story?

Another great example is in Full Metal Alchemist. It was a brilliant move, story-wise, to kill Colonel Hughes. It literally put every secondary character at risk---of course we can assume the Elric Brothers will come through alright, but characters like Mustang and Hawkeye were evidently not immune to death.

Gantz is good for this. You have no idea if a character will actually survive. It's a bit cheapened by the option of ressurection but at least that has to be earned in Gantz. A lot of things that kill of a major character think "okay, I've shocked the audience now, I can keep everyone else alive" but the good ones never do that.

[Skydiving_Ninja]

I love Bleach. I like the fact that theres a huge cast important to the plot, but I still can't pick a favorite character, because most of 'em are awesome. It certainly beats Naruto and Yu-Gi-Oh!(the 24/7 card games).

To tell you the truth, I almost stopped after the first volume when Ichigo got his giant sword, but since they had an explanation of WHY it was so big and how Ichigo was sometimes at a disadvantage because of its size (remember Don Kanonji?) I was brought me back in.

If anything, the Bleach-haters can at least admit Urahara's awesomness.

[Behold_the_Void]

I'm just going to quote what I said on another forum.


Why do I like Bleach? It's fun.

I grew up on Dragon Ball Z and was into it long before most Americans had any idea of what "Anime" was (or thought it was all porn, as, naturally, hentai was the first anime that made it over. Says something about society, but I digress).

Bleach is by no means the pinnacle of brilliance or originality. It's an obviously shounen series that does what shounen series do, and I don't expect more of it. I watch it because damn it, I think I'm entitled to want to watch a bunch of people with big swords and cool powers go at it.

In it's favor though, is Bleach actually has a decent plot (the Aizen arc and the Arrancar arc are pretty good, and the first arc was equally compelling). Again, not a gem by any stretch of the imagination, but fun and impressive by shounen manga standards.

Bleach also has a wealth of interesting characters, which is one of the strengths of a good shounen manga. Like, say, Eyeshield 21, one of Bleach's major draws for me are the characters, who are all at least relatively interesting and fun.

Essentially, I watch Bleach because I want to be entertained and find it entertaining. Which is as good a reason as any, really.

[Ramza00]

Bleach is simplistic but entertaining, that is all.

And while they are on like episode 20 in the dubbed anime, and like book 10 in the official translated manga. They are like on episode 110 in the fan-subbed anime, and book 20 in the fan translated manga. Both of these are the real thing, they are just by there very nature anti-capitalistic :smallwink: since they are free on the internet.

[Ganjuu-kun]

If someone was to die, who would? I mean, usually it's the comic relief person, so who would it be in this case? Renji? Ichi? Perhaps Hana?

[Piedmon_Sama]

Man, if Renji died I'd read that issue...

Bleach needs to give its cool characters more focus. Chad was always my favorite... and not just because he's pretty much the first heroic Mexican character I've ever seen in a manga, although that's probably part of it....

[B-Man]

Agreed. Chad needs have more chapters to himself. That's the thing about a huge cast of main characters, there's too many for attention. I can't wait to see how his Bankai-equivalent will look like. Ishida's quincy artefacts are awesome!

[Closet_Skeleton]

I find Ishida a drag. He's cool and all but whenever there's more than one chapter focused on him I think "get back to the plot already".

Chad is cool but I thought that if someone died it would have to be Chad. Probably because he doesn't appear to have a crucial role in the plot but his death would still mean something.

[Nightmarenny]

Responding to B-man because quotes taking to long.*

Can no women be weak? There are strong women in Bleach as well. Orihime sertainly is weak, Rukia is arguerable(wasn't she one of the best soul reapers before she got her powers stole?) Orihime's friend is strong an Ichigo's sister.

This complaint sorta ticks me off. Media has plenty of weak men and no one cares but an anime with a few weak girls in it and I see a bunch of people freak out about it.

[B-Man]

Responding to B-man because quotes taking to long.*

Can no women be weak? There are strong women in Bleach as well. Orihime sertainly is weak, Rukia is arguerable(wasn't she one of the best soul reapers before she got her powers stole?) Orihime's friend is strong an Ichigo's sister.

This complaint sorta ticks me off. Media has plenty of weak men and no one cares but an anime with a few weak girls in it and I see a bunch of people freak out about it.

I'm sorry if that sounded offending, but if you look at any typical Shonen and look at one of the main female characters; you're most likely going to see the stereotypical frail female character is very close to the hero.

Take Sakura and Hinata from Naruto to find better examples. Their character's are emotionally weak. I really don't like that in Shonen. That's what I meant by weak. I don't like watching emotionally frail women in Anime.

[Ganjuu-kun]

I think that if I had to kill one of the characters, it would be Orihime. She gets really anoying at times, and I just want her to die so I don't have to read those parts. I know what I've said sounds sexist, but if Orihime and Chad switched personalities, I would want Chad to die instead.

[Piedmon_Sama]

.....That would actually be a fantastic storyline.

Chad: Ooooh, Ichigo! I was really hoping we could, I don't know, get lunch together today.... *giggle, blush*

Ichigo: ..... O_o

[Krytha]

I like Bleach.

[~The Patriots~]

I love it, probably one of my favorite manga and anime series.

[qube]

The whole ten books of the Soul Society arc, I was waiting for someone to die. Other than that poor sap Aizen killed, nobody dies despite dozens of fights going on throughout Soul Society. It's rediculous. What could the author possibly want to do with such a huge cast? Why are so many of them sticking around? Why should I even care, they're all so painfully GENERIC? Seriously, when you've got two guys filling the "Generic Rival" spot to counter your Main Hero--that's Renji and Ishida--you've got too many characters.
thats a spoiler? you obviously haven't read the Soul Society arc to its finish.

wait for the next arc (the bounto arc), if you want people to die ... :D

there a reason they don't die in the soul society arc :)

i like bleach: i've started reading the manga after seeing the anime.

[Piedmon_Sama]

I'm not waiting for any further arcs, I stopped reading around Chapter 208. And I was thinking some people might have only seen the episodes aired on Cartoon Network/Read the volumes on sale in American stores.

[Closet_Skeleton]

I'm sorry if that sounded offending, but if you look at any typical Shonen and look at one of the main female characters; you're most likely going to see the stereotypical frail female character is very close to the hero.

Take Sakura and Hinata from Naruto to find better examples. Their character's are emotionally weak. I really don't like that in Shonen. That's what I meant by weak. I don't like watching emotionally frail women in Anime.

Hanataro is a pathetic male character...

I'd say that Orihime is the only emotionally weak main character. All the other ones are either mildly flawed or undergoing a period of depression. Orihime actually ends up being more useful that Ishida in the soul society arc.

I guess it is a problem with comics designed to appeal to males that their aren't many strong women. Well, actually I can think of quite a few strong women in shonen comics but they're all fan service characters and therefore equally un-feminist.

[Nightmarenny]

I'm sorry if that sounded offending, but if you look at any typical Shonen and look at one of the main female characters; you're most likely going to see the stereotypical frail female character is very close to the hero.

Take Sakura and Hinata from Naruto to find better examples. Their character's are emotionally weak. I really don't like that in Shonen. That's what I meant by weak. I don't like watching emotionally frail women in Anime.
While I'm to blinded by how cute, subie ,sad ,cute, Determined and cute Hinata is I can really see what you mean about Sakura. She is improving though infact when see stops thinking of herself inrelation to Sasuke she might even be a full character:smallyuk: .

Also just like in Bleach there are plenty of main characters that counter-act Sakura(Hinata isn't really main at the moment) Tamari a very dominate girl with out any doubt in herself that saves Shikamaru on how many times? The almighty 5th Hokage. Yeah. Compared to say DBZ. At least the HAVE female characters.

[Police_palace]

I love Bleach.. Every single part of it.. (except fillers) and I'm quite happy now that the fillers over and I can start watching it instead of reading it.. GO BLEACH

[Teal Kuinshi]

Things I dislike:
The whole weak female role. In particularly, Orihime. She's so damn weak! Rukia does fall into this catagory for most of the anime, but she is stronger than Orihime by a long shot.

While I've only seen the T.V. series, and agree that there are too many weaker females, what about Yorouichi (probably spelled wrong), Inoue's friend, or Ganjuu's sister? All of them are strong, and all three of them will eventually beat up Ichigo, the strong main character, for various reasons.

And I like Kon...

[B-Man]

I'd say that Orihime is the only emotionally weak main character. All the other ones are either mildly flawed or undergoing a period of depression. Orihime actually ends up being more useful that Ishida in the soul society arc.
I'd like to see (and remember) why Orihime is useful in the Soul Society arc.


I guess it is a problem with comics designed to appeal to males that their aren't many strong women. Well, actually I can think of quite a few strong women in shonen comics but they're all fan service characters and therefore equally un-feminist.
I can think of a lot of strong female characters in Shonen manga (anime). But it's the weak, pathetics ones that I don't like. Hence why I stated before.


While I'm to blinded by how cute, subie ,sad ,cute, Determined and cute Hinata is I can really see what you mean about Sakura. She is improving though infact when see stops thinking of herself inrelation to Sasuke she might even be a full character:smallyuk: .

Also just like in Bleach there are plenty of main characters that counter-act Sakura(Hinata isn't really main at the moment) Tamari a very dominate girl with out any doubt in herself that saves Shikamaru on how many times? The almighty 5th Hokage. Yeah.
Okay, I'll give you that. There are a lot of strong female roles in Naruto. I can only think of one strong female character in Bleach, though. That would have to be Tatsuki.


Compared to say DBZ. At least the HAVE female characters.I'll also give you that.


While I've only seen the T.V. series, and agree that there are too many weaker females, what about Yorouichi (probably spelled wrong), Inoue's friend, or Ganjuu's sister? All of them are strong, and all three of them will eventually beat up Ichigo, the strong main character, for various reasons. Gah! I forgot Ganjuu's sister and the cat! When Yorouichi transforms into her human form... I'd say that that was the funniest bit in Bleach! :smallbiggrin:


And I like Kon... You will grow to hate him. Very quickly.

EDIT: I found another weak one. Hinamori Momo. Aizen took full advantage of that. *low whistle*

[Chappers]

I love Bleach. Which is not to say that it's the best thing ever written, that it has an original storyline or particularly good characters coz it don't. It's pretty much straight Manga/Anime Shonen with love triangles/nonagons, weak guy getting stronger the stronger his opponent etc.

However it is addictive. Very Addictive. Like several hours of my life addictive. Probably one of the best Mangas I've read and I've read a lot. The art is amazing.

[Jerthanis]

I haven't read too much of Bleach, but from what I have read, it seems like it's not JUST a generic shounen series, but also the BEST generic shounen manga series for all the reasons listed above. That fight scenes are easy to follow despite the medium, that it presents and juggles a large cast of characters well, that fights advance the plot more often than not... I mean, if you compare it to other generic shounen serieses, I've gotta say that I'm glad Dragonball Z isn't the "generic shounen series" anymore, and that something as cool as Bleach is now where the bar is set for Shounen serieses.

Also, Paranormal Detective agencies are freaking awesome, it's like Yuuyuu Hakushou done right, or a less gay Yami no Matsuei (not that I didn't like Yami no Matsuei, and not that there's anything wrong with that)

Also, I've heard it said that death and pregnancy are the refuge of the poor storyteller, that both are tricks to cheaply build drama. This is of course, not universally true, but if Bleach can make high emotion and bonding with the characters in it without a half dozen deaths a story arc, it means the characters and storytelling is just that strong. (This is of course, from someone who's read like, the first 3 or 4 volumes or something, so certainly not an expert)

P.S. Rukia gets weak? Bummer! I had hoped when she got her Shinigami powers back that she'd be one of the main fighty-type characters. I would agree that one of the things I don't like about shounen serieses does include the propensity for weak, useless damsel in distress female figures, and it's sad to hear that Bleach never recovers from the initial state of the girl providing tips to the guy who is killing all the crazy monsters.

[Closet_Skeleton]

P.S. Rukia gets weak? Bummer! I had hoped when she got her Shinigami powers back that she'd be one of the main fighty-type characters. I would agree that one of the things I don't like about shounen serieses does include the propensity for weak, useless damsel in distress female figures, and it's sad to hear that Bleach never recovers from the initial state of the girl providing tips to the guy who is killing all the crazy monsters.

She does get stronger she just has a short period of being worse. She doesn't become the main character or anything though.

[Mauril Everleaf]

I've read all of the official translated books (vol 16) but I have watched the subbed versions of the anime up until the start of the bound arc. I have no idea where that's going because I can't find downloadable versions to watch later. I love this story, I love the characters and I love the art. I even started reading ZOMBIEPOWDER just because Tite Kubo made it. Any one know where I can find downloadable subbed versions of the episodes for free (poor kid with no credit card).

[Raistlin1040]

Bleach is really cool. I watch the anime and read the manga occasionally. The plot of the show is really good and I like it.

[Jonrea]

I like Bleach and am on of the first to watched the newly subbed episodes on Thursday off of YouTube.

One thing I got to say: man, Bleach characters' blood clots amazingly well.

Seriously. You can be sliced and diced, spill a large amount of blood, then be fine to fight some more.

Sure, this usually happens when they're spirits and an argument can be made for their Soul Slayers stopping the bleeding (as Zangetsu did against Zaraki), but still. Those people don't bleed.

[Skyserpent]

thats a spoiler? you obviously haven't read the Soul Society arc to its finish.

wait for the next arc (the bounto arc), if you want people to die ... :D

there a reason they don't die in the soul society arc :)

i like bleach: i've started reading the manga after seeing the anime.

That's because the Bounto arc was FILLER. In the manga they went straight to the Arrancar and the Espada...

[nothingclever]

That's because the Bounto arc was FILLER. In the manga they went straight to the Arrancar and the Espada...Yeah I watched from episode 1-113 and then read the manga from where I left off up to and including chapter 261.

I didn't know the Bount arc was filler until now but yeah it really doesn't count for people dying because every character was clearly disposable and made for that one arc.

Aizen and his allies are made to be more important to the overall plot.

Not including the Bount arc basically no one died that wasn't a disposable enemy character.

[Mauril Everleaf]

Technically, anyone who dies, no matter the story, is a disposable character, unless they die in the penultimate scene, in which case they are a plot point. Or at least that's how I see it.

I love that no one dies in Bleach. I like all of the characters, and I don't want to see them go. (Okay there are a few creepy ones that I wouldn't mind getting offed, but they need to be there too.)

It's not the blood clotting that amazes me, but rather the phenominal amount of blood that Ichigo has. Seriously, there is no way that any creature can have that much blood, let alone loose that much and still walk away to go create some more blood to lose. But I love it so.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Technically, anyone who dies, no matter the story, is a disposable character, unless they die in the penultimate scene, in which case they are a plot point. Or at least that's how I see it.

I love that no one dies in Bleach. I like all of the characters, and I don't want to see them go. (Okay there are a few creepy ones that I wouldn't mind getting offed, but they need to be there too.)

It's not the blood clotting that amazes me, but rather the phenominal amount of blood that Ichigo has. Seriously, there is no way that any creature can have that much blood, let alone loose that much and still walk away to go create some more blood to lose. But I love it so.

Get 5 liters of water and spill it in your living room then say that Ichigo has too much blood.

I mean, you might be right, but then you'd have evidence...

[Behold_the_Void]

I don't know what the complaints about all the weak female characters are. There are plenty of strong female characters in Bleach.

Strong:
Yoruichi
Matsumoto
Rukia
Unohana
Tatsuki (Arguable due to lack of spirit power)
Hiyori
Soi Fon
Every female Vizard/Arrancar (there are a good number of them)
Yachiru (Arguable, but from what little she's shown it seems quite likely)

Weak:
Orihime (Even this is arguable since her healing actually reverses time
Isane (Arguable)
Kiyone (Comic relief, arguable)
Hinamori (Arguable, weak personality strong abilities)
Nanao (Highly contestable, I seriously doubt this is the case)
Nemu (she's a doll and has no apparent zanpakutou, but still appears to be at least decent)

[Setra]

Get 5 liters of water and spill it in your living room then say that Ichigo has too much blood.

I mean, you might be right, but then you'd have evidence...

I've always wondered, why does blood matter to Spirits?

Just curious.

Anyways, I need to get ahold of the manga, thus far I've only seen up to partway through the Bount arc in terms of the anime.

It's fun to watch, the characters are enjoyable, though I do admit, as said before, the fact no one dies is annoying. However I'm waiting for some ultimate plot point to happen, then have all these characters we've grown to like, die.

Well not all, but like.. most of them, like 90% of the named Shinigami plus one of the 'Main Cast' (Kon, Rukia, Ichigo, Chad, Ishida, erm.. I can't believe I forgot that one guys name... the guy who trained Ichigo, he has the funny hat)

This reminds me of a quote from another anime, Nadesico.

"Just enjoy it for what it is"

[Closet_Skeleton]

It's fun to watch, the characters are enjoyable, though I do admit, as said before, the fact no one dies is annoying. However I'm waiting for some ultimate plot point to happen, then have all these characters we've grown to like, die.

Well not all, but like.. most of them, like 90% of the named Shinigami plus one of the 'Main Cast' (Kon, Rukia, Ichigo, Chad, Ishida, erm.. I can't believe I forgot that one guys name... the guy who trained Ichigo, he has the funny hat)

You'll definately be wanting to read the Arrancar and Hueco Mundo arcs.

I can't remember that guys name either. I always call him "Sandal Hat" like Ichigo does. I can never remember the short guy with white hair's name either.

[Mauril Everleaf]

Urahara Kisuke, IIRC. I just finished volume 17 of the official translated manga. It's right when Rukia is sent to the Sokyoku. I thought it was weird that none of the "main cast" (rather, the ryoka) played a real part in the volume. It was all Soul Reaper vs. Soul Reaper, with backstory.

Oh, and I love Bankai. Anytime a Zanpaku To gets more powerful that's a good day for me.

[B-Man]

I'm just loving the Arrancar arc right now. I don't want to go into detail, but it is the best, IMO, arc in the entire story!

[nothingclever]

It doesn't really make any sense to complain about characters not dying because not much has actually happened in the manga anyway.

There are really only two sections Soul Society and Arrancar.
No one should die in the beginning because it's a waste of time introducing them and during the Soul Society arc the main characters were only ordered to be captured for questioning and they all still received a beating.

At that point Soul Society is still only just being established too.

With filler inbetween the story goes straight to fighting Arrancar which is actually only recently considering how long it took for things to get started so I don't see a reaso why anyone really needed to die. All the regular hollow battles don't even count anyway beause they are mostly trivial.

The only times I really felt the story was dumb were when Ichigo constantly got beat up because he wasn't psychologically prepared enough and he gets left to recover over and over again eventually defeating the bad guy. I wish that was somehow made less cheesy but then again it's just part of the genre.

[anphorus]

I've had limited net access for a while, so I'm not up to speed on the manga yet, though I'm pretty glad that the fillers are over in the anime. Hooray for Shinji.

[Mauril Everleaf]

Love the Kuchiki Byakuya avvie!

[B-Man]

Darn... someone beat me to the punch in making a Byakuya avatar... meh... I'll make a Renji or Ishida one instead.

[Mauril Everleaf]

Ishida is so much cooler than Renji. Although, since they switch things in the American version, I still call Ishida "Uryu" in my head.

[B-Man]

I don't really like Ishida Uryuu too much. He'd just be cool to draw.


...heck, if I can get over how annoying he is, I'd totally draw up a Kon avatar.

[Mauril Everleaf]

Have you seen Rex Idiotarum's new ani-avvy? It's Urahara pogoing on Kon. I'll see if I can link it.

[Rex Idiotarum]

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n291/rexidiotarum/pogoandclogs.gif
*Cough Cough *

[B-Man]

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n291/rexidiotarum/pogoandclogs.gif

That.Is.AWESOME!!!!

[Mauril Everleaf]

Or better yet, summon the man himself.

[kuja.girl]

The saving Rukia part lasts like 10 books.... :smallbiggrin:

Which is why I stopped reading it.

It was good until it went into "samurai showdown" mode.

I loved the Hollows - one of the best monsters I've ever seen.... and then, ugh.

[Mauril Everleaf]

Well, after Rukia is saved, you get some more hollows and hollow-like action, IIRC.

[kuja.girl]

10 volumes, ~ 5 years of publishing, dedicated to one plot point (rescuing ONE person) strikes me as a ridiculous waste of time and talent.

I did read up to near the end of the "rescue saga" - and yes, I did get bored out of my skull by the non-stop fights.
As I read I kept asking myself, "Why the heck is this taking so long? Sure the fights look cool, but damn, let's move on already."

I'm glad I read it up to that point before it came State-side other wise I'd have been sucked into spending the $80+ on those 10 books...

[Nevrmore]

Am I the only one who likes making up different zanpakutos and thinking of cool abilities for them? I find myself doing that more often when I'm bored.

[nothingclever]

If anyone for some reason is unable or too lazy to look for an online manga site, here's one since I didn't see anyone list one:<Snip>


10 volumes, ~ 5 years of publishing, dedicated to one plot point (rescuing ONE person) strikes me as a ridiculous waste of time and talent.

I did read up to near the end of the "rescue saga" - and yes, I did get bored out of my skull by the non-stop fights.
As I read I kept asking myself, "Why the heck is this taking so long? Sure the fights look cool, but damn, let's move on already."

I'm glad I read it up to that point before it came State-side other wise I'd have been sucked into spending the $80+ on those 10 books...
Well the first rescue saga has only really lead to another since they're trying to rescue Inoue in the Arrancar Arc.

[B-Man]

The reason we haven't posted a link or anything to that extent is because Viz has bought the licence for Bleach and you should really be buying the manga.

[nothingclever]

The reason we haven't posted a link or anything to that extent is because Viz has bought the licence for Bleach and you should really be buying the manga.Good one! *chuckles*

[kuja.girl]

Only understandable reason for why Nothingclever posted that link:
he may live in a country where the manga isn't being sold yet.

But considering his response, he sounds more like a delinquent who doesn't want to shell out the $8/vol to Viz.

I bought the first 5 vols, which I enjoyed - other people should do the same. Manga's cheap now - 1 volume used to be $16 when I was in high school.

[That Lanky Bugger]

I bought the first 5 vols, which I enjoyed - other people should do the same. Manga's cheap now - 1 volume used to be $16 when I was in high school.

Quoted for truth.

I remember paying $19 per volume for poor quality "official" volumes of Ranma 1/2. These days you can get stuff which is pretty much the same quality as the original prints for a decent price, which means you should be shelling out the cash.

I'm not saying I don't read the current stuff. In fact, I just finished reading the latest...

where Rukia runs into the Ninth of the Espada, who happens to greatly resemble Kaien.

But still, I've got all the manga volumes anyway.

[WampaX]

Good one! *chuckles*

Voice of the Wampinator: Just so you know, GitP would not like to receive angry legal letters from companies. Thus, a simple formula:

Posting links to free stuff on a company's website = okay

Posting links to free stuff owned by a company on a third party site = not okay

[Behold_the_Void]

Quoted for truth.

I remember paying $19 per volume for poor quality "official" volumes of Ranma 1/2. These days you can get stuff which is pretty much the same quality as the original prints for a decent price, which means you should be shelling out the cash.

I'm not saying I don't read the current stuff. In fact, I just finished reading the latest...

where Rukia runs into the Ninth of the Espada, who happens to greatly resemble Kaien.

But still, I've got all the manga volumes anyway.

That's totally Kaien. Although it does screw the Ichigo = Kaien Reincarnation theory.

[Mauril Everleaf]

Awww, I was hoping WampaX was a Bleach fan. That would have made him even more awesome.........if such a thing were possible.

[WampaX]

Awww, I was hoping WampaX was a Bleach fan. That would have made him even more awesome.........if such a thing were possible.

Have not actually read any manga.
Passive anime fan.
Love Gojira (and Kaiju films in general).
Took three semesters of Japanese in college . . . have sadly all but forgotten it since. :smallfrown:

Back to topic, only Bleach I have been exposed to has been the comic done over at VGCats.

[B-Man]

Yes! VGCats' parody of Bleach ep 58 is awesome! My friend showed me that during my school's anime club and I'm now a fan of VGCats.

[That Lanky Bugger]

That's totally Kaien. Although it does screw the Ichigo = Kaien Reincarnation theory.

Yeah, I'm hoping it is Kaien. Should make for a more interesting plot that way. It also fits in with Tito Kube's "nobody EVER dies until I'm done with them" mentality.

I'm actually looking forward to more about Ichigo's dad, as well. The Bleach team needs to do a 5 chapter span where they cover some backstory, like they did for Kakashi in the Naruto manga (which I'm disappointed they haven't turned into animated form).

[kuja.girl]

I remember paying $19 per volume for poor quality "official" volumes of Ranma 1/2. These days you can get stuff which is pretty much the same quality as the original prints for a decent price, which means you should be shelling out the cash.

Ah... Ranma 1/2 - my first exposure to anime/manga and possibly one of the most pointless series of all times. I also shelled out way too much cash for bad edits, bad binding and semi-decent translations way back in... the 90's.

I have to say, while the author's work bores me to tears now (all the stories are the same) - it was enjoyable at the time. The only way I'd ever pick up the series again is to watch the newer English dubbed videos - the last one I watched (high school) was hilarious.

Anyways, I've said my part about Bleach and Viz so I'm done w/this thread. Feel free to PM me or something if you want me to start pay attention again. :smallamused:

[nothingclever]

Only understandable reason for why Nothingclever posted that link:
he may live in a country where the manga isn't being sold yet.

But considering his response, he sounds more like a delinquent who doesn't want to shell out the $8/vol to Viz.

I bought the first 5 vols, which I enjoyed - other people should do the same. Manga's cheap now - 1 volume used to be $16 when I was in high school.
I'm in Canada and whether I am in a place where I can buy it or not is irrelevant when I'm not interested enough in a person's work to pay for it, they make enough already, my lack of purchase will give them a reason to keep producing to generate an income, I can pay zero dollars for something that would cost hundreds, thousands or even more over time and it requires basically no effort at all on my part. It has nothing to do with being a delinquent and that is a pretty silly word to use.

I'm just not a hardcore comic book fan that feels compelled to pay for something that I could get for free. I couldn't care less what you payed for comics in high school and 25 volumes at $200 for a story that moves slower than molasses doesn't seem worth it to me when I could buy a $10 book with more content. There are several understandable reasons for why I do what I do. You can't even use the too cheap/lazy arguement because the quality I'm getting through the internet in an easily accessible file that will not be easily lost or damaged by external forces is just so much better in my opinion. LAWLZ.

I will apologize for thinking to that site then as I was unaware of the restriction as I usually frequent forums that do not have it. The apology however only extends to the moderators and such, not to you.

[Mauril Everleaf]

That is akin to saying that "I'm too lazy to work, so I steal all of the food I need. I "borrowed" this car and I don't pay for gas at the pump." By your logic all of those actions are perfectly fine because they encourage the producer to sell more stuff. That is just illogical.

[kuja.girl]

I wasn't trying to accuse or lecture anyone in my previous posts. I also wasn't rude. Then nothingclever went and singled me out (and was did so quite rudely) - so here's my response:


I will apologize for thinking to that site then as I was unaware of the restriction as I usually frequent forums that do not have it. The apology however only extends to the moderators and such, not to you.
I don't want an apology and I hope you don't expect one from me because you aren't getting one.*
I also believe delinquent describes your attitude perfectly as the definition of that word is:


Failing to do what law or duty requires.
Overdue in payment.You seem to have the attitude that you don't have to pay for something unless you like it. Wow, what a novel idea! If that was true then there wouldn't be any consumer products for you to ripoff/pirate/download/etc, because nothing would be made. I was just suggesting that you purchase the volumes you enjoyed because from the look of your previous posts, you're still following the series and like it enough to post comments on it. I'm not saying "go spend all your money." I'm saying "if you like something, send a message to the author and publisher by buying their product, that way they're more likely to make similar products."

This is way off topic so that's it - end of discussion.
*I said I wasn't going to post here anymore but nothingclever's last post seems aimed directly at things I said.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Or, if you dislike an author's work, doodle on his pages and mail your crude etchings to him! It's the only way they can learn.

[That Lanky Bugger]

I'm in Canada and whether I am in a place where I can buy it or not is irrelevant when I'm not interested enough in a person's work to pay for it, they make enough already, my lack of purchase will give them a reason to keep producing to generate an income, I can pay zero dollars for something that would cost hundreds, thousands or even more over time and it requires basically no effort at all on my part.

If everyone had your attitude, they wouldn't have a job because they wouldn't be making enough money to support their work. Case in point: Rich Burlew, owner of the site you're posting on right now. If nobody bought Dungeon Crawlin' Fools, No Cure for the Paladin Blues, or On the Origins of PCs... Well, there wouldn't BE an Order of the Stick. I imagine this site costs quite a bit of money to keep online due to bandwidth costs, and fans purchasing his work supplements that.


I'm just not a hardcore comic book fan that feels compelled to pay for something that I could get for free. I couldn't care less what you payed for comics in high school and 25 volumes at $200 for a story that moves slower than molasses doesn't seem worth it to me when I could buy a $10 book with more content.

So go buy that book. Oh wait, let me guess... If you could find that book on the internet, you'd download it for free and not bother to go out and spend $10! WOW! That makes a lot of sense, too!


There are several understandable reasons for why I do what I do. You can't even use the too cheap/lazy arguement because the quality I'm getting through the internet in an easily accessible file that will not be easily lost or damaged by external forces is just so much better in my opinion. LAWLZ.

No, we CAN use the too cheap/lazy argument. You're too cheap to pay money for a commercial product, and you're too lazy to work hard enough to earn the money to afford it.


I will apologize for thinking to that site then as I was unaware of the restriction as I usually frequent forums that do not have it. The apology however only extends to the moderators and such, not to you.

Yes, silly that us forum posters don't like to break the law. /sarcasm

Yeah, I technically break the law too when I download the latest chapter of Bleach. Then again, I actually buy that chapter when it comes out in North America, so I don't feel guilty about it.

[anphorus]

I too download chapters of Manga from the internets, but I always buy them in stores when they are lisenced and translated. Not out of the goodness of my heart or anything, I just far prefer to have the manga physically in my hand than a scan (of sometimes questionable quality) on a computer screen, theres just someting about holding tohe book in your hand that I find appealing.

[kuja.girl]

... I just far prefer to have the manga physically in my hand than a scan (of sometimes questionable quality) on a computer screen, theres just someting about holding tohe book in your hand that I find appealing.
*cough* translation quality *cough* (in general)

[That Lanky Bugger]

Spoiler for the latest chaper of Bleach

I knew it was Kaien! Though it begs the question who's side he's on, if he's just testing Rukia at this point, and why he's still a member of the ranked Espada if he was there before Aizen got there.

[B-Man]

I believe that Kaien is testing Rukia's ability, and perhaps Rukia might have acheived Bankai in the little time skip between the two arcs. I doubt it though.

[Closet_Skeleton]

*cough* translation quality *cough* (in general)

Interestingly; the official translation of the Beck Manga was done by one of the fan translaters.

Sometimes the translations aren't that bad at all and they have a tendancy to use more notes to explain things and it's rare for them to censor stuff.

I'd prefer to buy the official translations but some of the censorship issues can make me prefer not to.

[Setra]

Wait, Kaien is alive?! Nooooo why did I read the spoiler!! :smallfrown:

[Nevrmore]

Wait, Kaien is alive?! Nooooo why did I read the spoiler!! :smallfrown:
Srsly, if you don't want more crap spoiled for you, don't read:

No, not alive. He is one of the most powerful arrancar; Hollows that have rejected their Hollow-y ways and reverted almost back to normal. He is still dead, but is as real as any shinigami or Hollow

[Mr_Teatime]

I rather like Bleach. It doesn't offer anything especially deep, or really innovative at all, but goddamn it's got style, and the fight scene's are cool +1.

[Nightwing]

I don't know what this is about and I don't care.

[Poison_Fish]

Well, now that we are aware, good to know.

I happen to enjoy bleach for what it is. Typical in many places, but still delivers.

[Dariendel]

What I like about Bleach:

-Most of the supporting and characters are cool.

-Unexpected Twists (Aizen and Isshin)

-Personalized weapons

-No cheesy romance (but I do want to see Ichigo being intimate with one or all of the ladies)

[Dariendel]

I don't know what this is about and I don't care.

So what's your point of posting here?

[Behold_the_Void]

By the look of it, Kaien is likely dominated by the hollow side right now, much as Ichigo can be when his own hollow emerges.

[Setra]

I always have to look at the spoilers :smallfrown: I actually have been getting ahold of the manga. Now to actually start reading it... ... Maybe after some BF2142.

Edit: Okay I just have one statement after reading 21 Volumes. Ichigo's Father. W! T! F!

Edit2: Waaaaah Orihime is sad