No series is perfect, there are always flaws and not everyone is going to like everything. As such, for my second question in the Bleach series, I want to know what things do people dislike about the series? For some it could be certain battles, characters, arcs and so on. I am not looking for a Bleach bashing, but rather an introspective look at the series and understanding that there are just some things that we as fans (or not), simply dislike. Here are 3 things that I dislike about Bleach even though I am a big fan of the series.

Here is the second day and post of my 30 Bleach Questions series.

1. Needless characters and fights

I love that Bleach has a massive cast of characters. It really gives the feeling of different worlds that are fully populated and have their own inner-workings. Seeing this is wonderful, truly it is, however, sometimes too much time was given to characters or that had nothing to do with the actual point or plot of the series.

These characters then had their own battles where after re-watching and re-reading left me wondering – why, what’s the point? I know some are there to add in angst and tension and to show that this foe is really strong but over time I came to realise that they are meh and actually defuse the tension.

2. Fillers

I am sure listing fillers is not a surprise to many. Don’t get me wrong, some of the filler arcs were good and some blended into the series quite well. However, the timing sucked. Yes the fillers were there because there was not enough source material available, but this makes me glad that newer anime are not as afflicted with fillers and rather take their time being released in seasons over years.

The true problem with the Bleach filler arcs is that they break the pacing of the main plot. It would be one thing if they had been better planned and placed. If Bleach had received the same treatment as the newer anime and had set seasons, with proper ‘ends’ to each season, it would be so much better received within the community. Heck, even some of the fillers could still work – if they were not so randomly shoved into the series.

3. Pacing

I listed pacing as the 3rd thing that I dislike about Bleach because it includes the first two points. The manga does a great job with its pacing with just a few issues which I’ll explain in a bit. As we know, the anime is riddled with filler which throws off the pacing of the main plot horrendously. As mentioned in my point on fillers – they should have been handled better. The fillers seemed to always crop up in crucial moments of tension and ruining the build up of anticipation for certain moments, reveals and battles. Then when the filler is done you are suddenly back in the thick of it and all previous anticipation and tension has faded, ultimately affecting the moment.

As for the massive cast and having so many battles going on at the same time, it can feel all over the place, especially when jumping from one battle to the next. Since there are so many characters and so many battles fans obviously have ones they want to see and ones they are happy to get past quickly. That is not to say the ones they want done quickly are bad or lacklustre, just the battle is distracting and taking away from the one they really want to see. Well, that’s what happened for me. Then when you add in the fillers on top of this, the pacing becomes a complete mess.

What do you dislike about Bleach?

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