By now, I’ve been hopping from one Shounen to another like a crack addict looking for his next fix. So, I was quite satiated when I stumbled upon Bleach. Now… I know what you guys are thinking, “How are you just now getting to Bleach? it’s one of the big 3 of Shounen!” All I got to say to that is, I read slow like an Alzheimer stricken boomer, so throw me a bone here. Bleach is very similar to many Shounen series, but I think its unique twists on the genre and the world building will interest any Shounen fanatic.
Bleach follows our main character, Ichigo Kurosaki. He is your regular, every day, *cough* *cough* OP high school kid. For as long as he could remember, Ichigo could see ghosts and interact with them, but he didn’t let that bother him. Until one day when he encounters a Soul Reaper by the name of Rukia. A slayer of Hollows, aka demon ghosts, sent to the world of the living to cleanse these evil ghosts. After being attacked by a Hollow, Ichigo gains the powers of a Soul Reaper and the rest is history.
Bleach lends itself as a legend in the Shounen genre. It is one of the big 3 which include Naruto and One Piece. However, because of this Bleach has a very cliché and typical Shounen story. For those not familiar, it’s the story of “I got beat by a bad guy, I’ve got to train and get stronger!” Because of this, once you read 1 or 2 Shounens you can guess what kind of story you’re going to get from other Shounens, which can make the story stale. But I think Bleach does a great job of incorporating other story elements to keep readers excited and interested despite its cliché storyline.
Bleach moves at a good pace despite its long arcs and has minimal obvious plot holes. Now, long arcs are a staple in Shounen and are usually a negative, but I think this is where Bleach surprises fans of Shounen. Bleach gives the readers a blend of needed exposition and amazing fights. I’m talking spectacular fights, there are so many fights that I can recall that just are awesome. Not only that but Bleach isn’t afraid to step away from Ichigo and let the story follow a side character. This surprised me because as an avid fan of Shounen, I’m used to Shounens only following the main character like an ex that can’t over you. It’s due to this that I think Bleach is still a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale genre.
Man… how do I best describe the art? It’s like those parts in video games where the cutscene looks jaw dropping and then you get back to the actual game and the graphics don’t look like the cutscene, so you’re left disappointed. The cutscene in this case are when important or strong characters are introduced. They are drawn with good detail and actually make you feel like you’d shit your pants if you stood in front of them. The rest of the art is equivalent to the normal video game graphics. Bleach has a unique enough art style that you can tell whether or not a character is from Bleach even without watching or reading it but that’s about it. The background art isn’t paid much attention to, the paneling was decent, and the fights were clear enough for me to figure out what’s happening.
This is where I think Bleach shines the most, in its characters and their development. See, Shounen has this issue where they stay away from developing any other character besides the main character and maybe his rival, but Bleach was like “Naw, me and my homies hate lack of character development” and went ahead and explored its other characters. Now, this obviously doesn’t apply to every single character and it’s not super detailed to the point where you know the character’s ancestry tree, but it’s enough for people to build a connection with them. Because of this, many characters are memorable and the progression of the characters and the bonds and relationships they form feel natural. I will say this though, Bleach is not without fault in terms of its characters, as it left many characters left out to dry. I’m looking at you Soi Fon, Ukitake, and THE ENTIRE VISORED CREW. Still though, I think the amount of characters that leave an impression on you outweighs that.
I really did enjoy every single moment of reading this manga. I absolutely love Ichigo as a main character (but I like Uryu more, fight me), and the world within Bleach just makes everything so much better. I love how each arc has a certain cultural theme. Hueco Mundo with its Latin themes and the Quincy’s with their German themes. There is just too much I enjoyed about this manga that it’d take me forever to jot them all down. Bleach definitely gave me a joyous time throughout.
I would seriously recommend this to any fan of Shounen and any fan of action. It’s got an exciting and hyperactive story, it has tons of memorable fights, there are so many impactful and lovable characters, there is just so much about this manga that will have you at the edge of your seat. I think it’s a must read for any Shounen fan and definitely a great series to start on if you’re new to the Shounen genre.
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