Follow us on Google News
Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed
When it comes to iconic Shonen anime,Bleachis a class apart. Be it dark themes or stunning visuals, Tite Kubo’s unconventional storytelling makes it remarkable. To add to that, it is one of the Big 3 of Jump’s shonen anime along withNarutoandOne Piece. After a ten-year hiatus, the series made its comeback through its premiere in 2022.
While it may not be as popular as the other two animes in Big 3, it most certainly is better. From its storyline to its writing, fans point to several aspects of the anime that set it apart from its contemporaries.
Ichigo Kurosaki in Tite Kubo’s Bleach series is a humble hero.
Ichigo Kurosaki is the main protagonist of theBleachseries written byTite Kubo. Like most Shonen heroes, he displays a sense of justice and determination to fight against evil. Although he displays archetypal traits of a Shonen hero in the series, his relatable nature and humility make him different.
Apart from hisever-evolving abilities, Ichigo’s humanness and ability to err are what make him relatable. As opposed to the stereotypical Shonen hero, he borrows his strength from Rukia. His character growth and development are centered on harnessing this power while underscoring his failures.
“I’ll write it out in hiragana”: You Will Look at Anime Voice Actors Differently After 1 Bleach VA Went Off Script to Improvize His Lines That Even Left Tite Kubo Stunned
While Bleach may not be as influential and popular as Naruto and One Piece, it excelled in its portrayal of a familiar and relatable protagonist. Severalusers on Redditpoint to the MC’s relatable nature as the reason why it sets itself apart from its contemporaries.
Ichigo’s persona and his reactions to his life situations add to his familiarity, as this Reddit user pointed out.
Apart from that, his portrayal as a juvenile delinquent and a substitute soul reaper differed from the conventional image of a Shonen hero, as this Reddit user pointed out.
Moreover, the representation of a normal school life fused with darker elements like death, loss, and tragedy triggered familiarity within people. As this Reddit user pointed out, Ichigo is a relatable MC in the series.
Besides that, several fans note that Tite Kubo excels in his writing of female characters in his series.
Tite Kubo’s writing of female characters is less problematic than his contemporaries
Be itMasashi Kishimoto‘s bad writing of Sakura Haruno inNarutoorEiichiro Oda’sobjectification offemale charactersin One Piece, Kubo’s contemporaries have faced flak either way. Especially when it comes to their portrayal of female characters. While Bleach isn’t exempt from this backlash, it underscored several strong female characters.
From Rukia Kuchiki to Retsu Unohana,Bleachhas some of thestrongest female characterswho aren’t mere sidekicks in the series. Rukia’s character is downplayed and undermined several times. Although she isn’t the main character of the series, her powers paved the way for Ichigo’s character development.
“I thought that was interesting to me”: Tite Kubo Had a Good Explanation About Ichigo’s Voice Change in Bleach: TYBW That His Family Was Quick to Point Out After Release
Moreover, Retsu Unohana’s stint as a character was short-lived in the series. However, her role as a healer and swordsman underlined her caliber as a strong character in the series. Unohana lives up to the title of first Kenpachi and does justice to her role as a healer and a captain of the Fourth Division of Gotei 13. All in all,Bleachis in a league of its own.
Bleach is available for streaming on Crunchyroll
Himanshi Jeswani
Anime Writer
Articles Published :993
Himanshi Jeswani is an anime writer at Fandomwire, with her work spanning over 900 articles. Her articles cover shojo, shonen, seinen, and all things beyond. Her interests, however, aren’t limited to simply anime. She has a penchant for exploring different genres of manga, be it horror, yanki, music, and food. She brings out her specialization and expertise in the performing arts through her articles. As a writer, she strives to bridge the gap between the viewers and the medium itself. To her, anime is a revolutionary medium that is capable of creating communities and stories after all.
