I know this isn’t a game, but nerd media can kind of be interchangeable, right? So Bleach is a manga that is sort of near and dear to me. I’ve been following it for probably close to ten years now, and while I haven’t always loved the plot direction, it is something to see it coming to an end.
I get a lot of flack for this, because it’s not a popular opinion, but I am a man of strong narrative, as I’m sure I’ve demonstrated on this site. For this reason, while stories like Dragon Ball Z resonated with me as a child, as an adult I find them ridiculous and bad. I think Dragon Ball Z is the example I use because it’s probably the biggest culprit of this style of writing.
But I don’t want to get off topic, if you want my opinion on DBZ I can write a separate post for that on another day. But Bleach is a story that I’ve had an incredibly hot/cold relationship with. I found the first several seasons to be golden. They had a good cast with a lot of chemistry. The battles were epic, the weapons were well designed. It wasn’t the deepest story in the world, but it was good and consistent and a fun ride.
From this I mean the first arc all the way up to Hueco Mundo. Everything had lore and backstory and mystery. Then Ichigo confronts Ulquiorra, and from there the story takes a dive and doesn’t stop until it hits the core of the planet. Deus Ex Machina has been the name of the game since Ichigo’s fight with Byakuya, but never in a way that feels so disgusting and unfair.
From there, Aizen claims to be this omnipotent all-knowing mind and the story just collapses. It’s kind of atrocious. Now the following arcs aren’t even worth mentioning, with the exception of the last 10 chapters or so. Ichigo is fighting the true main villain, Ywach, and all of a sudden we’re watching this philosophical bout unfold in a way that is brand new to this narrative.
I’m so impressed, and I’m excited to see where the final chapter goes!
That’s all I have to say about Bleach right now, but thank you all for tuning in. I know it’s been scarce with the posts lately, but writing for so many other sites really does take up a lot of my time. Regardless, this is something. And I’ve also been continuously doing the podcast, so if you’ve missed that make sure to head over to that section of the site to catch up on what you’ve missed! A lot of good discussion there!
In the mean time, thank you all for reading and come back soon for more from the GAME ROOM!!!