Naruto seriously owns Bleach.

I must admit, I'm surprised Con didn't immediately surrender upon seeing that I intended to use 'The Sexy Technique' against him. However, he brings up a good point - is Naruto really still a man when he transforms? Well, the description says that he *transforms* into a woman, so no, he isn't a tranny. Besides, the question wasn't whether you would find it wrong that you were attracted to a man who suddenly has transformed into a naked woman, the question was whether you would be able to *resist*. And let's be honest, some of you guys are pretty desperate. With that in mind, let's continue. 1: On plot fails. a. Con contends that Kenpachi might have become more powerful in the interval leading to his battle with the fifth espada. I concede that this is possible, though not documented anywhere. However, are we really to believe that Kenpachi has grown more than five times as powerful as he was before? Aizen stated that he has double the reiatsu of a normal captain [1], implying that there is an average power level for the captains, of which he is double (since reiatsu is generally regarded as a rough indicator of how powerful a soul reaper is in Bleach - i.e. the captains have far more than their lieutenants). If Kenpachi was powerful enough to become a captain and then became more than five times stronger, that would have the absurd implication that Kenpachi is far more powerful than Aizen. b. Con contends that since Ichigo has not seen Aizen's release, then Aizen's ability is useless against him. However, this is simply not tenable. Ichigo and Aizen had been fighting for two arcs and dozens of chapters, with no sign of Ichigo attempting to avoid looking at Aizen's sword; Aizen could have easily shown him the release. Even more importantly, Ichigo states that he mustn't 'look at the shikai', and states that 'BECAUSE OF THAT' he 'has to decide it with one attack' [2] when he tries to launch a sneak attack on Aizen. The clear implication is that if Ichigo got into an extended battle with Aizen he would be able to use his ability on Ichigo. 2. On recent arc ending. Con concedes that the Bleach arc ending was poor, but maintains that the arc ending with Pein was even worse. I'll address this in a moment, but let me point out that while Pein has only been a villain in Naruto for a relatively short time, Aizen has been the main antagonist in Bleach for most of its running, so the lack luster ending here bit much harder. But was the arc ending poor? Con summarises it too briefly to appreciate it or put it into context. Firstly, Naruto had been in an epic extended battle with all Pein's bodies for several chapters beforehand. When he finds Pein's real body, it's a shrivelled husk not really capable of fighting properly. Naruto, instead of deciding to fight him, decides to listen to Pein's story and come to a conclusion on how to break 'the cycle of hatred' Pein has fought to resolve. Naruto doesn't just say "you are trying to kill a lot of people and should stop, but I'm not going to stop you if you continue" and cross his fingers: he listens to Pein's story to understand his motivations and ideology, and then uses the words of his mentor (whom Pein killed) to persuade Pein to stop. Far from lackluster, it's a well conceived conclusion that brings together a great number of previous events. If Naruto had been prepared to kill Pein, that would have missed the whole point - Pein went down that route and fell to evil, whereas it takes strength to break the cycle of hatred without killing. 3: The characters. I agree that looking at the main characters can't tell you everything - however, it's very important considering the main plot revolves around the main character. Con brings up some side-characters that have had some development over the run of the series. However, they don't even compare to characters like Sasuke, Itachi, Tsunade, Sakura or any number of other characters from Naruto, all of which have deeper, more intricate and detailed backgrounds, and who have progressed in a much more significant way - from love-sick girl to disillusioned teenager, from drunken gambler to Hokage, from resentful child to maniacal mass murderer. Con points out that Bleach also blurs the borders between good and evil - well for a start, the example he gives (Rukia's execution) was fairly contrived in any case, IMO - a typical save the distressed heroine storyline. But my point was broader than that - that the characters have developed a great deal, much more than the characters in Bleach. Con argues that Naruto is being inconsistent. However, I think it's clear form the context that what Naruto is talking about is killing, not fighting. In any case, the fight in the recent chapter was hardly a serious fight, never mind one to the death. 4: Artwork. I think that Con is confusing number of line strokes with detail here. The best drawing are economical - i.e., they use as few strokes as possible to avoid looking cluttered, but still convey detail. I think that if people look at Con's examples from Bleach (for example, Bleach 350 Page 17 [3]), it's far from obvious that they're more detailed, but they may be more cluttered. In any case, to be honest I don't see much difference between the two (Con's references are in the comments section) and Con concedes this is a relatively minor point in any case. It's difficult to evaluate the superiority of one art style over another, especially when they're so similar and over such a long period of time, like Bleach and Naruto. [1] http://www.mangafox.com...[2] http://www.mangareader.net...[3] http://www.mangafox.com...