Bleach

***Bleach*** (Japanese: ブリーチ Hepburn: Burīchi) is a Japanese anime television series based on Tite Kubo's manga of the same name. The series ran for a total of 366 episodes. *Bleach* was produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe. It was aired on TV Tokyo from 2004 to 2012.

## Plot

*Bleach* follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper (死神 *Shinigami*, literally, "Death God") — a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper — from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.

## Why It Rocks

1. Lots of very entertaining, well written story arcs, most notably the Soul Society arc.
2. Strong voice performances for both the Japanese and English dubs.
3. Many likeable and relatable characters like Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Byakuya, etc.
4. Good comedy.
5. Tons of incredible fight scenes littered throughout the show.
6. Incredible animation with 3D CGI animation using Alias Wavefront Maya software.
7. The villains of the Soul Society Arc, the Shinigami, end up becoming protagonists later on.
8. Most of the opening and ending themes are really good.
9. Excellent soundtrack by Sony Music Entertainment Japan with Aniplex.
10. A decently complex and intricate battle system, which is one of the biggest things that people look for in a Shonen Battle anime.
11. Good pacing.
12. The show has an incredibly large cast, so it's almost impossible for you to not find at least one character that you like.
13. Decent world-building.
14. This anime does a decent job of giving us morally gray characters, even in the protagonists.  For example, there's the character Mayuri Kurosutchi, who most people would agree is an immoral, dispicable person, but after the Soul Society arc he becomes someone of a minor protagonist, espeically during the Arrancar Arc, in which he fights against someone whose equally as evil, Szayel Aporro Grantz.
15. Lots of unique and creative abilities.
16. Sosuke Aizen is often considered one of the most interesting and intimidating villains in all of Shonen anime, even if his downfall was kind of disappointing.
17. The filler arcs that aired towards the end of the anime's run (the "Zanpakutō Rebellion" and "Reigai Uprising" arcs) are very well-animated and have interesting storylines.

## Bad Qualities

1. Sosuke Aizen was a great villain for the majority of the show, but his downfall at the end of the Arrancar Arc was kind of disappointing and never learn more about his motivations.
2. In some scenes, the profanity can be very inappropriate for some people.
3. The first filler arc, the "Bount Invasion" arc, was notorious for its extreme length and sub-par animation.
4. Chad and Orihime were almost flanderized in the Xcution Arc, where they joined the Xcution organization to steal Ichigo's Fullbring powers.
5. The anime adaptation ended with the Lost Agent Arc, which was the worst received arc in the entire manga.
6. The series has become more repetitive after the first arc, making the show dis-promising to watch at times for some people.

## Trivia

* The anime series is set to return on October 10, 2022 (on Hulu in the United States and Disney+ on some other countries) to adapt the "Thousand Year Blood War" arc. This was announced at the "Bleach 20th Anniversary Project & Tite Kubo New Project Presentation" on 20th March 2020.
* Tite Kubo himself originally worked on *Zombiepowder*, another *Shonen Jump* series. However, it was cancelled due to low sales, thus ending possible chances for an anime adaption, whatsoever.
* Along with *One Piece* and *Naruto*, this was one of the big three Shonen Jump series, during the 2000's.
* Even before it aired on Toonami revival block, it began airing on Adult Swim on September 9, 2006 (after debuting in Canada as part of YTV's now-defunct Bionix block the day prior) as part of its *Adult Swim Action* block, along with countless other gems such as *Cowboy Bebop*, *Yu Yu Hakusho* (the spiritual predecessor to *Bleach*), *Inuyasha*, *Trigun*, *Fullmetal Alchemist*, *Samurai Champloo*, *Paranoia Agent* and *Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex*.