I never thought I'd ever make one of these types of threads, but I'm bored, and quite curious about this question, because outside of knowing that Kimiko and AGoI are up to date (or close to that) on the manga, and that GS really likes Rukia, I don't know anyone's thoughts about this series...

I was wondering, what are you all's favorite characters in the anime/manga series, Bleach, for anyone who is interested in Bleach??

Do state about two or three please (and at least one not stated previously by someone else, if you don't mind, as well).

Anyway, I'll start off by saying that my favorites of the evil peoples are definitely Aizen Sousuke (because of how he seems to be in control of any situation and how he shows it), Grimmjow Jaggerjack (because of his attitude, and style), and Ulquiorra (because, basically, he's the exact opposite of Grimmjow :LOL: ).

((also also, if anyone has questions or what-have-you, about this series, feel free to ask; same goes for any opinions of anyone of this series, even {especially} if you don't like the series))

I love Bleach!

Oddly enough, I'd heard of Bleach a couple of years ago (when I was on the R/S Shrine) but I never got a chance to watch it. I heard it was good, but despite all my searching I never found the anime. I didn't have any idea you COULD read manga online, so I never read any either.

I'd forgotten about it until a while ago. I found some random manga scans on a site with some information about it. I was starting to get into it, but then some stuff happened and I kind of lost interest. But then DP gave me manga and I now I love it.

As for my favorite characters... well, quite obviously Rukia is my number one favorite. She's awesome. When I say awesome, I mean like super awesome. Rukia, Hinata, Ed Elric... she's on my top 3 list of characters in manga!

I also must say I like Ishida and Renji quite a bit. They're full of awesomeness. Then again, Orihime is probably my second favorite character... she's hilarious! XD Her daydreams, her antics, that kind of stuff... pure comedy gold!

As for villains; I have no idea. Last time I read any manga, it was right when Ichigo was going to the Execuition Site and he ran into Byakuka. I haven't read past that because my manga is on a computer in Missouri and I'm in Maryland.

I know next to nothing about Bleach... however, I am surprised that it is only now that we have a Bleach topic in the Anime Zone. :blink:

From the very little bit I know about Bleach... I think Orihime seems pretty cool. She kinda reminds me of Mikuru Asahina... or at the very least, looks like her.

Link (not quite up to date)
and
Link (not quite working at the time of this post, but when it comes back, it is 100% up-to-date)

Start around Chapter 152 or 153, that's when Ichigo gets to the execution grounds and saves Rukia.

Heh, yeah, she kinda sounds similar to her, as well (and probobly will also in the english dub of Haruhi, since both have the same english VA). Also, if you do ever want to know stuff about Bleach or see some stuff about it, I could help you out if you need help (as I could with just about every anime I really know about, actually, though I know Bleach a little bit better since it's more popular and thus more total places to find new and good info)!

*lip quivers*

You... are... awesome!

And I was gonna go to sleep. Hah-ah, silly brain, sleep is for kids!

I run on 100% manga. S'long as I have manga, I'll never need to dcujkgihyu7 <-- what it said when my head collapsed on the keyboard as I passed out.

I enjoy Bleach, even though I've seen relativelly little of the episodes. However, any anime that I get remotely interested in, I obsess over in Wikipedia. So even if I haven't watched Bleach that much, I am familiar with many of the concepts found within.

Bleach is awesome, for several reasons!

Reasons I will give in detail tomorrow!

...Though, quickly, before my computer dies, my favorite characters:

--Ishidaaa!
--Orihimeeeee!!
--Sandalhat!!!!!!!1LOL!

Heh! I'm not alone in doing that! I kinda do that for Naruto (I don't like the anime, and am not all that interested in the manga, so I only like it on Wikipedia {not really obessing over it, but close enough}; well, I do like Kimiko's fan-comic/manga she's making, as well as the abridged series on Youtube, but both of those are entirely different).

Or maybe not tommorow. :p

But on a more serious note, I find it interesting that the captains and vice captains aren't really all that popular. Though it also makes sense, since they aren't focused on as much as Ichigo's friends. :LOL:

XD Procrastination nation!

I haven't seen much after the Ichigo/Byakuga fight... but I know what happens thanks to Wikipedia. XD

Okay, okay... so here's the scoop!

Bleach is a ghost hunting plus swordfighting plus monsters plus an intricate ancient Japan-esque conspiracy-type scenario plus a whole bunch of awesome characters plus deep character development! All it needs now is a talking cat... OH WAIT

It's similar to Naruto in that different characters can have creative and varying powers while still be in the same "field"; in other words, characters' zanpakutos and fighting styles vary like the nin- and taijutsus of Naruto do. However, unlike Naruto, Bleach up-front refuses formulaicity. Not to knock Naruto at all, because I like a little formulaic-ness here and there, but Bleach starts out as though Ichigo is going to spend the next 27 episodes/issues in his town fighting ghosts in different scenarios, then twists and turns things until it's just nuts. In a good way!

FMA will always be my favorite, but Bleach is definitely one of the best manganimes I've ever seen. It's awesome! :D


plus: sandalhaaat

Oi, Oi, fantastic!

I love BLEACH. :3 I love, love, love it!

Ah, BR-san, I think you've put your characters in the wrong order! SURELY Orihime is meant to be FIRST on the list! :D ((SPOILERZ Arrancer Orihime hits the anime soon! Okay, so she isn't an Arrancer, but she's dressed like one! Good enough for me! Okayz, END SPOILERZ

I like Sandalhat... but I like KittyKat a lot more. :D

Bleach is a nice anime and and manga series. But 200+ episode series...I just can't stick with them. But, I watch the english dub on Adult Swim. The voices are nice. Every now and then I'll tune in to see what's up. ^__^

Ya, that can be quite intimidading (though I remember last year, when I first got into Bleach, I watched 8-10 episodes in a day at least once, near the end of the Soul Society arc XD ). Shorter series are normally better, much of the time, because you get conclusions to stories sooner, and don't have thousands of "To Be Continued"s before stuff really gets going. (the main reason I watched 8-10 episodes in a day back then, was the TBC syndrome; and a lack of anything else to do :LOL: )

...

And I don't think I've actually stated my favorites of the good guys before...

Well, Rukia's probobly my most favorite of the good characters, especially due to her zanpakuto powers (I've liked icy powers ever since playing Sub-Zero in one of those old Mortal Kombat games back when I was 8 or 9). Plus, she's a pretty complex character. Also, Chappy! :p

Second favorite's a lot tougher, but I'd probobly have to give it to old sandal-hat Urahara (at least with the Japanese voice; his english voice has half the character lost).

Third favorite would have probobly been Hitsugaya Toushiro or Zaraki Kenpachi, at least before the current manga arc. But HM arc Ishida just kicks so much a** it isn't funny.

Hey! Hey!

I finally found an online Bleach gallery that isn't missing chapters and doesn't have a billion pop-ups a second!

BleachAnime.org

^^ I've read all of 142 on there and not a single pop up, nor when I first discovered the site, so I believe it is pop up free!

It's not up to date... newest chapter is 205... but it still has enough for people who want to get caught up to that point!

Hmm, I use bleachexile.com. I signed up-- and you know how I hate signing up for stuff, but it was worth it. I download a volume at a time-- er, 5 volumes at a time :heh: --and read in bulk with no popups, pyon! ^_^ But had I had this available before, GS, I would've used this instead of signing up there, so good link! ^_^

Also: I really like Bleach. XD

*Wishes Bleach7's servers would stop messing up, and that their online gallery to come back*

Hmm, my favorites now...?

My favorite is actually Ichigo, by far! Rukia's awesome, but Ichigo is very deep, and I like the way he reacts to situations. ^_^

Second favorite: Orihime! Hilarious, yet also smarter than she looks, and she's another very complex character.

After that... in no real order, Renji, Rukia, Kenpachi, Hitsugaya, Chizuru XD, and Kyoraku! XD That guy's awesome.

As for bad guys... don't know 'em well enough yet, but Uliquorra seems cool.

x_X Hmmm... I'm getting impatient, so I might just go ahead and start reading these online and just wait until some other time to actually buy the manga. However, I do feel ethically inclined to at least eventually buy the manga, whether or not I've already read it online... but, I do lack patience. :heh:

Mmm, I have a complaint... not really a complaint, but more like a point of vague dissatisfaction and disappointment.

One of the things I love about FMA is that Ed never gets any better. Or at least, if he does, it's not that quantifiable... My memories of DBZ are fraught with "Bad guy! Must get better" --> "Super Saiyan!" --> "Badder guy! Must get better" --> SUPER DUPER Saiyan!!!

That's an exaggeration... but... there, and in Naruto, there are "levels"... like, the fighting style of the first set of chapters is useless against the new set of baddies... And things just get stronger and stronger until it's a Giant Robot battle (metaphorically)!

Hence my trouble: after all that to get Bankai, I thought it was his last resort... and now, he's used it at least three times in battles against different people! I understand that they were tougher baddies and I get the fear that fights would get repetitive and I appreciate that they didn't drag out the battles, but shouldn't they drag out the importance of Bankai just a bit longer? What comes after he gets his Hollow powers, and his enemies get stronger? I'll tell you what: a new ability, stronger than before! Hohoho... ho...

I dunno, it's more of a general anime beef... I just thought Bleach was different. :hs: Maybe as I go further along, I'll be proved wrong, and I hope I will! But for the first real time in Bleach, I'm noticing this trend of sadness...

While I haven't really read any Bleach, I will state something.

Dragonball, Naruto, and (from what I heard) Bleach are very, VERY long series. Fullmetal Alchemist isn't what I'd call short, but compared to these monsters of series it's relatively dwarfed. That being the case, it makes sense that over time they'd wanna give new powers and new abilities and all that... in fact, that may be part of what ends up making it longer.

Now, I do love FMA... a lot! But in that one... the story already has, somewhat, a predetermined ending in mind. These other manga, on the other hand, don't. They're just going and going without the knowledge of how things will turn up in the end... or even WHEN the end will come. Am I making any sense? ^_^;

I understand how you feel Spoony, and I completely agree: I've bought a lot of Inu-Yasha, Flame of Recca and FMA despite having read them all online already.

However, you should go ahead and read the manga now. That way you can enjoy it, and when you have the money you can buy it yourself. I'm all for supporting manga by buying it, but I'm too impatient to wait.

Now Mr. Rush! I agree with your delimma and your problem, but remember that Bankai is the strongest Shinigami release. It's not like DBZ where everyone has pretty much the same powers. Every Bankai is different...

Bleach isn't one of those Manga where they keep getting new powers and using them... it's just that everyone has different powers. So they have to think of new ways to fight. I'm fairly confident that Bleach is different, so rest your fears.

I can almost guarantee you that Kubo Tite knows, for the most part, what the ending of Bleach is going to be. There's been too much that has been hinted at from REALLY early in the series that had much more light shone upon it later. Like Shinji Hirako, a couple of the arrancars, the other shinigami who were part of the traitorous group.

And BR... I kinda understand what you're saying about FMA, and about DBZ, but not about how that relates to Bleach. Bleach =/= FMA...

Alright... I'm caving in. I'll start reading the manga online. :heh:

I will eventually buy it, though... I hope I don't sound selfish, but... while part of the reason I wanna save up money is to be able to have a successful trip... well, the other part of the reason is because I'm SO FRIGGEN' CLOSE to completing my Urusei Yatsura DVD collection... I might be able to complete it this coming payday (depending on whether or not I actually get a good bonus which was promised to all of us but... we'll see).

I swear I will eventually buy Bleach manga, though! Really! I'll just be reading it online for now, though.

Also, DP, forgive my false assumption about Bleach not having a predetermined ending. ^_^; I guess I should shut my mouth until I actually read this thing... XD

Bleach has a lot hinted at it, that's true... I was really impressed when I realized what they meant in the Renji/Byakuya versus Ichigo...

What it could be, as this is the way a lot of series are done, Kubo Tite-sama probably has the ending clear as day in his mind, and he has signifigant events clear too -- but I bet there's some things he hasn't thought of yet.

What I mean is, there's a lot he has planned, but some stuff he doesn't... that's the way a lot of authors do their books, so I assume a manga would be the same way.

I'm not sure if what I said makes sense, and I have absolutely no reason to think it's true, it's just an educated guess. ^^

Hmm...! The length certainly has a lot to do with it, I think... after all, it's in the 180s that I'm noticing this, and FMA is only in its 70s. It's not really their fault... and on the same hand, their powers *do* vary, which is a lot more creative than the DBZ power set.
As for an ending, it's also not a fair assumption that FMA wasn't making at least some stuff up as it went along; but let's stop comparing Bleach and FMA. If "=/=" means "not equals", then I agree that they shouldn't be compared, and I wasn't trying to compare them.
All I was trying to say is that I just don't like "The Giant Robot Syndrome", i.e., "If You Don't Have (insert power or robot here) You Can't Play!" I just think they're using Bankai too much, that's all... and I'm worried because I've seen the same thing carried too far...

As for how it relates to Bleach, all I was lamenting was the fact that now, on the brink of the Hueco Mundo arc, everything seems to be at Level Two: characters like Orihime and Sado are useless now unless they power up to the "Bankai" level. I tend to dislike this trend because I've seen it carried out to a needless extreme, but at least in Bleach (like everything else in Bleach) it'll be handled well and enjoyably. ^_^

Good example of the GRS: Last lines from Batman Begins!
Jim Gordon: And what about escalation?
Bruce Wayne: Escalation?
Jim Gordon: We get semi-automatics weapons, they get automatics. We get kevlar body armor, they get armor-piercing rounds. And you're wearing a mask and jumping off rooftops. Take this guy... armed robbery, double homicide... has a taste for theatrics, like you... he leaves a calling card. (*Joker card*)

Ooh! I'd be curious to know how Shinji and the arrancars and stuff was hinted at? :3

Shinji - Chapter 1 chapter page (that's really the only one I can tell you where exactly in the manga it is, because I never read the manga before the arrancar arc, except for a few random chapters in the middle, and the first chapter)

Arrancars - somewhere with the introduction of Grand Fisher

Tousen and Gin - When Kenpachi is talking with Byakuya, trying to challenge him to a fight, he says at one point something about Ichimaru and the 9th Division captains were the only captains afraid to die.

And there's more, but those are off the top of my head.

...

Orihime never really was all that useful, offensively...

Also, training is to get stronger.

Also also, right now, I wouldn't say anyone's really useful... :p

Also also also, the only way I'll turn to start thinking like you is if they go nuts and do something like giving Rukia a bankai.

Also also also also, "=/=" = "is not equal to" or just "is not". That's a lot easier than finding what the code is to type that symbol

Orihime isn't much of a fighter, but she isn't useless... she's very good at healing. ^^

Sado could get stronger too. You never know what'll happen next.

The fact is, though, that most of the characters have Shinigami powers; and I believe the differences in Zanpakuto will keep things interesting. Zanpakuto aren't like powers... they're actually alive, which makes them more interesting than "Kamehameha", at least in my opinion.

>_o Well, let's not start comparing this to Dragonball, now... that one didn't even start off as an action manga, to begin with, it just sorta ended up as one. XD Besides, you have to admit that in the earlier stories they did have interesting powers and techniques before everything started getting redundant.

ANYWHO... I just got done reading the first chapter of Bleach. It's pretty cool! ^_^ Ya... I took that long to read it... why is that? Heh... it's not that I'm a slow reader, mind you. Reading manga often times does take me a while... though it's really because of the pictures. The more I like the art in a manga, the longer it'll take me to finish it because I'm just sitting there gawking at the pretty pictures. :heh:

And... Ichigo reminds me a LOT of Masaru from Digimon Savers! O_O

Yeah! Ichigo is a lot like Goggle-Boy-5. ^^ Masaru didn't think twice about fighting a big reptilian digimon that looks a lot tougher than him, and Ichigo wasn't worried about fighting a hollow, despite what Rukia said.

O_o Woah! Parallels galore!

Masaru = Ichigo
Yoshino = Rukia

Seriously, dude... and ya, Yoshino is older than Masaru (she's 18 and he's 14) just like Rukia is older than Ichigo (she's "10 times older than him" who is 15).

The only real difference is that Ichigo didn't end up becoming partners with the Hollow he fought. XD That would have just been odd...

XD I wouldn't know, I only saw the first episode of Savers.

But comparisons are cool! ^^

Yep... and though, in spirit I guess it's okay to call Masaru "Goggle Boy #5", it's technically incorrect. Masaru never wore goggles... but, there's a LOT of traditions that were broken with Savers, most notably the different art style and the older ages for the main characters.

ANYWHO... I really like Bleach's blend of action and comedy. It's kinda funny how Rukia's all serious and "Hmmm... it must be close..." Then all of sudden Ichigo's like "OMG WTF!!! GET OUTTA HERE, BURGLAR!!!" XD

Ichigo does seem to be headstrong and rather dense... just like Masaru. This makes me wonder what a meeting between the two of them would be like! Hmmm...

:shifty: I know a way to find o~ut. >:3

Bleach is hilarious! I mean, some chapters are pretty dramaful, especially the SS Arc... but there's a lot of funny stuff too! Just wait for Kenpachi and his happily happy helper! XD

I wasn't expecting Bleach to really have much comedy, but I was pleasantly surprised! Btw, just outta curiosity... I wanna ask you guys that know. How many differences are there between the manga and anime? I know there's a lot of shows that I can think of off the top of my head that always differ greatly from the manga. ^_^;

There's a filler arc with vampire-like Bounts in the anime. And a few changes to the Memories in the Rain/June 17th volume adaptation (though I liked the anime's version a little better, because of how Rukia seemed to care a little more there). The arrancar arc doesn't seem to have changed much if at all (except with some added filler_, as well. But I can't tell other than that, because I haven't read most of the SS arc and prior manga... I think they're really similar, though.

And yes, Bleach really has quite a bit of comedy. Just wait for Kon. :LOL:

I... I can't believe I forgot about Kon! :blink:

Seriously, had I remembered there was a talking teddy bear in this series, I probably wouldn't have been so surprised to find comedy in it. XD

EDIT: Bleach is being shown Monday through Friday now! O.O And they're starting from the beginning! Now I can get into this series! ^_^

I love having TV back... I can have anime on while I do other things! XD

Incidentally, I just realized that Rukia is voiced by the same person that voices Zoe (or Izumi, if you prefer) from Digimon Frontier. Molto bono!

If you want to go ahaed, animecrazy.net has seasons 1-6 and even the movie!

I already know of a place where I can watch them online... of which I've known for a long time. I just don't really ever watch anything online anymore because I'm always busy doing something else on the computer. That's why I'm happy that it's coming to Adult Swim, because now I can actually make sure that I do watch it... ^_^;

EDIT:Okay, question time! DP probably might answer all this for me, but I'll take answers from anybody!

So, what's the deal with Shinigami? Or if you prefer, Soul Reapers. Okay, I know that, generally speaking, they're the Japanese equivalent of a Grim Reaper... but I'm trying to figure out Bleach's version of a Shinigami, specifically. From what I can see, you're not born a Shinigami, you have to become one. Alright, well, what the hell are you before you become a Shinigami? They're obviously not humans, despite looking just like them, so what are they? What's their species? Seriously, this is buggin' the crap outta me.

Also, this next isn't so much a question, but I still need to point it out. I twitch a little bit everytime someone says "You're gonna die" to Shinigami Ichigo or "Rukia is sentenced to death" or whatever. Technically, they're not even alive at that point. But, I guess saying that they're gonna die is easier than saying they're gonna be blinked out of existence altogether. I dunno, just... I guess I pay too much attention to detail.

EDIT 2: Okay, surprisingly nobody answered my question (surprisingly because I thought most everyone here really, REALLY liked Bleach), but I found out the answer to my question already. Apparently, a Shinigami in Bleach isn't entirely a different species. They look like humans because I guess they were humans... when they were living. So, a Shinigami is just a dead person that has gained supernatural powers that no other person in the afterlife has. Interesting... the Bleach interpretation of a Shinigami is most intriguing. To think that a person can become a Grim Reaper after they die.

Oh, ya... and Captain Byakuya Kuchiki is a grade A jackass. Just wanted to get that out there.

I was going to say something, but it was late when I saw that, and forgot about it the next day. May still say something in the future. I dunno. It's late right now. :heh:

Noooo! :cry:

Bleach has gone back to episode one tonight JUST when it was getting really, REALLY good!

I guess I'll have to wait a while before I get to see Rukia's rescue...

Yep. AS has only gotten 52 episodes, I believe, and who knows when they're going to get the next 12 (after 64, Bleach goes into a nearly 40-45 episode long filler arc, which isn't all that bad, but also isn't quite as good as 50-64, and much of what's currently happening in the anime).