The Big 3 of Shonen always find themselves competing against each other even if Naruto and Bleach’s manga are long since finished. Tite Kubo’s Bleach has always been unfortunate enough to get the worst of the criticism among the three and there may be justifiable reasons for it. However, things can often become worse than what was meant for interpretation.
Tite Kubo has been one to see rising fame with his work. Bleach was once renowned for its storytelling and art style in ways that made it increasingly special. It was at the top of its game with only progress written ahead of it. However, some people fly too close to the sun. Ambition can melt the wax wings and before you know it, you’re falling down.
Tite Kubo Found Competition in Eiichiro Oda
Tite Kubo, during an interview with Sandwichman’s Weekly Radio Jump (via J-Cast), talked about how it had come to his attention that Bleach had slowly and steadily dropped down in ranking when it came to the fans, so much so that his magnum opus stood a rank lower than Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece.
Since then, I’ve hated Oda-san.
Kubo stated that he despised Oda from that moment on. Although it was in jest, the competition was not something that could be missed. The mangaka of One Piece also responded to this hatred, commenting about how he wasn’t hurt by the statement and more so understood that Kubo mustn’t have had any hard feelings and was merely joking (via X).
Their rivalry was more or less negligible for both of them had otherwise welcomed each other with open arms. Oda offered to catch up with him and Kubo even drew Luffy in his own iconic style.
Bleach Lost Its Charm
Bleach has had a long run of its own, giving it time to grow, fall, and grow again. Both the manga and the anime had their own ups and downs with the Thousand-Year Blood War arc holding a special place in fans’ hearts nonetheless. However, its downfall wasn’t one that came out of the blue. Many fans believe that Bleach lost all its charm after the events of the Soul Society.
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Aizen’s inclusion as a villain and his rise to an antagonistic role is still considered a highlight of the series. Afterward, everything seemed to dull down. The story lost a lot of its purpose and with it, fans too found themselves in a slump. The numbers gradually declined and the interest went down with it.
It almost felt as if the story was being dragged out more than it needed to. While the ongoing anime arc is one to praise, its previous arcs don’t have much of a footing to hold onto. Tite Kubo may have started out with a splendid idea, but it slowly fell through.
Bleach is available to watch on Hulu.
