When it comes to iconic Shonen anime, Bleach is a class apart. Be it dark themes or stunning visuals, Tite Kubo’s unconventional storytelling makes it remarkable. To add to that, it is one of the Big 3 of Jump’s shonen anime along with Naruto and One Piece. After a ten-year hiatus, the series made its comeback through its premiere in 2022.
While it may not be as popular as the other two animes in Big 3, it most certainly is better. From its storyline to its writing, fans point to several aspects of the anime that set it apart from its contemporaries.
Ichigo Kurosaki in Tite Kubo’s Bleach series is a humble hero.
Ichigo Kurosaki is the main protagonist of the Bleach series written by Tite Kubo. Like most Shonen heroes, he displays a sense of justice and determination to fight against evil. Although he displays archetypal traits of a Shonen hero in the series, his relatable nature and humility make him different.
Apart from his ever-evolving abilities, Ichigo’s humanness and ability to err are what make him relatable. As opposed to the stereotypical Shonen hero, he borrows his strength from Rukia. His character growth and development are centered on harnessing this power while underscoring his failures.
While Bleach may not be as influential and popular as Naruto and One Piece, it excelled in its portrayal of a familiar and relatable protagonist. Several users on Reddit point to the MC’s relatable nature as the reason why it sets itself apart from its contemporaries.
Ichigo’s persona and his reactions to his life situations add to his familiarity, as this Reddit user pointed out.
Apart from that, his portrayal as a juvenile delinquent and a substitute soul reaper differed from the conventional image of a Shonen hero, as this Reddit user pointed out.
Moreover, the representation of a normal school life fused with darker elements like death, loss, and tragedy triggered familiarity within people. As this Reddit user pointed out, Ichigo is a relatable MC in the series.
Besides that, several fans note that Tite Kubo excels in his writing of female characters in his series.
Tite Kubo’s writing of female characters is less problematic than his contemporaries
Be it Masashi Kishimoto‘s bad writing of Sakura Haruno in Naruto or Eiichiro Oda’s objectification of female characters in One Piece, Kubo’s contemporaries have faced flak either way. Especially when it comes to their portrayal of female characters. While Bleach isn’t exempt from this backlash, it underscored several strong female characters.
From Rukia Kuchiki to Retsu Unohana, Bleach has some of the strongest female characters who aren’t mere sidekicks in the series. Rukia’s character is downplayed and undermined several times. Although she isn’t the main character of the series, her powers paved the way for Ichigo’s character development.
Moreover, Retsu Unohana’s stint as a character was short-lived in the series. However, her role as a healer and swordsman underlined her caliber as a strong character in the series. Unohana lives up to the title of first Kenpachi and does justice to her role as a healer and a captain of the Fourth Division of Gotei 13. All in all, Bleach is in a league of its own.
Bleach is available for streaming on Crunchyroll
