Bleach ch439 – M. Night Approved

Exhibit A - Kubo takes it from behind

I’ve been wondering this for a while now: does anyone find the humor currently present in Bleach funny? If you ask me, I personally find them to be of the “forced” variety. They don’t seem natural and as a reader I pick up on this and I feel uneasy instead. Well, I guess there are kids out there who gobble this stuff up but I think I’m just too old for this humour. For one thing, the yakuza’s design was clearly suppose to evoke some laughter out of me, and yet I find myself facepalming a lot like Ichigo. The fact that they wasted 4 full pages on his antics just goes to show that Kubo is seriously looking for ways to fill pages, but I digress. We all know I can write up a thousand word rant on Kubo and his laziness but I’ll leave that for another day (like when Bleach actually ends for good).

Exhibit B - Kubo borrows

As for Ichigo, rather than continue on with his hooorrriiibbbblllyyyyyyy drrragggggiiiinnngggg training arc, he was ceremoniously told to shove off to get some rest (which somehow managed to last another 3 pages). I guess this is a good thing, since we’ve been having a lot of Ichigo time lately and we’ve deviated off the path to find Ishida’s attacker. Plus, if the next training session is anything like the last, god knows how I will cope. I think what Ichigo has now is his fully realized full-bring though, so I doubt we will see any evolution on the weapon from here on, other than the inevitable power-up tacks ons that accompany the boss fights. Training sessions in the future would most likely relate to him extending his usage rate, sort of like his hollow mask training with the Vaizards.

Exhibit C - Kubo steals

This finally brings us to what we’ve been looking forward to for three weeks now. Last week Kubo miraculously managed to weasel his way out of Orihime’s situation with the reveal of yet ANOTHER baddie for her to fight. In the exact same way as that delinquent fellow the week before; from behind (Kubo loves it from behind). I’m not too sure what to make of this new character though. It’s like I’ve seen his design somewhere before, he just seems so familiar. OH WAIT! That’s right, Kubo found some more inspiration from another currently running Jump manga. This new character, Tsukishima, is just a Aizen-ized Hiramaru from Bakuman. They have the same clothes, the same hair, except with Aizen’s “cool” and aloof villainous temperament. Seriously Kubo, really?

Exhibit D - Kubo recycles a lot

Shishigawara (the delinquent) is very fearful of this fellow, so I’m guessing that he is either the leader or a high-ranking member of their Fullbring crew. Obviously, this is just a humanized version of the Espada, since I’ve been getting this Ulquiorra vibe from Tsukishima, from the way they are both calm and quiet, with a little bit of passive-aggressiveness thrown in between. With Orihime in the middle of this, it is painfully obvious how similar this is to the Hueco Mundo arc, where Ulquiorra captures Orihime. Kubo is known for his little twists (he is the M.Night Shyamalan of the manga world – a narcissistic douche who is way past his prime and is working off past glory) so I hope he pulls one of here. The last thing we need is another rescue Orihime arc (or another rescue arc for that matter) but judging by how alarmed Chad was at the end of the chapter, it seems like we are heading towards that path.

Verdict - Approved by M.Night Shyamalan

Bleach manages to once again disappoint me beyond what I thought possible. It’s been repeating the exact same plot points from past arcs, and this current chapter has the same sequences as the ones used in the previous two chapters. Talk about lazy. The character designs are uninspired, the new groups lack any of the appeal found in past arcs (the Espada at least had a few memorable characters), and we are just repeating things that we’ve covered. It’s like an endless cycle. The only way I can see this play out better is if Orihime manages to bitch slap the crap out of these villains, or having her die rather than captured. Kubo needs to grow some balls and at least make some significant changes to his style. Japan is still eating his shit up but I’m pretty sure the appeal is wearing thin even for Bleach’s most faithful fans. No one is biased enough to like this. No one. Except M. Night Shyamalan

/ 10 Commentsleave a comment /

• Renn says:

  March 6, 2011

  Great pictures. Telling, too.

  "…does anyone find the humor currently present in Bleach funny?"

  No.

  The pace is the most aggravating part of the series to me. Honestly, two chapters ago Orihime ran into a bad guy, and they still haven't fought or learned exactly why he's there. That would be okay if there were half a dozen story lines, but no, there's just Ichigo, and his arc already went on forever.

  I agree with all the criticisms here. It's a shame because I honestly thought Bleach was the best series when I started reading shounen. Its fall has been a little sad. Hoping Orihime beats him up by the next chapter though.

  Reply
  • Bass says:

    March 6, 2011

    Orihime is going to turn super saiyan, hence why Chad felt that her reiatsu is all weird.

    This means that Kubo would have stolen from all the Jump staples. That's going full circle >_<

    You heard it here first
    My recent post Bleach ch439 – M Night Approved

    Reply
    • Renn says:

      March 6, 2011

      I wouldn't mind Orihime turning super saiyan if it meant getting out of this mess.

      Haha, I'll keep that in mind.

      Reply
• baka_girl says:

  March 6, 2011

  You're not the only one who disappointed with Bleach recent chapter.
  I know it's not a good idea to keep ranting and complain about Bleach but somehow, I just can't find it entertaining anymore.
  I want something awesome like Soul Society arc, that was the best!
  And I'm soooo disappointed with Ichigo's Fullbring. Hah, it's so useless imho :p
  My recent post Weekly Report- Manga from 28 Feb – 05 Mar 2011

  Reply
  • Tofu says:

    March 6, 2011

    Don’t you guys think… That Bleach should of ended after Aizen’s defeat? Because that’s how I view things… I don’t like this new arc and to me it seems like the mangaka is just dragging on not knowing how to end it or something. :\ If the anime continues into this arc… I think I’m gonna drop Bleach

    Reply
    • Bass says:

      March 6, 2011

      Haha yea, it's like I'm repeating the same things over and over again. That's why I'm tempted to do a review every other week or so, cos there's only so much I can criticize.

      And yea, I really wanted it to end after the Aizen arc, but apparently they haven't touched upon the whole soul king issue or whatever so I think that is where we are heading for this half of the manga.

      Ugh..
      My recent post Bleach ch439 – M Night Approved

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      • baka_girl says:

        March 7, 2011

        I think Kubo-sensei initially plan to end it after Aizen arc, but because Bleach has become SOOOO popular, they keep telling him to prolong Bleach as long as possible.
        That soul king issue is just an excuse for this.
        My recent post Weekly Report- Manga from 28 Feb – 05 Mar 2011

        Reply
    • baka_girl says:

      March 7, 2011

      Agree. I think they just don't want to end Bleach because they'll lose their source of money :(
      My recent post Weekly Report- Manga from 28 Feb – 05 Mar 2011

      Reply
      • Bass says:

        March 7, 2011

        I'm just surprised that they manage to keep it up as a top 5 manga in Jump.

        Former glory should only be able to carry it so far. I guess the kids are very impressionable nowadays.
        My recent post Bleach ch439 – M Night Approved

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• Yi says:

  March 13, 2011

  It’s not just the humor… Everything in Bleach feels so forced now. I don’t know why I’m still following it. I guess I’m just waiting it for it end. I missed the old days when Bleach was good.

  Reply