BLEACH: A Blind Review (Part 4) | Arrancar Arc
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Go to buyraycon.com/... for 15% off your order! Brought to you by Raycon.
Bleach by Tite Kubo is a story unlike any I've ever covered. Over the years I've created a number of Blind Reviews for some of the most popular series to come out of Japan. And since completing both Naruto and One Piece, thousands of you have recommended I take a look at Bleach.
So, join me on this journey as I explore and experience Bleach's manga for the very first time and once and for all complete my review series of the Big 3! Covering the adventures of Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Uryu and Rukia won't be easy! But I'm sure it'll be worth it! Next up on the chopping block is the Arrancar arc! Let's see how many holes can we fill!
MUSIC USED
Main Menu (Bleach Brave Souls)
Rolling Star (Cover by MindaRyn)
Creeping Shadows (Unreleased Version)
The Sentients (Hyperlight Drifter)
Arousal (Bleach Brave Souls)
Hollowed (Cover by Gabriele Motta)
顕現シタ異物 (Nier Automata)
M727 (DBZ)
Que las Campanas Me Doblen (Blasphemous)
GigaSlayer Phonky Hell (Cover by Aaron F. Bianchi Jupiter)
Kakusei Boss (Bleach Brave Souls)
Number One (Cover by Hazel Fernandes)
Sabrewulf Theme (Killer Instinct)
Biotope (VLR)
Fuerza (Bleach Brave Souls)
On the Precipice of Defeat (Unreleased Version)
Baile de Violetas Guitar Ver. (Blasphemous)
M1416 (DBZ)
U Got That (Remix by Ferry)
GigaChad Theme (Darksynth Remix by Kasper Gutgesell)
GigaChad Theme (Piano Cover by Pianthesia)
Shigematsu Shinzaemon (Muramasa Rebirth)
Entre Bordados (Blasphemous)
MANIAC (Cover by HSCC)
Nothing Can Be Explained (Bleach)
A Picture in Motion (Remix by Reese X)
Serious (Bleach Brave Souls)
Crimson Swords (Bleach Brave Souls)
Heroics (Bleach Brave Souls)
DON'T LOSE YOUR WAAAAAAY (Kill La Kill)
Binary Game (999)
Silent Moon (Hotel Dusk)
La Distancia Para un Duelo (Cover by NerdicSymphony)
El Quejio (Blasphemous)
Al Compas De Tus Contornos (Blasphemous)
Batalla Batalla (Cover by LucasGitanoFamily)
Eternitybox (999)
Will Of The Heart (Cover by IconiQ)
M814 - Fearsome Ginyu Forces (DBZ)
Ten Piedad (Blasphemous)
Power to Strive (Cover by Grabriele Motta)
Lagrimas de Grano y Oro (Blasphemous)
Atomic Clock (My Friend Pedro)
The Blood Swamps (DOOM Eternal)
Parasitic (Cover by GR1N)
Suite De Arrancar (Cover by IconiQ)
Piranha Plant Lullaby (Mario 64)
PATREON: www.patreon.com/totallynotmark
TWITTER: totallynotmark
Video edited by Editor-San
About the fights, I think they are mostly more character driven than plot driven events. Like with Rukia's fight, it didn't drove the plot forward, but it was pivotal for Rukia's character. Like you said, in battle shonen fights are moving the story on, but in Bleach many fights are there to explore characters.
With Kenpachi Vs. Nnoitra for me interesting part wasn't choreography or the plot, but how putting 2 on the surface similar characters to fight each others highlights their differences. Both enjoy battles and consider themselves the strongest. But Nnoitra feels despair of other beings being stronger than him, while Kenpachi wish for strong opponent. There's no hate in Kenpachi if you're stronger than him, while Nnoitra can't stand anyone stronger or weaker than himself. Kenpachi is the positive aspect of competitive spirit, while Nnoitra signifies the toxic aspect of it.
Thank you
Now I can go to sleep
I think mark needs to see this comment because it’s so fascinating and adds a lot to how bleach structures itself.
Exactly!!!!
There's an interview at the end of one of the databooks where Kubo states he wasn't happy that Hisagi became so popular in the Soul Society arc because he hadn't shown Hisagi fight yet, he hadn't yet explored who Hisagi is as a character.
I can't believe Mark didn't make a comment about Kenpachi using kendo or his "did you know a sword's more powerful if you use both hands?" line. That line and page turn of Nnoitra being bisected is pretty much the one specific thing from Bleach that stuck with me over the years. There's something about that bit of brutal comedy that just stuck where other things couldn't.
My favorite special attack in the series. "TWO HANDS"
Another interesting part of that bit is it’s foreshadowing to Kenpachi’s arc much later, which I won’t spoil here, so it isn’t just a funny gag but actually plot relevant.
Kenpachi is the most badass character in fiction.
I just love that Kenpachi is such a mega-chad that a power up for him is literally just using two hands. It's so based.
@@YhwachTheAlmighty Honestly, one of.
I think Kisuke's reasoning was more pointed towards making Aizen think Orihime had no value, trying to keep her safe by making her look unimportant and a non issue because guarding her would be incredibly suspicious in Aizen's eyes. Unfortunately when she used her powers to heal Chad Ulquiorra noticed she wasn't actually healing but something else, which then led to Aizen seeing that and making her invaluable to expedite his plans.
Using the TFS DBZA quote for Kisuke showing up for a fight is unbelievably accurate. Man is an enigma. A chaotic, whacky, hilarious, and entertaining enigma.
What sucks is that his original english voice actor is dead, his replacement (Who also voices Gin Ichimaru) was OK. But I feel like he should now be voiced by Nolan north for some reason.
Also like the Original delivery of that quote. mark was premature. The best is yet to come, though it hasn’t been animated yet
totally shoulda used Cell's "Feel the power of TWO HANDS!" or Piccolo's "what if I used TWO hands?" for Kenpachi vs Nnoitra.
@@ritacirocavalcante that is true
I love the chapter where orihime says good bye to ichigo so much. my wedding vows are loosely based on them. (Don't tell my wife, she thinks all the sappy things I say are all original)
Lol based
LOL, sick
weeb
Lol neeeeerd!
That's fire haha
I dont know if you've realised this, Mark; but there is one inconsistency in what you said. All captains and vice captains are nerfed. Coincidentally, Ikkaku is neither, he's the 3rd seat of the Kenpachi squad. So he and Rukia were the only ones NOT nerfed.
Yeah I can see why people would think Rukia is a Vice captain because she kinda presents herself as one.
To be fair, Rukia and Ikaku both SHOULD be vice-captains. They're already at the power level of VCs, there's just extenuating circumstances 😂
@@ChadmasterDante Ikkaku doesn't want the responsibilities and Rukia was held back by her brother cause he didn't want her in danger (and massively failed at that task as well). In case people wanted to know.
@@ChadmasterDante In Rukia’s case Ukitake kinda already had people who were specifically helpful to him.
@@RuneKatashima he’s talking about being lieutenants, at that point of the story, Yachiru held the lieutenant spot from Ikkaku, and the VC spot of Squad 13 was vacant
21:27 Ikkaku WAS fighting at his limit. The Gentei Kaijou is a seal that is only placed on Captains and Lieutenant level soul reapers when they're sent to the World of the Living. Ikkaku is a 3rd seat at this point of the story.
It's not Captain/Vice "LEVEL", you can be VC level but not be a VC, like Ikkaku, Yumichika and Rukia.
It's about your post, are you #2 or up, then you don't get to go to Earth without a seal.
That way you don't need to "measure" someones' power and ponder if they should have a seal or not, just go by their Squad position, which the stronger Shinigami will probably be on top, that way you do lose some accuracy but don't have the trouble of measuring people to put seals on.
PS: Also there is no such thing as Captain or Vice-Captain level, the only pre-requisite that exist is for Captain, and it's just "must have bankai", other requisites are just other Captains opinions of you, that's how VC and Captains are chosen.
PS2: Squad 11 doesn't have the Bankai pre-requisite, bc the seat positions are always open for contest, including the Captain seat.
@@MaxIronsThird well yeah, I worded it poorly, but you don't have to write an essay over it lol. Rank would've been a better choice of word than level.
@@azeem1597 I got caught in it, trying to explain why saying level would be wrong.
@@MaxIronsThird except there are multiple characters in both the manga and anime that reference “captain level reiatsu”. So there is such a thing as “level”, at least when talking about powerlevels. Hell, Ukitake mentions a “captain level reiatsu” when ichigo appears on the bridge for his first rematch with Biakuya, and this is before he unlocks bankai. The fact that bankai usually also equates to high reiatsu is just a streamline method of selecting Captains
@@MaxIronsThird except there are multiple characters in both the manga and anime that reference “captain level reiatsu”. So there is such a thing as “level”, at least when talking about powerlevels. Hell, Ukitake mentions a “captain level reiatsu” when ichigo appears on the bridge for his first rematch with Biakuya, and this is before he unlocks bankai. The fact that bankai usually also equates to high reiatsu is just a streamline method of selecting Captains
The music in the anime during the Arrancar arc was just so good.
The music completes the Spanish theme of the place so perfectly
ost #3 is definitely the best one
Clavar La Espada and Nube Negra the goats.
Shirou Sagisu GOAT
Yeah, the music made for a great weekly watch. Worth the slowed pacing just to get to hear it more.
Something I absolutely loooooove about the match with Grimmjow and Ichigo in Hueco Mundo is that Grimmjow has a point! Ichigo was fully healed, he could’ve grabbed Orihime and left. But he didnt, he stayed to fight. Ichigo may not fully know it but he does like fighting, he wants to be a king like White said.
He is fair. It had to do with honor and what was fair. Grimmjow basically rescued Orihime for him and let her heal him. A bit different then what you are saying IMO. He fought for the same thing he always has, his friends and his pride.
Shame this never really gets expanded on. Ichigo loses his powers and is sad but the only reason is because he can’t protect people, the fighting enjoyment thing is never relevant again.
I really liked grimmjow, a great foil of Ichigo like what renji was in soul society.
Ties in with Bleach's' broader theme of what it means to be a man, of course we want to fight and rule. Love how this show had the balls to explore that.
@Union Eye
Spoke too soon.
I don't get why ppl refer to inner hollow/true zangetsu as "White", White is the name of the hollow that fought Isshin and infected Masaki, true zangetsu and White are two completely different character. After being moved into Ichigo, White no longer exists, this is because what was before White becomes Ichigo. White had no will, only instincts, he was a blank slate much like an asauchi or the soul of a newborn, when White was passed into Ichigo it merged with his soul and became a single soul, in this soul became the soul of the son of masaki and trough normal human living a will developed, this will is Ichigo. True Zangetsu developed because Ichigo's soul was soo much like an asauchi that he imprinted in his own soul like a shinigami does into ana asauchi, this is how true Zangetsu was born, this is the reason why Zangetsu is a carbon copy of Ichigo, Zangetsu doesn't resemble White, Zangetsu resembles Ichigo who is essentially a refurbished White, the reason why Zangetsu gets the horned mask is not because he is White, it is because that is Ichigo's mask, Zangetsu is a mirror reflection of Ichigo. To confuse Zangetsu with White detracts from the point of Zangetsu being the mirror of Ichigo, Zangetsu is not a foreign entity, he is a part of Ichigo born from Ichigo that serves as a reflection of Ichigo, he is what happens when you imprint your own soul instead of a foreign objects like an asauchi. Zan spirits are reflections of their wielders but Zangetsu is even more so due to his formation. I know it gets complicated referring to him when Ichigo's quincy spirit was previously thought to be zangetsu and forwards gets to share the name anyway so it is hard to refer to true zangetsu, but calling him White capitalized is bad as it misses the point of him being Zangetsu and Zangetsu being a reflection of Ichigo. Depending on how you interpret things White either doesn't exist anymore and became building blocks to make Ichigo or Ichigo is a weird reincarnation of White, but Zangetsu and White are not the same.
Dang, I wish mark talked about the "perfection" speech. That ending with all the captains showing up to help Ichigo was my favorite part of the arc tbh.
I love that speech danggit. Mayuri's weird af but I really enjoy his quirkiness and a lot of the things he says.
I love that speech danggit. Mayuri's weird af but I really enjoy his quirkiness and a lot of the things he says.
Obviously haven’t watched the whole thing yet, but just wanna say real quick: Thanks Mark, for both getting me into this series and going the extra mile for these reviews!
Glad to here marks enthusiasm has brought another fan into the fold I hope you enjoy your stay :)
as someone who grew up with bleach, keeping pace with the actual age of the cast this touches my heart seeing this :)
Hope you keep watching man!
He did not go the extra mile he went half the extra mile. If he wanted to go the extra mile he would look at the filler arcs
One thing the anime excels at is music. Both the openings and OST are amazing.
And sadly he doesn't know. There's lots of good songs though. All of Ichigo's themes, most of the Hueco Mundo songs. A lot of the songs I maybe wouldn't listen to but are great for ambience in the story.
What I dig about uryu here is that he doesn't turn into another sasuke, instead hes just his self. He helps ichigo and even soul reapers, forming his own perspective rather than carrying a generational burden.
Even ryuken is not vengeful lol
In other words, it doesn't pave the way for a repetitive shonen cliche, instead kubo made it his own unique way
thousand year war arc?
@@gilbertoflores7397
What about it
@@WeyardWiz the quincy revenge, uryu following the generational hate.
@@gilbertoflores7397
No he didn't lol
He was confused what to do, but in the end he never turned against ichigo lol
@@WeyardWiz was gonna say dude must have not finished reading lol
Surprised Mark didn't like Szayelaporro's fight. Szayelaporro basically one ups every trick and new ability introduced by our heroes and forcing them to fight with limiters and having to get creative with what they have. It also shows some exposition on how Las Noches and Aizen's army works as well as basically how capable their military science and how monstrous they can be (ex. Szayelaporro eating Lumina) despite being human in form.
I agree the instant transmission back to base was def a soft reset of the arc but just to play devils advocate, it shows how unbothered Aizen was the entire time this was happening. He didn't care who was coming or how much "progress" they made because his top Arrancars are just THAT good in his eyes. Aizen the unbothered lmaoo
And even his top arrancar are insects in comparison to Aizen, he is just toying with everybody
I think one of the reasons I'm so fond to the Arrancar arc is that as a Mexican/ Spanish speaker
I really loved how the names of the characters/powers/settings/etc.
Were in Spanish (also I love that Chad is part Mexican)
I was so used to watch anime where the names of those things were in Japanese (obviously) and English
It may be a silly reason but it really warms my heart
I really liked that too man. As a half Mexican I was like 😮
Yup its pride for our country, hispanic here. It's nice to get acknowledged there are other culture languages outside of Japanese/English. But hell TYBW being German is a nice nod to Kubo for doing more culture. Such a shame the circumstances didnt allow for more exploration
I may not be hispanic, but i also really appreciated the diverse cultures that were implemented into the show. Also I don't know if you realized, they also had hispanic music and names for characters based on hollows, German music/names for Quincy, and Japanese Music/names for the Soul Society!
@@micahsouza8016 Still proud to this day.
@@JoshQwerty the way Kubo wove the different influences in was pretty impressive!
I was really looking foward to Mark talking about the battle between Ichigo and Hollow Ichigo, they are my favorite introspection scenes in the whole series
seeing Chads new power, I always imagined his powers turning into his legs and eventually his whole body turning into different abilities.
Oh Mark, not only Grimmy is your favourite boy too but you had a change of heart about Orihime as well. I'm so proud I could cry T_T
I'm actually crying that I pressed like button repeatedly
Oh my god
Grimmy as in grimmjow
I initially thought of yammy from that name XD
@@justaotter2085 Lol sorry, it's just that Grimmjow can be a hassle to write. Back then using Grimmy was a bit more common than now. I can see people being thrown off by it more now.
@@MademoiselleRed1390 Sick ! Fandom lore
I've always seen the length of the side characters fights building up their character, rather than being a distraction from the main cast, it's why so many people have so many different favorite characters. They get long and detailed (some obvious exemptions) fights that also have backstory and flashbacks written in just to develop them as individual characters.
I like the Arrancar arc more than the Soul Society because of the storytelling, Ichigo's international struggles within himself over the how he is losing control of himself, and just the amazing battles. Can't wait till he gets to turn back the pendulum and terror above the dome.
It's so hilarious to watch these and see Mark's predictions knowing what the end result is
@@swallow_skyla3602 not really. Its still good
Most people clown it because of youtubers
I particularly loved his prediction that Orihime would be the one to pull Ichigo back from his complete loss of control and fall into hollowdom.
The fact Kubo had Orihime be the one to put Ichigo INTO that situation and used Ulquiorra to get him out is somehow even more perfect and I'm excited to see Mark's reaction/opinion and if he'll reference his original theory.
@@swallow_skyla3602 i have a feeling, since his not a spastic and can actually read into things and understand foreshadowing. He'll still enjoy the ending.
ye
@@corruptangel6793 Like you said, what Mark predicted is the opposite of what's actually going to happen.
But wouldn't that make for a great twist for him?
At the time, that moment took everybody by surprise, and it was awesome!
I think you've had a slight misunderstanding. Regular Hollows can "clump" together to form a Gillian. IF there is a personality among those Hollows that's strong enough, there is a chance it can retain that personality when turned into a Gillian. Of those, SOME can turn into Adjuchas and of those, a select few MIGHT become Vasto Lorde.
And no, you haven'T seen her fight since the first Episode. There's the Parakeet episode where she's using Kido but D-Roy is her first genuine fight as she was highly distracted in Episode one.
Interesting choice not to mention that Kenpachi's power up was to USE BOTH HANDS lmao
Man can’t wait for marks reaction when kenpachi pulls out the third hand and gets a power boost
Did anyone seriously expect anything else from Kenpachi lol
@@stevencolon1723 did we honestly expect Kenpachi need it more
Wait has Mark not said a single thing in relation to the Hogyoku? the reason Aizen set up Rukia's execution? the item allowing Aizen to speed up the hollow's ability to gain Soul Reaper powers? I really hope it's brought up next video then
my theory is that mark doesn't really care about what the story is trying to deliver, but about what he wants from the story instead, similar thing happened with hxh, not his fault, he just enjoys stories in this way
@@Lozak ok but that’s kinda undermining the story.
@@streetgamer3452 Well, tbf, the Hogyoku is such an uninteresting OP plot device that didn't got a way deeper treatment and approach than it really got at the end so...
@@RzK_venger795 hardly, and either way it’s part of the main plot for Aizen so actively choosing to ignore it means you’re actively not even trying to engage with the story which isn’t good when you’re reviewing something
>Seeing as ichigo can absorb Reishi like Uryuu can
It's a surprise tool that will help us later
I did NOT catch that little bit of info the first time I read it but wow Kubo is master at foreshadowing
I'm glad to see Ikkaku getting some recognition. I also tho he was going to be forgotten or just not relevant after his introduction but during this arc he became one of my favorites. He's just so cool and his bankai looks awesome!
The moment that sealed it for me was Ichigo's dad killing the Grand Fisher. With generic anime tropes with their teenage protagonists, this wasn't just Itchigo getting revenge for his mom, but it was a husband getting revenge for his wife.
It makes ichigo a less believable person. He swore revenge on the thing that killed his mom. Doesn't get revenge. And doesn't even wonder what happened to grand fisher. Yah wow amazing writing.
@@thebuddah1253 average Bleach hater... for all Ichigo knows he killed Fisher that day.
@@Dan_Kanerva Stop making excuses for poor writing. You know damn well he screamed that he'd avenge his mother. He knows GF wasn't dead.
@@thebuddah1253 ah i see, you are just trolling. Carry on kuh
@@Dan_Kanerva is your IQ like 70?
"The hollow inside him keeps calling himself Zangetsu" Oh Mark... if only you knew.
Yes and No?
Finally some give this arc a chance and shows what it truly is. It’s own thing. It’s my favorite arc in the series and I love it so much
And grimmjow is my favorite character. Love his design his personality his development. God such a great character
Arrancar saga is my fav too. It has its down moments but the high moments are so damn high.
I watched the anime in highschool but last year I bought the series and read it. All the way up to aizen, I couldn’t get enough. I was powering through.
Then the last 20 books it felt more and more like a chore.
Oh and the first 20 books was probably my favorite read of any manga.
@@thecapn3560 yea that’s when kubos health problems were getting bad and he was constantly getting rushed. That’s why I’m glad the anime is back cause kubo and the studio are working to make blood war ark good
Everytime Mark uploads a BLEACH review I just get more and more hyped.
So now we have to wait 2 more weeks for the manga.
I really love these reviews Mark. Specially the effort you put into understanding the characters, dynamics and plot elements each moment has.
It has become also very entertaining to watch this comment section, filled with different perspectives, interpretations and ideas that all are very interesting. It surely makes something obvious for me: Bleach is not a "simple", "basic", "repetitive", "empty", lacking of interesting characters, etc etc., as many have said in the past, story; Bleach works with interesting ideas and decisions that, while not always amazing, start discussions and debate among its consumers, which I think is awesome. I feel like it reflects more how many people had no idea about the series and were just repeating something they heard somewhere or fallaciously created themselves.
@@jorgeporras9262 I appreciate your take, at the end of the day, I do know other people that have also said the same, so It definitely is about taste, which I know is a kinda lame and obvious point to get to, but I think its real.
I say this because, as Mark, I could also see other deeper meanings beyond those "repeating patterns", (that I also was able to identify) . So It goes to show, the interpretation of the anime could either go to a simple "its just a repeating pattern" like you said, or to being able to actually notice more details inside those said patterns, like Mark said (and I also felt watching the anime and a bit of the manga). I think both are valid, as long as you can justify them.
@@Ango825 You should watch DBZimran they really delve into how good bleach is.
@@jorgeporras9262 You should watch DBZimran they really delve into how good bleach is.
I am at about the 30 min mark, and can I just take the time and say, I LOVE how he makes this black and white comparison at this point without knowing what is to come. It just gives a whole new set of appreciation to Kubo's work and this creators ability to look deeper into what the author is trying to say / make you feel.
I will say I really appreciate TNM giving Orihime the time of day in this Video. Far too long have people been overlooking her character in this series and I'm happy someone with a voice in the community is speaking about her, in depth, in a positive light, with a fresh pair of eyes. :)
If you want an audience to appreciate a character for her depth, maybe don’t make her an oblivious sex symbol and increase her breast size to a ridiculous degree with every arc, until she can no longer be taken seriously.
36:37 that line caught me off guard or is just the editor messing with us lmao
I think the main issue her character runs into is the bloat in between her appearances, some of which due to editorial meddling, and Kubo not sticking the landing during Ichigo v Ulquiorra Round 2 in terms of finalizing her development for this arc.
A lot of people do not like her though… For the stupidest of reasons.
@Frozen Monster no, not that. (She was actually treated ok in the anime)
Nice video Mark. Only things missing in your analysis were Mayuri's Perfection speech and Grimmjow questioning Ichigo's motive to come to Hueco Mundo whether to fight him instead of saving Orihime highlighting inner hollow ichigo's desire. Looking forward to your new video.
One of the strongest aspects of the manga is actually how good the pacing is. I am able to read it again and again just because of how I tear through it. It has this amazing way of making 10 chapters feel like 3. The only pacing issues are some of the secondary fights in Arrancar and the rushed nature of TYBW (sue in no part to Kubo as he had suffered a fairly debilitating injury), but other than that its a very quick read.
While I think thats a strength, I can also see the problems with it. Kubo is really good and foreshadowing and show don’t tell, but if you don’t pay attention a lot of character development might go over someone who skims it head.
Its something I really appreciate about his writing. He leaves it up to the reader to figure out what a character actually thinks or feels based on their expression, demeanor, actions, or even their movements. It makes sense why so many people who criticize it call it shallow with the way Kubo tells the story. Me in the other hand, I love it and thats why the manga is so special to me.
It Just Works.
Thank you Mark! Bleach is the first anime I have ever watched and it holds a lot of nostalgia and sentimental value because of that. But since then I have moved from anime to manga as my prefered format and I've started reading the Bleach manga to catch up before the anime comes back next week and I love it!! Thanks for rekindling my love for a childhood favorite of mine!!
I hope we'll see a comparison of Kubo's artwork between the early chapters and the later ones. It's so impressive
I love the Arrancar arc, its the beginning of Bleach's separation between different races articulated very well. Its so cool getting the lore behind rukias fight with the top arrancar. Shit is all just too well put together
New characters like Shinji, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra are so damn awesome and the whole Hueco Mundo section with the rescue is such a dope ride to me and wow Orihime is your 2nd favorite character now that's crazy to me
Orihime is my second favorite character too
@@bubbletea7029 That's cool and I like her a bunch too but she's never been top 5 for me maybe top 10 or so
@@bubbletea7029 She is second best girl, Yoruchi takes first place.
@@barryallen2240 in terms of attractiveness Yoruichi takes the throne
Honestly I don’t know where I would rank orihime on my favorite characters there are so many good ones in bleach but she’s definitely up there for me too.
There's no way in hell you'll see this but I might as well give my two cents.
You describe Aizen's recapture of Orihime at the end as feeling cheap and somewhat undermining of the entire arc. While this is a valid take, I thought it conveyed his absolute control over the entire situation and entire disinterest in handling what was going on.
"Intruders? Just throw some of the low to mid level troops at them to slow them down. Grimjow is doing his own thing again? Just grab Orihime and get back to the plan after he finishes his little romp."
Aizrn KNOWS whats going on, he just thinks that it's below himself to take any serious measure against it, and when he does it's as brief and simple as taking back the only misplaced piece of his ultimate plan.
I haven't finish the video yet (minute 40 as of now) but it brings me such a nice happiness of nostalgia the way you are describing the events with excitement. I'm so glad the manga has change your perspective about it, but also that you are liking the arcs while you are reading it. As always your reviews are great not just because of the story but because of the comments about the panels, artwork details, etc. Quality content.
So the reason why the reishi in hueco Mundo works for uryu and no one else is because as a Quincy he has full control over reishi. They kind of explained it in the soul society arc but they never go into too much detail about it.
Quincy powers are also poison for hollows.
Which is also the reason behind why ichigo's powers get boosted so much in hueco mundo
My absolute favorite quote in possibly all media is from these fights.
"There is nothing in this world that is truly 'perfect'. Though it may be a rather large cliche, it is still the truth. It is the ordinary people who look up to 'perfection' as an ideal and seek after it. But in truth, what is this idea of 'perfection' truly worth? Nothing. Not a single thing. I detest 'perfection'. To be 'perfect' is to be unable to improve any further. There would be no scope for 'creation', not a single gap in one's knowledge or one's ability. Do you see now? To true scientists like you and I, 'perfection' is tantamount to 'despair'. We aspire to reach greater levels of brilliance than ever before, but never, NEVER, to reach perfection. That is the paradox through which we scientists must struggle. Indeed, it is our duty to find pleasure in that struggle. In other words, the second you allowed yourself to spout a ridiculous word like 'perfect', in truth, you had already been defeated. That is, if you wish to be treated as a scientist." Mayuri Kurotsuchi Chapter 306.
27:41 I never noticed this it’s insane how much subtly Kubo puts into writing and his panels that you don’t notice until you read over and read again. It’s insane how subtly he writes because especially shonen readers will miss the mark hard.
Kubo’s foreshadowing skills are insane.
@@chaosblur the one where Kenpachi says he named yachiru after the person he admired is the most wild one to me because that’s just a small strip in one panel that seems like a throw away line at face value.
Yup, kubo spells it out for us in plain sight. We then take forever to notice cuz it's secondary to what's happening, and the characters don't talk about it. I personally wanna see Chad and ichigo playing guitar together, with all the same subtlety of ichigo clearly being advanced at self defense due to learning at a dojo when he was younger.
I really love you're making those videos after Chad memes and music sprouted in collective mind of an internet. It never fails to make me laugh and fits so bloody well! Really love your journey through the last of Big Three, and I cannot even express how good it feels to have things reminded and sometimes clarified. Thank you so much, my dude! (Should've written that comment on Wednesday :P )
Orihime's goodbye is one of, if not the most, romantic scenes in the story. Chef kiss to Kubo sensei. I'm loving how the manga is working so well for you, but this scene in the anime was pretty good too.
I'm also on this arc and this is not only one of the longest arcs I've ever read, but also one of the best. Every single chapter gets more and more exiting/ I might even be able to read fast enough to be done by the release date of its final anime arc.
Bleach is a very fast and comfy read tbh. Not too much dialog and panels flows smooth af
if you're wondering, the final arc starts at chapter 480 so read up to 479 to catch up
@@alfa01spotivo It's tough for me, I want to suggest reading TYBW arc as well so they can be hyped about the changes (that arc is also long as fuck) assuming there really are, currently it's just rumors. Or just read it after so you can see why the rest of us were a bit miffed. I really love the narrative when it came out that people said Kubo was satisfied with his manga telling even though he clearly was not lmfao.
I have to admit, the idea of Kurotsuchi, that "Perfection is death of all progress" stuck with me a lot.. maybe even the most out of whole Bleach. It's not particularly new in human collective consciousness, but it opened my young eyes and heart quite a bit.
(edit)
I also cannot express how strongly I disagree with your statement about Kenpachis and generally later fights "It feel like an obligation." Oh hell no! Kubo Tite just loves fighting, it's his passion and Kenpachi, and how much attention he gets at times, might be the biggest sign of that. Kenpachi also has grown thanks to Ichigo, he's found some new peak to climb, some motivation in his bored life (might be speaking out of my ass on that last sentence, it's been over a decade since I last read Bleach, so those are distant, maybe even faded memories). I guess you might've been rushing too hard and some negative feelings sprouted out of it.
Take your time Mark, I love you, and your videos with all my heart, just do not feel the pressure to satisfy sick algorithm of rotten corporation, thanks to which we're connecting our hearts!
Cheers!
Glad you love it! This was my first anime and I still love it all these years later. Another that splits the fanbase is some like the first arc only and love to say it went downhill after that, glad you agree it actually got better as I think that as well. The Arrancar Arc is by far the best IMO so far.
The general consensus about Bleach is that it never gets better than the Soul Society Arc and honestly I agree. It's the BEST arc in the series. It either excels at everything it wants to do or at least does them fairly decently. However, whenever I think of the moments that defined Bleach and made me love it forever most of them are from the Arrancar Arc. What's Bleach without Grimmjow and even Ulquiorra, what's Bleach without Ichigo's battle to dominate his Hollow form, what's Bleach without it cutting to Aizen every once in a while to show us how stupidly cocky that man is, what's Bleach without dumb fights that don't do much for the story but god damn if I don't think about some of them from time to time over a decade later. I love Soul Society but man I'll never forget the Arrancar Arc, it was such a joy to read.
I don't think the difference is only between the anime and the manga. I think it's also a difference between reading it while all is released and reading it weekly. Reading it weekly was absolute hell at some point when there were just 1 attack per chapter.
I just love White so much. The way he enjoys playing the villain is so much damn fun.
Man you have no idea how excited I was even I saw this notification. I love watching you unravel the story, really takes me back to my first read/watch through.
HUGE respect for the hour and a half video, props to mark and his awesome editors and people working on this video… Great job guys!! 🇮🇪🎉
Im just really happy to see Orihime get some love in this review. She is so often dismissed as just “the girl/love interest” character
At the end of the day, that's what she is
@@nickroscher3968 yikes
the main problem is you are grossly making an assumption on the point of this arc (maybe you will see it next video in the conclusion of the hueco mundo segment) but this is not an arc for ichigo to trust others more. This is a downward spiral arc for ichigo to trust his instincts (king and the horse) and the consequences of it. If you keep that in mind, the split up and each member falling or taking a humility lesson against an espada (renji disresespect lmao) and the difference between them and the people who come later...really makes you think differently
I recently re-watched the anime to refresh my memory before TYBW and I have to agree with the points made in this video about Orihime's character.
I was very unimpressed with Orihime as a character on my first go through but slowly watching her progression from beginning to end I really came to appreciate her a lot more. Seeing her struggle with fighting in the Soul Society Arc and the beginning of the Arrancar Arc and then evolving into a motivated character who chooses her path alongside Ichigo was really good. On top of subtle goals she makes for herself - I vaguely remember her talking about wanting to use her powers without incantation and as the series goes she gets better and better at this.
Long story short - Orihime's way better than I thought. And I would be interested to see if I liked her character even more if I had read the Manga instead of watching the Anime.
I know you review the manga but then Inoue says goodbye to Ichigo. The anime needs a shoutout as well. The music the screen composition. Bro I'm just listening to your video while working and I'm tearing up. Episode 141 shows how music and simple visuals can just SHATTER emotions. I'll piss off the Avatar fans but Orihime's goodbye hits harder than leaves on the vine.
I take it you never heard about how Tite Kubo nearly worked himself to death running BOTH the manga and the anime. Even the filler arks were overseen by the man.
if you liked Nel's quote again Noitra, you're gonna love Toshiro's one against... someone... there's a debate about Ichigo swinging his blade without the intent to kill, and Toshiro inteject that a captain should only ever fight out of duty. His opponent questions wether he can honestly says he's fighting without emotions, and he goes "I didn't came here to fight you. I came here to do violence to you". Still sends shivers down my spine to this day.
"Mark's favourite boi vs Ichigo"
🤣🤣 I love Grimmjow ❤
I'm 55 minutes into the video and just now noticed that, whenever talking about Chad, Bring Me The Horizon's "Can You Feel My Heart" plays in the back. Thank you, Mark, you are a wonderful man for this
Kubo Tite has said "Story is just an excuse to draw cool shit". I think with many fights he's not trying to push the overall narrative, but just enjoying the scenario in isolation.
But he does use fights to push and build characters.
If that was the case, then Kubo wouldn't have been so displeased with the anime or bothered to theme his series. Kubo said he liked drawing new characters not that the story is secondary. The fullbring and Pendulum arcs were mostly story material. He just preferred doing whatever he liked without pressure, and he's always interested in showing off his character designs.
Are you sure you didn't take the "just draw cool shit" line from SuperEyePatchWolf?
kubo has been quoted saying that the story to him is just a way for him to draw as many cool fights as he can.
@@Manganization Sure, you can just do whatever you want when you publish solo, but that's not enough to stay serialized and keep engagement.
I love how you guys wrote the arc intermission text in spanish lmao
The best part is how you somehow didn't butcher anything while at it.
I've always looked at white taking over Ichigo as a flaw within Ichigo. The two are battling eachother, and in my head it felt as if White continued to fight against his King because his King would not respect him. Always straying away from his blade, never wanting to use it to it's full potential. So that's why he'd go hollow beyond recognition. The blade and the wielder are in constant turmoil. Ichigo is far to ignorant and arrogant with how he speaks to his sword, refusing at the time to even acknowledge him as Zangetsu. Also a point to bring up is that White has only ever came out when Ichigo's life has been in mortal danger, when he's bitten off more than he can chew, if Ichigo is mentally able to push it back that is. It's manifested against Renji being the mask that saved his life, against Byakuya, it came out against Hiyori, It almost came out against Yami and Grimjow but Ichigo stopped it.
Its an interesting way that Kubo handles that trope of a hero pushing away his darkhalf.
52:35
Mark unknowningly foreshadowing ichigos true nature is priceless 😂
the use of Don't Lose Your Way at every table-turn moment was pure gold
The series gets progressivelly better in my opinion. I'm glad you're liking it.
Also nice Blasphemous OST in the background.
there's a bit more to that closing statement "White Ichigo" makes at 30:44.
"[...] And one last warning. *_If you really want to control my power, make sure you don't get yourself killed before I come back!"_*
trust us on this, you'll understand why he said that...
So great to see you not falling onto the blind bleach hate train and giving it the respect it deserves
there is one thing you should keep in mind when it comes to Kubo, he is a master of foreshadowing. things that happen now might seem meaningless but have a great payoff farther down the road.
i am enjoying your review.
i started watching bleach when i was a kid, but the filler arch's got too much for me with their lack of cohesion to the story and my own dialup internet made them hard to watch. so i started reading it. both are enjoyable. Im glad you got to experience this series!
i think your gripe with bleach's battles is sometimes you're too detached from the characters to care (from what you say in kyouraku or soi fon ) so it does seem a little "filler-ish" when they focus on someone other than the main group.
I’ve really been loving seen your look on the bleach series, I’ve always loved everything about bleach. It was one of the first shows I watched all the way and read through multiple times. I love hearing people’s thoughts on stuff, good, bad and the ugly. It’s what makes media so fun to consume. I can’t wait to hear all of your thoughts when you finish the series.
mark i gotta say you are the #1 reviewer on the market. all your videos are just top notch. cheers
1:17:30 these fights might not move the plot a bunch at this current state, but they will play a large part towards the end of the series showing character growth for Kenpachi, Byakuya, Mayuri, etc. They are pivotal moments for their characters respectively.
I have to agree with the manga vs anime point. Ive been rewatching the anime and theres long drawn out dialog and jokes in the middle of the most serious fights that i knew for a fact weren’t in the manga. I think it might be because of how anime was produced back then where it was weekly instead of seasonal, because theres so many repeated flashbacks and joke moments that couldve easily been cut and the same feelings wouldve been protrayed.
Yeah the anime was basically caught up to the manga up to the end so they had to draw out the episodes
Yeah Perriot saw the few dondachaka and Peche comedy scenes in the manga and said “yeah let’s give them 50 more in the anime”
That's basically what happens to any long running series adapting a manga without any break
If Rukia was a plant and working for Aizen, it would’ve tied Aizens whole plan to Ichigos goals, and been compelling enough of a story to not only keep the readers engaged with the Aizen Story, but engaged with the story overall
Comparing Ulquiorra and Yammy to Vegeta and Yammy is something i never expected...
Of which the former is said as Ool-kee-orr-uh.
Yammy says his name, in the dub at least, after getting saved from Urahara's sword beam.
Oof that was a long one. I truly appreciate that you addressed the biggest criticism of the Hueco Mundo arc right off the bat. Besides the similarities with past arcs, this is the point anime watches started to dislike anime as its filled with a ridiculous amount of filler making the tidiousness of all the long fights even more annoying.
Ps. I appreciate all the South Park edits Editor-san 🤩
I love how little Mark knows about Urahara like, he literally created the plot item
Hey Mark! I'm loving the Bleach reviews but I was wondering if you could focus/talk more about the names of the characters shikai/bankai as they show up. it's usually easy to find translations for them online. Imo it's one of the more interesting parts of Bleach.
You are wrong
I love how Mark theorycrafts a story everyone else already knows, no regrets.
It's also funny to hear him defend plot points. We'll see how feels later.
This arc is awesome and introduced two different but great enemies for our MC and I love all of it!
Also please review the first bleach movie before continuing the next video for the rest of the arrancar arc.
Also mark ulquiorra and yammy’s names are not that hard to say and pronounce.
While ichigo is my favorite shonen protagonist grimmjow is my favorite bleach character!
32:17 I’d pay attention to those patterns if I were you mark, just a thought.
I love it when people talk about philosophical and psychological stuff and relate with bleach.
Wait what the hell man you’re not gonna talk about that perfection speech!? That was golden!
Can't belive mark on his own without outside influence came to the conclusion of Ichiruki lmao.
Where are you getting this exactly?
I could have missed something, since this was my sleep-well-podcast last night. But for me TNM got Kubo's message exactly. How very very special Ichigo's and Rukia's relationship is, but not romantic.
that wasnt ichiruki kid
@@terrarionaqu5262 24:23
21:31 Pretty sure that nerf only applies to captains and lieutenants, so Ikkaku was actually at full strength, same as Rukia.
as much as the anime does feel wierd. holy shit I love the music they use.
They had the goat himself Shiro Sagisu do it, ofc its fire
I will always mantain that Arrancar's similarities are there to make a point on Ichigo's arc and the themes.
Much like he has this duality within him we can see that duality if we step back and loock at both arcs from afar.
WOW, What a way to subvert my expectation, which i know is a thing you love!
I hadn't checked the length, and thought the "Middle" was basically the "End". And then BOOM,
2 In 1 Part Review!! Nice one Mark.
After watching through the whole Video second by second i have to say that this is the single best bleach essay i have ever seen. Magnificent
Can confirm after breaking time and watching it for second to second, it's indeed the single best bleach essay I've ever seen. Magnificent
Bro the vids only out for like 6 minutes now how did you watch it second by second
@@sashatandare people been watching on 4 times speed
@@sashatandare Omg bro i was JOKING
I see people interpreting Mark’s comment about Ying & Yang as romantic for some reason? We all know Rukia and Ichigo are ying & Yang the issue is some people can’t accept this isn’t a romantic connection.
As a previous ichiruki can the anime ops did not help at all not to mention I lean towards tsundere
Oh my god century old Copium
@@traguy2625 I'm still smoking the fumes I'll get over it once the tybe anime ends or I'll be smoking more of it
And we’re going to ignore that Ichigo and Orihime was a one sided romance for literally the entire series.
@@shiroufan5401 dude literally become monster to protect her the fuck you on
Jesus Christ, you have a great editor. I love his sense of humor.
This is easily your best video on Bleach thus far, maybe one of the best on your channel as a whole. All of the pacing issues and the frustrating disconnected between what was being discussed and shown are gone, and your writing has only gotten better to boot- everything feels a lot more sharp and connected. I really prefer the style you used more in this video where you give us your thoughts on events as they come. Truly spectacular work, Mark.
As someone that knows the whole story, I can't help but laugh when Mark is all like, oh this thing is going to happen, when I know it's not going to.
I just want to say: Thank you for taking your time. Thank you for having the courage to do such a long video even if the algorithm doesn't like it. A thorough review takes time and I am glad you don't just skip over parts in order to keep things as short as possible but instead keep things as long as necessary.
"-To one of my favourite female characters from the big three."
Besides Nami and Robin, that is NOT stiff competition to be fair....
Thank you Mark. I have been binge watching your review of Bleach today and it really sparked something in me. I was around since the start of the anime movement in the USA but it was Bleach that got me into reading manga. It was always a special series to me. But there was a point that I lost interest and dropped it, never finishing it. I moved on and read other series, forgetting about the time that Bleach ruled my heart. Your reviews have reminded me of why I enjoyed Bleach so much. I'm sitting here thinking to myself how much I loved that fight, how awesome that moment was, how great that character is, and so forth. I remember why I loved this series and now I'm ready to finish it.
Thank you
People warned me that bleach fell off after the soul society arc but I think the arancar are incredibly cool and had more fun with the fights in these next few arcs
It gets much better AFTER the ss arc. The ss arc is kind of a basic shounen arc in all honesty.
Rukia and Shinji stepping in while playing Before My Body Is Dry from Kill La Kill was not something I knew I needed
43:05 Mainly because Urahara doesn't want Aizen to know care about Orihime more than he already does so he wants to keep her out of the fray (though he was late on that but to his defense no idea Ulquiorra could straight up record stuff through his eyes)