Highlights
- Bleach was once considered one of the top shonen manga series alongside Naruto and One Piece, but it somewhat lost its steam.
- Bleach has a dedicated fanbase despite its flaws, with some arcs being more engaging and memorable than others.
- The Thousand-Year Blood War arc has generated a lot of excitement among fans, with its fresh take on the invasion of the Quincy and the introduction of a riveting villain. Fans hope the anime adaptation will improve upon the rushed ending of the manga.
There was a time when Bleach reigned supreme as one of the Big Three shonen manga, along with the legendary Naruto and One Piece. However, over time, the show slowly lost its mojo before turning into a shadow of its former self. That being said, Bleach still has a popular fandom that loves the show to this day, despite its many flaws.
Bleach: The 16 Best Openings, Ranked
Every Bleach opening is unique in its own special way, but some of them stand out much more than others. These are the best Bleach openings.
Bleach is a series full to the brim with memorable story arcs, including one that is considered by many to be one of the best arcs in shonen history. Unfortunately, this arc appears early on in Bleach's run, with subsequent story beats either rehashing concepts from this one or just not being as riveting as they should've been. All the arcs of Bleach can vary in terms of how engaging they are, and it's only a given that some narratives are going to hit harder than others.
Updated on June 21, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: The fact that Bleach is still as mainstream as it is today is a testament to the series' immense presence in pop culture, even if the writing in the series meandered in quality quite a bit. After an excruciatingly long wait, fans are finally being treated to a no-nonsense adaptation of the series' final arc, with some stellar animation to make fights more engaging. Not all arcs in Bleach boast the same level of quality, which is something that fans of the series are quite familiar with. Despite the inconsistent quality of the series' arcs, there's no denying that fans who are invested in what Bleach has to offer will be more than pleased with its amazing battles, memorable characters, and enthralling moments in the narrative.
Arc | Episodes | Summary |
|---|---|---|
Agent of the Shinigami arc | 1-20 | Ichigo Kurosaki, a regular high-school student, becomes a Shinigami after a mysterious woman called Rukia loses her powers and enlists his help to save humans from errant Hollows. |
Soul Society arc | 21-63 | After Rukia is taken away to be executed in Soul Society, Ichigo and his friends break into this place to save his friend, taking on many powerful Shinigami in the process. |
The Bount arc | 64-109 | The Bount, an artificial race that feeds on souls, decides to come back and wreak havoc in Soul Society. |
Arrancar arc | 110-131 | The Espada, a group of powerful Arrancar (Hollows who have taken off their masks) who serve Aizen, show off their powers and kidnap Orihime for her unique abilities. |
Hueco Mundo arc | 132-167, 190-205 | Ichigo and his friends break into Hueco Mundo in a bid to fight off the Arrancar and save Orihime from Aizen's clutches. |
The New Captain Shusuke Amagai arc | 168-189 | Shusuke Amagai, a new captain who replaces Gin Ichimaru after his betrayal, ends up having nefarious plans of his own that are slowly revealed over the course of this arc. |
The Past arc | 206-212 | A short but sweet arc that explains how the Visored came to be, why Urahara was banished from Soul Society, and what Aizen's motivations really are. |
The Battle Of Karakura Town arc | 213-229, 266-316 | After the Arrancar and Aizen decide to wreak havoc in the human world, Ichigo and the rest of the Shinigami decide to stop them once and for all. |
Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arc | 230-265 | The Zanpakuto of the Shinigami turn against their owners, being goaded by a mysterious man named Muramasa who is clearly up to no good. |
Gotei 13 Invading Army arc | 317-342 | As Ichigo slowly loses his powers following his fight against Aizen, Soul Society is invaded by impersonators who sow discord within the ranks and force the Shinigami to second-guess their comrades. |
The Lost Substitute Shinigami arc | 343-366 | After Ichigo loses his powers, he is contacted by a mysterious group called the Fullbring, who promise to reawaken his powers and help him battle against Hollows once again. |
The Thousand-Year Blood War arc | 367-392+ (Ongoing) | A powerful Quincy called Yhwach appears with his retinue of warriors to take over Soul Society and attain immense power in the process. |
Special Mention: The Filler Arcs
Bleach has its fair share of filler, as is the case with any weekly-running anime that has to do everything in its power to avoid catching up to the manga. While most people might lambast the filler in the show for obvious reasons, ardent fans of Bleach can still check these stories out if they wish. It's important to keep in mind that their placement in the show's timeline can be weird since there's little to no downtime between Bleach arcs, causing certain filler arcs to just pop up out of nowhere to try and justify their existence.
Bleach: 8 Inconsistencies Introduced by the Anime's Filler Arcs
Aside from a few diamonds in the rough, Bleach's anime-exclusive content can be pretty messy and has led to many inconsistencies in the series' plot.
The Bount Arc (Episodes 64-108)
The Bount arc is one of the first filler arcs in Bleach. While it starts out with an intriguing premise, the Bount themselves are pretty uninteresting, and the Shinigami are nerfed quite a bit to fabricate a fair bit of conflict in the series. This leads to the Bount arc feeling rather underwhelming by the time it ends.
Stolen Hogyoku Arc (Episodes 128-137)
This arc takes a slightly detailed look at the Arrancar and their dissatisfaction with Aizen being the leader. It's a decent arc where the fan-favorite character Hitsugaya also gets his moment to shine, but it comes at the cost of poor pacing and an odd placement in the middle of an ongoing canon arc.
The New Captain Shusuke Amagai Arc (Episodes 168-189)
Shusuke Amagai is the new captain of the 3rd Division after Gin Ichimaru betrays Soul Society. He seems like an intriguing character, and his fights in the arc are pretty good, but the rest of this saga focuses on boring characters and non-consequential stories that lose all their importance after this filler arc ends. What makes this arc even worse is its placement in Bleach, coming right in the middle of a storyline that was picking up right before this filler ended up ruining the pacing for good.
Zanpakuto Unknown Tales Arc (Episodes 230-265)
One of the better filler arcs in the series comes when the spirits of every Shinigami's Zanpakuto start rebelling against their owners. This makes for some great battles, even though — just like most filler arcs — there are no long-term consequences of this rebellion whatsoever. Given the revelations regarding the true nature of Ichigo's Zanpakuto in The Thousand-Year Blood War, this filler arc also has a plot hole since Zangetsu's pseudo-Yhwach look is not the true form of the protagonist's Zanpakuto.
The Gotei 13 Invasion Arc (Episodes 317-342)
This arc takes place after Ichigo's powers start waning following his battle with Aizen. The idea of the Shinigami fighting against their doppelgangers makes for a great time and is considered by many to be one of the best filler arcs in Bleach. If fans want to check out a single Bleach filler arc just to see how good the anime-original storyline was, then this is an arc they shouldn't miss.
8 Agent Of The Shinigami Arc
A Slow But Fun Way To Set Up Bleach's Elements And The Characters In The Real World
- Episodes: 1-20
After becoming a substitute Shinigami, the first few episodes of Bleach follow a monster-of-the-week format. This allows Ichigo to get a grasp over his powers, lets the show slowly introduce new characters, and also lets Rukia explain the nuances of Soul Society and the nature of this world.
Ultimately, this Bleach arc is a pretty slow burn that most fans will need to power through before they can get to the good part of the show. Most people don't mind the slow beginning of Bleach, especially since it serves as a perfect lead-up to one of the best shonen arcs of all time. Still, there are some people who felt that the introductory arc could've done a better job of making the fights more engaging, but that's a small complaint in the grand scheme of things.
7 The Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc
Derided By Many As A Glorified Filler Arc
- Episodes: 343-366
After beating Aizen and losing his powers for good, Ichigo returns to his mundane life as a student. It's smooth sailing for the most part, but there's a part of Ichigo who misses his life as a Shinigami and wants to return to his action-packed life back in the day. This is where the Fullbringers come into the picture, which allows Ichigo to attain a new form of power once again.
Bleach: Best Bankai, Ranked By Strength
How does every Bankai in the Bleach anime stack up against each other? Just which among them is the strongest? Find out now.
However, despite the Fullbringers seeming rather interesting when they were introduced, this Bleach arc feels like nothing more than a gigantic waste of time, serving as an excuse for Ichigo to regain his Shinigami powers and fight against a villain established through this arc. The fact that the original anime ended after adapting this arc feels like a slap in the face for fans who wanted something more special and memorable for this hasty conclusion.
6 The Past Arc
A Short But Decent Look Back At Aizen's Villainy
- Episodes: 206-212
This arc is pretty short and serves as a way to fill in the blanks and reveal Aizen's motivations to the viewer. Figuring out how the Visored came to be, along with the reason for Urahara being ejected from Soul Society, is revealed in a short but sweet arc that turns Aizen into a more repulsive villain than he already was.
The only reason why this Bleach arc is placed so low on the list is because of its pretty short length. Aside from this minor gripe, The Past arc does a great job of fleshing out the world and the history that occurred before the events of the manga. The storytelling in Bleach may have its ups and downs, but Aizen's presence alone carries th story with ease.
5 The Arrancar Arc
The Perfect Definition Of "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It"
- Episodes: 110-131
The introduction of the Arrancar is certainly quite intimidating and comes around the perfect time when Ichigo starts battling with the Hollow powers inside him. It helped that the designs of these villains were incredible, showing just how talented of an artist Tite Kubo really is.
However, this Bleach arc is mainly used as a way to introduce these powerful villains before setting the stage for the rest of the events that follow. While this isn't detrimental in the slightest, it does end up making this setup feel a bit long-winded at times. It also doesn't help that Orihime being kidnapped feels like a rehash of Rukia's damsel-in-distress storyline all over again. It sparked a worrying trend in the series where basic concepts were recycled over and over again until they lost their luster, which was a problem that Kubo suffered from throughout Bleach's run.
4 The Battle Of Karakura Town Arc
Many Satisfying Battles That Make Up For A Disappointing Conclusion
- Episodes: 213-229, 266-316
The Battle of Karakura is one of the pivotal moments in the series, with all the members of the Gotei 13 trying their hardest to thwart the threat of the Arrancar once and for all. This Bleach arc is littered with some amazing fights that fans still remember fondly to this day, with both Shunsui and Yamamoto displaying their powers after viewers had to wait for ages for these powerful Shinigami to prove why they deserve their high ranks.
Bleach: All The Filler Episodes In The Anime
Fans of Bleach shouldn't discount the filler episodes considering a few of them are filled with plenty of interesting content.
However, the finale of this Bleach arc is somewhat hampered by the underwhelming conclusive fight between Ichigo and Aizen. This is where Bleach's issues with its power creep take center stage, with Ichigo getting a power boost out of nowhere that lets him absolutely manhandle Aizen. It's a torrid way to defeat one of the most intriguing antagonists in shonen manga history and is probably the reason why so many people lost their interest in Bleach.
3 The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc
Starts Pretty Strong Before Petering Out In Both Hype And Quality
- Episodes: 367-392+ (Ongoing)
While only a part of this arc has been adapted in the anime, fans of Bleach can't wait to follow this storyline all the way to its conclusion. Despite having a controversial ending in the manga, the setup for this tale is truly amazing and does a great job of building up a ton of hype, even if the payoff is frustrating.
However, fans still have hope that the anime will try and fix any mistakes in the manga, making for what could be an arc that rivals Soul Society with its quality. With Yhwach taking on Squad Zero and seemingly failing, fans will have to wait for the next cour to come out so they can see what transpires after this battle. The anime adaptation has already added some original scenes of its own, so the hope is still fresh that Bleach's rushed ending can be improved upon to give fans the conclusion they deserve.
This action-heavy arc is packed with intense fight sequences, some of the best in both the manga and anime. Pierrot has not held back on ensuring this saga gets an optimal adaptation that highlights not only this storyline's strengths but also the positives that helped cement Bleach as a beloved battle shonen epic.
2 Hueco Mundo Arc
An Invasion To Save Orihime With Many Fun Battles For Fans To Witness
- Episodes: 132-167, 190-205
The Hueco Mundo arc is when Bleach starts getting good once again after setting up the events for this storyline. While the act of infiltrating Hueco Mundo is pretty similar to the time when the gang had to break into Soul Society, there are enough differences to make this particular part of the story pretty exciting anyway.
Bleach: 28 Strongest Female Characters, Ranked
Discover which of the Bleach girls pack the most power behind their punches and who to look out for in the Thousand Year Blood War.
The large number of Arrancar that Ichigo and his friends need to fight in this Bleach arc are pretty powerful and memorable in their own right. Finally seeing Ichigo take on Arrancar is pretty satisfying and makes for one of the best parts of the show. It's a shame that some fights don't have the best payoff and certain narrative structures are reused instead of Kubo trying something new, but Bleach was still fresh and engaging at this point, so most people forgave the arc for these faults.
1 Soul Society Arc
The Arc That Turned Bleach Into A Worldwide Phenomenon
- Episodes: 21-63
Any Bleach fan knew it was only a matter of time before the Soul Society would appear at the very top of the rankings. After all, most people consider this arc to be some of the finest storytelling in a shonen anime, with its fights being quite awe-inspiring as well. Each character in Bleach gets their time to shine in a battle that really lets them showcase their true potential.
The arc ends with a great confrontation between Byakuya and Ichigo, followed by Aizen's betrayal. It had everything one could expect from a brilliant shonen storyline, and it's a shame that Bleach could never live up to the high standards set by its first major arc. However, sometimes, it's the journey that matters instead of the ending. To this day, the incredible narrative structure of the Soul Society arc, coupled with the effortless way it expands upon Bleach's worldbuilding and lore, is mind-blowing, helping it stand tall as the best Bleach arc by a country mile.
