Bleach’s first release dates back to 2004, and unlike many stories as old as that, Bleach has stood the test of time while continually growing its huge fanbase. Many fans have joined in on the story’s protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki’s journey as a Soul Reaper through the multi-faceted world of Bleach.
Despite the many options available for fans of Shonen anime, Bleach remains a touchstone, with all the ingredients that make up a good Shonen story: the prolonged battles, spellbinding powers, epic showdowns, and the difficult journeys to achieve mastery or any far-reaching goal. Here are some things Bleach does better than most action Shonen anime which make the story impossible to forget.
10 The Best Soundtrack
Music in any form of visual media plays a significant role, helping to drive different points and feelings across or create an atmosphere that feels right for the story. Bleach's experimental soundtrack is the perfect mixture of hard rock and soft choruses.
Unlike other anime soundtracks, these songs flow with the series' supernatural themes, adding strangeness to the world as Ichigo and the other characters view it. The tracks help convey the complex cocktail of emotions in the story, intensifying the anime's impact. Shiro Sagisu's masterful work on the Bleach soundtrack is often hailed as one of anime’s best, even of the big three.
9 Effective Storytelling
Bleach’s award-winning story features Ichigo Kurosaki dealing with the effect of his newfound power to see ghosts. His life changes when his family gets attacked, and a soul reaper, Rukia Kuchiki, comes to their aid.
Afterward, Ichigo gains Rukia's powers and gets plunged—along with his friends—into a well of unforeseen circumstances and enemies. Throughout the story, the stakes increase in believable but exciting ways, creating an experience filled with both the thrill and dread that accompanies an adventure into a dark, mysterious world like the one in Bleach.
8 Decent Filler Episodes
Most other Shonen anime are choked with filler episodes that don’t hide their true purpose very well. While trying to create time for the manga story to catch up, they reveal a lack of imagination in the production process. However, Bleach has filler episodes that try to develop characters and keep the viewer interested.
The anime-only arcs that make up these filler episodes include the Bount arc, The New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc, the Gotei 13 Invading Army arc, and others. While these fillers were not written by Tite Kubo, the writer behind Bleach, they didn’t fall flat like some seen in other Shonen anime.
7 Rich Dialogue
The dialogue in Bleach is a significant reason the characters work so well. Dialogue is essential to make characters feel like real people, not paper cutouts forced into a particular setting or series of insignificant events.
In the anime, the dialogue effectively fleshes out the characters and their motivations while creating a deeper understanding of the relationships they have with each other. From serious conversations to battle time speak to more lighthearted moments, the dialogue helps balance the tension in the show, creating a more meaningful experience.
6 Great Art and Character Design
Paying great attention to details, Bleach pulls off what many other Shonen anime shows fail to do. The anime is full of characters designed with a distinct style. Various character designs and dress types complement the wide range of characters populating the anime's world.
The weapons and battle scenes are depicted in vivid detail. The art and design of the antagonist groups, the Espada and the Quincy, are widely recognized as excellent. The depth and dimension in the art also extend to other areas like the backgrounds and settings, making the entire experience even more immersive.
5 A Realistic Protagonist
Ichigo holds a special place in the hearts of fans. Although he possesses the characteristics that make Shonen protagonists appealing, he has added layers that make him unique. Unlike other protagonists, Ichigo embodies the uncertainty and directional looseness many viewers heavily relate to.
Without a fixed purpose or aim, Ichigo goes through the motions of the story, following where it leads. But despite his wandering ambitions, his priority is always to protect those he cares about. He fights despite his distaste for battles and is not in search of more power.
4 Important Lessons
A Shonen story isn’t complete without some subtle or obvious lesson to learn, and Bleach is full of them. The story focuses on the importance of selflessness and putting others first in different situations. It also shows how friendship is often the key to survival and victory.
Most importantly, Bleach teaches a lesson shared by many Shonen stories: the power of courage and facing seemingly unbeatable odds to come out on the other side. Like other Shonen heroes, and even on a higher level, Ichigo has to face his fears and most brutal enemies to protect what he values.
3 Nuanced Characters
Apart from the lead, Ichigo, the world of Bleach is populated with a large cast of characters, each with unique traits. Supporting characters get backstories and motivations that flesh them out, making them more than props in the story.
For example, a supporting character like Sōsuke Aizen gets a detailed history, complicated emotional landscape, and believable motivations, and doesn’t just fill the role of antagonist but adds complexity to the story. The authentic nature of his character development makes Ichigo’s victory over him even more satisfying.
2 Excellent Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding in Bleach is significant enough to contribute to the growth of the story’s characters. The world is more complex than the average fictional world, with several separate worlds connected to form a highly detailed hybrid full of mythology and history brought to light bit by bit.
Full of supernatural beings like ghosts and Soul Reapers, the world of Bleach is dynamic and inspired by real-world elements, like Buddhism, infused into the stories, cultures, and events introduced at various points in the story and on different levels of importance.
1 Unforgettable Quotes
When viewers often remember moments of a Shonen anime that they loved, the quotes lie at the center, acting as anchors to the context, themes, lessons, and story events occurring in those moments. Quotes are, therefore, an area in which an excellent Shonen anime shouldn’t falter.
Bleach pulls its weight in this regard, producing some iconic quotes that fans will never forget. For example, the iconic quote that wraps up the essence of the lead character, Ichigo, his convictions and motivations: “It’s meaningless to just live, and it’s meaningless to just fight. I want to win.”