Bleach

[Abandon]

iron fist up his ass, sure

[Xno Kappa]

Vandole is free at SSF4:AE. That is all.










lol

[Sho]

Lol'd

[orson]

I still don't see this as Kubo planning anything out really. My gut feeling is he planned out stuff up to then end of the SS arc because that was the greatest storyline of the manga. After that he spent some time planning up to fake Karakaru(sp?) town. Since then it just feels like he's been winging it. He's just looking back and explaining shit that no one cares about. I love the idea of Ichigo turning against SS because they were "watching" him. "OMFG they were spying on, CURSES!! Oh wait they gave me back my powers I guess they really hate me." says Ichigo.

Couldn't the science squad just turn on the TV to measure reiatsu and such whenever anyone wasn't suppressing it? I don't see this as being a "just as planned" moment. I do think that Kubo also steals ideas from filler too. Wasn't the Afro Shinigami from the filler first? I did watch the show before picking up the manga but story wise I think he showed up earlier in the show than the manga (timeline wise he might have shown up in the manga first.)

[arus2001]

I think it's a bit erroneous to assume that, despite an anime having filler arcs, that the author has no input on what's produced. So, while I can't recall Afro-guy's first appearance, it's possible he wound up being in the anime first. I seem to recall Ashido (lone shinigami in the Menos Forest) being something Kubo wanted to put in the manga, but it wound up being anime only, too. Halibel actually getting a backstory episode might be another one of those incidents, too.

[orson]

You do have a point, it's just a gut feeling. The SS and Heuco Mundo arcs just felt so much more cohesive than the rest of the manga. I've been in a lot of table top RP games that were like that, awesome story until the guy runs out of his main vision and has a hard time coming up with a whole new badass campaign to top the epic one he just did. Some writers have 1-2 great stories to tell and that's it. Not to say Kubo couldn't do something incredibly epic again it just doesn't feel like has been leading to anything like that.

I'd assume Kubo would have a bit of input on the show but in all honesty I doubt he has much time to write for it. At best he probably puts out plot points to avoid and gets some yay or nay in filler so they don't steal his ideas. I also don't know the first thing about the creative direction of either the manga or show so it definitely could be like you say.

[Sho]

It more than likely is as arus says. While Anime filler development comes solely from the writers in the studio, they almost always make sure to get the input of the original mangaka(s) to help shape the story. Others have the mangaka even write the filler for them, or have characters drawn for them -- Kubo actually drew almost all of the characters for these fillers you watch, and he wrote most of the Bount Arc (which is why people can find so many similarities so quickly). When Kubo starts to run out of ideas, he quickly draws new characters, and draws inspiration from them instead of reading back on his own stuff. He's admitted this; it's is why there are so many disposed of characters that we never see again. This arc is really different however, he's not going on autopilot with trolling unlike the last 2 arcs. Can't expect people to actually sit down and read it without bias however, which is sad.

Orson, you're also right. This is why I personally believe nothing will top SS arc. It was just too good, especially when it took everyone for a loop when Aizen was revealed to be the overlord conspirator and bad guy. Anything else would be a hard sell to everyone.

Read Bakuman, it's a manga that's not only an amazing slice-of-life story, but it also unabashedly teaches much about the inner workings of manga/anime development.

[Bluefire]

I can't stand Bleach right now.. I read the manga and keep up with the story but the anime is just horrible.. I just can't see how they can go from middle of a fighting scene to a random, 15-20 filler episodes, of them going to the beach or something... it's just absurd in my opinion.

[arus2001]

Well, you're more than welcome to create a 22 minute long weekly animation free of the faults of being eternally stuck being weekly released written material that can be read in a few minutes. What you're bitching about hasn't happened in a long time given the conclusion of Muramasa arc to Deicide arc to Reigai arc to Fullbring arc, which probably isn't halfway done yet.

[Bluefire]

Well, you're more than welcome to create a 22 minute long weekly animation free of the faults of being eternally stuck being weekly released written material that can be read in a few minutes. What you're bitching about hasn't happened in a long time given the conclusion of Muramasa arc to Deicide arc to Reigai arc to Fullbring arc, which probably isn't halfway done yet.

Better to end it then to keep on dragging with boring story lines and even worse fillers.

[Xno Kappa]

Better to end it? You're more then welcome to you know, just stop reading it. I know it's hard to believe but there's actually still people out there who take two minutes out of the week to read a still somewhat enjoyable manga.

Bluefire: But blah blah blah blah!

Whatever, see you next week.

[Insanecyclone]

Like I said before, EVERYONE is tsundere for Bleach.

[Kaylia]

I would rather say we are just OCD and want to finish the damn thing just for the sake of finishing it.

[Tymon]

Some day, hopefully within the lifespan of BG, Bleach, and the other 2 members of the big 3 will inevitably end. And when they do, the shitstorms that will ensue will reverberate throughout the entire anime community.

Dragon Ball ending would have had a similar impact, but it ended long before internet culture was mainstream.

[Souj]

I watch Bleach for the plot.

Spoiler: show

[Insanecyclone]

He can draw some women though.

[Kisamoo]

The story's pretty good too! Bleach has always been about the "reason people fight", rather than the fighting itself. Honestly, the fights are too slow paced to be exciting but this is mitigated by the pretty pictures Kubo is known for .

Kubo has always stated that Bleach has been about the characters, so it's no surprise that the overall plot is pretty haphazard. However, you can see how much thought and detail he puts into each character's back story and their raison d'être.

The Fullbringer's arc explores the idea of non-warriors becoming drunk with power born from their own human faults then subsequently being put in their place by real warriors. In the end, their stories are only 'scraps' to be 'eaten' by the Shinigami to advance their personal plot.

"True survival of the fittest doesn't exist in a single plane"

They're being written out because they're unpopular, that's all their is to it. We (The readers in Japan that actually pay for their manga and send votes!) could care less about their back stories as shown by Rukia abruptly stopping Riruka's story short.

Am I giving Kubo too much credit? You decide. Rukia. Riruka. Riruka is an anagram of Rukia's name without an R. Riruka inserts herself into Rukia to survive.
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R (Literally, panel close up of the letter R) is being inserted into Rukia, thus completing the anagram.

[kuronosan]

Kubo has always stated that Bleach has been about the characters, so it's no surprise that the overall plot is pretty haphazard. However, you can see how much thought and detail he puts into each character's back story and their raison d'être.

lol

The Bounto arc explores the idea of non-warriors becoming drunk with power born from their own human faults then subsequently being put in their place by real warriors. In the end, their stories are only 'scraps' to be 'eaten' by the Shinigami to advance their personal plot.

FTFY

They're being written out because they're unpopular, that's all their is to it. We (The readers) could care less about their back stories as shown by Rukia abruptly stopping Riruka's story short.

They're being 'written out' because they're fodder and were never meant to be anything more. The fact that everyone in this forum wishes they had more than a panel-long backstory given this arc has revolved around them would argue otherwise. Way to pay attention in class.

Am I giving Kubo too much credit? You decide. Rukia. Riruka. Riruka is an anagram of Rukia's name without an R. Riruka inserts herself into Rukia to survive.
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R is being inserted into Rukia, thus completing the anagram.

I don't know, I think you're giving yourself too much credit. That's just way too deep for Bleach, dude.

Couldn't the science squad just turn on the TV to measure reiatsu and such whenever anyone wasn't suppressing it? I don't see this as being a "just as planned" moment. I do think that Kubo also steals ideas from filler too. Wasn't the Afro Shinigami from the filler first? I did watch the show before picking up the manga but story wise I think he showed up earlier in the show than the manga (timeline wise he might have shown up in the manga first.)

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Zennosuke is Afro's name, and he was a manga character before anime.

Though, honestly, the fullbring arc right now is pretty much a total rip-off of the bount arc, dolls being replaced with their personal item, fullbring replacing the crest release, and Ichinose (rogue shinigami) being replaced by Ginjou (rogue shinigami substitute). It even has Rukia being possessed, one of the members going mad with power (and subsequently getting owned by a captain), receiving of a power-up after consuming spiritual energy, and Ichigo regaining Bankai against the main guy after he tries some shady shit.

I guarantee you this is not where Ginjou dies, unless Kubo really just wants to get on with the next arc. Honestly the Bount Arc was much deeper than this arc is and that isn't because I'm hating on Bleach, it's just the truth.

[Kisamoo]

Is it really so hard for you to believe considering how the manga industry works? Kubo isn't a novelist but he wants to tell a story and he can only do so through his drawings. Bakuman has given me a new respect for the medium and every art is an expression of the artist themselves. Ever hear the saying reading between the lines? Try reading between the panels. Kubo is much more deliberate in his methods than you think and I thought the Riruka/Rukia thing was beyond coincidence. Of course, I know how cynical some of you can be so I stated upfront: you decide. Bleach is whatever you want it to be.

Also, edited my post to be more clear to who I was referring to.

[kuronosan]

I just want it to be entertaining. I love the subtle symbolism Kubo throws in there from time to time but I'm not so naive as to forget that he pulls most of it out of his ass.