Starting in 2001, Tite Kubo's hit manga series Bleach thrilled shonen fans with its exciting sword duels, terrifying Hollow monsters, and unforgettable characters, including many black-robed Soul Reapers and stylish villains. Many fans may look back on the series with nostalgia, especially with the anime's return on the horizon.
How well has the Bleach franchise aged, in terms of its content, tone, presentation, relevance, and more? In some ways, Bleach is a timeless action story for any generation, but in other ways, Bleach is stuck in the recent past, or its magic has worn out after everyone got used to Bleach's best offerings. New fans will definitely see that this series is getting older, but that may or may not be a bad thing.
10 HOW BLEACH HAS AGED WELL: Its Unique Soundtrack Is Still Enjoyable Today
Every anime show needs an OST, like any other TV program, and some anime shows have wonderfully thematic soundtracks to them. What does Bleach's music sound like? It's an uncanny combination of electric guitars, drums, synthesizers, piano, and even violins, depending on the song's mood.
The action tracks sound like more or less what a viewer would expect, but some of the more atmospheric songs have eerie synths and vocals to them, playing into the theme of spirits, the afterlife, and supernatural worlds such as Hueco Mundo. It has to be heard to be believed.
9 HOW BLEACH HASN'T AGED WELL: Its Anime Production Quality Is Limited
The animators of Bleach shouldn't necessarily be faulted for making the product that they did. It's clear that they all worked hard and did their best, but all the same, Bleach's 2000s-era animation style is getting old, fast.
Like its peers, the Bleach anime is fullscreen at 4:3, rather than 16:9, and this means less content on the screen. The visuals are not in HD, either, making them look rather blurry, even fuzzy, by modern standards. With any luck, the new season will have ultra-crisp visuals that will put Bleach's earlier seasons to shame, graphics-wise.
8 HOW BLEACH HAS AGED WELL: It Has A Huge Cast Of Characters
An anime series doesn't need to have a huge cast of characters to be exciting, but a big cast can give it a lot of rewatch value. After all, it can be tough to juggle all these characters the first time around, but the 2nd and 3rd viewing sessions will be different.
Rewatching or rereading Bleach means getting a chance to more deeply appreciate the side characters and their experiences, from Rangiku Matsumoto to Shuhei Hisagi and far more. There's more to Bleach than Ichigo and his immediate friends.
7 HOW BLEACH HASN'T AGED WELL: Two Damsels In Distress (Rukia & Orihime)
To its credit, the Bleach franchise does well by its female characters for the most part, especially with cool, exciting powerhouses like Yoruichi Shihoin and Rukia Kuchiki herself. But it's awkward when not one, but two major female characters end up in a Princess Peach situation.
Ichigo, being the good Mario he is, will dedicate two major arcs to rescuing these girls, and it may feel odd to watch in the modern era. Yes, the story of Bleach provides solid in-universe reasons for these captures, but it still may feel somewhat outdated to some fans.
6 HOW BLEACH HAS AGED WELL: It Has Excellent Black Representation
The portrayal of the Black community in anime is hit and miss at best, ranging from token characters to problematic stereotypes. Fortunately, Bleach handles its characters of color well, especially since these characters aren't entirely defined by their race.
A minor villain named Zommari Rurueax is a tasteful Black character whose arc is defined mainly by concepts such as Soul Reaper justice and whether Hollows deserve to be left alone. Other characters such as Lille Barro (a Sternritter) and Yoruichi also help diversify the cast in style.
5 HOW BLEACH HASN'T AGED WELL: There Are Too Many Villain Monologues
Cheap, silly villains are known for blabbering and boasting endlessly about their brilliant plans to the hero, to demoralize them and slip information to the viewer/reader at the same time. While the scheming Sosuke Aizen has an excuse to do this, Bleach's other villains don't.
When he first appeared, Captain Kurotsuchi was a villain, and he talked everyone's ears off, padding his fight scene a great deal. Other minor villains, such as the Arrancar named Findorr Calius, waste everyone's time with dialogue that fails to deepen the character or the story's themes. They need to zip their lips and get on with the action.
4 HOW BLEACH HAS AGED WELL: Its Combat System Gradually Evolves & Scales Up
In a proper action story, the characters (heroes and villains alike) will grow stronger and learn new abilities. Bleach elegantly develops its combat system by introducing the major pieces one at a time, starting with basic zanpakuto and ordinary Hollows in the show's first season.
Later, in the Soul Society arc, many more zanpakuto are shown, along with their shikai and bankai forms, and kido spells on top of that. Later still, the show develops the power & abilities of Arrancars, such as cero blasts and sonido. This allows fans to keep up and discover new depths to the combat system at an exciting but manageable pace.
3 HOW BLEACH HASN'T AGED WELL: The Manga's Art Style Changes A Lot
This isn't to say that any particular art style used in the Bleach manga is bad, but then again, it may feel odd to finish reading the last few volumes, then loop back to volume 1 for nostalgia, and get hit with a totally different style.
Artist Tite Kubo's style is consistent in a deep and fundamental way, but the aesthetics change a great deal, and early Bleach almost looks like it was drawn by a skilled fan who is imitating Kubo's style, when compared to later works. This may feel off to some readers (though some readers might actually prefer the earlier style).
2 HOW BLEACH HAS AGED WELL: It's A Great Starter Shonen Series With Some Length
Newcomers to the shonen genre, or anime as a whole, will want to watch some accessible series that lay down all the fundamentals without tweaking them too heavily. Bleach, and its cousins Naruto and One Piece, are all ready to serve as shonen ambassadors.
Bleach is a lengthy series, like the other two, but its tried-and-true shonen elements, accessible characters, the smooth evolution of its combat system, and its lack of extreme content make it a wonderful starting point for new shonen fans, granted they don't mind its sheer length. Bleach can easily welcome new shonen fans in any decade.
1 HOW BLEACH HASN'T AGED WELL: Aizen's Grand Plan Loses Its Magic After The First Time
This is a minor but distinct issue for veteran Bleach fans who are rewatching or rereading the series out of nostalgia. New fans are in for a big surprise where Captain Aizen is concerned, but returning fans already know all about Aizen's plan, and the best shocking twists are "been there, done that."
Of course, any series has slightly diminishing returns when someone reads it again, since they already know what will happen. But this factor hits Aizen's character especially hard, and given how much Bleach banks on Aizen's character arc, it's a big deal. Aizen's huge "I'm a traitor!" reveal isn't much fun the second time, even if the combat scenes do feel fresh the second time.