The classic big three of shonen anime are Eiichiro Oda's One Piece, Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, and Tite Kubo's Bleach. Their original manga series sold incredibly well, and they each command a loyal legion of fans around the world. However, they are not always equal.
In both subjective and objective ways, shonen anime fans argue about which big three series is the strongest or weakest, and why. A strong argument could be made that Bleach, in particular, is the trio's weakest member. That doesn't diminish Bleach's many good points, but it does prove that no anime, even a big three title, is infallible.
10 Bleach Has The Lowest Manga Volume Sales
All of the big three shonen titles sold millions of manga volumes each, with One Piece selling the most volumes of any manga series, ever. In the big three, One Piece has sold over 500 million volumes, while Naruto sold about half as many, 250 million. Bleach lags behind in third place with roughly 130 million sales.
In the overall manga world, Bleach is impressive as a best-selling shonen manga title, and that's commendable. Within the big three, however, Bleach has just over half of Naruto's sales and around one-quarter of One Piece's.
9 Only Bleach's Manga & Anime Got Officially Canceled
Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto concluded right on schedule, and Eiichiro Oda's One Piece is still ongoing. Presumably, the mega-popular One Piece will be concluded on Oda's own terms. By contrast, Tite Kubo's own Bleach got officially axed in the 2010s.
This cancellation was the result of Bleach's declining popularity, and Bleach stands as the only big three series to get axed. That explains the sudden, rushed ending of Bleach, but fans can make up for it with the Can't Fear Your Own World novel series.
8 Bleach Has Fewer Tie-In Games
All of the big three shonen titles have numerous tie-in games, but Bleach seems to have the fewest and worst games among them. The Naruto franchise has many great adventure/fighting games such as the Ninja Storm series, but there is no Bleach Storm to rival that.
Bleach fans, especially those in the West, have few options for tie-in video games. There have even been Naruto games on Xbox consoles, but no Bleach titles. Mobile games are the best option for Bleach gaming, but a AAA Bleach console game is long overdue.
7 Bleach Has Highly Contrived Victories
A contrived victory is when an anime fighter wins a battle through sheer plot armor or convenient last-minute power-ups. Most shonen anime series are guilty of this, but among the big three, Bleach does it far more often, and it holds Bleach back.
Too many of Bleach's fights, including the best ones, end only because the hero had the benefit of a last-minute boost that no one saw coming. Surprises in battle scenes are always welcome, but not if it feels cheap and forced, thanks to a sudden shikai or bankai out of thin air.
6 Bleach's Worldbuilding Isn't That Deep
The worldbuilding is adequate for Bleach's own storytelling needs, such as the essentials of Soul Society life or the general feel of Hueco Mundo's unforgiving deserts. Fans of in-depth worldbuilding will be disappointed by what they see in Bleach, however.
The worldbuilding in Naruto is more expansive and even provides some political and historical context for the story. One Piece's own worldbuilding sets a new standard for all of shonen, outclassing both Naruto and Bleach with its islands, geography, history, nations, and much more.
5 Bleach's Protagonist Lacks Compelling Dreams
On the plus side, Bleach's protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, has a down-to-earth, punkish attitude that contrasts with all the loud himbos in shonen. In return, Ichigo lacks any serious dreams to strive toward, which makes his character arc feel aimless.
Naruto and Luffy both inspire viewers by dreaming big, and Naruto even accomplished his goal of becoming Hokage. Ichigo only wants to protect his friends, and while that's a noble motive, it's not so inspiring or compelling after a point.
4 Bleach Lacks Cool Monsters & Natural Landscapes
The monsters in Bleach are Hollows, tormented souls that got mutated into beastly forms of all shapes and sizes. That was exciting at first, but over time, the focus shifted to more humanoid enemies, and fans of kaiju-style monsters were disappointed.
Naruto and One Piece both have more giant monsters to excite fans and scale up the combat system. Naruto has the tailed beasts and the likes of Gamabunta, while One Piece has everything from krakens and whales to Kaido the human dragon.
3 Bleach's Protagonist Has Few Combat Moves
A shonen series is far more exciting when the heroes learn a variety of cool combat moves. Naruto Uzumaki has many jutsu at his command, from Rasengan variants and Sage Mode, while Luffy can use many Gum-Gum moves, Haki, the Gears, and more. But Ichigo Kurosaki is more limited.
Ichigo can swing his sword, Zangetsu, and use a ranged energy attack called Getsuga Tensho. Aside from putting on his Hollow mask, that's all Ichigo can do, and it feels frustratingly limited. If Naruto can devise clever new Rasengan variants, surely Ichigo can expand his moveset, too.
2 Bleach's Anime Has A Huge Gap In It
Bleach is sometimes the big three's weakest title not because of its material, but for real-world reasons, such as relatively weak manga sales or an interrupted anime. The Naruto anime had a solid run, and One Piece is still going strong after 1,000 episodes. Bleach, meanwhile, had a worse fate.
Bleach's own anime had a comparatively short run from 2004 to 2012, and fans eventually forgot about it and moved on. Now the anime is back, but it may be too little, too late, to catch back up with Naruto and One Piece.
1 Bleach's Main Squad Isn't Iconic
In Naruto, Team 7 is an iconic anime squad made up of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, along with their famed mentor Kakashi Hatake. Anime fans also love the "found family" Straw Hat pirate crew, emphasizing the concept of "nakama." Bleach's own main squad falls short.
It's fun to watch Ichigo, Rukia, Chad, Uryu, and Orihime fight together as friends, but this squad lacks the cohesion of Team 7 and the Straw Hat crew. This squad doesn't even have a name. It's just Ichigo and his closest allies.