Giantguy45 In reply to DGraySpartan [2016-12-17 20:45:20 +0000 UTC]

Was it that one about the kid who had a terminal illness and sent a letter to Kubo? Yeah, it makes me respect him even more and makes me a lot more angry at people who try to shit on it. This shows me that Kubo felt obligated to finish Bleach properly, but those dumb editors care more about money than letting someone finish it the way they intended. It's very sad indeed.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DGraySpartan In reply to Giantguy45 [2016-12-17 21:18:46 +0000 UTC]

Yeah. I only heard about it the other day. I also heard that Kubo's health started to deteriorate around the end of the Aizen arc. After hearing the whole story, and watching a guy on youtube give his thoughts on the story and Bleach, I've actually came to peace with the ending, as well as the last two arcs. I used to think that Kubo was pressured into writing the last two arcs, but he once said that the end of the Aizen arc was the halfway point of the story, and had more he wanted to write.

It's nice to know that the ending was how Kubo wanted it to be since the very beginning. Still not an Ichihime shipper, but if that is what Kubo wanted since the beginning, that's totally cool. The only thing I can say is that while Kubo did say he had no interest in romance parts, I still think he could have handled the development of Ichihime better. I still think Ichiruki makes a lot more sense since Rukia has been a major support for Ichigo since the start of the manga.

And it's sad how things had turned out for the last two arcs. I think Kubo was wanting to put a lot more story into both of those arcs, but since his health was getting worse, and he was probably reaching a point where he couldn't go on much longer, he had to rush and cut the story off short. If he had stayed in good health, he probably could have kept the story going on a little bit longer and finished the last arc he was wanting to do. While I do think those arcs are kinda out there because of the OP quincies and the Fullbringer concepts, it was still a story that Kubo wanted to tell and I'm glad he got to tell it. I'll probably give those arcs another chance and read them all the way through one day when I have the time.

I hope Kubo is able to find out who that boy was. But still, it's awesome that his manga made a boy's last few months enjoyable. I hope I can create a story that has a huge positive impact in someone's life one day.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Giantguy45 In reply to DGraySpartan [2016-12-17 22:59:10 +0000 UTC]

I've heard some say that he wanted to do one last arc after the Quincy arc and they'd have a French motif. I can see that he had a lot of ambition, but when you have people criticizing your work for the most smallest of things, your morale will plummet. In hindsight, there was a lot of things we never knew until after the Arrancar arc, which is why I never understood why people kept saying "it should have ended after Aizen". Now believe me, I know Aizen was one of the best villains of all time and probably deserved to be the last villain, he couldn't be the bad guy forever.

I never really got too deep into the ships of Bleach, but for some reason I felt like Ichihime was probably going to be canon because Kubo once said that Ichigo and Rukia were "more than friends, but less than lovers". To me that meant they were close like family or something like that. I agree though that Ichihime could have been written a little bit better, but I didn't get Ichiruki vibes either. I'm curious, what did you see in Ichiruki you didn't see in Ichihime? To be honest I think of Jaune x Ruby when I think of Ichiruki.

The Fullbring arc, if you believe some stories, was supposed to be more about Chad and Ichigo and the Shinigami weren't supposed to fight or even appear until the end. I've noticed a trend post-Aizen arc, fans complained about characters being underdeveloped and useless to the story, Kubo tries, they still complain. It's like no matter what he did, no one wanted to say anything positive about Bleach.

I'm surprised yet saddened by a story like this. I also find it a little uplifting that a story like Bleach (despite its flaws) made a kid's life a lot better. I really hope that he does find him too.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DGraySpartan In reply to Giantguy45 [2016-12-18 00:39:40 +0000 UTC]

Ooh, I would have loved enemies with a French motif. I really loved how the Arrancars had a Spanish motif with the Hispanic music to go with it. Aizen was a badass villain, and he will always be one of my favorite villains across all stories. But yeah, he couldn't be the bad guy forever.

Well, I just feel like Ichigo and Rukia worked well with each other. Also, I am a bit biased. I love Rukia. Orihime, I don't know why, but I never really like her right from the beginning, and that was before I even got into shipping. When I first started shipping characters together, I always thought that Ichiruki worked, and that Ichihime made no sense to me.

My only complaints about the post Aizen arcs: With the fullbringers, granted I haven't read this completely, I just think the concept is a bit out there. Almost like fanfic material that was used as a way to get Ichigo his powers back, you know. Apart from that, it wasn't that bad. The characters were well written, and the story was really good.

With the Quincy arc, my biggest complaint was that all of the enemies were ridiculously OP. I mean, I know that the newer enemies need to be stronger, or at least more challenging to beat than previous enemies, but they shouldn't be so overly powered like the Quincies. And my second and only other complaint was that I think Kubo broke the rules with the Quincies' powers. They were supposed to be able to use reishi to form any kind of weapons. But then there are these new Quincies, one who could form flames around his fingers, one who could turn dead into zombies, one who expands her mouth, and so many different and bizarre powers. Then there is Bach with his ability to see into the future. I swear, they don't even feel like they're actually Quincies to me. That's why I sort of lost interest in the story. It was awesome to see Aizen return as an ally though. XD Those were my biggest and only complaint about the stories.

Speaking of Aizen, I was disappointed by the Soul King's design. I mean, if it was enough to frighten Aizen into starting his rebellion, I would have hoped for something more intimidating. His form looked quite tame. The only freaky thing was his eyes.

But yeah, I still love Bleach. I binged watch Bleach starting from Ichigo's battle with Ulquiorra to Aizen's defeat just the other day, skipping over the single episode fillers.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Giantguy45 In reply to DGraySpartan [2016-12-18 04:39:24 +0000 UTC]

I think the 2 biggest problems with post-Aizen arcs is 1) the fans' expectations were probably higher, especially after a great villain like Aizen has been defeated 2) and this applies more towards the Sternritters than the Fullbringers, not enough build up and development for them as individuals. Bach was pretty much the saving grace for the Quincys since he was their leader and made a huge impact.

With the Fullbringers, I get what he was going for it was just so short. The concept was interesting because we finally figured out what Chad was, who was the first substitute Shinigami, and a new power that had a lot of potential. The Book of End was an overpowered ability for the record, and pretty much the only one that could beat a captain. It was the stepping stone arc to get to the final arc so Ichigo can have his powers back, but it's probably better than what people remember.

I think if the Sternritters were foreshadowed a little bit it wouldn't feel like they appeared out of the blue. There were a select few Quincys I'd consider good or at least interesting characters. I know they weren't as fleshed out as the Arrancars were, but given more time I think they would be more memorable. In hindsight, I get how you feel about their powers. I could understand if they were more simple abilities but I'd draw the line at giant fucking hand with one eye, that was weird. (As a side note: Yang reminded me of that Quincy girl who used thunder because they both got pissed when their hair got messed up)

The Soul King's design was a little disappointing, but did you notice the powers his hands had? His heart was literally able to turn the Thor rip off into a Titan! Think about it, if parts of his body are able to do all that without him, imagine what they'd be able to do with him in control.

Orihime and Rukia are equal to me. I like them both, and it hurts me when I see one side try to bash the other. I mostly took Rukia as the big sister of the main group. She hated seeing any of them in depressed mode or beating themselves up. I never really liked her guilt complex though. Orihime is one of the strongest characters because of what she went through in Heuco Mundo. She was constantly beaten by that Arrancar bitch, watched the guy she liked get the shit kicked out of him, and basically went through hell. I wish she was in a battle at least once. But I hate when people call her a Mary Sue character.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DGraySpartan In reply to Giantguy45 [2016-12-18 08:29:53 +0000 UTC]

Heh, you do have a point there. The Fullbringers were a bit lackluster compared to Aizen and the Arrancars. And none of the characters had a storg that impacted me like Gin, Kaname, or Ulquiorra. The Fullbringers did have a bit of back story for them, but the Sternritters basically had none. None of them had the character development nor the amazing background stories that made me fall in love with Bleach in the first place. And with Bach, in the last chapter, it was implied he wanted to create a world wothout fear. I feel like that was out of the blue sonce we never really got a backstory on him.

I've obly read bits and pieces of the Fullbringer arc. What happened with Chad? It was cool to see the first substitute soul reapers though. Was it ever revealed how they became substitue soul reapers though. I personally did not like their powers. What thry did have, I thought was ridiculous, and I wish Kubo could have designed it to where their powers still came with a Zanpaku-to or something like that. I don't think that the Book of End is that overpowered, but it was powerful. However, when it comes to certain individuals, it can only do so much, as seen with Byakuya. Also, I think if he had fought Zaraki, even if he had manage to implant memories where he was Zaraki's besf and oldest friend next to Yachiru, Zaraki would still cut him down and everything around him with little care just for a good fight.

And the Quincies were out of the blue. They suddenly appeared in Yamamoto's office and were like, "Hey, we here to fuck shit up. Also, we kill your lieutenant. You gonna die jn a few days. Bye." But yeah, if Kubo had more time to work on them for a few more years, he could have made them a group of memorable, fleshed out characters like the Arrancars. I also feel like he tried to throw in too many characters than needed. Giant hand with one eye? I must have skipped over that part. But yeah, their powers were out there. If Kubo had followed the concept he originally set with the quincies and kept to reishi made weapons with Quincies as highly skilled fighters around the same level as the Espadas rather than all immediately stronger than Aizen, I probably would have liked the story more.

Yeah, I saw a little bit about his hands. Only the part where Ukitake sacrificed himself so the Soul Reapers could get up to the palace. They were freaky.

I don't hate Orihime, but at the same time, I don't really like her all that much, and I never thought of her as a Mary Sue. I will admit that she was strong to endure the shit she went through Hueco Mundo. I respect her for her contributions to the story, going to Hueco Mundo just to help Ichigo, being strong to endure the shit in Hueco Mundo, and her desire to help people where she would even heal the arrancar bitch the beat the shit out of her. It's just that her general personality outside of fighting coupled with her character design (which I feel was designed specifically to get fanservice into the manga) aggravates me to the point I don't really like her all that much.

On a side note, I hated Ichigo's Dual Zangetsu design, so I was happy when it returned to the old design right at the very end.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Giantguy45 In reply to DGraySpartan [2016-12-19 17:14:09 +0000 UTC]

I saw his attempts to make the Sternritters more fleshed out, but only a few really got that treatment. Bach should have been developed too, at his core he has an interesting backstory that feels like it fell through at the last minute. He's the son of the Soul King, but also human and the progenitor of all Quincys. I always wondered why the Quincys just accepted his rule and didn't rebel until he basically screwed them all over (except the elite Sternritters).

Even if they did little things like have a Sternritter scout out Ichigo at the end of the Fullbringer arc. Or check back to Hueco Mundo to see it wrecked with mysterious soldiers who look like Quincys. And when they did have an opportunity to dive into their past, we could have seen why they're so devoted to Bach. We did for some, but not the ones that were introduced first.

Yeah the right arm was keeping Ukitake alive but it never cured him. The left arm appears to have a mind of its own...somehow.

I can respect that view of Orihime. But if you don't like a fan service design, what did you think of Rangiku and Yoruichi? To me they were more fan service than Orihime was. Also if you go back to any previous work by Kubo, you'll see he just adds big boobs to girls for little reason sometimes.

I was okay with the new design, but he small second blade to me was unnecessary, and he barely used the damn thing. The new Tensa Zangetsu however...no, no. I liked the first and second one because it looked sleek and cool but the third one, I didn't like its design at all.

One more thing, I found it interesting when I heard that at one point Kubo wanted to make Kisuke Urahara the main villain after Aizen. But he decided not to because he couldn't find a good reason for him to turn into a villain.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DGraySpartan In reply to Giantguy45 [2016-12-19 17:45:35 +0000 UTC]

So like I said before, I've only read bits and pieces of the Quincy arc, so I had no idea that Bach was the son of the Soul King. That does explain a lot. And I don't think I saw the left arm. I remember one time I picked up the most recent chapter at the time, and I saw this giant, weird chicken thing flying around, and I was like "Fuck this, I'm out."

While I don't really like fanservice design all that much, especially when it comes to making boobs ridiculously big, I normally try to balance my judgements between design and personality. Rangiku, I'm not a big fan of her. She doesn't really interest me, apart from her story with Gin. Yoruichi, I don't think she was given an huge fanservice design, and I love her. She's a badass fighter, she made me laugh a few times, and I don't think she is overly flirtatious or seductive. Also, Hallibel. While her design has a fan service level of 11/10, she is a badass with a down to earth, serious attitude who never made a comment about her looks or try to abuse her looks in any way. She is another one of my favourite characters in the story. But out of all the female characters that are in Bleach, Rukia and Soi Fon are my absolute favourite characters.

Didn't like the new design at all. I missed the old Zangetsu. I never saw the new Tensa Zangetsu, but if even you thought it was bad, I'm kinda glad I didn't.

I'm glad he didn't. There was no way Urahara could ever be an enemy. He's a nice guy.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Giantguy45 In reply to DGraySpartan [2016-12-19 20:18:21 +0000 UTC]

Hahaha!! Yeah, that was bad. The reason why he looked like that was because he got his head cut off then he was still able to regenerate himself into a...whatever that was. But before that his form was supposed to resemble a seraphim, basically a 6 winged angel. I kinda understand what Kubo was going for: angels weren't made in the image of God, so the appearance of an angel isn't that of a human. If you ever played or watched gameplay of Bayonetta you'll understand. But I don't blame you for leaving after seeing something like that.

The fight with the left arm is before the angelic chicken. Catch up at your own pace like I am with D. Gray-man. I'm up to vol. 12 but I haven't read through it completely. I also jumped into the Sternritter arc without finishing the Fullbringer arc, I just knew Ichigo somehow got his powers back.

I like Soi Fon and Yoruichi the best. I like how they can both kick ass without a Zanpakuto. Yoruichi never even used the Shikai or Bankai. I never thought very negatively about Rangiku but she was apart of some of my favorite moments. I don't really have too much to say about Halibel except her outfit reminded me of Ryuko in her Senketsu.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0