Forum - View topicREVIEW: Bleach DVD 24
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Merxamers
 Posts: 720 |
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I agree that episode 342 was pretty great; nice review. Bleach is the only super-long shonen show i've watched (mostly) all the way through, but i have to confess that i skipped over most of the filler stuff after i learned that the 3-season long Bount arc was filler (i felt like so much of my time was wasted!).
I feel kind of bad about that in retrospect; for filler arcs, Bleach's always seemed pretty entertaining and well written, sometimes more so than the official story material. I watched most of this particular filler arc (skipping the middle few episodes); i might go back and watch thru the Zanpakto, New Captain, and this filler arcs. |
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consignia
 Posts: 394 |
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The problem with Bleach filler is that it is all way too long. There's some nice story ideas in there, and if they were better integrated into the overriding story, it may have made them worthwhile. I'd even suggest the Zanpakuto arc is quite good, if over-staying it's welcome.
However, none of that is true with the Reigai arc. It's completely worthless in entertainment value, and it has that awful Mary Sue character, Nozomi IIRC, as the central character. |
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Videogamep
 Posts: 564 Location: CA |
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The only episode I actually liked from this arc was episode 342. The rest of it felt dragged out and had too many plot holes for me. At least it had a few good fight scenes, though. That always seems to be Bleach's strength.
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings
Posts: 1035 |
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This is probably some of the worst filler ever. Nozomi is an absolutely terrible Mary Sue (and I don't just throw that term around willy-nilly like so many others, she really is one), Kageroza takes almost everything bad about Aizen and makes it worse, plot holes galore, and it's just overall so boring.
Bleach filler is usually pretty terrible (though the Zanpakuto arc wasn't bad, and the Bount arc started out alright but went to shit pretty quickly), but I found this one to be especially awful. Cam Clarke's voice made it tolerable though. I don't get to hear him very much, and that's a huge shame. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Really don't get calling Nozomi a "Mary Sue," since for most of the arc (even after discovering her Soul Reaper power) she's helpless and pathetic to an annoying degree. And when she does have her peak power, she has to rely on others to power her up.
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Merxamers
Posts: 720 |
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i don't know about Nozomi being a 'Mary Sue', but i did find her cold and caustic demeanor (at least in the first half of that season) to be aggravating
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings
Posts: 1035 |
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I'm mainly talking about her personality (or lack thereof), role in the narrative, and relationships with certain characters, though her abilities and strength annoy me too. With Rukia's core personality (though with none of the nuance and depth that made Rukia so likable) and Orihime's exceptional healing abilites, Rukia and Orihime had no role beyond shilling her. She was given Yumichika's unique absorption ability (but stronger). Faster than even Ichigo's unique development, she took only 1.5 days to go from powerless to saving Yamamoto's life from enemies too powerful for even him to defeat. The entire plot was designed around her, to the extent that her existence required canon characters to have their personalities, powers and even back stories rewritten to accommodate both her existence and to ensure she was the most important character in the storyline. Even the scenes where she did nothing revolved around her as characters worried about her quietness or attempted to cheer her up or plotted how best to protect her. Her almost perpetual state of stoic indifference allows free reign for the writers to randomly switch her personality depending on whether the plot needs her to run away from the cast so she can be an isolated damsel in distress, or rushing in to save the heroes from threats only she has the power to fight. Even after her back story is revealed, her personality remains "whatever the plot needs it to be". She was insulting, aggressive and ungrateful to anyone who showed the least bit of desire to befriend her or protect her, but she was beloved by the characters and never called on it. She was insulted by Kon falling in love with her and treated him abusively, but it only made him love her more. When she insulted people, others would be punished instead of her. For instance, she rudely insulted Rukia's art and Rukia punished Ichigo and Kon for smirking while letting Nozomi completely off the hook. Kon is comic relief who lusts over any big-breasted female and Rukia. He's also the only canon Modsoul with something of a tearjerker back story. Nozomi's creation required Kon's story to be rewritten to justify her existence, his personality is rewritten to make him an atoner for his perverted nature, obsessed with her pettanko looks, and desperate to protect her no matter what. In the end, because she's replaced both Rukia and Orihime as the story's main heroine, this causes Kon to replace Ichigo as the main hero who saves the day, precisely because he's in love with her. The writers also broke their own rules for spoiler[modsoul death (instantaneous reversion to pill-state) to give her a protracted sacrifice everyone could weep over.] |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5528 Location: Mexico |
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There. Fixed it for you. Ichigo and Rukia's goodbye wasn't only the series coming full circle, it was a climactic emotional moment in which they share their mutual gratitude and how much they have changed each other's lives. Orihime's departure was only a damsel in distress doing a routinary "sacrifice myself from my friends even though they'll obviously gonna come rescue me in the end" |
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4807 |
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I can't see how episode 342 can be listed as a positive when it centers around one of the most egregiously gaping plot-holes in a series that's notorious for them. Soul Reapers have these little things called gigai that, y'know, let them be seen by and interact with normal human beings. So there's this big sappy climactic scene where Ichigo says a final heartfelt goodbye to Rukia...and everyone's completely ignoring the fact that she could literally come back and see him at any time whatsoever if she's using a gigai. It's just a colossal level of narrative stupidity, and the only emotional reaction it provoked in me was a massive facepalm. Hell, the anime itself hangs a lampshade on this point earlier in the same filler arc: when Ichigo initially "loses" his powers, Rukia shows up soon after and says something like, "Don't worry, you can still see me just fine with my gigai." Personally I feel like it was the anime staff's way of telling Kubo that at least one of them remembers how his universe works.
That aside, it's more of the usual watch-at-your-own-risk Bleach filler, although honestly that applies to much of the canon material too, so it's all even at the end of the day. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I'll admit that's a big hole (and one which get carried over into the final arc), but I can let it slide because that's one of the rare times when the series - which is about as unsubtle as anime can get - actually aims for symbolic meaning. Rukia fading out is absolutely a symbol of Ichigo's loss of involvement in the world of the Soul Reapers.
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jr240483
 Posts: 4457 Location: New York City,New York,USA |
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not all fillers are long. for one thing the bount arc is quite short. and some people actually like that arc as well as the zanpacto rebellion arc while the sword beast,amagi and the regai archs are the least liked. though the only good thing is that Kon becoming a main part in the story which haven't happened since season 1. and now its on the least liked cannon archs. the Xcution arc. Hopefully TV Tokyo would eventually restart the series and continue on with the 1000 yr blood war arc. and nozumi is definitely no mary sue character compared to that princess from the amagai arc or even yoshino from the bount arc. |
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consignia
Posts: 394 |
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At 46 episodes, nearly a year of broadcast episodes, I'd say it bloody is long. In fact I think it's the longest. Mary Sue may not be the absolute correct term, but ThatGuyWhoLikesThings has articulated nearly all the problems I had with the character, and the arc in general. I don't think any of other candidates even came close to being that fun wrecking. |
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