Fanclub Owl’s Fiction Evaluation Club.
- Thread starter Owl Ki
- Start date
D
Yeah, Hisoka vs Chrollo right? I keep hearing how great it is, and I wanna read it but I'm not too sure. I'll consider it after finishing Berserk.
Oh, shit. I just remembered @Admiral Lee Hung you don't get to see this in the anime for some reason, but in the manga, when the trio was opening the Testing Gates, Gon and Kurapika opened only one while Leorio opened two. So pretty much, where you're at, Leorio is stronger than Gon and Kurapika at least physically. Not sure why the anime decided to leave that scene out.
Dude you knew Hisoka vs Chrollo existed....and you never gave a manga a proper shot lol ?
Theres only like 57 chapters from where the anime ended to where the manga is now. Give a proper shot. Their are so many newly introduced characters that you havent met yet.
Theres only like 57 chapters from where the anime ended to where the manga is now. Give a proper shot. Their are so many newly introduced characters that you havent met yet.
Lmao its hilarious. But in the manga Leorio is actually very strong and smart. Whilst in the anime make him into stupid weakling. Even the 1999 Leorio is more competent
D
@Admiral Lee Hung holy shit, Griffith just absolutely owned Ganishka by just summoning the wind. Had the man on his knees. Talk about utter dominance lmao.
@Admiral Lee Hung holy shit, Griffith just absolutely owned Ganishka by just summoning the wind. Had the man on his knees. Talk about utter dominance lmao.
When you began Berserk did you know that Griffith will be the villain or not ?
There are two ways to begin Berserk either by the beginning : the Snake Lord, The Count and then Femto/Griffith. So here you know right away that Griffith will be the bad bitch.
Or you don't read the first part and begin rwith the golden falcon part and the flashback. So here you discover Griffith bit by bit till his treason.
I don't know what is the best : either to know immediately that Griffith is the bad guy and waiting for him to turn and seeking every pieces of informations to understand how he became like that. It also make Guts and Griffith friendship different to know that.
Or to be blind and discover at the end Griffith doing.
There are two ways to begin Berserk either by the beginning : the Snake Lord, The Count and then Femto/Griffith. So here you know right away that Griffith will be the bad bitch.
Or you don't read the first part and begin rwith the golden falcon part and the flashback. So here you discover Griffith bit by bit till his treason.
I don't know what is the best : either to know immediately that Griffith is the bad guy and waiting for him to turn and seeking every pieces of informations to understand how he became like that. It also make Guts and Griffith friendship different to know that.
Or to be blind and discover at the end Griffith doing.
Oh I definitely read the Black Swordsman Arc first, so I knew it would be Griffith.
And there is only one way to read berserk, and that is from the very beginning. I think the reason Miura started off that dark is so readers wouldn’t be blindsided by the Eclipse and everything afterwards. You don’t want to attract the wrong audience ya know? Lol
And there is only one way to read berserk, and that is from the very beginning. I think the reason Miura started off that dark is so readers wouldn’t be blindsided by the Eclipse and everything afterwards. You don’t want to attract the wrong audience ya know? Lol
J
I wanna know your opinions on
Kateykyo hitman Reborn (chilled, funny, cool story about Mafia families)
Major (a very emotional and epic baseball Manga and anime)
Détective Conan... No need for explanation
Clover (a Manga that revolves around streefighting. No superpowers, No Nakama powers like OP or Fairtytail)
These stories (reborn, Clover, major) are overlooked by many who just wanna read and watch mainstream stories just like kingdom, vinland saga,... Were overlooked
I wish These stories were running in current Era of Animé world, its popularity would have been greater.
Kateykyo hitman Reborn (chilled, funny, cool story about Mafia families)
Major (a very emotional and epic baseball Manga and anime)
Détective Conan... No need for explanation
Clover (a Manga that revolves around streefighting. No superpowers, No Nakama powers like OP or Fairtytail)
These stories (reborn, Clover, major) are overlooked by many who just wanna read and watch mainstream stories just like kingdom, vinland saga,... Were overlooked
I wish These stories were running in current Era of Animé world, its popularity would have been greater.
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i’ve watched 950 or so episodes of it here are my thoughts
this is only about the anime not the manga i don’t know if it’s different or it’s an incredibly long series that shouldn’t be this long the cases get boring after 100 episodes or so you know who’s the criminal because it’s always the weird one the one you think no way they could have done it, there some cases here and there that are very good one of them is this
the only time i enjoy show is when the black organization is involved which isn’t much you get something about them every 40 episodes or so and only recently the name of the boss of organization is revealed after 900 episodes
overall it’s good and enjoyable if binge watch it but i can’t imagine myself watching it weekly so i dropped it
it shouldn’t be this long and most likely it will end after 5 years from now it should have been over 15 years ago
maybe when it ends i will rewatch it maybe
this is only about the anime not the manga i don’t know if it’s different or it’s an incredibly long series that shouldn’t be this long the cases get boring after 100 episodes or so you know who’s the criminal because it’s always the weird one the one you think no way they could have done it, there some cases here and there that are very good one of them is this
so basically there is this couple who are about to get married they were both raised together in an orphanage and they are in a restaurant the woman goes her car and her car explodes while her fiancé is supposedly in the bathroom later the police find the mans dna in the scene but we later found that no way he could hsve gone outside kill her and return as the windows were to small and it was raining outside without getting wet then it revealed that they were non identical twins and that she killed herself after she knew it when they were born the building they were living in burned down and they were the only ones to survive
i liked it because it was so creative and unexpected
i liked it because it was so creative and unexpected
the only time i enjoy show is when the black organization is involved which isn’t much you get something about them every 40 episodes or so and only recently the name of the boss of organization is revealed after 900 episodes
overall it’s good and enjoyable if binge watch it but i can’t imagine myself watching it weekly so i dropped it
it shouldn’t be this long and most likely it will end after 5 years from now it should have been over 15 years ago
maybe when it ends i will rewatch it maybe
Here I wanna talk about Legend of the Galactic heroes. I don't know if anybody already saw this but for now I think I am the only one here (except @Natalija but she is only at the beginning...).
This is a great show of around 110 episodes. The show is a bit old : 1988 to 1997 but still fantastic. There was a new version in 2019 but I am not a fan.
All in all I can only advise you to watch this show as fast as you can. And if you have already seen it lets dicuss here !
If you haven't yet go watch it and you can review it for everybody. If you had watched it already I want to know your opinion about it.
This is a great show of around 110 episodes. The show is a bit old : 1988 to 1997 but still fantastic. There was a new version in 2019 but I am not a fan.
This is what the show is about without revealing too much :
The story is staged in the distant future. A portion of the galaxy is filled with worlds inhabited by human beings. For 150 years two mighty space powers have intermittently warred with each other: the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance.
Within the Galactic Empire, based on mid 19th century Prussia, an ambitious military prodigy, Reinhard von Musel later conferred Reinhard von Lohengramm is rising to power. He is driven by the desire to free his sister Annerose, who was taken by the Kaiser as a concubine. Later, he wants not only to end the corrupt Goldenbaum dynasty but also to defeat the Free Planets Alliance and to unify the whole galaxy under his rule.
In the Free Planets Alliance Star Fleet there is another great mind, Yang Wen-li. He originally aspired to become a historian through a military academy, and joined the tactical division only out of need for tuition money.
Besides the two main heroes, the story is full of vivid characters and intricate politics. All types of characters, from high nobility, admirals and politicians, to common soldiers and farmers, are interwoven into the story. The story frequently switches away from the main heroes to the Unknown Soldier fighting for his life on the battlefield.
The show is about space battle and tactics yes, but also heavily about politics. The politic part is one of the best part of the show.
The characters in "both" side are really good and their personalities, feelings, problems feel "real".
The story is staged in the distant future. A portion of the galaxy is filled with worlds inhabited by human beings. For 150 years two mighty space powers have intermittently warred with each other: the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance.
Within the Galactic Empire, based on mid 19th century Prussia, an ambitious military prodigy, Reinhard von Musel later conferred Reinhard von Lohengramm is rising to power. He is driven by the desire to free his sister Annerose, who was taken by the Kaiser as a concubine. Later, he wants not only to end the corrupt Goldenbaum dynasty but also to defeat the Free Planets Alliance and to unify the whole galaxy under his rule.
In the Free Planets Alliance Star Fleet there is another great mind, Yang Wen-li. He originally aspired to become a historian through a military academy, and joined the tactical division only out of need for tuition money.
Besides the two main heroes, the story is full of vivid characters and intricate politics. All types of characters, from high nobility, admirals and politicians, to common soldiers and farmers, are interwoven into the story. The story frequently switches away from the main heroes to the Unknown Soldier fighting for his life on the battlefield.
The show is about space battle and tactics yes, but also heavily about politics. The politic part is one of the best part of the show.
The characters in "both" side are really good and their personalities, feelings, problems feel "real".
All in all I can only advise you to watch this show as fast as you can. And if you have already seen it lets dicuss here !
If you haven't yet go watch it and you can review it for everybody. If you had watched it already I want to know your opinion about it.
Today, I have finally finished Bleach’s final arc, the Thousand Year Blood War Arc (it seriously needs a shorter name). Strap in tight folks cause this arc is a long haul, Yhwacky arse acid trip that left me looking like this.
So, credit where credit is due, this is the one arc in Bleach that does not have a slow start. Events kick off quickly and we get to big arse fights in practically next to no time.
End of any and all credit.
A bunch of other bullshit fights happen at various points throughout this arc. Highlights include;
This is hands down the most unintentionally weird manga arc that I have ever read thus far.
Between plot lines that serve no purpose whatsoever (e.g. the Ise family curse involving the bullshit mirror sword), plot lines that go nowhere (e.g. Komamura’s entire form switching deal and the Quincy turncoats), a lack of explanation for quite a few important things (e.g. how does Yamamoto know Yhwach? What is the relationship between Reiou and Yhwach? What the feck happened to Yachiru?), opponents that just never feckin die (Barro, Gerard, Bambietta etc.) and absolutely nonsensical powers (Gremmy’s ability to make anything he imagines become reality and Yhwach’s bullshit eyes), this arc quickly becomes a mess.
The amount of nonstop nonsense that consistently occurs in this arc, eventually caused me to simply give up even attempting to comprehend what was even going. I just switched my brain off and accepted that whatever inevitable bullshit that happens, happens.
This entire arc was just not worth making and added absolutely nothing to Bleach. Honestly, as much as I detest the Arrancar Arc, it’s ending actually felt final, as if it was truly the end of a story in a fictional world with nothing more to offer. The ending of this arc is just a confusing mess that leaves everything too open.
Well at least I can now say that my favourite part of Bleach is the ending. Not the actual ending itself, just the fact that it ended.
So, credit where credit is due, this is the one arc in Bleach that does not have a slow start. Events kick off quickly and we get to big arse fights in practically next to no time.
End of any and all credit.
So anyway, the story kicks off when two newly appointed low ranking Shinigami (whose names I have already forgotten and who will now be named Dice Head and Lily Pad based on their designs) are sent to Karakura Town because I guess Ichigo (who can beat most Captains by this point) is not enough to handle the local Hollow population in his own damn town.
Well anyway, Dice Head and Lily get cobbled due to some background character releasing Hollow bait, a Quincy technology. Ichigo and co. save Dice and Lily from a gruesome demise and take them to Ichigo’s house. Ichigo then fights the bloke that released the aforementioned Hollow bait.
Back in the Soul Society, sadistic scientist extraordinaire Kurotsuchi, notices that the Hollow population across the globe is disappearing entirely, souls included and concludes that only the age old enemy of the Shinigami could do this i.e. the Quincies.
Meanwhile, a bunch of masked blokes infiltrate Captain General Yamamoto’s quarters and ruin his tea break. They exchange smack talk with each and leave when Yamamoto’s Assistant Captain, Chōjirō, unintentionally interrupts the exchange due to his impalement on a particularly nasty looking Quincy spirit spear.
Masked blokes give a warning that the “Vandenreich” will invade the Seireitei and feck off. Chōjirō informs Yamamoto that the intruders can steal Bankai (a special Zanpakuto ability) and promptly dies. A funeral is held for Chōjirō, who’s death and subsequent burial might have been more a tad more impactful if the character had more than 5-10 sentences of dialogue before his demise.
We then go to where the Quincies slunk off to and see Yhwach. Spoiler alert, Yhwach is a dick and the Quincies are basically Nazis in white that are somehow even more abominable than the literal soul consuming Hollows that the Quincies hate.
Back in the world of the living, Ichigo gets hug tackled by Nel in child form, who informs him that Hueco Mundo has been invaded by the Quincies and asks for his help in liberating the place.
With Ichigo and co. in Hueco Mundo, Yhwach decides to invade the Seireitei while Ichigo is away. Shit goes down faster than Taco Bel through a digestive system, ultimately leading to a confrontation between Yhwach and Yamamoto, the latter of which declares that he will finish what he started 1000 years ago.
What is the relationship between these two? What is their grudge? How did Yamamoto originally defeat Yhwach? Why did Yamamoto originally spare Yhwach’s life? Why did they fight? How did Yamamoto grow old and decrepit over the past 1000 years while all Yhwach grew was a moustache? Were they originally friends or were they always bitter enemies?
If, dear reader, you thought the above questions were all interesting then too bad. Kubo answers none of them. In fact, Yamamoto was not even fighting Yhwach but somebody impersonating Yhwach. What an absolute con but hey, Yamamoto’s Bankai was cool I guess.
Anyway, the real Yhwach comes back, reveals that he had a chat with Aizen that went nowhere, says “ok boomer” and one shots Yamamoto.
Feck off Yhwach.
Surprisingly, he does exactly that but not before Ichigo has a quick tussle with him and subconsciously uses some inherent Quincy abilities which causes Yhwach to reveal that Ichigo’s mother was a Quincy thus making Ichigo related to Yhwach by blood cause all Quincies are descended from Yhwach. He then breaks Ichigo’s Bankai sword and bogs off.
On a side note, Ichigo never uses any of these incredibly useful Quincy abilities again. Hmm, ok then Kubo.
Well the aftermath occurs, Shunsui becomes Captain General and we learn that Bankai apparently cannot be fixed after they are broken bar one completely unimportant exception.
The Royal Guard (consisting of Urouge, Space Dandy, Mrs. Mills, an Afro Samurai reject and a Japanese gender bent Doctor Octopus) come down and take Ichigo and some friends for special training at the Soul King’s Palace aka Reiokyu
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention earlier that the Soul Society has a Royal Family headed by a dude called “Soul King” or “Reio” who is apparently God.
Anyway, after some training, some soul searching and a exposition dump regarding his mother as told by his father (these were honestly the most enjoyable chapters to be honest), Ichigo goes down to help the Soul Society from a second Quincy invasion in fashionably late timing ala Goku style.
Except coming down the way somehow let’s Yhwach go up and absolutely no one in either Reiokyu or the Seireitei realised this. Well whatever.
So Yhwach and co. defeat the Royal Guard with the power of bullshit hax and kill Reiou. This is a problem because the universe collapses for some reason if Reio dies. Also, Yhwach is Reio’s son and whatever questions you may have regarding this will never be answered. Thanks Kubo.
Elsewhere, Captain Ukitake whips out some nonsense about being a vessel for Reiou’s right hand and sacrifices himself to fix the problem.... at least until Yhwach then absorbs that hand and becomes God making Ukitake’s sacrifice meaningless and actually making the situation worse cause Yhwach is now the one and only Soul King, Brook be mad.
Shunsui also partially releases Aizen to enlist his help in defeating Yhwach since the big bad A also has a bullshit ability that involves messing with people’s perceptions if they see his Zanpakuto in it’s Shikai state. Yhwach has never seen that Shikai but it still somehow works on him because plot.
Eventually after a bunch of chapters, Ichigo vs Yhwach happens and it is bullshit. Yhwach can simultaneously see every single possible future available and then change any single one of those futures to his advantage. For example, if he breaks your sword in the future, it becomes broken in the present which is what happens to Ichigo.
So Yhwach sods off to blow up the Soul Society, Tsukishima somehow repairs Ichigo’s blade by making it so that Yhwach never broke it (I thought that Tsukishima’s ability was memory manipulation to create a false past and not directly controlling the past but I have honestly given up by this point and no longer give a shit) and Uryū’s father gives Uryū a magical plot device arrow that can disable Yhwach’s bullshit powers if it hits him... even though the problem is getting anything to hit Yhwach in the first place so it should logically not solve anything (spoiler, it does).
A showdown occurs at the Seireitei, Yhwach gets hit by the bullshit magical Chekhov’s arrow (somehow Yhwach never saw that one coming) and Ichigo chops him in half.
Considering that Yhwach is now essentially the Soul King, should killing him not cause the universe to collapse just like when Reiou died?
If that sounded like a good question that needed answering then Titty Kubo disagrees with you dear reader and instead immediately launches into a confusing ten years later epilogue in the next chapter that raises way more questions than it answers and ends Bleach on an utterly mind boggling note.
Well anyway, Dice Head and Lily get cobbled due to some background character releasing Hollow bait, a Quincy technology. Ichigo and co. save Dice and Lily from a gruesome demise and take them to Ichigo’s house. Ichigo then fights the bloke that released the aforementioned Hollow bait.
Back in the Soul Society, sadistic scientist extraordinaire Kurotsuchi, notices that the Hollow population across the globe is disappearing entirely, souls included and concludes that only the age old enemy of the Shinigami could do this i.e. the Quincies.
Meanwhile, a bunch of masked blokes infiltrate Captain General Yamamoto’s quarters and ruin his tea break. They exchange smack talk with each and leave when Yamamoto’s Assistant Captain, Chōjirō, unintentionally interrupts the exchange due to his impalement on a particularly nasty looking Quincy spirit spear.
Masked blokes give a warning that the “Vandenreich” will invade the Seireitei and feck off. Chōjirō informs Yamamoto that the intruders can steal Bankai (a special Zanpakuto ability) and promptly dies. A funeral is held for Chōjirō, who’s death and subsequent burial might have been more a tad more impactful if the character had more than 5-10 sentences of dialogue before his demise.
We then go to where the Quincies slunk off to and see Yhwach. Spoiler alert, Yhwach is a dick and the Quincies are basically Nazis in white that are somehow even more abominable than the literal soul consuming Hollows that the Quincies hate.
Back in the world of the living, Ichigo gets hug tackled by Nel in child form, who informs him that Hueco Mundo has been invaded by the Quincies and asks for his help in liberating the place.
With Ichigo and co. in Hueco Mundo, Yhwach decides to invade the Seireitei while Ichigo is away. Shit goes down faster than Taco Bel through a digestive system, ultimately leading to a confrontation between Yhwach and Yamamoto, the latter of which declares that he will finish what he started 1000 years ago.
What is the relationship between these two? What is their grudge? How did Yamamoto originally defeat Yhwach? Why did Yamamoto originally spare Yhwach’s life? Why did they fight? How did Yamamoto grow old and decrepit over the past 1000 years while all Yhwach grew was a moustache? Were they originally friends or were they always bitter enemies?
If, dear reader, you thought the above questions were all interesting then too bad. Kubo answers none of them. In fact, Yamamoto was not even fighting Yhwach but somebody impersonating Yhwach. What an absolute con but hey, Yamamoto’s Bankai was cool I guess.
Anyway, the real Yhwach comes back, reveals that he had a chat with Aizen that went nowhere, says “ok boomer” and one shots Yamamoto.
Feck off Yhwach.
Surprisingly, he does exactly that but not before Ichigo has a quick tussle with him and subconsciously uses some inherent Quincy abilities which causes Yhwach to reveal that Ichigo’s mother was a Quincy thus making Ichigo related to Yhwach by blood cause all Quincies are descended from Yhwach. He then breaks Ichigo’s Bankai sword and bogs off.
On a side note, Ichigo never uses any of these incredibly useful Quincy abilities again. Hmm, ok then Kubo.
Well the aftermath occurs, Shunsui becomes Captain General and we learn that Bankai apparently cannot be fixed after they are broken bar one completely unimportant exception.
The Royal Guard (consisting of Urouge, Space Dandy, Mrs. Mills, an Afro Samurai reject and a Japanese gender bent Doctor Octopus) come down and take Ichigo and some friends for special training at the Soul King’s Palace aka Reiokyu
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention earlier that the Soul Society has a Royal Family headed by a dude called “Soul King” or “Reio” who is apparently God.
Anyway, after some training, some soul searching and a exposition dump regarding his mother as told by his father (these were honestly the most enjoyable chapters to be honest), Ichigo goes down to help the Soul Society from a second Quincy invasion in fashionably late timing ala Goku style.
Except coming down the way somehow let’s Yhwach go up and absolutely no one in either Reiokyu or the Seireitei realised this. Well whatever.
So Yhwach and co. defeat the Royal Guard with the power of bullshit hax and kill Reiou. This is a problem because the universe collapses for some reason if Reio dies. Also, Yhwach is Reio’s son and whatever questions you may have regarding this will never be answered. Thanks Kubo.
Elsewhere, Captain Ukitake whips out some nonsense about being a vessel for Reiou’s right hand and sacrifices himself to fix the problem.... at least until Yhwach then absorbs that hand and becomes God making Ukitake’s sacrifice meaningless and actually making the situation worse cause Yhwach is now the one and only Soul King, Brook be mad.
Shunsui also partially releases Aizen to enlist his help in defeating Yhwach since the big bad A also has a bullshit ability that involves messing with people’s perceptions if they see his Zanpakuto in it’s Shikai state. Yhwach has never seen that Shikai but it still somehow works on him because plot.
Eventually after a bunch of chapters, Ichigo vs Yhwach happens and it is bullshit. Yhwach can simultaneously see every single possible future available and then change any single one of those futures to his advantage. For example, if he breaks your sword in the future, it becomes broken in the present which is what happens to Ichigo.
So Yhwach sods off to blow up the Soul Society, Tsukishima somehow repairs Ichigo’s blade by making it so that Yhwach never broke it (I thought that Tsukishima’s ability was memory manipulation to create a false past and not directly controlling the past but I have honestly given up by this point and no longer give a shit) and Uryū’s father gives Uryū a magical plot device arrow that can disable Yhwach’s bullshit powers if it hits him... even though the problem is getting anything to hit Yhwach in the first place so it should logically not solve anything (spoiler, it does).
A showdown occurs at the Seireitei, Yhwach gets hit by the bullshit magical Chekhov’s arrow (somehow Yhwach never saw that one coming) and Ichigo chops him in half.
Considering that Yhwach is now essentially the Soul King, should killing him not cause the universe to collapse just like when Reiou died?
If that sounded like a good question that needed answering then Titty Kubo disagrees with you dear reader and instead immediately launches into a confusing ten years later epilogue in the next chapter that raises way more questions than it answers and ends Bleach on an utterly mind boggling note.
A bunch of other bullshit fights happen at various points throughout this arc. Highlights include;
I) Komamura vs Bambietta.
In order to avenge Yamamoto, Captain Komamura gains strength by ripping out his heart in order to learn some secret jujutsu from his werewolf great grandpappa that temporarily turns him into a human and makes his Bankai invincible for about one fight before his Bankai disappears altogether and he turns him into a powerless dog that does not even get to see Yhwach at all, let alone get revenge against him. Also, Komamura disappears completely from the manga at this point.
Not only is this an absolute insult to his character considering he insightful words regarding the subject of revenge to Tōsen (another character that lost their humanity for the sake of revenge) but the opponent he is up against does not even feckin die for good. Komamura is the Tien of Bleach. Lel.
II) Kenpachi vs Gremmy.
Gremmy is a straight up reality warper that does not belong in Bleach whatsoever. Whatever he imagines becomes reality. If he imagines that you are dead then you are dead.
He somehow loses to the most straightforward, bull headed meat head in the manga because “his imagination came up short”.... whatever.
Yachiru also inexplicably disappears from the manga at this point and is never seen again. Kind of.
III) Kurotsuchi vs Zombie Hoe.
Kurotsuchi invents a drug that can manipulate time. I do not even care anymore.
IV) Shunsui and Ise Nanao vs Liille Barro.
If the fight had just ended when Shunsui cut down Barro then I would not have even mentioned this one.
Instead, Barro somehow magically transforms into an eight butterfly winged, Transylvanian naked necked chicken, equine chimera centaur hybrid abomination made out of pure spirit energy.
I am far too sober to deal with this shit.
Anyway, the reader is then subjected to a boring family history lesson regarding the Ise clan and some mind boggling bullshit explanation involving Shunsui’s Zanpakuto sword spirit somehow giving birth to another Zanpakuto sword spirit (that likes to play hide and seek) in order to hide yet another (but supposedly cursed) Zanpakuto sword.
Urgghhhh, my head hurts from all the bullshit I just typed.
In order to avenge Yamamoto, Captain Komamura gains strength by ripping out his heart in order to learn some secret jujutsu from his werewolf great grandpappa that temporarily turns him into a human and makes his Bankai invincible for about one fight before his Bankai disappears altogether and he turns him into a powerless dog that does not even get to see Yhwach at all, let alone get revenge against him. Also, Komamura disappears completely from the manga at this point.
Not only is this an absolute insult to his character considering he insightful words regarding the subject of revenge to Tōsen (another character that lost their humanity for the sake of revenge) but the opponent he is up against does not even feckin die for good. Komamura is the Tien of Bleach. Lel.
II) Kenpachi vs Gremmy.
Gremmy is a straight up reality warper that does not belong in Bleach whatsoever. Whatever he imagines becomes reality. If he imagines that you are dead then you are dead.
He somehow loses to the most straightforward, bull headed meat head in the manga because “his imagination came up short”.... whatever.
Yachiru also inexplicably disappears from the manga at this point and is never seen again. Kind of.
III) Kurotsuchi vs Zombie Hoe.
Kurotsuchi invents a drug that can manipulate time. I do not even care anymore.
IV) Shunsui and Ise Nanao vs Liille Barro.
If the fight had just ended when Shunsui cut down Barro then I would not have even mentioned this one.
Instead, Barro somehow magically transforms into an eight butterfly winged, Transylvanian naked necked chicken, equine chimera centaur hybrid abomination made out of pure spirit energy.
I am far too sober to deal with this shit.
Anyway, the reader is then subjected to a boring family history lesson regarding the Ise clan and some mind boggling bullshit explanation involving Shunsui’s Zanpakuto sword spirit somehow giving birth to another Zanpakuto sword spirit (that likes to play hide and seek) in order to hide yet another (but supposedly cursed) Zanpakuto sword.
Urgghhhh, my head hurts from all the bullshit I just typed.
Between plot lines that serve no purpose whatsoever (e.g. the Ise family curse involving the bullshit mirror sword), plot lines that go nowhere (e.g. Komamura’s entire form switching deal and the Quincy turncoats), a lack of explanation for quite a few important things (e.g. how does Yamamoto know Yhwach? What is the relationship between Reiou and Yhwach? What the feck happened to Yachiru?), opponents that just never feckin die (Barro, Gerard, Bambietta etc.) and absolutely nonsensical powers (Gremmy’s ability to make anything he imagines become reality and Yhwach’s bullshit eyes), this arc quickly becomes a mess.
The amount of nonstop nonsense that consistently occurs in this arc, eventually caused me to simply give up even attempting to comprehend what was even going. I just switched my brain off and accepted that whatever inevitable bullshit that happens, happens.
This entire arc was just not worth making and added absolutely nothing to Bleach. Honestly, as much as I detest the Arrancar Arc, it’s ending actually felt final, as if it was truly the end of a story in a fictional world with nothing more to offer. The ending of this arc is just a confusing mess that leaves everything too open.
Well at least I can now say that my favourite part of Bleach is the ending. Not the actual ending itself, just the fact that it ended.
Today, I have finally finished Bleach’s final arc, the Thousand Year Blood War Arc (it seriously needs a shorter name). Strap in tight folks cause this arc is a long haul, Yhwacky arse acid trip that left me looking like this.
So, credit where credit is due, this is the one arc in Bleach that does not have a slow start. Events kick off quickly and we get to big arse fights in practically next to no time.
End of any and all credit.
A bunch of other bullshit fights happen at various points throughout this arc. Highlights include;
This is hands down the most unintentionally weird manga arc that I have ever read thus far.
Between plot lines that serve no purpose whatsoever (e.g. the Ise family curse involving the bullshit mirror sword), plot lines that go nowhere (e.g. Komamura’s entire form switching deal and the Quincy turncoats), a lack of explanation for quite a few important things (e.g. how does Yamamoto know Yhwach? What is the relationship between Reiou and Yhwach? What the feck happened to Yachiru?), opponents that just never feckin die (Barro, Gerard, Bambietta etc.) and absolutely nonsensical powers (Gremmy’s ability to make anything he imagines become reality and Yhwach’s bullshit eyes), this arc quickly becomes a mess.
The amount of nonstop nonsense that consistently occurs in this arc, eventually caused me to simply give up even attempting to comprehend what was even going. I just switched my brain off and accepted that whatever inevitable bullshit that happens, happens.
This entire arc was just not worth making and added absolutely nothing to Bleach. Honestly, as much as I detest the Arrancar Arc, it’s ending actually felt final, as if it was truly the end of a story in a fictional world with nothing more to offer. The ending of this arc is just a confusing mess that leaves everything too open.
Well at least I can now say that my favourite part of Bleach is the ending. Not the actual ending itself, just the fact that it ended.
So, credit where credit is due, this is the one arc in Bleach that does not have a slow start. Events kick off quickly and we get to big arse fights in practically next to no time.
End of any and all credit.
So anyway, the story kicks off when two newly appointed low ranking Shinigami (whose names I have already forgotten and who will now be named Dice Head and Lily Pad based on their designs) are sent to Karakura Town because I guess Ichigo (who can beat most Captains by this point) is not enough to handle the local Hollow population in his own damn town.
Well anyway, Dice Head and Lily get cobbled due to some background character releasing Hollow bait, a Quincy technology. Ichigo and co. save Dice and Lily from a gruesome demise and take them to Ichigo’s house. Ichigo then fights the bloke that released the aforementioned Hollow bait.
Back in the Soul Society, sadistic scientist extraordinaire Kurotsuchi, notices that the Hollow population across the globe is disappearing entirely, souls included and concludes that only the age old enemy of the Shinigami could do this i.e. the Quincies.
Meanwhile, a bunch of masked blokes infiltrate Captain General Yamamoto’s quarters and ruin his tea break. They exchange smack talk with each and leave when Yamamoto’s Assistant Captain, Chōjirō, unintentionally interrupts the exchange due to his impalement on a particularly nasty looking Quincy spirit spear.
Masked blokes give a warning that the “Vandenreich” will invade the Seireitei and feck off. Chōjirō informs Yamamoto that the intruders can steal Bankai (a special Zanpakuto ability) and promptly dies. A funeral is held for Chōjirō, who’s death and subsequent burial might have been more a tad more impactful if the character had more than 5-10 sentences of dialogue before his demise.
We then go to where the Quincies slunk off to and see Yhwach. Spoiler alert, Yhwach is a dick and the Quincies are basically Nazis in white that are somehow even more abominable than the literal soul consuming Hollows that the Quincies hate.
Back in the world of the living, Ichigo gets hug tackled by Nel in child form, who informs him that Hueco Mundo has been invaded by the Quincies and asks for his help in liberating the place.
With Ichigo and co. in Hueco Mundo, Yhwach decides to invade the Seireitei while Ichigo is away. Shit goes down faster than Taco Bel through a digestive system, ultimately leading to a confrontation between Yhwach and Yamamoto, the latter of which declares that he will finish what he started 1000 years ago.
What is the relationship between these two? What is their grudge? How did Yamamoto originally defeat Yhwach? Why did Yamamoto originally spare Yhwach’s life? Why did they fight? How did Yamamoto grow old and decrepit over the past 1000 years while all Yhwach grew was a moustache? Were they originally friends or were they always bitter enemies?
If, dear reader, you thought the above questions were all interesting then too bad. Kubo answers none of them. In fact, Yamamoto was not even fighting Yhwach but somebody impersonating Yhwach. What an absolute con but hey, Yamamoto’s Bankai was cool I guess.
Anyway, the real Yhwach comes back, reveals that he had a chat with Aizen that went nowhere, says “ok boomer” and one shots Yamamoto.
Feck off Yhwach.
Surprisingly, he does exactly that but not before Ichigo has a quick tussle with him and subconsciously uses some inherent Quincy abilities which causes Yhwach to reveal that Ichigo’s mother was a Quincy thus making Ichigo related to Yhwach by blood cause all Quincies are descended from Yhwach. He then breaks Ichigo’s Bankai sword and bogs off.
On a side note, Ichigo never uses any of these incredibly useful Quincy abilities again. Hmm, ok then Kubo.
Well the aftermath occurs, Shunsui becomes Captain General and we learn that Bankai apparently cannot be fixed after they are broken bar one completely unimportant exception.
The Royal Guard (consisting of Urouge, Space Dandy, Mrs. Mills, an Afro Samurai reject and a Japanese gender bent Doctor Octopus) come down and take Ichigo and some friends for special training at the Soul King’s Palace aka Reiokyu
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention earlier that the Soul Society has a Royal Family headed by a dude called “Soul King” or “Reio” who is apparently God.
Anyway, after some training, some soul searching and a exposition dump regarding his mother as told by his father (these were honestly the most enjoyable chapters to be honest), Ichigo goes down to help the Soul Society from a second Quincy invasion in fashionably late timing ala Goku style.
Except coming down the way somehow let’s Yhwach go up and absolutely no one in either Reiokyu or the Seireitei realised this. Well whatever.
So Yhwach and co. defeat the Royal Guard with the power of bullshit hax and kill Reiou. This is a problem because the universe collapses for some reason if Reio dies. Also, Yhwach is Reio’s son and whatever questions you may have regarding this will never be answered. Thanks Kubo.
Elsewhere, Captain Ukitake whips out some nonsense about being a vessel for Reiou’s right hand and sacrifices himself to fix the problem.... at least until Yhwach then absorbs that hand and becomes God making Ukitake’s sacrifice meaningless and actually making the situation worse cause Yhwach is now the one and only Soul King, Brook be mad.
Shunsui also partially releases Aizen to enlist his help in defeating Yhwach since the big bad A also has a bullshit ability that involves messing with people’s perceptions if they see his Zanpakuto in it’s Shikai state. Yhwach has never seen that Shikai but it still somehow works on him because plot.
Eventually after a bunch of chapters, Ichigo vs Yhwach happens and it is bullshit. Yhwach can simultaneously see every single possible future available and then change any single one of those futures to his advantage. For example, if he breaks your sword in the future, it becomes broken in the present which is what happens to Ichigo.
So Yhwach sods off to blow up the Soul Society, Tsukishima somehow repairs Ichigo’s blade by making it so that Yhwach never broke it (I thought that Tsukishima’s ability was memory manipulation to create a false past and not directly controlling the past but I have honestly given up by this point and no longer give a shit) and Uryū’s father gives Uryū a magical plot device arrow that can disable Yhwach’s bullshit powers if it hits him... even though the problem is getting anything to hit Yhwach in the first place so it should logically not solve anything (spoiler, it does).
A showdown occurs at the Seireitei, Yhwach gets hit by the bullshit magical Chekhov’s arrow (somehow Yhwach never saw that one coming) and Ichigo chops him in half.
Considering that Yhwach is now essentially the Soul King, should killing him not cause the universe to collapse just like when Reiou died?
If that sounded like a good question that needed answering then Titty Kubo disagrees with you dear reader and instead immediately launches into a confusing ten years later epilogue in the next chapter that raises way more questions than it answers and ends Bleach on an utterly mind boggling note.
Well anyway, Dice Head and Lily get cobbled due to some background character releasing Hollow bait, a Quincy technology. Ichigo and co. save Dice and Lily from a gruesome demise and take them to Ichigo’s house. Ichigo then fights the bloke that released the aforementioned Hollow bait.
Back in the Soul Society, sadistic scientist extraordinaire Kurotsuchi, notices that the Hollow population across the globe is disappearing entirely, souls included and concludes that only the age old enemy of the Shinigami could do this i.e. the Quincies.
Meanwhile, a bunch of masked blokes infiltrate Captain General Yamamoto’s quarters and ruin his tea break. They exchange smack talk with each and leave when Yamamoto’s Assistant Captain, Chōjirō, unintentionally interrupts the exchange due to his impalement on a particularly nasty looking Quincy spirit spear.
Masked blokes give a warning that the “Vandenreich” will invade the Seireitei and feck off. Chōjirō informs Yamamoto that the intruders can steal Bankai (a special Zanpakuto ability) and promptly dies. A funeral is held for Chōjirō, who’s death and subsequent burial might have been more a tad more impactful if the character had more than 5-10 sentences of dialogue before his demise.
We then go to where the Quincies slunk off to and see Yhwach. Spoiler alert, Yhwach is a dick and the Quincies are basically Nazis in white that are somehow even more abominable than the literal soul consuming Hollows that the Quincies hate.
Back in the world of the living, Ichigo gets hug tackled by Nel in child form, who informs him that Hueco Mundo has been invaded by the Quincies and asks for his help in liberating the place.
With Ichigo and co. in Hueco Mundo, Yhwach decides to invade the Seireitei while Ichigo is away. Shit goes down faster than Taco Bel through a digestive system, ultimately leading to a confrontation between Yhwach and Yamamoto, the latter of which declares that he will finish what he started 1000 years ago.
What is the relationship between these two? What is their grudge? How did Yamamoto originally defeat Yhwach? Why did Yamamoto originally spare Yhwach’s life? Why did they fight? How did Yamamoto grow old and decrepit over the past 1000 years while all Yhwach grew was a moustache? Were they originally friends or were they always bitter enemies?
If, dear reader, you thought the above questions were all interesting then too bad. Kubo answers none of them. In fact, Yamamoto was not even fighting Yhwach but somebody impersonating Yhwach. What an absolute con but hey, Yamamoto’s Bankai was cool I guess.
Anyway, the real Yhwach comes back, reveals that he had a chat with Aizen that went nowhere, says “ok boomer” and one shots Yamamoto.
Feck off Yhwach.
Surprisingly, he does exactly that but not before Ichigo has a quick tussle with him and subconsciously uses some inherent Quincy abilities which causes Yhwach to reveal that Ichigo’s mother was a Quincy thus making Ichigo related to Yhwach by blood cause all Quincies are descended from Yhwach. He then breaks Ichigo’s Bankai sword and bogs off.
On a side note, Ichigo never uses any of these incredibly useful Quincy abilities again. Hmm, ok then Kubo.
Well the aftermath occurs, Shunsui becomes Captain General and we learn that Bankai apparently cannot be fixed after they are broken bar one completely unimportant exception.
The Royal Guard (consisting of Urouge, Space Dandy, Mrs. Mills, an Afro Samurai reject and a Japanese gender bent Doctor Octopus) come down and take Ichigo and some friends for special training at the Soul King’s Palace aka Reiokyu
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention earlier that the Soul Society has a Royal Family headed by a dude called “Soul King” or “Reio” who is apparently God.
Anyway, after some training, some soul searching and a exposition dump regarding his mother as told by his father (these were honestly the most enjoyable chapters to be honest), Ichigo goes down to help the Soul Society from a second Quincy invasion in fashionably late timing ala Goku style.
Except coming down the way somehow let’s Yhwach go up and absolutely no one in either Reiokyu or the Seireitei realised this. Well whatever.
So Yhwach and co. defeat the Royal Guard with the power of bullshit hax and kill Reiou. This is a problem because the universe collapses for some reason if Reio dies. Also, Yhwach is Reio’s son and whatever questions you may have regarding this will never be answered. Thanks Kubo.
Elsewhere, Captain Ukitake whips out some nonsense about being a vessel for Reiou’s right hand and sacrifices himself to fix the problem.... at least until Yhwach then absorbs that hand and becomes God making Ukitake’s sacrifice meaningless and actually making the situation worse cause Yhwach is now the one and only Soul King, Brook be mad.
Shunsui also partially releases Aizen to enlist his help in defeating Yhwach since the big bad A also has a bullshit ability that involves messing with people’s perceptions if they see his Zanpakuto in it’s Shikai state. Yhwach has never seen that Shikai but it still somehow works on him because plot.
Eventually after a bunch of chapters, Ichigo vs Yhwach happens and it is bullshit. Yhwach can simultaneously see every single possible future available and then change any single one of those futures to his advantage. For example, if he breaks your sword in the future, it becomes broken in the present which is what happens to Ichigo.
So Yhwach sods off to blow up the Soul Society, Tsukishima somehow repairs Ichigo’s blade by making it so that Yhwach never broke it (I thought that Tsukishima’s ability was memory manipulation to create a false past and not directly controlling the past but I have honestly given up by this point and no longer give a shit) and Uryū’s father gives Uryū a magical plot device arrow that can disable Yhwach’s bullshit powers if it hits him... even though the problem is getting anything to hit Yhwach in the first place so it should logically not solve anything (spoiler, it does).
A showdown occurs at the Seireitei, Yhwach gets hit by the bullshit magical Chekhov’s arrow (somehow Yhwach never saw that one coming) and Ichigo chops him in half.
Considering that Yhwach is now essentially the Soul King, should killing him not cause the universe to collapse just like when Reiou died?
If that sounded like a good question that needed answering then Titty Kubo disagrees with you dear reader and instead immediately launches into a confusing ten years later epilogue in the next chapter that raises way more questions than it answers and ends Bleach on an utterly mind boggling note.
A bunch of other bullshit fights happen at various points throughout this arc. Highlights include;
I) Komamura vs Bambietta.
In order to avenge Yamamoto, Captain Komamura gains strength by ripping out his heart in order to learn some secret jujutsu from his werewolf great grandpappa that temporarily turns him into a human and makes his Bankai invincible for about one fight before his Bankai disappears altogether and he turns him into a powerless dog that does not even get to see Yhwach at all, let alone get revenge against him. Also, Komamura disappears completely from the manga at this point.
Not only is this an absolute insult to his character considering he insightful words regarding the subject of revenge to Tōsen (another character that lost their humanity for the sake of revenge) but the opponent he is up against does not even feckin die for good. Komamura is the Tien of Bleach. Lel.
II) Kenpachi vs Gremmy.
Gremmy is a straight up reality warper that does not belong in Bleach whatsoever. Whatever he imagines becomes reality. If he imagines that you are dead then you are dead.
He somehow loses to the most straightforward, bull headed meat head in the manga because “his imagination came up short”.... whatever.
Yachiru also inexplicably disappears from the manga at this point and is never seen again. Kind of.
III) Kurotsuchi vs Zombie Hoe.
Kurotsuchi invents a drug that can manipulate time. I do not even care anymore.
IV) Shunsui and Ise Nanao vs Liille Barro.
If the fight had just ended when Shunsui cut down Barro then I would not have even mentioned this one.
Instead, Barro somehow magically transforms into an eight butterfly winged, Transylvanian naked necked chicken, equine chimera centaur hybrid abomination made out of pure spirit energy.
I am far too sober to deal with this shit.
Anyway, the reader is then subjected to a boring family history lesson regarding the Ise clan and some mind boggling bullshit explanation involving Shunsui’s Zanpakuto sword spirit somehow giving birth to another Zanpakuto sword spirit (that likes to play hide and seek) in order to hide yet another (but supposedly cursed) Zanpakuto sword.
Urgghhhh, my head hurts from all the bullshit I just typed.
In order to avenge Yamamoto, Captain Komamura gains strength by ripping out his heart in order to learn some secret jujutsu from his werewolf great grandpappa that temporarily turns him into a human and makes his Bankai invincible for about one fight before his Bankai disappears altogether and he turns him into a powerless dog that does not even get to see Yhwach at all, let alone get revenge against him. Also, Komamura disappears completely from the manga at this point.
Not only is this an absolute insult to his character considering he insightful words regarding the subject of revenge to Tōsen (another character that lost their humanity for the sake of revenge) but the opponent he is up against does not even feckin die for good. Komamura is the Tien of Bleach. Lel.
II) Kenpachi vs Gremmy.
Gremmy is a straight up reality warper that does not belong in Bleach whatsoever. Whatever he imagines becomes reality. If he imagines that you are dead then you are dead.
He somehow loses to the most straightforward, bull headed meat head in the manga because “his imagination came up short”.... whatever.
Yachiru also inexplicably disappears from the manga at this point and is never seen again. Kind of.
III) Kurotsuchi vs Zombie Hoe.
Kurotsuchi invents a drug that can manipulate time. I do not even care anymore.
IV) Shunsui and Ise Nanao vs Liille Barro.
If the fight had just ended when Shunsui cut down Barro then I would not have even mentioned this one.
Instead, Barro somehow magically transforms into an eight butterfly winged, Transylvanian naked necked chicken, equine chimera centaur hybrid abomination made out of pure spirit energy.
I am far too sober to deal with this shit.
Anyway, the reader is then subjected to a boring family history lesson regarding the Ise clan and some mind boggling bullshit explanation involving Shunsui’s Zanpakuto sword spirit somehow giving birth to another Zanpakuto sword spirit (that likes to play hide and seek) in order to hide yet another (but supposedly cursed) Zanpakuto sword.
Urgghhhh, my head hurts from all the bullshit I just typed.
Between plot lines that serve no purpose whatsoever (e.g. the Ise family curse involving the bullshit mirror sword), plot lines that go nowhere (e.g. Komamura’s entire form switching deal and the Quincy turncoats), a lack of explanation for quite a few important things (e.g. how does Yamamoto know Yhwach? What is the relationship between Reiou and Yhwach? What the feck happened to Yachiru?), opponents that just never feckin die (Barro, Gerard, Bambietta etc.) and absolutely nonsensical powers (Gremmy’s ability to make anything he imagines become reality and Yhwach’s bullshit eyes), this arc quickly becomes a mess.
The amount of nonstop nonsense that consistently occurs in this arc, eventually caused me to simply give up even attempting to comprehend what was even going. I just switched my brain off and accepted that whatever inevitable bullshit that happens, happens.
This entire arc was just not worth making and added absolutely nothing to Bleach. Honestly, as much as I detest the Arrancar Arc, it’s ending actually felt final, as if it was truly the end of a story in a fictional world with nothing more to offer. The ending of this arc is just a confusing mess that leaves everything too open.
Well at least I can now say that my favourite part of Bleach is the ending. Not the actual ending itself, just the fact that it ended.
(and Yoruichi ^^)
@Dragomir @Chrono @RayanOO so I just finished kurapika vs uvogin:
There is something missing in HxH for me. I’m really not sure what it is, but...there is something fundamentally missing in this story that is creeping in the back of my mind.
Maybe it’s the complete lack of an ultimate story structure? So far the goal seems to be for Gon to find his dad, but that almost seems like a side plot at this point.
Maybe it’s that the conflicts in the manga don’t feel meaningful? We started at the Hunter Exam where our MCs never really struggle much. Sure the Hunter Exam is hard for 99% of people, but not for the protagonist(s). The only real struggle I feel like we went through in that arc was Hanzo vs Gon, where all Gon really did was just not give up and Hanzo surrendered out of admiration. Leoreo got bodied in Rock Paper Scissors but...not exactly a fun conflict. Other than this, there didn’t feel like there was any real struggle or triumph for the entire arc.
Zoldyck Estate arc...literally there was no conflict. At first I thought they’d have to, somehow, save Killua from his family (Which seemed impossible), but then they just let him go without any struggle.
Heaven’s Tower: Gon and Killua mercilessly and laughably easily shitstomp all competition in a Tower that is supposed to be full of world famous competition, and then get involved in a series of fights where their opponents forfeit before the fights even begin, and then Gon finally fights Hisoka and loses. Gon loses a fight against the top guy then beats him 3 episodes later. They learned Nen which was cool but everything else felt random and hollow.
Then we get to the auction, and it appears like kurapika finally gets a conflict against uvogin and the phantom troupe, but once again kurapika wins without much trouble. The fights between Uvogin and the Blood Shadows weren’t that interesting or well animated either for me.
So the lack of what feels like any real overarching conflict is a real problem for me.
But that aside, back to figuring out what’s missing for me, maybe it’s the lack of a theme? Naruto is a manga about ninjas, and everything in the manga goes to tell a story about ninjas. One Piece is about pirates, and same thing. It feels like an adventure story about pirates, just in a more fantastical way. MHA is about heroes and...you get the point.
These series have deeper themes that match their aesthetics. OP is a series about freedom using a pirate template to explore that idea. Naruto is a story about ending cycles of violence and hatred using a series about shinobis (people raised to commit impartial acts of violence) as its template. MHA is a story about societal mental health, using heroes who want to protect society and villains who want to destroy it as an aesthetic.
HxH feels like it has no theme and it’s tough for me to really get into it for that reason. Gon is a kid who grew up fishing, but he has the power of a demigod for some unknown reason. Sure his dad is supposed to be really strong, but Gon is neg diffing world famous fighters by pushing them really hard with one hand. And he’s not even 15 and has never had any combat training. So I really don’t understand what Gon is, or why he is who he is, or what his character is supposed to stand for.
Killua is better..he’s an assassin raised to kill, and everything about his character and story emphasize that. Kurapika is...some guy with a clan vendetta, and leoreo wants to be a med student. So it’s like...we have a wild hermit running around with a deadly assassin, some guy with red eyes and a clan vendetta, and an aspiring doctor, none of whom’s plotlines or arcs have much to do with one another, running around in a world that feels like its being made up episode by episode with a bunch of random concepts and ideas thrown into a blender, to tell a story about...a kid trying to find his dad while a gang robs a bunch of mafia families?
Like I don’t understand what the story is supposed to be about on a deeper level. Sure it’s a damn children’s anime, but so are OP, Naruto, and MHA that all have deeper themes at work in them.
If these weren’t distracting enough, I still have absolutely no idea who Hisoka is or where he comes from or what his motivations are. He’s the most interesting character in the show, but I’m starting to lose patience with him as I pretty much know exactly as much about him in episode 49 that I knew back in episode 12. And he hasn’t had much screen time anyway.
I think I’ll keep watching because...why not, I do enjoy Nen and seeing all the characters and variety of abilities are fun and all that but..so far I’m really not catching on tbh. It’s not bad, but...I feel like I’ve seen this style of story done much better.
Maybe it’s the complete lack of an ultimate story structure? So far the goal seems to be for Gon to find his dad, but that almost seems like a side plot at this point.
Maybe it’s that the conflicts in the manga don’t feel meaningful? We started at the Hunter Exam where our MCs never really struggle much. Sure the Hunter Exam is hard for 99% of people, but not for the protagonist(s). The only real struggle I feel like we went through in that arc was Hanzo vs Gon, where all Gon really did was just not give up and Hanzo surrendered out of admiration. Leoreo got bodied in Rock Paper Scissors but...not exactly a fun conflict. Other than this, there didn’t feel like there was any real struggle or triumph for the entire arc.
Zoldyck Estate arc...literally there was no conflict. At first I thought they’d have to, somehow, save Killua from his family (Which seemed impossible), but then they just let him go without any struggle.
Heaven’s Tower: Gon and Killua mercilessly and laughably easily shitstomp all competition in a Tower that is supposed to be full of world famous competition, and then get involved in a series of fights where their opponents forfeit before the fights even begin, and then Gon finally fights Hisoka and loses. Gon loses a fight against the top guy then beats him 3 episodes later. They learned Nen which was cool but everything else felt random and hollow.
Then we get to the auction, and it appears like kurapika finally gets a conflict against uvogin and the phantom troupe, but once again kurapika wins without much trouble. The fights between Uvogin and the Blood Shadows weren’t that interesting or well animated either for me.
So the lack of what feels like any real overarching conflict is a real problem for me.
But that aside, back to figuring out what’s missing for me, maybe it’s the lack of a theme? Naruto is a manga about ninjas, and everything in the manga goes to tell a story about ninjas. One Piece is about pirates, and same thing. It feels like an adventure story about pirates, just in a more fantastical way. MHA is about heroes and...you get the point.
These series have deeper themes that match their aesthetics. OP is a series about freedom using a pirate template to explore that idea. Naruto is a story about ending cycles of violence and hatred using a series about shinobis (people raised to commit impartial acts of violence) as its template. MHA is a story about societal mental health, using heroes who want to protect society and villains who want to destroy it as an aesthetic.
HxH feels like it has no theme and it’s tough for me to really get into it for that reason. Gon is a kid who grew up fishing, but he has the power of a demigod for some unknown reason. Sure his dad is supposed to be really strong, but Gon is neg diffing world famous fighters by pushing them really hard with one hand. And he’s not even 15 and has never had any combat training. So I really don’t understand what Gon is, or why he is who he is, or what his character is supposed to stand for.
Killua is better..he’s an assassin raised to kill, and everything about his character and story emphasize that. Kurapika is...some guy with a clan vendetta, and leoreo wants to be a med student. So it’s like...we have a wild hermit running around with a deadly assassin, some guy with red eyes and a clan vendetta, and an aspiring doctor, none of whom’s plotlines or arcs have much to do with one another, running around in a world that feels like its being made up episode by episode with a bunch of random concepts and ideas thrown into a blender, to tell a story about...a kid trying to find his dad while a gang robs a bunch of mafia families?
Like I don’t understand what the story is supposed to be about on a deeper level. Sure it’s a damn children’s anime, but so are OP, Naruto, and MHA that all have deeper themes at work in them.
If these weren’t distracting enough, I still have absolutely no idea who Hisoka is or where he comes from or what his motivations are. He’s the most interesting character in the show, but I’m starting to lose patience with him as I pretty much know exactly as much about him in episode 49 that I knew back in episode 12. And he hasn’t had much screen time anyway.
I think I’ll keep watching because...why not, I do enjoy Nen and seeing all the characters and variety of abilities are fun and all that but..so far I’m really not catching on tbh. It’s not bad, but...I feel like I’ve seen this style of story done much better.