Bleach: The End

So some of you may have heard that the Bleach anime is approaching its conclusion. It's due to end in three more episodes. I wanted to share my thoughts on this. Bear in mind, there will likely be plot spoilers, so use caution.

Bleach is one of the fixtures of anime. Alongside other long-running shounen such as Naruto and One Piece, Bleach is a series for which an ending is almost inconceivable. But then, consider, Dragon Ball once held a similar position, and indeed, it ended. But Bleach was one of the "big 3" of shounen anime, and seeing it go is slightly saddening, especially considering it's the youngest of the three. Airing since October 2004, it's total run caps at 366 episodes. I've been watching it for many years now, and it will be missed to some extent.

I personally have no problems with series ending. Plots can't be told indefinitely. There needs to be a logical progression, and eventually, it reaches a natural conclusion. The problem I have with Bleach is that it continued beyond that natural conclusion, and is ending a few months too late. Let me be more specific.

The entire plot of Bleach essentially revolves around the evil mastermind, Aizen. Everything that happened to Rukia in the first 60ish episodes was orchestrated by Aizen. Ichigo's growth as a shinigami was also similarly orchestrated. Wading through the unrelated filler episodes, everything is building up towards a final showdown with Aizen. After he flees to Hueco Mundo with Orihime, Ichigo and friends set out to save her, defeating literally every single Arrancar along the way, and successfully save her. Ichigo trains extensively, and defeats Aizen before he is able to fulfill his ambition. While this storyline is told very slowly, with lots of filler in between, it is a complete story. You are presented with a villain, and at the end of the story, that villain is defeated. The end?

No, not the end. The story continues into a brand new story arc that has nothing to do with Aizen at all. I won't get into the details of this story, but it feels awkwardly tacked on to the original plot. I know that this was the manga's fault before the anime's, but if the anime is to end, I would have much preferred it to take place after Aizen's defeat. That would be a much more natural conclusion to the series. Instead, there's two more stories tacked on. One is filler, which is relatively commonplace for Bleach, but I digress.

So basically I'm left with a not particularly satisfying conclusion to an anime that has been a staple of my week for many years. I can't speak to the final remaining episodes, but it's headed towards a hastily wrapped up mess of a conclusion at this rate. Which is frankly disappointing.

Of course, there's a chance that this is an elaborate April Fools' prank, in which case, well played.