Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

Ha! Good rant, and I feel pretty much the same regarding Bleach. Kubo's gone on record a few times to state that he likes things that "sound cool", so it's not necessarily that he likes Spanish, he just thinks certain words sound cool (German being his latest kick, if you're following the manga). He created way too many characters and he can't manage them all; that's Bleach's main issue. Sadly, that means that a lot of the characters I wind up liking (Tatsuki, Chad, Tetsuzaemon) end up falling through the cracks while Ichigo, Rukia, big boobs, Hitsugaya, bigger boobs and Renji hog the page/screen...

Hooray! More people who see how Bleach is not as good as it's cracked up to be! Seriously, everyone I know that reads it treats it like its godly...

Good thing my best friend and I both agree that One Piece is our favorite.

@RR529: There are computers in the Soul Society, though. And I can't remember, but isn't Rukia's cell phone just a Hollow tracker she got from Urahara's shop?

The part about Kon really sucks though, it's like he has been completely written out of the series, I had forgotten all about him until I saw a picture of him somewhere.

@Rin_Tezuka: SPOILERS
I didn't think Ichigo was whiny, his friends were getting hurt all around him and he was helpless to do anything to protect them. He went from saving everyone to being virtually powerless--why WOULDN'T that affect him? I like that arc because it went back to the basics, smaller cast, takes place in the land of the living, the "power levels" of everyone evened out a bit again, and Ichigo had to fight his way back up again. And the fights near the end, you KNOW those would have went on for ages if it was like how Bleach was during the Arrancar mess, but it was all wrapped up in a matter of episodes. There was constant progression in that arc instead of waiting around for ages for fights to end. If you didn't like it, fine, but you can't deny it was better than what Bleach has been for the past three or so years.
SPOILERS

Yeah, when it comes to the Spanish (or German, as you say he's currently obsessed with), I'm not against the usage at all. I just wish there'd be an in show/manga explanation as to why things are named as such. I mean the Arrancar obviously aren't from Spain (or Mexico), so just give me an explanation as to why they are named as such and I'd be happy with the matter. As it stands however, it just seems weird not knowing why the world came to be built around the language. I know why he does it, but it doesn't make sense in show, because the phenomenon is never given an explanation.

Technology does not evolve at the same rate. Just because they have computers does not mean they have Juiceboxes.

@Popyman Are you saying that I should skip all the way to episodes 343-366? That would be skipping over 200 episodes for me due to when I got fed up with how bad it got and stopped watching so there would probably be a lot I wouldn't understand.

@FonistofCruxis: Here's all you need to understand before watching the final (anime) arc:

SPOILERS

Aizen was defeated by Ichigo using a desperation measure which made him lose his powers completely (think Uryu back when he fought Mayuri in Soul Society). Time skips forward a year or so and Ichigo's back in Karakura Town, powerless and mopey when he's approached by a group that offers to help him develop new powers/get his powers back (sound familiar?)...

/SPOILERS

That's the gist of it. Add in two more lame villains and a vague "Soul Society is evil" subplot and you've got the final (anime) arc of Bleach. If you want my opinion, dump Bleach altogether and start/continue reading/watching One Piece...

@Popyman:

SPOILERS

You know why it had better progression and wrapped up quickly? Because the anime was going to end—it had to wrap up quickly. All the potential that that arc had to be good went right out the window once the focus was completely on Ichigo. Yes, I know he's the protagonist, but at the beginning of that arc he's just your average Joe. I would've preferred to have his little odyssey in the background while some of his friends got the spotlight for once, but Kubo knows that Bleach is all about fights, so obviously that wasn't going to happen. So, no, (for me) the Substitute Arc is not better than the earlier train wrecks, it was merely an excuse for Kubo to give Ichigo's duds and sword a new design to make them "cooler" (in his opinion, anyway). But, hey, if you enjoyed it, good for you...

/SPOILERS

I still say that Gotei 13 Invading Army arc was really cool. Good focus on other characters, and the plot was presented in a way that made it seem really mysterious and interesting. It had me glued to the freakin' screen the whole time. You know when was the last time Bleach had me glued to it? Never.

Sad part is, you would be able to understand everything, that's how full of nothing those episodes are. :/

@Rin_Tezuka:
"You know why it had better progression and wrapped up quickly? Because the anime was going to end—it had to wrap up quickly."

I know that, and I liked it because of that. If the manga version of that arc takes long to wrap up then I would not like it at all.

And they may not have taken complete center stage, but his friends played a much larger part than they ever did against the Arrancars. They were all doing something instead of fighting some bad guy forever or being kidnapped.

But anyway, I don't know why I'm defending Bleach, I still do not like it as much as other anime and I still believe Tite Kubo's best work was ZombiePowder.

I've been watching a couple of animes that I think I never would have watched: Kaichou Wa Maid-sama and Zero No Tsukaima. And I enjoyed them both.

Now I'm watching Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. I'm currently on episode 12 and I love this show so far. Don't know what I'm going to watch next. Anyone have any idea what's Fairy Tail like?

I actually heard a lot of mixed things about Zero no Tsukaima. What did you like about it?

Zero no Tsukaima? I remember that. The comedy for one was pretty good.

I liked it's humor even though it came from mostly Saito doing something stupid or wrong. And it was also nice that Saito SPOILERS chose Louise in the end even though he could have chosen Henrietta or Tiffania or Siesta SPOILERS END. Those parts when the series tries to be serious are it's low points for me.

Just started the 2nd part to gurren lagan. And crape its good. Reminds me of that transition from DB to BDZ and the narturo acts.

Love the change in tone.

So you think Naruto Shippuden is better than the original series? I'm asking because I'm almost at the end of the original series and before it got overloaded with filler, (I'm skipping a lot of it) I loved the original series.

I doubt that, no one actually does.

From what I've seen it had a lot of potential but it doesn't match the OG nartuo. It started off well with a larger cast of main characters and. A more serious story bit now its the whole dbz syndrome but half as entertaining.

For the most part, I think it's a lot better than the first series; even the first few filler arcs are pretty good and provide some nice texture to the story. And the Invasion of Pain arc is probably my favorite arc so far out of either series (although I haven't watched any new episodes since September). Gaara/Rock Lee might still be my favorite fight in the series, though; at worst, it's in a tie with Naruto/Pain.

Well, I should add that I liked it a lot more before it started falling into a pattern of re-nerfing Sakura, pointless filler arcs and having that headcase Sasuke totally pull every fight out of his butt each time he shows up.

The worst part of Shippuden is still the new soundtrack btw. Hated that change so much.

The thing I hate most about Shippuuden is that it killed off my favorite character. The war is really being dragged out, too. I'm hoping that, like Bleach, this is Naruto's final arc...