Bleach
Our Review
The supernatural shonen staple: Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager who can see ghosts, gets a soul reaper’s powers from Rukia and starts defending his town from Hollows — then the Soul Society comes to take Rukia back, and the show becomes a rescue arc that made the whole genre sit up. The first 63 episodes (through the Soul Society arc) are elite shonen: a huge cast of captains each with distinct sword-powers, a rescue structure that forces Ichigo to grow weekly, and one of the medium’s great “wait, THAT character’s backstory?” reveals.
The trouble is the middle: the Bount arc (anime-original filler) is a dirge, and the series’ habitual filler detours earned Bleach its reputation for pacing problems. The 2022 revival (Thousand-Year Blood War) fixes everything: no filler, movie-quality animation, and the actual final arc finally told. Watch the first 63, skip filler with a guide, then jump to TYBW — that’s the canonical Bleach experience, and it’s a great one.
Verdict: Watch it — with a filler guide. The Soul Society arc alone earns the ticket.