What does Bleach do well in the anime and manga?

[Warmmedown]

What did the series do well? What brought it its high popularity?

 

[Captain Cadaver]

What did the series do well?

Not much. Only thing that I could describe as being done slightly well is that despite it starting out as a ripoff of Yu Yu Hakusho's first arc, it at least did enough different and expanded on different concepts by enough to warrant it's existence such as having more of a focus on personal conflicts rather than battles where the closest thing to a personal conflict in the first arc of YYH was Keiko being at risk sometimes.

What brought it its high popularity?

Shonentards not caring about the writing and just wanting to see more explosions and more Bankais.
Also, a good majority of people from it's generation would be either too young to know Yu Yu Hakusho and to know Bleach's first arc ripped it off or didn't have the licensing to know the rest of it ripped off Saint Seiya.

 

[Warmmedown]

Do you think its popularity was fuelled more by the anime or the manga?

The character designs are quite cool and the soundtrack was unique at the time.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Probably just the anime, seeing as how the manga's sales tanked after the anime ended. Whilst the poor quality and repetitive tropes of the last arc would play a part in it, I doubt it was the only reason when the series already hit rock bottom with everything after Soul Society and just stayed there for a decade more or less.
Once again, proof that modern anime fans care more about pretty colours and other superficial elements than decent writing.

 

[Warmmedown]

Superficial elements do have their own value though. If a show oozes "coolness", that's something it's doing right and really what is the point of art, other than to evoke either thoughts or emotions?

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Superficial elements do have their own value though. If a show oozes "coolness", that's something it's doing right

Rule of cool shows are a dime a dozen though, with there being many manga out there far cooler than Detergent. There's not many "cool" things in Bleach I haven't seen done far better somewhere else (Saint Seiya and Yu Yu Hakusho being constant examples).

and really what is the point of art, other than to evoke either thoughts or emotions?

Maybe if it were just a set of pictures and not an actual story. Unfortunately for Bleach, it has a story that Kubo put at least some slight effort into once upon a time and should be judged primarily for it.

 

[Papasmurf]

Just looking cool and bloody battles with random huge power ups. The only thing it really did right was having distinctive looking characters in spite of half the cast wearing similar garb, and the characters at least having some interaction in the first arc to justify wanting to rescue rukia

 

[sei'taer]

Probably just the anime, seeing as how the manga's sales tanked after the anime ended. Whilst the poor quality and repetitive tropes of the last arc would play a part in it, I doubt it was the only reason when the series already hit rock bottom with everything after Soul Society and just stayed there for a decade more or less.
Once again, proof that modern anime fans care more about pretty colours and other superficial elements than decent writing.

The manga's sales started declining long before the anime ended. Bleach started dropping off in sales around 2010. The series had almost dropped out of the top ten by 2011. It was 12th at the end of 2012 when the anime had ended. It was still in the top 20 when it was cancelled. As opposed to One Piece and naruto which never faltered.

A lot of things had to do with bleach's decline. Kubo's health, the overabundance of characters. Declining art (which was always kubo's strength), too many one on one fights, terrible pacing, the series continuing past where it should have ended all led to the series decline, which led to the anime's cancellation which led to further decline and cancellation. The 2010 decline coincidentally coincides with where Aizen was defeated.

Bleach was basically one really great rescue arc. Soul society was a great Shonen read and I kept reading (like many others) despite how boring a battle manga had become to see him be defeated. When the series still didn't end I just stopped reading.