Reflection and Analysis

Bleach 685/686: The end.

I found the ending disappointing.

A few people predicted back during the last two arcs that the ending for Bleach would be badly written, and are probably thinking my disappointment doesn't surprise them. However, there is a difference between being disappointed in an ending because the piece in question is badly written, and being disappointed because you know the writer could have done more, if not better, and the ending feels incomplete. There is also a difference between a badly written story, and disagreeing with the pairing choices which come at the end due to the fact you feel there are more context clues for a different pairing.

The ending for Bleach isn't badly written. I'll admit pacing for the series wasn't to the liking of many readers, but this honestly was more than a personal preference than an actual pacing issue, as the pacing wasn't bad. One of the reasons people didn't like the pacing came from wanting to know what would happen next, and the time it took to get there.

I've also seen people complain about plot holes within the series, but many can be explained away in a logical fashion, meaning they aren't actually plotting holes. For example, some people say the background story for the Quincy contain plot holes, but the differences between Tessai's and the Quincy's story regarding their origins can be explained away by Tessai being an unreliable narrator. Also, while there are a lot of unanswered questions, but these don't constitute plot holes either. The only plot hole I can think of possibly is in regards to a certain end pairing, but I'm not sure if you can call that a plot hole, and will get into that more in a bit.

If I'm not disappointed because the story is badly written, though, then why am I disappointed?

1. The ending was too perfect in nature.

The ending felt too good to be true. Everyone got their happy ending, but two pairing sets ended up with their perfect adorable children at the end, who are also super amazing. When Rukia became captain of the thirteenth division, I thought she looked like a hime, with how the uniform overwhelmed her, and she was super cute. The entire last two chapters were filled with fluff. We also get kids who are copies of their parents here.

2. The ending took the easiest way out of the problem.

The way the story ended is I admit a logical manner in which to end the series, but Bleach is also not My Little Pony: Magic is Friendship, so pulling the "power of friendship" card, or in this case, the "power of courage" just didn't set well. There were so many things they could have done, but it would also mean dragging the series out much longer. I had the feeling though when the ending was announced that the solution would end up being on the simple side of things.

3. The ending was abrupt.

This ties in with point number three, but there was so much more Tite Kubo could have done with the series. From the writer's perspective, if he'd not taken the easy way out, he could have ended the series in November or December, or longer if needed. There are a lot of open-ended questions within the earlier chapters which indicate the series was likely supposed to continue much longer than it was. A few people will cite a drop in popularity for the abrupt ending, or even Tite Kubo petering out due to going at this for fifteen years now.

4. Ichigo/Orihime is one of the canon pairings.

The problems I have with Ichigo/Orihime are pretty much the same reasons I have problems with Ron/Hermione; the character development for the pairing simply isn't there. Interestingly enough, Rowling came out and recanted Ron/Hermione as a pairing which would actually work, and that was wishful thoughts on her part.

I think a lot of the problem lies with Orihime. She honestly did not go through the character development needed to be paired with Ichigo, but then again, I'm not surprised. I actually tried writing a fic for this pairing at the beginning of the Fullbringer arc but failed miserably at getting Orihime to go through the needed character development, so the two ended up not getting paired together in the story after all. She's simply not a strong female character.