Since it was first introduced to the world in 2004, Bleach the anime series has become synonymous with the best that the Shonen genre has to offer. Ichigo's journey from an ordinary high school student to one of the most powerful Shinigami of all time is exciting and inspiring to millions of fans. Even now, two decades after it began airing, the series is still considered a staple of the industry, thanks to its amazing plot, lovable characters, and unique power system.
Still, as has been proven time and time again, no anime of this length can stay perfect forever, as bad episodes are bound to come out sometime. Bleach is no exception to this rule, as his story has been marred several times in the past with gruesome storylines that fans wish they never imagined. While this series is known for having some incredibly fun filler episodes, there are some that are downright unwatchable, and there are a number of reasons why.
Bleach: Every arc, sorted by length
Ichigo has had a lot of adventures throughout Bleach's story, but here's how each one ranks in terms of overall length.
8
Episode 33 – Miracle! Mysterious new hero
Soul Society arc of the Bleach the anime series is considered one of the best in the franchise as it not only serves as a pivotal point in Ichigo's journey, but also has an excellent storyline. When this story was adapted, fans were excited to see it develop naturally, just as it did in the manga. Their disappointment was immense when the show decided to abandon the story altogether, return to Earth and follow the main character's sisters on a pointless adventure.
This episode focuses on the girls fighting the Hollow horde with the help of a cat spirit. On its own, the entry would be innocuous, pretty generic, but nothing that fans wouldn't expect from a series with more content than the infamous Naruto. It was the placement between an important moment for Ichigo's adventure that caused such a stir among fans.
7
Episode 50 – The Reviving Lion
33rd episode Bleach anime wasn't the only time the Soul Society arc storyline was abruptly cut short, as the team behind the series decided to repeat the pattern only a few entries down the line. When the streak reached an impressive 50Thursday milestone episode, fans expected to see one of the best battles in the franchise adapted for the small screen. Instead, they were once again taken back to Earth, where Kon was ready to take the spotlight.
After suffering in silence for many days as Yuzu's favorite stuffed animal, the ghost decides to run away, only to be found by Don Kanonji, who recruits him as the mascot for his TV show. Things go south when a centipede like Hollow attacks the town and Ichigo's sisters need to fight the beast. Again, this episode would have been perfectly fine as a regular filler, but the fact that it repeated the pattern of interrupting important moments in the series is one of the reasons why many fans consider the manga to be better.
6
Episode 90 – Renji Abara, Bankai of the Soul!
Although opinions on its content have varied over time, Bount arc of the Bleach anime has always been a divisive topic among fans. Episode 90 is an excellent example of why, as it is by far one of the least enjoyable entries in this already controversial storyline. This episode follows Renji and Ichigo as they deal with two different opponents with varying degrees of success. The former takes care of his opponent with his powerful and complex Bankai.
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Ichigo, on the other hand, faces the main villain of the arc, Kariya, and is completely crushed within a few attacks. This episode became infamous for its lack of animation quality, slow pacing, and the stiff and robotic movement of the characters when they fought. The fact that Ichigo, who had already fought against some of the strongest characters in the franchise, lost to an anime-only villain also outraged some fans.
5
Episode 194 – Nelliel's Past
Nel is by far one of the most popular and strongest female characters Bleach anime ever introduced. Behind her adorable childlike appearance is a warrior who loves peace but is never above using force to protect those she cares about. So when it came time for the series to reveal her past, fans were beyond excited to learn what might have made her revert to being a child.
Despite Nel's fans still loving Episode 194, there's no denying that it wasn't the most effective way to adapt such an important piece of lore for the character. The pace is slow, several unimportant scenes drag on too long. The addition of unnecessary jokes added to the English dub of the episode was also a cause of great disappointment among fans.
4
Episode 204 – Ichigo's Persuasion Strategy Under the Stomach
Few arches overall Bleach the anime series is just as popular as the Arrancar story because it not only featured some of the best fights in the series, but also introduced some of the most popular and best designed characters in the series. Every week, fans watched Ichigo and his friends succeed in defeating Aizen's army. Episode 204 was a shocker because it completely destroyed the flow of the story until then.
The series decided to leave the main plot for a while and bring back characters from one of the most popular filler arcs. The episode was simple, with nothing new to add to the overall series, or an interesting enough storyline to justify the interruption. To make matters worse, none of the new characters were even mentioned, despite the impact fighters such as the powerful Espadas members had had on the arc up to that point.
3
Episode 227 – The Amazing Mistake
Of all the characters introduced during the Arrancar arc Bleach anime, Ulquiorra is objectively the most popular among fans, and there are several reasons why he deserves that title. His battle against Ichigo was the highlight of the show and demonstrated why the series was worth the entire year it would take to complete over 100 episodes.
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Unfortunately, this incredible battle that was meant to be uninterrupted never really got to shine, and that was mostly due to episodes like the infamous 227. This entry was placed between Ichigo's battle against the villain to delve into Mizuiro and Rukia's past, which was not needed at all to understand the events of the interrupted story.
2
Episode 229 – Scream of the Soul? Rug Shinigami is here!
As is the case with anime that runs concurrently with the manga, the filler episodes come in hordes more often than not, meaning that Ulquiorra's battle was forgotten for what must have felt like years to fans. After the disappointment that was episode 227, fans didn't expect much more from the rest of the anime-only entries that came after, and were left frustrated just two weeks later.
The team behind the series believed that abandoning the main cast entirely and following the crazy adventures of two comedic characters was somehow a good idea. This led to a forgettable episode where nothing important happened. The jokes, the pacing, and even the final battle are completely below the standard set by the 10 out of 10 series.
1
Episode 311 –Soul Detective! Karakuraiser starts again!
For many Shonen fans, Sosuke Aizen is by far one of the best and scariest anime villains ever conceived. His plan to take over Soul Society and create a world made in his image was not only brilliantly executed, but also surprised more than one viewer. The final battle between this cunning adversary and Ichigo was emotional and awe-inspiring, ending in a sacrifice that changed the course of the story forever.
Shortly after this battle ended, the show decided to introduce episode 311, a filler entry that follows Kon as he takes on the Karakuraizer persona and fights alongside other heroes to protect his city. It's a completely frivolous episode that feels out of place after such an emotional ending to Ichigo's battle. While Kon's adventure would be harmless in itself, his placement in the timeline has left many fans annoyed by his existence.
- Release date
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2004 – 2012-00-00
- Network
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TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC, BS TV Tokyo
- Showrunner
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Tite Kubo
- directors
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Mitsutaka Noshitani, Junya Koshida, Hodaka Kuramoto, Yasuto Nishikata, Hiroaki Nishimura, Kazunori Mizuno, Akira Shimizu, Rokou Ogiwara, Kazunobu Shimizu, Akane Inoue, Hikaru Murata, Tomoko Hiramuki, Hatakeyama Shimiki, Tatakeyama, Egami, Nogami Nishi, Takushi Kimura, Koji Aritomi, Ogura Shirakawa, Kiyomu Fukuda, Yukio Okazaki, Mitsue Yamazaki, Yasuhiro Matsumura, Eitarou Yes
- Writers
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Masahiro Okubo, Masashi Sogo, Kenta Shimoyama, Genki Yoshimura, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, Rika Nakase, Michiko Yokote, Natsuko Takahashi, Kento Shimoyama
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Masakazu Morita
Ichigo Kurosaki (voice)
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Fumiko Orikasa
Rukia Kuchiki
