Should I re-pick up Bleach?

Get ready for a rant and a wall of text that I've been sitting on for 3 years. I'm sorry... but I have to do this.

It's because of the lost potential. Kubo created a beautiful world with lore and history that had actual weight. He took 3 arcs to set it up and then let it all crumble in a moment. There is no longer any payoff to the characters.

For example, when Ichigo first fought Renji, the battle itself wasn't important. It was the whole context that mattered; many intricate layers of character development that paid off in the battle. You learned the depth of Renji's devotion for Rukia. You learned of his strength in comparison to the other Lieutenants. His cold demeanor and gruff resentment is explained all through that battle. You learned about Ichigo as well; just how far he's willing to put his life and body on the line for Rukia and the unlimited source of his power that is still waiting to be tapped. Both characters are caught in the gray fog of duty and maintaining structure. This is further capitalized with the battle against Byakuya. The whole structure of the spirit world is being put into question. There is not "evil" per se and that makes the characters more memorable. In contrast, think of the last two battles of the Zero squad. There is not a single payoff. There is no development of character, no motivation to speak of. Just two hastily created characters fighting each other because one is simply bad and the other good. There are blocks of exposition explaining skills and powers. It's painfully awkward and frustrating when you compare it with Renji's fight. Everything is conveniently lumped into a black and white context except when a plot twist is needed and Kubo throws in one deus ex machina devices after another. The fights simply exists for the sake of there needing to be a fight. I can compare this to the later Transformers movies. Michael Bay lost his mind for explosions and simply shoved in as many exploding robots into the 200 minute film, just because there was nothing left in the narrative. Lucas did the same thing with light saber battles in episodes 1,2 and 3.

Also, no one dies! There is no fear left in the reader. By the end of each and every arc you as a reader know who will live and who will die. The battles lose even more importance if you know that everyone will survive no matter how brutal the damage they receive. The Zero squad members dying mean nothing as well because you as the reader know nothing about them; what are their motivations? Why are they so zealous in their protection of soul society? Even the Quincy king's motivations are so shallow and unimportant I honestly don't know what the payoff for killing the king is. Their is no thrilling, edge-of-your-seat experience when the stakes are completely unknown.

Another huge disappointment is the universe and lore. The scaling of the Captains in comparison to Ichigo is all but destroyed. There is no longer any rhyme or reason in what Ichigo is capable of and what the captains are. What is Ichigo's growth in context? This is so important to the battle manga's, because there is a clear limit to the strength of these Shinigami's. There has to be an appropriate scale to judge Ichigo's strength because that is pivotal point of his character. Kubo spent countless arcs talking about how unique and unpredictable Ichigo's powers are and it's only his character that keeps his darkness in check. When that scale is destroyed it also destroys any growth he has in the Bleach universe. With every random, unexplained power-up from him as well as other characters, Ichigo loses more and more importance as a character.

The universe was completely destroyed by this arc as well. Kubo explains that the shinigami's duty is to create a precarious balance of souls on earth and soul society. It's a deep concept that he then proceeds to derail and set on fire. He ignores the Hollows and the immense power of the Arrancars and their effect on humans. He forgets about the main duty of the Shinigami which is to protect that balance. What is Earth, our world as the reader feeling? The gods of immeasurable strengths are fighting. Our daily lives are effected by these battles and yet not one word of it. Lastly, the relationship the shinigamis have with their zanpaktou... oh my heavens did he destroy that in this arc. Initially that whole lore was shrouded in mystery. Only the most competent and powerful shinigamis learned the names of the blades and conversed with them, unlocking unimaginable powers. Kubo spoke little of the rules in place for this. We saw how Tousen was able to use another shinigami's blade all the way to bankai while the other 99% couldn't even get a peep out of their blades. Kubo created a fantastic and endless world by doing so. The Shinigami's themselves are tied explicitly to their souls. Then... sword smith zero squad dude just.... fucking... godamnit.

I think something happened. Kubo had a plan. After Byakuya's battle with Ichigo, he explicitly says, "He was never fighting me; he was fighting all of soul society" or something like that. I think Kubo had plans to completely demolish soul society with Ichigo as the catalyst to do it. He was the only one that transcended the human/shinigami/hollow worlds. I think kubo was going to somehow reveal a corrupt and decaying world and lead it to ruins. But something happened. Something terrible happened.

That sword smith. My mind lost it then.

TL;DR Nothing matters anymore because Kubo likes to poop in his bed.

/r/bleach Thread