I've been getting some flack lately for not watching the series I cover in full. While on the one hand I do feel bad that I don't have enough time to give most of the series I watch a complete viewing, I feel that this is a good time to reiterate the purpose of Anime Friday. I'm not here to review anime movies and series the way I review non-anime movies and series on sites like TV World or Movie Center. This has never been about specific items, but more about anime in general. While I appreciate that many anime series have deep, involved plots and more than a little loving fan-service, the point of Anime Friday has been to identify and analyze the appeal of anime from a perspective of entrance, not sustained presence. If you're willing to sit down for, say, the 200-plus episodes of Bleach, chances are you've already been hooked as a fan of anime. My job here is to figure out what gets people hooked in the first place.
After viewing several episodes of Bleach I was a bit confused. Why has this series among the countless others that look and behave just like it stretched to such huge proportions? What makes Bleach so special that it has lasted ten times longer than most anime series, period? Sure, the series as a whole is well-executed, from the story to the script (sort of) and especially the imaginative, nightmarish creature designs. But still, it's nothing so extraordinary that it should capture the hearts and attentions of millions of fans for several years.
This got me thinking about what it takes to get me as a viewer, not a critic, to hunker down for the long run with a TV series. There are many shows I adore, but I'm hard pressed to think of more than one or two I would watch as long as they keep coming out. For example, I'm an unabashed Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. I thought it ended at a good time after a whopping seven seasons, but if new episodes were still coming out today I'd still be tuning in. I can't say the same for even some of my most beloved shows. I, like many disillusioned fans, haven't watched more than a loose handful of Simpsons episodes in the past five or so years, even if the show produced a solid decade of excellent programming. I'm also one of the unlucky sods who has watched every single episode of Heroes, though I admit that this particular variety of masochism is now more work-related than volitional. All this said, even if I were an avid anime watcher, I still wouldn't plug in for nine solid months of Bleach.
Confounded, I once again consulted my anime advisers. At first they echoed the sentiments I'd read everywhere about Bleach. Some of them loved it to death, others hated it more than Dragonball Z in slow motion. Not really concerned with ire, I wanted to know what made Bleach so special that it gets a humongous run while many better animes barely break 30 episodes. So, I sat and had a chat with the show's most ardent and conversant defender. He explained to me that Bleach isn't long because it's special, it's special because it's long.
Several weeks ago I was introduced to the idea of the short-series/long-series business model when I first reviewed Blue Seed. Looking back, I realize that I made a false assumption. I based my understanding of long-form anime series on the belief that a series only makes it past its introductory season if there's something extraordinarily compelling about that intro. Apparently, the requirements aren't that stringent. In the case of Bleach it's not that there's anything that amazing about it, just that it's a serviceable workhorse of a series that remains profitable. In that sense, it's more like Law and Order and less like a high-aimer such as South Park.
All of this in mind, Bleach is not a bad series. There was nothing about my viewing experience that was overtly offensive. The animation and character designs are good or great, the story is interesting enough and the balance of action and humor is tolerable-to-entertaining. The script, while occasionally too reliant on exposition dumps, is generally tight. But as my advisers agreed, I fall into the camp of Bleach viewers who will never go beyond the first season. Not because I hate it, but because it doesn't impress me enough to keep me watching.
Comprehension: 9/10- Even though it deals with a fairly Eastern metaphysic, there weren't too many speedbumps for me with this series. I've gotten used to the idea of high school students with super powers and all the moe stereotypes by now. Honestly, most of my comprehension problems this time around were food-related.
Enjoyment: 6/10- If ever there was a "meh" moment in this project, Bleach is it. Competence does not equal entertainment, but it also usually keeps a series from being insufferable.
Improvement of Understanding: 7/10- I'm finally clear on what it takes to make a long-form series even happen in the anime industry. Still, I've got a little ways to go before I understand what makes the fanboys drool over admittedly mediocre products like the above.
Next Week: The Slayers
