Summary
TheBleachanime was considered one of threepopularJumpseriesthat were termed the “Big 3” along withNarutoandOne Piece. The three shows shared a lot of things, including large casts and charismatic protagonists. Due to the state of adapted anime at the time, the three also had their fair share of original content.
Some of these were one-off episodes, and some were even arcs. Contained within them were not only original stories that weren’t canon, but also characters who were fleshed out that also weren’t canon. Some of those characters are widely popular, andBleachin particular had some excellent ones.
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Base of Operations
Nest of Maggots
In its 366-episode run, many might not remember theGotei 13 Invading Army arcas it wasn’t the greatest bit of storytelling thatBleachhad ever come up with. However, it did contain a pretty cool fight between the villain, Ōko Yushima, and Kurosaki Ichigo.
Ichigo came to Rukia’s rescue again, and a fight ensued between the modified souls in Ōko Yushima and Ichigo, who also had the help of Sado, Rukia, Ishida, and most of the Gotei 13 captains. Ōko Yushima made for a decent villain and produced a fight of high quality that lives rent-free in the head.
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None
The Zanpakuto rebellion arc is perhaps the best filler arc in theBleachseries as it featured a lot of memorable characters, especially the manifestations of the main characters’ zanpakuto. One of the characters from that arc was the main villain, Koga Kuchiki.
Koga was an interesting character as it gave a lot of depth to theKuchiki family, which Byakuya and Rukia represent. Having someone such as that connected to the family gave fans a glimpse into the rich history of the Soul Society. Koga was also a strong fighter, and his battle with Byakuya was quite good (any fight with Byakuya is good).
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Shusuke Amagai was suddenly announced as the leader of the 3rd Squad in Soul Society, taking over from Gin Ichimaru, who haddefected with Aizen. He was an abrupt addition to the story, and it turns out he had an ulterior motive against the soul reapers.
His story was fascinating as it did have an air of plausibility regarding a replacement for Ichimaru. He also made use of the Bakkoto, which was a rather interesting weapon within theBleach-verse. As a character, he was laid back, and his low tolerance for alcohol was one of the more amusing parts of the New Captain arc.
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Forest Of Menos
In the Hueco Mundo arc, a peculiar character thatRukia Kuchikimeets is Ashido Kano, a soul reaper who was trapped in the forest of Menos and had essentially chosen to stay there. He usually wore a hollow mask, and his unmasked face was striking, which made him stand out somewhat.
Apparently, he was supposed to be a canon character, and his backstory was compelling. He and his colleagues chased the hollows through a portal, and while everyone else died, Ashido kept fighting and was adept at taking down the hollows. Maybe fans will meet him again, as he had too little screen time.
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Muramasa was the manifested zanpakuto of Koga Kuchiki and was responsible for the events of the Zanpakuto Rebellion arc, as he is able to release other zanpakuto from their masters and let them live on their own.
However, he turned out to be a rather two-faced character whose only goal was to free his master, Koga. This betrayed him as a grifter who didn’t believe in the ideals he was spouting, and it was quite ironic to see how he was treated when he finally freed Koga. He was a remarkable character who alsohad a cool designfor the era.
For most of the series, Rukia’s zanpakuto, Sode No Shirayuki, was referred to as the most beautiful zanpakuto. Fans finally got a look at what she was like during the Zanpakuto Rebellion arc, where her manifestation came forth and was hostile toward Rukia, whom she saw as a weakling.
Of the zanpakuto characters, she was one of the only ones that really stood out, and her stoic beauty was striking. It also gave fans a glimpse at how immensely powerful Rukia was going to be, as Sode No Shirayuki’s powers were incredible. She eventually gets along with Rukia, which is cute to see.
While Sode No Shirayuki was a fascinating personality, another zanpakuto that stood out was Kazeshini, who was the manifestation of Shuhei Hisagi’s zanpakuto. As a character, he wasquite edgy and cynical, but it was in a good way, and he brought on the tension in the Zanpakuto Rebellion arc.
It was interesting to see that even when he wasn’t under the brainwashing of Muramasa, he still retained an independent attitude and was a bit of a difficult character to get along with. He eventually mellowed out, and to see the growth in him was nice.
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Urahara Shop
Noba is a creation of Kisuke Urahara to locate Bounts, vampire-like creatures introduced into theBleachuniverse in the next arc after the Aizen Defection arc. While the arc was largely forgettable and it had a lot of issues that messed with the power structure ofBleach, it did introduce these cute creations by Urahara.
Noba would be pretty helpful in dealing with the Bounts, but he was also present in a lot of other arcs, including briefly in the Arrancar arc, Beast Swords, and other arcs. In his doll form and when he dons his gigai, he looks rather adorable, and this might be the reason for his popularity.
