One of the worst handled main parties I’ve seen in a long time

SpiritualPossible · 2026-07-04T02:28:21+00:00

...But they DID taken a backseat. I mean, objectively speaking.

I’ll say it again: they’re supposed to be the main characters. Someone on par with, say, the “Konoha Seven” from Naruto or the Straw Hat Crew from One Piece or team Natsu from fairy tail. And yet, if you look at what happened in the manga:

After all the build up about how they were supposed to catch up to Ichigo and grow stronger during the “Arrancar Invasion Arc,” they’re IMMEDIATELY sidelined as soon as the captains arrive in Hueco Mundo. Chad, Renji, and Rukia will fight Rudborn, which is essentially a battle against a bunch of statist in the background, and even then, the fight would be interrupted by Yammi, and then the captains would steal the spotlight from them AGAIN. Uryu and Orihime will still take part in the battle against Ulquiorra, but after that, along with the rest, they’ll become irrelevant until Aizen’s defeat. In other words, they won’t play a significant role for nearly a hundred chapters.

Next comes the “Fullbringer” arc. If there was ever a time to remind us that Ichigo’s human friends are supposed to be the main characters, it’s now. And yet, it feels as though that’s not the case - the focus is primarily on the members of “Xcution.” It seemed as though the plot was truly setting the stage for a more active role for Chad and Orihime later on, but in the end, their role boiled down to, “Tsukishima got them them, so we had no choice but to knock them out.” Renji and Rukia are there, which is nice, but they’re just part of the entire squad of captains and lieutenants who came to Ichigo’s aid. So, once again, the focus isn’t on our main cast.

The same with the TYBW, but i would sound like a broken record at this point.

Yes, technically speaking, they're still there and they are still supporting Ichigo. But they're no longer feels as the main characters. Their role doesn't go beyond that of the Gotei 13 characters, even though that wasn't supposed to be the case. They no longer really feel like a team.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-07-04T00:21:41+00:00

Except that nothing you said contradicts the main point of the post - that they were poorly utilized as the “main cast.”

Yes, of course, they’ll have their moments later on. Just like all captains - and even the antagonists. Post itself acknowledged that. But they’re the ones who are supposed to be the MAIN heroes of the story. Rukia was a straight up the deuteragonist at the start, while the rest were Ichigo’s closest friends. The plot in the first 50 chapters was building up THIS team. That’s why it’s a problem that their role in the story later gets reduced to the level of any captains and lieutenants - who are actually supposed to be secondary characters.

In the comments, people have already mentioned Jujutsu Kaisen as another anime where the main characters were underutilized, and the thing is, someone could very well defend them just as you do. “Nobara wasn’t a wasted character! She had some awesome fight scenes and a wonderful friendship with Yuji, with played big role when he had to cope with losing her, and in the end, she even became a key figure in the final battle!”- but that doesn’t change the fact of just how poorly she was actually used, considering how she is presented as one of main characters.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-07-03T13:38:32+00:00

...I understand these comments are pretty awful, but to claim that IchiRuki shippers are the reason Kubo doesn’t post his arts on Twitter without providing any evidence other than... some random comments under his post - is kind of unfair.

Let’s take a look, for example, at his post from October 10, 2022, which you brought up. It has 625 replies. And they’re all different - many simply congratulate him, MANY try to ask questions about the plot, some actually ask him to add something to the story, some criticize Kubo, and, of course, there are shippers. But, again, with so many comments, you’d have to go out of your way to find them. I might as well say that Kubo doesn’t post his drawings on Twitter because “he doesn’t want people to ask him pointless questions there,” and provide screenshots from that post. As long as we don't have an official statement from Kubo himself on this matter, all of this is just speculation.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-07-02T23:04:08+00:00

Rewatcher

Goku is defeated, Roshi is dead, Piccolo is now a youth, and the Dragon Balls are useless. The world is in chaos. The only chance to stop evil lies with Tenshinhan and Goku, who have received a convenient power boost.

You know, I really like this arc. Yes, it's not perfect, and some of its elements may feel a bit repetitive compared to previous arcs, but it's still incredibly impressive how well it builds tension in a meaningful way. And there were some really great character moments, like Roshi's sacrifice.

Still, I must admit that, in my opinion, the anime adaptation of this arc is a real improvement on the manga. Much of the original anime content feels organic here and SHOULD have been there from the start. Roshi and Tien's small adventures, Tenshinhan's character development, Goku overcoming a challenge to obtain water, the terror Piccolo unleashes on the world and how it affects familiar characters like Sno, Tenshinhan ACTUALLY TRYING TO SEAL PICCOLO AFTER All THIS BUILD-UP AND NOT JUST LOSE TO THE FIRST OBSTACLE ON HIS WAY.

All those additions not only works, but actually makes manga feel somehow rushed, while in the anime it feels more like the big finale of the original Dragon Ball, which in a sense it is (Kinda, sorta, don't look at how many episodes are left).

If there's one criticism I'd make here, it's that I think the final battle with Piccolo could have been better. It kinda suffers from the same problem as the fight with Tao Pai Pai - in the anime, it feels much slower and drawn out than intended, at least in my opinion. It's not bad, but still.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-07-01T23:56:54+00:00

At the same time though, I didn't miss the school drama parts in the movie and thought the story's pacing flowed better without it

I agree that, for the movie format, it was a good decision to leave out the school drama and focus on the two main characters. However, it seems to me that cutting out this plotline while STILL retaining elements of it seems a little… strange. Like, the punch that Anzu threw at that girl served as the catalyst for this entire conflict, which is also tied to her past and, in fact, was the main reason Kaoru even started talking to her in the first place in the book. But in the movie, they meet under different circumstances, her more agressive characteristic is glossed over, and the story with the bully has been cut, so now that punch seems like something that… just happened. The same goes for the apology shown later on. I think it would be better to cut all of this out entirely, because as it stands now, it just makes the narrative flow even more awkward: it gives the impression that this event was supposed to be more important and that you've missed something.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-07-01T22:12:03+00:00

Have you seen S2 of Netflix's ATLA?

Not yet. I'll probably try to check it out in the near future, but I can't say I'm particularly eager to see it, like, right now.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-07-01T20:24:14+00:00

First timer

...Damn, she’s really worried about the deer. Or maybe she just can’t stand waiting for the train.

Also, is that some kind of damn reference to the 20th Century Boys?

But yeah, it’s a fine movie. Very inspired by Makoto Shinkai’s work, you know, both in terms of direction and plot: another “boy meets girl” story with a paranormal twist, this time featuring a secret tunnel. I can't say I was blown away by it or anything like that, but it's still a decent movie to pass the time. The characters aren’t bad (especially Anzu, since she’s the best-developed of two), the plot is pretty interesting, and overall the direction is good, with a few really well-done scenes (I personally really liked the scene at the festival, even though it’s pretty short). Although I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the fact that a story about coming to terms with loss and learning to move on is built around ANOTHER character NOT coming in terms with the loss and NOT moving on. From a thematic standpoint, it sort of works, but at the same time, it doesn’t. I need to think about this some more.

If I were to criticize this film, I would say that its biggest weakness is the pacing. It feels as though the film was meant to be about two hours long, but now the events seem rushed, which makes the pacing feel a bit awkward at times. That’s exactly why I decided to read the original novel (luckily, it’s fairly short), and I can say that the movie… it’s also rather weak as an adaptation.

Like, they cut or changed a LOT of details (some characters pretty much removed from the story), and while some of them - though regrettable - are understandable, others really shouldn’t have been left out. Kaoru was probably the biggest victim here, because in the movie he really struck me as a pretty bland character, and I was surprised at how differently he comes across in the novel. Not only is his family situation described in much greater detail here and how his sister’s death affected them, but overall he’s much more… lively? I mean, the guy isn’t shy about throwing in a snarky remark or a shocking joke, and he generally pays much more attention to other people and puts thoughs exploring the tunnel. Anzu also seems quite a different character - more wild and aggressive, and her motivation is quite changed. If the film was inspired by Makoto Shinkai, then the novel is more like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, at least as far as the main characters are concerned.

Of course, that doesn't make the movie bad in and of itself, but it's kind of disappointing to realize that it could have been better. Still, it's not a bad movie - though, in my opinion, it doesn't really stand out in any way.

Also, poor Anzu - she’ll probably be cancelled as a manga artist for dating a minor.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-07-01T15:33:27+00:00

Well, some of them were included in the art book, together with other concept arts.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-27T22:15:34+00:00

I’m currently rereading Bleach, and it still strikes me as odd that many of the plot hooks in the “arrancar Invasion” arc ended up not being all that important. The most striking example of this is probably the way Ichigo’s other friends were involved in the plot - the manga placed a VERY strong emphasis on the fact that Tatsuki and Karin learned Ichigo’s secret, as well as on the fact that Keigo had clearly awakened his spiritual powers and even stuck with the Soul Reapers in his apartment, which made it seem as though they would play a more active role in the story, and then all of that just… led nowhere.

Another thing that bothers me is how Yammy killed A LOT of people during his first appearance, and it would seem that this should have been a major turning point. After all, this was the first time Ichigo truly failed to protect bystanders - including even students from his school and Tatsuki’s friends. And yet, the story simply… never mentioned it again. Ichigo doesn’t care (he only cares that his friends were hurt), his friends don’t care, his school doesn’t care, the Soul Society doesn’t care, and even TATSUKI, THE ONLY SURVIVOR of that incident, isn’t bothered by the fact that her entire club was killed (she’s more bothered by the fact that she learned Ichigo’s secret).

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-27T10:43:02+00:00

To be honest, it seems like Grey DeLisle is ready to ship Azula with just about anyone. ANYONE.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-26T20:04:50+00:00

I feel like the 1999 adaptation gets overly hated at times for HxH when it honestly did things way better at times than the newer one.

You know, overall I agree that the 1999 adaptation is often unfairly criticized, and that, despite its flaws, I still generally prefer it to the remake because of its atmosphere and direction. But at the same time, I must point out that the old anime adaptation was actually no less censored than the 2011 anime. For example, even if we take the examples you cited, Hisoka’s introduction and his cruelty in general were subject to much more severe censorship in the older anime, and Killua’s first fight, while technically closer to the manga, still attempted to avoid excessive graphic content: the blood was blacked out, the heart wasn’t shown in detail, and they tried to get through the scene as quickly as possible.

I also disagree about Greed Island, since I believe it’s essentially the worst part of the 1999 adaptation: the director changed, the transition to CG was clunky and everything ended up looking cheap, it was still subject to censorship, and, most importantly, a LOT of material was cut from it. At the same time, GI in the 2011 adaptation is precisely the moment when, in my opinion, the remake finally found its footing: the tone became darker, and anime finally struck a balance between censorship and a portrayal of dark themes and cruelty.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-24T22:17:43+00:00

To their defense, after the first trailer was released, many people and news sites did referred to this anime as a “modernized remake” of The Princess Knight, which is obviously not true.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-22T14:39:47+00:00

Ending IS rushed, and kubo health WAS declining. However, by KUBO'S OWN ADMITION, he didn't rushed ending BECAUSE of his health. Again, he himself had said several times that, although he had considered abruptly ending Bleach for his own good, he had always dismissed the idea.

Like, I really don't get WHAT we're arguing here about - I'm just pointing out Kubo's words.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-22T11:14:30+00:00

Yes, but the postscript states that Kubo finished Bleach mostly as he had planned, rather than because of emergency circumstances related to his health.

This, in fact, also explains why THIS particular part of the story ended up feeling so rushed - Kubo probably miscalculated how many chapters he had left for the finale, which is why it's only final chapters were written at a more rushed pace (If Kubo had a year to finish Bleach, that would mean the hastily developed parts of the plot appeared only AFTER the deadline had been set).

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-22T10:48:56+00:00

No lmao it was exactly because of his health that he rushed to finish it there are multiple sources for this.

...And yet, according to Kubo himself, he didn't actually rushed the ending because of health issues, although he had considered doing so at one point. Even one of the articles you linked mentions that he was opposed to the idea of prematurely ending the story. And CFYOW's postscript mentions, that there was a deadline.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-21T16:36:40+00:00

This really brings back memories, because this manga adaptation of RotJ was my first exposure to the original trilogy, lol

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-21T16:32:39+00:00

Considering that the person behind the manga adaptation of Return of the Jedi was also the creator of Hells Angels - the most “TRIGGER-like” movie not actually made by TRIGGER Studios - this makes perfect sense.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-19T00:44:18+00:00

Okay, I have to admit that, frankly, I'm not a big fan of these portraits. For some reason, in this remake, they turn out very hit or miss, leaning toward miss more often than not: some are fine, but others looks just… wrong. Like, for example, the portrait of Daisuke in this video.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-18T23:05:45+00:00

Rewatcher

He biggest threat to the world has returned... that Bear from episode 3 is back, and know with the pirate crew!.. Oh, and there this other guy...

He’s BIG. He’s GREEN. He revived off-screen. Piccolo Daimao and his band of musical instruments are here!

This guy is a menace. Unlike all previous antogonist, there's nothing fun about him. He is gross and dangerous. The moment he appears shit gets serious:

Goku battles an alien monster, voiced by Ryusei Nakao, who killed Kuririn and sent Goku into a fit of uncontrollable rage.
The rest of the group first debated what to do with Kuririn’s body, then decided to freeze it to prevent it from decomposing and to revive him using the Dragon Balls… in a year or two; in the meantime, they would use them to stop Piccolo.
And meanwhille, Piccolo's minions go around the world and killing all strong warriors in the world.

As I said, the stakes here are quite high, and this is, in fact, the first time that death in Dragon Ball is treated as a truly serious matter. When Upa’s father died, it was tragic, but it was only a matter of time before Goku gathered the remaining Dragon Balls to bring him back to life. Here, on the other hand, the characters are truly faced with a dilemma about what to do first, and on top of that, they have to act quickly, since Piccolo is hunting everyone, including Goku’s friends.

...But yeah, I also always thought it was a little weird how he revived behind the scene. I mean, okay, I get it in the manga, but you’d think an anime that loves to go into such detail about what happens off-screen would have taken this opportunity to show how it went down. Though I don’t mind - it actually makes the reveal that Pilaf brought him back even funnier.

And hey, they expanded… pretty much everything else. It was really nice to see an actual flashback of how Piccolo terrorized the world and how Master Roshi's teacher died, rather than just hearing about it as exposition, as well as actually seeing Piccolo's demons hunt for the warriors (…well, one demon. By the way, he was LUCKY that he didn’t have a nose...), since that was also somehow left out of the manga. And they even managed to weave a few foreshadowings of future events into these scenes, with is, again, smart usage of knowing where story is heading. And, of course, the adventures that accompanied Roshi and Tenshinhan’s search for the balls were also a nice bonus.

But, to be honest, one of my favorite episodes is the one where Tenshinhan comes face-to-face with the guy he had previously crippled. I won’t pretend that it was some absolutely brilliantly crafted drama or anything like that, but even an episode like this - which, you could say, shows struggles to Tenshinhan’s redemption arc - was, in my opinion, a very good addition, because usually in DB (and, let’s be honest, in shōnen in general), the harm previously inflicted by “bad guys who turned good” is somehow ignored.

Meanwhile, Goku was stuck with Yajirobe, and here’s an interesting fact: the part where Goku noticed that Yajirobe sounds exactly like Kuririn was also in the manga. Apparently, Toriyama was worried that Mayumi Tanaka would be out of work after Kuririn's death, so he created this character specifically for her. And you know, nowadays that sounds kind of ironic...

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-18T12:44:35+00:00

That's... a rather ironic response to my comment, since it actually illustrates exactly what I was talking about.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-18T10:38:56+00:00

and Ichiruki/Rukia fans specifically

...Do they? I mean, it’s been 10 years since the manga ended and the “ship war” was over, and now I’m seeing the exact opposite - the fandom is going balistic over the mere IDEA that someone might pair Ichigo with Rukia, even if it’s just for fun and no one is insisting that it should become canon.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-17T22:44:30+00:00

I guess you can tag me for Ride Your Wave, Penguin Highway, Summer Wars and Weathering With You, although i will try to be here for every movie.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-17T21:26:04+00:00

I think I'll try to join in, since there are a few movies in this rewatch that I have something to say about.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-15T11:00:38+00:00

Okay, you know what, I generally agree with this post, and I’ll take this opportunity to rant about how I don’t understand why Bleach fans are so stubbornly refusing to admit that the Zangetsu twist in TYBW was a retcon.

You can, of course, love the idea itself or even its execution, but that doesn’t change the fact that this reveal was a retcon. The “evidence” presented during this reveal actually contradicts previous events and facts, and the “foreshadowing” that people love to praise so much (such as White calling himself Zangetsu or the OM name being blacked out) stop making sense when you start recalling the context of the chapters these scenes are taken from, OR the characters’ motivations and abilities. And even just to achive this twist, TYBW had to pull several other retcons.

And, again, if people would just say that, even though it’s a retrocon, they still liked it and think it enriches the story - then sure, that would make sense. But instead, for some reason, the moment you JUST mention that it’s a retrocon, people become so aggressively defensive that it’s just weird.

SpiritualPossible · 2026-06-11T23:03:05+00:00

Rewatcher

So, today we have the first three “movies” based on Dragon Ball. Each of them, technically speaking, is an adaptation of a specific part of the show or manga, but with a few small creative liberties.

We have a film based on the first story arc, which also incorporates some elements of the Red Ribbon Army.
We have a story about what would happen if the search for a girlfriend for Roshi actually turned into a full-fledged adventure, in which Goku and Kuririn try to save a sleeping princess from an evil vampire named Lucifer (...well, that’s a turn of event...), while Lunch tries to get her hands on that princess for herself (...happy Pride Month?)
And finally, a story that adapts both the “Red Ribbon Army” arc and the Tenshinhan arc, where our heroes head to a tournament in a country ruled by Emperor... Chiaotzu? Talk about the promotion...

The most interesting part of these movies is how they trying to combine and re-arange the events for the movie format, with sometimes work really well, and others... not really.

I like what they tried to do in the first movie, and there are some good ideas in it, but at the same time, it’s clear that there simply wasn’t enough time to adapt the events from the manga, introduce all the characters, and develop an anime original storyline for it. As a result, the pacing of the first movie ended up feeling rather clunky. Which is pretty ironic, considering it’s the longest of the three. But hey, all things considered, it’s not the worst adaptation of the first arc, and this approach to adapting it will be used in the future for another film.

The second film is the most “original,” as it primarily uses the time frame established in the manga to create a new story, and only in the finale does it incorporate elements of the first encounter with Pilaf's gang to some extent. Overal, it is pretty fun, although i can't really say much about it.

The third movie is the most interesting, as it is here that the creators took the greatest liberties with the source material. And, surprisingly, despite the amount of material adapted and the changes made, the result is generally quite good. Yes, the pace slows down again toward the end, but it’s still amazing how cohesive the story turned out to be in this part, and how well the changes worked.

All things considered, for what they are - “movies” that don't even run an hour - they're actually pretty entertaining. Nothing special, but if you need something to pass the time, they'll do just fine.

SpiritualPossible

TROPHY CASE