The Case for Remaking Bleach

So I was working on my upcoming list for my favorite anime of the 2000s, much like my previous list celebrating the anime of the 1990s, and as I was writing a list of over 20 potential nominees, I came across a little show known as Bleach. Feeling nostalgic (and admittedly unsure of how I felt about the show as a whole), I went onto Netflix and started watching the first season. And while it admittedly wasn't very special on a technical level, even for the standards of the time, it engrossed me like few other shows have.

Much like the Netflix adaptation that came out last September, Bleach's story is occasionally a bit of a mess. That sort of thing tends to happen with a weekly manga that lives or dies from a creator who's a better artist than writer that lives or dies at the whims of its audience and its editors. But there is a certain magic to it -- be it its imaginative world, its punk-inspired art style, its memorable cast of characters, its cheesy but effective soundtrack, and its themes of rebellion -- that never fails to capture the imagination. I can't think of anything in the entire world of anime that can come close to the unique energy that Tite Kubo brought to this world.

Let me be honest with you, I don't think that Bleach is going to make any best of the 2000s list anytime soon. The animation is mediocre, the pacing is all over the place, the narrative has a problem with repeating itself, and there is way too much awful filler to make up for the better moments in the series. Hell, it had such a problem maintaining a consistent quality that the fans lost interest and the anime was canceled before the final arc could even be adapted. No series is perfect, no matter what I may say about One Piece, but I do think that Bleach was an overall good show all things considered, and it bothers me that it seems to have fallen from grace in the eyes of the western anime community when its contemporary Naruto (which is equally flawed if not more so in my opinion) is still fondly remembered.

And I don't have time to go into detail as of why, but I do not remember Naruto nearly as fondly,
but that's neither here no there.

Either way, while I was reviewing my list of potential nominees, I saw two remakes listed as potential nominees: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Dragon Ball Kai. Remakes and sequels are a bit of a contentious subject in the anime community, much like in any other medium, but I think that there is a very good track record when it comes to remakes. Both Brotherhood and Kai were excellent shows that served to trim the fat and improve both the pacing and animation of the original series, and the 2011 Hunter x Hunter remake, the 2018 Captain Tsubasa remake, and the 2019 Dororo remake are all doing really well in updating the source material, and I would argue that they each eclipse the first adaptation in terms of quality. And with a Fruits Basket remake coming out in April (and yes, I will be covering that in the roundup), it doesn't look like the remakes will stop anytime soon. So, if remakes are here to stay, I would suggest that Bleach is perfect fodder for a remake.

But why Bleach, you may be asking? If I have such a middle of the road opinion of the anime and manga that is only buoyed by nostalgia for high school and a genuine appreciation for Kubo's aritstic talent and aesthetic, then why would I champion this as the show that deserves a remake over shows I'm crazy about like Yu Yu Hakusho or Death Note? Well, if you ask me, the fact that Bleach is an imperfect show is why I want it remade. While a remake of a show that was already great will always get a lot of attention, there's always a chance of disappointing the fans and losing all sorts of credibility and money if you fail to live up to the old series' reputation. Look at what happened to Clash of the Titans.

Besides, those kinds of remakes are boring. A remake isn't supposed to be a nostalgic cash grab, no matter what any marketing executive might say to the contrary, it should be a chance to update a story that was flawed and improve upon it, making it better than it was before. That doesn't mean I think every bad show should be remade. An anime studio needs to make money, after all, and nobody's gonna pay for a remake of Kampfer. 

Well, I might, but I'm trash.

But I don't think anyone can deny that Bleach has an audience. Regardless of its faults, it still stands as the 10th best selling manga of all time, outselling such heavyweights as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Attack on Titan, and Fist of the North Star. And that's just the tankobon sales, not counting how many fans the manga gained from reading Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. I haven't been able to find any significant data one way or another myself about other media sales, but, well, an anime adaptation does not last for 8 years for no reason, you know?

But that's just all hypothetical. Is there even a point to speculating about a potential remake if there's no indication that those in charge are even interested in making one? Well, as this fantastic video from YouTube user Clyde chronicles, there is evidence that indicates that the higher-ups at Studio Pierrot, Shueisha, and other rights holders may be testing the waters and/or keeping interest in the series alive. While I highly recommend that you watch the video for more information, but I will summarize a few of his points here that suggest that Bleach is being pushed hard. Bleach characters in Jump Force are based on the manga exclusive Thousand Year Blood War arc, which never made it to air, and two more fan favorite characters are coming as DLC, more DLC characters than more popular series like Dragon Ball and One Piece are getting. The mobile game Bleach Brave Souls is still alive and well 7 years after the anime was taken off the air and 3 years after the manga ended, with over 30 million active users worldwide. A series of light novels have been released in the years following the manga's ending and have sold so well that they are being reprinted. And of course, out of nowhere, a live action movie was released worldwide on Netflix, and it sounds like it did fairly well in Japan from what I can tell.

Not to mention that I just want it, okay?

Let's be clear, there is absolutely no concrete evidence that Bleach is coming back. A mobile game and some light novels are much cheaper to make than a full blown tv anime. And the movie was made and distributed by Warner Bros Japan and Netflix, not Studio Pierrot or Shueisha. As for Pierrot, they have quite a lot on their plate already. They have been continuously producing the anime adaptations for Boruto and Black Clover since 2017, along with plenty of seasonal releases including this season's The Morose Mononokean Season 2 and next season's Magmel of the Sea Blue (another anime I plan to cover in next season's roundup). Unless Bleach does return as part of this seasonal rotation -- which is entirely possible, don't get me wrong -- then Pierrot could end up simultaneously producing four tv anime. That's a huge strain on resources, and it could end up causing a lot of trouble for everyone involved.

Either way, it seems insane to me that this is even something that is being discussed right now. No matter what evidence there might be, I just don't think it's likely that Bleach will be remade. I don't even think that an adaptation of the final arc will be likely, considering that we have had 7 years of silence since the anime was canceled. After all, as detailed by YouTuber Super Eyepatch Wolf here, Bleach's popularity had dropped dramatically over the years, and the manga itself had a less than stellar end, even among fans. I disagree with some of his points about the quality of Bleach's writing, but it's definitely worth a watch. As is everything else on his channel, actually, go check him out.

And yet, I can't get the thought out of my head. Realistic or not, I can't get the idea of how much potential a prospective remake has. If the bigwigs at Pierrot decided to get Kubo involved with the production of a potential remake, without any pressure from the Shonen Jump editorial staff, he might be able to address any possible mistakes or regrets he may have about the manga from the first time around. The editors at Jump have not been kind to Kubo, from forcing him to abandon plot ideas that he cared about and prolong other story arcs longer than he ever intended. And with the Thousand Year Blood War and the popular light novels, there is a lot of material that can be used to keep the story going. And while it may be true that Bleach's fanbase is more of a cult one nowadays, there's a possibility that the series still has an audience and that the people in charge know it and are actively priming the audience for a potential return of Ichigo and company to television. And that really excites me.

Either way, I'm glad I get to share the awesome fanart I find on Google Images.