30.7.09

Thursday Comic


Bleach (Vols 1-4) - Tite Kubo

Although I can certainly see why Eiichiro Oda's One Piece is the best regarded of the popular boys' mangas, I have to admit that its interminable, slow-paced fights scenes started to grate a bit after reading seven volumes of it. Compared to the high-seas nonsense of One Piece, the concept of Bleach - high-schooler secretly fights ghosts gone bad - may seem more prosaic and cliched, but you're at least guaranteed that something will happen between the first and last pages of a book.

But more than that, what drew me back to this comic were the memorable and colourful characters - whether it's Rukia, an ancient soul reaper lying low as a school girl, with her frosty exterior and courageous heart; or sensitive giant Chad who fights spirits he can't even see using sheer brute strength.

Okay, there are much more 'worthy' books out there, but Bleach is lively, fun and full of personality.

1 comment:

Zhoen said...

Sometimes the flawed ones stick with us, not because they are the best, but because the ideas are so good, even not done to perfection.