Goodbye, Old Friend: The Best of the Bleach, Upon Departure

The curtain is falling on one of anime’s finest eras.  Bleach is coming to an end and its last episode is on Hulu as of today.

When I first heard, I felt a tug inside my heart. What would I do now? I’ve followed Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Chad, Uryu, Orihime, and the gang since the beginning. I want to continue watching crazy, epic battles. I want to keep collapsing into belly laughs when the Zanpakuto, Soul Reapers and Arrancars do something dorky, or when crafty Uryu sews something rad.

What drew me into Bleach was Ichigo Kurosaki’s personality. In the first episode when he brings the smackdown onto the punks messing with the roadside memorial, this made me realize, “ Hey this is not normal.”

But in a good way.

So let me divulge my favorite episode. It’s a classic. Understand that I love the later episodes, too, but this is the episode that solidified my love for Bleach.

It’s Episode 59. The whole arc focuses on rescuing Rukia, who’s about to be executed. Everyone’s emotional, and it all comes to a climax with Ichigo’s fight with Byakuya. It has all the marks of a great battle:

•        Smack talking
•        Uncovering a hidden form of an opponent’s main attack.
•        Witnessing the protagonist’s inner demons come out
•        Watching said protagonist wrestle with inner demon and overcome it
•        Rocking battle soundtrack.

So there it is.  Bleach is going away.  I will miss you and never forget you. Good bye, halcyon days.