Michael is Low on Hit Points

Bleach filler surpasses the manga, Endless Eight ways to direct a single episode, and the failures of Saimoe

• Posted  August 11th, 2009 at 1:23 AM ET
• Subjects  Bleach, Haruhi Suzumiya, Saimoe
• Tags  impressions, mid-season
• Image sources
  1- Bleach [unknown]
  2- K-ON! [unknown]
  
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Bleach is challenging all my preconceptions on filler arcs. Apparently, not only can these arcs not suck, but in fact be better than the "real" material. Endless Eight is over but very much still a topic of conversation. I should probably keep my mouth shut with the current climate, but what fun would that be? And finally, all these Saimoe tournaments have left me befuddled.

Bleach filler is killer

The unthinkable has occurred: the latest anime filler arc, focusing on a bunch of anime original characters (sort of), has captured my interests where as recent developments in the manga have left me shrugging my shoulders.

Whaaa?

There are two pieces that fit together to make this shocking scenario true. #1: the manga is beyond underwhelming. This is quite bad considering that the "plot" has finally reached the point we've all been waiting for: Aizen and his top crew versus the Vizards and the Gotei 13.

Maybe I'm burned out by how Kubo Tite plots out his fighting action. The delivery has gotten stale. Yet still, shouldn't I be at least somewhat excited for most of these match ups? Short of Gin or Aizen finally fighting, I honestly don't care all that much for this battle royal.

On the other hand is point #2, that the anime filler is surprisingly not terrible. The premise is creative and interesting, making use of existing principles to make new developments. The "newly introduced" characters have a meaning and a relationship to the core cast. Finally, the setup delivers an intriguing conflict that the Shinigami aren't quite equipped anymore to face.

With only two episodes down so far, claiming the new arc is destined for glory may be a bit presumptuous. But there's no denying the fact that I'm more interested in the next episode of Bleach than the next chapter of the series proper. And that shatters all my preconceived notions about filler material.

Another reason Endless Eight rocked

I make no apologies for liking Endless Eight. I've enjoyed it for various other reasons, but near its end something new hit me. It's more than just KyoAni reanimating each repeat. The key thing that really interests me about the reanimation is that each episode has a different and unique direction.

There obviously isn't only one way to direct an episode. But have we ever been able to actually see different takes on the same material? There are different angles, different pacing of each section, different ways of reading lines and... well, the list goes on and on.

From the wannabe artist's point of view, we certainly have some interesting comparisons to make after each iteration. If Endless Eight had only been one episode, what parts of each direction should be chosen? What style of direction was best? What version of each shot was most unique and memorable? That's just another little nugget of potential discourse that stuck out to me.

Switching to another point, the grand finale of iteration number 8 was extraordinary. That would have never had the same impact if the finale of the arc was delivered in -- let's say -- episode 3. Something "lost," something gained, for all the people out there that hated the arc. Not that the payoff will soothe their inexplicable "burning rage."

Character tourneys absent Mio & Senjougahara are a joke

International Saimoe League (ISML) is irrelevant. Can you believe that it is still going on? The problem with such a prolonged schedule is that new characters are entered into the otaku community as the tourney goes on and on.

And at this juncture in time, if you're having a "best female anime character" debate without either Mio from K-ON! or Senjougahara from Bakemonogatari, you're far from being relevant.

The "real" Saimoe also began without Senjougahara. There are obviously rules permitting the cutoff date for new series. But does that really matter? This is the internet. The time is now and the discussion and debate is focused on now. And this tourney, due to it's timing, is not discussing now. The tourney is already "old."

You could try and make an argument saying that a character needs more time in the light in order for us to make a better judgement. Bullshit. I've seen enough. Senjougahara is one of the best female anime characters I have ever seen. No further evidence is necessary. I know a winner when I see one, and she clearly is.

One final note: what the fuck busted ass competition has fan mega-favorite Mio losing in round 1? What nonsense is this? Oh, haters... god damn haters. But I guess that's the point of a tournament with brackets. I just happen to think the format kind of sucks.

Let's just say these tournaments are not for me and move along, I guess.

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