Why did I start reading it?
I love Bleach and couldn't wait to get more!
What is it?
Bleach is a manga/anime series about an angry ginger teenager and his adventures with death gods. This particular thing is a Light Novel carrying on from where the Manga left off focusing on the Lieutenant of squad 9, 69 face himself, Shuhei Hisagi.
What are the characters like?
I mean it may be nostalgia glasses or maybe me just being more chill now I am older and wiser but I love 90% of Bleach's cast. I remember some used to annoy me but now I just love the broad spectrum of colourful dumbasses that somehow keep a kind of milliary together and save the world.
Anyone particularly cool?
Considering how long I've been familiar with the returning cast I suppose I'll talk about the new faces. It's really fun that they have used familiar faces to bring in the new ones. Very few of the new characters have come out of nowhere either being connected to a character's past or being a family member to someone. It helped flesh out character that I have already come to love.
What's the bad news?
Unfortunately, the whole book is just a bit...low quality. Its spelling and grammar are okay but its pose is woeful. I try not to insult the writing of others often, everyone has their own style and enjoy some more than others but they way time is handled, the way nothing is described and relies too heavily on the reader's memory of the manga... I'm not one to preach 'show don't tell' all that hard but this book shows what writing looks like when that is disregarded almost entirely.
And the good news?
On the other hand, if you are a fan of bleach, like me, there are parts of this book you will find fascinating. The downside of the manga being from Ichigo's outsider point of view is we only got bits and pieces as to the structures and cultures of the soul society. In this, reporter for the Seiritei bulletin Shuhei, is having to look into it in detail and it's just really fun seeing this world get a little more fleshed out. Plot-wise, I'll admit, I'm in, I'm super curious about what Kubo is doing and look forward to finding out more in the next volume.
Would you recommend?
So my recommendation comes with a few stipulations. If you don't mind rushed writing, don't mind googling the odd character or word when you don't remember it and love bleach then go for this book.