stereotypes in Bleach

[incandescens]

Today was good, and useful, and very tiring. Post-work meal with colleagues to celebrate a couple of present/upcoming birthdays was nice in itself (and the pizza was lovely -- we went to a decent Italian restaurant) but I tend to like napping after work and was tired anyhow, so I was really zonked when I got home.

Had a thought last night about how a lot of KT's characters in Bleach are standard shounen stereotypes, but with an interesting twist or history. We have the Shounen Hero, the Intelligent Rival, the Cute Fluffy Healer, the Friendly Big Bruiser, the Tomboy, and none of them are cliche. In Soul Society we get the Brittle Internal Security type, the Smiling Cad, the Mild Healer, the One Honest Man, the Stiff-Backed Aristocrat, the (counts on fingers) Disfigured Yet Honourable Strong Man, the Drunken Samurai, the Blind Warrior, the Boy Genius, the Anything For A Challenge Brawler, the Mad Scientist, and the Consumptive Samurai, and yet they've all got something beyond the obvious. (Such as a good writer.)

---

This is Just to Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

-- William Carlos Williams

Comments

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Is Consumptive Samurai a common shounen archetype?

[incandescens]

I'm fairly sure I've seen at least Sick Samurai, or Sick Aristocrat, show up a few times. Or possibly I'm confusing myself with live-action HK or Japanese movies . . .

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

That's one of my all-time favorite poems, and is actually one I already knew of. :)

[incandescens]

I'm never quite sure how serious it is, but I do like it.

[himawari.livejournal.com]

Very good point. It's part of what makes this series so enjoyable, isn't it? And the fact that KT bothers to give them backstory and motivation at all.
You forgot the Stern Patriarch. ;)

[incandescens]

True, and precisely.

Whoops! Not to mention the Abused Follower, the Loyal Follower, the Rebel Tattooed Punk, the Thugs With Good Hearts . . .

[jediboadicea.livejournal.com]

Such as a good writer.

And that's the truth, right there. :)

When it comes right down to it, an archetype or a trope or a cliche can still be good and feel fresh and have oomph - it all depends on execution. Method matters. In the hands of a poor writer, the most blindingly original idea can suck awful. But in the hands of a writer who knows how to deal in shades and facets, even the Knight In Shining Armor can be interesting.

Just yesterday I was also thinking about how good a mangaka KT really is. I'm in the middle of reading Naruto, and though it's entertaining enough in its fashion, there's no denying that Bleach outshines it in just about every way - art as well as story. That's just my opinion, of course, but every time I go back to Bleach I am impressed all over again not only by the characters, but by how easy the images themselves are to take in and follow. A lot of the time, in reading Naruto for example, I find that I can't make out much difference between one face and the next, whereas with Bleach KT has introduced a mind-boggingly large cast of characters, every one of whom somehow manages to have a distinctive look as well as a distinctive personality. The more I think on it, and compare it to other manga I've read, the more I think that KT has managed the best balance I've yet seen between clearly depicted action in the drawing, and engaging story in the writing.

Argh, need the new chapter NOW!!!

[incandescens]

Bleach is certainly proving to be one of the manga that I am most devoted to, what with me ardently checking bleachforums every week to find out the latest developments. (New chapter script seems to be up, by the way.)

And it's so rich. There's so much in it, and so much to use/write about, and . . . just so many times the author has pleasantly surprised me.

[physpreparation.livejournal.com]

Sounds like some good thoughts. :p

[incandescens]

I get meta occasionally. ;)