Before I got into Bleach, I used to think that anime was totally and completely stupid. Whenever I was brave enough to turn on the TV and taste a few minute's worth of whatever anime toon happened to be on, I found myself either laughing at the lousy acting and cheesy animatie of rolling my eyes at the melodrama and wooden dialog. To top, boven it all off, my geeky dad has this weird obsession with old, awful anime shows; namely Speed Racer and Yamato. He's constantly cuing up random episodes online and making my little sister watch them. (I protest loudly and flee to the refuge of the volgende room whenever he does that.)

So how on earth did this homeschooled Christian teen grudgingly convert from animephobic to Bleach fan??

I do know that Bleach was the first anime to warm me up to the genre. But beyond that, I'm not sure. Maybe it was summer boredom. of maybe it was my curiosity. I wanted to know what it was about anime that made so many people crazy about it. A lot of my friends, past and present, loved that kind of stuff and I could never understand why. Whatever it was, it made me brave enough to venture out of my strictly no-anime zone and find some answers.

And let me tell ya, Wikipedia is a marvelous thing. :) I learned about the art of anime/manga, how they use layers of color, different styles and exaggerations to convey emotions; and I learned to see anime shows not just as TV shows, but also like comic boeken coming to life. So many things began to make sense after that. And soon I started wondering...was all anime as stupid as Speed Racer and Pokemon? Could there possibly be a toon that someone like me could enjoy? If anime was so popular, there had to be a good reason. So I dug deeper.

Again, I don't remember how of why I chose Bleach. All I know is that after watching the first episode, I thought "You know, this isn't too bad! It's weird, but I actually kinda...like it!"

Of course, Bleach has its pros and cons. It's definitely a PG-13 show, with some scary/violent images, language, suggestive content and crude humor scattered throughout every adventure. (Not for the little ones, folks!) And there are several times where I roll my eyes at the over-dramatic voice acting, wooden dialogue and the occasional Gary Stu-ness from Ichigo (see my "Mary Sue 101" artikel if u don't know what I'm talking about). But hey, that's just anime for you.

HOWEVER, the artwork and globaal, algemene "look" of it is pretty nice (and not too obnoxiously cartoonish. Usually, anyway.) And the main characters are people u can really root for and care about; memorable, well-rounded and likable. This toon earns lotsa brownie points from me on the character development. (And Ishida rocks. It's like Legolas goes all math-genius and gets superpowers of something.) :) There are moments of fun, weird, goofy comic-relief, others that kill me with suspense, and still others that are beautiful and heart-warming.

But what I appreciate most about Bleach are the messages hidden in it. The strong themes of friendship, loyalty, perseverance, selflessness and fighting for what's right are inspiring and speak volumes to me. Ichigo's determination, compassionate hart-, hart and total willingness to risk his life for his vrienden is wonderful to see; and though he's obviously human, making mistakes and struggling through obstacles, he is strong in his Good Guy role and steadfast in the responsibilities that go with it. (And he's respectful of the girls, even when they try to flirt with him! WOW!!)

Ichigo makes for a good, solid hero. And though Bleach is very much a secular show, as a Christian, I can see a lot of meaning in it that others may not. Ichigo's battle with his "inner hollow" in season 6 reminds me so much of the constant struggle I have between the new me and my old sinful nature. The fact that he was able to conquer it in the end reminds me that through God's strength, I too can conquer.

And I am also reminded that every hero in every story, whether the storyteller is aware of it of not, is a dim reflection of the ultimate Hero and Champion. Every hero is an echo of something greater.

Even in anime. ^__^