Post by Zou ۞ on Jul 19, 2018 3:21:54 GMT -5
Dear minions,
With permission, I stole this excerpt from a friend's post on a discussion based site he mods. Please read, as it is important. After you read it, read my brief follow up.
Hey guys!
As most of you know, Bleach was originally my favorite anime/manga series from the previous generation, the 1995-2015 generation, wherein the top sellers were the likes of FMA, Death Note, and of course the big three: Naruto, One Piece, Bleach.
As most of you also know, I became disillusioned with the series as it went on. The Save Rukia Arc was a masterpiece of storytelling and one of the best arcs I have ever seen in manga. That momentum carried Bleach through a tasteless Arrancar Arc that was watchable only because of the exceptional fight scenes. Near the end of this arc, the fight scenes became more and more dull, as did the story. It was around the Fullbringer Arc that Tite Kubo began to introduce new plot elements such as races and world building we had not seen before. This arc still ultimately disappointed, and the Thousand Year Blood War was one of the worst executed arcs I have ever seen in manga. When Bleach finally ended I was disappointed in it, angry at Tite Kubo and his publishers, and swore off all of his remaining works. I love Bleach enough to play on this site, however, and this is what I would like to discuss today.
Eventually, I caved to curiosity. I just read Tite Kubo's new One Shot, "Burn The Witch." I resisted at first because, like I said, I swore off his future works. Eventually, I couldn't help myself. That being said, it was pretty bland. Basically Bleach, but it's in London instead of Japan. Soul Reapers are replaced by witches/warlocks, Hollows are replaced by Dragons, Soul Society is replaced by Reverse London. I did not care for it until the last 2-3 pages, where I was SHOOK.
WARNING. SPOILERS AHEAD. You should read the one shot before reading past this line.
Click below.
The real name for Reverse London? Soul Society. West Branch.
What does this mean? Since this was only a One Shot, it can mean a lot of things. For those of you who don't know, a One Shot is a one time release of a story, 60 or so pages, with no other chapters following or preceding. There are three types of One Shots in manga. The first is a concept draft sent to publishing companies to see if they like an idea for a series. If the publishing company likes it enough, then the publishing company will use the One Shot a first draft concept chapter released to test how palatable a series might be to audiences.
The second type is a self contained story that has already gone through several drafts and is considered a "completed" piece of work. It is the only story for that setting and with those characters.
The third, and most common, is a spin-off One Shot. This is when a single, 60+ page chapter is released to show another part of an existing or completed series. It can be a character origin, a sort of sequel for closure, a prequel, and importance varies. For example, the Kakashi One Shot made by Kishimoto became a central part of Naruto's storyline. Ohba and Obata by contrast released Death Note 109, a sequel one shot which told the story of another Death Note falling into the world and Near as L being the one to address it. It didn't test well with audiences so a Death Note sequel was never produced. Kishimoto's Boruto One Shot with Sarada tested very well, so we now have a Boruto series.
This third type of One Shot can be written by the author of a series, or, with publishing company permission, by a significant fan author. Hunter x Hunter has a Hisoka origin story One Shot written by someone else. Togata has not canonized this, so it isn't canon. Most One Shots produced by the original author are canon.
This brings us to Burn The Witch. Written by Tite Kubo, if it is indeed a spin-off from Bleach then it IS canon. However, it might not be this third type. If it is the first type then it won't be canon, because that means if it tests well then a different version will be released as its own series, with many details changed. Kishimoto's original Naruto One Shot is after all very different from the main series, and that first ever release chapter isn't considered canon because it's a totally different story. It could also be that Tite Kubo just wants to replicate "Soul Society" as a term, and it could be the second type of One Shot, a whole new story, one with no further chapters.
If it's the third type, then this is canon, and it is officially a part of Bleach lore. Soul Society West Branch. It would make a lot of sense, since in the One Shot they make reference to how things are done in Japan, our main setting for Bleach, and how in Japan they "just kill them" instead of using their monsters as resources. The use of the term "Soul Society" also does make this the most likely scenario. It could be that Tite Kubo is trying to make a sequel series, or he just wanted to add some lore to a series that he has expressed he felt he let down his fans in. Short of confirmation from Kubo or JUMP, unfortunately we can only speculate.
I, for one, think that this is canon. There are just too many coincidences.
On page 21, for instance, the reference to Japan. Why bother if it's just a self contained, individual story? Sort of pointless.
There's also page 23.
On page 23, Selvie and Bango make a big deal about how the initials for Reverse London should be "RL" in this teleporting phone booth, but the initials Bango saw instead were "WB," which we later learn stands for "West Branch." This is too much of an easter egg for me. Why would Tite Kubo bother to set this up if it isn't Bleach? He gives us this small mystery that we don't think too much on, "WB," and then at the end he makes a big reveal with what it stands for. How could it not be to generate excitement and show us more Bleach content?
Finally, it's just too similar. An enemy regular humans can't see, a secret society meant to police them, and a magical power to fight them. I think it's no coincidence that the storyline of this chapter was so eerily similar to the Pilot chapter of Bleach either.
IF this is canon to Bleach, then it changes EVERYTHING.
Many new mechanics were revealed here. Dragons! Are they another kind of Hollow, or their own separate monster? Ninii's reference to what Japan does to theirs implies that she views Japan's monsters as dragons, but she also admits that she isn't very knowledgeable about this subject.
Dark Dragons do act very much like Hollows, though. Unlike Hollows, who form from the negative emotions of a Minus, Dark Dragons form by absorbing the negative emotions of living humans around them. The basis for the formation of both Hollows and Dragons is negative emotion.
There are also disguisers, who can take over the bodies of the recently dead. Selvie is shown to have been a Dragon in disguise for over ten years.
There are also many different magical powers, such as the teleporting phonebooth, the brooms, and Noel's battle style.
The world of Bleach is greatly expanded if this is canon. We now know that there is a Soul Society West Branch that does things very differently and has a different kind of threat. This implies a South and North branch also exist, since the Japanese Soul Society would be an East Branch due to location.
Admittedly, I do think there is one hole in this, and that's the Soul King. With the way Kubo set up the Soul King's function, it makes it so this runs the potential of being inconsistent.
I'd like to know what all of you think! Let's discuss.
What are witches/warlocks? Are they a type of Fullbringer, a Soul Reaper variant, or something else entirely?
Are Dragons a type of Hollow?
What do you think the other branches might look like? Just because this one says West Branch, does not mean there aren't other kinds. After all, West Branch seems to primarily cover London, while Soul Society seems to primarily cover Japan. Could there be a Chinese version? An American one? Something for every single individual nation? Or is it based on regions or population centers?
Given there are also other languages for different factions, such as German for Quincy/Bount, then is it possible that these two races are derived from different countries and their lore?
What questions do you have, and would you like to see more of this world and series? Do you think it's canon? Do you think or even hope that this will be a Bleach sequel or spin-off?
If it does exist in the Bleach world, when does this series take place? Before Bleach, during Bleach, after Bleach? Could there be a feasible crossover in future? If the storylines run parallel, then I think that that would be interesting.
There you have it. Burn The Witch.
I only have one question. WOULD you all like to see this new lore and mechanics somehow integrated into the site? As Canon Finale draws to a close in mid to late September, we will be unveiling a secret project that staff has been working on behind the scenes. I won't say anything yet, but it will be the biggest update in the history of this forum, and a perfect opportunity to add these new elements. I'd like to know if you guys would like to see this added.
Discuss below. Staff, please remain out of discussion. Once we see member reactions, we can discuss with them and amongst ourselves as well.
With permission, I stole this excerpt from a friend's post on a discussion based site he mods. Please read, as it is important. After you read it, read my brief follow up.
Hey guys!
As most of you know, Bleach was originally my favorite anime/manga series from the previous generation, the 1995-2015 generation, wherein the top sellers were the likes of FMA, Death Note, and of course the big three: Naruto, One Piece, Bleach.
As most of you also know, I became disillusioned with the series as it went on. The Save Rukia Arc was a masterpiece of storytelling and one of the best arcs I have ever seen in manga. That momentum carried Bleach through a tasteless Arrancar Arc that was watchable only because of the exceptional fight scenes. Near the end of this arc, the fight scenes became more and more dull, as did the story. It was around the Fullbringer Arc that Tite Kubo began to introduce new plot elements such as races and world building we had not seen before. This arc still ultimately disappointed, and the Thousand Year Blood War was one of the worst executed arcs I have ever seen in manga. When Bleach finally ended I was disappointed in it, angry at Tite Kubo and his publishers, and swore off all of his remaining works. I love Bleach enough to play on this site, however, and this is what I would like to discuss today.
Eventually, I caved to curiosity. I just read Tite Kubo's new One Shot, "Burn The Witch." I resisted at first because, like I said, I swore off his future works. Eventually, I couldn't help myself. That being said, it was pretty bland. Basically Bleach, but it's in London instead of Japan. Soul Reapers are replaced by witches/warlocks, Hollows are replaced by Dragons, Soul Society is replaced by Reverse London. I did not care for it until the last 2-3 pages, where I was SHOOK.
WARNING. SPOILERS AHEAD. You should read the one shot before reading past this line.
Click below.
The real name for Reverse London? Soul Society. West Branch.
What does this mean? Since this was only a One Shot, it can mean a lot of things. For those of you who don't know, a One Shot is a one time release of a story, 60 or so pages, with no other chapters following or preceding. There are three types of One Shots in manga. The first is a concept draft sent to publishing companies to see if they like an idea for a series. If the publishing company likes it enough, then the publishing company will use the One Shot a first draft concept chapter released to test how palatable a series might be to audiences.
The second type is a self contained story that has already gone through several drafts and is considered a "completed" piece of work. It is the only story for that setting and with those characters.
The third, and most common, is a spin-off One Shot. This is when a single, 60+ page chapter is released to show another part of an existing or completed series. It can be a character origin, a sort of sequel for closure, a prequel, and importance varies. For example, the Kakashi One Shot made by Kishimoto became a central part of Naruto's storyline. Ohba and Obata by contrast released Death Note 109, a sequel one shot which told the story of another Death Note falling into the world and Near as L being the one to address it. It didn't test well with audiences so a Death Note sequel was never produced. Kishimoto's Boruto One Shot with Sarada tested very well, so we now have a Boruto series.
This third type of One Shot can be written by the author of a series, or, with publishing company permission, by a significant fan author. Hunter x Hunter has a Hisoka origin story One Shot written by someone else. Togata has not canonized this, so it isn't canon. Most One Shots produced by the original author are canon.
This brings us to Burn The Witch. Written by Tite Kubo, if it is indeed a spin-off from Bleach then it IS canon. However, it might not be this third type. If it is the first type then it won't be canon, because that means if it tests well then a different version will be released as its own series, with many details changed. Kishimoto's original Naruto One Shot is after all very different from the main series, and that first ever release chapter isn't considered canon because it's a totally different story. It could also be that Tite Kubo just wants to replicate "Soul Society" as a term, and it could be the second type of One Shot, a whole new story, one with no further chapters.
If it's the third type, then this is canon, and it is officially a part of Bleach lore. Soul Society West Branch. It would make a lot of sense, since in the One Shot they make reference to how things are done in Japan, our main setting for Bleach, and how in Japan they "just kill them" instead of using their monsters as resources. The use of the term "Soul Society" also does make this the most likely scenario. It could be that Tite Kubo is trying to make a sequel series, or he just wanted to add some lore to a series that he has expressed he felt he let down his fans in. Short of confirmation from Kubo or JUMP, unfortunately we can only speculate.
I, for one, think that this is canon. There are just too many coincidences.
On page 21, for instance, the reference to Japan. Why bother if it's just a self contained, individual story? Sort of pointless.
There's also page 23.
On page 23, Selvie and Bango make a big deal about how the initials for Reverse London should be "RL" in this teleporting phone booth, but the initials Bango saw instead were "WB," which we later learn stands for "West Branch." This is too much of an easter egg for me. Why would Tite Kubo bother to set this up if it isn't Bleach? He gives us this small mystery that we don't think too much on, "WB," and then at the end he makes a big reveal with what it stands for. How could it not be to generate excitement and show us more Bleach content?
Finally, it's just too similar. An enemy regular humans can't see, a secret society meant to police them, and a magical power to fight them. I think it's no coincidence that the storyline of this chapter was so eerily similar to the Pilot chapter of Bleach either.
IF this is canon to Bleach, then it changes EVERYTHING.
Many new mechanics were revealed here. Dragons! Are they another kind of Hollow, or their own separate monster? Ninii's reference to what Japan does to theirs implies that she views Japan's monsters as dragons, but she also admits that she isn't very knowledgeable about this subject.
Dark Dragons do act very much like Hollows, though. Unlike Hollows, who form from the negative emotions of a Minus, Dark Dragons form by absorbing the negative emotions of living humans around them. The basis for the formation of both Hollows and Dragons is negative emotion.
There are also disguisers, who can take over the bodies of the recently dead. Selvie is shown to have been a Dragon in disguise for over ten years.
There are also many different magical powers, such as the teleporting phonebooth, the brooms, and Noel's battle style.
The world of Bleach is greatly expanded if this is canon. We now know that there is a Soul Society West Branch that does things very differently and has a different kind of threat. This implies a South and North branch also exist, since the Japanese Soul Society would be an East Branch due to location.
Admittedly, I do think there is one hole in this, and that's the Soul King. With the way Kubo set up the Soul King's function, it makes it so this runs the potential of being inconsistent.
I'd like to know what all of you think! Let's discuss.
What are witches/warlocks? Are they a type of Fullbringer, a Soul Reaper variant, or something else entirely?
Are Dragons a type of Hollow?
What do you think the other branches might look like? Just because this one says West Branch, does not mean there aren't other kinds. After all, West Branch seems to primarily cover London, while Soul Society seems to primarily cover Japan. Could there be a Chinese version? An American one? Something for every single individual nation? Or is it based on regions or population centers?
Given there are also other languages for different factions, such as German for Quincy/Bount, then is it possible that these two races are derived from different countries and their lore?
What questions do you have, and would you like to see more of this world and series? Do you think it's canon? Do you think or even hope that this will be a Bleach sequel or spin-off?
If it does exist in the Bleach world, when does this series take place? Before Bleach, during Bleach, after Bleach? Could there be a feasible crossover in future? If the storylines run parallel, then I think that that would be interesting.
There you have it. Burn The Witch.
I only have one question. WOULD you all like to see this new lore and mechanics somehow integrated into the site? As Canon Finale draws to a close in mid to late September, we will be unveiling a secret project that staff has been working on behind the scenes. I won't say anything yet, but it will be the biggest update in the history of this forum, and a perfect opportunity to add these new elements. I'd like to know if you guys would like to see this added.
Discuss below. Staff, please remain out of discussion. Once we see member reactions, we can discuss with them and amongst ourselves as well.