Hacker Cinema
Bleach
BLEACH
2004 · TV series · 24 min episodes · 2 seasons
ActionAdventureAnimationScience FictionFantasy
For as long as he can remember, Ichigo Kurosaki has been able to see ghosts. But when he meets Rukia, a Soul Reaper who battles evil spirits known as Hollows, he finds his life is changed forever. Now, with a newfound wealth of spiritual energy, Ichigo discovers his true calling: to protect the living and the dead from evil.
3 neutralfrom 3 commenters
Where to watch
No streaming data for this title.
3 comments on Hacker News
Yup. FMA: Brotherhood just hits the classic hero tropes and tells it to you straight.
I don't think its a bad thing. The Hero's Journey / Monomyth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey) has been told again and again in almost all media across all cultures.
Its just a storytelling style that's somehow got permanent, widespread appeal. Since its a "familiar story", I definitely think it plays to the advantage as a "starter anime". It gives a sense of familiarity to the audience, especially if they aren't used to anime yet.
Since the Hero's Journey / Monomyth is so popular, of course there's tons of animes that follow that style (and most "starter" animes IMO are a large-scale hero's journey).
Given the shear number of choices: Naruto, FMA, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Bleach, Dragonball Z, Soul Eater, Sailor Moon, etc. etc... there's a lot to choose from. FMA: Brotherhood just so happens to be the one I think is best.
--------
I'm mean... we're into what? The 14 year of Marvel movies following the Monomyth formula? This Monomyth / Hero's Journey is hardly unique to anime. The few other mainstream shows that come out with widespread appeal (John Wick, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc. etc.) are just more of the Hero's Journey formula.
Its not a bad formula, not by any stretch of the imagination.
Every year has a slew of animes which wrap up in 13 or 26 episodes. A sparse few go to 52. An even sparser few fit the mold you describe, but even many of those end eventually with a planned conclusion (Bleach and Dragon Ball <Suffix>).
The entire anime industry is pretty much the worst thing ever, economics wise.
The companies behind the anime (And there are generally a lot - not just the production studio) invest the money to produce it, /and/ to book the slot that it airs on. Anime ratings aren't great for the vast majority of shows, and the TV networks would rather just pump out a cheap talk show or similar and get better ratings if they're left in charge of things.
So, now you've got the show produced, have booked a time slot, and start airing your show. You're not making money off of the advertising. Where do you make your money, then?
Merchandising and dvd/blu-ray sales. So this results in the ridiculous quantity of merchandise anime series have.
And then the blu-ray/dvd sales. These are what really drives the market, and it's completely ludicrous. A season will be released piece by piece, 2-4 episodes at a time, for $30-$60 each. Buying a copy of both seasons of Fate/Zero, for example, would cost you $591
The sales of these pieced out dvds/blu-rays basically determine the life of a show - at a time where only the domestic market is purchasing. Streams like Crunchyroll have basically zero bearing on how the committees running the show view it's success. If domestic sales are good, a sequel is likely to be made. If domestic sales are bad, even if it is an absolute runaway hit elsewhere (and I mean fairly universally - something could sell well in China, the US, etc etc etc and if it didn't do well in Japan, it's still dead)
Add all of that together, and there's really zero incentive for westerners (Or any non-Japanese market) to not pirate anime, outside of the whole "contributing financially [in an extremely diminished capacity] to the people who made the product you enjoy".
About the only time they take notice of international success at all is when it's a ridiculous runaway, like Bleach, Naruto, etc.