Lets Talk The Big 3 (Anime shows)

[lord canti]

First as a primer: here's the inspiration for this topic:


Yes yes, old youtube video is old. Still, I think it does bring up a fun topic of discussion.

To start things off, I'll go ahead and declare myself as a non-fan of these series. The problem that I had with these shows is that they never frickin' end (exaggeration). They just keep going and going and going and oh look it's another 30-50 episode filler arc. I had my run with both Naruto and Bleach (never got into One Piece), but I just got impatient. It takes 60 frickin' episodes to finish a conversation and two fights (more exaggeration). I won't deny that I REALLY liked the fight scenes in Bleach, but just when you thought the story was FINALLY going to get to the good stuff: insert filler-arc for three months!

Naruto was decent, I mean who doesn't like ninjas, right? But it suffered from the same problem: it just dragged on and on and on. And really I just ended up coming to the conclusion that I liked shows that have a decent run-time (maybe 30-60 episodes) but ultimately have a very clear and defined end. That's why shows like Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell: SAC appeal to me. They don't need to stretch themselves out for 10 million episodes just to tell a story that another anime could tell in 70 episodes.

That, and I just came to the realization that Naruto and Bleach were just DBZ with ninjas and death-gods, respectively.

So, my fellow Escapists, what are your thoughts on The Big Three?

As someone who has watched all three... I can say that One Piece is by far the best of the bunch. Sure it has a faintly veiled over-arching story, but each "arc" can be seen as an adventure that could stand alone. It is blind stupid and dumb fun.

Naruto and Bleach on the other hand... they try to have this huge story with these characters and it just doesn't work. People want to see these super powered characters punch and fight other super powered characters, which is why I love One Piece. It doesn't shy away from what it is and what it wants to be.

Bleach and Naruto just get muddled with a crappy story (I MEAN REALLY? A FUCKING MOON NARUTO? WHAT ABOUT YOUR YEAR AND A HALF LONG FIGHT BLEACH? BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH).

Oh well.

Funny enough I find the story arcs in One Piece more compelling than anything Naruto and Bleach has done. The only thing Naruto has done that actually made me care for the story in a long time was his mother exlaining how they died and he had the kyuubi sealed in him.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

The only one from the big 3 that I watched all episodes and really liked it was Bleach.

I tried watching Naruto, but it was filled with way too many fillers which pissed me off. Many people have told me to skip the whole first part with Naruto as a kid and just start to watch Shippuden instead, but I will eventually get back to it and see if they are right.

 

[Harlemura]

I've only watched One Piece out of the three. Though I do really like it, I'm glad it's taken me a while to start watching it because if there weren't already a bazillion episodes released, the really, really slow pacing probably would have got to me. I mean, I'm glad it's paced as it is because it means they can avoid filler as much as possible, but golly does it drag sometimes. Especially in the Skypiea arc, but that might just be me.
I've run out of episodes to watch because I started watching it dubbed and am now too used to the English voices to change, but I know the general story up until the timeskip so I know it'll be worth the wait for new episodes.

Anyway, I've never really had any interest in Bleach. I haven't seen much of it at all, but from what I have I guessed that it's about a few particular characters being stronger than everyone else in the series and filler episodes at the beach, neither of which grab my interest.
As for Naruto, I've never actually seen any of it but have just never wanted to watch it. Something about it just puts me off. Maybe it's just because the few other people I personally know that watch anime all love Naruto and I'm a big closet hipster or something.

 

[verdant monkai]

I am mostly a Full metal Alchemist man but I'm also a Naruto fan. And I've seen the first ten episodes of Bleach and the first Episode of One Piece.

Although I'm no expert on the other two I don't think they could come to Naruto close for a few reasons. Like the fact that you see these characters grow up from kids to teenagers and feel closer to the because of it,you have been on more of a journey with them, whereas with the other two there is less change.

I don't know though I haven't seen them all. They are all too long at least. I think DBZ has it right, if you want to tell a massive story do it in self contained chunks like Dragonball, DBZ and DB GT. Or just tell the story and leave it at that like FMA did.

I dont think fairy Tail can be considered the big anything right now... because ya know.. its been cancelled. Which is a real shame because I preferred it to all three.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

I don't like them, so I don't watch them. I, honestly, prefer things that are shorter and more tightly-written. Even without filler, I find that this kind anime drags on for way too long. I'm also not fond of art style and character design in any of these. I especially dislike how things look in One Piece; all of the people just look... wrong in One Piece.

There's really not enough substance to these 3 series for me to watch them. They're not interesting enough; it's always more and more of the same. They're all about the action and comedy, but they lack intrigue.

 

[lord canti]

Seen almost everything of all of them. I stopped Bleach after Aizen and Naruto and OP a few months ago (maybe a year already) because Naruto was entering fillers and One Piece was really slow as always. I'm going to keep them on hold until they end.

(Ignoring the fillers)
Bleach is the worst one. Soul Society arc is very good, but the best one is the past arc, that is indeed excelente, specially because there's no Ichigo (terrible character, despite lijking him at the start). The rest was ok.

Naruto has the strongest start of the three, Zabuza arc was a good introduction and Chunnin exam arc was just excelent, after that is good. Shippuden starts badly, the firt two arcs have a really slow pacing, specially the second one which is very boring, then came Shikamaru arc and Pain, those were very good too, then it's downhill. The characters lose importance and it's all about Naruto and Sasuke. BTW, Naruto is not a story of the lower dog, Naruto e a genius, he just didn't know it, he's false and I hate him, specially after learning Rasenshuriken, he became OverPowered. Lee trained much more than him and deserved to be stronger.

One Pieace starts really bad, and while in theory is by far better than the other two, I can't rate it high because it has a really really bad pacing, it's simply terrible. Arabasta was my second favourite arc and was already slow, but then there's Skypea, Water 7 and Thriller Bark which are even worse! They go on and on and never end. My favourite arc was Sabaody, because they introduced many new characters and the pacing was ok. It's sad to say that my favourites episodes of One Piece ar episodes between arcs and the first few episodes of each arc, then it just goes on and on.
OP could have been reduced to 200 episodes with the same story and it would've been a masterpiece.

But they are all better than DBZ. Well, DB Kai was maybe better than Bleach.

Also, Fairy Tail sucks. Natsu is reduced to a character that either says he wants to protect Nakamas or is motion sick or is hungry, no wonder he's on my bopttom 5 worst characters. I stopped after 60 or so episodes, the only good thing is Erza and Gray, Erza specially is a very well made female character.

I have to disagree about the water 7 arc. I actually thought that was very well paced. Especially after getting out of the horribly slow skypiea arc. but I will admit that it started out slow as hell though the recent arcs have gotten the pacing down very well.

 

[Rainforce]

Yup I watched the big three well former with Bleach (it went downhill after the recuse Rukia arc). Out of the two, I prefer One Piece over Naruto. I'm not going into specific on why I favour One Piece the most, all I can say is that I find that universe more indept compared to Naurto.

Yeah I know all three are extremely long but hey, that what I like about those shows are for the journey not the end, as you watched the characters progresses, so do you.

Sure it will end eventually but I can't denine it has been one hell of a ride getting there!

EDIT- Geez what with all these naysayers? Am I one of the few on here who liked the big 3 animes?

you NEVER like all three - you must only like one or two of them, while condemning the other.
(mostly because you haven't watched that one yet and don't plan to, because you KNOW it will suck)

Incidently I read/watch all three now. and I prefer One Piece the most as well, although all have their moments.
Not to mention that the big three won't exist like that anymore quite soon, considering the Bleach anime ended and Bleach as well as Naruto are in their final chapter(s).

 

[phantasmalWordsmith]

Its mostly just a tick box for me now, reading the latest chapter of the manga. If I'm reading for enjoyment there are other series but these are just a chore basically, I keep at it mostly because, well I want to see the fallout when they FINALLY end. They will eventually.

 

[lord canti]

Its mostly just a tick box for me now, reading the latest chapter of the manga. If I'm reading for enjoyment there are other series but these are just a chore basically, I keep at it mostly because, well I want to see the fallout when they FINALLY end. They will eventually.

pretty much this I've invested so much time with these series I'm not about to just quit.

 

[Ishigami]

So, my fellow Escapists, what are your thoughts on The Big Three?

Each of them started off with a unique and interesting idea/world just to quickly fall back on predictable and generic shounen formulas. Overall I think the shows are boring and meaningless.
Couldn?t care less about it? which applies to almost all anime/manga these days however.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Honestly, this is sort of why I just stopped watching anime after seeing the actual all time big 3. Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Hellsing. I didn't really feel like the rest of the Anime out there could really offer anything more.

 

[michael87cn]

Those shows aint got nothing on Berserk. It (the manga) has been going on for like 10+ years now.

For freaks sake... FINISH IT ALREADY!

 

[Gatx]

You mean the big two now? The Bleach anime was ended prematurely and the manga seems to have dropped in popularity with all but the most hardcore (and maybe some with questionable tastes) of fans thinking it's still good (Ichigo is now officially part everything in Bleach). It seems like Toriko and Gintama are just itching to take Bleach's place too.

I did like the anime for a while though, there are a number of standout moments, and the soundtrack is excellent, especially after the Soul Society and Bount filler arcs.

I really liked Naruto as well, and it seemed to be going in a really interesting direction, with multiple big players all with their own objectives, but then came the big war and it got messy real fast. Then it kind of copped out when it just had everyone make nice to fight the one big bad.

Also just throwing it out there - Soul Eater is pretty good, if Naruto is DBZ with ninjas, then Soul Eater is DBZ with Lovecraft (it gets more apparent later on) and a Halloween aesthetic. It ended this month and was also kind of a disappointment. It's basically how the anime ended, but with everyone gaining a power up before hand.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

I watched Naruto as a kid when it was first airing on Cartoon Network. Damn good show for a kid going into his early teens, but for adults, I can't really see the appeal. Hell, the only way I can experience the whole show now without wanting to rip my hair out is by playing Ultimate Ninja Storm, which is my favorite Naruto game to date. It cuts out all of the bullshit filler (even though some of the filler in the show was pretty great) and re-creates all of the iconic moments from the show in game. I've only watched a few episodes of Shippuden and didn't really think much of it. I think the only way I'd "watch" Shippuden is by playing Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 and 3, even though their battle systems are pretty boring compared to the first one.

Verdict: Loved Naruto growing up, only way to enjoy it now is by playing the Ultimate Ninja games.

I watched a few episodes of One Piece on 4kids when I was growing up and it was a lot of fun. I don't really remember any of the censoring that went on during the show's airing, but I found it enjoyable nonetheless. After it finished on 4kids, it went to Cartoon Network and pushed on. I think I stopped watching after they recruited Chopper, but I still enjoyed it. It's just pure, stupid fun. And now it's on Toonami and I'll still watch it from time to time.

Also, whoever says the 4kids opening for One Piece sucked needs to have their brain checked. Dat shit was jank, yo.

Verdict: One Piece is a'ight in my book. Good, brainless fun.

It's fun.

*Ahem*

I tried watching a few episodes of Bleach. Didn't like it. There's WAAAAAAAAAAAY too much filler. Holy shit. Plus, it was pretty boring to watch. Not very interesting story wise, either. Or maybe that's juct because I watch it from time to time on Toonami. I don't know. I don't really want to start it, so let's just chock this up as me being lazy and calling it shit.

Verdict: Big, rousing MEH.

 

[Yuuki]

For me it's pretty simple when/why I lost interest in the Big 3, this is purely anime not manga btw:

Naruto - It was a HUGE blow to me when Jiraiya died and it was decided that Naruto would have his power scale to absolutely fucking bullshit levels compared to all his peers (and even Hokage). Jiraiya was my favorite character by a long shot. I kept watching the series up till Hidan & Kakuzu arc when we got to see Shikamaru being awesome, and then gradually lost interest during the Five Kage Summit and Shinobi World War arcs (ironically near the end of the series) because they dragged on for way too long.

Bleach - shortly after the Soul Society: The Rescue arc. That was easily the climax for the show for me, finding out just how awesome/powerful Aizen was. After that we got 45 FUCKING EPISODES of fillers and that basically killed for me, that was just too much. I didn't even care about the Arrancar arc.

One Piece - I started watching this waaaay after I started Naruto/Bleach and lost interest around 20 episodes in. I don't even remember why I stopped watching, it just didn't hold my interest.


If someone wants an introduction to anime I'd sooner recommend them Fullmetal Alchemist, Code Geass, Fullmetal Panic: Fumoffu, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost In The Shell, etc. I.e. anime that ended.

 

[funkyjiveturkey]

My big 3 anime shows are Bleach, DBZ, and Full Metal Alchemist. i also enjoy Hellsing but i never finished it.

all of the shows i mentioned are essentially the perfect shows for boys aged 11-17 who want to see blood, fights, and explosions. But now that i'm older i appreciate the stories, especially Full Metal Alchemist; it's deep, complex, lots of twists, and wraps everything up in under 60 episodes.

Bleach, on the other hand, not so much. i'm only now going through all of bleach for the first time, after leaving at the end of the second season i've now returned to find it had 16 seasons. i am starting 10, and i completely skipped season #9 as well as a bunch of the non-sequitur episodes. the story is slow-paced, but is full of awesome fights and there's always a build up to some sort of twist. DBZ is nothing but action, and when it's not, you just wanna see the action.

these shows are my big 3 but im not generally a big fan of most animes ive seen. I stopped watching naruto in the 8th grade due to lack of interest; missed a couple episodes on tv, it has more non-sequiturs than any show ive seen, plus the fanbase is....well, mother always said if you cant say anything nice dont say anything at all. One Piece didnt appeal to me whatsoever, and evangellion was a tangled mess of plot-holes and awkwardness i couldnt comprehend with my fragile young mind.

the rest that arent in syndication in my country remind me of a comment once made by yahtzee that a good example of an anime is basically a character pulling a gun at the start of an episode, firing it at the end, and everything inbetween is all angst.

 

[funkyjiveturkey]

Bleach - shortly after the Soul Society: The Rescue arc. That was easily the climax for the show for me, finding out just how awesome/powerful Aizen was. After that we got 45 FUCKING EPISODES of fillers and that basically killed for me, that was just too much. I didn't even care about the Arrancar arc.

if you didnt like that part, you really wouldnt like how they cut to an entire non-sequitur SEASON in the MIDDLE of the arrancar arc. basically it goes from ichigo beating a major foe, to everyone suddenly being back in town doing nothing of any relation to what just happened, then season 10 immediately cuts right back to where they left off.

i have a rule of thumb now not to watch non-sequiturs of any show like that

 

[Ishigami]

the actual all time big 3. Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Hellsing.

I get the first two but why Hellsing?
The TV show was okay, I actually like it, but it was cut short and therefore is lacking a proper sequel or ending due to it deviating from the at the time unfinished manga. It feels incomplete and during its run time while it never was bad in any way it also never brought anything new or game changing to the table.
Ultimate is just shit. I can?t even describe my distaste for this self-indulgent, narcissistic and pretentious piece of crap. It is clear case of trying to force substance by making every character outlandish psychotic and over the top yet it means ultimately little.

So really I never seen Hellsing being part of some sort of holy anime trinity? it is a show that always stayed in the shadow of its potential.

You may want to watch Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magika. It is like a ?Spec Ops the Line? of the magical girl anime? if that makes any sense. Anyway there you have a nice twist on an existing genre that turns the rules upside down. Something Hellsing certainly never did.
Aside from TV shows you may want to have a look at some movies. Anything from Satoshi Kon will do or earlier works from Mamoru Oshii.
There could see the potential Animes had before everyone turned to hentai, ecchi or shounen stuff for pure profit?