Used to skip filler episodes until one arc in Bleach actually made the story hit harder

I always thought filler was waste of time but someone told me the Zanpakuto Rebellion arc explains character backstories the manga skipped. Has anyone else had a filler arc change their mind about skipping?

3 comments

3 Comments

caseythompson1mo ago

@nancyjones I get what you're saying about minor details, but the Zanpakuto Rebellion actually adds stuff that makes later fights more meaningful. In the canon arc where Ichigo fights his inner hollow, it hits different when you already saw the whole backstory of how zanpakuto spirits work from the filler. The filler shows Yamamoto's lieutenant from way back, and that explains why he's so harsh in the main story. It's not just fluff, it ties directly into how soul reapers are connected to their swords.

jamief671mo ago

And yeah, the thing Nancy said about details being minor, but in Bleach especially those small details add up because Kubo plants seeds that pay off like 100 chapters later. The Zanpakuto Rebellion filler straight up shows you Muramasa and how a zanpakuto can go rogue, which makes the whole Tosen betrayal arc feel more layered when you realize his sword might have been influencing him the whole time. Basically that filler turned what looked like a random villain twist into something that made you go "oh wait, that actually makes perfect sense now.

nancyjones1mo ago

Question whether it's really that serious though. More often than not those "missed backstories" are just minor details that don't change a thing.