Writing avoidance tactic #693

[flemmings]

Friday evening when the soft grey rain was blowing in I went by The Beguiling, which is the local comics outlet back of Honest Ed's, which is the local neighbourhood landmark (and for anyone who knows TO, my god does it mark the land) to find they had a Labour Day sale on, cover price of American dollars = Canadian dollars plus no sales tax. So I got the next two volumes of Bleach, execrable translation or not, plus one lonely copy of Monster in Japanese. (I could bitch about comic stores these days- even Kikiwai- carrying only English translations, but I'll save my breath. Kinokuniya- Bookoff- why do you scorn this Canadian city?)

My problem with shounen fight manga is that its denizens run more to character design than to, y'know, *character*. Visually grotesque personage appears, makes threats, shoots, and leaves, all in the space of half a tank. Bleach is currently being no exception to this pattern, hence the recourse to Monster. But this raises the question for me: how do you remember who everybody in the SS is? The Bleach fic communities provide me with an overwhelming cast list but in the manga all I can identify are Mr. Floppy Hat, Mr. Curlers in his Hair, and Mr. Any Smiling Blond Psychotic, whose cloned younger brother is currently running in Papuwa and calling himself Okita Souji because yeah Papuwa is doing riffs on the Shinsengumi as well.

So is there anyone else of importance I should know about? here around vol 12 or so...

Comments

[incandescens]

Mr. Heavy Spiky Tattoos (Abarai Renji, vice-captain of 6th) is going to be fairly relevant in the near future.

So is Apparent Kid With Spiky White Hair (Hitsugaya Toushirou, captain of 10th) who gets to be a viewpoint character in investigating the Big Conspiracy going on in the background. (Though I personally find him rather bland.)

Cute But Berserkly Loyal Small Woman With Bun (Hinamori Momo, VC of 5th) also gets some action while vowing to avenge her just-murdered Captain (the one in glasses, Aizen Sousuke, apparently the One Honest Man In Soul Society.)

Curlers In His Hair (Kuchiki Byakuya) will also get some foregrounding.

Assorted Anything-For-A-Good-Fight Lunatics (11th Division) will drop out of things for a while after their Captain (Zaraki Kenpachi, Lunatic With Spiky Hair) finishes his current fight with our protgonist.

[summer-queen.livejournal.com]

As for those of 11th -- The bald bastard is Madarame Ikkaku and the preening peacock is Ayasegawa Yumichika, though yes, it'll be a while before they have anything to do again.

You'll want to note Mr. Floppy Hat's (Kyouraku Shunsui) friend, he of the long flowing white hair, Ukitake (Captain of 13th), since they'll both have their part to play in, uh, well, a few tanks.

The wimpy little healer, Hanatarou, is around for a while.

Unlike other shounen series (incandescens and I both point accusing fingers at Naruto), Bleach characters seem to stick with me.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Next question (in tears, really): how do you remember all those names without any kanji?

[summer-queen.livejournal.com]

Couldn't even begin to tell you, really. When something takes a hold of my brain, it takes ahold. And while the first few volumes of Bleach didn't really grab me, the chapter A Star and a Stray Dog grabbed my brain and took root and that was that. Probably doesn't help to say that I actually do recognize the kanji for a few of the folks (Ichigo, Byakuya, Renji....) and so poking around doujinshi has imprinted those, in addition. Part of it's since I was watching the anime in tandem with reading the manga, I have voices to put to faces, and so a bit more personality for each.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

I can only speak for the anime in this, but basically I just stared at the numbers on the captains' backs until everyone started to sink in a bit. ("There's Number 6, staring coolly at Number 10, who's squirming. Number 11 is laughing psychotically along with his vice-captain/sidekick, currently plastered to his back. Number 8 is staring down Number 10's vice-captain's cleavage, while his own vice-captain smacks him with a mallet.")

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

I *knew* the anime had to come into this somewhere. 'And give to airy nothingness a local habitation and a voice.'

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Ohh (confoozled) I thought Any Smiling Blond Psychotic was Renji. Must go look for someone with tattoos now.

Conclusion: there are too many spikes in this manga.

[incandescens]

If Smiling Blond (well, white-haired) Psychotic is the guy I think he is, that's Ichimaru Gin, Captain of Third. No tattoos. Apparently never opens his eyes. The one who had the Ominous Exchange with Aizen (Captain who was just found pinned to the wall with his own sword).

Renji is the redhead with the tattoos.

[mikeneko.livejournal.com]

I don't remember the names, as a general rule. It's just "That One Guy, Y'know" or "That Chick with the Thingie."

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Alas, pairings in fic communities don't do That One Guy, Y'know x That Other Guy With the Funny Hair.

[mikeneko.livejournal.com]

Oh, not a problem for me -- I don't read fanfic for this series.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Any special reason? The series is that good or the fanfic is that bad or what?

[mikeneko.livejournal.com]

Mmm, well, thing is . . . I'm easy in that I don't have too much of a problem reading fanfic for fandoms I know little (or nothing) about. However, with the ones I know a fair bit about, I sometimes have zero interest in their fanfic. Do not like it slashed, het, gen, on a house, with a mouse, on a train, in the rain, etc.

Bleach would be one of those. I might change my mind if pairings I found appealing got more of a fanfic workout, but they don't, so I don't.

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'm glad I'm not the only person who gives characters bizarre nicknames until I learn their names. I will probably never live down referring to Wufei in GUNDAM WING as "Captain Eggroll."