With the anime series Bleach returning in 2022 with Thousand Year Blood War, memers are eager to dig their teeth into the new series and show their comedic side with screenshots from the new episodes. Many on the internet may remember the anime as a source of countless memes when it was originally released with the quality varying between images and using formats that are now considered dead.
Memes generally have a fairly short lifespan, however, some of them remain funny for years. As good as the original series of the anime was, there are some memes that have withstood the test of time and still can tickle the average Bleach fan.
8 Violence: Need More Of It
Kenpachi Zaraki is not known within soul society for his witty banter or knowledge of the mystic arts. While not specifically a meme featuring the main character Ichigo, the first real encounter with the character for the audience is his constant attempts to locate the protagonist and fight him due to his power. This meme perfectly summarizes his personality and the image chosen is perfect. Kenpachi is violence. His entire being is about struggling, even to the point where he fights with his own zanpakuto as he believes his own strength is what is most important.
The one-man army that is Kenpachi has to limit his abilities in order to not crush his opponent instantly, but with his defeat at the hands of Ichigo, he may have gone through a learning experience. As the anime continues to follow the plot of the manga, he will be able to finally grow his strength by learning the name of his partner weapon and will be able to increase the violence he can cause.
7 Detergent: Predictable But Funny
The name of the manga and anime has long been the butt of pun-based humor on the internet, and while certain suggestions have been offered in-series for the reasons behind the name, Tite Kubo advised in a Shonen Jump interview that this was due to his original choice of name 'Black' which did not seem to fit, as well as the inverse, 'White'. Instead, Tite Kubo used the word 'Bleach' to describe the act of transferring the Black of the shinigami robes, to the white underneath.
Somewhat predictably, this meme takes the next step after bleach to add detergent. While the joke is somewhat belabored by this point, the artwork chosen is ideal for delivering that punchline and really calling attention to the humor.
6 Length? No Idea
Taking the bored-looking Ichigo and adding him to the setting of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? makes the punchline work all the better when considering Ichimaru Gin's bankai.
While the other answers in the quiz add flavor to the meme overall, the fact that this questions the ridiculous nature of the Captain's ability is the main focus of the joke and that it seems like something Ichigo would genuinely say.
5 Nope, I'm Leaving.
Some memes occur like lightning in a bottle. With Ichigo having nothing to do within the scene he utters the line from the meme and magic is born. Like so many memes, this works well because it takes a simple idea and manages to draw attention to the parallels that exist outside the image.
The meme itself is to the point and punchy with its delivery. A classic meme with an Ichigo twist that can still raise a chuckle from fans.
4 Different, But Good
While most of the memes are classics that came out with the release of the original series, this one addresses the elephant in the room that came with the first looks at the series. While many fans of the series were put off by the new style that the anime has gone with.
Although not many fans are generally comfortable with change, this shows that a good portion of the fandom is getting behind the release of the new series, despite the aesthetic differences.
3 Shipping Preferences
Motivational and de-motivational meme posters may largely be considered things of the past, however, this one is still relevant as the fans continue to ship their particular romantic partnership and argue relentlessly over who is the best character for Ichigo to end up with.
While the fans may think up their own particular arguments for or against any particular pairing, it would not be surprising to find Ichigo himself disagreeing with the vast majority of the fans' head-cannon.
2 That's A Fine Looking Strawberry
Ichigo started out as a relatively normal high school kid and his design was relatively simple. Over time, his character has undergone multiple designs and costume changes that have resulted in some very different looks for the character.
Some are clearly more appreciated than others and this meme is a great example of how fan reactions have been to the different styles presented.
1 The Long Crunch
Animation studios in Japan are often faced with tough deadlines and can be forced to work really close to the airing of the episode. It's not unsurprising then, that animation errors happen. However, when a fan spots it, it is not uncommon to see a meme of it appearing shortly after.
Ichigo always has something of a longer face, but clearly, this artist has overshot things a little and while it may have gone under the radar of most people, clearly this fan spotted it and decided to share it on the internet.