User blog:Avolling/Fullbring - The Detested Arc?

I love Bleach. I really do. That goes without saying. I've even made efforts at expressing my like for the series by attempting to edit some pages around this wiki, trying my best to seem productive. It hasn't always been successful; though I am a avid fan, I fear that I am not exactly a very good editor, nor am I very helpful with much in terms of editing. I forget to sign my posts sometimes. And I can't even figure out how to fix my "broken" avatar. I'm no good in terms of helping out around the wiki. I consider myself a devoted fan nonetheless.

I do love Bleach, but it has dawned on me lately that, as a fan, I might love it a little too much. I'm starting to worry that my love for the series on the whole is making it hard for me to objectively look at recent material. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc, which is currently running in both the manga and the anime. I've heard people say "fans dislike this arc." I've heard people say "the Fullbringers are not popular characters." And I've been shocked when I hear these things. "What?" I'll say to myself incredulously, "Tite Kubo has produced something that the fans do not immediately love? What a bizarre and foreign concept! Did they not read volumes 1 through 48? Surely, if they had, they'd know that this material is as amazing and spellbinding and awesome as all previous installments of the story! They must not be true fans to think such things!" But that's when I realized that I just don't have the right perspective for this sort of thing. I want to know if the Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc really is "below-par" by Bleach's standards, but to me, everything about Bleach is amazing. Maybe I just don't have the right standards for this sort of thing. Whatever. The point is, I want to know what fans (other than me, that is) think of this arc. Of these characters. Of Bleach on the whole as of late.

So what do you think? Do you like the LSS Arc? Is it enjoyable? Better than previous arcs? Worse, maybe? Do you like the Fullbringers? Are they good characters, or are they just so much noise in the background to you? Give me your honest opinions, because I'm really, really curious.

Also if anyone can help me fix that avatar, I'd appreciate it. It makes me sad to look at that broken image...