Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World

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In my opinion, this novel is amazing. It focuses on Shuhei rather than Ichigo.
It brought in few new members to the verse that were extremely enjoyable, especially Tokinada which is one of my favourite Shonen villains, mainly due to his sadistic nature.
In the TYBW arc, it was rushed due to Kubos declining health throughout. The novel however fixed most of the plot holes and expanded on the story.
It explained the importance of the Soul King in more depth, displayed his powers and elaborated on the origins of the Noble clans.
The novels were honestly well written and very enjoyable.

Hopefully, the Bleach anime will ... fix the problems in the TYBW under Kubo's watch as he originally envisioned the arc to be a lot longer than shown in the manga, and this novel gets an adaptation as well.

Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World (CFYOW) is a light novel series set in the Bleach universe, written by Ryohgo Narita. It takes place after the Thousand Year Blood War arc of the original manga series. Here is a review and rating of each aspect of CFYOW:

Introduction: 7/10
The introduction of CFYOW is a bit messy, as it assumes that the reader is already familiar with the Bleach universe. It jumps right into the story without much background information or explanation.

Story: 8/10
The story takes place in the aftermath of the Thousand Year Blood War, with the Soul Society facing new threats. The plot is engaging, ... with twists and turns that keep the readers on the edge of their seats. However, the pacing is slow at times, and the story can get convoluted due to the large cast of characters.

Characters: 9/10
The characters in CFYOW are well-developed and interesting. Several fan-favorite characters return, and new characters are introduced as well. The character interactions are engaging, and their personalities shine through.

Ending: 8/10
The ending of CFYOW is satisfying, with many loose ends tied up. However, it also feels like there is more story to be told, leaving the readers somewhat unsatisfied.

Theme: 8/10
CFYOW explores themes such as fear, loss, and sacrifice. It also delves deeper into the morality of the Soul Society and the actions of its leaders.

Enjoyment: 7/10
CFYOW is enjoyable for Bleach fans who want to continue exploring the world and characters they love. However, it may not be as enjoyable for readers who are not heavily invested in the Bleach franchise.

Overall rating: 8/10
CFYOW is a solid addition to the Bleach franchise, with an engaging story and well-developed characters. However, it may not be as accessible to new readers as it assumes familiarity with the Bleach universe.

*Disclaimer: this review does not aim to spoil the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, but there are general spoilers due to the nature of mentioning characters who survive the arc's events*

Six months after the battles between Soul Reapers and Quincies, a young Soul Reaper was sent on a journey. He did not have the status of a hero like Ichigo Kurosaki; nor did he have the years of experience of Genryusai Yamamoto; nor the natural talent of Toshiro Hitsugaya; nor the status of Byakuya Kuchiki; nor the sheer, unadulterated badassery of Kenpachi Zaraki. He did not even have the weird trait of having his hair color ... changed like Rangiku Matsumoto, who I guess was animated with orange hair before Kubo decided she was blonde. All he had was his pride as a Soul Reaper.

Out of all the positives that can be found in Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World, placing Shuhei Hisagi as the main protagonist is maybe the best choice. Both Kubo and Narita describe him as "main character material" for his character, and possibly because he's basically Ichigo with a different color pallet. I mean, look at him and tell me he couldn't be Ichigo's Echo fighter in Smash Bros, or even a specially detailed alternate skin, like how Link has both his Breath of the Wild and classic getups and the Fire Emblem avatars have both their male and female versions.

Jokes aside, his personality and background as a traitor's lieutenant captain make him a great pick for a protagonist, even when compared to more popular characters. His struggle with the latter trait is a central part of these light novels, as he continuously questions what Justice really is. His position as Chief Editor of the Seireitei Bulletin helps add to it, as his journalism practices make him question everything he sees and desire backup sources before deciding on and publishing anything. Even as he goes through this arc, he remains true to himself and his core beliefs, as well as keeping the comedic trait that many characters in Bleach have. Almost all of my favorite moments involve him, especially in any moments where he reflects on his late captain, Kaname Tosen.

Another factor that works in this story's favor is the choice of antagonist: Tokinada Tsunayashiro. While he could have had some deep goals to acquire power or immortality, the truth is that he's just a noble trying to find fun in life. It makes him a massive asshole, constantly looking down on everyone around him and using them as tools. It also makes him a lot of fun when he appears in the scene, especially as you wait for him to get his comeuppance. And to top it all off, he has a connection to Shuhei: this is the bastard who killed Kakyo, the best friend of Tosen whose death sent him down his path, and it only adds to the narrative when Shuhei faces him.

Many of the other characters who show up are also good and fit well into the story, but the last central player of note is Hikone Ubuginu, a young Soul Reaper who serves as Tokinada's favorite pawn. They serve as a massive catalyst for Shuhei's journey, as while he is certain that Tokinada goes against his sense of justice, he does not want to hurt the child. It serves for some good conversations as Shuhei tries convincing Hikone to not blindly follow all of Tokinada's orders. In addition, Hikone is explicitly a nonbinary character, an aspect I thought was mostly handled well, though I don't really know what makes for good representation in media.

Besides the characters, the general story is the best part of these novels. It explores a part of the Soul Society's history that only gets slightly hinted at. It explores the Four Great Noble Clans and their past deeds, which in turn explores the very beginning of the Soul Society, which plays into Shuhei's quest for Justice. Whenever those details are brought to the center of the story is when these novels are at their best, and they give rise to many standout moments for the protagonist.

As a final note, there are several great lines of prose throughout. Many descriptions of characters and especially their spiritual pressure get across what they're about, and most of the returning characters' dialogue are usually true to who they are. My favorite bit of writing is the one I referenced in the beginning of the review, which compares Shuhei to all of the objectively more impressive cast members of Bleach. It feels both like an outside narrator informing the reader about his character as well as a self-deprecating inner monologue from Shuhei.

However, I have my review marked as "Mixed Feelings" rather than a solid "Recommended" because many other moments of prose do not work as well. Whether it's the English translation failing, the original Japanese text being too difficult to translate, or the overall difficulty of translating a visual media like manga into a literary one, a lot of character descriptions and lines sound stiff. Many of the same descriptions are used in very quick succession, sometimes just on opposite sides of a single line of dialogue. And there are many paragraphs that are improperly formatted, with giant spaces that could easily be filled with words from the line below. In addition, the biggest not-mostly-handled-well regarding Hikone's gender is sometimes switching from they/them pronouns to he/him, which seem to be translation errors. I borrowed copies of the light novels from my local library, though, and they all have publication years from their original year, so future publications could have fixed those errors.

Other than those issues, the story of Can't Fear Your Own World just feels so much slower because of the prose. While reading the original manga of Bleach, the story can move at the speed of light, and often the only trouble I had with continuing was from either the lack of time in the day or tending to other priorities. Even in full-text books I've read in the past, there has almost always been a point around halfway through where the story picks up and I can't put the book down until I finish it. And while it may just be that I can't read books as swiftly as I used to, there was never a moment in these light novels where I felt the momentum pick up. There are great parts, but they quickly get followed by more boring ones, and the action scenes don't flow as well in words as they do in pictures.

The other part that I dislike is the use of Aura Michibane and some returning characters. Aura is the last of the three new characters--her, Tokinada, and Hikone--and while she is interesting at the beginning and has an intriguing backstory, her powers become a little confusing to follow and she makes decisions that feel like quick solutions to the problem. She's not the worst character to show up, but I was disappointed about her ultimate direction. However, her final scene is really good.

As for the returning characters, the problem is simple to point out: there are too many. CFYOW brings back characters from just about every section of the story: Soul Reapers, Arrancars, Quincies, and even Fullbringers, who I gather are most fans' least favorite part of Bleach's story. Granted, the Fullbringers have an interesting role to play in the story, and their origins get explained. My biggest problem with them is that their involvement in the final battle against Tokinada makes events convoluted. The Soul Reapers fit in the best, with my only complaint being that some of them tend to feel less involved in scenes where they should very much be involved. The Arrancars fit in well enough too, but they don't do much compared to everyone else. For me, it's the Quincies that make the story drag on. Whenever they show up and take the central perspective is when CFYOW is at its slowest. They don't even do anything all that interesting outside of their combat abilities, and when it briefly cuts to them during the final battle it just feels like a reminder that they're a part of the story.

Even with all of these problems I have, I think that Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World is good. It has a great story and characters, and with those comes an excellent and satisfying ending, but its main problem is the format you experience it in slowing down the pace. Because of that, I hope they adapt it into an anime, both for an easier experience and for the Bleach fans who are anime-only. And as a last positive to leave off on, I'll just say that a few fan-favorite captains of the Gotei 13 have prominent roles.