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The only reason Bleach is not considered the best of the Big 3 and the greatest Shōnen Anime of them all is the long stretch of filler episodes right after Soul Society arc between Episodes 63-104 which effectively killed any momentum the series had and put a massive strain on Bleach’s popularity.

That’s it.

Every time I hear critiques of the series; like the problematic power-scaling, underdeveloped side characters, or repetitive narrative formula, it’s all problems that exist in other Shōnen to FAR greater extent. Naruto has the most criminal waste of potential side characters in all of fiction. One Piece, which I love, has the exact ... same storyline formula for every single arc except maybe 2 or 3 (and that series goes on for literally thousands of episodes).

Bleach has objectively the most well-developed main protagonist and antagonist out of the Big 3. Aizen is possibly the greatest villain in all Anime; Shōnen or Seinen (the only one that even comes close is Johan Liebert — but even then I’d argue Aizen is more compelling and terrifying because of his godlike supernatural abilities). Ichigo is a profoundly refreshing character in a sea of generic Shōnen MCs who all share the same goal: “to be the BEST _insert-title-here_” Ichigo just wants to live out a life where he redeems his most pivotal moment; that of losing his mother due to his supernatural abilities. His drive to rescue Rukia/Orihime originates from that insecurity; to not lose that love anymore, especially when it comes as a consequence of his own actions such as accidentally taking all of Rukia’s Soul Reaper ability which set in motion her planned execution.

Bleach also has the best theming of any Anime I’ve ever seen. The whole Spanish ‘Day of the Dead’ aesthetic runs through every aspect of the series; from Shiro Sagisu’s godlike Spanish-inspired soundtrack, to the Hollow designs, to the worldbuilding etc. The soundtrack itself is by far the greatest of any Anime, with some of the best OPs in Anime history.

And to top it all off… here’s Bleach’s greatest accomplishment when compared to almost every other long-running Anime: it actually has a good ending. Yes, the manga’s ending was rushed and trashed due to Shōnen Jump executives, but the Studio Pierrot Anime adaptation of the Thousand Year Blood War arc is absolutely GOATED.

I don’t need to say any more. Bleach is the greatest Shōnen Anime of all time. The late, great Akira Toriyama didn’t go out of his way to personally give his blessing to Tite Kubo for nothing.

10/10

Since I couldn't find any legitimate analysis in any of these fanboy reviews, I decided put my own review:

Here's why FMA:B and its Manga counterpart don't work:

It's just a disjointed piece of art. The initial premise of the narrative: two young siblings that horrifically lose their mother and parts of themselves is incredibly dark and poignant. Their journey to find the philosophers stone is one that's adventurous, but the endpoint is still inherently adult and complex; especially as it delves into the implications of bringing a dead person back to life early on in the series.

So why is it disjointed? Because there's a mistranslation ... of tonal nuance throughout the entire series. Now I don't mean stylistic aspects such as art style choices e.g. Chibi segments (because those are minuscule details in the grand scheme of storytelling devices), but rather the way they're implemented in the story. For example, one second we're dealing with the introspective reconciliation of birth and how beautiful it is and the very next we drop it for side-gags just to transition into the next topic/character development. It just doesn't fit. It's formulaic. It's predictable storytelling at its finest and it absolutely ruins the pacing.

It's a huge shame because the character development and dialogue in the series is exquisitely written (e.g; Edward's speech about his existential crisis provided a deep psychoanalytical view into his personality and character). However it actually lessens the impact of the narrative and my personal enjoyment of the series because it contrasts heavily with the tone of the series. Right down to the very commercial transitions with the quirky voice-over of the title; every little stylistic choice is presented as a complete antithesis to the themes of the series.

Fullmetal Alchemist should NOT be sugarcoated with a light-hearted aesthetic. This is something I'd hate to say in any other series because pretentiously "dark and gritty" series (*cough* Tokyo Ghoul *cough*) are the bane of my existence but this is the one exception. If the themes of the series are of complex adult issues, why is the tone resorting to childish humour and quirky antics?

With all that being said, I totally understand why Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is considered one of the greatest Animes of all time because it is substantially provocative and complex behind the aesthetics much like many other great Animes like One Piece, Hunter X Hunger, Cowboy Bebop and Dragon Ball.

Personally, it just doesn't work from a narrative perspective because it feels disjointed and unfocused in the way it clashes with its stylistic choices. Through this loss of tone, the series becomes a chain of loose threads that are vaguely commentating on the overall themes of the narrative which is why I rated Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and the Manga: 5/10.