Before I begin, I must say that I am not very familiar with Bleach, so I was confused going in but I did enjoy that the author had some helpful in-depth details about the inner workings of the Bleach world and the characters which made the storyline easy to follow.

I think fans that are familiar with the series will definitely enjoy this light novel more than I did.

Bleach's ending was divisive to some fans, with many feeling that there were too many questions left unanswered and that large facets of Bleach's world had been left unexplored. Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World seeks to address these unanswered questions, taking place in the aftermath of the Thousand Year Blood War. Ryohgo Narita was tasked with writing this light novel series, and he's honestly a perfect fit. Narita is well-known for his ensemble casts in his personal works, and is able to seamlessly depict multiple story-lines at once. Bleach's cast is massive, and Narita has been able to utilize his talents to meticulously involve each character in a meaningful way. Dedicated Bleach fans will be pleased to see the numerous cameos throughout this novel, and you tell that Narita has as much love for the Bleach franchise as the fans themselves. With two volumes remaining, it's hard to say what the future holds for these novels, but this volume will certainly leave you craving for more.

While I'm not the largest fan of light novels, Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World Volume 1 by Ryohgo Narita does a great job at immersing the reader in the Bleach world. While it's missing some of the elements that make Bleach, well Bleach, it does offer up a great side story for fans of Tite Kubo's iconic manga.

I didn’t realize this was a prose novel. I was a huge fan of the manga. I haven’t read it. It seems daunting with all the difficult and similar Japanese names.

I thought this was a manga but it's actually a light novel. I have this love-hate relationship with light novels because I'm so used to seeing this world and these characters on the page that when I just have to picture them in my head... it's lost in translation.

That being said... I really enjoyed the story here and will continue this series. I love Bleach, the anime, and manga. Adding this new format just makes me happy to know we're still getting Bleach in some form.

Will go live on my blog: 10/28/20

I will never not enjoy the world building of this manga. This volume picks up where the last eft off and seamlessly introduces the next ARC. I will most definetly be rereading it.

Can’t Fear Your Own World is written by Ryohgo “Baccano!/Durarara!!” Narita and is actually his second series of novels in the Bleach world; his first is Spirits Are Forever With You, which came in two parts but it was never officially released in English. A self-confessed big fan of Bleach, Narita took the opportunity to write this trilogy of novels based on his love of the character Shuhei Hisagi, and a general desire to fill in a lot of the blanks that were left wide open at the end of the manga’s run. With original author Tite Kubo’s blessing, Ryohgo set to work and these novels started appearing in Japan in 2017, with the final of the three volumes appearing in December 2018. So two years later and English versions appear, but are they worth your time? That will depend entirely on whether you’re a hardcore fan of the original series or not…

Read the full review at Anime UK News: https://animeuknews.net/2020/07/bleach-cant-fear-your-own-world-volume-1-review/

Now that the Quincies’ Thousand-Year Blood War is over, trouble still lingers in the Soul Society. Tokinada Tsunayashiro has become the next head of his clan after the assassins take out every other candidate for this position. He has a grand plan to start a new war by creating a new Soul King. But not all hope is lost as there is a Soul Reaper to hinder Tokinada’s plan—Shuhei Hisagi, Ninth Company’s assistant captain.

I have been seriously waiting for this!!! Loved this light novel and more Shuuhei. This didn’t disappoint and I can’t wait to see where the other light novels go. Overall, highly recommend for every Bleach fan! Especially with the new anime coming.

A trip down memory lane, a stay at Nostalgia Inn, a new, exciting novelisation for those who are familiar with the original Bleach manga; now the announcement of this one caught me by surprise – pleasantly. And I thank the guys at Viz Media for providing me with this copy. I’ve always admired Kubo’s imagination, and the likeness with Heian period samurai is something that will always capture my interest, but this is certainly only a novel for those who have read the manga.

This story, or at least the prologue, takes place after the Soul King Saviour War and we get to meet all of our favourites characters bar the one that actually matters: Ichigo. A new threat awaits, because of a shift in the Tsunayashiro family, and its questionable new leader, Soul Society once again faces change. The ripples of this are felt throughout Hueco Mundo, who are still fighting the dregs of the Quincy and their attacks on its denizens with guerrilla warfare. Shuhei Hisagi is left to pick up the pieces with his Captain zombified, and everything around him needing to be rebuilt after the Vandereich obliterated it; his role as editor-in-chief, on the hunt for information about the war, leads him to cross path with the Four Great Families and a new plot that threatens all three realms.

Now, because this is a Japanese light novel, it skimps on exposition, leaning on the fact that it expects readers to know about the manga, or the anime, not making it one of the most accessible reads. But it does feature sporadic illustrations by Tite Kubo himself, which really appeal to a long-time fan of the series like me. Seeing the characters that I’ve missed in the years since Bleach’s serialisation ended was great, the plot is fresh and almost feels like a natural continuation to the series. What happens after a war? Change. And this change comes in a grab for power from the surviving factions in this.

I found the choice of Shuhei (pictured on the cover) as the protagonist quite intriguing. In the manga, he was a character with a strong sense of duty, a duty that led him to hide his power and a man of action. Having said this, he was a side character. There was slight resentment towards him because the main character of over a decade is nowhere to be seen, but it is fun, action-packed and just a cruel as the original material; the powers are just as insane, and the battles huge and grandiose. Just what I expected from Bleach.

Overall, if you know anything about the anime or manga… well, if you’ve finished it, do give it read. If anything, for the nostalgia. Those not familiar with Bleach that love fantasy may find something to love in this, as every story has its own starting point amidst other stories, but be prepared to be thrown in at the deep end.

First off, I'd like to say a thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Bleach, the original manga series. I loved it so much that I remember binge reading it all (well all that was available to me) at around the age of 19. I loved Ichigo Kurosaki, the soul reapers, the Quincies. I loved the world and the story. I loved the anime, too! I loved it all, and I couldn't get enough, up until a point, where I believed the story should of ended. But it continued anyway, and I continued to read it, but I didn't love it as much.

So when I got Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World, I was super excited, but also super apprehensive. On one hand, I couldn't wait to get back into this world and revisit all my favourite characters, but on the other hand I was left wondering if it would be just as good as the initial set of manga books, rather than the latter.

I opened this one up and was super surprised. It was a light novel? I was expecting a Manga, anyway I persevered, but things didn't get much better for me, unfortunately.

It was great getting back into the world and hearing about the characters, I just couldn't get into the flow of reading it in a novel format, I didn't like it. That's my issue though, I'm sure many other people would love it told in this way as it is more detailed. The story was well written and easy to follow, but my heart just wasn't in it, and I unfortunately had to put it down.

Not for me, but I still love the characters and would still recommend this to fans of Bleach. Maybe I'll try it again one day. But for now, an average rating.

Really entertaining and brilliant for fans of Bleach. I found this hard to understand characters etc as it had been a while since I finished bleach, so had to do some googling throughout but other than that really enjoyed this novel. Was great to have a lot more description around characters thoughts than what you get with manga.

Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World (Volume 1). By Ryohogo Narita, Translated by Jan Mitsuko Cash. (Original story by Tite Kubo). 2020. VIZ Media (ARC eBook).

A scheming aristocrat with ties to the former 9th Division Captain—Kaname Tosen, Fullbringers relaxing in the Rukongai, 12th Division’s Department of Research Development hiding bodies per usual, control over Hueco Mundo up for grabs, and the potential reinstatement of clan Shiba.

Volume 1 concerns itself with setting up the pieces. To see how the suggestive importance of Shuhei Hisagi—9th Division Lieutenant and senior newspaper editor—is established, and how all of the threads unravel and are consequently resolved, we’ll have to continue the series. No doubt, there will be plenty of news for Shuhei to report in the Seireitei Bulletin!

Just who is Shuhei Hisagi? The handsome, scarred and tattoo-faced, twin sickle-wielding vice-captain of the 9th Division has no doubt clawed his way into the hearts of many fans, but it’s tough to say whether or not he’s had much significance in the actual world and story of Bleach up to now. Almost as if to give us a reason to care, Ryohgo Narita, the original author of Baccano and DURARARA!!, goes out of his way to craft an entertaining, intriguing, and emotionally affecting tale that takes place in the world of Bleach after the manga’s final arc, with Hisagi himself in the eye of the storm.

After the events of the Thousand-Year Blood War, the aftermath is felt in every significant part of Bleach‘s war, from the Soul Society, where spirits go to in the afterlife, Hueco Mundo, the universe’s version of Hell, and the human realm. Ichigo and his main crew are nowhere to be seen throughout this whole book, and instead we are treated to delightfully diverse rotating ensemble cast within each of those three realms. There is a new character introduced, Tsunayashiro, whose background helps fill in details that were glossed over/inconsequential to the main story. However, retcon or not, it is a fact that his introduction helped propel the story, give context to previous tragedies that occurred, and motivate multiple characters to act in a way that befits their base nature. I was deeply impressed by the way that so many facets of the story–from Aizen’s recruitment of Tosen, parts of Kyoraku’s and other captains’ backstories, the history of the Four (formerly Five) Great Clans, and the aftermath of Reio’s condition–could all be neatly woven together with the existence of one man who up to this point absent. Of course, it could have easily smacked of hacky, “too-convenient” deus ex type of writing, but it remains that there are still mysteries to be unraveled, and the events have unfolded at a compelling and digestible pace.

Narita’s style of writing often jumps from different locations, characters, and time periods within a particular span. It’s very easy to to get lost with this kind of storytelling, but for the most part, the only details divulged are what the reader needs to grasp the context of what is happening, and by the end of a segment, what importance it has after piecing all the previous events together. I have never fully watched nor read both of the series that Narita penned before, but I did understand why his style of storytelling was popular enough to bring his work over and also get adapted into other mediums, such as anime. I think that with Bleach‘s usual style of forward momentum in storytelling, having a new story that ebbs and courses in different narrative directions can help inject new life. To my memory, one of the most enthralling and engaging chapters for the Bleach community was the Turn Back The Pendulum arc, where we had negative chapter numbers for an in-depth flashback arc.

Besides the new characters, a great deal of enjoyment from this series comes from its widely varied cast, and in CFYOW, we get to see them interact in spades. There are many moving pieces, from the Arrancars who narrowedly escaped death from Ywach, to the Sternritters who also survived by sheer coincidence, and even Fullbringers and people tangentially related to other minor characters, like siblings for Madarame or Hanataro. It feels satisfying to check in with most of them and at least hear a few conversations dedicated to the minority among the minority. I think that some credit for that goes to Hisagi’s involvement as a journalist and editor-in-chief of his squad’s press. A great deal of information we learn comes through Hisagi’s direct involvement, whether he’s in the background or actively pursuing information so that he can uphold his ideals of revealing the truth. Hisagi is surprisingly very charming. He has a self-awareness that he isn’t what you would call a “main character,” though not in those words. He compares himself to many people, and the narration goes out of its way to state the following:

“He did not have an unfortunate destiny like Ichigo Kurosaki.
He did not have the torrent of power than Kenpachi Zaraki contained.
He did not have the deep sagacity and groundwork of Kisuke Urahara.
He did not have a curselike curiosity etched into his konpaku like Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
He did not understand being continuously burdened with responsibility like Byakuya Kuchiki.
He did not have the resourcefulness to control multiple spiritual pressures like Toshiro Hitsugaya.
He did not have the time to lay the foundation of who he was like Genryusai Yamamoto.
He did not have the temperament to sidestep anything like Shunsui Kyoraku.
He did not have the passion to rewrite the justice of the world like Sajin Komamura.
He did not have the firm outlook to stick to his path like Kensei Muguruma.
Later, a Soul Reaper who knew everything about the conflict said this: Because he was him, because he was the Soul Reaper Shuhei Hisagi, he had exactly the qualifications the world wished for.”
Wow, Narita’s really hyping this guy up, even though he sounds pretty average. That’s how you know he’s a real light novel author…

This snippet might be a bit hyperbolic… Over-dramatic? Theatrical, even. But this is the kind of prose that I just eat up. I think what makes it stand out to me is the fact it goes out of its way to namedrop all these important–at the very least within the context of the story–characters who know doubt are all also popular in their own way, but because they all got their own arcs before this guy, Shuhei Hisagi. It’s like we’re being told, “Whoa, whoa whoa. Hold the F up now. I know you might be thinking all these guys are dope, but you see this guy right here? THIS guy, right here? He’s about redefine the whole game right now, and y’all aren’t ready.” And you know what? Maybe we aren’t. Or maybe we are, but it’s hard not to smile or be at least a little amused with this type of delivery, because it oozes enthusiasm on behalf of the author. It’s like a musician already aware what their last song is going to be, but they want to pump up the audience so they can scream for the encore and get the REAL finale. It’s almost childish in how straightforwardly unabashed it is, which, let’s be real, is the reason a lot of us enjoy action stories like Bleach to begin with.

Regardless, there are plenty of instances of genuinely engaging and at times flowery prose. When earlier I mentioned there being emotionally affecting scenes, I was not kidding. Often times, emotions aren’t usually explored in shonen manga, unless it’s for a big climax. Since this story takes place after the actual climax of the original manga, I wasn’t quite expecting to see characters stewing in their own emotional turmoil as they process the fallout of the war. Hisagi got a lot of his screen time originally because he was a vice-captain for one of the two who betrayed Soul Society with Aizen, Kaname Tosen. He is aware of his captain’s past, and the event that shaped the ideals he eventually inherited. Hisagi, being a journalist with ideals, shows exceptionally strong empathy–a trait that belies his usually harsh, scowling countenance. His initial encounter with Ginjo, the fullbringer who, wrapped up in a scheme with former captain Ukitake, was rocky at first, but it was satisfying to see the barriers gradually broken down thanks to Ganju and his sister Kukaku’s presence. It honestly makes me really happy seeing parts of the cast I would have never imagined meeting, to interact and almost bare themselves emotionally! I never really cared about Ginjo because I thought he looked like a tool. I know his story was sad, but I think that seeing it recounted in words, with some of the additional context we got from the final arc, made it genuinely tragic and allowed for the events to sink in better. There were at least two more instances of Hisagi being emotional or expressing empathy, but I think the part that did this the best was actually Tosen’s flashback.

Though Tosen could not see the other man’s expression, he could sense violence creeping into the Soul Reaper’s words. Oddly, it allowed him to regain his composure.
He was barely able to suppress his own anger as he strung together a sentence while recalling his friend’s words. This world was far from what she had wanted if her colleague spoke with that kind of hostility in his voice. He desperately tried to reach an understanding within himself as he replied to the Soul Reaper’s question. “I don’t think she would want revenge. And if that’s how she felt, then I…”
But he stopped there. Then I don’t want revenge either.
He couldn’t manage to say it, even to himself. He knew she would never have wanted another person to sully their hands seeking revenge for her. But the emotions pulsing deep in his gut wouldn’t accept that as justice.
Her wishes have nothing to do with this. Seek revenge for yourself.
The lump of darkness that bubbled up within him was appealing, but Tosen could not follow that voice. Because he knew. The moment he or anyone else chose to follow that hatred, she would die again.
Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World, Volume 1, Page 54

Even with just the short segment quoted above, it’s easy to see how much pathos is dripping from Tosen. It is genuinely enthralling to see this level of drama evoked from a single interaction. It’s very common for a lot of authors to hold off on killing their characters, or only do as such in order to elicit some type of reaction from their audience. Tosen is a character who, as Bleach readers, has circumstances we were vaguely aware about but accepted not knowing because the context wasn’t necessary in the moment. Seeing that context for the very first time, elaborated to this degree, was frankly unexpected and shocking. I think that by going the extra mile and actually tying this kind of past lore to events that are happening right now, is what makes Narita’s prose really stick the landing.

We know Kubo. He’s the type to sometimes forget things–like plenty of authors who have been doing a single serialized story for an extended amount of time. Sometimes he has to read through back volumes to find something that can be adjusted into foreshadowing, and while it’s not always neatly done, it’s the kind of attention to detail that fans do take to heart and appreciate. Ryohgo Narita is very obviously a Bleach fan himself. I don’t know how well known that fact was before this book, but I’m damned sure I’m glad that someone who puts in that amount of planning and exuberance into their writing is allowed to take the reins for a story. To my knowledge, there are two more installments of CFYOW. I will be waiting with bated breath for them to be released in English. I’d like to give a heartfelt shoutout of appreciation to Jan Mitsuko Cash for the translation, and whoever also helped edit. The dialogue was snappy and natural as can be, and the descriptive elements were vivid and easy to imagine. If you’re a Bleach fan, I highly recommend this novel, especially if you’re starving for new content while waiting for Burn The Witch and the anime relaunch.

This is first in a series of light novels (in this case, a novel taking place after the events of the manga/anime). As such, there are only a couple of rough sketches and it is mostly text. It does go into detail about the set up of the Bleach world - specifics into e.g., Fullbringers, soul passes, and the hierarchy of commoners of nobles. But it has a vast series of characters to bring in for cameos and then adds new ones on top. So it is incredibly confusing (I had to have a Bleach wiki opened the whole time). As well, the time frames jump around and there is a lot of stylized writing to make it less straightforward. So yes, for consummate fans who want the story to progress further but also want more explanations of things and events after the anime/manga ended.

Story: Shūhei Hisagi is tasked with researching the Soul King invasion for his newspaper, the Seireitei Bulletin. As he goes about his business, he begins to uncover signs that something isn't right in all 3 worlds (human, Hueco Mundo, Soul Society). Not only that, everything points to the problem originating from one of the noble houses, in the form of Tokinada Tsunayashiro.

Hisagi is the main focus through the series: loyal, hot headed, and very much a straight arrow. His connection to everything is his former Captain Tosen. Tosen had a strong relationship with Tsunayashiro's wife and it is her death at her husband's hands that likely drove Tosen to betray Soul Society with Aizen. But really, that is just one aspect as there are problems in the human world and Hueco Mundo that bring Hisagi into contact with quite a few Bleach characters.

Honestly, it's a confusing mess. We don't follow Hisagi all the time and we get perspectives from quite a few people. Of course, as the amoral villain, Tsunayashiro shows up quite a bit to show just how cruel he is and how he likes to play with his victims. It's explained that he was disillusioned due to a secret of the noble houses and the soul king that he discovered.

In all, as much as I was looking forward to reading more about Hisagi, it was just too confusing. There are a few rough illustrations every now and then to remind you of characters. But e.g., right from the start when Hisagi goes to the Shiba household to interview Ganju, he finds Ginjo is there along with Tsukishima, under the protection of Kukaku, talking about Kaien. If you know who all those people are, then you'll be fine. But if you don't remember who all those people were, you'll get an idea of what I mean by confusing. That's not even the worse considering there are paragraphs of Ginjo and Ganju talking and that's hard enough to read with the names so similar.
Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

I am more familiar with the anime. I have been meaning to delve into the manga. So, seeing this story in novel format came as a surprise. A nice surprise since I do enjoy novels (obviously).

It has been a year or so since I watched Bleach, so occasionally I had to look up certain names to put a face to them. Some characters, such as Kenpachi, Ichigo, Urahara (aka my favorites) I did not have to do that.

In this format, certain aspects about the world are better explained than the manga or anime could ever do. For example, soul tickets. Also, it is nice to get into certain characters’ heads to get a feel about their emotions and innermost thoughts.

The story in itself is well-written and easy to follow.

I am not familiar with the plot, so I deduce this takes place beyond what I have watched in the anime. It was new material for me.

Kudos for Viz for daring this! I have seen favored mangas exploring novel formats, and I have been wanting to try it out for a while now. Thank you Viz for giving me this opportunity and showing me how much I enjoy it.