With all that filler stuff they filled the anime, I'm beginning to wonder how close the story is to the manga.

Huh... Never saw that coming... I mean, yeah, the Anime is basically caught up to the manga again... But even the manga stated that the story arc that has just started is the final part.

Ending with the Full Bringer arc is kinda odd, since they basically just say " Hey look, the status quo has returned! Nothing of significance happens in the future!" Kind of a bad way to end it... But I have seen way worse ways to end a series. Leaving it on a happy-ish ending isn't that bad. Personally, I thought after the Aizen arc was over, that it would have been a good spot to end it... But they obviously had more plans.

It just seems like they didn't want to do a bunch of filler crap now that it is caught up. Once the manga is finished, I am sure we will see more animated Bleach. Just to finish it off. Either a movie, or an OAV... But I am sure this is not the last we will see of animated Bleach.

I think it should of ended with the Ichigo loosing is powers. Maybe a sequel Manga would of been better. Still though, the fillers have been pretty good with Bleach, unlike Naruto with it's repulsive filler plots and directing. In fact I think the fillers in bleach in the last few years have really helped to prolong the series.

I was hoping for an end though so they could start a new series and just get past all the plot holes the series had, start new, and maybe get rid of characters that are useless. For example, Chad is my favorite character, but is utterly useless to the plot. He's just obligated to be there because he has fans, but the mangaka doesn't really care to add much to his development. The same applies to most of the background cast. I love Bleach, but most of it as just become about the fights, another DBZ, but with swords and any power you want in your sword being the gimmick. It's obvious it should be way more then that.