So true. If the manga is like that now, I can imagine the trash the anime is with all the fillers. I personally don't like the new characters too. They are omgsocool for me.

For me, the series ended with the Soul Society arc. Good plot, nice characters, it even had me waiting anxiously for the Wednesday to arrive because it's more or less the day the raws are out. It would have been great if Tite just stopped the manga after SS, but the fans would have gone insane and then, disaster would have happened. My brother is buying the manga, and I told him that personally I wouldn't buy it for the same reason as you. and well, also because NANA and Ouran are published and I want to spend my money better on those two.