Bleached Ichigo

Bleach Manga Chapter 348 – The Lust 2

Well, since Shannaro is officially not as cool as BleachedIchigo anymore, I’ve decided to finally start writing the weekly chapter analysis the same way Bob does.

This week the very first zanpakuto popularity poll was released. Surprisingly (or not?), the winner is Hyourinmaru, while Zangetsu is ranked third! I was really amazed, however, to see Rukia’s Sode no Shirayuki beat not only Zangetsu and Senbonzakura, but a bunch of other swords, that are truly more powerful and cooler looking. Personally I was expecting Hisagi’s Kazeshini to be a big hit amongst the fans.

Now, back to the more interesting part – the Hero vs. Death’s advocate. The very first thing I noticed was the title – “The Lust 2″. As all of you regulars know, the previous chapters’ titles all referred to the seven deadly sins and the chapter before them was named “The Antagonizer” - Satan. My opinion on the matter is that the chapters will now go in reverse as Sins#2 and reach all the way to the 2nd Atagonizer. After all, the best way to beat a monster is to match it up with another monster.

And indeed, Ulquiorra doesn’t resemble anything close to a human anymore – he has two huge bat wings on his shoulders and two smaller ones on his lower back – typical for most bats. His feet look like eagle/lion claws – a common feature used by most animators when drawing devils, thick fur that covers his legs and stomach, a tail almost twice the length of his body and a couple of really scary horns (that make him look like he’s a valkyrie, rather than a monster). Ichigo is completely stunned by his opponent’s change in form and spiritual energy and can’t even respond to Ulquiorra’s questions.
The fourth Espada explains that he is the only member of the Espada (and therefore probably the only hollow in existence) that can use Ressureccion Segunda Etapa (second stage resurrection). And it’s also Ichigo’s privilege to be the only being to see this form. Lucky him, eh?

The fact that he’s the only Espada who can use it, makes me believe that he’s actually the strongest as well. SSJ suggested that he was even sronger than Aizen, but I find that quite impossible – Ulquiorra is just not the type of person who’d wield to a master, who is weaker than himself. And he probably decided that being #4 is enough to satisfy his needs. Or he’s lazy like Stark.

Well, I’ve gotta give it to Ichi-kun. Most people would’ve just shit in their pants and fallen dead at the sight of Satan before them, but, like any Weekly Shonen Jump main character, the either-brave-or-stupid shinigami stands up in hope that he’ll be able to defeat his enemy. Ulquiorra gets very pissed off and decides to finally finish off his opponent and in a very brutal fashion at that. The Espada charges in straight on, but suddenly appears on Kurosaki’s right side. I thought he was going to rip his head off, but thankfully, he only broke the tower’s wall with it. Even though Ichigo manages to block Ulquiorra’s next strike, his face is slashed by the Espada’s tail.

The shinigami is even able to summon his hollow mask again, but the power just isn’t enough – he’s completely overwhelmed by his opponent and his emological and monotonous speech. Thus he gets back at him with his usual chivalrous and self-sacrificing statement – “I must win”.

Meanwhile, Inoue and Ishida climb up to the dome, using Ishida’s latest invention – some kind of flying carpet. Uryuu is disappointed that he hadn’t used it earlier in battle and complains about his own uselessness in the battle so far. Just as Orihime tries to comfort him, they both get a feel of Ulquiorra’s reiatsu – and according to Ishida, it’s very different from the reiatsu any other creature possesses. When they arrive at the top, they’re greeted by Ulquiorra and an almost dead Ichigo hanging from his tail.
The Espada prepares a Dark Cero and Inoue can only watch as it makes a hole through Ichigo’s chest. That’s the second time Ulquiorra’s punctured Ichigo’s chest. And if you remember the first time that happened – the ole was quite small and Ichigo was dead for a few minutes. This time things look much, much worse.