Bleach Manga Chapter 359 – The Frozen Obelisk

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One down, three to go! Toushiro reveals his ultimate technique, which, I should say, is damn scary! I don’t think anyone can escape from that, perhaps only Yamamoto with his fire attacks, or someone with exception kidou skills could hope to survive an attack this devastating.

When Hitsugaya said last chapter that he controls everything under the sky, he wasn’t kidding! The incredible spectacle over Karakura town even makes Stark tremble in fear. The entire sky is covered with dark clouds, giving off the feeling of doom. I was really hoping for a thunderstorm alongside the snow, since the technique is called “Tensou Juurin” (”Weather Domination”). That would’ve been awesome! The 10th Division Captain explains that Tensou Juurin is Hyourinmaru’s most powerful technique, but also the most dangerous one, since his powers haven’t fully matured yet. He has never used it in bankai mode so far, so he has no idea exactly how destructive its power will be. Toushiro has a small flashback, which takes us back to his fight with Gin. Back then he didn’t use this technique, because he was afraid of harming Hinamori. And judging by what happens after this attack is commenced, he did the right thing.

As you can see in the picture above, Hyouten Hyakkaso is not just a normal snow technique. The heavens themselves opened to pass this killing force. An avalanche-like stream of snow begins falling over Karakura town, freezing everything it touches. Just one snowflake is enough to freeze Hallibel’s sword and render it useless. This ability reminds me a lot of Yumichika’s shikai - Ruri’iro Kujaku – everything touched by the vines sprouts a flower blossom, filled with the enemy’s reiatsu. In the end it sucks out all of the opponent’s energy and kills him. Hitsugaya’s flowers probably work in a similar way – they need to touch the enemy in order to bloom. 

The blossoming itself is another spectacular sight – the hundred flowers form a gigantic ice tower, which can be seen from miles away. Hallibel meets her demise, completely frozen inside. A beautiful grave for a beautiful woman.

10h Division Captain Histugaya Toushiro vs. Third Espada Tear Hallibel:  Winner – Hitsugaya Toushiro.

That just leaves two more battles between the Espada and he shinigami in the human world.
Shunsui’s fight against Stark is progressing as slow as ever, both still having no intention of releasing their swords.  The 8th Division Captain just bounces around, avoiding his opponent’s attacks one after another. That pisses off Mr.1, who fires a Cero at him. I’ve never seen a hollow fire one like that. And by Shunsui’s reaction, he hasn’t seen one either. Most Arrancar and ordinary hollows use their mouths, horns, tails or fingers. Some even use their eyes and legs, but Stark just fires it out of nowhere. I guess that’s why he’s the Prima Espada. Just like Shunsui, he’s obviously had hundreds of years of experience, nothing else could explain abilities like those. Hopefully we’ll see some more development in next week’s chapter.

Turning to the final clash of the week, Barragan seems to be enjoying himself in playing with Omaeda. The poor fat guy is just pathetic, running around, screaming for help from his captain. Barragan intentionally toys with him by using his “slow” ‘Death breath’, which just barley touches Omaeda’s Lieutenant badge. Of course just that is enough to scare him shitless.
Meanwhile Soi Fon has just finished setting up the preparations for her plan  and is ready to counterattack. I’m not sure how tying up a building with a scarf can defeat Barragan’s againg abilities, but I’m sure her bankai, which she’ll finally use next week, is going to bring the Espada down.

Overall, I’m a bit disappointed in the way the Espada are being eliminated. It almost makes me think none of them are Vasto Lorde.

Bleach Episode 221- “The Full Showdown! Shinigami vs. Espada”

Bridge to Peace

Post Author: ssj sousuke

Hollows have always been considered the Yin to the Shinigami’s Yang. The evil path that a soul can take after death. And as such, the Arrancar are also considered evil. Well this connotation has proven to be true for the most part, but every once in a while, we will see  one with a little more promise.

For example, Nel is somebody who, even though she followed Aizen at one time, can never side with Aizen and his Arrancar army ever again. You can’t really blame her for following Aizen in the past, when she was the 3rd Espada. She was a lonely Hollow, with nowhere else to turn. Not to mention how manipulative he can be with his subordinates, telling them whatever they want to hear to get them to do as he wishes. But since she has left the Arrancar army and joined forces with Ichigo, there isn’t much question as to where her allegiance lies. (To Ichigo) The same goes for her fraccion, who seem to be almost as caring and harmonic as she.

From the very start Grimmjow has shown disobedience toward Aizen. His motives for joining his army are most likely for personal gain. After being defeated by Ichigo, he was shown mercy for the first time in his life, right before Nnoitra tries to off him, where he is then protected again by Ichigo. To me it seems like their rivalry has created some sort of a bond between the two. A brotherhood, that even if they don’t like each other, they at least understand each other. If he survives through the giant conflict going on right now, it is questionable if he will return to the Arrancar army, or if he will have a change in direction.

Stark; the Primera Espada, whose aspect of death is loneliness. My theory is that he is lonely because he is the only Espada who doesn’t hate, or even wish to kill the Shinigami. It has been illustrated in his fight with Shunsui, that he didn’t wish to harm him at all, and only wanted to “play fight.”  I don’t know if he will survive after his ongoing “battle” with the Gotei 13, but if he does, and if Aizen is defeated, I think it is believable that he wouldn’t have any qualms with the Shinigami taking over.

Other Arrancar have shown disloyalty toward Aizen, like the Dordonii. At first he aided him when fighting Ichigo, but due to his encounter, matched with his grudge for being kicked out of the Espada, he turned on the Exequias when they went after Ichigo. Ultimately him and the other Privaron Espada were implied to be finished off, but I think it is safe to say that out of the many Arrancar in Aizen’s army, there are probably others who share this disloyalty.

What I am trying to get at with all of this is that when Aizen is ultimately defeated (because that is inevitable) there are still going to be Arrancar left alive. Through certain key encounters, I have noticed that Tite has been trying to shed some light to both sides of the story, and how not all Arrancar are evil. Well, hypothetically, if some of the remaining Arrancar like Nel, or Stark (if he lives), didn’t mind it, wouldn’t some sort of treaty between them and the shinigami help bring peace and balance throughout the universe?

Think about it, the Gotei 13 exists to help bring peace and balance, and with allies on the other side, this would aid them substantially. One of the reasons Tite introduced the Vaizards was to show that just because somebody is linked to Hollows, doesn’t mean they are evil. And that the ruling system, and the ancient laws of the Soul Society need to be adjusted, because not everything is so black and white.

Bleach Manga Chapter 358 – King of the Clouds

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Aaaand the Tercera Espada is out! From the way things turned out this chapter, Halibel’s death is practically certain. Whatever Toushiro’s new technique is, Halibel seems quite shocked and afraid. Like one of you mentioned last chapter, it’s sad to see such a beautiful girl go. It’s a bit annoying that Kubo translates her name as Harribel, instead of Hallibel, which sounds much cuter. Harribel reminds me harry Potter, which totally destroys my mojo. Way to goof up, Tite-san…

Now, let’s go back to the more important part of the chapter. Picking up where he left off last time, the author shows us Hallibel’s devastating water attack. Her abilities consist of producing water through Tiburon’s gills. As some of you might now, a high-pressure water stream is able to instantly cut even through inches of solid steel. However, it looks like she’s only able to control the water she summons and she can only change it’s trajectory, speed and consistency during the summoning. Or, at best, she can only control the water she created herself. On the other hand, we’ve got Toushiro, who can’t create ice unless there’s water in his surroundings. In the last chapter the young Captain thought the Espada’s abilities were actually working to his advantage, but Halibel tried her best  to prove him wrong.

After stopping his opponent’s attack, Hitsugaya uses “Guncho Tsurara” (Icickle Flock) to divert Halibel’s attention and sneak up behind her. The blonde isn’t very impressed and after melting the first attack with “Hirviendo” (Boiling Splash), she easily defends against the second by breaking through it.

Hallibel is a bit angered by the fact that small ice-crystals started forming on her beautiful skin and releases her anger in the form of  numerous offensive moves, like La Gota (Droplette) and a Cero. Her attacks are weak, however, and Toushiro dodges them without much trouble. The shinigami realises that his foe is waiting for an increase of humidity the air, so that she can use some sort of special move. He decides to act ahead of her and declares a technique of his own – “Hyouten Hyakkasou” (Ice-Heavens Hundred Flower Burial)

This skill is one that has yet to be tested in bankai mode. The only logical reason for Hitsugaya not to use it in previous battles is probably because it’s unstable or uses up a lot of reiatsu. You can see the dark rain clouds gathering behind him, as if foreboding the arrival of a terrible evil. My expectations are that both Toushiro and Hallibel will use their strongest techniques, yet the shinigami will win by a cross-hair. According to Hitsugaya’s own words ”You are in the greatest danger when you execute a flawless strategy”, so this final clash should be quite interesting.

In the other battle, Soi Fon and Omaeda look pathetic in front of Barragan’s time-control skills. Omaeda, as usual is quite cowardly, his only thoughts solely concentrated on coming up with an escape plan. In his inner-mind ramblings, he even comes to the conclusion that Barragan is more dangerous than Aizen, but I think we all know that’s a bit extreme. There’s no way Barragan would obey Aizen if that were the case. The fat man’s logic is on the right track concerning the battle strategy – there’s no way to get close to the Espada, so there’s no way to escape, and his Breath of Death is strong and fast enough to rival even Soi Fon’s shunpo.

During Omaeda’s inner ponderings, Soi Fon comes up with a plan, but she needs the chubby Vice-captain to act as a decoy. Of course the mere thought of having to stand up against the monster all by himself makes the bloke nearly shit his pants. I can only imagine what his heart-rate must be after hearing his Captain’s orders to chop off his own limbs, if needed. Barragan chases after Omaeda, who runs away in a comical fashion. Even though the 2nd Division Vice-captain is a “lazy, cowardly, fat grease-ball, who only cares about money and his family’s busyness”, as Soi Fon put it, he’s a loyal subordinate, who always pulls through. So I think he’ll do a good job and prove his worth in the upcoming chapters.
On the issue of Soi Fon’s power- she not only has her bankai, but also shunkou:
This is a technique invented and perfected by Yoruichi, which Soi Fon also managed to discover on her own accord. It’s very probable that Yoruichi revealed some unknown secrets of this kidou technique to her apprentice. And since we already know that kidou spells are very effective against the Espada’s special abilities (like Byakuya’s spells against Zommari), I think it’s safe to conclude shunko will have a vital role in this battle. Now if only we could see that damn bankai already…

Oh, and this just came into my mind yesterday and I can’t get rid of it.