Bleach Episode 273 – “Fury of the Shark! Halibel Releases”

Bleach Chapter 405 – Deicide 7

*sigh* Things seem to be going at a very slow pace – it’s the same thing chapter after chapter – everyone tries to kill Aizen, he gets hit, burned, slashed, raped, yet nothing happens to him. He will then repeat how great he is and how he’ll kill everyone in just a second. Seriously boring stuff. however a couple of interesting things were mentioned this chapter.

A’ight, like in the previous 5 chapters we have Urahara, Isshin and Yoruichi failing to murder Aizen. This time they’ve decided on using a more elaborate scheme to force their opponent into a corner. A chained combo attack between the cat-girl and the humble shop keeper leaves an opening for Isshin to use a surprise attack. Kubo shows us a couple of Benihime’s abilities – it can fire out a binding net, which explodes once it’s target has been captured. Even from a huge-ass explosion and a direct hit from Yoruichi’s Shunko enhanced fist, Aizen is practically unharmed. We’ll see next week whether Isshin’s Getsuga Tenshou was useful or whether the Hougyoku will just fix Aizen like usual.

And here comes the important question – “Huh?”. Isn’t Ichigo the only one who can use Getsuga Tenshou? All zanpakuto are unique and have unique abilities, so how can Isshin use this? It must be because they’re father and son. Like said a few chapters ago, shinigami shouldn’t have children with humans, so Ichigo, being an exception, must have inherited more then just the ability to become a shinigami. I’m sure Kubo will clear this up in the next chapter. Or five years from now.

For me the best part of this chapter revolved around Gin and Ichigo. What a horrifying fellow that Ichimaru is. You can never tell what he’s thinking or what he’s going to do. Instead of killing Ichigo, he tells him to run. Now that’s weird. I see two possibilities here – one is that Gin, being such a cruel man, expects that Ichigo will run away, which would give him the opportunity to stab him in the back – thus Ichigo would meet his end as a coward, who died while running from battle. This would certainly please Gin’s sadistic desires. The other reason I see behind Gin’s actions is that he wants to get Ichigo far away from Aizen. Aizen has been experimenting with Ichigo as a test subject for some time now, so ultimately he wants something with the strawberry. It is possible that Gin doesn’t want Aizen to succeed in this experiment, for whatever the reason. I’m sure Matsumoto is going to have a major role in this.

And one last thing – let’s bring back the topic of Ichigo’s strength. Gin brought up that Ichigo was scarier back when he first went to Soul Society. Even though he’s gained so much – a bankai, hollowfication, the super mega overspammed Getsuga Tenshou (which will from now on be spammed from not one, but two characters, seriously, Kubo, think of something new), Ichigo has practically become weaker then when he fought Kenpachi. Everyone wondered how Kenpachi can beat Nnoitra and Byakuya and Kenpachi could fight Yammi, when Ichigo barely took out Grimmjaw, yet Ichigohad managed o beat both Kenpachi and Byakuya. Well, it’s simple- Kenpachi and Byakuya have always been strong, because they’ve always had the will of a soldier, unlike Ichigo, who only manages to get his resolve together for a couple of swings in an entire arc. I think what would be nice is if got a new technique, somethin’ to replace Getsuga Tenshou and that would turn hi spirits up.

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Bleach Episode 272 – “Ichigo vs. Ulquiorra, Conclusion!”

Bleach Chapter 404 – Deicide 6

So Deicide has officially caught up to The Lust with six whole chapters named after it. Not that I care, but unlike The Lust (which is now available in the anime – if you haven’t seen it do it now) this hasn’t really been a deicide so far, I see no reason to have the same name for all of these chapters. No one has been killed, not even any of the shinigami, who are Gods themselves. We’ve already decided it isn’t related to Gin’s God-killing lance. The only explanation left is that Aizen’s personal Death God has been destroyed and he has transcended into a super-God. Damn.

If you ask me Aizen looks like an alien or a condom. He could be used to prevent unwanted babies on many, many planets. Last week Yoruichi tried to puncture him, but the Houghyoku has safely maintained any leaks. Long story short – the same game that has been going on for the past 90 chapters is not about to end – one side overpowers the other, but is then overpowered itself. This time in a 3 vs. 1 fight it might finally end, as even Ichigo realizes that Aizen is going to kill everyone.
O.k. – let’s get a little sidetracked here. Duuudes, this is too predictable, seriously, this Deicide is getting on my nerves. Ever since Aizen absorbed the Hougyoku everything has become so obvious – that Isshin would show up, that Urahara and Yoruichi, and then probably Tessai and ven Ukitake would show up, etc. Seiously, Kubo and Kishimoto have both been getting on my nerves with their predictability this past month. I’ve actually enjoyed reading Hitman Reborn more than Bleach and Naruto combined. Than God for One Piece and Gantz, really. What is up with this, it’s like two of the best mangas in the world are currently in hiatus…

Anyway, at least there are some funny moments to keep me going – Yoruichi, Urahara and Isshin, a trio that was sure to produce, if nothing else, a good laugh. Urahara had tried to produce an anti-hollow armor for the kitty-cat, but unfortunately it hasn’t been very effective. The two blame each other for its failure, but they both know the true reason is Aizen’s new strength.

On a rooftop nearby Ichigo and Gin take some downtime to enjoy the festivities and have a little chat. Gin is kind enough to summarize the next 20 chapters in one sentence and I really appreciate that, it’s gonna save me a ton of work. Gin, who is just as good as Aizen at fucking other people’s brains, gives Ichigo a nice slap of reality. Ichigo’s “shaken heart” is once again returned to balance (that’s only happened 7 times in the last 100 chapters, read ‘em if you don’t believe me). And so the two resume their battle, Ichigo even uses his mask, as Gin demonstrates another frightening ability – a gatling gun. Real scary stuff right there, so fast it almost looks like one giant sword.
The fact that Gin’s a slacker shouldn’t surprise anyone, on the other hand, his commitment to Aizen seems very untypical. For a fox Gin is extremely loyal. This is where Matsumoto comes in – she is not only Gin’s best friend, but perhaps something much more. A confrontation between her and Gin would definitely shake the boy’s brain. I mean just imagine if you had to choose between the god-like power of Aizen’s alien suit and the god-like power of Matsumoto’s boobs. I would much prefer the latter, but whether Gin is gay for loyal to Aizen or not will be decided by Kubo Tite himself.

Oh, and one more thing – it seems Unohana was successful in reattaching Rankigu’s kidney so that should mean the fallen captains should be back on the battlefield anytime now. I hope Kubo at least leaves them injured until the next ark, we’ve had more than interferences in the past dozen chapters.