Bleach 603: What the Hell

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/603

Juha Bach steps forward, forcing Niyama to pause and question what abilities he is faced with, beyond what he already knows of from the previous battles with Yamamoto.  However, it is quickly revealed that what Juha Bach is doing is not stepping forward to fight, but culling the power of his Sternritter back to him.  This doesn't bode well for the Quincy still battling down in the Soul Society, but it also doesn't bode well for Squad 0, as Juha Bach uses his power to resurrect his fallen guards, seemingly more powerful than ever.  

I was either expecting Juha Bach to roll over Squad 0, or pull some other ace from up his sleeve, otherwise Ichigo wouldn't even be needed in this fight.  It is unclear if Squad 0 will be able to maintain the edge over the Sternlichter, or if Ichigo's friends will have to assist in these battles.  Still, if things continue to bode ill for Squad 0, Ichigo and his friends may be the last hope to stop the Vanden

reich.

Bleach 594: Rub-Dolls

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/594

While Kurotsuchi begins an experiment on the now-paralyzed Hitsuguya, Giselle brings 3 more zombified Soul Reapers to the fight: Rangiku, Rose, and Kensei.  However, Kurotsuchi isn't about to let anything stand in the way of his experiment, and quickly sends the arrancar to keep them occupied while he conducts his mysterious experiment.  Meanwhile, Byakuya has already dispatched several of the Quincy, and soon is reunited with Shuhei Hisagi, but what does this mean for the ongoing battle?

I'm not sure what to think of Giselle having seemingly zombified half the Seretei when nobody was watching, it just makes all these twists feel much more random.  Bambietta made plenty of sense, but how she got around to taking control of 3 captains and a vice-captain, all without anyone noticing, is a little too convenient for my taste.  Plus, Byakuya taking out 3 enemies off-panel brings some mixed reactions from me, as well.  I'm all for moving things along, so not delving into every detail of every fight is a good thing, but it's also somewhat unwelcome to take active characters like Candice and seemingly dispatch them off-panel.  Of course, they might not be dead, and could get up for future fights, but the Quincy have been sure to dispatch anyone who returned to them in defeat, so it seems that their fates are sealed no matter what.

Bleach 591: Marching out the Zombies 2

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/591/2477/1

Giselle's zombie army clashes with Kurotsuchi's arrancar zombie squad, but even as the battle begins in earnest, Giselle still has his/her zombified Bambietta to support her already massive number of zombies.  However, Kurotsuchi's arrancar are fully aware, and capable of quickly dispatching the zombie horde.  Just as it seems that victory might be easily attained (if you actually thought that, thought, you must be new here), Giselle unveils her secret weapon.... Captain Hitsuguya!?!?!?

I'm pretty certain the effects of Giselle's zombification must be reversible, or else this is a very bold move on Kubo's part.  Toshiro is a fan-favorite, and killing him off, especially without some final swan song, just doesn't make any sense unless this is somehow reversible.  Considering Captain Kurotsuchi is on the scene, I have almost no doubt that he will be able to devise some method of reversing or blocking Giselle's power, at least to save Hitsuguya.  But even then, we've seen that Giselle is dangerous, not because of any mass of power, but the fact that even fatal wounds are ineffective, and only serve to spread blood to new potential zombies.  How will Kurotsuchi and his arrancar minions be able to put an end to this conflict? ...Well, you know the drill by now, come back next week and we'll hopefully find out.

Bleach 589: "The Shooting Star Project" [The Old and New Trust]

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/589/2452/1

Ichigo and his friends prepare to go to the Soul King's Palace to finish what they started, but in the meantime, Urahara works to set up his special canon to send them there, but needs enough energy to send them.  Meanwhile, Ikkaku and Yumichika fight Giselle and her zombie version of Bambietta.  As they soon realize, since Bambietta is already dead, whatever damage they do to her body won't be enough to put her down for good.  Will they be able to defeat this mysterious zombie master?  Only the next chapters will tell.

It's starting to feel like things are moving along at a faster pace now, with Ichigo getting his bearings before he sets out to face what might be his last battle.  But, we still see plenty of action going on as Ichigo's friends struggle to mop-up the forces Juha Bach left behind when he invaded the Palace.  I'm still waiting to see how some of the other characters will appear, and how their appearance will impact the battle.  It could be the eventual appearance of the Fullbring and other Arancar that upsets Juha Bach's plans and tips the scales against him, but it is likely Ichigo that must face him in order to defeat him outright.  Only time will tell, and we will likely still have a lot of that left before we get any answers.  Until next week, we can all just keep guessing.

Bleach 558: The Wolf's Heart

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/558/2154/1

This week, we see the aftermath of Komamura's powerful counterattack, and the consequences he must bear because of it.  It appears that the price of his power is the total loss of his humanity, becoming purely animal, even more than he originally was.  Komamura must pay the price for using such power, as he seeks to avenge the death of the Head Captain.  But he is not alone, and his quest for revenge can hardly be branded a failure if his efforts contribute to the overall success of the Gotei 13.  On the other side, Bambietta is defeated, and in her moment of weakness, her group appears, offering to "take care of her."  Whatever this entails, Bambietta has a foreboding look of dread on her face upon hearing those words.  I would love to see more of Bambietta, and not see her go so soon, as she has been one of the more interesting Stern Ritter, aside from perhaps Haschwald.  I would like to see more backstory for some of the individual members, and hopefully we can see more of the bombshell, Bambietta.  In the final scene of the chapter, Rukia and Renji are finally within eyesight of the Seretei, ready and eager to lend aid to the besieged Seretei. 

Bleach 557: I Already Threw Away my Life

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/557/

This week, the battle between Bambietta and Komamura comes to a head, and we hear some explanation as to exactly how he, and his powers, have changed following this human transformation.  Simply put, by giving up his heart, he can transform into a human body that is itself immortal, and his bankai no longer has the limitations it possessed in it's previous form.  By shedding its armor, it no longer is susceptible to attack.  It seems counter-intuitive but without armor it is just a mass of power with no real body to attack, so no damage is transferred back to the owner.  The most important part for this battle, however, is that with this new power, is he able to finally going to be able to turn the tide of this battle?

This whole battle has turned one of my least favorite Soul Reapers into a real standout character, and I love it.  While Bleach, at least in my opinion, has generally had an overabundance of characters to follow once season 3 ended, it still does a great job of making each character feel like they have some sort of role or back-story to bring to the series.  However, the biggest downside is the one I'm experiencing right now: I want to move this stuff along so that we can get closer to the main event.  Fortunately, it doesn't look like that will take much longer now, so I'm just going to have to wait it out a little longer until next week to see what else unfolds.  So until then, stay nerdy.

Bleach 556: The Wolfsbane

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/556

New week, new Bleach, so let's just get to it.  Shinji looks to be down for the count, but Komamura is still ready and able to fight, but Bambietta looks to be just getting started, and her power to turn anything into a bomb is already looking deadly.  However, Komamura has a new power of his own, and it's already helping to become a standout in this new arc. Despite his... unique appearance, he has never really stood out as a character in terms of strength or personality, but that appears to be changing in this final arc.  His clan were all cursed to the animal realm, but by breaking the chains that bind their curse, they gain immense power.  Now Komamura is stronger than ever, and he's already looking like a real badass in the midst of this battle.  Now I'm just dying to see what he can really do, but I'm also eager for Kenpachi Zaraki, as well as Ichigo, to finally show up to the battle.  All three of these characters have leaped ahead of their former selves by the looks of things, but we have yet to see what they can really do.  I'll just have to keep shaking with anticipation until next week, so until then, stay nerdy.