Bleach 648: The Theatre Suicide Scene 2

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/648

Ichigo faces Nakk, who casually jests about losing direction in the confines of the Quincy structures. Meanwhile, Kyoraku's bankai is unleashed, darkening the entirety of the Soul Palace. Borro confidently claims that a messenger of God has no fear of darkness, but then wounds begin to appear on his body, matching the ones he gave to Kyoraku previously. Then, more appear, and Kyoraku explains that it's one of his bankai's abilities to inflict the wounds he's received on those who inflicted them. Kyoraku then activates another ability, and both are sent to an empty underwater realm, in which Kyoraku claims they will both reside until one of them runs out of spirit energy.

Bleach 639: Hold Your Hand 2

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/639

Kurotsuchi faces a powerful counterattack, as Pernida's severed finger spawns another hand, and joins in the assault. It is then that Kurotsuchi revels in realizing that Pernida is the Soul King's "Hand of Advancing," that can create new flesh for itself and multiply in combat, as opposed to the right hand of "Stopping," that can halt the advancement of conditions like illnesses. Realizing his chance, Kurotsuchi unveils his new "altered" bankai, that has 70,000 nerve layers, making it in constant pain, but unable to be controlled by Pernida. And, like Pernida, this new bankai can spawn new versions of itself. It quickly begins to devour Pernida, with Kurotsuchi calmly stating that if Pernida can penetrate all 70,000 nerve layers, he might be able to escape. As Pernida disappears, is this the end of the fight, or is there more to this bizarre and dangerous foe?

Bleach 609: A

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/609

Ichibei seems have Juha Bach right where he wants him, as he covers him in ink, erasing his name and his powers.  He unleashes his bankai to put an end to the battle, using his bankai's power to rename the King of the Quincy "Black Ant," making him only have the powers of an ant.  He then proceeds to smash Juha Bach through the floor, sending him flying downward, before crushing him.  Could this really be the end of the King of the Quincy?  Well, or course not.  Juha Bach unleashes his true power, revealing their significance of the letter "A," which represents "The Almighty."  He instantly undoes all the changes made my Ichibei's ink, and strikes what appears to be a mortal blow to the leader of the Soul Reapers.  It looks like events are fully turned against Squad 0, and now we have to hope Ichigo and friends can arrive soon, before events get even more out of control.

We all knew this was coming, that Ichibei couldn't possibly win against Juha Bach, because that just wouldn't allow Ichigo to have his epic final fight. Still, having seen a preview at what Juha Bach's powers are really like does put a bit of perspective on things, making me realize that Ichigo is still very much an underdog in this fight.  But still, neither he nor Juha Bach have fully released their powers yet.

Bleach 570: Closer Closer

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/570

So this week, we really don't get to see that much of Rukia's bankai in action, because it's apparently way too high and the "badass" meter.  However, it is interesting because it really isn't that large next to other bankai, taking inspiration it seems from more along the lines of Ichigo and the Yamamoto.  However, Rukia has a dangerous one, since it appears that any misuse on her part can kill her.  Like we saw with her shikai, it apparently drops her body temperature, and if she isn't careful about fighting or ending her bankai state, it can cause damage.  While she obviously is packing a big punch, it seems to be more of a double-edged sword for her, but I like the concept that she can't just use this impressive power on a whim.

Now, there looks to be another fight starting up, with a new Sternritter who has a very strange ability, making him an ideal assassin.  However, it is unclear how this fight is going to proceed, but it looks like a possible lead in for Kenpachi and his awakened zanpakuto might be on the horizon.

Bleach 569: The White Haze

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/569

Byakuya's back, folks, but if you're expecting him to finish his fight from the last battle, you're mistaken.  This week's chapter is short, too short; however, it contains an important moment for both Byakuya and Rukia.  Rukia, as I've stated before, has always lived in her brother's shadow, where he sought to protect her from harm, as Hisana wanted him to.  However, this is an important chapter because Byakuya finally turns over the reigns, and decides that Rukia is strong enough now where she can fight this battle on her own.  Oh, almost forgot... She finally has a bankai, however, the chapter ends with the release, and like with Renji's battle, we'll have to hold of another week until we might get a peek at it, and what its ability is.

Rukia has progressed in more or less the same fashion as I expected.  I hadn't expected Byakuya to show up so early in this battle, but it's good that he did.  Now that he's given his nod of approval to Rukia, I expect she'll be able to stand out more as a character in this final story arc.  Moreover, it really parallels Ichigo's path during this arc, where they've both been accomplished (perhaps one more than the other), but they've both still felt very young and unsure of themselves next to the other characters.  I've been loving how these two have really been stepping it up, and being on the home stretch for the series makes it the perfect time to do so.  Hopefully we can dive right in next week and have this fight finished in a another couple of chapters so we can move the plot along some more, I'm still dying to see what Ichigo can do when he joins the fight.

Bleach 564: Red Bristled Kings

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/564

Bleach is rolling, once again.  We finally get to see Renji's new bankai in action, as well as the climax of the fight with the Superstar.  Renji's zanpakuto withheld its full bankai name, apparently, and that's why Renji can have a new one.  While I like the new bankai, it's an awkward leap to say a zanpakuto can use a bankai without actually using its own bankai.  While this has been somewhat established with Yumichika from squad 11, it appears a bit of a stretch that a bankai could actually deceive its soul reaper the way Renji's allegedly did.

Regardless, the action is awesome, and the end of the fight is a major relief, so that we can finally move the story along.  It was a good fight, though, with the tide switching back and forth enough to stay interesting, even if this fight was pretty much over the moment Renji stepped onto the battlefield.  We'll just have to wait until next week to see what's next in store.

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 553: Frozen Cross

Link: http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/553/?ref=email

Zach Goodier

This week's chapter focuses solely on the counterattack of Soi Fon and Toshiro Hitsuguya against their Vandenreich opponents.  So there really isn't much in terms of story development, the fights are simply moved ahead.  While they seem to have struck decisive blows against their opponents, it is still possible that they aren't quite down for the count yet.  The Quincy still have other means of fighting without a "plundered" bankai, so it's still very possible that they aren't quite out of the running yet.  However, it does appear that at the very least the playing field has finally been leveled so that they Gotei 13 stand a chance of winning this fight since they have all of their power back.  But the larger battle has barely started, so it's still anyone's game.  Tune back in when the next Bleach comes out.

Bleach 552: The Fundamental Virulence

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/552

This week, Kisuke Urahara makes his way to the Soul Society with a new method to fight the Quincy, using the very bankai they have stolen from the Soul Reapers.  His brilliant method is devised after he realizes that the Quincy made no attempt to steal resurreccion from hollows, despite their similarity to bankai releases.  This, and the Quincy's relentless fear/hatred of hollows led Kisuke to realize that the Quincy have one major weakness, and that by using a specific method, he could not only prevent the Quincy from stealing bankai, but he could also make sure that the groundwork is laid for an immediate counterattack.  While it looks as though the Soul Society finally has a fighting chance, the Vandenreich is far from defeated at this point, and the Gotei 13 is still on the defensive, overall.  Can Ichigo return in time to lend a hand, and save the Soul Society?  We'll just have to keep waiting and reading to find out.

Bleach 551: The Burnt Offerings

Link: http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/551

Sorry about the late update, I've been behind the 8-ball on papers and homework for the past couple weeks, but I've made some time now to update.  The latest Bleach continues the battle between the Gotei 13 and the Vandenreich.  Last time, Hitsuguya and Soi Fon were dealt devastating blows by BG9 and Bazz-B, but Toshiro isn't down for the count quite yet, he attempts to counterattack but Bazz-B is too powerful.  Haschwald confronts Kyoraku and Nanao, who has developed a kido to temporarily repel Quincy, but since only she knows it, nobody else can use it to stall the Quincy advance.  The big development comes at the end, when Kisuke Urahara gets in touch with Kurotsuchi to inform him that he has discovered how to recover stolen bankai.  But we'll have to wait to find out exactly how the Soul Reapers can finally tip the scales and counterattack with all their power.  Tune in next week, and hopefully I can update you guys on time.

Bleach Chapter 532 is out!

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/532/3

It's that time of the week: Bleach manga chapter is out for all to enjoy.  Some **SPOILERS** ahead. Last week, we saw captain of squad 10, Isshin Shiba, fighting a mysterious hollow clad in black armor.  Just when Isshin was planning to get serious, he suffers a wound from a surprise attack from behind.  As it turns out, Sosuke Aizen and his party have come to ensure that their "sample" isn't interfered with by someone who can use a bankai.  Now, Isshin is wounded and having to face this monstrosity all by himself, unable to use his bankai due to the seriousness of his wounds and the apparent toll it takes on his body to use his bankai.  Aizen is preparing to leave, claiming that if his "sample" couldn't survive a shikai, then it's a failure anyways; however, a young Masaki Kurosaki appears on the scene, sensing the fight and wanting to end it before someone gets hurt.  Kaname moves to eliminate her; however, Aizen stops him, saying that he wants to see what happens.  To see exactly what does happen, check out the link and read for yourself.

Bleach Manga Chapter 529 is out!

Hey, guys! Zach here.

Here is the link to the Manga Stream page: Bleach 529


**Some spoilers ahead**
This weeks manga is a look back to the past, with details about Ichigo's father before he started living in the world of the living.  We've also gotten some spoilers about Ichigo's past, as well as a little twist as to why Ichigo hasn't been able to recover his Bankai.  Obviously if you haven't gotten this far, you might wanna catch up.  If you don't like Bleach, then simply disregard this little article and link and go about your day.  This chapter is continuing a long buildup, that all started with the death of the Head Captain, and now is discussing Isshin's relation to the Shiba clan, as well as Ichigo's Quincy heritage he has yet to fully tap into.  There is obviously a lot of ways the story can go, and while these individual chapters are mostly downtime, I'm eager to see how it all fits together, and where it will continue to go as the war with the Quincy prepares to go back into full swing.  I'm also wondering how Aizen might continue to fit into the story, seeing as how he has made an indirect appearance already in the more current battles.  I think there might be more to be done with him, especially seeing as we have never gotten to see Aizen's past, nor his complete motives. We'll just have to see, so let's where things go from here.


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