Bleach 635: Hooded Enigma

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/635

The battle between Bazz and Hashwalth is over; meanwhile, Liltotto and Giselle have fallen trying to kill Yhwach, and the Sternlichter are still trying to locate the rest of the intruders. Grimmjow is still in pursuit of Askin, but the battle takes a dangerous turn when Grimmjow is hit with a poison ball and drops to the ground. Kenpachi and Kurotsuchi are also facing off with Pernida, who's abilities continue to confuse, but if there's a pair that can face him, it's those two.

Bleach 634: Friend 4

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/634

Jugo and Bazz continue their clash, but Jugo argues that there is no point to it, that their fight does nothing to affect Juha Bach. However, Bazz continues his fight, and we get another flashback to the past, 3 years after Jugo joins the Sternritter, to when Bazz enlists as well, to find Jugo already a captain. Bazz tries to fight Jugo then, just to be ignored, since internal fights were punishable by death. Bazz continued to try to goad Jugo into a fight, to no avail. Back in the present, Jugo finally succeeds to making Jugo fight him, only to find Jugo easily outmatches him in every way. However, Jugo isn't surprised at this, merely wanting to settle the score one way or the other, Jugo walks away, leaving Bazz-B, actually named Buzzard Black, to bleed out on the ground.

Bleach 633: Friend 3

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/633

The flashback concludes, as Juha Bach reveals that Jugo's power is the ability to "share," like Juha Bach himself. He also reveals that it was this ability that allowed Bazz to increase his power the way he did, not his own prowess. Bazz resents this realization, and tries to kill Juha Bach, only to be stopped by Jugo himself. Back in the present, Jugo easily stops Bazz's arrow, and uses his blade to land a potentially fatal blow on Bazz. Is this the end of their friendship, or is there still hope for Bazz?

Bleach 632: Friend 2

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/632

Hashwalth and Bazz continue their training to defeat Juha Bach in the past, but one day the Quincy army shows up looking for recruits for the new sternritter army. Excited, Bazz volunteers to protect the future of the Quincy, and urges Hashwald to join, as well. The recruiter resists the children at first, thinking them foolish and naive. However, Bazz challenges him to fight if he thinks he is unworthy, and that if he wins, Bazz gets to take the officers rank in his place. However, as they prepare to fight, they are all pinned by the immense spiritual pressure of Juha Bach. He states that he has found his "other half," as he stares down at Hashwalth.

Bleach 631: Friend

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/631/?ref=email

Bazz-B and his old friend Jugo face off, and ass they start to fight, we are shown glimpses of the past, when Jugo Hashwald was an inept quincy, and Bazz was a skilled hunter who vows vengeance against Juha Bach when he conquers their village, killing everyone in his way. However, Jugo doesn't bear any real animosity towards Juha Bach, but follows Bazz's plan anyways. They decide to get close to Juha Bach, in order to get close to him so they can wait for the chance to undermine him. The story also shows when Juha Bach had successfully conquered the human world, and decided to set his sights on the Soul Society.

I saw this coming last week, with a lot of backstory for characters most of us have little, if any, investment in. On the positive side, they focused on the story, rather than quickly tagging 3 or 4 different groups, meaning we see them, but with only a couple pages each, they can hardly get anything done. So the pacing felt much improved this chapter, but I hardly feel any deeper connection between these two, just the added knowledge that there are other quincy who seem intent on fighting Juha Bach.

Bleach 630: The Twinned Twilight

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/630

Grimmjow lunges forward, striking out with some new ability of his that turns his hands into dark claws. Meanwhile, Hashwald is told that Uryuu has left on his own to help search for intruders, which Hashwald finds distressing, likely doubting Uryuu's allegiance. Suddenly, he is attacked by Bazz-B, who is still holding a grudge over being betrayed and left to die by his former friend. As they confront one another, a truth is revealed: Hashwald and Juha Bach swap powers at night, which could be a problem if he gains all of the power that Juha Bach has acquired since absorbing the Soul King.

I'm liking that things are finally picking up again; however, with the last panel, I'm afraid more backstory might be in store for next week, which would mean we have to wait a couple of weeks until the present story moves forward. But, focusing on the present, Grimmjow has obviously grown stronger since the last time we saw him, which is no surprise, but he also has some new abilities. However, it is unclear whether or not he will be able to face a Sternlichter on his own. And with Bazz-B now facing such a powerful opponent, I'm doubting he can hold his own, but Liltotto's absence might be a hint that there's more in the works. 

Bleach 623: Against the Judgement

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/623

Aizen prepares to bring down the palace; however, at the last moment, his restraints stop him. It is at this point that Kyoraku and Kurotsuchi explain the nature of Aizen's restraints, explaining that they are the one of the Soul Society's proudest achievements, since Aizen's power cannot by normal means be contained. However, as the captains boast of their achievement, trouble arrives in the form of 3 Sternritters, who appear to mean business. Can the Soul Reapers afford to keep Aizen restrained, or will they have to find another means to deal with this new threat?

This chapter is very significant, since *SPOILERS* several Sternritters are now joining with the Soul Reapers to get revenge on Juha Bach for abandoning them. I am unsure if Juha Bach is ready for this, or if he even cares, but this is a big twist, since it means many former enemies are banding together to come after him. I don't think they will be able to take him on, as they seem keen on doing, but they can still make a big difference at the right moment if they join in the fight with the Sternlichter. I'm hoping in the next couple of weeks we get a glimpse at what happened to Ichigo after his fall from the palace, because he'll need to get back in this fight soon by the looks of things.

Bleach 587: The Headless Star 6

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/587/2431/1

Uryuu has revealed himself to Ichigo, and Orihime and Chad show up just in time to see him depart the Soul Society for the Soul King's Palace with Juha Bach and Hashwald.  Ichigo is unsure what to make of Uryuu's appearance, until his friends help him find his resolve.  However, will Ichigo and the others be able to arrive back at the palace before Juha Bach destroys everything?

A lot of the segway chapters can be a little tiresome for continual followers of the series.  Nothing was accomplished this chapter to speak of, it felt very short, and it felt like everything was on pause throughout.  These chapters do have moments, but overall, they can be a little disappointing for those of us who spend an entire week just waiting for the next chapter.  Still, they help set us up for the next parts of the story, so they end up being a necessary evil for the overall story.

Bleach 585: The Headless Star 4

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/585/2413/1

This week, Ichigo hears the voice of Juha Bach, who tells him that because of his arrival, in particular arriving from the Soul Palace with clothes made of the hair and bone of Squad 0, the defenses keeping intruders out of the Soul Palace will be down for 6000 seconds.  This means that Juha Bach means to invade the Soul Palace while those defenses are down, upping the pressure on Ichigo to hurry and face him.  However, Ichigo has 8 Quincy surrounding him, and they have no intention of letting him go.  Still, after a series of attacks, Ichigo is unhurt.  However, will he be able to break away to face Juha Bach, or will he be too late to stop him from invading the Palace of the King of Souls?

I'm hoping this bout between Ichigo and the other Quincy is finally over.  I wasn't minding it, but now that the pace is picking up, I'm hoping it means he'll be able to move on up, if not facing Juha Bach himself, than Hashwald or Uryuu.  Renji and the others arriving to hold off the Quincy was helpful, and it kept this fight from dragging out any longer than necessary, plus it does give us the chance to let the rest of that fight unravel mostly out of sight of the reader, since we've seen most of the abilities each character has.  I'm still waiting for the rest of Ichigo's new "allies" to arrive, like the Fullbring and the mysterious partner of Urahara's, but it is still unclear when or if we'll get a peek at them during this round of fighting.  Until next week, we'll just have to keep grasping at straws, hoping we get there soon.

Bleach 584: The Headless Star 3

Zach Goodier

Link: http://readms.com/r/bleach/584/2408/1

Ichigo still holds the upper hand against Candice and the other ladies; however, Ichigo clearly isn't looking to shed any unnecessary blood if he can avoid it.  His enemies won't be so forgiving, however, as his fight begins to draw the attention of the other Quincy, who are all eager to eliminate Ichigo and take the glory of killing him for themselves.  Ichigo is strong, but as his enemies circle around him, we can only wonder if he is truly ready for the fight ahead, as it seems nobody else is capable of resisting.  And even as we worry about the sharks circling Ichigo, Juha Bach is setting another plan into motion, and we can only wonder (and dread) what that plan is.

It was nice to see Ichigo easily handling these opponents, and now that more are showing up, he might really start to turn it up.  However, we're still missing some key supporting players, so it might be possible that they'll show up to take some of the pressure off of Ichigo, or maybe Urahara is holding them in reserve in case of some other eventuality.  In either case, we still have to worry about Juha Bach, and what his "key" is going to do, and how this is going to put even more pressure on Ichigo.  Clearly, Juha Bach was waiting for Ichigo to arrive to set this plan in motion, but it is still unclear what exactly his plan is.  As usual, we need to hold off until next for the possibility of any answers.

Bleach 554: Desperate Lights

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/554

Well it looks like the endgame is approaching in Bleach.  This week, we saw the defeat of a couple of the Stern Ritter, but that doesn't mean the Vandenreich is out of commission yet, especially since Juha Bach anticipated the Soul Reapers regaining their bankai.  Now the remaining Quincy are going all out to defeat their enemy, but it looks as though Ichigo might be returning soon.  I'm not sure how soon he will finally be taking the stage, or what sort of power he possesses, but you can be sure it'll be something to see.  However, the mystery of how Uryuu is going to factor into this battle is yet to be seen.  He's always been a close ally of Ichigo, however reluctant he might be, but it appears as though he is with the enemy.  I sincerely doubt he will try to kill Ichigo or his friends himself, but his grudge against Soul Reapers might have driven him to his current allegiance.  I still think he will turn back at some point, whether he truly believes in the Quincy cause or he has simply infiltrated their ranks.  But we'll have to just tune back in as usually to find out what is going to happen.

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 550: Blazing Bullets

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/550

New week, new Bleach, so let's dive right in.  The battles between Soi Fon and Stern ritter "K," BG9 and Captain Hitsuguya and Stern ritter "H," Bazz-B were looking to be finished, but the fight is only just beginning.  The Quincy King had already anticipated that the Soul Reapers who had their bankai stolen would develop other methods to fight, and it is revealed that Bazz-B used his flames in the last battle to actually counter the flames of Yammamoto's zanpakuto.  This is surprising, since it indicates that even some of the lower ranking stern ritter could actually fight on even terms with someone as powerful as the head captain, at least in shikai state.  Now the Quincy counterattack has begun, will the Soul Reapers be able to withstand this onslaught? And will Ichigo have anything left to save when he finally arrives?  Well, I'm hoping to find that out myself before too long, so let's just tune back in next week to see what happens.

Bleach 548: The Thin Ice

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/548

Another week, another Bleach, albeit not for that much longer, it seems.  However, in the present we have the battle between captain of squad 10, Toshiro Hitsuguya, fighting Sternritter H "The Heat" Bazz-B.  Hitsuguya has to fight without his bankai, since his was stolen in the previous battle.  However, with some help from Rangiku, it appears that he has at least managed to catch Bazz-B off guard with how effective he can still be as an opponent, noting that his zanpakuto has the least difference between his shikai and bankai powers.  However, the larger battle is still beginning, and it is likely that since the Soul Society is ready this time, they won't be going down so easily.  Now that the Quincy have seemingly tipped their hand, it's all bets off.  However, Ichigo still hasn't arrived yet, and Juha Bach and Uryu are still not participating in the battle.  So, it looks like a few of the key players haven't taken the field as of yet, and we'll just have to wait and see what parts they will play in the coming battle.