Bleach 628: New World Orders

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/628

The entire palace has been altered into the shape of a Quincy cross, and the buildings have all been redone in the style of the Quincy. As both teams emerge within the palace, they are stunned by what they see, and realize they were fortunate to not have been present when it was reshaped, or it may have killed them in the process. However, Yoruichi quickly senses her brother, who tries to leap towards her, only to realize he can't manipulate reishi in the palace like in the seretei. This leads everyone to conclude that Juha Bach has altered the concentration of spirit energy in the palace to suit Quincies, while making it difficult for soul reapers. 

This chapter really felt like a continuation of much of what we already understood from the previous chapter, and that's not a good thing. The pacing of this story arc has been painfully slow, and this chapter really showcases why. In terms of actual progress, the teams combined took a total of 3 or 4 steps in this chapter, just making idle dialogue and redundantly explaining all of the same material we've seen in previous chapters. I think this series would benefit from dropping all the excess baggage and driving the main story forward. Some of these detours have been interesting, but mostly just hold us back from making any real headway.

Bleach 622: The Agony

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/622/2734/1

Aizen has returned, and with all his fearsome power seemingly greater than ever. He effortlessly deals with the little creatures, and in the process damages the barrier around the Seiretei. The others quickly question Kyoraku, who knows that this decision is not one that would be appreciated, but he argues that pride alone won't save the world, and that Aizen is another form of "evil" that can be used to fight the evil they face now. Aizen casually sits and spectates this exchange, patiently waiting out the arguments before returning to his work. While Kyoraku can't completely free Aizen, he bargains a deal to get him on their side, at least for the time being. However, as Aizen's power disrupts the portal in the lab, he says that they don't need the portal now that the barriers around the palace have been breached, and that he will use his power to help them.

I really missed Aizen in the story, and he's already making up for lost time. His calm, cold exterior and his confidence always seems to disrupt the other soul reapers, and it makes things much more interesting. I always saw similarities between Kyoraku in Aizen, in terms of their cunning and relatively quiet demeanor. Having them interact more in this story arc has given both characters a chance to show their stuff, and it really has me on the edge of my seat. 

Bleach 596: Rub-Dolls III

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/596

Kensei and Rose are now under Kurotsuchi's control, turning Giselle's greatest strength around on her/him.  And, despite Byakuya's objections to using "corpses" of fallen Soul Reapers in combat, Kurotsuchi argues that any true Soul Reaper would be proud to protect the Seretei, even after death.  Still, will their combined power overcome Pepe's "love?" 

I highly doubt Giselle is down and out, and while the above panel from the chapter makes it look like Giselle was cut down, this isn't the first fatal wound we have seen.  Furthermore, we still know very little about Giselle, despite the obvious intrigue surrounding this strange character.  While most Sternritter are abnormal, Giselle has crossed a line in abnormality that hints that there is back-story that we have yet to see.

Bleach 595: Rub-Dolls II

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/595

Byakuya is being backed into a corner.  Not only does he have a new Sternritter opponent, but now he also has to face a fellow Soul Reaper, Shuhei, who is twisted by the power of Pepe's "love."  However, things become even more dire when Senbonzakura is possessed by Pepe's power, turning zanpakuto against Soul Reaper.  Just when Byakuya appears finished, Pepe is attacked from out of nowhere... by Rose and Kensei?!?!

This chapter really felt short, and in terms of story, it was.  Basically, other than the brief skirmishes, not much goes on until near the end.  Pepe explains the nature of his power, because all villains in anime must explain their powers to their enemies.  Then, the only real development was when Pepe was attacked by Rose and Kensei.  They appear to have been hijacked somehow, judging by the markings on their faces.  I believe they're still "zombies," but Kurotsuchi likely took over control of their bodies somehow.  While they obviously don't look cured, it would likely be simple for Kurotsuchi to restore them once they went back to his lab.  Right now, this development could likely turn this battle around, and lead to a late upset in terms of how the war turns out within Soul Society, but we still have Juha Bach to contend with.

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 586: The Headless Star 5

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/586

This week, the Quincy and Soul Reapers clash, while Ichigo attempts to chase down Juha Bach in order to stop him from invading the Soul Palace.  However, in his way stands his old friend, Uryuu, and he seemingly has no intention of letting Ichigo get by to face his true enemy.  Is Uryuu truly with the enemy, or is he holding out for the right moment to strike?  No way of knowing until we get the next chapters and find out.

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 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 568: Here. Fear. Here 2

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/568/?ref=email

This week, as you might have expected, As Nodt survived Rukia's initial attack, and releases his full power.  As Rukia reaches the limits of her self-inflicted semi-hibernation, she finds that "The Fear" is not gone yet.  He quickly releases his power, saying that the only fear he knows is the anger of his king and the loss of his body.  As he releases his power Rukia quickly finds herself at a severe disadvantage, but some last minute backup may provide the help she needs, and allow an old score to be settled from the last battle.

Rukia's new power has been interesting, even if it hasn't been visually impressive next to others, like Renji.  However, I'm still holding out for Rukia to finally have attained a bankai, especially after her training.  She obviously doesn't have to have a bankai, but I feel like it would have been an appropriate time to have her gain one in the context of all that is happening and just how intense the training was for both her and Renji; plus is could really boost up on of Bleach's generally weaker characters, seeing as how Rukia hasn't been all that powerful next to her companions or enemies.  However, with a certain someone coming back into the fight at the very end of the chapter, we might get to see a satisfying end to one of the match-ups from the previous set of fights.

And through all of this, I'm still wondering what the endgame is for the Quincy.  So far, we have seen the origin of Juha Bach, as well as why they need to fight, but I wonder how exactly this is all going to end up for the Quincy, if they are successful in destroying the Soul Society.  I mean, what then? Presumably, the entire world will be thrown into turmoil, and its destruction seems more than likely, so how will this benefit the Quincy?  Unless there is more to the balance of the worlds, or the Quincy have some sort of plan to keep at least one of the worlds from being destroyed, I just don't see how plan to walk away from this war with any real victory in either case.  I suppose we'll understand more in the future chapters, so we'll just have to wait and see how everything unfolds.

Bleach 567: Dance with Snow White

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/567/?ref=email

The fight between Rukia and "the Fear" has begun in earnest, and the mystery quickly becomes, "how is Rukia immune to 'fear'?"  The answer quickly reveals itself, as we learn about the nature of fear, and just what its' limitations are.  Beyond that, we see Rukia's new power, and just how much it has grown.  Now, is the fight truly over?  I highly doubt it, but we'll just have to see in the next chapter.

I was interested to see how Rukia's power had grown in her training, but I had assumed that it would reveal itself in her bankai, that she hasn't ever had up until this point.  I still think she's achieved it, but she obviously hasn't had cause to use it at this point, as her opponent hasn't even been able to go all out to fight her.  However, I think Rukia has always been a fairly weak character in terms of fighting ability.  While her technique and discipline are there, she has never really developed her power to be much of a combatant.  However, I think that has mostly to do with her being mostly sheltered, and never challenged, since Byakuya keeps her out of harm's way for the most part.  

Now, I hope to see Rukia come into her own a bit more, and step out of her brother's shadow more.  That isn't to say she isn't independent for the most part, but she's never really stood out in terms of strength, and she has always been rather small and fragile compared to the rest of the characters.  Hopefully we can her come out of her shell some more in the coming chapters.

Bleach 545: Blue Stripes

Zach Goodier

Link to Chapter: http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/545

To be honest, this week's chapter was fairly dull in terms of major plot developments, aside from the end.  Captain Kuchiki finally awoke, and must now begin training, and Renji and Rukia have begun training with squad 0.  At the Kurosaki home, Yuzu is preparing food for the family and life goes on as normal.  However, when Ichigo's friends are walking to school, they discuss his absence.  Then, Captain Kyoraku, the new Head Captain of the Gotei 13 appears, telling them about how they will eventually have to part ways with Ichigo.  The only other thing worth mentioning is that the rest of the Vizards make an appearance, and it looks as though they are on assignment from Shinji and squad 12 to fix the "distortion" between the World of the Living and the Soul Society.  Tune back in next week to see what else is in store.