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 626: Holy Newborn

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/626

As the group prepares to ambush the Quincy, the Soul King has been fully absorbed by Juha Bach. He claims that now the world's existence depends on his, since he has taken over the Soul King's body and powers. However, it seems that Juha Bach isn't able to fully control his own powers, and the building around him suddenly breaks apart, forcing the Sternlichter to make a hasty recovery as they are nearly sent tumbling from the palace. Is this a sign that this power is unstable, or maybe it will still take time for Juha Bach to fully control it?

Bleach 600: Snipe

Zach Goodier

The Sternlichter have cleared the path to the central palace, blasting a hole through Senjumaru's head in the process.  As they quickly move to decimate the rest of the castles outside of the central core, the Quincy soon realize that things are not as they appear to be, and that they aren't the only ones capable of deceiving their foes.  As Squad 0 finally plays their hand, they draw their swords for real as the prepare to face down Juha Bach and his guard.

It seems like things are finally picking up with Squad 0's assembly.  While it seemed most had dismissed the Quincy intruders, despite knowing the danger they posed, they show that they have not been wasting time, and that they have been busy setting the stage so that they can face the Quincy on their own terms.  The only questions still remaining is whether or not they have what it takes to hold them off.  We have yet to see the full extent of the Sternlichter's abilities, but the same goes for Squad 0, as well.  

The big question right now is when Ichigo will make it to the battle.  If this follows the cliche route, then either the royal guard, or Juha Bach and/or Uryuu and Hashwald will tip the scales against Squad 0, so Ichigo can arrive just in time to save the day.  But that also leads to the question of when exactly is Ichigo going to arrive?  The Quincy seemed to simply "beam" up, while Ichigo is taking another "pillar" up to the palace, but should it take long to arrive?  There are also the Fullbring and Arrancar that have yet to be revealed in this battle, so they might help tip the scales when the time is right.

Bleach 588: The Headless Star 7

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/588/2441/1

The Soul Palace is invaded, and Ichigo isn't able to currently return to help.  It looks like the task of defending the Soul Palace has fallen to the legendary Squad 0.  Kirinji Tenjirou, the inventor of the Flash Step, and the Divine General of the East, steps up and easily defeats Juha Bach's foot-soldiers, but that doesn't mean he can stop the Quincy King himself.  Both are confident in their ability, but Juha Bach still has Hashwald and Uryuu at his back, while the rest of Squad 0 hasn't appeared yet.  Will they arrive to help the Divine General of the East, or can he really fight this battle on his own?  

However, back in the Soul Society, the battle is far from over, and Ikkaku and Yumichika confront Giselle, who is hiding a shocking secret (cue Admiral Akbar jokes).  However, now they have to fight not only Giselle, but a "zombified" Bambietta, who we all know was defeated a long time ago, and her now dead body is being used as a puppet to fight the Soul Reapers.

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 565: God like You

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/565

This week, we're taking a break from all the action, and we're turning back towards the most mysterious (and dangerous) figure in the arc, Yhwach/Juha Bach.  This delves more into his origin as a blind, deaf, immobile child that couldn't function at all.  However, he had the unique ability to gift pieces of his own soul to others to cure them of their afflictions and ailments. However, they would almost always die soon after, returning the pieces of his soul back, but with their experiences and strength being gifted back to him, eventually allowing him to function.  Unfortunately for him, he must keep taking souls in order to sustain himself.

This ultimately leads up to the present time in the arc, where we understand that one of the reasons the Quincy are conducting this war is to provide souls to Juha Bach, and to strengthen him even more.  However, There is still a great deal that hasn't been delved into regarding his character, but this is starting to paint a picture.  Regardless, there is still a lot of battles to be finished, and Ichigo still hasn't arrived.  However, there is more going on this chapter, specifically between Hashwald and Uryuu.  After finding out the nature of Juha Bach's power, Uryuu starts to see the position he has gotten himself into, and how he will proceed should be interesting in the coming chapters.