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 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 583: The Headless Star 2

Zach Goodier

Link: http://readms.com/r/bleach/583/2401/1?t=2&f=0&e=0

Well, unsurprisingly, Ichigo is more than a match for the 4 vixens, easily stopping their attacks and instantly counterattacking.  Candice, in particular, gets worked up by the frustration of facing such a powerful opponent, especially since he clearly isn't fighting seriously.  She goes all out to try to crush Ichigo, using her full power in an effort to take Ichigo down and redeem herself for her earlier failure to strike Ichigo down.  She clearly has high hopes for this engagement, but does the overcharged bombshell have what it takes?  Check out this week's chapter and find out.

Candice has taken Bambietta's place as the "leader" of the female pack, apparently.  The role suits her, but her tendency to fly off the handle so quickly is clearly a weakness compared to the others, who are generally more reserved, or at least less likely to let their tempers overcome them.  That being said, it isn't that Candice is weak, she's obviously more than just eye-candy, with some devastating attacks in her arsenal.  Her only problem is that she's facing Ichigo, who is still fresh and clearly unfazed by her attacks.  This is an exciting fight, even if it is one-sided, because we're finally seeing more of what these ladies can do.  While Candice is probably the most assertive of the women, her abilities are very well suited to her mindset.  I'm hoping to see more of what the others can do, since they are obviously less direct, and have already demonstrated some interesting abilities in the previous fights.

Bleach 582-The Headless Star

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/582/2392/1?t=2&f=0&e=0

I'm using a Mangastream link, since I generally like the quality of their translations better, but Mangapanda still has it if that's your preferred site.

This week, Ichigo quickly finds himself surrounded by the same women that just finished beating down Kenpachi Zaraki, yet Ichigo seems relaxed, even seeing the powers of his enemies, and realizing that there is more to them than meets the eye.  As the fight begins in earnest, it appears to be 4 versus 1, but behind the scenes, Juha Bach has sensed Ichigo's arrival, and has begun preparations for some unknown plan in the works.  Even if Ichigo can easily defeat his current opponents, will he be ready for whatever the Quincy King is setting into motion now that Ichigo has arrived on the battlefield?

Seeing Ichigo in this fight was awesome, it really reminded me of how powerful Ichigo was back when he first learned his bankai and rescued Rukia.  It's nice to see that sort of strength from Ichigo, especially after his extensive training and his delayed arrival.  Another interesting part of the chapters was finally getting to see some Quincy using their bows, which it almost felt like Kubo forgot about in all the time he's spent on this arc.  The last panel also features one of the Quincy we've only seen bits and pieces of, but he seemed to be concerned over a "choice," but over what, we don't yet know.  Hopefully we will get to see more next week of what Ichigo and his opponents can do, and just what lies in store for him on the horizon.