Bleach 573: I am the Edge

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/573

This week is another short chapter, and Kenpachi fires the opening salvo against "The Visionary."  While at first it seemed as though his powers might be too much to fight, Kenpachi quickly showed that his strength is more than enough to fight his enemy, at least at the moment.  But neither has truly showed what they can do yet, so both fighters are currently holding their cards pretty close to the chest to see who makes a move first.

The Quincy powers are still a point of irritation for me, as they are just too overpowered with no real explanation of just how they are able to do half the things they do.  How do you make your imagination into objective reality?  Can you just imagine someone to death? That's a new one.  These things are irritating, and they result in a set of characters that starts a lose me, especially when they just keep coming out of the woodwork to challenge Soul Reapers. 

Part of the challenge with big casts is keeping everyone engaged, and not having a lot of characters hanging around being useless.  Bleach has usually be good about that, but at the price of taking a long time on sideshow fights before you get to the main ones.  While I usually don't mind this, it does result in weeks of waiting for the manga just to get passed one of these fights.  That inevitably becomes the challenge with the "Big 3," and is half the reason why they have the following that they do, because you actually have to follow them as they lead you down 1,000 side-streets before you get to the main road you've been looking for.  In some ways, this builds up suspension and keeps you eager for the next chapter, but I feel like Bleach is starting to reach that point where it's actually losing sight of it's original course, and has overindulged itself in secondary fights.  That isn't to say the manga has gotten bad, but in the first attack on the Soul Society, the Quincy moved with a purpose, and you never really lost sight of where it was all headed.  This was how you were always on the edge of your seat, and how the show kept moving right along without delay.

Bleach 572: The Blaster

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/572

This week, we finally see the return of our favorite advocate of relentless violence, Kenpachi Zaraki.  While he doesn't come back in until the end, and doesn't do anything, it's nice to see his return.  The twist involving Yachiru's opponent was interesting, but it might also mean the loss of a couple of fan favorite characters from the previous arcs.  While I'm still not 100% convinced of their deaths, I still have to wonder what limitations this new Sternritter's power might have, because like so many we've seen, he's far too powerful, especially for an underling.

That brings me to one of the more irksome things about this arc.  While I do enjoy the fact that Kubo has turned the heat up, and tossed aside some of that pesky plot-armor that virtually the entire cast of the show was wearing, I feel like he's gone about this a little backward.  Instead of just saying the opponents are on a level playing field, he's made this seem extremely one-sided.  While I don't mind that it builds up the suspense, and sets up for a desperate struggle for survival, I still find it a little inconsistent with the story we've experienced so far.  While the tone hasn't completely changed from previous arcs, it still feels like there's a big shift with characters dying off, which makes this arc feel much more distinctive from the previous ones.

Overall, I'd say this new direction for the series is an improvement, but not without some drawbacks if you've been a fan from day one.  I'm anxious to see what Kenpachi can do next chapter, and just how he'll fight this strange kid and his even stranger power (probably with his shiny new zanpakuto, if he even needs it).  

Bleach 571: Devilish Perspective

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/571

This week, I was pleasantly surprised to find that maybe this fight can be resolved without having to bring Kenpachi in, just yet.  Yachiru finally shows what her zanpakuto can do, after instinctively hitting Sternritter "V," even without remembering who he is.  With her instinct and her zanpakuto, she quickly launches a counterattack on this new threat, but will it be enough to win?  We'll have to tune back in next week to find out.

Yachiru has been mostly comic relief so far in the series, so it's nice to see her join the badass ranks a little bit.  Her zanpakuto is strange, but then again, look at it's wielder.  I'm liking the possibility that Kenpachi won't be showing up yet, which I thought he might have to after last chapter, since neither Isane or Yachiru are known for being the fighters in their squads.  Still, it is early so anything could happen, although I'm hoping Kenpachi's entrance can still be held off until a bigger fight arises.  I'm also wondering when the other fighters, like Ginjo and the Fullbring, as well as Urahara's mysterious "partner," will be joining the battle.  While the Quincy seem to finally be matched on even terms, neither side has really played all their cards yet. Juha Bach hasn't made his move, yet, and I'm not sure just what sort of power he'll have at this point.  It seems that he's getting stronger with each battle that occurs, since he regains fragments of his soul and the power they've taken in.  However, Ichigo still hasn't arrived, and he'll obviously fight the big battle against him.  

I'm hoping to see the other fighters gradually join the battle against the remaining Sternritter, with Ichigo only coming in near the end to fight the final battle.  But that doesn't mean things won't pick up until then, since we have the Fullbring, Kenpachi, and Urahara's partner (probably Grimmjow) to help.  It would also be nice to see Nel come back in her mature form to battle the Quincy, as well.