Bleach 607: The Master

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/607

The battle at the Soul Palace continues, and Ichibei has started to step up his attack, while Juha Bach starts to show some new abilities he has in his arsenal.  However, no matter what Juha Bach throws at Ichibei, "The Eccentric Monk" seems to be able to overpower or shrug off everything thrown at him.  He tells Juha Bach that he should "learn his place" as a "human," and that his attempt to cut Juha Bach's power in half was an attempt to help him "save face" with the Quincy for being defeated.  Then, Ichibei pulls the brush off his zanpakuto in the final panel, calling out its' name: Ichimonji.  His zanpakuto appears to be naginata-style spear, with the only visual change being the brush has been replaced with a blade.  It's abilities are, as of yet, unknown.  

Bleach 557: I Already Threw Away my Life

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/557/

This week, the battle between Bambietta and Komamura comes to a head, and we hear some explanation as to exactly how he, and his powers, have changed following this human transformation.  Simply put, by giving up his heart, he can transform into a human body that is itself immortal, and his bankai no longer has the limitations it possessed in it's previous form.  By shedding its armor, it no longer is susceptible to attack.  It seems counter-intuitive but without armor it is just a mass of power with no real body to attack, so no damage is transferred back to the owner.  The most important part for this battle, however, is that with this new power, is he able to finally going to be able to turn the tide of this battle?

This whole battle has turned one of my least favorite Soul Reapers into a real standout character, and I love it.  While Bleach, at least in my opinion, has generally had an overabundance of characters to follow once season 3 ended, it still does a great job of making each character feel like they have some sort of role or back-story to bring to the series.  However, the biggest downside is the one I'm experiencing right now: I want to move this stuff along so that we can get closer to the main event.  Fortunately, it doesn't look like that will take much longer now, so I'm just going to have to wait it out a little longer until next week to see what else unfolds.  So until then, stay nerdy.

Bleach 556: The Wolfsbane

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/556

New week, new Bleach, so let's just get to it.  Shinji looks to be down for the count, but Komamura is still ready and able to fight, but Bambietta looks to be just getting started, and her power to turn anything into a bomb is already looking deadly.  However, Komamura has a new power of his own, and it's already helping to become a standout in this new arc. Despite his... unique appearance, he has never really stood out as a character in terms of strength or personality, but that appears to be changing in this final arc.  His clan were all cursed to the animal realm, but by breaking the chains that bind their curse, they gain immense power.  Now Komamura is stronger than ever, and he's already looking like a real badass in the midst of this battle.  Now I'm just dying to see what he can really do, but I'm also eager for Kenpachi Zaraki, as well as Ichigo, to finally show up to the battle.  All three of these characters have leaped ahead of their former selves by the looks of things, but we have yet to see what they can really do.  I'll just have to keep shaking with anticipation until next week, so until then, stay nerdy.