Bleach - 543

'Letters' (ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ)

Juhabach's gone Yhwachy......

Completely against my initial expectations, this chapter had almost no correlation with the previous chapter. These past few chapters haven't really been all that exciting, but make up by establishing facts, and setting a couple of hints wide open to speculation. For instance, in a miraculous turn of events, it would seem that Uryu is now the new 'King of the Quincies'. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but draw the similar comparison between this, and a moment in Family Guy, as you can see below.

I don't have all day to gossip about these new turn of events, so onwards to the review!

Uryu's inauguration causes great upset, not surprising, considering becoming the king in such a short time is bound to anger longer-serving Stern Ritters. Only Juhabach, Haschwald, and to some extent, Kirge Opie seem to have knowledge of the matter. Nonetheless, for our Yamamoto-slaying villain to acknowledge Uryu's potential indicates the incredible power he has, something I suspect won't be revealed for quite some time. Many revelations in this chapter conflict with established facts, meaning some confirmations are mistaken, particularly since they're mostly assumptions coming from different people. This all seems to be intentional, and I suspect Kubo will pull a quick one over us in our confusion.

White is the colour for hollows too

A while ago, I demanded Kubo give me back my tears when Byakuya made a miraculous recovery, after two months in which Kubo made it seem like he had died. This chapter, I couldn't help but notice Kubo seems to have subtly resurrected the three Stern Ritters who were previously burnt to ashes by Yamamoto, including As Nodt, the one that stole Senbonzakura. Wisely so, As Nodt's death would've prevented Byakuya from ever regaining his Bankai. In the long run, I guess his sudden Jesus stunt is pardonable, though these recent surprise twists have not been good for my health.

My reactions to Uryu becoming king was akin to these

In contrast with Soul Society, the Vandenreich is an autocracy, with the letter 'A' being the leader. Though in spite of the authoritarian rules, and the imminent annihilation faced should they displease Juhbach, the Stern Ritters constantly resort to in-fighting. While the current Gotei 13 advocates peaceful coexistence, and prosperity in a time without war, I think the Stern Ritters are modeled off the original organization, whom Juhabach highly revered. Anyway, Buzzbee completely flips at Juhabach's decision, not understanding, and being totally confused as to how a stranger could waltz in and take the crown. So, he goes off to question his supreme leader, only for Haschwald to stop him. From the dialogue between them, one can gauge that Haschwald was meant to become the next king. Of course, this leads to the question 'Why did Uryu become Juhabach's successor instead?'. If you think about things for a moment, Haschwald was the one who effortlessly sliced Tensa Zangetsu in half, and always accompanies Juhabach 24/7 like a personal bodyguard. For Uryu to be recognized as having more potential than him, this can only mean Uryu is a lot more powerful than Ichigo...

...or not, since the ceremony in which Uryu gains his new powers have just started. My guess would be that Juhabach is weakening, hence he's searching avidly for an successor. He looks really thin, and sallow compared to his first appearance. Reasons for this are undiscerning, though it looks like he wants to impart the Quincy ways to Uryu before stepping down, and maybe this includes Yamamoto's bankai... In all honesty, I think Ichigo is a part of the reason, since the Juhabach within Ichigo openly displayed an incredible reluctance to kill Ichigo in the future. By handing the baton over to Uryu, he will no longer have to fulfill that role.

Reminds me of when Unohana was revealed as the original Kenpachi

Why Uryu? It would seems Uryu is the 'Last Quincy', instead of Ryuken. As unlikely as it seems, in the end, even Juhabach wouldn't make such a stupid mistake like overlooking Ryuken. If Ryuken wasn't chosen, he was deemed unworthy of bearing the mantle of 'Last Quincy'. I wonder if Ryuken would disapprove of his son's actions, or even knows about them. This remains to be seen, and all things will unfold in due time.

A Quincy Cross, and possibly blood...???

With Uryu being 'A', maybe Ichigo will get designated a letter too. There's no doubt he will manifest Quincy powers, seeing as it's incorporated into his Shinigami powers, so it's not an entirely impossible concept.  What would really annoy me was if Uryu managed to gain a power boost so simply, while Ichigo puts in Herculean feats of effort to attain similar power. Sorry for being Captain Obvious, but another clash between Soul Society and the Vandenreich seems inevitable. What goes without saying is the sooner, the better, as we'll get to see Uryu in action. The spotlight is still on Ichigo and Kenpachi's developments, and those two will be very important in the coming battle. Uryu hasn't been given the attention he needed, and everything is shrouded in the utmost secrecy...

I want the 'D' :3

I personally LOVE this aspect. So far long term plans, and inner thoughts of the Vandenreich are kept at a minimum. We do not know their endgame, their goals - EVEN the reason they are fighting, only being given the surface value. Same goes for Uryu, we do not know his true motives. It adds sense of unpredictability, and opens up the way for some Games of Thrones style politics along the way. Sketchy as it is, seeing as the Vandenreich possess various real life parallels, it wouldn't be hard to guess what they may do next. That'll be all for this week, and until the next review, sayonara!