Bleach - 545

Blue Stripes

With each passing Bleach chapter, what's becoming more and more apparent is the fact Ichigo will never return to the human world ever again (Possibly never meeting his spiritually weak family members, or friends ever again). In hindsight, this is all really tragic. He's stepped up to a problem threatening to destroy reality, and has to make some sort of sacrifice along the way. By this point, there is no turning back, and Ichigo is destined to rest upon the mantle of greatness which no one has reached before. Nevertheless, separating the main character from his friends seems like a rather short-term plan, and I believe Tite Kubo has some sort of future arrangement to settle this issue (i.e. everyone dies, and comes to Soul Society, though that is quite a grim prospect)

Sorry Yuzu, not going to happen...

As Renji, and Rukia continue training to improve themselves, you begin to realise everyone close to Ichigo is given special treatment. Take for example Izuru Kira; loved him character-wise. However, he ended up getting killed instantly when the Vandenreich invaded, and he was quite distant from a certain character (*cough* Ichigo *cough*). This is incredibly unfair, since some members of the Vandenreich who we wished could stay dead after Yamamoto incinerated them miraculously came back to life. Pulling a few strings in order to resurrect Kira would certainly be an anomaly I'd overlook.

Biggest Stick Competition!

I'm amazed with how many characters that were in this single chapter. Renji and Rukia interaction was still fun. The Zero Squad lady forcing Renji to strip was pretty questionable, but my hunch would be to get some comedic value back in. I'm also glad to see Shinji and Hiyori bickering on the phone and Hinamori is nervously grinning in the background, which illustrates the dynamics between our characters. What a nice change of scenery, though I'll admit progress isn't going so smoothly as I'd lie. Shunsui is the new captain commander, does he even have time to be concerned about Ichigo's friends? Also Mizuiro sure is a sharp guy, but we already knew that.

She actually threatened to cut off Renji down there!

Other than that, the events in this chapter allow us to glimpse of the trials Ichigo is going to face, seeing as he's bound to undergo the same training. Literally anything can happen at this point, apart from the permanent deaths of any MCs. Where it is now, Bleach is far better than the likes of Naruto, and in my opinion, even One Piece. Potentially, it really can be the greatest among the three, and everything's up to Kubo delivering according to expectation. That's pretty much all for today, and the following picture is the last thing I want to squeeze in:

Go Home Byakuya: You're drunk!!!