Bleach - 548

A Song of Fire and Ice

To summarize, this chapter was basically Toshiro and Rangiku giving Bazz-B a pulping, though I doubt 'H' the Heat is actually down for the count. Firstly, Bazz-B hasn't even used any trademark Quincy abilities, and if he was struck down with Blut activated, that's something I highly doubt considering he survived a full-on incineration from Yamamoto relatively unscathed. But even then, he has yet to unveil his Vollstandig, the pinnacle of Quincy Powers granting them abilities akin to a Captain with Bankai. Though Kubo seemed to have ended the fight instantly, we can be sure this is just trolling and teasing on his behalf.

Bleach - 547

Peace from the Shadows

These past five weeks, Bleach was absent from Jump, and I eagerly awaited its return. For those out there who were disappointed, I must ask that you seriously didn't think Kubo would stuff his 5 week plan into an entire chapter? Assuming this is the final war, all the captain's bankais shall be revealed, and the opening colour pages throws into perspective that both Ichigo's blades are black. Credit to Kubo where it is deserved, though how long this will last remains to be seen in the coming chapters.

Bleach - 546

'The Last 9 Days'

WHAT??!?!?! YOU GOTTA BE SQUIDDING ME! Bad news first, Bleach will be on hiatus for 5 weeks! Yep, that's right, 5 weeks. Well, could've been worse. Anyway, this means there'll be no Bleach for the coming weeks, meaning I'll be at the complete mercy of Naruto's crappiness, which seems to have no bounds lately. On the bright side, One Piece is beginning to heat up, with the tournament finally kicking off once Luffy gets a slice of the action. So, it looks like Bleach is having its last call, confirmed in this weeks issue of jump. The rough translation is as follows:

'After this weeks issue, Bleach will be on hiatus from Jump 35-40. Starting from jump 41 (09/09), the "1000 years Blood Ward Arc - The Separation Story"  arc will start, and will be Bleach's final arc.

Before the last battle, I will be going on a long hiatus so that I can approach the final battle fully charged and give it my absolute all. When the manga resumes, please prepare yourselves for the "1000 years Blood Ward Arc - The Separation Story".'

We can presume this arc will cover... 9 days

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...

Bleach - 544

Walking with Watchers

So to begin with, Uryu Ishida did fall under the extermination bracket for Gemischt Quincies, but became the lone survivor due to the fact he possesses the ability to surpass Juhabach. I have to say, while I begrudgingly accepted this explanation for Uryu's sudden power up, I was not pleased to say the least with how patchy and rushed it all seemed. Of course, Kubo is bound to reveal everything in the long run, and I'll look forwards to whatever plot twists the future may hold.

Good question, I'd like to know myself too

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!

Bleach - 542

The Blade is Me...

           I'm One with the Blade

Dual wielding has (unfortunately) become quite the trend lately, with the likes of SAO coming to mind. Hope it won't be as overpowered as Kirito's one was. Speaking of which, I actually found it to be the most interesting part of this week's chapter, though I'll have to wait and see before making an overall judgment. Though some people would say it was generally anti-climactic, that was expected considering the peak of the story was last chapter's revelations. Many questions are open to speculation, especially those regarding the true nature of Ichigo's new powers.

Enough to evaporate an entire sea, but these people remain unscathed....

Bleach 541 – The Blade and Me 2

I'm not Zangetsu, or Bringetsu, I'm Juhagetsu...                            and your Hollow is actually Zangetsu...

First up, this chapter continues to play off the precedent set at the end of last chapter. Zangetsu is not Zangetsu, he is in fact… Juhabach from 1000 years ago, and is somehow the manifestation of Ichigo’s latent Quincy powers. Ichigo begins to see the links between things he previously dismissed, as well as how conclusive facts begin to stack themselves neatly. Meanwhile, having been exposed as an impostor, Juhagetsu is subjected to an onslaught of questions concerning his motives, and asked to explain everything. Rightly so, considering his identity has been revealed as that of the villain who overran Soul Society, and more importantly, the man behind Masaki’s death.

Congratulations, Captain Obvious

Bleach - 540

‘Zangetsu officially joins the Dark Side' 

For once, Tite Kubo has managed to pull off a sensational plot twist on par with Aizen’s betrayal, leaving many speculations regarding Ichigo’s nature. Some people made the call a long time ago, but fact remains, the revelations in this chapter completely caught me off guard. Even though the connections were obvious, and always there in hindsight, I was completely mindblown. For starters, the last chapter left me concerned that Ichigo would lose Zangetsu. Seems like I don’t have to worry anymore, considering Zangetsu is the incarnation of Juhabach from 1000 years ago, meaning it won’t be the last we see of him (coincidentally with Yamamoto having defeated him 1000 years ago…).

Why does this remind me of the Karakura Superheroes?