Bleach 195. Current manga discussion. *MAJOR SPOILERS!*

[Captain Highwind]

How can anyone still believe that he isn't evil?

Oh, he can be a jerk, but that doesn't mean he isn't working for a third party.

[Monte]

I mean, rather than finally let Unohana get her time to show what she can do, we get Don Kanoji, who's apparently been faking stupidity since he can stand up to Aizen
Well we can't say Don Kanoji is faking the stupidity... he could just as weak as we have always known himfor... as such standing up to Aizen is actually the dumbest things he's ever done. Brave, but really, really stupid

Still i liked Don Kanoji's appearance... seriously, the manga has been stagnating, Don Kanoji is the first thing that actually got me to perk up in the last few months... i mean, there's still lots of crap going on, but atleast i'm genuinely entertained

[Beat]

Yeah, I don't really see Keigo doing anything. It's not like he knows how to use the zanpakuto's special powers or even knows basic swordsmanship.

True, but everytime I see that scene I imagine Keigo raising the zanpakuto in the air and shouting "I HAVE THE POWER!" Still, this is all stalling till Ichigo completes his vision quest.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Yeah, I don't really see Keigo doing anything. It's not like he knows how to use the zanpakuto's special powers or even knows basic swordsmanship.


But he just stabbed Matsumoto. He psychologically tormented Rukia and spent years messing with Kira's head. He purposely impeded Soul Society's efforts so Aizen could pull of his betrayal. He murdered his squad's third seat right after graduating from the academy for the lulz and a promotion. How can anyone still believe that he isn't evil?

Those he tortured aren't exactly rolled up in balls on the floor, he probably believed they had the strength to take it. As for that third seat guy...I don't even remember the context of that one. Didn't he challenge the guy to a fight for his position, or was that just what Zaraki did?

[Mr. Obsession]

Oh, he can be a jerk, but that doesn't mean he isn't working for a third party.
But if Gin is working for someone else, say the much theorized Royal Realm, than that party can't be much better than Aiz...

Oh. I see what you did there. :p

The thing I don't like about that theory is it's too hard to fit in. Gin first teamed up with Aizen before Aizen started his hollification experiments so there's no reason for anyone to suspect Aizen of anything. And Aizen didn't even know about Zero Squad until a few days before he even met Gin. So if Gin was sent after Aizen, the decision to do so was made before Aizen was even aware of the threat he would actually need hollification to overcome.


Those he tortured aren't exactly rolled up in balls on the floor, he probably believed they had the strength to take it. As for that third seat guy...I don't even remember the context of that one. Didn't he challenge the guy to a fight for his position, or was that just what Zaraki did?
Kenpachi did it the official way, challenged the previous captain to a one-on-one fight in front of at least 200 members of the 11th (plus at least two other captains, Tosen and Komamura witnessed it). On the other hand, with Gin it was at night and Aizen was the only one who even knew it happened. Either Gin snuck up on the guy, making it murder, or Aizen arranged for him to face Gin alone when no one else could interfere, making it murder. Regardless, Gin did it to impress Aizen, and/or the lulz.

[ShadowGUN]

This week chapter: Mizuiro vs Aizen.

- While Ichigo is still training, Tatsuki, Keigo and Kanonji are fleeing.
- Along the way the encounter Mizuiro, who is using his cell phone, and Hoshou in a back ally.
- Mizuiro is carrying a stun gun with him. Hoshou is confuse and wants everyone to hide with .
- As Tatsuki tries to explain what going on they sense Aizen reiatzu.
- Mizuiro throws Aizen a bottle and the bottle turn to ash. He later toss a gas cylinder and it explodes but Aizen is unharmed
- Keigo tries to attack him the sword only to be stopped by the afro Soul Reapper. Afron san uses his shikai to cut into the ground and forms a wall. he then tells everyone to run.
- Gin returns to Aizen side. Spoilers end.

[anime_guru]

This week chapter: Mizuiro vs Aizen.

- While Ichigo is still training, Tatsuki, Keigo and Kanonji are fleeing.
- Along the way the encounter Mizuiro, who is using his cell phone, and Hoshou in a back ally.
- Mizuiro is carrying a stun gun with him. Hoshou is confuse and wants everyone to hide with .
- As Tatsuki tries to explain what going on they sense Aizen reiatzu.
- Mizuiro throws Aizen a bottle and the bottle turn to ash. He later toss a gas cylinder and it explodes but Aizen is unharmed
- Keigo tries to attack him the sword only to be stopped by the afro Soul Reapper. Afron san uses his shikai to cut into the ground and forms a wall. he then tells everyone to run.
- Gin returns to Aizen side. Spoilers end.


oh if only they won, that would be the ultimate troll. Like only humans can subdue alucard type thing

[Beat]

So a stun gun and a Moltov cocktail were supposed to take down the big bad? Good Lord that would have been an epic troll.

Anyway, I guess next week is Aizen vs. the second Afro Samurai knockoff in Shounen Jump. So much for Keigo's moment of glory.

[Mett]

Another chapter wasted on characters I couldn't care less about :(

[Baseball]

I guess I'm the opposite? When I started reading Bleach, I assumed Ichigo's friends would all get some kind of cool power like Chad and Orihime. It actually became a disappointment when the focus shifted solely to showing Arrancar and Soul Reapers. The battles are always sort of the same, and the series lost some of the charm that drew me to it in the first place.

Mizuiro is ridiculous. I love how he just went on the offensive as soon as he saw the enemy appear without saying a word.

[mumbo]

Mizuiro's okay, but eh to the rest of them. I guess it's nice to see that Ichigo's friends still exist and all, but wrong time, Kubo, wrong time. Especially since these antics keep going on for chapters and chapters (or at least what feels like a lot of chapters - it's Kubo, I lost track), not just one or two.

[Mr. Obsession]

For once I was too busy to bother checking for spoilers, so unfortunately I picked the one week to go in blind where nothing happened. Sure this chapter basically said the rest of Ichigo's friends are going to get powers and fight alongside him some time in the next story arc. But beyond that, nothing.

I know you can't expect a winner every time, but meh. :p

[Jacob T. Paschal]

This is just Kubo trying to create a sense of time having elapsed so that it doesn't feel like Ichigo's gotten a power up every other chapter, really.

[Demonic Raven]

I like that they are fighting back, as useless as it really....really is. Getting to see Mizuiro do his thing, showing a little bit of a crazy survivalist (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CrazySurvivalist) side to him, is kind of cool, I suppose. The plot does feel like it's getting unnecessarily delayed though.

It's not a terrible idea. Rather than just going right to the main battle, show what happens to certain characters we haven't seen in a long time while the main hero is (attempting to) power up. The problem is the fandom has gotten impatient thanks to the build up we already had to endure in Fake Karakura.

Anyway, it will get better before it gets worse.....probably.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Yeah, Kubo's really stretched things. In terms of pacing, everything from the end of the battle with Grimmjow up until now has just been an endless barrage. I'd arguably say from the moment we began the Las Noches arc. Ichigo's character is in theory a very good one, but the story has been dragged far, far too much. It's a shame, because the post-Soul Society arc has such promise when it began. Bleach is just too much of a series one has to read in tankôbon, however even then there are issues.

[Mett]

For once I was too busy to bother checking for spoilers, so unfortunately I picked the one week to go in blind where nothing happened. Sure this chapter basically said the rest of Ichigo's friends are going to get powers and fight alongside him some time in the next story arc. But beyond that, nothing.

I know you can't expect a winner every time, but meh. :p
Its too late for them to get powers. They don't even know whats going on and any enemies that will pop up later will most likely be stronger, so not much for them to do. They certainly wouldn't be powerful enough to take down an enemy.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Well, who knows how many other arcs there will be. Probably enough to keep the series going for years, so it's still completely likely they can get powers here and have them expanded upon later...

[mumbo]

I don't know about that even...Kubo himself said there would be a Isshin mini-arc and then one final arc to end the series. I figured that the Isshin mini-arc will come while Ichigo's still in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and then Aizen entering the realm of the Royal Family and the ensuing conflict would be the final arc.

With Kubo's pacing, though, that would still take a good 4-5 more years at least, so...

And yes, I know, Kubo said this arc would end in June. But he obviously has a pretty poor grasp on how long it takes him to tell a story (he's not the only one...). Turn Back the Pendulum was clearly only supposed to be 8-9 chapters given the numbering but it wound up going for 12, fifty percent longer.

I agree that Ichigo's friends could get powers but I doubt Kubo would do much with them anyway. It's not like Chad's played a huge role with his :sweat:

[garfield15]

And yes, I know, Kubo said this arc would end in June.
Dang, I totally forgot about that.

And we were so happy about that news too...

[Jacob T. Paschal]

True, true. Like I said earlier the school friends are only playing the part of extending the length between confrontations. We'll probably see a few more chapters of them before Isshin shows up, has a big flashback, then fights Aizen and loses/dies. Ichigo will probably show up too late and then have to give chase to Aizen even further.

I suspect Ichigo's reiatsu will continue to grow so much that Isshin can safely leave him where he is so that he can go fight with Aizen and buy more time.

[Lelouch]

I don't know about that even...Kubo himself said there would be a Isshin mini-arc and then one final arc to end the series. I figured that the Isshin mini-arc will come while Ichigo's still in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and then Aizen entering the realm of the Royal Family and the ensuing conflict would be the final arc.

With Kubo's pacing, though, that would still take a good 4-5 more years at least, so...

And yes, I know, Kubo said this arc would end in June. But he obviously has a pretty poor grasp on how long it takes him to tell a story (he's not the only one...). Turn Back the Pendulum was clearly only supposed to be 8-9 chapters given the numbering but it wound up going for 12, fifty percent longer.

I agree that Ichigo's friends could get powers but I doubt Kubo would do much with them anyway. It's not like Chad's played a huge role with his :sweat:

I thought Kubo said that they would just be out of FKT town by the end of June? Not that this arc would be over, though I could be wrong.

[Demonic Raven]

That all depends on your perspective on the arcs. Kubo has mentioned the "Arrancar Arc" in relation to everything post-Soul Society. If you go by the strict definition, then yes the Arrancar arc is over because the Arrancars have no stake in the plot anymore except for Yammy (if even him, depending on how things pan out).

If you consider the Hueco Mundo/Fake Karakura/Real Karakura (current) arcs as one whole arc, which isn't terribly wrong since all these events transpire over a single day, then it's certainly not over. Really, it's anyone's guess. Waaaay too much Arc Fatigue (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArcFatigue) going on, at any rate.

[ShadowGUN]

This week chapter: Gin shows his true colors.

- Gin returns. Aizen ask him if he kill Rangiku since he can no longer sesne her reitazu. He says yes.
- Tatsuki and others as still running.
- Aizen is tired of chasing mice and decide to kill them and hange their bodies where Ichigo can see them.
- Gin says he will killed them.
- He restrains Aizen sword and grabs his own. Using his own clothes Gin blind s Aizen and stab in the chest with Aizen sword
- Gin explain how to escape Kyoka Sugetsu ilusion is to touch the sword before it is invoked. Gin says It was thrilling to be the only one in the Gotei 13 to know that, to know that he could kill him.
-Aizen knew he was gonna betray him.
- Gin shows Aizen his sword. It missing a large part of it.
- Gin says he was lying when he explain to Ichigo how his Bankai works.Gin explains "It doesn't extend as long as I said. And it's not as fast as I said, either. Only that when it expands and contracts for an instant it becomes dust. Furthermore, inside the blade is a deadly poison that dissolves the cells." When his sword retracted he left a fragment of dust inside Aizen.
- Gin says to Aizen " Die! God Killing Lance" Aizen respond "Gin you bastard"
- Killing Aizen has been Gin long ambition. The fragment inside Aize. begin to dissolve. chapter ends.

[anime_guru]

who saw this coming
*raises hand*
But now it seems...artificial. Yeah we knew it was coming and it may darn well be an action packed chapter, but it seems predictable. Why make
gin change allegiance now why not during the fight ichigo has with aizen

[GWOtaku]

This wasn't foreshadowed at all except for Kubo portraying Gin as an always-smiling enigma that no one ever understood. And yeah, there's plenty of fridge logic that can be applied to this development. Hopefully there's some good actual reasoning for what Gin did.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Well now...that's humorous...

[mumbo]

Well that was a long time coming.

I tend to think that Aizen will be fine and he'll kill Gin here.

Aizen's been built up too much to go down now and in this way. I could have seen Gin killing Aizen successfully before he merged with the Hogyoku and all that, but it's too late now IMO. Just throws gas on the "Aizen is invincible" fire.

[garfield15]

Uh....Gin's sword seems...completely different from what was already established (poison wut?). That being said, I so totally absolutely never in a million years ever saw even an inkling of this coming [/sarcasm]

I gotta see Beat's reaction to this. And Mike's.

[Beat]

Wow, a twist absolutely no one expected to happen! That's because we all expected Kubo to retire before we got this far!

And let's not forget, Kubo of the hill people can't even remember what powers his cast has now. Do we find out next week that Rangiku has a lasso of truth? Or maybe Orihime actually can win a fight? (OK, that's just pushing it). At our current rate of progress, in about six months, Kubo will think he's writing X-Men.

Ok, so Gin apparently just wants to kill people for the lulz. Big whoop. The guy's motivations to do anything but let Chesty LaRue wangst have been completely undeveloped.

Speaking of everyone's favorite pair of characters, if you think she's dead, you haven't been reading this long enough. And if you think Aizen is dead, you haven't realized this is Bleach.

Word of advice, when you pad out a swerve for nearly three years, it's nno longer shocking so much as it is annoying.

[Mr. Obsession]

Uh....Gin's sword seems...completely different from what was already established (poison wut?).


And let's not forget, Kubo of the hill people can't even remember what powers his cast has now.

If both of you re-read the spoilers you'll note that Gin says he lied about his zanpakuto's abilities. I guess he picked that one up from studying Aizen.


- Gin says he was lying when he explain to Ichigo how his Bankai works.

My only questions are: is Gin doing this because he's working for someone else, as so many have theorized (lol, triple-agent), or his he acting on his own in a bid to become the final villain? And did he actually kill Matusmoto or is that another ploy?

[RockmanDash]

Uh....Gin's sword seems...completely different from what was already established (poison wut?). That being said, I so totally absolutely never in a million years ever saw even an inkling of this coming [/sarcasm]

I gotta see Beat's reaction to this. And Mike's.

The poison part actually makes sense in a strange way though. Back in the Soul Society arc I remember when Rukia was talking about how she hated Gin he was described as a snake in a odd way(I can't remember the complete details of that since I saw that episode two years ago so meh)

And besides, his face oddly enough looks like a snake to boot.

[garfield15]

No, I got that far with Gin lying. But this just seems completely out of nowhere. From the Soul Society arc when Gin first released his sword, we were led to believe that all it did was grow long (and then even longer!). Now, we find out that it has a property that is completely against what we've been told. I mean, like maybe if it had been foreshadowed a little bit like if he said like "You have no idea what my sword can really do" or "There's more to this than you think" or even something off handed like "Whoops I almost messed up there" when fighting Ichigo.

This isn't like Aizen's sword reveal when we had no idea what it did until after he explained it.

And while I'm at it
Why does Gin suddenly want to kill Aizen now? I know he looks like the chronic backstabber but this better not be for the lulz like Aizen was doing before

[Don_East]

Gin, the guy who always smiles alot and seems to be up to something turns out to be a traitorl! In other news, the grass is green, the sky is blue, and Tite Kubo continues to lose any sense of credibility he has.

[GWOtaku]

My only questions are: is Gin doing this because he's working for someone else, as so many have theorized (lol, triple-agent), or his he acting on his own in a bid to become the final villain? And did he actually kill Matusmoto or is that another ploy?

Well, assuming that the bit about Gin's ambition is accurate, he's more likely to be serving his own ends. I could see him as a mere narcissist. So far as Matsumoto goes, I'd say that it doesn't matter since Inoue's existence means that no death is going to stick even if someone actually died. If anyone needs resurrecting from this arc it would be Yamamoto given his kamikaze move and Hiyori after getting cut in half. Matsumoto getting stabbed? She's survived worse.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Gin, the guy who always smiles alot and seems to be up to something turns out to be a traitorl! In other news, the grass is green, the sky is blue, and Tite Kubo continues to lose any sense of credibility he has.

Losing credibility by following through with established story elements...what?

[Mr. Obsession]

What I don’t get is why people seem to be up in arms over Gin’s “new” ability. Misdirection and misinformation have been his M.O. since he was introduced. Hell, it’s the only thing that has been constant about him.

Besides it’s been established that not all bankai are just bigger versions of the shikai. Gin having a secondary ability (poison) in bankai just puts him in the ranks of Ichigo, Renji, Mayuri, Tosen, and Soifon who all have secondary abilities that their shikai form lack or bankai with completely different abilities than their shikai. Really the only characters so far who’s bankai have only been a bigger version of their shikai have been Byakuya, Komamura, Ikkaku, Hitsugaya, Yamamoto (implied several times), and (maybe) Kensei.

[anime_guru]

What I don’t get is why people seem to be up in arms over Gin’s “new” ability. Misdirection and misinformation have been his M.O. since he was introduced. Hell, it’s the only thing that has been constant about him.

Besides it’s been established that not all bankai are just bigger versions of the shikai. Gin having a secondary ability (poison) in bankai just puts him in the ranks of Ichigo, Renji, Mayuri, Tosen, and Soifon who all have secondary abilities that their shikai form lack or bankai with completely different abilities than their shikai. Really the only characters so far who’s bankai have only been a bigger version of their shikai have been Byakuya, Komamura, Ikkaku, Hitsugaya, Yamamoto (implied several times), and (maybe) Kensei.

kensei's bankai...I mean his shikai I find more deadly than his bankai but that's just my taste. I mean we know he is a close range fighter but tekken taihikaze...seriously more lulworthy than Gin right now

I'm sorry I'm not shocked at all by the eventual aizen may be slightly injured but still unscathed with the impending deus ex machina BULL that is about to be released next week. So gin buys time for ichigo to finish with either a possible death or extreme injury by aizen because we all know he is going to do some voodoo hax plotkai. I mean wtfrick!?

Gah the hell arc is sounding so much better than this redundant (and I mean redundant amount of bs) I still read despite the fall in story structure and tite kubo troll increase being over 9000. See kubo I can take a meme/plot point and integrate it too
can I has money k thanx

...

all seriousness aside I think its time to move on to another shonen who adorns orange oh so much better

[Neo Ultra Mike]

Well since Garfield asked for it here is my "parody" of the spoilers.



- Gin returns. Aizen ask him if he kill Rangiku since he can no longer sesne her reitazu. He says yes.

Aizen: So you're saying she's dead and not "oh it appears she's dead but she'll just be back next arc most likley" or "technically dead but can still be revived dead" right?
Gin: Uh... yeah.
Aizen: So you blasted her to nothing?
Gin: No I sliced her.
Aizen: Didn't Rangiku survive having part of her torso chomped out? How would that take her out for good?
Gin: Uh... I sniggity sliced her?
Aizen: Good man.



- Tatsuki and others as still running.

Viewers: And still wasting other people's valuable screentime.
Tatsuki: Hey!
Viewers: Oh wait this is Bleach. Forget what we said about that screentime being valuable.
Tatsuki: That's right- Double hey!



- Aizen is tired of chasing mice and decide to kill them and hange their bodies where Ichigo can see them.

Gin: Uh, why?
Aizen: That will supremly tick him off and probably make him unleash an even stronger hidden power that I need for my plans.
Gin: You know how many times ticking off the hero to unleash they're power ends up actually ending in a win for the angaontiist?
Aizen: It worked in Yu Yu Hakusho.
Gin: Oh so you want to die for your sins then, after having a fight with someone stronger then you?
Aizen: Wouldn't be the stupidest plan I"ve come up with.



- Gin says he will killed them.

Gin: Those meddling kids will die by my blade, just like those kids in Crystal Cove.
Aizen: For the last time Gin they didn't accept your episode idea.
Gin: Oh but "The Hollow Hole" had such good intruge, and furthered the Shaggy/Velma romance, just as I furthered my blade through they're skulls.
Aizen: Yeah but that would of stopped their little "production"
Gin: (Muttering) I'll stop your production?
Aizen: What?
Gin: I mean... oh screw it!


- He restrains Aizen sword and grabs his own. Using his own clothes Gin blind s Aizen and stab in the chest with Aizen sword

Aizen: Man Gin your sex games get weirder and weirder. I have to say I kind of like this one-
Gin: It's not a sex game!
Aizen: Then why did you remove your clothes?
Gin: It was the only way to properly bind you.
Aizen: That's not what you said a few nights ago-
Gin: Oh shut up!


- Gin explain how to escape Kyoka Sugetsu ilusion is to touch the sword before it is invoked. Gin says It was thrilling to be the only one in the Gotei 13 to know that, to know that he could kill him.

Aizen: Wait a minute, Yamamoto knew that too! THat's why he let me stab him with my sword and grabbed it so he knew I couldn't use my Sugestu's illusion powers.
Gin: Well I knew the only way to do it without being a self sacrifical retard.
Yamamoto: (Offscreen) If my fate was actually resolved I'd say something back to you about that!


-Aizen knew he was gonna betray him.

Aizen: Yeah I knew you'd betray me one day. As did pretty much anyone else who read this. Hell when people first saw my betrayal they thought that you were the one manipulating me.
Gin: Isn't that just what Momo and all your other braindead fangirls thought?
Aizen: Point is this isn't so much of a surprise. Just that you're choosing now instead of... anytime in the last 100 chapters to do such a thing really.
Gin: Eh I saw an opportunity and I was getting bored of all the "Is Gin a traitor" or "is he a psycho: or :is he a triple agent psycho traitor" or "is he a representive from Squad 0" and other such rumors flying around.



- Gin shows Aizen his sword. It missing a large part of it.

Aizen: Oh let me guess you're going to explain how your going to kill me right?
Gin: Pretty much.
Aizen: Can't anyone just kill someone and then explain later on to someone else how they killed them? I mean why tell someone you know is a supreme god modder who can bullcrap his way out of anything how he's going to kill you?
Gin: Well who am I going to tell anyway? All the main characters are away training/being ignored and I don't feel like wasting my gloating on pathetic incendtals.
Don Kanjonji: You mean pathetic incdentials and Don Kanjonji, bwhahahahaha-
Gin: Yeah if this ends up working you are so next to die.


- Gin says he was lying when he explain to Ichigo how his Bankai works.Gin explains "It doesn't extend as long as I said. And it's not as fast as I said, either. Only that when it expands and contracts for an instant it becomes dust. Furthermore, inside the blade is a deadly poison that dissolves the cells." When his sword retracted he left a fragment of dust inside Aizen.

Aizen: Why are you pointing out when you said that to Ichigo? That's not the only time you've explained your bankai. I mean you told me what it does.
Gin: Yeah but that was also a lie. Or at least for you, an inconveint half truth.
Aizen: Ha ha, SO not funny. Wait a minute instant dissolver? Isn't that barragan's power?
Gin: No this is a pison dissolver. It's different.
Aizen: So you're part poision type now?
Gin: That should be obvious considering how snakeish I've been.
Aizen: Snakeish dosen't always mean poisionous.
Gin: Well consideirng I don't have any giant seperant instant locators or can shoot snakes out of my hands I'll just go with the posion, thank you very much.


- Gin says to Aizen " Die! God Killing Lance" Aizen respond "Gin you bastard"

Gin: Yeah like you've never killed people just for the lulz.
Aizen: No one important.
Harribel and Tosen: (Offscreen) Hey!
Aizen: Black people don't count. (Everyone looked at Aizen) What I'm an evil jerkwad. I have the right to be racist too.
Gin: Not for much longer.


- Killing Aizen has been Gin long ambition. The fragment inside Aize. begin to dissolve. chapter ends.

Gin: That's right folks Aizen's really dead this time.
Auidence: Yeah right.
Gin: No seriously I killed him. This isn't a fake out or anything.
Auidence; Uh huh.
Gin: No I actually took out the ultimate baddy with a totally sneaky out of nowhere plan.
Auidence: Sureeeeee you have.
Gin: Why won't you believe me?
Auidence: Yeah we've been fooled ten bazillion too many times to believe that.
Gin: Oh come on, how would Aizen get out of this one anyway?
Tite Kubo: Tune in next time, same Bleach time, same I can write whatever pointless twist I want and get away with it channel.
M. Night Shyamalan: I also subscribe to that channel.
Tite Kubo: Don't you have more american cartoon franchises to ruin?
M. Night Shyamalan: Uh... Don't you have your own magna's reputation to ruin?
Tite Kubo: Already did that long long ago.

This chapter dosen't seem too bad though once again seems like it will just be one of those endings that will once again reveal Aizen is all okay next week somehow and that will make him look even more "awesome". I still wonder why Gin out of all times chose now to betray him but either way this will likley end with one of them dead. Probably. Maybe. Uh... maybe a small minute chance.

[garfield15]

Aizen: Man Gin your sex games get weirder and weirder. I have to say I kind of like this one-
Gin: It's not a sex game!
Aizen: Then why did you remove your clothes?
Gin: It was the only way to properly bind you.
Aizen: That's not what you said a few nights ago-
Gin: Oh shut up!That wasn't necessary but still lulz-worthy :D

[Katsumara]

Sigh.

A plot twist that's not really a twist because everyone and their mother saw it coming. What a surprise. See.. Gin's a badass character. He really is.. to a certain extent. Sadly, what makes this possibly decent chapter terrible is we all know Aizen will simply go:

"HERPDERP! You've activated my trap card! Sux2bu."

and everything that happened this past chapter will actually not have happened at all. It'll actually be Rangiku he poisoned.

[zoombie]

Finally it is about time. Gin's turning on Aizen is something I have expected for years. But as for why he is doing it? It is not because he is a good guy helping the Soul Soceity, nor even he really wants to be the one to use the royal key and become king of soul society, though if he wins he might still do it, no simply he likes to kill and he is a little psychopath. That is what I think.

The point is moot because Aizen will kill him, they built him up too much for him to die like this.

As for Matsumoto she didn't look dead to me last we saw her, she just looked like she was bleeding terribly and needing medical attention and could die. If she dies, she won't stay dead. I think that when all and said in done when we get to the end, ever character except for Ichigo, Aizen, and maybe the king if he excists will be dead. And after Ichigo beats Aizen, some loophole will bring everyone back to life that died in this story.

[Demonic Raven]

Even though he's finally lashed out at Aizen, Gin is still a big mystery. We know he's an evil guy of some sort, since his past crimes are quite significant. Even if he kills Aizen, there's no turning away from what's been done. Who he's working for, if anyone, is probably key, though I have a hard time imagining him as 100% loyal to anyone (rightfully so).

But Aizen ain't dead, no way. Still, I'm interested to see if this brings him down a few pegs, or if Aizen used something to slip out of this mess. Shikai's a bust, so maybe Bankai or some other ability...we shall see.


And after Ichigo beats Aizen, some loophole will bring everyone back to life that died in this story.Orihime has been reduced to a mere loophole? That's cold, man. ;)

[Beat]

That's nicer than what I was gonna say admittedly.:evil:

[anime_guru]

I am afraid of gin getting a flashback
cause then he is about to die
and this is orihime's loop back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4Y8lG4CCqQ
and surprisingly what she's been reduced to

[RockmanDash]

Ten bucks the Hōgyoku keeps Aizen alive replacing his heart. Nuff said from this chapter.

[Katsumara]

Ten bucks the Hōgyoku keeps Aizen alive replacing his heart. Nuff said from this chapter.
15 bucks says Aizen didn't get hit.

[RockmanDash]

15 bucks says Aizen didn't get hit.

Shinji was able to at least cut him once with his little upside down zanpakuto power so Aizen getting hit every now and then shouldn't be all that surprising anymore.

[Mr. Obsession]

If you touch Tosen's blade in bankai you don't lose your senses. If you touch Aizen's blade before he casts an illusion on you you're immune (permanently?). I'm seeing a pattern here and I bet Shinji's zanpakuto has a similar weakness.

Ulquiorrra punched a hole in Ichigo's chest and we got one of the biggest monstrosities in the series, I hope Gin didn't just do something similar to Aizen. ;)

In all seriousness I suspect Gin's poison is ultimately just going to nullify Aizen's healing factor so Ichigo will have a chance to finally take him down.

[Fool's Gil]

Just read the newest chapter. If Aizen is indeed gone, this will be the oddest defeat ever, mainly because Ichigo is still working on getting his newest asspull. I can see a new TV Trope Page coming to fruition: "Did you just kill Cthulhu while my back was turned?"

[Baseball]

I mean, considering that the whole string of chapters since Gin released his Bankai has been called "Deicide," along with the fact that Gin's Bankai literally means 'Deicide Spear," this isn't too far out of left field. I hope it's the end of Aizen, but I also hope we get to see his Bankai.

[Rud]

I bet that Gin had lied to Aizen about the way of getting around his shikai, cause he saw this coming years ago or something.

[Chronos]

I get the feeling that Aizen just pulled on Gin what Gin himself thinks he pulled over on Aizen which is he lied about his shikai's weakness and he is caught in an illusion before even grabbing Aizen's sword. I really hope thats how it is cause I don't want a cheap ass victory for Ichigo especially after he completes his training and is capable of using his complete power it would cheapen the trial if Aizen ends up weakened before their fight.

[ShadowGUN]

Anyone know where this pic came from?

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/6602/xs16788.jpg

Seem to from before Shinji and the others became Vizards. It also shows the Vice Captains we never saw during "Turn Back The Pendulum" arc.

[Mr. Obsession]

I believe it's a teaser or promotional image for the new databook that comes out in August ("MASKED: Official Character Book 2").

EDIT:
Byakuya's father?

http://a.imageshack.us/img826/5504/masksteaser2.jpg

Kuchiki hair doodads? Check.
Resembles Byakuya? Check.
Profile roughly matches the shaded guy behind Ginrei? Check.


Oh. Hi there, Shinji.

[Grave]

None of these events were shocking but for the most part I did find them to be entertaining to say the least. A few disappointing moments as well. But I really did hate seeing Tatsuki inc running around. This is where off-screen stuff comes in handy instead of showing off-screen defeats. I really hated seeing Don Kanoji. If there's a character I hate more than Orihime and Rukia it's him.

Gin's dust/poison bit, even though it came out of nowhere it fits him well. It's a lot better than seeing Ichigo's deus ex transformation. Speaking of Ichigo, I was definately digging Zangetu's younger look as well as Hichigo's mask. (His mask was cold) I had something to say about Isshin's Engetsu but I forgot what it was....

Poor Rangiku. I used to like her too until she became stupid.

[Mr. Obsession]

MASKED is out, sadly it only covers to just after Turn Back the Pendulum. But, holy crap, the information revealed makes me want a freaking sequel to TBtP.


http://a.imageshack.us/img18/1774/tbtperasquads.jpg

Revealed Characters:
2nd Div Lieutenant: Marenoshin Omaeda (father of Marechiyo Omaeda, Soi Fon's Lt.)
3rd Div Lieutenant: Chikane Iba (Mother of Tetsuzaemon Iba).
According to Kubo she thought Rose was too much of a wimp and kept him on a tight leash. :D Kind of puts Tetsuzaemon's whole "I left the 11th to become a Lieutenant because my mother wanted me to" thing in a new perspective.
4th Div Lieutenant: Seinosuke Yamada
The only thing new is he's Hanataro's older brother (not clear if he's currently alive or not)
6th Div Lieutenant: Soujyun Kuchiki (Ginrei's son, Byakuya's father)
According to Kubo he died in a battle he knew he couldn't win, but was concerned about Ginrei and knew his responsibilities as the heir to the Kuchiki House. The translation is kind of vague but either he had a weak body or he lacked the raw potential of Byakuya and Ginrei.
My thoughts: Between his description and his picture, Soujyun seems like the nicest guy in the world. Pity for both Byakuya and Rukia that he died when Byakuya was still young. I get the feeling he would have completely supported Byakuya's marriage to Hisana, and that he would have been out on the streets looking for Rukia himself the second he learned Hisana had a sister.
7th Div Lieutenant: Jinemon Kotsubaki (father of Sentaro Kotsubaki, Ukitake's co-third seat).
The book's only been out for about a day in Japan and the dude's already approaching Memetic Badass status. :sweat:
10th Div: Nothing.
I guess they didn't have a Captain or Lieutenant until sometime after TBtP... :rolleyes:
...or Kubo has a plan...
11th Div Captain: Kiganjuu Kenpachi (the 10th Kenpachi, the one Shinji and Love described as a lazy SOB, the one Zaraki killed to become Captain).
I want to see Zaraki's fight against this guy so badly now. :(
13th Div Lieutenant: Yeah, the shadow is supposed to be of Kaien.
I guess he didn't officially take the job until after TBtP ended.


Other random stuff:

Ulquiorra was the first Arrancar Kubo created once he had decided on what the Arrancar really were.
Aizen's explanation of Orhime's abilities was correct (I know people have debated that).
Wonderweiss was Arrancar 77 (Aizen's army was smaller than I previously though)
Kubo ain't telling who's bodies Mayuri found in Szayel Aporro's lab (well he apparently told the interviewer after the interviewer promised to keep it a secret).
Szayel Aporro and Yylfordt were fraternal twins.
Kubo still has plans for the Royal Guard and Hikifune.
Grimmjow's a Leo, Nnoitra & Shawlong are Scorpios, Tesla & Nel (but not Yylfordt) are Taurus. (Lol, visual puns. Yeah, Nel being an Aries would have been funnier)
Sasakibe (1st Div Lt.) will always be stuck in Yamamoto's shadow. Poor guy. :sweat:
Kubo already has an idea of what kind of series he'll do when Bleach ends (yes, I know this one is going to be taken completely out of context :p)

[mumbo]

Kubo already has an idea of what kind of series he'll do when Bleach ends (yes, I know this one is going to be taken completely out of context http://www.toonzone.net/forums/images/smilies/tongue.gif)

lol, Bleach would actually have to end for that to happen.

Not unusual though. I believe Kishi wants to do a detective/spy series after Naruto, and Oda had wanted to do a mecha series after One Piece before the story ended up taking much longer to tell than he anticipated.

[Mr. Obsession]

I suspect Kubo's next series would be based on one of the two things he loves: music or fashion design.

Yeah. Kubo doing a shonen based in the world of fashion design. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'd read it. ;)

[Grave]

回想、まだギンがルコン街に住んでいた頃。
Flashback from the time when Gin still lived in Rukongai.
森の中、小枝を拾い、茂みの隙間から覗いた先に愛染に頭をたれる死神が三名。
He's in the forest picking twigs. Through a clearing in a thicket,there are 3 shinigami hanging their heads to Aizen.
萌玉を死神から受け取る?愛染(愛染が萌玉を与えてるようにも見える)
Aizen takes the hougyoku from the shinigami? (Aizen appears to be presenting the hougyoku.)
回想一旦終わり。
The flashback temporarily ends.
細胞が分解され、現われた萌玉を手に取ろうとするギンの手をつかもうと愛染、
Aizen's body cells decompose and Gin takes the hougyoku which appears. Aizen tries to grab his hand.
それを振り切り逃げるギン、倒れこむ愛染。
Gin shakes it off and flees. Aizen remains lying down.
一言、ギン・・・とつぶやいたあと雄叫びを上げる愛染。開いたから爆煙。
Aizen mutters the word "Gin..." He lets out a roar and rises up. There's smoke coming from his opening (?)
物の影でこれで終わりやと萌玉を握り潰そうとするギン。
In silhouette, Gin says, "This is the end," and he tries to crush the hougyoku.
すると大きな音が聞こえ空に光の柱。その中から蝶々の羽(3枚重ね)をつけた愛染。胸の穴には 十字が。
There's a loud noise and a light pillar in the sky. From the center comes Aizen with 3 butterfly wings. There's a cross in his chest cavity.
わたしの勝ちだ、奪った萌玉は既にわたしの中になくともというと、
"It is my victory, even if the hougyoku is no longer within me."
ギンの手の中の萌玉が白く、ゴオオオオオという音を立てる。
The hougyoku in Gin's hand turns white and makes rumbling noise.
そして愛染が一瞬でギンの目の前に現われると同時に胸の穴が塞がる。
Aizen instantly appears in front of Gin, and his chest cavity closes up.
また回想。
Another flashback.

一部始終をみたギンが森から外をみると乱暴されたっぽい乱菊が気絶している。
Gin saw the entire thing from the forest. Rangiku was beaten up and unconscious.
それから目を開いて愛染を見据え、こいつや、こいつが親玉や　ボクがこいつを・・・・というと こ
He opens his eyes and gazes at Aizen. "This guy, this guy is the boss. I'm going to (do something to him)..."
で回想が終わり、
Flashback ends.
手刀で愛染に斬られるギンで終わり。
Aizen slashes at Gin with his hand. The end.

For a moment there I thought Aizen was actually done for.. (silly me) But I'm actually glad that he's still alive and kicking because I just didn't see Gin standing a chance against everyone, unless he was going to kill Aizen and run off somewhere he couldn't be found.

[anime_guru]

butterfly wings? did we cross into xxxholic territory?

[ShadowGUN]

MASKED is out, sadly it only covers to just after Turn Back the Pendulum. But, holy crap, the information revealed makes me want a freaking sequel to TBtP.


http://a.imageshack.us/img18/1774/tbtperasquads.jpg



Revealed Characters:

2nd Div Lieutenant: Marenoshin Omaeda (father of Marechiyo Omaeda, Soi Fon's Lt.)
3rd Div Lieutenant: Chikane Iba (Mother of Tetsuzaemon Iba).
According to Kubo she thought Rose was too much of a wimp and kept him on a tight leash. :D Kind of puts Tetsuzaemon's whole "I left the 11th to become a Lieutenant because my mother wanted me to" thing in a new perspective.
4th Div Lieutenant: Seinosuke Yamada
The only thing new is he's Hanataro's older brother (not clear if he's currently alive or not)
6th Div Lieutenant: Soujyun Kuchiki (Ginrei's son, Byakuya's father)
According to Kubo he died in a battle he knew he couldn't win, but was concerned about Ginrei and knew his responsibilities as the heir to the Kuchiki House. The translation is kind of vague but either he had a weak body or he lacked the raw potential of Byakuya and Ginrei.
My thoughts: Between his description and his picture, Soujyun seems like the nicest guy in the world. Pity for both Byakuya and Rukia that he died when Byakuya was still young. I get the feeling he would have completely supported Byakuya's marriage to Hisana, and that he would have been out on the streets looking for Rukia himself the second he learned Hisana had a sister.
7th Div Lieutenant: Jinemon Kotsubaki (father of Sentaro Kotsubaki, Ukitake's co-third seat).
The book's only been out for about a day in Japan and the dude's already approaching Memetic Badass status. :sweat:
10th Div: Nothing.
I guess they didn't have a Captain or Lieutenant until sometime after TBtP... :rolleyes:
...or Kubo has a plan...
11th Div Captain: Kiganjuu Kenpachi (the 10th Kenpachi, the one Shinji and Love described as a lazy SOB, the one Zaraki killed to become Captain).
I want to see Zaraki's fight against this guy so badly now. :(
13th Div Lieutenant: Yeah, the shadow is supposed to be of Kaien.
I guess he didn't officially take the job until after TBtP ended.


Other random stuff:

Ulquiorra was the first Arrancar Kubo created once he had decided on what the Arrancar really were.
Aizen's explanation of Orhime's abilities was correct (I know people have debated that).
Wonderweiss was Arrancar 77 (Aizen's army was smaller than I previously though)
Kubo ain't telling who's bodies Mayuri found in Szayel Aporro's lab (well he apparently told the interviewer after the interviewer promised to keep it a secret).
Szayel Aporro and Yylfordt were fraternal twins.
Kubo still has plans for the Royal Guard and Hikifune.
Grimmjow's a Leo, Nnoitra & Shawlong are Scorpios, Tesla & Nel (but not Yylfordt) are Taurus. (Lol, visual puns. Yeah, Nel being an Aries would have been funnier)
Sasakibe (1st Div Lt.) will always be stuck in Yamamoto's shadow. Poor guy. :sweat:
Kubo already has an idea of what kind of series he'll do when Bleach ends (yes, I know this one is going to be taken completely out of context :p)


Wow the previous Kenpachi looks pretty bad ass. At least now we know why Soi Fon keeps Omaeda around.

As for this week chapter
I kind expected Aizen to survive. Gin flashback confuses me. Is that another Hougyoku or is the same one Aizen already has?

[Mr. Obsession]

The whole first flashback part sounds almost symbolic. Like a dream maybe. If you combine it with the second flashback described it sounds like the three shinigami working for Aizen found Matsumoto and were offering her to Aizen for experimentation. Thus Gin has been planning on killing Aizen all these years because he beat up Matsumoto? So why the hell did Gin stab her then?

Or Aizen and his cronies attempted to create their own Hogyoku type thing before Urahara did, Matsumoto accidently found them, so they beat her and left her for dead. It still doesn't explain why Gin stabbed her.

Also, Aizen goes "One Twelve Winged Angel" Huzzah!

EDIT: Apparently there is no chapter next week. Great, just great.

[Grave]

And apparently the chapter came out faster than I thought.

Kubo's really terrible at piecing things together because this don't add up at all. Back in that flashback we have Aizen holding the Hougyoku but yet he didn't get his hands on it until Rukia was back in Soul Society. Unless there's some little gap between Urahara's banishment I'm missing because I'm thinking he was either summoned that night or the following day. When did Urahara lose the Hougyoku or was Aizen trying to make his own? It makes no sense whatsoever.

Great artwork though.

[RockmanDash]

And apparently the chapter came out faster than I thought.

Kubo's really terrible at piecing things together because this don't add up at all. Back in that flashback we have Aizen holding the Hougyoku but yet he didn't get his hands on it until Rukia was back in Soul Society. Unless there's some little gap between Urahara's banishment I'm missing because I'm thinking he was either summoned that night or the following day. When did Urahara lose the Hougyoku or was Aizen trying to make his own? It makes no sense whatsoever.

Actually from what I can tell Aizen was simply trying to make his own which makes perfect sense. The bashing on Kubo is getting rather sad lately. If Aizen was trying to make his own and Matsumoto as a child got in the middle by almost being an experiment and being beaten up and left for dead, I don't see how that makes no sense. If anything it explains why Gin is even betraying the guy in the first place, if he was just doing it because he's "Gin" then I would find that to be terrible writing.

I think it's better to think things out a bit more before coming up with the idea that "Kubo is the worst writer eva!1" and that it fits nowhere at all.

...Man there needs to be a parody of the daily Bleach trolls.. *re watches Yugioh abridged 48*

[Grave]

Actually from what I can tell Aizen was simply trying to make his own which makes perfect sense. The bashing on Kubo is getting rather sad lately. If Aizen was trying to make his own and Matsumoto as a child got in the middle by almost being an experiment and being beaten up and left for dead, I don't see how that makes no sense. If anything it explains why Gin is even betraying the guy in the first place, if he was just doing it because he's "Gin" then I would find that to be terrible writing.

I think it's better to think things out a bit more before coming up with the idea that "Kubo is the worst writer eva!1" and that it fits nowhere at all.

Don't go throwing words in my mouth. I didn't say Kubo was the worst writer. Didn't even say anything about terrible writing. Hell, I'm not bashing Kubo at all. I'm saying his piecing things together is terrible. Big difference. If I wasn't thinking this out then I wouldn't have stated anything about him piecing this together in the first place. Obviously, I'm trying to put everything in place here but it don't add up. So chill.

[RockmanDash]

Don't go throwing words in my mouth. I didn't say Kubo was the worst writer. Didn't even say anything about terrible writing. Hell, I'm not bashing Kubo at all. I'm saying his piecing things together is terrible. Big difference. If I wasn't thinking this out then I wouldn't have stated anything about him piecing this together in the first place. Obviously, I'm trying to put everything in place here but it don't add up.

Yeah...that's why you keep going on about how it makes no sense when it was a simple little flashback of a kid Matsumoto getting beaten up with a "experiment" Hogyoku. Alright The Boss whatever you say...:p

On a serious note, I don't see how it doesn't make sense. I mean Aizen has been planning this whole thing for how many years again? The fact that he tried to make his own and yet again used people shouldn't be all that shocking writing wise. Ah Bleach debates are so much fun aren't they?

[Mr. Obsession]

Having read the chapter:

The flashbacks takes place before Gin had joined the academy. He was wearing his old street urchin clothes. Second, one of the guys with Aizen is the same one Aizen disguised as himself to fool Shinji on at least one occasion, and later Shunsui (I believe), so nice throwback there. Third, Aizen isn’t even wearing his lieutenant’s badge, which he wore all throughout TBtP, so the flashbacks probably take place before his promotion to Shinji’s 2nd Seat.

Also, given that the title page says: “A glimpse… …of truth.” I’m going with these flashbacks as Gin’s true motivation for joining Aizen.

Anyway, I’m not sure what Aizen was doing in the flashbacks. Whether he was trying to make some proto-Hogyku or not. But I do believe whatever he was doing in the woods there Matsumoto was a test subject of some kind.


EDIT: Back around the Soul Society arc didn't Matsumoto have a flashback where she was sick or injured and Gin was taking care of her?

Double EDIT: Did Aizen just gain a third eye?

[Demonic Raven]

Gin should've known better than to try to face down the Power Mullet.....without another Power Mullet.

Yeah, no surprise that Aizen is fine. Being seperated from the Hougyoku at this point is no biggie. Still trying to make sense of it all, though...and it's rather tough.

Trying to follow where the Hougyoku has been, and under whose control at certain points in the story, is becoming more and more convoluted. I don't even want to touch that subject, really.

Gah, no chapter next week. Can we have Ichigo back now?

[Grave]

Having read the chapter:

The flashbacks takes place before Gin had joined the academy. He was wearing his old street urchin clothes. Second, one of the guys with Aizen is the same one Aizen disguised as himself to fool Shinji on at least one occasion, and later Shunsui (I believe), so nice throwback there. Third, Aizen isn’t even wearing his lieutenant’s badge, which he wore all throughout TBtP, so the flashbacks probably take place before his promotion to Shinji’s 2nd Seat.

Also, given that the title page says: “A glimpse… …of truth.” I’m going with these flashbacks as Gin’s true motivation for joining Aizen.


Yeah. That's what I was going with. Whether Aizen was trying to create something before Urahara made the Hougyoku is possible, but for something like that to look exactly like the Hougyoku, but yet we have

http://bleach-network.com/manga/image.php?id=176&what=23

So all of a sudden we have both Urahara and Aizen thinking along the same lines, which is possible, I guess..

Whether he created that thing or not remains to be known and I'm not going to speculate on it (I'm not a "what if" person). But that seems a little too fishy especially when you piece in the TBTP chapters. I do agree that it takes place before TBTP, that's for sure.

I try piecing Bleach together through it's flashbacks and what Aizen says since that's about the only time we really get in type of story. (Just incase anybody was wondering) I'm just waiting for Isshin's story now so I can try to see where he fits in at now.

[Mr. Obsession]

Some people have already dubbed Aizen's new form: "Winx Aizen." I myself was thinking of going with "TinkerAizen," but I found the Winx comment to be funnier.

Yes, Aizen is now a magical fairy girl. :D


EDIT: Found it, this flashback takes place right before Matsumoto's flashback at the beginning of chapter 129, which depicts when Gin and Matsumoto first met. Ergo Gin did all of this for a girl he hadn't even met when it happened. O_o

[ShadowGUN]

Looks like Gin is gonna be joining Tossen and the Espada in the next dimension. I guess in two weeks we get Gin flashback.

Some people have already dubbed Aizen's new form: "Winx Aizen." I myself was thinking of going with "TinkerAizen," but I found the Winx comment to be funnier.

Yes, Aizen is now a magical fairy girl. :D


Heh some people are calling him Butterfree Aizen :p.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

I've been convinced for a while that Matsumoto's only been knocked out because Gin knew Aizen would just eventually kill her. This chapter helpes that theory out.

[RockmanDash]

Fun note after observing Aizen's form is that he has 12 wings now, he's more like an angel than a pretty butterfly at a closer look.

Hopefully we go back to Ichigo in two weeks though >_>.

Edit note: Did anybody else laugh at the ugly look Aizen has with his eyes and forehead now thanks to his new look? Kubo must be having a lot of fun with this one xD.

[Mr. Obsession]

Thinking about it three things stick out to me about this chapter.

First, Gin's pretty much shifted from outright villain to anti villain. His entire point of killing Aizen, right now looks to be avenging Matsumoto. But Gin has still murdered people, participated in Aizen’s experiments, interfered with Soul Society, tormented Kira and Rukia, and bifurcated Hiyori.

Second, this chapter more or less gives an explanation to why Aizen knew Gin would eventually try to kill him. At some point he would have learned about Gin and Matsumoto's friendship, Gin couldn't hide that once Matsumoto became a shinigami. Aizen simply put 2 and 2 together.

Third, it puts a completely different perspective on Matsumoto's character in the present. Her flaunting of her body now seem less like a woman with lots of confidence and more like one who's telling the world "I am not (or will not be) a victim." And her drinking, which was previously played for laughs now looks suspiciously like an alcoholic who drinks because they're trying to forget something. :(


Fun note after observing Aizen's form is that he has 12 wings now, he's more like an angel than a pretty butterfly at a closer look.
Yeah, Aizen does look like something out of the Book of Revelation. And he's going to fight Ichigo who has a powerful form reminiscent of a demon.

[Fool's Gil]

Goddammit. Captain Broken will never die, will he?

[Mr. Obsession]

More MASKED stuff has been coming out, mostly about the Espada:


- Kubo's original idea for the Espada was seven members based on the seven deadly sins. He later changed his mind when he got the idea that the Japanese character for "10" is the most western looking character and resembled two crossed swords. Though some of the deadly sins aspect did carry over to some of the Espada like Aaroniero and Szayel Aporro.


- When Ulquiorra first appeared in the manga, Kubo hadn't decided what the Espada was going to be yet. Just that Ulquiorra was going to be one of them.


- Aizen ranked the Espada based on their total reiatsu.

This sort of makes Yammy being Espada 0 make more sense. In his unreleased form he's number 10, the weakest. Yammy himself explained that he can absorb and store up energy. In his released state he gains access to all that stored energy making him the strongest. Yammy is simultaneously the strongest AND weakest member of the Espada.

It also explains why Baraggan can have such a completely broken ability as Respira and Starrk was still ranked above him.


- When the full Espada were introduced, Kubo hadn't decided on most of the individual character’s ranks yet.


- Kubo switched Zommari and Hallibel's numbers at the last minute. XD

I find that one hilarious because I remember when the full Espada was finally introduced at Aizen's tea party there were so many people convinced that Zommari was going to be in the top three because of his design and the fact that Halli was a woman.


- Nnoitra was either going to be a snake or a praying mantis. Kubo pulled out a dictionary to see which one "sounded better."

I assume it was Japanese to Spanish dictionary.


And the one that people are raging over:

- Most of the Espada were equal to Vasto Lordes.

There are two translations out there on the relevant pages that people are arguing over. One translates the relevant info to "Most of the Espada are Vasto Lorde." The other being "Most of the Espada were equal in power to Vasto Lorde class hollow."

My personal preference is to split the difference. The top four were Vasto Lorde, and when Aizen used the Hogyoku on ones that were close, but not quite there (like Nnoitra, Grimmjow, and probably Yammy), it pushed them over the class line power wise.

It also means Kubo is probably done with Hollow as antagonists and that the rest of the series is going to be shingami vs. shingami. I'm not quite sure how to feel about that.

[Grenzer]

More MASKED stuff has been coming out, mostly about the Espada:


- Kubo's original idea for the Espada was seven members based on the seven deadly sins. He later changed his mind when he got the idea that the Japanese character for "10" is the most western looking character and resembled two crossed swords. Though some of the deadly sins aspect did carry over to some of the Espada like Aaroniero and Szayel Aporro.


- When Ulquiorra first appeared in the manga, Kubo hadn't decided what the Espada was going to be yet. Just that Ulquiorra was going to be one of them.


- Aizen ranked the Espada based on their total reiatsu.

This sort of makes Yammy being Espada 0 make more sense. In his unreleased form he's number 10, the weakest. Yammy himself explained that he can absorb and store up energy. In his released state he gains access to all that stored energy making him the strongest. Yammy is simultaneously the strongest AND weakest member of the Espada.

It also explains why Baraggan can have such a completely broken ability as Respira and Starrk was still ranked above him.


- When the full Espada were introduced, Kubo hadn't decided on most of the individual character’s ranks yet.


- Kubo switched Zommari and Hallibel's numbers at the last minute. XD

I find that one hilarious because I remember when the full Espada was finally introduced at Aizen's tea party there were so many people convinced that Zommari was going to be in the top three because of his design and the fact that Halli was a woman.


- Nnoitra was either going to be a snake or a praying mantis. Kubo pulled out a dictionary to see which one "sounded better."

I assume it was Japanese to Spanish dictionary.


And the one that people are raging over:

- Most of the Espada were equal to Vasto Lordes.

There are two translations out there on the relevant pages that people are arguing over. One translates the relevant info to "Most of the Espada are Vasto Lorde." The other being "Most of the Espada were equal in power to Vasto Lorde class hollow."

My personal preference is to split the difference. The top four were Vasto Lorde, and when Aizen used the Hogyoku on ones that were close, but not quite there (like Nnoitra, Grimmjow, and probably Yammy), it pushed them over the class line power wise.

It also means Kubo is probably done with Hollow as antagonists and that the rest of the series is going to be shingami vs. shingami. I'm not quite sure how to feel about that.

It's amazing how Kubo ignored his own plot points when he wrote this stuff. Hitsugaya outright stated that Vasto Lorde hollows were so strong that even a small group of them could destroy Soul Society. Whether he meant before or after they were turned into arrancar is up for debate (I support the former view), but there no denying that if the majority of the Espada were in that range or close, then they should have represented a bigger threat then they did.

The fact that Hitsugaya went toe-to-toe with Harribel, who must have been a Vasto Lorde (look at her pre-arrancar form as shown in the anime, I'll assume Kubo helped Studio Pierrot with the details), and almost killed her if not for Wonderwiess's interference, show me how little thought Kubo put into that battle. Having Aizen deliver the final blow was just a way to cover his bases, to make Aizen look that much more powerful, but I can't help but feel it rings false.

When Ichigo ends up beating Aizen at the end of this arc, it's going to screw up whatever logic regarding power levels this series has. It seems Soul Society's own forces would have been more or less sufficent to destroy Aizen's army if they had attacked as soon as possible, before Aizen could fully deploy his most powerful minions or create Wonderwiess, so their initial caution is totally irrational in retrospect.

Eh, whatever. I'm clearly putting far too much thought into this. :shrug:

[Baseball]

I don't think that Rangiku was just 'beaten up' by Aizen's lackeys. I don't think a Jump magazine would ever blatantly state this, but take a look at her robes. Her clothes are torn open. She was likely raped. It would make sense as to why she drinks all of the time too.

[RockmanDash]

Looking back..Mr.Toto you're on to something there. ...Well.....this is sad.:sad: I guess Gin's long going revenge makes sense now if that happened to Matsumoto(better than just simply because she got beaten up)

And lol @ how the Espada were originally going to be the seven deadly sins. Ulquorria was going to be Greed and Yammi would of been Wrath I'm guessing.

Oh and thank goodness Zommari didn't get the third spot, nice move Kubo =). Then again, Harribel vs Byakuya would of been interesting.

[Mr. Obsession]

It's amazing how Kubo ignored his own plot points when he wrote this stuff. Hitsugaya outright stated that Vasto Lorde hollows were so strong that even a small group of them could destroy Soul Society. Whether he meant before or after they were turned into arrancar is up for debate (I support the former view), but there no denying that if the majority of the Espada were in that range or close, then they should have represented a bigger threat then they did.

The fact that Hitsugaya went toe-to-toe with Harribel, who must have been a Vasto Lorde (look at her pre-arrancar form as shown in the anime, I'll assume Kubo helped Studio Pierrot with the details), and almost killed her if not for Wonderwiess's interference, show me how little thought Kubo put into that battle. Having Aizen deliver the final blow was just a way to cover his bases, to make Aizen look that much more powerful, but I can't help but feel it rings false.

The easiest way to look at it would be Soul Society (and Hitsugaya) overestimated what Vasto Lorde in general were capable of. Aizen overestimated them as well (he admitted as much). The only thing I can gather is that there can be a huge difference between members of the same class. Yamamoto and Mayori are both Captain level shinigami, but there is a enormous gap between the overall abilities of the two. Grimmjow and most of his fraccion (as of Grimmjow's flashbacks) were all Adjuchas, but there was a huge gap between Grimmjow and ones like Shawlong. It's safe to assume you could find similar gaps in power between two natural Vasto Lorde. 10 Starrk or 10 Barragan would have destroyed Soul Society. 10 Nnoitra, not so much. Soul Soceity simply took an overly cautious stance.

In retrospect I now think the Espada actually did fairly well. Look at what it took to take them down:

Aaroniero - weakest of the bunch and he only died because Rukia had an "ace in the hole" that is only effective in a very small number of circumstances. Even then Rukia would have still died if medical help hadn't arrived on time.

Szayel Aporro - killed because Mayuri went into the fight with specific knowledge to counter Szayel's known abilities, and Mayuri went beyond that by being so crazy prepared for anything he didn't know Szayel could do that Batman would have been proud.

Zommari - died fighting Byakuya, who was Ichigo's main obstacle in the previous story arc and built up as one of the more powerful captains past and present. If he had used his incredibly hax powers intelligently from the beginning he still could have won. Instead Zommari let his pride get the better of him while Byakuya controlled himself and planed his moves as he fought.

Grimmjow - it took the main character of the series THREE separate attempts just to defeat Grimmjow, and even then Ichigo still didn't kill him.

Nnoitra - died fighting Zaraki Kenpachi. Ain't no shame in that.

Ulquiorra - died because of wounds inflicted by the main characters super powered evil side on steroids.

Hallibel - It took everything Hitsugaya had to put her in a situation where she could possibly die, and even then it was a gamble on his part. After she was freed Hallibel held her own against Hitsugaya and TWO Vizard. She only died because Aizen betrayed her.

Barragan - It took a combination of strategy, Bleach's equivalent of magic, and self-sacrifice to turn Barragan own power against him.

Starrk - he fought two veteran Captains with at least 2,000 years of experience, each, to a draw without trying (granted one of them was also half-assing it). He then fought two Vizard former captains without even trying, and when Starrk did start trying he brought Love and Rose to thier knees with two attacks. He died because Shunsui revealed his own zanpakuto is the third most broken one in the series so far, right behind Aizen and Yamamoto. Starrk was also the first character in the series to make Shunsui actually consider using his bankai.

Yammy - Still alive and fighting.

How many characters in the series could have done as well against Szayel as Mayuri and still walked away after the fight? How many could have kept on fighting once Zommari started controlling their limbs? How many could have tanked Grimmjow, Nnoitra, or Ulquiorra? How many could have withstood Barry's Respira? Seriously, how many characters whose names are not Aizen, Yamamoto, or Ichigo's Inner Hollow, could have defeated any the Espada one-on-one (besides the characters that did defeat the individual Espada)?

I contend that if Ichigo had listened to Yamamoto instead of rushing off to rescue Orihime, thus dividing Soul Society's forces and whittling away at Aizen's Espada, if Aizen had arrived in Fake Karakura with all ten Espada things would have been much worse for Soul Society.


And lol @ how the Espada were originally going to be the seven deadly sins. Ulquorria was going to be Greed and Yammi would of been Wrath I'm guessing.

Kubo specifically said Aaroniero was gluttony (“Glotoneria”) and Szayel was lust (“Fornicaras”). Yammy and Barry were mentioned but not what, probably wrath (“Ira”) and pride (“Arrogante”) respectively. Starrk is pretty much the definition of Sloth in both the classical and modern sense. The rest start to get a little hard to pin down, but that not a big deal since Kubo gave up on that theme anyway.


Oh and thank goodness Zommari didn't get the third spot, nice move Kubo =). Then again, Harribel vs Byakuya would of been interesting.

Even if you change nothing else about the fights I would have found it far more satisfactory if Byakuya had fought the 3rd Espada and Hitsugaya fought the 7th. :p

[Grave]

How many characters in the series could have done as well against Szayel as Mayuri and still walked away after the fight? How many could have kept on fighting once Zommari started controlling their limbs? How many could have tanked Grimmjow, Nnoitra, or Ulquiorra? How many could have withstood Barry's Respira? Seriously, how many characters whose names are not Aizen, Yamamoto, or Ichigo's Inner Hollow, could have defeated any the Espada one-on-one (besides the characters that did defeat the individual Espada)?

All were strong and solid points, but this here I want to touch on. Me and a couple folks at another place were just discussing this recently, especially Barry's Respira. Honestly, with Toushiro being able to go toe-to-toe with Halibel really tosses things in the air. Because I just don't see Toushiro being able to keep up with either Byakuya or Kenpachi, and I don't see ice/water being able to hold Kenpachi down. Against Barry, honestly, I have to say no one outside of possibly Shunsui (given that he's attacking from shadows and whatnot) and maybe Shinji.

Not saying this because I'm a fan but I really do think Byakuya and Kenpachi could definately do some stuff against Halibel, Grimmjow and Nnoitra. I'm still tossed on whether I think they can handle Ulquiorra or not because I do believe Ulquiorra's second release puts him above Halibel unless Ichigo's mask means nothing now.

I have a headache now.

[anime_guru]

All were strong and solid points, but this here I want to touch on. Me and a couple folks at another place were just discussing this recently, especially Barry's Respira. Honestly, with Toushiro being able to go toe-to-toe with Halibel really tosses things in the air. Because I just don't see Toushiro being able to keep up with either Byakuya or Kenpachi, and I don't see ice/water being able to hold Kenpachi down. Against Barry, honestly, I have to say no one outside of possibly Shunsui (given that he's attacking from shadows and whatnot) and maybe Shinji.

Not saying this because I'm a fan but I really do think Byakuya and Kenpachi could definately do some stuff against Halibel, Grimmjow and Nnoitra. I'm still tossed on whether I think they can handle Ulquiorra or not because I do believe Ulquiorra's second release puts him above Halibel unless Ichigo's mask means nothing now.

I have a headache now.

I don't think byakuya will hold his own against ulqi
but no question about zaraki holding his own and winning if he starts the fight serious and gets it done fast like with tessla.

[Grave]

I don't think byakuya will hold his own against ulqi
but no question about zaraki holding his own and winning if he starts the fight serious and gets it done fast like with tessla.

And that's the thing, I'm not even sure I can say Kenpachi can hold his own either... (I'm of the opinion that Kenpachi and Byakuya are equal, of course Kenny probably has more power but Byakuya matches with tactics.... but "shrugs") Too many holes because of Ichigo. Then again I'm thinking too much into it now.

[Paul_Cousins]

And that's the thing, I'm not even sure I can say Kenpachi can hold his own either... (I'm of the opinion that Kenpachi and Byakuya are equal, of course Kenny probably has more power but Byakuya matches with tactics.... but "shrugs") Too many holes because of Ichigo. Then again I'm thinking too much into it now.Kenpachi is a special case. He is the only person I have seen in fiction to be turned into a human (sword) pin cushion and still keep on going like nothing happened.

Even Wolverine and Lobo would take a few moments to heal from that type of punishment before continuing the fight.

But not Kenpachi. He just keeps going.

Given what we have seen Kenpachi go through, he probably took a dive in his first fight with Ichigo.

Why he did, I don't know.

It would probably take something equal to the power of a nuke to slow down Kenpachi. And I mean slow down. I don't mean stop.

Byakuya on the other hand, probably can be taken down with ice and water. Water and ice can be very formidable. See the series, Avatar The Last Airbender for a lot of good examples.

[Grave]

Byakuya on the other hand, probably can be taken down with ice and water. Water and ice can be very formidable. See the series, Avatar The Last Airbender for a lot of good examples.

True enough but given the folks who're using the ice and water.... I'm not convinced. But I suppose, if Byakuya and Toushiro were to go at it, Toushiro would have the advantage for being more popular.

[RockmanDash]

Hey guys? Looks like I win on that the anime would show exclusive stuff bet. =)

August 17th:"Chain of Sacrifice, Harribel's Past"
"Gisei no rensa, Hariberu no kako" (犠牲の連鎖、ハリベルの過去)

Looks like Harribel's past will be shown in the anime. Now bring me my Wonderweiss vs Kensei full battle please.

[anime_guru]

Hey guys? Looks like I win on that the anime would show exclusive stuff bet. =)

August 17th:"Chain of Sacrifice, Harribel's Past"
"Gisei no rensa, Hariberu no kako" (犠牲の連鎖、ハリベルの過去)

Looks like Harribel's past will be shown in the anime. Now bring me my Wonderweiss vs Kensei full battle please.
wow an episode I will watch and not hate. I have always wanted to know about halibel's past and how she became an espada. Why was she so fiercely loyal to Aizen even above the primera espada??? It does indicate her death *sniff* we still get the well needed backstory... I can't wait! :sweat:
any indication to another filler arc coming?

[RockmanDash]

wow an episode I will watch and not hate. I have always wanted to know about halibel's past and how she became an espada. Why was she so fiercely loyal to Aizen even above the primera espada??? It does indicate her death *sniff* we still get the well needed backstory... I can't wait! :sweat:
any indication to another filler arc coming?

Not yet but from how this is flowing a filler arc could probably pop up at the point when Tosen dies and Ichigo busts in to fight.

[Beat]

So the anime gets character backstory and the manga gets...

The Monarch. Yeah, the Monarch from Venture Brothers except not funny, and Gin doesn't really work as Dr. Girlfriend. Maybe the anime writers are better.

*Looks at the upcoming filler about to air on Adult Swim* Nah.

[anime_guru]

So the anime gets character backstory and the manga gets...

The Monarch. Yeah, the Monarch from Venture Brothers except not funny, and Gin doesn't really work as Dr. Girlfriend. Maybe the anime writers are better.

*Looks at the upcoming filler about to air on Adult Swim* Nah.

hey that may have been tite kubo's idea

[RockmanDash]

After seeing Bleach 283, it's pretty much confirmed Harribel gets a whole episode to herself as the episode ends right when Aizen cuts her down. (The preview even shows her Fraccion in hollow form)

Hopefully this extra content continues so we get less filler.

EDIT: Also 283 gave a bit more detail into everything about if Starrk "died", and from how the fight between Shunsui and Starrk turned out in the outcome animated, I can see Starrk and Lilynette simply being knocked out just like Grimmjow as Starrk is simply shown crashing to the ground and nothing more.(Meanwhile Lilynette was pretty much koed for a bit from attacking Shunsui)

Oh and Starrk's past still got to me =(.

[Paul_Cousins]

After seeing Bleach 283, it's pretty much confirmed Harribel gets a whole episode to herself as the episode ends right when Aizen cuts her down. (The preview even shows her Fraccion in hollow form)

Hopefully this extra content continues so we get less filler.

EDIT: Also 283 gave a bit more detail into everything about if Starrk "died", and from how the fight between Shunsui and Starrk turned out in the outcome animated, I can see Starrk and Lilynette simply being knocked out just like Grimmjow as Starrk is simply shown crashing to the ground and nothing more.(Meanwhile Lilynette was pretty much koed for a bit from attacking Shunsui)

Oh and Starrk's past still got to me =(.I am glad Harribel is getting a back story.

On another point, Aizen is having a most unique villainous breakdown. At one point, he was probably one of the best magnificent villains in fiction. Now with betraying his men, some he kill himself for not tactical reason, acting himself to act like a jerk, such as targeting the main character's friends, and allowing his megalomania free reign, he has downgraded himself all the way passed manipulative villain, and down to smug snake

Gin probably didn't stab Aizen as an act of betrayal, but as a attempted mercy killing.

[Grave]

some he kill himself for not tactical reason, acting himself to act like a jerk, such as targeting the main character's friends
Was he not suppose to do that? But then again I still like Aizen as a villain. (Just a lot less now compared to other villains) I guess the only real issue I have with him is this "Just as planned" concept he has going on. At first it was fine, but as soon as he came with the "Planning Ichigo's fights and whatnot" he lost me.

[zoombie]

After seeing Bleach 283, it's pretty much confirmed Harribel gets a whole episode to herself as the episode ends right when Aizen cuts her down. (The preview even shows her Fraccion in hollow form)

Hopefully this extra content continues so we get less filler.

EDIT: Also 283 gave a bit more detail into everything about if Starrk "died", and from how the fight between Shunsui and Starrk turned out in the outcome animated, I can see Starrk and Lilynette simply being knocked out just like Grimmjow as Starrk is simply shown crashing to the ground and nothing more.(Meanwhile Lilynette was pretty much koed for a bit from attacking Shunsui)

Oh and Starrk's past still got to me =(.

Well if Starrk is dead and I think he is. I think he should have found out somehow that Aizen was using him before he died. I think like Harribel he is a good ennough or more accurately and importantly honorable person that he deserves to know the truth.

[RockmanDash]

At first it was fine, but as soon as he came with the "Planning Ichigo's fights and whatnot" he lost me.

For once I can agree with you :p. I do have to agree that Aizen lost me as well when he went on about planning Ichigo's fights from the start. After remembering what Ichigo's mom even looked like, I do get the vibe she might of been Aizen's sister. But still.. Kubo better make more sense with Aizen's "Planning for Ichigo" or I'm just going to guess Aizen is playing mind games to get the advantage of freaking Ichigo out.(which I doubt but..meh it's Aizen)


Well if Starrk is dead and I think he is. I think he should have found out somehow that Aizen was using him before he died. I think like Harribel he is a good ennough or more accurately and importantly honorable person that he deserves to know the truth.

Really the only thing that convinces me that he might be dead is that Shunsui picked black at the end which was basically Starrk's whole chest, but then again Barragan survived a missile launched at him directly so...eh. It's a shame though since Starrk and Lilynette are probably my favorite characters in the show next to Shunsui.

[anime_guru]

Gin probably didn't stab Aizen as an act of betrayal, but as a attempted mercy killing.

as interesting as that it is, sadly it doesn't add up. I like the idea actually. I really do because Gin may actually show SOME emotion. But then as has been said around the web, Gin is in it for the lulz. Sadly his backstory also indicated somewhat of the in it for the lulz nature
I like the idea actually.

As far as the anime v manga, I am surprised and happy I stuck with the manga. So much more is explained and makes a lot of sense. It looks better than the manga by leaps and bounds but at the same time...its still tite kubo in charge

[veemonjosh]

As far as the anime v manga, I am surprised and happy I stuck with the manga. So much more is explained and makes a lot of sense. It looks better than the manga by leaps and bounds but at the same time...its still tite kubo in charge

The manga looks better than the manga?

I know Kubo is a fantastic artist, but really...:sweat:

[RockmanDash]

The manga looks better than the manga?

Lol.

Personally I prefer the anime honestly, it actually flows and expands things way better than how the manga does it. The only flaw the anime has honestly is the filler that gets sucked in the middle.

[Luna]

I prefer the manga,myself....no filler (I know it's a necessity given how fast they burn through the chapters..doesn't make it any less of a chore to watch,though),having to deal with Pierrot's stupid Ichigo X Rukia bias(Kubo himself confirmed that they're just friends,not that it wasn't already obvious),or their leaving out/giving bit parts to half the main cast in the movies thus far (I know they aren't as popular with the fans,but I'd much rather see Orihime,Chad,and Uryu than whatever characters win the popularity poll that week)....Although I do agree that the anime does flesh out certain parts of the manga better (My favorite episode of the series so far is 32,Rukia and Renji's backstory,which IIRC was only one chapter in the manga,and they expanded on it really well,showing how close they became before they were separated by Rukia's adoption into the Kuchiki family)....
I still read the manga chapters (and buy the collected volumes),but I've decided to take a break from the anime for awhile (I've seen up to 167 and the first two movies,and probably would've stopped at the end of the "Rescue Rukia" arc,if not for the fact that I liked the dub).....There's really only one more fight I'm interested in seeing animated,but seeing as the episodes only recently aired in Japan,it'll be a long while before the dub gets to them...

[RockmanDash]

New info from the Databook:
1. Kubo said the next arc will be in the real Karakura and a new character older than Ichigo will appear
2. Unohana's "true face" will be revealed soon (I think he means her real power)
3. Kubo wants Ganju Shiba to appear again in the manga
4.All the members of The Royal Guard will appear
5. Kubo only shows characters if they have a lot of fangirls, his example of this was Hisagi beaten Tosen
6. None of the good guys have died, also one character whose name starts with "S" is dead (Kubo said "he or she isn't dead") but no more details were given.

And the entire interview thanks to great sources =D

PAGE 1


Q: Around what time did you come up with the Arrancar arc?

A: I really don't remember (laugh).


Q: In the story, just when Ichigo obtained bankai, we learn that Aizen is the mastermind of all this. Then, the Hougyoku got removed from within Rukia. So you thought that the next series would have Aizen as a foe?

A: I think so. While drawing the final stages of the Soul Society arc, I felt that Aizen wouldn't die here. From that point, I've imagined a story that will unfold in the world of the hollows.


Q: In the early stages of the story, during the times Ichigo defeated Grand Fisher, an arrancar appeared during its medical treatment. During that time, were you simply drawing what represented the world of hollows?

A: Yes, the world of hollows. There were no establishments for arrancars. Just that during that medical treatment, the line "remove the mask" was spoken and I've depicted it as such literally. While drawing/writing the manuscript, I've remembered it and I've thought of doing a battle between a "hollow that removed its mask" and a "shinigami that put on a mask".

Q: Did the Vizards born from that?

A: Yes. And very timely, Ichigo put on a mask and hollowfied, I thought that it would be interesting if it will be a battle with both parties trying to destroy the fence of the other party. I wanted to create a company that was in the same position as Ichigo.


PAGE 2

Q: Was the appearance of Hirako as a Vizard naturally come up during the battle of the arrancars in the world of hollows?

A: No, I have always thought of introducing Hirako to the point I've drawn him in the color spread of chapter 1. Just that, I haven't decided on his role yet. Then, while thinking of the next series (arc) I thought "oh, I think it's good to make him appear here". Moreover, I was very hooked on the imagery of the next arc, that's why I was able to decide that the role of Hirako be a Vizard.


Q: Don't tell me, you've also thought of ... from way before...

A: Originally, during the time I started drawing Bleach, I've resolved Orihime's story [Sora chapters], next was Sado's story [Parakeet]. In fact, I was planning on resolving the stories of the classmates first before moving to the next story. That's why I drew every classmate in the spread. From it, I've imagined Hirako to be the new transfer student-ish role that will come in along the way.

Q: Were there no possibilities of him appearing as a shinigami?

A: I didn't have the shinigami image (on him). From the start, he was to be a member of the Real World team. It's just that, originally I had an image of him being a new transfer student, or like the outsider type. Hirako's character's personality, (I've put) his personality into how he speaks. But then I didn't get to find any significance so..

[Hikaro speaks Osaka dialect which is not the normal nor formal Japanese; it's like a slang]


Q: How did the organization called Espada come to be?

A: More than wanting a certain number of members, I wanted a corps that was directly under the command of Aizen. So, I thought of how many people would the group comprise. I wanted a name for it so I looked for a Spanish word, and came across "espada" which meant "sword". If it were to become 10 sets of swords, I also had an image of the fact that every Shinigami also wield swords, so I've decided on that.


Q: Which character did you decide on first?

A: I think it was definitely Ulquiorra. The first time that Ulquiorra appeared, the establishment of an "Espada" wasn't made yet. The reason I made the number of Espada "10", and the the word "Espada" into kanji, like Soul Society, I wanted to make the character (the word) fit for the kanji. The character "10 (kanji)" for me was the most western-ish character, and it felt like the Cross. I had kind of image in my head so it can be put into comparison with the Shinigami, that's why I made it to 10 people. But the first time I drew, I only had the image of Yammi and Ulquiorra in my head. Even during the time he stood in front of Aizen in Hueco Mundo, I've only made them (the other espada) into shadows to shade them off.

[Jyuu (ten) in Japanese is written as 十]

Q: From there you were able to establish how many people there will be?

A: In reality, I was only supposed to limit it to the people that were there in that scene, but I felt like it was too small a scale.

Q: Was the concept of "Espada", the symbolism, the number already decided?

A: I haven't decided on their ranks yet. I was so undecided to the point of interchanging Zommari and Hallibel's numbers till the last minute, halfway through the story.

Q: For Sensei, I know every character is obviously strong, but is it in a rival leaders (warlords) sense? [LOL, don't know how else to phrase this D8]

A: In sense/imagery, more than fighting over control, everyone has their own ambition, there's also this image of it being replaced. Like Luppi.


PAGE 3

Q: We do not know where Zommari's rank number is located. What about it?

A: I didn't think about it (laugh). I only think about it when the character will show his/her rank number (laugh)

Q: "Like the part where Ulquiorra showed his rank number?"

A: "I was thinking of the best place to put (the rank number) according to the scene, and if that place is right for that character. I've imagined it according to the last part of volume 27's poem: "The 5th lies in where the heart is" <- this part, and the fact that Ulquiorra's number is in where his heart is. Though I have forgotten on which I decided on first.


Q: Nnoitora has his on his tongue.

A: In reality, I think of a place where you feel "it has to be here (no where else)". For the arrancars, it's a big deal to be able to receive numbers.

Q: If it's for a shinigami, it's like being a captain, or a vice captain, am I right? Speaking of shinigami, Isshin appeared in shinigami form. I remember being shocked from that.

A: I can't say anything detailed (laugh).

Q: That kind of suggestive line and sight, is it because you are thinking of drawing him after this?

A: Yes. To draw or not to draw. Some foreshadowing lines and such, will for sure be tied together one day. That is, closer to "coming around (the idea)", and "remembering it" than "thinking of it". In the beginning, I myself do not know the reason but "this is best for this", "there's nothing but this", those thoughts run through my head and (I) decide on drawing that for the character. If I do that, while drawing the following [next/future] story, I'll definitely come across that scene thinking "was this thing I drew from that time for this?". That is similar to the feeling of "remembering something about a person you knew from the start" or "discovering a new side/angle of a person you just met". That's why in the TBTP arc, for example, Hisagi's "69", which is that of Muguruma 9th squad. (Muguruma's spelled with a 6-> muttsu's MU)

Q: You don't normally put "69" right?

A: Right. At first, my intention was that to make it a questionable number (laugh). It has a meaning but I thought to make it a word a kid won't ask his/her parents about, so I made it "69" (laugh). His first appearance, when Jidanbou came out, Hisagi and Izuru were behind (the wall), during that time there were no depictions that they were vice captains. After that, at the time the vice captains came together, it's the first time it became clear (laugh). If it's only from that, you won't know he's a vice captain but he was. Then, they are 3rd squad's and 9th squad's vice captains. Then, the 3rd squad's and 9th squad's captains were Aizen's subordinates. That's why the 3rd squad and the 9th squad were headed that way.

Q: AMAZING!

A: That's how it is connected.


PAGE 4

Spanish and the Names's Origin.

Q: Spanish frequently comes up but is it to contrast them from the Shinigami?

A: During the the time the Menos Grade came out, I was thinking I wanted to use a language that had a good meaning yet sounds bad/evil. If it's evil, Indian sounds evil, but I had an image of something that sounded very cool and cool-headed. Similarly, Spanish has this devil-ish, and sexy sounding and a dark* sound to it which I liked, that's why I have chosen Spanish. [*don't know the right word]

Q: Did you first decide on the names of the attacks in Japanese, or did it first occur to you in Spanish?

A: The names of the attacks in Resureccion form are mixed up. It's like vaguely deciding on an image. For Nnoitora, it was decided quickly. I had a image of a praying mantis. It was whether a snake or a praying mantis. I was tie-dyeing on both, so I looked it up in the dictionary and chose which sounded better.

Q: So you decide on an image on the character's outward appearance?

A: More than from the outward appearance, it's while thinking of the outward appearance along with the personality, and more than anything else it's whether there will be an appeal to it. And there're also some things I take from the 7 deadly sins. Like the one now, who are the espadas? Barragan, Aroniero's "Gluttoneria", Zael Apollo's "Fornicaras", and the same applies for Yammi. Those are the early days of "Espada". In the early stages of Espada, there were only 7 people. It's "Espada" with 7 swords but, it increased gradually and became the "Espada" of now. That's why there are some more of the 7 sins I haven't used. While drawing Aaroniero, he had the power "to eat" so I've got the "Gluttony" from the 7 deadly sins. But I also didn't want to just get stuck with the 7 sins. That's why there are times I don't use them on purpose and leave them be. Like for the early days Espada that survived (laugh).

Q: That's nice.

A: Maybe they were pushed aside. Maybe they disappeared/died by themselves. That kind of story.

Q: So it's like you're not limiting the names of the characters to Spanish.

A: That, I'm getting everything from designers. Designer or architect or an interior designer. Wonderweiss was from a designer named Maricel Wanders. From that I've reversed and made sort of an parody out of.

Q: Everyone? Like Jaggerjack?

A: That one I've put on conveniently. "Jagger" is a peculiar spelling isn't it? I've named it according to a clock named "Jaeger-LeCoultre". Originally, "Grimmjow" was from an architect named "Nicholas Grimshaw". "Grimshaw" sounded cool, so I used that. But Nicholas didn't come out nicely so (laugh). Then, I've made it into "Grimmjow" that sounds nicely and fit the spelling into it.

Q: Also Stark?

A: Stark is from "Stark" Philip Stark. There's also one for Ulquiorra. It's from a woman named "Patricia Ulquiorra".


---------------

Q: For the Real World team, "Kurosaki" and "Ishida" and the likes are familiar surnames.

A: Yes. For the Real World members, I thought to make them a common name. But as much as possible, I thought (of their names) while thinking I wanted them to make an impact. Mostly it was based on sound and the design but I thought it would be nice if the somewhere in the sound would get people hooked. Like Ichigo whose name is weird for a guy. And the "hime" in Orihime would have us asking "What/Hmm?". In Sado, the "tora" in Yasutora. Lastly, as much as possible, I wanted as many strokes in the Kanji as possible (laugh). It's a matter of design when I put the kanji together.



Q: I'll return to the story, when Ryuuken saw Isshin's Shinigami attire and said "So it came back", I was thinking that it meant they knew each other from the past. So if Isshin is a shinigami, it means that he once was in Soul Society, right?

A: That's right.

Q: In reality, Quincy and Shinigami hate each other but, they are surprisingly friends. Will that be clear in the future?

A: That part, it's still a secret (laugh).

Q: I'm looking forward to that. Is the Past Chapter over with that? (TBTP)

A: I want to draw about the stories that happened around the Past Chapters (TBTP). Because I've finally introduced the Lieutenants and stuff.

Q: Like how Oomaeda's father wasn't able to make it to Captain class? (laugh)

A: I think so (laugh), if I get the opportunity, I want to draw about it.

Q: Can Sasakibe ever become a captain?

A: As long as Genryuusai lives, I don't think he can be one (laugh).

Many thanks to Orphee on Serebii for the info.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

"A new character older than Ichigo" makes me think one of the Royal Guard will be sent to deal with Gin/Aizen. Hmmm...interesting...

[Mett]

We get to see all the Royal Guard? Nice!

[RockmanDash]

I'm curious why these interviewers won't bother asking about Grimmjow, but then again I guess they find it obvious that he's alive. Yet with the person starting with a "S" being dead, I'm guessing it's Starrk with Lilynette living, yet that's pretty cruel to force her to find out Starrk died. :sad:

Also did anybody else laugh at how Kubo admits he follows what the fan girls want? Hisagi only finished Tosen out of popular vote. xD Which means Komamura probably would of won the fight if Hisagi was way less of a interest.

[ShadowGUN]

This week chapter: Is this end of Gin?

- Rangiku awakes. She head toward Gin.
- Aizen has a flashback. In it it is revealed that he made a Hougyoku before Urahara but it was a failure.
- To fix his Hougyoku, he took the spirits from hundreds of Soul Reapers and those living in Rukongai with shinigami aptitude and presented it to the hougyoku but it wasn't satisfied.
- He thought Urahara's Hougyoku was also incomplete and stole it and present it to his own Hougyoku. Flashback ends.
- Gin is still holding the Hougyoku. Aizen tries to grab it and then stabs Gin. he tosses his body toward Tasuki and the others. Rangiku arrives.
- Flashback to Ragiku and Gin childhood. Gin say he will be a Soul Reaper. Rangiku cries. There blood on Gin face. Flashback ends.
- Rangiku calls out to Gin. He apologize for not returning that which was taken from her. Gin dies.
- While Rangiku cries over Gin, Aizen sneaks behind her and it about to kill her.
- He stops when he heards loud foot steps. He turns around and see them. It Ichigo, with long hair , and Isshin. Chapter ends

Also for those who weren't happy that Harribel didn't get a flashback in the manga this week anime episode gave her one.

[RockmanDash]

Ichigo is back with longer hair, if you haven't watched Dragonball before well...that means he's stronger. :p

I'm guessing Ichigo's fight with Zangetsu/Hollow Ichigo will be in a flashback, which is fine. Now lets get this arc's final battle started yes? I'm actually pretty excited to see how this ends.

[GWOtaku]

Good lord. Gin possibly has the worst wasted potential of any character in the comic. He's still an enigma and his behavior is still overwhelmingly stupid. Seriously: if he was always intending to betray Aizen, it never occurred to him to do so before he stole the Hougykou? To not betray him until after all other defenses against him were exhausted? And at the very least, how am I supposed to accept him as a secret good guy given the mental games he played with Rukia all the way back in Soul Society? What part of that fit into his secret incompetent plans to do whatever he wanted to do on Rangiku's behalf? Of course, this is the same comic that waves away all the things Mayuri Kurotsuchi did.

Now that it's all over I say that this betrayal was badly developed, badly executed, and incompetently done. It's just awful. Gin is a terrible character and Kubo managed to make him that way.

[RockmanDash]

The betrayal was badly developed, badly executed, and incompetently done. It's just awful.

Yeah I gotta agree, but it's mostly called "Tite Kubo thinking he'd have something better for him later but ended up waiting until the last minute which ruined it"

Honestly the whole thing with Gin probably should of been resolved back in the Soul Society arc if you asked me. :sweat:

[Mr. Obsession]

Apparently Tensa Zangetu's chain is now as long as shikai Zangetu's cloth thingy, and is wrapped around Ichigo's arm. I wonder if this means Ichigo's mastering the "Final Getsuga Tensho" more or less completed the supposed "ten years of extra training to master bankai once obtained" and now Ichigo can use Zangtsu (in all forms) to his fullest.

What I really want to know is, if the above is true, does that mean Ichigo can once again start using Tensa Zangetu's full speed boosting abilities without damaging himself in the process again? Because Ichigo once again being the fastest character in the series would be pretty awesome.

[FireStarterLE]

If someone asked Kubo if he had a chance to go back and change Bleach what would he do different, I hope the first thing he would say is that he'd plan out the characters and story more.

He might come up with something better than: fighting fighting fighting fighting character development fighting fighting fightingx10 character development

[Mr. Obsession]

Chapter is out. And the color spread is niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.


So based on this chapter here's what I pieced together. Aizen made his own proto-hogyoku, but it was incomplete. The flash back with Aizen in his captain's garb takes place after TBtP but before the start of the series, when Aizen was secretly going through Urahara's research. Then at some point after extracting Urahara's hogyoku from Rukia, Aizen secretly merged the two hogyoku together into a complete super wish granting hogyoku. Thus the reason Urahara's plan at Fake Karakua failed was because he didn't know about Aizen's proto-hogyoku and the merger of the two.

Also, if it means Ichigo fighting Aizen now I am not heartbroken at all about missing Ichigo's inner world fight.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

The Inner World fight could easily be a flashback in a later arc.


Well, the Deicide arc is now over. Next...fighting?

[Mr. Obsession]

Well, the Deicide arc is now over.

Or is it?

Dun. Dun. DUNNN.

[RockmanDash]

That color spread showing Ichigo evolving was pretty awesome. Oh and Gin getting his arm ripped was-wait what's up with this series and ripping people's arms off anyways?:p

To be honest Gin's end wasn't that bad after seeing it, if anything he just didn't want to screw up his plan and reveal himself as a traitor.(But still...eh)

Ah..I still remember back when Aizen was saying "lawl I won't even have to touch you guys, the Espada will do it all for me!" ...And look at this now, Aizen is now by himself with Ichigo facing him. ...Geez it's been years for this awaited day huh?

Oh and Ichigo's entrance was pretty awesome. =)

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Or is it?

Dun. Dun. DUNNN.

Next week: Deicide -18. >_<

[RockmanDash]

Next week: Deicide -18. >_<

Well Deicide does mean "the killing of God". Aizen is pretty much "God" now in his vision and Ichigo is well..trying to kill him now anyways.

[Grave]

I was beginning to take a liking to Gin too.. Oh well. Gin was like Hitsugaya and Sasuke to me. One of those type of characters that you don't hate but don't like either.

I don't really have much else to say. That last page looks really good and I'm really curious about what learning this "new" Getsuga could really do for Ichigo. Hopefully he'll be using his head a lot more.

[Rud]

Heh, Kubo's guide to writing succesful manga.... "the secret is to wing it, it will all come to you and everything will work out". If he actually went at things with an actual plan instead of his "it pretty much writes itself" style of writing them Bleach and Zombie powder could have been epic manga.

He has what i call natural talent but no training in writing whatsoever, he probably slept through school.

[Will Sturnick]

Good lord. Gin possibly has the worst wasted potential of any character in the comic. He's still an enigma and his behavior is still overwhelmingly stupid. Seriously: if he was always intending to betray Aizen, it never occurred to him to do so before he stole the Hougykou? To not betray him until after all other defenses against him were exhausted? And at the very least, how am I supposed to accept him as a secret good guy given the mental games he played with Rukia all the way back in Soul Society? What part of that fit into his secret incompetent plans to do whatever he wanted to do on Rangiku's behalf? Of course, this is the same comic that waves away all the things Mayuri Kurotsuchi did.

Now that it's all over I say that this betrayal was badly developed, badly executed, and incompetently done. It's just awful. Gin is a terrible character and Kubo managed to make him that way.

Agreed. His betrayal here struck me as little more than "Well...I have to kill some time before Ichigo's triumphant return somehow..."

Maybe the anime will flesh out his betrayal better? I'm not really counting on anything else from the manga in regards to Gin.

[RockmanDash]

You know thinking about it to....why did Gin cut Hiyori in half again?:sweat: I mean if he was a "secret good guy" wouldn't he have held back? I'm going to take him as a anti hero/with a crazy Mayuri side of him which is...kind of weird.

[Grenzer]

You know thinking about it to....why did Gin cut Hiyori in half again?:sweat: I mean if he was a "secret good guy" wouldn't he have held back? I'm going to take him as a anti hero/with a crazy Mayuri side of him which is...kind of weird.

Yeah, Gin was not a good guy any way you cut it. Even the terms anti-hero and anti-villain really don't apply to him. He only cared about Rangiku, and anyone else he encountered was expendable no matter how little they derserved it. Lest we forget when he tried to kill Jidanbou for the hell of it?

At least Mayuri can follow Yamamoto's orders and has some ability to work with other shinigami; Gin was basically a psycho loner with a creepy guardian angel-complex towards the woman he loved.

[Mr. Obsession]

http://a.imageshack.us/img704/747/ichinewlook.png

I was taking a second look at Ichigo's entrance, just because I thought it looked pretty awesome and I noticed to things. First something's up with his hand. Either that's some kind of glove, or has Tensa Zangetsu merged with his hand? And second, is that a freaking hollow hole in his chest? :eek:


Good lord. Gin possibly has the worst wasted potential of any character in the comic. He's still an enigma and his behavior is still overwhelmingly stupid. Seriously: if he was always intending to betray Aizen, it never occurred to him to do so before he stole the Hougykou? To not betray him until after all other defenses against him were exhausted? And at the very least, how am I supposed to accept him as a secret good guy given the mental games he played with Rukia all the way back in Soul Society? What part of that fit into his secret incompetent plans to do whatever he wanted to do on Rangiku's behalf? Of course, this is the same comic that waves away all the things Mayuri Kurotsuchi did.

I believe Mayuri’s excuse is that Kubo admitted that he discovered he likes drawing the guy.

Anyway, I won't claim credit for this explanation, but it's probably the best I've seen so far. In order for Gin to enact his revenge he had to first gain Aizen's trust to learn Kyoka Suigetsu's true weakness, by Gin's own admission that took decades. Then Gin had to wait for the opportunity to grab Kyoka Suigetsu's blade when it wouldn't raise Aizen's suspicion. And Gin had to have an excuse to already be in bankai while doing so in order to pull it off.

If Gin tried to do this in Soul Society before Aizen's open defection, activating his bankai alone would have brought on too much unwanted attention. And if he still managed to kill Aizen there he would have had a lot of questions to answer, and very few people to believe him. He probably would have been looking at an execution at Sokyoku Hill himself for his troubles and the possibility of never returning to Matsumoto what was stolen from her.

If Gin tried his plan in Hueco Mundo, and succeeded, he's trapped in Los Noches fighting off Tosen and the Espada with possibly no way out. And even if he did make it out, how likely is it that Yamamoto is going to believe his story?

Fake Karakura arguably represented the first best chance Gin had to attempt his plan. In retrospect, except for what he did to Hiyori, and when he was directly confronted by someone (Shinji and later Ichigo) Gin actually avoided fighting and was watching Aizen. Either Gin was waiting for the right opportunity to make his move then and there, or he was watching to see if someone else could take out Aizen for him, or he was waiting for the others to wear down Aizen's defenses. And keep in mind, that no one, Gin included, knew that Aizen had implanted the hogyoku in himself until after Ichigo's attack.


You know thinking about it to....why did Gin cut Hiyori in half again?:sweat:

And that's the $10,000,000 question.

I've seen people starting to theorize that the former third seat Gin killed to catch Aizen's attention was one of Aizen's henchmen that took some of Matsumoto's "essence" (or whatever it was Aizen was taking). Fair enough, after everything that's been revealed I'll buy that. I've even seen some people comparing pictures of Aizen's recent flash back henchmen to the random shinigami Ulquiorra killed when he came to offer Orihime Aizen's sadistic choice, and I must admit they look earlier similar (I'll try to find pictures). I'd even buy that Gin showed Ulquiorra (and other Espada) a picture of the guy and said "do me a favor, if you ever see this guy, kill 'em, it will be funny." I'll even buy his mind games with Kira and Rukia as part of his cover. But why Hiyori? It makes no damn sense in light of everything else.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it. I wonder if Gin's attacking Hiyori was the start of an excuse to break out his bankai, right before Ichgio crashed the party.

[FFmax]

So, will the plot be better constructed in the anime or will it be the same garbage I'm reading in the manga?:(

[Taekmkm]

I needed a good laugh. Thank you Kubo. Thank you for making me laugh so hard and not knowing why.

[garfield15]

Are you serious here?That was your big plan for Gin? Not even the "he's actually working for someone higher" or "he has a secret ambition that we couldn't see coming?" Just a quick side switch and then kill him off? I mean really, why? What was the point of this? Why make him so mysterious and enigmatic and then kill him off like nobody's business? Oh, but he has a flashback so it's cool right? That's all the character development he needed
I swear, remember how we were complaining how Kubo rarely kills anyone off? Why is it when he starts doing it, it feels completely underwhelming and nonsensical?


You know thinking about it to....why did Gin cut Hiyori in half again?:sweat: I mean if he was a "secret good guy" wouldn't he have held back? I'm going to take him as a anti hero/with a crazy Mayuri side of him which is...kind of weird.The answer is Kubo didn't plan this out right. :sweat:

[RockmanDash]

I think the only thing Gin can say about this is

http://quizilla.teennick.com/user_images/B/BO/BOT/BotanicT.U.N/1136112020_eBleachGin.jpg

BYE! BYE!

[Baseball]

I don't think that Gin was necessarily a "good guy," it's just that he never chose a side between the Soul Society and Aizen. Rather, he was always on Matsumoto's side. He doesn't have a problem killing anyone else because he wasn't emotionally connected to them. Some would say he's a sociopath, but really he's just disinterested in everything except for vengeance--kind of similar to Tosen.

As to why he never struck Aizen prior, this is the first and best opportunity he's had to touch Kyoka Suigetsu. By seemingly killing his closest friend, Aizen's guard was let down significantly and he allowed Gin to touch his sword only with slight annoyance. I would assume that in any other instance, Aizen would have severed the hand right there. Aside from that, Gin needed a chance to activate his Bankai too.

I felt as if his death was perfect--it managed to be simultaneously brutal and understated. Deaths shouldn't have to be huge and ceremonious in every series. Even the panel in which he's impaled is perfect. There's so much space drawn around them with the action literally taking place in the background. And yet half of his left side is nearly severed from his body, alongside his right arm being cut off mid-bicep.

Bleach gets a lot of flak for having chapters with low content in them, but reading the series in a volume is a completely different experience. Kubo draws his panels like nobody else in Shonen Jump. He doesn't need for them to be cluttered with dialogue and exposition because the ambiguity is what makes the series interesting. We don't need to see how Kensei was defeated by Wonderweiss. We don't need to know Ulquiorra's past in order to understand him as a character. There's so much that Kubo knows about the characters that he intentionally doesn't convey to the readers in the chapters.

Take, for instance, the poems prefacing every volume. Generally, they're spoken from the perspective of a character in the series. Kubo will hint at things, but he'll never explicitly state them outright. Ulquiorra is a good example of this. His interactions with Orihime were always dominating and frightening, but also sexual in nature. The rationale behind that was explained through the poem in volume 40, The Lust. Harribel is a character we know nothing about, but her ideology was stated in the poem in volume 42.

Granted, there were a lot of missteps in this arc as well. Kubo was a lot more logical and generous with character actions and abilities in the Soul Society arc. Even if he revealed what an ability looked like, he chose not to show what their power was. For instance, Hitsugaya's Bankai was crushed the second he pulled it out in Soul Society. Tons of Shikai were released with wordless explanation as to how they worked, some of them never revealing their abilities (Kyoraku, Ukitake, Komamura, etc.). There was too much explanation in this arc, especially considering that there was little prior. Aside from that, the choice of certain characters not to seriously fight was another baffling one. I understand the caution they needed to approach Aizen with, especially considering the destructive nature of some Bankai. But half the cast ended up nearly killed without thinking to retaliate with full force.

I'm also disappointed with how useless Ichigo's friends ended up being in the long run. They all received the shaft even though they worked so hard to come back to Soul Society. But whatever.

[Demonic Raven]

Gin......oh jeez. It makes some sense as to why he did what he did and why he waited until now (the reasons were more or less stated already), but I can't help thinking he should have had some larger role. He really wasn't much better than Tosen at the end of the day, and that's pretty sad. At least he attempted to pull through with his plan, but it was too little, far too late (even if it's justifiably late).

Then we have...Ichigo! Glad you finally came! Yep, he's looking pretty cool, pretty powerful, and ready to kick some Aizen-fly butt. More importantly, our payoff has arrived. Our years-awaited payoff to everything since the end of the Soul Society arc is here in Ichigo vs. Aizen. Can it live up to all of that? Maybe not. Even if it doesn't, I think we're all looking forward to the end of this arc one way or another. :)

[Grave]

Bleach gets a lot of flak for having chapters with low content in them, but reading the series in a volume is a completely different experience. Kubo draws his panels like nobody else in Shonen Jump. He doesn't need for them to be cluttered with dialogue and exposition because the ambiguity is what makes the series interesting. We don't need to see how Kensei was defeated by Wonderweiss. We don't need to know Ulquiorra's past in order to understand him as a character. There's so much that Kubo knows about the characters that he intentionally doesn't convey to the readers in the chapters.
This, and while I'll admit that I am one of the flakee's (heh) at times I still appreciate Bleach a lot more than... (sorry) One Piece and Naruto. (I said sorry lol) The only reason I give Bleach flak is because I tend to try and piece everything together (especially through all the flashbacks, which a lot of them don't fit). I definately got Ulquiorra's character through that last fight, but I just find it to be a little shocking that Stark, Halibel, Barragan, Grimmjow and Nnoitra get flashbacks while Ulquiorra don't. It don't necessarily have to be for giving us more details about his character. I just wonder how he joined Aizen.


Take, for instance, the poems prefacing every volume. Generally, they're spoken from the perspective of a character in the series. Kubo will hint at things, but he'll never explicitly state them outright. Ulquiorra is a good example of this. His interactions with Orihime were always dominating and frightening, but also sexual in nature. The rationale behind that was explained through the poem in volume 40, The Lust. Harribel is a character we know nothing about, but her ideology was stated in the poem in volume 42.
I should probably start buying these mangas lol.

[Mr. Obsession]

Something occurred to me. This is it, Aizen is going to be defeated. There's a pattern to what Kubo's done so far with Ichigo's major obstacles.

Byakuya:
1st encounter - curb stomps Ichigo.
2nd encounter - Interrupted by Yoruichi.
3rd encounter - full drawn out fight, Byakuya concedes to Ichigo.

Grimmjow:
1st encounter - curb stomps Ichigo.
2nd encounter - interrupted by Rukia and again by Shinji.
3rd encounter - full drawn out fight, Ichigo tries to talk down the defeated Grimmjow who is in turn blindsided by Nnoitra.

Ulquiorra:
1st encounter - Ichigo's hollow side interferes, Ulquiorra doesn't have to do anything to Ichigo.
2nd encounter - Ulquiorra curb stomps Ichigo.
3rd encounter - Ulquiorra does it again, Ichigo loses control and goes berserk, Ulquiorra succumbs to his wounds.

Aizen:
1st encounter - curb stomps Ichigo (and Renji).
2nd encounter - interrupted by everyone else trying to take on Aizen in Fake Karakura.
3rd encounter - just starting.


Anyway, this is the end for Aizen. But what I'm wondering is, how is Kubo going to do to top this since he said he has plans for another long story arc after this one? Once this fight is over what is going to possibly be a threat to Ichigo? What can the series seriously do besides have the Royal Guard be the next enemies and then reveal that "they're all stronger than Yamamoto who was secretly too weak to join their ranks?" And how can any of Ichigo's friends be expected to catch up?

[RockmanDash]

So I was watching the dub version of episode 167 of Bleach yesterday and I found this to be funny now thinking back

Ichigo: Grimmjow..I'll defeat you! AND ULQUORRIA! AND...AIZEEENNNN!!!!!!!!!!

Looking back it looks like Ichigo is going to get that wish for all three, even though it was Hollow Ichigo who pretty much defeated Ulquorria. But what I noticed about this is that Grimmjow, Ulquorria, and Aizen have been Ichigo's "main" fights so to speak throughout this arc. So if anything Ichigo secretly told us who is his next big fight(as in going all out full power) with was going to be, not surprising or anything. I just found this a bit funny is all when looking back at that.

[mumbo]

Anyway, this is the end for Aizen. But what I'm wondering is, how is Kubo going to do to top this since he said he has plans for another long story arc after this one? Once this fight is over what is going to possibly be a threat to Ichigo? What can the series seriously do besides have the Royal Guard be the next enemies and then reveal that "they're all stronger than Yamamoto who was secretly too weak to join their ranks?" And how can any of Ichigo's friends be expected to catch up?
If Aizen goes down here - not really convinced honestly - I guess that the final threat for Ichigo would be the King of the Soul Society?

It's fairly obvious at this point that the final long story arc will involve the Royal Guard, and I'm guessing it will take place in the Royal Realm. So the Royal Guard could take the role that the Espada had and the King could take the role Aizen had.

Of course, there could always be the plot twist that Aizen is actually a good guy, since his plan was to make himself strong enough to kill the King of the Soul Society, who is actually evil. With Ichigo taking out Aizen, the King moves forward in whatever evil plans he had. And quite frankly I wouldn't put this lame twist past Kubo.

I think it's more likely though that Aizen survives, creates the Oken, and we follow him into the Royal Realm. But anyway the Royal Realm has got to be where we're going for the last big story arc.

But I've long given upon Ichigo's friends ever catching up, I think that ship sailed a long time ago :sweat:

[Jacob T. Paschal]

I reread volume #1 yesterday for the first time in years. My God, it was a completely different comic back then. Art, storytelling...everything.

Then I got the idea that Inoue Sora might return as a member of the Royal Guard.

Somehow it doesn't feel impossible...

I also have to concur with mumbo, Aizen turning out to be 'good' wouldn't surprise me either. Maybe being as all-powerful as he becomes he finds the struggles of those weaker than he interesting and something to charish?

Although to be honest, I am increasingly sensing that the arc will end with Ichigo defeating Aizen but the Royal Guard descending down and executing him there on the spot, just as we see the character reach some sort of epiphany.

[RockmanDash]

I agree with you both of you, Aizen being a good guy wouldn't be all that surprising. Actually I'm having a vibe he's the brother of Ichigo's mom due to their faces being brother/sister similar in a odd way of speaking and they share the same eye color to boot. And the fact that Aizen was aware of Ichigo's existence from his very birth can explain the relations as well.

Yet Aizen is probably going to end up getting a pretty decently long flashback to explain why he's aiming so much on the line to be a "God". If anything else he might be the son of the Soul King(and Masaki Kurosaki could of been the daughter as well). Ishinn's past might just cover most of this, yet Aizen wasn't aware of who Ichigo's dad was so...eh.

But if my speculation is true, that means Ichigo has a Uncle Aizen. :p

[Lelouch]

Honestly I'm of the opinion that Soul Society is very much in the wrong. I mean...their way of handling things is pretty awful, so I think Aizen is trying to correct those faults by eliminating the source. So in that sense I believe he will be good.

[Grave]

I wouldn't say Aizen is good, but I definately think Soul Society is wrong, especially with people like Mayuri, Yamammoto, Byakuya and Kenpachi. As much of a fan I am of the latter 2, I just don't want them looking after me.

Like Jacob, I also started reading from the beginning. Well, not the very beginning (I don't feel like putting up with Kanoji, Orihime, and Sado's first appearance). I started with the Soul Society arc.

Man, Renji used to be such a great character. It's a shame that he's been put in such crappy situations because I used to really like him. He was my favorite amongst the vice captains. I can't even stand him anymore. It's like he lost that badboy persona and became more of a comedy person. Other VC's and lower seats are making him look bad even though he has bankai.

Reading some of these fights still have that epic feel to it when I first read them. (I feel the anime really did these fights so wrong...) I was reading to see if I can piece these events together and see if I can match it up with what Aizen was saying, but as I've stated I just don't wanna read events in the Karakura arc.. (laziness and some I just can't stand)

[GWOtaku]

This week, we move on from bad writing to much happier things....

無事進化に成功苺
Ichigo has successfully evolved without harm.
親父に礼をいう苺
He thanks his father.
親父倒れてる
Isshin collapses.
タツキ、ケイゴ
Tatsuki and Keigo:
あれ…苺だよな？　なんで髪伸びてるんだ？　髪のせいか背伸びてる気が…？
"Is that...Ichigo? How come his hair is all long? Is it because of his hair that he's overreaching himself (seems taller?)?
苺周りを見渡す。カリンゆずの無事を確認。
Ichigo looks around and makes sure Karin and Yuzu are safe.
苺　タツキ　ケイゴ　水色　本省　観音寺…
アフさん見て　イモ山さん
[I don't know what Ohana is trying to say here. This is basically just a list of everyone's names and not a complete sentence.]
アフさん突っ込む
Afro-san interrupts.
苺　みんなそこにいてくれ　そのままじっとしててくれ
Ichigo: Everyone, go over there and stay there.
ケイゴ　どういう意味だよ　苺
Keigo: What do you mean, Ichigo?
タツキ　（何も感じない　おかしいよ　あいつから（アイゼン）は押しつぶされる力をかんじるのに
苺からは　　　何も感じないなんて）
Tatsuki: (I can't feel anything. It's strange. I can feel that guy's (Aizen's) crushing power,
but from Ichigo I can't feel anything.)
愛染　黒崎苺　本当に君は黒崎苺か？
Aizen: Kurosaki Ichigo, is that really you?
その様子を、息絶え絶え見てる銀
A dying Gin looks at Ichigo.
苺　どういう意味だ？
Ichigo: What do you mean?
愛染　本当に黒崎苺なら　落胆した　今の君からは霊圧が全く感じない
君は進化に失敗した
Aizen: If you are really Kurosaki Ichigo, I'm disappointed. I can't feel your reiatsu at all.
Your evolution failed.
銀　（ああ　強い眼になった　良かった　今のキミになら　任せて　いける）
Gin: (Yeah, you've developed a strong eye. I'm glad. If that's what you've become I can leave things to you.)
愛染の話を遮る苺　ここでは戦いたくない～～～
Ichigo interrupts Aizen. "I don't want to battle here...)
愛染　無駄だ～～
Aizen: "It's pointless."
苺　愛染の顔に手を置き　いきなりタックル　倒れる愛染
Ichigo puts his hand on Aizen's face and suddenly tackles him. Aizen goes down.
カナリの勢いで吹っ飛ぶ愛染。
Aizen is blown away with considerable force.
苺　一瞬で終わらせてやる
Ichigo: I'll have it finished in an instant.
終わり。サーセイ。
The end.

[anime_guru]

paging Dr. Neo Ultra Mike
we need parody spoilers stat!

Come on this is yelling nay begging for a parody or two
I mean its just setting up the pins to a final match but has anyone noticed just how many times Ichigo says
This will be over quickly
and for that matter, how in the world did Aizen know Ichigo was supposed to even train if it was relayed after Aizen and Gin left?
Oh kubo...you do make me lol

[garfield15]

Heh heh..tackles Aizen.


I reread volume #1 yesterday for the first time in years. My God, it was a completely different comic back then. Art, storytelling...everything.
It's very hard to read the beginning volumes and not think "Man, I used to be so into this..."

[Mr. Obsession]

So I hear tell that the chapter title is Deicide 19. I could be wrong but I do believe Jacob now owes me an Internet Dollar. :p

I told you so. :)

So Ichigo's sporting Tensa Zangetu's hairstyle now. He's finally learned to mask or control his reatsu (it's about damn time), and he's better at detecting others too.

Tatsuki saying she can sense Aizen's power when so many other characters couldn't once he had transformed makes it pretty blatant that she's going to develop some kind of power(s) soon and fight in the next arc.

I’m not sure how I feel about Gin still being alive.

Ichigo faceplanting Aizen is awesome. So awesome.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Those spoilers sound great. There's nothing to really parody about them because Ichigo probably will end it pretty quickly.

Wait, this is Deicide 19? >_<

Well, I guess volume #47 can be #405-415 and #416+ can start #48.

[RockmanDash]

I sense Aizen's bankai being used any chapter now, about time.

[Grave]

Oh Ichigo. Last time you said that you'll end it quickly, you didn't deliver. And while faceplanting Aizen was awesome I certainly hope you live up to that line this time around.

[mumbo]

Unfortunately "quick" does not exist in Bleach. The only thing quick is reading a single chapter.

And some would argue the Espada going down :P

Gin's line in the chapter is him thinking that Ichigo is finally strong, and he can now die leaving things in Ichigo's hands.

So Gin is alive, but only for a few more seconds basically.

[Mr. Obsession]

Wait, this is Deicide 19? >_<

"Deicide 19: The End 2," I believe. It's "The Lust" all over again! :sweat:

[Jacob T. Paschal]

I suppose we'll need to define quick. :p I don't foresee the fight lasting past volume #50, at the latest. It'll fill up the rest of #48 and maybe #49. It depends, considering we still have half of the cast back at Las Noches who haven't had their asses handed to them by Aizen yet.


"Deicide 19: The End 2," I believe. It's "The Lust" all over again! :sweat:

There is a certain line from Norio Wakamoto's Cell in Dragon Ball Z episode #187 I'd like to leave behind.

"CHIKUSHOU~!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A-hem.

[Grave]

Honestly, even though not much happened in this chapter I have to say that this chapter was pretty good. Ichigo just had that dominating pressence (sort of like the pressence that Byakuya, Itachi and Hiei gives off) where he's like, "you don't want any" (he just don't have to say it). He have a calm demeanor. Had a hint of humor still left in him. Heck, it eve seem like some of his arrogance has returned. (That time where Renji first came into play and Ichigo took a swing at him in the middle of a sentence)

And then there's the face grab. People have been saying that Aizen's face was priceless during his slaughter against Soul Society. I didn't see anything special about his face during those times. When he got his face grab, THAT was priceless.

I used to be a fan of Ichigo especially in the earlier chapters. He slipped off quite a bit during the Hueco Mundo arc. I was even at the point of not liking Ichigo at all during those times, but now I'm a fan again. His pressence just amazed me. If he's like that throughout the rest the of the manga he would definately be favorite protagonist in shonen (or 2nd to Yoshina Ageha) that are still running, or at the very least, give me hope in male protagonists again.

But like I said, nothing happened but I enjoyed it.

[Chronos]

Ichigo's return was bad-ass, learning how to sense reiatsu and how to mask it completely something that was thought to be impossible is cool.

I'm impressed with Ishiin from the looks of Ichigo and the amount of facial hair he's accumulated he was streaming out his reiatsu for maybe 6 or 7 months maybe longer anyway you look at it thats hardcore.

Aizen getting caught in mid sentence with a palm thrust to his face was funny as hell, especially when he was acting so superior saying "Do Not Fear You Cannot Possibly Do Any Damage To... BANG !! SHUT YOUR MOUTH!! :D

Also I noticed something wierd when Ichigo first showed I'm pretty sure it's on the 3rd page but he's missing his left hand and then on the last page his left hand looks dehydrated or skeletal what's up with that?

I'm hyped for the next chapter.

[Captain Highwind]

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s97/Mr_Highwind/bleach/motivatorb53ccdf91308ffbfbd2c5aa5cee2616b2b969b18.jpg

Finally. I thought we were going to spend the whole chapter trying to remember Afro-san's name.

[Mr. Obsession]

Badass Ichigo is badass.

I'm really liking his new look. Honestly he looks at least a year older (but that's puberty for you) while his hair looks like he and Isshin spent about three months worth of time training. And I'm liking Tensa Zangetsu's new guard. It's bigger, but also thinner and more detailed. Unless I'm wrong what appeared to be a gauntlet last chapter looks more like Tensa Zangetsu's chain is wrapped around Ichigo's hand and wrist. That or the hilt has bonded to Ichigo's hand.

http://a.imageshack.us/img835/5103/tensazangetsuupdate.jpg

Also, I guess we can't all be right all the time. Pity, I was looking forward to "Deicide: The End" 1 - ? :p

[Riza Hawkeye]

I'm impressed with Ishiin from the looks of Ichigo and the amount of facial hair he's accumulated he was streaming out his reiatsu for maybe 6 or 7 months maybe longer anyway you look at it thats hardcore.

I didn't even pay attention to that the first time I read through the chapter, but wow he certainly has a lot of facial hair now. So, we'd most likely be talking about the training taking at least a couple months.

Ichigo definitely looks badass, he manhandled Aizen with strength alone, no spiritual pressure. As was mentioned earlier, he really had a different air about him. This was really a different Ichigo than we've seen before, which is definitely a welcome change imo.

[Chronos]

OK, since everyone has been of the opinion that after this arc the enemy will be the Royal Gaurd/Royal Family I've been thinking of why that would be, there are only two main possibilities as I see it.

1) As was mentioned in an earlier post Aizen is the disguised anti-hero and the RG/RF are up to something and he needed power to stop them ( I doubt it and am agaisnt this outcome )

2) They will see the fight between Ichigo and Aizen witness Ichigo's power and see it as a threat hence they try to take him out.

I hope for a combination of the two excluding the Aizen bit, RG/RF up to something and then seeing Ichigo as an obstacle for some reason attacking him then Ichigo and co. plus the Vizards come out swinging.

If that happens I wonder if they'll have to fight the captains and their squads again I would hate to see the trust and friendships formed by them to go to waste.

On a different note Ichigo finishing his fight with Aizen in an instant ain't gonna happen if only for the reason that I think he has something up his sleave regarding Orihime's powers that nobody knows about. I think that might be the only thing that keeps him from getting smoked by Ichigo's new power which will be kind of cheap but I've seen worse.:crying:

[Scirel]

What if Orihime is somehow related to the royal family? There is the whole name thing, and Kubo constantly hinted during hueco mundo that something had been done to orihime.

[RockmanDash]

What if Orihime is somehow related to the royal family? There is the whole name thing, and Kubo constantly hinted during hueco mundo that something had been done to orihime.

Hard to say, but I don't think she is. Only due to the fact that it was revealed her parents were complete jerks and didn't give a crap about their children and her brother had to go and take care of her. And her powers were somehow given from being near Ichigo so I would think Ichigo has a royal relation more than Orihime.

[Chronos]

I would think Ichigo has a royal relation more than Orihime.


Considering only exceptional caliber captains are somewhat drafted into the RG I highly doubt the RF would allow a family member be a part of the court gaurd squads let alone live in the world of the living so I doubt Ichigo has any relation but who knows Kubo might make it happen.

[Grave]

Considering only exceptional caliber captains are somewhat drafted into the RG I highly doubt the RF would allow a family member be a part of the court gaurd squads let alone live in the world of the living so I doubt Ichigo has any relation but who knows Kubo might make it happen.

But we have no idea where Isshin fits in at so I wouldn't really toss that idea out just yet.

[RockmanDash]

Considering only exceptional caliber captains are somewhat drafted into the RG I highly doubt the RF would allow a family member be a part of the court gaurd squads let alone live in the world of the living so I doubt Ichigo has any relation but who knows Kubo might make it happen.

Considering the fact we have no idea what Aizen's major past background is and how he has been "planning things" for Ichigo from the start, I would not throw that idea out the window at all yet. Aizen was aware of Ichigo's mother and yet not of Ishinn to begin with. For all we know Aizen was the son of the Soul King or something, and I'm still continuing to speculate that Ichigo's mom could of very well of been Aizen's sister(>_> Just compared their faces and they look oddly similar in brother-sister relation, heck they share the same eyes). So Ichigo being connected to the RG shouldn't be off the idea chart yet with so many unanswered questions, it's kind of hard to say what's right at this point.

Once this battle is finally over we can hopefully hope for the answers we want about those big details.

[Grave]

Verification: Confirmed
Source: http://ichixhime.actifforum.com/mang...mary-t4295.htm
Credits: Sheetz

148 ：ohana ◆IR7jauNn4E ：2010/09/01(水) 18:06:47 ID:5BfgRsH+P
bleach418　DEICIDE20

喋りまくる藍ちゃん
Aizen talks a lot.
余裕の苺
Ichigo is composed.
無言の戦い
They fight without speaking.
※遠くの岩山が崩れる
A rocky mountain in the distance crumbles.

喋りまくる藍ちゃん
Aizen talks a lot.
無言の苺
Ichigo doesn't speak.
解説、演説藍ちゃん
Aizen gives a commentary/speech.
刀ふりまくる藍ちゃん
Aizen swings his sword around.
無言でかわす苺
Ichigo avoids it wordlessly.

苺左手で藍ちゃんの刀掴む
Ichigo grabs Aizen's sword with his hand.
ビックリ藍ちゃん
Aizen is surprised.
苺急によくしゃべる　何を驚いてるんだ？怖いか？理解出来ないことが起こるのが怖いか？～～～
Ichigo suddenly speaks. "What are you surprised at? Are you afraid of something happening that you can't understand?"

藍ちゃん焦って鬼道詠唱の長い長いセリフ
Aizen loses patience and says a long kido chant.
破道の九十　黒棺
Hado 90 Black Coffin.
ホロオも死神も超越した私の放つ完全詠唱の黒棺だ！キミごときでは理解出来まい！
"It's a Black Coffin using a complete chant by me, who has surpassed hollows and shinigami! Somebody like you can't comprehend it!"
棺桶の闇が苺に。。。
The dark coffin surrounds Ichigo.
苺刀を一振りすると、黒棺崩れる
Ichigo gives one swing of his sword and the black coffin crumbles.
苺　気づいてないみてえだな　今のあんたの力より俺のほうが上だ　※あの岩山を消し飛ばしたのはあんたの刀じゃねえ
Ichigo: "It seems you haven't noticed. My power is greater than yours currently is. It wasn't your sword that blew away that rocky mountain.
俺の刀だ
It was mine.
苺、藍染斬る
Ichigo cuts down Aizen.
終わり。サーセイ★
The end.

苺右手、鎖で刀固定してる。
Ichigo's right hand is fixed to his sword by a chain.

Go ahead, Aizen. Show me your bankai.

[garfield15]

^^I know, right!? :D

[ShadowGUN]

Ichigo to Aizen: "Who's broken now?" :D.
Sounds like cool chapter.

[GWOtaku]

Heh. "Number One", anybody?

Gosh, I wonder what will happen next week?!

[FireStarterLE]

so now it's Decide 20?


"Ichigo cuts down Aizen"
well at long last it's finally over, we can finally move on to a different arc .... or so we'd all like to say

[Neo Ultra Mike]

So in other words


Aizen: Blah blah blah, I'm still egotistical blah.
Ichigo: ....
FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!
Rocky Mountain: *Crumbles*
Ocean Shore: Man that's such a sliche, and I'm ocean shore who does nothing but crash into the sand dramatically.
Aizen: Blah blah blah I'm still so cool. Oh I'm suppose to give commentary? Well in this shot Kubo realized he could of easily fit 5 pages worth of action into one but realized "nah no one reads Bleach anymore for a tightly constructed story right?" and-
Ichigo: (Grabs Aizen's sword) remember when Nnortoria did this to me and was all like "ow that dosen't hurt" and I was all gasping? Well now I'm him and your me. Are you afraid, at how ridicolously fast my progress has been?
Aizen: Bah I'm going to counter your incredibley speed strength with a ridicolously long energy attack. Black Coffin.
Ichigo: Isn't this the same thing you used on Komamuara?
Aizen: right but now it's a complete chant by me as I have now surpassed hollows and shinigami. Somebody like you can't comprehend it.
Ichigo: The only thing I can't comprehend is anyone who actually says lines that ridicously constructed anymore. Oh and check this out. (swings his sword and black coffin crumbles).
Aizen: No my black coffin! I needed to store all the black characters I killed in it that the anime does a much better job of writing for.
Ichigo: It seems you haven't noticed. My power is greater then yours currently is.
Aizen: How would I notice if it you were hiding it?
Ichigo: Well before, but whose sword blew away that rocky Mountain?
Rocky Mountain: Draggggggggggggggooooooooo.... I wish he was here to break you. Now there's a villian who knew how to stay intinmating,
Aizen: Hey I'm still here you know. (Ichigo cuts him down).
Ichigo: That's right I won the fight, and my hand now has a chain that's fixed to my sword. That makes me super cool. There's nothing that can stop me now.
Fans: Oh Bull! We still know this fight is 20+ chapters long.
Ichigo: Well maybe, and by maybe defintley.

[mumbo]

So we've got Ichigo vs. Aizen, a battle that we've been building toward for years, the biggest fight of the series, and here I find myself hoping it will be over quick. That's not good.

So basically next week Aizen will turn things around with a broken-ass Bankai, then about ten-fifteen chapters from now Ichigo will have turned it back around and killed Aizen.

Then(!) we'll probably get a long dying flashback for Aizen, and things will be set up for the final story arc. And hopefully I won't be grey by then.

[Grave]

Then(!) we'll probably get a long dying flashback for Aizen, and things will be set up for the final story arc. And hopefully I won't be grey by then.

On the bright side, answers will be coming that's for sure.

http://img196.imagevenue.com/loc351/th_43953_IMG_1424_122_351lo.JPG

http://img141.imagevenue.com/loc616/th_43995_IMG_1425_122_616lo.JPG

Credited to spacecat for images

[Chronos]

Heh. "Number One", anybody?

No thank you. Give me "Escalon" "La distancia para un duelo" or "Clavar La Espada" hell if Ichigo ends up toying with him throw in "KO" "Magot's Dance" or "Cops n Robbers".

So Ichigo turns into the strong and silent type I hope it's just for this battle I'd hate to lose his ridiculous outbursts that seem to come out nowhere.

[Grave]

Spoilers weren't kidding when they said Aizen talking a lot.

I think I'm enjoying this chapter more than I really should. On the surface it's the same typical stuff that we've been seeing, but seeing Ichigo do the exact same thing Aizen does to others makes this really enjoyable.

I think my only concern is that in the end Aizen is going to turn into one of them villains that whines after getting thrashed and make me lose all my respect I had for him.

And I have to give another nod to Kubo's artwork. (yet again lol) This stuff has really been astonishing to look at.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

It's too bad AntFish doesn't parody Bleach, this would be a hilarious rant. :p

But I digress, this wasn't too bad a chapter. In a world without One Piece, it was pretty fun. I can just imagine the voice actors' delivering the dialogue. Tarble making a fool out of Freeza's Zarbon-san shall be delicious.

The animation for this fight is going to be wild.

[Grave]

The animation for this fight is going to be wild.

I don't want to get my hopes up at the moment, but I'm hoping that the animation for this fight is either on par or better than the quality that was shown in the Byakuya and Kouga fight. Truthfully, I'd be satisfied if it has the same quality that was shown in the Ichigo and Ulquiorra fight.

[RockmanDash]

Anybody else kind of surprised to see Aizen showing scared emotion? Never thought I'd see the day..and his black coffin just got destroyed. Next week: Aizen Bankai please?

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Thinking about Ichigo's new power...I wonder if 'the Final Getsuga' (Saigo no Getsuga?) is the complete mastery of Bankai. Will his Bankai now appear as his normal form? It would be similar to Son Gokû and Gohan mastering their Super Saiyan forms and making them as comfortable as their natural state, I would think.


Anybody else kind of surprised to see Aizen showing scared emotion? Never thought I'd see the day..and his black coffin just got destroyed. Next week: Aizen Bankai please?

Well, Aizen meeting his match was bound to happen. An arrogant man's greatest folly appears when he is outdone.

But yeah, we'll likely see a Bankai soon.

[Rud]

Wow, Aizen is certainly a master at trash talking (all that crap from the beginning), too bad he cant back it up this time. Still though, i hate when good guys curb stomp like this, it is just too easy and i cannot enjoy it (IMO).

[Riza Hawkeye]

This chapter was enjoyable. Aizen boasting about his power and how he surpassed Shinigami and Hollow, only to have a non-masked Ichigo be completely unaffected by any thing he did and pretty much show him that he's stronger than him.

It was actually very refreshing to see Aizen surprised and even scared of Ichigo, rather than his usually 'just as planned' attitude. I'm sure Ichigo's dominance will not last, but I really want to see Aizen take a beat down for the first time.

I can see Aizen finally releasing his bankai, only to have Ichigo put on his mask and still kick his butt. At least that's how I hope it happens.

[Mr. Obsession]

Why so badass Ichigo?

I wonder if Aizen is right, is Tensa Zangetsu taking all of Ichigo's reiatsu and completely compressing it to augment his physical abilities. If so it would be a natural progression from the initial bankai ability of compressing his reiatsu to boost his speed. Or is he wrong and Ichigo has reached a level that's beyond Aizen's comprehension?

Also, towards the beginning was Aizen teleporting behind Ichigo or was he trying to pull off an illusion and Ichigo saw through it?


Anybody else kind of surprised to see Aizen showing scared emotion? Never thought I'd see the day..and his black coffin just got destroyed.

And Ichigo destroyed it not with his sword but with his free hand too. :D

Not surprised, but seriously enjoying it. It's so much fun to watch Aizen's facial expressions finally go from "I'm better to you" to "I'm actually in trouble here." Kubo's bringing his A Game art skills out. And I love it.

Come on Aizen, bring out your bankai.

[RockmanDash]

Also, towards the beginning was Aizen teleporting behind Ichigo or was he trying to pull off an illusion and Ichigo saw through it?

I'm pretty sure it was Aizen trying to pull an illusion but Ichigo being able to cancel it(since he grabbed Aizen's sword).

[Mr. Obsession]

But Ichigo didn't grab Aizen's blade until several pages later.

I did like the throw back on that page to when Ichigo tried to fight Aizen back in Soul Society. It would have been even better if Ichigo had stopped it with one finger. :D

[Grave]

Why so badass Ichigo?

He's making up for old times.

[Riza Hawkeye]

I'm pretty sure it was Aizen trying to pull an illusion but Ichigo being able to cancel it(since he grabbed Aizen's sword).

Ichigo didn't touch Aizen's sword until page 12 and the event Mr. Obsession is referring to happened in page 6.

I think it was Aizen teleporting behind Ichigo, because as soon as Aizen made his move, Ichigo saw it.

EDIT: Darn internet not allowing me to reply fast enough...

[Captain Highwind]

Aizen Taunts!

Aizen uses Gravija!

Ichigo says stoppit.

Aizen gets a sword slap in the face.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

...I...I don't want this to end. I wish we could break tradition and have one fight where Ichigo just waylays the end boss repeatedly. It's actually fun and satisfying.

[RockmanDash]

Ichigo didn't touch Aizen's sword until page 12 and the event Mr. Obsession is referring to happened in page 6.

I think it was Aizen teleporting behind Ichigo, because as soon as Aizen made his move, Ichigo saw it.

EDIT: Darn internet not allowing me to reply fast enough...

Whoops I went six pages ahead, well that's what I get for liking Aizen getting his butt kicked anyways. :p

[anime_guru]

Anybody else kind of surprised to see Aizen showing scared emotion? Never thought I'd see the day..and his black coffin just got destroyed. Next week: Aizen Bankai please?

for once no. Aizen from jumped was shocked with ichigo because he couldn't be sensed and tried to rationalize ichigo's unknown change in every single panel. He was shown being afraid and desperate in the entire chapter this week. Although, Aizen's sort of explanations remained true to his character.

All in all that is a curb stomping good lord ichigo totally pwned Aizen in round one

[Paul_Cousins]

for once no. Aizen from jumped was shocked with ichigo because he couldn't be sensed and tried to rationalize ichigo's unknown change in every single panel. He was shown being afraid and desperate in the entire chapter this week. Although, Aizen's sort of explanations remained true to his character.

All in all that is a curb stomping good lord ichigo totally pwned Aizen in round oneI wonder if Aizen now regrets murdering those under his control. Backup would have been nice right about now.

[anime_guru]

I wonder if Aizen now regrets murdering those under his control. Backup would have been nice right about now.

it actually would harken to when ichigo returned to soul society after learning bankai and just steam rolling through all of the 3rd seats and vice captains...which isn't a bad thing XD I would invite it but hey for once a chapter that was mildly not suck from my mouth of all things.

What would really suck is that aizen can't do bankai because he has surpassed his shinigami and hollow half and has a new and different method

[Scirel]

We never got to see Gin's ressureccion or if he had one. Mayeb he'll use it as a last ditch effort to block an attack?

I hope we see his bankai soon, but, as I said earlier, He'll say "bankai" probably at the end of the next chapter.

[ShadowGUN]

I love the look on Aizen face when Ichigo broke his Hado. It was priceless :D.

[Beat]

I'm going to laugh if Aizen's bankai is something lame, although it would explain why he used his shikai for so long.

[RockmanDash]

I'm going to laugh if Aizen's bankai is something lame, although it would explain why he used his shikai for so long.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have a bankai and focused so much time on just trying to get king's key and simply liked his shikai too much for his own good. ...Man thinking about it now I kind of want to see Aizen's Zanpakuto spirit. :sweat:

[Captain Highwind]

...Man thinking about it now I kind of want to see Aizen's Zanpakuto spirit. :sweat:

It's probably that joke art that Kubo drew a while back of Aizen in a thong.

[RockmanDash]

It's probably that joke art that Kubo drew a while back of Aizen in a thong.


.....There was such a joke art? ..Ow I think my mind just got scarred.

[Grave]

Verification: Confirmed
Source: 2ch / TAM / BA / BA
Credits: ◆KENseIuXK2 & sheetz at FLOL for translation

69るま ◆KENseIuXK2 ：2010/09/08(水) 16:38:00 ID:wUUInxTtQ
Diecide21 transcendent god rock


Diecide21 transcendent god rock

うろたえる愛染　今度は一護がなんで自分から距離を取った？と聞き返す。
Aizen gets flustered. This time Ichigo asks why he's putting distance between them.
思い上がるなよ人間が！と激昂する愛染
"'Don't think so highly of yourself, human!" rages, Aizen.
第三の目みたいなのが割れ進化する愛染。
The 3rd eye-like thing on Aizen evolves.
顔は愛染の面影はなく、刀は右手と融合、孔は縦に三つ開いている。一番上の孔の中心に萌玉
The face isn't like Aizen's. His sword is fused with his right hand. Three holes open vertically, the top one has the hougyoku in the center.
羽だった部分がすこし分厚くなりそれぞれの羽上部先端には虚の面のようなものが。
The wings portion thickens slightly, and the top edges of the wings have these things that look like hollow masks.
そうか、やはり私が人間に遅れを取るのが許せないかと萌玉に問う愛染。
"So, you won't permit me to lose to a human?" Aizen asks the hougyoku.
虚の面の口からセロのようなものを放つ。物凄い大爆発を起こす。
The mouths on the hollow masks fire what appear to be ceros. They cause a massive explosion.
その爆炎の中から現われる一護、左手で防いでいたが、もう使い物にはなるまいと愛染。
Ichigo emerges from the explosion, protecting himself with his left hand. Aizen says Ichigo has nothing else to use.
一護に突進し、一護の首をつかむ。全ての虚の面が口を開き一護にセロ？を放つべく構える。
He charges Ichigo and grabs his neck. All the hollow masks open their mouths to prepare to fire ceros(?) at Ichigo.
一護を捕らえながら、今の君には取り込み理解する価値もない、君を殺す事で
As he holds onto Ichigo he says, "It's not worth capturing you to understand you as you are now. Kurosaki Ichigo, by killing you
死神と虚という低劣な存在から決別する終わりだ黒崎一護！と叫ぶ愛染。
the separation of inferior beings called shinigami and hollow is finished!"
終わりだと、こんなもんかよ？と愛染を睨む一護。掴む手は弾かれる。
"Who cares if it's finished?" Ichigo glares at Aizen and repels the hand grabbing hiim.
あんたの理屈はうんざりだ、見せてやるよ最後の月牙天衝だという一護で次号
Your theories are boring. I'll show you the final Getsuga Tenshou!" Until next chapter.
ついに発動！最後の月牙天衝で永き戦いに終止符が・・・！！
It's finally invoked! The final Getsuga Tenshou puts an end to the long battle...!!

http://a.imageshack.us/img4/8494/wwwdotuporg1135812.jpg

http://a.imageshack.us/img227/419/wwwdotuporg1135811.jpg

I'll reserve judgment until the chapter is out but at the moment I am quite disappointed. I don't want to see more evolving. I want to see bankai.

[ShadowGUN]

Sweet.

Finally we get to see Final Getsuga Tenshou.

[anime_guru]

Sweet.

Finally we get to see Final Getsuga Tenshou.

why does this seem so familiar
oh yeah its enemy jargon 101...so external entity that has given me this strength will not allow me to lose that way lend me its power...
in fact you know what this sounds like
bakoto from the awful filler...
yay I called it =/
see ya next week bleach.

[Mett]

"It's finally invoked! The final Getsuga Tenshou puts an end to the long battle...!!"

ooooh, next chapter Aizen dead? Please? :p

[garfield15]

Please don't tell me
Ichigo is going to OHKO Aizen in one chapter
That would suck so completely hard if he did.

[Beat]

While the irony would not go unnoticed, having..

Ichigo defeat Aizein completely in two chapters

Would really cement the complaints and Countdown comparisons the last six months have gotten.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

It would actually be three chapters. Four if you want to include Ichigo's arrival on the scene. ;)


Things seem pretty exciting as they care now. Aizen will likely lose his sentience to the Hôgyoku, though, thus forcing Ichigo to have to fight the Hôgyoku, rather than 'Aizen'.

[SigmasonicX]

There's no chance (spoilers) are going to happen next chapter. There's going to be an inevitable flashback to Ichigo's training, and then the chapter will end with the start of (spoilers) and the chapter after the next will have (spoilers).

[Mr. Obsession]

http://a.imageshack.us/img4/8494/wwwdotuporg1135812.jpg

http://a.imageshack.us/img227/419/wwwdotuporg1135811.jpg
D=

Is it too late to ask for Butterfly-Fairy Aizen back? Plz Kubo?

I guess we're never going to see Aizen's bankai.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Butterfly Aizen? Come on, this current form is one sick mother berry plucker.

*Sô-kun used Pluck!!*

*Critical Hit!!*

[Grave]

I'm inclined to agree with Mr. Obsession. I don't care this latest form either.

[RockmanDash]

Looks like Aizen either didn't actually learn bankai or were going to see it in some kind of flashback. At this point Aizen has reached "FINAL FORM MODE" of being a complete disgusting monster. Gotta love Ichigo kicking his butt easily though, fans didn't expect this one. =p

[Captain Highwind]

Okay, that FINAL final form's looking pretty awesome.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

This really is one of those fights you should read in collected format. >_<

Still, nice chapter...

[Demonic Raven]

D=

Is it too late to ask for Butterfly-Fairy Aizen back? Plz Kubo?

I guess we're never going to see Aizen's bankai.My guess is that the FGT is going to seriously f*** up his s***, resulting in him using his Bankai as a last resort. Failing that, we might not even see his Bankai, which is fine. I'd rather Kubo focus on making this a memorable finale to this titanic arc. So far so good.

Great....now we have Monster Aizen. Nevermind Butterfly Aizen, can we get Power Mullet Aizen back? What about KKK Aizen? How about regular Evil Aizen? Glasses Captain Aizen? Lieutenant Aizen? ....Baby Aizen?

[garfield15]

Great....now we have Monster Aizen. Nevermind Butterfly Aizen, can we get Power Mullet Aizen back? What about KKK Aizen? How about regular Evil Aizen? Glasses Captain Aizen? Lieutenant Aizen? ....Baby Aizen?

He has more forms than Naraku or Freeza! :p

(Don't forget Bankai Aizen or Super Monster Aizen)

[Mr. Obsession]

I'd have to go back and re-read the Ulquiorra fight, which I don't want to do right now, but that cero Aizen fired off looked about on par with the one Ichigo's second hollow form used. And Ichigo's messed Ulquiorra up bad. Aizen's destroyed part of Ichigo's coat and burned his arm, which Ichigo seemed to shrug off.


My guess is that the FGT is going to seriously f*** up his s***, resulting in him using his Bankai as a last resort. Failing that, we might not even see his Bankai, which is fine. I'd rather Kubo focus on making this a memorable finale to this titanic arc. So far so good.

I'm not even sure if Aizen even has access to any of Kyoka Suigetsu's abilities, shikai or bankai, anymore. The latest (I don't feel safe saying "last" yet) Hogyoku transformation changed the shape of Aizen's zanpakuto.

Though I do agree with you on what FGT is going to do to Aizen, especially if the tag at the end of the chapter is correct and the fight is going to end.

[Beat]

Aizen's gone from Clark Kent to Mullet Man to a guy with a bedsheet on to the Monarch to a tentacle monster.

If there's one thing Bleach doesn't fail at, it's character designs. You keep wondering what the hell they're gonna do next (and how many chapters before Ichigo inevitably fights the Skull Knight).

[Mr. Obsession]

Artistic talent is Kubo's greatest strength, I don't think he's ever truly disappointed in that category. You have to admit that even if you don't like something he designed, it was still well designed.

Sometimes I like to imagine what kind of series Kubo could create if he teamed up with a professional writer. Oh what could be.

[garfield15]

I thought Kubo's writing was actually really good in the beginning. Heck, SS arc is probably some of the best shounen goodness of that time.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

I thought Kubo's writing was actually really good in the beginning. Heck, SS arc is probably some of the best shounen goodness of that time.

Yeah, having just reread the first three volumes they were pretty fun. I've said it a lot before, but the true turn into this dreaded era was when the gang entered Las Noches. Sure, there've been a few good bits, but Kubo's pacing has just gone to hell since then.

These past few chapters have envoked the feel fans have been after for a long while now, I think.

[Captain Highwind]

So we're done with the final fantasy transformations and went right for the resident evil tropes. (http://christophe.legrand.pagesperso-orange.fr/Re2/boss_william_m3.jpg)

I expect the Birkin Subway Train Monster to show up soon.

[Grave]

とんでもね。
最後のゲツガ。。。。
Unbelievable, the final Getsuga...

608 ：ohana ◆IR7jauNn4E ：2010/09/14(火) 18:12:26 IDu//rBuaP
イチゴ　見せてやるよ　最後の月牙天衝だ
Ichigo: I'll show you, the final Getsuga Tenshou.
藍前　なんだ　その姿はーーー（藍前の姿の方が。。どうかと思ったけど）
Aizen: What, that form is--- (well, I wonder what he thinks about his form)

bleach　DEICIDE22　

水中？精神と時の部屋にて
Underwater? Well, during that time in his mind--
白一護　まだ倒れんか　一護
Shirosaki: Haven't you fallen yet, Ichigo.
一護　倒れねえって言った筈だぜ　最後の月牙天衝ってのを聞きだすまではな
Ichigo: Don't make me laugh, I'm not down yet. Not until I get what the final Getsuga Tenshou is.
白一護　教える気はないと…　言っている！！
Shirosaki: I'm tellin' you... I'm not gonna teach you!!

飛ぶ白イチゴ
Shirosaki flies

一護（どうしてだ　本気で倒すつもりなら　最初の段階で俺を倒せたはずだ　それくらいの力の差がオレ達には あった
Ichigo: (Why is it, that if he really wants to kill me, then he could've done so since the very beginning. He's got that much difference of power between us.
本気で教える気が無えなら　戦いをやめて身を隠せばいい　そのくらいの事は出来だハズだ　　ど うしてだ
If he really doesn't want to teach me, then just stopping this fight and avoiding me would be fine. He could've done just that. So why
どうしてこいつの剣からは　寂しさばかりが流れ込んでくるんだ）
So why is it that from his sword, flows such overwhelming loneliness)
剣を交え交わす二人
The two exchange blows.
白イチゴ　イチゴに向かう　一護剣を離す
Shirosaki faces Ichigo and separates him from his sword.

刺される一護
Ichigo is stabbed.

白一護　よく気がついた…　最後の月牙天衝とは私の刃を受け入れることでしか手にすることはで きん…
Shirosaki: So you've noticed... The final Getsuga Tenshou can't be learned from any blade but mine.
一護　痛みが　無え…　
Ichigo: It doesn't hurt...
白一護　当然だ　この天鎖斬月は本来お前自身…　受け入れれば貫かれる事に痛みなどあろうはず もない…
Shirosaki: Of course. This Tensa Zangetsu is originally yours... To be pierced by it will not cause any pain.
涙をこぼす白一護
Tears spill from Shirosaki
一護　なんで泣いてんだ
Ichigo: Why the hell are you crying　
白一護　一護　この戦いを始めた時に言った言葉を覚えているか　お前の護りたいものが　私の護りたいもので はないのだと
Shirosaki: Ichigo, do you remember the words I said at the beginning of this fight? That what you want to protect is not what I want to protect.
一護　あア
Ichigo: Yeah.
白一護　私の護りたかったものは　　お前自身だ　一護
Shirosaki: What I wanted to protect was... you, Ichigo.
一護　どういう意味だよ
Ichigo: What do you mean.
白一　意味は　技の極意とともにこの刃から直に伝わるだろう　一護　この技を使えばお前はーー ーー
Shirosaki: I meant, that the main point of the technique is directly taught straight from this blade. Ichigo, to teach you this technique, you have to----

空中に立つ藍前
Aizen standing in mid-air.
一護　最後の月牙天衝ってのは　俺自身が月牙になることだ　（黒髪ロン毛腰まで　顔は鼻からし た包帯）
Ichigo: The final Getsuga Tenshou is to turn myself into Zangetsu. (His black hair flows all the way down to his hips, and bandages wrap around his face from the nose down)
一護　この技を使えば　俺は死神の力の全てを失う　最後ってのはそういう意味だ
Ichigo: This technique is, for me to part with all the power of a shinigami, that is what the final form meant.

藍前　（まさか　私は死神とは別次元へと進化を遂げた事で　二次元の存在が三次元の存在に干渉 できぬように
Aizen: (Impossible. I who, evolved beyond the dimensions of a shinigami, able to an existence of two or three dimensions apart from it, could not cross such a line
自ら意図的にレベルを下げて干渉させぬ限り　死神にも人間にも　私の霊圧を感じ取ることはでき なくなった
to intentionally lower your own level as far as your limits could go, not even as a shinigami or a human, to the point where my reiatsu could no longer even register it
まさか　まさか　奴は　　奴は　私よりも　更に上の次元に　立っているというのかーーーー）
impossible. impossible. This bastard, this man, to stand and evolve beyond me is---)
藍前　馬鹿な！！　そんなはずがあるか！！　人間ごと気がこの私を超えるなど！！　そんな事が ーーー
Aizen: FOOL!!! That such a thing could happen!!! THAT SUCH A MERE HUMAN COULD SURPASS ME!!! THAT SUCH A THING IS EVEN---

一護　刀を掴み
Ichigo grabs his sword
『無月』（むげつ）
[MUGETSU] (Moonless sky)

次のページは開きで　空は暗闇　山
In the next page it opens with the sky filling with darkness

全てを無に帰す…！！
To bring everything back into darkness--!!!

苺とんでもねー！！！
An unexpected Ichigo!!!
カナリ変身しちゃったよ！！
He transformed!!
黒髪ロン毛（腰まで）
He's got long black hair (hip-length)
ちょっとウルキオラの変身に似てる。。。
It looks very similar to Ulquiorra's transformation...
顔はカカシ先生みたいに包帯まいてる。。。
His face is covered with bandages just like Kakashi-sensei's...

I was pretty disappointed with the last chapter mainly because I'm getting cheated out of my bankai's, but this chapter sounds pretty good. Since I'm not getting my bankai's I'm expecting answers. I want to know everything. This'll be the only time you'll ever hear/see me say I want a flashback arc.

[anime_guru]

I was pretty disappointed with the last chapter mainly because I'm getting cheated out of my bankai's, but this chapter sounds pretty good. Since I'm not getting my bankai's I'm expecting answers. I want to know everything. This'll be the only time you'll ever hear/see me say I want a flashback arc.

If this spoiler is real anyway it does sound too good to be true...edit appears to be confirmed...
I don't know what to think...meh well

[garfield15]

Actually, I'm not going to lie, this chapter sounds pretty good except....
I know a lot of people who are going to be pissed that Shirosaki isn't as totally badass as they thought he was. I half-felt that he was going to admit that he had always loved Ichigo or something
I really hope Aizen is making an Enel-esque freakout face in this chapter. :D

[Paul_Cousins]

Looks like Aizen's villainous breakdown is reaching a climax.

[RockmanDash]

Ah fusing with the spirit of your zanpakuto is the new power eh? Looks like we might see more of that for everyone else next arc(because we all know Renji needs that the most >__<)

[anime_guru]

Ah fusing with the spirit of your zanpakuto is the new power eh? Looks like we might see more of that for everyone else next arc(because we all know Renji needs that the most >__<)

renji's bankai has already started the process. His character design from his initial bankai to now indicates more tattoos. perhaps it is everyone's bankai skill; the more the bankai is used, the closer the shinigami gets to fusing with the sword.

But then doesn't this create an issue? That the sword may fully take over; like in the case of that one special or in a lesser extent the muramasa arc?

Speculation aside (while quite convincing) the bad part is that
the hollow inside ichigo (I refuse to call him shirosake or shigo or whatever the heck name people come up with Ichigo) really looked like a punk in this chapter...tears...I really hope that there is an early release so we can see some context at least

all in all...its the hougyoku that really interests me. Is it like a bakoto in that it will continue to force the person to evolve so it won't lose in battle leading to a form of madness? If so ironic actually but its kubo...we have no idea how the story will turn.

Would help if we got some bankai out of the captains though honestly...bah well let's see what happens next on dragon ball ka-bleach

[Captain Highwind]

I was expecting more of a sequence of flashbacks, especially for something as important as this. Now it just looks like Ichigo has a 'I-reject-your-existence' sword, so he doesn't need Orihime to come save the day anymore.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

That does make a bit of sense, actually. We've known for a while White Ichigo was a part of Ichigo. Ichigo, who has spent the entire series paying very little attention to himself, has a residual half that would obviously have been created to fulfill the unfulfilled half. White has always appeared when Ichigo needed him most, maybe not as cleanly as Ichigo--like an animal's instinct--but betray him he has never intentionally.

[Paul_Cousins]

renji's bankai has already started the process. His character design from his initial bankai to now indicates more tattoos. perhaps it is everyone's bankai skill; the more the bankai is used, the closer the shinigami gets to fusing with the sword.

But then doesn't this create an issue? That the sword may fully take over; like in the case of that one special or in a lesser extent the muramasa arc?

Speculation aside (while quite convincing) the bad part is that
the hollow inside ichigo (I refuse to call him shirosake or shigo or whatever the heck name people come up with Ichigo) really looked like a punk in this chapter...tears...I really hope that there is an early release so we can see some context at least

all in all...its the hougyoku that really interests me. Is it like a bakoto in that it will continue to force the person to evolve so it won't lose in battle leading to a form of madness? If so ironic actually but its kubo...we have no idea how the story will turn.

Would help if we got some bankai out of the captains though honestly...bah well let's see what happens next on dragon ball ka-bleachIchigo needs to be careful on who knows he can do this. The reason is, if the Soul Captains learn he can do this, they might draft him as a Soul Reaper Captain just so he will be forced to teach the other Soul Reaper Captains that trick.

[ShadowGUN]

Excellent. Aizen is having a nervous breakdown.Can't wait to read the chapter.

[Captain Highwind]

Ichigo needs to be careful on who knows he can do this. The reason is, if the Soul Captains learn he can do this, they might draft him as a Soul Reaper Captain just so he will be forced to teach the other Soul Reaper Captains that trick.

You know that's where it's heading for anyways. Like when everybody had a bankai five minutes after Ichigo showed his.

[anime_guru]

You know that's where it's heading for anyways. Like when everybody had a bankai five minutes after Ichigo showed his.

now hold on renji attained bankai first FYI
not ichigo but I don't really see the story going in that direction...heck it could be like a yu yu hakusho thing in that ichigo has to train for an even bigger threat to unify both hueco mundo and earth or something...I can see that happening a bit more...
plus for most captains (except kenpachi) they have an intimate relationship with their sword. ichigo did not understand his sword or connect to it while renji was connected to his blade in shikai
in that context, it makes renji sad in comparison. Has renji went into the level that ichigo has? No but he did do it first...that has to count for something...
...
and no one say it counts for kissing the ground more =/

[Beat]

Actually, the idea of Ichigo taking Aizen's command post and being forced to deal with being kicked upstairs (and his new subordinates) might actually make a rather interesting arc.

[Scirel]

Actually, the idea of Ichigo taking Aizen's command post and being forced to deal with being kicked upstairs (and his new subordinates) might actually make a rather interesting arc.


I also had that idea, seeing as the whole "killing a captain in the presence of two others" rule is in effect, and some others might show up in time to make it valid.

But who knows, maybe zanpaktou fusion is forbidden in Soul Society like many things are, for some reason, and he is actively pursued for it by the soul king's dudes while the lower SS people are on his side once again.

Either way, with this we know that in terms of attainable power, soul repears eclipse hollows by a few orders of magnitude now.

[Mr. Obsession]

Spoilers make it sound like Ichigo is going to lose ALL his powers after he pulls off the Final GT. Based on what’s Isshin has said in previous chapters he learned Final GT as well and we all know he lost his powers some twenty years before the story started. Granted it hasn’t been revealed how Isshin lost his powers but using Final GT is starting to sound very likely to me. Could be after this arc is over Chad, Uryu, Orihime, Rukia, and Renji will all finally be more powerful than Ichigo, who for a change is going to be the one who has to catch up. If Ichigo has to start over from the very beginning maybe he’ll get some proper shinigami training this time around.


renji's bankai has already started the process. His character design from his initial bankai to now indicates more tattoos. perhaps it is everyone's bankai skill; the more the bankai is used, the closer the shinigami gets to fusing with the sword.

But then doesn't this create an issue? That the sword may fully take over; like in the case of that one special or in a lesser extent the muramasa arc?

The Sealed Sword Frenzy OVA was written by Kubo (some consider it canon, others don’t) dealt with a former captain who fused with his zanpakuto, the process drove him insane and he was eventually sealed away. When he broke free he tracked Ichigo down because he wanted someone strong enough to kill him and free him of the fusion. The OVA, if you take it as canon, stated fusing with your zanpakuto is against Soul Society’s laws.


I also had that idea, seeing as the whole "killing a captain in the presence of two others" rule is in effect, and some others might show up in time to make it valid.
It was 200 members of said captain's squad that had to be present to witness the fight.


Ichigo needs to be careful on who knows he can do this. The reason is, if the Soul Captains learn he can do this, they might draft him as a Soul Reaper Captain just so he will be forced to teach the other Soul Reaper Captains that trick.
Why draft Ichigo who has a life when there are 7 former captains sitting around in the real world who could fill the three vacant slots? All of whom only lost their positions because of Aizen.

[Scirel]

It was 200 members of said captain's squad that had to be present to witness the fight.

Oh wait but they are in soul society aren`t they? I forgot about that.. SO that became more likely.

BTW what about this makes you think Isshin lost his power, or ichigo will lose his? Ishhin certainly seemed strong enough earlier.

[Grave]

BTW what about this makes you think Isshin lost his power, or ichigo will lose his? Ishhin certainly seemed strong enough earlier.

Hollow Ichigo tearing up is hinting at Ichigo losing his power. But I'm not gonna jump the gun about any of that stuff just yet.

[Grave]

I'm not a fan of double posting but

http://m.mbup.net/d/139288.jpg

That's.... wow...

That might've nullified my thoughts about bankai's not being revealed lol.

[GWOtaku]

Considering that this is basically a complete 180 from Ichigo's hollow/insane monster transformations, I applaud and cheer this development from the rooftops. Also after how this arc has gone in terms of pacing and Aizen's villainy and near-invulnerability, as far as I'm concerned Aizen can't be defeated quickly enough.

[mumbo]

How to enjoy Bleach:

Don't think of it as a manga series. Think of it as Kubo's Deviantart account.

Because, although I've been critical of the sameness of some of the character designs before (Hisagi...), lately a lot of these designs have been fantastic.

I mean, sure all these evolutions and all that frankly make no sense, but they're pretty nice to look at.

[Captain Highwind]

I'm not a fan of double posting but

http://m.mbup.net/d/139288.jpg

That's.... wow...

That might've nullified my thoughts about bankai's not being revealed lol.

I know I've been making a lot of FInal Fantasy references lately, but if that red tinge in the scan doesn't make him look like Vincent Valentine... >_>

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Well, I did say his final form would have black hair. :p


It's a great looking design, though!

As for Ichigo's reiatsu, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that like Isshin he will continue to not have any for the remainder of the story. They are something completely removed from Shinigami and Hollow thus making the more in line with Ishida, Inoue, and Chad. Rukia will have to be the Team Ichigo token Shinigami. :p

[Mr. Obsession]

Oh wait but they are in soul society aren`t they? I forgot about that.. SO that became more likely.

BTW what about this makes you think Isshin lost his power, or ichigo will lose his? Ishhin certainly seemed strong enough earlier.
Part the first:
There are several problems with that. No one is watching this fight, let alone 200 members of the 5th Division. Aizen is no longer captain of the 5th, that seat is currently vacant. This fight isn’t a challenge for the captain’s seat. And it ignores the question of if Ichigo would even want to be a captain, especially when he already has a life outside of the whole substitute business. Despite what Ikkaku might think, they’re not going to make someone a captain who doesn’t want to be a captain.

Part the second:
Remember when Isshin talked to Urahara after killing Grand Fisher? Or when he talked to Ryuken after Uryu snuck out to go to Huecu Mundo? Both times was mentioned that he had lost his powers and recently regained them. During the earlier conversation the 20 year prior bit was brought up.

As for Ichigo, it's speculation but I'm just adding things up. Tensa Zangetu Fusion Hollow's spoiler dialog in the flashback. The "Final" in Final Getsuga Tensho. Ichigo taking on a form that's a fusion between himself, Tensa Zangetsu, and his last hollow transformation without the mask. Isshin's dialog in previous chapters. And the fact that Ichigo as he is now is so ridiculously overpowered in order to defeat Aizen at this point that what can possibly pose a threat in the future without going into over the top DBZ levels of power if the series is to continue, and how can any other character in the series catch up with that?

Granted if I'm correct I doubt it will take Ichigo 20 years to regain his powers (barring a time skip, because every popular shonen needs a time skip! :rolleyes:), what with him being the main character and all. But when he gets his powers back I don’t believe he'll be as powerful as he is now, possibly as a side effect of whatever Ichigo does in order to get his powers back quickly.

[FireStarterLE]

so this is Chapter 420 eh .... Decide22

:ack:

not that it ended at chapter 416 or anything

[Grave]

And there you have it. Aizen is reduced to nothing but another typical whiny villain. >_> Seen it coming, but still, I didn't want him to actually be one. His early epicness has been reduced to nothing to me now. Just go ahead and put him out his misery.

Mugetsu.... That word looks familiar. Don't know where I saw it from though. (Edit: Ah... The Bouncer)

Still a nice chapter though.

[anime_guru]

Spoilers make it sound like Ichigo is going to lose ALL his powers after he pulls off the Final GT. Based on what’s Isshin has said in previous chapters he learned Final GT as well and we all know he lost his powers some twenty years before the story started. Granted it hasn’t been revealed how Isshin lost his powers but using Final GT is starting to sound very likely to me. Could be after this arc is over Chad, Uryu, Orihime, Rukia, and Renji will all finally be more powerful than Ichigo, who for a change is going to be the one who has to catch up. If Ichigo has to start over from the very beginning maybe he’ll get some proper shinigami training this time around.


I was just going to post this after reading the chapter. But I have to correct you. You forget Ichigo just doesn't only have shinigami powers. He also has holllow powers (as seen in both amagai and other arcs). So if his shinigami powers are gone, he still has the power of the hollow

My guess is that Zangetsu and the Hollow made a temporary fusion and that perhaps the intent to protect ichigo was from Zangetsu and not as much the hollow. But it was a very interesting look to Ichigo. I have to say the artwork was amazing in this chapter. Aizen looked cheap though.

Going back to the line of thought that the filler arcs we all revile are reused in such a manner, I wonder why many fans don't count it if we see elements of it in the ACTUAL story? Although Johnny Otaku would just retort with something foolishly like the canon is the best evar!1!! at the very least I like the mending of the stories.

I can see a Isshin flashback arc pretty likely now but knowing Isshin he lost his powers protecting his (soon to be) wife...somewhat well what Ichigo going to Hueco Mundo.
Anyway Bleach was interesting this week. Aizen looked pretty cheap and not drawn as well. The fusion of Zangetsu and the hollow looked a bit meh as well. But the double page of ichigo looked fantastic

[RockmanDash]

Well from this, I'm going to conclude that the anime is in fact ending at this arc. Well only if Ichigo actually loses his powers in the end of this arc and we enter another past mini arc of some sorts. Generally because they can't go with fillers when the main character himself is powerless and with only past chapters ahead of them, it would be kind of pointless to keep going with endless loops of Soul Society filler. I like it though, Ichigo giving up his powers and defeating the hollow monster Aizen, keeps things at a good end.

I really liked the chapter honestly, looks like Aizen's bankai=doesn't exist. :sad:

[Beat]

I don't see him losing his powers though. The hollow might die (temporarily) at which point we get a Heaven arc.

Aborted hell arc, Heaven arc...good God. Bleach is aping Saint Seiya's arc structure!:eek:

[anime_guru]

I don't see the hollow dying at all actually. But he may explore the option of being essentially a *shudders* vasto lorde...*sighs*
as for the anime ending, it may...at least in its current form. I can see that happening and kubo going a shipuuden on us. But the likelihood he has that much more of a story is doubtful in the least...

[garfield15]

If Bleach goes Shippuden before One Piece does, that'll be the day.

[Captain Highwind]

Jump the gun prediction: Why do I see a complete cast overhaul while Ichigo's recovering? Kubo's going somewhere with this...

[anime_guru]

If Bleach goes Shippuden before One Piece does, that'll be the day.

oh like any of us knew Ichigo would be the embodiment of Getsuga either...stranger things have happened in the context of this show lol
who knows may be this is a dream from lurichiyo and she may go and play soccer again :sweat:

Why do I see a complete cast overhaul while Ichigo's recovering? Kubo's going somewhere with this...
or maybe we may ACTUALLY see some bankais??? you know from shunsui and ukitake and for goodness sakes have kenpachi at least learn a shikai and not play around with a 25 foot yammy.
speculation aside this is beginning to get more fun than the chapter

[ShadowGUN]

So I guess next week we are gonna get Aizen flashback, then. As Ichigo losing his powers well he probably get it back later. I mean Isshin lost his powers but got them back later on. Ichigo will probably be the same. Now if getting them back from the Hougyuku or somewhere else is the question.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

It's funny we're talking about this. I just finished reading volume #7 on my reread...where Ichigo is trying to get his powers back.

[Demonic Raven]

Just so you guys know, I called it. "Called what", you ask?
Gin should've known better than to try to face down the Power Mullet.....without another Power Mullet. Aizen has all but ditched the Mullet, while Ichigo suddenly GAINED a new Mullet. What ultimately happened? Ichigo owned Aizen! It's all in the Power Mullet baby......except for that one time (poor Grimmjow).

Everything is going down about how we were expecting, more or less. The wildcard here is Ichigo's powers being lost after this. He might gain them back, but I agree that this moment right here is Ichigo's peak. He'll regain his powers, but it will never reach this ridiculous level ever again, and indeed he probably won't need such power after killing Aizen for good. I'm pretty glad for this too, since his friends have been left in the dust a loooong while back....and he just kept going. Time to dial it back a little.

I suppose the next few chapters will be Aizen's last words and flashback to flesh him out a bit more before bye byes. Then, greener pastures? It's gonna be strange to have Bleach going on without Aizen either manipulating in the background or looming over like a dense shadow.

[Mr. Obsession]

I was just going to post this after reading the chapter. But I have to correct you. You forget Ichigo just doesn't only have shinigami powers. He also has holllow powers (as seen in both amagai and other arcs). So if his shinigami powers are gone, he still has the power of the hollow

My guess is that Zangetsu and the Hollow made a temporary fusion and that perhaps the intent to protect ichigo was from Zangetsu and not as much the hollow. But it was a very interesting look to Ichigo. I have to say the artwork was amazing in this chapter. Aizen looked cheap though.

Going back to the line of thought that the filler arcs we all revile are reused in such a manner, I wonder why many fans don't count it if we see elements of it in the ACTUAL story? Although Johnny Otaku would just retort with something foolishly like the canon is the best evar!1!! at the very least I like the mending of the stories.

Honestly I don't automatically dismiss fillers because they're filler. Sometimes they do come up with some good ideas. The problem with bringing up the Amagai and Zan Rebellion arcs is that it's not quite the same thing. Amagai's bakkoto sealed shinigami abilities, it didn't remove them. Muramasa caused Shinigami to lose their special zanpakuto abilities, even then some like Renji were able to get them back before they broke Muramasa's hold over their zanpakuto spirits. But Muramasa couldn't suppress other shinigami abilities like kido.

The difference here is that Ichigo is talking about losing his shinigami abilities, all of them. Not sealing. Which I think means also losing his hollow powers. We know his hollow side came into being during Urahara's training to awaken Ichigo's natural shinigami powers, Ichigo gained them both at the same time. When Zangetsu summoned Ichigo's hollow side for the first time, after Ichigo left his inter world the hollow side was absorbed back into Zangetsu. When Ichigo was undergoing his vizard training and demanded to know where his hollow had hidden Zangetsu, the hollow told Ichigo that he is Zangetsu. Now in the latest inner world meeting we have Tensa Zangetsu fusing with the inner hollow. On its own each of these things doesn't amount to much, but combined they lead me to believe that both Zangetsu and Hollow Side are two sides of the same coin. If Ichigo loses one he will also lose the other.

Now I'm not discounting the possibility that the hollow's existence might be a loophole to prevent Ichigo from completely losing his shinigami power. Or he might lose those but in turn become some sort of arrancar like being, which could be interesting. But based on everything we've been given so far I have no doubt that when Aizen is defeated Ichigo is going to be a normal human again, probably one that can see ghosts, but that's it.

Plus if Ichigo has to regain his powers from scratch again it gives Kubo an excuse to finally give Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, and (possibly) Chizuru powers alongside Ichigo, something Kubo was hinting at before Ichigo even left for Hueco Mundo.


EDIT:
Or when Orihime meets up with Ichigo again she could just reject the loss of his powers. And since she hasn't seen Ichigo after the Ulquiorra fight that would revert Ichigo to where he was before leaving Hueco Mundo. But that would be the fast and easy way to do it.

[anime_guru]

I think you may have confused amagai's power with the bakkoto. The bakkoto works like a parasite, not like the symbiotic relationship that the zanpaktou and shinigami has. The bakkoto gives users power to increase their reiatsu, while taking complete control of the user's mind leading to the user being completely devoured by the bakkoto. Amagai's special ability was to seal a shinigami's power, not the power of the bakkoto itself. When ryujin jaka was sealed, as was rukia and ichigo's power, rukia remarked that's right Ichigo can still fight because he has the power of the hollow. Amagai shocked asks you are a hollow hybrid? I see...witty retort

The muramasa arc didn't cause the individual to lose abilities per se, the spell muramasa used stopped the process of an individual using the zanpaktou's power, but the abilities aren't sealed. The zanpaktou gains autonomy to dismiss the connection because of inner conflicts the sword itself has with the user.

That said, the thing about the visored is that they have two power sources - the shinigami side and the hollow side. Throughout the fighting, the visoreds did not mix the abilities for some reason. However, Ichigo did not only in the manga, but also surprisingly during the anime and merged the two making two unknown sources one. That is what makes ichigo interesting.

Now we can hypothesize that Isshin lost his abilities due to the final getsuga tenshou, but we have no idea whether Isshin is a visored like his son. Aizen noted that Ichigo is the only born something and while it begets explanation, we can really assume it is hollow and shinigami that has fused both sources of power. As we have seen twice now (both in canon) that Ichigo's shinigami self was broken; and the hollow not only took over, but gave Ichigo power. The likelihood is quite strong that the same will happen again after final getsuga tenshou


Or when Orihime meets up with Ichigo again she could just reject the loss of his powers. And since she hasn't seen Ichigo after the Ulquiorra fight that would revert Ichigo to where he was before leaving Hueco Mundo. But that would be the fast and easy way to do it.

that I'm not too sure of considering that orihime had a really hard time healing ichigo because of his hollow side...satun keisshun actually HURT ichigo. while he received a partial healing, to what extent would satun keisshun impact ichigo's hollow self?

And no I don't want tatsuki to have power, chizuru maybe...keigo god no! We have enough characters with power that are being underutilized (like everyone NOT named Ichigo and Aizen). Do we really need more considering the other characters need time to shine?

edit for a show I have grown to dislike I have a good memory of this stuff...scary

[Mr. Obsession]

I think you may have confused amagai's power with the bakkoto. The bakkoto works like a parasite, not like the symbiotic relationship that the zanpaktou and shinigami has. The bakkoto gives users power to increase their reiatsu, while taking complete control of the user's mind leading to the user being completely devoured by the bakkoto. Amagai's special ability was to seal a shinigami's power, not the power of the bakkoto itself. When ryujin jaka was sealed, as was rukia and ichigo's power, rukia remarked that's right Ichigo can still fight because he has the power of the hollow. Amagai shocked asks you are a hollow hybrid? I see...witty retort

Besides having standard shinigami abilities like kido and whatnot, Amagai's zanpakuto was a fire element based zanpakuto. Once Amagai harvested the other bakkoto and fed them to his, his bakkoto transformed and granted him the area of effect power of nullifying shinigami abilities.

Being a shinigami any unique powers he possessed would have come from his zanpakuto. If Amagai's zanpakuto naturally had power sealing abilities he wouldn't have needed the bakkoto in the first place.

[anime_guru]

Besides having standard shinigami abilities like kido and whatnot, Amagai's zanpakuto was a fire element based zanpakuto. Once Amagai harvested the other bakkoto and fed them to his, his bakkoto transformed and granted him the area of effect power of nullifying shinigami abilities.

Being a shinigami any unique powers he possessed would have come from his zanpakuto. If Amagai's zanpakuto naturally had power sealing abilities he wouldn't have needed the bakkoto in the first place.

I never admitted that wasn't amagai's bakkoto ability, but the sealing of a shinigami's power was not the bakkoto's ability in general just amagai's ability

[Mr. Obsession]

No, the sealing ability was Amagai's bakkoto's fully evolved form's ability.

Again, if Amagai had the sealing ability on his own (which would have made it his zanpakuto's ability, which it was not) he wouldn't have needed the bakkoto in the first place. Amagai's only unique natural abilities were his zanpakuto's fire based powers. Amagai could only seal shinigami powers because of his fully evolved bakkoto.


I never admitted that wasn't amagai's bakkoto ability, but the sealing of a shinigami's power was not the bakkoto's ability in general just amagai's ability
How can the sealing ability be the bakkoto's power while at the same time not be the bakkoto's power?

EDIT:
I'm talking about Amagai's bakkoto specifically, not all bakkoto in general of which each one seemed to possess different powers.