Last chapter seemed like the end of this Fullbring arc. Tsukishima dies, Yukio and the rest of the survivors head for the hills, only to return in a few years, and Riruka is laying with the good guys; things are returning back to normal. What now awaits Ichigo?
THE GOOD
Ok, so I lied. This chapter is truly the end of the Fullbring arc. The real surprise of this chapter was that Ichigo had actually returned back to Soul Society, just out of the blue like he was running to the local grocery store for milk. The second surprise is that we find out who actually replaced the captains that jumped ship way back when Aizen left Soul Society. The Visoreds! Well it isn’t so much as a surprise, but what was expected seeing that these guys were captains before. Rojuro, Kensei, and Shinji are the three new captains to join the party; and I’m glad it was those three because they were my favorite. Hopefully the other Visoreds are hanging out there as well.
Of course Ichigo isn’t hanging out there to chat it up, but to ask a favor. He would like Soul Society to return Ginjo’s corpse so that he could bury it in the material world. I understand what he is doing, after all Ginjo hated Soul Society, so to bury him there would be an insult, but at the same time what’s done is done. Perhaps the reason why he is doing this is to please those Fullbringers who are still alive, to show them that there is no hatred between them and Soul Society. While he was there, I was sorta hoping they would have made him into a real Shinigami, but perhaps that will happen at a later time.
While there he appears to have told them that he will be keeping the badge, even though he knows the truth about it. My guess would be that Ichigo got the body back, seeing as he probably would not have left until he got it. The chapter ends with Riruka leaving, thanking everyone under the sun for being her friend; how heart warming.
THE BAD
I would like to have seen the outcome of Ichigo’s visit to Soul Society this chapter, and perhaps learn what the future holds for Ichigo in relation to Soul Society.
THE VERDICT 3/5
This is the end of this arc, it has to be. Bleach will now be taking a three week break to figure out where the manga goes from here. Who knows what we will have in store when this manga returns, but hopefully it will evolve more of the new Soul Society.
Man, it would be kick ass if they come back after another time skip and waaaaay more shinigami have hollow masks due to the influence of the Visored captains. If anyone was an example of the benefits of having a mask and showing that it can be controlled and be used as an augment to ones abilities, it should be these guys... and Tousen and Ichigo.
Oh, Riruka was just leaving? I thought she was gonna jump.
Man, this feel like filler
@Destinyheroknight: Lol I was thinking the same thing.
@Destinyheroknight: I concur. Riruka got the same treatment as the rest of the filler characters, which is so disappointing it pains me to think that Kubo completely ignored the amount of popularity she had and didn't even give her a good sending off, giving her such a throwaway ending instead.
aside from that, if this thing heads back into another Arrancar style arc, I'm dropping this manga. my real love for bleach was back when it was an urban fantasy anime, and not a DBZ clone.
@Halberdierv2 said:
I don't think that Riruka is just disappearing (in fact, I'm not convinced the others won't make an appearance again either, ALA the Visoreds). She'll be back, and will likely play a key role.
I'm looking forward to (eventually) seeing what Nel's situations right now as well. I can't imagine that Arrancar have been allowed into Soul society, but... maybe?
I'd just like to say, as far as the new captains are concerned... called it. Those who thought they seriously weren't ever going to talk about the Vizards again (indeed, that a lack of explanation for what happened to them was a "plot hole") had no idea what they were talking about. It really was the best solution, since they were exiled for something they didn't do and the only current Lieutenants and lower capable of Bankai (usually a prerequisite for captains) are Renji and Ikkaku.
I was surprised by the Visoreds taking over. Rose, Kensei, and Hirako. I am pretty sure they hated the whole Soul Society. I so wanna see how they resolved it with Yamamoto.
The Fullbring Arc felt like a filler in the manga. I thought Riruka would stay. I loved her enough that I want her to be in Ichigo's group. This arc left some massive plot holes like Ginjo's past. But other annoyed readers wouldn't want it though.
I would want to see the other characters, like the other Visoreds returning and rambling to the other officers like Hiyori to Hitsugaya. And shouldn't Urahara return? The Visoreds hatred is solved, but not for Urahara? Well Kurotsuchi is the 12th captain, but they should have manage to resolved with Urahara.
Looks like Kubo-sensei take a three-week break. Let's see how will the next chapters/next arc will go. The only thing I could think of is the past of Soul Society after Aizen was finished and how the Visoreds returned, truth about Isshin, or the thing that Aizen mentioned that Soul Society has a King (remember before Urahara became 12th division captain, Hiyori's female captain became a special guard to the King if I am not mistaken)
@AgentJ said:
@AgentJ:
I'm not sure, Bleach has way too many characters and Kubo will most like dump more characters into the story, which doesn't leave a lot of room for characters that around.
@Halberdierv2 said:
When was that?
@Machuran: The only characters I can think of that fell off the map entirely are the Shibas (and I suppose that diminutive soul reaper that helped Ichigo find his way around Soul Society). Otherwise, Kubo has done his darndest to juggle everyone, for better or worse.
@zaldar said:
I think he's referring to the first handful of chapters. Or pages. Or something.
@AgentJ: @zaldar: The first two seasons were focused on story rather than action, and about the time of the bount arc, it started to slip away. I kept with the series since I liked DBZ as a kid, but I didn't watch most of the whole arancar saga, and saw up to Grimmjow vs Ichigo, and skipped everything else up to Gin's death. if this show starts to go back to completely dumb action and spends another 4 years in Hueco mundo (metaphorically), I'll move on to something else to read.
@Halberdierv2: Agreed. Bleach is falling behind Naruto and Onepiece fast, Kubo had better up his game.
@Halberdierv2: Eh? The whole save rukia arc was all action...one big fight after another. I've always seen it as a DBZ clone myself...
@Halberdierv2 said:
LIke Zaldar said, the Soul Society arc was about as "focused on story" as the Hueco Mundo arc. (Frankly, you probably missed the biggest concentration of story in the whole series in the "Turn Back the Pendulum" arc) Which I'm fine with, because like One Piece, it doesn't need some in-depth story to be good. Story isn't typically what I'm looking for in a Shonen series (the exception being Air Gear). Most of the time, when shonen series try to make story their focal point, they end up drowning in it (and the action often suffers). So Bleach is what it is; an action series with great characters and fun plot twists. If that's not what you're looking for, then it's probably not worth following for you anyway.
By the way, why are you bothering with the anime? The art is haphazard, and the pacing is sluggish. Switch to the manga.
@AgentJ:
If you like M. Night Shyamalan plot twists
@Destinyheroknight said:
M Night Shyamalan twists are fine when they've got a good product around them. See "The Sixth Sense".
@AgentJ: heh....action in a manga doesn't work for me. The anime is about the only way I can enjoy the action. For a manga I actually want story, which as we have both pointed out is not the strong point for bleach.
I am not much of a shonen fan though
@zaldar said:
Fair enough. I'd hope you give Air Gear (and maybe Eyeshield 21) a chance though. They are the exceptions to the Shonen story rule.