Okay,

Since the Naruto Manga has pretty much been turned into complete and utter shit by it's Mangaka Kishimoto... and discussion on that thread is sliding over to discussions about Bleach and how the last 5 issues or so have been busy redeeming the story, I figured What the heck... might as well create a thread for discussion about the cool stuff going on in Bleach.

As you may or may not know... Binktopia has been pumping out some outstanding and quick scanlations, and you can find regular installments of Bleach here.

Anyway... if you've not seen it... the latest 5 issues have been negative in number starting with -108, -107, -106... etc.

So all sorts of cool backstory is being revealed.

The latest issue (-105) is made of lulz and win, Last issue Mayuri showed up... and we learn a lot (if you read between the lines), also Byakuya shows us, only to have Yoroichi punkhis ass, but best of all... Ichimaru Gin is shown in all his creepy glory...and I kid you not... he's even creepier than he was in the main story.

If you've not read the last 5 issues or have fallen behind in your reading of Bleach... now is the time to get caught up.

For a while I'd lost interest with the story... but stuff is happening and it looks good.

 

I'm looking foreward for when Isshin and Ryuken become involved whenever that happens. I am still convinced that Isshin is the Captain of this Roayl Guard (Squad 0). If you look at when Isshin destroyed the Grand Fisher his white jacket looked different compared to ordinary Captains. Since Urahara seems to know Isshin I can only assume that he will show up at some point during this Urahara Gaiden.

I think that Kubo did this at just the right time too. I was getting kinda bored with how the manga was going with the Hueco Mundo invasion. It just kept dragging on and on with nothing but battle happening. Now, we are finally getting some damn story.

 

I think that this departure right before the Gotei 13 are about to get into a big ol brawl was ballsey as hell of him, and ya gotta respect an author that takes chances while still delivering a good product.

I mean this whole 'lets cut away and go back X number of years and look at the old captains" could have blown up in his face easy.


The best part of it, In my opinion mind you, is that Kubo implies that this whole thing is going to take 2 years 108 (and there's only 52 weeks in a year) issues before that fight. There's so fucking much room for backstory ... stuff that I'm actually curious about... that it has the potential for going 108 issues easy... BUT... he could just as easy run it for only part of that and leave a huge chunk of backstory issue space for later, thus we'll never know when this section of backstory will end and whip back to the big fight.

Could be that instead of going for the full run it couldl go for 10, 20, or 30 issues and suddenly end at issue -78 or something... leaving us wondering how he's gonna use -77 though 0 later.

Gin was just fucking disturbing though... it's like you're watching some alien motherfucker who is just wearing a mansuit when he draws Gin. I know it's deliberate and done with drawing style and distortion... but man it's fucking cool.

 

Are you serious?! The battles are the best part. Since manga doesn't show us much you gotta watch the videos. Fuck, the last battle between Gimmjow and Ichigo was fucking aswome. Worthy of dbz and they didn't make any mistakes that dbz does. Like standing around and powering up an shit. Seriously, the battles were just outstanding. The best action in anime to date.

 

Bleach does action and battles pretty okay... but the problem is if that's all you do... BOOORING

You gotta have plot and motivation for really epic battles.
Ichigo going after Rukia in the Soul Society arc was pure win because you have a half dozen reasons for him to do do. To save her, to avenge his pride for Byakiya beating him like a redheaded stepchild, To find out more about his powers, to find out more about the hollows, because he owed Rukia for saving his family and consequently empowering him... and lots more on top.

That's the thing... up until recently the whole HM arc was sucking baddly... it was all fighting and bankai this and bankai that... no plot. Now we got something going on.

 

Who cares man! We're getting older so we need some things that are more complicated. This is anime mate, targeting children. And my brother watch it and hes only 11. The kid doesn't understand a word thats going on and all he cares about is destruction and battle. We're too old for this but we still enjoy it.

Seriously, who cares. I just enjoy this shit.

 

Dude,... manga discussion... not anime. Anime sure... go for it. But, I like my manga to have actual plot. And yer NEVER too old for manga. It's a western/american conceit that once you get a couple grey hairs that you gotta start reading Hemmingway or some shit or you're being childish or immature. People all over the rest of the world know better. Heck, the french are known for books that have illustrations that go with them. So meh.

 

Cause battles and all out action don't make for a good story. I won't give two shits about an anime or manga if it's all battles and little to no plot to work around.

It's the reason that I think that Dragonball Z is mediocre. Sure, the fights are cool, but the actual plots are dull. It's just the same shit regurgitated over and over again with a slightly different background. Uber powerful beings popping up with the bare minimum of actual plot.

Though, Dragonball (not Z) was pretty good.

 

I think the negative chapters are only lasting for a couple of months - he stated he was going on a 2-month hiatus, I think, and left these chapters behind to post. When he returns, the main story will return. I think Aizen's gonna end up outmaneuvering everyone, because he doesn't seem like the type to have something blow up in his face then go nuts. It just isn't him.

 

One day (or several) I decided to read all the Bleach episodes out. I did.
It has a good premise, decent storyline etc..

My main problem with it is this. There is nothing with which to measure the strength of any given person. In each and every fight they yank new OMGSUPRPOWERUPS out of nowhere, talk for a bit, then back to inventing secret techniques to pull out when they're about to die. I find it horribly irritating. I haven't bothered to read updates since I finished it.

If the plot actually goes somewhere besides meaningless random fights, let me know.

 

That's actually part of the fun of it, for me. I found it amusing that Kenpachi's version of Shikai and Bankai is... Shikai: Taking His Eyepatch Off, and Bankai: Holding His Sword In Both Hands.

 

Kenpachi kicks ass.

I'm curious what his Vice-captain can do, though. She's gotta be strong, but we haven't seen any of her yet, have we?

 

You just know Yachiru is gonna kick ass. There is no way the small, cute one with the Big friend is not the scariest motherfucker you'll ever see in your life. It's practically law. She's probably got Bankai too, now that I think of it, given how a Kenpachi has always taken the 11th Division captaincy (I think that's what it said).

Aekiel

 

Seeing Yachiru kick the shit out of everyone would be fun to see.

I must say bleach was a bit boring before the whole flashback thing. It was just one fight after another, Ichigo getting stronger during fight or even after. There was little character development, but then this hit's us. Well it is good to see anyway.

Wish Kishimoto would head in the same way....

 

Rather than derail the Naruto manga thread following Jon's comment about the new Bleach, I decided to try to revive this one. I hope it won't be considered a necro as I've PMd Jolly Rancher when I thought about posting about Bleach a week or so ago and he cleared it on the provision of it not being along the lines of [new bleach awesome go read].

I've been following the manga now for about the last 40 chapters or so, since the top 3 arrancar decided to try to take down 4 random pillars in Soul Society. That was an epic little section which concluded with our first glimpse of General Yamamoto really kicking ass. Snapping your fingers and consuming your enemies in flame, that was awesome. I don't know why they were fighting but the combat in Soul Society is gearing up to be pretty damn cool with my avatar versus the number 1 ranked espada, hitsugaya versus hottie number 3 espada(Halibel) and old man number 2 (barragan) well I can't remember his opponent.

I'll admit when it came to the Ichigo vs Ulquiorra fight I was despairing at the thought of more, I powerup, you powerup, I powerup, you powerup etc... And the author did dissappoint. Ichigo got his ass kicked thoroughly, went through all the various powerups he had while Ulqiorra continued to kick his ass seven ways from Sunday. An epic moment, howevere, was when Ishida blew up Yammy with the anti arrancar mine, anti-climactic yet lulzy.

When Ulqiorra revealed some new badass ultra-arrancar form that turned him into a vampire I could hear the squeals of fangirls echoing around the globe. When Ulqiorra killed Ichigo, well there was no way he was actually dead and he has since become some new badass hollow form.

This is what I'm curious about though, has he become a vasto lorde or an arrancar? Arrancar being the combination of shinigami and hollow melded through the use of the Hogyouko (I think that's how it's spellt) and vasto lorde being the highest level a hollow can reach. Ichigo was already a vaizard, did he complete the transformation into a hollow or is this some new and unique to Ichigo, cos he's special like that, form?

In other words the Bleach manga seems to have emerged from the shithouse it was in when I stopped reading it several months ago. And although it continues with the bad plot devices and fan service, the fights are getting epic, the women are attractive and it's pretty damn fun to read again.

 

I was wondering that too, if Ichigo is just an arrancar or vasto lorde. I think I am leaning to the vasto lorde because it seems all of the arrancars only have a partial mask whereas Ichigo seems to have a full mask.

I have been waiting for Yamamoto to kick some ass, although I have a feeling Aizen will have some trap of some kind to prevent him from going all out.

 

For all we know, Ichigo is just a normal hollow (which kicks more ass than the Espada).
I think: He died when Ulquiorra blew out his lungs and spinal cord,
but since he was living, he came back as a normal spirit, which directly
transformed into the Ichigo we see now.

He can't be a Vasto Lorde. A Vasto Lorde is a hollow which has consumed
enough other hollows to turn into a Gillian (the giant black cloak hollows),
then one of the hollows which form the Gillian gained dominance over the
others and formed an Adjuchas. Then this Adjuchas has to eat
even more hollows and becomes a Vasto Lorde.

Ichigo hasn't eaten any hollows, so he isn't one.

I don't think he's an arrancar, since he still has the whole mask
(Yeah, I know Rudobon has a whole one too, but he's a special case...
or was it foreshadowing?)

I hope we'll get to see the captains fight again, Ichigo vs. Ulquiorra is kinda
boring at the moment. Ichigo will kick Ulquiorras ass and after that
Orihime will reject Ichigos death or something...

Atyan

 

If Aizen does have a trap to neutralize Yamamoto, then the Vizards, who have yet to enter the battle and who we can reasonably expect to side with the Soul Society, will counterbalance it. That's my prediction, since Bleach is always about alternating power-ups and introducing allies until one side runs out and gets fucked. Sadly predictable that way, since Bleach shows no sign of breaking that mould.

I like how Rangiku poisons her own soul. I wonder if the writer of the manga was aware of that. You know? Alcoholism and the soul?

 

Ichigo is probably all three classifications now; Shinigami, Vizard and Arrancar. He will be able to call upon each form when ever he wishes. It seems like just the thing Kubo would do.