Bleach

[Zkirsche]

He's probably going to rip a hole through it with his bare hands.

You forgot to touch wood >_>.

Anyway, let's hope that Yammy has more of a special ability than just "I can crush people because of my size".

[Eltoshen]

I just hope Yammy dies fast to be honest. Don't really care for him, and it's a waste of chapters.

Unless Unohana has a chance to pull out her Bankai, I really don't care.

[Evalcin]

Update:

Mayuri makes it posible for Ichigo and Unohana to head to Earth through a portal while Byakuya and Kenpachi continue fighting Yammy. While traveling inside the portal, Unohana reveals to Ichigo that he is the only one capable of standing up to Sosuke Aizen for the mere fact that he never witnessed his shikai. She stresses the fact that this is the key advantage to winning the war, because his powers rely on the person seeing his shikai.Btw how many chapters do you think it will take before Aizen reveals it to him? It's evident it going to happen eventually.

[Zkirsche]

Lol@Ichigo beating Aizen.

[Seph]

Update:

[CGV]

lawlz at the last post

[Blademaster!]

Personally, I think Bleach is one of the most highly overrated mangas ever (Don't know about the anime really since I haven't watched it).

It starts off pretty good and stays kinda interesting for a bit, but then it quickly becomes near crap with the most recent arc (the one that is still going on) lasting who knows how many chapters (probably around 150 I would imagine) actually being crap. The story is pretty much non existent as of late relying on flashy moves that really aren't all that flashy and could be better. And what little story is used is just used to explain the background of characters who are all for the most part very uninteresting. I mean, when I read Bleach, it will take me about less than 5 minutes to get through the chapter, which is pretty damn fast in my opinion when it comes to reading manga, showing in my opinion a lack of story and interesting battles. I often find myself upset with the endings of the different chapters, as as soon as I finish reading the chapter, I wonder why the chapter is so short and amazed to find it already over, despite the fact that the chapters generally span 18 pages.

Maybe Bleach is just a manga that doesn't suit my tastes or it is just preforming so poorly when compared to the other manga's I read ATM, but for the most part, I really can't see how people can still like this manga, especially when considering how bad the most recent arc (which has, again, lasted for about 150 chapters to my recollection). I also find this kinda sad since the manga is currently in a situation where an ending is clearly visible (unless the other does something like the author of Rurouni Kenshin). Hopefully the author will be able to turn this around though.

At least the series starts of kinda good.

Currently though, if I was to rate Bleach as a manga out of 10, I would give it a 6.5 for a decent and unique begining with great artwork, but an extremely poor story towards the end of the series that shows that the author doesn't even try anymore (something that based on what is said in Bakuman[assuming what is said in said series is true] the author would be completely able to do) after a certain point.

[Hatari]

Wow, it sounds like bleach got good again. I quit watching it and naruto as soon as I fell too behind and the fillers killed everything...hmmmm might need to start again

[Seph]

My current display picture and signature reflect what's currently happening in Bleach.

[Dracohon]

Wow, it sounds like bleach got good again.

^ I agree. I quit watching during the Endless Fillers arc.

[BrightBow]

Filler ain't that bad. I mean it's not like they can air much else when the manga doesn't progress fast enough. And in the case of Bleach they really aren't less creative then the canon arcs which really are kind of repetitive.

I wonder what Yanamoto does. Did he die of old age while no one was looking? Has he fallen asleep?

Or was he never there to begin with?

Edited January 28, 2010 by BrightBow-User

[Seph]

[Hatari]

Fillers are fillers, lol and naruto's were kinda silly, bleach still had the fighting mentality of "I gotta beat the person up with my bankai".

Edit: Think Bount (spelling might be off) Filler Arc, granted they were kinda cool and I didn't like the ending of that arc, but since they were fillers, I guess it had to end that way.

As far as shinigami-like animes go, I think D.Gray-man and Soul Eater are better than Bleach (granted still a long series)

Edited February 2, 2010 by Hatari

[WyvernSageLord]

Yeouch... gotta give Kubo credit for his plans for coming as something as a surprise. ._.;

[CGV]

REVIVING!!!

So, what the hell is happening in Bleach? Still fightin' Aizen and stuff?

[Suichimo]

Yep, still fighting Aizen. Yamamoto just killed Wonderweiss and hit Aizen with a level 96 Kido. Now Ichigo is attacking.

[Ansem]

What is the last episode aired

I got up to 160

[bunny: spider bitten]

260ish. Last relevant episode being 225ish.

[Evalcin]

It's actually irritating me a bit they started another filler but oh well. It seems like Aizen always pulling somthing out of his hat~ When will Kisuke and Yoruichi show up? I'm guessing it won't be till Ichigo's puking his own guts out there from Aizen. Btw why does it seem like Aizen want to fight Ichigo?

[CGV]

have we seen Gin's bankai before? I can't remember if he's used it in the past

[Esau of Isaac]

This Aizen is a genius bullshit is really starting to get fucking old. Using the "THIS WAS MY PLAN ALL ALONG" shtick only serves to slap the earlier portions of the manga in the dick. There's no way he could have orchestrated every single fight Ichigo had in the series. It's unbelievably retarded for that plot development to even occur.

This is almost as horrible as seeing Yami as the 0 Espada or watching as Ulquiorra goes from unstoppable rival to absolute fucktoy in two chapters. God damnit.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Esau of Isaac

[Zkirsche]

Oh well, Gin's bankai and Aizen vs isshin shoudl at least make up for it (though I hope they make Gin tougher to beat than Tousen), though nothing will redeem the ending of Ulquiorra's battle IMo. So many things that could be improved >_>.

[qoute]Btw why does it seem like Aizen want to fight Ichigo?

Boredom? Interest?

More importantly, why would Aizen even try to manipulate Ichigo like that?

Fillers are fillers

Speaking of which, the latest one has finally finished. Finally get to see Ulquiorra vs Ichigo in animation. Shame, to go through all that just to be disappointed in the end. :/

[Strawman]

Does anyone else not like the "comedic" characters? To me they just seem like a waste of time. I prefer when people are fighting and doing exciting things rather than being ridiculous. Also, I'm glad that filler is finally over. It started off cool but didn't stay cool.

[BrightBow]

This Aizen is a genius bullshit is really starting to get fucking old. Using the "THIS WAS MY PLAN ALL ALONG" shtick only serves to slap the earlier portions of the manga in the dick. There's no way he could have orchestrated every single fight Ichigo had in the series. It's unbelievably retarded for that plot development to even occur.

For me it actually makes some kind of sense. Ichigo is an incredible straightforward person who never asks any questions no matter how important the answers seem. He can be easily predicted. Ichigo's enemys? Well, let's through them:

-The first Hollow. Ok, there is no way anyone could have predicted that Rukia would screw up like that, which would end in her getting trapped in the world of the living and Ichigo getting his first experiences with Shinigami powers. However even if it was not planned, Aizen is smart enough to use an opportunity when he sees one.

-Sora and Shrieker probably weren't predicted but they were not so though anyway so they hardly matter, along with a few other small fries whose name i don't know.

-Grand Fisher was send directly by one of Aizen's Arrancer, namely Iceringer to fight Ichigo. While he acted like he was just "fishing" in the area, the end of Volume 3 is quite clear about this. Also think about it? Can it really be a coincidence that Aizen ended up sending the very same hollow after Ichigo who killed his mother? Thats hardly possible so he must have done it on purpose. And the most logical conclusion for him to know about the connection of the two is, that he organized the dead of Massaki Kurosaki.

-Menos Grande. Ishida stated that he wasn't expecting such overwhelming numbers of hollows back in Volume 5 or 6. Who else could have manipulated the situation so that things would get out of control like that except the current Lord of Huerto Mundo himself?

-Renji and Byakuya. Since Aizen controlled the authorities of the Soul Society with his perfect hypnosis it was easy for him to send whoever he wants to go after Rukia. Renji and Byakuya were the best choice. Renji was a hothead like Ichigo and easily controllable. Towards Rukia he had feelings of anger but he still cared about her deeply. In his anger, despair and with a bit of jealously, it was quite possible for him to blame Ichigo for the bad things happening so him going after Ichigo was nothing to be surprised about. And Byakuya was Rukia's brother. And Ichigo hates brothers who don't protect their sisters and will do his best to beat some sense into them, so it was clear that Ichigo would go as far as to go out of his way to face him.

-Gin Ichimaru. Aizen's subordinate. What else do I need to say?

-Kenpachi. Kenpachi goes after the strongest. So again, him facing up with Ichigo was something Aizen could easily predict. And Kenpachi got interested into Ichigo after he heard that he survived and encounter with 'dum''dum' dum' Gin Ichimaru of all people. Coincidence?

-Grimmjow. Same as Kenpachi, he goes after the strongest. He is as predictable as it gets.

-Noitra is also a fighting freak, and don't forget that Aizen specifically gave orders to the Espada not to engage the intruders. Grimmi and Niotra with their destructive personalities were the most likely to ignore such orders.

-Ulquiorra. This guy seems unconcerned about anything at first glance but there is way more behind that guy. First of all, he is a nihilist who literally thinks everything in life is futile. But he doesn't look like he had much faith in his own opinion seeing how he went out of his way trying to break Orihime's spirit and also tried the same with Ichigo. Why did he do this? Well, I would guess that Ulquiorra is motivated by fear. This is likely, since in chapter 244 a Hollow flat out stated that they are 'born of fear' so fear has to be the motivation of hollows. I think that Ulquiorra is afraid, afraid that his view on the world might be wrong.

If he is wrong then that means that he misses out a lot of joy and fun and stuff, so this fear motivates him to "prove" his point of view as the only right one. And therefore he tries to break the faith, the confidence and the motivation of Orihime and Ichigo. Ichigo even managed to make Ulquiorra visible angry with his confidence, so yeah, Ulquiorra really can't stand faith and those who represent it. Also Aizen diretly ordered Ulquiorra to to deal with Orihime. She has faith. Faith in Ichigo. Ulqui can't stand faith. So he tries to break Orihime by breaking Ichigo. Ulquiorra might be easy to read after all, but it doesn't matter anyway, since he directly followed Aizen's orders anyway, and Aizen send him to defend Huerto Mundo and therefore to fight Ichigo.

The only thing that I have trouble with is that Ichigo could have easily died during any of these fights but since Ichigo's hollow seems to kick in when he is in trouble, this seems like a risk that can be handled. And during a lot of these fights Urahara, Yourichi, the Vizards and even Aizen had the means to keep Ichigo save, if things got out of control and they did so a few times.

Also think about this: Ichigo was clearly manipulated by several people. Urahara was sending him to save Rukia despite the fact that Yoruichi would have been able to do it by herself without breaking a sweat. Ichigo and his friends just made the situation more complicated then it needed to be. Not to mention that he could have easily kept Rukia safe from Renji and Byakuya in the first place, considering how he managed to stay hidden for 100 years. Also think about how Yoruichi had all the equipment ready for Ichigo's Bankai training and we see her having a flashback with Urahara were he explains that Ichigo would have an easier time to archive Bankai then he himself did. Which means, having Ichigo archive Bankai wasn't a new strategie to save Rukia, it was planned by the two of them from the very beginning. So they knew he would fail to save Rukia on the first try. So having him try to save Rukia befor archiving Bankai seemes like it served no other purpose as to have him involved in a few serious fights.

Also Isshin kept his identity secret why Ichigo was in his little inner hollow related identity crisis. If he would have revaled himself he could have easily helped Ichigo with his fears but since he didn't, it means that either guilt and shame prevented him from doing it or he left him alone on purpose.

Also the Vizards haven't said anything about where they come from, or that they are involved with Urahara.

And don't forget how Orihime got into Huerto Mundo in the first place. Urahara claimed that he told Orihime that she was useless in the upcoming battle to keep her save from Aizen but there is one problem with that claim: He had no reason to lie to her and hurt her feelings in the process. Or why couldn't he just tell her that Aizen might have an eye on her and therefore she should keep a low profile? And Rukia just happened coincidently to enter Uraharas shop, while Orihime was about to leave hiding her tears. And the whole month Orihime was in the Soul Society he didn't saw the danger of her getting captured when she tries get back into her world? Seems more likely he wanted her to get captured to give Ichigo a reason to go to Huerto Mundo.

So I'm wondering, why wouldn't the person who was manipulated by everyone, not be manipulated by Aizen, the very person who manipulated everyone?

Edit: So for me it seems the was enough foreshadowing in advance, and therefore I don't consider it an asspull but rather good writing. But then again my final judgment on that matter depends on how things develop from here.

Edited April 12, 2010 by BrightBow-User

[Esau of Isaac]

For me it actually makes some kind of sense. Ichigo is an incredible straightforward person who never asks any questions no matter how important the answers seem. He can be easily predicted. Ichigo's enemys? Well, let's through them:

Let's. I'm not going to be spoiler marking all of the several responses with relevant tags, it would be incomprehensible.

-The first Hollow. Ok, there is no way anyone could have predicted that Rukia would screw up like that, which would end in her getting trapped in the world of the living and Ichigo getting his first experiences with Shinigami powers. However even if it was not planned, Aizen is smart enough to use an opportunity when he sees one.

No. Aizen said everything worked perfectly. This means he planned this all to happen.

-Sora and Shrieker probably weren't predicted but they were not so though anyway so they hardly matter, along with a few other small fries whose name i don't know.

See above.

-Grand Fisher was send directly by one of Aizen's Arrancer, namely Iceringer to fight Ichigo. While he acted like he was just "fishing" in the area, the end of Volume 3 is quite clear about this. Also think about it? Can it really be a coincidence that Aizen ended up sending the very same hollow after Ichigo who killed his mother? Thats hardly possible so he must have done it on purpose. And the most logical conclusion for him to know about the connection of the two is, that he organized the dead of Massaki Kurosaki.

That's fair.

-Menos Grande. Ishida stated that he wasn't expecting such overwhelming numbers of hollows back in Volume 5 or 6. Who else could have manipulated the situation so that things would get out of control like that except the current Lord of Huerto Mundo himself?

This too.

-Renji and Byakuya. Since Aizen controlled the authorities of the Soul Society with his perfect hypnosis it was easy for him to send whoever he wants to go after Rukia. Renji and Byakuya were the best choice. Renji was a hothead like Ichigo and easily controllable. Towards Rukia he had feelings of anger but he still cared about her deeply. In his anger, despair and with a bit of jealously, it was quite possible for him to blame Ichigo for the bad things happening so him going after Ichigo was nothing to be surprised about. And Byakuya was Rukia's brother. And Ichigo hates brothers who don't protect their sisters and will do his best to beat some sense into them, so it was clear that Ichigo would go as far as to go out of his way to face him.

Somewhat fair. But probably not completely, since his hypnosis doesn't let him actually control someone, but their senses. Getting them to choose to send those two doesn't sound very logical.

-Kenpachi. Kenpachi goes after the strongest. So again, him facing up with Ichigo was something Aizen could easily predict. And Kenpachi got interested into Ichigo after he heard that he survived and encounter with 'dum''dum' dum' Gin Ichimaru of all people. Coincidence?

No. He became interested in Ichigo specifically after he heard from Ikkaku. He became interested in battling the ryoka in general when they survived against him.

-Grimmjow. Same as Kenpachi, he goes after the strongest. He is as predictable as it gets.

You skipped Byakuya.

-Noitra is also a fighting freak, and don't forget that Aizen specifically gave orders to the Espada not to engage the intruders. Grimmi and Niotra with their destructive personalities were the most likely to ignore such orders.

That doesn't make sense. Seeing that they would probably break the rules doesn't mean he planned it. And he couldn't have planned that they would attack him at such specific times, and that he would be saved by Nel and then Kenpachi.

-Ulquiorra. This guy seems unconcerned about anything at first glance but there is way more behind that guy. First of all, he is a nihilist who literally thinks everything in life is futile. But he doesn't look like he had much faith in his own opinion seeing how he went out of his way trying to break Orihime's spirit and also tried the same with Ichigo. Why did he do this? Well, I would guess that Ulquiorra is motivated by fear. This is likely, since in chapter 244 a Hollow flat out stated that they are 'born of fear' so fear has to be the motivation of hollows. I think that Ulquiorra is afraid, afraid that his view on the world might be wrong.

If he is wrong then that means that he misses out a lot of joy and fun and stuff, so this fear motivates him to "prove" his point of view as the only right one. And therefore he tries to break the faith, the confidence and the motivation of Orihime and Ichigo. Ichigo even managed to make Ulquiorra visible angry with his confidence, so yeah, Ulquiorra really can't stand faith and those who represent it. Also Aizen diretly ordered Ulquiorra to to deal with Orihime. She has faith. Faith in Ichigo. Ulqui can't stand faith. So he tries to break Orihime by breaking Ichigo. Ulquiorra might be easy to read after all, but it doesn't matter anyway, since he directly followed Aizen's orders anyway, and Aizen send him to defend Huerto Mundo and therefore to fight Ichigo.

This doesn't make sense. Aizen ordering him to attack Ichigo doesn't translate to him being aware that Ichigo would eventually become a stronger hollow and kill him. There's nothing that has shown he could have possibly known it would happen.

The only thing that I have trouble with is that Ichigo could have easily died during any of these fights but since Ichigo's hollow seems to kick in when he is in trouble, this seems like a risk that can be handled. And during a lot of these fights Urahara, Yourichi, the Vizards and even Aizen had the means to keep Ichigo save, if things got out of control and they did so a few times.

No, it doesn't, because Ichigo becoming Vaizard could not have possibly entered his plans.

Also think about this: Ichigo was clearly manipulated by several people. Urahara was sending him to save Rukia despite the fact that Yoruichi would have been able to do it by herself without breaking a sweat.

This was probably supposed to be Urahara being set up as a villain earlier on, or it was merely that Urahara was interested in seeing his potential. This can be easily seen when he battled against the Menos Grande.

Not to mention that he could have easily kept Rukia safe from Renji and Byakuya in the first place, considering how he managed to stay hidden for 100 years.

This actually doesn't assist your point, but serves as a fair follow up to the above example; he let Ichigo go get Rukia because he (and probably Yoruichi too) want nothing to do with Seireitei, and is interested in how far Ichigo will go.

Also think about how Yoruichi had all the equipment ready for Ichigo's Bankai training and we see her having a flashback with Urahara were he explains that Ichigo would have an easier time to archive Bankai then he himself did. Which means, having Ichigo archive Bankai wasn't a new strategie to save Rukia, it was planned by the two of them from the very beginning.

No, it was probably planned after he'd left for Seireitei. Kisuke has never been the type of person to callously use people in such a manner. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Kubo uses such a plot point.

So they knew he would fail to save Rukia on the first try. So having him try to save Rukia befor archiving Bankai seemes like it served no other purpose as to have him involved in a few serious fights.

Just as illogical as the above, as Kisuke could have had no clue where Ichigo would be, who he would face, and that he would manage to survive.

Also Isshin kept his identity secret why Ichigo was in his little inner hollow related identity crisis. If he would have revaled himself he could have easily helped Ichigo with his fears but since he didn't, it means that either guilt and shame prevented him from doing it or he left him alone on purpose.

This doesn't make sense from any angle, as Isshin clearly cares about his son. Ichigo came extremely close to death on multiple occasions prior to his appearance against Grand Fisher's Arrancar form. The current idea, and if I remember correctly has been implied in the manga, is that he had sealed his powers, and un-did this before his first appearance.

And don't forget how Orihime got into Huerto Mundo in the first place. Urahara claimed that he told Orihime that she was useless in the upcoming battle to keep her save from Aizen but there is one problem with that claim: He had no reason to lie to her and hurt her feelings in the process. Or why couldn't he just tell her that Aizen might have an eye on her and therefore she should keep a low profile? And Rukia just happened coincidently to enter Uraharas shop, while Orihime was about to leave hiding her tears. And the whole month Orihime was in the Soul Society he didn't saw the danger of her getting captured when she tries get back into her world? Seems more likely he wanted her to get captured to give Ichigo a reason to go to Huerto Mundo.

Hueco Mundo. And no, this doesn't make sense. Urahara claiming Orihime is useless isn't what got her caught. It wouldn't have mattered if he had revealed that Aizen was keeping an eye on her, because Ulquiorra would have come anyways.

So I'm wondering, why wouldn't the person who was manipulated by everyone, not be manipulated by Aizen, the very person who manipulated everyone?

Because it's a 180 of his character. This is akin to implying that throughout Death Note, L was Kira the whole time. It doesn't make sense.

Though I have little doubt it will be revealed sometime as Urahara appears out of nowhere that the reason all the plans went perfectly is because he assisted in having them happen so that instead of being a test subject, Ichigo could be the weapon to finally kill Aizen.

Edit: So for me it seems the was enough foreshadowing in advance, and therefore I don't consider it an asspull but rather good writing. But then again my final judgment on that matter depends on how things develop from here.

Impossible. There was foreshadowing at a few points of there being a higher thing going on, but there's no way it is as complete. Which is why Aizen's claims are fucking ludicrous and annoying.

Edited April 12, 2010 by Esau of Isaac