Bleach – The Power of One

A promise he could very easily fulfill.

The overall feeling I have towards Yamamoto, and one that most long time fans seem to agree with, is that for the leader of a powerful military nation, he doesn’t do a whole lot. When the other Gotei 13 members are struggling with enemies he could defeat in his sleep, you start to wonder if maybe this old man should get out of his rocking chair for a second. I think I can see what Kubo was thinking, since a good leader should be able to share the responsibility with his subordinates and trust in their ability to work. The problem is that Yamamoto is frequently so inactive his leadership starts to resemble something out of Dilbert.

Bleach – Sun Tzu For Dummies

…a little LATE!

I’m no expert on tactical warfare, but apparently neither is the Gotei 13. Looking at things from their point of view, they know that the enemy has some ability to suppress Bankai, but no knowledge of how it works. The specifics of how the enemy fights are unknown aside from the information gathered on Quincies by Mayuri. He is trying to formulate a strategy of his own, but it would take time. Considering all this, why the hell are the captains in such a hurry to power up? I can understand Hitsugaya, cause this is what he always does, but why does Byakuya pull it out so soon when we know that he can fight in other ways ? Why does Soi Fon use hers when it’s supposed to be her last resort? Actually, why does she pull out her bankai in full view of the enemy? She’s supposed to specialize in stealth, and I’m curious if the Sternritter can take your bankai if they can’t see it until it’s halfway down their throat.

Bleach – Nation Mourns Whats-His-Face

Maybe if he had some practice with the damn thing...

How many times have I brought up how little I know about Bleach? I don’t know, but it’s definitely less than 486 times. Well now we have a chapter where almost everyone reading is having the same reaction I usually have to major events. Sasakibe’s recent death came right out of nowhere, and it strongly gave the impression that it was done to allow one or two plot developments later on, rather than for any emotional response. Sure, that happens all the time in stories, but the audience shouldn’t know you’re doing that. Death is supposed to be tragic, not something to move the story out of convenience, so no matter why someone dies, the default response should be one of tragedy.

Bleach – Have We Mentioned It’s The Final Arc?

It's not every day you get to jump in and save everyone. Unless you're Ichigo.

I’m sure that by now, everyone has heard the news about Bleach entering its final story arc. If not, then I’m sure this post will come as quite a shock. Until this announcement, it was difficult to tell when the series would actually be ending, but that was partially because everyone thinks it should have ended after Aizen was beaten. The previous story arc felt a lot like filler to quite a few people, which meant even Kubo seemed to be having difficulty coming up with any reason why the story should still be running. This announcement strongly indicates that the time for filler has now passed, because there’s no longer a need to hold the important plot points for later.

Bleach – Chapter 472

And here I thought Byakuya didn't know that word.

There’s a particular fight scene in the manga Rurouni Kenshin that comes to mind when I think of this chapter. Towards the end of that series, Saito Hajime had to fight an opponent whose specialty was understanding the way a technique works almost instantly. If you know anything about Saito’s Gatotsu, you’ll understand how that can leave him at a disadvantage. The opponent gloats that he can’t win with his technique figured out, only for Saito to perform a minor variation of the technique and completely cripple his opponent. The idea was that simply knowing someone’s technique isn’t enough to secure a victory.