The pace has been frantic and the artwork of a consistently high standard, especially when you consider how detailed each cell of the One Piece manga has been as each cell seems crammed full of, not new weird and wonderful characters but also, some of the most important characters in the whole of the One Piece universe! If you’ve been following the manga, you’ll know what I mean.  

Cross Epoch (Fan Art)

In honour/respect of Oda taking a break, I thought I would do a quick review of one of his collaborative efforts with Akira Toriyama, on a one-shot/one-off manga called ‘Cross Epoch’.

Now who is Akira Toriyama? You may not recognise his name, but if I were to mention ‘Dragon Ball’, I would guess you would know exactly what I was talking about and Toriyama is the brain behind it all. Taking a look at his bibliography on Wikipedia, it’s clear that aside from Dragon Ball, there is very little else that he has done aside from a number of one-shot manga pieces.

Cross Epoch, is a fusion of both Oda and Toriyama best known works, namely, One Piece and Dragon Ball, respectively. It’s sees a cross over escapade involving all the main characters of each manga, teaming up to defeat a common foe, which happens to be none other than the complete nuisance, Buggy the Clown and Emperor Pilaf, who together form a gang called the “Pilappaggy Villains Union”.

The Whole Gang! (Fan Art)

You’ll find all the characters involved and in true anime/manga fashion they all have their perfect counterparts that would be their equivalent character in the other manga, as  each  One Piece character teams  up with a character from Dragon Ball.

As it is a one-shot manga there is not much that can be accomplished  in 20 pages, so the storyline in weak and a bit on the wacky side as so made little sense to me, but then again it could be said it’s not really about the storyline as it is more about having a bit of fun and seeing the characters in completely different context. Something particularly for the fans that would get a kick out of seeing these two very successful manga in their own right join together.

The drawing and artwork is very similar to One Piece in style and layout and the characters are all that you would expect from an Oda piece. I’m not exactly clear on how or what Toriyama contributed in terms of style aside from maybe assisting in the storyline.

Overall, if your a One Piece fan or a Dragon Ball fan (if they still exist), it’s worth a look but not much more. Enjoy it for what it is, a bit of light hearted fun by some seriously talented mangaka.

Have you read Cross Epoch? What were your thoughts? Tell us in the comments below.

A DrangonBall Z fan? Read our review of the anime TV series.

At the end of the previous chapter we saw Kensei step in to protect Mashiro against  Wonderweiss’ surprising strength that caught Mashiro a little off guard, leaving her severely injured.

Kensei Bankai (Fan Art)

This chapter is important because, as far as I can remember, this is the first time we have seen a Vizard Bankai. In case we were unsure whether they had a Bankai at all or if their Hollowfication was as far as their powers extended. While maybe not a complete surprise as many of the Vizard where originally Captains of the Gotei-13 many years ago, it should be expected that they would have a Bankai, albeit my original thoughts that it would be something a little different to the normal Bankai that we’ve seen so far.

Once Kensei goes Bankai he turns his full attention on dealing with the unruly Wonderweiss who, for his lack of respect, will be taught a lesson for getting “above himself” .

As Kensei and Wonderweiss collide headlong into battle with one another, we return to the eerie calm of Aizen facing the Gotei-13 and remaining Vizards who are well and truly riled up and ready to go.

Hiyori sees red! (Fan Art)

Shinji Hirako, appearing to be leading the collation of Captains and Vizard, warns everyone of Aizen’s abilities demanding caution.

It’s uncertain if he directed this at Hiyori Sarugaki or just to everyone around him, yet Hiyori responds indignantly with “I know!”, seemingly because she felt patronised by Shinji. Granted this is just Hiyori’s small-person complex speaking.

As Aizen begins taunting the group gathered before him, we see Shinji tell Hiyori to relax her grip on her katana. It appears as though the very voice of Aizen is enough for Hiyori to become extremely angry.

Aizen continues to taunt and bait the group in making the first move. The quote of the Chapter is from Aizen:

“Whether you approach with caution or without, or even if you do not approach me at all, the result will be the same. I do not speak of the future. Your demise is an already inescapable fact of the past.”

Aizen tries to show them the futility of their situation, suggesting that their fates have already been sealed before they have even moved. Recognising the blatant attempt by Aizen to provoke a reaction, Shinji once more warns the group to not react. To which Aizen responds.

“What are you afraid of? You already died that night a hundred years ago.”

Gin takes out Hiyori (Fan Art)

This is direct reference to when the Vizards, standing before him, became Hollowfied during the Pendulum arc which retells of the catastrophe by jumping a 100 years into the past while the Vizards were still Captains and Vice-Captains of the Gotei-13.

At hearing this, Hiyori, unable to restrain herself any longer, attacks Aizen, despite Shinji calling for her to stop. Just as she raises her blade, Hiyori is cut down by Gin Ichimaru, but not just cut – Hiyori is cut in two!

Gin, with his weird smile breathes out, “One down”  as Shinji shouts Hiyori’s name rushing to catch her.

What the heck just happened?! What did Gin do? His Zanpakutō, Shinsō, still in it’s Shikai form, seemed to stretch and split Hiyori in two with minimal effort.  Upon first reading these pages,  it wasn’t immediately clear that Hiyori had been cleanly cut in two/bifurcated by Gin, but it is clearer when we see Shinji holding just the top half of Hiyori’s body in the distance and at the same time we see her feet and the lower part of her body lying on the floor in the foreground.

Ichigo is coming! (Fan Art)

Shinji then calls out to Hacchi but then realises that after his fight with Barragan he is unable to assist in restoring Hiyori’s body as he still only has one hand. At that moment he remembers Ichigo and the others, in particular Orihime Inoue and her healing/time reversing ability that would undoubtedly be able to help save the dying Hiyori. Shinji then shouts towards the sky, calling Ichigo’s name.

Anyone notice how Shinji’s main contribution to this Chapter was just to shout people’s names? Let’s hope his contribution is greater in the next Chapter.

The chapter ends with our long absent hero, Ichigo flying through the sky with a look of urgency and determination upon his face, flying to save his comrades and flying towards Aizen.

What’s going to happen next? Is that the end of Hiyori Sarugaki? Will Inoue make it in time? What will Ichigo do when he arrives? So many questions. Drop your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.

We begin this chapter with Aizen in the process of executing Tia Harribel, the Espada Tres, who also happens to be the only remaining Espada.Was Aizen lashing out in a moment of madness last week? I would have said so had he not always been portrayed as a heartless and calculating individual that not only because his Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu, has some strange and powerful illusion abilities but that he is also a master manipulator of the highest caliber.

Mashiro vs Wonderweiss (Fan Art)

Aizen states that he would not have bothered recruiting the Espada had he known that he could defeat them on his own. At that moment Harribel strikes Aizen in a rage, appearing to pierce him from the unexpected attack, especially as she should be dead already! The result? The tip of a katana appears through Harribel shoulder and we discover that Harribel only struck the illusion of Aizen and he was now delivering the final blow.

Distracted by the events above, Mashiro Kuna on the ground is surprised by the odd character that is Wonderweiss Margera (Wandāwaisu Marujera), who until that time was face down on the ground after getting a good beating from Mashiro.

Wonderweiss is a strange character, to say the least.  He has appeared in subsequent arc, albeit most would have simply ignored him as his involvement was fairly short lived or minor. He seems to be quite young and easily distracted by a range of things. He also seems to hold a significant amount of power but the fullest extent of which is still yet to be seen. He seems to be Aizen’s wild card or even the Ace up his sleeve, but we still don’t know what’s going to happen to him or what he is capable of. It’s clear that he must at the very least, be on par in strength to some of the top end Espada. Could he be stronger than the Primera Espada, Starrk?

As Wonderweiss attacks Mashiro, she spots it and delivers a bone crushing kick to the face sending him flying.  Kensei Muguruma comes running in warning Mashiro that she’s been her Hollowfied form for too long to which Mashiro decents that Kensei doesn’t know how long she can keep her mask on for.

Kensei vs Wonderweiss (Fan Art)

Then just like a boomerang, Wonderweiss comes straight back at Mashiro, trying to catch her off guard. She catches him by the head and smashing him into the ground. This is where we see a glimpse of Wonderweiss’ ability as he springs upward grabbing Mashiro’s scarf and flings her through the air. Indignant at the damage of her scarf, Mashiro attacks again with a Cero only to be canceled out by Wonderweiss doing one of his own.

At that exact moment Mashiro’s mask shatters, loosing her Hollowfied state and along with it the strength that she had, Wonderweiss, as dumb as he may appear, spots the opportunity and punches Mashiro straight in the face sending her flying back into the air. Just as Wonderweiss is about to deliver the final blow to Mashiro, Kensei steps in, catching his fist.

Kensei intervenes, just in time and warning Wonderweiss that he’s “… not the sort of adult who goes easy on kids!”. Yikes!

Wonderweiss may be about to a serious timeout from Kensei! I cannot wait to see what brand of discipline Kensei prefers for unruly kids.

So what do you think is going to happen next? Will Kensei teach Wonderweiss some manners in the next chapter? Leave some thoughts or comments below and tell us what you think.

This chapter opens with additional background to Starrk’s origins and how he ended up with Sōsuke Aizen. We see Aizen stumbles upon Starrk surrounded by a mountains of the remains of hollow, that we can only assume Starrk defeated which Aizen ask’s if he indeed killed them, to which Starrk replies something to the effect of, “No, they just died”. An interesting reply, which helps to further skew the picture we all have of Starrk as increasingly we find him to be troubled, disturbed and so very lonely. I for one have mixed emotions about him,  should I sympathise with him? But I can’t he’s a bad guy, right? Or maybe it’s not supposed to be so clear cut.

Kyouraku Shunsui (Fan Art)

Aizen quickly recognises Starrks strength and attempts to recruit him and Starrk agrees, stating that he, Aizen and the rest of their team also seem to be strong enough to not die by just being in proximity to him (Starrk). Again, an odd response but one that leaves us to make the assumption that he was such a powerful individual that the other hollow could not survive around him which is why is always remained alone.

The chapter then cut’s back to Starrk falling from the sky, after being killed by Shunsui Kyōraku. Seemingly in his final breathe, his final thoughts are thoughts of thanks and failure. Thanks for Aizen for providing him with company that were just as strong as he was which meant he was no longer alone in the world, and also failure, in that he could not repay the debt he felt he owed Aizen.

With this fight over. The Primera Espada has fallen. Some might say he went to soon but it has to be said, his opponent, Shunsui Kyōraku, was a Captain of the Gotei-13 and is also quite possibly the strongest Captain in the Gotei-13 apart from the General, so in some senses it had to end sooner rather than later.

Love Aikawa then complains that Kyōraku interfered in his fight, stating Kyōraku has no style, to which Kyōraku responds:

“Only underlings get caught up in matters of style and lose the battle. A Captain can’t afford such indulgences.”

“[Said to Aikawa] Don’t try to be a good kid. Whether you owe someone or they owe you, the moment you start a fight, your in the wrong either way.”

Wow! What a few line those are! So Kyōraku does have a serious side to him. Instantly we should see that this Captain is deeper than anyone can perceive and his bright and colourful exterior belies his ability to be serious when the situation calls for it. He also hints at the fact that really there are no winner in a fight, no party can leave a fight feeling as if they have done good, because no good can come from another death. In a way I feel this almost in a way is said to honour the defeat of Starrk at his hands. I find myself just liking Kyōraku as a character more and more.

Harribel (Fan Art)

Before we have time to enjoy any more of Kyōraku coolness we switch again back to the fight underway against Tia Harribel (Tia Hariberu), the Espada Tres and Lisa Yadōmaru (Yadōmaru Risa) which has been going on, seemingly all the while the Starrk fight has been going on.

The fight is in full flow and just as Lisa releases her Zanpakutō’,  Haguro Tonbo, Hiyori Sarugaki joins in the fray with her Zanpakutō, Kubikiri Orochi, in Shikai form too. Completing the triple-team attack is Toshiro Hitsugaya.

Watching all this going on from a lofty height is Aizen, still removed from the actual fighting and instead just floating in the air watching everything take place. Only now, he decidedes to intervene.

Aizen ends Harribel (Fan Art)

As Aizen calls a halt to the fight between Gin Ichimaru and Shinji Hirako, he appears behind Harribel and immediate executes her in one single motion, slicing her almost in half.

Harribel in shock attempts to ask with her dying breathe, why? To which Aizen responds that he is “done” with her and she is not strong enough to fight for him. Just like that, he kills a comrade, but by his explanation of his actions we can only presume he saw the Espada more has pawns than comrades, fully dispensable when or if they could not perform as he expected them to perform.

The end is quite abrupt and very surprising if not a little expected at the same time, because we do know that Aizen is a cold hearted killer. Afterall he fooled everyone of the Gotei-13 into believing he was their friend and comrade only for him to betray them at the beginning of the arc.

So what now Aizen? You have finished off all your Espada. What remains for you now? What will you next plan be? I think we can rest assured there will be plenty more betrayal and back stabbing from Aizen before the conclusion of this arc.

What did you guys think of this chapter? How would you have rated it out of 10? What do you think will be Aizen’s next move? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

By means of a little preamble, I have to confess that this was my second attempt at watching Mushishi. I originally started watching the series about 5 months ago after a recommendation from a friend and seeing the overall high reviews the series received as a whole, I thought I would give it a go.

Lead Character: Ginko (Fan Art)

I started watching the series but by the time I reached the fourth or fifth episode, I had completely lost interest. I immediately rubbished the entire series and thought that this one was definitely not for me.

After all my staple anime diet revolved around Bleach, Naruto and One Piece, while some of my favourites include Berserk, Claymore, Death Note and Kenshin. For the anime fans among you this will already give you a pretty clear picture of what my anime preferences are like, put simply; if there aren’t big swords, massive battles or characters with superpowers in it, I’m unlikely to stay tuned beyond the first 10 minutes of the first episode.

A few months ago I finished Cowboy Bebop, a series, much like Mushishi which did not fit my anime mould and I completely disliked it the first time round but through some persuasion from Steve I picked it up again and thoroughly enjoyed it! Following Cowboy Bebop, I was in the mood for giving second chances.

This time I picked up Mushishi with an open mind and no preconceptions, ready to go wherever the story lead me. The result? Well continue reading.

What Mushishi is not.
This has to be the starting point. Especially if you’ve ever only watched one type/style of anime and your knowledge and/or experience of anime has been quite narrow thus far as Mushishi is quite unique in style, content and delivery.

1. Mushishi is not Bleach:
   There are no special weapons, powerups or special limit break style moves. Nor is the lead character a teenager that will some how always save the day but learning a new level of fighting.
2. Mushishi is not Naruto:
   There are no shinobi/ninjas or powerful beasts that are sealed into peoples bodies, although that concept would not be an entirely foreign one in the world of Mushishi. Also there is no over arching storyline driving the character(s) to a predefined destination lead by fate.
3. Mushishi is not Cowboy Bebop:
   If your after spaceships and/or space cowboy bounty hunters looking for the long lost love then your out of luck here too. There is no love story nor are there any space vehicles in Mushishi — a tragedy I know.

I could go on but I hope you get the jist of what I’m trying to say. It is markedly different from the “mainstream” flavours of anime that are quite common or widely known today.

The Mushi (from BasuGasuBakuhatsu)

So then what is Mushishi about?!
Mushishi revolves around the existence of supernatural entities that exist within nature, they are considered to be the very basic essence of life itself. They are ubiquitous and transient, invisible to most people who are not gifted with the ability to see them, although some are easier to see than others. We are told early on that the ones that are easier to spot are less dangerous than those are not.

While they posses a collective term there are many types of Mushi in the world and they come in many different shapes and sizes and also have their own classifications. As mentioned already, some Mushi are more dangerous to people than others as some Mushi coexist with humans.

Ginko (Fan Art)

What about the characters?
With that understand we can move on to the lead character Ginko. We start the series knowing very little about Ginko and it’s not till episode 12 (”One-Eyed Fish”/”Sugame no uo”) that we are treated to a little bit of a backstory although even after that, much remains unexplained about his exact origins and his life before he was a young boy or Mushi-shi.

The term Mushi-shi from which the series gets it’s name refers to Ginko’s vocation as he is a Mushi master. He has a profound understanding of Mushi and travels from place to place, in part, to solve Mushi related quandaries and also because of his unusual capacity to attract Mushi, which is why he is constantly smoking as the smoke helps to keep the Mushi away from him.

Whats the storyline like?
First off Mushishi is entirely episodic. There is no overarching storyline that links all the episodes together and there are very few (possibly 2 or 3) reoccurring characters beyond the lead character Ginko.

The fact that there is only one central character and no connection from one episode to the other may suggest that whole series is a jamboree of elements with no purpose or direction and that can leave you to conclude that it’s going to be either boring or poorly constructed as you work through the 26 seemingly insular, unrelated and isolated episodes. And in a sense, you may be right in thinking that but the truth of the matter is quite the opposite.

The concurrent theme of the Mushi and the exploration of the Mushi throughout the episodes helps to develop a degree of understanding about the world the characters inhabit. There pervasive nature and the different forms and manifestations of these Mushi help build a picture of the interconnectedness of nature and people. As despite their circumstance or where they are, everyone is affected in one way or another by Mushi as they attempt to live along side these supernatural life forms.

Mushi entering a person (Screen cap)

What about the artwork and animation?
Mushishi is an anime that is steeped in Japanese folklore and tradition. The period in which it takes place is largely uncertain but it’s fair to assume that it’s not modern day Japan due to the clues in the attire and the scenery, however Mushishi does give a limited view of Japan due to much of the stories taking place in rural regions in small remote villages. This old style period of Japan helps to add to the mystique and authenticity of the stories as we get a sense of how these stories were past down from generation to generation, telling of a time when things were, maybe, simpler. It also means that Mushishi has a high degree of cultural nuances for those that have an appreciation for Japanese culture as the many people Ginko encounters all portray the various people of a more classical/traditional period of Japans history.

The actual animation of the Mushisi series is one of the most amazing things about the series. The characters, the environments and even the Mushi have been so beautifully designed and animated that really do deliver both a wonderful animated experience of the world Ginko inhabits.

More Ginko (Fan Art)

I particularly like the style employed around the drawing of the faces which at certain angles or in certain instances or drawn without any facial features due to distance or shadow that would normally be cast on ones face. At first it seems like a lazy way to draw the characters but on occasion it does help to convey a sense of emotional emphasis, which is ironic because normally the presence and use of facial features is required to do so instead of the absence of facial features altogether.

The voice acting is also first rate. I only watched the sub and I’m not sure if there is a dub version at the moment. The audio in Mushishi, in conjunction with the drawing and animation is used to great effect in building atmosphere especially in those episodes where there are scenes of extended silence and the viewer is left to focus on the happenings on the screen. At no stage did I find the audio overwhelming or did I find there to be too much talking even though there is plenty of conversation between the characters and Ginko as we move through the episodes and much of it revolves around the explanation of a problem relating to Mushishi and then the solution by Ginko.

Ginko (Fan Art)

There are also episodes where we are treated to a voice over which sounds like the voice of an older woman/granny who relays some background information about the episode. The voice is also there from episode one as we gain a brief overview of what Mushi are and their place in the world. These voice overs seem to emphasis the storytelling style of Mushishi and it’s quite easy to imagine a grandmother telling these stories to her grandchildren as bedtime stories, which could be one reason why a few people have suggested they enjoy watching Mushishi before their own bedtime.

Sounds great so far, do you have a few examples?
Why yes I do. There are a number of fantastic episodes but I thought I would pick out my favourites that really left me thinking: “WOW!”.

Episode 12:  ”One-Eyed Fish” (”Sugame no uo”)
This one was particularly interesting because we learn more about Ginko. If you’ve started at Episode 1, you would have waiting quite a while already to find out more about this mysterious central character.

Episode 17:  ”Pickers of Empty Cocoons” (”Uromayutori”)
I found this episode quite shocking and while I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet,  the moment the accident happens I was completely not expecting it. Before you even have time to recover the episode ends on quite a sombre note, something quite characteristic of the Mushishi series.

Episode 21:  “Cotton Changeling” (”Wataboushi”)
For me, this episode probably would raise the most controversy as the episode seemingly directly asks the question, what makes something human? It was especially haunting to watch the changeling’s gain consciousness and it made the end scenes particularly disturbing but I think the whole episode and storyline was masterfully executed.

Episode 25: “Eye of Fortune, Eye of Misfortune” (”Ganpuku ganka”)
An episode with a little more dialogue but again a wonderful premise for a story that made me both envious and sad for the woman Ginko encounters who was blind until a Mushi entered her eyes. The final few scenes when the Mushi tries to escape from the womans body is also quite weird and may not be great for the squeamish amongst you.

Then what about the ending?
The ending of Mushishi seems abrupt in my opinion. The final episode does not draw any massive conclusions to the series nor do we go away knowing everything about Ginko. In my opinion there was no closure but I had hoped this was because it would leave room for an additional series to follow.

Final thoughts?
I have to say that this was such an enjoyable series to watch. I found watching the episodes a great way to relax, there was no excessive violences and it really felt like I was being told a story more than anything. The artwork can only be described as beautiful and the characters where interesting and varied.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the series so if you’ve watched it, drop a few thoughts below or if you haven’t yet, let us know if your planning to check it out!

Ginko followed by Mushi (Fan Art)

Some additional reading:
Mushishi Review by Yumeka.
Mushishi Review at psgels.blogsome.com
Mushishi TV Review by Tama-Neko.
Mushishi Review by Carl Kimlinger.
Mushi-shi: Volume 6 (Review) by Jitendar Canth.
Mushishi First Impresssions by Hung Truong.
Mushishi episode 26: the sound of footsteps on the grass by Martin(of Mono no aware).

The chapter starts just before we see Luffy and his band come crashing into the fray as we see them, quite fortuitously, stuck atop a massive frozen Tsunami in their stolen Marine Battleship overlooking all the goings on below.

An Unexpected Team (Fan Art)

As they work out how to best get down from their perch way up in the Sky, and as always, Luffy comes up with the least convincing idea, the Den Den Mushi goes off and the group discover the Marines change of strategy. Due to the all out war that has commenced in an effort to save Fire Fist Ace, they have decided to bring his execution forward ahead of it’s planned schedule!

Luffy and his group realise things need to happen fast at which point the frozen tsunami on which they were lodged begins to crumble sending them hurtling toward the war zone below, crash landing in quite possibly the only unfrozen section of the sea. The result is that the team members with Devils Fruit abilities sink like lead in the sea leaving Jinbei to save them from drowning.

As Luffy surfaces Ace spots him and their exchange is somewhat contrasting. Luffy is delighted to see his big brother is still alive and greets him seemingly heartily while Ace’s greeting is more to the effect of ‘Luffy! What the heck are you doing here!’.

As the rest of the warring factions realise the personalities that have joined the battle there is some surprises, especially for Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp, the father of Monkey D. Dragon, the grandfather of Monkey D. Luffy, and the adoptive grandfather of Portgas D. Ace. With now TWO of his close family members embroiled in this war, what is he going to do?

The kaleidoscopic mix of reactions from the rest of the Shichibukai on seeing our hero arrive is also comedic with Juracule Mihawk’s amazement, Gecko Moria’s fury or frustration and Boa Hancock’s relief at seeing her love return safely from Impel Down.

Notably, the Marine Admirals, Aokiji and Kizaru are suitably impressed to see Monkey D. Luffy again.

After the grand entrance, we see  Crocodile wasting no time in initiating a sneak attack on Whitebeard only to be stopped by Luffy who explains that Crocodile will not lay a hand on a Whitebeard because this is the one guy Ace cares about.

Luffy and Whitebeard vs World! (Fan Art)

Whitebeard then spots Luffy’s straw hat noticing that it belonged to Red-Haired Shanks and which Luffy confirms saying that he is just looking after it for him.

The final few scenes consist of just of Luffy — our hero and Pirate Rookie conversing with the worlds greatest and quite possibly longest standing Pirate Captain, second only to Gol D. Roger and one of The Yonkou or Four Emporers/great pirates who rule the second half of the Grand Line (also known as the “New World”).

While quite clear in the manga, their comparative stature is as much of a contrast as their respective achievements and reputations in the whole Pirate world. With Whitebeard towering above Luffy looking like a vertible collassus we see potentiall a sneak peak at things to come as Luffy exclaims to the ”The Strongest Man in the World” that HE will be the Pirate King!

While everyone in earshot was shocked to hear Luffy say what he said and to Whitebeard of all people, they are shocked but not Whitebeard who appreciates Luffy’s determination and zeal, commending him without saying a word.

Next? Well it’s going to be Luffy and Whitebeard taking on the Marines, Admirals and Shichibukai — with a little help from their friends no doubt. The next few chapters are going to be nothing short of memorable.

So what do you think? Where will it all end? Will Luffy surpass Whitebeard? Tell us your thoughts below:

Good times!

So the chapter starts off with the mighty Raikage and little Uchiha picking up where they left off, after it seems Raikage kills Jugo, at least in this manga people die!

Sasuke vs Raikage Fan Art

So Sasuke hits the big angry black shinobi with a Chidori and it doesn’t seem to leave much of an impression, as the Raikage goes on to body slam/suplex him in some good old fashioned WWF-esque way, possibly rivaling the green-clad Bruce Lee look alikes for best Taijutsu move.

Sasuke somehow survives, then it goes a bit weird – he gets some sort of ribcage-like cocoon around him and releases his Mangekyo Sharingan. Our little Uchiha appears to have been practicing his Amaterasu as he makes a little shield out of the black flames, making him untoucable – or so he thinks – till the Raikage bashes his face in, and pretty much gives up on either his left arm/his whole body.

Sasuke's Amaterasu

So he will either go all out and do some sort of super Hadouken or some sort of lightening punch/knee combo and hope for a double K.O, or he will rip his arm off and call it quits. Its Naruto anyway, he’ll probably get an arm donor and it’ll be stitched on in no time.

And Madara appears to be goading the Konohan’s into what he reckons is an inevitable fight with Sasuke, continuing from his revelation about the eternal struggle between heart and might. A bit Matrix-esque – starring Madara as the architect and Uzumaki-san as Mr Anderson, I guess that makes Sasuke an agent… and Sakura/Hinata trinity? I digress. When it dawns on Neo that he is not the first ‘One’ and the fight he was fated to have is not the first, and was not intended to be the last.

Maybe Konohamaru will get a go as well!

Not sure what Madara stands to gain, he is a bit difficult to gain. He seems immortal, and in fine health – maybe he just likes the entertainment.

OK Predictions – in chapter 589 [or whenever this ends ] either Sasuke or Naruto will have died, and I think Shikamaru might have a cunning hand in it.

Also it appears that apart from Sasuke, only the girl from Hebi looks like she’ll make it through the meeting of the 5 Kages. Bring on 464!

Mangekyou Sharingan Fan Art

So what do you guys think will happen? Do you agree that it will end with either Naruto or Sasuke dying? Speak your minds below:

The way Bleach works is that it only slowly (in some cases very slowly!) reveals secrets; and thats secrets about people, about their abilities and about their pasts. One character in particular I continue to look forward to learning more about are the more illusive Captains of the Gotei-13 of which the anime viewers and manga reader know very little.

Shunsui and Ukitake Fan Art

For me, at the top of this list is Shunsui Kyōraku. He  along with Jūshirō Ukitake are said to be the oldest captains amongst the Gotei-13, with the exception of Retsu Unohana and General Yamamoto of course. Assumptions have been made which suggest they have been Captains of the Gotei 13 for at least 200 years based on a 110 years ago before the current era in which the Bleach universe/story takes place.

Kyoraku, with his flamboyant style and care-free demeanor make him standout amongst the Captains of the Gotei-13. His laid back attitude suggests he has nothing to prove — especially if he’s been doing this for over 200 years! So he must be good! And as I’ve mentioned before, he has an almost uncanny resemblance to Kibagami Jubei from Ninja Scroll, but that could be due to the straw hat and long hair.

Anyways, on to the episode!

Starrk Fan Art

We pick up this chapter with the ongoing fight between Love Aikawa and Rōjūrō Otoribashi and the Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk (Koyōte Sutāku) being brought to an abrupt albeit temporary cessation in fighting when Starrk has the point of a massive sword poking through his chest.

After the shock of the surprise attack we learn the interruption has been caused by none other than Shunsui Kyōraku who has decided to join the fray as a result of, as we learn a few cells later, that his Zanpakutō, Katen Kyōkotsu  Flower Heaven, Crazy Bone) was now in the mood to ‘play’. It’s interesting that Kyōraku uses the word play to describe his Zanpakutō’s willingness to fight as being in the mood to ‘play’ which not only suggests his Zanpakutō has some sort of personality and conscientiousness but also that it’s quite a sinister one at that.

It is particularly sinister because  Kyōraku’s Zanpakutō attacks are based on childrens games and it works by adding quite harsh penalties to both the wielder and the victim if they loose. For example, the first attack which Kyōraku makes on Starrk is a game called Kageoni (Shadow Demon) and the rules are basically whoever steps on a Shadow loses.

With Kyōraku’s Zanpakutō, Katen Kyōkotsu, the rules are quite simple. If you win, you live. If you lose, you die.

Katen Kyokotsu Fan Art

As a side note, I have struggled to work out who is in control in this Soul Reaper-Zanpakutō relationship of  Kyōraku and Kyōkotsu, because at times it is almost suggested by Kyōraku that he is being controlled by the will of his Zanpakutō, Kyōkotsu. It definitely brings an interesting element to mix.

Taken aback, Starrk regroups ready to attack but Kyōraku (or is it Kyōkotsu)  begins another game, Irooni ( Colorful Demon). This one, as the romanized name suggests, is a colour-based game where you say the name of the color you want to cut and you cannot cut anything else. If, however, the colour you called does not exist on your body then the damage is minimal, even if normally the attack would inflict a much more severe wound. This is evident by Starrk’s surprised by how slight the damage was on his arm despite it appearing as though Kyōraku attacked with all his might, which would have otherwise been enough to sheer Starrk’s arm clean off.

To maximize damage when playing Irooni, you have to choose  a colour that maximizes the risks to yourself as well. So by selecting a colour that you are wearing the most of, you inflict greater damage provided that person has that colour on them as well. Therefore you attacks are weighted. The greater the risk to the attacker, the greater the attack.

Kyouraku Shunsui Fan Art

Starrk quickly analyses the situation, making the connection between the game and the last call, working out that his arm is clad in grey but Kyōraku has no grey on himself. Quite soon after, Starrk retaliates, calling ‘White’. An excellent choice against a Captain of the Gotei-13 who wear the all-white Haori.

The Chapter here switches to a brief backstory for Starrk (a signal the end is near for him possibly?) and we learn that the reason he has become two is out of a loneliness. There could be some link here to the back story we had a while back for Grimmjow where we learned more about the process Hollow take to become Espada. Essentially the Hollow grow in strength buy eating other weaker Hollow and as they grow stronger they become lone wolves, constantly consuming any weaker Hollow that crosses their path.

Here, we see Starrk’s cries for a companion result in him splitting himself, just so that he would have company. This whole back story helps attribute a greater level of humanity to Starrk. It makes the reader want to sympathise with his plight. He doesn’t want to fight but his fighting is necessitated by the fact he wants to save his friends as we saw in the previous Chapter.

But, before we can get too deep into  Starrk’s past, Kyōraku makes his next move. Kyōraku throws his Haori off toward Starrk, revealing the standard all-black Kimono that all Soul Reapers wear as he prepares for his next ‘Irooni’ attack — calling “Black!”.

Shunsui pwns at Irooni

And there it ends for Starrk, or does it?. What is going to happen from here? Can Starrk really survive such an attack? What other games do you think Kyōraku’s Zanpakutō will come up with next? Tell us what you think below:

For one reason or another, Twitter has not been indexing our Tweets in the Twitter Search. There can be any number of reasons for this but our main concern is that there are anime and manga fans out there (like you and me) who are not able to see our updates and therefore won’t be able to discover the wonder of our reviews — and we wouldn’t wish that on even our worst enemy.

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I have a few anime series that are very close to my heart and Rurouni Kenshin is one them. I remember when I first watched this series in it’s entirety I actually started to do research into the time period in history it covers and for an anime to make me do what was basically at the time “homework” was pretty impressive. But that was years ago and I recently re-watched the series from the beginning with one of my house mates so now with the ignorance of youth behind me I think it would be a good time to give Rurouni Kenshin the TV series a review.

Synopsis:
This series starts in the 11^th year of Meiji (1878) and we are introduced to Kenshin, a peace loving wonderer who carries a reverse bladed katana. He meets a young woman called Kaoru whose dojo is under threat by the legendary Hitokiri Battosai, the most feared samurai warrior of the Bakumatsu revolution. Kenshin confronts the man and reveals that he is in fact the Battosai and very quickly takes out the fraud and all his mates but without killing a single one of them. Kenshin decides to stay with Kaoru for a while and it’s not long before new friends arrive at the Kaoru’s dojo. But Kenshin’s past returns to haunt him and with it come enemies who may end up forcing the return of his Battosai persona.

Kenshin and his famous "Crossed Shapped Scar"

Rurouni Kenshin (RK) is a lot of things. It’s an action anime, a period piece, a romance, a comedy, but most of all it’s a tale of redemption. Kenshin’s past is dark, he killed an awful lot of people in the revolution and the burden of this weighs heavily on his soul. His Battosai persona is feared by all, but he suppresses it and tries to live his life as the peaceful Rurouni. In dong this Kenshin changes the lives of almost everyone he comes into contact with. As people come to understand his strength partnered with his humility they soon see the error of their ways, be it cowardice, arrogance, greed or selfishness. A cynic would say that this is all done in a rather superficial way…and to be honest they’d be right. The first season is basically made up of different encounters with various people, good and bad, who Kenshin befriends or fights or sometimes both, but other than introductions to new people and character development this doesn’t really go anywhere; Despite it’s comedic spots, interesting fights and likeable characters the first season can drag a bit.

But then the story changes. Towards the end of the first season the plot focuses up and we start to see that the all of the first season encounters have been build up to something bigger that is about to happen as Kenshin fights an old enemy and makes a difficult decision that leads onto the over arcing story of the second season and realistically the whole RK series.

This series is what I would call a classic, it’s set the bench for so many other samurai anime that came after it, but it’s also starting to feel a little dated. Watching it a second time round in 2009 has shown me that actually the animation isn’t as polished as we would like it to be, the colours are still bright but the artwork is also starting to show it’s age. But that’s far from being a major issue here. One of the strengths of RK is it’s variety of interesting characters, Kenshin is actually a very likeable lead; noble most of time, goofy in places and always compassionate (although it is noted that Kenshin does look a bit like a girl at times). Kaoru is considerably less annoying than the standard anime “I’m in love the hero” girl and grows to be actually quite strong willed and very likeable. Yahiko is an annoying brat but also matures over the series and Sanosuke is just a BadAss.

The music in this  show is pretty good and very varied, from bitter goodbyes and tense fights the music is there to move you and make the experience that much more enjoyable.

Kenshin’s fighting style is all bassed on speed and reading other peoples movements and this leads to some really interesting fights. The chorography isn’t particular flowing but they are still very entertaining and very varied, considering the wide variety of people who fight in the show. From street brawlers to fire breathers and ninjas to the incredibly strong, there is a something for everyone and more.

Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko and Sano

But what is it that makes this show so special? Why do people have it in there top 10 anime series of all time? How is it a show from 1996 can still be watchable when animation has come so far since then? The answer is simply this: RK is about people. All of them trying finding their way through life, and as they get to a cross roads where they have to make the decision that will change them forever we are there with them. This series has one of the most well made, gut wrenchingly, emotional scenes I’ve scene in anime two episodes before the end of the first season. It wasn’t even a death of someone, it was a scene that normally would be quite simple but I remember watching it and being shocked and actually a little upset about what had just happened, and it was at that point that I realised they had me. RK is about people, but most importantly it’s about people you care about. You want Aoshi to find redemption, you want Kaoru to be happy in her relationship with Kenshin, you want Yahiko to prove himself and grow to be strong and honourable, you want Sanosuke to keep on being a BadAss and you want Kenshin to be able to find a place to call home after 10 years of wondering alone. The plotline is fantastic in the second season but it’s pushed along by the fact that you are invested in these characters.

As with most good animes (and this IS a good anime) this is based on a manga of the same name but after the end of the second season the anime deviates away from the manga and you get a filler arc that was supposed to bridge the gap between the Kyoto Arc (second season) and a final arc form the manga. This last Arc was never made as part of the RK TV series and the show does unfortunately decline after the Kyoto arc finishes. But you still have the characters there doing what they do best and the ending episodes dont detract away from the epic that was the RK series up to that point…and besides, the story of Kenshin is far from over.

Extra:
There are 2 OVAs: the First OVA detailing Kenshin’s back-story and history and the Second OVA that jumps a decade or so into the future to show how the story of the “wondering samurai” ends. Both of these are fantastic and reviews will be coming soon.