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:

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.

This episode feels almost as if it ends where it started, we seemingly have got no further after conclusion of the episode. We are still watching the face-off between Muramasa and Ichigo (and his Hollow alter ego), while both Renji and Hisagi battle their respective Zanpakutōs.

Bleach Title Screen

It’s interesting that while this episode is entitled, Gekitotsu! Hisagi vs Kazeshini, there is very little of Hisagi or Kazeshini in it. We see long and quite frankly annoying scenes of Renji fighting his Zanpakuto, Zabimaru – which happens to be two entities joined my a massive chain – who continually fight between themselves seemingly for Pesche/Dondochakka-esque comedy value. Did I mention it’s annoying to watch? Particularly if, like myself, you want them to stop constantly switching between the three fights which serves no other purpose than to drag the storyline out for a full 20+ minutes.

Hisagi and Kazeshini

As the story unfolds we know that the Zanpakuto are now free of their Shinigami and their existence is no longer tied to them, allowing them to exterminate their former wielders without fear of death. The problem for the Shinigami is that if they kill their Zanpakuto, they may lose them forever. This seems to be the central theme of this episode as we see Renji so reluctant to face his Zanpakuto that we basically get to watch him getting beaten up for practically the whole episode. This is stark contrast to Hisagi, who from early on and in other arcs he was quite clear that he hated his Zanpakuto because it was seemingly designed to take lives. Where Renji is being held back by the fear of losing his Zanpakuto for good, Hisagi holds no reservations as he faces Kazeshini who appears to be quite powerful in his own right.

Hollow Ichigo

Meanwhile, Ichigo is still facing Muramasa in his own mind. The Hollow Ichigo has been battling with Muramasa since the last episode and has proven to be faster and more powerful than Muramasa had expected. Towards the end we see Muramasa’s special ability which is some form of manipulation and he gains control over Hollow Ichigo rendering him unable to move or break free. At the moment Ichigo steps in to save the Hollow Ichigo claiming that despite who he is, he is still a part of him.

Quite simply, little is achieved in this episode. I certainly hope the pace picks up and soon! If we have many more episodes like where nothing actually happens, with the exception of the last 2 minutes, I don’t think I’ll be watching the filler for much longer.

Why not tell me how you’ve been finding the filler so far in the comments below. Is it just me or is it utterly dire? Speak you mind below:

What normally happens with filler is that they brew up some strange storyline based on a set of villains that will obviously be defeated in a way that ultimately upon returning to canon, can in no way corrupt the direction the manga intends to take things. So don’t expect to learn anything new about any of the characters or for any seemingly new abilities they pick up to be carried through. Nor should you expect to have anything particularly revelatory revealed to about anyone, least of all any of the central characters.

Title/Splash Screen for #234

What you can expect is for pre-existing concepts known to the reader to be extrapolated into fully fledged filler content. That’s a bit like what we have on this occasion and during this arc which is being referred to (by Wikipedia at least) as the ‘Zanpakutō Unknown Tales’. In this arc we are seeing the Zanpakuto rebel against their Shinigami masters. Now we already knew that Zanpakuto have a human form and the Shinigami have to face their Zanpakuto and master them to obtain their Bankai. So not much new there. What we didn’t know is what all these Zanpakuto looked like, particularly for the other Shinigami. Of course we knew Ichigo’s Zanpakuto is Zangetsu (斬月?, literally “cutting moon”) as we watched him gain his Bankai, but we have not had the pleasure of seeing anyone else’s Bankai. Can you see the extrapolation taking place?

Now the concept is still one that can be considered interesting, particularly in the case of some of the more advanced Captains of the Gotei-13 such as Byakuya Kuchiki, Yamamoto-Genryūsai, Shunsui Kyōraku and Kenpachi Zaraki, to name but a few. Most notably, Kenpachi Zaraki – who of course we know is the only Captain without a Bankai as he doesn’t know the name of his Zanpakuto. At the same time, this is where we will be disappointed because we quickly hear that Kenpachi is not around and Yamamoto has been captured because his Zanpakuto would not cooperate, so immediately we see again that nothing new will be revealed in this filler either. With that being said, I would love to be proved wrong.Zabimaru

Zabimaru

This episode picks up after the quite impressive battle between Ichigo, Zangetsu and Muramasa where we see Ichigo seemingly fully release his hollow form. It was something totally different to the Vizard/Visoreds half-masks, instead he was completely hollow and displayed some amazing power. We also see that the Gotei 13 are still recovering from the attack and the Zanpakuto are no where to be found nor is the missing Bayakuya or Yamamoto.

Quite simply, the whole episode really amounts to nothing. The whole 20+ minutes are spent revisiting what happened in the previous episode along with snippets of the start of three seperate encounters, setting the scene for future battles between Renji and his Zanpakuto and Shūhei and his Zanpakuto, Kazeshini. There is plenty of posturing, even some down right time wasting as we see Renji’s Zanpakuto, Zabimaru arguing with itself effectively for a good few seconds on screen. It seems when even filler has filler in it something is seriuosly wrong with anime. It really comes across as a poor attempt to just make up the minutes required for a full episode.

Hollow Ichigo

There really is not much to take away from this episode at all. We also see Muramasa attempt to draw out Ichigo’s hollow doppleganger in an effort to free him from Ichigo as he did with Zangetsu. It is at this point that the episode effectively ends. What we do know is that it seems Ichigo’s hollow self has the ability and strength to oppose Muramasa but we won’t know the full extent of this till subsequent episodes, but there is enough at the end to allude to this fact.

At the end, you can only groan in despair at how painfully disappointing the episode was to watch. I know it’s filler but does it really have to be this bad? Lets hope next week is much better as we are due to see  Shūhei face off against his Zanpakuto, Kazeshini, which I can again only presume will be the first/third (if you include Rukia and Ichigo’s fight) in a long line of Shinigami vs Zanpakuto fights which may no make up the sum total of the arc. Again, I do hope I am very wrong.

Let me know what you thought of the episode. Did you think it was as bad I thought it was. Let us know below.

Background
So by means of a quick catch up. Where are we up to now? Well Luffy and his crew are already half way through the Grand Line, whether or not this signals that we are halfway through the One Piece epic remains to be seen, in a way we hope yes but at the same time why would we want it to end when it seems to just be getting good!

Well, as they hopped from island to island in the Grand Line using the Log Pose, all routes converge at a single point which is The Sabaody Archipelago, which is the route all must go in order to continue on to Fish-man Island. While the crew where in the Sabaody Archipelago, they needed to get their ship ready to make the journey and needed to seek the assistance of the only person who can prepare their ship for the next leg of their journey. In searching the area, they encounter many of the other ‘Rookies’ and their pirate crews, some of which have bounties higher than Luffy himself, which means we can only assume they are either significantly stronger than he or have been significantly more ruthless and nefarious in their travels.

One of the other significant events is that Keimi is kidnapped and is sent off for auction to be sold into slavery, with her being a Mermaid, she would have received a high price and the Royalty of the Sabaody Archipelago, the Dragons — who effectively are the untouchables in this region have full reign without any fear of reprisal feed a growing industry in human slave trade. It is during this auction that a massive chain of effects is set in motion which not only allows to catch glimpse of the other ‘Rookies’ and their abilities but also sees the calling out of the an Admiral to the scene, followed by the Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma, who — to cut a long story short — makes each and everyone of the Strawhat crew disappear into thin air. Leaving absolutely no one left and the Strawhat crew defeated.

Luffy Fighting the Gorgon Sisters

In subsequent episodes we see Luffy flying through the air and can only concluded they have been sent flying in different directions by Kuma, it would seem as an act of mercy, to avoid them being slaughtered by Admiral Kizaru and the Kuma Robots/Pacifista’s.

Luffy eventually arrives on a strange island which turns out is inhabitated by a Woman Warrior Race. Skip forward a few episodes and see discover the for men to trespass on their land is punishable my death. In This episode, we are amidst a battle between the nations two strongest warriors and Luffy as he defends the lives of those that attempted to save him.

Still with me? You’ll appreciate I’ve left a lot out, but I’ve just tried to cover about 20+ episodes in as few a lines as possible. On to today’s episode.

The Kings Disposition

Episode #414
As I’ve said already, Luffy is amidst a fight with some formidable foes that use techniques he has never heard of. They refer to this new technique as Haki. For those paying close attention, Luffy had encountered this before, in fact twice and both at Sabaody Archipelago. The first was when Rayleigh came out and then second was at the arrival of a strange guy with a massive weapon who travelled with another Pacifista and claimed to have no Devils Fruit ability. Last weeks episode ended and this one begins where Luffy has some how tapped into his own Haki (AKA Willpower) which stuns everyone in the vicinity to the extent of making some of the Amazonian warriors faint. I can’t help but make a connection to the Bleach equivalent, which must be ‘Reiatsu’ or Spiritual Force/Power.

Second Gear

Either way, it is revealed that Luffys massive Haki is known as the Kings Disposition and is rare. We begin to get hints that Luffy is different from all but a handful of people ever to have such Haki. In any case the fight continues, with Luffy eventually stepping up into Second Gear. I am yet to tire of seeing this. The foes are surprised by his strength which inevitably overwhelms them causing them to concede defeat but not before Luffy once more displays his compassion at the very moment before absolute defeat. Despite the heat of battle protects the secret of the Gorgon Sisters even though he knows not why, he simply knows that it is because they would rather die than have it revealed.

These past 2/3 episodes have been leading up to this. We due to find the out the back story of this mysterious mark. For those in the manga there are little surprises for you but the way the fight scenes are portrayed will, in my opinion, always win out over the manga.

Let me know what you thought of the most recent episode. If your not following the manga too. Feel free to speculate below.

I have to confess at the offset that I have a fondness for samurai -themed anime, particularly those series that take place during the Meji/Bakumatsu (Last Shogunate) period. So anything in the vein of Sumarai X/Rurouni Kenshin would normally get my immediate approval. This however is no Kenshin remake. Whether that is a good or a bad thing in my humble opinion, read on.

Background

Peacemaker Kurogane (Peace Maker鐵?) is a historical fiction manga and anime series created by mangaka Nanae Chrono (黒乃 奈々絵 Kurono Nanae?). The story begins in 19th century Japan before the Meiji Restoration, a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan’s political and social structure while the seeds of the revolution are being planted. The story follows the boy protagonist, Ichimura Tetsunosuke, who joins the Shinsengumi (initially as Hijikata Toshizo’s page) while seeking strength to avenge his parents’ death at the hands of a Choshu rebel. [source]

Overview
The series quickly commences by giving you a taste of whats to come as we, quite early on, are seeing a raid take place and immediately you realise, this is no kids anime as several opposing members get cut in half and sliced to pieces and spare no one.

While the gore and blood in this one is not gratuitous, there is plenty of blood and dismembering, so if your at all queasy or sensitive to such things, you’ll want to give this one a skip. That being said, the violence is sparse and does not feature extensively throughout the series, with the exception of the beginning, a small middle section and the finale. All in all, it is quite well balanced.

Peacemaker Kurogane is largely based on the story of a little boy, Ichimura Tetsunosuke (referred to fondly as Tetsu throughout the series), who, after witnessing his parents execution at the hands of the Choshu, sets out on a path of vengeance. This begins by enlisting in the Shinsengumi — think of them as the SWAT of the Samurai era. It is here that most of the series takes place and much of the episodes seem to be arbitrary little snippets of Tetsu’s life in the Shinsengumi camp, working and living as the Vice Chiefs personal assistant, in all of its glamour – or lack thereof.

I quite quickly began to find that it was not what I expected, and in a sense was quite like Kenshin in this respect. As with Kenshin, it is so painfully slow in the beginning, but it would seem this is all to build the emotional attachment for the viewer to the characters that the storyline introduces throughout each episode. We, as the viewer begin to grow quite fond of Tetsu, his elder over-protective brother Tatsunosuke (sometimes, confusingly referred to as Tatsu) and the various unique characters of the Shinsengumi troops.

The episodes between 1 and 20, while entertaining are quite slow and nothing really seems to be happening. We continue to see Tetsu do menial jobs for the Shinsengumi Vice Chief. We do get glimpses of the plotting and scheming that goes on in the shadows by the Choshu but nothing really happens.

One of the series main oddities is Okita Sōji angry pet piglet,  Saizō. Can someone please explain what value this piglet adds? I can understand the comedic value of a piglet as he almost immediately takes a dislike to Tetsu from the very beginning and this then becomes a running gag of sorts throughout the series.

Despite the slow pace of the series, those last 2 to 3 episodes of the series make all the effort of struggling through the first 20 episodes worthwhile. They are in a word, epic. The pace of the storyline really does accelerate in the final stages and it begins to evoke some quite sincere emotions as you watch comrades fall and people close to Tetsu die at the hands of the Choshu. Tetsu’s sincerity, innocence and naivete contrast quite well with the battle hardened Shinsengumi Samurai and Shinobi who have all but lost any kind of feeling and emotion. This is where Peacemaker Kurogane differs from Kenshin, whereas Kenshin is the Manslayer/Battōsai looking for redemption, Tetsu is a little boy with a deep emotional scar,  looking for vengeance – willing to become a demon in order to avenge his parents, all the while not quite understanding what it is he is asking.

The final battle sequence is most definitely worth watching and it quite easily rivals some of the best sequences I’ve seen in anime.  The outcome, while predictable is unexpectedly brutal and this is a good thing. Far too often these anime take the easy route out and end up with a quite unsatisfactory end, which simply could be called a draw.

Concluding Remarks
The maturity of the series is evident throughout. The story is largely about relationships, particularly between siblings.  The sword fighting is not a significant feature of the series but when it does occur it is immensely enjoyable to watch and executed wonderfully. We don’t really get to see Tetsu progress in strength and skill episodically as you might expect, however the finale suggests differently. The concluding fight is one of the main reasons why I would recommend this series, for those that bare through the initial episodes there is a rewarding and satisfying conclusion that may surprise many jaded anime fans. This is definitely a series that would be worth watching if your a Kenshin fan, if at the very least, as a comparison.

Let me know what you thought of the series in the comments below.

Well since Bleach #200, we were in the throws of another massive show down between Nnoitra Jiruga and Kenpachi Zaraki. Since then a number of the Espada have fallen and Sōsuke Aizen, along with his cronies (Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen) have made their way to Karakura Town, albeit the fake Karakura Town.

The encounter between Aizen (plus cronies) and the remaining Espada (with the exception of Ulquiorra who was left behind to hold the fort in Hueco Mundo and is amidst a show down of his own against Ichigo) encounter the full-force of the Gotei 13, including the Commander-General, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai.

First to face off are the Vice-Captains; Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa , Izuru Kira and Shūhei Hisagi against Barragan Luisenbarn’s Fracción (his minions who fight at the level of Vice-Captains).

Still with me?

Before this current episode, both Yumichika and Izuru have beaten their Fracción counter-part in quite prolific fashion, in particular Izuru, who has, arguabley, both the lamest and most ingenius weapon/zanpakutō (depending on who you talk to, I lean toward the latter opinion), Wabisuke. Which not only has the ability to double the weight of whatever it touches bet seems to lend itself quite well to spectacularly gruesome beheadings.

Now, on to today episode, and let me just begin by saying: Wow!

It’s been a long time since I can quite easily say, “I enjoyed watching that episode”.  Not only was it action packed from start to finish, it was well produced, the artwork was top-rank and the all round quality of the scripting and direction was nigh on faltless.

I dare say that it was almost as good as Ichigo vs Grimmjow – and you can quote me on that!

The battle scenes where fast paced, helped my plenty of flash-step, a personal favourite and the build up toward the end and the final crescendo was just right – dare I say, perfect.

What contributed to such an amazing episode was the contrast between the two leads for this episode,  Shūhei Hisagi – who is humble, downcast and melancholic, and the Fracción, Findore Carias, with his confident, proud and arrogant exclaim of “Exacta!”, on multiple occasions.

There is plenty in this episode to commend it to you to watch at the earliest opportunity and maybe even, more than once.

This was indeed a welcomed break from slow pace of late and the punishment of filler. Lets hope that they keep this pace up when  Ikkaku, who ends the episode appearing to be down-and-out, can defeat the final Fracción, Choe Neng Poww.

I’m interested to hear whether, you agree with the above or disagree entirely. Leave a comment – it makes me warm and fuzzy inside.

Well, this is the 200th episode of the Bleach saga, and for those that need to catch up — you’ve not missed much. Since the collosal fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow in episode 1xx (need reference!) and the commencement of the filler which featured the lovable Captain Amagai amidst a fairly weak storyline, especially for Bleach filler, known commonly as The New Captain Syūsuke Amagai arc. If you really want to know more about it see here.

Well, returning to the current episode there’s not much new thats exposed to here. I think everyone is waiting to find out more about the Espada, particularly the higher ranked Espada for which (at the present) have only been revealed up to No. 4 which is Ulquiorra [Schiffer].  Instead, we are greated by the closing section of possibly the longest, most boring and tiresome fight in the history of Bleach - Szayel Aporro [Granz] vs others. It seems that Szayel has fought the most people over the most episodes to date with the inital fight being against Uryū Ishida and Renji Abarai which last for a at least two episodes and then continued against the insanely annoying Pesche [Guatiche] and Dondochakka [Bilstin], whos obvious inclusion for light comic relieft is infuriatingly annoying as they seem to serve no purpose other than to delay the progression of the storyline. After that fight, which holds a few surprises, moves onto the arrival of the Captains of the Gotei 13 and in particular Mayuri Kurotsuchi who now battles Szayel.

The closing sequence to this battle is quite sinister and slightly chilling but quite enjoyable.  I’m unsure if the enjoyment is the fact that the fight has finally reached a conclusion or the fact that Mayuri is so utterly weird.

One thing that has to be said is that while the anime appears to be faltering in delivering the goods, for those that follow the manga each week along side the anime, there is some relief there in terms of getting a decent Bleach ‘hit’ like the Bleach addicts you are.

All we can do is hope that the conclusion to the fight between and Nnoitra Jiruga and Kenpachi Zaraki is either swift in its delivery or extremely entertaining as it seems to be building up to be a fantastic episode.

As the Zen Master said, we’ll see.