[MANGA] Bleach Weekly Chapter 500+ Discussion

[Xagzan]

Originally Posted by TangentZ

I think the One-Hit KO is fine. We don't need every fight to have East/South/West/North "modes" that takes forever to finish. The plot needs to move forward.

That's the same rationale that got us the atrocious, predictable ending of the Ichigo vs Ulquiorra fight, and now it seems those adjectives might make their return here. Of course, for the former, that was when I still was deeply invested in Bleach, so yeah, no anger this time, just a weary headshake.

And really, I could care less about Bleach's plot at this point, or how slowly it moves forward. It was really always the characters I was interested in, and my desire to see good guys actully die in the series was second to the desire to see them developed, rather than be shoved aside and ignored for new characters every new arc. And imo, Kubo's just shown again how he doesn't really have any idea what to do with them, killing them off frivolously one after the other rather than develop them, taking the easy way out. Then again, he did reduce most of these characters to cardboard cutouts long ago, so in a way maybe it's fitting they get knocked aside so indifferently.

My mind reels already at the level of asspull Ichigo's going to need to defeat the guy who just beat the strongest character in the series with one slash. It strained my disbelief when he beat Aizen, but I don't think I'll ever be ready for this.

[DarkSkiper]

Originally Posted by SeanQ

characters die in one piece and it's not retarded like how bleach characters are being killed...and the whole idea of Yama still stands after death was totally stolen from one piece *cough cough* whitebeard lol

The standing after death is a thing used even before One Piece Whitebeard death so don't start this stupid thing like "oh he totally stole that from there!", many things in life were done before, all we are doing is redoing it.
By that your logic if you see a guy saying "It's a good day", but you said it before he did then he totally ripped you off...

Anyway, Yama's death was now how I expected, and I doubt that, if it's truly Ichigo the cause the explosion in the sky, it would mean that Ichigo comes to the "rescue" but his previous mental state suggest that Ichigo comes to "slaughter".

[Eragon]

^ Well then let's hope it's Hollow Ichigo and not Ichigo. Because Ichigo just isn't the slaughter type - and after seeing Yama's murder I really want to see some Quincy limbs flying about.

[Linkark07]

It seems Kubo is dead serious on killing important characters. First Byakuya, now old man Yamamoto. Who's next?

[Chiisai Kuma]

Who should kubo kill next?
ORIHIME!
KILL THE MEDIC!!

[SeanQ]

Originally Posted by Chiisai Kuma

Who should kubo kill next?
ORIHIME!
KILL THE MEDIC!!

Can't kill Orihime...she'll reject her own death.

[Eragon]

^^ YES!! Kill HER(just venting out my frustration from the Hueco Mundo arc )

[DarkSkiper]

Well, Kubo now had taste of blood so it's difficult to say who dies next... Let's hope his publisher will slap Kubo out of it BEFORE he kills off all of his characters.

@SeanQ
I already see the battle:

Orihime: Death! I reject you!

Kubo: Orihime! I reject you rejecting death!

Orihime: Kubo! I reject you rejecting me rejecting death!
.....

and that will continue till the end of times...

[james0246]

^I'm sure Kubo has built up an immunity to rejection, what with all the women that have undoubtedly rejected him in his lifetime...

Originally Posted by Chiisai Kuma

Who should kubo kill next?
ORIHIME!
KILL THE MEDIC!!

It's going to be Chad. Let's face it, he's worthless, and his crowning moment of awesome was defending an annoying bird from a creature he couldn't see, and this occurred 500 chapters ago...So yeah, Chad's dead.

[Slayerx]

Originally Posted by Tong

.
And go read One Piece in case you hate characters dying lol

Actually when it comes to death amongst the good guys, Bleach and One piece have similar track records (most those that died in bleach were villains). Neither had been known for killing the good guys outside of flashbacks

However when one piece finally did decide to break the rule, they made sure the deaths were both epic and meaningful; they carried a get deal of weight and gave dignity to those characters. Bleach on the other hand, is treating death as nothing more than a "shock" moment; Kubo's just killing characters for the sake of killing them. He gives them no time, meaning or dignity in their death. They just die... characters we have come to know for years and THIS is their send off?

When it comes to death, its not the kill count that matters, but HOW they die that matters. HOW a character dies is what will make their death be memorable for readers and effect us. If you let them die like useless fodder then their deaths just seem like a waste.


Honestly, the least Yamaji could have done was pull what Jiriaya did; die while figuring out how the enemy's technique works and pass on that info so that the rest of the shimigami have a chance at a counter attack. At least then he could have died while DOING something.

Originally Posted by SeanQ

characters die in one piece and it's not retarded like how bleach characters are being killed...and the whole idea of Yama still stands after death was totally stolen from one piece *cough cough* whitebeard lol

The whole "death whilst standing" doesn't really work when the character in question is cut in half and thus are flat on their face when they die... the reason you do a "died while standing" moment is to create a very powerful final image of the person as they died; It creates a moment of awe as on lookers see how badass he was to keep on standing... With Yamaji on the otherhand, all they see still standing are a pair of legs, while the other half lies there on the ground... before being vaporized.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Black-Cat-Sama

Anyways, to the chapter. They showed that Mohawk Stern Ritter was still alive (he was exhausted looking as the soldiers stormed in), but didn't we see Yamamoto kill him? I thought the Mohawk guy was part of the trio that tried to surprise Yamamoto with As Nodt and ended up fried to death?

He was. It's just another fail from Yamamoto. Damnit Kubo. You could have at least gave him that (I wouldn't be surprised to find out the other two survived as well).

[itachi-san314]

Originally Posted by SeanQ

characters die in one piece and it's not retarded like how bleach characters are being killed...and the whole idea of Yama still stands after death was totally stolen from one piece *cough cough* whitebeard lol

I've seen stories where warriors die standing up before. that's not original to OP. edit: Benkei

Originally Posted by Chiisai Kuma

Who should kubo kill next?

whoever reveals their bankai next. I'm looking at you guys shunsui and junshiro

[Enishi316]

Ok..this is crap at it's best. Kubo shows us after waiting for hundreds of chapters. His Banki..just for him to use it on a FAKE...THAN get it stolen and killed by 1 sword swipe....ARE YOU KIDDING ME???????????

[Bassoonicmayhem]

I have never been a fan of Yamamoto. I always thought he was a logically flawed character and very irrational—now all of his inconsistencies are being blamed on his need to distance Soul Soicety from anyone other than soul reapers and I can kind of buy that. But it’s still a hard pill to swallow.

As for Yamamoto’s death, I thought it was very anti-climactic and poorly done. I wouldn’t have minded if Kubo had dedicated one more chapter to Yamamoto fighting and clinging to life only to be stabbed in the back then eviscerated—with maybe a sprinkle of flashbacks with Joshiro and Unohana too, as students. When Yamamoto was able to find peace, as Bach pointed out, it made him weaker, but made him a better man. A man that would do anything to hold on to that peace and protect the people he cared for (i.e those weird inconstancies during almost every arc where he was usually belligerent to our main protagonists [until fullbringer, right?]). Because that would cement the fact that those guys are the bad guys and Yamamoto is someone you should feel bad for.

Instead, I feel disgusted at how this was handled and I never really liked the character, but I understand his importance to the story. Instead of being able to do any kido or hand-to-hand or defending himself (in an extremely weakened state), he just gets split in two, then three and finally eviscerated. And yes, this shows that these are the bad guys too, but it gives us no scale to see how long it will take the chosen one to finish him off. And as I’ve heard some speculate, it seems that Ichigo will have to get another power up—this time Quincy. Hopefully though, that doesn’t happen.

As for the explosion. I could really care less. Unless it’s Ichigo. Because if it is Ichigo, that means we’re not going to HM and we’re not figuring out who the mysterious swordsperson is and that’s really the only thing keeping me somewhat invested in the manga still. I’m guessing though, that it will either be one of the Captians or Aizen (and for me) it’s a slim chance it will be Zero Squad. Kubo likes to mention them, but I have my doubts that he actually knows what they will do or what kinds of powers they will have—so if they do actually make an appearance it will be lack luster. (Now I say this and they will appear the next chapter. )

By the way, how did Bach know about either instance with Ichigo and Orihime—I know the picture with Orihime is more recent with this arc (because of her hair) but I don’t remember this moment happening. And how would he know about the moment in time with Ichigo, unless, like Aizen, he has had a strange fascination with the boy and has been watching him since he was a small child (though in this case it could be more SS related than Ichigo related—but then again, this is Bleach, everything has to do with Ichigo).

[Langus]

Alright... On page 3 I actually said a "shit just got real" but now I'm just kind of disappointed with how it all went down. I get that Generals aren't safe but it seemed like Kubo just wanted Yamamoto out of the way so dealt the killing blow. There wasn't any finesse in it even it it makes a statement about JB's powers which are beyond all logic at this point. I like how the more we learn about SS the more we find out that they've been this sort of grey area quasi bad guy the whole time, but I feel like I'm really struggling to glean something positive from the recent developments. Fully expecting the explosion in the sky to be Ichigo, who will be completely useless against an entire shitritter army. Three cheers for zero squad maybe/finally showing up?

[sayde]

Originally Posted by Xagzan

My mind reels already at the level of asspull Ichigo's going to need to defeat the guy who just beat the strongest character in the series with one slash. It strained my disbelief when he beat Aizen, but I don't think I'll ever be ready for this.

Actually, he probably won't need much more than we've already seen. That final battle with Aizen shed a lot of light on Ichigo's potential. So much so, that I personally feel like Kubo made him way *too* strong. His final bankai + FGT form was much stronger than Yamamoto was. And it's still probably far stronger than Juha Bach (or anyone else) is. So unless Juha Bach also turns out to be another transcendental being with spiritual energy so high that it can't be felt, all Ichigo needs to do (in theory) is tap into those powers once more and it should be more than enough.

Originally Posted by Bassoonicmayhem

And as I’ve heard some speculate, it seems that Ichigo will have to get another power up—this time Quincy. Hopefully though, that doesn’t happen.

Even though I'm one of those fans that have advocated the notion of Ichigo gaining a Quincy related power up, I will acknowledge that it doesn't feel necessary right now. Kubo's already established his peak strength to be so obnoxiously high, that he shouldn't need another power up IMO. Instead, I think Kubo needs to focus more on how he can plausibly make an opponent stand up to Ichigo at that level. I mean at least Aizen had the excuse of being attached to a magical mysterious wishing orb with undefined potential. But if Juha Bach turns out to be that strong already without any reason, it'll be hard to believe.

Originally Posted by Bassoonicmayhem

By the way, how did Bach know about either instance with Ichigo and Orihime—I know the picture with Orihime is more recent with this arc (because of her hair) but I don’t remember this moment happening.

The moment in question may not have been shown to us. In fact, the panel featuring Orihime might not have been from any moment in particular. Its only purpose may have been to inform the reader to who Bach was referring to.

As for how Bach could know about an event we haven't seen, he might've just assumed the most likely scenario. Assuming Bach was already informed of Orihime's abilities and Yamamoto's missing arm, it's easy to connect the dots and conclude there was a moment in a time when Yamamoto would've rejected Orihime's aid. I know a number of fans already reached the same conclusion a long time ago. I'm happy to see Kubo finally acknowledge the fact that Yamamoto could have indeed used Orihime to heal his arm. Its also nice to see a character call him out for his decision to not go through with it.

On another note, I'll miss the old man. But I'm pretty excited as to whats to come. We've still got two more unidentified war potentials remaining and Unohana keeps seeming more and more likely a candidate. As for next weeks chapter, I'm predicting events switch to Hueco Mundo. The mystery character will turn out to be Kirio Hikifune which will then lead Urahara to coming to the conclusion of who's just arrived on the scene in Soul Society. The chapter will end by switching back to Soul Society and revealing silhouettes of Squad Zero.

[Lendial]

A little too late to reveal 13 new characters.

[Alchemist007]

Originally Posted by WONDERMIKE

- Firemonster from the past????

Probably himself.

Now I get Yamamoto's personality, he was a goddamned thug long ago.

[Black-Cat-Sama]

Originally Posted by Lendial

A little too late to reveal 13 new characters.

Zero squad? they could just be 4-5 people, if that. Doubt that's going to be a whole large group again, like we've gotten in the past and most recently (at leat I hope it isnt).

Originally Posted by Alchemist007

Probably himself.

Now I get Yamamoto's personality, he was a goddamned thug long ago.

, yeah, it's either referring to him at a time when he went ballistic or when he first achieved bankai...both of which could explain the correlation with this chapter.

Seriously though, can someone answer this for me? The Mohawk Stern Ritter was roasted by Yamamoto when he, As Nodt and Nananananaa Jakoop tried to sneak attack him, right? Then how is he still standing whent he soldiers storm in?

I gotta admit though, as 'disappointing' as the deaths are, I feel its necessary. Bleach has moved past the 'emotional' death point, where drawing things out like that would ruin the flow of things. This is a quick paced invasion/war...where even the crucial characters (at least, NAMED characters) are dying like simple pawns in any other story--I like that.

Kinda depressing t see all the buildings crumble like that. Would really have loved to see a younger Unohana explaining Yamamoto's picture instead while he listened from somewhere else =p

[Mr. DJ]

Well, it took a while, but I was at least partially right about why Yama didn't want his arm healed

Explosion in the back? It's Unahona