Will the Soul Reapers be able to protect Karakura when the pendulum swings back to the present?
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Tite Kubo
Translation: Joe Yamazaki
English Adaptation: Lance Caselman
What They Say:
Soul Reaper captain Shinji Hirako has uncovered Aizen’s betrayal, but it may be too late. As some of the Soul Society’s greatest Soul Reapers transform into Hollows, it will be up to Kisuke Urahara to save them. And back in the present time, the grand battle between the Thirteen Court Guard Companies and the remaining Espada finally begins!
The Review!
Aizen appears before Shinji, taunting his captain that he was only able to proceed freely thanks to Shinji’s suspicions. Shinji attempts to put up a fight against his traitorous subordinate, only for the hollowfication to kick in. Fortunately for the Vizards to be, Urahara swoops in along with Tessai to confront Aizen. Tessai lets loose a powerful Kido, only for Aizen to stop it with one of his own and escape. Shinji extracts his hollowfied comrades, but finds himself under suspicion from the Council of 46. When it turns out Shinji and company are to be disposed of as hollows, Urahara panics and is extracted by Yoruichi, allowing him to escape and giving him time to discover a countermeasure for hollowfication. With that, the flashback ends, and the Vizards prepare to move out in the present day.
In facing down Aizen’s forces, the Captain General wastes no time in entrapping the former captains in a castle of flames. Meanwhile, Ichigo rushes to Orihime and Ulquiorra, with his friends clearing a path for him. With his superiors otherwise occupied, the Espada known as Barragan takes charge. Realizing that smashing the four pillars supporting the fake town will bring the real one back, he orders several hollows to attack them, only for them to be defeated by the guards: Hisagi, Kira, Yumichika, and Ikkaku.
Seeing his opposition, Barragan dispatches his Fraccion to handle the situation. The first battle to occur is between Yumichika and the feminine-acting, masculine-looking Charlotte Chuhlhourne. The two quickly get into a catfight over the meaning of beauty, which is all good and silly until Charlotte gets serious and absolutely pulverizes Yumichika. When the battered Yumichika manages to land a blow and slashes Charlotte’s hair, the freaky hollow releases his true power: Rena de Rosas, an extra creepy girlish outfit with a rather distinct bulge to it. When he uses Rena de Rosas ability to enclose Yumichika and himself in a dome of thorns, Yumichika thanks him. Yumichika then releases his sword, Ruri Iro Kujaku, revealing that he calls his sword by another name to annoy it and force it to change forms. His sword is really a kido-type, which is frowned upon in the combat focused eleventh company, forcing him to hide his true ability. Ruri Iro Kujaku saps Charlotte’s strength completely, bringing a quick end to the battle. When Hisagi is confronted by Findor, a hollow who can increase his strength by slashing his mask, and Kira faces Abirama, a flying hollow, will they be able to defeat their opponents and protect their towers?
In Summary:
With this volume we jump back into the main plot, which is certainly appreciated. While the flashback may not have been terrible, it seemed to offer little outside of fanservice. The battle between Ichigo and Ulquiorra is set up nicely here, though it seems we’ll have to wait at least a little longer before really jumping into it. The primary battle here is a surprisingly decent one, considering it focuses on the relatively unimportant Yumachika. His quirks and those of his opponents mesh nicely for some rather funny dialogue, and we even get a somewhat shocking twist within the course of the battle. Hopefully the next few fights will manage to be every bit as interesting despite focusing on similarly “low-level” characters, and go over fairly quickly so we can get to the big fights on the horizon.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Package Rating: B+
Text/Translation Rating: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Age Rating: 13+
Released by: Viz Media
Release Date: December 6th, 2011
MSRP: $9.99
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