A most welcome shift.
Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Tite Kubo
What They Say:
Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghost – he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow- a malevolent lost soul – Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping tortured spirits themselves find peace.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having just come onto Bleach in this form a few weeks ago, it’s been interesting getting into the groove of it just by focusing on the fight between Mayuri and Pernida, with some welcome Nemuri material as well. While I’m certainly more than familiar with most of the main characters, having watched the entirety of the anime run, I always felt a bit disconnected from the sprawling masses of Soul Reapers and would have a hard time naming too many of them in general and especially by sight. So focusing on the small side definitely worked to my favor in getting back into the book amid the latest sprawling storyline that Tite Kubo is engaged in. Manga rarely, rarely, has decent jumping on points for new readers.
The opening segment of this chapter brings Mayuri’s story to a close for awhile with his welcome takedown of Pernida, though there’s still a little bit alive that can be useful for later on. What changes things here is the arrival of Ikkaku and Yumichika from the eleventh squad, fools that he says never get out of the way when they should. It’s a useful moment for Mayuri though because he’s able to get them to use the body protection capsules he has to get himself in there and Zaraki as well so they can heal up some and recover for awhile. It’s also useful because the capsules currently contain Hitsugaya and Matsumoto, who are both now able to get back into the thick of things for a bit after recent events they’ve suffered in dealing with the Quincies. But are there more in the other two capsules? That leaves one curious.
This shift in characters takes another turn elsewhere in the city, which means new backgrounds and a lot more characters on the page to work with. Connecting up with Shunsui and the group he’s with, we get a good sense of just how tense things are in general but also just how fine the spiritual levels are in this area as even minute changes are noticeable. What’s fun here is that the group is dealing with the sniper Sternritter Lille Barro, who is taking some great shots at various Soul Reapers. He’d hoped they would be more of a challenge yet he’s finding that they’re no different than other pack animals. While we get several Soul Reapers in the mix here as a roster of sorts is counted out, the main focus is on Shunsui going for his trademark seemingly crazy approach to dealing with an opponent, something that he can use as a cover for his real objectives. It works well enough and there’s a double take as the gimmick is revealed, which is fun because it just reinforces that almost wild-eyed look that Shunsui has when a plan comes together.
In Summary:
Shifts in subplots within a larger arc of Bleach are the norm, though like any shonen series it can be awhile before you get to those shifts. Bringing closure to Mayuri’s arc works well because while we do get a sense of some emotion out of him towards Nemuri, we know the reality is that he’s just pleased about what he accomplished with her as an experiment more than anything else, so he’s true to his character. Moving to Shunsui and his group as they deal with the sniper is something that moves quicker than I expected in very little space since a good part of it is just a headcount of who’s left and what they should do. Letting Shunsui take center stage certainly works and he really goes all out with it in a fun way. I have no idea what to expect since I have no background in this arc and where it’s trying to go but I’m certianly enjoying the overall attempt of jumping on here that I’m doing.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media via Weekly Shonen Jump’s ComiXology Release
Release Date: September 28th, 2015
MSRP: $0.99
Well, it’s finally over. Mayuri vs. Pernida was actually one of Bleach’s better fights, especially since it was more brains than brawn — sort of a rarity in this series.
Korutsuchi definitely earned his stripes and it was a cool endcap seeing the assisstant captains thank him. Oh, and Hitsugaya and Matsumoto are alive too? Happy days! I’m glad we’re moving on though, especially since Shunsui is up to bat next.