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):
Bleach has done mostly well in regards to the fight sequence between Shunsui and Lille once it got underway. While it worked familiar setup elements rather than dig right into the fight, the two are properly well matched in terms of power while being somewhat opposite in style that makes it compelling to watch. Shunsui in particular is what sells it simply because he’s got a good presence about him and a solid enough style just in costume design and personality that you can enjoy watching him play about knowing he largely has the power to back it up. But like any series that goes on for as long as this one has, it has to have an area where things feel like it’s getting more serious than you’d expect.
Interestingly, a decent part of this chapter as it focuses on the fight spends its time dealing with Shunsui’s bankai in its human form. Ohana is certainly one that is also well matched for Shunsui in how she deals with him and you can almost hear her voice in a very good way with the concern and disdain she plays amid all of it. There’s an almost disaffected feeling at times when she goes on about the kimono of another girl early on that adds a nice bit of history to it all. But she’s also able to back him up well enough with her power level combined with his natural ability and we see just how well matched they are. it plays out well as there’s an easy confidence coming from Shunsui with the fight against Lille as he knows he has this in the bag and that things are said and done.
I really found myself enjoying the time between Ohana and Shunsui as it progresses since there is that easy comfort between them that’s really pleasing to watch. It gives us a sense of just how much of a toll this has taken on him and that even though they say certain things to each other they also have some real concern as well. Of course, the book has to try and torment us with a big moment that changes the nature of things, wanting us to come back for more, but even with it presented as powerfully and with as much impact as it does, can you believe that Shunsui will die from it? Bleach, like most long running books, doesn’t upset the status quo long term and I can’t imagine them eliminating anyone at this stage. It makes for a fun moment and I can totally anime-visualize it, but it’s more just an easy cliffhanger piece.
In Summary:
Though not a bad chapter, Bleach takes some good material that makes up the bulk of it and kind of goes for the easy bit at the end that kind of takes the wind out of the sails for it. While you could end up with a known character getting offed here, and it wouldn’t truly surprise me, I wouldn’t bet on it either knowing how these series work. Kubo has a solid entry overall, though it dials down things a bit compared to the previous chapter in its overall design, but I like the kind of near freeform look we get for Lille as it progresses and he loses more and more of his control. Since he’s been so tightly controlled from the get go, having him going into a rage is pretty fun to watch.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media via Weekly Shonen Jump’s ComiXology Release
Release Date: November 2nd, 2015
MSRP: $0.99