Bleach 472 – Falcon Punch
Byakuya definitely does not disappoint this week, and I think it’s safe to say that he’s living up to his reputation even in the face of the absolutely ridiculous abilities of Tsukishima, who was clearly feeling very confident after being able to insert himself in Byakuya’s past. Even with his weaknesses being exploited and his attacks rendered ineffective however, Byakuya is able to release his bankai with a broken blade and attack within his own danger zone. The man is a beast, improvising and improving one’s skills on the fly and showing his skill. Admittedly though, it was a pretty desperate move considering he’s whirling thousands of blades at high speeds right next to his body. It ends up backfiring, but I don’t think anybody cared since, Byakuya immediately punches right through Tsukishima’s chest with one hand, and throws in some badass quotes to finish off the chapter. Epic.
Even though that attack should have instantly killed Tsukishima, this is a shounen manga, so I can’t say for sure if he’s defeated just yet. To be honest, Byakuya’s move was a little too sudden given that he was pretty much backed up against a wall with almost no options left, and I would actually be somewhat surprised if Tsukishima really was out of tricks and the battle ended just like that. Rukia’s performance on the other hand was just disappointing, though it’s still not entirely clear what Riruka did to her. Perhaps Byakuya will get to fight her though if Rukia really was defeated. Yukio should still be around as well, so depending on whether Hitsugaya finishes him off, he could still screw around with the dimensions and change things up.
November 11, 2011 at 2:47 amSkins Thunderbomb
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Sexy. <3
November 11, 2011 at 2:57 amKranyte
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The only issue I have with Tsukishima is the fact that, yes he “trained” with Byakuya, but he was able to match the speed of Sebonzakura when it took Ichigo Shunpo + his bankai to get those speeds.
Yes, Tsukishima knows all of Byakuya’s moves and how he attacks, but to still be able to match the speeds makes me think Kubo is merely trying to make the fights interesting rather than fodder.
Though, admittedly Byakuya’s punch with blades was pure win and awesomeness..
November 13, 2011 at 7:00 amJuno
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it’s not a punch with blades. he grabbed a handful of petals and blasted them through him at point blank range
November 11, 2011 at 3:18 amGekokujou
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From the way I see it, it seems like Byakuya got a taste of how Kenpachi feels during battle.
November 11, 2011 at 3:38 amOni
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oh good the wannabe psycho Aizen is down
November 11, 2011 at 3:39 amgawrshness
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well let’s count on the fact that Tsukishima is human so a punch clean through his chest will kill him for good. Hopefully…besides Byakuya pulling Kenpachi out of nowhere was epicness
November 13, 2011 at 6:59 amJuno
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he didn’t punch him. he grabbed a handful of petals and blasted them through him at point blank range
November 11, 2011 at 4:27 amNine
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Somehow i feel that i miss Aizen so much.
November 11, 2011 at 1:53 pmMasterDragonKnight
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You’re not the only one. At least Aizen was consistently established to be broken, and his abilities are always centered around his deception and hallucinations.
But this guy is just keeps pulling stuff from his ass. What part of a bookmark makes you manipulate dimensions and their “memories”? Since when do inanimate objects have memories? How the hell does any of that make sense?
Right now, I’m waiting for them to throw the entire arc out the window and declare it non-canon.
November 11, 2011 at 4:10 pmNine
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And this makes me wonder what will Aizen do if he is in this situation. XD
November 12, 2011 at 8:28 pmplatue
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they said right off the bat in this arc. everything has a soul. Thats how thr fullbringers move fas,t they interact with the soul of the ground. Ichigo’s badge held memories of all his fights, thats why he was able to use it for his fullbring. I don’t see Tsukishima hasn’t pulled anything out of his ass. He can insert himself into the past of anything he cuts. I find it rather cool how he has used that ability so far.
November 11, 2011 at 4:30 amKGFJ
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Byakuya is sizzling hot in this chapter
November 11, 2011 at 5:10 amComM3
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your missing a think in ” I don’t anybody cared”
November 11, 2011 at 5:52 amstarss
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Are the reviews for the anime still happening?
November 11, 2011 at 6:00 amAkiRan
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So there goes 4:0, awaiting for ichigo, rukia and toshiro.
November 11, 2011 at 6:36 amronri
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That was nice. I loved Tsukishima and if he dies here right now I’d actually be satisfied. At least Kubo didn’t pull a “Kubo” on us and randomly threw in a trick or deus ex machina, instead this fight turned to be more creative with Kubo actually working with the established abilities of the character.
Now with the Fullbringers being taken down one by one, I’m starting to get REALLY curious as to how Kubo is gonna handle Ginjo. It could go either way, whether he knocks him off to make way for the next arc, or he and his actions here will play an important role for the aforementioned next arc (I personally would prefer the latter).
November 11, 2011 at 8:24 amRex
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CORRECTION:
Though it is hard to make it from the pictures alone, and the various differences in translation, Byakuya didnt actually punch him in the chest. He grabbed a handful of petals and blasted them through him at point blank range.
November 11, 2011 at 10:03 amRise~N Seraphim
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basically like Byakuya using sokatsui in the bleach: heat the soul games… but you gotta admit it’s much cooler to think he ripped his arm through the guy’s chest…
November 11, 2011 at 9:05 amYoungGun
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Awesome move by Byakuya! I just hope Tsukushima is finished for good and the rest of the FULL Bringers. Its quite gratifying seeing Tsukushima being crushed (hopefully once and for all), he was acting all too cocky the last few chapters!
I just want the story to move on to be honest. This arc feel too much like filler for me.
November 11, 2011 at 9:32 amichigoat
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it was inevitable that he was about to lose..just the amount of dialogue he spurted out was almost tl;dr
November 11, 2011 at 9:40 amShii
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ohhhhhhhh prooof you actually just made my day so much better….
<3 falcon punch!!!
November 13, 2011 at 6:55 amJuno
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byakuya didn’t punch him. he grabbed a handful of petals and blasted them through him at point blank range
November 11, 2011 at 10:48 amKarmafan
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When I look at how high Naruto manga is flying and then loook at Bleach just plodding along its plain to see Kubo is just milking things and putting little effort into this series any more. Makes me sad how far its fallen. No effort at storytelling and huge plot holes never explained and they are just left as if they never existed.
November 11, 2011 at 1:54 pmMasterDragonKnight
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Thank you very much. You just took the words from my mouth.
November 11, 2011 at 2:11 pmJustinnnnnn
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Amen Karmafan…I remember the Soul Society Arc and the (beginnings of) Hueco Mundo…That was good.
Oh well…At least it still has pretty pictures :)
November 11, 2011 at 12:17 pmderp…
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I swear, I hope he isn’t dead.
He is the single most awesome part of bleach right now?
Don’t you remember how He defeated Aizen?
How he saved rukia?
How he won the superbowl?
I just hope he pulls a classic bleach move, and reveals some secret ability…Cutting himself? Or a fullbring armor? When did I ever say my Book End wasn’t a Soul Slayer?
November 11, 2011 at 3:51 pmaero
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Looks like Byakuya and Kenpachi’s been hanging around for a while.
November 11, 2011 at 4:15 pmbobon721
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It’d be interesting if Riruka somehow managed to insert herself into Rukia and her ultimate goal was actually get closer to Ichigo using Rukia. That’d make an interesting romantic-comedy twist in Bleach.
BTW, this chapter was quite satisfying.
November 11, 2011 at 6:18 pmSoren
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I think the suddenness sort of caught me off guard, but at the same time, I think that is what made it so appealing. There was no theatrical move being widely telegraphed as the fatal blow. It sort of spoke to the spontaneity and desperation of Byakuya’s position in the battle and having to improvise. The only thing I would like clarified is by handling the blades, did he just use the speed of them to punch so quickly as to ensure no dodging or blocking? That is how I understood the reasoning behind doing such a move. If it were just a standard punch, I suppose that would be useless.
November 13, 2011 at 6:54 amJuno
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byakuya didn’t punch him. he grabbed a handful of petals and blasted them through him at point blank range.
November 11, 2011 at 7:02 pmPikachu
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Their fight doesn’t look like it’s over yet. I hope Byakuya’s sword can be fixed like Renji’s sword before. And Rukia, it’s disappointing to know her first battle as a lieutenant is a loss.
November 11, 2011 at 7:05 pmN
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This has been my favorite chapter in a long time.
November 11, 2011 at 7:45 pmBROOKLYN otaku
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THERE. are you happy now??? yes, you with the cheap dress shirt and suspenders. This is not INSANITY. nor is THIS SPARTA! its SHOUNEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! did you really believe that sh!t characters such as yourselves has any chance of knocking off a LEAD original one?? HEY JUMP!!! can we change it up a little!? how bout a manga that totally BREAKS the RULES? for instance ENOUGH with the “smarter than you” bad guys with the smug looks, that always utter a line like “you will never” then gets whacked. manga exists in these characters reality’s…I suggest the bad guys read a little.
November 11, 2011 at 10:24 pmYanDaMan263
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Tsukushima acting just as cocky as Aizen, Bleach sure isn’t winning in the originality department.
November 12, 2011 at 6:05 amAnanas
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Plot armor versus No plot armor, Bleach as usual.
November 13, 2011 at 6:53 amJuno
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LOL prooof, byakuya didn’t punch him. he grabbed a handful of petals and blasted them through him at point blank range
November 14, 2011 at 10:40 amSnicket
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Kinda hoping that last attack incapacitated the dude, or that the very least disrupted that ‘insert memory’ bs ability of his. This is bleach, so we all know a hole in the chest isn’t gonna kill him. ‘Pfft, it’s only a flesh wound.’
November 15, 2011 at 9:43 amProoof
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my assumption was that he punched through Tsukishima using petals that he held in his hand; it’s somewhat difficult to tell from the images alone