Bleach 504 – Before the Shadows
I’m finding it rather difficult to come up with things to write about this chapter as it centered on a character whom I hardly know anything about, but we’ll see how much I can come up with for this post.
Alright, this chapter was one of Bleach’s more plain ones, in my opinion that is. The battle part itself seemed to hint some sort of emotionality and sadness, but unfortunately, none of that reached me. I think this battle would’ve made a lot more impact on me as a reader if I’d been given a chance to get to know Sasakibe Choujirou as a character. While he was present in most arcs, he has always been an enigma to me. The flashback felt slightly forced to me, as if it was trying to make us feel sympathy for the captain commander near the end.
I was quite surprised to see the captain share such a strong bond with Sasakibe. I’ve always judged him to be a cold man who does what’s best for the majority of Soul Society, but in this chapter, he seemed quite like a teacher, slightly fatherly. As for Sasakibe himself, this was probably the first time his personality stood out to me. I don’t understand why he wanted to be the captain commander’s right hand at that time (there was no explanation given for that), but I liked his way of reasoning. I wish he would’ve been as hot-headed during the main arcs as he was in today’s flashback, or at least, he should’ve been given more screen time considering how much he probably meant to Yamamoto. I mean, Yamamoto raging over Driscoll not being able to make use of Sasakibe’s Bankai’s full potential indicates the strong bond between him and his right arm.
Speaking of Sasakibe’s Bankai… I think last week’s chapter’s title would’ve been better for this chapter as Sasakibe’s Bankai holds the power to control weather – mainly thunder. Too bad we never got to the chance to see its full potential, and I doubt we’ll do that in the future because Driscoll is toast! So, I guess we can say that luck is returning to Soul Society now? Although, if they lose Yamamoto, I might have to take that back. Having that said, I hope to see Zaraki’s battle next week!
August 22, 2012 at 12:47 pmCruiser
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So sweet to see Yamamoto literally burning Driscoll’s face right off. No beating around the bush there.
August 22, 2012 at 9:26 pmVivace
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OVERKILL-ED!!!
August 25, 2012 at 10:29 pmMagus
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Seems like Sasakibe was his only real friend in 2000+ years. This douche murdered Sasakibe, so of course Yamamoto was going to annihilate him without fooling around.
August 22, 2012 at 1:07 pmKaris
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Looks like Kubo decided to look at the past filler arcs to take as reference, since Sasakibe’s zanpaktou can control the weather in the zanpaktou arc.
August 25, 2012 at 10:30 pmMagus
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Kubo did the character designs for that filler arc. He probably told the filler writers that Sasakibe’s zanpakuto is lightning-elemental.
August 22, 2012 at 1:19 pmtasa
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So the last memories that we will have of Sasakibe’s bankia is that it can make the sky cloudy and throw a single thunder bolt at a time. I now know why he never used bankia.
August 22, 2012 at 1:44 pmMikkye
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Yamamoto’s motto: Mess with the best, Die like the rest.
August 22, 2012 at 9:08 pmNadester
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And yet Aizen defeated him……Smh -_-
August 22, 2012 at 11:04 pmlol
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not in a 1v1 fight that y aizen created wonderweiss 2 counter he power he even admited that he cant beat Yamamoto in a fair fight
August 23, 2012 at 9:11 amASdae
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Aizen is a trolling master… He didn’t need to fight him… if he had, he’d have probably be burnt by Ryujin Jakka… I wonder how Aizen-Gaga or Aizen- Eldritch Abomination would’ve handled Yamamoyo…
August 23, 2012 at 1:11 pmRex
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You forget two things:
1. Aizen said that he would lose outright against yamamoto in a 1vs1 battle.
2. Aizen played dirty by preparing a trap beforehand specifically made to take out yamamoto. See number 1.
August 23, 2012 at 5:49 pmNadester
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Defeat is defeat. I never mentioned one on one fights people. :0
August 25, 2012 at 10:31 pmMagus
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Aizen had to use cheap tricks (even cheaper than his usual illusion trolling) to beat Yamamoto. He flat-out admitted he couldn’t beat the old man in a straight fight.
August 22, 2012 at 1:46 pmjingoi
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Guess I shouldn’t have been expecting a awesome bankai name. Everything about Sasakibe sucked.
August 22, 2012 at 1:51 pmAnanas
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Oh great, it’s BBQ night! Let’s hope for some nice weather.
August 22, 2012 at 4:02 pmP Ko
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Holy shit what a chapter. Arms being cut off, people being stabbed. Fucking amazing.
Oh wait. This isn’t Hitman.
Fucking shit, what a chapter. Filler back story for a character nobody give a fuck about.
August 22, 2012 at 5:08 pmxero01
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what a shocker from Bleach. an improbable rescue, a futile attack where the good guy weathers the storm while the bad guy does nothing but talk shit. then the supposedly badass poser scene where the good guy oneshots the bad guy. Kubo has never used this formula before, how original.
August 22, 2012 at 5:29 pmDa5id
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Well, I’m at least glad we got to see some of the 1st Captain’s past. And some evidence that he wasn’t just born old, wrinkly and with a 6 ft beard on his face.
Let’s hope they can knock off a few more of these guys so that the story ends faster.
August 22, 2012 at 6:17 pmgawrshness
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talk about a nasty case of sunburn…I guess Overkill was…OVERKILLED! YYEEEEAAAAHHHH!!
August 22, 2012 at 6:21 pmrandom viewer
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There’s never really a need for the captain commander to use his bankai as expected. I mean he didn’t even use it when he fought Aizen. The commander is especially furious after losing someone he trusted for hundreds/thousands of years and it’s understandable given that soul society arc back in season 2 with the betrayals and stuff. To see someone “misusing” something important of someone you respect and a symbolism of their friendship will make anyone rage to that extent. Even the commander’s name had such an significant origin related to Sasakibe. Also, I think Saskibe’s bankai is amazing in which it is unblockable. This chapter showcased the commander’s first lethally-burned victim – nice!
August 22, 2012 at 6:37 pmJustinnnnnn
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Man, what a letdown this chapter was.
I’ll admit I wasn’t too focused when I was reading Bleach this week, but lol: almost all of this chapter was a flashback (your usual Bleach these days), and when I finished it, I was like “Yamamoto was in the flashback?”
I didn’t have a clue who was who at first. I thought the young disciple was Yamamoto, then his Vice-Captain was mentioned and I had to re-think the identities, then it clicked…
Seriously, who cared about Sazanibe-whats-his-name? I mean no disrepespect to any of his fans, but Kubo, you should realize by now inserting a character-development-flashback in the middle of the fight, and about a very secondary character at that, simply doesn’t cut it. Personally, I hate this narrative tool of inserting long flashbacks in the middle of nowhere (or worse, in action scenes); it feels cheap as a writer. Sadly, it is a common trend in Japan. But Tite Kubo, he must be the pioneer of this devil’s tool.
Ugh, what a waste. The only thing I’d be mildly interested in, if it happened, would be for Ichigo to f*ck power levels and beat everyone in a second.
Actually, he usually does this, until plot needs him to keep quiet inside a force-field once in a while.Until next week, Kubo…I’m outta here!
August 22, 2012 at 6:40 pmJustinnnnnn
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…*has cooled a bit* The thing is, that flashback would actually have been a very welcome addition to this manga – if it wasn’t inserted here. Say, for example, once all this Vandenreich-or-however-it’s-spelled chaos settles down. In a peaceful atmoshpere; where everyone gathers a thought about the recent events.
August 23, 2012 at 1:43 amJello
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If you play MMOs, Kubo is the guy that’s always like “HEY GUYS WOULDN’T IT BE COOL IF WE DID THIS??????” and the collective response from the rest of the party or guild is “lolno”.
Too bad Kubo has all the authority with this manga though.
August 22, 2012 at 6:39 pmDio Brando
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is it only me that thinks Kubo is trying too hard to drag the whole last arc? no progress from Ichigo, no progress from Urahara. another 1 move kill for this chapter.
less one hit kill/big wave moves that occupies 1 whole page please. i’ve forgotten when was the last chapter that i actually read through all the dialog box.
August 22, 2012 at 8:35 pmL002
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I was hoping that this new Bankai would have more substance compared to how the Muramasa arc displayed the Bankai. I mean, for those who already saw that Bleach anime, we could predict that the Bankai is a type of power that is Zeus-like. But the only thing we get is a cloud that hovers in the air. You would think the reason why Sasakibe refused to use his bankai for so long is because it had a more eastern weapon like appearance as opposed to his high western tastes.
Either way, it was entertaining to see those thunder moves, aside from Senbonsakura, this is another godly-like zampukto that could make people think it holds the spirit of Zeus or Thor.
August 22, 2012 at 8:44 pmHitman: Absolution Beta Giveaway
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I cherished as much as you’ll obtain performed right here. The comic strip is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get bought an impatience over that you want be turning in the following. sick for sure come more earlier again as exactly the same just about very incessantly within case you shield this hike.
August 23, 2012 at 12:12 amDrift
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I quite liked this chapter. Kubo was focusing too much on fighting so it was really nice for him to focus on the past or the story of certain characters. Kind of reminded me of Bleach in the good old days (SS Arc)where a lot of character’s past were introduced (Chad, Ishida, Inoue, Renji, Byakuya, Zaraki). Didn’t see much of these during HM arc so I really enjoyed this chapter.
August 23, 2012 at 12:55 amWill
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Well at least seeing captain-commander younger made me laugh. It seems like, more than trying to grab sympathy at Sasakibe’s death in general, its frustrating that the petty tricks of the quincy didn’t even allow him to die fighting his enemy in battle like a warrior. Despite the luke-warm feeling of Sasakibe’s character I found Yamamoto’s sudden outburst of manliness entertaining.
Quite the awesome one-two punch of last week kenpachi wicked-awesome then this week the manly Yamamoto incinerating his opponent in less than a second, I actually enjoy Bleach when you throw the best two characters at me week after week.
August 23, 2012 at 1:48 amJello
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The problem with Bleach is that Kubo has decided for it to have too many “important” characters. These characters don’t actually do anything for the plot or story. Kubo just thought they’d be cool characters to have. Then he plays with them and gives them dialogue and roles, and after when he’s bored with him, he goes to other characters. When he’s completely bored of all the characters he’s made, he’ll make new ones. Kubo’s authoring attitude is probably the same as a young boy with A.D.D. who has the magic powers to make any kind of action figure he wants.
Kubo writes barely enough for each of those characters to make them “seem” important and pique our curiosity. Too bad he’s already bored of them though.
August 25, 2012 at 11:15 pmMagus
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Yes, Bleach has a horribly bloated cast.
It wouldn’t be that much of a problem if Kubo just allowed most of them to be background cast and focused on just the main characters. But no, he just has to keep trying to make the minor characters retroactively important. He doesn’t seem to understand that when you take a guy who’s had less than ten lines of dialogue in the entire series and try transform him into an important character after he dies, it just doesn’t work.
August 23, 2012 at 3:20 amYogo
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Pierce the heavens with your drill- er, lightning bolt!
August 23, 2012 at 8:21 amArky
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So… he was a Child Prodigy? (Child prodigy are born with silver to white hair, and in the flashback he was a kid with white hair) it would be cool, i always wanted to see a 3rd child prodigy from another era.
August 23, 2012 at 10:14 amYanDaMan
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Best part of this chapter was the last panel, I was like DAYUM Yamamoto overkill.
August 24, 2012 at 8:09 pmMikeHawk
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looks like that guys english tea predictions didn’t come true, part of me still begs controlling the weather means he can still make it rain english tea