Bleach / First Impressions

OP12 Sequence

OP12: 「chAngE」 by miwa
Watch the 12th OP!: Download, Streaming ▼

Summary:
Shortly after Aizen left for Karakura town, Ichigo arrives where Ulquiorra is talking with Inoue. Ulquiorra immediately draws his sword, stating Ichigo is a entity that need to be destroyed, and they begin to fight. Ulquiorra draws first blood, and he manages to keep Ichigo on the edge. However, he manages to take a hit from Ulquiorra’s cero at point blank range, surprising Ulquiorra, who questions him on how he got stronger. Ichigo realizes he can keep up with Ulquiorra’s attacks now, and manages to land a hit on him too. He wonders if it means they have become more like each other, but Ulquiorra quickly steps up his attacks, and Ichigo is barely saved by Orihime’s Santen Kesshun.

Outside, Chad and Renji are fighting several hollows. A large sand-based hollow, Battikaroa, similar to one they had fought previously, shows up, and gives them trouble as it constantly absorbs attacks and regenerates body parts. They manage to defeat it however, by working together; Sado attacks as a decoy, and Renji destroys Battikaroa’s head with his bankai.

In other developments, Rukia is fighting the captain of the Exequias, who has just released his Resurreccion, Arbol, and Yammy looks like he will be entering battle soon.

 

ED23 Sequence

ED23: 「STAY BEAUTIFUL」 by Diggy-MO’
Watch the 23rd ED!: Download, Streaming ▼

Last week’s recap episode (266) was actually the debut for this OP/ED, so the screencaps will be posted here. Divine posted some thoughts so check it out if you haven’t already.

Preview

Impressions:
Quick word about last week’s episode: While we didn’t get to see anything new, the recap was definitely a necessary episode. After the long zanpakuto arc, I had forgotten some of what had happened. The fast paced coverage of all the recent events leading up to the current episode was quite exciting. Seeing Yamamoto cutting down Allon, Apache, Mila-Rose, Sun-Sun again emphasized his incredible power, and I am reminded of the fact that in a straightforward match, he would probably defeat even Aizen using Kyoya Suigetsu, though he does seem to lack the cunning of Aizen.

This chapter was relatively exciting fight-wise. It’s been a while since Sado has been shown fighting, and La Muerta is an impressive looking attack. Renji’s one sided bickering was also funny; I found myself taking a liking to Chad’s cannot-be-perturbed personality. As for their fight with Battikaora, I noticed that it’s ceros and Renji’s Baboon Bone Cannon were quite similar, being both large laser blast type attacks.

Development-wise, not that much advanced in this story. Ulquiorra did increase the level of his attacks against Ichigo though. His ultra fast attacks just seemed to be random thrusts, which may be how Ichigo could read his movements. Once he switched to random attacks from all directions (smart move in my opinion), Ichigo was quickly overwhelmed. He may release his Resurreccion soon, which would give Ichigo trouble, even with his hollow mask.

About Yammy, did anyone else notice he’s a bit like Sloth from FMA Brotherhood? (lazy, big, but hiding a lot of power and speed)

Sorry about the late post on this, episode 268 will be more prompt.

38 Comments

  2. Yeah, Yammy is a bit like Sloth. Kind of like how Harribel is like Lust because their both women. The only comparison I can see being made is that one line Yammy says “Its such a pain.” If we’re comparing Lazy people, I have one more to add: He’s a Chuunin, and his name means deer.

    Sorry if that seemed critical, though. I am really glad someone on this site picked Bleach back up, especially now that we’re finally back from that strenuous filler barrage. I am relieved to see coverage of this important climax of, at least, this arc, and I wish you luck with your keeping up with it. You’re doing god’s work, Mr. Prooof.

    And one more thing, when showcasing shots of new openings, the title of the show is usually shown among the screenshots. I’m not saying you have to do that, because why would we need the title when its already at the top of the post, I’m just saying its something I’m used to.

    And also: FIRST, BITCHES!!!!!

    Da5id
    Reply

  4. pretty good post Proof, reminds me of omni’s but his impressions were before the preview and ED.
    not saying its bad cause everyone has different way in posting and it makes yours diff from omni’s.

    amado
    Reply

  5. Show Spoiler ▼

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Adam Blade
    Reply

  6. Im fairly certain that sand guardian didnt appear in the manga but I dont really remember.
    and how can he be better than the previous one, the last one survived ichigo’s getsuga tensho attack that sliced his face in half.

    amado
    Reply

  7. The way this episode focused on so much on Renji and Chad having to go all out against a pretty nobody kinda hollow when everyone else is matched up against espada…

    just reminds me of filler :/

    Makes sense that they need to review, but this sluggish pace is what made me just stick to the manga a lot of the time. I wanna see my favorite fights animated though damnit! 😀

    imerik
    Reply

  9. Rudobon’s resurreccion looks awesome but all these wanna-be hollows feel very unnecessary. On a another note can’t wait to see Yammy’s release and his battle with Kenpachi and Byakuya animated. Been waiting for so many months to see what’s become of that battle. It would be cool to wait months ’til they’re finished with this arc and then read all the chapters back-to-back; maybe each chapter would seem less uneventful but I know I would never do something like that. It’s too tempting to discover each plot development as they happen, however obvious they are.

    Snorlax
    Reply

  10. The whole renji chad sequence was add to the anime and was not really part of the manga. I guess they need something for chad and renji to do while itchgo was fighting without moving along the series too much.

    the Innocent
    Reply

  13. It was a fun episode to watch, I loved the interactions between Sado and Renji 😀 And I’d rather have these kind of fillers parts (since their battle with Battikaroa was not part of the manga) than having a dragged out filler arc which doesn’t fit in the storyline at all. They did a good job inserting this into the fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra, so thumbs up.

    Jurkasz
    Reply

  19. wow WOW WOW!!!! Thanks Prooooo… (how many Os are there? oh 3) Prooof for continuing BLEACH! Man Omni must have stopped reviewing this show at a correct timing…

    little development for bleach, inoue’s gonna get ***** next episode, yami’s appearance would be some good show, just… don’t drag the show…

    Thanks Prooof again for picking up BLEACH to continue~

    kaineng
    Reply

  20. @ SoS .

    Yes this is the first Cannon episode. Start watching here or the previous episode( which is just a recap of the cannon before the filler arc kicked in if you have forgotten some stuff )

    Andrew
    Reply

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