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This chapter was all over the place in terms of information covered and mostly just continued to show Ichigo’s daily life and his interactions with his friends. All the questions about his father Isshin are left unanswered and their relationship is the same as at the start of the series. Also, there was almost a slice-of-life feel with a lot of focus on what’s going on in his family and at his school. For one, Ichigo is now a mercenary for the various clubs on campus to save up some money for after graduation, which is a pretty great use of his physical skills. As for the girls, I think Tatsuki looked better with her shorter hair, perhaps because her new hairstyle looks too much like Aizen’s hairdo. Orihime is also back, maintaining her status as the school idol, and reverted to her original klutzy, imaginative self that I’m sure people enjoy better than her whiny side. Another point of interest is Ichigo’s part-time job; it was unclear who his “employer” on the phone was, but my first guess was Urahara. Thinking about it now though, it seems unlikely he would need to rely on Ichigo so desperately for anything, so that question remains open.
There was a lot of random tangents throughout the chapter with bits of humor sprinkled around, and the only clear plot development came at the end with the arrival of the gang of the mugger Ichigo knocked out last time. The whole group was such a stereotypical bunch of idiotic punks that it was obvious they were just cronies working for some other character. Ishida kicked their ass easily, and I’m sure even without using his Quincy powers he’s not really in any sort of danger. The arrival of the mystery figure in the last panel is where things might get interesting. It’s probably the slick-haired dude from the end of the last chapter so hopefully this chapter is the last of the arc introduction and there will be more substantial development next time.
Mark this as 425, not 252.
I was expecting something big to happen in this chapter….but it never happened. :[
yeah orihime seems better as a carefree, energetic girl
ichigo’s dream is a bit suspicious, maybe it was something that will happen to him or he was just remembering the good/bad old days…
252??
Shouldn´t be chapter 425?
fixed
Where are Orihime’s Hair pins????? WTF!!! XD
LOL. i wonder about that too.hmm…
anyway, hime’s likable again.and i thought her breasts went bigger. *bricked*
My guess for Ichigo’s employer is
Show Spoiler ▼
Bleach is a lot more exciting and interesting between battles.
I thought the exact same actually.
I’m with you on this. Place my bet here! XD
RUKIA COME BAAAAAAAAAAACK T_T
(the dream predicts it too :D)
Older Inoue looks weird ._. but that part when she poles down was pretty hilarious. Ah she’s so weird how is she the school idol
ahh i just can’t help but remember “The Future Me” by Orihime
Actually, when I think about, I kind of like this part of bleach. To be honest, this is almost how Ichigo gets so many girls. He’s making a good fortune by just joining clubs, which should be the opposite for a normal student. I mean 5000 yen, which is about $50, a week is a lot for a teen. It’s sad that Kon couldn’t do things like that. Getting fights with delinquents from who knows where, showing his tough attitude to people who beg for his help, and hanging out with multiple women. This type of thing gives people the idea of him being the rich delinquent that could easily get a harem.
where is kon?!?!
kon is dead, aizen ate him
Erm, HELLOOOOO no one seemed to mention how hot Ishida now looks. Nuff said :’D
I had the exact opposite reaction – when I saw Ishida, all I could think of how hideous and typical he looks now.
OLD BLEACH IS BACK! 😀
What are the odds of this whoe arc being some sort of dream Ichigo is having, with Rukia, Renji, and everyone else trying to make Ichigo wake up (the “dream” at the start of chapter)? I sure hope not – that would be far too boring and predictable.
Hopefully the dreams are just Ichigo’s subconsciousness trying to tell him something (or maybe Zangetsu trying to reach Ichigo… I also wouldn’t mind if the dreams are the work of that slick-haired dude from the end of the last chapter.
yeah, that’s what I thought too. the dream is this arc, and the real one is that his teamm8s are trying to wake him up from his seizure… hehe… but I kinda like this feel of the story so far, kinda relaxing, yet fun.
Orihime’s new hair style doesn’t look good to me
I have to say, much as I am annoyed that they did a time skip without giving us any real explanation for what happened to all the Shinigami and (surviving) Arrancar I actually like this. No cop out powers saving characters who should be dead, not idiotic plots that really make no sense and we do get to see Ichigo’s world instead of obsessing over the Shinigami. I’m still angry that Chad apparently has been made even less important to the story but there are worse ways to follow up on what happened previously.
There’s also one other thing important in this chapter:
Ichigo’s dreams and his inability to remember them.
The way Isshin reacted to that seems to mean that there’s some sort of huge importance in that.
And the bullies in the end – they are wearing the same uniform as the newguy from last chapter, so they are yet again used most likely to gauge Ichigo’s state by him.
pls pls pls don’t ruin my new old bleach with shitty soul society stuff right now. I at least want one decent arc without a bajillion power ups and zero story progression.
Maybe we are looking at the beginning of a Non-Reiatsu arc, ie in the real world without Shinigamis?
It’s possible, to say the least. I can’t say there’s really been a big arc where Ichigo’s been involved in an arc without his Shinigami powers. This could become very interesting indeed.
I got to say I was laughing the whole way through this. This sorta story arc is why I got into Bleach in the first place, a fight here and there then a nice arc of comedy to even it out and Ichigo’s expressions were awesome.
Not much going on here but I almost hope it remains that way a little longer, slow for a bit, the whole Aizen arc was WAY too long i need a break from the plot. two chapters is not enough to recover from that mess. What i would personally like to see is Ichigo having save/coach Karin from her new-found abilities. As far as i know *normal* hollows still roam about and i doubt ishida could find every single one so they still posses a threat (even if it is next to nothing) and karin dosnt have any idea on how to handle them.
personally i’m on the fence with Tatsuki’s hair… I have a feeling the fact that it’s longer is supposed to represent a more girlie side of her. I say that because if i remeber correctly she gets kinda jealous over Ichigo a few chapters back and taking it a step farther, isent she ichigo’s only childhood friend? childhood friend + affection + jealousy = new look… sounds like a classic combination to me. lol so i can see the symbolisim there but it kinda looks like a mullet to me 😛
i like orihime’s new hairdo.X3 she looks cute and mature at the same time.and hell, ishida looks gay w/ his hair,imo. his former look was better. pls kubo, don’t touch rukia’s hair! it’s in its best alrdy. DX that is, unless there’s a cooler hairstyle than that.XD
Why is this tempting me to pick up the manga again, after I so successfully swore off the stuff two years ago!? Gaaaaaaah, I really wanna read it, but I vowed never to again!!! … Tatsuki’s focus, Orihime’s old personality, school setting, uuuuuuuuugh….
it’s alright, it’s alright, bleach is here ,
you better enjoy it while it lasts.
I don’t know, those thugs seemed kinda scary. I don’t think Ichigo and Ishada can handle them. They’re thugs who have been in a lot of fights I assume…
Sarcastic much?
So is the REAL Kubo now alive?
you mean is Kubo finally putting down the dope…
hey hey hey, dope would not produce the horrible atrocity that just happened awhile ago. more likely, Kubo finally laying off the crack pipe is what happened
Seems like Aizen’s hypnosis of Kubo broken when he lost his sword
Yes, things finally went back to how Bleach at FIRST used to be. Hell, it’s extremely nostalgic to see Ichigo’s -△- face again. I was expecting, though with low hope, that I’d be seeing this kind of stuff. Well, so far it looks fine enough.
I sincerely hope this means Kubo Tite got some grip of what Bleach was good as, and not return to the unending cycle of power inflation and kiddy philosophies.
It’s refreshing to see this once again. The slice of life with Hollow hunting / Shinigami duties provided the initial draw to the series. I find no problem with Kubo going back to Bleach’s roots
So Ichigo has defeated the bad guy, his powers (and burden) is finally gone, and life is now back to normal… except for some weird inconsistencies… Did Ichigo really beat Aizen?
No. It was all part of Aizen’s plan since birth.
Aizen also planned his birth >.>
L0L. doesn’t he just like plans?? his incarceration was also planned.XDD
This is actually all just an illusion. Ichigo is now in a vegetative state, and as my last act of pity, I put him in a dream world where he could live a happy, normal life.
it would be awesome if bleach was the kind of story where the author can pull out something like that but we all now that it is not. Those inconsistencesare just bleach´s trademarked
@Secsuey
SO you think an,”it is all a dream” arc would awesome? You should totally write a book or something, people would love it.
LOL, so in your view Aizen is like the machines in the Matrix?
aizen has been building ichigo up so he could be his duracell battery
bleach ahs finally come back i just can’t handle battle battle battle battle finally some slice and i guess you got see some romantic ichigoXorihime i know how this end and i like it i really like it!
Me thinks Kubo saw Inception last month, Ichigo is in limbo
Nah, he’s inside Zangetsu and hasn’t completed his power up. Once this arc ends, we’ll see he hasn’t even confronted Aizen yet. Then another 200 chapters of Aizen.
I got shivers up my spine from reading this..
Where’s Chad?
A better question is “who cares?”.
I still want to know what Ichigo’s mother is. A hollow, arrancar, shinigami? Aizen was interupted by Ichigo’s dad in the battle. I hope they reveal that soon!
I sure hope they don’t pull a Naruto where the romantic relationship between two characters is brought to light, then NEVER ADDRESSED AGAIN. 🙁 I want to know if Orihime still likes Ichigo or even if they are in a relationship.
i noticed how inoue wasn’t all blushy around ichi anymore.she could talk to him like the earlier days of bleach. and i do hope she got over her ‘kurosaki-kun’ disease since i really like her w/o being infatuated w/ him (more than rukia tbh).so *cough* maybe she could start looking for her right person. *cough* ishida *cough*
There was a lot of emphasis on Orihime’s feelings for Ichigo up until now (“five lifetimes” indeed), so it’s unlikely her feelings have changed. Although the relationship probably wouldn’t necessarily happen, what with Ichigo being the chaste shounen hero and all. 😛
yeah,,i think ichigo won’t end up with anyone since i heard kubo isn’t interested in developing romance but character relationships instead. and i’ve been seeing that. if ever he’s delving into the former in secrecy, he’s doing a great job in being so subtle. if i’m not mistaken, inoue is the only one who’s feelings were emphasized as romantic love. anyway, i do hope she moves on from ichigo bec. i’d be unhappy if she doesn’t end up with anyone.ishida!!=(
without aizen around, bleach doesn’t feels like bleach anymore, but the new haircuts seems to be more better i like it all!
My akbar senses be tingling.. Im wondering if Kubo is going back to his roots if only to lure us in for another pure crap arc..
lol… i think thats whats going to happen xd..
L0LL0L. maybe yes.maybe no.XDD
Is it just me or does Ishida looks hotter now?
I wish Ichigo could go back to his normal(personality) self again :[
I sure hope its Chad that shows up at the end…
OMG, I just thought of something… What if that was actually the real Aizen at the end the this chapter o.O? The Hougyoku Aizen could very well be an illusion all along, and now he can defeat Ichigo easily because he doesn’t have his Shinigami powers anymore!
Maybe it’s a dream or something like this, because ichigo seems to have forgot everything about soul society.
ishin still remember his past. All this arc is for kubo to make some experiments to see what to do after all the crap. If the fan likes it’s not a “dream” or else he can go back in time.
karin can’t do anything she isn’t a shinigami. Bleach was good and funny with ichigoxrukia and some battle. Did you forget hueco mundo arc, inoue and the other shit?
Ichigo didn’t forget about all the shit he has done and Soul Society.
Karin doesn’t need to be Shinigami to do things, she could be Like Chad or Inoue.
Then karin is not a shinigami’s daughter. Because the only power she can have is shinigami’s power. Inoue and chad are like this thanks to ichigo and the hogyouku. (don’t remember how to write it).Tatsuki and the others don’t have powers.
So that why I said karin can’t do anything. I meant about the dream, ichigo seems to forget his past life as a shinigami like he doesn’t care like he said. But if all this is not a dream
maybe it’s a way to have his power back. you know like zangetsu’s speech to use the shikai form.
There is a good chance that Ichigo’s employer may be Urahara Kisuke.
And as Unknown Voice pointed out,Ichigo’s dreams may have some sort of significance.I am sure everyone would have noticed,the two characters at start were Abarai and Byakuya.
Maybe Ichigo can go to Soul Society or be a Shinigami in his sleep or something like that…who knows!!
I was kind of hoping SS blasted ichigo with the memory wiping device, and that is why he forgot to dream quickly. That is probably not the case those…hmm.
Aizen’s bankai has illusioned this whole arc up
Having given up this series 3 years ago, I’m mildly curious if maybe… just maybe… bleach may be going back to the non-ball sucking series I actually initially enjoyed so much… You know, before heaven turned out to be worse than eternal pergatory being chased by ‘hallows’… before the introduction of 20 new characters an arch who combined didn’t make a single interesting character let alone be able to stand up on their own…
I’ll wait for the verdict after a couple more weeks… if it’s at least somewhat restored to the premise of the original after years of terrible, I may give it another shot… I’m up for completely forgetting the last 3 years of bleach existed.
AMEN!
I would just like to say to those who say it’s all a dream. please stop. I mean I understand the criticism and that this wont last forever. But c’mon can we just bash on it later?
Also glad that there is no any progress in getting his powers back. I have a feeling that the moment he does is the moment “YEARS OF TORTURE” will begin. I do hope the plot can progress without him getting shinigami powers back. Think of the possibilities!!
I don’t want to see ichigo with his shinigami’s form. To go through all this there si nothing knew. Like dragon ball Z, training, power up…. Even if he had to, he can use the other half.
His power came from hollow and shinigami so maybe this time we can see him in hollow form with new powers.
Ichigo is the strongest shinigami out there so he need an powerful ennemy, then he use final getsuga AGAIN for WHAT.
So let’s see something new.
Ganju was probably the employer, and Sado was the show-up. My guesses.
Umm can someone explain to me in 424 the dude ichigo got the bag back for, who was he and why did he have a substitute soul reaper badge.I hate it when things are left un-answered
The new story arc just started. You don’t seriously expect to get all the answers and explanations in the first two chapters, do you?
I can see Kubo pulling the entire span from the original save Rukia arc till now being an illusion that Ichigo has been put under, only to wake up to be back in SS fighting Aizen and Gin. But because of The Heart Ichigo’s power will be on the level of his Illusion (i.e. He can kick Aizen’s ass in no time). Thus ending Bleach.
That or Ichigo is just knocked out.
In b4 its all a dream