Bleach Review: God Of Thunder 4

"Finally time for my Vollstandig"

In her new form Yoruichi starts to over power Askin and his Deathdealing power however the tables are turned once again when Askin unleashes his Vollstanding.

I forgot to mention in my last review but Yoruichi's new form looks pretty damn cool and I'm glad we get to see it in action straight away. It's name is Shunko: Raiju Senkei: Shunryu Kokubyo Senkei, which means Flash war Cry: Thunder Beast Battle Form: Flash Black Cat Warrior Princess. A really cool name (and quite the mouthful) and I like that most of it looks like it's made out of lightning plus there is the reveal that not only does Yoruichi look like a cat she acts like one too. This might explain why she didn't want to go into this form in the first place but it also might reinforce the fact that this form was somehow made by Urahara. It seems like Yoruichi only like Urahara in this form when we see some really funny shots of her licking him a and cuddling up against him at the end. Back to the fight we get some awesome shots of Yoruichi overpowering Askin and this is explained with Urahara saying that because Yoruichi's mood is constantly changing so is her Reiatsu and Askin's immunity cannot keep up. Honestly I just don't like this explanation because just like with the other Elite Sternritter the perfect way to counter there abilities is not through actual fighting or the Soul Reaper's talents but by secret abilities that have never even made been mentioned until now. Just look at the Pernida and Lille fights; they where defeated by the perfect counter measure to their powers by something that we never saw in Bleach before. I just wish that Kubo ended these fights through the hard work of the Soul Reapers and not by a new ability he just thought of on the spot.

It would be great to have her as my pet cat :)

However what I love about this chapter is that we get the reveal of Askin's Vollstandig: Hassein, which means God's Poison Taster (I very appropriate name). I like this form because first off it's not some massive change of form like Lille's was, instead it's like some of the earlier ones where it's is mostly just the wings and some minor form changes. But Askin's does look different because it has more of a futuristic look like the DNA helixes wings or the visor he wears. So far the only power we see is a massive Gift Ball that affects Urahara straight away but like Lille's I'm expecting a lot more from it. I also hope that we finally get to see Urahara go Bankai because that is one the fans have been wanting for ages now. However my biggest gripe with this chapter is that it is following the typical Bleach formula because I think we all expected Askin to survive and reveal a new form because we have seen it before in fights.

WTF!

Overall I am still looking forward to the rest of this fight and I hope Urahara gets more involved in the rest of it now.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Yoruichi's new form
                   Funny Urahara and Yoruichi moments
                   Askin's Vollstandig     

Let - Downs: The counter to Askin's immunity is so convenient
                       The flow of the chapter is following the predicable Bleach formula

Bleach Review: God Of Thunder 3

Now who wouldn't like a pet like Yoruichi

Yoruichi continues to struggle against Askin and his Deathdealing power however Urahara arrives to help.

You know I didn't expect it to go back to one of the fights outside of the palace, I thought we'd get a few panels of Ichigo or Uryu but I'm not complaining since Askin is back in the spotlight. It starts off with Askin contemplating his ability with a defeated Yoruichi and two interesting points are brought up. Firstly from the way he is talking about it, it almost seems that Askin doesn't even like his ability because of how close it brings him to death; this was even talked about before. Next is how Askin is supposed to be fighting the Soul Reapers but keeps showing no desire to finish off his opponents something even Yoruichi points out. I just thought I'd point these two snippets out because Askin's the one of the most interesting and well developed Sternritter in this entire arc and these things really add more to his character than being a simple throwaway Sternritter several have been. He also continues to show how powerful he really is because I don't think much time has passed when we last saw these two but Yoruichi was taken out by one of Askin's "Gift Balls" which seems that no one can fight against e.g. Ichigo and Grimmjow. However we finally get to see the return of Urahara who disappeared when the Soul Reapers we getting sniped by Lille earlier.

"Best seat in the house"

Because of their shared past I have always liked seeing Yoruichi and Urahara team up because they are so fun and comedic together and that still continues with a lot of sexual innuendos thrown in. I mean Urahara arrives staring at Yoruichi's ass and seems to cure her of the Gift Ball by injecting something in it lol. Then the most interesting thing of the chapter happens and that is the mention of the special war potentials that haven't been touched on in ages. We learn that Ichigo, Kenpachi, Ichibee, Aizen and Urahara where all chosen because they each have a unique skill to watch out for and they all fit each character. I just want to mention that I really hope this mention of Aizen means  he will be back soon because I just really, really want to see him fight again. As for Urahara it seems he was chosen for his vast intelligence and thinking out a way out of any situation which of course it is true because it was him who made the Kido to stop Aizen, the sword to restore Ichigo's powers and did several things to help the Soul Reapers in this arc. Obviously Urahara is going to think of some crazy plan to stop Askin and his over powered ability and I hope we get back to the special war powers soon because maybe, like Aizen hopefully, Kenpachi and Ichibee still play an important role in this arc. Finally the chapter ends with some more funny banter between Yoruichi and Urahara and then a really hilarious shot of Urahara forcing Yoruichi into a Cat - Girl form made of lightning which I am sure has some special power to combat Askin.

"It's a shame your not a special war potential"

Overall I liked this chapter way better than the previous one but I have to fault it for being really dialogue heavy when it would have been cool to see some team up of Yoruichi and Urahara but then again Kubo never does that and just sticks to 1 vs. 1. Also while I also hop Yoruichi kicks some ass now I kind of hope she gets defeated so Urahara will have to step in a use Bankai.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Askin getting the spotlight again
                   The funny moments between Urahara and Yoruichi
                   The special war potentials brought up again

Let - Downs: Was a tad too dialogue heavy     

Bleach Review: My Last Words

"Now I'm finally going to have the spotlight"

Uryu's true intentions are revealed as he confronts Haschwalth meanwhile Ichigo and the rest try to make it to Yhwach while he is in his weakened state.

With Arrow, Flash and Supergirl not returning to the UK for a while I thought why not review Bleach for a while again and see where it goes. I have still been keeping up to date with Bleach lately and this chapter was just another setup chapter that we have been reading for a while; Askin vs. Yoruichi, Gerard vs. the Soul Reapers and now Uryu vs. Haschwalth, we haven't had any proper fights and the plot hasn't moved forward that much either. We get a few new revelations like Haschwalth destroying the Sun Gate connected to the world of the living because he saw Uryu's betrayal but also the reveal that his seeing powers isn't so perfect after all. Is this because the Almighty ability is not as good when it transfers to Haschwalth? Now as for Uryu's betrayal everyone saw that he was still a good guy for months and months now and Kubo hasn't done anything with this subplot. I mean Uryu hasn't fought or been featured that much throughout this whole arc and his whole plan doesn't sound as elaborate as he thinks because I seriously think there was no need to keep Ichigo and the others in the dark about it. It's a shame this subplot didn't go anywhere because we never even got to see a good fight between Uryu and Ichigo which I think a lot of fans (myself included) was hoping for. However I am looking forward to seeing Uryu vs. Haschwalth and it is helped with some awesome artwork of the two of them facing off against one another.

As for everything else Chad actually got a chance to shine by staying behind to deal with the statues that have come to life which I admit I didn't see coming. And while I like his dialogue and willingness to fight I don't think we'll see much of him now since he is just fighting cannon fodder. That has been the major problem with this arc is that there have been too many characters that have been wasted and have barely done anything. Like the Vizards, Shinji in particular who hasn't fought for long, won a fight and just seems to be defeated by one move all the time now, I don't know what the hell Ginjo and the other Fullbringers are doing and where is Uryu's father been in an arc that has been about Quinces? I think the major problem with this arc is that there have been too many good guys and Kubo has been too afraid to kill them off. For example I really admired Kubo when I thought he killed off a popular character like Toshiro but no he brought him back and he is taking over the Gerard fight when it could have been the Vizards time to shine. If you want to go back even further why couldn't Kubo let BG9 win against Soi Fon? He could have fought another day then against another Soul Reaper, Vizard or even a Fullbringer but no he was killed off along with Cang Du when the two could have done way more. Finally many Sternritter where defeated off screen by Byakuya and then killed by the Auswahlen; these included NaNaNa, Robert, Candice and Meninas, four Sternritter who haven't had a proper fight this whole arc and never will now. Sorry for the rant but it is just something that has really been annoying me throughout this whole arc.

Those statues do have an interesting design

Overall not much happened because it is mainly setup for fights and what is happening next but I am also interested in seeing if Ichigo will make it to Yhwach before he wakes up.       

SCORE: 5/10

Highlights: Great shots of Haschwalth and Uryu
                   Chad getting some of the spotlight

Let - Downs: Uryu's infiltration of the Sternritter wasn't all it could be
                      Doubt Chad will play a large role in the arc now along with many other characters
                      Don't really care about Ganju now at this point

Top 5 Falling Skies Season Two Episodes

Haven't uploaded since before Christmas but I will try to more often now, I was hoping to review more Arrow, Flash and Supergirl but I think they are not coming back to the UK until March. I have been looking forward to doing this Top 5 list because it is a shame I couldn't review this season of Falling Skies because I think it probably is my favourite because of it's darker tone. Though Season Three might be a close tie because I like the intro of the Volm in it and that the humans are more like a big superpower against the aliens, which they completely got rid of in Season Four. Anyway here is my top five for Season Two, SPOILERS.

5. Young Bloods

You know some of my favourite episodes of Falling Skies is when the focus is on Weaver because he is one be of best characters in my opinion. I liked this episode because Weaver had a really touching moment being reunited with his daughter who he thought was dead and it was nice to see some good come to Weaver. I also think this was Matt's first really good episode because he was starting to grow up rather than acting like a kid and he made a compelling argument against his father for wanting to fight. Plus the scene at the end with the Jeanne and her friends almost being harnessed was great and made for a good rescue mission to watch.

4. A More Perfect Union

You know this episode might have been higher but the let down that kept it here was that the take over of Charleston that was built up with a cliffhanger the last episode didn't really amount to anything. I wouldn't have minded seeing some fighting between the people of Charleston and the 2nd Mass plus I don't really like Bressler and he was an ass in this. However they are minor things because it was a satisfying conclusion of the Second Season with the raid on the Overlord at the end which included some great action and torture scenes which lead to the death of Dia and Red Eye. Plus the cliffhanger was really good with the introduction of the Volm (unnamed at this point) and kept me wondering until the Third Season whether they where enemies or not.

3. Love And Other Acts Of Courage

See when Ben isn't completely obsessed with one of Hal's girlfriends his episodes are some of the most entertaining. This episode gave us the introduction to the Skitter Rebellion with Red Eye and the return of Rick from the previous season. I think it was handled really well because Red Eye's backstory of the rebellion was compelling but the scepticism of the other characters kept me constantly second guessing everything. Like I said Ben was great in this because I liked how he kept sticking up for Red Eye and this was the start of his own mission separate of his family and the 2nd Mass.

2. The Price Of Greatness

Quite a different episode here because 2nd Mass has to deal with integrating with another society of humans and of course it didn't go so well. It was interesting seeing some of the members of 2nd Mass accepting this (like Weaver and Tector) while other had a harder time like Pope and the Mason Family. It gave us a break from the alien war to watch these opposing views and the most compelling of them was the ones between Tom and his former history professor Arthur Manchester. I enjoyed seeing Tom trying and convince Manchester and the rest of Charleston the importance of fighting rather than hiding. All in all while there was no action it had some really strong character moments and dialogue that I really enjoyed.  

1. Molon Labe

The best episode of the entire season and one of the best in the series overall, I just loved this episode. It really tries to be scary with the reveal of thus Trojan Horse bugs that burst out of that member of 2nd Mass and started chasing the characters throughout the dark hospital. It also created a really hopeless situation with 2nd Mass trapped in the hospital but thanks to Tom really doing something unexpected by shooting an Overlord in the neck. All in all there was a lot of tension and dark moments in this episode that made it unforgettable, plus Pope was back with the main cast again.

And because I have too the worst episode of the season in my opinion was;

Homecoming

I got to tell you I just really dislike Karen in the series because I never really bought her as this enemy leader in Season Three but before that she had a really underwhelming return in this episode. You know I didn't need Pope to tell me she was actually a spy because it was just so obvious from the beginning, I never understood why anyone in the 2nd Mass bothered listening to her. In my Falling Skies reviews of the later seasons you know I hate the subplots that involve the love lives of Hal and Ben, well this episode was the very first one; they are both fighting for Karen like they do for Maggie in later seasons. I just do not like the rivalry that Falling Skies constantly creates between Hal and Ben because all of the time Hal just acts like a prick and Ben comes off as kind of pathetic when he could be the most interesting character because of the problems he faces being harnessed.