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: Bane Licking Good



Really cool bow!

The chapter begins with Askin explaining that his ability "The Deathdealing" allows him to control the lethal doses of any substance and manipulate it freely. Nimaiya doesn't understand at first but soon collapses when Askin tells him that he has made the amount of blood in his body lethal to him.

Askin then begins to rise saying that it also feels the same for him but that Nimaiya has severely underestimated him. He then removes his cloak and detaches his bow from his gauntlet and is preparing to finish Nimaiya off however Nimaiya surprises Askin by slashing his own throat and attacking him from behind.

Nimaiya says that he simply has to remove the amount of lethal blood from his body and he would be alright but Askin doesn't understand because Nimaiya will be dead from blood loss soon anyway. Just then Kirinji summons his red hot spring water to replenish Nimaiya's blood who then slashes Askin. Nimaiya then turns his attention to Yhwach and tells him to bring it on.

I really wasn't expecting this and that isn't a good thing.

If I had to admit I was really disappointed in this chapter because not only is a huge chunk of it used to explain Askin's power but it looks like Askin might be out of the battle for now. Askin's power was interesting of controlling the lethal doses of a substance but it isn't the most exciting power Kubo has come up with and Nimaiya easily countered it with the help of Kirinji. Also why is Kubo making these elite Sternritter fall so easily to Nimaiya and especially since Askin has been hyped for ages? I seriously doubt that any of them are dead and it could all be some trick by one of them but I really hope Kubo reveals it in the next chapter.

Overall there is not much to say about this chapter except that it was a let down but at least Kirinji is stepping into the battle again and Yhwach may enter it. However even though I really want to see Yhwach fight again I honestly don't want it to be now and I want the elite Sternritter to get back up and keep fighting.

SCORE: 4/10

Highlights: Kirinji is back in the fight

Let - Downs: Askin's power is kind of boring
                      Nimaiya easily countering Askin's power and taking him down
                      All of the elite Sternritter down now (unless it is a trick)