Bleach Review: 566 - 570, Rukia Kuchiki vs. As Nodt

This was probably is uploaded later than I thought it would but here is my review of the recent fight between Rukia and As Nodt. It starts off with Rukia going around the Seireitei (or the Vandenriech now that it is taken over) and stopping when she feels something touch her arm and then turns around to see As Nodt floating towards her. We get some cool, creepy expressions of As Nodt as asks where his captured Senbonzakura and her brother has gone to and I found that kind of funny. It is not long before the actions begins and As Nodt fires his Reshi thorns at Rukia, he also takes off his cape and we see his outfit is still the same as last time but with the added addition of fingerless gloves. However even though As Nodt says his fear ability cannot be stopped with ice Rukia remains ineffective by saying that her body is below freezing so she is currently ‘dead’ and fear cannot affect her (it is also the true power of her Sode No Shirayuki), she then proceeds to completely freeze As Nodt in midair. As Nodt survives this however and breaks out while removing his mouth mask to reveal a decaying mouth and then afterwards enters in his Vollstandig by activating the Vandenreich symbol on the back of his eye. His Vollstandig is called Tatarforas and while in it he gains thorn like looking wings and a halo; his suit also peels away to show a decaying looking chest where is ribcage is. This form heightens his strength and speed but also grants him the ability to paralyse his target with fear simply by looking at his victim. He then creates an entire dome of eyes which traps and seems to have the upper hand before Byakuya Kuchiki. Surprisingly Byakuya does not participate in the fight except to free Rukia from As Nodt dome of eyes and to show off Senbonzakura again. As Nodt then proceed to transform in to a massively grotesque looking form but before he can do anything Rukia actives her Bankai; Hakka no Togame. This creates a massive blast of ice which once again freezes As Nodt but this time he crumbles away, thus ending the fight. I liked this fight a lot more than Renji vs. Mask De Masculine and the main reason for that is that this fight did not seem as one sided as that one was. I was completely annoyed with how over powered Renji was but with Rukia vs. As Nodt I thought the fight could have went either way right up until Rukia activated her bankai. Also I really liked that it was Rukia to kill As Nodt and not Byakuya and that is because I don’t think Rukia has had a decent fight since Aaroniero Arrurueire, plus I think a lot of people where expecting it to be Byakuya to finish off As Nodt. Speaking about As Nodt I think it was great to see another Sternritter have a little back story, the only others who have were the Lloyd brothers. It seems that As Nodt was a very religious person on the brink of death while in a hospital and feared going to hell more than anything. However Yhwach suddenly appears before him and asks if he would like power and be saved, which it is a safe assumption that he accepted. Since this hospital looked very modern I am guessing that As Nodt is a survivor of the Auswahlen that Yhwach used to revive himself. However this is only a guess at this point. Another thing that stood out a lot was the amazing art work that went in to this fight; As Nodt of course looks completely menacing as always, whether this is the shape of his eyes at the beginning or his numerous transformations. I particularly like the part when Rukia froze him in midair and they are flying past one another, it was just really cool. Also I would like to point out that I think Rukia’s bankai looked awesome, her dress looked very regal and detailed. I have heard a lot of people saying that if Rukia had a bankai it would have been a scythe but this was a pleasant surprise in my opinion. If there is anything I did not like about this fight was that I don’t think it was as long as it could have been. I always thought Kubo put a lot of effect in to creating As Nodt and I thought he would have been one of the last Sternritter to be defeated. I am not saying that this was a disappointing fight, it is one of the best of the arc in my opinion, and I just think a few more chapters could have been dedicated to it. Overall this was one great fight were we got to see Rukia with some new powers and Byakuya is ready to fight now. As Nodt may have been one of my favourite Sternritters however at least now some of the focus can shift to those Sternritter we have not seen yet. SCORE: 9/10 Predictions At the end of this fight we get to see Isane and Yachiru stalked by Sternritter V – Vanishing Point, Guenael, and I am really interested in seeing how this goes. These are two characters that we have not seen fight yet and this may be a good opportunity for them to show off. However, whether or not it is in this fight or another, I do hope that the Soul Society takes on more casualties soon. The Sternritter are really pushing them but I really think they need to suffer some more losses to make this invasion and last arc more brutal.

Bleach and Naruto Fanart

Bleach Review: 565 God Like You

Long time since I have done a review of Bleach but here it is again, I know I said I would group my reviews of Bleach chapters together but this chapter is so damn important that I just had to review this single one. Now as ever I will begin with a quick overview.

This chapter starts off not with a look at the end of the fight between Renji and Mask De Masculine (I will probably do a review of that whole fight soon now that it seems to be completely over) but with a flashback of the birth of a very strange baby. This baby was born in a vegetative state; he could not move, speak hear or pretty much do anything but what he could do was cure the aliments of anyone who touched him be it physical, mental or psychological conditions. The reason for this is that the baby imparts some of its soul in to that individual which gave that person the power to over come his or her condition however once that person dies the part of the baby’s soul would return to him and he would gain the powers and experiences that soul gained while it was outside of the baby. Because of this the baby began to be able to move, see, talk and hear and the first word he heard was the chant to a God that he would take as his name and that name was Yhwach who in his teenage years grew up to look like Tensa Zangetsu! That is right, Tensa Zangetsu has been confirmed to be the younger version of Yhwach which many already had thought (myself included) but it is good to have it confirmed. 

Back in the present day Yhwach is still upon his throne and talks to the soul of Mask De Masculine and tells him to return to him, this confirms that Mask De Masculine and James are in fact dead. Just outside his door Uryu is about to enter before being stopped by Haschwalth, in the ensuring conversation between the two you can just tell these guys hate each other but since Uryu is named as Yhwach successor he seems to tolerate him and even describes more of Yhwachs powers to him. It seems that not only have all of the Sternritter have a part of Yhwach soul placed within them they have also had a letter engraved on their soul that represents their power, this seems to be a more powerful version of the soul imprinting that Yhwach used when he was only a baby. Haschwalth also goes on to say that the Soul Reapers have a part of Yhwach soul within them as well so that no matter which side gets the most losses Yhwach will continue to grow stronger. The chapter ends with the dawn of the second day of fighting as Yhwach wakes up and looks over the battlefield.

This was one hell of a unique chapter, a bit disappointed that we see no other fights or Sternritter but we get an awesome back story on Yhwach and some new revelations. The obvious one of being that Tensa Zangetsu was Yhwach younger version but one of the most important ones was that his power as a baby must have Auswahlen, which is the power to absorb the souls of Quincies which was how he could revive himself in the present day in the first place. 

Second was that Yhwach must always be absorbing the souls of those killed in battle to not only get stronger but to keep himself from going back in to a vegetative state, I am sure this was the seal Yamamoto mentioned when he defeated Yhwach a thousand years ago. Now does this mean that a thousand years ago Yamamoto managed to stop all the fighting and is that what the heroes are going to have to do now? 

Also since not only the Quincy but only the Soul Reapers have a part of Yhwach soul within him, he is just going to get more powerful the longer and bloodier this war becomes.

Lastly it is revealed by Haschwalth that Uryu did indeed join the Vandenreich to avenge his mother who was a victim of Auswahlen but since he drank the blood of Yhwach he is now bond to him like all the other Sternritter. Will Uryu then side with the Vandenreich or will he still try to avenge his mother? I am going to side with the first option because I really don’t see Uryu has a bad guy but the hatred between him and Haschwalth during their conversation kind of foreshadows a possible battle between them.

Now about Yhwach it seems that Kubo has made him out to be some kind of Jesus a little bit; he cured anyone who touched him, he is worshipped by all of his followers and Uryu drank his blood, like people drink wine at church. The Quincy has always had a holy theme going one with them and Yhwach only reinforces this. Not only that but besides from seeming to be unstoppable a this point he is woven in so well in to the Bleach lore in spite of being introduced in the final arc. Kubo I have to say that you have done a great job with this character!

In conclusion this was a great chapter and a nice break from the constant fighting we have had so far. Some might say it was a little slow and they might be right but since it revealed a lot about Yhwach that more than makes up for it.

SCORE: 9/10