Bleach episode 239 review

“You may come to wish you hadn’t expended it in such a futile effort.”

Hyorinmaru says the same thing, essentially, to Toshiro, as they battle it out in an amnesia contest. Toshiro remembers his past, then manages to break through to Hyorinmaru to get his memories back, and everything is hunky-dory between them.

As for Rangiku and Momo’s Zanpakutos? Yeah, they are annoying, as Haineko finds 10 different ways of calling Rangiku “old.” But Rangiku and Momo team up to take them down, and as a result, it looks like they’ve gotten theirs back on their side as well.

I am not ready to call this arc “good” yet. But it is certainly trending in the right direction.

Best girl of the episode: Rangiku (31)

Episode rating: 7/10

Bleach episode 238 review

Momo and Rangiku’s Zanpakutos are friendly rivals who like to pick on each other, while still getting along with each other enough to make a good team. When Momo and Rangiku find them, they obviously fight each other in one-on-one battles™. What’s interesting is that both Zanpakutos have the exact same personality as their owners, to the point that the actual Soul Reapers aren’t acting like themselves. It’s a weird combination which I think can’t work outside of filler. Fortunately for today, this is filler.

Ichigo goes off hunting for this arc’s damsel-in-distress Byakuya Kuchiki. Instead of finding him, he finds Hyorinmaru, Toshiro’s Zanpakuto. And now Toshiro comes face-to-face with his Zanpakuto, who apparently has been suffering through some amnesia.

Altogether, probably the best episode of the arc, which gives me hope that maybe I just wrote this thing off too early the first time around.

Best girl of the episode: Haineko

Episode rating: 7/10

Bleach episode 237 review

Shockingly, Soi Fon does not win this episode’s “best girl” title despite having a prominent role. I know that is almost unheard of, but hear me out. Retsu Unohana has a hilarious scene in this episode, where she tells Renji to do something, then gives him a firm smile. When she does so, Renji gets scared to death. I love it because it shows how much the rest of the Soul Society fears her. If only we could have gotten a proper exit for her in TYBW.

Renji’s apparently been able to tame his Zanpakuto, though that doesn’t give everyone else all that much hope. Meanwhile, the Zanpakutos are all squabbling with each other and goofing off. And now we wait for some Soul Reapers to recover, while Soi Fon and Omaeda take on the enemy head on. Omaeda is particularly funny here, because his Zanpakuto is exactly the same as him, and the two of them make a hilariously ugly pair. But I’m more interested in seeing what happens with Soi Fon next; could she get back into the winner’s circle soon?

Oh, and a big improvement episode to episode. That’s a really good thing.

Best girl of the episode: Unohana (3)

Episode rating: 7/10

Bleach episode 236 review

This has got to be a record for the most padded-out episode of Bleach in a while. Basically, Renji and Shuhei face attacks from their Zanpakuto, and defend… and defend… and defend… and defend… and defend… there’s no actual fighting going on. There’s just Renji and Shuhei (with Izuru’s help) guarding, and guarding, and guarding, and guarding…

It’s as if the writers painted themselves into a corner. They didn’t know what to do once the Soul Reapers lost all their powers. The concept of the arc backfired on them. So now they’re just buying time, trying to run out the clock until the filler is over. Not working, sorry!

Best girl of the episode: Saru (2) (who got retroactively named best girl of the last episode upon further review, namely in that Rukia didn’t actually appear in the episode)

Episode rating: 3/10