anime

Bleach 330: And best wishes from the Lottery

Bleach episode 330 review

Nozomi is the first modsoul, so she feels bad about what she’s brought on Ichigo & pals. In the meantime, Ichigo & pals let Nozomi live in his house. But of course while everyone else is partying, Nozomi sneaks off and gets herself into trouble. That trouble ends with Nozomi gaining a Zanpakuto out of thin air to protect Kon from getting killed. And everyone lived happily ever after.

Well, I wish that last sentence was true, because this arc will continue on. Nozomi was at least bearable in this episode, whereas most times in the past she was super annoying. Not a terrible episode by any means, and it seems as if Nozomi is actually growing on me a bit.

Best girl of the episode: Nozomi (3)

Rukia’s real magic #: 23

Episode rating: 6/10

anime

Bleach 329: Modsoul Madness

Bleach episode 329 review

Truthfully, the only good thing about this episode was its “Illustrated Guide to Soul Reapers,” which included the scene shown above, as Yoruichi plays the part of Utena saving her Rose Bride, not Anthy but Soi Fon.

The rest of this episode is boring as hell, and I almost swore there trying to describe how awful it was. Much of the episode consisted simply of Mayuri giving exposition, and Kageroza doing the same thing. Kisuke Urahara joined in, as did Nozomi herself – but there was very little actual action in this episode. Just people talking each other to death.

When the action finally begins, it’s too late, because I’ve already been bored to death by all the talking. The “fighting” isn’t really all that much, with the biggest surprise being fake Isane defending Kageroza. In the end, the episode ends up being a total waste until that final scene with Yoruichi and Soi Fon making my day.

Best girl of the episode: Soi Fon (34) (because it was her imagination)

Rukia’s real magic #: 24

Episode rating: 5/10

anime

Bleach 328: This is the absolute finale!

Bleach episode 328 review

The Soul Reapers close in on Kageroza, who has nowhere left to run or hide. So, his plan is just to have all his flunkies – the fake Soul Reapers – show up and have an all-out brawl with the real Soul Reapers. And despite some good moments from Soi Fon and Yoruichi, the fact remains that it is almost impossible to keep track of a fight between characters who look nearly exactly the same. Oh, and on Kisuke’s computer, they finally figure out that Ichigo is alive, which makes everyone happy,

I can’t wait for this arc to be over. The experiment of “Byakuya vs. Byakuya, who would win?” has gotten stale, and I’d rather the Soul Reapers be fighting actual opponents. This was a failed experiment, and I’d like to move on now.

Best girl of the episode: Soi Fon (33)

Rukia’s real magic #: 25

Episode rating: 5/10

anime

Bleach 327: Incense and Peppermints

Bleach episode 327 review

Soi Fon beats the crap out of Komamura. Too bad it’s the fake Soi Fon. I can still cheer for her, can’t I, even though it’s not really her? Pretty please?

Byakuya fights himself the same way a chess player would play Petrov’s Defense. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4 etc. Everything about him and his fake’s attacks go exactly the same as each other, so there’s no way of telling who is going to gain an inch. Meanwhile, the one-armed wonder Old Man Yama is still fighting off fake Shunsui.

And Ichigo has been summoned to an area by Kageroza where no one can sense his spiritual pressure. Instead of panicking or going off looking for him, the characters basically say that there’s no way he could die in a filler arc so we’re not worrying about him. Nozomi seems to be the one who’s the most worried, even though she’s known Ichigo for about 12 minutes.

And that’s another jumbled mess of an episode of this arc. Not very satisfying, and to be quite frank, the battles are getting old by now. The novelty of Soul Reapers fighting themselves has worn off. Something must be done to regain a spark.

Best girl of the episode: Soi Fon (32) (like Momo last episode, even the fake one is good enough for me)

Rukia’s real magic #: 26

Episode rating: 6/10