Bleach episode 37 review

In one of the most bizarre yet hilarious scenes we’ve seen so far, Squad 8 Captain Shunsui Kyoraku appears to Chad with a bunch of flower pedals flying by. What an entrance! But, as it turns out, those were only flower pedals being released by his Lieutenant Nanao Ise, who then goes and dumps them on his head. Nanao, you have become sneaky good in your little time on screen.

Most of the episode is just a flashback about Chad and Ichigo. Typical shounen fare. But what’s awesome is that, after the flashback, Chad has all this motivation and energy, and he charges at Shunsui – and gets stopped easily. Not as cool as the moment that we all know is coming near the end of this arc, but still pretty humorous.

Despite the flashback, this episode wasn’t bad at all.

Best girl of the episode: Nanao Ise (I hope this isn’t your last, you need more screen time)

Episode rating: 8/10

Bleach episode 36 review

I’ve been complaining lately about how I haven’t had enough girls to pick from for Best Girl. Well, this episode cures that, as there were no less than four girls who vied for the title. The winner surprised even me.

Ichigo faces Kenpachi Zaraki, and Ganju and Hanataro get away. Because of course Zaraki has no interest in those two; he’s only interested in battling. So he lets Ichigo take a full swing at him. Of course, Ichigo is the only one who ends up bleeding afterward. Yachiru provides commentary and even jumps onto Ichigo’s shoulder, playful as ever. It’s her humor that helps lighten up the mood when it looks like Ichigo is done for.

Then you’ve got Rangiku visiting Momo in jail, because of course poor little Momo is such an evil character that she needed placed in jail. Rangiku gives Momo a letter from Captain Aizen, who was so nice but to leave her a farewell note after his imminent death. Truth be told, this should have let off alarm bells and red flags to myself that Aizen had something cooking; why would he write a letter about his death if he didn’t know… it was coming.

Rukia begs for Ichigo to run away, in prayer; truth be told, I have no idea who she’s praying to, so chances are this prayer will fall on dead ears. But she offers me a fourth option for Best Girl of a great episode that took just a tad too long to develop. In the end, I chose an unlikely source.

Best girl of the episode: Yachiru (4) (Yep, her humor was enough to win me over beyond Momo and Rangiku; Rangiku had it wrapped up until Yachiru appeared.)

Episode rating: 8/10

Bleach episode 35 review

It’s not even an hour after Aizen’s “death,” and the Soul Society has been thrown into complete chaos. Momo attacks Ichimaru. Izuru attacks Momo. Toshiro attacks them both. The other Lieutenants are just there for dragging Izuru and Momo off to jail. It seems that the Soul Society fixes all its problems by putting people in jail. Actually, that doesn’t sound all that different from the real world.

Anyway, Ichigo and Ganju got healed at the Pokemon Center and are now ready to fight again. They climb up a never-ending staircase that actually does end, and at the top they are greeted by someone. That’s right, it’s time for the best fight of the arc: Ichigo vs. Zaraki (who I don’t call “Kenpachi” anymore thanks to TYBW). This should (will) be good.

Also, Squad 8 Captain Shunsui Kyoraku prepares for battle with… Chad? A small fry for the future Head Captain to be taking on. Also, Uncle Shunsui teases his niece Nanao. They’d make such a cute couple if they weren’t, you know, connected by blood.

Speaking of blood, there’s going to be a lot of Ichigo’s spilled against Zaraki, and I can’t wait.

Best girl of the episode: Momo (3) (she really does have a lot of guts to take on Gin Ichimaru)

Episode rating: 8/10

Bleach episode 34 review

It was so obvious. It was right there from the beginning. And I missed it. I never saw it coming.

Aizen was a villain from Day One. From his passing Ichimaru in a suspicious way, to his weird response to Momo, to what he told Momo in his barracks. It shouldn’t have been this hard to figure out that he was a bad guy.

But I missed it the first time I watched Bleach, and I believed that he was some sort of martyr at the end of this episode. Poor Momo. She looked up to Aizen as a father figure, and he turned out to be anything but.

Things just got real in the Soul Society. Renji’s in jail, Ichigo’s out of commission, the other Ryoka are out of the plot altogether, and Aizen is dead. Or at least we wish he was.

Best girl of the episode: Momo (2)

Episode rating: 9/10