Bleach episode 168 review

This episode contains a wild amount of irony, once you know how this arc ends. Basically, most of the Captains along with Lieutenant Izuru Kira put their blind faith in this new Squad 3 Captain, Shusuke Amagai, while the rank-and-file members of the Seireitei remain suspicious of the guy. Apparently two Captains signed off on making this guy a Captain, although this episode does not tell who (Sajin Komamura is definitely not one of them). In other words, the rank-and-file Soul Reapers have better judgment than the Captains do, and that says a lot.

In other news, this new Captain cannot keep his liquor, which used to be a semi-frequent joke in anime. But somehow he’s able to rise from his stupor and fight off an enemy, before collapsing again. He’s brought along a shady guy as his third seat, which is really the only hint that he’s up to no good. The anime actually does a pretty good job at hiding his true nature early on here. Anyway, the Rurichiyo arc is on its way, complete with “CHU-BURA” and all the fixins. Trust me, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Best girl of the episode: Rangiku (22)

Episode rating: 7/10

Bleach episode 167 review

I totally forgot that this was the end of the arc! Here, I’m thinking this arc ends dozens of episodes from now, when it ends at this point. Ichigo fights Grimmjow, and wins. That sums it up.

We get a lengthy flashback about Grimmjow’s past, which is meaningless because Grimmjow exits the series (notice that I don’t say “dies” because it is clear that his fate was intentionally made mysterious). And we get one of the best IchiHime moments yet, when Ichigo and Orihime are reunited. It’s a powerful, poignant moment that makes the romance inevitable.

Now we move on to a new arc, one that I liked the first time I watched with the fansub, then hated the second time when I watched the dub. The reason? The dub changes something that completely changes one of the characters’ personalities altogether. We’ll see if the third time’s a charm.

Best girl of the episode: Orihime (32)

Episode rating: 8/10

Bleach episode 166 review

This was a very good episode. A fierce battle between Ichigo and Grimmjow, and a touching moment when Orihime finally yells out “Don’t die, Ichigo!” which gives Ichigo the strength to go on. IchiHime is all but official by the end of this episode. And there’s more to come from this battle.

Yet I can’t help but think that Grimmjow is just a villainous, inferior knockoff of Kenpachi Zaraki. All he lives for is fighting. That’s nice. But he doesn’t have any of the other character traits that make Zaraki such a good character. He just exists to fight, and mainly just to fight the main character. There’s nothing else to him. A pretty static character.

Nel was her usual whiny self again, but she at least prompted Orihime’s scream that made this episode so good. Nel is sort of the Jar Jar Binks of this arc, or at least her and Pesche and Dondechakka put together. But Orihime getting over her fears of Ichigo’s Hollow self was a wonderful moment. It made this the best episode in a little while here, at least since Rukia’s battle with Aaroniero.

Best girl of the episode: Orihime (31)

Episode rating: 8/10

Bleach episode 165 review

One of the things I haven’t talked about much in these reviews is how much the “Nel gang” is detrimental to my enjoyment of this arc. Nel’s always crying, Pesche’s always making unfunny jokes, and Dondechakka is just… there. In this episode, there’s more of the same with all three of them doing what makes them annoying. But there was one line Pesche let out that had me scratching my head, and it’s in the title of this post. Excuse me, what?

Meanwhile, Grimmjow fights off Ulquiorra, that way he can fight Ichigo. It’s clear that he’s supposed to be the new Kenpachi, and just want to fight for the sake of fighting. Ichigo obliges, and Grimmjow calls him out on the carpet for preferring to fight him rather than just saving Orihime. Good for you, Grimmjow. That’s something I wanted to know, too. Why isn’t Ichigo just saving Orihime? Is it just that we must fulfill the requirement of at least one fight ongoing in some spot in Hueco Mundo at one time?

Anyway, Ichigo and Grimmjow fight and fight and fight, and quite honestly, it’s very boring. Fighting for the sake of fighting isn’t all that thrilling. I was highly unimpressed with this episode.

Best girl of the episode: Orihime (30)

Episode rating: 6/10