This episode was so dull, uninteresting, and forgettable that I forgot to write up the recap. It was basically just the story of this random boy who is delaying getting sent off to the Soul Society because of his sister. Rangiku and pals try to help him. It’s a filler arc. You fill in the blank.
Unfortunately, there’s not much to write home about, but at least there were no appearances from those dreaded Visoreds. Sometimes subtraction is better than addition.
Yes, we really have an episode of Bleach where Rangiku has a fashion show. She decides to go off shopping, and as she does, she picks out all sorts of clothing and tries it on. But when she goes into one store where there’s an ocarina of sorts, she notices that it starts making a very strange noise – kind of like what you hear at the beginning of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.” Then Hollows appear.
Rangiku, along with Toshiro, Ikkaku, and Yumichika, protect a boy who is being attacked by the Hollow. This boy is the rudest kid I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve seen some rude ones! He keeps on calling Rangiku “old lady” which, while funny, also makes no sense. Anyway, this boy and the Hollow who’s coming after him are going to make for an interesting filler arc here, which is actually better than the crap we’ve been getting with that stupid Hiyori and the Vi-sores.
I look forward to seeing what outfit Rangiku will try on next!
Orihime, who is suddenly getting all the screen time, goes to Urahara’s training ground with Yoruichi. There, she finds out that Kisuke thinks she’s like Survivor: Gabon’s Kenny, virtually useless in this challenge. He doesn’t want her to fight. Anyone with a brain would see that to be the case, as Orihime can’t defeat the weakest of enemies. Yet Chad, another virtually useless fighter, complains to Kisuke that Orihime be allowed to fight, because she was on the rescue crew in the Soul Society. Yeah, Chad, do you even remember what happened there? The only person who made any progress in the entire arc was Ichigo. You and all your pals lost your battles and had to be healed in order to survive. You were useless, and so was Orihime.
Then Rukia tries comforting Orihime, in what is the most touching scene in a while. Rukia shows her worth as a friend and as a character too. This episode may have been all about Orihime, but Rukia’s compassion for her friend was wonderful to watch.
But suddenly Hiyori appears and whisks Orihime away. She’s got to go back to the Vi-sores. Hachi, the giant guy with healing powers, sees that Orihime has the same powers as him – able to create barriers that shatter upon impact and able to heal people if you have a couple thousand years to wait. Basically, he’s useless too, but misery loves company, doesn’t it?
The episode wasn’t all that great, but that Rukia scene really boosted it for me.
What a dull episode. Just training and training and training, all different characters. Ichigo, Chad, Renji, Uryu… yeah, just training and training. Very boring.
Orihime sneaks into the Visoreds’ home via a gate that looked like an alien spaceship. She gets some quality time with Ichigo, which is good toward IchiHime, but coming in such a boring episode, I couldn’t enjoy it.
Momo defends Aizen to Toshiro on the TV screen, which is probably the only good thing that came from this episode. At least she’s alive, but I think it’s rather amusing how she’s still defending Aizen. Then Old Man Yamamoto comes on and takes her off the air, much like someone would if there was an intruder in the TV studio. The only enjoyable thing from this episode.
Please, training arc, please be over soon. I just can’t take another 10 episodes of this.
Tommy A. Phillips 