Bleach episode 90 review

First, this episode has a part where Renji literally tells Ichigo something to the effect of: “It makes more sense to battle as a team against the Bount and Kisuke Urahara told me so, but this is Bleach so I insist on having a one-on-one battle with the Bount.” And why are all these Bounts’ names so hard to remember?

The Bount Renji fought gets abandoned by Jin Kariya and then gets buried alive, even though Renji didn’t really win his battle. He just got lucky enough to escape alive, whereas the Bount met his doom. So, you can’t say Renji finally won a battle, at least not yet. We may have to go to Hueco Mundo with Renji seeking his first victory of the year.

Then Ichigo goes in to fight Kariya and gets pummeled. Ichigo is like Kenny from Survivor: Gabon, virtually useless in this challenge! Kariya beats him up, then tells him that the Bounts plan on invading the Soul Society. The other Bounts tell him not to tell Ichigo this information, but Kariya basically says that the only thing Ichigo will be talking to would be a fish, or maybe the undertaker. So, Ichigo’s next to dead and Renji’s in no shape to save him. Will Yumichika have to save the day?

Oh, and the shadows thing. I’m pretty sure the Bount’s power of the shadows ends up getting repeated in TYBW, which is why Mayuri wears that glowing suit. So, you heard it here first, the shadows giving bad guys power isn’t anything new, TYBW.

Best girl of the episode: Rangiku (8) (literally reduced to a line in the recap and a small bit in the post-credits sequence)

Episode rating: 7/10

Bleach episode 89 review

Rangiku shows up to SAVE Ichigo & pals after they get in trouble. You know you’re doing bad when Rangiku has to SAVE you. While Izuru fights enemies by increasing their weight, the girls are all thrown away as dead weight when Ichigo & Renji decide they’re leaving them behind (with Chad, who is always useless). That’s right, we can only have men doing any fighting, we have to leave the women behind.

Obviously I’m not happy with that, as any long-time listeners/readers would know. But now that we’re stuck with an all-male alliance, let’s see them actually make some headway against the newest Bount. Ugh, this is so frustrating. Ichigo & Renji are painted out to be the tough guys, yet they struggle against enemies that would never give them trouble in canon.

Just an overall mediocre episode.

Best girl of the episode: Rangiku (7)

Episode rating: 5/10

Bleach episode 88 review

Ichigo comes back with Keigo, and he is added to the laundry list of people who are recovering from getting beaten up. This includes Rukia, and even Orihime to an extent. Also, Hanataro manages to replace Renji’s memories – not sure why they needed to be replaced – and gets him back to health.

While the Bounts go off and plot… something, Yumichika, Shuhei, Rangiku, and Izuru all go off trying to find said Bounts. But as usual, they fall right into a trap set by the Bounts, or at least Rangiku does. Yumichika says at one point that “I’m having an ugly feeling about this” and keeps on using the word “ugly” as many times as possible. I guess when you’re a one-trick pony, you’ve got to keep on using that same trick as many times as you can.

Ichigo & pals are back and ready to go by the end of the episode, and Jinta gives Renji a special meal to keep with him. In the post-credits sequence, we see Renji try eating it, and finding out how spicy it is. Oh, and Nemu shows up to meet Uryu, further cementing my OTP.

A passable episode, but nothing remarkable.

Best girl of the episode: Rangiku (6)

Episode rating: 6/10

Bleach episode 87 review

Chad, Rangiku, and Noba have to figure out the Bount’s weak point which they can attack for massive damage. Eventually, they do exactly that, saving Ururu in the process. And that’s pretty much it.

You can feel the padding growing bigger and bigger. Even the filler arc isn’t filling enough time, so it needs more filler to fill more filler. Very fillery, you know?

Hey, at least Rangiku’s fun to be around. But man, this feels as dry as a Hueco Mundo desert.

Best girl of the episode: Rangiku (5)

Episode rating: 5/10