Bleach episode 358 review

Ichigo is finally free from his training, and all he has to do is come up with a name for his new ability, presumably to shout the name as he launches his attack like all anime heroes do. But when he arrives home, he sees Tsukishima there, along with his sisters. They tell him that Tsukishima is their long-lost cousin. Before Ichigo can do anything, Tatsuki, Keigo, and the other guy show up and say that Tsukishima called them over for a party. Obviously at this point Ichigo is bewildered, because everyone is under Tsukishima’s spell.

When he runs away from all that, he finds Ginjo, who lets him know that all of the other Fullbringers have too fallen under Tsukishima’s hypnosis. And now these two are the only two left who are sane, or are they? Orihime and Chad seem to have been put under it, but we’re not sure about the Quincy Uryu. Obviously this means that it’s going to be up to Ichigo to clean up this mess.

If Ichigo doesn’t want to say there are five lights when there are clearly four, then he’s going to just have to beat it out of Tsukishima, the InuYasha way. Speaking of InuYasha, I have some plans for that show in the distant future.

Best girl of the episode: Tatsuki (9) (even though she’s under Tsukishima’s spell)

Episode rating: 7/10

Bleach episode 357 review

Chad and Orihime do… pretty much nothing. They get followed around town by Riruka, who now might have a crush on Orihime, too? I don’t know. What I do know, is that Ichigo has to do 100 push-ups for Jinto, but not 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, or a 10-kilometer run. And he’s still trapped in that stupid video game.

Finally, Chad and Orihime find Tsukishima’s hideout, where they confront him. Chad uses his Falcon Punch on Tsukishima, or whatever it’s called, and Tsukishima says that his power “has increased tenfold.” That’s nice, but due to the fact that Chad can’t beat him with it and has never beaten anybody else with it, those words ring hollow – pun not intended. You can’t convince me now that his power is any greater because we have no real proof for it other than some explosions.

At least the showdown at the end made it so this episode wasn’t all about not much happening. So, baby steps toward positivity, I guess.

Best girl of the episode: Orihime (55)

Episode rating: 6/10

Bleach episode 356 review

Jinto turns evil in this episode, with Ichigo and him inside the video game training. He starts slashing Ichigo up like Freddy Krueger. He didn’t take a flamethrower and barbecue Orihime, but he did try to break down her barrier as she tried to heal Ichigo. Then he goes mad and supposedly becomes a villain. In the end, it’s all a ploy. He’s just trying to get Ichigo to awaken his powers, and by turning “evil” he managed to do so.

Meanwhile, Riruka is busy being jealous of Orihime. Not of her second-place status on the “best girl” list, but presumably of her relationship with Ichigo. She creates just enough buzz to save us from the bizarro Jinto who turns evil for a 15-minute time period. Overall, not a great episode, but at least we’re one step closer to Ichigo ending his Ich-emo days.

Best girl of the episode: Orihime (54) (too little, too late)

Episode rating: 5/10

Bleach episode 355 review

It wouldn’t have been fair for Rukia to win best girl simply by running out the clock, would it? After some regularly scheduled tomfoolery with Soul Reapers who go fly a kite (I am not making this up), Rukia steals the show with a segment in which she needs to learn a dance, and she’s having Renji help her learn it. He, meanwhile, acts like his usual self, which causes Rukia lots of problems along the way. Yet it was all of his bizarre actions that were made to help her, and thus she gains the confidence to perform this dance, even after Renji gets ink all over her kimono.

It is finally that time: Rukia has clinched best girl of the year! She wins the title with 11 episodes to go. There’s no arguing it, she gets what she deserves. Now, if we went back and calculate wins per appearance, who knows who wins it, maybe Soi Fon. But what we know is that Rukia is Bleach’s best girl, and no one ever can take that away from her.

Best girl of the episode: Rukia (66)

Rukia’s real magic #: 0!!!

Episode rating: 7/10