Bleach episode 108 review

Ichigo & Kariya fight a duel to the death! All this talk about Jokai Crests and Jokai Crests and Jokai Crests, and what it ultimately comes down to is Ichigo and Kariya going at each other in one final blow. As you’d expect, Ichigo goes down first, as he did against Byakuya. Then Kariya goes down, leaving us with one last unfinished sentence: “Ichigo, I…” And then he’s gone.

The rest of the Soul Society is all over the place trying to stop the Jokai Crests (have you heard that there are Jokai Crests?) from detonating. Apparently they succeeded. And they better have, because we can’t have any Jokai Crests around when the next arc begins.

In the end, Ichigo is reunited with his friends and muses about how he’s a lot like Kariya. Yeah, not really. Kariya betrayed all his friends and then tried to blow up the whole world. That doesn’t sound anything like Ichigo. So, no, Ichigo, your comparison is bunk. But at least you got rid of Kariya, which means we are dangerously close to canon again.

Best girl of the episode: Yoruichi (5) (for her time preparing alongside Byakuya to possibly step in if things got bad)

Episode rating: 7/10

Bleach episode 107 review

They brought back Ichinose just to kill him off a second time. Ichinose was presumably killed by Kenpachi Zaraki, who he had a vendetta against, but just as Kariya’s about to fight Ichigo, he appears again. This time, he’s mad at Kariya, who allowed all the other Bounts to die and couldn’t give a care in the world.

But Kariya shrugs him off and presumably kills him a second time. Watch, he will recover just for Ichigo to kill him off a third time. Who knows. All I can say is, now I remember why people hated the Bount arc. Kariya leads all these Bounts like lemmings to their deaths, then is left with no one on his side when he needs them the most. There really was no point to the preceding 40 episodes or so. Kariya all along was going to go out in a blaze of glory, without caring about any of the other Bounts.

Best girl of the episode: Ran Tao (3)

Episode rating: 6/10

Bleach episode 106 review

With this post, I break the record for blogging the most consecutive Bleach episodes to begin a year. The previous record was 105. Now I’m in some uncharted waters.

Of course, there’s no reason to celebrate, because this is one of the most banal and boring episodes yet. Basically, we get a big flashback about how Ran Tao wanted to help the Bounts, but Kariya didn’t want to help them, and blah, blah, blah. Nothing new here.

Then the Quincy Uryu shows up and fights Kariya. This is predictable, because Uryu can’t still have his powers when the next arc begins, or otherwise this filler becomes part-canon. So, Uryu loses his powers, but hits Kariya enough that he’s able to momentarily save Ran Tao’s life. Of course, Ran Tao can’t survive, or else that’d really mess up the canon!

Ichigo shows up at the last second, and now he’s going to fight Kariya. Just like that. What was the point of all those Soul Reapers gathering all that information and stuff? Oh, forget it. Just let Ichigo finish the job at this point.

Best girl of the episode: Ran Tao (2)

Episode rating: 6/10

Bleach episode 105 review

Previously it was Orihime who couldn’t cook, now it’s Rangiku who can’t cook either. Their misadventures with cooking, carried into the post-credits sequence, were the only thing remotely interesting about this episode.

Most of it was just Ran Tao talking to Kariya, going through a flashback where she told the story of the Bounts and of herself and Kariya. It’s the classic “flashback before death” that Bleach is so well-known for. Except Ran Tao doesn’t die in this episode. That’ll have to wait a while, or at least for another day.

Boring episode and not much to write home about.

Best girl of the episode: Rangiku (12)

Episode rating: 5/10