Ichigo and the gang prepare to follow after Yhwach and gain a new party member for the journey. Elsewhere in the Soul Society, Ikkaku and Yumichika struggle against Bambietta destructive power as Giselle pulls her undead puppet's strings.
The Good
I've yet to make this vocal, but my most anticipated moment for this finale has been for Yoruichito appear. Sort of similar to a wish you're too afraid to speak out loud in fear that it may not come true. There are just so many unanswered questions revolving around her. Not just her animal transformation ability, but the biggest one is what happened with her zanpakuto. What's its name, and what's her bankai like? Now, we may finally get some answers. I also think she's a great personality that's been grossly underused in this series.
If the humor wasn't to your liking -- and I wouldn't hold that against you --, the chapter takes a drastic turn into some pretty wild action as Ikkaku battles the zombifed Bambietta. I'm genuinely surprised by how much I'm enjoying the back and forth barbs of Yumichika and Giselle. This all takes an incredible twist when Captain Kurotsuchi joins into this brawl. This should make for a really fascinating turn of events. His unique blend of indirect combat is perfectly balanced against Giselle's powers.
The Bad
I've always liked that Ichigo sort of defied his punk persona by having a rather adorable sense of modesty. Some of my favorite early series moments revolved around Yoruichi teasing Ichigo. The problem in this chapter is that the Orihime breast gag just comes off as too....in your face....heavy handed. Wow, every descriptor I can think of just comes out sounding like a bad pun.
The only thing that saves the whole bit is Yoruichi stepping in and slapping some sense into Ichigo. Both literally and figuratively. It was about time someone educated him on how to talk to a woman. There really was no need for Ichigo to be so judgmental in his reply. He could have just said it was nice and be done with it.
Verdict 4/5
This chapter has a bit of everything for your average reader. It's good the humor is added at the beginning, because it falls a bit flat -- I told you they all sound like puns. The most entertaining part of it all has more to do with how everyone is reacting after the fact, and bringing in Yoruichi saves the entire bit for me. The action portion of the issue has great intensity and gets surprisingly brutal. Amazing what you can get away with when you have a zombie opponent. We're ultimately left off with another exciting cliffhanger that makes me really look forward to next week.
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About the Author
 | Kristoffer Remmell (FoxxFireArt) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and over all mystery geek. Follow for news updates: @AnimeVicers /@FoxxFireArt / http://kristofferremmell.tumblr.com/ |
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