Joint Review of Bleach 490: March of the StarrCross 2

[vagabond87]

Why I did get hater??? >.> I loved last chapter and thought that what we written before about what we would like to write will matter Understand rotation but you alphabeta took away pleasure of writing smthn from me, especially with this chapter.

[alphabeta]

Why I did get hater??? >.> I loved last chapter and thought that what we written before about what we would like to write will matter Understand rotation but you alphabeta took away pleasure of writing smthn from me, especially with this chapter.

Fine, let's wait for laz. If he's ready to take hater, I'll switch your sections to the orginal again.

[Mrlazsa]

i like the idea of the rotation, this way each one of us can learn how to write each part of the review so we can all help and be helped.
anyway since we got plenty of time i think i can come up with a little intro

[mattiaildivino]

I don't like much the rotation thing,because if someone is more suitable for something,no need to change him. yet,it can be useful,so I agree.
about the intro/outro. it consists in just 2 lines per part,doesn't it?

[OtakuModeEngage]

I don't like much the rotation thing,because if someone is more suitable for something,no need to change him. yet,it can be useful,so I agree.
about the intro/outro. it consists in just 2 lines per part,doesn't it?

Its not about who's more suitable, its about strengthening the team through cross training.

---------- Post added at 09:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:55 AM ----------

Is it right of me to assume that the deadline is the usual Monday? If you addressed it already, I apologize for missing it.

[alphabeta]

We are going to stay with the current section list. You guys will be rotated for every section at least once, after that you can dictate me your conditions.

If you still feel like arguing, PM me, we will discuss this matter separately from everything else.

---

About the intro/outro. It can be 2 lines short if you want it, but I think it would be nicer if it'd be a little longer. A paragraph with 4-5 lines would be perfect.

The dealine is Sunday, 6th May.

[mattiaildivino]

ok,that's better than monday,imo. I hope everyone will manage to do it on time . a question, Alpha, there won't be any image (by cropping it) in our review,right?

[alphabeta]

Don't get me wrong, I'm no dictator or anything, but your logic can be summarized as "I wrote that part once, I liked it, I don't wanna do anything else". You haven't even tried writing another section, so how can you say you don't want to write it. Maybe it will be even easier for you?

---------- Post added at 08:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 PM ----------

ok,that's better than monday,imo. I hope everyone will manage to do it on time . a question, Alpha, there won't be any image (by cropping it) in our review,right?

6th is a sunday

About the pics. Do you mean the panels and captions that I used to include in our reviews?

[mattiaildivino]

6th is a sunday

About the pics. Do you mean the panels and captions that I used to include in our reviews?

yeah,having the deadline on sunday is better than having it on monday.

nope,I mean exactly those pictures of a last chapter which are usually posted in a review. check Blackjack's reviews to have an idea,of what I'm talking about. btw,cropping images is quite difficult,so I think we don't need them.

[alphabeta]

yeah,having the deadline on sunday is better than having it on monday.

nope,I mean exactly those pictures of a last chapter which are usually posted in a review. check Blackjack's reviews to have an idea,of what I'm talking about. btw,cropping images is quite difficult,so I think we don't need them.

For future occasions, include a link in your posts instead of making other people search for specific threads.

---------- Post added at 08:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 PM ----------

We can include those pictures if necessary.

---------- Post added at 08:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:55 PM ----------

Added poll.

[Mrlazsa]

i'm done with the fanboy but i'm not really satisfied, so tell me what you guys think.

All right, time to point out the (many) great things about this chapter, if I were a fangirl I would be screaming like a crazy scared monkey but since I’m a fanboy I’ll get you a damn psyched review.
First of all ladies and gentlemen get your hands together for Mr. Kubo ‘cause he really wants to make this last arc epic and he is providing us with some serious action right away: war is coming to SS and it ain’t gonna be easy for the shinigami since they’ll have to fight the Stern Ritter (including a real punk-rocker and Ukitake evil twin).
Ichigo is on whole other level, he doesn’t even need a zanpakuto anymore to kick asses, he has also practised his football skills as we can see when he passes Nel like she was just a ball, Inoue catches it…TOUCHDOWN!
I must say, Kirge is really surprising me, if he is a captain but he is weaker than Ishida then what rank would Ishida have if he was in The VReich??? Is he that strong??? Just can’t wait to see him in action, with his intelligence he could be a pain in the ass for every enemy, even the most powerful.
Anyway Kirge loses his cool only for a moment, he is not afraid of fighting Ichigo since he has an ace in his sleeve: the letzt stil, he transforms in an (ugly) angel showing the fight has just begun. I think this is pure genius: a death god vs. an angel, they’re like natural enemies so it makes the contrast between quincies and shinigami more evident.
About the art I just loved the last page: having the point of view set above the actions makes you feel like a god who knows everything, it is so fun looking at the shinigami running around ignoring they’re about to be attacked.
P.S. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks Quincy names are impossible

[mattiaildivino]

here's my analysis:
"March of the StarCross 2" opens with the usual sentence by the Shonen Jump (sentence which will be removed in the volume edition) which reveals that Buckbeard was actually the Quincy who survived 1000 years ago against Yamamoto. Yet, being a sentence written by the Jump it's not official entirely, although it's quite obvious that he was that Quincy . Hence, the real chapter starts with the comunication of the emperor's order towards the Stern Ritters to gather at the "Gate of the Sun" (what an heavenly name) after preparing, to invade SS,taking advantage of their army which is currently fighting Ichigo,revealed to be one of the 5 "special war potentials". Thus, 7 (or maybe more) guys (all with the Quincy cross on the cloak) gather.
In Hueco Mundo, Kirge's attacked Ichigo, congratulating on being strong. The latter doesn't even need his zampakuto to stop that attack and wonders why that Quincy isn't holding a bow,as Uryu told him about Quincies' only weapon. Ichigo throws that attack back, comes down,and throws Nel to Orihime, while Kirge shoots other Heiling Pfeil (Holy Arrows), destroyed by Zangetsu,though. Opie can't but realizing how weak his attack still is, but Ichigo tells him not to worry, since his arrows are stronger than Ishida's when they last fought each other. Not just Kirge knows that he is talking about Uryu (and not about Ryuken), he even states that this is impossible! Though,he refuses to answer Ichigo and pronunciates the well-known proverb "silver is speech, silent is golden". After extracting the sword, the Quincy says he will report to his majesty, and then activates something on his glasses near the ear, maybe an earphone to share infos with his comrades (a kind of DB's scooters ). Thus, Kirge pulls his glover out and advises Ichigo of the "Quincy Letzt Stil", whose real name is "Quincy Vollständig" (Quincy Complete Holy Form). Kirge transforms and becomes an angel!
Meanwhile, Urahara and Pesche freed Dondochakka, and the former is worried sensing something: either Kirge's transformation or SS in danger. In fact, above SS the enemies have arrived.

[OtakuModeEngage]

Character:
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If you were hoping for a Bad-ass Ichigo moment, or answers to this confusing arc from the all seeing Urahara, you are sadly left displeased. Ichigo shows amazing skills, impressively crushing or rebounding Quincy arrows with his bare hands, but fails to wipe the floor with the Quincy; allowing him to take a second form, a form similar to Arancar’s Resurrección or a Soul Reapers Bankai. If Ichigo was so strong that he could effortlessly defuse the enemy’s attacks then why doesn’t he obliterate them outright? It seems a more prudent action, saving the time and energy that would otherwise be consumed fighting this powered up opponent. One might think differently had Ichigo been any kind of strategist, with the intention to learn his enemies’ attacks before facing them, but as we know Ichigo to be the kind of hero to rush into battle without giving it second thought, these delayed battles seem counterproductive. Will Ichigo find this new power difficult to overcome? It is hard to say, but many readers were surely hopping to see Ichigo squash him effortlessly. However this development suggests that Ichigo still has a way to go.

As for Urahara, the soul societies lazy genius and seemingly most knowledgeable and in-the-know man, we see him playing around with the Arancars; his purpose in entering Huaco Mudo, just as his true powers have always been, remains hidden. But perhaps that’s the way we love Urahara the most, the man who never reveals his hand until it’s time to strike. Certainly the serious look on his face suggest that he has an ulterior motive for following Ichigo into Huaco Mundo, but as to when Kubo will manifest action from this plot twist character, we can only wait.

---------- Post added at 03:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:27 PM ----------

Predictions
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Now, we move on to the predictions. If Ichigo maintains his slow but badass fighting style -which seems to underestimate his opponent’s abilities- then I foresee a grueling sludge match that will leave Ichigo drained of energy in later battles; but on the other hand, this course of action will lead him to ‘power up’, so that he will finally have enough strength to fight the boss at the end; a character trait common with Shounen manga and Ichigo in particular. This match may last a number of chapters. However, in the unlikely hood that Kubo presents Ichigo as ‘ready’ and he fights seriously, the battle will be over in a course of a chapter and he’ll move on to other battles, but to be honest, that would be nowhere near as interesting and unlikely given Ichigo’s character.

I also foresee Urahara playing a pivotal role in uncovering the twist to this arc, do to his uncharacteristic activity that only takes place when something big is about to go down, such as the fight with Aizen. It may very well be Urahara who brings out the much anticipated 0 squad, as apart from Aizen, he is the only one who has made it clear that he has had contact with the Spirit King, or at the very least, knows what he looks like.

[alphabeta]

Okay, updated the OP. Will do the proofreading later (assuming I'll find the time in the first place). All that's left is vaga's part, but the hasn't logged on since the 4th, so if he doesn't show up today we'll post the review as is. Also, we have a new banner this time.

[OtakuModeEngage]

Haha, so much easier to do Impressions and predictions than analysis... though this chapter in particular didn't give much foreshadowing.