The Underscore's Bleach review 499: Rescuer In The Dark

[The Underscore]

499: Rescuer In The Dark

Another Sunday, another Bleach review. Just to give you the heads up, after chapter 500 I'll be away for 2 weeks. I'll be off seeing the world and whatnot during my two week vacation . But let's not think about the future just yet, let's look back on what happened during this chapter first! There was no poll in last week's review, so there's only the chapter rating. So we'll get to the heart of the matter soon enough. Thanks to Mangastream for their scanlation!

Bleach chapter 498, The Black Rescuer, rated by 6 voters, gets an average score of:

7.8

Good


Operation 15

Who needs details anyways, just do as you're told!

Hiyosu tells the rest of the 12th squad to spread the message: Ichigo's on his way! He's already escaped Hueco Mundo and is on his way right now! Rather an odd message to spread to the entirety of the Gotei 13. It's one thing to tell everyone that Ichigo's coming, being as (in)famous as he is. But why would you distract people with the information that he's escaped Hueco Mundo? Though weathered soldiers won't be distracted by news like that, the majority of the Shinigami we've seen in the past couple of chapters would be distracted. Whether the mentioning of Hueco Mundo is a wise decision or not, Ichigo's already heading out!

Chad and Orihime finally come out of hiding, probably having sensed the fight between Ichigo and Opie ended. They find Urahara booting up his laptop, immediately telling them to get him the medal in Opie's possession. Of course, Orihime needs to know what Ichigo's doing before she does any more . Urahara realizes this and tells both her and Chad that Ichigo's gone off to Soul Society. But with time being as precious as it is, Urahara needs to do some analyzing. Guess it's fortunate that Urahara decided to tag along this time. With information being a crucial factor for this stage of the war, we might as well have a sandal-hat scientist on the case.

While Urahara starts his research, Rin is one of the 12th division members who's spreading the word of Ichigo's coming. The fact that Ichigo's coming is enough to move him to tears. Admittedly, Ichigo's quite the powerhouse. But with the current state of affairs, it makes one wonder whether Ichigo will be enough to turn the tides.

Mission parameters

The most important thing is: Rukia is safe... and so is Renji... but especially Rukia!

Ichigo's running through the Garganta, sloppily forming the Reiatsu road he needs to walk. Oddly, Ichigo's still having trouble with the formation of the road. With Tensa Zangetsu's current state and the practice he had using Fullbring, I'd have guessed he'd have better control than he does now. Still, the road's good enough, considering this is only the third time Ichigo's done this. Also, Ichigo's mind is probably rather unfocused, considering the news he's getting from Akon right now.

There are 2302 Reiatsu disappearances as it stands right now, a number that keeps increasing at a rapid pace. Not only that, countless of buildings are being damaged (most likely due to the forming of arrows and whatnot by the Quincy). Not exactly worried about the buildings, Ichigo is more curious about the 'Reiatsu disappearances'. The basic question is, does this term equal death? The basic answer: Akon doesn't know for sure. For all the 12th division knows, all these victims have been put into some form of slumber or have been captured. Even though Akon can't confirm what happened to the 2302 Shinigami he just mentioned, he can tell Ichigo that Rukia and Renji aren't part of that group.

Though Ichigo tries to deny that he wanted to hear that about Rukia and Renji, Akon knew he had to give Ichigo that information. But then Akon gets to the nitty-gritty, the Vandenreich status. There have been 6 members of the Sternritter who are confirmed to be above captain-class. But besides the Quincy attire and the fact that there have been no casualties on their side, Akon can only reveal one ability: The ability to steal Bankai. Even though Ichigo experienced the sensation, he can't believe that Bankai could actually be stolen. But Akon has four confirmed accounts of stolen Bankai. This is where Akon's information runs out, proving just how chaotic this (currently) one-sided war truly is. Luckily, Soul Society has another hidden card besides Ichigo.

Information broker

The data on screen isn't related to what Urahara's telling, it's Urahara downloading the Bleach soundtrack on his media player

With Akon's part of the information over with, Urahara hacks the phone call using his holo-laptop ('tis the future!). Urahara notes that there are three abilities worth mentioning about the opponents: Völstandig, Blut, and the Bankai stealing.

The Völstandig is basically similar to an Arrancar's Resurrección. It gives an increase in power, basic abilities, and a notable change in appearance. The abilities gained aren't necessarily unique from as far as I can tell. It's more that the weapon of choice influences the manifestation of those abilities (judging by Ishida, Opie, and Kyouraku's opponent's occurrences). But this information is something we already found before Urahara explained it to us.

Blut, however, gets a more detailed explanation than could've been deduced from reading the previous chapters. Though it was hinted at that the ability could be used for offense and defense, the reason why both can't work in harmony hadn't been explained yet. It turns out that Blut works with spirit particle systems in the same way as blood is transported through one's body. There's two systems that are connected to one another, yet serve different purposes. Though blood vessels do work in harmony, you basically have "red" and "blue" veins in your body. Where red distributes the oxygenized blood and blue returns it to be reoxygenized... if only I'd have paid more attention during classes .

Anyways, my guess is that Blut can be divided into two similar ways. One to send Reiatsu out (red), and one to return Reiatsu to the core (blue). Though Opie wasn't able to combine the two in a manner similar to a blood circulatory system (as pointed out by Urahara), my guess is that the Sternritter (or at least some of them) will be capable of doing so. Though Äs Nödt's encounter with Byakuya would suggest that this isn't the case. As Urahara pointed out, the "switching" of Blut will be key in defeating the Sternritter. Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu, and the Urahara's timing in attacking Opie are proof of this.

The third and final ability, the stealing of the Bankai, is still the most important of the three. Though Urahara hasn't had time to analyze the medal that was taken from Opie, he knows two things: Ichigo's Bankai is off limits, and the enemy waited for him to be out of the picture before they started the invasion. Everyone in the Vandenreich fears the strawberry, which is why Ichigo has to head to Soul Society right now. To instill fear in the Vandenreich and to encourage Soul Society. Once Urahara finishes his research on the medal, he too will come to Soul Society. (Most likely to see if his Bankai guard is working, meaning Urahara will be forced to use his own Bankai!)

The classics

Who needs blood in his body if he can just move his own body like a puppet?

Just as Urahara wraps up his explanation, an arrow flies right past Ichigo up to the portal to Soul Society. The arrow then transforms into a seal, closing the Garganta's "mouth". Surprised at the sight of this, Ichigo asks Urahara what's going on.

The scene changes to Hueco Mundo, where Urahara has an arrow sticking out of his back, Chad has a couple of holes in his body, and Orihime has one on her left thigh. Though it could've been the assistance that Opie didn't want to request, it turns out to be plain old Opie nonetheless! Urahara thought he'd finished the job (admittedly, I concluded the same), Opie manages to use Ransou Tengai to move his body far beyond its limit.

Opie then reveals his conviction to the mission given by Buckbeard. Even if it costs him his life, Opie will hold Ichigo back. Opie fires one more arrow with deadly precision. Even though Ichigo seemingly blocks the attack, the arrow suddenly changes shape. The arrow starts changing into a cage, much to Opie's delight. The fact that Ichigo would almost be in Soul Society, only to be stopped at the last moment. Admittedly, Opie played his card rather well. Not only sealing the two gates to the Garganta, but Ichigo as well. Even if Ichigo were to escape the cage, he'd still need to reopen the Garganta with knowledge he doesn't have. In the end, Opie seems to be the victor of this battle in Hueco Mundo.

Rescuer in the dark can be interpreted in two manners. Firstly, it can be seen as the state where Ichigo was in while he was traveling through the Garganta. He was in the dark about a plethora of things. Of course, it's most obviously a reference to the last part of this chapter, where Ichigo got sealed off in the Garganta inside another cage.

An excellent chapter in my opinion. Sure, the first half was a summary of what we already knew, but it's interesting to see how much Soul Society knew about everything. Urahara's explanation of the three newest Quincy abilities was another necessity, especially for the readers who might overlook these things and aren't active in reading about Bleach on forums and in reviews . At least Kubo went out with quite the bang. Not only did he reintroduce the Ransou Tengai, he sealed Ichigo away (I'm guessing for at least a couple of chapters) and even took out Chad, Orihime, and Urahara in only three pages. Quite the bold move in my opinion. I wonder what's in store for Soul Society now that Ichigo won't be there to scare off the enemy.

Opie has been critically injured, to the point where he was forced to use Ransou Tengai. But his Völstandig allows him to absorb Reiatsu beings and make them part of himself. Why didn't Opie just absorb Chad, Orihime, and Urahara to rebuild his own body?

The next chapter will start off with Soul Society noticing that the Garganta where Ichigo should be coming through is closed. They will panic, just as another fight between a (vice-)captain and Sternritter starts. On the long term, Ichigo will use Jinzen to converse with Zangetsu so he can get answers. Both as to how to get out of the cage as well as why Zangetsu is immune to the medalization.

That’s it for this week’s review. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Be sure to let me know what your thoughts are on this week’s chapter and/or review, give any theories that you may have and to vote in this week’s poll. Don’t forget to rate this week’s chapter! I’ll see you guys again next week!

Rate this week's chapter by clicking on the picture above!

I'll be replying to the posts you left in the previous review, rather than answering them right here. It's been too long since I last did that .

[mattiaildivino]

thanks the underscore! gret review and average chapter. I'm sure the 500th will be amazing,though! about this chapter, urahara's got the medal now,hence kirge can't absorb any bankai. that's why urahara will finally use his to defeat him! look forward to witnessing it.

[Skyguardian]

Great review.

But let a german tell you that it's called "Vollständig"

[kulash05]

My personal guess is we are in for a time jump. No more then a few months. Ichigo will finally break out of his cage and make it to soul society to see the damage done and quickly join the resistance forces that have gone underground to fight the quincy.

[Tonix]

I doubt Ichigo will be trapped in the Garganta for long, the whole thing kind of reminded me of the time when Grimmjow used the negacion cube on Ulquiorra. Right now I'm just wondering if he will emerge in Soul Society when he breaks out, or if he will reemerge back in Hueco Mundo. Personally, I'm a fan of the second option since it seems to early for Ichigo to face any of the top-ranking Quincy, and I would rather see the Shinigami solve their own problems for once.

[mattiaildivino]

very itneresting your hypothesis of some stern ritter being able to use the blut in the perfect way. Actually,I think that Buckbeard is surely able and probably only the stern ritter's leader is able to do so,aside from BB of course. As nodt seems one of the strongest stern ritter, yet she is unable to use that blut as we'd like them to do. at least the blonde leader must do that!

[LordZet]

6 of the SR are above Captain level...and the rest on par with the Captains. I don't see how SS is going to win, and if the SR are anything like Opie, the Royal Guard are going to have a tough fight.