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Ready for quite the show, kids?
Surprise! What's this? Yep, I'm doing a Bleach Ten Comments first this weekend for a change. Though, don't start thinking I've started liking Bleach better than Naruto (though I do like it a lot) - I'm also anxious to do Naruto and OP as well. It's only because Binktopia was the quickest Edited Manga group to deliver some high-quality images this time out of the groups working on the "Big Three" that I decided to go ahead with Bleach 243. Right now I'm also trying to get these reviews out as quickly as possible. I hope Naruto fans won't be upset as I know there are some anxious to hear from me for that one, but these Comments will be coming soon later in the weekend, I promise, as soon as I get some nice images.
Anyway, so - here goes. Again, a thanks to Binktopia for their terrific early Edited Manga, which I enjoyed a lot (although the grays were a little too dark for my tastes at times), and also to Pocketmofo and Yoshitsune for translating for us this week. My first reading experience was also rigor mortis' nicely done MQ Edited Manga, which I very nearly used for this review, but Binktopia's just happened to come out while I was working on this review. Now, without further ado, please enjoy, and feel free to comment as always!
* * * Gold Knight's Ten Comments on Bleach Chapter 243: The Knuckle and the Arrow. * * *
Where's the string to this darned thing?
1. Spirit Bow? More like Star Bow. Oh, whoa. So Ishida's new bow was indeed star-shaped - I had previously thought at the end of the last chapter that it was still being formed and haven't finished! Interesting.
Well, I'm glad Tite Kubo decided to do something else other than the traditional bow here, because I always thought that - despite archers being cool in my book - in the modern world, bows aren't so intimidating-looking. I mean, who would you rather be - the American superhero known as Green Arrow with a bow and a quiver full of trick arrows, or the Marvel character Punisher, who isn't afraid to use guns at all - in a fight to the death?
But "Ginrei Kojaku" is definitely something else. Looks like he could shoot comets with that thing! Definitely an improved, more impressive design. I'd love to have a bow like that, as long as it didn't burn my hands off!
BOOM!
2. Big Bang! While cool-looking, this is not the first time Ishida has delivered massive blasts with his bow before. I wonder just how stronger his arrow was here compared to when he sliced Mayuri's ban kai in half.
Hmmm... well, since it didn't obliterate Iceringer, I guess, his new bow is still not in the same category. But considering Ishida was using a forbidden Quincy technique against Mayuri that essentially pushed his powers to the max, I guess he was a little more god-like then, and also suffered a big price for it. I suppose Ishida would be content just to have a boost in powers without suffering the same setback as long as it would accomplish his objectives just fine.
Sidenote: The look of the projectile here was somewhat weird. It looked as though when Ishida launched the arrow , much like a rocket, it shed some excess weight in order to achieve even more powerful speeds. Hmmm...
Don't mind me.. I'm nobody special. Really.
3. Yay, A Profile Cover! This is where I think Tite Kubo out-does every other manga artist out there, and it's character profiles as covers. I love the way he designs them with the characters' names in the background. They're just awesome.
Here, he does a totally appropriate Ishida cover. That would just be like him to write his name out so neatly, and to look like a preppy student. And then pose with his Quincy cross and looking rather eccentric while doing so. Very nice.
In case you guys were wondering, now the only major characters left where we haven't gotten this type of cover with so far are: Chad (I'm sure that one's coming up, though!), Rukia (surprisingly), Isshin, Ryuken, Komamura (the last Captain to not have a cover yet, even his vice captain, Iba, has one!), and Urahara (can't wait for that one). Wonderwice will probably get one in due course, too. Of course, there are a lot of vice captains as well. Hope we'll get to see them all soon. Especially Komamura's, as I'd like to have a complete collection of Captain covers, heh.
Talk about adding insult to injury...!
4. Dissin' Time! Last chapter we got to see Chad do something truly unusual: he knocked Ichigo clear across the room with a hit to the head with his elbow.
Now this time, we see him actually resorting to taunting his opponent. In the past, he's always been rather stoic in battle and muscling his way through anyone trying to stop him. He usually exhibited a fierce confidence that literally guaranteed that he would win any battle, but he was always serious. Now this time, he seems almost to have a droll sense of humor, being more amused by his opponent than anything else.
Yup, Chad's changed - hopefully not too much, though. I liked him before, when he was a little more quiet. Perhaps this time he just recognized that the best way to keep the dumb brute unfocused was by making him even angrier (something Spider-Man excels at doing to his enemies). If that's the case, I have no problem there.
*Yawn*
5. Chad's New Nickname: Armstrong. Always knew Chad was stronger than a human being ought to be (anybody remember when he pulled that telephone pole out of the ground? Heh) - so I wasn't too surprised to see him able to effortlessly stop Demoura's punch with a uplifted hand.
At least if Ichigo ever wants to move now, he has a friend who could probably carry his house to the new locale. No sweat...!
What fun! Where's the finish line?
6. Playing Cat and Mouse. Of course as we would find out, Chad wasn't the only one taunting his opponent. We immediately see Ishida doing basically the same thing to Iceringer as he easily keeps up with the fleeing Arrancar with his Hirenkyaku.
Last week I had questioned if Iceringer really was all that smart, and whether he really chose his form or not. This chapter would seem to have confirmed that he really wasn't all that bright. Although, in his defense, I suppose that Quincys, having been nearly eliminated to a man, wouldn't be a major concern of Hollows anymore, but Iceringer certainly didn't seem to care about finding out. A smarter opponent would probably have wanted to know more in order to better analyze the situation.
Oh well, can't blame Iceringer for being a little spooked. That arrow back there sure did look pretty scary.
These two Arrancar sure did pick the wrong fight.
GRRAH! Suffer my wrath!
7. Iceringer's Last Stand. Well, guess Iceringer didn't really have any other choice but to try to retalite, although I wonder why he ran off so quickly if he felt that he could overwhelm Ishida with his 'Una Tirantel.' I guess he probably didn't want to take any chances and was hoping to get some more back-up instead...
Just gotta comment on Iceringer's appearance here - he really does seem like something out of a nightmare. I think he's the coolest designed Hollow so far, but I think that may just be me. It's too bad he'll probably be an afterthought soon enough.
Who needs a fully-automatic firearm...!
8. One-Man Massed Archery. Boy, if Ishida can get off 1200 arrows at once, he sure would have been useful as a castle guard in the old days, especially against an invading army. Wonder if Quincys got their start that way. Heh.
Somewhat even unfair. How could Ichigo fight off Ishida now? Well, I suppose Ichigo has been through worse with Byakuya's Senbonzakura and survived, but oh boy! Ichigo won't have an easy time if he ever has to face off against Ishida again, unless he uses his ban kai, of course.
Bye-bye, Iceringer! Nice knowin' ya!
Going for a lickin'....!
9. Demoura the Frog-Man! Hey! Didn't know Demoura was a fan of X-Men the movie! He sure must have liked Toad. Well, I was being a little prophetic with my last caption from last week's Comments, because Demoura sure did want to lick Chad here.
That tongue looks like it could have gone through a steel wall, though. I think that was actually more impressive of Chad to stop it single-handedly than when he stopped Demoura's fist. Reminds me a bit of when Aizen stopped Renji's sword.
Mike Tyson, eat your heart out!
10. Chad for the Win! As a fan of Chad, I must admit this last double spread had me totally pumped up! Fun to see Chad finally improving on his powers and get his due for a long overdue impressive victory. I'm still curious to find out more about where exactly his arm comes from, though, as well as Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka.
Well, I have to say, this chapter was incredibly easy to comment on. Just a whole lot of fun action so I didn't really have to think too deeply on anything. I'll say this, though - Chad and Ishida both did deserve a chapter like this where they belong in the spotlight. They were both pretty banged up after the Save Rukia storyarc, so it's good to see them both back in action.
RATING: 4 out of 5 stars. Again, Action-packed, but not much story. Fun chapter, though.
Predictions: I'm sure we'll be seeing the three resume their journey. I was pretty surprised, though, to see the fight continue this long. I thought it was going to be over in two pages.
Credits: Thanks to Binktopia again.
Hope you enjoyed, and looking forward to seeing what you think!
Don't just sit there slack-jawed! Comment! XD
