sahugani's Bleach Review 288

[sahugani]

Sahugani’s Bleach Review 288


a gift to fans of bishie men​

Welcome one and all once again to my Bleach review. This is turning out to be a pretty good week for Bleach. The chapter has more plot development in it than I have seen in a while and it seems that the upcoming episode of the anime finally leaves the filler arc, which makes me very happy. Not really much else to say so lets just move right along. The pics for this review come from the Edited Manga by M7. The title pic is a piece by KrisCynical over at deviantart, so stop by and check out the rest of her stuff.

Fruitless Efforts

All your base are belong to us!!!​

Well as I suspected, the fact that Renji and Ishida have arrived back at the same room are the result of Zaerapollo manipulating the corridors to lead them right back to where they started. He says to think of the corridors as part of his body, which in all reality should not be taken literally. As a scientist, his greatest skill comes from his inventions, which in his case comes from manipulating his surroundings. The moving corridors and technique suppressing room are the results of his knowledge and not directly related to his powers as an arrancar. He said himself that he is not the type to fight directly and he prefers to force his opponents into traps and use his subordinates as both his sword and shield. He describes the fact that Ishida and Renji have forced him to fight for himself a bad joke. The truth of this is that he is simply offended that he could be outwitted. He takes great pride in his own intelligence as can be seen in the way he fights his opponents. He nullifies their abilities for a dual purpose. The first and more obvious reason is because he is not suited for battle and thus prevents his brutish opponents from unleashing their full strength on his frail body. The second and bigger reason for this is as a way to prove that brains can beat brawn. He has great dislike for those who train their bodies for the sake of becoming stronger. He takes wicked delight in the fact that with his knowledge, he can make all their strength meaningless. The great offense Ishida and Renji committed wasn’t that they merely overpowered him. Ishida had insulted his intelligence by pulling out a technique Zaerapollo hadn’t been able to foresee. Renji had shown no fear when he pinned Zaerapollo down with him and thus insulted the pride the Espada had in his ability to control his opponents.

Full Release

Yumichika's prettier​

After mocking Ishida and Renji a bit, Zaerapollo decides to release right away in quite possibly the strangest release procedure yet. His sword is called Fornicaras, which is Spanish for fornicate and Japanese for Salacious Queen (thanks to M7 for that translation). Given the ability Zaerapollo has while released, the name makes perfect sense , but I’ll save that for the next section. As for the release word, most Zanpakuto have release words that describe the released form itself or the appearance the sword takes while undergoing change. Fornicaras’s release word has less to do with the sword itself and more to do with how Zaerapollo releases it. In line with his habit of eating his own subordinates for nourishment, Zaerapollo releases his sword by swallowing it, causing his body to swell and explode, revealing his true form within like a very slimy butterfly. He even bears wings in this form and every part of him has the design of dripping ooze. His is without a doubt the strangest released form we have yet seen in the series. Just like with Grimmjow, Zaerapollo shows us the difference in physical appearance between the released forms of Espada and those of the lesser arrancar. While lesser arrancar’s releases manifest themselves as a kind of armor surrounding their humanoid bodies, an Espada’s release (not including Aaroniero) is more reminiscent of a second skin or regular clothing. Like a regular hollow hides behind its mask, the numberos hide behind their armor-like releases while the Espada take on a more human shape while released. Zaerapollo in particular has a shape that still looks physically weak, so it can be assumed that even though he is now using his own power to fight, he still will keep his own body out of the fray.

Like Rabbits

the name of that sword makes gives me a hearty chuckle​

The translation of Zaerapollo’s sword isn’t “fornicate” for nothing. His released form’s ability spews forth a slime that when in contact with another person, creates an identical clone under Zaerapollo’s command. While the word fornicate has a more sexual connotation than is the case here, the result is the same as Zaerapollo reproduces a large number of Ishidas, Renjis, Dondochakkas, and Peshes. As expected, Zaerapollo remains out of the fray as he forces his opponents to battle through an army of their own clones. He even releases the restraints placed on the room to limit Ishida and Renji’s powers, which at first seems a bit uncharacteristic. Up until now, Zaerapollo has taken great pleasure in being able to handicap his opponents to the extent he has. It seems a bit strange that he would lift that ban now but for one reason. Since the clones are exact copies of our heroes, they are subject to the rooms restrictions just the same. By releasing the ban, not only can Ishida and Renji once again have full access to their powers, but the clones can use the same abilities as well. The situation seems impossible as against one identical clone, the fight should naturally result in a draw. Against a number of identical clones, victory seems hopeless. I do have a guess on how they might win though. Just like with Ishida and Chad’s first fight in this arc, victory can be had by switching opponents so that they are no longer facing themselves. In the case of Ishida versus the Renji clones, it will be extremely hard for the clones to be able to effectively control that many interlocking Hihou Zabimarus. Within the tangled maze of giant snakes, Ishida’s speed would allow him to pick off the Renji clones one by one. In the case of Renji versus the Ishida clones, the size of Hihou Zabimaru along with its ability to fragment itself would allow him to unleash a large area attack to wipe out the clones all at once (that is after he takes quite a beating from the incredibly fast archers. After that, it better be Renji that gets the final blow against Zaerapollo.

Devil’s Plaything

he must move that pretty damn fast​

In an unexpected twist, the story turns back to the duel between Ichigo and Noitora. Ichigo seems to be holding his own against the Espada as both rely on simple weapon combat with no use of cero or getsuga tenshou. We haven’t seen a simple weapon combat fight like this since Ichigo versus Ikkaku. Ichigo’s experience fighting Ikkaku’s spear has proven beneficial in this fight as he has experience fighting long weapons. However, with his injuries from the Grimmjow fight still present, Ichigo still proves to be the inferior fighter in the matchup. When Orihime comments on the unfairness in this match, Noitora reveals a much different view on fighting than Grimmjow. Grimmjow insisted that Ichigo fight fully healed because otherwise he would not be able to experience his opponent’s full strength, which was the whole point. To him the point of a fight was to prove that one person was stronger than another, which can only be truly gauged if both fighters are at their peak when the battle starts. Noitora takes a much crueler view on battle. To him, battle is simply the inevitable end of one person’s dislike for another. People fight for whatever reason they deem fit, but their desire to kill the other is not dependant on the other’s health. If one person hates another, it is only natural to want to kill that person and the hate cannot be lessened by pitying the other fighter for his previous injuries. Ichigo brought this on himself when he entered Heuco Mundo. From that action, he made enemies with every one of the Espada and should not expect to be shown praise for having defeated one of their ranks. They will keep coming to kill him regardless of any mitigating circumstances.

Forgotten Soldier

you have yet to face the wrath of NELL!!!​

On the final page of the chapter, it is revealed that Noitora and Tesla have completely ignored Nell, who is now cowering behind a broken wall. Just like during Ichigo’s first fight with Doldorni, Nell’s presence will most likely become a major factor in this fight. Noitora seems to be the same type of fighter as Zaraki in that he has an insane reiatsu that renders him pretty much invincible to most attacks. We have seen Nell’s ability to swallow a cero and launch it right back, but we have no idea to what extent that ability of hers can be used. If she can deplete Noitora’s reiatsu concentration for even a short time, it gives Ichigo an opening to strike. While this is most likely not going to be the way Noitora is ultimately defeated, it could be the way Ichigo forces him to release. I’m still of the opinion that Ichigo will beat Noitora as his inner hollow takes full control. It is really the only possible way I can see Ichigo winning that does not end up feeling repetitive. Now that Ichigo has broken the time limit on using his hollow mask, he is most likely going to use it now. Even against Grimmjow’s released form it only allowed him to match the Espada evenly. In his current weakened state and against a stronger opponent, Ichigo still has a very small chance of success even with the mask. What he needs is to fight with pure fury and neglect all pain and distractions, which he is really only capable of doing if his inner hollow takes over.

Overall​

I’m fairly pleased with this chapter as it offered more plot development than most chapters of Bleach. On the negative side, I’ve never really liked the Zaerapollo fight and would rather have Kubo stick solidly to that for now and get it out of the way so that we can watch the Noitora fight uninterrupted. I think within a chapter or two, Kubo will settle down with one fight and see it through to the end before returning to the other.

 

[Sealed Melody]

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[Az3r]

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[sahugani]

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