sahugani's Bleach Review 292-295

sahugani · Oct 14, 2007

Sahugani’s Bleach Review 292-295

MUAHAHAHA!!! IT'S DONE!!! :faint

Hello again. I know it has been a damn long while since I got one of these released and I’m sad to say my reasons for not getting it done each week are progressively worse. The first skipped week (which was right after my last double too) as I have said before was due to moving into my new apartment down at college. The next week, I guess you can blame the series Fairy Tail. It was just so easy to get my mind sidetracked and diverted to reading that series :sweat

. Finally, last week I just had various things going on and the thought of setting aside time for a triple seemed daunting. As a result, I’ve had this half done for about a week and have finally sat down to catch up fully. In any case, I’m back now and even though this is still a bit later than I would have hoped, at least it’s finally here. The pics in this review come from the M7 Edited Mangas of chapters 292-294 and the Mangashare Edited Manga of 295. The title pic is a piece by TotenVeloren over at DeviantArt, so go sneak a peak at the rest of the gallery.

292: Rupture My Replica

Affection

I want Nel to hug me :nosebleed

I know it’s been a while, but as we left things at the end of 291, Nel had swallowed Noitora’s cero and sent it flying right back at him. Now we are witness to the aftermath of the devastation. Ichigo is in shock at the sight, Tesla is terrified for his master’s life, and the newly freed Orihime decides to use the opportunity to heal Ichigo’s wounds. However, while everyone else has been washed over in disbelief, Nel is the one to break the tension as she latches onto Ichigo. Despite her extreme shift in power and appearance, she still seems to retain the childish enthusiasm of her smaller form. Just like the high speed head butts she hit Ichigo with before, she now hugs him with a strength she has not yet become readjusted to. I think this short comic scene was needed in order to keep her character lovable. In the transformation to her Espada body, Kubo had taken away so much of the charm she held as a little kid. Physically, her body has gone from a lovable child to a beautiful woman, so it is hard to look at the character the same way anymore. The skull mask has changed from an adorable cartoon style to a more badass helmet. She has even lost her childish manner of speaking. With these things gone in combination with the skill and determination she showed against Noitora would make it easy to assume that her personality has shifted back to that of an normal Espada even if her intentions are different. By allowing her this silly moment to unintentionally injure Ichigo, Kubo has shown us that her time as a child has indeed left a deep mark on her and she is not the same kind of person she was back then.

Unwanted Attention

Noitora's reaction to Tesla's yaoi

While Nel is offering Ichigo her over-affectionate hug, we see the results of Tesla’s attempt to show his own affection for Noitora. Our first image is of the Fraccion being hurled into a boulder, thus breaking the temporary happiness of Nel’s enthusiasm. Although this is the first time we actually see Noitora attack his subordinate, we have long known the Espada’s tolerance for acting without orders when it comes to Tesla. While Noitora claims his reason for hurting Tesla is that he let Orihime go, I doubt it. His real reason was most likely that he did not want to be pitied. As our experiences with Noitora so far (and the later chapters directly evidence), Noitora can’t stand the thought of being pitied. He picks his fights carefully so as to accumulate experience and respect without humiliation. The reason for not finishing off Chad was because if he did so, it would make him seem pathetic for picking off weaklings. Instead, he targets more powerful enemies and waits until they are weakened before finishing them off so that he can bask in the glory of victory without chancing the humiliation of defeat. If Noitora’s real problem with Tesla was disobedience, his subordinate would likely be dead by now. Tesla obviously cares more for Noitora’s safety than for his master’s orders, so with Noitora’s less than friendly personality, I’m guessing Tesla has been guilty of many more disobediences that we haven’t seen.

Catching Up

...and whose fault is that?

After revealing the true nature of Nel’s attack to be the combined power of her own cero added to the one absorbed from her enemy, Noitora once again gets cocky as he tells her how much the Espada have changed since her time. As it was to be expected, the Espada have changed a great deal since Nel was thrown out by Noitora. As I have stated before, this is clearly evidenced by the fact that Nel was not recognized by Ulquiorra, who is definitely intelligent enough to have recognized her if they had met before. The Espada is a group of arrancar that is considered the strongest and are ranked as such. If Aizen is to find a new arrancar that surpasses the current arrangement, he has no problem in replacing members. In addition to this, the Espada are still mostly hollows at their core and so it is rare for one to show any respect for another of the same class. To them, the rules are natural selection. If they can surpass the members ranked before them, they will feel no shame in killing each other to earn that position. In this kind of atmosphere, the line-up of Espada is likely in constant flux as stronger recruits are entered to replace those that die or are surpassed. One last thing that is most important is that Noitora says it has been years since he kicked her out of Las Noches. Since Aizen has only had the Hougyoku for a few months, it inevitably means that both were natural Espada. Since we can’t be sure when Aizen took over Las Noches, this could mean that both were from the same time as Doldorni or were formed As part of Aizen’s army before the Hougyoku allowed him to make stronger arrancar. In either case, the fact remains that while Nel was a #3 Espada, that was among natural arrancar, which cannot be compared to those aided by the Hougyoku.

Aesthetics

WTF!!!!

The story now turns to Ishida and Renji’s duel with Zaerapollo. The fight against the clones is not going very well as Dondo and Peche have trouble differentiating the real Renji from the fakes. Given their harebrained actions up till now it is really no surprise that this would happen. While one would think this is comedy enough for this fight, Kubo decides to take it one step further than I believe he should have. The fight has already been subjected to enough pointless humor and delaying as it has been going on since the Arroniero vs. Rukia fight. Despite all the previous delays, Kubo decides to get in just one more by poking fun at Ishida’s insane attention to detail. He not only points out the hair quality of his and Renji’s clones (which is completely irrelevant compared to the markings on the eyes), but when it comes to the clones of the hollow allies, the differences are so obvious that it is beyond belief that Renji didn’t notice (the hollows themselves though are understandable). When Zaerapollo reveals that these alterations were intentional to fit his own definition of style, it is the first clue that he is still not taking this fight seriously. When first revealed, this ability of Fornicarus seemed to be exceptionally dangerous as not only would his opponents be matched against their own strength, but they would have trouble telling friend from foe. Customizing the clones gives evidence that he is still more interested in toying with them than actually fighting seriously.

Impulse Control

...

Being overpowered by their own clones, victory seems hopeless for the group. Even Ishida’s analysis of an apparent flaw in Fornicarus’s ability was easily explained away by Zaerapollo. With Ishida’s power of the mind failing, the job of making the next move falls to Renji. In a moment of apparent idiocy, Renji decides to release his Bankai. Logically, this is possibly the worst move possible as these clones mirror the abilities of the real person, so if Renji releases Bankai, so will all of his clones, thus making the battle harder for everyone. What a logical thinker like Ishida doesn’t realize though is that practically, it was a good thing. If a battle reaches a stalemate and your opponent has more stamina, a loss is inevitable as you get weaker at a faster rate than your opponent. In this kind of battle, if you can see no way to turn an aspect in your favor, it is better to change the situation through something stupid than to let it continue down the path of inevitable defeat. If something changes, there is a chance that it might at least make the outcome of the fight less certain even if it does make a faster defeat more likely. As an impulse fighter, this is the kind of battle Renji thrives in. Due to his action, something does change. Zaerapollo randomly decides to get rid of all the clones so that he can reveal his true power.

293: Urge For Unite

Flytrap

...wait for it...

The last chapter left off with the simultaneous gooey explosions of all the clones and this one starts off with the destruction of the final Renji clone that happened to be unaffected by Zaerapollo’s recall. While it was only a clone, Renji still winced a bit at the sight of his own head exploding as it must be disturbing to watch yourself die even if it is only a mirror image. With the clones gone, the two fighters are finally able to direct their attacks at the intended target, but the attacks are blocked by two gigantic fraccion. However, this show of force was planned by Zaerapollo as a distraction so that his wing could sneak behind Ishida and envelop him like a venus flytrap. As always, Zaerapollo’s tactic is to force his opponents into traps rather than fight directly. The only difference is that this time the trap was a product of his own power rather than his genius.

Voodoo

the likeness is uncanny

Before Renji can even attempt to rescue Ishida from Zaerapollo’s wing, the gooey tentacles release the Quincy. While he seems completely unaffected by the experience, one of the tentacles in Zaerapollo’s wing has become engorged and pops to reveal a small crude doll in the form of Ishida. After a bit of mockery on Zaerapollo’s part as he gives voice to the Ishida doll, he reveals the true nature of the creation. By moving his finger across the doll’s hair it causes Ishida to feel the pressure on his head and by lightly striking the doll’s head, Ishida starts bleeding. It is in essence a voodoo doll. I find this to be a both a bit odd and a bit fitting for his character. On one hand, he is the scientist of the Espada, so it seems somewhat unstereotypical for him to have abilities related to a religion that is so immersed in superstition. The scientific community for the most part is skeptical of religion to begin with and it is moreso when it comes to the issue of magics associated with the stereotype of Voodoo. On the other hand, the ability suits him like a glove as a manipulative bastard who likes to toy with people. With this, he can do more than merely seal off a person’s power. He can actually cause physical pain without actually allowing his enemy to get close.

Popping Pills

it could be worse...he could eat them

Given what Renji and Ishida have seen thus far of Zaerapollo’s use of the doll, it is easy to see why Renji freaked when the Espada started to break the Ishida doll in half. If cutting the doll’s head causes an identical scar on Ishida, breaking the doll in half might very well break the Quincy’s body in half as well. To their surprise, this did not happen and the bottom half of the doll acts as a container rather than the voodoo doll the top half exemplifies. Within that container are a number of pills labeled in Spanish with the names of various internal organs. By crushing one of these pills, the corresponding internal organ in Ishida’s body is crushed. As I said in the last section, despite the voodoo ability fitting Zaerapollo’s manipulative nature well, it did not seem to fit quite as well with his image as a scientist. This true use of the ability puts the voodoo angle into perspective with his scientific background. The most commonly shown way to use voodoo dolls is to stick them with pins or hold it over a flame to make the real body feel pain in the corresponding location. Zaerapollo has taken this a step further and applied his intellect of anatomy to make his damage more refined and less brutish. Since he is not much of a physical attacker, he prefers to cripple his opponents and watch them squirm. Even the traditional voodoo injuries are more effective for dealing external injuries, which fighters like Renji are accustomed to and can be overcome with a strong will to an extent. Zaerapollo’s version allows him to deal injuries to body systems that cannot be toughened up by training and so are far more debilitating when harmed. This combined with his intelligence allows him to target specific organs so that his victims do not lose consciousness or die.

Intentions

strike a pose

As Renji tries to save Ishida by taking the doll, Zaerapollo’s wing comes up behind him and swallows him just as it had done to Ishida. With both his opponents literally resting in the palms of his hands, Zaerapollo reflects on his reason for despising these fighters. He views humans, shinigami, and quincy (which are still technically human) as highly inferior beings. He does not specify whether this opinion comes as a result of his pride as an Espada or the pinnacle of intellect he has gained for himself, but it is likely a combination of both. He views the human emotions that led Ishida and Renji to fight and protect each other as a critical weakness that was begging to be exploited. He mocks the fact that by catching them off-guard with his unusual powers, he has effectively forced them to panic and make mistakes in their strategy, which is quite ironic given his own reaction to Ishida’s attack during the first part of the fight. When Ishida pulled out the silver capsule and Renji pinned him down, he himself began to panic and lost both his composure and his rational thought. He clearly does not want to admit that he suffers from the same human emotions and so projects his anger at that part of himself on the “lower beings” that he can dominate, thus giving the basis for his love of torture and manipulation.

Standoff

he actually could kill her easier from here

The scene shifts back over to the fight between Nel and Noitora. After being knocked back by Noitora, Nel quickly recovers and rises to find both arrancar with each other’s weapons inches from killing the other. If either of them wanted to, they could slay the other with a flick of their wrists. However, neither does as it would prompt their opponent to do the same, causing both arrancar to suffer grave injuries. As they step back, Noitora mentions that Nel hasn’t changed from before. From this I we can assume (and we later see this to be the truth) that Nel was one of the few Espada that showed mercy in battle. An arrancar like Grimmjow wouldn’t have hesitated to follow through with his attack even if it meant he’d receive a blow in turn. The only reason Noitora did not do so is because he was confused that Nel didn’t follow through. On that note, a flashback is started with Nel in her Espada appearance and the chapter ends.

294: If You Call Me Beast, Kill You Like Tempest

Helplessness

Pwned!!!

Now that the playing field between Noitora and Nel has leveled out, Ichigo becomes concerned. Like always, he assumes that the task of protecting all of his friends falls on his shoulders and has a hard time recognizing that this time he must let Nel protect him instead. Orihime tries to get to him, but Tesla reappears and proceeds to knock Ichigo away and regain his clutch on Orihime. This gives a good view of exactly how damaged Ichigo is at the moment. As a man who defeated the released sixth Espada, he is now being kicked around by a mere fraccion of the fifth. Orihime is similarly pitiable as she can’t do anything to free herself from Tesla’s grasp. Despite the clear advantage he has over both spectators, he remains content to simply restrain them rather than kill them off himself. He knows full well the importance this fight with Nel holds for his master and his goal is to let nothing interfere.

A Life Spared

awww. Nel's sweet

Finally we get the long awaited flashback to Nell’s time as an Espada. The scene starts off with Nel effortlessly winning a match against Noitora. Both arrancar look dramatically different than their current forms. Nell still has all the teeth intact on her skull mask and is dressed in what looks like a padded fencing jacket. Noitora is more obviously different as his outfit lacks the cobra hood his current form does and his scythe does not yet have its lower crescent. He is also revealed to have been only the 8th Espada at the time Nel was the 3rd. After thoroughly beating the Espada five levels below her, Noitora remains unsatisfied as she was supposed to deal a killing blow to end the humiliation of his defeat. Nel’s reaction to this comment sets her up as unusual among the arrancar even way back then as an Espada. Most arrancar that we have seen remain quite savage as they still rely on their instinct and desire to fight and feed that they had thrived upon as hollows. Since they were originally hollows, they see the arrancar transformation as a mere way to get stronger and focus their power. Nell views the situation in a more philosophical manner. In becoming a hollow rather than being saved by the shinigami while still a plus, a soul becomes a mere beast that feeds on others to survive. Nel sees the transformation into arrancar as a way for hollows to reconnect with their innate humanity and ability to think beyond their next prey. With their higher-order reasoning restored, the previous eat-or-be-eaten mentality does not satisfy their sense of being and so they need to find a new reason to exist and it is for that reason that they lift their swords.

A Reason to Hate

what did Tesla get himself into?

Following Nel’s departure, Noitora is approached by Tesla, who has apparently been his fraccion since back then as well. Tesla is changed as well as at that time he did not bear his current eye-patch. However, just like now, he was always quick to offer his assistance to Noitora even if his master did not want it. When Tesla asks why Noitora has such a grudge against Nel of all the other Espada before him, he answers that it is because she is a woman. He can’t stand the fact that there is a female among the Espada that is stronger than him. This is a bad sign for the fans of Halibel I must say. Since Noitora’s initial grudge against Nel was simply her gender, there should be the same problem if Halibel was higher ranked than Noitora is now. Back then, he was willing to fight an Espada 5 classes higher than him to get rid of a woman and the only reason he’s alive is because she spared him. If Halibel were put in the same situation, not only would Noitora likely repeat this stupid grudge with the new woman, but Halibel would not be so forgiving and Noitora would likely be dead. Since this highly diminishes the chances of her being the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Espada, this leaves only the 7th as the most likely choice for her ranking. I was really pulling for 3rd, but oh well.

The Bait

ZOMG!!! HAX!!!

As we turn back to Nel in the flashback, it is revealed that the two people she mentioned in a happy manner before were none other than Dondo Chakka and Pesshe, who seem to be fraccion from her time as an Espada. After having a brief and hostile exchange of words with Noitora, the two fraccion are blasted through the wall behind her and it is revealed that Noitora has completely ripped the hollow masks from their faces. Kubo does not show us the faces of the two disgraced arrancar for two reasons that I can think of. While we have seen masks partially break, we have never seen how an arrancar body reacts to a mask being ripped completely off. There is a chance that either from that process or the act of being beaten, their faces have become quite gruesome. The other reason is to keep us in suspense so that when they reveal their true powers and appearances in the present time, we receive the full surprise. In addition to beating these two, Noitora uses her emotion as a distraction and deals a critical blow to her face that cracks her mask and gives her the trademark scar.

United Front

these guys certainly clash personalities

After Nel falls, it is revealed that Noitora was aided in this surprise attack by none other than Zaerapollo before he became an Espada. The fact that these two are now ranked much higher than in the flashback gives some insight into an arrancar’s ability to grow in power. From Grimmjow’s pre-arrancar flashback, it seemed to be the case that for an Adjuca, there is a limit to how much they can grow from merely eating other menos. I theorized back then that since the process of reaching Gillian is fusion of many hollow and the process of reaching Adjuca is one Gillian eating others, the process of Vastrolord would be another step towards individuality in that it is a strength a hollow is born with and can’t acquire through effort. In this definition, once an Adjuca reaches his limit, the only way he can get stronger is to become an arrancar. This begged the question of whether the limit still applies as an arrancar and from what these two display, it does not seem to. Both of them have not only increased their rank as Espada, but since the overall strength of the Espada increases over time, this feat becomes more impressive still. Noitora’s increase in strength even altered the shape of his zanpakuto to give it its current lower crescent.

Saved For Later

i don't think he thought this through

With Nel disabled, Noitora drags her and her fraccions’ unconscious bodies outside of Las Noches and leaves them lying in the sand. While he could have just killed her off while in this state, he chose to let her live so that he could one day fight her again. While he loathes her and desperately wants her to die, the thing he wants more than anything is to prove himself stronger than her. However, like all his fights since her, he is picky on the conditions of his fight. He likes to fight people he can brag about killing but are handicapped enough to increase his chances of victory and his actions here reflect that clearly. Basically he intends to disable her and prevent her from gaining strength while he constantly trains himself so that when he next fights her, he will be much stronger and she will be at the same level as she was when they last dueled.

295: The Last Mission

Phenomenon

i miss this Nel

We return to the same point in time the last chapter ended on as Noitora and Zaerapollo are leaving the bodies of Nel, Dondo, and Pesshe. According to Noitora, Zaerapollo was at that point a former Espada and has since regained his place among the top ranks. This really has too many possible explanations than I can get to right now, so I’ll leave that discussion till we get some more background on him. For now, we’ll focus on the shocking sight the two witness as they start to turn away from their prey. The watch as Nel changes into the child form we all came to know and love. Zaerapollo hypothesizes that the transformation is a result of her reiatsu leaking through the wound in her head and causing her body to change to a form that is not as dependant on the high reiatsu of an Espada body. Noitora is simply disappointed that he has now lost the chance to fight her again. He settles on the idea that having her out of the way is better than nothing, but is still a bit pissed because he can no longer prove himself to be stronger than her. At least this way she won’t be around to antagonize him with her presence.

New Life

even before donning his new mask Dondo looked freaky

As Nel awakens in the flashback, she has no memory of her two former fraccion lying beside her, who are covered by cloaks no that neither us nor Nel can see their true faces. Out of devotion to his caring master, Pesshe tells Dondo that their final act as Nel’s subordinates will be to protect her new life from any harm that might befall her. In a moment of great intelligence and courage that is extremely uncharacteristic of the Pesshe we know in the present, he explains the dire situation Nel is in now and what they must do to protect her. Since Nel’s new form is incredibly weak compared to her Espada self, if Noitora, Zaerapollo, or any other Espada came after her, she would undoubtedly be killed. Beyond that, they know how horrific Nel’s final memories as an Espada are. She had to witness her two closest friends be de-masked and brought to the brink of death before she herself was brutally attacked and scarred by her own fellow Espada. Pesshe feared that if Nel was to recall these terrible memories, her child’s mind would not be able to stand the pain. The only option the former fraccion had was to start a new life full of innocent play to maintain Nel’s happiness as a child and shield her from anything that might cause her mental or physical pain.

Toyed With

Pesshe...smart? :omg

As the flashback ends, the scene shifts to the duel between Zaerapollo and Ishida/Renji. Now that Zaerapollo has a doll of Renji, he is systematically breaking the shinigami’s tendons one by one. The cold and manipulative bastard has complete dominance in the battle as Ishida and Renji can’t get close without the Espada first crippling them with an internal injury. He intends to draw this fight out as long as possible so that he can watch them squirm in pain. From behind him, Pesshe activates his infinite slick, which is blocked by Zaerapollo’s wing, but some falls on the dolls of Ishida and Renji. They slip right out of his hands and Pesshe dives to catch them. Dondo Chakka then spits the gigantic Bawabawa out of his mouth, revealing the pet of the hollow trio to be in all actuality an effect of Dondo Chakka’s power. Now that the two have been revealed to be former fraccion, both have decided to leave no holds barred. It is unknown whether Pesshe’s infinite slick ability was from his original skill set, but the chances are good that both have a wide array of abilities that while average or standard for a fraccion or numeros, would have given away their identities if they had been used. The masks they currently wear are also likely to be fakes created for the sole purpose of making themselves unrecognizable to Nel and enemies from the past. Since they were arrancar (who more specifically had their masks ripped fully off), they had highly human faces that would have been easy for Zaerapollo to recognize. We may see these masks come off soon so that we may peek at their true appearances. It will be the first time seeing a fully de-masked hollow, so I really don’t know what to expect.

Will to Fight

good thing the Renji clones busted the roof

Having sensed that Nel is back to her former strength, Pesshe and Dondo Chakke realize that there is no more use in keeping up the façade of Nel’s ridiculous brothers. Since they are former fraccion, they are in fact highly skilled in combat and all (or at least most) of the stupidity they have displayed up till now has been merely an act. Since even as an Espada, Nel despised fighting, Pesshe and Dondo saw in her transformation an opportunity to give their master the kind of life she dreamed of free of combat. However, now that she has regained her former strength and found a reason to once again draw her sword, they too decided to put their lives on the line to fight in the name of their master. They now have two reasons to end this fight quickly. First of all, Zaerapollo was one of the ones responsible for hurting Nel before, so there is a good deal of revenge built up into this battle. The second and more important reason is that since Nel is back to her former self, they have a duty to return to her side and fight at her command.

Next Level

damn you Kubo for your cliffhangers!!!!

The scene shifts back to Nel’s fight with Noitora as the two are once again seemingly matched evenly. Nel realizes that the match cannot go on like this and decides to release in order to finish it quickly. Since she only recently regained her powers, she is somewhat nervous about the consequences, but as her only concern now is victory, she must do this. In true Kubo fashion, the chapter ends with her giving the command word but the name of the zanpakuto is cut off for next week. Her command word is “declare,” which to me implies a sense of honor and understanding that is quite fitting with her appearance and philosophy as an Espada. While it’s hard to guess as to the nature of the release based on this alone, I can at least say that it will focus on her apparent oral fixation. Her previously displayed ability is to swallow other’s cero and spit them back out in combination with her own. “Declare” similarly describes a form of speech, which once again focuses on projection from the mouth. My best guess is that her released form will be based on the sirens of Greek mythology. It seems to fit best as like the sirens had the power to lure men to their deaths with irresistible songs, Nel’s theme seems to revolve around the power of her mouth or voice. We may see her power as the emission of sonic blasts or something (I got nothing, so I’m going with Siryn from X-men as the basis for abilities).

Overall

HEHAHAHAHA!!!! It’s finally done! After missing three weeks in a row and having to do this whole ting spread out over two weeks I’m finally done with my first quad review…sorry it took so long. In any case, it seems that Kubo is finally starting to wrao things up. Now that Nel is about to release and Pesshe/Dondo have started to reveal their true strength, both the Zaerapollo and Noitora fights are seemingly coming to their final stages (although it is still bleach, so it might still take a while for these finishes to be fleshed out). Luckily now that this is out of the way, the single reviews won’t be as daunting and I won’t have to put them off.

Luckas · Oct 14, 2007