Manga Bleach Manga [Warning: Spoilers]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Solo Tremaine'][COLOR=#503F86]I really don't see why he's so annoying. He's just a very serious young man. He hasn't done anything particularly obnoxious during the series. Do I detect jealousy much?[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]I think it's just the emotionally cold, prodigy archetype of his character is something I dislike in literature. Even though Ichigo is cut from a somewhat similar cloth, while he is emotionally distant, we at least know underneath it all he is very concerned with the welfare of his friends and allies.

He's not particularly annoying but the way in which he conducts himself and speaks often has an edge of condescension I think seems almost ridiculous from someone his age and relative inexperience. It's also the fact every time he's threatened someone (Gin, Aizen and Luppi) he's ended up getting beaten. I know he didn't technically lose to Gin, but I don't think Gin was fighting at full strength there either and he is yet another prodigy.

And no Hugi, there's no jealousy there. (And that wasn't a typo for your name) :p[/SIZE]

[quote name='Solo Tremaine'][COLOR=#503F86]Why would it be unrealistic for him to be more powerful than Ichigo anyway? He's been a Shinigami for hundreds of years; personally I'd be more disappointed i Ichigo were to ace absolutely everyone on the first go, much like some other God-Modding manga characters we could care to mention.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Putting aside the fact that Ichigo is the main character and there for subject to constant power-ups in order to justify his continued victories, Ichigo's calibre of victories completely out-strip Hitsugaya's. The only parallel we can genuinely draw is their fight against Aizen in which Ichigo survived being nearly bisected and was able to remain conscious having just fought and beaten Byakuya and taken considerable damage. In Hitsugaya's fight well he was similarly bisected and well, did not manage to stay conscious.

Dealing with the four main aspects of Shinigami strength, it is likely that Hitsugaya may be more powerful than Ichigo, but taking their combat potency alone as the measure I find it hard to believe that Hitsugaya's sword skills and shunpo could be better than Ichigo's. Adding Ichigo's Vizard powers to the mix, which drastically increase his strength and speed and that seals it for me that Ichigo is Hitsugaya's combat superior.

In terms of age, Hitsugaya is unlikely to be any more than than fifty or so years old given that Rukia attended the Shinigami Academy approximated half a century ago at the same time as Hinamori who as we've seen knew Hitsugaya prior to his being a Shinigami. There's also the fact he refers to the other Captains as "stupid old men" during their argument over Gin letting the Ryouka live.

Obviously there's the possibility he's been alive for some time before he became a Shinigami but I think the idea of it being in the hundreds of years is most certainly a gross stretch.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Solo Tremaine'][COLOR=#503F86]Apparently he overtook Ichigo as the #1 favourite character in Bleach a short while ago (but then, I did read that on the internet so it's probably wrong), so I don't think he'd be dying any time soon.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]I blame the fangirls and the fact he got his own movie. And no he almost certainly won't be killed, but I feel that move was almost certainly suicidal in nature.[/SIZE]

[Solo Tremaine]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE=1]I think it's just the emotionally cold, prodigy archetype of his character is something I dislike in literature. Even though Ichigo is cut from a somewhat similar cloth, while he is emotionally distant, we at least know underneath it all he is very concerned with the welfare of his friends and allies.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]He's not particularly annoying but the way in which he conducts himself and speaks often has an edge of condescension I think seems almost ridiculous from someone his age and relative inexperience. It's also the fact every time he's threatened someone (Gin, Aizen and Luppi) he's ended up getting beaten. I know he didn't technically lose to Gin, but I don't think Gin was fighting at full strength there either and he is yet another prodigy.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]And no Hugi, there's no jealousy there. (And that wasn't a typo for your name) :p[/SIZE][/QUOTE][COLOR=#503F86]That's fair enough, but I've never really seen him as condescending. He's just more of a realist than perhaps some of the other characters are. He's not that emotionally distant; certainly Ichigo's are bubbling much closer to the surface in the way he acts, fights and reacts to everything that's thrown at him, it's still obvious that Hitsugaya cares not only for Hinamori and Rangiku, but also that he felt completely betrayed by Aizen and Gin; you can tell that when he tried to murder Aizen for attacking Hinamori, and for lashing out at Gin for believing he corrupted her. But yeah, he doesn't give off the warmest of auras, but then he is an ice-wielder, so it's almost in his nature anyway :P

Heh, people in Sixth Form used to call me Hu-Gi-Oh ^_^; I'm used to the Yugi puns.

With regards to his strength, he actually seems like one of the weaker captains when you put it in perspective, and that's probably indicative of his age (I don't often remember details like timelines, so thanks for pointing out how long he's actually been there, heh). But then his battles have always had him up against people vastly more powerful than he is. I guess in a way I'd prefer it if he had better technique as Ichigo but perhaps didn't have the raw power. That would be a fair compromise in my eyes.

I think it was a little indulgent for him to have his own movie though. I haven't seen it yet, heh. Or the first one, for that matter...[/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Solo Tremaine'][COLOR=#503F86]That's fair enough, but I've never really seen him as condescending. He's just more of a realist than perhaps some of the other characters are. He's not that emotionally distant; certainly Ichigo's are bubbling much closer to the surface in the way he acts, fights and reacts to everything that's thrown at him, it's still obvious that Hitsugaya cares not only for Hinamori and Rangiku, but also that he felt completely betrayed by Aizen and Gin; you can tell that when he tried to murder Aizen for attacking Hinamori, and for lashing out at Gin for believing he corrupted her. But yeah, he doesn't give off the warmest of auras, but then he is an ice-wielder, so it's almost in his nature anyway :P[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]True, he is far more emotional and emotionally-driven than he likes to portray himself as being, and perhaps I'm simply labelling his expressed authority as a captain as being arrogance. His sense of betrayal is also a fair point, though I consider it more linked to Hinamori who's been completely warped by the whole thing. It's obvious he cares about her a lot more than he lets on.

Perhaps hate is a bit strong, I simply dislike his general attitude as against the other captains, in fact he's one of the few captains I don't particularly care for, the others being Soifon (because really she's just Yoruichi's Hinamori) and Yamamoto. I am slightly relieved though by the fact he resembles a young Byakuya, so in another fifty or so years, he'll hopefully ooze awesomeness.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Solo Tremaine'][COLOR=#503F86]Heh, people in Sixth Form used to call me Hu-Gi-Oh ^_^; I'm used to the Yugi puns.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]I know, you did tell me after all my friend, I just have quite a good memory to remember it after so long. ^_^[/SIZE]

[quote name='Solo Tremaine'][COLOR=#503F86]With regards to his strength, he actually seems like one of the weaker captains when you put it in perspective, and that's probably indicative of his age (I don't often remember details like timelines, so thanks for pointing out how long he's actually been there, heh). But then his battles have always had him up against people vastly more powerful than he is. I guess in a way I'd prefer it if he had better technique as Ichigo but perhaps didn't have the raw power. That would be a fair compromise in my eyes.

I think it was a little indulgent for him to have his own movie though. I haven't seen it yet, heh. Or the first one, for that matter...[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]I think one of the major problems in trying to rank captains as stronger or weaker is that it depends on the fight and the opponent, some like Mayuri would be considered stronger based on strategic fights, while Kenpachi rules the head-on battle. Taking captains who excel all around like Byakuya, Yama and his students and Aizen and then I suppose you can construct some sort of system. I have Hitsugaya ranked lower (and I use the term lower loosely) due to his relative lack of skills with his bankai (he can't seem to maintain it for long periods like other older captains).

Skip the movies, they're not particularly worth watching. [I]Memories in the Rain[/I] is quite a good expanded version of Ichigo vs Grand Fisher though.[/SIZE]

[Magus]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]I think one of the major problems in trying to rank captains as stronger or weaker is that it depends on the fight and the opponent, some like Mayuri would be considered stronger based on strategic fights, while Kenpachi rules the head-on battle. Taking captains who excel all around like Byakuya, Yama and his students and Aizen and then I suppose you can construct some sort of system. I have Hitsugaya ranked lower (and I use the term lower loosely) due to his relative lack of skills with his bankai (he can't seem to maintain it for long periods like other older captains).

Skip the movies, they're not particularly worth watching. [I]Memories in the Rain[/I] is quite a good expanded version of Ichigo vs Grand Fisher though.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

I think it's hard to rank every known character in SS simply because of the espada gettin beat by low class [strike]trash[/strike]shinigami. Rukia being the main one. She draws against an espada. It takes 3 people to take down Szayel. (4 if you count Nemu.)

Kira, Yumichika, Hisagi (They're not low-class btw lol) beating fraccions in a jiffy and as far as we know none of them has acquired bankai. Yet Renji and Hitsugaya has the hardest of times against Grimmjows fraccions. I know... 80% of their power has been cut, but I don't know if I'm really going to accept that excuse anymore. I suppose I shouldn't compare it, but I'll do it anyway because I'm unfair. (It is Byakuya afterall, lol) Byakuya also came to the human world (with Renji) and 20% of his power was still crazy.

Take it back further, Kira lost to Matsumoto. Yumichika beats Hisagi. How do you rank something as tipsy as that?

And now the new chapter. Omaeda turned out to be a surprise factor, while he's still an idiot and I don't like him, I was pretty shock to see that this guy can actually do some stuff. Still don't see any reason why he's a VC though. Soifon is an idiot. One thing these people need to stop doing is explaining their zanpakuto's abilities. If they're going to explain it, atleast do it at the opportune times. I.E. Byakuya vs 7th espada whose name escapes me.

[Gavin]

[quote name='Phenom']I think it's hard to rank every known character in SS simply because of the espada gettin beat by low class [strike]trash[/strike]shinigami. Rukia being the main one. She draws against an espada. It takes 3 people to take down Szayel. (4 if you count Nemu.)

Kira, Yumichika, Hisagi (They're not low-class btw lol) beating fraccions in a jiffy and as far as we know none of them has acquired bankai. Yet Renji and Hitsugaya has the hardest of times against Grimmjows fraccions. I know... 80% of their power has been cut, but I don't know if I'm really going to accept that excuse anymore. I suppose I shouldn't compare it, but I'll do it anyway because I'm unfair. (It is Byakuya afterall, lol) Byakuya also came to the human world (with Renji) and 20% of his power was still crazy.

Take it back further, Kira lost to Matsumoto. Yumichika beats Hisagi. How do you rank something as tipsy as that?

And now the new chapter. Omaeda turned out to be a surprise factor, while he's still an idiot and I don't like him, I was pretty shock to see that this guy can actually do some stuff. Still don't see any reason why he's a VC though. Soifon is an idiot. One thing these people need to stop doing is explaining their zanpakuto's abilities. If they're going to explain it, atleast do it at the opportune times. I.E. Byakuya vs 7th espada whose name escapes me.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Well the thing to remember about Rukia is she's been purposely kept out of a seated officer position by Byakuya. Now I'm not insinuating that makes her a lieutenant class fighter, I'm just saying she's not just some random unranked Shinigami who killed an Espada. Plus really that kill was both pure luck on Rukia's side and pure stupidity on Aaroniero's, he knew all her zanpakutou abilities from Kaien and yet went close enough so she could reform her sword between his eyes.

As for ranking other fighters, I've really given up on it at this stage, as with all fights relative strength as against comrades makes up only a small percentage of the fight, and Kubo loves to give people power-ups for no consistent reason.

One thing I will say about the Arrancar being beaten is that people are assuming they're naturally stronger than relative levelled Shinigami. The only guys we know should be stronger than the average-strength captains are the Vasto Lorde's and there's maybe only four or five of those among the Arrancar's ranks (I believe Neliel is a Vasto Lorde myself).

Maybe of course Kubo has decided to disregard his original estimations of the Espada's and Arrancar's general strengths given that Soul Society's Shinigami have won every fight against them so far. I still think that it would have been more interesting to have them retain that far gretaer strength thereby forcing Soul Society to look at Hollowification of it's own soldiers to become Vizards to level the playing field.

Moving on to the current chapter, well you know I'm not a Soifon fan already and I'm sure the Secret Mobile Corp and 2nd division have lost a lot of their respect because of the people at the top as compared with 100 years ago. Honestly I think Omaeda's death would've been Kubo just throwing us a bone after all the "KILL SOME SHINIGAMI" statements flying around out there.

Equally though I dislike the idea that some relatively nameless Fraccion should be as fast as Soifon who appears to have become nearly as quick as Yoruichi, this after of course Zommari Leroux (the Espada who fought Byakuya) was declared to have the fastest Sonido of them all. *Scratches head* Yeah there's really just too much inconsistency going on to make any kind of judgement call there.

On the plus side, at least we're getting close to the Byakuya/Zommari and Kenpachi/Nnoitra fights in the anime. I'm actually looking forward to the former more than the latter for some reason.[/SIZE]

[Magus]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]Well the thing to remember about Rukia is she's been purposely kept out of a seated officer position by Byakuya. Now I'm not insinuating that makes her a lieutenant class fighter, I'm just saying she's not just some random unranked Shinigami who killed an Espada. Plus really that kill was both pure luck on Rukia's side and pure stupidity on Aaroniero's, he knew all her zanpakutou abilities from Kaien and yet went close enough so she could reform her sword between his eyes.

One thing I will say about the Arrancar being beaten is that people are assuming they're naturally stronger than relative levelled Shinigami. The only guys we know should be stronger than the average-strength captains are the Vasto Lorde's and there's maybe only four or five of those among the Arrancar's ranks (I believe Neliel is a Vasto Lorde myself). [/SIZE][/QUOTE]
I knew that someone would remember that Rukia was qualified to be a seated officer and throw it in my face. Actually, yeah I know Rukia is qualified to a seated officer. I'm just not giving her the benefit of the doubt to be higher than 5th-7th seat. (Dag flammit, Yumichika is 3rd seat, and Ikkaku is VC alongside Yachiru.) The stupidity she displayed when she 1st met Ichigo ruined it for her lol.

That's true about people thinking arrancar are stronger than other shinigami because I'm of that same opinion, somewhat. (It's Hitsugaya's fault I tell you.) Since the release of these recent chapters, I've completely forgotten about there being other types of arrancar. (Gillian, Adjucha, Vastorlordes. I'm slippin.)

[Gavin]

[quote name='Phenom']I knew that someone would remember that Rukia was qualified to be a seated officer and throw it in my face. Actually, yeah I know Rukia is qualified to a seated officer. I'm just not giving her the benefit of the doubt to be higher than 5th-7th seat. (Dag flammit, Yumichika is 3rd seat, and Ikkaku is VC alongside Yachiru.) The stupidity she displayed when she 1st met Ichigo ruined it for her lol.

That's true about people thinking arrancar are stronger than other shinigami because I'm of that same opinion, somewhat. (It's Hitsugaya's fault I tell you.) Since the release of these recent chapters, I've completely forgotten about there being other types of arrancar. (Gillian, Adjucha, Vastorlordes. I'm slippin.)[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]I agree actually, based on her displayed strength so far, I think somewhere around a 5th or 6th seat would be Rukia's actual position. It's clear she's always been displayed as a kind of support rather than combat character, especially when she was the only Shinigami Ichigo actually knew.

As for other characters, I don't think we can use seats just to distinguish relative strength any more because so many characters seem to have seats that don't reflect their actual strength. It comes down to the whole Bankai/Captain thing whereby people assuming you have to be a captain to have bankai rather than having to have bankai to become a captain. [/SIZE]

[Raiyuu]

[quote name='Phenom']Take it back further, Kira lost to Matsumoto. Yumichika beats Hisagi. How do you rank something as tipsy as that?[/quote]My absolute favourite thing about Bleach is the fact that you can't simplistically rank the characters in order of strength. Yumichika beat Hisagi because Hisagi didn't see his power-leech coming. Matsumoto beat Kira because he got cocky about Wabisuke's abilities and didn't count on her being able to negate them in one easy move. How you rank them is you don't. Kira's and Hisagi's Fraccion opponents were vulnerable to their unique abilities; their Reaper opponents back in Soul Society weren't. It's a question of context, and it's a hell of a lot more subtle - and therefore, in my book, a more interesting and unpredictable read - than easily numbered power rankings.

[quote name='Gavin']Plus really that kill was both pure luck on Rukia's side and pure stupidity on Aaroniero's, he knew all her zanpakutou abilities from Kaien and yet went close enough so she could reform her sword between his eyes.[/quote]I'm pretty sure it's implied that Shirafune is a dance Rukia's acquired since Kaien's death, hence why Aaroniero couldn't see it coming. He was still really, really dumb, but again, this is what makes Bleach cool: just because Rukia is around maybe 7th seat and Aaroniero is the tenth strongest Arrancar in Aizen's whole army doesn't mean she can't take him down with the right move executed at the right moment. The fights don't all come down to a contest of brute strength, which is why strength rankings are meaningless.

[quote name='Gavin']...some relatively nameless Fraccion should be as fast as Soifon...[/quote]Soi Fon wasn't trying. She had her opponent pinned and didn't bother Flash Stepping to give her the old double-Suzumebachi-prod. Ggio says as much ("you should have Flash Stepped in to finish me off"). Not using her full speed was undoubtedly complacent on Soi Fon's part, but in all probability Ggio is not faster than her.

To end on something we can hopefully all agree on: thank goodness Oomaeda only got half a chapter to nobble the Elephant Man. I'm sure everyone's somebody's favourite character but the amount of page space Oomaeda gets is inversely proportional to the amount that I'm bothered.

[Gavin]

[quote name='Raiyuu']Soi Fon wasn't trying. She had her opponent pinned and didn't bother Flash Stepping to give her the old double-Suzumebachi-prod. Ggio says as much ("you should have Flash Stepped in to finish me off"). Not using her full speed was undoubtedly complacent on Soi Fon's part, but in all probability Ggio is not faster than her.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]That is a fair point actually, though I was referring more so to the exchanged blows after the cero when Ggio seems to have been able to match Soifon's speed. Of course I'm assuming that Soifon chose to move at shunpo speeds, so perhaps I am wrong there.[/SIZE]

[Magus]

So Soifon wanted to see an arrancar in their released state. "Scratches head". Maybe Toushiro should be fighting this guy instead of fighting Halibel. It'd actually give him a better chance of getting a decent victory.

And besides, Soifon vs Halibel sounds like it would be a lot more interesting than the earlier because then it would turn into Yoruichi + Soifon vs Halibel. Silly boys will probably start throwing out their wild fantasies, but I'd actually think that would be a good fight. It would be sort of equivalent to that of Ukitake + Shunsui vs Stark (if it actually get shown). Perhaps that's setting it too high.

Sorry to keep bringing up Toushiro, but I just can't get over the thought of him actually beating Halibel.

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]...Honestly I'm still in shock Vega turned out to be a guy. Kubo really needs to distinguish between some of his male and female characters better (although pursuing the Charlotte Coolhorn path would be ill-advised).

As for Soifon's reasoning for taking a bit of a beating at the start of this fight, we at least it gave Omaeda that one cool moment he'll ever get in this whole manga. Admit it, when he blocked that strike you actually thought for a few brief seconds "Go Omaeda!".

Well I think we're in agreement that Hitsugaya will lose his fight, but really I still don't see how Aizen has any chance of winning the overall battle. The Vizards are coming, same for the Living World's other fighters and once Ichigo beats Ulquiorra then the rest of the Gotei 13 captains are free to return. I'm guessing Aizen has already hollowified himself, Gin and Tousen, but even then it's three or so against over a dozen.[/SIZE]

[Magus]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]...Honestly I'm still in shock Vega turned out to be a guy. Kubo really needs to distinguish between some of his male and female characters better (although pursuing the Charlotte Coolhorn path would be ill-advised).

As for Soifon's reasoning for taking a bit of a beating at the start of this fight, we at least it gave Omaeda that one cool moment he'll ever get in this whole manga. Admit it, when he blocked that strike you actually thought for a few brief seconds "Go Omaeda!".
[/SIZE][/QUOTE]
Agreed. I also thought Vega (Really?) was suppose to be a girl. Kubo needs to stop making flat chested women and short guys look similar.

Actually, I have a natural hate for Omaeda. I admit that I underestimated the guy, but I can and will never root for the guy.

[Raiyuu]

Just because the scanlators translate it as 'he' don't make it so, heh. I haven't seen the JP script so I can't theorise with any authority but it's very rare to actually use a gender-specific pronoun in Japanese, especially in a fight situation where it's likely to be all 'omae' and 'kisama' and 'ano yarou' (all pronouns carrying varying degrees of embedded insult but none of which specify the subject's gender).

I thought Soi Fon was cool - until she had to be bailed out by the wide load versus a Fraccion. Get on with it, Soi Fon - you've got a no-wins record thus far and we've never seen what it actually looks like when that lethal second strike lands. Turn on the Flash Step and the Flash Release and stab those butterflies so I can respect you again.

[Gavin]

[quote name='Phenom']Actually, I have a natural hate for Omaeda. I admit that I underestimated the guy, but I can and will never root for the guy.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Heh well I can't claim to be an Omaeda fan either, I don't hate the guy by the same token though. It's just that one action genderated something close to a little respect for him in my books because underneath all his bluster and ******** he actually does seem to be loyal to Soifon. [/SIZE]

[Magus]

I don't know if I can call being loyal to Soifon a good thing lol. The way she dogs him and he just takes it. Perhaps I'd respect him a little more if he did some type of back talking or something... Atleast under his breath. (Somewhat like Kuwabara.. He'd actually be funny then.) But then again, that's just the way they are.
____________

Been rereading the flashback chapters. Still trying to figure out where Isshin fit into all this. I have a couple (really, 2 ideas lol) of ideas where he was at or his previous position... (Which is really null and voided but I'll state it anyway.

Isshin could've been in the Maggots Nest wondering around elsewhere during these events, which could atleast explain why the name "Kurosaki" doesn't ring a bell with any of the other captains.

[strike]One of these chapters states that the previous captain of the 3rd division retired, so maybe....?[/strike]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Phenom']Been rereading the flashback chapters. Still trying to figure out where Isshin fit into all this. I have a couple (really, 2 ideas lol) of ideas where he was at or his previous position... (Which is really null and voided but I'll state it anyway.

Isshin could've been in the Maggots Nest wondering around elsewhere during these events, which could at least explain why the name "Kurosaki" doesn't ring a bell with any of the other captains.

[strike]One of these chapters states that the previous captain of the 3rd division retired, so maybe....?[/strike][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Heh there's so many Isshin theories out there which have degrees of plausibility to them that I think we'll have to wait until Kubo himself reveals all.

As I've said my own pet theory is he's the previous head of the Shiba Clan back when they were one of Seireitei's great noble families and that "Kurosaki Isshin" is an assumed identity based on the fact Jidanbou who's been a Shinigami for three centuries now didn't recognise Ichigo's surname.

What Division he headed up ? Possibly the 11th given that it's is the only division whose captain we didn't see in TBTP, although I think he might've been a Royal Guard at that point. I figure like the Kuchiki and the Shihouin, the Shiba probably probably had a hereditary division of their own with possible lordship over the Kidou Platoons given their affinity there. Again I think we'll just have to wait to Kubo to spoil it all on us.

Oh and I call it here and now, Don Kanonji is a previous Shinigami captain/Royal Guardsman. I don't care how much of an idiot he looks, it's all a mask like Isshin's and he's secretly training Karin without her realising it.

[B][EDIT][/B]

OK so it turned out to be Hinamori who saved Rangiku, my thoughts: God damn it all.

I never really cared much for Hinamori when she was first introduced mainly because she was clingy and needy as hell without realising it. I did sort of pity her when her whole world was turned upside down and went pretty crazy searching for Aizen's "murderer". At the same time though I did actually want her to die when Aizen gave her the sword through the gut, not because I don't like her, but because it helped the story it established that yes Aizen was a bastard who would play anyone for his own gain.

The fact is people on the Good Guys side need to die once in a while in Bleach because right now Aizen has taken huge casualties without anything in return and it looks as if things are only going to get worse. The more Kubo does this the more certain we are (logically speaking) that Aizen can't possibly win without pulling out some Deus Ex Machina from his rear.

So yes Kubo if you want to add a bit of tenseness back into the manga you need to kill off some people and starting with Hinamori...or Hitsugaya would be a good start. [/SIZE]

[Magus]

This has been a sad week (couple weeks) for manga lately. I need to get into some new ones before Bleach and Naruto wear me out with crumminess.

Anyway, at 1st I liked Soifon. She was the female version of Byakuya of the series, but then she turned stupid. Like Vega said, assassin's end things quickly. Not exactly the words he said, but you get the picture lol. (Need to take advice from Colonel Mustang. Strike quickly and end it quickly instead of relying of flashiness) I still want to see her bankai, though.

Now we have Hinamori stepping into the picture. "Sigh". I'm sorry, even though spoilers for this week shows her obsession for "Captain" Aizen is somewhat nullified... (Captain..? idiot) But that exact same obsession is what made me can't stand her. Sorry, Hinamori fans, but I want her to die (I know that's not christian-like, but dag flammit, she pissed me off).

I re-read the Yumichika vs Cool Horn fight. ("Rip with insanity", that has a nice ring to it for some reason) And while the fight itself was a little disappointing, I do take back what I said about Yumichika not being classified as an elite now that I sat down and thought about his zanpakuto's ability. That makes one wonder if that could be the deciding factor with the fight against Aizen. If he could find some way to not be under complete hypnosis. Then again... it's Aizen.
_________________________________

I don't care what anyone else says. [spoiler]You can't possibly tell me that Mila Rose's not a man. She has man boobs now.[/spoiler]

In all seriousness though, even if I like Matsumoto's character, I'm really tired of this fight. I know it's probably been 2 chapters since this fight started, but it feels like it's been longer than that. I guess I'm just anxious to see what the top 4 espada's can do. We already know what Ulquiorra's capable of, sort of.

[Gavin]

[quote name='Magus']In all seriousness though, even if I like Matsumoto's character, I'm really tired of this fight. I know it's probably been 2 chapters since this fight started, but it feels like it's been longer than that. I guess I'm just anxious to see what the top 4 espada's can do. We already know what Ulquiorra's capable of, sort of.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Agreed this fight was dragged out to do nothing more than hype up the return of a second rate character who most of the fan-base don't even care about. Matsumoto is equally a rather one-trick pony, fine and dandy for comic relief but in a serious phase like this about as condusive to effect story-telling as Yachiru.

Apparently this week covers both Kyouraku's fight with his Espada counterpart, Ukitake's refusal to fight Stark's fraccion and the Halibel's trio releasing and scaring the bejesus out of Matsumoto and Hinamori...so pretty much things exactly as they were last week.[/SIZE]

[Magus]

This chapter was a lot better than I thought. Maybe it's because Kira and Hisagi showed up, or maybe it's because we won't be seeing anymore material wasted on crappy fighters... (only want to see Toushiro's fight because I want to know what Halibel is capable of.)

That was some punch though. I don't know how long I was staring at that one frame. I thought I was seeing things but turned out that her side was actually missing... Poor Matsumoto.

Stupid question, although I doubt it. I assume Ukitake's no longer sick? I haven't seen this guy cough, sniff, sneeze or anything since the SS arc. If I recall, he was sick when fighting against Kaien.

[The Spectacular Professor]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Now this particular fight.

I'm kind of wondering why Kubo insists on leaving these three alive long enough for freaking everyone in Soul Society to get a piece of them.[/FONT]

[Solo Tremaine]

[quote name='Magus']That was some punch though. I don't know how long I was staring at that one frame. I thought I was seeing things but turned out that her side was actually missing... Poor Matsumoto.[/quote][COLOR=#503f86]I'm glad I wasn't the only one. I was pretty damn shocked to see [spoiler]that massive chunk taken out of her, and for him to be actually holding it a few pages later... urgh, it's really disturbing[/spoiler] o_o;[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503f86]And leave Hitsugaya alone, you bigots. There's nothing wrong with him.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503f86]But to be honest I want everything to get a move on. I'm glad the secondary characters are getting some time but there are so many that getting any pages with them actually doing anything interesting can take weeks >.>; As much as I like Ukitake, he looked about as unimpressed as I felt reading those few frames. It was rather boring.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503f86]I'm still hoping Hinamori will upset the balance of the fight when Aizen eventually escapes from that fire prison, in a way that goes against the Shinigami. I'd always root for them, but things are getting to be a bit predictable now:[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503f86]-Espada/Fraccion vs Shinigami[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#503f86]-Both mouth off (or at least Espada does)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#503f86]-They fight, not to full capacity[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#503f86]-Espada uses Resurrecion[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#503f86]-Shinigami has problems[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#503f86]-Shinigami releases Shinkai (or starts trying generally)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#503f86]-Shinigami 'unexpectedly' wins. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=#503f86]-Cue next fight.[/COLOR]

[Magus]

[quote name='Solo Tremaine'][COLOR=#503f86]I'm glad I wasn't the only one. I was pretty damn shocked to see [spoiler]that massive chunk taken out of her, and for him to be actually holding it a few pages later... urgh, it's really disturbing[/spoiler] o_o;[/COLOR][/QUOTE]
So it was a rip instead of a punch... And now that I've noticed that he/she/it was holding a chunk.... umm... ow... (even more) That actually makes me twitch on the inside a little bit. Wonders if Matsumoto's gonna die? Surely every shinigami there can use some type of healing, but I'm not certain if they can heal a womb that serious. And the healers are in Hueco Mundo.....

[quote name='Solo']And leave Hitsugaya alone, you bigots. There's nothing wrong with him.[/quote]
Haha. On the contrary. There's quite a few things wrong with him, IMO that is. Truthfully, I have nothing against the midget in terms of personality. Abilities on the other hand.... That's where my issues lie. But we've been through that a number of times lol.

I agree with you on your other points though. Although, I don't mind seeing Ukitake in action. If anything I'd much rather see a little bit more of him fighting, and not him fighting a fraccion. I want to see him fighting at his best. Him and Kyoraku.

I've never really had a problem in terms of things being predictable. I don't mind it. The only real unpredictable things that've happened in Bleach is long done. Shinji inc, Isshin, Aizen... etc.

The only thing that would be unexpected at this point would be Toushiro defeating Halibel... Sorry, lol.
______________________________

Old man Yama finally stepped in. Hopefully, there won't be anymore time wasted on these fraccions, and we can just get down to the nitty gritty.

[Solo Tremaine]

[quote name='Magus']Old man Yama finally stepped in. Hopefully, there won't be anymore time wasted on these fraccions, and we can just get down to the nitty gritty.[/quote][COLOR=#503f86]Yeah, I don't feel I need to know how every single possible fight combination pans out; I just want to see the main, important battles that actually have something to do with the story.[/COLOR]

[Raiyuu]

Then why the heck are you reading Bleach? It's been going long enough that you know it's always going to take a while to get to the main event. Personally I like the drawn-out detail. It's a chance for KT to show off his visual and martial imagination. But if you're not a fan of that kind of thing how on earth have you kept reading this long?

[Magus]

[quote name='Raiyuu']Personally I like the drawn-out detail. It's a chance for KT to show off his visual and martial imagination.[/quote]
Agreed. Sort of. I don't mind drawn out fights especially when they're good. However, certain fights (like this fight with Matsumoto) gets drawn out more than it needs to be. Either they're gonna win or lose. It shouldn't be so drawn out to where it takes umpteen amount of people to beat 1 person. (thing) That was my biggest issue with everyone vs Szayel. It was way too draggy. When you're not impressed with someones fighting abilities, it makes it that much more tiring.

That makes me wonder. We saw Iba jump in this fight. Where did Komamura go?