Ep. 112 – “The Commencement of War, Vizards and the Arrancars”
Review
This episode had much more of a methodical pace than the previous two but it was a much needed slow down as we find out some crucial information about the new enemy. Also it was nice to get some information about the Visoreds where they are former Soul Reaper that illegally got Hollow powers. Even though it was basic information it is enough to get interested into learning more about the group Shinji is in and seeing who else is in the group. Also it is interesting to learn that Isshin has fought an Arrancar in the past. With his meeting with Uruhara I am interested to see why he stopped being a Soul Reaper. And with this episode the question does come up that what side are Isshin, Uruhara, and the Visoreds are on since they aren’t on friendly terms with either the Soul Society or the Arrancar.
And speaking of characters getting their powers back I’m glad that Uryu is going to be getting his powers back soon and it will be cool to see at what power level he is at when he gets all of his powers back and what his father will teach him.
I got to say that Shinji is a pretty cool character as he both has a similar personality to that of Uruhara were he can play the serious and comedic role whenever he is on screen. And the comedy between him and Hiyori really work for this episode and is a nice balance with the serious scene we get right afterwards.
Also it is nice to see that we aren’t going to have to wait around for many more episodes for the Soul Society to get involved with what has been happening in this arc. It is one of the negative things against “The Bount” arc that it took so long for them to react to the Bounts. Hopefully their meeting doesn’t take to long to end and they dispatch some Soul Reapers to the real world soon as it will be fun to see how this show will juggle some many great characters at once.
Episode Rating – 8.2/10
Ep. 113 – “Prelude to the Apocalypse, The Arrancar’s Offensive”
Review
Since we did not get a new episode of Bleach last week it is nice that Adult Swim makes up for it by giving us a two new episodes this week. Though I got to say that it was odd that the voice over that gives the “previously on Bleach” was not one of the characters like usual animes but instead a new voice. Again the comedy continues to work for this new arc and does not feel forced as it did in the previous arc.
It was odd seeing Ichigo all doom and gloom in this episode but I guess it is to be expected since his meeting with Shinji made Ichigo start to seriously consider what is happening to him with his inner Hollow. Also it was cool to see Ichigo’s inner Hollow in this episode as he has kind of a Joker personality to him with how he is playing with Ichgo’s head by threatning him with taking Ichigo’s body over. It is going to be interesting to see if Ichigo’s Hollow will take him over when he fights Yammy and Ulquiorra.
Also I wonder with Karen reaveling that she knows about her brother being a Soul Reaper if she will gain some sort of Soul Reaper powers later on in the series. I wonder the same thing with Tatsuki since it seems she has some spiritual pressure, well at least enough to resist from fainting quickly from Yammy’s soul absorption ability.
Even though the Grand Fisher was the first Arrancar we saw in the show he does not compare to the Arrancars we get in this episode. Yammy proved to be a really powerful opponent and if he is any preview of how powerful the Arrancars are than Ichigo and everyone else will have a tough time defeating them. Also the animators do a great job animating Kubo’s designs from the manga as Yammy and Ulquiorra have some great character designs.
Also one thing to note is that up to this point we have been lead to believe that Orihime’s powers dealt with defense and healing but from Ulquiorra’s analysis Orihime powers actual deal with reversing space and time. If this is true than Orihime looks like she may become a very powerful character in the future.
Episode Rating – 8.5/10