New Bleach chapter out.
Always nice to see a prediction coming true... And now I think I might make another.
I knew we'd see Yama-jii's bankai eventually, but honestly it's exciting to see it at last. The soutaichou is powerful enough that I think it's going to be something to see. More thoughts on that in a minute.
....as far as collateral damage, I thought someone else would take As Nodt out, but it was satisfying to see him get set on fire. I will quelch my urge to scream "Why didn't you do this sooner, Yama-jii!?" as I still presume that our shinigami are alive, if not at all well. That said, Juha seems to have a lot in common with Aizen in that he doesn't give a damn about what happens to his subordinates. I do take strength from the fact that Yama-jii seems to be distracting all the baddies from the other minor fights going on - time for Unohana to get down to some healing business, maybe - but I still sense that this little arc-within-the-arc might be the end of Yama-jii.
Can I also point out how merciful Yama-jii is? Or maybe not merciful, but...honorable? This is the second time he's expressed regret in a fight over roasting subordinate baddies, or closed his eyes while doing so. I have the impression from him that as stern as he is, he loathes using his power against those he perceives to be incapable of handling it. Then again, that "mercy" might be why the big baddie is currently alive, so...
Also: Buckbeard has what looks to be a zanpakuto.
And on that note: some thoughts about the upcoming Yama-jii fight.
1) Is it weird that I assume that bankai-stealing won't be an issue here? I could be wrong and maybe Buckbeard will vacuum it up and ruin Yama-jii with it. I hope not. I suspect not, but I can't be sure.
2) Assuming Yama-jii's bankai does not get stolen, I still think using it might kill him somehow. I didn't get to look at the raw, but the translation gives the name of his bankai as "Long Sword of the Remaining Flame," or something - is it conceivable that he could have, over the years, created a bankai that literally wields his entire soul as the cost of such power? I wonder. I've long joked that Yama-jii's bankai will be so awesome it will burn him to ashes with everything else, but now...it seems weirdly like a possibility.
3) Unnamed blond Quincy is setting off every alarm bell in my head. The fact that he wasn't foolish enough to go after Yama-jii like the others, the casual way he speaks to Buckbeard, the concern he shows for him, and the fact that he hasn't been named... Mark my words: he's trouble. The Ulquiorra of the Quincy, maybe? Either way, I wonder if he might not get involved in the fight and make it harder for Yama-jii.
And meanwhile, somewhere in Hueco Mundo, Ichigo, Urahara, and an unnamed Espada dance around a campfire...
I knew we'd see Yama-jii's bankai eventually, but honestly it's exciting to see it at last. The soutaichou is powerful enough that I think it's going to be something to see. More thoughts on that in a minute.
....as far as collateral damage, I thought someone else would take As Nodt out, but it was satisfying to see him get set on fire. I will quelch my urge to scream "Why didn't you do this sooner, Yama-jii!?" as I still presume that our shinigami are alive, if not at all well. That said, Juha seems to have a lot in common with Aizen in that he doesn't give a damn about what happens to his subordinates. I do take strength from the fact that Yama-jii seems to be distracting all the baddies from the other minor fights going on - time for Unohana to get down to some healing business, maybe - but I still sense that this little arc-within-the-arc might be the end of Yama-jii.
Can I also point out how merciful Yama-jii is? Or maybe not merciful, but...honorable? This is the second time he's expressed regret in a fight over roasting subordinate baddies, or closed his eyes while doing so. I have the impression from him that as stern as he is, he loathes using his power against those he perceives to be incapable of handling it. Then again, that "mercy" might be why the big baddie is currently alive, so...
Also: Buckbeard has what looks to be a zanpakuto.
And on that note: some thoughts about the upcoming Yama-jii fight.
1) Is it weird that I assume that bankai-stealing won't be an issue here? I could be wrong and maybe Buckbeard will vacuum it up and ruin Yama-jii with it. I hope not. I suspect not, but I can't be sure.
2) Assuming Yama-jii's bankai does not get stolen, I still think using it might kill him somehow. I didn't get to look at the raw, but the translation gives the name of his bankai as "Long Sword of the Remaining Flame," or something - is it conceivable that he could have, over the years, created a bankai that literally wields his entire soul as the cost of such power? I wonder. I've long joked that Yama-jii's bankai will be so awesome it will burn him to ashes with everything else, but now...it seems weirdly like a possibility.
3) Unnamed blond Quincy is setting off every alarm bell in my head. The fact that he wasn't foolish enough to go after Yama-jii like the others, the casual way he speaks to Buckbeard, the concern he shows for him, and the fact that he hasn't been named... Mark my words: he's trouble. The Ulquiorra of the Quincy, maybe? Either way, I wonder if he might not get involved in the fight and make it harder for Yama-jii.
And meanwhile, somewhere in Hueco Mundo, Ichigo, Urahara, and an unnamed Espada dance around a campfire...