Ramblings of a Crowe

Naruto and Bleach (finally)

So, it's been awhile since I sat down and talked about either of these. Frankly, the Naruto fillers aren't worth talking about. I had hopes for them too, but they are...stupid. Necessary, but stupid...

As for the manga, I've only half been paying attention. Will Sasori ever friggen die? My god, he's like the Terminator...or an evil muppet of some sort. The latest chapter was pretty cool though, right up until the part they had Sasori captured...BUT WAIT...he managed to escape again and this time stab Sakura.

Sakura is holding her own though. She's got those mad healing skills and Tsunade's strength thing going for her. She'll be okay. I imagine she let Sasori stab her so she could finally take him out for good. We can only hope...'cause frankly I'm getting sick of this battle.

BLEACH! I should have been talking about the last few chapters, but I haven't had time. Whooo...where to start? Chapter 190 introduces Vaizard Sarugaki Hiyori. She's apparently quite the handful (very funny character). She meets Orihime and Chad on the street, threatens their lives, and ends up being whisked away by a very apologetic Hirako (I'm liking this guy). As they're running away, Hiyori makes a comment about how the humans and shinigami don't like the Vaizards. Hirako tells her to just wait awhile and that will change. (hmmm)

Meanwhile, Ichigo is back at home, his dad is back to his old self (is this guy really a shinigami?), giving Ichigo his morning beating. However, Ichigo ignores him. He's in serious depression mode. Up in his room, Kon pops out of the dresser and starts berating Ichigo for various things. He almost spills the beans that Isshin is a shinigami. He covers up his slip up and notices that Ichigo hasn't said a word. Kon gets mad and leaves. Ichigo lies in bed, worrying about his hollow half and what will happen to himself, his family, and friends if he's allowed to take over.

Karin comes in, and confronts Ichigo about being a shinigami. He tries to deny it, but she tells him she can see him...and the hollows clearly. She wants to know what's going on.

Next we're taken to some place that I'm not sure where it is because I can't read the Kanji...but anyway, there's some weird looking guys there, one name Rin and another named Akon (are they Vizards? if you know, tell me please). They've noticed something strange. A light from the sky hits the earth and two figures step out of the dust.

They're hollows...and they look human.

(chpt 192) Back in Ichigo's room, Ichigo tries to laugh off Karin's accusations. Suddenly a wave of intense spiritual pressure crushes the room and Ichigo takes off in Shinigami form while Karin calls after him.

Ichigo isn't the only one to notice either. Urahara, Isshin, Yoruichi, Chad and Orihime all notice. Even the Soul Society has begun to move.

The Hollows, are surrounded by humans that can't see them. The people are milling about, curious about the strange crater than just appeared in the ground. The big hollow gets angry and sucks up their souls. The smaller one says that it's a waste of time, that there are only three people with enough spiritual pressure to be a danger to them. Those are the ones they need to find.

On the grass, the big hollow notices someone moving. Tatsuki was one of the people attacked, but she's still alive! And she can see the hollows. The big one asks the smaller one (his name is Urukiora...Ulkiola...? ウルキオラ) if Tatsuki is one of them that they're looking form. Uru (I'll call him for short) says that she's nothing but trash. The big guy decides to kill her.

Enter Chad and Orihime. Chad stops the blow, and Orihime rescues Tatsuki. The big hollow (what the hell is his name?) can't seem to figure out who they're looking for and this annoys Uru. He says that Chad and Orihime are trash too. The big guy attacks, and Chad's arm is ripped off.

Ichigo is on his way.

Anyway, Orihime is now all alone. Chad is pretty messed up, his arm is all torn off and what not. The big guy asks Uru is Orihime is trash too...and of course she is, so he attacks her.

However, Orihime takes a stand. Her shield comes to life and blocks the blow. She stands up as it breaks, and there's this hurt/angry look on her face. Apparently she's learned to multitask, since she's facing down the hollows while healing Chads arm. This catches Uru's attention and he comments that Orihime is a paculiar woman.

Orihime decided to fight to protect Chad and Tatsuki. She launches Tsubaki at the big hollow, who takes a direct hit though his hand...or so it seems. He crushes Tsubaki into dust. Uru decideds that Orihime isn't one of "them" that they are looking for and gives the okay for him to kill her. Just as the big guy is on Orihime, Ichigo shows up, with Zangetsu pressed against the big hollow's palm.

Ichigo apologizes for being late, turns to the hollows, and releases his Ban Kai.

End of chapters

So, next week perhaps we'll see what these "new" hollows are made of. I'll be pissed if Ichigo releases Ban Kai and gets whupped by these yahoos. That would suck, considering Ban Kai is the ultimate release of a Zanpaktou. Then again, no one is certain what kind of power the Vaizards are capabable of, and Ichigo is one of them (since he's part hollow, part shinigami). I'm not sure if the Vaizards are good guys or bad guys yet. So far, I like Hirako and Hiyori. Hirako is funny. I'm kinda curious to see what they're capable of.

As for these new hollows, they haven't done much yet, but they seem to be pretty strong. Uru is kinda scary...it's always the small quiet types that turn out to be mass murders. Anyway, Bleach is still good...no lagging in their corner of Shonen Jump!

In other Bleach news, apparently the show will be moving to a Prime Time spot in Japan. Good news for the series! Perhaps it will continue past the Soul Society arc?

The anime at the moment has Ichigo fighting with Zangetsu to learn Ban Kai. Renji and Hinomori have broken out of prision. Gin has "rescued" Kira. So there's going to be a ton of stuff going down soon. *yay*

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In more exciting news, it looks like Black Cat will be airing in Japan this October! What a great find! For those who have been reading the manga, you all know what I mean! ;P I'm not quite clear if it's been licensed by Viz or not though (think the manga?). If anyone knows for sure, let me know.

CMX is still treating their customers like shit and dodging questions regarding edits in titles such as Tenjou Tenge (a manga obviously not ment to be marketed for kids here in the States).

Posted by Zoso at August 26, 2005 10:04 PM