Bleach 96 Discussion [Archive]

Kensee

Wed, 09-13-2006, 02:52 AM

Well it didn't take that long to download, Azaz did beat me in making this thread though =P.

Not a bad episode, the battle in the begining was pretty intersting. I want some of the bantou to die =D, there I said it.

I don't think that group the bontou is gathering will pose much threat to any captain ... hell kenpachi could scare them away by looking at them.

I love also how they extend the plot by having the lady have to rest for half a day ^_^. I'm pretty sure theres some way to prevent or reverse the bontou absorbing the spirt energy or soemthing. Overall not too bad, nice action, but it does stretch the story a bit.

DarthEnderX

Wed, 09-13-2006, 04:20 AM

Personally, I got no problem with them stretching this story out as long as they want. This arc is really good for a filler, and the longer it runs, the less time a future, probably shittier arc will have to run.

First half of this episode was great. Fight was cool. Interesting plot twist. Second half wasn't bad either, though it was kind of a cocktease since they kept making like they were gonna explain some things but in the end they didn't really tell us anything we didn't already know.

Another character I didn't recognize during the OP.

And Golden was particularly funny this week.

Kraco

Wed, 09-13-2006, 04:42 AM

Ichigo should get his priorities sorted out. What on earth does some old history matter? He should have right away asked about any weaknesses the bounto have. Ishida is the kind of emo guy interested in all sorts of things of old, because he's a quincy and quincies share a history with bounto, but why Ichigo? Does he want to defeat the bounto or not? I see far too little resolve in him to get the job done. He should look at Byakuya as an example and not whine to him, when Byakuya actually tries to protect the SS by defeating the bounto.

Still, it was an interesting episode. And proved Kariya's defence can be breached, thus perhaps allowing to damage him so much he can't anymore help himself by regenerating. Like send his head rolling, or something else as drastic.

Golden cup was indeed really funny once again.

Wed, 09-13-2006, 06:45 AM

Another character I didn't recognize during the OP.

I know they did it again, and how ironic it was that I was thinkin if they'll do it again. I still have to watch this one, just posted as soon as I saw the op. ^_^

Yukimura

Wed, 09-13-2006, 08:22 AM

Lol, another op bread crumb. My theory is that the makers of Bleach hope to avoid a Naruto Effect, and thus are dropping little hints to manga readers that they know what's going on in the real story.

Anyway, this ep was good, Kariya's barrier being overpowered was good since it makes him less broken. Though him reading Ichigo's moves is slightly less reasonable, since Ichigo is supossed to be so fast.

As to Ran'Tao....if losing her Shinigami powers and having to use tricks to make up for it lets her make entrances like that...imagine what she was like with her powers intact.

UChessmaster

Wed, 09-13-2006, 11:21 AM

If Ran tao lost her powers... shouldn`t her clothes be all white?

dragonrage

Wed, 09-13-2006, 06:32 PM

They once sealed Ichigo's powers and his cloths didn't turn white. Although they almost killed him in the process of losing and regaining it. It was awsome. :D

I wanted more action. It was cut short way to early. Ran Tao, looks pretty hot for an old woman (another tsunade). They would have owned the bounto leader if there were no interuptions.

Well lets see if the next episode is worth while. Despite everything it was pretty good. Not bad, not bad at all. "Bull" what a nice name for a gang. They might be fun to watch.

edit :grammar

@below : oook?

.noname.silent

Wed, 09-13-2006, 10:23 PM

yea, but ran tao doesnt need to use chakra to keep herself looking like a whore.

FrogKing

Thu, 09-14-2006, 01:08 AM

Yeah, overall the episode wasn't that bad (for a filler), but they sure are milking the story for all it's worth. Was it just me, or was the animation especially of poor quality in this episode? In the fight between the three, I felt like Ichigo was drawn very bad especially his face. Hope the introduction of Ran Tao will bring this filler-arc to a conclusion soon.
Shinigami Cup Golden was classic this week. Had me laughing pretty hard. Glad to see them go back to a more twisted humor approach.

@.noname.silent: LOL, i was thinking something similar about Ran Tao and the aging process, dattebayo.

@Darth:
Another character I didn't recognize during the OP. Nice catch. So, have we only seen 2 OP characters or have I miscounted?

DarthEnderX

Thu, 09-14-2006, 05:51 AM

It's a different picture every week. But it's usually old characters doing things like standing around. But twice that I've seen it wasn't a character I recognized.

I really don't think this arc is anywhere near over yet.

I mean, there's the thing the Bounto are gathering up the gangs for. Which is, who knows what. Ran Tao just got introduced. There's the rogue shinagami that you KNOW is gonna fight Kenpachi.

I expect the other 3 bounto to end up having 1 on 1 fights with various captains. Shinagami vs. Kenpachi. Then headphones and Kirayia probably fighting Ichigo and Ishida in some fasion.

And honestly, I don't think Ran Tao is a goodguy. It almost feel like, whatever the Bounto are doing is according to some plan of hers, even though they don't realize it. I get the feeling she's gonna end up being the final villain of this arc.

Kraco

Thu, 09-14-2006, 06:04 AM

Hmm... That's an interesting theory about Ran Tao. I hope you are right! That would be a nice twist. Certainly she would have a reason to rebel against the shinigami who kicked her out as a scapegoat.

But the traitor shinigami against Zaraki? Come on. Kenpachi would beat that whelp in three seconds with his eye patch still on. Kenpachi against Headphones would be better.

DarthEnderX

Thu, 09-14-2006, 04:59 PM

But the traitor shinigami against Zaraki? Come on. Kenpachi would beat that whelp in three seconds with his eye patch still on. Kenpachi against Headphones would be better.Well, which fights would be best to watch is not really the issue. The fact is, that guy consideres Kenpachi as something of an archnemesis. To put him against anyone else wouldn't make much sense storywise. I mean, why introduce all that backstory between the two only to have him go fight hitsugaya or something.

Besides, we don't even know how strong that guy is. The only fight he was actually in he won in like 10 seconds. And he's probably got a bankai too.

Animeniax

Thu, 09-14-2006, 06:04 PM

If you guys watch the title song, it shows Captain Hitsugaya fighting the old man's doll, Renji fighting headphones' doll, and then Urahara and Yoruichi deflecting headphones' doll's attack. Not sure how accurate this will be, but the title songs usually show future events.

I still think Ichinose (disgraced Shinigami) will fight Kenpachi, for the same reasons DarthEnder pointed out.

Pretty good episode, but like others have said, it seems they are drawing this arc out as long as possible. I prefer it to the 3-episode pointless arcs that plagued Naruto, but they could move the story along a little faster. The fight combinations alone could add a good number of interesting episodes (Ishida vs Kariya, Kenpachi vs Ichinose, Ganju and the Bulls vs the Rukongai uprising, Renji vs Headphones, Hitsugaya vs old man, Matsumoto vs chick with the talking sword and fan, Ichigo vs someone, etc.) No need to water it down so far that it gets pointless.

The animation was subpar, but watchable. Dialogue was hackneyed in places. Still lots of questions, too few answers.

Kraco

Thu, 09-14-2006, 06:47 PM

Ah, yes, I'm not denying the probability of the renegade shinigami vs Kenpachi fight. Seeing how much that dude hates Kenpachi, it's probably the most likely fight of them all. But based on his fight back at the mansion so many episode ago, I don't just see how he could have any chances agaisnt good old Zaraki. Of course he could still hide some trump cards, even bankai, but so far it has been somewhat unimpressive. The headphones, however, has fought pretty hard.

Well, I'm sure they have thought hard who to put against who, so good enough fights should be waiting in the future.

darkmetal505

Thu, 09-14-2006, 06:48 PM

FrogKing

Fri, 09-15-2006, 01:11 AM

Animeniax

Fri, 09-15-2006, 02:27 AM

The uprising is going to be useless, unless it is used as a distraction. The shinigami will just chop down the rebelling peasents.

Introducing Ran'Tao will just promote this arc to become longer.

On a side note, it seems like Ishida likes his older women....

Not sure if it's a spoiler talking about this, but in the preview for the next episode, it pretty much shows what you stated, the outcome of Shinigami fighting peasants, especially ranked Shinigami. A good surge of spirit power from one Lieutenant should be enough to put down the entire uprising.

What I hate about this arc (and fillers in general) is the way the supporting cast is reduced to nothing roles. Characters like Chado and Inoue are basically dumbed down, and a whole slew of uninteresting and generally obnoxious new characters are introduced (Ririn, Claude, etc). I understand the necessity of this, since you don't want to develop the characters in ways contrary to the manga, but it's still frustrating and there has to be a better solution.

I wonder if the development of the Ishida character in the anime means that the character is left unexplored in the manga?

DeathscytheVII

Fri, 09-15-2006, 03:52 PM

The peasant thing is just an excuse to eat up time IMO....im still very curious as to how Kariya is hoping to destroy the death gods. He only fought one captain so far and thats just a stalemate. Theres the general captian too.

OOO i can't wait for a future hitsugaya fight hehe.

What I hate about this arc (and fillers in general) is the way the supporting cast is reduced to nothing roles. Characters like Chado and Inoue are basically dumbed down, and a whole slew of uninteresting and generally obnoxious new characters are introduced (Ririn, Claude, etc). I understand the necessity of this, since you don't want to develop the characters in ways contrary to the manga, but it's still frustrating and there has to be a better solution.

I know eh...i mean, aside from attacking dolls and not the human guy standing there, there's also the great moment when Ishida opens the gate to SS and tells them that he did it because he was more powerful there. Then he gets told that the bounto gets more powerful there too ROFL. His reaction is so not equal to the stupidity of that move

but hey..we get death god captains ;) not complainign here.

Animeniax

Sat, 09-16-2006, 12:49 AM

Yep, seeing Hitsugaya go bankai against the Old Man's whale doll will kick some ass.

I seriously hope Ichinose won't use some cheap doll when fighting Zaraki Kenpachi. I want to see an all out slice and dice between these two.

Kraco: remember, even a non-bankai Ichigo beat Zaraki during the SS arc, and that was when Zaraki had removed his patch. Unless Zaraki has gotten a lot stronger since then, I think Ichinose can challenge him. I don't see him winning, but it would still be entertaining to see him get wailed on by Zaraki.

DarthEnderX

Sat, 09-16-2006, 02:11 AM

What I hate about this arc (and fillers in general) is the way the supporting cast is reduced to nothing roles. Characters like Chado and Inoue are basically dumbed downI hate to tell you this, but this was pretty much done already in the last non-filler arc. I mean, in the entire Soul Society arc, Chado was in one fight where he got his ass handed to him pretty much instantly. And Inoue didn't do a damn thing for the ENTIRE ARC except maybe heal somebody once.

So no, I don't feel bad that those two are being trivialized in this arc because that already happend last arc.

Kraco

Sat, 09-16-2006, 03:35 AM

Kraco: remember, even a non-bankai Ichigo beat Zaraki during the SS arc, and that was when Zaraki had removed his patch. Unless Zaraki has gotten a lot stronger since then, I think Ichinose can challenge him. I don't see him winning, but it would still be entertaining to see him get wailed on by Zaraki.

That was basically a battle of who can release more reiatsu at once. I doubt Ichinose would have a chance in such a battle, because both Ichigo and Zaraki are supposed to be pretty unique in that respect: They have enormous amounts of reiatsu at their disposal.

However, Kenpachi is only interested in good fights, not really defending the SS or anything trivial like that. So in theory he might give Ichinose a chance willingly, to make the fight more interesting.

Animeniax

Sat, 09-16-2006, 04:12 AM

I hate to tell you this, but this was pretty much done already in the last non-filler arc. I mean, in the entire Soul Society arc, Chado was in one fight where he got his ass handed to him pretty much instantly. And Inoue didn't do a damn thing for the ENTIRE ARC except maybe heal somebody once.

So no, I don't feel bad that those two are being trivialized in this arc because that already happend last arc.
For some reason it feels different, or maybe I'm just rationalizing it. In the SS arc, Chado and Inoue didn't do much, but when they were on screen, they had a purpose or contributed somehow. In the Bounto arc, they are on screen, but don't seem to add anything. Maybe it's just harder to see them behind the 20 other supporting characters they've added in the filler. It makes sense, since they don't want to develop core characters during filler time, so they add characters like Ririn and Claude, and develop those characters instead. It's just annoying is all, since we care about Chado and Inoue, and could care less about these others.

dragonrage

Sat, 09-16-2006, 04:18 AM

@ kraco & Animenaix :

Yep that was a battle of fighting spirit and reiatsu, as Kraco said. Also I believe that Ichigo's power is directly linked to his resolve. The stronger his resolve the more powerful he is, in this arc his mind seem to be scattered and unfocused. Also I would like to mention that so far all we have seen from Ichinose was the illusion technique, which can go either way he can be stronger or that all he has. But I would like to remind you that, that doesn't really work on Zaraki, remember his fight with the two captains.

He is driven by the adrenaline (can't think of a better word at the moment). The more dangerous the situation becomes the more he loves it and is driven by it. Also he is alot more powerful than you might think, last time he was actually fighting against his sword rather than with it.

And back to the fight between Ichigo and Zaraki, Ichigo wasn't exactly alone. He had a stronge resolve to save his friends: especially Rukia, Zangetsu was guiding him and also that demon inside of him was present too. Lets not forget the ending of that battle. What did the reiatsu take the form off?

I am not putting Ichinose down or anything, but my money is on Zaraki. It is foolish to think that a person that wants to fight stronge enemies wouldn't get stronger when he knows he can and that there are stronger people out there. But we have to remember that this is a filler and he can't get any stronger than he has, so who knows.

@ Krcao alone: Zaraki killed Ichinose's mentor, captain and ambitions when he took the seat of the 11th captain and he does feel responsible for him leaving so I don't think he would do something like that. He is a blood thirsty manic, but he does have his honor and pride. I don't think he would do something like that.

Animeniax

Sat, 09-16-2006, 04:19 AM

That was basically a battle of who can release more reiatsu at once. I doubt Ichinose would have a chance in such a battle, because both Ichigo and Zaraki are supposed to be pretty unique in that respect: They have enormous amounts of reiatsu at their disposal.

However, Kenpachi is only interested in good fights, not really defending the SS or anything trivial like that. So in theory he might give Ichinose a chance willingly, to make the fight more interesting.I'm not so sure about the basis of their first battle simply being who could release more spirit power, but in the end what you're saying is that spirit power translates to how much fighting ability they have (I think?). So if Ichinose can't keep up with Zaraki's reiatsu, does that mean he's not as skilled a fighter? Is reiatsu like chakra? Ninjas in Naruto can be skilled fighters regardless of their abilities with chakra. Can Shinigami be skilled fighters regardless of their amount of reiatsu?

Mizuchi

Sat, 09-16-2006, 04:13 PM

Zaraki will win 99%.

1. Zaraki can't die in a filler
2. Ichinose must either die or leave SS before the filler ends.

Although there is still a smal 1% that ichinose might beat zaraki and right before the final blow, they spend an entire ep on how ichinose cried because his mentor died, but then will either forgive zaraki and turn on the bounto or kariya will just no longer need a shinigami and will take down ichinose himself. Then ichigo will make a big deal on how he turned on his allies, will make a resolve... again... and the final battle will begin. The funny thing is, is that I just made that story up as I was typing, and now that I think of it, it might actually have a good chance of happening imo.

Kraco

Sat, 09-16-2006, 04:59 PM

Animeniax

Sat, 09-16-2006, 06:04 PM

Hardly anybody died even during the SS arc, so Zaraki dying no matter what happens is pretty much out of question even theoretically. He could lose a fight without dying. But if he loses a fight against Ichinose, I will sacrifice dragonrage's left hand to the Great Old Ones.
That's a major disappointment for me about Bleach, the lack of people dying. People get cut to shreds and bleed buckets, but not even minor characters have died (except in flashbacks like with Kaien and his wife). Did Hinamori really have to be saved? She's pretty useless as is.

What did Yachiru mean when she said that Kenpachi can't lose back in the SS arc? It was either that, or that he couldn't die. Is she delusional?

dragonrage

Sat, 09-16-2006, 08:37 PM

Hardly anybody died even during the SS arc, so Zaraki dying no matter what happens is pretty much out of question even theoretically. He could lose a fight without dying. But if he loses a fight against Ichinose, I will sacrifice dragonrage's left hand to the Great Old Ones.

lol, I will be eagerly awaiting the outcome then. Him dying during a filler is rediculious and insane if something like that happens I will stop watching bleach cause those morons (writers) would be purely fucking stupid and not worth my time to watch any further. Also he is one of my favorite characters and him dying in that way is to idotic to imagine, in a filler, laughable.

Kraco if he dies you will be missing a left nut.

Canadian

Sun, 09-17-2006, 03:33 AM

Do the three modified souls only appear in this filler arc?

Anyways, these fillers are damn entertaining compared to the Naruto ones, :-D Hoping to see a nice uninterupted (or atleast for a while) fight.

DarthEnderX

Sun, 09-17-2006, 04:11 AM

What did Yachiru mean when she said that Kenpachi can't lose back in the SS arc? It was either that, or that he couldn't die. Is she delusional?That's back when he was one of the badguys of the arc. It's shounen anime. That means the badguy is always unbeatable...right up until the main character beats them. And until that happens, everyone around them assumes they're unbeatable.

That's a major disappointment for me about Bleach, the lack of people dying. People get cut to shreds and bleed buckets, but not even minor characters have died Also, because it's shounen anime. I mean, nobody every dies in One Piece. Okay, people died all the time in DBZ, but it doesn't count because everyone comes back to life just as fast. Naruto is like the only one I can think of where characters actually die.

dragonrage

Sun, 09-17-2006, 04:31 AM

that is not really true about one piece. nami's mother was killed right infront her eyes. the other 49 ships of captain kreg fleet was killed by hawkeye. The octopus was killed by zoro. the priests were killed as well in the skypiea arc. Arlong is supposedly dead. The crew that sanji was with when he was a child is dead.
Also the pirate whats his name was also killed by the guy with the springy legs this was before the skypiea arc.

But i do get what you're saying. But Bleach is a little complicated since it has the whole soul society thing and all. But there have been deaths, if you count the hollow and if you count the people that turned into hollow; example orihime's brother. Also what about ichigo's mom, that is a big part of his character (it is what basically what changed his childhood). Zaraki killed ichinose's master. And Ishida's master and grandfather was also killed. Also what about all those souls that were absorbed by the bounto, do they not count as being dead....

In fact all the anime has death but just to different degree.

Kraco

Sun, 09-17-2006, 05:20 AM

I'd say historical deaths that are basically just parts of the backgrounds of the characters can't really be counted as those deaths DE was talking about. But yeah, there are some lone deaths in One Piece. I can't immediately think of any in Bleach (manga based)... Hollows are abnormal beings and, according to the shinigami propaganda, are more like freed by the shinigami than killed.

I also wish people would die in Bleach. It was just the kind of series that would have been even better if those seemingly killed people of the SS arc would have stayed dead.

dragonrage

Sun, 09-17-2006, 05:35 AM

What about the Bounto Lady that looks like Ren Tao and vice versa. Doesn't she count as dead?

But yeah I get what you're saying. And it would be an improvement in some cases. But think about it they can't really break into a wide spread market (kids) with alot of killing can they? I think that is just one of the factors that are taken into consideration. But then again who knows.

But in the historical background part you can find alot od death. heck even in the SS arc all those people that passed judgement were killed. And the man that Rukia had a crush on as well.

I think this is why it is on adult swim. Anymore blood/killing and the series would be too "gorry" for the censorship bureau, possiblely. But then again things like these are laughable, but this is how the world is.

Kraco

Sun, 09-17-2006, 06:03 AM

The bounto lady indeed seemed to die, and all those random people whose souls got sucked out by the super size mosquitos like was said earlier. That's why I added that manga based in parenthesis. But it's somewhat interesting that in the filler portion they were killing people, the lady and for example the headphone's apprentice.

I have sometimes wondered if the Japanese kids can understand dying better than their Western counterparts. Or even if there's no difference, if the parents in the West want to protect their kids from any scenes of death more. Dunno. But somehow I think the intended audience for a series like Bleach where people are cut and skewered all the time, should be able to understand death. Especially when half the cast are something called death gods...

dragonrage

Sun, 09-17-2006, 06:12 AM

Good point. But shinigami is equivelent to the grim reaper in the cultural aspect. And there is Halloween or the day of the death in spanish cultures.

There are figures in all cultures that death is associated with and is accepted as part of life. I guess that is why they opted for the english translation of shinigami to be "soul reaper" because "death god" is not culturally known to the american or english speaking community (kids mostly).