Bleach 125

[Kraco]

The King's dimension can only be accessed with such a rare key, so we don't know if the place itself might have some other peculiarities. Maybe it will grant power to affect the movement of souls between real world and SS, or something else that the SS folks would rather not grant Aizen. Or maybe it will allow Aizen to get even stronger. If the King and his guards weren't uber strong to begin with, maybe that dimension allowed them to rise well above captains. In that case Aizen could become a King that would meddle with the SS matters, unlike his predecessor.

[Nintendo]

aren't Byakouya and youroshi from the 4 Nobel families(and i think Ukitake too)? does it make them related to the king?

[DarthEnderX]

Well if he's just a figurehead, how will killing him allow Aizen to take over everything? Defeating a figurehead might hurt the morale of an organization or country, but it doesn't make you the new figurehead, and it doesn't make you all powerful.

Except that the only people who said he's just a figurehead are people on the board.

In the show, they simply say he doesn't involve himself in SS. Which by no means makes him powerless. It just means he doesn't care. Which might even make him MORE powerful.

[masamuneehs]

Some of you may remember I used to do this kind of close viewing/commenting on episodes of Eureka SeveN. Seeing as how Bleach is probably the second favorite of the shows I'm watching now (Bokurano #1), and since I haven't done one like this in awhile, I figured it'd be fun...

Time is kept using the videoplayer clock on DB's Bleach 125:
00:21 - The OP is really growing on me. It's a pretty damn good song that fits what's goin on on-screen.

01:23 - However, it is incredibly heavy-handed with the foreshadowing...

02:42 - Nice "camera work"

03:32 - Good lord, Ichigo's Hollow form is some badass looking shit! If he fully turns, he'd have to be Vaste Lord, right? I know it's hard to talk about reiatsu and strength and "power levels", but I get the impression that if Ichigo lets his Hollow side out during fights, he'll be right on the same level as Grimmjow and the top Arrancar.

04:00 - Interesting little fact. You'd think the time it took to master one's Inner Hollow would indicate how strong you are, and then Ichigo and Hiyori are the strongest... but maybe it just reflects a lack of self-control, which would make them the wildest fighters and therefore, not as good...

05:11 - a line that is relevent to almost every anime I've seen. "Everyne who searches for power, without exception, searches for battle!" I wish there was someone like Zaraki in every anime to just tell this flat out, stone cold to the quibbling protagonist who always waxes much angst to the audience because he just can't accept this fact.

06:36 - ... ... that voice... it surely has some of the distortion that you usually here when HIchigo speaks... but it sounds like they used the effect on Ichigo's voice. The first time I've heard such a balanced fusion of it. At first I thought it was HIchigo, and I was confused why he'd be saying it, but now I think I understand

07:10 - Hiyori is the first to recognize that Ichigo's inner struggle is coming to a close.

08:45 - Talkin' shit right until the end, that's a wild horse there. Good use of the classic black/white color themes throughout this fight, especially in this scene as HIchigo is defeated.

09:10 - a mask beneath the mask on the shell...one that does not break.

A strong first half, a very deep and entertaining battle with useful commentary from peanut gallery onlookers. Excellent use of established themes. HIchigo rocks, manages to outshine even Kenpachi, and Ken gets one of the better speeches I've heard in this anime yet.


11:10 - enter the other character embroiled in an inner struggle...

12:48 - good friggin lord, what is that thing? SS has some freakin' strange gadgets... it looks organic in parts, which is the creepy part, especially since it has no such components on the transmission end (14:11)

15:45 - enter the new objective

16:22 - enter the most serious spirtual/religious ideas I've yet to see in this show. The Spirit King, "only a figurehead" and never around SS, yet "his existence is absolute". The idea of the "onlooker deity", the god who is omnipotent, yet chooses to leave most affairs in the hands of humanity.

16:34 - enter the next spirit realm, the dimension outside of both SS, Hueco Mundo, the real world. Interesting that this is the 4th dimension mentioned so far, and someone who resides and moves about in that 4th dimension (time) would surely be undying and eternal

17:45 - now the insanely close proximity of all important events occurring in and around Karakura town is revealed... Time for a defense of the realm!

20:57 - bah, the wet blanket returns... an otherwise awesome episode though

21:05 - nice little training montage. Makes me wonder if they'll pass over the 4 months or if we'll be treated to episodes focusing on the training? Bonus points for Chad, starting training early on his own free will.

21:48 - end episode with the exact shot that started the second half of it. anyone got any idea if we've seen this shot before, and where? I've always thought this show has an inordinate amount of shots of power lines, telephone poles and all that, one of the more subtle on-going themes, but I've not got a real theory about it yet...

I still emphatically hate the ED... Training episode up next.

edit -

Remember when aizen left SS with Gin and Tousen in those beams of light?

He said that SS worships a god that doesn't exist. He said that there was no one standing in heaven to begin with, but now he will stand in heaven.

Recalling this, it does seem to strongly point to Aizen as a Lucifer type. I can't recall any other biblical / religious examples that would parallel this, and Lucifer isn't quite the right analogy...

I am sure the Royal Guard are pretty strong, but I have a feeling this Spirit King is not. I feel like he'll be at the heart of balancing all the worlds, at maintaining the cycles that go on there, and that he is actually more important than a figurehead, but I have a gut feeling he will not be a powerful fighter.

[JaySee]

04:00 - Interesting little fact. You'd think the time it took to master one's Inner Hollow would indicate how strong you are, and then Ichigo and Hiyori are the strongest... but maybe it just reflects a lack of self-control, which would make them the wildest fighters and therefore, not as good...

I dunno how any of that is a fact, but ok...
Anyways, it's more likely an indicator of naiveness and lack of intelligence. Those 2 being the youngest and brainless. It obviously takes no strength to defeat your hollow with the lame 1-hit kill.

[Crash]

It obviously takes no strength to defeat your hollow with the lame 1-hit kill.

Umm maybe it was done that way because the battle with the inner hollow was never about physical strength, but rather strength of will. In order to keep control of both Zangetsu and Hichigo's powers what Ichigo required wasn't brute strength. He has enough of that to spare. What he needed was to gather his courage and restore his confidence in his own abilities as in the SS arc, instead of sitting around like a little pansy and holding back because he was too scared of his own inner hollow to take any real action. In shorter terms, the whole sequence was about him dispelling the fear he had of his own power to keep it from consuming him.

[masamuneehs]

i was referring to the fact that Hiyori, and now Ichigo, took the longest to bring their Inner Hollow under control. Like I said, it's not clear yet what to make of that.

Some would say that the stronger the opponent, the more time it takes to defeat them. Others would say that this lack of emotional/mental stability causes them to take longer. I honestly think the two are a package deal. You're unnerved by facing this side of you that is so carnal and crazy, moreso when it's a stronger force, but because you can ultimately overcome this great obstacle, you reap the greatest benefits. just my two cents.

[DB_Hunter]

Well, the Spirit King could be more of a political figure, with the 13 squads and the Captain Commander being the military side of things.

And what Aizen is doing could be like a military coup, and he is looking to bring about a new order in the dimensions. Maybe this is why Tousen joined him, as he may belive this to be a fight about a new moral order.

[JaySee]

Umm maybe it was done that way because the battle with the inner hollow was never about physical strength, but rather strength of will. In order to keep control of both Zangetsu and Hichigo's powers what Ichigo required wasn't brute strength. He has enough of that to spare. What he needed was to gather his courage and restore his confidence in his own abilities as in the SS arc, instead of sitting around like a little pansy and holding back because he was too scared of his own inner hollow to take any real action. In shorter terms, the whole sequence was about him dispelling the fear he had of his own power to keep it from consuming him.

Uhh... yeah... You just said what I said in long form. He's naive and stupid. A wise intelligent person would figure that out much quicker, as the others have. Ichigo's a blockheaded emo-kid pussy who waves a big-ass sword around. Hiyori's a hot-headed brat. No doubt the others used their minds.

[KitKat]

Wooo, for the first time in two years, KitKat is finally caught up on Bleach! *cheers*

It's hard for me to write out coherent thoughts because of the sheer amount of Bleach I've watched in the past few days everything is all still processing, and I had so many "!!!" moments as things just kept getting more awesome. YAY!

I will say though, the strange television that was brought into Inoue's house reminds me very much of something from Invader Zim. Not what I was expecting from the refined Bureau of Technology.

[Inazuma]

I am sure the Royal Guard are pretty strong, but I have a feeling this Spirit King is not. I feel like he'll be at the heart of balancing all the worlds, at maintaining the cycles that go on there, and that he is actually more important than a figurehead, but I have a gut feeling he will not be a powerful fighter.

I agree with Masa and I think the king will be some kind of smart ass, like Shikamaru in Naruto.

[Death13a]

Did anyone noticed that Ichigo's mask has more strippes then in beggining( i think it had only 3 stripes). Hollow told Ichigo no to die before it shows itself. Which i think will happen when half mask will be filled like Ikkaku's banki needed to be awakend to be in full power.

[DarthEnderX]

04:00 - Interesting little fact. You'd think the time it took to master one's Inner Hollow would indicate how strong you are, and then Ichigo and Hiyori are the strongest... but maybe it just reflects a lack of self-control, which would make them the wildest fighters and therefore, not as good...

Except that this is a shounen anime and the wildest fighters always win because they are "unpredictable" and their spirit always overcomes things like obviously lethal wounds.

[Animeniax]

Except that the only people who said he's just a figurehead are people on the board.

In the show, they simply say he doesn't involve himself in SS. Which by no means makes him powerless. It just means he doesn't care. Which might even make him MORE powerful.

Well, we and the anime both called him a figurehead. It could just be DB's translator, but there it is. I'd take a screenshot and post the image, but you can just look it up in the episode. It's at 16:24.