Shonen Beam

These covers make me think Kubo has become disinterested with his own series. While Bleach has obviously gone in a poor direction, I would be fair enough to give his next manga a chance. The interaction between the classmates early in Bleach wasn’t bad, and Kubo seems to have an eye for fashion, so perhaps he could pull off a schoolkids/comedy series.

I just want to point out that the text at the top of the first proper page says “Finally, the Last Battle!!” I’m holding him to that. Not necessarily the final battle of the series (though I’d love that), but at least the final battle of this arc.

In the first few pages of the fight, Isshin is clearly outmatched. Hasn’t landed a hit yet.

Ichigo’s explanation is way too long. You’re in the middle of a fight. Fight.

Yeah, I’m going to have to agree with Gin on this one. Ichigo is creepy.

Broken. Gin’s Bankai is completely broken. Silly, overpowered, yet completely useless in a direct fight if he actually had credible opposition. Broken.

(Incidentally, I can’t wait for doujins to start parodying this. Do you know how long my… “bankai”… is?)

The frustrating thing about Gin’s power, in exactly the same way Aizen’s reappearance was frustrating (when he killed his own men for being weak), is that it completely nullifies everything we’ve read until this point. If Aizen and Gin are this strong, there’s absolutely no reason they couldn’t have achieved their goals long ago. I don’t feel as though as I’m reading a sensibly paced conflict; I feel I’m reading conflict written for the express purpose of racking up chapter and volume numbers.

Ichigo, performing his one move. The entire fighting style and structure is completely counterproductive to shonen storytelling. The Shikai/Bankai concept is fine, and it’s guaranteed to provide at least one memorable (though not necessarily quality) moment each time someone first reveals their Bankai, but Kubo didn’t establish any underlying powers or fighting styles innately associated with Bankai, so each time someone powers up, that’s it. They have a couple attacks at most. Yes, the Soul Society folks have Kidou, and Hollows have Cero, but their power has been explicitly limited.

Final Flash: Not great, and Gin’s Bankai was completely disappointing, but there was more action and progress in this chapter than in many recent chapters, at least.