The attack on Soul Society began in earnest.

——

Alarms signaling the arrival of the enemy forced everyone in the thirteen court squads to panic and mobilize. Various fan favorite captains and lieutenants rushed to key locations to confront the enemy. Captain Commander Yamamoto even headed out. His departure seemed to suggest to me that he may perhaps die this arc. 

Kubo used the moment to introduce new characters. Captain Commander left his area of Soul Society to go to the front lines, showing us the one who may perhaps take his place when the leader of the enemy kills him. I think it is time for Soul Society to get a few new faces in places of leadership, and the Captain Commander is old. His burnt arm of last arc, when he couldn’t defeat Aizen, showed that he isn’t as powerful as he ought to be. So with that, it seems unlikely that he could survive in this arc.

Kubo seems to want to keep the tension and suspense high in this arc. The sudden attack by the enemy claimed its first victim of the court squad, Kira. The panel was devastating and powerful on the emotions. Kira — a fan favorite character and  in the triplet of Matsumoto, Kira, and Gin — dying was shocking. Who else would be claimed this arc?

The Sternritter were immediately shown as the chapter closed out. Three more characters met death immediately being unable to successfully counterattack. These characters were powerful and showed that they were not holding back. With Kira down, what could the other characters that are in transit do? Will Renji be powerful enough, or will everyone need to wait for Ichigo to arrive? There are so many possibilities.

This has been one of the more intense chapters this arc. Kubo is closing Bleach out with a bang and making it rather memorable. 

GO Rating: 3.5 / 5

[mangastream]