Zanki no Tachi was finally revealed. Captain Commander Yamamoto’s Bankai is definitely a contender for best shonen manga reveal this year.

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The flame Zanpaktou, Ryujin Jakka’s, Bankai was unleashed. Zanka no Tachi, still flame based, appeared to forgo the flashy moves of its Shikai form and instead took a concealed attack. This proved to be interesting and a bit mind boggling when characters in universe were shocked at its far reaching ability.

The minor details really added to the impression that the Bankai was powerful. The parched throats, cracked lips, inability to use water based Zanpaktou, and dried plants, all worked well establishing a reason for why the Bankai is rarely used. I think it also seemed to show that there is some urgency associated with it. Could it really completely dry Soul Society as the characters stated?

Zanki no Tachi actually had two interesting abilities. The east one sent anything it cut into nothingness, which is impressive though not really flashy. I preferred the west one as it was flashy and looked and felt powerful and intense. The whole fire around Captain Commander, combined with his line that Bach couldn’t even touch him, as well as being the embodiment of the sun, just oozed that epic awesomeness that Kubo attempts to convey to his readers in this manga, and I was swayed by it.

Captain Commander’s Bankai is satisfying. Usually when writers keep things under wraps for so long and then make the reveal of it, say an antagonists identity, it ends up being disappointing, because our expectations have been set for so high. In Bleach’s case, it seems that Yamamoto’s Bankai exceeded my expectations and even more had abilities I had never even expected him to have. If he can alternate freely between East an West then he could be a pretty formidable opponent for Bach. Could Bach actually win or will Yamamoto be over powered and require Ichigo to save him? This was a good chapter and will be still thinking about it and its implications for the next few days.

GO Rating: 4/5

[mangastream]