There’s been a year’s worth of chapters since we last saw Shinji and company, and it figures that they don’t appear until things look the bleakest for the Shinigami side (of course Harribel and Barragan are still alive). I’m glad that they did decide to show up though because it obviously makes things more interesting, especially now that Aizen’s free too. Assuming they side with the Shinigami - and I concede that there’s a small possibility that they side with Aizen - the Visored will likely turn the tide of the battle yet again, but I suspect that Aizen’s side will ultimately triumph after taking some losses, and it’ll all be left up to Ichigo to save everyone.
What I’d like to see out of these next chapters are some good match-ups and new abilities, like Kyouraku’s bankai. Actually, I was really hoping that Kyouraku and Ukitake would have been able to continue tag-teaming Starrk, however with Ukitake now appearing to be out thanks to Wonderweiss, that seems unlikely to happen. I’m not convinced Kyouraku is out though, and Ukitake being knocked out might just cause Kyouraku to use his bankai. I’d also love to see Yamamoto and Aizen fight each other, but I bet if Aizen fights at all, it’ll be against Shinji and will be over very quickly. Regardless of what happens though, the next chapters should be fun to read.
I spent a ton of time sick this week and am still not feeling great from an apparent stomach virus (thankfully it wasn’t related to the TB). I will note though that I’ve now learned the stark difference between public health services and private health services.
I can’t say I’m shocked about the new Shakugan no Shana and Darker than BLACK anime announcements - more Shana was only a matter of time, and DtB I had heard a rumor about recently. For now, it’s pretty likely that I’ll end up blogging both of them whenever they come around.
In regard to this week’s chapter of Bleach, Show Spoiler ▼
I was kind of disappointed that Soifon’s bankai was just a giant death missile, but I suspect Barragan isn’t so easily defeated and that she will have to demonstrate another use of it in order to win (if she is to win). At least Lilynette was sort of amusing.
And speaking of manga, what was with the recent To Love-Ru/Black Cat crossover (spoilers)? I know it’s not technically a crossover since they’re not the exact same set of characters, but it was close enough. It made me wish Yabuki Kentarou would go do more Black Cat manga.
I haven’t heard many good new songs this week, but this one by Oku Hanako stuck with me. It’s not in any way connected to CLANNAD, but it really reminds me of the series, especially the middle parts and the chorus.
Since it’s that time of the season again, I’ve started writing the Summer 2009 Preview. There are only about 19 or 20 new shows premiering, but that’s more or less on par with previous years. Nothing really catches my eye though at first glance.
Summary:
Barragan isn’t too happy with the performance of his fracción and gets off his throne, but his remaining two fracción promise results and have him sit back down.
You might have noticed that I had been really looking forward to the Shoujo S PV since it’s such a good song, but the Sambomaster ED to Bleach isn’t bad either. I’ve been listening to the band’s songs on and off for the past four years ever since I first heard them when they did the Densha Otokoending theme, and usually I find myself listening to the Bleach OP and ED together after each week’s episode. In any case, the PV for Kimi wo Mamotte, Kimi wo Aishite was actually pretty entertaining and featured a boy protects girl type love story that fits well with the song’s lyrics. The whole carrying-the-girl-on-his-back scene was laughable because the guy has such a constipated look on his face, and the rain effects could have used some work, but overall it’s a good video, and as always, I enjoyed hearing the full version of the song.
The single for Kimi wo Mamotte, Kimi wo Aishite is due out June 10th, 2009.
