I'm going to go back over the manga to doublecheck, but a lot of this episode was not in the comic. That's the most of Yachiru that I've seen outside the omake pages/footage, I think! Unfortunately readbleach.com is down, so I can't verify exactly which parts are new. I'm glad they're using the anime to fill in some gaps, though. And it will delay (the probably inevitable) future filler episodes.
Did you get an answer on this? I agree that having the odd episode, or section of an episode here and there to flesh out the story and characters is a much more canny way of adding additional material than a whole fifty-plus episode arc. Still, once the episode has aired it would be nice to know what is from the comic and what isn't.
I was going to say I'd gladly wait two weeks if every episode was that good, but thats crap, if I have to wait two weeks again I will suicide.
Well, looks like we're waiting again:
Please take note that there will be no Bleach episode next week. Episode 121 will be airing on April 11th and is entitled, "Clash! The Protector vs. The Bearer." That episode will feature a new opening and ending theme. The title of the new opening song has not been announced yet, but it is by Aqua Timez, the group that did the Bleach movie theme. (No, the movie has not been released on DVD and therefore cannot be subbed, so don't ask) The new ending theme is "Tsumasaki" by Ore Ska Band.
So, any thoughts on Ururu's 'protection mode'? She always struck me as an odd one - but is she some sort of modified gigai?
I'm attempting to puzzle through what was comic adapted in this latest episode and what was added. It's clear that Ririn, Cloud and Nova's interference in Renji's battle with Ilfort was an addition, but I'm fairly certain that Ururu's violent dispassionate freakout was in the comic. This would account for why Renji's reaction to a tiny girl in pyjamas *doing-a-Shinji* and repeatedly mullering Ilfort's face with her fist was more of a stunned "What the fuck?" rather than feeling his Shinigami one-on-one fighting honour had been trampled. Not so with the Ririn, Cloud and Nova meddling, I would have expected him to register his indignation in no uncertain terms, and I think the writers dropped the ball on this. Renji has been the character to have suffered the most at the hands of poor writing in any additional material isn't he? Everyone seems to love him, very few people know how to handle him.
But yeah, that sequence simultaneously kicked ass and was fairly disturbing. I've been getting some icky Ayanami vibes from that "girl" for a while.
And Limit Release? 2007's Bankai?
It was my speculation that this might be a reiatsu limiter to avoid too much real world property damage. Yumichika has made reference to the Karakura Town repairs coming out of Soul Society's budget, wondered if that had something to do with it. But that theory doesn't seem to gel with the various Shinigami Division crests appearing on Hitsugaya, Renji and Matsumoto's respective chests, in that certainly seems to indicate the addition of reiatsu rather than its removal (one would expect the seal to disappear if limiters were removed).
There's no way that Ichigo can beat Grimmjow without facing up against his inner Hollow, is there?
Characters we haven't seen in a suspiciously long time: Ishida, Shinji, Hiyori, Isshin, Tatsuki, Don Kanonji. |
