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lydamorehouseBleach 571 came out today, I know you're all as excited as I am…. and since I know you don't want to be spoiled, I'll be sure to put my comments about it under the cut.
Despite the morons who seem to need to complain about everything, not EVERY character in Bleach is getting bankai. What Yachiru revealed is very clearly her SHIKAI. I can understand the confusion to some extent, though, because "Three Step Demon Sword" is really pretty badass and is reminiscent of Komamura's bankai (and Renji's new one) in that it has a projected extended reach.
There were a couple of things about this fight that I found very cool. As I predicted a Kenpachi (or someone who thought like Zaraki, in particular) needed to fight Sternritter V (Vector) because part of defeating this guy is not caring whether or not you "forgot" you were fighting, and to be just always fighting, and/or going with gut instinct. Yachiru very clearly has Zaraki's mindset-- especially with her "Spidey Sense" that seems to involve "something cold, something warm, and something HAPPY," because we know how happy fighting makes Zaraki. Plus, I think that her "copy cat" zanpakutō may kind of imply that she's been secretly copying Ken-chan every time she watches him fight. I kind of pity this "V" dude for thinking maybe he could pick on a little girl and a healer.
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empty_mirrors and I were speculating this morning that these creatures who are her students/kids might very well a projection of "imaginary friends." Both of us could all too easily imagine how tiny little Yachiru might need a helping hand while out in the wilds of Zaraki before meeting up with Ken-chan. We also have known for some time that Yachiru has a lot of kidō power, so these creatures could very well be kidō/magical projections. (On a side note, I kind of adore how there's a fluffy one who is probably utterly terrifying. That's so Yachiru. To the core.)
Here they are:
Someone on the #Bleach on Tumblr noted that the Hollow-looking one was very reminiscent of the kidō(?) projection that Ken-chan sometimes gets when he's going into God-mode during a fight. Also, some fans seem to be freaking out… did she call a Hollow? WTF? No, my friends, I think it's time for us all to accept that shinigami and Hollows are two sides of the same coin. How can you look at Hihiou Zabimaru and not see a Hollow's mask in the bony-snake face?
Sure, we can call that thing that shoots out its mouth "Baboon Bone Canon" but let's be real, it's a Cero. Let's all remember back to Ichigo's fight with Byakuya and Byakuya's very nonchalant acceptance of Ichigo's hollow form. He was very *shrug* 'Very well, you may have your do-over and forget we ever saw that.' My feeling is that what surprised Byakuya was the MASK, which is clearly meant to be a Hollow thing, not the idea that someone might have Hollow-like powers.
But regardless, I think this chapter was fairly awesome. Even a lot of the haters had to say they enjoyed it. Folks have been ragging on Bleach for being dumb lately, and I can see their point to some extent. I think, for a while there, Kubo-sensei had lost his joy de vivre, or playfulness, andempty_mirrors and I both noticed the rather amusing "bunny ear" bankai look from a distance with Rukia's big reveal last chapter, and it seems like he's getting some of that back now. Letting little Yachiru strut her stuff is pretty awesome too. It'd be really, REALLY nice if next chapter continued the smack down rather than pulled a reversal. I think, in fact, we may be looking at the next Kenpachi, so it'd be awesome for her to have an "easy" win.
But I'm not holding my breath.
If for no other reason that the final curtain and the arrival of THE HERO is still some time away yet. The shinigami can't pull this out on their own, otherwise what's Ichigo for?
In other news, my Solstice present from Shawn finally arrived. Here's me in it:
So what am I wearing? That's a Scouting Legion hoodie from Shingeki no Kyojin aka "Attack on Titan." These are the characters who go out beyond the walled city and fight the "baddies" (jury is out, given how sympathetic many of the shifters seem to be.) If you're not reading this manga or watching this anime already, I'm not sure I can entirely recommend it to you because… at first I was fairly traumatized by the action (though Tumblr fandom had warned me)… it's… uh, there are… well, let's just say the Titans eat people, like graphically.
However, it is the hot new thing all kids are into. And they're into it for a good reason. The story is strong and the characters are deeply compelling. I find it interesting because it's not like the usual shougen manga because the hero fights with a team and teamwork is critical to winning battles. Also, war sucks in a really UN-glorified way. People die. People whose names you've learned, whose stories you know, who you've come to love and sympathize with, die. And they don't just die HEROICALLY. Sometimes, like in real war, their deaths are stupid and meaningless and awful. In fact, one of my favorite characters, Jean is motivated to join the Scouting Legion because his friend (lover?) dies in a back alley and… they're honestly not sure it's him, he's been so disfigured. No one saw him die. And Jean becomes determined to go out in blaze of glory, because f*ck that. I also love Jean because he's a coward and admits he's scared out of his mind every time they go into battle. There's also a couple of shifter characters who bend my mind they're so awesome.
Also, if you're generally interested in non-binary gender representations in media, it's happening in SnK. Here's a Tumblr post about this character. http://teacupsandcyanide.tumblr.com/post/60922728975/on-misgendering-hanji-zoe
In Real Life™ news, I got put on another panel at MarCON this weekend. So, now in addition to the other Sunday (3pm?) panel, I'm also doing: Timing and Pacing, 11:00 a.m. Sunday, Krushenko's
See you there?
Despite the morons who seem to need to complain about everything, not EVERY character in Bleach is getting bankai. What Yachiru revealed is very clearly her SHIKAI. I can understand the confusion to some extent, though, because "Three Step Demon Sword" is really pretty badass and is reminiscent of Komamura's bankai (and Renji's new one) in that it has a projected extended reach.
There were a couple of things about this fight that I found very cool. As I predicted a Kenpachi (or someone who thought like Zaraki, in particular) needed to fight Sternritter V (Vector) because part of defeating this guy is not caring whether or not you "forgot" you were fighting, and to be just always fighting, and/or going with gut instinct. Yachiru very clearly has Zaraki's mindset-- especially with her "Spidey Sense" that seems to involve "something cold, something warm, and something HAPPY," because we know how happy fighting makes Zaraki. Plus, I think that her "copy cat" zanpakutō may kind of imply that she's been secretly copying Ken-chan every time she watches him fight. I kind of pity this "V" dude for thinking maybe he could pick on a little girl and a healer.
empty_mirrors and I were speculating this morning that these creatures who are her students/kids might very well a projection of "imaginary friends." Both of us could all too easily imagine how tiny little Yachiru might need a helping hand while out in the wilds of Zaraki before meeting up with Ken-chan. We also have known for some time that Yachiru has a lot of kidō power, so these creatures could very well be kidō/magical projections. (On a side note, I kind of adore how there's a fluffy one who is probably utterly terrifying. That's so Yachiru. To the core.)Here they are:
Someone on the #Bleach on Tumblr noted that the Hollow-looking one was very reminiscent of the kidō(?) projection that Ken-chan sometimes gets when he's going into God-mode during a fight. Also, some fans seem to be freaking out… did she call a Hollow? WTF? No, my friends, I think it's time for us all to accept that shinigami and Hollows are two sides of the same coin. How can you look at Hihiou Zabimaru and not see a Hollow's mask in the bony-snake face?
Sure, we can call that thing that shoots out its mouth "Baboon Bone Canon" but let's be real, it's a Cero. Let's all remember back to Ichigo's fight with Byakuya and Byakuya's very nonchalant acceptance of Ichigo's hollow form. He was very *shrug* 'Very well, you may have your do-over and forget we ever saw that.' My feeling is that what surprised Byakuya was the MASK, which is clearly meant to be a Hollow thing, not the idea that someone might have Hollow-like powers.
But regardless, I think this chapter was fairly awesome. Even a lot of the haters had to say they enjoyed it. Folks have been ragging on Bleach for being dumb lately, and I can see their point to some extent. I think, for a while there, Kubo-sensei had lost his joy de vivre, or playfulness, and
empty_mirrors and I both noticed the rather amusing "bunny ear" bankai look from a distance with Rukia's big reveal last chapter, and it seems like he's getting some of that back now. Letting little Yachiru strut her stuff is pretty awesome too. It'd be really, REALLY nice if next chapter continued the smack down rather than pulled a reversal. I think, in fact, we may be looking at the next Kenpachi, so it'd be awesome for her to have an "easy" win.But I'm not holding my breath.
If for no other reason that the final curtain and the arrival of THE HERO is still some time away yet. The shinigami can't pull this out on their own, otherwise what's Ichigo for?
In other news, my Solstice present from Shawn finally arrived. Here's me in it:
So what am I wearing? That's a Scouting Legion hoodie from Shingeki no Kyojin aka "Attack on Titan." These are the characters who go out beyond the walled city and fight the "baddies" (jury is out, given how sympathetic many of the shifters seem to be.) If you're not reading this manga or watching this anime already, I'm not sure I can entirely recommend it to you because… at first I was fairly traumatized by the action (though Tumblr fandom had warned me)… it's… uh, there are… well, let's just say the Titans eat people, like graphically.
However, it is the hot new thing all kids are into. And they're into it for a good reason. The story is strong and the characters are deeply compelling. I find it interesting because it's not like the usual shougen manga because the hero fights with a team and teamwork is critical to winning battles. Also, war sucks in a really UN-glorified way. People die. People whose names you've learned, whose stories you know, who you've come to love and sympathize with, die. And they don't just die HEROICALLY. Sometimes, like in real war, their deaths are stupid and meaningless and awful. In fact, one of my favorite characters, Jean is motivated to join the Scouting Legion because his friend (lover?) dies in a back alley and… they're honestly not sure it's him, he's been so disfigured. No one saw him die. And Jean becomes determined to go out in blaze of glory, because f*ck that. I also love Jean because he's a coward and admits he's scared out of his mind every time they go into battle. There's also a couple of shifter characters who bend my mind they're so awesome.
Also, if you're generally interested in non-binary gender representations in media, it's happening in SnK. Here's a Tumblr post about this character. http://teacupsandcyanide.tumblr.com/post/60922728975/on-misgendering-hanji-zoe
In Real Life™ news, I got put on another panel at MarCON this weekend. So, now in addition to the other Sunday (3pm?) panel, I'm also doing: Timing and Pacing, 11:00 a.m. Sunday, Krushenko's
See you there?