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The last volume of Bleach was a bit of surprise, taking the unusual decision to interrupt an ongoing storyline to introduce a totally new one. Although it was more than a bit jarring the new story was at least pretty good, setting up some interesting plotlines and providing more background to Soul Society. At the end of the last volume the two main plotlines were
starting to converge, leaving the story finely poised as Rurichiyo decided to
return to Soul Society and face her enemies whilst Kira's suspicions about
Kibune increase. After learning about Rurichiyo's actions Ichigo, Rukia,
Kenryu and Enryu follow her back to Soul Society, only to find that her marriage
is shortly to occur, an action that would consolidate Kumoi's power over the
Kasumioji clan. After being chased out of the Kasumoiji mansion by the
clan's guards Ichigo's group decide that something is seriously wrong and decide
to save Rurichiyo at the wedding, but Kumoi has anticipated this and enlisted
the help of the 13 Court Guard Companies! With their former allies trying
to hunt them down once again Ichigo and co are forced to hide and formulate
their next strategy, but whilst they know what they face from the majority of
the Soul Reaper officers new Captain Amagai is something of an unknown quantity.
His tactics and plans are closing the net on Ichigo, but for Kira the deployment
of the squad is proving something of a headache. His investigations have
proved that Kibune has some connection to the Kasumioji clan, but he's gone to
ground in the confusion and this is hampering Kira's search for answers.
As usual Ichigo's appearance has thrown Soul Society into turmoil, making it
easier for Kumoi to put his plans into action. But is taking over the
Kasumioji clan the limit of his ambition? The production of the Bakkoto
suggests he has other aims in mind, and what is Kibune's connection to
everything? |
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With the action shifting to Soul Society the two separate plot lines from the first half of series 9 are brought together. Squad 3 becomes increasingly embroiled in the Kasumioji succession with Kibune's actions and motives remain unclear, and squad captain Amagai comes into direct confrontation with Ichigo as he joins the hunt for the intruders. Kumoi's aims seem quite clear at first, as he goes to extreme lengths to consolidate his control of the Kasumoiji clan, but the Bakkoto swords and involvement of Kibune muddy the waters |
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somewhat. The Bakkoto are illegal weapons, and using them is too great a risk for someone planning a secret coup, especially considering the hidden army of assassins Kumoi has at his command. From Kibune's point of view it's not clear what he has to gain from the Kasumoiji's, he's strong, popular and, as a seated officer in one of the 13 Count Guard Companies, he has power and influence. It's clear that there's more to the story than it at first appears, and there are some interesting twists you may not see coming as the story progresses. I must admit that despite the annoyance of stopping
the main Hueco Mundo story arc in the middle, I have actually quite
enjoyed the new captain/Kasumioji side story. The first volume
drew me in by exploring more of the social and political aspects of Soul
Society, from the feudal structure to the general day-to-day life of the
Soul Reaper guardsmen. It has helped the Soul Society feel more
like a living and breathing world, and it's helped that most of the new
characters have been pretty interesting. Bleach has largely
focused on enemies with lots of martial power, and this makes the
scheming Kumoi quite an intriguing opponent for Ichigo to face. He
doesn't fight directly, he plots behind the scenes, arranging
countermeasures against his opponents and playing his enemies off
against one another. Having to use brains and trying to counter
Kumoi's plots rather than just facing him in combat is not something
that comes easily to him, and it allows us to see a different side to
Ichigo's character. It's also great to see Kira given a lot more
screen time and development, as he's so far always been a background
character when compared to fellow Lieutenants Renji and Matsumoto.
The story remains pretty good for the most part too, but it does kind of
drop the ball towards the end. |
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One of my main criticisms of most films based off long-running series like Bleach and Naruto is that they have to crowbar the lead character in to save the day. Even when the characters around him are far stronger or more experienced, even when the fight doesn't involve him, the lead character is the one who fights the main opponent, emasculating many of the other characters in the process. I said in my review of the first part that this story arc feels like one of the films, and unfortunately it shares this fault with them. It tries hard to |
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engineer a reason for Ichigo to fight the villain, but in doing so makes characters like Captain General Yamamoto look weak and ineffectual. Up to this point Yamamoto has been shown to be by far the strongest Soul Reaper, displaying an iron will and an unwavering adherence to his own code of honour. Here he is wracked with guilt and self doubt, making poor decisions and rendered powerless. It seems massively out of character. Also we have the silent Enryu, whose gesticulations and mimes were entertaining in the first volume, here shown to stay silent because of his 'comedy' high-pitched voice. Yawn. The ending of the story is disappointing not only because of Yamamoto's ineffectiveness but also because it throws away a decent twist by drowning it under a load of cliché and melodrama. The plot has been quite intriguing and fresh up to this point, so it's a shame they just fell back on tried and tested Bleach tropes right at the death. Also to have the preview for episode 190 depicting the characters basically apologising for the story that's just gone is a bit depressing, it's like an admission that their heart wasn't in it. It's a shame that this story arc had a relatively unsatisfactory ending because for the most part it was actually quite good. This volume built on several of the themes established in the last one, getting under the skin of the Soul Society and bringing the supporting cast of Soul Reapers to the fore. The story remained interesting until the end and the new characters were (for the most part) surprisingly decent, and it was nice to see a storyline which wasn't told from Ichigo's point of view. The millstone hanging round the neck of series 9 as a whole is that, as a self-contained side story unrelated to the main plot, viewers could skip it completely and pick up from series 10 as if nothing had happened. But despite this the series has managed to make itself interesting and entertaining enough to stand on its own merit. I was worried that Bleach Series 9 Part 2 was going to throw away a lot of the good work the first part did but despite a relatively weak ending the volume as a whole is pretty strong. Don't be put off by the fact it's filler, it's worth checking out. Extras Just clean opening and ending sequences, but the 'omake' comedy shorts that follow the end of each episode are restored this time round, which is a bonus. Ratings Feature:
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