Hello dear readers. It's good to be back with a review that covers the epitome of the fight in Karakura Town. Though certain leading characters are missing, I think this is the epitome.
Thank you Mangastream and Binktopia for providing the chapter, and thanx in advance for the people who will read this review
Here are my reasons, for my I think this is the epitome of the fighting in Karakura.
1st:As U've seen on the cover page, Commander General Yamamoto stepped in and he's been fighting in the front lines for a while now. After a short appearance against Allon, he is finally taking on Aizen.
Last chapters he prepared a suicidal attack which would've wiped out Aizen, but all other parties, including Yamamoto. Naming this as the spirit of Gotei 13, he initialized a fearsome technique called the Flames of Hell. What was impressive about this technique that it looked like something that can wipe out the entire area, and it was only a shikai level technique.
The impressiveness of Yamamoto is further enhanced by the entrance of WW. In order to seal Yamamoto's power, Aizen changed WW, but in exchange for a power tp contain Ryuujin Jakka, he had to be stripped of his ability to speak, think, basically he was left with just his instincts.
The other reason why this further proves Yama's power is the showdown he gave us last week, completely trashing WW with hand to hand combat only, not leaving a single opening for WW to take advantage of. The final act of that fight was the technique Double Bone, after which WW was shattered to pieces.
I have some doubts about whether Double Bone did all the damage, or this was just something Aizen created. This explosion looked very much like Tousen's explosion, that's why.
2ndAizen finally stepped in, but he did before Yamamoto. He used his tactical skills to defeat powerful captains, and furthermore he manipulated their feelings to achieve complete victory.
He was confronted by Yamamoto, and was treated like a punk, but he admitted that in an all out, direct battle, he would've lost. That's why he created WW, to force Yamamoto into an indirect fight.
After Yamamoto defeated, they engaged in a short philosphical discussion which in my opinion was won by Aizen. He is truly the most powerful shinigami, and not necessarily because of his powers, but because of his ability to read other people, to understand them, and use that understanding to manipulate them. He has a selfish train of thought, but in the end he always manipulated people, he only fought when he was forced.
This time he is taking his time, and this means only one thing. That he has something else up his sleeve. Yamamoto defeated WW, so he should be a little bit worried, but the exact opposite is happening.
This is the point where I think WW was made to shatter and not by Yamamoto. As the following events will prove, Yamamoto shifted his concetration on Aizen, which left an opening. The opening is revealed by Aizen, and he tells Yamamoto that the fire which was sealed had a location, but that location was destroyed now.
These first two reasons are the ones that make me believe that this is the peak of the arc. The heroic Yamamoto's presence shared us the wonderful spirit of Gotei 13, and that is sacrifice. Yamamoto's all actions culminate with the containing of the explosion which would've shattered the barrier, the whole town, killing all the innocent civilians.
Aizen proved his skills on the battlefield, and now I think I understand why Gin said that everybody is misunderstanding Aizen's capabilities. Aizen has the power of insight. He can easily figure out a person's nature, and he can use that to his advantage on the battlefield. He did this with the Espada, with his enemies as well.
He even anticipated Yama's moves as well, and created WW as a distraction. The distraction was the ability of sealing the fire, the real intention was that WW had to die, in order to bring out Yamamoto's will to sacrifice himself.
The arrogant lines thrown at Yama:"Thank you for protecting my world", are replied by a new addition to our Hadou Library. Hadou #96: Ittou Kasou(Single blade cremation)
Aizen can withstand this kind of power though. He escapes from the flames and he shows some sign of surprise, and injury.
So the clash of the titans ended here. Yamamoto a bit sucked by his powers, ironically by his own, was able to still fight against Aizen who seemed to plan out every moment of the fight, from his first entrance to WW's demise.
The addition of this new Hadou is great as well, and this proves Yamamoto's skills with fire. Aizen withstanding this attack is impressive, but what's more impressive:
3rdCliffhanger ala Tite Kubo. I think this is the undisputed best moment of this chapter. The injured and surprised face of Aizen, after a majestic performance by Yamamoto, is met by Ichigo preparing for a full power slash.
I think this is impressive from Ichigo. I have the feeling that watching the battle of the captains, and then witnessing the spirit of Yamamoto, he grew a little, and managed to cool his head. He was told to wait for an opening and he did it. He quietly obeyed the orders, but in the end he will be the one who will probably force Aizen into a corner. He read all the events perfectly and stepped in at the right moment.
We know that Aizen had to guard himself against a Getsuga Tenshou, so he probably can be hurt. What happened afterwards can not be interpreted correctly, in order to gauge the power levels, because Aizen manipulated Ichigo, so those scenes don't count.
This will be the first time Aizen will face a full power attack from Ichigo so he might be in trouble.
Quick summary/OpinionsI presented the 3 reasons why I think this chapter is the peak of the arc. I hope the Kubo will maintain this level, so that we can have more chapters as forming this peak, not just one.
We got ourselves some insight into Aizen's and Yamamoto's characters, and we also got a little growth in Ichigo's character as well, so as far as character development goes, this chapter is top notch.
Aizen forced into a trap is always something that gathers attention, and I think I can say that some development to the plot itself can be noticed. Not much since this chapter was all about fighting and talking, we said good bye to another arrancar, and we had our fight between the most powerful shinigamis.
The art is as always outstanding. Aizen's poses and the angles that are used to portrait Aizen are always making him look like something undefeatable, but in the end it was Ichigo who was on top. It was also a great scene which showed the supposedly fallen Yamamoto. He took a humiliating pose, but then managed to surprise his foe, with a great addition to our Hadou knowledge.
What I think the chapter lacked was some past recollection. I think that this is necessary for a perfect chapter, because it can serve as a glue for the story. It eliminates inconsistencies, or ambiguous elements, and it can be used to move the plot, or to develop a character.
That's why I think this chapter only deserves a 9/10, but that doesn't mean it takes something from it's importance. It concluded the battle of powerful fighters, who can even be called emblematic, and it had a cliffhanger, that throws back the main character where he belongs. On the main stage.
Predictions/Want to happenI want Ichigo to injure Aizen. This would be a twist to the plot, and will force Aizen to do something new. That would be great for the plot and for Ichigo's character as well. It won't hurt though if we get the glimpse of other characters as well.
About a prediction. I can't really think of something that would be the logical development after what happened in this chapter. There are many possibilities that's why. It depends on how does Kubo intend to develop Ichigo, what plans he has for him, the appearance of Ichigonator won't surprise me, since Aizen has the power to draw it out. It also depends on what are Kubo's plans for Aizen, how does he intend to make him reach his goal. There are many variables and the chapter itself doesn't give many hints to what might happen. The Ichigo vs. Aizen is inevitable, but just like last time, it might be interrupted.
Thank U for reading the review, I'm not sure the content of it managed to reach the level of what this chapter offered to us. Feel free to comment and don't forget predictions if U have any.
Mata ne!
