Bleach Series 6 Part 2  Episodes 121-131

“This winter we shall fight!” Yamamoto, Captain General of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

The new story arc is well underway at the start of this box-set, with Grimmjow taunting Ichigo who is still crushed by self-doubt and guilt. Grimmjow is going all-out in full attack mode only to be summoned back by Tosen (one of the Captains who betrayed the Soul Society) to account for his disobedient behaviour to their leader, the smoothly treacherous Lord Aizen. Tosen wants to have Grimmjow executed but Aizen, sitting enthroned high above them both disagrees – not that Tosen lets the blue-haired Grimmjow walk away unpunished! Observing from the shadows, is Gin, Aizen’s smiling second-in-command; as they talk, he coaxes a little more of the fiendish master plan from Aizen, information that tells us the troubles of the Soul Reapers are only just beginning.

So when Captain Ukitake’s researches in the Soul Society uncover what his one-time colleague Aizen is really plotting, Captain Yamamoto issues urgent instructions to all the squads, whether based on earth or in the soul society.

And Ichigo? Demoralized after his besting by Grimmjow, he’s gone back to the Visoreds to train to try to control his demonic other self in readiness for the next encounter with the Arrancars. In fact, everyone’s in training now, including Chad and Uryuu – for where would a shonen series be without long sequences devoted to training for all the major protagonists?
 
Irritations? Well, there’s a little deviation (or filler) here which, although mildly diverting, feels more like another interruption, even if Arrancars seem to be implicated. It’s frustrating to start the new story arc and then mark time again for several episodes. But ‘twas ever thus with the ongoing shonen series – although, if you’re a fan of Rangiku Matsumoto, you’ll enjoy these episodes which are mostly devoted to her efforts to save a child’s soul that refuses to move on to the next world. 

Then there’s the mysteriously missing voice of Jamieson Price as Chad; I’m 99% certain that A.N. Other voice actor has been filling in for him (unless Mr Price was suffering from a really bad cold during the recording of these episodes…) Do these changes matter? Well, to me they do, I guess, having become accustomed to one voice actor in a major role, it is a little distracting to hear someone else trying to imitate his delivery. 

And fun? Well, at the end of some of the episodes, we’re treated to Gin’s lectures, as part of the Arrancar Encyclopedia, which are a novel way of painlessly introducing info dumps, and are usually amusingly interrupted by one of the Espadas, much to Gin’s annoyance.  

The new Opening Theme is “ALONES” by Aqua Timez, which starts as a ballad, soulfully ‘sung’ by Kon, and the Ending Theme is upbeat “Tsumasaki” by Oreskaband which has one of Bleach’s less inspiring closing animation sequences; the animation team must have been low on funds that week.

Extras : Production Art, Textless Closing, and Trailers.

In Summary
Bleach – still surprisingly addictive, even after 130 episodes. And Season 7 has just been released on R2, so there’s more Bleach goodness to be enjoyed.