Bleach Manga/Anime Discussion Thread II

[Ghost]

Hmmm....

So..... the Ulquiorra fight..... would you say that battle was written well or written poorly?

Which one? If you mean their final confrontation, I thought it was a good climax to the Hueco Mundo arc. Ulquiorra had been built up as a major threat and he certainly delivered in that sense. I liked that despite the royal asskicking he handed to Ichigo, it was ultimately a battle of ideologies that Ulquiorra couldn't win with mere power. Plus, Ultimate Hollow Ichigo was awesome.

I seem to recall that fight did not turn out the way I expected, but in a good way. (At least in retrospect.)

[Ghost]

I don't know. It may just be me, but I kind of liked how Kubo drew that fight. Yes, some would say that the conspicuous amounts of black was lazy and looked boring. But I thought it looked pretty cool.

Take this scene for example, which some of you previously derided as a waste of panels. I saw it as Kubo's way of showing Ulquiorra at the top of Hueco Mundo, both literally and figuratively.

And Kubo's art has always been rather minimalistic.

Yeah, I found it pretty striking, personally. I think Kubo was just trying to give the battle a sense of grand, majestic scale.

[Holy Spirit]

Which one?

The final battle.

If you mean their final confrontation, I thought it was a good climax to the Hueco Mundo arc. Ulquiorra had been built up as a major threat and he certainly delivered in that sense. I liked that despite the royal asskicking he handed to Ichigo, it was ultimately a battle of ideologies that Ulquiorra couldn't win with mere power. Plus, Ultimate Hollow Ichigo was awesome.

I seem to recall that fight did not turn out the way I expected, but in a good way. (At least in retrospect.)

Ah.

[Sound Silence]

Which one? If you mean their final confrontation, I thought it was a good climax to the Hueco Mundo arc. Ulquiorra had been built up as a major threat and he certainly delivered in that sense. I liked that despite the royal asskicking he handed to Ichigo, it was ultimately a battle of ideologies that Ulquiorra couldn't win with mere power. Plus, Ultimate Hollow Ichigo was awesome.

I seem to recall that fight did not turn out the way I expected, but in a good way. (At least in retrospect.)

And then Ichigo won by a power-up.

[Ghost]

And then Ichigo won by a power-up.

Caused by Orihime yelling at him. After Ulquiorra murdered him in front of her specifically to prove his point.

HEART, MUTHAFUGGAS!

[Dark Soul # 7]

And Kubo's art has always been rather minimalistic.

Agreed. Most of the time it's the characters that are important. Backgrounds come second or third.

Ulquiorra had been built up as a major threat and he certainly delivered in that sense.

Maybe a little too well since the top three espada seemed to be somewhat lacking afterwards.

Yeah, I found it pretty striking, personally. I think Kubo was just trying to give the battle a sense of grand, majestic scale.

And I personally don't remember him "wasting" page space except for in the example above and when Ulquiorra used cero oscuras. Otherwise we got what we usually get during a Bleach fight.

[Ghost]

Agreed. Most of the time it's the characters that are important. Backgrounds come second or third.

Plus, I'm still fairly convinced Bleach isn't actually meant to be read on a one chapter per week basis.

Maybe a little too well since the top three espada seemed to be somewhat lacking afterwards.

Yeah, there's that.

Especially given how in their previous fight, Ulquiorra went all: "Lol, no I'm just the fourth strongest. I'm totally not the most dangerous arrancar you're going to be fighting here."

SOME TIME LATER:

"Lol, I totally lied to Aizen about my power level so my rank doesn't actually mean anything."

[Eternal Torment]

I've always wondered, did Aizen really not know that Ulquiorra had a hidden power, or was he secretly trolling the Arrancar by pretending not to know?

[burninganimefan357]

Maybe a little too well since the top three espada seemed to be somewhat lacking afterwards.

Yeah, there's that.

Especially given how in their previous fight, Ulquiorra went all: "Lol, no I'm just the fourth strongest. I'm totally not the most dangerous arrancar you're going to be fighting here."

SOME TIME LATER:

"Lol, I totally lied to Aizen about my power level so my rank doesn't actually mean anything."

Part of the reason the top three espada might seem lacking compared to Ulquiorra is that they were fighting in the human world. According to Uryuu, arrancars get a power boost in Hueco Mundo due to the high concentration of spirit particles.

All things considered, Starrk and Barragan had a pretty good showing. Harribel definitely got shafted though.

[1505627]

Part of the reason the top three espada might seem lacking compared to Ulquiorra is that they were fighting in the human world. According to Uryuu, arrancars get a power boost in Hueco Mundo due to the high concentration of spirit particles.

All things considered, Starrk and Barragan had a pretty good showing. Harribel definitely got shafted though.

she simultaneously fought off three strong fighters, and survived being ganked by aizen. that's impressive

[Robotech Master]

she simultaneously fought off three strong fighters, and survived being ganked by aizen. that's impressive

It was also only PIS that she decided to get into an elemental turf war with Toshiro. She fully displayed the speed and power to cut him apart with an attack he could barely respond to, having to rely on his ice clone thing to escape it. And she just....never did that again.

[Fast]

It was also only PIS that she decided to get into an elemental turf war with Toshiro. She fully displayed the speed and power to cut him apart with an attack he could barely respond to, having to rely on his ice clone thing to escape it. And she just....never did that again.

Eh Kubo's has shown multiple times that being surprised by a blitz can be countered just by being ready for it. Like when Ichigo blitzed Tsukishima, or Bankai Ichigo first startled Byakuya in SS arc. I think other times as well.

"Lol, I totally lied to Aizen about my power level so my rank doesn't actually mean anything."

A lot of the ranks seemed questionable not just Ulq's.

[1505627]

A lot of the ranks seemed questionable not just Ulq's.

they were based entirely on power, not on fighting skill, intelligence, endurance, or anything. so someone like soifon would be at the bottom, an someone like kenpachi would be at the top.

[The Drunkard Kid]

I dunno, between her proto-Shunko and her Bankai, Soifon's raw power output is probably above any captain except Yamamoto. OTOH, we haven't seen Yamamoto's, Juushiro's, Kyoraku's, Unohana's and Kenpachi's Bankai yet, so who knows. Not to mention how clunky Soifon's is to use in a combat scenario.

[Ghost]

they were based entirely on power, not on fighting skill, intelligence, endurance, or anything.

I'd say it was more complicated then that - for instance, Nnoitra seemed to rank above Grimmjow mostly for having an absurdly tough hierro. On the other hand, Zommari was below Grimmjow despite being faster and having a more broken resurrecion. I think the rankings factored in both special abilities and over-all reiatsu.