Bleach Chapter 494 - The Closing Chapter Part One - Review / Thoughts

Oh damn, when Kubo said about all the major stuff that was going to happen and how Soul Society was never going to be the same, he really wasn't trolling this time. 1000 deaths in 7 minutes, who says Kubo doesn't kill off any characters?

I was so surprised by what happened in this chapter I kind of went through it in a daze, I knew things were going to get serious now the invasion had started, but damn, never did I think the first named casualty would come so soon.

Of course for those of you who have read the chapter (or have seen the pic above) will know, I am referring to Kira. No way was I expecting someone like him to die, especially so early. I always thought Kira was a decent character, I didn't love him but I certainly didn't hate him, but I am not going to lie, what happened to him here just blew me away.

While reading the chapter (and for a while after) I was just stunned more than anything else, 1000 deaths in Soul Society in only 7 minutes, and one of them being Kira?! Now it's had the chance to set in, I actually feel really sad about what happened to Kira. No kind of epic battle, no backstory, just bam! one hit and he had a whole blown through him before he could even swing his sword in the Quincy's direction.

I have to commend Kubo for having the balls to do it, and he is showing Kishimoto how a war should be written. With Naruto there have been no deaths of any notable characters throughout the whole war arc, and it's been going on for a while now. Come on, a war arc without any deaths? That's just absolutely ridiculous.

Kubo on the other hand has killed off unknown (fodder) characters, and already one named character, and he has had far less time to do so. I am not saying war in Manga should be 100% about characters dying, but if there are no deaths on either side it not only looks stupid but also shows that the author lacks the courage to get rid of a character who has any sort of fanbase.

Tite Kubo has been on fire in this arc, I honestly can't fault him for anything he has chosen to do thus far, whereas with Naruto it seems extremely dragged out with nothing much of note taking place. This is not me just using this post to have a go at Kishimoto, but instead just trying to explain why I feel Bleach is handling things 1000 times better than Naruto is, and why I have a lot of respect for Kubo at this present time.

Bleach is getting darker, more serious, and all round more epic with every passing week. Kubo has shown that he is willing to kill characters off and also how bloody and brutal war can be. I get the feeling Kira will be the first of many casualties for Soul Society, and at this present time I don't know how they are going to have any hope of challenging the Quincy.

But what I can say without a doubt is that this chapter was shocking, but very good at the same time. I can't recommend this arc strongly enough for Bleach fans, and I can see people looking back in years to come and realising just how damn good Tite Kubo was during this arc.