Bleach Chapter 502 - Falling Soul - Review / Thoughts

Wow.... just wow. Bleach 502, what an incredible chapter, and one that as a Byakuya fan wasn't easy to read!

So showing that the Stern Ritter aren't to be messed with, Kubo did something that at one time fans would have said was impossible - killing one of the main characters in the series. I have been a Byakuya fan for years and so am of course gutted he's been killed off, but it shows Kubo isn't afraid to take risks or to upset the fans anymore.

This is what a REAL war is. Not like the one Kishimoto is writing where nobody dies, and not even like the last war Kubo wrote with Aizen and the Espada, this is the real deal and has been nothing short of amazing.

Seriously, if you dropped Bleach because of the Aizen arc, or even more recently with the Fullbring arc, I strongly urge you to pick the series back up. Needless to say this chapter was fantastic, and yet again Kubo has outdone himself, but also the arc itself could well be the best stuff Kubo has ever done.

The first arc was brilliant, and I personally loved Turn Back the Pendulum as well, but at this rate neither of them will stand up to this current arc. It's as if Tite Kubo listened to all the complaints from the fans, and then changed and fixed all the things he was previously criticised for.

But yeah, Byakuya not only died, but did so because of As Nodt using Senbonzakura's power against its' owner. That's bloody cruel and such a bad way to go out, not to mention it looks like Rukia and Renji have both been badly injured because they were angry / concerned for Byakuya.

I am actually really worried about who might be next. At the moment it looks like a toss-up between Rukia, Renji and Urahara for who may die next, and needless to say I would be very sad to see any of them go, particularly Urahara or Rukia who are two of my favourite characters in the series.

Oh, and of course I can't talk about this chapter without mentioning the sheer badassery from Kenpachi.

Every time you think he can't be any more of a badass, he comes along and does something that makes you think again! The way he just showed up with a couple of dead Stern Ritter slung over his shoulder/on his blade and asked if the other guy(s) in front of him were in charge, it was just such an incredibly awesome and badass moment, and in all honesty I see Kenpachi being the best hope Soul Society has after Ichigo.

This chapter was very emotional, and I don't blame Renji in the slightest for flipping out over what happened to Byakuya. As Nodt is just plain scary, and it's going to take a heck of a lot to defeat him that's for sure. I am hoping for some craziness from Kenpachi (and Ichigo when he escapes), and also I am curious to see what Shinji does whenever we eventually get to see him.

I honestly can't fault this chapter or this arc at all. If you haven't read it yet, go do so now, Kubo has made sure that Wednesdays are quickly becoming the most exciting day of the week with all the fantastic chapters he is producing.

Naruto Chapter 595 - Chaps - Review / Thoughts

Despite the odd (and quite honestly) awful name, Naruto 595 was actually a pretty good chapter for those who like their Manga to be action packed.

So yes, for fans who love action filled chapters, this is for you. The whole chapter was taken up by the battle between Naruto, Kakashi and Guy vs Tobi, so no complaints can be had in that regard.

Personally I felt this was an ok chapter though, but nothing special. There wasn't too much wrong with the content itself, it was just hard to follow at times because of the chaotic/hectic nature of it all and the fact most panels had a bunch of broken rocks flying about which made it harder to tell what was happening and what the characters were actually doing.

On a different note, Tobi is actually proving to be pretty impressive. For ages people spoke of his lack of offence and how he is probably pretty weak or unable to fight, but now he is showing he can hold his own even in a 3-on-1 against 3 of the strongest ninja of Konoha.

It's true his warping ability is stupidly good, but even his work with the giant fan he carries on his back seems pretty good, and he is doing a fine job in protecting the Gedo Mazo as well. Speaking of which, I am curious to find out just why Kakashi's Kamui failed to work against it.

It was refreshing and a welcome change of pace to see a character use their strongest move and in a way that actually makes sense, it's just a shame that the plan failed for Kakashi for some unknown reason. Judging by his reaction, Kakashi at least has some idea of why it didn't work, so it will probably be explained soon.

At the moment though I don't know how the three of them are hoping to beat Tobi. Despite their best efforts, even Naruto, Kakashi and Guy can't take him down. Kakashi has always been extremely clever and great at coming up with strategies, but even his ideas are failing to work against Tobi.

Tobi has some odd and mysterious powers, and it's going to take something special to finish him off. To be honest, I don't think the current trio of people fighting him will be able to stop him, and I think that either Sasuke or Edo Madara are going to be the one who ultimately stops him (or at least hinders his chances of winning in some way).

But yeah, overall a decent chapter if not hard to follow at times. Tobi continues to be a mystery, and I am just looking forward to hearing an explanation about why Kakashi's Kamui failed, and also to see just what else Tobi has up his sleeve.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 270 - Golden Bonds - Review / Thoughts

So after the break last week, Shippuden returns with episode 270, but was it worth the extra wait?

To be honest, no, not really. I can't say it's a bad episode, but it's no better than average in all honesty. I did like the way all the nameless ninja worked together to try and delay Kinkaku, the attacks looked pretty cool and it did also allow for Darui to pull off a badass double Black Panther attack.

Though the way Kinkaku was defeated wasn't that great, and I could fully understand if someone got annoyed by it. At worst it's trolling, and at best it's very anti-climactic. The episode also had a few inconsistencies, just for an example, it should have been impossible for Darui to hold on to the legendary weapons as long as he did. Just in the last (canon) episode we were told how it was a massive drain on a person's chakra to use them, and rightfully Darui was exhausted.

This week though Darui held on to them throughout the entire fight and never came close to even passing out, let alone losing his life as we were told a person would. The Anime also wrongly claimed that the second Hokage was killed by Kinkaku, when in truth he died in a battle against 20 elite ninja from the cloud village, so he never died just against the one opponent (Kinkaku).

On the plus side though, the Ino-Shika-Cho thing was pretty cool and they did even add the odd bit of humour. Sure it can be argued they didn't deserve to win (as I mentioned earlier), but that aside, their team-up worked well and it was nice seeing some of the Konoha 11 getting a chance to properly participate in the war.

Also interesting of course is that it looks like they will be fighting against not only Kakuzu, but also their former sensei - Asuma. Making people fight against their own friends and relatives is an extremely cruel thing indeed, and it's one of the things that makes the Edo Tensei such a despicable technique. Though with that said, obviously it makes things a lot more interesting for us viewers/readers, so I am happy enough with it!

Overall this episode had some good moments, but it also had its' share of bad too, so I can't say it's really much better than average as a whole. It's still worth checking out though and is a decent way to spend 20+ minutes, just don't go expecting anything special.

*Next week is a filler episode as well "Road to Sakura" and so I may not bother watching or reviewing it, but if you really want me to, leave a comment below and let me know*

Naruto Chapter 594 - The Progenitor - Review / Thoughts

Tobi is Obito theorists rejoice! With Naruto chapter 594, we finally get away from Sasuke and move back to Tobi, and no doubt his words will have made many people think they were right all along!

Now just to be clear, I am NOT one of the Tobi is Obito guys, in fact I have been opposing the idea for years, but that's a different story.

So yes, Naruto 594 is out and has moved on to Tobi once again, though unfortunately the chapter wasn't as good as it could have been. To be perfectly honest, Tobi's hint that he is a person who knows both Guy and Kakashi was the only exciting moment in the chapter.

A lot of it was taken up by the Kyuubi explaining to Guy and Kakashi about things us readers are already aware of, and that did take up a lot of time which is annoying. On the plus side, the Tobi hint was pretty cool as I said and will undoubtedly have people speculating as to just who this guy really is.

From what I can tell, it's either going to be Obito (which I wouldn't understand at all and would mean Kishi would have  an awful lot of explaining to do), or else it will be someone we didn't already know of.

Neither option is that great to be honest, but I would be far happier with the latter. In any case, Naruto said in this chapter that it looks like he really will have to smash the mask from his face, and so I do believe that we will find out his identity one way or another in the very near future.

Tobi did a decent job as the villain here, though his comments were very cliche to say the least. I guess it did allow Naruto to have his moment though and give a little speech about the people who inspired him, and it also allowed him to mention he still has dreams of becoming Hokage which I thought was a nice touch, as for ages it had seemed like his original dream had been forgotten.

Overall this was an ok chapter, Tobi's comment to Kakashi and Guy was by far the most interesting part, and Naruto's dream of being Hokage was a nice touch as well like I said. Unfortunately a lot of it was bogged down by the unnecessary explanation by the Kyuubi though, and as such the chapter did suffer quite a bit which is a shame. So yes, a decent chapter, but far from the best Naruto has ever put out.

Bleach Chapter 501 - Hear.Fear.Hear - Review / Thoughts

Wow, Tite Kubo sure knows how to make a war arc! Chapter 501 of Bleach is another good one, but also be prepared for something that's as creepy as feck too!

Seriously, I felt so damn bad for Byakuya in this chapter. Here we have one of the strongest guys from Soul Society, and already he has had his Bankai stolen and made to feel fear like he has never felt before. As Nodt did compliment him on even remaining sane after being hit by the attack, but damn, it was such a messed up thing to happen.

If this sort of thing happened to Byakuya of all characters (one who beforehand most people would have guessed would be well suited to fighting him), then who knows how the heck anyone is going to be able to stop As Nodt.

Also of course it looks like it could be the end of Byakuya, which if it turns out to be the case will be a shame as I have always really liked him. It would certainly show that Kubo is taking no prisoners though, and that no character is off-limits in terms of who dies in this arc.

Unlike Naruto which has been hit and miss through it's own war arc, Bleach has consistently been turning out great chapter after great chapter, and Kubo has done a great job in actually making this feel like a real war with real casualties and sacrifice.

This was a really good chapter yet again, though I admit it creeped me out seeing the panels with Rukia (Byakuya's worst fear version of course) and to a lesser extent the bugs crawling all over him. As Nodt is a sadistic person and he must have the creepiest ability yet seen in Bleach.

Whether Byakuya is dead or not is still anyone's guess at this point, but what I do know for sure is that Soul Society needs a plan and fast, and at this rate, it needs to be a plan WITHOUT Ichigo.

Bleach Chapter 500 - Rescuer in The Deep Dark - Review / Thoughts

So here it is, Bleach has finally reached the 500 chapter milestone! Bleach and Tite Kubo have taken some flack before for various reasons, but the series now can't be faulted at all, while Kubo is showing just how excellent Bleach can be with this fantastic arc.

So yes, Bleach is now at 500 chapters, and chapter 500 itself was another fine chapter from what has been an excellent arc. Things have really gone crazy, and this week was no exception. Jidanbou was raging for unknown reasons, Ichigo was desperately trying to escape the prison he was put in, and Kirge gets sliced in half by some unknown person!

I don't know who it is obviously, but Urahara seemed genuinely shocked by whoever it is, and that itself is not only a rarity but is also worrying. This being Urahara I have faith that even if it turns out to be an enemy, he will probably escape with his life, but I would be absolutely gutted if anything bad did end up happening to Urahara.

The two names that I keep seeing mentioned are Grimmjow and Aizen, but of course that's just pure fan speculation. I can't honestly see it being Grimmjow, as there's no way Urahara would have such a reaction unless he had improved/changed significantly since the last time we saw him. Aizen would definitely warrant such a reaction, but in my opinion it won't be him either. While I do definitely think Aizen will make a return, it's probably still too early for him to make an appearance yet, so I wouldn't bet on it being him either.

This chapter certainly threw up some interesting questions, and nobody bar Kubo himself has any idea what the answers will be. What I can say for sure though is that it made for a very enjoyable chapter, and as this is such a landmark I am really pleased for Kubo and for Bleach as a whole. There are a lot of mysteries in this arc, and Kubo has done a fantastic job of keeping things both exciting and interesting.

This was yet another excellent chapter from this excellent arc, and I have to say that if this does ever get animated in some way, I think the quality will easily win over all the people who doubted Bleach and Kubo after the Fullbring arc.

Naruto Chapter 593 - Orochimaru Resurrected - Review / Thoughts

Naruto chapter 593 was not only another interesting chapter, but thanks to the revival of Orochimaru, it also felt very nostalgic.

Of course Sasuke was saying last week how he needed to speak with Orochimaru and how he believed he was still alive, and this week of course proved that Sasuke was right. Suigetsu was really against the idea of bringing Orochimaru back, and was telling Sasuke how he doesn't need him anymore as he could probably do it for himself these days.

Suigetsu was actually pretty amusing in this chapter, and he definitely added the comedic relief from the more serious tones in this chapter when it came to Sasuke and Orochimaru. Seeing Orochimaru back like this was very nostalgic for me and reminded me of the original Naruto series where he was the big shot, and it certainly raised a smile when he spoke of wanting Sasuke's body pretty soon after reappearing after all this time, it's good to see he hasn't changed!

I still don't have a clue who they are going to see, or indeed why Orochimaru is needed for it, but I do admit that I am very happy to have Orochimaru back. For as much as I like Tobi (and despite all the evil acts he has committed), to me there has never been (or will never be) a villain as good as Orochimaru. He isn't my favourite character or anything, but when it comes to sinister villains who you love to hate, for the Naruto series there is nobody quite like Orochimaru.

I am actually glad he came back this way to be honest, as if he had just came back as an Edo Tensei it wouldn't have had half the impact, and most likely Orochimaru would have only ended up being haxed again or else be used as glorified fodder like Sasori was earlier in the war. I don't know what Orochimaru is going to do if he manages to stick around, and of course seeing the reactions of others if they ever found out would certainly be interesting too.

I also wonder now whether Kabuto will still have some role to play. Orochimaru removing his power/influence from him makes me think that Kishi has plans for him down the line, and that there is still hope for Kabuto fans that he won't be killed off afterall.

Although not an awful lot of progress was made storywise from last week, I still really enjoyed this chapter. Orochimaru and Sasuke should be very interesting with whatever is going to happen between them and this mystery man who knows everything, and the Suigetsu segments added some humour as well which was nice.

Definitely a good chapter, and I recommend you check it out now if you haven't already. For the next two weeks as well we will be getting some colour pages (apparently to celebrate the Naruto movie out this month), so there's definitely a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks as well.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 269 - Forbidden Words - Review / Thoughts

After the past couple of lacklustre Shippuden episodes, you could be forgiven for thinking episode 269 would be the same. Thankfully though, as I predicted, once Ginkaku and Kinkaku got to fight things improved a lot.

Gone are the long, tedious (and frequently boring) explanations and talking, and in is a lot of fighting between the Gold and Silver brothers - Kinkaku and Ginkaku and Darui's team.

As I said in previous reviews, I was really looking forward to seeing the fight in the Anime, and it didn't disappoint. Darui once again showed that not only is he a badass, he is also extremely quick on his feet when it comes to battle. His strategy when he was about to be sealed was brilliant, and I really liked seeing him escape like that.

Both Samui and Atsui got sealed very quickly which is a bit of a shame, but I guess it was kind of necessary to show just how the legendary tools worked so that the viewer (and Darui) knew the rules and could have hopes of countering them.

Then of course the end, and OH MAN things just got serious. We know how deadly Naruto used to be when entering any kind of Kyuubi form, and while we don't know just how much power Kinkaku will have from his one, you can bet that it's going to take an awful lot to fight him. No doubt seeing someone other than Naruto in this form will seem strange, but it's also a pretty cool thing to have, plus it is sure to keep fans guessing as to just what is to come next.

Overall I really enjoyed this episode, and to be honest I can't really think of any major faults or problems to mention. Luckily after the past couple of poor episodes things have picked up again, my only gripe now is that for some reason next week is ANOTHER without a Naruto episode. That's twice in a very short space of time, and still without any sign of an hour long episode to make up for it.

Bleach Chapter 499 - Rescuer in the Dark - Review / Thoughts

In my reviews I have frequently praised Bleach during this arc, and with Bleach almost at the milestone of 500 chapters, I am happy to say that Bleach 499 continues the trend of top quality chapters from Tite Kubo.

Alright, I admit to one thing from the start - initially I didn't realise just how much explaining was done in this chapter. A lot of it was taken up by Urahara talking to Ichigo and explaining about the Quincy/Stern Ritter. I only noticed when going over it a second time, though to be honest for once I feel glad, as it helped to add to tension and menace to the Stern Ritter. If anyone can make you believe what they are saying, it's Urahara, and to borrow a wrestling phrase, he put them over well.

That said, Urahara did make the one mistake of thinking Kirge was dead, and as a result it looks like both Chad and Orihime got pretty badly hurt. Also of course, it resulted in Kirge trapping Ichigo at the end of the chapter. Ichigo aside, it looks like the Stern Ritter have little to fear, and with Ichigo gone now it's going to take something special to defeat the Quincy and protect Soul Society.

Urahara did a good job of hyping the Stern Ritter as I said, and the explanations didn't seem drawn out and boring at all like some chapters have in the past. Kubo did a great job with this chapter, and of course the parts that weren't explanations were excellent too.

Overall this was another excellent Bleach chapter, and with Ichigo seemingly taken out of the equation, things are going to get very difficult for Soul Society. For us readers though, it should be very interesting to see how Soul Society try and fight back, especially as Urahara is almost certainly going to get involved personally before too long which in of itself is a rare treat.

Naruto Chapter 592 - Third Force - Review / Thoughts

Wow, what a chapter this was! There is no doubt Naruto 592 was very good, and it also threw up a couple of surprises too!

Right, as I said, this chapter was brilliant. Madara was badass as always, some contemplation from Sasuke, plus even some Naruto vs Tobi action!

Speaking of Tobi, I think this was one of (if not the only) time we actually see him making a handseal. The way he was talking was very interesting, and it of course leads me to believe he is about to try and recreate the Juubi just by using parts of the Kyuubi chakra that he got from Kinkaku and Ginkaku. I have no idea how strong it would be, though it certainly won't be as strong as if he had been able to take the Kyuubi from Naruto himself.

That actually leads me to the next thing, that being Madara. He commented on how he is bored now of the Kage, and to be honest it's easy to see why he would be. This whole time has basically been him toying with them, and he has had no difficulties despite it being 5-on-1. For him it must be extremely boring, as he is insanely powerful, and being a prideful person he probably thinks that such a lack of power in comparison to his own is nothing short of a waste of time. Obviously the Kage don't look as if they are about to just let him walk away and go after the Kyuubi as he said he would, but if it were up to him I definitely think he would just stop the battle with the 5 people he considers unworthy.

And finally, we move on to Sasuke. At last Suigetsu and Jugo have found him, and despite Sasuke's rather cold and dismissive attitude towards them both, Suigetsu didn't seem to mind at all, and even gave him the scroll at last. Suigetsu himself seemed extremely excited about what he had found and was telling Sasuke how by using it Hawk could rule the world.

We still don't know what's in the scroll, but Sasuke's comment about it involving "The human who knows everything" was very interesting indeed, and the only person I can think of that fits the bill is the Sage of Six Paths. I do believe there's an outside chance of it being one of his sons, or even less likely, Hashirama Senju, but for now I would just have to say Rikudo Sennin since it makes the most sense.

I also found it odd (but awesome) how Sasuke seems to believe Orochimaru isn't gone afterall, and more than that, he wants to actually speak with him. Sasuke showed clear contempt and hatred for Orochimaru, but for some reason he clearly needs him for something. Just how Sasuke plans on doing this is anyone's guess, but I certainly look forward to seeing what he does do.

What with Tobi's jutsu, Madara getting bored, and of course Orochimaru and the scroll for Sasuke, this chapter was not only brilliant, but also very intriguing. I am sure this chapter will have got many fans discussing the various unresolved things here and coming up with their own theories, and if you do have some, please feel free to share them in the comment section below!

As for this chapter though? Quite honestly it's one of the very best in terms of pure interest and curiosity, and is an absolute must read for any Naruto fan. I really can't wait to find out what happens next, and fingers crossed the next chapter can be as great as this one was.