~Dear Skip Beat~

Form the contents of the new chapter, CH188, I feel like you read my pleas in my post, " Skip to the romance or Beat it! ~Skip Beat!~"


 I mean, WOW!

Kyoko slowly trying to solve Ren's mystery. 


Kajima getting into the love triangle.


Ren getting upset because Kyoko gave her number AND texted Kajima!


Yashiro's hilarious mental monologue! Reminder of the LOVE ME section!


Sho showing up!!  Clearly getting a text from *black-haired girl* that Kyoko is in school and decides to go in!



The romance! The comedy! THE PROGRESS!!

I am too excited for Kyoko's and Sho's meeting. Always a fun read! Also, if Ren would show up, I'd just be the happiest!

Banzai! Skip Beat!

More is Revealed! Powerful Ishida?? ~BLEACH Update Ch490~

A week off due to public holiday, Golden Week, and Bleach returns with more revelations!

CH490 MARCH OF THE STARCROSS 2

Quick with the juicy details, it started with the announcement to the Stern Ritters of SS invasion, "Prepare immediately and gather at the Gate of the Sun, the Vandenreich is going to invade Soul Society"


I was hoping for some Stern Ritter info, but all we got is an image of their backs. How many??

Juicy detail ONE/REVELATION: "One of the FIVE 'Special War Potentials, Kurosaki Ichigo is..."


FIVE. FIVE. FIVE!
Care to play a guessing game??
Ichigo, Ishida, their dads, Commander Yamamoto...I feel like adding Inoue and/or Urahara and/or Mayuri...  agh! ><'
Okay moving on:



Ichigo is currently battling Kirge, and it seems to be going well. He manages to dodge, repel, and bare-handedly throw back the Heilig Pfeil / Quincy arrows, while Kirge is slightly taken back.

I'm enjoying seeing Ichigo so confident in battle. Doubt its going to be all roses for long though...

Ichigo goes on to say that Kirge's shots are more powerful than the one Ishida uses, although he hasn't been on the receiving end of those in a while.

Juicy Detail TWO/ REVELATION: "Are you talking about Ishida Uryuu? Ishida Uryuu's Heilig Pfeil is weaker than mine? Strange. It shouldn't be."


Yes Please!
I will stick by Ishida being one of my five special war potentials...how exciting! I am waiting for Ishida to take his rightful place in this arc...traitor/spy/friend?? And what about your dad??


Ichigo asks what he means and Kirge realizes he said too much, and he must report to his Majesty. Ichigo also asks about this 'Majesty'. Kirge states since he has been given orders to kill Ichigo, it is no longer necessary for Ichigo to try and gain information.

"Now watch. I am sure you must have at least heard of this power: the Quincy LETZT STIL."

SHOCK! We have heard of Letzt Stil! Way back in SS when Ishida battled Captain Mayuri, he used this 'last resort' which absorbed surrounding reishi at an alarming & powerful rate, and increased his power attack, cutting Mayuri's Bankai in half and still managing to cut through the Captain himself and damaging the area. This INSANE power also causes the loss of spiritual power as the body tries to preserve itself.
DIFFERENCE: Its true name is apparently Quincy Vollständig (Quincy Complete Holy Form) and it has a form. Ishida never transformed.
DIFFERENCE #2: In SS everything is made up of reishi, buildings and all. I can't help but think collecting reishi in HM is going to be a bit different. I get the feeling they've been sucking at hollows and Arrancars they collect. Vampire Quincies...

....elsewhere Urahara and Pesche (this is bound to be a comedic duo) have rescued Dondochakka and are escaping... and in Soul Society, time has run out.

DONE!


Lets the invasion and battles begin!!


So far this war feels like its going to be very one-sided. How will our beloved lieutenants and captains fare??


Let me know what you think/ theories / guesses of the FIVE?


xoxo

BEST of SHOUJO Manga! COMING THIS SPRING!

As a female...Do you not read Shoujo manga??
eeeeh...I DO!


But all you talk about it Bleach, Bakuman, Noblesse, etc....
I spoke about Skip Beat and Black Bird and...um...you know, chapter updates are not too exciting in the Shoujo world!! 


So you read them, then?
YES! Tons!!


Oh, which ones?
TONS! ><'
.....


In fact I was thinking of going all SHOUJO on you! 

Meaning??

I will make Spring Shoujo concentrated!

During May/June I will introduce a Shoujo manga I read and regard highly. ~~Current ones...not the obvious old great shoujo, you can find those lists everywhere~~


I look forward to it!! 


PLEASE, by all means, recommend your favourite Shoujo Manga stories! 




xoxo

Hostage Situation?! ~Noblesse~

Noblesse Day~~! 

Chapter 233 

Following last chapter’s monster transformation and revelations of Roctis, the battle continues.

The Elder is under the impression that regardless of Frankenstein’s hidden powers, now that he has transformed and has his own powers as well as what the previous clan leader turned traitor, Roctis, has given him, he is unbeatable.

Upon the Elder asking how Frankenstein know of Roctis, Frankenstein responds: “He is just someone I must kill.” 

They battle. 

The Elder monster uses his flight ability to his advantage and attacks from a distance. Frankenstein is taken by surprise and suffers a strong hit; but returns the favour. 

They battle. 

Frankenstein gets the upper hand, and taunts whether that was all Roctis gave the Elder. 

I believe at this point, the final blow would have been dealt as Frankenstein stands above the Elder, but is stopped/distracted by Rai calling out to him. 

The Elder takes advantage of Frankenstein’s moment of distraction to take in a hostage.

Who you ask??

....

....

....


Hahaha!

The chapter ends with the Elder/Monster thinking he now has the upper hand.


I was SO ready to see Rai say “KNEEL”, its unbelievable. If there isn’t a ‘kneel’ in the next chapter, I’ll be way disappointed as I don’t want to see Rai actually fight.



Let me know what you think! How hard did you laugh? How will Frankenstein take this clear challenge? How will Rai?



xoxo

So, so WILD!

I introduced Girls of the Wild's back in February (Check that post out for synopsis and more!), and I really hope people took it a bit seriously cus this shit is awesome!

Chapter 36

Our Jae Gu is training for the preliminaries, a week away, and he is showing great improvement, however he is lacking the will to fight, i.e. the mind set to proper hit someone.

The Queen steps in with advice to put his weight behind his punches, as he is now he would not be able to knock out anyone.

After the training, Jae Gu is amazed at the energy needed for sport as he wrings his shirt off sweat, and we, as well as some innocent bystanders, get a nice look at how training has treated our "weak" protagonist.

This is the first time I thought of him as a bishie... ^^


On his way home, Jae Gu contemplates whether or not he will be able to fight in a weeks time, having never fought anyone in his life, and not really liking it. "Am I ...really a moron who can't do anything." 

He meets his opponent for the preliminaries, bastard redhead, Han Gyul. Jae Gu mentions meeting him at the match and gets a bitch slap for it. Han Gyul blames Jae Gu for all the training that has been forced on him, and bring up how he food poisoned Jae Gu's siblings.

At this point, I'm worried Jae Gu snaps, seeing as fights outside are forbidden, at the same time I SOO WANT HIM TO.

He doesn't. At least not physically and not now. But the slap serves to finally birth the will to kill/fight.

DONE!




I'm so happy! Its not so much that I wanted him to fight but to simply stand up for himself. It is time to kick some redhead ass! 


Please check out Girls of the Wild's on Webtoonlive. You will not regret it!


Happy reading and let me know what you think!!


xoxo

Fast Paced Mahjong!!

 Saki: Achiga-hen

The Achiga Girls' Academy in Nara once defeated regional mahjong powerhouse Bansei High School. It advanced into the national team semifinals but lost to the eventual champion, and the mahjong club was later disbanded. Six years later, elementary school student Shizuno Takakamo befriends transfer student Nodoka Haramura. The two eventually enter Achiga Girls', but Nodoka transfers out of the school in the second year. When Shizuno sees Nodoka on television the following year as the national middle school individual mahjong champion, she decides to revive Achiga's mahjong club.

Saki: Achiga-hen is a sequel side-story to the 2009 Saki. Because its a side story, watching the original is not necessary.

I picked up this anime because I love competitive card / board game anime, such as the great Hikaru no Go and the recent Chihayafuru. It has the elements of Sport Shounen that I mentioned before, ~ http://tinyurl.com/cemuzqx ~, although the last reason doesn't fit in this category.  

I was really looking forward to understanding how Mahjong is played. Three episodes in and so far we've just been thrown a lot of technical terms and no explanations.

Why?? 

We're missing that character. 

You know. The character, who should be our protagonist, who falls in love with the game, and the series becomes a learning process within tournament competitions. Unfortunately, everyone here are already well acquainted with the game. 

Also there is no learning time:

1. The first episode covers everything the synopsis says.
2. By the second episode the club fully forms, with a coach, and training for the preliminaries begins.
3. The third episode, which was quite shocking for me, covered the preliminaries, intense training for the nationals- which involved having away matches with the runners up of each prefecture, and setting off to & reaching the Nationals.

At this pace this series should end by episode 5!! They have stripped off the excitement that comes with competitive anime, and so far, explained NOTHING about Mahjong.

Fear not. According to viewers more familiar with the series, we get all the excitement and Mahjong during the Nationals, which should last till the end of the season.

Also: Although watching the original series Saki is not necessary; Saki her self was introduced at the end of episode 3 as The One To Beat. That alone made me want to watch the original series.

So if you're interested in this series, I advise watching Saki first.

Nevertheless Saki: Achiga-hen gets a recommendation from me. Its interesting, carries the emotion competitive anime should, the animation is good, and its funny where it needs to be. 

Happy watching! Let me know what you think!

xoxo

Bakuman Manga Ends

 Why does it feel like Bakuman is racing towards telling me "The End! Thank you for all your support until now!"

I tweeted this after reading Ch.175 last week.

It has now been confirmed that Bakuman ends with the next double/couple of issue(s). 

After all, dreams have been fulfilled. Nothing was rushed. And the story was beautiful.

Genuinely don't think I've loved Manga characters the way I love Mashiro and Takagi. I don't know how to explain it, but rather than characters in manga doing things, they thought and felt, and it made it feel like I really knew them.

Just seeing them grow up through the ups and downs was always motivational.

I cried with them.

Laughed with and at them.

Cheered for them.

Celebrated with them.

Got angry with and for them.

And it was more than just them; it was the same with Azuki and Miyoshi, and the other mangakas: Nizuma, Fukuda, Aoki, Hiramaru, Takahama, and Iwase. It was lovely to revisit them all in Ch175. One of the many reasons it felt like we were reaching the end.

With BLEACH, Bakuman was my most blogged topic and favourite manga. I am so sad to see it end but hopefully it will get a superb end.

All Great Things Must Come To a Great End.

Ashirogi Muto till the end, Banzai!!

Your favourite Bakuman moment??

xoxo

In fact it looks like it ended with Ch.176, perfectly titled "Dreams and Reality" which was also the title of the very first chapter.

I had in mind that I would like to see them get married, but having now read the last chapter, it was really the best ending. I definitely obtained the closure I sought. 

It focused on Azuki and Mashiro and the great proposal, seeing as we bid our other characters goodbye in the previous chapter. 

This 10 year journey started with an overexcited Takagi.

And pushed through with an innocent promise.

Although it took them 10 years and many obstacles got in the way, they never quit, and pushed through to a very happy ending.

Thank you Ohba-sensei and Obata-sensei for a lovely end to an amazing story. 

Goodbye Bakuman.

xoxo

Soul Society Invasion! ~BLEACH Ch489~

At the start of this arc there were a few mysteries thrown at us.

One was the Vandenreich and what/who they were. This was settled in the last chapter.

Another, which has yet to be explained, is what this was:

Lastly, there was the disappearing villagers from soul society:

This one was kindly explained to us this chapter. I must say, I should have realized. At the start what confused me was that although Quincies could eradicate Hollows souls and all, could they do the same to souls in SS? I mentioned this back on March 1st:

NOW the question is whether they can eradicate Shinigami as they do Hollows, ie. soul and all, as the chapter continues and takes us to Soul Society where the 11th squad are investigating vanishing souls in Rukongai's 64th District. The footprints give evidence that it was not the work of Hollow, but people of the village.  ~I did not understand the pairs of a barefoot and a sandal. I get it shows they weren't Hollow, but why of the same village?~


But of course the Quincies are not the only ones who do evil for their vision of justice.

489. March of the Starcross

Vice Captain, Kira, takes the opportunity to question the collected Vice Captains about the vanishing souls, as they await their Captains in the meeting.

He asks whether anyone has investigated outside the 50th District, to which Yachiru pipes up to say that Yumichika and Ikkaku were sent to the 64th District. She explains their findings, and explains the footprints, upon Kira questioning, as "barefoot footprints and sandal footprints".

What originally confused the hell out of me was that in Ch482 it was described as, "pairs of a barefoot and a sandal", as if each person only wore one sandal. Yumichika then deduces it was from people of the "same village". Now, I can only brush off the last two statements as lost in translation, otherwise it wouldn't make sense, as we find out in this chapter, the somewhat obvious, answer to the disappearing souls:

"To correct the balance of souls" after the Quincies killing Hollows, Captain Mayuri ordered the killing of 28,000 Rukongai villagers. 

The Commander, a centre in this arc it seems, questions Mayuri as to why he hasn't asked for permission, stating that he would have obtained it considering the gravity of the situation. 

SS have proven to me in more instances than a dozen, e.g. the Fullbring arc, that they are truly heartless. Although I do understand this instance is necessary.

Mayuri explains that the situation could've got worse. The commander try to shove blame onto the Research and Development Institute, which Mayuri rejects: "The one who invited all this was you, Commander, 1000 years ago. You failed to kill that man!" 

 'That man' refers to the Empire King, and if I weren't uneasy before, I AM now. Does this mean, Empire King > Commander??

Also, 1000 years comes as a bit of a shock, as I thought Quincies were eradicated approximately 200 years ago. Did it take 800 years??

This Empire King, by the way, has decided to invade SS, now rather than in 5days, ~maybe 4 by now~, due to the fact that it had reached his ears that a foolish-somehow-always-doing-things-like-this Ichigo is in HM and currently preoccupied with Kirge of the Hunting group. 

 

What these Vandenreich have made incredibly clear to this point is that Ichigo serves as a major trump card for SS.  They seriously want him out of the picture.

The only factor we know, so far, that Ichigo has going for him, is that his Bankai cannot be absorbed/rendered useless by their medallions, as Ivan tried and failed.

Anywho, our dear protagonist is fighting Kirge, who has confirmed to Ichigo that they are in fact Quincy, and that they know of Ichigo, who is apparently classed as a 'special war weapon'. With or against them, I don't know. Translations of the statement varied. 

All in all, 

and he's bringing with him the Stern Ritter, aka Star Knights, aka his equivalent of the Espada. 

DONE!

The plot thickens, and faster and faster we roll into invasions and battles.

Will Soul Society make it? Are they basically the lesser of two evils? Will previous mysteries be solved? Where is Ishida?!  

Let me know what you think!

xoxo

TRAITOR! ~Noblesse CH232~

No long thing, because most of it is battle...

SLOWLY, but surely, we are getting more plot from NOBLESSE, and explanations.


What we learnt about the 12th Elder:

• He REALLY doesn't want the other Elders to know of his movements.
• He's being used as Dr.Crombell's, also an Elder, pawn. Thanks to Yuri.
• He's incredibly strong, from what we've seen he can fight on par with Frankenstein. 

• His true form is a monster/bat thing. 
• Frankenstein deduces that after the Elder modified his body, he entered a contract with Roctis, one of the traitor clan leader who also used Rai as a scapegoat.
• This means that Roctis is hiding among the Union.

What we already knew about Frankenstein:

• He's sick. 
• Yonsu think he's the Devil.
• He really is sick.
• His loyalty to Rai is intense. He seriously wants revenge on the traitor clans. 

Done!

Let me know what you think?! Could the rest of the Traitor Clan leaders be hiding among the Union too? So in the end this is a battle between the Current leaders with the Lord and the previous traitors with the union?




xoxo

Sporty Bishounen and Musical Bromance

I am allowed to fangirl. That, originally, was the whole point of this blog.

SO, for a while my Spring 2012 was DRAGGING, considering Sakamichi no Apollon and Ginga e Kickoff! were only out/subbed this week and I'm still missing Hyou-ka and Gokujyo from my 'definite' list back on March 28th blog post.

The only thing I had going for me was Kuroko no Basuke, and I was quite happy with it.

I love shounen sport for a few reasons:

• The plot/drama/competitiveness the comes with a sport anime.
• The excitement.
• The Bishounen. 

Yes. What of it? Like POT didn't milk out the last reason. 

Kuroko no Basuke

Once upon a time, the basketball team of Teikou Middle School rose to distinction by demolishing all competition. The regulars of this team became known as the "Generation of Miracles". After graduating from middle school, these five stars went to different high schools with top basketball teams. However, a fact few know is that there was another player of the "Generation of Miracles", the phantom sixth player. This mysterious player is now a freshman at Seirin High, a new school with a powerful, if little-known, team. Now, Tetsuya Kuroko, the sixth member of the "Generation of Miracles", and Kagami, a naturally talented player who spent most of middle school in America, are aiming to bring Seirin to the top of Japan, taking on Kuroko's old teammates one by one. ~Wikipedia~

Genres: Comedy, School Life, Sport, Shounen, Drama, Full of Bishounen

Can't really say more than that...pretty much explains it. 

Its not straight basketball of course. Since when did anime sport just depict the sport?! Obviously they have powers. 

With the first 3 episodes, we sort of know 2/6 of the Generation of Miracles "powers", but its not going to go that fast.

Its exciting where it needs to be, hilarious in other parts, and has great animation!

Anyway, meet Kuroko and Kagami! Kuroko promises to be the "shadow" to Kagami's "light" to be Japan's No.1. Meaning, 'I will be your support'.

Meet our Captain ~and my love at first introduction~ Hyuuga. Our awesome Coach, Aida Rika. And the Team!

VERY excited for this series. It promises to be a very upbeat anime with all the elements of a Sport anime!




Now, on to a series I specifically put into my 'definite' watch list because its synopsis screamed BROMANCE. Because the only thing GREATER then random bishounen, is Bromance between Bishounen.

Yes. What of it? Like No.6 didn't milk that out. 

I am not talking about yaoi, so take a chill pill. 

Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids On The Slope)

Because of his father's job situation, freshman high school student Kaoru Nishimi moves by himself from Yokosuka to Kyushu to live with relatives. Until then, Kaoru was an honor roll student who tended to keep to himself, but meeting notorious bad boy Sentaro Kawabuchi starts to change him. Through his devil-may-care classmate, Kaoru learns the attractions of jazz and finds the first person he can call a “friend”. He also discovers how much fun it is to play music with a pal.

Other characters include Sentaro's kind childhood chum, Ritsuko, who is the daughter of a record shop owner; the mysterious upperclassman, Yurika; and Brother Jun, the much-admired leader among their peers. Set against the backdrop of a seaside town with a scent of American culture, this series is a drama about young people coming into their own, crossing each other's paths, and finding friendship, love, and music!

I believe it was meant to be set in the 60s, too.

Genres: Drama, Historical, Music, Slice of Life, Romance

Apparently, it won the 57th Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga.

Okay, before I get into what I want to. Please don’t think that the only thing this series has to offer is the bromance which may or may not even be there.

The art, the animation, the mellow yet intense feeling, the BEAUTY of this anime cannot be described in words. The movements/animation during the fight scene and the drumming scene had me struck! The rain scene too!

The colouring and art gives such a realistic feel. I thought it was simply amazing, and by far one of the best I’ve seen.

Some idiots are able to clearly see the difference in animation to other anime but for some reason declared it

Just fools.

SO, did I get what I was wishing for??

Hmmm, this was the meeting of our two protagonists:

BOOM! Let the BROMANCE begin!

I was so happy when they chilled in the rain. Sentaro is so easy going he makes me laugh; and it feels like he ca n open a bigger world for our lonely Kaoru. No, it feels like they can both open each other a wider world.

So far, I am most excited for the series in my Spring 2012 collection.



Watch them! Check it out! And let me know what you think?!


xoxo




Okay so what do these two lovely boys have in common?





I love them. They both feature in this article.


Better yet, what do all these boys have in common?

Top left to right: Nezumi from No.6, Shiraishi from POT

Bottom left to right: Arata from Chihayafuru, Sorinozuka from InuxBoku SS, Hyuuga from Kuroko no Basuke.

Far right: Sentaro from Kids on the Slope.

An accent?


Not quite.


In fact all these lovely bishounen, who hold a special place in my heart, share a Seiyuu (Voice Actor). Meet Yoshimasa Hosoya! My new favourite seiyuu!  Ganbatte, Hosoya-sensei!


Fun times!


xoxo

Ishida's Betrayal? Quincy Bankai? ~BLEACH Update Ch486-488~

I had someone come across my blog by Googling: "bleach will ishida betray for empire king". 
SHOCK!
Have people already jumped on that boat? Just because he is Quincy? It was Ishida and his grandfather who did not believe the Quincy way of doing things was right from the start and wished for peace between the Shinigami and Quincy. And these Quincies are the epitome of deranged! You really think Ishida will battle against Ichigo and friends?!

Having said that, if there wasn't any concern over where he should stand or where his Quincy Pride will take him, this would be a WASTE of a plot line. So by all means expect a little anxiety concerning the Ishida(s). Father and son.

Personally I see Ishida pulling a 'Ichimaru Gin/Severus Snape' on us. A spy so deep you don't know whose side he's on until his...you know what.

Yeah....I predict Ishida's death.

THAT aside, we should we go in order. I'm doing it a bit fast though, since not a lot happened.

CH.486 The Crimson Cremation

Following Nel Tu's appearance, Pesche too falls from the sky. Like always these lot provide some massive comic relief.
Unfortunately, the third(+4th)  in their trio, Dondochakka(+Bawabawa) is missing as he's been kidnapped, de ariusu.

NO THOUGHT occurs as they decide to infiltrate Hueco Mundo and save Dondochakka. Thoughts like 'who is our enemy, exactly?' 


Ishida, however, bails out. Although he doesn't voice why, Ichigo states that its obvious because of the QuincyxHollow relationship.

~He looks so troubled.~

POOF! Urahara appears and whisks them away to HM, like it was no big deal. It really made me wonder how fast this final arc was going to be. ~Hopefully longer then the Fullbring arc.~

However, the main shocks in this chapter was Byakuya's talk with Renji about the deceased Vice-Captain Sasakibe, at the funeral.

His true strength was only just spelt out to us, so I feel his loss much greater now, "...he was able to master his Bankai before Kyouraku and Ukitake"


"Such a man, used his Bankai in a fight for the first time, and died." 

Too shocking.


Back with the Empire King, some random follower states the Ivan used his medallion in battle but was unable to capture Ichigo's Bankai.

Which brings us to: they all have medallions that can be used once to suck in a Shinigami's Bankai. Thieves. 

Just like Ichigo was coerced to reveal his Bankai in his fight with Ivan, and Ivan tried to absorb it, Sasakibe's Bankai was probably absorbed. That's why these Vandenreich can Bankai although only Quincy. 

CH.487 Breathe But Blind

In Hueco Mundo. Coloured first pages.

Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Urahara, Pesche, and Nel infiltrate.

I find it very shocking that Urahara is with them. Makes me feel like there will be many stronger than him, which is hard for me to accept and take in. The way this is going, I can't see how SS could win. 

Hollows and Arrancars are dead. Others are led away by a group of Vandenreich.

Ichigo and co, charge to save those being led away. We also get some comedy and cuteness form Pesche and Nel.

We meet the 'Hunting Captain Supervisor' Kirge Opie, who is also a sicko. A downright sicko, who likes to see Arrancar kill each other, or kills them himself.

A couple of cloaked figures, who should be the Arrancar+Hollows being led away, are whispering, staging a plan.


WHO? WHO?


Kirge makes to attack the two whispering figures but they dodge, and attack with Zanpaktous.


Who? Who?


Its Loly and Menolly! Who still introduce themselves as Aizen's aide.

They're made very short work of. 

I can't lie, I was somewhat disappointed. More and more, these people just seem insanely strong. 

He does not kill them however, and orders their capture. As two of his underlings go to capture them, they are DECAPITATED by a flying ring. As it files to Kirge, he catches it with his bare hand. 

WHO? WHO?

I am seriously enjoying the fact that those who were once our enemies are now allies. To begin with, as enemies I liked them too much. During Ichigo's battles with Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, my loyalty was on some serious doubt. 

CH.488 Bond Behind Blast

Nel explains to Ichigo who the Tres Bestia are, and says that they are so powerful that now that they are here, the Hunting group will be wiped out in minutes.

Which I understand considering they caused us a LOT of trouble in the Arrancar arc, so much so that the Commander himself had to step in. 

Also, Nels got Ichigo's back. 

The three beasts do in fact last quite a bit, and manage to kill a few underlings; so much so that one runs to the Captain and says that they should retreat for now. 

He was killed for that idiocy.

The Captain, Kirge, then invites the beasts to join the army, and work for the Empire King.

They decline. 

A massive explosion later, Ichigo arrives to the scene of the Beasts defeated. 

So now we have Ichigo's next opponent. How will he fare? 

OVER at SS, the Captains are having a meeting and catching up on what we already know.

He's a genius!

While Mayuri, goes on to explain that they, according to Sasakibe, can block Bankai/render it useless.

...I was under the impression he said they CAN Bankai. But yet again we figured and know this already. 

So the Commander tells him to shut up and tell him just one thing.

But Mayuri doesn't know yet. I also think he pissed himself a bit.

Ichigo and Co do. They're already there.

The Commander orders all Captains to prepare for battle immediately. The will not be the ones caught by surprise nor wait to be attacked in 5 days. "We will not let them have the first move again!"

DONE!

The Commander is way pissed. As he should be. According to Byakuya, "Fledglings like us cannot possibly understand the pain the Commander is experiencing now."

I don't know how SS will fare, but at least we know some things for sure now.

We know they are Quincy. We know that Bankai's are useless against them. A storyline Tite uses so as not to show us all the Captain Bankai's before the end of the series.

We know Ishida has a big decision ahead of him. We know they are collecting Arrancars as pawns. And we know they are FREAKY strong.

Personally, I am awaiting Grimmjows appearance. Urahara's battle. And unleashing Aizen from prison so that he joins them against the Vandenreich.

Although that last one is a bit of a stretch, it would still be f-ing awesome! ^^

Let me know what you think!


xoxo