Bleach: Episode 118
Rating: 9.7/10
Impressions:
The production quality is certainly climbing quickly, with that awesome transformation sequence that was otherwise nothing in the manga. This was a job much better done than the print version! Perhaps the only slipup I noticed was the way Yumichika was drawn (his chin was a tad too pointy), but otherwise, a splendid episode of Bleach one again! This episode features the surprising (for non-manga readers) revelation of Ikkaku’s bankai, which he actually doesn’t want to reveal to others, as well as Edorad’s true form. Another interesting battle set-up is the little scene where Grimmjaw knocks out Rukia in one blow, and is now looking for a fight with Ichigo.
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I wonder if Arrancar have a second release (aka Bankai), though at the moment, it looks like Ikkaku is going to do some serious pwning with his destructive new twin axe. The animation sequence of him showing it off is really sweet, and the deadly weapon looks amazing when animated. It’s a lot better than Edorad’s release and true form in my opinion. |
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Ikkaku has always been the brute force type, and now his massive Bankai proves it. His reiatsu is increased by so much that he is now able to cut through the arrancar’s steel skin! I don’t think Ikkaku had that much reiatsu to start with, so this is certainly an achievement for someone like him. And so now, there are two non-captains we know of who can go bankai (Renji and Ikkaku of course)! |
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In the manga and even now, I was very surprised when I heard Yumichika request for the preparation of Ikkaku’s funeral service. I think that’s a very bad line, and there’s no way someone like him would say that when a comrade is likely to die. Yumichika never showed any emotions at all, which is a huge disappointed. He needs to be a lot more co-operative. |
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It looks like next episode will focus on some backstory involving Ikkaku and the other 11th squad members, as well as finish off the fight between Ikkaku and Edorad (which is actually only one manga chapter!) That single manga chapter will make up for this week’s use of three manga chapters in an episode (same as last week). I hope the pace slows down…otherwise…more fillers!!! |
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Like I’ve said for Naruto, if Bleach ever gets to a point where there needs to be a massive 50+ episode count of fillers again, the series really should just stop and wait a year or two before resuming again. Or perhaps start a new season even. If not, the filler storyline better be damn good (which is highly unlikely, as no character or strength development is allowed). |
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And after that, another fight between Arrancar and Shinigami. It’s gonna be Toushiro, and I’m really looking forward to it (though not as much as Ichigo’s). A reason why I might not be extremely enthusiastic about Toushiro is that I am no fangirl, and also because we’ve seen him fight a few times before already (in the unnecessary fillers), so the grandness drops quite a bit. |
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I’ve seen shunpo moves many times, and not just in Bleach, but still, seeing it again in this high quality is still exciting to watch. I still regard Ichigo’s fight with Byakuya to be the best, though I’m hoping for that to change soon. However, perhaps it’s inevitable that the real battle won’t arrive until the end of this arc (which won’t be until a long time from now). |
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A friend of mine isn’t too excited about these battles as he doesn’t believe they will be too good. I expect him to be pleasantly surprised at the quality and accuracy of these fights (to the manga). It’s really hard to follow battles in manga, especially when you’re extremely sleep-deprived and longing for a good night’s sleep. Anime is completely different from that! |
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Preview:
Next episode – #119
The history of Ikkaku…and Kenpachi?
Popularity: 30% [?]
23 comments
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Just amazing! the quality was that of movie animation,I now have higher hopes for bleach.
!!!
I was amazed by this episode. I haven’t been this excited about a shounen series for the longest time! Seeing how Naruto’s been na-retarded even after the fillers…
Call me a girl for not understanding the essence of shounen fighting scene, but the part that impressed me the most was when Ikkaku just started fighting. You know, the part where they appear, then all of a sudden disappear, then reappear, cuz they’re just sooooooo fast. Seeing the white cloud/dust thingies made me feel all warm and happy inside =P
I didn’t like the too-many-lines on Ikkaku towards the end though. Where they there to indicate the amount of muscular mass he had obtained during the course of the battle? Well it made him look really hideous and scary. But he’s still awesome. Any guy who can pull off a bald look is freakin awesome.
btw, is it just me or did Rukia put on some weight?
What a awesome episode =D
I read the manga and i was waiting for this so much (sorry my bad english, i’m brazilian so… ^^’).
Ikkaku’s bankai, for me, is one of the best in the show. Can’t wait for the next episode.
You know…I lost my interest in Bleach animation as soon as that dumb vampire filler started but wow… those screenshots look amazing. I guess it finally got back on track!
Just a goof to correct: Ikkaku is not a captain, or vice-captain for that matter.
The fact he knows bankai as a 3rd seated officer is quite impressive on his part and on the part of the 11th squad/division (goes to show that they are indeed the strongest of the gotei 13).
ophive: i think the lines are supposed to be blood, dirt and bruises from the beating ikkaku took against edorad. i dunno, that’s just my guess.
And Rukia’s face does look chubbier than usual, now that you mentioned it. Probably just wasn’t drawn as well.
I think the anime > manga in this regard. I will admit that some of the fight scenes between shinigami and arrancar were kinda hard to follow in the manga since so much was going on. The anime did a great job depicting this battle and I can’t wait for future battles.
Don’t click if you don’t read the manga
Show Spoiler ▼
Omg this episode was soo good, finally theres something good…but it looks like they are going to delay the fight scene for another episode at least. Having not read the manga the bankai of baldie was a real surprise, what made it soo good was the way he released it there was just so much expression on his face lol. Thats how a real bankai should look like.
brian, that was a typo, I also said renji and he obviously isnt a captain either. hehe, im not senial just yet!
ohphive: i reckon rukia looks better now (and no i dont think she got any fatter lol)
finally we see what bleach the anime can do. this was why better than the manga. it also feels like the quality of the ss arc. but I think the part when Ikkaku did the bankai was more intense in the manga not because the quality or something only because it was the last page of the chapter and we had a whole week of suspense:). as I thought it would be when we returned to the manga plot bleach is the best fighting anime!!!. no bleach next week but lets hope every episode will be like this one.
the quality was way up this week and everything was just too awesome! although it wasnt a surprise, Ikkaku’s bankai is still just so cool!
I’ve always adored Ikkaku because his lucky dance is just that hot. He’s also surprisingly a very deep character, there’s a lot of potential for development.
Regarding Yumichika, I think I can understand why he does the thing he does. Think about, throughout the anime/manga he’s portrayed as some vain peacock with nary a strength in sight, kind of a tagalong to Ikkaku. A lot of people wonder why he’s even in the 11th squad.
What the anime/manga is trying to do is show that Yumichika is a worthy member of the 11th squad. You have to learn to let go of attachments in the face of battle, live on. He’s a very intelligent character underneath his “OMG!BEAUTY!” facade. And he DOES want to help Ikkaku, but he understands Ikkaku and knows that interfering would only violate the 11th Squad’s unspoken code as well as tarnish Ikkaku’s pride. The funeral line is him preparing for the future, he doesn’t know if Ikkaku would use his bankai. He understands his friend’s reluctance to use it.
It’s that kind of attachment that means so much to people in the 11th squad. I’m inclined to believe that if Ikkaku were the one watching and Yumichika the one fighting, we’d hear something like that except in more aggressive terms.
I’ve never liked the Grimmjow scene though. Rukia does NOT go down that easily. -frowns- Orihime’s the type to do that though, fall down easily… -is not a fan of the booby girl- Show Spoiler ▼
Mmmm, I wish we would see her bankai…I’m sure it’d be great, but my fave bankais so far are in this order:
1. Ikkaku
2. Byakuya
3. Hitsugaya
4. Ichigo (seen it way too many times)
No other Bankais other than that though…which leaves room for a lot of potential! =D
Vitiates: rukia might be pretty strong, but a surprise attack is a surprise attack. she might be strong enough to be a ranked shinigami, but im sure you know how strong grimmjaw is meant to be
Show Spoiler ▼
Vitiates: This is Grimmjow we’re talking about, I fully expected Rukia to go down as fast as it was portrayed. Show Spoiler ▼
OMG Sweet Rukia!! Noo!!!
Seriously, I do not even know whose Bankai I really like. I guess I like any Bankai that comes(except for Tousen’s). Maybe it’s because Tousen’s against Kenpachi reduced his performance in battle with his Bankai.
Anyway, Ikkaku’s Bankai is indeed SPLENDID! I rewatched it 4 times!! I think the first released of Arrancar can only be defeated by a Shinigami’s Bankai, isn’t it? Can we say that Arranca is stronger than Shinigami as a start?
I don’t like it when Rukia’s always not paying attention to herself than to keep saying “Run Ichigo!” or stuffs like that. See now? She’s hurt.. *Sob*
Kev, if you really want to know about how strong Shinigami are compared to arrancar:
Show Spoiler ▼
I think it says something that, even with such an awesome episode, my favorite part is the Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book at the end XD
Ruuuukiaa!!!!
What Bastardry is this?
Rukia fans will have revenge, and perhaps a Coke.
FINALLY, an episode that doesn’t suck. Ever since the whole Bounto filler arc started i’ve been disappointed in Bleach(granted a FEW of the fights were good) and I thought the anime was going to be a lost cause. I really don’t like them mentioning bounto at all…luckily they didn’t in this episode. Also there was finally a little more new music and a bit of old…i’d like to see them add more new music because hearing the same stuff over 100+ episodes is a little bit annoying.
Mostly though…the animation is where I have to give them props, big improvement there. It looks like they will be able to deliver when it comes to the big important fights in the series and that makes me happy. I’d say Naruto had a much more impressive come back from the fillers(improved animation, totally new soundtrack and much better choreography) than Bleach but finally there is an episode Bleach fans can say “Oh yeah? Check out episode 118 and say that again”.
Whoa whoa!! Hold it! I’m NOT going to click on that ’spoiler’!
Danny, I’m curious, while in the Bounto fillers you gave those that are considered good episodes only low 8s. Now I know what the 9’s are left for!
Really liked this episode. Kinda disagree of you opinion of Yumichika. It seemed to have been well established that the Zaraki Corps valued 1 on 1 combat more than any other squad and the series highlighted another incident in the soul-society arc where a shinigami(on a different squad) was lost because of it. That being the case, why would Yumichica interfere? I will agree the the “prepare for Ikkaku’s military funeral” line was out of place, but only because his lack of surprise insinuates that he already knew about Ikkaku’s bankai. Other than that, anything other than indifference seens like it would have been out of place.
Sorry for breaking the bad news but i just saw 119 and its not that good. If anyone was expecting a somewhat decent fight scene between Ikkaku and Kenpachi get ready to be disappointed.
The official torrent is up at – http://yhbt.mine.nu/t/
Also high quality stream at – http://www.idkwtf.com/anime/bleach/bleach-episode-119
Hey dammit,
Please tell the makers more than 40 of us are waiting for Ichigo-Rukia love scenes ok? we really want them to be together, you know. Coz’ we’re so disappointed about that Senna bitch in Bleach the movie.
Hey dude,
My bad, ok? I just love watching those guys!!! Can I ask you a favor? Please tell me when that happens to Ichigo and Rukia at monpix@hotmail.com. Ok? Pleeeeeeease?!?!?
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