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Saturday evening I realized that as it was now June, the new volume of Bleach would be available at the local doom of independent booksellers. Those of you who know me well will not be surprised to hear that this pretty much ended the possibility that I would get anything useful done the rest of the weekend--I'm the type of person who likes to re-read things.

Before I disappear behind an lj-cut, I have two non-spoilery observations. The first is, I love the phrase 'hell butterfly' and am currently looking for justifications to give myself the Hell Butterfly trait. Anyone with ideas should feel free to post them here.

The second is that this volume confirmed my decision to not lobby my best friend Karin to read this series. Karin and I have widely overlapping tastes in many, many areas but I really don't think she'd stand for an extended fight scene where entire blocks of buildings collapse as a result of two guys hitting each other with swords. I, on the other hand, eat that kind of stuff up with a spoon. So shallow I am....

This volume was mostly taken up with Ichigo's battle with Kenpachi, and I liked it quite a bit. Not only was the battle satisfying dramatic, it raised (in my mind, anyway) some big questions about how Soul Reapers interact with their zanpaku-to. More on that, eventually. I'm going to ramble a little, because one of my goals here is to try to connect some of the random thoughts that keep ricocheting through my mind.



When we first see Ichigo in this volume he's desperately trying to run away from Kenpachi, and I was charmed by this lapse into impotent terror. I mean, Ichigo's a fifteen-year-old substitute Soul Reaper with two months of experience at war with most of the Soul Society--if he never doubted himself he'd be really, really tiresome. I'm equally charmed by the fact that Ichigo doesn't pull himself together all by himself; he uses Zangetsu's earlier words to build calm and focus, and then seals the deal with the realization that many people--including and especially Chad, who is now in serious trouble--are depending on him. Ichigo's relationships with his friends are mutual in nature: he protects and strengthens them, and they do the same for him. This lends a kind of irony to Yachiru's later statement that Kenpachi was the real victor, because "it was two against one!". She has no way of knowing that when he fights Ichigo, Kenpachi will always be outnumbered.



About Kenpachi: Be advised that when I use the phrase 'lust for battle' in describing him, 'lust' is not a metaphor. His reactions to his battle with Ichigo are truly disturbing if you think about them too much. (Or maybe I should say, at all.) Still, there's a certain integrity about him that I can appreciate: Kenpachi is only interested in dishing out pain to those who can dish it back to him. (Unlike, say, Gin Ichimaru, who is not on my List Of People Who I'd Feel Safe Trapped In An Elevator With.) Also, do Kenachi and Yachiru ever have sparring matches? I think I'd pay money to see that...



To my delight Zangetsu (the person) showed up, as cryptic and helpful as ever. I am rapidly becoming obsessed with him because I cannot figure out the exact nature of the relationship between him and Ichigo. The blade Zangetsu is said to be a manifestation of Ichigo's spiritual power, but the person (personification?) Zangetsu behaves as if he were an independent entity who is somehow dwelling in Ichigo's inner world. Is this an issue of world building, me not having all the data, Bleachworld's own version of quantum duality, or a symptom of Ichigo being insane?

Ichigo being insane is a real possibility, imho. Back in volume 8 I had been convinced that Ichigo didn't turn into a Soul Reaper instead of a Hollow, he turned into a Soul Reaper *and* a Hollow--call me crazy, but I can't imagine this does your mental state any good. And in fact, Ichigo's Hollow self (...those who have passed to Death's other kingdom remember us only as the hollow men...) also acts like an autonomous being.

In the meantime, Hollow Ichigo (is there some kind of accepted abbreviation for this?) and Zangetsu seem to be on pretty good terms with each other, with the two of them cooperating in aiding Ichigo during his fight. Hollow Ichigo's motives for this seems to be that he wants Ichigo to survive and grow fatter stronger so that he can put him in the stew pot acquire his strength, and I'm at a loss as to why Zangetsu thinks going along with this is a good idea.

I do, however, admire Zangetsu's ability to lie and tell the truth at the same time: when he gives H-I (I'm making up my own abbreviation for now) the blade Zangetsu and tells Ichigo that "If you want me back you'll have to take me from yourself. This time your enemy is you!"--which makes it look as if he has to defeat H-I to get the blade back, but that's not how it plays out--Ichigo's enemy is literally himself and his mistaken notion of the nature of his relationship with Zangetsu. Also, I think it's worth noting that this may be the first time Ichigo wins a fight by thinking. I don't expect this will happen often.

One last Zangetsu thought: How much does he know about Ichigo? This question was provoked by Ichigo's response to Zangetsu's question, "Ichigo, can you trust me?" Ichigo's response is, "Of course. All of my strength is yours. Use it however you want. And lend me your strength." What makes this so interesting to me is that this is essentially the same promise that Ichigo made in the past to Chad: "I'll fight for you, and you'll fight for me. If there's something you want to protect with your life, I'll protect it with my life." Does Zangetsu realize that he's being given the same loyalty that Ichigo has promised his best friend?


Finally, about the buildings falling down. I probably could have done without the two-page spread of falling buildings and dust clouds etc. But the page that followed it was so worth it, with the robes of the two men making a compact triangle in the center, Kenpachi's scabbard on the right being balanced by his sword--which is sticking through Ichigo--on the left. My heart was in my throat. (Yes, I know he's going to live and succeed in the end. But how much trauma is he going to endure getting there? That's the good part.)

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