User blog:Caesarea37/Chapter 557: "I Already Threw Away My Life" Review

Hello again everyone, I'm back with only my second review on this site, following last week's epic chapter. This chapter however, is infinitely more epic.

While reading, give "Lucifers Dance (Part A_Opus1)" by Shiro Sagisu, from the Hell Chapter soundtrack, a listen.

We start with explosions and what looks to be the last of Dangai Joue's armour being shed, setting the scene for some fantastic action. Bambietta is stunned by the sight before her as Komamura's upgraded Bankai launches its attack. Bambietta shoots away from the rubble and expresses her disbelief at the fact that there is no dog beneath the armour to match the wielder of the zanpakutou. She wonders if it is beneath the grim visage of Dangai Joue and launches her attack towards it. Dangai Joue blocks the attack with its hand, shocking Bambietta. Dangai Joue's hand is shown to have crumbled and promptly reconstitutes itself, seemingly nullifying Bambietta's assault.

She proceeds to ask how this recovery works, and Komamura explains that "Kokujou Tengen Myouou is an armour Bankai with its own life", but in its new form it abandons its armour, its 'life', and becomes only reiatsu, pure power. He declares that Bambietta cannot defeat it with her techniques as Dangai Joue attacks again. Bambietta causes explosions beneath its hand and escapes to the sky, saying that she doesn't understand what Komamura is saying. She thinks that his Bankai is more vulnerable than ever if it is only reiatsu, as anything her own reiatsu gets into becomes a bomb. She promptly launches another attack which Dangai Joue again blocks with its hand/arm.

Komamura asks her if she understands that the worst thing about a bomb is that it destroys something which is alive. So if something is not alive, a bomb is far less effective, maybe even useless. He states that Kokujou Tengen Myouou's armour is its life and that Dangai Joue is its form once it has shed that life, and we cut to two panels of Komamura's foxy old man looking at the heart laid before him. Bambietta once again asks what Komamura is talking about, saying she knows that his Bankai is connected to him, having taken possession of it until it was returned in the recent chapters, so even if the Bankai doesn't fear death or destruction, the wielder still does.

As she attacks and an explosion is seen from Komamura's own chest, she looks on in shock and quite possibly fear as a gaping hole is revealed in Komamura's chest where his heart used to be. As he explains that his body is now a husk, nothing but a tool to be used to defeat the Wandenreich. And as the epic stretch of music kicked in with great dramatic timing, he explains that the human transformation technique granted him an immortal (Yes, IMMORTAL) body in exchange for his physical heart. In a frame that caused tremors around the fanbase and annihilated any preconceived power levels, Komamura declares: "So long as I am a human, I will never die".

Yup. This is really happening. And I love it.

Reeling in shock and fear, Bambietta blasts off but Dangai Joue leaps after her, dwarfing her in its menacing shadow. Bambietta desperately asks what the point is in Komamura fighting if he has already lost the life he should be fighting to protect. Komamura responds by saying that he has put his life at stake because Yamamoto did so, anything else would dishonor his mentor. In one of the best final pages I've seen in some time, Komamura says that he already left his life behind as Dangai Joue slashes through Bambietta in a huge flash.

Bask in this glory, folks. Knowing Kubo, it's either going to be tipped completely on its head next week, or we're genuinely seeing the tide of battle turn.

Thanks for reading, I hope I've been useful. Bring on next week!