User blog:Xilinoc/Ch. 669 - 刃 II

Song to listen to while reading this chapter: "WAKE ME UP"]

Oh boy, did this chapter divide people even further.

So we start off with a brief recap of last chapter's last page as a giant wave of energy explodes outward, leveling buildings and shocking captains (eat your heart out, Tensa Zangetsu). The energy dissipates to reveal Kenpachi, who now has red skin, black markings over his eyes (is anyone else really reminded of Mayuri's zombies right now), and a sword that looks like Nozarashi, but with a longer handle and a shorter, edgier blade - kinda like a straight razor. Gerard, like Sal and Future, is disappointed that this is what Kenpachi's Bankai looks like and decides that using his damage-reflecting sword is suddenly not worth it, so he moves in to punch Kenpachi right in the nads....only for Kenpachi to bite his arm before ripping it off. Oh god, that's the kind of strength I never thought we'd see in this series.

After spitting out the arm, Kenpachi jumps in the air and did a somersault slashes right through Gerard's shield, forearm, and face, despite Gerard's claims that removing his arm is futile and such, before straight-up decking him in the chin. Gerard's sent flying back straight outta Wahrwelt by this one, and is so shocked by the level of power that Kenpachi now possesses that he grabs Hoffnung and goes Quincy: Vollständig, which is surprisingly just a pair of wings instead of the fancy stuff that Askin and Lille got. Guess that's a product of him being the Soul King's heart and not a real Quincy boy. But to Gerard's inquiry of whether Kenpachi wants a piece of him, Kenpachi merely replies "I want TWO of you!" and cuts Gerard in half, Ayon-style.

So yeah, this was definitely a divisive chapter, even more so than last week's if that's possible. On the one hand, pretty much everyone in the wiki Skype group is disappointed by the lack of a name, explanation regarding Yachiru, powers more complex than increased strength, etc., while pretty much everyone on the subreddit is ecstatic about how much power Kenpachi's demonstrating and how feral he is now. Personally, I'm kinda in the middle: I wasn't expecting anything really out there like Urahara or Shunsui's Bankai because of how simple Kenpachi keeps it (his Shikai is a war axe with no special abilities for crying out loud), so this chapter gave me what I was expecting in regards to that, though I like Kenpachi's new appearance and somehow even more savage demeanor. However, I really wanted an explanation of what, exactly, is up regarding Yachiru, as well as a name for this Bankai, both of which I can only hope we get next week instead. I mean, I guess this order of events is fine when read in a volume because there's no wait between chapters, but reading this as what we get for a week is a bit much, I think.

Thoughts on the chapter? Everything I ever wanted, everything I neeeeeeed~ DISAPPOINTED Did you guys really expect anything else? lol Gerard ain't even gonna die from this