User blog comment:Xilinoc/Ch. 614 - KILL THE KING/@comment-1268838-20150205223832

The past three chapters have come off as rather odd to me. This is an understandably crucial moment, but it really does seem that Kubo has stretched it out a bit. On the other hand, I do really appreciate that he is laying out the Gotei 13's game plan in detail, while still keeping things ambiguous. It's different from his usual tendency to shy away from revisiting "Meanwhile in the Hall of Justice...!" scenes right after the other.

I think the culprits are these scenes depicting Ichigo's friends heading to the Soul King, which almost seemed to occur in slow motion, up till now. Speaking of the chapter itself, it proved to be a real shocker; I am glad that Ichigo's bloodline remained relevant, and in such a damning way.