User blog:CathalOHara/Cathal's Bleach Recap Episode 349 & Chapter 474

Alright, let's make this quick in a bit of a hurry this week:

Anime
Episode 349: Next Target, The Devil's Hand Aims at Orihime!

(Mr. Pork is a boss, don't you forget it)

Fun episode this week but not the best one. Not that it wasn't bad by any means either just didn't have as much to offer compared to the previous weeks. Was never too fond of Moe. While I did enjoy his scene over looking at Orihime's pretty face that's pretty much the only scene I liked him in. This was pretty much the best moment he ever had for me in the manga also. And I was expecting it to be the same in the anime if it wasn't for that Xcution Diary it would of been the same here also. Top class that was.

Ichigo's fight against Mr. Pork (I'm sorry for backtracking) was decent, was never all that great a fight in the first place though so no biggie.

Riruka's sneeze was the highlight of the episode. Was brilliant.

Pros
 * Riruka's sneeze
 * Moe getting attacked by Orihime's face.
 * Xcution Diary!
 * Emm... Mr. Pork!

Cons
 * Fullbring in motion was slightly dissappointing, maybe I'm just judging it too early though.

Give the episode a 9 out of 10.

Manga time!

Manga
Chapter 474: beLIEve

(One of the best chapter names this year, probably best overall, but that's irrelevent)

Okay, I could go on, and on, AND ON about how annoying the community has been about this chapter (not the Bleach wiki in general, I mean as a whole, like Bleach Asylum or Youtube.)

Y'see, ever since this little chapter everyone is going berserk over the fact that Ukitake is the next Aizen or the fact Kubo is trolling us with the fact that Ukitake's new Lieutenant could be a new antagonist. S'cuse my minor French, but these are stupid crackpot theories and they really annoy me. I mean, sure Ichigo had a tracking device built in that badge if you would of thought about it, you may have actually found out eventually! Wasn't really the most surprising revelation ever you know! Like I've said before, the Gotei 13 didn't really betray Ichigo at all. It's pretty much the equivalent of a Captain taking care of their Lieutenant. They couldn't let a Substitute Shinigami have 100% freedom over their actions. After all, they're only Substitutes. Even if it's Ichigo, he must abide the﻿ Soul Society's laws. And I even think Ichigo will realize this. He's still young and arrogant no matter what level of strength he's at. Wouldn't it make more sense to actually have someone supervise him of all people out? He has really dangerous power and it would make more sense for the Soul Society to keep a better eye on him more than anyone else.

I bet even Ichigo will realize this, sure he looks all angry right now going into his Bankai n'all but he is not an idiot. Sure he may get a little pissed (like I said, watch the French) but other then that we know he can get though this.

Also, Kugo's true self (to me) seems to be nothing more than a homicidal idiot and he's intentionally trying to get Ichigo angry to lose his focus. A thing that many of Ichigo's enemies have tried doing to him whether it's canon or not.

But in the end I enjoyed the chapter, even though I was very annoyed by the revelation.

Pros
 * Loved the colorsheet with Rukia this week.
 * Liked the whole buildup with Isshin and Urahara in the opening.
 * Ichigo yelling Bankai was something I've wanted to happen forever.

Cons
 * Kugo, you became one of my favorite Bleach characters until you returned to your true self! Find a way to save Tsukishima and get him to stab you again please!
 * The revelation was a dissappointing one... as you can tell by my rant.

Chapter gets an 8 out of 10. Next week will likely be fantastic though.