User blog comment:Xilinoc/Ch. 581 - THE HERO 2/@comment-1268838-20140521225553

I think we all kind of figured that it would be Ichigo, but wanted it to be someone else because we felt it was "too early." Well, now I'm interested in seeing how Kubo proceeds. Many seemed to think that his arrival would mark the start of the endgame, so we'll just have to see.

It was good to see what was going on with some of the other characters. Seeing the Soldat corner Marechiyo and then get blasted by Momo kind of makes me wish that we had seen more of the foot soldiers. It's nice to see villainous cannon fodder get put down for once. Marechiyo continues to grow on me as a character, surprisingly enough, and we saw some new character dynamics in this chapter. That's always welcome. The "notable fighting powers" or whatnot seems to be more relevant than ever; whether people like it or not, Kenpachi is apparently just that powerful. This also seems to further cement the notion that Gremmy was indeed the strongest Sternritter. Anyway, I somehow doubt that we will see much of Bazz-B vs. Shinji, but I hope we do. Shinji really doesn't need to get screwed over yet again.

And of course, just like the last time, Ichigo bursts out of the sky, grabbing the attention of everyone in Wandenreich. Funnily enough, his dramatic entrance is cut short by his less-than-graceful landing. But I love how Kubo immediately turned the comedic moment into a casual display of Ichigo's sheer speed. It might not be intentional, but things seem to end with a callback to when Kenpachi saved Ichigo's hide in Hueco Mundo.

Overall, I really liked this chapter. Kubo has a habit of drawing things out for the sake of dramatic flair, but I think he did it particularly well this time around. Ichigo seems rather relaxed, which is a good sign. I suppose the question remains of whether he will take out Bambietta's posse. I honestly think they will stick around for a little longer; considering that they had to wait until Kenpachi was weakened to do anything, I sincerely hope they are smart enough not to screw around with Ichigo, who is not only in peak condition, but is also undoubtedly stronger than Kenpachi.