User blog comment:Lia Schiffer/416: Deicide 18 (The End)/@comment-1713487-20100818222848

First up, the color spread-The Evolution of Ichigo. PERFECT. It actually let me reflect on original badass 'first time using Bankai against Byakuya' to his less than glorious phase 'Hollow Mask/inner-battle with Hollow Ichigo' and concluding with his new form after 'mastering' the Final Getsuga. It's my favorite Bleach color spread as of now.

...Aizen made his own Hogyoku? Really? Of all the insane plot twists that have peaked in this series, that is the one most contradictory of itself. An Aizen with his own Hogyoku who stole Urahara's Hogyoku to create a supreme Hogyoku? And people still say that Aizen's not being control by it. WELL, now all of the 'Hogyoku is the real antagonist' theory buffs just got a major piece of validation. After all, wouldn't it be even more twisted that Aizen's own creation essentially took him over and ate its twin to become omnipotent?

Last of all, Gin's supposed demise. Wow. Just in time for the 'hero' to pop in and scoop him up on his shoulder. While I sincerely hope that Gin hasn't     met the fate of Tosen (to die after redemption), if he goes out in one last dramatic apologetic scene with Rangiku it wouldn't be a surprise at this point. Bleach fans are now the most jaded of all manga fans when it comes to insane changes to the story. For most possible scenarios, the Bleach fanbase has at least one crackpot who's seen it coming and is ready for gloating. But to wit, I still hope that Gin pulls off a miraculous recovery to become the first victim to survive an attempted Aizen'ed.