User blog comment:Godisme/End of Bond 3/@comment-893506-20110720190119

Yeah, I'm with you on this. The Shinigami are interesting characters, but Bleach isn't just about them, a sort of fan-interpretation I never quite understood. Yes, the Shinigami are major characters, but they do not make up the entire universe in Bleach.

I've actually been interested in this arc since it first started, and am still interested in it. The explanation of Fullbring answered the questions regarding Chad's powers and showed what else people with the same type of powers would be capable of.

And I've also said from day 1 that with Ichigo's loss of power, the game changed drastically. If Ichigo is without power and can't even see ghosts anymore, I don't know why people would expect the Shinigami to suddenly barge in. From what was both shown and explained in the manga, the Shinigami only get involved with conflicts that have something to do with the Soul Society (Hollows, the Quincy problem, Aizen), but in this arc, the Soul Society has nothing to do with this; it is purely about Ichigo trying to get his powers back, and Tsukishima, whose motives are still unknown. Throwing in the Shinigami right now (minus the one with Urahara and Isshin) wouldn't make any sense.

Tsukishima is clearly an antagonist, but we still don't understand what he's after, and we still are unclear what Isshin's and Urahara's motives are, something that I'm hoping to see soon. And regarding this chapter, I'm actually sad to see Kugo fall to Tsukishima, but am glad that finally Uryu will be taking action.