User blog:Xilinoc/Ch. 653 - The Theatre Suicide SCENE 7

Song to listen to while reading this chapter: "Do You Feel It?" by Chaos Chaos

Well, this came out WAY later than expected and I feel like ass being up this early, but whatevs. Let's get into it.

So we start off with a short flashback to Shunsui as a young rapscallion, spying on his brother getting one of Ms. Ise's hairpins because it inspires her to know that they are both holding something while she is suppressing Hollows. After getting headbutted for having one of the most hilarious "I caught you" expressions ever, Shunsui tells his bro that he seems to have mellowed out, but apparently this is just the kindness of Ms. Ise at work. Awww. Flash forward to the present (and a minute or so before the end of last week's chapter) where we get a unique (for the series) internal monologue from Nanao: she's legitimately frightened by her first attempt at fighting with a sword, on top of having been wounded by her last attack, and she's freaking out, man. Thankfully, Shunsui's there to reassure her that he'll always be there for support as Lille...creates a giant Reishi trumpet to attack with. Okay, now I've REALLY seen everything.

Nanao realizes that for a while now, Shunsui's been there to support her when she couldn't stand on her own (with a neat callback to the SS arc and Yamamoto's Reiatsu attack, no less) as Lille fires Trompete, resulting in much of the city below being erased. Okay, the out-of-nowhere appearance and name is one thing, but I can dig how absurdly powerful this thing is. However, Lille finds himself short a good chunk of his body in return as Nanao turns out to have reflected the portion of the blast that would have hit her, Shunsui, and the ground they were standing on with Shinken Hakkyōken. After recalling what Nanao said about the sword reflecting the power of a god in a surprisingly serene manner, Lille disintegrates into energy shards that fall everywhere.

Okay, it seems that a lot of people, at least on the subreddit (and definitely in the cesspool that is the kissmanga comments section) didn't like this chapter because it felt too short or anticlimactic, but I did. Nanao actually being realistically shaken by her first combat experience was an unexpected, but appreciated touch, and after some thought, even though it was kinda out-of-nowhere, Trompete does fit with Lille's angel theme - just think of all the times the Bible mentions angels with trumpets and stuff. Hopefully, that last spread means Lille is down for the count and we can get to Gerard, aka coolest Ritter.

Thoughts on this chapter? Shunsui makes some of the best faces Farewell Lille, we hardly knew ye and didn't want to anyway Nanao was helped by a man?! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE How Can Trumpets Be Real If Our Ears Aren't Real?