Yay, we're back in Soul Society for the first time in like 20 chapters.
So Ichigo is now back at the Soul King's Palace because Oetsu put a time limit on his foray back to the Human World. I'll admit, his assistant randomly and literally popping out behind Ichigo amused me. Now that he's back, he's apparently gained the respect of the Asauchi, for they're bowing down to him, and has "chosen" one, which means Oetsu will reforge his Zanpakutō. Why the Asauchi took the shape of an oddly Hollowfied Ichigo will likely become important later on, so keep it in mind.
And now we're back at SS. I'm glad Kubo has actually dealt with the Bankai-stealing thing properly for its victims. Instead of receiving a Zenkai and achieving some sort of super-Bankai or whatnot, they fully acknowledge they're not getting it back. Hitsugaya is training to re-learn swordsmanship, and Kensei is trying to get Hisagi to learn/use Bankai - I'm not sure if he means he already has one or has to gain his - which shows us two things: 1. Mashiro is in the Gotei 13 as a "super"-lieutenant, which I believe makes all the Visored accounted for, and 2. Hisagi will likely be thje lieutenant who gets Bankai, which I can't wait to see since he's one of my favorite characters. Lastly, Komamura apparently has some sort of master, who is...a giant teddy bear. Okay, fine, just a bear, but that's what I'll be calling him until we learn his name. This guy is MASSIVE, and by the looks of his response to Komamura's return, he's none too happy about it. Guess we'll have to wait and see what that's all about.
Overall, pretty good chapter. Kubo dealt with a fairly large problem in a realistic, surprisingly non-shōnen way, and set up quite a few more questions in the process. Just glad there's no super-Bankai, I really am.