Hello again Bleach fans, its time to review a brand new episode of Bleach. (sigh) That is really my opinion on the episode. I had several problems with this week's episode and this filler arc is starting to falter. It's not that the episode was bad, there were some really good moments, but there were several things that I had a problem with.
First let's start with the bad, because I want all of you to feel happier near the end. I mentioned this last week, and I will say it again. Inaba is not really a menacing villain, in fact he is becoming a terrible villain! Inaba has become an expy of Aizen and doing it poorly. I hate to admit it, but Kariya was a better villain. Kariya had a sensible motivation (I mean trying to destroy the place that made you immortal, ostracized by society, and committed genocide on your people is a pretty good reason for revenge. Although at the end "All Kariya wanted was to die," was a load of BS, but you get my point). What is Inaba's motivation? At least with Kariya we had a slight idea of what was going on, but Inaba...what is his issue? He said he would use Nozomi to take control of both Soul Society and the world of the living, but why and for what purpose is he doing this? Is he power hungry? Is he seeking revenge? I can't get a read on this guy, and not in a good way. When he said Ichigo was an anomaly and that he should not exist and he was in his way, this was the only word going through my mind...(with a french accent) pardon? I mean...WHAT!!! What kind of explanation is that! So you are attempting to kill him because he is not "a pureblood?" Where the heck did that come from! So now for no apparent reason what so ever, Inaba is a racist and believes Ichigo's very existence is a boulder in his plans! THAT MAKES NO SENSE! I mean if you thought he was an abomination, WHY IN GOD'S NAME DID YOU INITIALLY VISIT HIS HOUSE AND POLITELY ASK FOR NOZOMI INSTEAD OF ATTEMPTING TO FORCIBLY TAKE NOZOMI AND TRY TO KILL HIM ON SPOT! So my main issues with the episode were of course that the fights are too short, the title of the episode basically gave the episode away, and overall logic.
Now after some much needed venting, here are some of the things I did like about the episode. First we found where Suì-Fēng and Byakuya's Regai were hiding, which a lot of people were wondering about. Komamura is apparently ok, and is getting treated with much needed screen time, I mean the wolf needs some love! Also, Yourichi apparently got out of the fight with Regai unscathed. However, my favorite part of the episode was the Twin Momo Regai fight with Tōshiro. The line that hit me the most was "are you going to try to kill me again?" I mean WOW, that was really below the belt (Well in Tōshiro's case below the sash)! I like the fact that the Regai are not just emotionless monsters, but carry many of the same emotions and feelings as their original counter-part. I also liked the line where Momo 1 and Momo 2, said that they wished they were the original Momo. The music selection was excellent in this episode. I am really appreciating the increasing use of tracks from the Hell Chapter OST. Not one piece of music felt out of place, and it synced really well with the animation. There is no omake for releases outside of Japan again, due to it being promotion material for the new Bleach Rock Musical. Here is a link to the omake for those who want to watch it [1].
Overall the episode had some good lines of dialogue and some intense moments, but it was not enough to save the episode.
Final Rundown[]
- Story 4/10
- Art/Animation 9/10
- Sound Effects 10/10
- Music 10/10
- Acting 8/10
- Omake 3/10
I give Bleach episode 326 a 7.3 out of 10. Remember to join me next Tuesday when I review Bleach episode 327, and join me on this Saturday when I review Bleach 209 dubbed. Until Next Time! --Lemursrule (talk) 01:42, June 15, 2011 (UTC)