Dammit, I was wrong again.
So Akon is actually alive, and I'm kinda glad. Seemed like someone who was just starting to gain relevance and got killed off too soon. Hopefully, he stays here. As for Mayuri, well, he's doing stuff in his bedroom with Nemu...which sounds reeeeeeally dirty now. As for what he's making, lord knows, but it's gonna be interesting.
We finally meet more of the Ōmaeda family, specifically Mareyo and a nerdy brother. For once, Marechiyo has actually displayed some kind of sadness, which is interesting, at Sui-Feng leaving without him. At least he's not just the boorish, cracker-eating fat guy anymore. ALso, Sui-Feng is doing one-handed push-ups on top of a cliff, so there's that.
And as it turns out, the manbearpig in the cave is 1. Komamura's great-grandfather, and 2. NOT a bear (unless Komamura's got some strange lineage). Apparently, Komamura wore that mask to hide his appearance because it shamed him, which disgusted his grandfather. I'm not entirely sure what "Orange" is referring to here, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were the family name, with Komamura taking a different last name to distance himself. We'll see, though. Also, he and his great-grandpa are ready to RUUUUMMMMBBBBLE
Back to Ichigo again. Nimaiya kicked him down a pit (apparently he's Spartan) and now we're at a giant sea. If any of you have played Darksiders 2, the ocean was used as part of a giant forge along with lava, and I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happened here. Nimaiya's statement about Ichigo leaving Zangetsu is intentionally ambiguous, but we'll see what he means likely next chapter.
Overall, another good chapter. Akon is alive, Mayuri is doing Mayuri things, the Ōmaeda family is expanded, we learned s bit more about Komamura's past (with me getting proved wrong in the process), and now we're starting to move towards the awaited reforging. Very nice.
Spoiler Policy[]
Okay, I know this is an odd place to put it, but since many people are reading these blogs now, I figure this is one of the ways I can communicate with everyone.
We have this thing called a spoiler Policy. One of the things you cannot do on this site is post information that has not yet been released, which extends to things like information from chapters, new anime episodes (though this doesn't really apply now), and - what's really irking me now - volume covers and names. This policy is designed to prevent people from posting false/unverified information, which means edits like this and this and this and this are completely unacceptable. It doesn't matter how much "proof" you have or how many "official sources" back you up - we ALWAYS wait until the volume actually comes out, no exceptions. Just last month, we had an "official" cover for Volume 59...which turned out to be fanart. Seriously. Stop violating the policy. It's there for a reason. Sorry for interrupting the otherwise normal review with this, but it's gotten too ridiculous lately.