Song to listen to while reading this chapter: "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson
Now this...THIS is a chapter I can get behind.
So we start off with Ichibē hitting the floor in several pieces as Yhwach points out how he was right about Ichibē dying in three steps. Way to bring it home, Yhwach. Oh, and the other Royal Guard are also down now (Hikifune's somehow back in her slim form, no less) and we didn't see how it happened. Great. That was a fight I actually wanted to see, but I suppose it at least proves the elites will need something special to go down. But of course, with them out of the way, it's time for the Soul King to get whupped. Stay tuned, folks.
Next, Ichigo and his friends finally arrive at the palace, right on time, and see Ichibē's head just kinda lying there. While Orihime's ready to trespass into God's territory again, turns out someone can just call his name and he'll be right as rain, which is both hilarious and not at odds with the rest of his powers, so I can roll with it. Ichibē now wants Ichigo and his friends to save the Soul King because blah blah lynchpin of the worlds blah blah, and the group heads off to save the day with their Megazords in tow.
But all may be lost, because the Soul King's been found and stabbed by Yhwach, who bids him farewell as...his son.
Oh.
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Okay, I'm better now.
No, wait, hold on.
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO000OOOOOOOD
Okay, I'm done.
So overall, decent chapter, much better than last week's (although I think that's applicable to every other chapter of the series). I wish we could have seen the rest of the Royal Guard get taken down on-screen, but I suppose we'll be seeing the elites fighting the newly-arrived Ichigo League, so I'm sorta okay with that. I'm glad Ichibē's not dead yet, since it was incredibly difficult to even damage him in the first place (I still hold on to the theory that his organs are in his beard and the boxy is but a shell). The BIG thing, however, is that YHWACH IS THE SOUL KING'S SON. Many people predicted something like this, Lemurs in particular, but I STILL didn't see it coming, and good god does it explain a lot - the powers, the strength, the lifespan, everything. Of course, we'll have to wait until next year to see if the king survives a sword to the chest, but if he's anything like what Sal's been predicting (a dangerous beast locked up to protect everything else), he should tank it pretty easily.
Hope y'all had a good Christmas.
Oh, and don't worry: I know exactly who's gonna be able to overcome The Almighty and defeat Yhwach once and for all...
