Another one for the folio.....

A sword stabbed Orihime, through the heart. Yet she doesn’t die. Story of Bleach so far, no one ever really dies in this supposed dog-eat-dog world. You could argue that for the story to get anywhere at this point, its main characters need to stay alive to show some semblance of development. But hasn’t this song been played before for Orihime? Given her ability to act as God, shouldn’t she be the ideal candidate to go? I suppose villains never learn.

YYEAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!

On the bright side, we managed to avoid yet another rescue arc. But hold on a sec. What’s this? Orihime is slowly changing?  I guess we didn’t avoid it after all. Rather than go with the standard kidnapping, Kubo went instead with a “corrupt from the inside” tactic, as Orihime seems to be showing symptoms of Stolkholm syndrome after her encounter. So, instead of Aizen’s friendly neighborhood thug methods, Tsukishima is slowly manipulating his enemies.

Why he didn’t do this to Ishida, I have no idea. There really is no clue as to whether they know of Orihime’s abilities but I’m guessing it has something to do with that. That brings us to Tsukishima’s fullbring. This is pure speculation at this point but it seems like by stabbing people through the heart (from behind no less. Yes Kubo, you are very predictable), his fullbring allows him to slowly corrupt the minds of the victim. Either that or he can alter memories. Very powerful when used right so I guess that’s one reason why he had to distract Orihime long enough to stab her from behind. Obviously Kubo watched Inception, and liked it a lot if he’s borrowing from Nolan too.

Chad had sensed that Orihime’s reiatsu was very strange at one point, which is the biggest clue to the manipulation at play. I’m guessing that it is very similar to Naruto’s genjutsus, where the chakra flow through the mind is altered to enable the user to affect the victim’s mind. But instead of outright control, this fullbring planted a seed that will grow with time (I can borrow from Nolan too Kubo). I just hope that Tsukishima is doing this for strategic purposes, and not to make Orihime part of his perverted fantasies by having her fall from him. I am seriously getting Ulquiorra vibes from him.

It’s also revealed that he is a former ally of the Xecutioners, so there’s gotta be some bad blood between him and Ginjou. I saw this coming a long time ago but this is good as it means that the Xecutioners can be labeled as good for now. I was always wary of them and their motives but with this revelation, I guess I can forget about them. At least until Kubo reveals another M.Night twist. Still, I was disappointed that Chad didn’t just Sunido his way to Orihime’s apartment when he noticed a disturbance in the force. What was he thinking? Was he afraid of hurting Ichigo’s feelings by leaving him behind? Sometimes these guys just don’t think.

While I didn’t particularly enjoy this chapter, it was refreshing to see Bleach not fall into the same cycle it’s been for the past month. Plus we got to see Orihime in full page glory (I’m a guy so sue me). This slow pace is still killing me but at least it’s getting somewhere…right?

P.S. If you’re interested in a Kubo-directed tv show, check it out here.

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Kubo's new oneshot

Too harsh?

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