Bleach Ep. 14: Back to Back, A Fight to the Death

The duel between Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryu Ishida is finally resolved in an episode dominated by combat. However, more questions are raised than answered as events careen from serious to silly at a frenetic pace. While it may be a conclusion to a small arc, the episode feels like a setup to something bigger.

 

Bleach is something of a high wire act, with rapid mood swings the norm and events usually threatening to go out of control. Yes, I do believe the word “manic” applies to the series and this episode in particular. The last Quincy, Uryu brings out the worst in substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo and vice versa with an entertaining mess being the result.

With the duelists finally reunited while Karakura Town is under attack, a lot of exposition starts off things. In fact, the amount of data flowing is almost an overload as the plight of the Quincies is revealed by Rukia and Ichigo lectures his opponent. We find out why they were wiped out and just how delicate the balance between the real world and Soul Society is. Apparently there is more to being a Soul Reaper than fighting Hollows and sending earthbound souls into the afterlife than Ichigo understood.

This of course is standard shonen fare, because no motivation can be left uncovered during a fight. It does not matter how much peril everyone is in, for there is always time to argue! At least it serves to develop Ishida’s character further as he sounds less and less like a villain and more like a kid with something to prove. It is not quite a heel turn, but a fleshing out of a very complex character.

Like the other classmates around Ichigo, there are family issues involved and once again the theme of loss and grief is brought to the fore. Tragedy haunts Uryu in a similar way to Kurosaki and drives him in much the same manner. As the episode unfolds, it become obvious that these two teenagers are more alike than either would care to admit.

In a rare moment of clarity for the hero of the show, Ichigo forces the Quincy to team up with him when the numbers of Hollows attacking gets out of hand. Despite their combined might, the swarming monsters are too many. Fortunately for them, this is a Japanese cartoon which means a little girl with a rocket launcher is never far away.

Yes, you read that correctly. Ururu shows up and blasts away with a rapid fire rocket launcher. Only in Japan can this kind of thing happen.

The little girl is not alone, for Urahara has brought all his employees along to even the odds. His character is the master of last second entrances, I must say. It is a timely one, for the crack in the sky from the previous episodes is getting wider. All that foreboding attention to it earlier is about to pay off and pay off big.

Very big.

It is left to Rukia to play exposition girl, since she is unable to contribute to combat in her current condition. Thanks to her encyclopedic knowledge (aka writer-fu), we are informed that the gigantic Hollow emerging is a Menos Grande. Sounding like something from Starbucks, the creature is a huge Hollow created from consuming many smaller Hollows and is not something you want to run into when walking down a dark alley.

Or any road, for that matter – the critter is the size of Godzilla! Will Ichigo’s tendency to charge in half cocked save the day or will Uryu talk some sense into the blockhead? Will idiocy reign supreme?

I will leave the following picture for you to contemplate:

Thoughts

Episode 14 is highly uneven and feels rushed, even for an episode of Bleach. Like trying to force a two liter bottle of soda into a twenty ounce bottle, a messy spill is unavoidable. It does not help that the switches from dramatic to silly are a little too abrupt.

Still, there is character development  for Uryu, combat development for Ichigo, and a growing sense of mystery to what is happening. Then there is the subplot of Rukia growing less capable and very stressed about… something. For fans of fight scenes, there is a very well choreographed one in the middle of the episode that should sate your battle lust.

But it still feels like the setup to something bigger as many loose ends are introduced.

BEWARE, HERE BE SPOILERS!!!

 

 

Never argue with a guy who has a giant sword tied to his head. I think this is a principle something everyone should live by. But not Ichigo, he is too rash for that and following any plan.

Of course, it is his sword, so I can kind of see his point.

Uryu redeeming himself so painfully to save Ichigo was a good moment and completed the metamorphosis from apparent villain to possible good guy. I liked the fact he was not out for vengeance for his grandfather’s death, but was motivated by pride for his lost race, the Quincies. If the hints given by Kubo Tite about the final arc in the manga are any indication, it looks like his pride will be heavily tested before Bleach ends.

I loved the imagery of the giant Hollow retreating by pulling the sky together like curtains. It was a very nice touch.

So you win an impossible victory against an opponent and what do you do? Celebrate! Wait, that is not a happy expression on Rukia’s face, is it? Bad things are coming, aren’t they? And just what is Urahara up to?