Bleach vol. 59

Author: Tite Kubo

Distributor: Viz Media

American Release Date: Feb. 4th, 2014

Format: Traditional Manga

Genre: Supernatural, Action, Adventure, Drama

Publisher Age Rating: T (Fantasy Violence)

Overall Personal Rating: B

Synopsis:

After Captain General Yamamoto’s death at the hands of the Vandenreich’s King, Ichigo travels to the palace of the Soul King in order to train. Meanwhile, Kenpachi undergoes his own training as he fights against Retsu. Can Kenpachi finally achieve Bankai?!

Ichigo and Renji find themselves getting a good rest in order to being put into a fight for the reconstruction of their Zanpaku-tos. Of course they are at a loss when they meet the one and only Oh-Etsu Nimana, the creator of the Zanpaku-to. He is willing to fix their weapon / partners but they must prove themselves worthy in battle. At the same time Kenpachi finally meets his Zanpaku-to and he too must prove himself worthy of obtaining Bankai.

Will these relentless warriors discover the true meaning of the Zanpaku-to they have been joined with for so long? Are these trials part of the task needed to save the Soul Society from the wrath of the Vandenreich?

Commentary:

I was wondering when we would get to the learning stage of this arc. Without fail Tite Kubo falls prey to his all too common plot devices. Rather than teaching us about the past and providing Ichigo with the understanding he needs to defeat the enemy we are treated to another period of training and education for the hero’s. This time it is not just Ichgo, but we also find Kenpachi in the mix. That added layer just might be the saving grace for this phase of the arc. It is clear that Ichigo must learn about his roots and is connection to the enemy, but to do it the way it is being done almost seems counter productive. On the other hand, it is about time that Kenpachi takes his place along side the other captains and obtains his Bankai by discovering the Zanpaku-to that he has been living with for so many years.

This volume does manage to get us to the next step, but in doing so it drags us into the slow muck that these training phases tend to be. I hope that Tite Kubo wraps this up quickly and gets the series back on track. At least it looks like the ending will be exciting and maybe even fulfilling.

Overall Grade: B

Bleach has been a truly entreating series and I am very excited about seeing it come to a conclusion. I find it unfortunate that we find ourselves trapped in another training period, but I guess it wouldn’t be bleach without this period of discovery. My only question at this time is whether or not Ichigo manages to find peace with who he is and eventually making his way in becoming the ultimate hero with a huge chip on his shoulders. There is plenty to like about Bleach volume 59 and I have a feeling that the hard core fans will be focused on the battle of Kenpachi and his Zanpaku-to. Out of all the captains Kenny manages to maintain a solid fan base that see him as the bad boy who doesn’t really care about all that other stuff that the other captains are wrapped up in. I think that Kenny will discover something very special and eventually be a vital part of the up coming battle. I am looking forward to the next volumes. So, come on lets do this!