M3 Big 3 Recap NUMBAH 2

Welcome to the second installment of the M3 Big 3 Recap!

Let's get straight to it, shall we?

*SPOILER AHOY FOR BLEACH 523, NARUTO 616, AND ONE PIECE 695*

Bleach 523: words of Origin

So last time we left Ichigo and Renji, they were tossed into a room with a bunch of humanized zanpakutou. Fortunately, Kubo actually did something halfway clever with it by revealing them as the Asauchi, the physical manifestations of the average zanpakutou that Soul Reaper grunts have.

Creepy mouth-eyes... Ew

So as it turns out, those zanpakutous weren't just swords. They're like blank DVDs that get dubbed over by the individual essence of its wielder. Thus, the Asauchi right now are all primal monsters with zero input. Considering that the audience has never seen the conversion of a zanpakutou into the personalized ones wielded by the lieutenants and captains,

That's cool and all, but why do we find this out now? I imagine Kubo probably thought this out later down the line. Unfortunately, it makes the explanation seem like it's all shoved in this final arc. Each test from each Squad 0 member feels really shoehorned in, like a Did You Know... of Bleach before the end. So, again: Cool explanations, but not necessary.

I don't get the CO2 line

I don't get why the Asauchi are exactly angry at Renji and Ichigo. This guy's saying that they disagree with their opinions on a shinigami's relationship with their zanpakutou. I guess this is because they are all basically blank zanpakutou manifestations. I hope Kubo gives more of an explanation next week.

Anyway, then this happened:

Creeeeepy

Yeaaaah. Unohana being all crazy was really unsettling. It basically means that she always had a slasher smile on her face or something. The problem here is that we never really had much development for Unohana and there were never any indications about her being the first Kenpachi. No hints at all. And now we're being told she's this bloodthirsty killer? The head of the healing squad? Weiiird.

Wha?

Yeah the end of this chapter was confusing. Pretty cool that they gave each other scars though. I also like that Unohana's hair style actually covered up her scar.

I'm calling it now, though: Despite Shunsui's words, nobody is going to die. I really really doubt Unohana is going to die since there is no way in hell Kubo's killing off Kenpachi. The purpose of this fight is to help Kenpachi fulfill his potential so he's not dying. Maybe Unohana's psycho personality will be destroyed or something? I dunno. We'll find out next week.

Next up...

Cool colored title page!

Naruto 616: Dance of the Ninjas

What I thought when I heard this title:

You did, too. You know you did!

Now that that's out of my system let's get to the chapter proper...

OH HAI, SASUKE!

So yeah. We haven't seen him since 594 when he revived Orochimaru. Speaking of which...

Wait what's Orochimaru doing there?

I totally forgot that Orochimaru's back. I had to go back to 594 and re-read it to understand how Orochimaru got revived. This is really disorganized of Kishimoto. Not only do we get the briefest reminder of 2 pages that Sasuke is still in this series, but it happens 22+ weeks after he last showed up. It's so confusing for people who have been reading on a weekly basis.

Anyway, back to the big final battle.

Awww Yeah! Naruto x Hinata!

I was really excited to see that Hinata and Naruto were going to team up against Obito and Madara. I was so excited. And then this happened:

OH GOD DAMNIT

HE CHANNELS THE KYUUBI CHAKRA TO EVERYONE. I mean I get it. It's a really great strategy for going up against the Jyuubi. Although, Chouji getting fat again makes no sense. He stores chakra in his fat, right? Chouji wasn't always eating chakra to gain weight; he ate food which had calories which made him fat. So, how does he get fatter from getting more chakra? It's a small thing, but it really bothers me.

Ino, why... WHY????

The flashback to Shikamaru and Ino's fathers before they are killed was very touching, but I can't believe some of the shit that happened there. Ino's bit about her being a bush clover is kind of nice except for the whole unhealthy rivalry with Sakura over Sasuke. The only friends she's had are Chouji and Shikamaru and we really haven't had much development in their bonds since fighting undead!Asuma and that amounted to just them working together to seal him. The worst part is when she thought her dad was talking about Sasuke, totally missing his point. I seriously thought  to myself how dumb she was when I read this.

How... touching?

Okay, I get that Naruto can be dark and it needs the humor to lighten it up at times. But, seriously? Right before his dad died we had to have that moment? I mean, they ended with saying something very touching, but the dad said something so inappropriate that it ruins their final moments.

Fortunately we do get a payoff after the flashback...

Awesome.

It was really cool seeing them do their signature team move against Obito and the Jyuubi. This was definitely one of the highlights of the chapter.

Why is this happening so long after Neji died?

I feel like the scene with Lee and Gai should have come earlier. The placement is really awkward and really only serves to segue into Obito's rant that turns Gai's words that "Neji lives on within them: on its head.

And honestly...

Thank you, translator notes!

This is one of Naruto's best moments. It's really sad that nobody else says this. I mean it should be obvious that ninjas need to endure. It really makes the other jounins look really bad when Naruto, a hero, but nonetheless a genin still, is knocking sense into them. Anyway, the chapter ended with Naruto being very manly man and that's the formula shounen shall always stick to, I guess. Don't know what to expect for next week! Hopefully, it will be good!

Finally, we have...

Caribou's Bizarre Adventure, everyone!

One Piece 695: Leave it to Me!!

SUPPPPPEEEEEEEEER

I love the time skip. The Straw Hats just curb stomp the crap out of anyone. Franky single-handedly destroying two minions of a top tier villain is commonplace now! I love it. And so does the crew:

Those women just don't like robots

Oda still completely nails raising an arc from the deepest depths of despair to the most golden heights of hope. A few chapters ago, characters were dying left and right and now the Straw Hats' victory is nearly ensured! Donquixote is coming, so that will probably change things up like how Kuma shifted the standard arc structure in Thriller Bark. Until then, though I am enjoying the hell out of the arc's current high note.

Kicking an enemy while they're down, FTW

I really liked how Usopp and Nami also had their time in the spotlight finishing off Baby 5 and Buffalo.

It's unfair, but still awesome

I love that they actually combo'd. Honestly, Nami and Usopp's interactions post-time skip have been making me lean towards shipping them and this scene really made that relationship shine. Such a perfect combo!

Karma's a bitch, eh?

As always, I enjoyed seeing the arc's main villain getting the ever-loving crap beaten out of him. It's like Enel in Skypea being completely destroyed by Luffy. Divine retribution, I tell you!

The only question is... Who's the silhouette we see at the end...

Mysterious

So, yeah. As you can tell from my gushing, I really liked this chapter. Oda's always at his best when he builds up an arc by having the villains have the upper hand, commit many atrocities and then finally get what they deserve when Luffy and co. rally and ultimately destroy the baddie and his forces. He still perfectly pulls off going from really dark and hopeless to triumphant and joyous that it just makes you feel so great. Here's looking forward to more One Piece next week!

That's it for this week's M3 Big 3 Recap! Let me know what you guys think of the new format (I added pictures in!).