Deadman Wonderland 07

Ganta is approached by a group of Deadmen opposed to Tamaki's regime.

Now you know.

Summary:
Somewhere in the prison, the chief warden asks Shiro to fulfill his wish. The chief warden pulls off his life support and starts attacking Shiro with Branch of Sin powers. Meanwhile, Ganta goes to check on Yo and Minatsuki who is still unconscious after being knocked out by Ganta. Suddenly the room starts shaking and Yo uses his own body to shield Minatsuki from falling debris. Minatsuki wakes up and helps Yo patch his wounds after realizing what Yo had done. Also at this moment, Ganta remembers that Shiro is the white-haired little girl he played with when his mother was still alive. Back in the warden's room, Shiro has beaten the warden to a pulp. Shiro notes that the Mother Goose system has been activated again but she puts on the Red Man cape and mask and lets out a crazy smile.

Between a flower pot in the head and seeing Minatsuki half-naked, Senji probably prefers the pot in the head

In G Ward, guards are all over the hallways inspecting the damage. Ganta runs into Senji who congratulates Ganta for winning the fight and names Ganta's attack "Ganta Gun". The two then are drawn to commotion from Minatsuki's room where Minatsuki kicks Yo out for being too much of a sis-con. Seeing Ganta at the door, Minatsuki throws a flower pot which ends up hitting Senji.

A perfect landing with bonus for taking out the dog and doing the Aceman pose.

Later in the medical room, Yo chats with Ganta and asks about Shiro. Ganta states that Shiro was his childhood playmate and recalls a particular memory. At that time, Ganta wanted to eat pudding with Shiro and play with his new Aceman action hero toy, but Shiro was in a bad mood because of the discomfort from all the experiments. Shiro knocks Ganta's toy out of his hands and the toy end up being broken. Ganta walks outside and cries, but then he is attacked by a dog. Ganta screams for Aceman to save him, and Shiro jumps out the second story window and stomps the dog and does the Aceman pose afterwards. Back to the present, Ganta recalls that Shiro had always stuck up for him like that and is looking forward to see Shiro again, and Yo decides not to tell Ganta what he saw at the garrison tower.

In the control room, Makina is pissed that Tamaki is hiding stuff from her and vows to pry open Tamaki's secrets. Meanwhile, Tamaki chats with the doctor at his desk. The doctor reports that the crystal in Ganta's chest are the femtomachines responsible for the Branch of Sin, but the research team still don't know how the machines work or why the Red Man is so powerful. Tamaki states that the Red Man is the chief warden's toy and as such even he doesn't know the face underneath the mask. However, with the warden's condition deteriorating daily, Tamaki believes Deadman Wonderland will soon be his and he has his own way of doing things.

Back in G Ward, Ganta runs into Minatsuki's room looking for Yo because he is worried about Minatsuki's punishment game. After learning that Yo had gone out to steal back his cast points, Ganta runs out to help but he is punched in the gut by a female Deadman and knocked out. Meanwhile, Yo steals back his cast point cards from the guards locker room, but the he is met by Tamaki and a guitar-wielding "super-monk" named Genkaku. Tamaki is okay with Yo staying in G Ward, but he tells Yo that no amount of cast points will set Minatsuki free or shorten her sentence. Yo tries to attack Tamaki, but he is beaten to ground by Genkaku's strange air cannon.

For a moment I thought Genkaku's cannon shoots out cast point cards.

Ganta wakes up in a bar and are met by Karako (the woman who punched him out) and a man named Nagi. Nagi states that he and Karako are a group of Deadmen called Scar Chain who are opposed to Tamaki's inhumane regime at the prison, and they want Ganta to join them. Ganta is eager but then remembers about Minatsuki's punishment game. To convince Ganta, Nagi uses a secret communicator in his teeth to call in a favor. The punishment games start on TV and the slot machine chooses only Minatsuki's hair much to the doctor's displeasure. After the broadcast, Nagi asks for Ganta's help with their plan, but before Nagi can explain, Genkaku breaks down the door and tosses Yo into the room. Genkaku then ues his air cannon to knock Karako down and destroy the bar. Ganta fires his Ganta Gun, but Genkaku blocks the blast with his beads. Genakaku then reveals his entire cannon which is also a guitar and declares that he'll teach Ganta a lesson.

Heeeere's Johnny!

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More characters are introduced this episode, and we also get more glimpses into Ganta and Shiro's relationship. The whole business with Scar Chain is one of the longer "arcs" in the series and will probably cover up to the end of this season of the anime. Nagi and Karako are the first Deadmen that Ganta has met that have not accepted their fate in Deadman Wonderland and are actively trying to resist. This is in contrast to Senji and Minatsuki, both of whom seemed to have accepted the lives inside the prison.

At the same time, the series also presents a new antagonist in the guitar-cannon wielding Genhaku. I'm not sure what Genhaku's cannon fires in the manga, and I can't tell what it fires in the anime either so I assume it's an air cannon. Obviously Genhaku works for Tamaki, so to get to Tamaki, Ganta and friends will have to go through Genhaku first.

Lastly, the episode revealed a bit more about Shiro and her past with Ganta. If some of you haven't figured it out already, this episode also confirms that Shiro is indeed the Red Man/Wretched Egg who caused the Great Earthquake and slaughtered Ganta's classmates. Shiro and Ganta were playmates during childhood, and Ganta's mom seems to be one of the scientists working on Shiro. Shiro's identity is only meant to be as a secret to Ganta (and maybe his allies), and one of the big developments to look forward to is when Ganta finally learns the truth. As to why Shiro was turned into the Red Man... we'll probably have to wait a long time for that answer.

Sekirei 116

The fourth stage of the Sekirei Plan begins.

Wimp vs. hot-head. Who will win?

Summary:
Minaka texts all the Ashikabis stating that the fourth stage of the Sekirei Plan has begun. After getting the message and seeing damage that Yukari had done to his apartment, Higa vows to make everyone pay. Meanwhile, Mikogami is comforted by Mutsu and then declares that he'll make every Sekirei his.

Back at Izumo Inn, Minato and Sekireis are helping to clean up the inn when Sanada arrives. Tsukiumi splashes Sanada because Sanada's bike is making too much noise, and Sanada is pissed and takes it as a challenge from Minato.

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The good news are that the next stage is about to start and that this chapter was longer than 10 pages. The bad news is that the series is taking another break, so the next chapter will be released mid June and it'll probably be two weeks after before we see a translation. Since the series has moved to a new phase, it'll probably take a while for things to build up again. Sanada has confronted Minato, but I doubt anything serious will happen between the two given Sanada is more of a comedic hot-head. I'm looking forward to what Higa will do though, especially given all the losses he has taken from Minato and Yukari. If Higa keeps losing then he won't be able to keep the "evil bastard" mantle anymore.

Deadman Wonderland 44 & 45

We waited two months, but now we have two chapters at once. In these chapters, the Deadman team retrieve chorus boxes and find out a horrible secret while Sakigami makes his move against Ganta.

Ganta is a real heart-breaker.

Summary:
The Chief Warden (in Toto's body) has a big dinner and tells his twin guards that if he can't copy Ganta's ability then he'll take Ganta's body instead.

Back on the submarine, Makina is reading about Sorae, Ganta's mother and the creator of the Wretched Egg. Karako's group returns first with their chorus box followed by Minatsuki's group, and Makina notices Sorae's journal on the box that Minatsuki's group collected. Meanwhile, Senji and Ganta have found a chorus box in a wet and dirty space below the floor and are trying to get it out while Yosuga watch on. Ganta is deep in his thoughts and he realizes he doesn't know much about Shiro even though they spent their childhoods together. Senji can see Ganta is conflicted but encourages Ganta to try to understand Shiro. Ganta is worried that taking his time will lead to more of his friends getting killed. To cheer Ganta up, Senji flips a coin to Ganta and states that no one else will die if it the lizard side faces up, and Ganta catches it with the lizard side up.

Just above, Yosuga notices the warden approaching and demands to know what happened to the real Toto Sakigami. The warden recognizes Yosuga as Sakigami Toto's sister and tells Yosuga that the Toto she knows is no more. The wardens pins Yosuga with a Branch of Sin and then jumps down into the pit to retrieve Ganta. Knowing that Ganta isn't going to come willingly, the warden knocks the wind out of Ganta with a Branch of Sin. Senji fights back but is beaten to the ground. The warden is about to scoop out Senji's remaining eye when Ganta agrees to go with the warden. The warden stops and mentions that Ganta is the key created by Sorae before taking Ganta away.

At the submarine, the crew determines that the red liquid inside the chorus boxes is actually minced flesh from the Wretched Egg. This was probably done so that the chorus boxes resonated with the Wretched Egg. Everyone on board is disgusted by the findings, and Makina continues to comb through Sorae's journal to find out more about Shiro.

Ganta is taken to a room and left alone. Ganta is then approached by Shiro who actually has the "Shiro" personality. Shiro states she now has hazy memories of her murderous rampages and tells Ganta that it's okay for him to hate her since she now also hates herself. Ganta tries to reach out to Shiro but Shiro leaves in tears. Ganta wonders how did Shiro become what she is, and at this moment the warden appears and promises to tell Ganta everything about Shiro. Ganta is taken to another room and sealed inside a tank. The twin guards cut off their own hands and uses a Branch of Sin called Hollow Swallow to connect Ganta to the the warden. The warden (Hagire Rinichirou) explains that he has to transfer his mind from body to body to live on, and this time he will transfer his mind into Ganta. In the process Ganta will know everything about the Wretched Egg, but by the end Ganta's mind would have been overwritten and therefore the current Ganta would be "killed" by the transfer.

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Makina's plan of "sneaking" back into Deadman Wonderland didn't work out that well, and not surprisingly Ganta is easily captured by Hagire (I assume that's the real name of the chief warden/director/main antagonist) who wants to transfer his mind into Ganta's body. This probably sets up for a big storytelling/flashback segment in the next little while, and we'll finally learn a bit as to why Sorae and cohorts made the Wretched Egg, and perhaps why Hagire wants to set free a monster such as the Wretched Egg. Since Ganta is the protagonist, I'm sure he'll resist the mind wipe somehow. He is supposed to be "special" after all, and this also has something to with Sorae.

As for Makina and the others in the expedition, they are piecing together some of the facts from the chorus boxes and Sorae's journal. The fact that the chorus boxes had the Wretched Egg's flesh was set up to be one of those shock and disgust revelations, but Deadman Wonderland had stuff nastier than this before. More atrocities will likely be revealed as the story goes on.

Deadman Wonderland 06

Ganta participates in his second carnival corpse.


Summary:
Shiro stands among of what's left of the garrison tower and lets out a crazy smile before falling unconscious, and she is retrieved by the warden's twin guards. Yo decides that he should just forget about everything and climbs down the ventilation shaft to find his way back to G Ward.

Back in G Ward, Ganta lies on his bed feeling sorry for himself. After seeing what happened to Senji, Ganta is in no mood to eat his meal. He then hears some commotion in the hallway and goes out to investigate. In the hallway, Ganta finds a young, pretty girl being harassed by a fat guy who wants to eat the pot of flowers that girl is carrying. Ganta gives the fat guy his meal and the fat guy eats everything including the utensils and platter. The fat guy wants more, but Ganta and the girl escape into the girl's room.

No, I didn't fart. Ugh... The odor must be coming from those flowers over there.

Full frontal attack!

In the room, the girl introduces herself as Minatsuki and she already knows Ganta's name through watching Carnival Corpse. Minatsuki flirts with Ganta a bit then tells her sob story of how her father abused her and she had no choice but to fight back with her Branch of Sin and killed her father. Minatsuki also mentions that she has a brother that loves her very much and still believes she was innocent. Minatsuki tells Ganta that she's tired of life as a Deadman, and this prompts Ganta suggest that they escape together. However, the two of them don't get very far as some pipes suddenly fall from the ceiling and injures Ganta's leg, and the two are then taken back to their quarters by the guards. Ganta also learns from the guards that he'll be fighting Minatsuki in the next carnival corpse.

The winner is determined by who can make the craziest face.

Some time later, Minatsuki and Ganta are taken to the Carnival Corpose arena. Ganta is reluctant to fight Minatsuki, but suddenly he is hit several times. Minatsuki reveals her true, sadistic personality and states that her previous interactions were all a ploy to weaken Ganta. Minatsuki mixes her blood with her hair and uses her hair as whips to attack. Ganta gets pissed and fires back with the his own Branch of Sin, but suddenly a guard starts yelling at Ganta to stop attacking. The guard turns out to by Yo who managed to sneak into G Ward after taken out a guard, and Yo reveals that Minatsuki is his sister. Tsunenaga decides to let Yo enter the arena, and Yo explains that he purposely got himself convicted so he can enter the prison to find his sister and help set her free. Minatsuki tries to make it as if Ganta is the one who tricked her. Yo shields Minatsuki, but he knows that Minatsuki is the one playing tricks and knows that she did the same thing to her own father which prompted Yo to kill his father.

As a proud siscon, Yo is proud to serve as Minatsuki's human shield.

Now that her trickery has been revealed, Minatsuki goes back to her sadistic personality again and uses her whips to grab Yo as a human shield. Hiding behind Yo, Minatsuki then starts whipping Ganta mercilessly. At the same time, Minatsuki reveals that the reason for her twisted personality is because during the big earthquake, her mother saved a pot of flowers instead of her and left her trapped underneath a table. Ganta doesn't want to hit Yo, but he then comes up with a plan and hits Minatsuki in the back of the head with a ricochet shot. Minatsuki grabs Ganta with her hair, but Ganta walks towards Minatsuki and tells her that she is being stupid lying and hurting others after being betrayed once. Ganta then knocks Minatsuki out with a headbutt to end the fight, and afterwards he gives the audience a middle finger.

Not pretty, but it gets the job done.

Somewhere in the prison, the chief warden prompts Shiro to wake up and help him fulfill his wish.

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Post is a bit late since I've been traveling a bit in the last week and haven't really had much time in front of the computer. Anyways, the story continues and we are introduced to another Deadman in G Ward. This time is Yo's little sister Minatsuki, and unlike the honorable Senji, Minatsuki is one of the more twisted characters in the series. After the trauma of being abandoned by her mother, Minatsuki became a manipulative liar with a sadistic personality and even caused her own brother to murder their father. Her two-face act and the vulgarity of her real personality are her defining characteristics.

As for the fight, there was a bit of drama when Yo was allowed into the arena and Minatsuki took advantage, but most of the fight (and the episode for that matter) was for Minatsuki and Yo to explain the sad history of their broken family. The Carnival Corpse itself wasn't that great. Ganta gets owned for most of the fight then figures out the ricochet shot before walking in slowly and headbutting Minatsuki for the win. I thought the manga version of the fight was better, and the anime actually changed the fight quite a bit from the manga. The largest change was that in the manga the fight took place in a boxing ring and had rounds, while in the anime it took place in the bird cage once again. A certain character also didn't make an appearance during the fight in the anime.

In a related news, it seems like chapters 44-45 of the manga are finally out. I'll try to get around to blogging those today.

One Piece 626

Otohime's triumph and death.

That can't be good...

Summary:
While Van Der Decken is still trying to come up with a plan to marry Shirahoshi, Otohime announces to the crowd that she has a received a letter of support from a World Noble and that will help Fishman Island undergo Reverie and allow residents to migrate to the surface. Otohime still needs more signatures, but her triumphant returns prompts to crowd to turn in lots of signature and Otohime begins to cry tears of joy. Later in the day, Otohime tells her three sons about Shirahoshi's ability to call Sea Kings and the legend behind this. Supposedly, a person will appear to guide the mermaid who can talk with the Sea Kings, and this will forever change the world. Shirahoshi's ability can cause massive destruction if used for evil, so Otohime tells her sons to become strong warriors and protect their sister.

Some time later, Otohime is alerted that the signature collection bin has been set on fire. Otohime arrives on the site but she is shot through the chest by an unknown assailant. During the commotion, Van der Decken manages to sneak up and touch Shirahoshi with his right hand. Despite their mother's grave condition, Fukahoshi's brothers do their best to calm Shirahoshi so she doesn't call the Sea Kings. Fukahoshi promises Otohime that they'll collect all the signatures again and Otohime and all of her offsprings put their pinkies together for that one last promise.

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It looks like the flashbacks are coming to an end soon with Otohime's death and the start of Decken's plan to get Shirahoshi's hand in marriage. So Otohime was actually assassinated, although the culprit wasn't revealed this chapter. I don't think Hodi has the guts or skills to pull something like this off during the flashback, so it was probably someone else. Other than Otohime's passing, this chapter also emphasized Shirahoshi's role as the legendary mermaid who can talk to the giant Sea Kings. Otohime didn't exactly go into specifics, but it sufficed to say that Shirahoshi will be playing a pivotal role in this story arc, and maybe more if things are really as grand as the legend says.

Naruto 540

The Shinobi Army comes under attack from imposters.

How dare you badmouth my Sasuke!

Summary:
After rejecting the confessing guy, Sakura is approached by Neji. The two chat but during the conversation Sakura notes that this Neji doesn't know that Tonton is a pig. "Neji" tries to sneak up on Sakura, but Sakura smashes him to the ground and "Neji" is revealed to be a White Zetsu. The real Neji is still out on the front lines resting from over exertion. Sakura figures out the White Zetsu can use chakra drained from enemies to make themselves into perfect clones that can't be distinguished by conventional detection methods. This intel is reported to headquarters and Shikaku tries to come up with a plan to repel the White Zetsus that have infiltrated the ranks of the Shinobi Army.

Meanwhile, A and Tsunade catch up to Naruto and Killer Bee.

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Hey, Sakura actually did something right for a change. So the "evil Neji" was a White Zetsu, and this was correctly guessed by a commenter from the previous Naruto post. I was misled by the chatter between Itachi and Nagato. I've forgotten that White Zetsu had that ability (Kisame's fake death was too long ago lol), and that makes them a much more dangerous bunch than before where they were just acting as regular grunts. I'm sure Shikaku or Shikamaru will come up with something to counter the White Zetsus though. At worst everyone will have to pass a 20 question test to prove their identity haha.

On the other front, Naruto and Killer Bee now has to go through Tsunade and A to get to the battlefield. Killer Bee's comments on Tsunade's boobs aside, this might turn out to be a semi-serious battle, although I'm sure Naruto and Killer Bee will get involved in the battles against Madara and Kabuto's forces somehow.

Bleach 449

Orihime helps Ichigo with the training.

This whole series needs some fast-forwarding.

Summary:
Isshin, Urahara and the unknown person and talking in Urahara's shop and Urahara tells the unknown person to put his reiatsu in to finish the process.

Meanwhile at Xcution's backup HQ, Orihime is put into Yukio's training zone and finds Ichigo injured from his training against Ginjou. Chad also enters but goes into a separate room created by Yukio to train on his own. It turns out that after the fight with Tsukishima, Tsukishima actually returned and sliced Chad with his sword, but Chad wasn't sure what happened other than that's similar to what happened to Orihime, and Chad vows to get stronger.

Back at Ichigo's training room, Ginjou thinks Orihime is taking too long healing Ichigo and charges in anyways. Orihime puts up her shield and to Ichigo's surprise manages to cut Ginjou as Ginjou's sword hits her shield. Orihime then explains that she and Chad had been developing their powers so that they can help Ichigo when Ichigo gets back his powers. Ichigo thanks Orihime and tells Ginjou to continue the training. In the real world, Yukio puts his training game into fast forward mode.

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Back to the same old stuff we go. There was a glimmer of hope when Isshin, Urahara and the possible shinigami appeared, but it was just all a tease and once again we are back to Ichigo's training. Ichigo seems to be having a tough time against Ginjou, but we don't get to see it. Instead, we get to see Orihime showing that she has gained back some offensive capability. Meanwhile, Chad goes to train on his own after Tsukishima suddenly reappeared out of nowhere and sliced him. So basically we have more training coming up while still having little idea what's really going on with Tsukishima, Xcution, or Urahara/Isshin.

Gantz 340

Trouble at the Gantz apartment.

Uninvited guests have arrived.

Summary:
Sakurai uses his psychic powers to kill all the aliens around him despite the voice in his head telling him to stop. Meanwhile, Tae travels with the group of survivors and two soldiers and the group scavenge around for food. Elsewhere in the city ship, Kurono #1 thanks Fra for her help is about to leave, but Fra offers to help Kurono some more.

Back in the Gantz apartment, Nishi has a video chat with the American Gantzers and learns that the alien city ship has a weak point at their "compressor". Nishi tells Gantz to teleport him to the location, but Gantz informs Nishi that he's being hacked and several insect-like aliens are teleported into the room.

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Not much development on most of the fronts, but Nishi gets some important spotlight this chapter. Nishi does the right thing and learns about the alien city ship's weak spot, but unfortunately the aliens seem to gotten wind of the Gantz technology and has hacked it. If the Gantz ball can be hacked by humans, then it's probably no surprise that more advanced aliens can take advantage too. The big aliens seem to have these smaller insect aliens doing their bidding as well, although it's unclear what the relationship is between the two races. The Tokyo Team is going to lose their Gantz ball, and with most of the team gone we'll see if Nishi and Takashi can survive on their own.

Sekirei 115

Story time finishes... for now.

I'm going to protect everyone and be the conquering hero, but you all already know that.

Summary:
Miya reveals the secret of the jinkis being able to shut down Sekireis and Ashikabis, and Minato notices all of his Sekirei are watching the flashback sequence with him. Everyone returns to the real world and Matsu mentions that Takehito's death had something to do with the jinkis, but Miya doesn't want to talk about it just yet. Having watched the flashback, Homura notices that the Musubi in the flashback was much more powerful than the current Sekireis, and Matsu states that all current Sekireis have a limit on their powers placed through their "conditioning". However, this limit can be removed by the jinkis. Kusano also reminds Minato that Uzume can be bought back using the jinkis. To prevent the jinkis from falling into the wrong hands, Minato declares that he will gather the jinkis are protect everyone, and all of his Sekireis agree.

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I always complain about how short Sekirei chapters are, but this one takes the cake. I don't know how the author can pass off a paltry 10 pages as a chapter. Anyways, so apparently the jinkis can do more than just shut down Sekireis and Ashikabis that have Sekirei genes; they can also lift the power limits on current Sekireis and make them god-like. Even bringing back deactivated Sekireis like Uzume can be done with the jinkis. So basically it sounds it's all about gathering the jinkis, and therefore Minato and friends are going to gather all of them for the good of the world to nobody's surprise. I wanted to hear about Takehito's story, but Miya is saving that for later.

One Piece 625

The tale of Queen Otohime continues with a World Noble arriving at Fishman Island on a wrecked ship.

Q: How exactly did these guys get through border patrol?

A: They ate the border patrol... and the border.

Summary:
Fishman Island lets in the wrecked ship carrying the World Noble St. Miosgard. Despite being injured and having lost all his servants, Miosgard still acts obnoxious to the residents and demands help while waving and firing his pistol. It turns out that Miosgard had come to Fishman Island to reclaim his family's slave that were released as a part of the deal with Jinbe becoming Shichibukai, but on the way Miosgard's ship was attacked by sea monsters. The residents and Neptune's Army are disgusted by Miosgard's behavior, and Miosgard's former slaves decide that they should just kill Miosgard and keep quiet about it. One of the former slaves fires at Miosgard but Queen Otohime throws herself in the way and is grazed on the arm. Otohime then tells the residents that they should think of the children and not pass on the hate. Miosgard takes the opportunity to grab Otohime and hold her hostage. A young Shiraboshi is in the crowd and screams when her mother is taken hostage, and suddenly several gargantuan sea kings appears and devour what's left of Miosgard's ship. Miosgard is scared into unconsciousness, and Jinbe and Otohime wonder if Shiraboshi had anything to do with the sea kings appearing. Also among the crowd, Van Der Decken realizes he has found the person his family has been looking: the fabled mermaid princess that can control the sea kings. Now Decken has to work on becoming Shiraboshi's husband.

Miosgard is taken in and patched up. Despite being saved, Miosgard is still spiteful towards the fishfolk and merfolk as he is being sent on his way. As Miosgard boards his ship, suddenly Otohime announces she'll accompany Miosgard back to the surface. After what seems like many anxious and sleepless nights for the residents of Fishman Island, Queen Otohime finally returns and has negotiated an agreement with the world nobles.

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I thought the world noble's arrival will directly cause Otohime's death, but Otohime actually survives this chapter and even goes to the surface and negotiates an agreement for Fishman Island. The important is an important part of Otohime's legacy, but we'll have to wait until next chapter to see the details of the agreement. We also learned in this chapter why Der Decken is so obsessed with Shiraboshi. It seems that Shiraboshi is the fabled mermaid princess that can control giant sea kings. That's obviously a very impressive and useful ability especially on the oceans, but there is probably more meaning to the legend that Decken and ancestors have been chasing. Hopefully the legend will be more interesting than "whoever marries Shiraboshi will rule the seas".

Naruto 539

Someone is killing medics at the Shinobi Army's medic tents.

Sakura actually has a fan?

Summary:
Naruto finishes his chat with Kyuubi and keeps on running.

On the front lines, Neji appears to be acting a little strange and is sent to the medic tents. Somewhere in the woods, zombie Itachi and Nagato are chatting about using their eye techniques. At the medic tents, Neji arrives and is patched up by Sakura. A little later, three medics are found dead at the camp. Sakura concludes that a Shinobi Army member must have fallen under enemy control, and Neji promises to find the culprit and he seems to sense someone hanging around in the shadows.

In a tent, two medics are talking when Neji suddenly walks in looking for the murderer. Neji asks where Sakura is but then suddenly attacks the two medics. Meanwhile, Sakura is approached by a shinobi who has a crush on her. The guy hands Sakura a love note, but Sakura says no. Outside, Neji is about to make his way into the tent.

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Although Naruto is "officially" in the war now, we are not done with the focus on secondary characters. Neji got hit by a mind control jutsu which might be from Nagato and Itachi but also possibly from Madara. If I remember correctly, Madara is trying to put a mini-version of his Moon Eye plan and the chapter shows the full moon a lot. If it's Itachi and Nagato that's attacking the medics camp then they probably need in the Kage class (or Naruto) to fend them off. The setting at the medics camp also puts Sakura in the picture, so perhaps Naruto will come in and make the save? Or maybe this is just for Sakura to get her moment in the war and then move on to something else? Either way, lets hope the second stage of the war improves upon the first.

Bleach 448

Ichigo continues his training and Orihime is brought into Xcution as well.

Scouting out the competition.

Summary:
Yukio encloses Ginjou and Ichigo in his "game" and adds a couple of hearts to indicate the amount of damage taken by each combatant. Ginjou and Ichigo then pull out their weapons are start fighting. Meanwhile, Chad brings Orihime to Xcution's backup HQ. Riruka jumps down and tries to provoke Orihime in order to scare of the competition, but Orihime doesn't take the bait and brushes Riruka off. Orihime is then dropped into Yukio's game to help Ichigo.

Somewhere in the Urahara Store, Isshin and Urahara are talking with a third person about taking away Ichigo's future.

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Most of the chapter was rather forgettable, but at last we get back to Isshin, Urahara and they are talking to a third person who may be a shinigami. Hopefully the narrative will stay with Isshin and company a bit to shred some light on what's really going on. As for the rest of the chapter, the training/game setup was too long given that there was no action immediately after. As for Orihime's introduction to Xcution, Orihime handled herself well in front of Riruka, and Riruka probably can't do much against Orihime's personality. Since the animosity is only one-sided, the potential for a cat fight is pretty low, and Ichigo's no. 1 girl seems to be Rukia anyways.

On an unrelated note, post is a bit late because I went on a little vacation. Posts for the next two or three weeks will probably be later than usual, but then again no one cares and my blog is not known for timeliness anyways.

Deadman Wonderland 05

Ganta fights in his first Carnival Corpse against Senji.

It's perfectly normal for a Woodpecker to be up a tree. I'm impressed that Ganta actually climbed up that far.

Summary:
Chief Makina tries to see the Chief Warden (Tsunenaga Tamaki's father) but she is turned away at the door by twins wielding rifles with bayonets.

Somewhere in G Ward, Ganta is brought into the giant cage arena for the Carnival Corpse against Senji. Many rich and influential people are watching the fight and are represented by avatars around the arenas. The fight starts and Ganta immediately scrambles up a tree to get away from Senji. Ganta bites his thumb and shoots blood projectiles at Senji, but Senji easily knocks them aside with his Crow's Claw blades. Ganta then starts feeling woozy due to using up too much blood and the audience starts making fun of him. Senji slices up the tree Ganta is standing on and then proceeds the cut Ganta over and over. Ganta ends up lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Senji contemplates about killing Ganta, but decides not to and starts to walk away.

Timmmmbbbbberrrrr!!!

Meanwhile, Yo and Shiro are trying to find their way back to the normal part of the prison. Shiro is eager to go rescue Ganta because she states Ganta is weak. She recalls that when they were little kids Shiro would beat Ganta up and Ganta would cry, but Shiro states that the good thing about Ganta is that he always gets back up.

Senji just got launched by a Smash Attack.

Back at Carnival Corpse, Ganta grabs Senji's leg and pulls himself back up. Ganta stumbles away from Senji and declares that he is not going to die and fires a projectile upwards to knock down the giant announcer bird-shaped speaker. Senji slices up the falling speaker but this allows Ganta to sneak him and hit Senji in the chest with his projectile at point blank. Senji is knocked away and KOed, giving Ganta the victory.

Ganta wakes up in a room and consumes a piece of candy that was part of the victory prize. Ganta then remembers that after the fight he had a fist bump with Senji and realizes Senji isn't such a bad guy after all. Ganta's attention is then turned to the TV which starts airing the "Loser's Punishment Game" after Carnival Corpse. Ganta sees Senji strapped to a chair, and Senji is approached by the female doctor a slot machine which starts spinning. Senji tells the machine to stop and the machine has all three reels stop at "right eye". Senji's chair is then lowered into a operations table, and the doctor grabs a extractor and pulls out Senji's right eye while having an orgasm. After watching this horrible event, Ganta runs into the bathroom and pukes into the toilet.

This can't be good.

Meanwhile, Yo and Shiro made it back to the normal prison, and Yo learns from another inmate that the girl he's trying to find is probably in G Ward. Yo devises a plan to sneak back underground via a ventilation shaft. To do so, Yo gets Shiro to attack a garrison house. Yo also takes out a guard and uses the radio to tell central control to shut off power to the sector, and this stops the fan inside the ventilation shaft so Yo can climb down. Yo uses the radio to tell the guards to go after Shiro, but little does Yo know cutting the power also cuts the power to a system of hidden speakers playing a lullaby. Inside the garrison house, Shiro notices the lullaby had stops and the guards wonder what's going on. Shortly after, the entire garrison house explodes and body parts rain down around Yo. Yo then looks up and sees Shiro standing in what's left of the garrison house holding a bloody skull and flashing a crazy grin on her face.

It's raining men... bloody pieces of men.

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This episode really showed what Deadman Wonderland is really about: the Branch of Sin fighting action and the nasty, nasty gore and sick things that goes on. The fight between Senji and Ganta was decent but not that special as Ganta pulls the typical underdog/shounen hero comeback and defeats an opponent who is superior in both skill and experience. Ganta still has a lot of learn about using his Branch of Sin, but we can see he'll probably survive using willpower and a bit of ingenuity.

What really grabbed attention in this episode were the things that happened after Carnival Corpse. Even though it was censored, Senji's eye extraction was still really nasty because it actually lasts about half a minute. In the manga you can flip through it really quickly, but not here in the anime. Manglobe really did indulge a bit with that scene. An uncensored version of that scene... I'm not sure if I would want to watch that.

Finally of course there was the truth about Shiro. Shiro is obviously not normal, and some of you may have already guessed her true identity. Shiro's darker side is (once again) accompanied by extreme violence, and the shower of guts and body parts is quite the piece of imagery (even if it is censored to a point). Ganta is certainly right about people in the prison being out of their minds. Deadman Wonderland is undoubtedly a hellhole. Now that we see what Shiro is really capable of, the real question is when will Ganta find out about it and what happens when he finds out.

Blogger Down

So Blogger (the service) went into read only mode for about a day and a half for "maintenance issues" and also took down all the content posted later than late Wednesday. That was the worst downtime I've experienced since moving this blog to Blogger. Downtimes happen to every website, even those hosted by the almighty Google lol. The missing blog post has since been restored, but the comments are still off in digital limbo somewhere. Hopefully they'll make their way back to life.

One Piece 624

The story of how Jinbe became Shichibukai.

You can't punch sense into some people, but at least you can punch them.

Summary:
Fisher Tiger's death has a profound effect on Fishman Island and effectively derails Queen Otohime's signature drive. Saddened and frustrated by the response, Otohime goes on the air with a drunken but heart-felt speech imploring the population of Fishman Island to try to open up to the surface world in order to change the future. Meanwhile, Jinbe and the Sun Pirates continue fighting and gaining notoriety. As the captain, Jinbe accumulates a bounty of 250 million and receives an offer to be Shichibukai. In exchange for pardons and potentially better relationship between humans the fishfolk, Jinbe agrees to the deal. As part of the deal, Arlong is released from jail and vows to continue raging against humanity. The Sun Pirates split into three group, with one group sticking with Jinbe, one group going back to doing whatever they want and Arlong's group reforming Arlong Pirates.

Some time later, Fishman Island receives a distress signal from a ship that supposedly has a Celestial Dragon onboard. Queen Otohime immediately orders the ship be let in and rushes out of the palace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The flashback continues along the expected route. Jinbe and his fishmen crew build up their pirate reputation after Fisher Tiger's death, and then Jinbe cuts a deal with the government to serve as Shichibukai so his crew members would be pardoned. This is how Arlong manages to get out after being captured and that's why Jinbe said he was responsible for setting Arlong free. As for Otohime, it looks like her most pivotal role in the flashback will start next chapter. Celestial Dragons are never good news for the "good" characters, so things don't look good for Otohime.

Naruto 538

Naruto chats with Kyuubi while running towards the war.

Sorry. I just wanted to see what I looked like in my inner world and there isn't a mirror around.

Summary:
Naruto and Killer Bee are heading to the battle with Naruto leading the way in fox mode. Suddenly, Naruto's attention is dragged into his inner world by Kyuubi. Kyuubi tells Naruto that he's too naive to think he can stop the hate and end the war by himself, but Naruto doesn't give a damn and tells Kyuubi not to underestimate him.

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Looks like Kishimoto needed to buy himself and his staff some time to prepare for the next phase of the war, because this chapter was a complete filler. So Naruto is naive and never gives up (especially on Sasuke)... yeah we know that because the last 500+ chapters have been telling us that. If Kyuubi was going to show up, at least make him do something important instead of chatting with Naruto in what seems like a meaningless conversation. Let's hope something interesting happens next chapter.

Bleach 447

The fight adjourns for now.

A boy who doesn't want to play video games when given the chance... what has this world come to?

Summary:
Ichigo gets "saved" into Ichigo's game and out of Tsukishima's reach. Yukio states that the battles has attracted attention and tells Tsukishima to scram, and Riruka appears behind Tsukishima with the "Love Gun" and tells Tsukishima the same thing.

Meanwhile, Orihime visits Uryuu at the hospital. Uryuu wants Orihime to heal him because he felt Ichigo's reiatsu change, and Orihime decides to tell Uryuu about Tsukishima's attack on her.

Sometime later, Yukio "loads" Ichigo to Xcution's backup HQ. Ginjou is also there and wonders why Tsukishima retreated, but Yukio thinks that Ginjou is just over-thinking things. Ginjou then tells Yukio to help with the training as Yukio's Fullbring can block out reiatsu, and this time Ichigo will train by fighting Ginjou.

Orihime is walking home and thinking about her conversation with Uryuu and they both note that their attackers use very different abilities. Orihime then notices Chad standing on the streets, and Chad tells Orihime to come with her to help with Ichigo's training.

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The teaser fight is over, but things haven't changed that much and it's still hard to tell where Bleach is going with this storyline. Given Ishida's concern about the change in Ichigo's reiatsu, Ichigo's current training might be a bad thing which does go along the theory that Ginjou and the Xcution gang have ulterior motives. Now Chad is trying to recruit Orihime into helping with Ichigo's training, and that's a bit strange since Tsukishima may have put some sort of memory/mind control on Orihime. Bleach's story is turning into a bit of a mystery now lol. Maybe this will turn out to be interesting somewhere down the line... hopefully.

Deadman Wonderland 04

Ganta discovers what Deadman Wonderland is really about.

Ganta's charge literally falls to pieces.

On a curious note, Ganta holds the pipe with a right handed grip but tries to swing from the left. Weird.

No worries. My pecs are harder than steel!

Summary:
A guy with powers similar to the Red Man slices open the G Ward vault door and the security robot. Thinking the guy is the Red Man, Ganta charges in blindly, but the man uses sharp blades made of his own blood to give Ganta several cuts. The man was looking forward to fighting Ganta (who is referred to as "Woodpecker") but is disappointed Ganta doesn't even know how to use his blood powers known as "Branch of Sin". Ganta finally understand that he needs to bleed to use the powers, and he fires a projectile at the man with blades who gets hit in the chest but withstands the blow. Ganta then realizes that the guy is not the Red Man as they have different smirks, and the man introduces himself as the "Crow" Senji Kiyomasa. Senji is interested in fighting Ganta again, but Shiro intervenes and kicks Senji in the face, and Senji is then embarrassed by Shiro's skin-tight body suit. Senji and Ganta are then tranquilized by Tamaki's soldiers and the two along with Shiro and Yo are taken away. After the incident, Makina's guards follow the trail of the security robot, but they are unable to find anything and even the robot's wreckage is gone.

Boobs > Pecs of Steel.

As per Tamaki's orders, Yo and Shiro are released back into the normal parts of the prison. In the G Ward, Senji is being treated by the doctor for chest injuries sustained by trying to take Ganta's shot head on. The doctor notes that Senji may not be able to participate in the experiment, but Senji slices up his surrounding and declares that cracked ribs isn't going to stop him from fighting.

Looks like Senji's love for battle trumps his fear of women in revealing clothing.

Meanwhile, Ganta wakes up in an examination room with his arms and legs shackled to a table. Tamaki appears and reveals he was responsible for Ganta's conviction. Ganta is angry and tells Tamaki to go to hell which prompts Tamaki to give Ganta an electric shock. Tamaki then states that Ganta will take part in an "experiment" called Carnival Corpse where two Deadman (people with Branch of Sins) battle each other, often to the death, and Ganta's opponent will be Senji. Tamaki tells Ganta that if he wins enough he might even see the Wretched Egg/Red Man who is originator of the Branch of Sins. Tamaki then forces Ganta to watch a gruesome video of Carnival Corpse highlights and Ganta screams in horror at the end of the video.

Oh come on. Is our pilot episode for the Deadman Wonderland reality show that bad?

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The anime series is starting to show us the real Deadman Wonderland, a facility that is primarily used to contain the Wretched Egg and also to house/"experiment" upon people who have Branches of Sins. If Ganta thought things couldn't get any worse, it just got worse. It's not like being a death row inmate in a regular prison wasn't bad enough.

There was some "action" in the first half with Ganta trying to confront Senji, but it was more informative than action since Ganta really has no idea what he was doing or what he was up against. Now he finally figured out that the powers has something to do with his blood, but that's probably a step in the right direction if he wants to stay alive.

As the first Deadman other than the Red Man to appear, Senji received a good "bad-ass opponent" introduction until he got all flustered over Shiro. So now while Senji is still a dangerous opponent, the guy isn't nearly as fearsome as he was at the beginning of the episode. It'll probably still take a lot of luck for Ganta to survive the upcoming Carnival Corpse against Senji though. The animation for Senji's Crow Claw Branch of Sin was decent enough.

Gantz 339

Sakurai journey into the alien ship with plans to start a rampage.

Pretty clear who won this staring contest.

Summary:
With the peace treaty between the humans and aliens, many humans are willing going into the alien city ship. Sakurai also boards one of the transports with plans to slaughter every alien he sees to avenge Tonkotsu. The transports arrive at the bay and Sakurai uses his psychic powers to pop the brains of the aliens at the docking bay. Sakurai then heads off on his own and finds his way into the city through a tunnel. Sakurai emerges in a park walkway and is noticed by an elderly grandma alien sitting on the bench. Upon noticing Sakurai, the grandma alien brings out an egg and tries to feed Sakurai. The grandma alien's grandkid also appear and want to feed Sakurai too. Sakurai want to kill the aliens but is conflicted and runs away. The voice in Sakurai's head tells Sakurai to not go on a rampage, but Sakurai still wants to avenge Tonkotsu.

Somewhere in the city ship, the two human soldiers lead Tae to a small group of humans. Meanwhile, Kurono #1 is heading back into the city ship with Fra. On the other hand, the Tokyo Team are back in the Gantz apartment and learn that they still have a long way to go to free all the humans. Kurono #2 and the gang then learn about the peace treaty and that they are being labelled as terrorists.

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Oh hey it's Sakurai. Haven't seen that guy for a while, and he has one of the more interesting storylines going on in Gantz right now. I was looking forward to some alien mangling, but killing a grandma and kid who had no ill will would be a bit cold-blooded, and Sakurai hasn't decided if he want to be that crazy yet. Sakurai is hearing voices in his head though, so he may be descending into insanity. I still whose voice it is though. Could it be Sakata's? We'll see how far Sakurai will go, but I'm hoping he'll at least kill some troopers and other military types.

Despite the hostile invasion at the start, it seems that the alien peace treaty/propaganda is working quite well, and now most surviving humans see the Gantzers as terrorists. The aliens obviously didn't come with a peaceful intent if their first move was to attack and round up humans for food. It'll be interesting to see what the Tokyo Team will do at this point, and I'm also hoping that Gantz will move faster and with a more apparent direction (even if it wants to throw in a twist somewhere down the line).

Deadman Wonderland 03

After another run-in with the Red Man, Ganta decide to seek out the Red Man and journey to an undocumented cell block within the prison.

A man and his toys... which are actually toys.

Summary:
In a secret meeting run, Tamaki meets with military and government officials that fund the prison. The officials object to Tamaki's methods, especially concerning the deadly Dog Race, but Tamaki tells the officials to keep the money coming as Deadman Wonderland is needed to contain the destructive Wretched Egg (the Red Man).

After parting with Shiro, Ganta goes to his cell to write his final letter, but can't go through with it because he doesn't want to die. Yo arrives and inform Ganta that they are cellmates, and Yo gives Ganta a piece of "candy" as a token of friendship. Ganta is grateful that he can now live on, but secretly Yo has made a deal with Tamaki to monitor Ganta in exchange for Cast Points. Meanwhile, Tamaki is informed by his staff that the Mother Goose system had shut down and thus the Wretched Egg has escaped.

Twisters are unpredictable and can come out of nowhere.

Yo and Ganta go outside and Yo treats Ganta to some ice cream, and this reminds Ganta of memories with his two best friends. Suddenly, the crystal in Ganta's chest start to react, and Ganta spots the Red Man standing on a giant clock nearby. The Red Man descends and causes a whirlwind that kills several inmates and injures Yo as well. Ganta gets pissed and summons his strange powers again and hits the Red Man with a projectile fired from his palm. The Red Man is unharmed, smiles at Ganta and flies away. Ganta tries to give chase but falls down and faints. From his control center, Tamaki's team has restored the Mother Goose system. Tamaki is excited by the development and welcomes Ganta to the true Deadman Wonderland.

That didn't hurt.

Ganta wakes up in the infirmary being watched over by Shiro who informs Ganta that the administration called the attack a terrorist incident. Ganta overhears some other inmates talking about the attack, and one guy mentions that he once saw someone with similar powers to the Red Man, and that person is now being held in G Ward. Meanwhile, Chief Makina learns of the incident and calls a meeting with her underlings. Knowing that Tamaki is hiding something, Makina decides to deploy a dangerous security robot to retrieve Ganta. Tamaki learns of the move and is amused, and at the same time he gives Yo more Cast Point cards in exchange for following Ganta.

As per Makina's orders, the prison blocks are put into the highest security alert and an announcement blares calling for Ganta. Ganta and Shiro run around in the hallway looking for the G Ward, but their way is blocked as gates shut all over the prison. The two are met by Yo, and Ganta explains that he is looking for the person responsible for killing all of his friends and heard someone similar lives in G Ward. Yo points out on a prison directory that there is no such thing as the G Ward, only Wards A-F. However, Shiro states that she knows the way but for some reason doesn't want to tell Ganta. Suddenly, the security robot appears down the hallway and makes a beeline for Ganta. Ganta and Yo beg Shiro, who relents and tells the guys to crawl through the ventilation ducts with her. The three climb into the duct just in time to escape from the security robot's energy cannon (even though Makina ordered for Ganta's capture).

If you really want something, you gotta really beg for it with the googly eyes.

The security robot gets around surprisingly well despite its looks.

Shiro, Ganta and Yo make it through the duct to a dark hallway, but the security robot quickly barges in. Ganta trips and is nearly run over, but Yo cuts some wires on the robot's neck which disables the machine. Yo and Ganta then continue following Shiro until the come upon a giant vault-like entrance labeled "G". Before they can proceed any further, the security robot bulldozes its way into view again and fires off missiles randomly, causing fires and explosions. Back at the control center, Makina learns from her team that they can't locate the robot, which leads Makina to conclude there are places in the prison that she can't monitor.

I name this move "Shiro's Baka Kick".

Back in front of the G Ward entrance, the security robot moves for the kill, but Shiro sends it flying with a jump kick. Shiro then calls Ganta stupid and reveals that she was angry that Ganta said that all his friends have been killed even though she is his friend. Ganta realizes that despite being sent to Deadman Wonderland, he did make at least one friend in Shiro. Shiro is then grabbed by the security bot and the bot points its cannon at Shiro. Ganta tries to summon his the strange powers he used before but to no avail, but suddenly the G Ward vault door is sliced open and the security robot is cut in half by a person wielding a power similar to that of the Red Man.

The Red Man?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched this episode on Saturday but didn't get a chance to finish the post until today. Anyways, this episode was pretty decent, and it was a good refresher on the early parts of the series. I did go back and skim through the corresponding manga chapters, and it seems that this episode followed the manga pretty closely. I started reading Deadman Wonderland before I started the current iteration of this blog, and I have almost no recollection of the events in this episode except for the look of the security robot. Looks like my long term memory is starting to deteriorate already lol. It's be funny to see what else I don't remember as I keep watching this show.

One thing I noticed in this episode is that while Yo and Ganta are surprised by Shiro's reasoning, they don't seem to be that surprised by her feats of strength. Shiro broke a metal grating over a ventilation duct with a barefoot kick and then sent a big robot flying with a jump kick, and Yo and Ganta are only surprised that she was pouty because Ganta said all of his friends are dead? Hmmm...

Now that I've watched the episode, I can see that Ganta running into the Red Man for the second time was a pretty important event. Red Man's attack gave Tamaki positive confirmation that Ganta has the special powers, and this also leads Ganta on his journey towards the hidden G Ward. The previous episodes were introduction into the surface of Deadman Wonderland, but now that Ganta has arrived at the G Ward he will learn what Deadman Wonderland is really about. This is where the real story starts.

One Piece 623

The Sun Pirates take Koala back to her home island.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Summary:
The Sun Pirates take former slave girl Koala on to their ship. Most of crew don't mind Koala too much and have grown to like her, but Arlong is still strictly anti-human. After some time, the Sun Pirates finally arrive at Koala's home island. Fisher Tiger escorts Koala back to her village where she is welcomed back, but on the other hand the villagers look at Fisher with disdain. Soon after walking out from the village Fisher is ambushed by a group of Marines who were tipped off by people from the village. At the same time, the Sun Pirate's ship is attacked by Marines. The Sun Pirates manage to steal a Marine ship and rescue Fisher Tiger, but Tiger is badly wounded in the attack. Out on the sea, the crew suggest that they inject Tiger with some human blood on the Marine ship to help him survive, but Tiger refuses. Fisher Tiger then reveals that during his previous journey he was actually captured and served as a slave until he escaped. Fisher Tiger states that there are kind-hearted humans in the world such as Koala, but they are a dying breed. Tiger can never bring himself to love humans, but he doesn't want to spread the hate either. Jinbei tells Tiger that all of the slaves he had freed will always be grateful, and Tiger dies with a smile on his face.

Some time later, Arlong returns to Koala's island with intent to exact revenge on the villagers, but he is captured by Vice Admiral Borsalino (the future Kizaru).

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The story of Fisher Tiger's passing has finally been told. Not surprisingly, the journey to return Koala back home led to Fisher Tiger's death, but I was a little surprised by how quickly it went down. It was a bit sad to see the infamous Fisher Tiger taken down by a squad led by a rear admiral, but I guess the Marines had the element of surprise and fishmen are at a disadvantage on land. It took only a chapter to tell how Fisher Tiger died, but I think the chapter got its point across. Koala was innocent and haven't learned the hate, but the disdain towards fishmen is entrenched in her village. Fisher Tiger tried to like humans but never could because he always suffered at the hands of humans, but he doesn't want to spread the hate. The next important event in the story should be the influences of Fisher Tiger's death on Arlong and Jinbei, and Jinbei will probably become Shichibukai in order to save Arlong's behind. Of course, there is also Otohime's passing as well.

On a not so important note, I thought Koala was a boy when I read the last chapter lol.

Bleach 446

Ginjou enters the battle against Tsukishima.

Close shave.

Summary:
Ginjou brings out his Fullbring sword and injects himself into the battle against Tsukishima. Ichigo argues that he can still fight, but Ginjou elbows him and starts fighting Tsukishima over the rooftops. Ichigo tries to catch up but is grabbed by Chad. Chad tells Ichigo that he's not ready to face Tsukishima yet, but Ichigo doesn't give a damn and runs off.

Ginjou and Tsukishima exchange some attacks, with Ginjou singeing Tsukishima with an explosive attack and Tsukishima nicking Ginjou on the eyebrow. Ichigo arrives and attacks Tsukishima and Tsukishima notes that Ichigo has gotten stronger again. As Ichigo is about to attack again, he is snapped up by a pixely object, and Tsukishima notices that Yukio has entered the battle.

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The fighting continues. No major plot developments which means we still don't know what Tsukishima (or Ginjou) is really up to, but the action wasn't bad and was certainly better than the training chapters. Ichigo's powers are growing just because he's Ichigo, but anyone who still follows Bleach are probably used to that by now. Chad is trying to be the voice of reason, but Chad should have known that Ichigo is going to keep on fighting as long as he can. However, it looks like Ichigo has been taken away at least temporarily by Yukio who has some video game related powers, so the current battle will probably go on for at least one more chapter.

Naruto 537

Madara attacks with his demonic statute.

Truly a colossal battle.

Summary:
Madara appears at the beach battlefield with his giant demonic statute. Chouji, Chouza and other try to slow down the statute, but the statute sends everyone flying or scurrying for cover. Back at the command center, Tsunade and A learn of Madara's appearance and also of Naruto and Killer Bee's escape. A tells Tsunade to come with him to stop Naruto and Killer Bee and leaves Shikaku in charge of command.

Back on the beach, while most of the shinobi army is busying fighting the demonic statute, Madara warps to the sacred gourd and pot and kicks away the guards. Darui distracts Madara and allows Shikamaru to catch Madara with shadow mimic. Shikamaru figures out that Madara wants Kin Gin brother's nine-tails chakra inside his demonic statue. Madara confirms Shikamaru's guess just before the statute is about to step on Shikamaru. Shikamaru is saved by Chouji, but Madara is freed and disappears with the gourd, pot and the demonic statute.

In his lair, Kabuto is aware of Madara's intentions but isn't worried as Madara's statute only has a tiny bit of the eight-tails chakra. Meanwhile, Madara plans to accomplish his "Moon's eye" plan tomorrow night. The Fourth Shinobi World War has now approached its next stage.

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So the substitute Madara was trying to get was some substitute for the nine-tail chakra, and thus the Kin Gin brothers were the targets. I guess Madara is trying to pull off a preliminary version of his infinite Tsukuyomi jutsu in order to further his plans (such as capture the real eight and nine-tails). Substitutes are probably not going to sufficient for Madara's ultimate plan. I'm still waiting for Kabuto to throw a wrench into Madara's plan though. Kabuto can recall the Kin Gin zombies and probably has other contingencies. I wonder if Kabuto is keeping Itachi and Nagato's zombies for something devious, and of course Kabuto still has that secret zombie that had Madara agreeing to the alliance in the first place.

The war has finally moved beyond the preliminaries and the all the major players except Sasuke have surfaced. There are still some secondary battles (Gaara, Mifune, and Kakashi's divisions), but there should be more focus on Naruto and Madara now, so hopefully the story will continue to build up from this point.