Bleach 585 Review – “The Headless Star 4”

Bleach 585 Review – “The Headless Star 4”

Written by: ClayDragon

Not quite what I was hoping for, but still awesome.

Noticing the column of light that appeared at the end of last week’s chapter, Ichigo turns around to investigate when he hears Yhwach’s voice. It appears that Ichigo can hear what he says despite them being a great distance apart – probably due to Ichigo’s Quincy blood. Yhwach clarifies that the ‘one who led them to light’ was not Aizen or Uryu as I expected, but Ichigo himself.

What is that thing on Yhwach's wrist? It looks almost like a watch, but there isn't a strap. What do you think?

When Ichigo asks for some clarification, Yhwach explains that thanks to Ichigo, he can now invade the Palace of the King of Souls. Going into more detail, he explains that the new clothes that Ichigo is wearing are made from the bones and hair of the Squad Zero Captains, and they are what allowed Ichigo to pass through the barriers between the Palace and the Soul Society.

You fucked up, Ichigo. You fucked up real bad.

However, because of their defensive nature, the clothes end up causing the barrier to be unable to close up for roughly an hour and a half, and Yhwach plans to use this gap to enter the Palace. Realising what’s going on, Ichigo attempts to rush towards the pillar of light, only to get grabbed by Meninas and thrown into a nearby building. As she chides him for being too naïve, she then punches him in the face.

Is it just me, or do those numbers seem really arbitrary? 

At this point, NaNaNa jumps in and attempts to attack the downed Ichigo, but just as he’s about to hit him Ichigo flash steps out of the way, and continues on towards the pillar. Before he can get much further, Commissioner Quincy appears and holds his gun to Ichigo’s head, commending him for being able to move after taking a direct punch from Meninas. Just in time, Ichigo manages to knock the gun away from his head before Commissioner fired at him.

"Now give me all your money."

Immediately after knocking the gun away, Ichigo feels someone grab his shoulder, and turns to see Bazz-B readying his Burner Finger 1. Just as he fires it at Ichigo, something quickly snakes its way in between the two and deflects Bazz-B’s shot. Whilst Ichigo stares in horror at the part of his collar that got ripped off, Bazz-B looks over to see Renji arrive, stating that he showed up in the nick of time.

Funnily enough, the translation I was reading didn't even bother to do anything for this page. 

As Ichigo complains about how Renji almost decapitated him, he gets told to go after Yhwach whilst Renji holds them back. Agreeing, Ichigo moves on, followed by NaNaNa and Bazz-B. Before they can reach him, a wall of ice approaches them which forces them to back off. Renji then repeats himself, telling the Quincies that he won’t let them past. As he says this, the smoke clears to reveal Byakuya, Rukia, Ikkaku, Yumichika and Hisagi, all ready to defend Ichigo.

WHY THE HELL HAS THIS NOT BEEN ANIMATED YET?!

Whilst I’m really annoyed that Grimmjow never showed up, this was still a really good ending, as I was worried that Ikkaku, Yumichika and Hisagi had been taken out of the game by Mask De Masculine, so it’s good to see them back in action. I’m especially looking forward to seeing Hisagi fight, as we’ll most likely see him use his Bankai.

What Ichigo didn't know was that Renji was, in fact, aiming for his jugular.

Given that it’s an 8 against 6 fight, the odds are still in the Sternritter’s favour, so I can still see more people arrive to help. Considering we’ve never actually seen a Soul Reaper defeat a Sternritter in a

1-on-1 battle (except Komamura), the chances are high that someone else will appear to help out. I’m a little bit worried though, as I can see Bazz-B going up against Rukia (what with the whole ‘fire and ice’ motif), and whilst I’m sure it would still be a good fight, I’m desperate to see Grimmjow fight Bazz-B.

"Does...does that mean I'm wearing that guy's beard hair?"

After a little thought, I’ve made a small predictive list showing what I think the fight matchups are going to be. You can see it down below, along with the reasoning behind my predictions, although some of the reasons are little more than conjecture.

Soul Reaper	Sternritter	Reasoning
Renji	NaNaNa	NaNaNa was already shown to have followed Renji and analysed him.
Rukia	Bazz-B	Fire vs Ice motif
Byakuya	Commissioner	Both are stoic and use ranged attacks.
Ikkaku	Meninas	The guy can tank a punch and flex a dislocated shoulder back into place.
Yumichika	Candice	Both are incredibly vain.
Hisagi	Giselle	Both are implied to be more bloodthirsty than they let on, and Giselle needs her targets to be close to her whilst Hisagi uses long-range attacks.

"This was a designer brand, damn you!"

Yhwach’s goal of going to the Palace of the King of Souls caught my interest as, even though it isn’t explained what he wants to do there, it’s heavily implied that he wants to kill the King of Souls – which is exactly what Aizen planned to do. I don’t think it’s coincidence that the two villains have the same goal, so I think that either Aizen gave Yhwach information about Squad Zero when they spoke to each other, or they’re actually working together. It’s also possible that Aizen is manipulating Yhwach into opening the way to the Palace, and then he’ll hijack the method and go there himself. Either way, I would like to see Aizen regain his position as a proper threat. 

Well, at least the Vandenreich are an equal-opportunity evil group.

Good Things:     Even more plot progression!

   Yhwach’s goal is revealed.

   Ichigo managing to outmanoeuvre four Sternritters.

   Hands-down the best climax we’ve had for a long time.

Bad Things:      Where the hell are Bambietta and Yachiru? And Isane, for that matter?

Manga Rating: 4/5

ClayDragon:









ClayDragon is currently studying Physics at university, and is constantly bewildered by it. The main method of contacting him is his Gmail account at kyleroulston1993@gmail.com. The alternative is his Skype account at kyleroulston1993. When not playing games or reading, he can be found with his head in his hands whilst trying in vain to understand quantum physics. "I'm the Bleach reviewer, I remember it so you don't have to!".