VIJAY'S BLOG: February 2010

Sunday, February 28, 2010

The shocking truth behind the collapse of the Soul Society is finally revealed! The magnitude of the conspiracy is far-reaching, and the perpetrators wield staggering power. Is this the end of the Soul Society?

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The long-awaited showdown between Ichigo and Byakuya Kuchiki has finally begun. Has Ichigo succeeded in mastering Bankai, the highest level of power that a Shinigami can attain, to face Byakuya as an equal?

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The execution of Ichigo's friend, Rukia has begun, yet Ichigo himself is nowhere in sight. In a matter of seconds, the power of one million Zanpakutō will slice through Rukia as punishment for sharing her Shinigami powers with Ichigo. Is this really how things are going to end?!

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The rebellion within the Soul Society grows as doubts spread about the death sentence of ex-Shinigami Rukia Kuchiki. Determined to save her, Rukia's childhood friend Renji vows to cut down the Captain of his own division, unaware of the terrifying fate that awaits him.

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The scheduled execution of former Shinigami Rukia Kuchiki has been moved up and is now just hours away. Meanwhile, the Soul Society is in chaos, with Shinigami drawing swords against one other. Something is rotting at the core of the Soul Society, but who, or what, could be behind it?

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During a bloody confrontation with a sadistic Shinigami, Uryū chooses a path that will temporarily grant him enormous power, at great personal cost. Meanwhile, Ichigo races to master a powerful technique that will help him fight Byakuya and, hopefully, save Rukia from execution.

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Ichigo and Yoruichi race to save Ichigo's friends from Rukia's cold-blooded brother, Byakuya Kuchiki. They arrive to find Ganju in tatters, and Rukia with him. Ichigo is bent on defeating her brother this time, but he is nowhere near prepared. Can he learn decades' worth of skill in just a matter of days?

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Chad has stormed his way into the heart of the Soul Society, the Seireitei, only to meet his match in the devastatingly efficient Captain Kyōraku. Meanwhile, Ichigo struggles in his battle against Kenpachi Zaraki, the captain of the 11th Division. Although Ichigo succeeds in drawing blood, the secret of Kenpachi's Zanpakutō may be his undoing. Before Ichigo realizes it, Kenpachi's blade has pierced his heart!

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With reports of powerful intruders defeating a number of lieutenants, the inner sanctum of the Soul Society--the Seireitei, the home of the Shinigami--is put on a state of high alert. Matters are further compounded by the mysterious death of a prominent captain. Is his death a cover-up to prevent a valuable secret from being exposed? Meanwhile, Ichigo confronts Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of the Eleventh Division, and by far the most brutal fighter in the Seireitei!

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Ichigo successfully defeats Ikkaku of the Eleventh Division and is rewarded with a valuable piece of information--the location of where Rukia is being detained as she awaits execution. However, Ichigo's companion, the pyrotechnics-wielding Ganju, is having a much harder time with his Shinigami opponent. Meanwhile, Orihime and Uryū confront the younger brother of the gargantuan gatekeeper whom Ichigo defeated a little while ago. It's time for Uryū to put all his training to the test and prove to everyone (and himself) how much more powerful he has become.

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With the help of Kūkaku - a one-armed explosives expert and old friend of the mysterious talking cat Yoruichi - Ichigo and crew are one step closer to infiltrating the Soul Society and rescuing their friend Rukia before she is executed. For Kūkaku's plan to work, Ichigo must control his enormous reservoir of spiritual energy--and there's no telling how much collateral damage this will cause. Meanwhile, the Soul Society hasn't been twiddling their collective thumbs, and quickly dispatches a delegation of Captains to give the unwanted visitors the rudest of welcomes imaginable.

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The race to save Rukia from the Soul Society is officially on, and Ichigo and company have come to their first roadblock, a very, very big roadblock. Jidanbō, the monstrous, fez-sporting gatekeeper hasn't let a single soul enter the Western Gate he guards in over 300 years, and he isn't about to change his mind about it just because Ichigo's crew wants to go through either. But, in a where-the-rubber-meets-the-road kind of way, Ichigo wasn't expecting his assault on the Soul Society to be a piece of cake either. After all, that'd just be boring.

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Ichigo knows that to retrieve Rukia from the Soul Society, he'll have to enter that world himself. But his fight with Rukia's brother Byakuya showed, in no uncertain terms, that Ichigo still has a great deal of rigorous study and training ahead of him. Deep beneath Kisuke's Urahara Shōten, Ichigo practices his fighting and hones his spiritual energies, and now he must face the most daunting challenge of all: prevent his Chain of Fate from consuming itself, or be forever transformed into a soul-devouring Hollow!

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Rukia Kuchiki, the ex-Shinigami responsible for Ichigo's transformation, is on the run. Her brethren at the Soul Society are quite displeased with the fact that she transferred the powers of a Shinigami to a Human and have dispatched two of their strongest agents to neutralize the situation. Their mission is twofold: to return Rukia to the Soul Society so that she may pay for her crime and to deal with Ichigo--permanently. But an unlikely third party is standing in their way: Uryū Ishida, the Quincy!

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Ichigo Kurosaki may not know this, but the world he lives in is one predicated on balance--between the living and the dead, between everyday life and the Soul Society. Shinigami aren't merely fighting Hollows, they are charged with the grand task of equalizing the balance between this life and the next. Naturally, if too much energy is channeled to one side, really bad things will happen--just as they're happening now! Ichigo and Uryū's competition inadvertently results in generating a leviathan of a Hollow whose sheer size is capable of tearing the Shinigami's delicately constructed balance to ribbons. Is Ichigo Shinigami enough to fell this giant and protect the equilibrium of the universe?

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Ichigo Kurosaki thought that Shinigami were the only ones hunting Hollows, but he was wrong. Enter Uryū Ishida, a Quincy, and possibly the last member of a powerful clan that died out over 200 years ago. Unlike Shinigami who strive to cleanse Hollows of their sins and send them to the Soul Society, Quincys adopt a more direct approach--they kill Hollows without hesitation. To demonstrate the supremacy of the Quincys' ways, Uryū challenges Ichigo to a contest--bait is spread around the city, attracting a large number of unstable Hollows. Whoever defeats the most wins, regardless of the danger.

Also, Orihime and Chad, confronted with a host of Hollows terrorizing their friends, awaken to their own psychic abilities. Who is the strongest?

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A new reality-show craze is sweeping the nation, garnering legions of screaming fans (the majority of them being teenaged girls). But this program comes with a supernatural twist--the host, a media-savvy spiritualist, travels to local hotspots and performs exorcisms, live on national TV! Surely Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki has his doubts about this primetime prima donna, and his assumptions are about to be put to the test--the show is heading straight for his neighborhood! What effect will this unprovoked media presence have on the fragile balance between Earth and the spirit world?

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Ichigo Kurosaki was a little boy when his mother passed away. One rainy day, Ichigo, whose ability to see the undead is a blessing and a curse, tried to stop a young girl from drowning in a nearby river. His mother, Masaki, ran after them, frantically trying to rescue her only son. Then everything went black, and Ichigo awoke only to discover his mother dead and the little girl gone.

It's the anniversary of Masaki's death, and the entire Kurosaki clan, along with former Shinigami Rukia Kuchiki, head to the cemetery to pay their respects. Sleeping demons rarely ever stay still and pretty soon Ichigo confronts the Grand Fisher, the Hollow that may be responsible for his mother's demise.

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Immediately after checking into the Kurosaki Clinic with a mysterious scar on his back, the muscle-bound Chad goes AWOL. Accompanying Chad is a talking parakeet imbued with the soul of a young boy named Yūichi. It doesn't take newbie Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki long to surmise that a Hollow must be involved--the strongest spirit he's faced to date. Ichigo is about to discover that not every soul is bound for the Soul Society, especially if it's tainted with innocent blood.

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Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn't change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Shinigami and member of the mysterious Soul Society. While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans who display psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers so that he can save his family; but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy. Now a full-fledged Shinigami himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits and, along with Rukia - who is slowly regaining her powers - it's Ichigo's job to protect the innocent from Hollows and help the spirits themselves find peace.