Watch your step, another Bleach chapter is out and this one is a doozy.
Spoilers after the cut.
I'm sure many of us who read Bleach have wondered something. Are the Quincy the "good guys" of the manga?
Based on how the fight between Bach & Hyousube has unfolded, I'm tempted to revisit the question again.
And now we know the meaning of Bach's (and thus, Ishida's) epithet: A stands for "The Almighty". And of course, he's got super-duper clairvoyance. Not only can he see everything that's coming, but he can stop it as well.
Maybe that's why Urahara is frantically putting contingency plans together and sending a whole bunch of people up to Reioukyuu. Maybe that's why Kyouraku and Ukitake look really interested in getting involved.
I doubt there's any way they knew of Bach's power beforehand (although we now know why Bach knew so damn much before attacking Seireitei).
I was of the opinion that it would take a Mayuri-esque ass-pull for Bach to save himself. Turns out, he made Mayuri look like a rank amateur.
It's one thing to turn aside attacks from people like Ichigo, Kenpachi, or even Yamamoto Genryuusai. But to take Hyousube's bankai head-on and come out unscathed? That's just ridiculous. Such an act strains the bounds of credulity.
I get it, it's a shounen manga and weird shit like this happens frequently. But when you're world-building, you install rules because if you just let anything happen there's no consistency and thus no credibility. This chapter is like "Anything Can Happen Thursday" (from The Big Bang Theory) gone horribly, horribly wrong for Hyousube and the rest of the Royal Guard.
At this time last week, it looked like Bach was dead in the water. Today, it looks like he'll be waltzing right up to the Soul King, killing the bastard, and usurping him without much effort expended.
That's Bleach in a nutshell, really.
