Another chapter of Bleach is out, so let's talk about it.
Spoilers and more deicide after the cut.
So it looks like this little run is over. Nanao and Captain-Commander Kyouraku have apparently defeated Barro.
It was a weird battle what with the flashbacks and all. The cliffhangers and comebacks from Barro were expected, of course. I guess that turning into an owl (or something to that effect) was a bit of a surprise, but not out of character with the manga as it has gone so far.
There are still a couple battles to go before the "main event", as it were.
Valkyrie and Nakk le Varr are alive yet, which means they have to go down before we see Ishida, Haschwald, or Bach in action. That's what I'm assuming, at least, unless there's a situation like the one that occurred near the end of the Fake Karakura arc.
As it stands, I think Ichigo will likely show off some of his new powers against Nakk le Varr, but the Valkyrie fight seems harder to predict. Additionally, I'm unsure as to how the shinigami will actually beat him, save unexpected involvement from Urahara. The rest of the Gotei 13 doesn't seem to be up to the task of beating him, even if they weren't obsessed with fighting every battle 1-on-1 (with maybe three exceptions).
So chapter 653 was a nice conclusion to the events with Barro. And now we move on to something else.
