374 "Gray Wolf, Red Blood, Black Clothing, White Bone"

[http://users.livejournal.com/_debbiechan_/]

My heart!

The scan is out early. Thank you SleepyFans!

Comments

[incandescens]

Okay, that just vastly improved my mood post-work-meeting . . .

[r0ck3tsci3ntist.livejournal.com]

Wow! Nice one Kubo-sensei!

Still don't think Stark is dead yet. But I do think he WILL die.

Shunsui is amazing. So glad to finally get to see more of him.

[kashinosei.livejournal.com]

Too fast on Starrk~ though i don't like logg fights, but I love Starrk too.

[pony-rocks.livejournal.com]

Stunning chapter.

[manonlechat.livejournal.com]

I wonder if this power is why Shunsui wears a multcolored coat? To increase the number of colors on his back, allowing for smaller injuries?

Shunsui's sword is creeping me out. Also, have we seen Ukitake since he was impaled by the kid arrancar?

[gokuma.livejournal.com]

I wonder if this power is why Shunsui wears a multcolored coat? To increase the number of colors on his back, allowing for smaller injuries?

What a cool idea! ^^
But naaah, I think he wears it because he think it's pretty. And that real men wear pink <3

[rionarch.livejournal.com]

Right now all I'm wondering is if Katen Kyokotsu plays cute little games with Sogyo no Kotowari.

[gokuma.livejournal.com]

When I've learned about Shunsui's power I instantly thought about Ukitake's theme song: "Standing outside my playground" and "cruel games we play", anyone? ;)

[mikados.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one who's a little worried about Shunsui? His shikai is a disadvantage to himself and now his dominant color is black. Though I don't think neither Starrk or Shun will be killed in this "child's game", we need to see some new bankai before that happens. Katen Kyokotsu is suddenly pretty scary.

I like that Love seems to recognize Shunsui's ability, it makes me wonder if they ever fought before, maybe just for training.

[nomoreprinces.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing we'll learn next chapter that there can't be any call backs. There are a lot of anti-retaliation rules in kids games after all.

[teenochan.livejournal.com]

Wow. Not only was the chapter early it was just plain AMAZING too! XD
Shunsui's Burst-Of-Spring haori makes a lot of sense now... Increase attack AND decrease the places where Irooni could backfire on him.

Haves yourself some internets Kubo-Sama!
Now i can't wait till the next chapter...

[moonlightspirit.livejournal.com]

early chapter :D

so much Shunsui~ one of the panels I loved the most was the one where we can see his reflection in Katen x3
I dont think the fight is quite over yet either and I love that Shuns ability is a risky one to himself as well, dont quite know why

[athena799.livejournal.com]

This chapter was so freakin' badass.

That is all.

[wicked-liz.livejournal.com]

Wicked iconnage <3

[mshepnj.livejournal.com]

Oh good gracious! Black and white images on a page that leave me breathless!

I think this chapter is deliciously revealing about both Shusui and Stark. It's also really melancholy, which is an emotion I don't usually feel about Shunsui.

Shunsui doesn't show his bankai because it can be used against him in certain circumstances. He's got to take a lot of personal risk to use it.

Stark really was the loneliest hollow in Hueco Mundo, wasn't he? His power destroyed his friends? That's rough. Joining others as strong as himself may have been his only relief from a lonely existence.

[manonlechat.livejournal.com]

It's also really melancholy, which is an emotion I don't usually feel about Shunsui.

Agreed! I was feeling that vibe as well.

[bluishorbs.livejournal.com]

That Shunsui cover was just...wow.

I just love Shunsui and Stark, every chapter with them interacting is wonderful.

[karenai.livejournal.com]

That chapter was probably my favorite in months. The art was amazing, we learned something fascinating about both of the characters, and it was beautifully executed.

1) the chapter title page was amazing. and terrifying.
2) Shunsui rising out of the black was also terrifying
3) Shunsui talking as his face is ALSO reflected in his sword - O_O
4) Starrk and Lilinette are tragic and lovely, and did he want to die or what?

Shunsui officially has the scariest revealed sword, and somehow, he is still afraid of Unohana. Oh dear.

[eris4.livejournal.com]

The flashback on Stark and Lilinette worries me to death. ç___ç

[wintaerland.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was a packed chapter.

Kyouraku's zanpakutou is now my new love I think, but I can see how he hates using it. Would be hard to fight with the games changing on you so easily. I love how he just rose out of the shadow and I also love how Kubo added in that panel with Love recognizing it and thus hinting at past spars between the two. The part where he threw off his haori and changed his color to black was great as well, what a move.

Stark's flashbacks tugged at my heart. Loneliness is just a pain to go through and to see your friends dying/fading out all around you because of your sheer strenght, ouch! Kubo conveyed their sadness very well. Splitting his soul because he didn't want to be alone, but I bet they still felt lonely since they knew they were technically one person. Perhaps his fight with the semi-serious Kyouraku will ease some of his loneliness?

I'm going to guess that Stark's swords are also formed from parts of his soul like the wolves. Still makes me wonder if parts of his soul faded away with the self-destruction of the wolves... maybe he just recalls the fragments later.

Neither Stark nor Shunsui are truly fighting seriously yet. Come on people, I want to see some power! And when that happens, Kubo will probably cut away to some other fight just to leave us hanging -__-

Now, off to imagine what Ukitake, Unohana and Yamamoto are capable of

[secila80.livejournal.com]

That was freaking amazing!!! Shunshui was terrifying and Starrk, oh gosh, Starrk nearly made me cry.

Kubo I love you!!!

[nomoreprinces.livejournal.com]

Something I've been thinking since this chapter explained Shunsui's zanpakutou abilities.

Thinking back on the filler arc in the anime... and knowing Katen Kyokotsu is that piratey big boobed woman... She scares me more now. That bad ass of a woman playing something like hopskotch with daggers or something.

[pogo2468.livejournal.com]

EEEE, I love this chapter!! The art was stunning. We learned a lot about both Stark and Shunsui. And Shunsui's sword is freaky!!

This chapter made me love both Shunsui and Stark more than I already do. Poor Starrk. I had a feeling that maybe his friends were killed or something tragic like that, but I didn't realize that his and Gingerback's (I'm so calling her that from now on XD) strength alone killed them. I could see, now, why he joined the Espada. Aizen convincing him isn't even necessary to show, I think. Aizen's strength alone probably drew Starrk. The guy wants to be around people as strong as him, so that he won't be lonely anymore :'(

And Shunsui. I can't stop raving about him :3 So much more was revealed about him. That's a pretty sick sword. Sick in both a groovy and cool way and sick in a twisted and demented way. I wasn't expecting that at all. I kinda like this twisted, creepy version of Shunsui, though. It was something I wasn't expecting. I never thought the guy who had his VC throw flowers at him when he made his entrance would be such a devious fellow. So unexpected, yet so perfect <3 Also, the panel of him reflected in the sword is probably my favorite of his, although there were many stunning ones of him.

And I still think Starrk's alive. His death (I do think he'll be dying) will be heartbreaking, I'm sure, since he'd be killed by an oponent he could actually be friends with :'( Please, prove me wrong, Kubo!!

[yah-senbest.livejournal.com]

yeah, kubo go make starrk(+lily) the first arrancarr/espada to quit aizen.
then shunsui and them could be friends =D

[georg-vanlunden.livejournal.com]

... I'm mostly just confused by Shunsui's powers. I'm sensing some HEAVY cultural barriers here since for the whole chapter I basically just sat down and went 'bwuh?' at the things Shunny was spouting.

That said I did like Starrk's flashback, so that was cool. Furthermore that panel where Shunsui attacks Starrk after he's thrown his cape took me FOREVER to decipher, it looks so damn weird I could hardly see what was going on.

[karenai.livejournal.com]

Hope this helps!

Katen is a sword that fights by playing children's games. If you're within the boundaries of the sword, you must abide by the rules of the game. Shunsui must play the game as well; he has no advantage, other than him apparently knowing the games already.

Some of the other games were described in a link somewhere, but basically the "taka oni" game is about who can be "taller" - essentially, the person who finds higher ground wins the game. The tall-game was not chosen by the sword for this round. The other game he mentioned was kage oni; if you get your shadow stepped on by another opponent, you lose. Kage oni opened the chapter, so apparently the other person does not need to be told that they're in the game for them to be in the game.

The one for most of the chapter was a color game, "iro oni". It looks like you alternate turns; given that it's a kid's game, probably no repeats. This is speculation, but I think you do damage based partly on where the color is on the other person, and the power is based on how much of it is on you. "Gray" did not do much to Starrk because Shunsui was wearing very little of it (though it hurt a lot); "White" did a lot of damage to Shunsui because Starrk was wearing a decent amount of white and Shunsui had his haori on. At the end, Shunsui was wearing nothing but black and it was his turn, hence the last page; Stark's outfit is trimmed in black.

That said, even if you aren't wearing much of the color, it hurt Starrk a LOT when he got sliced shallowly on the arm. The pain must be intensely awful.

My Japanese is god-awful, so someone fluent really needs to clarify, but "oni" is like monster/demon, and "kage" is shadow, "iro" is color. I don't know what "taka" is, but probably "height" or "tall". Take that for what you will until someone far wiser than me (you won't have to wait long) clarifies.

In short, the games are terrifying, but Shunsui nevertheless loves his sword. Damn. Also, he was willing to give hints to Starrk, even though I don't think that's necessary - jeez.

[la-kalaka.livejournal.com]

Loneliness theme gets me wherever I read it. I feel so much for Starrk I hope he can have Grimmjow's or Gantenbein luck and live after this battle is enough to see Espadas dying ;_;

[wicked-liz.livejournal.com]

WAH~

So no one caught the song reference in Kubo's chapter title. Am I hoping too much?

'Cause the minute I saw it I thought of The Pillows so "White Summer And Green Bicycle, Red Hair With Black Guitar" from their "Thank You, My Twilight" (2002) album.

I'm totally lovin' Kubo <3

[(Anonymous)]

"My sword just wasn't in the mood" - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.




...






Sorry. I'll let y'all get back to the srs business now >_>.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, actually, srs business addendum of my own. I like how Stark (I reject KT's more ridiculous romanizations, sorry) is facing his death with this sword in particular - the "lonely kid", killed (maybe) by finally being included in a game, you know? Very clever.

[combandmirror.livejournal.com]

Excellent chapter!

I'm so glad to get more info on Hollow social structure. That settles some of my suspicions. Only weak Hollows can be in large groups. The less in the group, the stronger they are since the odds decrease of finding another Hollow strong enough to be near them.

That should apply to Arrancars as well. Someone like Szayel who has so many Fraccion can't be that strong. Up toward the other end of the scale would be someone like Neliel who was very strong back in the day (although not now, of course) with her two Fraccion.


Starrk's getting cut way too easily. Did splitting off all those wolves weaken him?

[amciel.livejournal.com]

I'm fascinated by the fact this chapter title was in kanji rather then katakana. Anyone else remember a title that wasn't in English?

[asamisaika.livejournal.com]

Oh Stark, I love thee more with each passing chapter.

Just a random observation and I don't know if it means anything, but I did notice a similarity between this fight and the Grimmjow vs Ichigo fight.

At the end of the GrimmIchi fight, there's a very close close-up of Grimmjow's eye before he's stabbed by Ichigo. During this latest chapter, there's a very similiar close-up of Stark's eye before he's slashed by Shunsui.

Whether or not that means anything, I don't know, but it did strike as interesting to me.

[nehalenia.livejournal.com]

This was a gorgeous, terrifying and poignant chapter. Shunsui's zan is now officially my favorite, and Shun's cunning (old age and treachery....) is fantastic. I thought his smile as he was rising out of the shadows was kind of sad.

What tore me up, tho, is Stark/Lili being too strong to have friends. Perhaps I'm just being hopeful, but Shun and Starrk have been talking about how strong the other is through this whole fight. Starrk's line about 'if we couldn't be weak, could we at least have a friend who is as strong as us?' makes me think that he's found one in Shunsui. Now the only question is, will it end tragically, with Starrk dying and telling Shunsui "you're the strongest I've ever fought. Too bad, we could have been friends, that would have pleased me" and then dying, or with Stark/Lili surviving and actually getting a chance to BE friends with Shunsui. (I can just see those two sacked out on roof somewhere together -- Shunsui drunk, and Stark just napping. Probably while Lili and Uncle Uki are off playing or having tea.)

*sniff*

If Stark/Lili dies. this is going to break my heart.

[karenai.livejournal.com]

Your image of them is SO close to mine - I think mine is yours set instead in the courtyard of the thirteenth, where Stark and Shunsui lounge lazily while Ukitake annoys/entertains Lili in the garden ("Aren't these fish wonderful? <3 <3 <3" "-________-").

But I think they're going to die. The way Stark phrased that last sentence - "Could we at least have a friend who is as strong as us?" sounded like it was going to get a "no".

So sad, the life Hollows live.