TOP TEN BLEACH 2010 MOMENTS
Dec. 28th, 2010 07:38 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
http://users.livejournal.com/_debbiechan_/ posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
bleachnessEveryone’s doing their retrospectives and top ten lists so hey why not my own favorite Bleach moments of 2010? I’m not sure mine were the ones Sensei intended to be awesome—I didn’t get as awestruck by Aizen’s transformations or the fusion of Ichigo’s inner world Zangetsu and Shirosaki as I was by smaller character details like Mizuro launching a Molotov cocktail at the arc’s Big Bad. There were panels galore that stunned me—I’d be hard pressed to pick a top ten of those because Kubo’s art blows up my skirt on a regular basis, but what follows are my favorite moments.
(I did this quickly--forgive sloppy image editing)
My Top 10 Bleach 2010 Moments
The year of Bleach 2010 started with chapter 388 “Eagles Without Wings 2" (we got the spoilers way back on Jan. 13 in case anyone wants to anticipate when we’ll get a whiff of our next spoiler for 2011). It featured the promise of a real final confrontation (one that sadly didn’t live up to its promise), some ink spinning and dashing around, battle art with fun and scary perspectives, then that fabulous Aizen mindfuck of Ichigo that ignited the AiIchi fandom, my first golden moment of Bleach 2010:
1) The AiIchi Bad Touch Scene. Tell the truth--it really creeped you out, didn't it? XD
2) Shinji Fools Aizen. Oh Lawls that half smile and the welcome to Uppy Down World feeling for the audience! (If only for a little while! Aizen’s vicious comeback of getting Hitsugaya to stab Hinamori and then taking down everyone was less stirring—although there was that moment before Aizen revealed himself when Ichigo was going “Guys? Guys!” that I almost laughed because I knew what was coming—Aizen always wins, guys!)
3) Her Words Eased Me. The scene on the steps where Rukia says she’ll wait for Ichigo to talk to her has always been one of my favorites in Bleach—one of the scenes that convinced me that Kubo understood the nuances of relationships, and the echo here touched me. The implicit trust, the significance of real love and understanding beneath the bickering between father and son. On the surface Isshin doesn’t win any father of the year awards for withholding information from Ichigo and for headbutting him, but Ichigo thanks him and hey, the man just showed up to save him and the whole universe, ne?
4) Urahara shows up. UNF.
5) Yoruichi’s leg. There was so much hilarity and tenderness here. The affection I have for this pair (UraYoru, as well as catwoman’s legs) is infinite. Then she smacks him for giving her a look over his fan and Isshin is all like “get a room.”
6) Yer All Gonna Die. When Aizen was turning into a pretty butterfly and fighting Ura Yoru and Isshin, Gin was so funny and laid back. I’ve never loved him more. The fact that I was in total fear for his life during these chapters only added to my love for him. The terror, the denial—Gin, Gin, Gin, who are you? Will you survive the Deicide chapters? Will your ban kai live up to its deity killing name? Of course not! Aizen always wins! ARRGH!
7) A palpable hit. Not a great panel or anything but I’m a Shakespeare dork and this cracked me up.
8) Gin grabs Rangiku’s boob. Gah, this page had it all. GinKira undertones while Gin questions Ran about why she’s come looking for him, the most daring touch ever in Bleach history (yes, surpassing the AiIchi badtouch) and the whole thrill of did he or did he not kill her—now that’s sexy stuff right there. That’s why I love Gin so much.
9) An Ordinary Hero. Mizuiro launches a Molotov cocktail at Aizen. An ordinary human doing all he can under extraordinary circumstances. One of the great lessons of shounen manga. Loved it. Loved his expression here. What a badass little dude. And the whole Aizen chasing the kids had a bizarre horror comedy atmosphere that was classic Kubo—not everyone’s cup of tea but I loved it all.
10) The IchiRuki Look. Yeah, it was a tearjerker and damn, just look at them. What a way to end the arc. Kubo-sensei is a master at expressions and these are his champion faces here—the hero and heroine at their most vulnerable and the bond between them at such a turning point.
So, the final battle didn’t move me much and the new arc is just beginning so I won’t pick any scenes from there although I do love the new arc—if I had to pick one scene from it, I’d give Orihime’s sliding down the drainpipe the Honorable Mention as Fave Moment of 2010 even though it feels like it belongs more to the story of the future than to the story we’ve been through.
So, what were your fave moments of Bleach 2010?
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Date: 2010-12-29 02:43 am (UTC)1.
Self-explanatory. :D
2.
Had missed these two so much, and this scene had them the way I love most: spazzing Keigo, and Tatsuki not putting up with any bullshit.
3.
Don Kanonji is another character I'd missed (never expected to see him again, TBH), but seeing him attacking Aizen of all people, and the reactions to it, pretty much made my year.
4.
Another self-explanatory one. :D
5.
I love how Mizuiro manages to stay so bloody CALM during this whole scene. Everyone else is understandably freaking out, and he's all Mr. Level-Headed Cool Guy. No wonder he has so many girlfriends. XD
6.
Keigo being brave and selfless! And another character I never expected to see again: Zennosuke. Soon after, the best Bleach ship ever - Kanonji/Zennosuke - set sail.
7.
ISSHIN WITH A FULL-ON GRIZZLY BEARD. So much win, the internet can barely contain it.
8.
I cheered out loud here. Finally, someone did what many fans had been wanting to do for over a hundred chapters.
9.
Even though it was sad Puppy!car, it's still Puppy!car.
10.
The triumphant return of DerpFace Ichigo. He never gets to stick around very long, does he?
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Date: 2010-12-29 03:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 03:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 06:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 07:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 07:08 am (UTC)(Bluey, be nice!)
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Date: 2010-12-29 02:20 pm (UTC)Oh those are all wonderful, Alex. I was surprised you picked the puppycar moment. I didn't cry but I did love it slightly less than the Starrk moments as far as that sort of poignant goes. I was so disappointed that we didn't get to see the whole fight at the time or more of the dome scene when it happened that those feelings overwhelmed my love for the scene, I guess.
I knew you'd pick great funny moments! The Isshin flipping the bird panel--oh YES, definitely! And I loved those reaction faces from Tatsuki and Gin when Don Kanonji showed up--I almost picked that panel. I laughed long and hard from that one panel forever.
There were some other derpface Ichigos I recall loving earlier in the year too--yes, he should get his own manga!
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Date: 2011-01-01 05:34 pm (UTC)Also Gin and Tatsuki WTF expressions are just PURE WIN!
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Date: 2010-12-29 02:48 am (UTC)"Gin grabs Rangiku’s boob." xD kills me.
now....to see the last image breaks me heart u.u i feel like crying...again xD
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Date: 2010-12-29 02:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 03:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 04:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 03:00 am (UTC)Puppycar and Yammy moment. I seriously the one moment this year that brought me to tears. ;__;
And IchiRuki goodbye.
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Date: 2010-12-29 03:09 am (UTC)What!? That and "When did you think I wasn't using Kyoukasuigetsu?" together is Aizen's defining character moment, and is proof that he's a great big troll even if Kubo isn't. Definitely my Bleach moment of the year.
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Date: 2010-12-29 02:58 pm (UTC)I'm an Aizen fan myself and his gdmodding wore on me last year. I so knew those moments were coming. I preferred his bizarre paradoxical long speeches (the ones that bored some people) as his defining character moments--like when he explained to Ichigo about Destiny and to Gin about being beyond everything in the precipice world. Those was poetic nice shit for me.
But Aizen himself and his GOTCHA I'M UBER POWERFUL and LOOK AT ME I'M PRETTY I'M UGLY I'M BIG AND BAD was kinda yawn. I wanted more speeches in the end to be honest instead of the sort of typical shounen transformations--I guess Kubo stuck to the genre but I wanted more shifty KS tricks at the end. The one with Hinamori was so not a surprise--jmo.
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Date: 2010-12-30 07:18 am (UTC)So much that I was not too bothered by his killing Gin. Even though lots of people complained about him acting 'out of character' and stuff, I have always been pleased with the way Kubo handled Aizen. His going berserk didn't surprise me at all, not because I was familiar with shounen, but because it just makes so much sense if you look deeply into his character from the start. Aizen resonates with me, and I honestly think he is one of Kubo's most developed characters. I've never had any trouble understanding himunlike Gin.And the KS trick with Hinamori, I totally agree. It was meh for me. Poor Hinamori never got a break. I admit I did find the whole thing amusing, but it didn't leave much of an impression on me, as it did with the whole fandom.
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Date: 2010-12-30 10:14 am (UTC)It's ironic, really-the very people who introduced me to Bleach stopped reading it after the Grimm/Ichi fight because they got sick of 1) the constant desire for 'bigger powers, bigger powers, BIGGER POWERS!!!' and 2) Aizen's inability to be defeated (if they had their way, he either would have been killed by Ichigo when trying to run away on Sokuyoku hill, or Soi Fon would have snuck into Las Noches with the other captains and assassinated him). I always thought that his uber-power made sense-he is a Shinigami, a 'God of Death', and one of the most powerful at that. By making him unmatchable, Kubo showed that Aizen really held all the cards-he'd been planning this for 100 years.
While I was never excited by his moments of "OH MY, LOOK AT ME, I SURPASS BOTH HOLLOW AND SHINIGAMI", and you're right, his speeches were much better, I must admit-that's why he lost. Up until he had a power he truly believed 'unequal', he constantly relied on emotional manipulation-he never took chances, he never made gambles. Once the hoguyoku begins to awaken, however, that slowly changes. He starts to be more liberal with information-not a problem, he's more powerful then Isshin and (at the time) Ichigo anyway, explaining everything will just send them into despair. He allows Urahara and Yoruichi to employ every trick they have-Not as smart, there really wasn't any reason to let them wail on you other then for the despair factor, but okay, that's your choice (this directly results in him losing, BTW. Kinda shows why he should have stuck so much to his original plans, eh?). He casually walked around town, letting Tatsuki, Keigo, and the others just run around-comepletely useless. There was no need for him to just let them run around for AN HOUR.
I'm not going to type out the rest of his mistakes (because I don't want you to have a migraine by the time you're done reading this), but as we've noticed, the more powerful he becomes, so to does he become more arrogant. Which contributes to his downfall. It's slightly symbolic, I think-a man who believes himself to be a god can be so human.
That's another thing-I personally enjoyed the fight between Aizen and Ichigo, for more then just the ton of karma dished out to Aizen (the number of times I jumped up cheering after seeing Ichigo just bat away one of Aizen's attacks, like he'd done so many other times, was immense). I think it was rife with symbolism. We have two complete opposites going-Aizen, who becomes more monstrous and arrogant has he grows stronger, and Ichigo, who even in hollow form, always had that sleek, strong-in-a-lithe-way thing going. As their fight progresses, Aizen relies more and more on the hoguokyu's powers and less on his own, while Ichigo is using nothing but his zanpaktuo. And then their final forms-Aizen claiming to being a god, but really just being a hollow on steroids with a little bit more self control, and Ichigo who becomes one with his sword-an incarnate of his own powers, mind you, it's like he's becoming whole again-is a complete human, save for the way he's dressed and the black reiatsu coming off his hair and bandages. In the end, it's just the perfect Shinigami slaying an uber-hollow.
I'm not saying that I jumped for joy every time Aizen appeared-his air of superiority got on my nerves, and I never got excited over him killing everyone, though his speeches always made sense and I enjoyed them (plus I thought Ichigo's opinion on why the hogyoku took away it's powers was interesting), but I never actually detested anything about him. He just wouldn't of been Aizen, had he not been a condescending power-tripper with a severe case of narcism.
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Date: 2010-12-30 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-31 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 03:33 am (UTC)I can't really think of 10 moments, but I can think of 5
5. The Karakura Kids and Kanonji defending themselves against Aizen.
4. Gin's true motives being revealed.
3. Isshin showing up to save Ichigo.
2. The Arrancar Arc ending. (I know I said I was kidding above, but I could really not be more happy that after 4 years of 1 story, a new one was finally happening.)
1. The return to peaceful Karakura life at the beginning of the new arc.
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Date: 2010-12-29 04:38 am (UTC)THIS.
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Date: 2010-12-29 03:36 am (UTC)And Shinji, I actually wasn't expecting it...but he was awesome until....what you know what happened after
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Date: 2010-12-29 02:59 pm (UTC)I screamed and scared the husband myself, lol.
Yeah, and I wrote Sensei a long crazy ode consisting mostly of ILU THANK YOU FOR URAHARA OMG THANK YOU THANK YOU HE'S BAAAACK! XD XD XD
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Date: 2010-12-30 06:53 am (UTC)He appeared when Ichigo feels confused about destiny between him and Rukia.
They had funny moment until Ichigo told Rukia's speech to his father, it was so great and I love it.
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Date: 2010-12-29 03:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 04:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 05:39 am (UTC)D: wheeeere did you get the image for your current icon? It's lovely *pets*
I'm making my own list as I..er, type :3
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Date: 2010-12-29 05:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 05:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 07:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 03:06 pm (UTC)Those little girls are so wonderful. I forgot about that panel where Ichigo is protecting them both with a stick. DEFINITELY a great moment of the past year.
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Date: 2010-12-30 04:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-30 01:33 pm (UTC)Ah, I didn't put them in anything but chronological order--the way they happened in the manga. The IchiRuki look would be a contender for first place though--although my own reactions to other moments were just as intense--I flipped out when Urahara appeared and when Gin and Rangiku reunited, I was trembling, I think, lol. But yeah, by the end of the "Bleach My Soul" chapter--which had everything--humor and pathos and all the best of Bleach, I was so in love with my favorite manga all over again and crying.... so yeah.
I think if we had a poll it would win as Best Moment. 2009 was the year of the UlquiHime hand reach--2010 was the IchiRuki Look.
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Date: 2010-12-30 10:23 am (UTC)Isn't it interesting that everyone is up and trying to keep Ichigo off the battlefiled when he found the most peace and emotional growth in fighting? In chapter 424, where he and Keigo are talking about the career counselor they're going to have to see, and Ichigo is just like "Wait, why would I have thought of what I'm going to do for the rest of my life?" It's like he never, even after a year and a half of 'Normal life' thought about a future outside of being a Shinigami.
PS, ever since Kubo-sensei's announcement that he's going to be touching on more of Ichigo (and the rest of the Kurosaki's) backstory, coupled with my firm belief that not only did Masaki know of Isshin's double life, but was a part of it (and probably knew Ginjou Kuugo-I wouldn't be surprised if she could use this Fullbring power), it's always seemed like Ichigo was brainwashed. That may be a bit harsh of a word, but it's been told to him over and over from the time he was a child that he was a protector, that his name means 'one who protects' or 'to protect one thing' (The first version seems more accepted, but at the same time I always thought the second made more sense, and I like it better). So then, any time it pops up, Ichigo is practically screaming that he has to protect. From the trailers I've seen of the 4th movie, and of the fight on top of the dome of Las Noches, it's been so ingrained into him, it's in his instincts. I've just thought it weird that kind, loving Masaki would help in teaching this sort of thing. Makes you think about what was running through her head when she named him...
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Date: 2011-01-01 05:37 pm (UTC)I lovez it so! ^^
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Date: 2010-12-29 03:08 pm (UTC)haha, yes, that moment with Yamamoto was awesome too--not just for the three captains' responses but for Ukitake's sweet expression of fondness for the old grumpy ridiculous man. It was scary and adorable--classic, classic Kubo.
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Date: 2011-01-01 05:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 04:24 pm (UTC)My top favorite would probably be all the Isshin-Ichigo moments. The way they interact with each other gives me warm, fuzzy feelings. ♥
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Date: 2010-12-29 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 09:56 pm (UTC)Good list, debbiechan. :)
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Date: 2010-12-30 01:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-30 01:46 am (UTC)But that was 2009!
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Date: 2010-12-30 02:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-30 10:25 am (UTC)Long live the Emo face :'(
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Date: 2010-12-30 07:38 pm (UTC)any scene with Gin, but especially then one where Rangiku finally confronts him
Rangiku telling off Afro-san
Keigo with the sword
Zaraki vs Yammy vs Byakuya - this was my fave (it was in 2010 wasn't it?)