Bleach ep.13

December 31, 2004 | 9 Comments

It's good to know that the anime has been getting better lately. Although I think that this has more to do with the plot and the voice acting than the animation itself, which still is quite blurry in some scenes. But now that all of the characters have received development as well as powers of their own, I hope that the series' pace will pick up quickly. I'm also glad to see Orihime getting a rather major exposure in this episode. It's been disappointing to see her appearance being cut down short in the previous episodes and this certainly makes up for those times. Anyway, since this arc is quite close to the end of its conclusion, it means that the 'Soul Society' arc is on its way soon. Despite the fact that I am not a big fan of this arc, I am quite keen to see it since the anime seems to put a lot of effort to prepare for this arc.

The episode begins with Ichigo telling Kon to watch over his sister then leaves to do more Hollow slaying. At the same time, Orihime tries to evacuate Tatsuki and Chizuru away from the Hollow that appears on top of the roof. Tatsuki, however, insist on changing her clothes first and decides to split from the two. Meanwhile, the Hollow realises that Orihime is capable of seeing her so she proceeds to launch an acid attack on Chizuru. The acid seems to be capable of making Chizuru's arm to act independently of her body. So despite her wish to the contrary, Chizuru ends up twisting Orihime's arm. To make matters worse, they soon are surrounded by other students who have been controlled by the Hollow. Thankfully before the students can hurt Orihime, Tatsuki appears beating them easily. However, the circumstances turn for the worse when the Hollow manages to injure Tatsuki as well, leaving her unable to help Orihime.

However, the shock of seeing Tatsuki in pain reminds Orihime of her past where she was often bullied because of her long hair. But then she met Tatsuki and ever since then, Tatsuki has defended her from the bullies. Because of this she tells Tatsuki that she'll take the turn to protect Tatsuki now. As soon as she said this a strange power begins to resonate from her hairpin and quickly envelopes her in a strong whirlwind. The power eventually reveals itself as Shun Shun Rikka, 6 little creatures who are the source of Orihime's power. After some explanation on their origin, which seems to be an effect of Ichigo's power, the Captain tells Orihime to use their power to deflect the Hollow's attack, heal Tatsuki from her injuries, and finally, eliminate the Hollow. Upon doing so, however, Orihime passes out due to exhaution and the creatures return to their former form which is that of Orihime's hairpin.

Elsewhere in town, Karin tries to convince her father that Chad is injured. However, when they can't find Chad in the place that Karin has indicated, Isshin thinks that her daughter is simply lying because she feels neglected and needs love and fatherly affections. Because of this, he proceeds to bare his chest and tells his daughter to leapt into it. Heh. Karin, of course, responds by punching his idiotic father. At the same time, Orihime wakes up and finds herself in a room with Chad and Urahara. Chad explains to Orihime that he doesn't know where they are or who Urahara is but it seems Urahara was the one who saved them. In other part of the town, Ishida is seen slaying another Hollow. However, he feels that the number of Hollow arriving is unusually high and wonders if he had made a mistake by doing this to begin with. Meanwhile, Rukia is in trouble because she is unable to eliminate a Hollow with her power.

Thankfully for her, Kon arrives to kick the Hollow away and snuggles with her. Their reunion, however, is interrupted when Ishida arrives at the scene. Kon immediately becomes angry at Ishida for endangering the lives of people in the city. Ishida, however, claims that despite what he's done, he will not allow a single person in the town to die from Hollow attack. He then proceeds to slay the Hollow that attacked Rukia not too long ago. Back to Orihime and Chad, Urahara explains to the two that the monster that they see a while ago are Hollows. He also tells them that unlike other Shinigamis, Ichigo has an unusual amount of power in him. However, his inability to handle the power properly caused it to leak to the people near him. People such as Orihime and Chad. The episode ends with Ichigo finally meeting Ishida again. However, judging from the dark holes that appear in the sky, it seems they have major problem in their hands.

Impression:

Unfortunately I'm unable to tell if this is a good episode or not simply because I'm too happy to see Orihime finally getting her share of the action scenes. The Shun Shun Rikka formation also turns out to be as interesting as I'd imagine them. Tsubaki and Shonou are especially well-voiced by their respective voice actors. In addition to these, I also like Isshin's reaction to Karin's so called 'lie'. It's highly disturbing and amusing at the same time. As for Ishida, I have to admit that I never warm up to his character. But at the same time, I don't dislike the character like I dislike that famous Shounen character. If I have to find one thing that I dislike on this episode it'll probably be the cheesy song that plays at the end of the episode. Overall, however, I can't help but grinning throughout this episode as Orihime displays her cool-looking power.

© memento 2003