Spoiler free summary: In Volume 66 of Bleach by Tite Kubo, things get stranger as the tide turns for the worst. Heroes have become zombified enemies, and Yhwach, the king of Quincies, has made his move toward the Soul Society’s royal palace. Can Squad Zero stop him?
Character: This volume is a continuation of the ramp up we’ve been expecting. There was more lost opportunity here. One would think seeing one of your best friends turned into a zombi would have more of an impact on the characters. I’m not saying there isn’t any reaction, but I think the reaction was pretty lack luster.
Exposition: I don’t think there were any surprises here. The more action-oriented volumes tend to have a quicker pace. Most of the panels were devoted to cool moves and dialogue.
Worldbuilding: This volume teases at some of the more impressive wolrdbuilding that is to come. We don’t get the payoff, but there’s nice foreshadowing here that lets us anticipate what’s to come.
Dialogue: I think there’s a bit more development in this volume than normal, but it’s not that significant. Most of it follows the typical, “Behold my master plan,” and “No one dares take us on,” sort of boasting we expect to see.
Description: The art is still pretty awesome here. Most fight scenes should be. We do get some scope here as well. Some of the panels looked pretty iconic in the moment. I have to word it that way because this arc has a nasty habit of making something look tragic or awesome and then undercuts it in a future volume.
Overall: Even with the fighting, this volume feels like a set-up volume. We’re watching the undercard or the early night stuff, and we’re about to get into the main fights. That’s not to say that some of the other battles weren’t cool. The Captain Commander fight was pretty epic, and I loved Ken’s fight too. We just know that there are bigger things coming, and this volume alludes to that.
Thanks for reading,
Matt
M.L.S. Weech 