Lesley Aeschliman

Manga Review: Bleach Volume 65

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Bleach Volume 65 continues to focus on the battle between the Soul Reapers and the Quincies.

Bleach Volume 65

Bleach Volume 65

Written by: Tite Kubo
Publisher: Shueisha
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: November 3, 2015

Volume 65 sees the continuation of the battle taking place in the Soul Society between the Soul Reapers and the Quincies. Much of the volume focuses on Candice Catnipp, Liltotto Lamperd, Meninas Mcallon, and Giselle Gewelle as they fight against some of the protagonists. But the unexpected arrival of Ichigo starts to turn the tide in the fight with these Quincies.

But the unexpected arrivals don’t end with Ichigo. Several other characters suddenly enter into this part of the story, but the one that affects Ichigo the most is Uryu. You can see the anguish Ichigo feels when he discovers that Uryu is fighting alongside the Quincies. While Ichigo and Uryu may have had their differences in the past, Ichigo still saw Uryu as a friend. I suspect that there’s going to be more of a focus on Ichigo and Uryu at some point in a future volume of Bleach.

For the antagonists, the arrival of Kurotsuchi becomes problematic when he brings along some unexpected allies to help fight against the Quincies. But Giselle has the power to turn dead people into zombies, and this ability creates issues for the Soul Reapers when they see several people they have worked and fought alongside with resurrected as zombies. Not surprisingly, this causes some of the normally brash and battle ready Soul Reapers to hesitate. This emotional conflict for the Soul Reapers is quite understandable and realistic.

There’s one section in this volume that was included for comic relief, but in some respects, it almost feels like it’s out of place. The scene in question has to do with a dress Orihime is wearing and Ichigo’s reaction to it. While the volume needed some kind of comic relief, this scene sticks out like a sore thumb a little too much since it’s the only instance of humor that appears. Maybe it would have felt like it fit in better if there had been some way to incorporate another brief humorous scene.

When it comes to the art, there’s a lot of action scenes included in Bleach Volume 65. Unfortunately, it feels like Kubo has started using this as an excuse to cut corners on the details for all of the panels, not just the ones featuring the action. Kubo had included so much detail in the earlier volumes of Bleach, so these less detailed drawings are on the disappointing side. To me, I think the volume would probably have been a little more interesting to read if the images were more visually appealing.

But if you’re willing to look past the lower quality of the art, then you might be able to enjoy Bleach Volume 65. I can only truly recommend this volume to long-time fans of Bleach who are still interested in following what happens to Ichigo and the others.

The reviewer received a review copy from VIZ Media

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