From the back cover:
Ichigo Kurosaki may not know this, but the world he lives in is one predicated on balance—between the living and the dead, between everyday life and the Soul Society. Soul Reapers aren’t merely fighting Hollows, they are charged with the grand task of equalizing the balance between this life and the next. Naturally, if too much energy is channeled to one side, really bad things will happen—just as they’re happening now!

Ichigo and Ishida’s competition inadvertently results in generating a leviathan of a Hollow whose sheer size is capable of tearing the Soul Reaper’s delicately constructed balance to ribbons. Is Ichigo Soul Reaper enough to fell this giant and protect the equilibrium of the universe?

Review:
I liked Ishida before, but I like him more after the events of this volume. Oh, sure, his backstory isn’t really anything amazing, but I like how he and Ichigo interact, and how their powers combine in combat. All of the scenes with them together were enjoyable.

The team seems to be just about complete, with a few more having yet to decide whether to acknowledge their abilities or not. I very much like the direction the story is headed in the final chapter, and it is weakening my resolution to hold off a bit on acquiring volume 7.

From the back cover:
Ichigo Kurosaki thought that Soul Reapers were the only ones hunting Hollows, but he was wrong. Enter Uryuu Ishida, a Quincy, and possibly the last member of a powerful clan that died out over 200 years ago. Unlike Soul Reapers who strive to cleanse Hollows of their sins and send them to the Soul Society, Quincies adopt a more direct approach—they kill Hollows without hesitation. To demonstrate the supremacy of the Quincies’ ways, Uryuu challenges Ichigo to a contest—bait is spread around the city, attracting a large number of unstable Hollows. Whoever defeats the most wins, regardless of the danger.

Review:
Though this volume starts off decently enough, with Ishida issuing his challenge to Ichigo and Rukia learning the history of the Quincies, it’s when the focus shifts to some of Ichigo’s friends and family that things get good. The three chapters featuring Chad and Karin confronting one of the horde o’ Hollows are especially fun, and Tatsuki continues to kick butt (often literally).

Though all of this is certainly entertaining, there really isn’t any plot to speak of. It’s more of a free-for-all. At least the characters go through some changes, even if the story doesn’t advance a whole lot.

From the back cover:
A new reality-show craze is sweeping the nation, garnering legions of screaming fans. But this program comes with a supernatural twist—the host, a media-savvy spiritualist, travels to local hotspots and performs exorcisms, live on national TV! Surly Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki has his doubts about this primetime prima donna, and his assumptions are about to be put to the test—the show is heading straight for his neighborhood. What effect will this unprovoked media presence have on the fragile balance between Earth and the spirit world?

Review:
Remember that meat of the story I thought we’d be progressing to about now? At first, this volume disappointed me, because it seemed that all we’d get was this mini-arc of little significance. Ichigo fights a Hollow at the taping of the flamboyant spiritualist’s show. Wow, surprise. But it eventually became apparent there are some repercussions from this event that will further the story along, so it wasn’t just filler after all.

Speaking of filler, I liked the first chapter about Kon’s search for a more loving owner than Ichigo. I also realized I like every one of the major and supporting characters, with the possible exception of Ichigo’s dad. Rukia continues to be an interesting combination of competent and girly, Ichigo’s sister Karin is possibly figuring some things out, Chad’s love of cute things is awesome, Tatsuki is also really beginning to grow on me as a character (I just love her character design) and Ishida is already a welcome addition.

From the back cover:
It’s the anniversary of Ichigo’s mother’s death, and the entire Kurosaki clan, along with former Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki, head to the cemetery to pay their respects. Sleeping demons rarely ever stay still and pretty soon Ichigo confronts the Grand Fisher, the Hollow that may be responsible for his mother’s demise.

Review:
Ichigo’s fight with the Grand Fisher is your typical shounen fare. What made the whole arc more special were the reactions from Ichigo’s sisters, Rukia, and Kon and some background information provided by Ichigo’s long-time friend, Tatsuki. The pacing of the story is excellent, including a lot of great atmospheric art that sets the mood. It is so easy to imagine the action being animated that I am left with a surprisingly strong desire to check out the anime.

There are a few funny moments, mostly provided by Kon (whom I adore) and reactions to Ichigo’s spastic dad (who, in himself, is kinda creepy). I usually am not amused by jokes where a character suddenly flourishes a random prop from somewhere to make a joke, so was happy to see that when a gag of this type was employed in this volume, the logistics of lugging said random prop around were acknowledged.

In his comments in the beginning of the volume, Kubo states that, with this volume, the introduction of Ichigo has come to an end. This reminds me of Rurouni Kenshin, as several volumes are employed to introduce characters, have a few minor skirmishes on home turf, etc., before launching into the meat of the story. These twenty-five chapters have been well spent— getting everything set as well as totally hooking me!

From the back cover:
Immediately after checking into the Kurosaki Clinic with a mysterious scar on his back, the muscle-bound Chad goes AWOL. Accompanying Chad is a talking parakeet imbued with the soul of a young boy named Yuuichi. It doesn’t take newbie Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki long to surmise that a Hollow must be involved. By far the strongest spirit he’s faced to date, Ichigo is about to discover that not every soul is bound for the Soul Society, especially if it’s tainted with innocent blood.

Review:
Volume 2 is even more fast-paced and fun than the first, and even though it employs some of the shounen cliches, there’s enough unique world-building to keep me interested. Of course, Ichigo is developing quickly and uber-awesomely, but nobody really harps on this point, so it doesn’t become annoying. One weird thing is how talkative the Hollows are. I’m not used to big hulking monsters (with exploding leech-bombs!) that actually say stuff.

My favorite part of the story continues to be the shinigami system and methods. They receive orders to take out specific Hollows, receive bonuses for eliminating particularly nefarious ones, and can actually use the bonuses as currency to purchase more nifty shinigami equipment. One such gadget featured in this volume is a pill that allows Ichigo to remove his own soul from his body (he has to be in soul form to fight Hollows) when Rukia is not around to do it. His first experience with it provides the material for the last few chapters, which I liked a great deal.

Disclosures in this volume also suggest that life in the Soul Society might not be as rosy as Rukia has suggested. I am really starting to get into this series.