Bleach 29 by Tite Kubo: B-

From the back cover:
Ichigo and his friends knew invading Hueco Mundo wouldn’t be easy, but even the lesser Arrancars are pushing them to their limits! Can Ichigo, Uryuu and Chad find the inner strength to overcome the first line of attack, or will Orihime be stuck in Hueco Mundo forever?!

Review:
When you get right down to it, nobody does anything in this volume but fight. Ichigo, Uryuu, and Chad all face Arrancar opponents and each is pushed to employ the hidden reserve of strength they’d hoped to save for higher-level opponents. I’m enough of a shounen fangirl that I enjoy it when characters power up, so this volume is fun on that score, at least.

We begin with Ichigo, who is fighting some kind of Latino Arrancar who keeps needling him to reveal his bankai move. Once he’s witnessed that, he demands to see Ichigo’s Hollowfication skills, but alas, he only gets to enjoy it for about a second before he’s done for. Uryuu’s opponent is difficult enough that he’s forced to use some awesome kind of sword/arrow thing that finishes her off easily. And Chad, who always seems to get the short end of the stick in this area, not only reveals a new form of his powerful (defensive) right arm but suddenly unveils that the left one has (offensive) powers too.

I know, I know, this is not manga craft at its finest, but when I saw Chad’s left arm I swear I literally said “Aw, cool!” aloud. There’s definitely a kind of satisfaction to be derived from watching our battered heroes suddenly whip out a surprise weapon or tactic and go all badass on their foes. It may not be deep, but it can be awfully entertaining.

Review copy provided by the publisher.