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Bleach #57
Bleach―ブリーチ― 57 [Burīchi 57]
キルゲの手により、黒腔内に閉じ込められた一護！ その間、「星十字騎士団」の圧倒的な力で、為す術も無く散る死神達。尸魂界から、次々と同胞の声が消えゆく中でついに、あの男の炎が大きく燃え始める――。
192 pages, Paperback
First published December 4, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
October 12, 2024
This volume freaked me out to no end. It freaked me out and made me bawl my eyes out - because of it all I shouldn't give it a five star rating, but here I am doing just that. How could I behave differently? This volume did freak me out, that's correct, but what's also correct is the fact that it's a pure brilliance.
"Did you notice? You thought it might be poison, didn't you? It's not. This is something you lost long, long time ago. Retrace your memory. You became a captain. You became strong. You began defeating your enemies by overpowering them. It's a sensation you haven't felt in a long time, isn't it? The name of that sensation, which is the most important thing in life, is fear." [Äs Nödt]
If I could summarize this volume with only one word, my choice would land on "eerie". When I wrote that it freaked me out, I wasn't exaggerating. I feel like I'm repeating myself on every review I'm writing for Bleach, but yes, I watched the anime which means I should've been ready for it, but please trust me when I say that you can think that you know what will happen and that you will easily get through it, but your knowledge will not help you in any way when it comes to this volume. I could watch these scenes over and over again and the effect would be the same.
IT'S FREAKY. IT'S FREAKY AF. And I'm not only talking about Äs Nödt's character, oh no (but he is the freakiest one in here, hands down.) The whole volume is a bunch of totally crazy events, and it's ONLY THE BEGINNING of the Soul Reapers vs the Quincies war.
"To all the captains, lieutenants, and officers within the Seireitei! We have a message! Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki is currently headed to the Soul Society! His Bankai cannot be stolen by the Quincies!" [Rin Tsubokura]
At first, there is hope. It looks like Ichigo Kurosaki, the hero of the Winter War, will come to save the Soul Society. Then there is fear, because the Soul Reapers ends up facing the enemy by themselves. And that enemy is nothing like any threat the Soul Society had to face before, not just because they are able to steal a Bankai. They look like people, but do not behave like people. For them a term 'mercy' doesn't exists. They are monsters. Incredibly powerful, ruthless and bloodthirsty monsters who came to kill, to burn, and to destroy.
"Fear that has a cause is easy. It can be stopped with will or experience. As long as there is a cause, if the root of that cause is severed, that fear-like thing can be removed. But true fear has no cause, no limits. It's like countless flies crawling up your body." [Äs Nödt]
With Ichigo being unavailable, it's up to the captains and the lieutenants to defend the Soul Society. Byakuya and Renji finds themselves face to face with a mysterious (AND FREAKY!! INCREDIBLY FREAKY!!) Sternritter named Äs Nödt. Despite the fact that his Bankai got stolen, Byakuya prevents Renji from intervening and stands up against Äs Nödt by himself. We know how proud Byakuya is. We know how strong he is. And we know how experienced he is. But despite all the power and all the experience he got, he never met an opponent as dangerous (AND FREAKY!! INCREDIBLY FREAKY!!) as Äs Nödt.
'Renji... Rukia... I'm sorry...'
YOU CANNOT IMAGINE HOW LONG I HAVE WEPT WHEN I SAW THIS SCENE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. Back then, I was very lucky to have my own room so I could cry my eyes out on peace. If I could, I would also scream my throat out in both pain and rage (but even despite having my own room it was impossible). I was so scared, so incredibly scared not only for Byakuya's, but everyone's wellbeing. And everyone's fights (and not only fights) freaked the hell out of me. But it was Byakuya's fight that scared the most, and in more ways than just one (you will know what you mean if you see it). I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. I hate horror-like things (that's why, for example, I am not a fan of Halloween). I truly, truly hate horror-like things and I did NOT expect to see such things on BLEACH. And Äs Nödt's character IS a horror-like character. He overall seems like someone that escaped straight up from a movie of that genre. He freaked the hell out of me and I know, I know that it's not the last I will see of him. It's not, and I'm PETRIFIED.
"It's been a thousand years, Yhwach. I am here to bring your life to an end." [Yamamoto Genryuusai]
Volume 57 wasn't just a Byakuya vs Äs Nödt show. There are many things that happened in that book, but what I want to focus right now is the showdown between Yamamoto and Yhwach. As much as the Byakuya vs Äs Nödt fight was freaky in a horror-like way, the Yamamoto vs Yhwach fight was freaky in the coolest kind of way (I don't know if I make sense, but it makes sense to me). We already saw Yamamoto in a battle. Despite his age (and his look of an old guy) he already was an incredible warrior - a powerful Soul Reaper that even Aizen feared. But everything we saw before is nothing in comparison to the battle we can see in Volume 57.
Remember how cool it was to see every single BANKAI performance until now? As much as I love every one of them (Ichigo's one the most, for obvious reasons), Yamamoto's Bankai respectfully is easily the coolest one.
"BANKAI. ZANKA NO TACHI."
This remarkable man made my jaw drop multiple times while reading this volume (and yes, I DID watch the anime!). One guy cannot have so much power! Even the head of the Gotei 13! It was truly something insane to witness (you just need to see it by yourself to understand).
Anyways, on the end at first sight it looks like Yhwach is down, that's the end of a nightmare, but then he says the strangest thing... What is going on? Is the nightmare really over... or did it just began? Will Ichigo get out of his cage and provide the much needed support to the burning Soul Society? What happened with Renji, Byakuya and Rukia? Will the Soul Reapers be able to withstand the Quincies' attack? We will see in the next volume!
Some things I (still) need to talk about: (beware of the spoilers for this volume and TYBW in general)
~ The image of Kenpachi's maniacally laughing face put after Rin's message about Ichigo heading to the Soul Society was a delight to see ☺️
~ The hell was up with Jidanbou suddenly invading the Institute of Research and Development and then Rin stabbing Hiyosu?! That scared the hell out of me, because I didn't remember it from the anime!! Who is controlling them?! It can't be Giselle, can it? I mean, she's only controlling the dead ones, right? Right?? 😨
~ The scenes where Ichigo was able to hear everyone's cries of pain and desperately trying to get out of his cage is one of the two BLEACH scenes that break my heart the most and I cannot bear to see them twice 😔 (the second one is the one with everyone gathered in Ichigo's house after they were cut by Tsukishima, and Ichigo is forced to escape his own home)
~ The "Ichigo will come!" broke me 😭
~ Who the hell did slice Quilge in two?? I thought that he died after he created Ichigo's cage?? (Was it Grimmjow?! That's the only thing that makes sense to me!) 😯
~ "Captain!"
"Stay back! Attacking an unfamiliar enemy all at once is a foolish way to lose the advantage of numbers. Watch me fight and identify his ability."
"Th- Then let me go first!"
"It's hard to imagine you have the wisdom to expose the entering of his ability."
"You don't know that... Okay, maybe you're right." - this scene between Byakuya and Renji is the only one out of the whole volume that made me laugh
~ I can't imagine how it feels to be attacked by your own Bankai... Ouch. Poor, poor Byakuya 😢
~ WHO ATTACKED RUKIA?! 😨
~ "Yo. You the head honcho of these scrubs?" - I know that people call Ichigo the goat (rightfully so), but Kenpachi in that moment looked like the goat to me
~ RIP Sternritter Y - "The Yourself" Loyd Lloyd
RIP Sternritter R - "The Roar" Jerome Guizbatt
RIP Sternritter Q - "The Question" Berenice Gabrielli - I'm sure that you guys did your best, you just met the wrong opponent 😔
~ "Break... Break, damn it! I won't let you die... I won't let you guys die... I... I'm gonna protect you!" - despite reading the manga version, I still could hear Ichigo's anime scream after he found out that Rukia, Renji and Byakuya have fallen 😭
~ I can't comprehend how ridiculously strong Driscoll Berci ("The Overkill") had to be and how ridiculously strong Yamamoto was that was able to kill him (HE BURNED HIM ALIVE WTF)
~ I understand that Yamamoto needed to be the one to save Hisagi (to get revenge for Chojiro), but I'm still upset that it wasn't Kensei 😔 (where the hell is he anyway?!)
~ Despite paying the ultimate tribute to Chojiro in this volume (with the flashback and all), I still can't take this character as seriously as I should. I mean, he said that he will spend his life polishing his Bankai so he could be on use for Yamamoto, but then he never used it (until the moment he died)?? 🤨
~ But I think that's truly amazing that Yamamoto took the name 'Genryusai' for Chojiro.
~ Everyone's shocked faces when they felt Yamamoto's anger! 😯
~ What were Äs Nödt, NaNaNa and Bazz-B thinking when they attacked Yamamoto? He was a head of Gotei 13 for thousands of years for a reason, you idiots!
~ I'm surprised that Kenpachi is the no. 1 "notable threat' of the Wandenreich (and not Ichigo).
~ I totally don't remember who exactly was the one who fought Yamamoto, but it definitely wasn't Yhwach! (btw, I'm amazed that Yamamoto let himself be fooled for the second time)
"Did you notice? You thought it might be poison, didn't you? It's not. This is something you lost long, long time ago. Retrace your memory. You became a captain. You became strong. You began defeating your enemies by overpowering them. It's a sensation you haven't felt in a long time, isn't it? The name of that sensation, which is the most important thing in life, is fear." [Äs Nödt]
If I could summarize this volume with only one word, my choice would land on "eerie". When I wrote that it freaked me out, I wasn't exaggerating. I feel like I'm repeating myself on every review I'm writing for Bleach, but yes, I watched the anime which means I should've been ready for it, but please trust me when I say that you can think that you know what will happen and that you will easily get through it, but your knowledge will not help you in any way when it comes to this volume. I could watch these scenes over and over again and the effect would be the same.
IT'S FREAKY. IT'S FREAKY AF. And I'm not only talking about Äs Nödt's character, oh no (but he is the freakiest one in here, hands down.) The whole volume is a bunch of totally crazy events, and it's ONLY THE BEGINNING of the Soul Reapers vs the Quincies war.
"To all the captains, lieutenants, and officers within the Seireitei! We have a message! Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki is currently headed to the Soul Society! His Bankai cannot be stolen by the Quincies!" [Rin Tsubokura]
At first, there is hope. It looks like Ichigo Kurosaki, the hero of the Winter War, will come to save the Soul Society. Then there is fear, because the Soul Reapers ends up facing the enemy by themselves. And that enemy is nothing like any threat the Soul Society had to face before, not just because they are able to steal a Bankai. They look like people, but do not behave like people. For them a term 'mercy' doesn't exists. They are monsters. Incredibly powerful, ruthless and bloodthirsty monsters who came to kill, to burn, and to destroy.
"Fear that has a cause is easy. It can be stopped with will or experience. As long as there is a cause, if the root of that cause is severed, that fear-like thing can be removed. But true fear has no cause, no limits. It's like countless flies crawling up your body." [Äs Nödt]
With Ichigo being unavailable, it's up to the captains and the lieutenants to defend the Soul Society. Byakuya and Renji finds themselves face to face with a mysterious (AND FREAKY!! INCREDIBLY FREAKY!!) Sternritter named Äs Nödt. Despite the fact that his Bankai got stolen, Byakuya prevents Renji from intervening and stands up against Äs Nödt by himself. We know how proud Byakuya is. We know how strong he is. And we know how experienced he is. But despite all the power and all the experience he got, he never met an opponent as dangerous (AND FREAKY!! INCREDIBLY FREAKY!!) as Äs Nödt.
'Renji... Rukia... I'm sorry...'
YOU CANNOT IMAGINE HOW LONG I HAVE WEPT WHEN I SAW THIS SCENE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. Back then, I was very lucky to have my own room so I could cry my eyes out on peace. If I could, I would also scream my throat out in both pain and rage (but even despite having my own room it was impossible). I was so scared, so incredibly scared not only for Byakuya's, but everyone's wellbeing. And everyone's fights (and not only fights) freaked the hell out of me. But it was Byakuya's fight that scared the most, and in more ways than just one (you will know what you mean if you see it). I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. I hate horror-like things (that's why, for example, I am not a fan of Halloween). I truly, truly hate horror-like things and I did NOT expect to see such things on BLEACH. And Äs Nödt's character IS a horror-like character. He overall seems like someone that escaped straight up from a movie of that genre. He freaked the hell out of me and I know, I know that it's not the last I will see of him. It's not, and I'm PETRIFIED.
"It's been a thousand years, Yhwach. I am here to bring your life to an end." [Yamamoto Genryuusai]
Volume 57 wasn't just a Byakuya vs Äs Nödt show. There are many things that happened in that book, but what I want to focus right now is the showdown between Yamamoto and Yhwach. As much as the Byakuya vs Äs Nödt fight was freaky in a horror-like way, the Yamamoto vs Yhwach fight was freaky in the coolest kind of way (I don't know if I make sense, but it makes sense to me). We already saw Yamamoto in a battle. Despite his age (and his look of an old guy) he already was an incredible warrior - a powerful Soul Reaper that even Aizen feared. But everything we saw before is nothing in comparison to the battle we can see in Volume 57.
Remember how cool it was to see every single BANKAI performance until now? As much as I love every one of them (Ichigo's one the most, for obvious reasons), Yamamoto's Bankai respectfully is easily the coolest one.
"BANKAI. ZANKA NO TACHI."
This remarkable man made my jaw drop multiple times while reading this volume (and yes, I DID watch the anime!). One guy cannot have so much power! Even the head of the Gotei 13! It was truly something insane to witness (you just need to see it by yourself to understand).
Anyways, on the end at first sight it looks like Yhwach is down, that's the end of a nightmare, but then he says the strangest thing... What is going on? Is the nightmare really over... or did it just began? Will Ichigo get out of his cage and provide the much needed support to the burning Soul Society? What happened with Renji, Byakuya and Rukia? Will the Soul Reapers be able to withstand the Quincies' attack? We will see in the next volume!
Some things I (still) need to talk about: (beware of the spoilers for this volume and TYBW in general)
~ The image of Kenpachi's maniacally laughing face put after Rin's message about Ichigo heading to the Soul Society was a delight to see ☺️
~ The hell was up with Jidanbou suddenly invading the Institute of Research and Development and then Rin stabbing Hiyosu?! That scared the hell out of me, because I didn't remember it from the anime!! Who is controlling them?! It can't be Giselle, can it? I mean, she's only controlling the dead ones, right? Right?? 😨
~ The scenes where Ichigo was able to hear everyone's cries of pain and desperately trying to get out of his cage is one of the two BLEACH scenes that break my heart the most and I cannot bear to see them twice 😔 (the second one is the one with everyone gathered in Ichigo's house after they were cut by Tsukishima, and Ichigo is forced to escape his own home)
~ The "Ichigo will come!" broke me 😭
~ Who the hell did slice Quilge in two?? I thought that he died after he created Ichigo's cage?? (Was it Grimmjow?! That's the only thing that makes sense to me!) 😯
~ "Captain!"
"Stay back! Attacking an unfamiliar enemy all at once is a foolish way to lose the advantage of numbers. Watch me fight and identify his ability."
"Th- Then let me go first!"
"It's hard to imagine you have the wisdom to expose the entering of his ability."
"You don't know that... Okay, maybe you're right." - this scene between Byakuya and Renji is the only one out of the whole volume that made me laugh
~ I can't imagine how it feels to be attacked by your own Bankai... Ouch. Poor, poor Byakuya 😢
~ WHO ATTACKED RUKIA?! 😨
~ "Yo. You the head honcho of these scrubs?" - I know that people call Ichigo the goat (rightfully so), but Kenpachi in that moment looked like the goat to me
~ RIP Sternritter Y - "The Yourself" Loyd Lloyd
RIP Sternritter R - "The Roar" Jerome Guizbatt
RIP Sternritter Q - "The Question" Berenice Gabrielli - I'm sure that you guys did your best, you just met the wrong opponent 😔
~ "Break... Break, damn it! I won't let you die... I won't let you guys die... I... I'm gonna protect you!" - despite reading the manga version, I still could hear Ichigo's anime scream after he found out that Rukia, Renji and Byakuya have fallen 😭
~ I can't comprehend how ridiculously strong Driscoll Berci ("The Overkill") had to be and how ridiculously strong Yamamoto was that was able to kill him (HE BURNED HIM ALIVE WTF)
~ I understand that Yamamoto needed to be the one to save Hisagi (to get revenge for Chojiro), but I'm still upset that it wasn't Kensei 😔 (where the hell is he anyway?!)
~ Despite paying the ultimate tribute to Chojiro in this volume (with the flashback and all), I still can't take this character as seriously as I should. I mean, he said that he will spend his life polishing his Bankai so he could be on use for Yamamoto, but then he never used it (until the moment he died)?? 🤨
~ But I think that's truly amazing that Yamamoto took the name 'Genryusai' for Chojiro.
~ Everyone's shocked faces when they felt Yamamoto's anger! 😯
~ What were Äs Nödt, NaNaNa and Bazz-B thinking when they attacked Yamamoto? He was a head of Gotei 13 for thousands of years for a reason, you idiots!
~ I'm surprised that Kenpachi is the no. 1 "notable threat' of the Wandenreich (and not Ichigo).
~ I totally don't remember who exactly was the one who fought Yamamoto, but it definitely wasn't Yhwach! (btw, I'm amazed that Yamamoto let himself be fooled for the second time)
May 22, 2020
With Ichigo temporarily out of the picture just when he seemed to be the last hope for everyone, the Soul Society find itself conquered by the Vandenreich. It's interesting to learn a bit more about them although the members of their group are not only eerily mysterious, with very little detail that makes them truly stand out and memorable, but also a bit poorly drawn if you ask me.
But the arrival of the Captain General does make this volume even better as he gets a just as mysterious origin story that really gets things going.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
But the arrival of the Captain General does make this volume even better as he gets a just as mysterious origin story that really gets things going.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
September 16, 2025
Much better than the previous volume, but the ending annoyed me a bit.
November 5, 2020
"A petal falling, never to bloom again
A petal in flames, full of beauty"
The snippets of poetry at the start of each volume in this series have always been interesting, but it wasn't until I read this volume that the verse made sense. Another thing which made sense for the first time was both the power of the Captain General of the Soul Reapers, and the fatal flaw of overconfidence on his part that has been leading to disaster. I am still waiting for a good explanation of why the Quincies were so set on a seemingly weird path in the first place, if the Soul Reapers ever explained why they shouldn't just destroy evil souls. Still, this volume had some truly disturbing concepts that made it memorable.
A petal in flames, full of beauty"
The snippets of poetry at the start of each volume in this series have always been interesting, but it wasn't until I read this volume that the verse made sense. Another thing which made sense for the first time was both the power of the Captain General of the Soul Reapers, and the fatal flaw of overconfidence on his part that has been leading to disaster. I am still waiting for a good explanation of why the Quincies were so set on a seemingly weird path in the first place, if the Soul Reapers ever explained why they shouldn't just destroy evil souls. Still, this volume had some truly disturbing concepts that made it memorable.
August 4, 2013
04 August 2013
NO!
NO!!
NO!!!
NO!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
WHAAAAT?? What did you say?
*FAINTS*
I just can't accept this to be true. Oh please, Kubo-sama, please don't end the series this way. Let's just pretend this never happened. Just do some magic joojoo to fix this by Volume 58 and all will be forgiven, okay? Okay. I shall reserve my spite until then. Thank you.
As heartbroken as I am with Bleach, Vol. 57: Out of Bloom, I have to admit that Captain General Genryûsai Shigekuni Yamamoto absolutely owned this volume. This old man is seriously badass!
I loved seeing the normally calm Captain General filled with rage. The touching backstory of his history with Chôjirô Sasakibe made his vengeance bittersweet.
Getting to see the Captain General's true Bankai was a fun surprise. I can't help but feel he's got more tricks up his sleeves.
Freakin' zombies!
This volume is definitely building up for some exciting things to come. It was nice getting to see cameos of all our favorite shinigami, but I'm looking forward to seeing them in actual battle scenes which I think is soon to come. I've never felt so anxious for the next volume to be released. Between finding out if Tite Kubo is truly a heartless bastard and discovering who it was that surprised Kisuke Urahara, I will likely lose all my hair in anticipation. Damn, I don't want this series to end.
Who was it? Grimmjow? Aizen? Who?
NEED. VOLUME. 58. NOW.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2020
Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book
This volume of Bleach , as you can see by the cover, was very Byakuya-centric, and I was totally okay with that because I love him! I also just love how cool he is about everything, and how cool he is in general 😉
I love the interactions between him and Renji, whom you already know I love 😉 Renji and Byakuya are one of my favorite duos... besides Toshiro and Rangiku... and Kenny and Yachiru... and—okay, you know what, I just love them all. Lol. And speaking of Kenpachi, I love him! He is badass and ruthless, but he’s also sassy sometimes and I just love it. Lol.
Anyway, Byakuya is up against Barbas, the demon of fear—
Err, a Quincy. I meant a Quincy 😉 Lol. (That was a Charmed reference, for anyone who didn't catch it. Lol.)
Besides the awesome fight with Byakuya and one of the Quincies, we also get some action from the Head Captain and it was really cool! He had some pretty cool tricks with his Zanpakuto and we actually get to see his Bankai, which was awesome!
But yeah, the Captain is pretty cool and badass... but also kinda scary. Lol. Anyway, here’s some cool art I really loved:
I really liked this volume. Some really cool stuff happened and some not-so-great stuff happened, but I liked the action and I’m excited to see what will happen in the next one!
This volume of Bleach , as you can see by the cover, was very Byakuya-centric, and I was totally okay with that because I love him! I also just love how cool he is about everything, and how cool he is in general 😉
I love the interactions between him and Renji, whom you already know I love 😉 Renji and Byakuya are one of my favorite duos... besides Toshiro and Rangiku... and Kenny and Yachiru... and—okay, you know what, I just love them all. Lol. And speaking of Kenpachi, I love him! He is badass and ruthless, but he’s also sassy sometimes and I just love it. Lol.
Anyway, Byakuya is up against Barbas, the demon of fear—
Err, a Quincy. I meant a Quincy 😉 Lol. (That was a Charmed reference, for anyone who didn't catch it. Lol.)
Besides the awesome fight with Byakuya and one of the Quincies, we also get some action from the Head Captain and it was really cool! He had some pretty cool tricks with his Zanpakuto and we actually get to see his Bankai, which was awesome!
But yeah, the Captain is pretty cool and badass... but also kinda scary. Lol. Anyway, here’s some cool art I really loved:
I really liked this volume. Some really cool stuff happened and some not-so-great stuff happened, but I liked the action and I’m excited to see what will happen in the next one!
November 7, 2022
BYAKUYA! YAMAMOTO!!! I AM LOSING MY MIIIIIIND!!!
December 17, 2021
This is starting to get really good!!
February 2, 2025
NOOOOO my man byakya 😭😭😭😭😭
I’m actually crying this was rough
I’m actually crying this was rough
June 29, 2025
What an amazing volume! So much action! Old man Yama is brutal!
January 29, 2020
OH MY GAD
February 19, 2024
I know that the big bad isn’t going to be taken out by the general because then we we wouldn’t have the rest of the story😂 but I mean the way they are depicting Ichigo as this one and only saviour feel like the author is taking away everything that was built with the other characters powers and abilities. But I mean we’ll see how we go.
March 28, 2024
You know what, I’m so glad I’ve dived back into this series because the nostalgia reading this brings back old memories from middle school that I missed so dearly. I wish I could go back.
August 28, 2025
This was Kenpachi’s book. He should have been on the cover.
February 1, 2025
Now this volume was fire.
January 14, 2023
This volume delves into the Quincy invasion even further and we get brief glimpses at the Sternritter. Äs Nödt was an interesting Quincy with a unique power set and character design. I liked his scenes with Byakuya and his speech about fear. I thought that introducing the mechanic of the Quincies stealing the Soul Reapers’ Bankai was an interesting one and further highlighted them as the most dangerous enemy introduced in the story. I loved the flashback with the Head Captain and the backstory about how his right hand man earned his trust and gave him his name. I loved seeing how fearsome and respected he is to all of the Soul Reapers, and I loved seeing his Bankai for the first time and how powerful and dark it was. This volume was exciting and ends with a crazy cliffhanger twist.
April 20, 2022
Word spreadd throughout the Seretei – Ichigo Kurosaki is on the way, and his bankai cannot be stolen by the Quincies! Everyone rejoices until Akon notices that Ichigo’s presence in the Garganta is gone, and Ichigo has to inform him that he has been trapped in a cage and is currently unable to escape. Unfortunately, his message doesn’t get through. Things are really starting to go haywire now!
Byakuya is facing Quincy Äs Nödt. Renji wants to attack but his captain warns they need to identify his ability first. Byakuya begins to feel an unfamiliar sensation, as if his arms and legs are freezing. Although he fears poison, the Quincy tells him that it is only fear that he feels, an unaccustomed sensation indeed. An indignant Renji attacks when the Quincy steals Byakuya’s bankai and dares to use it on him. Renji is put out of commission just before he is about to use bankai by an overzealous Quincy who assumed only Captains could do such things, irritating Äs Nödt.
Just after the so-called Majesty learns of the death of the Captain, Kenpachi arrives, carrying three Quincies he has defeated, and he’s glad to tell how he did it. Kenpachi announces he wants to battle His Majesty, even as things are falling apart for the Soul Reapers, and Ichigo is still contained in the cage, put there by Quilgie Opie J! Apparently, J stands for Jail!
In an unexpected twist, things are looking bleak for Kenpachi, when Captain General Yamamoto steps in to face the so-called majesty, whom he addresses as Yhwach. Turns out he’s known him for a thousand years and foresaw this day. But can he defeat this megalomaniac?
Things are only getting worse. In fact they’re downright horrifying. First Kira, now Byakuya. Where will this madness end? Is no one safe? I fear even more for my Shunsui. There is a great deal of back story here for the Captain General, which has been a long time coming, as I think he’s the least known of the Soul Reapers. Gives a lot more dimension to his character. The ending threw me off a bit, and I admit to being a little confused, but hopefully that will be cleared up in the next volume. I know this fight is far from over, as this thousand year bloodwar arc has just begun. I am afraid to find out who will be lost next.
Looking forward with trepidation to the next volume!
Byakuya is facing Quincy Äs Nödt. Renji wants to attack but his captain warns they need to identify his ability first. Byakuya begins to feel an unfamiliar sensation, as if his arms and legs are freezing. Although he fears poison, the Quincy tells him that it is only fear that he feels, an unaccustomed sensation indeed. An indignant Renji attacks when the Quincy steals Byakuya’s bankai and dares to use it on him. Renji is put out of commission just before he is about to use bankai by an overzealous Quincy who assumed only Captains could do such things, irritating Äs Nödt.
Just after the so-called Majesty learns of the death of the Captain, Kenpachi arrives, carrying three Quincies he has defeated, and he’s glad to tell how he did it. Kenpachi announces he wants to battle His Majesty, even as things are falling apart for the Soul Reapers, and Ichigo is still contained in the cage, put there by Quilgie Opie J! Apparently, J stands for Jail!
In an unexpected twist, things are looking bleak for Kenpachi, when Captain General Yamamoto steps in to face the so-called majesty, whom he addresses as Yhwach. Turns out he’s known him for a thousand years and foresaw this day. But can he defeat this megalomaniac?
Things are only getting worse. In fact they’re downright horrifying. First Kira, now Byakuya. Where will this madness end? Is no one safe? I fear even more for my Shunsui. There is a great deal of back story here for the Captain General, which has been a long time coming, as I think he’s the least known of the Soul Reapers. Gives a lot more dimension to his character. The ending threw me off a bit, and I admit to being a little confused, but hopefully that will be cleared up in the next volume. I know this fight is far from over, as this thousand year bloodwar arc has just begun. I am afraid to find out who will be lost next.
Looking forward with trepidation to the next volume!
February 28, 2024
Ichigo's Struggle in the Garganta
Trapped in Quilge's spiritual prison within the Garganta, Ichigo fights to break free. Quilge reveals himself as Sternritter "J" and turns his attention to Orihime and Chad, threatening them. However, before he can harm them, Quilge is unexpectedly killed by a mysterious individual.
Soul Society's Desperate Battle
In the Soul Society, chaos ensues as the Sternritters of the Wandenreich launch their devastating assault. Byakuya faces Sternritter "F" Äs Nodt in a fierce battle, nearly succumbing to the Quincy's power. Meanwhile, Kenpachi proves to be a formidable force as he mercilessly slaughters several Sternritters, including Sternritter "R" Jerome Guizbatt, Sternritter "Q" Berenice Gabrielli, and Sternritter "Y" Loyd Lloyd.
Yamamoto's Fateful Encounter
Amidst the chaos, Head Captain Yamamoto confronts and defeats Sternritter "O" Driscoll Berci, the killer of his lieutenant Chōjirō. However, his victory is short-lived as he faces off against the leader of the Wandenreich, Yhwach. In a fierce showdown, Yamamoto unleashes his devastating Bankai, "Zanka no Tachi," and seemingly kills Yhwach, only to discover that his opponent is an imposter.
Trapped in Quilge's spiritual prison within the Garganta, Ichigo fights to break free. Quilge reveals himself as Sternritter "J" and turns his attention to Orihime and Chad, threatening them. However, before he can harm them, Quilge is unexpectedly killed by a mysterious individual.
Soul Society's Desperate Battle
In the Soul Society, chaos ensues as the Sternritters of the Wandenreich launch their devastating assault. Byakuya faces Sternritter "F" Äs Nodt in a fierce battle, nearly succumbing to the Quincy's power. Meanwhile, Kenpachi proves to be a formidable force as he mercilessly slaughters several Sternritters, including Sternritter "R" Jerome Guizbatt, Sternritter "Q" Berenice Gabrielli, and Sternritter "Y" Loyd Lloyd.
Yamamoto's Fateful Encounter
Amidst the chaos, Head Captain Yamamoto confronts and defeats Sternritter "O" Driscoll Berci, the killer of his lieutenant Chōjirō. However, his victory is short-lived as he faces off against the leader of the Wandenreich, Yhwach. In a fierce showdown, Yamamoto unleashes his devastating Bankai, "Zanka no Tachi," and seemingly kills Yhwach, only to discover that his opponent is an imposter.
August 1, 2013
I have no idea why Byakuya is on the cover. I mean, I know why because he's handsome and fangirls love him and wail every time a sword gets close to his face, but I would argue that his story in this volume is heavily eclipsed by others and is not the heart of the book. No, I would give that honor to everyone's favorite old man Shinigami, Yamamoto, Commander of Soul Society and GQMFer of Seireitei. It is Yamamoto who single-handedly moves this series forward at a time when our resident hero is currently unable to perform his duties.
You can read my full review of BLEACH 57 at my blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/
You can read my full review of BLEACH 57 at my blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/
August 29, 2016
Epic. So glad I picked up this series again!
March 12, 2018
Some of the most intense moments of the series. I love the way Kubo handle's suffering and choices, and his depictions of action are clear and dramatic.
October 24, 2025
TBA
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2020
Given that Manga, and especially Shonen is split up into bigger arcs as composed to volumes I will be analyzing and reviewing this by Arc. I also reread this manga over the span of 2 months, some days reading as much as 100 chapters a day. It would be quite tedious for me to review each 7-8 chapter volume. So this will be copy and pasted throughout all of the 72 manga volumes. That being said, if you're looking at this without having viewed the series...spoiler warning. I don't recap anything, but I also mention things that happen. If you want me to answer the question "Should I pick this up?" Yes. Even if you stop at the end of the Soul Society Arc. It's worth it.
Karakura Town Arc - Chapters 1-56 - Rating: 7/10
(The official page lumps this in with the Soul Society Arc however I feel as if they are two very separate arcs with two very separate themes)
- A fun introduction.
-An interesting premise on the idea of ghosts and demons (Hollows)
-Does a good job of introducing the characters and I especially enjoyed the love for characters like Chad, Orihime and Uryu as these characters would later lose more and more spotlight as the series went on.
-It is a bit of a monster of the week. When it works, like with Chad's introduction story. It works. But Characters like Don Kanonji felt superficial and very gimmicky. Which, fair. I didn't enjoy them as much.
Soul Society Arc - Chapters 57-182 - Rating: 10/10
-The height of Bleach
-Establishes an afterlife seemingly perfectly. Later on revealed to be full of plot holes and never fleshed out but hey! That's not an issue in THIS arc. The fights are top tier, the themes of Ichigo owing a life debt to Rukia and his passion and determination to rise above literally God's army is inspiring and to this day is why I love Ichigo so much. He doesn't have some grandiose plan. He doesn't have a major goal to accomplish. He is a protector by heart, losing his mother has made him sour to failing to protect those he cares about and he'll do anything in his power never to feel that helpless again. Very powerful stuff.
-The twist near the end of this arc is revolutionary and would make waves for the next 200 chapters onward. A perfect ending and set up for the forthcoming arc.
-The only issues I have for this arc would be Ichigo's lightning speed progression. The guy goes from being able to barely defeat a third seat to besting multiple captains in roughly 100 or less chapters. I get that that is the point and him defeating captains was more of a struck of luck, but progression and pacing wise it feels very unearned and a factor of "for the plot he needed to be this strong" It only seems as fast as it is because Ichigo's progression slows drastically down for the rest of the story moving foreword so it's only now that I make that criticism.
-Also, and this will be an issue in most Shonen. There are 13 Captains with 13 Vice Captains and seats that branch all the way to 10 I believe? Regardless, there's a fudge ton of characters that are introduced here and it can get a little jarring at times. Luckily, Kubo does a great job at making their designs and characters unique despite such a large cast.
Hueco Mundo Arc - Chapters 183-423 - Rating 7/10
-This is another arc where personally I would split it up into two separate arcs. But for the sake of this review I will simply refer to the first half of the arc and the later half of the arc. First Half 9/10. Second Half. 5/10.
-The first half of this arc is a great continuation of the last. Ichigo now struggles with his inner demons and it affects his ability to protect the ones he loves. We are also introduced to a deadly unknown new villains. The Arrancars/Espada to this day remain one of my favorite villain factions in all of manga enemies.
-Just so you're aware I would say the first half of this arc ends right around the point of Ichigo vs Grimmjow. Grimmjow is one of the first Arrancar that Ichigo faces. And he's also one of two Espada that he faces three times. The conclusion of that fight shows Ichigo conquering his inner demons. Where Grimmjow is very much fighting to establish himself. Grimmjow has to fight Ichigo to prove to his fallen comrades that he is as good as he says he is. He doesn't care about Aizen, he doesn't care about the rest of the Espada. It is very personal for him. For Ichigo, Orohime is within his grasp of saving and he views this as his "final" battle. It's my favorite fight in all of Bleach.
-However, this is where things start to take a bit of dip in quality in my opinion. We had a goal and we were striving towards that goal. Each character of the original cast coming to repay the debt they made to their friend who had risked her life to save them in the Soul society arc. But somewhere along the way it seems we just had a fighter fest. Captains would face enemies with no themes or character revelations. The Espadas got a little light but nothing that made their fights compelling. You almost just feel bad for the Espada as they were monsters turned into a military force by an unstoppable tyrant. But even that wasn't enough to make half of the fights interesting. Now, that's with knowing the outcome. These fights played little importance in the larger scheme of things. Where at least in the Hueco Mundo fights each match up had the protagonists striving for a goal. Rukia to defeat Aaroneiro to free her former superiors soul. Byakuya to defend Rukia. Renji and Uryu teamwork. Nel to protect Ichigo and get revenge on Nnoitra. Whereas Stark fought Kyoraku.....cause.....and Hitsugaya fought Halibel because Water vs Ice would be cool.
-This leaves me to the end. I won't say it wasn't satisfying that Ichigo was able to defeat Aizen. And yes, I do feel like his new power was earned. 3 months of training. But this was clearly a last minute decision to save Aizen for a later date and the show must go on. I do feel like it wasn't as satisfying as 200+ chapter buildup needed to be.
The Fullbring Arc - Chapters 424-479 - Rating: 8/10
-A very underrated arc. And yes, I acknowledge that rating wise I think the Fullbring arc is superior to the Hueco Mundo arc. That is mostly true. Though I like the first half of the Hueco Mundo Arc more than the Fullbring arc. The end of the HM arc really brought it down for me. The Fullbring Arc is much more concise and is actually the shortest arc in the series and works as a glorified Ichigo getting his powers back arc. But that doesn't mean its bad.
-When I read it originally back when it was coming out in 2010. (Cause I'm Old) It wasn't phenomenal. In fact, I hated it. But wouldn't you? It took just short of a year to get to the point that we were at. But upon rereading it, it gave much deserved love to the characters who hadn't been shown love in quite some time. The original cast. It was a very character focused arc. Ichigo never seemed more human. And despite me hating it before for taking so long, reading weekly can sometimes hurt these mystery based arcs. The twist is heavily foreshadowed and I really appreciated it.
-That being said, the end was super rushed. This was a big bummer for me. The villains this time around were humans. And the ones who had the most exposure and relations with these characters were the original cast who again....were humans. So to have the soul reapers, who have no connection to the fullbringers show up and basically no diff most of the fullbringers felt very forced and fanservicey to me. This very well could have not been Kubo's call. As the community was very vocal about their dislike for this arc as it was going on. But I appreciate it now much more as I appreciate character and story over big sword fights. Lol.
The Thousand Year Blood War Arc - Chapters 424-689 - Rating: 5/10
-And we're finally here. The final and largest arc within the Bleach story. And man...does it not stick the landing.
-That being said, this arc has phenomenal moments. Kenpachi's Shikai and Bankai. Ichigo's double swords. Renji's true Bankai. Rukia's Bankai. And many more. However, they are put together against the most break neck speed arc that I have ever read. Kubo was very ambitious when he introduced 26 new villains. However, most of them got barely any screen time and a lot of them even got off screened by higher level captains. This was unlike the Espada who each got a full double page spread for their Resurrections.
-Yhwach himself was a phenomenal villain but was dealt with swiftly and imo dirty. They did him dirty.
-There was just something off. The mood changed and it was very apparent. The villains had random powers instead of the powers reflecting their personalities or needs. The finale felt so underwhelming.
-Ichigo gets to be the strongest he's ever been....but he doesn't defeat a single person besides the main villain despite being in several fights.
-It isn't a good arc. In fact, I would say it's the worst. Hopefully the anime does a better job with this already mammoth of a story. 260 chapters is no joke.
This gives the story of Bleach an Overall rating of 7.4/10. Which to me is above average. It has it's ups and downs. It's not perfect. But when it's high, it's peak shonen. But when it's low, it's very forgettable.
Karakura Town Arc - Chapters 1-56 - Rating: 7/10
(The official page lumps this in with the Soul Society Arc however I feel as if they are two very separate arcs with two very separate themes)
- A fun introduction.
-An interesting premise on the idea of ghosts and demons (Hollows)
-Does a good job of introducing the characters and I especially enjoyed the love for characters like Chad, Orihime and Uryu as these characters would later lose more and more spotlight as the series went on.
-It is a bit of a monster of the week. When it works, like with Chad's introduction story. It works. But Characters like Don Kanonji felt superficial and very gimmicky. Which, fair. I didn't enjoy them as much.
Soul Society Arc - Chapters 57-182 - Rating: 10/10
-The height of Bleach
-Establishes an afterlife seemingly perfectly. Later on revealed to be full of plot holes and never fleshed out but hey! That's not an issue in THIS arc. The fights are top tier, the themes of Ichigo owing a life debt to Rukia and his passion and determination to rise above literally God's army is inspiring and to this day is why I love Ichigo so much. He doesn't have some grandiose plan. He doesn't have a major goal to accomplish. He is a protector by heart, losing his mother has made him sour to failing to protect those he cares about and he'll do anything in his power never to feel that helpless again. Very powerful stuff.
-The twist near the end of this arc is revolutionary and would make waves for the next 200 chapters onward. A perfect ending and set up for the forthcoming arc.
-The only issues I have for this arc would be Ichigo's lightning speed progression. The guy goes from being able to barely defeat a third seat to besting multiple captains in roughly 100 or less chapters. I get that that is the point and him defeating captains was more of a struck of luck, but progression and pacing wise it feels very unearned and a factor of "for the plot he needed to be this strong" It only seems as fast as it is because Ichigo's progression slows drastically down for the rest of the story moving foreword so it's only now that I make that criticism.
-Also, and this will be an issue in most Shonen. There are 13 Captains with 13 Vice Captains and seats that branch all the way to 10 I believe? Regardless, there's a fudge ton of characters that are introduced here and it can get a little jarring at times. Luckily, Kubo does a great job at making their designs and characters unique despite such a large cast.
Hueco Mundo Arc - Chapters 183-423 - Rating 7/10
-This is another arc where personally I would split it up into two separate arcs. But for the sake of this review I will simply refer to the first half of the arc and the later half of the arc. First Half 9/10. Second Half. 5/10.
-The first half of this arc is a great continuation of the last. Ichigo now struggles with his inner demons and it affects his ability to protect the ones he loves. We are also introduced to a deadly unknown new villains. The Arrancars/Espada to this day remain one of my favorite villain factions in all of manga enemies.
-Just so you're aware I would say the first half of this arc ends right around the point of Ichigo vs Grimmjow. Grimmjow is one of the first Arrancar that Ichigo faces. And he's also one of two Espada that he faces three times. The conclusion of that fight shows Ichigo conquering his inner demons. Where Grimmjow is very much fighting to establish himself. Grimmjow has to fight Ichigo to prove to his fallen comrades that he is as good as he says he is. He doesn't care about Aizen, he doesn't care about the rest of the Espada. It is very personal for him. For Ichigo, Orohime is within his grasp of saving and he views this as his "final" battle. It's my favorite fight in all of Bleach.
-However, this is where things start to take a bit of dip in quality in my opinion. We had a goal and we were striving towards that goal. Each character of the original cast coming to repay the debt they made to their friend who had risked her life to save them in the Soul society arc. But somewhere along the way it seems we just had a fighter fest. Captains would face enemies with no themes or character revelations. The Espadas got a little light but nothing that made their fights compelling. You almost just feel bad for the Espada as they were monsters turned into a military force by an unstoppable tyrant. But even that wasn't enough to make half of the fights interesting. Now, that's with knowing the outcome. These fights played little importance in the larger scheme of things. Where at least in the Hueco Mundo fights each match up had the protagonists striving for a goal. Rukia to defeat Aaroneiro to free her former superiors soul. Byakuya to defend Rukia. Renji and Uryu teamwork. Nel to protect Ichigo and get revenge on Nnoitra. Whereas Stark fought Kyoraku.....cause.....and Hitsugaya fought Halibel because Water vs Ice would be cool.
-This leaves me to the end. I won't say it wasn't satisfying that Ichigo was able to defeat Aizen. And yes, I do feel like his new power was earned. 3 months of training. But this was clearly a last minute decision to save Aizen for a later date and the show must go on. I do feel like it wasn't as satisfying as 200+ chapter buildup needed to be.
The Fullbring Arc - Chapters 424-479 - Rating: 8/10
-A very underrated arc. And yes, I acknowledge that rating wise I think the Fullbring arc is superior to the Hueco Mundo arc. That is mostly true. Though I like the first half of the Hueco Mundo Arc more than the Fullbring arc. The end of the HM arc really brought it down for me. The Fullbring Arc is much more concise and is actually the shortest arc in the series and works as a glorified Ichigo getting his powers back arc. But that doesn't mean its bad.
-When I read it originally back when it was coming out in 2010. (Cause I'm Old) It wasn't phenomenal. In fact, I hated it. But wouldn't you? It took just short of a year to get to the point that we were at. But upon rereading it, it gave much deserved love to the characters who hadn't been shown love in quite some time. The original cast. It was a very character focused arc. Ichigo never seemed more human. And despite me hating it before for taking so long, reading weekly can sometimes hurt these mystery based arcs. The twist is heavily foreshadowed and I really appreciated it.
-That being said, the end was super rushed. This was a big bummer for me. The villains this time around were humans. And the ones who had the most exposure and relations with these characters were the original cast who again....were humans. So to have the soul reapers, who have no connection to the fullbringers show up and basically no diff most of the fullbringers felt very forced and fanservicey to me. This very well could have not been Kubo's call. As the community was very vocal about their dislike for this arc as it was going on. But I appreciate it now much more as I appreciate character and story over big sword fights. Lol.
The Thousand Year Blood War Arc - Chapters 424-689 - Rating: 5/10
-And we're finally here. The final and largest arc within the Bleach story. And man...does it not stick the landing.
-That being said, this arc has phenomenal moments. Kenpachi's Shikai and Bankai. Ichigo's double swords. Renji's true Bankai. Rukia's Bankai. And many more. However, they are put together against the most break neck speed arc that I have ever read. Kubo was very ambitious when he introduced 26 new villains. However, most of them got barely any screen time and a lot of them even got off screened by higher level captains. This was unlike the Espada who each got a full double page spread for their Resurrections.
-Yhwach himself was a phenomenal villain but was dealt with swiftly and imo dirty. They did him dirty.
-There was just something off. The mood changed and it was very apparent. The villains had random powers instead of the powers reflecting their personalities or needs. The finale felt so underwhelming.
-Ichigo gets to be the strongest he's ever been....but he doesn't defeat a single person besides the main villain despite being in several fights.
-It isn't a good arc. In fact, I would say it's the worst. Hopefully the anime does a better job with this already mammoth of a story. 260 chapters is no joke.
This gives the story of Bleach an Overall rating of 7.4/10. Which to me is above average. It has it's ups and downs. It's not perfect. But when it's high, it's peak shonen. But when it's low, it's very forgettable.
November 7, 2025
As Ichigo remains frustratingly trapped in Hueco Mundo, hearing the screams of his allies tear through the phone Kisuke Urahara lended him, the spotlight shifts to the Gotei 13 Captain in Bleach Volume 57, Out of the Bloom, by Tite Kubo. The truly devastating power of the Gotei 13 head Captain, Yamamoto, is finally unleashed. Out of all the volumes I have read, I believe this is the most destructive one so far.
To begin with, the volume started off with Ichigo struggling inside of a prison, which he was trapped at the end of Volume 56. The cries of his allies through the phone that was given to him to talk to the Research Facility, was all Ichigo was hearing. But that isn’t the only part of the volume, the Head Captain, Yamamoto, has finally joined the fight. Slaying the invaders without breaking a sweat, finally catching up the boss of the quincies. Then and there, they have an intense clash with one another. Furthermore, there are a few noticeable strengths that are illustrated throughout the volume.
Up next, this volume of Bleach has far more noticeable strengths throughout the story than the last few I have read. One of the strengths I’ve noticed right away was power opening and is fast pacing. In chapter 503, the invasion of Quincy begins with multiple explosions, alarms, and chaos spreading throughout the Soul Society. Another noticeable strength I’ve noticed would be emotional character portrayals. Characters such as Yamamoto, as known as the Head Captain in the Soul Society portrayed a lot of anger when killing the invaders as all he had in his head was revenge for his assistant captain. There were two important moments I’d say where he showed the most emotions, him avenging his right hand man and the fight between him and the boss of the quincies. Moving on, there are a few critique weaknesses that are noticeable in Volume 57.
Last but not least, there are a few noticeable weaknesses in the volume. Although the fast pacing was considered a strength to me, it also had times where I could consider it as a weakness. The quincy invasion coming to an end as they just started to fight would be something I’d considered a weakness. The feeling of the story being rushed because the Head Captain went head first against the invaders and obliterating them one by one didn’t even take 3 pages at most. Another weakness I’ve noticed was how limited character development was. Characters such as Renji, Rukia, and Hitsugaya were only given reactions to the matter and were beaten immediately as they attacked. This makes the chaos feel less personal and just more of a series of quick action scenes.
In conclusion, the manga, Bleach Volume 57, by Tite Kubo is important and relevant to today as it marks major turning points in the series and explores themes that continue to resonate with modern audiences. The intended audience for this specific volume would be people who like a fast pace series of scenes happening all at once while being entertained. I believe the author did achieve this as the volume had multiple devastating fights that happened pretty quickly. I would recommend this volume to people who like badass fights that don’t take forever to end. I’d rate this volume a 5 out of 5 as it is really detailed and has really cool fights, even if the soul reapers lost a few.
To begin with, the volume started off with Ichigo struggling inside of a prison, which he was trapped at the end of Volume 56. The cries of his allies through the phone that was given to him to talk to the Research Facility, was all Ichigo was hearing. But that isn’t the only part of the volume, the Head Captain, Yamamoto, has finally joined the fight. Slaying the invaders without breaking a sweat, finally catching up the boss of the quincies. Then and there, they have an intense clash with one another. Furthermore, there are a few noticeable strengths that are illustrated throughout the volume.
Up next, this volume of Bleach has far more noticeable strengths throughout the story than the last few I have read. One of the strengths I’ve noticed right away was power opening and is fast pacing. In chapter 503, the invasion of Quincy begins with multiple explosions, alarms, and chaos spreading throughout the Soul Society. Another noticeable strength I’ve noticed would be emotional character portrayals. Characters such as Yamamoto, as known as the Head Captain in the Soul Society portrayed a lot of anger when killing the invaders as all he had in his head was revenge for his assistant captain. There were two important moments I’d say where he showed the most emotions, him avenging his right hand man and the fight between him and the boss of the quincies. Moving on, there are a few critique weaknesses that are noticeable in Volume 57.
Last but not least, there are a few noticeable weaknesses in the volume. Although the fast pacing was considered a strength to me, it also had times where I could consider it as a weakness. The quincy invasion coming to an end as they just started to fight would be something I’d considered a weakness. The feeling of the story being rushed because the Head Captain went head first against the invaders and obliterating them one by one didn’t even take 3 pages at most. Another weakness I’ve noticed was how limited character development was. Characters such as Renji, Rukia, and Hitsugaya were only given reactions to the matter and were beaten immediately as they attacked. This makes the chaos feel less personal and just more of a series of quick action scenes.
In conclusion, the manga, Bleach Volume 57, by Tite Kubo is important and relevant to today as it marks major turning points in the series and explores themes that continue to resonate with modern audiences. The intended audience for this specific volume would be people who like a fast pace series of scenes happening all at once while being entertained. I believe the author did achieve this as the volume had multiple devastating fights that happened pretty quickly. I would recommend this volume to people who like badass fights that don’t take forever to end. I’d rate this volume a 5 out of 5 as it is really detailed and has really cool fights, even if the soul reapers lost a few.
January 8, 2026
4/5 (Review is for the series as a whole and does not contain spoilers)
Ichigo Kurosaki is a high school student who can see ghosts. When an evil spirit, called a hollow, attacks his family, he meets Rukia, a soul reaper tasked with fighting against hollows. But when Rukia is injured, Ichigo must make the decision to take over the role of soul reaper to help fight against hollows to save his hometown.
Bleach is a classic manga and one of the more popular options for those starting out in the genre/format. It features themes of friendship, growing up and changing, and never giving up. One of the most enjoyable elements of this series is watching the progression as the characters learn and evolve. Ichigo has a tendency to be really cocky, especially at the start of the series, but as time goes on and he learns more about the world he’s in, he changes and becomes more willing to listen to the advice given to him by other characters. His friends also continue to grow and progress along with him. Additionally, there is a change in the art style of the characters as the story progresses, which makes it easy to see how they have changed as they all get older. There were two elements about this series that I disliked. The first was that I felt the ending was a bit rushed, and there were some things that I was a bit confused about. However, I recognize that the author was sick and so that attributed to the way things ended. The other element that I disliked was the sheer number of characters in the series by the end. Many of the characters that I thought were dead or gone ended up coming back, and I had to try and remember who they all were. I definitely think I needed to make myself a character sheet with information about each character to help me remember everyone in the end. In terms of assessing age appropriateness for this series, I would say that it’s an okay series for middle school and up. A couple of considerations to keep in mind when deciding if it’s right for you: 1. There is some violence (which is common for shonen mangas), including some elements of body horror, but it’s not too bad. 2. There is no sexual content, although many of the women are drawn disproportionately (which is common in manga written by men). 3. The main character is fifteen years old at the start of the series and only gets older as it progresses. And 4. The themes are a bit mature in that they require some deeper level thinking in order to fully understand them all. Overall, I enjoyed this series for its interesting premise, and would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy the traditional shonen manga.
Ichigo Kurosaki is a high school student who can see ghosts. When an evil spirit, called a hollow, attacks his family, he meets Rukia, a soul reaper tasked with fighting against hollows. But when Rukia is injured, Ichigo must make the decision to take over the role of soul reaper to help fight against hollows to save his hometown.
Bleach is a classic manga and one of the more popular options for those starting out in the genre/format. It features themes of friendship, growing up and changing, and never giving up. One of the most enjoyable elements of this series is watching the progression as the characters learn and evolve. Ichigo has a tendency to be really cocky, especially at the start of the series, but as time goes on and he learns more about the world he’s in, he changes and becomes more willing to listen to the advice given to him by other characters. His friends also continue to grow and progress along with him. Additionally, there is a change in the art style of the characters as the story progresses, which makes it easy to see how they have changed as they all get older. There were two elements about this series that I disliked. The first was that I felt the ending was a bit rushed, and there were some things that I was a bit confused about. However, I recognize that the author was sick and so that attributed to the way things ended. The other element that I disliked was the sheer number of characters in the series by the end. Many of the characters that I thought were dead or gone ended up coming back, and I had to try and remember who they all were. I definitely think I needed to make myself a character sheet with information about each character to help me remember everyone in the end. In terms of assessing age appropriateness for this series, I would say that it’s an okay series for middle school and up. A couple of considerations to keep in mind when deciding if it’s right for you: 1. There is some violence (which is common for shonen mangas), including some elements of body horror, but it’s not too bad. 2. There is no sexual content, although many of the women are drawn disproportionately (which is common in manga written by men). 3. The main character is fifteen years old at the start of the series and only gets older as it progresses. And 4. The themes are a bit mature in that they require some deeper level thinking in order to fully understand them all. Overall, I enjoyed this series for its interesting premise, and would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy the traditional shonen manga.
November 18, 2024
I still haven’t seen the TYBW arc yet (I have my reasons and a couple of them are getting through a certain amount of volumes first and rewatching the original anime to refresh myself even though I had already reread the manga volumes last year) even though I’ve been a Bleach fan since 2007. I don’t feel like explaining everything here.
I couldn’t stop reading, I breezed through this volume in less than an hour. This volume scared me. I had not felt that in the previous volumes. I can’t exactly explain it, maybe it’s because the enemy is nothing like they’ve faced before, part of it is As Nodt (he freaks me out), maybe part of it is because they can’t use their bankai so the enemy has the upper hand because of it, maybe it’s because since at the time, this arc wasn’t going to get animated, so Kubo was allowed to make it darker like he originally wanted to make the series, and it definitely does feel darker than the previous arcs, so much has changed since the first few volumes. I feel like rewatching season 1 again, unlike some people, I love that season, it’s a comfort watch.
I have never seen Byakuya like this and I don’t like it. Even during his fight against arrancar number 7 and Yammy, he didn’t have too much trouble and wasn’t scared (yes I know he was fighting Yammy with Kenpachi but still). This was upsetting and scary. The only time I saw him get so badly injured was when he saved Rukia from Ichimaru in the Soul Society Arc but even then he wasn't this injured and this is the first time I saw him cry. That guy broke him, yikes😬
I'm scared of what's going to happen next.
On he positive side, old man Yamamoto is pissed and kicking ass. We finally get to see him use bankai and it's pretty destructive and now it makes sense on why he never used it in his battle against Aizen. What sucks is that I already know what will happen in the beginning of the next volume because I got spoiled years ago when the chapters were still coming out😑
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
Instagram: nazreads01, nazcosplay, nradesigns, charmedanimegirl01
I couldn’t stop reading, I breezed through this volume in less than an hour. This volume scared me. I had not felt that in the previous volumes. I can’t exactly explain it, maybe it’s because the enemy is nothing like they’ve faced before, part of it is As Nodt (he freaks me out), maybe part of it is because they can’t use their bankai so the enemy has the upper hand because of it, maybe it’s because since at the time, this arc wasn’t going to get animated, so Kubo was allowed to make it darker like he originally wanted to make the series, and it definitely does feel darker than the previous arcs, so much has changed since the first few volumes. I feel like rewatching season 1 again, unlike some people, I love that season, it’s a comfort watch.
I have never seen Byakuya like this and I don’t like it. Even during his fight against arrancar number 7 and Yammy, he didn’t have too much trouble and wasn’t scared (yes I know he was fighting Yammy with Kenpachi but still). This was upsetting and scary. The only time I saw him get so badly injured was when he saved Rukia from Ichimaru in the Soul Society Arc but even then he wasn't this injured and this is the first time I saw him cry. That guy broke him, yikes😬
I'm scared of what's going to happen next.
On he positive side, old man Yamamoto is pissed and kicking ass. We finally get to see him use bankai and it's pretty destructive and now it makes sense on why he never used it in his battle against Aizen. What sucks is that I already know what will happen in the beginning of the next volume because I got spoiled years ago when the chapters were still coming out😑
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
Instagram: nazreads01, nazcosplay, nradesigns, charmedanimegirl01
August 19, 2024
VOLUME 57: CHAPTER 500-509
Arc 11: The Thousand Year Blood War
Opie bears an epithet J meaning The Jail. So no one can escape from his jail. Suddenly, Opie was attacked and his body was cut in a half by someone. In Soul Society, Äs Nödt instilled a fear in Byakuya. Byakuya was defeated by his own Bankai. Renji trying to interfered but he was knocked out by Sternritter S: Mask De Masculine. Rukia also defeated. Kyouraku fights Sternritter N: Robert Accutrone that used Vollständig Grimaniel to shoot Kyouraku's right eye. In other part, Kenpachi went to see the leader of Wandenreich by bringing the 3 corpses of the Sternritter; Sternritter Q: Berenice Gabrielli, Sternritter R: Jerome Guizbatt and Sternritter Y: L. Loyd Lloyd. Kenpachi fights the leader immediately.
Hisagi fights Sternritter O: Driscoll Berci but he was defeated. Suddenly Yamamoto appears. Berci is the one who killed Sasakibe and stole his Bankai. When fights Yamamoto, Berci used Sasakibe's Bankai: Koukou Konryou Rikyuu. Sasakibe's Bankai didn't work on Yamamoto and he instantly killed Berci. Yamamoto then fly to the leader's place where Kenpachi was defeated by the leader named Yhwach. Äs Nödt, NaNaNa and Bazz-B interfered the fight but they were incinerated by Ryuujin Jakka. Yamamoto fights Yhwach. He used Bankai: Zanka no Tachi that make all water in Soul Society vanished. When the tip of the sword touch anything, it will blow into ashes; Zanka no Tachi, East: Kyokujitsujin. Then flames covered his body with temperature over 1,500,000 degrees; Zanka no Tachi, West: Zanjitsu Gokui. To defend, Yhwach used Kirchen Led: Sankt Zwinger. Yamamoto countered it with Zanka no Tachi, South: Kaka Juuman' Okushi Daisoujin that summoned the corpses that being consumed by Ryuujin Jakka. Yamamoto used his final move, Zanka no Tachi, North: Tenchi Kaijin to destroy left part of Yhwach body.
Yhwach was defeated!
Arc 11: The Thousand Year Blood War
Opie bears an epithet J meaning The Jail. So no one can escape from his jail. Suddenly, Opie was attacked and his body was cut in a half by someone. In Soul Society, Äs Nödt instilled a fear in Byakuya. Byakuya was defeated by his own Bankai. Renji trying to interfered but he was knocked out by Sternritter S: Mask De Masculine. Rukia also defeated. Kyouraku fights Sternritter N: Robert Accutrone that used Vollständig Grimaniel to shoot Kyouraku's right eye. In other part, Kenpachi went to see the leader of Wandenreich by bringing the 3 corpses of the Sternritter; Sternritter Q: Berenice Gabrielli, Sternritter R: Jerome Guizbatt and Sternritter Y: L. Loyd Lloyd. Kenpachi fights the leader immediately.
Hisagi fights Sternritter O: Driscoll Berci but he was defeated. Suddenly Yamamoto appears. Berci is the one who killed Sasakibe and stole his Bankai. When fights Yamamoto, Berci used Sasakibe's Bankai: Koukou Konryou Rikyuu. Sasakibe's Bankai didn't work on Yamamoto and he instantly killed Berci. Yamamoto then fly to the leader's place where Kenpachi was defeated by the leader named Yhwach. Äs Nödt, NaNaNa and Bazz-B interfered the fight but they were incinerated by Ryuujin Jakka. Yamamoto fights Yhwach. He used Bankai: Zanka no Tachi that make all water in Soul Society vanished. When the tip of the sword touch anything, it will blow into ashes; Zanka no Tachi, East: Kyokujitsujin. Then flames covered his body with temperature over 1,500,000 degrees; Zanka no Tachi, West: Zanjitsu Gokui. To defend, Yhwach used Kirchen Led: Sankt Zwinger. Yamamoto countered it with Zanka no Tachi, South: Kaka Juuman' Okushi Daisoujin that summoned the corpses that being consumed by Ryuujin Jakka. Yamamoto used his final move, Zanka no Tachi, North: Tenchi Kaijin to destroy left part of Yhwach body.
Yhwach was defeated!
November 3, 2019
Bleach, Vol. 57 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and contains the next ten chapters (500–509) of the on-going manga series.
In the Garganta, a black featureless void, Ichigo Kurosaki struggles to escape from Quilge Opie's prison as the Quincy reveals the letter designation of the Sternritters while revealing himself to be Sternritter "J". Quilge then turns his attention to Orihime Inoue and Yasutora "Chad" Sado before being killed by a mysterious man.
At Soul Society, as Byakuya Kuchiki is almost killed by Sternritter "F" Äs Nodt, Kenpachi Zaraki slaughters Sternritters, Sternriiter "R" Jerome Guizbatt and Sternritter "Q" Berenice Gabrielli and even Sternritter "Y" Loyd Lloyd. Meanwhile, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto kills Chōjirō Tadaoki Sasakibe's killer, Sternritter "O" Driscoll Berci. Yamamoto then confronts the Wandenreich's leader Yhwach, who had defeated Kenpachi. Yamamoto unleashes his Bankai "Zanka no Tachi" and kills Yhwach in a brutal battle, only to learn his opponent is not the real Yhwach.
This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. The Wandenreich continues their attack on Soul Society with devastating results on both sides as many of the Sternritters are killed on the Wandenreich side and some shinigami also fell. This all happens as Ichigo Kurosaki is still trapped in his prison in Garganta – the void between worlds.
All in all, Bleach, Vol. 57 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems intriguing and I cannot wait to read more.
In the Garganta, a black featureless void, Ichigo Kurosaki struggles to escape from Quilge Opie's prison as the Quincy reveals the letter designation of the Sternritters while revealing himself to be Sternritter "J". Quilge then turns his attention to Orihime Inoue and Yasutora "Chad" Sado before being killed by a mysterious man.
At Soul Society, as Byakuya Kuchiki is almost killed by Sternritter "F" Äs Nodt, Kenpachi Zaraki slaughters Sternritters, Sternriiter "R" Jerome Guizbatt and Sternritter "Q" Berenice Gabrielli and even Sternritter "Y" Loyd Lloyd. Meanwhile, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto kills Chōjirō Tadaoki Sasakibe's killer, Sternritter "O" Driscoll Berci. Yamamoto then confronts the Wandenreich's leader Yhwach, who had defeated Kenpachi. Yamamoto unleashes his Bankai "Zanka no Tachi" and kills Yhwach in a brutal battle, only to learn his opponent is not the real Yhwach.
This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. The Wandenreich continues their attack on Soul Society with devastating results on both sides as many of the Sternritters are killed on the Wandenreich side and some shinigami also fell. This all happens as Ichigo Kurosaki is still trapped in his prison in Garganta – the void between worlds.
All in all, Bleach, Vol. 57 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems intriguing and I cannot wait to read more.
December 7, 2020
THIS VOLUME WAS SO GOOD! Okay so Ichigo is trapped and the Shinigami in soul society have to battle the horde of Quincies and while battles are fought, and we see one of the greatest battles between Byakuya and the the other guy and he falls...and its masjestic. He goes out with a bang and Renji and Rukia are lost too. Ichigo feels the pain and on the other side comes Commander Genryuusai Yamamoto and when he is attacked by Bankai of his subordinate we see a flashback of the past and that was heart-rendering and the way he unleashes his flaming inferno wow. And then his battle with Yhwach and what happened a 1000 years ago, they battle like anything and its majestic. He uses his attacks like covering himself in flames, rising the zombies and attacking with Infernos blades and wow that was epic when he finally defeats Yhwach and so much more goes on. The art and colors here were just splendid and so well done!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2020
The first half of this volume is Byakuya-centric, watching him deal with the Sternritter of fear, seeing one of the strongest and most confident characters in Bleach lose control of themselves and start to falter. It's kind of scary, and makes the outcome of the war look grim... until Captain General Yamamoto steps onto the battlefield to challenge Yhwach directly! We get to see Yamamoto go all out for once- even against Aizen he got his power sealed by Wonderweiss before we could really see it. But here we get to see all of his techniques on display and some absolutely badass bankai abilities that put the big bad in a corner. Things are looking up! The battle is intense and gripping, with the ending page of this volume being an incredible moment that's sure to change the course of the entire war.
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