Bleach

Back in his own world and now considered an official substitute Reaper Ichigo is back in school where he meets a surprising student who just happens to recognize him as a Soul Reaper. There are a few strings attached to this volume that tie it to the last release (Bleach Vol. 26: The Assault) but for the most part we get a look at The Arrancar, Hollows with the power of Soul Reapers. Does the new kid on the block have anything to do with the arrival of the Arrancar or is his presence part of some other ploy to recruit Ichigo in yet another effort to completely wipe out the Soul Society?

With the conclusion of the Bounts arc we move onto a storyline that takes place in Ichigo’s world where its back to the same old, same old; Hollow slaying. Its really an arc about our young characters Father’s revealing that Isshin, Ichigo’s Father, is more then he appears which leads us to believe so is Ichigo. Uryu also meets his Father who reveals himself to be a Quincy and Uryu, after using up all his powers in the fight against Kariya and losing his artifact, is offered the chance to regain his powers under certain conditions. Finally we have Shinji, the new kid in school, who warns Ichigo that his inner Hollow is going to become to great for him to control and that joining his group, The Visored, is the only way to stop that from happening. With the arrival of the Grand Fisher, an imperfect Hollow, and two other imperfect Hollow that suck the life out of several people in Karakura Town its up to Ichigo, Chad, and Orihime but even the three of them may not be enough to stop this new invasion in Arrancar: The Arrival Arc. Not a bad introduction to a new story arc. It has its comedic moments mostly but runs a little slow out of the gates. Like the last volume bonus features are scarce consisting of a Clean Ending and Production Art. Bleach Vol. 27: The Arrancar contains episodes 110-113.