Customer Reviews

Bleach, Vol. 30

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Rukia Kuchiki has big, big, big emotional issues that have overshadowed her life for many years. And "Bleach Volume 30" is especially hard on her by bringing her face-to-face with someone from the bloodest, most traumatic part of her past -- and that subplot what elevates this far above the usual shonen hack'n'slash'n'boom that is going on elsewhere in Hueco Mundo.

First, Chad manages to defeat his enemy with his newly-enhanced powers, only to get taken out by the sadistic Nnoitra. And Renji is being faced down by the crazy scientist, Szayel-Aporro Grantz (boy, is that hard to type), who turns out to be a formidable enemy because he can actually seal Renji's bankai.

But the worst encounter is when Rukia encounters the ninth Espada -- and when he takes off his mask, he turns out to be a figure from her long-ago past. Even worse, he claims that he will forgive her past actions if she kills her own friends. Now she must overcome the last of her tormented feelings and self-doubt, or be destroyed by the most gruesome, unnatural Hollow there is.

Rukia Kuchiki dealt with some of her emotional issues a couple arcs ago, but "Bleach Volume 30" yanks them out into the sunlight (literally) and slams her face-first into them. While there are a couple of humorous moments (Renji ends up spending a few chapters wedged under Dondachakko's butt), most of this volume is a rather bleak, bloody affair -- although it seems to eradicate the remainder of Rukia's angst.

And Tite Kubo fills it with the usual stuff -- splatters of blood, impalements, flashbacks to happier times, and very unusual hollow. When it isn't a bloated monstrosity, it's a creepy pair of baseball-heads flowing in a skinny long tank -- and it's really creepy when those little lipless mouths start screaming, "What it this? I can't breathe! I can't breathe! Make it stop! NONONONONONONONO..." Incredibly freaky.

On the sidelines, Orihime doesn't seem to be doing too well either, since Ulquiorra appears to be playing some cold-blooded games with her mind, emphasizing her helplessness and trying to make her give up hope for/with her friends. It really leaves you hoping that Ichigo will whip him into next week.

"Bleach Volume 30" centers around Rukia's past actions coming back to haunt her, and the most horrible grotesque Hollow we've yet seen. Nice!

Tite Kubo, Bleach, vol. 30: There Is No Heart Without You (ViZ, 2001)

Why is it that all of Kubo's best Bleach volumes are those containing a flashback? It seems that there he's able to connect emotionally with his characters in a way he can't when the writing is more immediate, even when those flashbacks are also action-packed (viz. Night of Wijnruit). And so it is here; in the middle of the Hueco Mundo storyline, which to be blunt has been stalling when not going off in fits and starts, we find a flashback, where Rukia reflects on the very beginning of her training. It's the best ting Kubo's done in a long time, and it's worth putting up with the rest of this storyline just to see how this fits in. ****

Wow, I love this volume to pieces. For all fo you wondering why Kaien Shiba (the guy on the cover) is on the cover, you have to read and be shocked and amazed at the fight that insues in this volume. Rukia will be faced with a test of strength, along with Ichigo and Chad. The artwork is fantastic and great for those who look for great work with good plotline.

Definite worth every cent of your money.