Manga Review: End of the Chrysalis Age by Tite Kubo

Title: End of the Chrysalis Age
Series: BLEACH #47 
Manga-ka: Tite Kubo
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Graphic Novels, Teen Ages 13+
Publisher: Viz Media, Shonen Jump Manga, Shueisha Inc.
Format: Paperback, 189 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-1-4215-4300-0 
Release Date: September 4, 2012
Source: Borrowed from Wentworth Library
Rating: 4/5

Purchase Here: Paperback

Tagline(s):  If you became a snake tomorrow
                    And began devouring people,
                    If you roared your love for me
                    With that mouth you use to devour people
                                                                 Could I still say that I love you
                                                                 As I do today?
 
Summary: Aizen's new powers are too much for even the combined efforts of Ichigo, Isshin, Urahara, and Yoruichi. But as Aizen and Gin head for the real Karakura Town, Ichigo decides to undergo intense training under his father's tutelage.

Review:

Matsumoto caught a glimpse of Gin while he was fighting Ichigo and took off running. Her feelings toward Gin are going to get her killed eventually. She was only healed enough to stay alive, and yet she's running after Gin. Not smart.

With Ichigo's lost hope, his strength diminishes. Gin states that Ichigo was a lot scarier when they first crossed swords after Gin cut off Jidanbo's arm when Ichigo first arrived in the Soul Society. This is true. Ichigo looks kind of pathetic now.

Just as Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho wounded Aizen's, so does Isshin's. But Isshin can't read Aizen's spirit energy since his transformation. Only someone in the same state would be able to. Of course, Ichigo can sense is power. And it's made even more real when Aizen takes out Isshin, Yoruichi, and Urahara. This is when Aizen prepares to open the Senkaimon Gate and invade the real Karakura Town in the Soul Society. It's also when Aizen's creepy shell--chrysalis stage--breaks apart and his transformation is complete. I have to admit, the new Aizen does look kinda cool.

With Kototsu missing from the Dangai, Isshin can teach Ichigo the Final Getsuga Tensho. Ichigo meets Tensa Zangetsu--the Bankai form of his sword. For some reason Zangetsu--and Isshin's Engetsu--don't want to teach the Final Getsuga Tensho. We don't find out why in this volume, but I'm sure there's an interesting reason why.

"This towering world of yours that was filled to the heavens with hope has been reduced to your tiny little town! The rain that once poured down on this world may have stopped, but now it's been sunk to the bottom of the ocean! All because you lost hope and stopped moving forward. Ichigo, I will not let you stay like that. I will pull out the very roots of your despair."

This is when Ichigo meets the new form his Hollow power gained in his fight with Ulquiorra. Ichigo fears this form and that is the reason he can't Hollowfy properly. Tensa Zangetsu and the Hollow are one. They both are Ichigos power. And this--both of them merged together--is who Ichigo needs to battle to learnt he Final Getsuga Tensho. The two merged together look really awesome. I can't wait to see more of their fight against Ichigo.

As Aizen enters Karakura Town, Ichigo's friends begin waking up. They make a run for it as Aizen draws closer and closer, but will Ichigo make it in time to save them all?

About this Manga-ka:

The son of a town council member in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima. He never took drawing seriously until he was 17; after reading Dragon Ball he knew he wanted to be a manga artist. At the age of 18 he submitted his first concept for the series Zombiepowder but it got rejected. Zombiepowder was rejected multiple times until Kubo was 22, when it finally was accepted by Shonen Jump. It did not last long; it was cancelled after four volumes in late 2000.

His next series, Bleach, about a high school student who becomes a shinigami and fights hollows, was not such a failure. Bleach began regular publication in 2001. It has been running in Weekly Shonen Jump ever since.