…and so the filler continues. I’m not entirely sure I like where this is heading; personally, I thought the last episode would have ended this arc rather nicely. However, I’m willing to give the writers the benefit of the doubt. They did manage to get a pretty intriguing storyline going after all… I’m just hoping that it doesn’t end on a sour note. 
You can watch the episode here.
…and this week’s Naruto and Bleach manga just came out as well.
Did Kisame actually just get wtfpwned by Bee and his brother? That combo attack definitely looked like a room full of hurt. Bee’s pencil-throwing skills are pretty awesome too. 
Not much to say on that chapter, except that it definitely seemed like deus ex machina at work (with Raikage et. al. saving the day). I suppose they did have a logical explanation since Kisame’s ability was so not stealthy. …and what’s this, Sai speaking up for Sakura?
Kenpachi’s and Byakuya’s fight with Yammy in Bleach just got more interesting. It would have been boring if the latter died without doing anything. He probably still doesn’t have a chance though, with three captains (none of them using anywhere near their full strength) watching him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Yammy blew up like a bomb as a result of anger (think Deidara in Naruto).
Looks like Tōsen and Gin may have gotten hollow powers as well. The shinigami in the fake Karakura Town are so screwed.
I’ve just finished watching episode 247 of Bleach which is a continuation of the current filler arc. As expected, we didn’t get to see any new sword abilities (Ryūjin Jakka actually did torch things with mere fire, haha). It was definitely a clever plot twist, having Muramasa tell the Zanpakutō to merely stall for time; epic fights were not necessary to advance the storyline.
…and Ichigo falls into yet another trap. Go figure. You’d think Muramasa’s taunting would be enough to ring some bells, but nooo… Everyone else picked up on something suspicious – heck, even Kenpachi knew (though he didn’t give a crap and just wanted to blow things away ).
As for Naruto, we finally get to see the fight between Sasuke and Itachi. I was kind of expecting something more…mindblowing, but I suppose you take what you can get. Next week’s episode will definitely be interesting as that mini-arc reaches its conclusion; we’ll get to see Sasuke’s Kirin and Itachi’s Susanoo.
I also found out that there’s a new adaptation of InuYasha picking up from where the original anime left off and continuing to the last chapter of the manga. That’s actually pretty awesome news, as the last few episodes of the original were terribad; there were so many loose ends and it was really obvious that the show was unfinished. I actually picked up the manga right after episode 167 since it left such a bad taste in my mouth.
The only negative thing I can say so far is that the new episodes had very little background for those who haven’t followed the original series. I mean, we saw Kagura get killed off 2 episodes in, and she was definitely one of the more interesting characters (few others have had to deal with complex decisions – it’s almost like there was a clear cut between black and white).
I’m not entirely sure how long this “season” will last either. The previous adaptation only reached about halfway through the manga and it had 167 episodes. However, Shōnen Sunday announced that there were only going to be 26 episodes. I’m not sure if I believe that or not, since it’s going to be hard to cram everything in that period of time. Well, as long as we get a decent ending this time around…
I’ve just finished watching episode 246 of Bleach and there are definitely some hilarious moments in it. Kenpachi and Yachiru getting lost (again) was to be expected.
As usual, Ichigo falls into another trap and escapes with his bankai. Why doesn’t he just use his hollow mask and wtfpwn everyone in his way? I suppose that would be too boring; all of the fights would last something like two minutes. It’ll be interesting to see how Ukitake and Kyōraku pull off their battles though, without revealing anything unseen in the manga; chances are there’s going to be a lot of kido spells flying around. Unfortunately, following that logic we probably won’t see Minazuki do anything this arc either. Bah.
In any case, these past few episodes were actually pretty good for a filler arc.