Ichigo and the gang are back. The battle with the Bounts continues. We are now in the middle of the 4th season and the Bounts have begun to break with the age old covenant made with the Quincy. They agreed to not devour the souls of live humans and now the decide they need a change of pace, with a hidden agenda behind it. This caught the attention of the Soul Society along with Ichigo and the others. At this point Uyrū has been captured by the Bounts and Ichigo and the others have gone to get him back.

Highlights

The major excitement to these episodes is by far the end of episode 79 when there are hundreds of Dolls being born. Of course there are the standard battles where Ichigo appears to be outclassed and should loose and then he pulls out an upset just because he refuses to be beet. There are a few surprises along the way that give some insight to some history of Soul Society and some great humor along the way. There is always the enigmatic Kisuke Urahara and his dark humor that helps move these episodes along. He also has a little fun with Ichigo and his rather downer mood after getting beet by the Bounts Leader. This leaves Ichigo more determined to be victorious.

Overall

There is no secret that I like Bleach and spending more time with the series is alway a special time for me. In this Volume, I must say that it begins to draw out the Bounts saga. With this being in the middle of the season there appears to be an issue on how to move it from the mysterious beginning and the climatic end. This difficult period in a story often leaves the viewer wanting more than the creator has to give. In the case of Bleach it is a testimate to how good Tite Kudo really is. He has been able to move through the slow periods by keeping the action moving. The only thing that has become somewhat repetitive is the standard struggle of Ichigo to appear to be beaten and then come back with a greater determination. Although, I may not find this Volume to be one of my top picks, it still stands up to the high quality anime that Bleach has come to represent.