Anime

[You can catch both Naruto and Bleach simulcasting on Crunchyroll. Bleach also airs on Adult Swim, with other episodes available via iTunes. DVD volumes are available at major retailers, published by VIZ media. One Piece episodes (as well as DVD volumes) are available via FUNimation.]  

Josh Tolentino

Bleach episode 286

One of Bleach's key beats has always been, with every significant incident, to establish a common convention theme that ends up affecting everything around it. Sometimes the rules are temporary, lasting little more than an episode or a few chapters. Sometimes they can be much more long-lasting, eventually forming the foundation for a character's development, or even tying into the series as a whole.

This week's rule is "The amount of bare chest a character exposes is directly proportional to that character's displayed power level and allotted airtime."

Put in more crude terms, "Skin is win".

Just think about it. This week, the characters with bare chests and torsos are the ones who get to show off the most power and meet with the greatest success in their endeavors.

Of course, this rule might seem kind of obvious to anyone who's watched a lot of *ahem* "GAR" shows, but this episode of Bleach serves as a particularly acute illustration of the effect. 

Take Ichigo above, and Yammy below:

In the first screen, Ichigo barely has any shirt on, with just a sleeve and maybe half a shoulder left following Ulquiorra's defeat. It's not surprising, then, that he's able to get in a few good hits and even draw blood on the Zero Espada. Unfortunately, Yammy has no shirt on at all. Nor pants. Which would explain why Ichigo eventually falls, just like the fully-clothed Renji and Chad.

In fact, Ichigo would likely be done for if not for the appearance of another shirtless man:

Protip: It's the man on the left. Kenpachi, who has no sleeves (compared with Ichigo's single sleeve), manages to lop a whole limb off of Yammy, proving his sheer power. No sleeves > one sleeve.

Now, before you go and contest my theory by bringing up Byakuya's fully-clothed presence, note that he didn't really do much during the episode, besides opening up the fight with a spell. 

Interestingly, Ichigo's outfit seems to slowly grow back as the episode drags on, leaving him with nearly a hobo's worth of usable clothing by the time he leaves for the Living World to join the fracas. Does that have anything to do with his state of recovery? Maybe.

But we won't be getting the chance to find out for a long while yet, because the next episode is pure filler, apparently something involving a genie, a magic lamp, and a flying carpet. 

I've noticed that Bleach has more or less halted any efforts to fit its filler arcs into the canon as defined by the manga. One wonders whether that's a net positive.

Naruto Shippuden episode 176

Last week I theorized that Naruto's filler arc was set to begin this week, thanks to the very definite "ending" given by the Pain arc's denouement. There was, however, a sparkle of hope left, shown in the above screen, which is of the Raikage lamenting Killer Bee's abduction and ordering the ninja trio of Samui, Karui and Omoi to visit the Leaf and deliver a letter summoning all five Kages to a big summit. If that scene is a sign that we can make it all the way to that arc, we can be sure to see a lot of new development before the next major filler period.

But that's just speculation and wishful thinking for now. On to the actual episode.

To be honest, though, there's not too much to speak of. It details Iruka and Naruto's first meeting, as Iruka is reluctantly assigned to become Naruto's new homeroom teacher at the Academy. Naruto resorts to mischief for attention, but Iruka refuses to engage him. 

As neither teacher nor parent, I'm hardly in a position to judge if that kind of strategy really does work on problem students, but it looks like Naruto will eventually try straightening out. Next week looks to explore that angle a bit more.

Manga

[Editor's Note: If you're only following the anime series, you might want to skip this section, as there will be spoilers. Naruto, One Piece and Bleach manga volumes are available for purchase via VIZ Media.]   

Josh Tolentino

Naruto chapter 508

I'd argue that this week's chapter of Naruto was ill-spent, dedicated once more to somehow recasting Kisame as a likable or sympathetic character. Really, he hasn't done anything noteworthy at all to qualify for that kind of treatment.

Itachi might have actually been in a similar situation, if not for his personality and the extra slack afforded to his status as brother to Sasuke. Kisame's a shark-faced bastard, through and through, whereas Itachi's broodiness at least lend itself to readers speculating that he might be regretting it.

Instead, Kisame's only redeeming quality (and of dubious value at that) was that he decided to kill himself rather than allow his mind to be read and betray information about Akatsuki. Guy calls Kisame's suicide "a death befitting a shinobi". He'd be right, given that ninjas are neither good nor evil by nature, but Kisame's last thought, that "I'm not so terrible at all," absolutely does not hold water.

Well, at least he offed himself in a rather flambouyant fashion, summoning sharks and having them eat him alive. It's like all of Shark Week was condensed into a few horrible seconds. I may not care about Kisame, but I can certainly think well of the way he chose to go.

Next week looks like it might be a doozy. Madara's gone to the Rain village and is confronting Konan. I don't like her as much as I like Guy, but she's voiced by Atsuko Tanaka (aka The Major), which means I'd rather she not die, as well.