So, this is my way of dealing with a Bleach-less week. I make an Anime special entry.
You know how the Anime special goes. Bad points first (I have a thing for complaining, really)
Firstly, the amount of this Chad and Renji filler is killing me. I know they need to "fill", but could they at least fill up with more Ichigo and Ulquiorra crossing swords? Or with more Rukia vs Rudobone? The Exequias are neverending, that's real filler, if you ask me. And would get us a chance to have a decent shot of Arbol released instead of Renji and Chad fighting random Hollows, which is getting boring. I nearly felt like skipping it, honestly. Last week I could excuse them, they had nothing to work with, but this week? So much! Pfft
Then Orihime. Was she so useless in the manga? Wait, she was. I just didn't blog about it back then. She showed just this teensy bit of resolve and when confronted, she nearly pissed herself. She was like "Why I did that? I dunno? I'm so stupid!! I should've let him die!! Stupid stupid stupid!! Punch myself!!!" Stand up for what you believe, for Ulqui's sake!!! I don't support her intervening in the fight, this is Ichigo's fight after all, but that she cannot defend herself from such simple words. Pfft. I even noticed DB's note in the opening, it read "And Orihime's back to being useless" something around those lines. While rewatching the chapter in search for snapshots, I reached he confrontation with Loly and Menoly and I was like "suffer, cry, wail... suffer, cry, wail again... suffer, cry, wail, yet again" (mom stared at me like "I've raised a crazy kid") And then Yammy and I was like "cry, cry, cry,... keep crying... and she keeps crying! And he laughs... evil" (this happened during the rewatching, while I was skipping scenes searching for Ulquiorra snapshots. When I first watched it, I just enjoyed the show. Bwahaha)
The Loly filler. Stupidest thing ever!!! When I watched it I was like "Did that happen in the manga?" I didn't remember Loly having a change of heart, or defending Orihime. So I ran to the manga and indeed, it NEVER happens. She was just between Yammy and Orihime, but the Orihime healing Loly, and the "I now owe you" whatever thing, never happened!! (references here http://www.mangafox.com/manga/bleach/v40/c343/5.html and from then on) What's with the animators making everyone a good evil guy because of the crying damsel in distress that is actually doing nothing!!! Honestly!!!
Rudobon's drawing is pathetic!! Even if he isn't a prominent character, Kubo took his time giving him a detailed and well-drawn Resurreccion. Why aren't the animators doing the same? I've been killing myself for two weeks trying to get a good shot and it's useless! The drawing is miserable, a tentaculous thingy that glows purple! The camera doesn't even take the time to look over his Resurreccion, any shot lasts less than one second and is too awful.
Now for the good points.
Unlike Árbol, Escolopendra got a very pretty drawing, Loly looked very cool and appealing, I really liked the close-up we got. Asides from the inexistent redemption fiasco, Loly made a great deal here (I love when Orihime gets tortured, even I I'm not a Loly fan, so cheers!). And she looked much sexier in Resurreccion than in her normal outfit. Actually I don't like her normal outfit. But her Resurreccion was very well carried and drawn, I really enjoyed it. Too bad Kubo didn't give her much screentime.
The PV and Arrancar Encyclopedia were, as always, marvelous. Quincies are not witches, my did I laugh at that one!! And for a moment I thought we would get into conflict when Gin said Loly was dead, but I liked how the end-chapter sketch of Loly being saved by Ishida's arrow was introduced in the AE, it was pretty funny.
Best for the last, I'm enjoying this fight so much! Of course I'm talking about the Ulquiorra vs Ichigo fight, I can't hold down my inner fangirl. Namikawa's performance of Ulquiorra's voice is perfect, and the animation of his movements is so beautiful, every movement is so graceful and elegant, so perfectly calculated, they're so Ulquiorra! he's totally leading the fight. I'm loving it! I loved that moment when Ichigo was about to rush to save Orihime and Ulquiorra shot him a sideways Cero, the lights and colors look amazing! I love how everything Ichigo does, Ulquiorra counters with a single hand, especially in this episode, when Ichigo tried to save Orihime and Ulquiorra was like "Focus on what you're doing, idiot". Ulquiorra is performing wonderfully in all aspects. I can't help myself, even if I know the outcome of this battle, I keep hoping he'll decapitate the carrot head. No hard feelings, Ichi, but Ulquiorra is always top of my list.
That's it for this episode, I hope animators do their best for Murcielago, that's all I'm asking for. And that they give a decent shot for Árbol that we can use, fo Ulquiorra's sake!!!