#bleach 685

Life goes on. 

Always, and despite everything, life goes on.

Rating: General Fandom: Bleach Pairing: Kyōraku Shunsui / Ukitake Jūshirō,  Kyōraku Shunsui / Ise Nanao (Unrequited) Summary:  “…I made your grave in shadow,” Shunsui says. “Selfish? Heh. Well, maybe. But I have yet to hear you complain about it, so…”

Ohhh all right, thanks for clearing that up!

Okay, here’s the thing: when 685 came out, there were still a lot of rumors flying around about a possible sequel.  It started out from some fake spoilers that began circulating, and lots of people (myself included) found the sequel rumor plausible as it was becoming pretty damn obvious Kubo could not possibly answer everything (or at least the most important plot points) with so few chapters left.

Some people thought Bleach might move to a monthly publication, others said there could be a databook coming out… all in all, SWJ’s refusal to provide a straight answer had people wondering if something might be going on behind the scenes, whether Kubo was being forced out etc. 

The reason I’m saying all this is because all this confusion obviously colored my (then) interpretation of 685.  One of the most prevailing theories at the time was that 685 seemed a little too eerily perfect, and the appearance of the black goo felt almost like a shadow looming over the cast, ie Yhwach’s threat to return when our heroes were at their happiest.  This is what I wrote in my 685 review:

If we do get a sequel, whether it’s a small gaiden, an OVA or whathaveyou, this could very well be a new threat.  But with the current information we have, I think Kubo’s bluffing, trying to end the penultimate chapter on a cliffhanger.  I would like an answer on the whole Soul King business in 686 (is it still a thing? did they find a way to stabilize the worlds without the need for an SK? Is Aizen alive?) but I won’t gripe about it here.  It’s obvious this chapter was meant to focus on the Gotei side of the protagonist roster, so I can only assume 686 will focus on Karakura.  Mainly the nakama, but I’m obviously hoping for a glimpse of the shōten and Visored crews, assuming there’s enough panel space (remember that since Nisekoi got the extra page treatment on this installment, this opens up the possibility of Bleach getting it for its finale).

So basically… I got it right.  It was just Kubo teasing with one final cliffhanger before the end.

Which is a shame, because I found Yhwach’s threat one of the highlights of the later TYBW arc, a legitimately terrifying threat. It could’ve worked spectacularly as a storytelling device, jumping back and forth through time to show us the future (or even the past) of our heroes in a unique and interesting way.

Alright I got some good explanations for my question about bleach 685 title here, thank you everyone! So it is a fact that 685 can either be seen as a perfect end or end of perfection. In either case, it reasserts the fact that the last chapter is only one of the possible outcome and going by “end of perfection”, it’s not even the best outcome. Which  adds even more credibility to Yhwach’s surfacing and tragic ending as explained here. and here