I read Vol. 17 of Bleach all day yesterday. I excitedly read it over and over again, I love that damn thing. Tite Kubo has a way with cliffhangers. I can't wait to get my hands on the next volume, it's going to kill me to wait until next week. The story was mostly about Renji's redemption! I was elated to see him battling Byakuya and was very surprised by the outcome. I had been waiting for this battle since the "stars and the stray" and I was not disappointed!
I also picked up ZombiePowder, Tite Kubo's other manga. I'm really curious about it, I think it's only four volumes long so it should be fast paced. I brought it with me to work and it's going to be a long-ass day, I'll read it during my breaks or when I'm sick of working.

I read the forum post "Things wrong with the Soul Society" and it got me thinking:

The Soul Society seems like a horrible place to go to after living on Earth. Unless you and your loved ones all die at the same time, you will never see them again. Just remember Yuuichi, the soul of the young boy in the body of a parakeet. Rukia pointed out some of the benefits of the Soul Society. Not going hungry may be the only positive aspect of the SS to a person with little or no spiritual power. The truth is, little Yuuichi will never see his mother again because the SS system doesn't provide that service.

Also, the civilian souls all live in poverty; wearing rags, stealing from markets, etc meanwhile the Soul Reapers have many of the luxuries available to people in the world of the living. I'm pretty sure that in the manga, it is stated that Soul Reapers get a salary, I remember reading it in Renji's bio. So I do believe that there may be some conspiracy.

We never see or hear anything about souls returning to the world of the living. Are they reincarnated after they die in the SS? 

I broke down and bought a bleach dvd the other day. I was going to wait for a box set (if it were released) but I gave in. What can I say, I had a coupon for 20% at Borders, it was still twenty bucks, though. I also pre-ordered vol.5 because it's cheaper than waiting for it to hit stores...and Renji is on the cover! Finally, I will see the episodes I missed back when I was in Colorado! The time change there really threw me off. If Bleach is on before midnight, I just can't watch it unless everyone else likes it. At twenty-three I'm still the baby in my family, no one watches cartoons, especially anime. Although I was surprised when my brother sat and watched an episode of Bleach with me, I think it was the 7th one. He made fun of it at first but by the end was sucked in! He wanted to know what happened to Ichigo's mother. I sure he's forgotten about it by now. 
My only hope for an anime companion is my ten-year-old nephew. The other night we watched Ninja Warrior at 10pm and he loved that! I'm sure it was mostly because his bedtime is 9 but I let him stay up to play video games or watch some tv. I'm such a bad auntie. Unfortunately he lost interest in Naruto, and what little interest he had wouldn't be enough to inspire him to read through the subbed episodes. Bleach is out of the question, not until he's... I don't know, 14.

Well that's enough rambling for now.

It's really bugs me when people misspell "hollow". There is no 'A' in hollow. "Hallow" refers to something being holy or sacred; like "hallowed ground" whereas a "hollow" (in the wonderful world of Bleach) is an evil spirit. It really bothers me how many reviews are not even coherent, there are a bunch of words in paragraph form but none of them fit together to make one complete thought. I didn't realize that rereading what you wrote or clicking the button for spell check was such an insufferable task! 

I'm not sure what happened, I used to be level 4, over 80% complete, and now I'm level 1 at only 8% complete. It's been like this over the weekend. Oh well, I guess I'll check the forums.

I was so sick last night, ususally I go to sleep early during the week but last night was the exception. The only good thing I got from it was that Bleach was on Monday night at 12:30. It was the first episode! Apparently as the saying goes, everything happens for a reason. I got sick last night because some higher power wanted me to watch Bleach! Oh course, it's so simple. I wonder if it'll be on again tonight.

I like Momo better in the Bleach manga. She comes off as a little too whiny in the anime but I still like her character. The anime's really funny, it touches base with the manga and then elaborates on it. It's not often that I read the manga and watch the show at the same time, so it's a bit strange to compare the two. It's like the makers of the anime realized that they had to kill time so they added extra emotions to the characters, like Rukia praying for Ichigo's safety (that wasn't in the manga, but you knew she felt that way without having to see it). Well, it looks like I have another hour to waste before Bleach is on again. I only watch the good episodes twice. Oh, and this is good because Kenny is in it!

I can't allow myself to apologize. The act of writing reviews brings me immense joy, I can barely contain it. I try not to let my biases leak into my reviews... okay so I don't try that hard. I'll be honest, I'm keen on the whole Raven-Beast Boy scenario. I know that nothing between them happens in the show because it's a show rated "Y". Kids don't want to see romance, friendship or even a plot. They tune in because there's action, fighting and bright colors. Plus, it wouldn't make sense for the whole team to pair up. Robin with Starfire, Raven with Beast Boy. What about Cyborg?! Yeah, he won't feel like a fifth wheel. It's enough that there's one pairing by the end of the series (including the movie), anymore than that would just be superfluous. I'm happy enough knowing that they have a brief romantic moment in the comics.

Luckily I don't care who Rukia ends up with. I'd be just as happy if she ended up with Ichigo or Renji. Actually, it doesn't even matter, so long as she ended up with someone! It could be Kisuke Urahara, Isshin Kurosaki, or Keigo Asano. Really, I don't care! I don't know why I want her to end up with someone, I just do. Even if it were a plutonic relationship where Rukia lived in Ichigo's closet forever, I'd be okay with that. She needs to have a fling or something. Actually, if she just...fought...did something...escaped from the tower, sleighed her brother...did anything I would be happy. I just can't stand seeing all the boys having the fun, we need to have some girl fighting action. That's all I really want. Romance is nice, but some girl fighting would be nice too!

I don't like my current status:weatherman. It's a clever use of an obnoxious picture and title, it actually motivates me to contribute. I'd have to say I know more about Teen Titans than any other animated show. I used to be obsessed with that show; collecting the comics, statuettes, paperweights and mini figures. I still love the show, but I don't feel like spending as much money... except on the comics. I've watched each episode multiple times, especially the Raven or Beast Boy related ones. The only season I missed was the last one. I'd buy the dvd but it probably won't be released anytime soon.So, I'll be contributing to the Teen Titans section first just to erase that annoying status. If it was just the word, weatherman, I wouldn't care but there's an icon tacked onto it. I can't ignore that! I respond mostly to visual media.

Bleach obsession has set in. I have made a point to take my time with this anime. Unlike with Naruto, I watch the American version of the show, and read the Viz manga. When Naruto first came to Cartoon Network I excitedly downloaded as many episodes as I could find, and read the manga online that extended further than the episodes. Even though I love the episodes that are on now, I just can't find the time to watch them. It's on so early on Saturdays, it doesn't interest me enough to get home by 9pm. So with Bleach, I patiently reread vol. 13 while I wait until next week to pick up vol. 14.