Bleach: Episode 16

I now realize the reason behind the barely competent animation prior to this episode. The producers probably allocated the bulk of its budget for this installment alone. That or as Garten suggested, they must’ve hired another crew to finish off the series. To open the arc with such a giant leap in visual quality, I suppose the studio is going all out from this day forth. Or is that too much to ask?

The fiery Renji and icy-cold Byakuya tracks down Rukia and make their appearances. As soon as they spotted her, Renji attacks without hesitation. Needless to say. Rukia-in-a-temp-body is completely overpowered. Ishida pops in out of nowhere and decides to help out his classmate, but only to be outclassed. Then, it’s Ichigo’s turn to suddenly appear in front of them.

Whoa, the arc begins and ansgsty!Rukia will now commence. Interesting developments. With the enormous number of chapters allotted to the Soul Society arc, I’m weary about how the director would piece together the subplots in limited episodes without sacrificing coherence. I’ve lost faith since they butchered the ‘Mother/Gran Fisher’ arc so my hopes are not high.