Ichigo must continue to fight his way up. Rukia has been thrown back into her cell after they got her out b/c Ichigo must go into training. He has three days to train for the level of strength that should take years to acquire.

Hanataro and Ganju disagree over protecting Rukia. Yoruichi's true form is revealed and she offers to train Ichigo so he can rescue Rukia himself. Uryu is about to do some serious damage! I just know it. WHERE'S CHAD!?

Yo this got dark!

J'ai hate de découvrir la suite!!

"Three days. I'll make him stronger than you in three days. I know it's self-serving, but I'm declaring a truce until then. Chase me if you wish. "Flash Master" Yoruichi will not be captured by the likes of you."

Volume 14 has some incredibly emotional moments. All of them were known by me since I watched the anime, but despite that fact, it still had a bit impact on me, even bigger than when I saw it in the anime.

"Are you deaf? I told you to disappear."
"Save it, rich boy! I don't care if you are some hotshot nobleman! I'm a Shiba! There isn't a coward among us, who'd be scared off that easily!"
"A Shiba? So you're one of them. Then I apologize for dismissing you. You will not leave here alive."

I have a deep admiration for both Ganju and Hanataro. They risked all for Ichigo (and vice versa) and now, after realizing what a great danger they found themselves in (in the form of Byakuya), they were both ready to fight, despite being scared out of their minds. At first, Ganju wanted to let go of the mission of saving Rukia and beg for his life, but after seeing Hanataro bravely standing up to the upcoming danger (and knowing that he doesn't stand a chance), he changed his mind and decided to protect Hanataro and Rukia with his life. There was no way of escape, so he didn't have any choice anyway, but it's still incredibly admirable, if you remember what a big hatred he has for the Soul Reapers. Now he was ready to protect not only one, but two of them while putting his own life in the line. And his opponent was no one else than one of the most powerful Soul Reapers alive.

P.S. why is Byakuya having a beef with the Shiba family? I never understood it his utter hatred for members of this family.

"Wait, Ichigo! What are you going to do?!"
"Ganju and Hanataro were heading there! If I don't go, who's gonna save them?!"

First of all, Yoruichi's true form got revealed. I know that most of the people will say how sexy she is, and I agree, but, please, guys, do not overlook the fact that she's also very, very adorable! I never thought of her this way while watching the anime - for me she was an incredibly powerful Soul Reaper that Ichigo's lucky to have by his side - but she's so cute in the manga! I love it!

Second of all, the Ichigo/Yoruichi scene when Yoruichi revealed her true form, was hilarious. My poor boy nearly got a nose bleed!

Third of all, this is such an Ichigo thing to do that, even after being heavily injured, he got up and took off to save his friends. Again, he was HEAVILY INJURED (after his fight with Zaraki), NEARLY DIED, and decided to involve himself in a fight ONCE AGAIN, just because he knew that his friends are in danger. He couldn't do much against a Captain, that had to be obvious to him, but he still decided to fight. This is the guy I'm in love with, people!

Four of all, ICHIGO'S ENTRANCES ARE ALWAYS ICONIC, BOTH IN THE ANIME AND THE MANGA. The "Number One" (my current favorite) song played in my head immediately! So, so cool!

"Rukia... I've come to rescue you."

ICHIGO AND RUKIA REUNION HAPPENED!! I knew that it was coming (of course), but I still got incredibly emotional when I saw them together again! But, hey, where is Ichigo's iconic "Yo"? Is this word only reserved for the anime? :(

"What's with that face?! I came all the way here to help you! You could at least smile."
"You fool. I told you not to come. I told you not to come after me!"

Ichigo's and Rukia's face expressions after they met each other again killed me. And their bickering scene was not only hilarious, but it also made me laugh through tears. I missed these two and their dynamic so much.

P.S. the little scene of Rukia seeing Kaien in Ichigo is very special to me. I know why it was there - because of the future Rukia storyline that will show her background - but now that I know some spoilers, I couldn't help, but cry even more than I originally did. I wish that Ichigo and Kaien met. I wish that things were different :(

"It can't be helped. Once a grenade is thrown... it shouldn't come flying back."

DID I ALREADY SAY THAT MAYURI IS A DISGUSTING PIECE OF SH!T?! BECAUSE HE IS A DISGUSTING PIECE OF SH!T!

Sorry for the curses, but ABSOLUTELY HATE this person! He's one of the few Bleach characters that I would cut out of the story without a blink of an eye. He's disgusting and terrifying and I hate him! How is Soul Society tolerating this individual is truly beyond me. He's more ruthless than Zaraki and has the guts to make disgusting faces when Zaraki is around!

Somehow I completely forgot about the Ishida vs Mayuri fight and got shocked when Mayuri had showed up. It's one of the best Bleach fights, I should be truly ashamed! Anyways, while I already saw it and knew what will happen, this fight still had shaken me to the core. The anime, being much less bloody than the manga, didn't show the true gruesome events that happened because of Mayuri's intervention. I mean, the nameless Soul Reapers from Squad 10 had still blown up, but I WAS NOT READY FOR THE BLOODY DETAILS. It was awful, awful, truly truly awful to see and I cried along with Orihime, because no one, absolutely no one deserves a death like this. And the little image of Ishida's master reflected on Uryuu's glasses (because of the photo)?! It was not shown in the anime and for the first time I'm grateful that something was cut! I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE! I REALLY DIDN'T WANT! I DIDN'T WANNA KNOW THE DETAILS! Poor, poor grandfather!

Review by K.M. : "Good. A bit boring."

No recordava que l'Ishida era tan guai i tenia tanta aura. Molt bon enfrontament.

La resta del volum bé. La presentació del capità de la Rukia m'ha agradat.

Em sobra una mica el moment incòmode transformació però bueno, al menys l'Ichigo no és un fastigós, com altres protagonistes de manga.

Em sap molt greu per la Inoue, que no està tenint gaire pes. Jo recordava que tenia més poder. Seguirem atents.

Quincy got some bad blood

Mayuri, you asshole. Ishida, my poor boy. ):

Meh... on the one hand, this volume has lots of Byakuya, whom I like even when he's being a big old conflicted jerk. On the other hand, it has lots of Mayuri, who I do not like, because he is a demented psycho. He's totally disgusting and gives me the shivers whenever he's on screen, but I think he was toned down after this first battle. I mean, he's nowhere near as bad anywhere else as he is here, talking about making people burn their children, and digging holes in their skulls, then taunting Ishida with a photo of his grandfather after torture. Jesus.

I know it was just filler in the anime, but I find it interesting that in the arc about the Kasumi-Ooji family, the newly appointed third seat of the third squad complains that he couldn't get anywhere in the ranks of the gotei 13 because he didn't care enough about his fellow shinigami to protect them from death. Yet, in this volume we see a man who has risen to the rank of Captain who cares so little about his subordinates that he will throw their lives away without a care. I doubt his research and scientific abilities are really that great that Soul Society can afford to overlook the fact that he is a TOTAL PSYCHO.

Oh, we also learn about Yoruichi's true form here, and that she and Byakuya like(d) to play tag. Whee!

This is my second read of the Bleach series the first time I read this manga was before Goodreads.

Almost a filler volume. We see Yoruichi's true form in a bit of fan service with strategically placed clouds and or clothing. She is going to train Ichigo.

We get to see some of the evil that is the Head of Research & Development of the Soul Society. That this scumbag is the head of R&D is a sure sign of the corruption & decay and stagnation of the Soul Society. ugh

The plot moves along.

I loved this entry in the story. I loved Ichigo and Rukia’s reunion and the hints of how Ichigo reminds Rukia of a fallen friend. I loved seeing the reveal of Yoruichi’s true form and how she’s infamous in the Soul Society. I loved the appearance of Renji’s Zanpakutō’s spirit, Zabimaru. I loved seeing Mayuri and Uryū begin their fight, and I loved how we learn how brutal Mayuri is by how he easily uses his own men as disposable cannon fodder by using them as explosive traps. I loved how Tite Kubo briefly humanized those minor characters before killing them off, it made them seem real and it gave a real weight to the situation and made readers understand that these characters (both minor and major) are fully realized people with lives and wants and desires, and that when they die it has meaning. I loved how Uryū’s character is deepened by his introduction to Mayuri, and how we get more information about the Quincies. I’m excited to see the end of this fight and I loved the initial set up here. This was an excellent volume of the series with lots of major developments.