Chapter 68
Ichigo and his friends walk toward the fireworks viewing area.
On August 1st, the day after he completes his training with Urahara, Ichigo mentally notes that he has decided to enjoy what may be his last normal summer vacation while Urahara's crew prepares to open the gate to Soul Society.
Keigo welcomes him home and tearfully declares that he was lonely playing video games alone while flinging himself at Ichigo, who merely kicks him in the face as he offhandedly states that it is nice to see Keigo too.
When Mizuiro appears with a golden tan and asks Keigo if he missed him, Keigo angrily throws salt at him while calling him a foreign devil, prompting Mizuiro to complain about how it is making his Phuket tan sting before revealing that he brought Keigo back a coconut as a gift, only for Keigo to declare that he will crack it open using Mizuiro's head.
Suddenly, Tatsuki kicks over Keigo from behind and greets Ichigo and Mizuiro alongside Orihime and Sado.
While Mizuiro greets them in return, Ichigo expresses shock upon seeing Tatsuki's right arm in a sling and is further incredulous to hear that she only placed 2nd at Nationals.
Isshin Kurosaki, Karin Kurosaki, and Yuzu Kurosaki arrive.
Look at how cute Ichigo's sisters are! Isshin reveals that he and his daughters got drunk off fruit juice to an outraged Ichigo.
Isshin, Karin, Yuzu, Sado, Keigo, and Mizuiro run off to attend the fireworks festival.
Tatsuki and Orihime's friendship is great.
Ichigo carries his sleeping sisters home on his back while Isshin pokes fun at him.
"If you meet any cute girls there, remember to introduce them to me!" Is that a foreshadowing for something?
Isshin then assures him that he can look after the house while Ichigo is gone before proclaiming that no harm will befall their family as long as he is around. Ichigo asserts that he is not worried and declares that he is going.
Character Analysis (SPOILER!)
And that's the last time we see most of the cast for a while... Unfortunately, all of Ichigo's friends and his family became irrelevant. The main issue with Bleach is that there are way too many characters, so most of them ended up being disappointing. Now let's talk about those forgotten characters and about their potential, shall we?
Karin Kurosaki: Karin is Ichigo's little sister. Compared to her soft-spoken twin sister, Yuzu, Karin is a more authoritative and out-spoken person. Karin's tough exterior results from her mother's death; because she could not be useful around the house like Yuzu, she resolved never to cry so that she would not burden her family with her personal troubles. Karin is a sensible person (she was unusually upset and in pain over Yūichi Shibata) but is not above kicking her father in the head when she thinks he's acting unreasonable. Despite this, Karin is still helpful around the clinic, as she and Yuzu help out their father as nurses when they can. Chad said that Karin is very similar to Ichigo.
She is able to see ghosts and Hollows, although she tries to deny the existence of ghosts. She saw Ichigo in his Shinigami form but she never really had a talk with Ichigo about that. Kubo seems to want Karin to become important but never did anything with her. I don't know if Kubo wanted her to be a human with powers like Chad and Orihime, or a Shinigami like brother. But I'm sure that Karin was meant to have powers. In chapter 428, Karin wanted to protect her brother and to replace him one day. Therefore Karin didn't manage to fulfill Karin's full potential, which is a shame.
Yuzu Kurosaki: Ichigo's younger sister. She takes care of the housework on a daily basis and she also regularly cuts Ichigo's hair (Source). Unlike her siblings, Yuzu is only able to see faint outlines of spirits. Moreover, Yuzu has maintained a much more emotional side than her twin. Kubo probably never intended Yuzu to be relevant, so I don't have any issue with her.
Kon: Kon is a Mod[ified] Soul, the product of a recalled Soul Society experiment in giving 'vacant' human bodies Hollow-killing powers. After a brief yet entertaining hijacking of Ichigo's body and the acquisition of his current stuffed toy body, he settles down into his role as comic relief. He's entrusted with Ichigo's body when Ichigo's out Hollow-hunting to maintain the Masquerade.
I think a good compromise for Kon would be to imitate other mod souls (Ririn, Kurodo and Noba) in fillers. In other words, he could switch between his stuffed animal form and a Gigai form. The former would be for comic relief while the latter would be used in fights to help Ichigo and his friends. Of course, he doesn't have to be very strong but he would be strong enough against small fries.
Tatsuki Arisawa: She is Orihime's best friend, a martial arts prodigy (she finished second in the Nationals) and Ichigo's childhood friend and former sparring partner. Tatsuki is a tomboy who is bold, outgoing, and extroverted. Kids at school used to pick on Orihime because of her hair color. Tatsuki put a stop to it by stomping said bullies flat 'til they got the message. Since then, Orihime has let her hair grow long as a sign of gratitude and as a symbol of their friendship.
I think Tatsuki should have been much more relevant. She is Orihime's best friend! Even without powers, I honestly don't understand why she almost disappeared after the first arc. In the Karakura-Raizer omake, it is revealed that her spiritual power manifests itself in flame-like blasts which she can shoot out of her fists or incorporate it in her fighting style. It's better than nothing, I guess. If Tatsuki developed her powers earlier, she could have been Yoruichi's main disciple. Then she could have a friendship or a rivalry with Soi Fon. Tatsuki had a lot of potential, but Kubo wasted it.
Kubo drew Tatsuki as a Shinigami in All Colour But The Black.
Mizuiro Kojima: He is Ichigo's friend and is stated to have a preference for older women. I like what he did in the Deicide mini-arc (chapters 399-413). Upon waking up in a sleeping city, the first things he grabs are food, water, a cell phone charger, a gasoline canister, and stun guns for everyone. Despite his lack of power, he briefly confronts the final boss of the arc! Mizuiro creates a home-made Molotov cocktail in an attempt to buy enough time to flee. That's fucking awesome.
I don't know if Kubo ever wanted him to have powers. If he had powers at the same time as Orihime and Chad, he could create and use objects to fight. As Mizuiro likes older women, he could have been Kukaku's disciple. Kukaku has a knowledge of creating and using fireworks, so Mizuiro could have techniques similar to Ganju.
Keigo Asano: Keigo is usually a goofy and extremely hyper-active boy, often using overly-dramatic movements and words to act out his feelings. A good-natured teenager, Keigo often tries (and fails) to "woo" girls and cheer up Ichigo, often ending up in Ichigo hitting him in some way. He is good friends with fellow student Mizuiro Kojima, whose calm, innocent demeanor and success with women acts as a foil to Keigo's impulsive, wannabe personality. In the Deicide mini-arc, Keigo is shown to be brave despite his normal behavior. I mean, he attempted to fight the Big Bag with a Shinigami's Zanpakutô that he he stole!
I don't really know what Keigo's powers would be if he developed one. And I don't think Keigo and Mizuiro need powers to be relevant. Their friendship with Ichigo and Chad is enough to justify their presence.
Chizuru Honsho: Orihime's friend and proud lesbian. She is... creepy. I don't think she is a good character at all.
Mahana Natsui, Michiru Oogawa and Ryo Kuneida are three classmates who are also Orihime's friends. There are minor characters, even in the first arc. There's no point in developing these characters.
Jinta Hanakari: An assistant to the Urahara Shop. He's a slacker and hot-tempered, often pressing his fists on Ururu's head to get her to back down. Jinta been shown using a gigantic mace when attack lesser hollows. The series never elaborate where he came from or how he came to join Urahara. As he bullies our best girl Ururu, he is a piece of shit and doesn't deserve to be developed more.
Ururu Tsumugiya: Another assistant to Urahara's shop. Ururu is reserved and moody, but more responsible and obedient than Jinta. The series never elaborate where she came from or how she came to join Urahara. Moreover, Ururu is very strong as she can beat the crap out of Ichigo (okay he lost his Shinigami power, but whatever) and she can handle unreleased fraccions barehanded.
She is a cool character, I love her! But how could we improve her? Well we could begin by explaining how the hell she is so strong and where she comes from. Is she an artificial entity like Nemu? A mod soul in a Gigai? A fullbringer? A normal human with high spiritual power? Urahara and Yoruichi's daughter (sorry I was running out of idea)?
Don Kanonji: Misaomaru Kan'onji is a spirit medium and the host of the TV show Ghost Hunt. He is known for his trademark laugh (BWAHAHAHA!) He met Ichigo when he and his friends went to see him live. Unknowingly he removes a spirit's soul chain and turns him into a Hollow. After Ichigo saves him, Kanonji declares him his apprentice.
He makes appearances in filler episodes and in omakes, establishing the Karakura Superheroes consisting of him, the Kurosaki sisters, the Urahara shop kids, and Kon. Later on, in another filler arc (based on manga Omakes) he is put in another by order of Urahara: The Karakurizer team.
Don Kanonji's arc was meh. Instead of a Don Kanonji arc, a Tatsuki arc would have been way better to my mind. But if Kubo wanted to develop him (which is totally unecessary), I think he could have been the leader of humans with spiritual power like in the fillers. But please make him more serious than in the mange/anime!
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