The battle against Kageroza and his reigai imposters continues! Despite Nozomi’s best efforts to distance herself from those around her, Ichigo, Kon and the gang have become fiercely devoted to her protection. After her capture by Kageroza, Team Ichigo makes their way to the Soul Society in order to liberate their cool-as-a-cucumber friend. However, Ichigo’s spiritual energy is on the fritz, which means it’s time for Kon to dust off his hero jacket. 

We all know Ichigo has a tough time taking the back seat when he has friends in need. Yet Kon, with fierce determination in his black-button eyes, convinces Ichigo to leave Nozomi’s rescue up to him. While Ichigo attempts to maintain his raging spiritual energy, Kon and Kisuke take charge of pursuing Kageroza—and make a surprisingly efficient team. The two rely on each other’s strengths (and Kon’s weaknesses) in the battles they encounter.

Eventually, the dynamic duo sniff out the connection between Kageroza and Nozomi. Nozomi and Kageroza are, in fact, mod soul representations of the same person. Ouko, former scientist of the Research and Development Team and the developer of mod souls, split himself into the two drastically different mod souls we know as Nozomi and Kageroza.

Ouko’s tale is a sad one defined by his loneliness and anger. Ouko has never once experienced friendship nor had to rely on the help of others. His seclusion and distrust is a cocktail for disaster waiting to happen. It’s no surprise that when the Soul Society cancels his life’s work, he’s ready for revenge. 

From Ouko, we learn why Nozomi has built so many walls around herself, especially when confronted with Kon’s stubborn attempts to befriend her. While Ouko’s nature has been to value solitude, Nozomi learns to let others in and gains strength from her new companions.
The value of friendship is not a novel theme in Bleach, but the development of Nozomi’s character and the strong bond she builds with Kon could make a Soul Reaper cry. The reigai arc is wrapped up in this DVD set with an explosively emotional finale. My favorite moments include Kon cross-dressing, Ouko letting lose and Ichigo’s rough-and-tumble tail. 

English & Japanese 2.0 Audio / English Subtitles
Episodes: 330–342
Special Features: Omake, Clean Opening, Clean Ending
Bleach DVD Set 24 is available here!

© Tite Kubo/Shueisha, TV TOKYO, dentsu, Pierrot

by Cat Rechsteiner