Anyone up for some nostalgia? That’s right, we’re reviewing Volume 14 of bleach which correlates with how I feel when I’m reading. We start with Captain Kyoraku receiving a report from his lieutenant (Nanao) stating one of the other captains of the Gotei Thirteen, Captain Aizen of Squad 5, has been murdered. We transition to Kenpachi Zaraki (Captain of Squad 11) and Ichigo Kurosaki fighting in an exhilarating battle surrounded by 100ft tall stone buildings. Ichigo proceeds to dodge Kenpachi’ s attacks as he can’t cut him with his sword, Zangetsu. After gathering his senses and calms himself for his next attack, he manages to put a huge gash on Kenpachi’ s chest. However, being Kenpachi Zaraki, his personality of enjoying fighting against someone equal or better than him, he simply commends Ichigo and tells him to stay focused, and their battle continues. Elsewhere in the Seireitei, Retsu Unohana declares to both, Captain Kaname Tousen of 9th Squad, and Captain Komamura of Squad 7, that Captain Aizen has been pronounced dead. Ichigo and Kenpachi continue their fighting until Kenpachi, literally cuts through Ichigo’ s sword like a tube effortlessly entering a perfect sized hole! Ichigo’ s sword snaps in half as he falls to the ground after having a hole pierced in his chest. He retreats to his mind where his sword spirit (Zangetsu) communes with him and fights him to see if he’s worthy to wield him. Zangetsu is defeated by Ichigo and agrees to lend Ichigo more of his power. Ichigo’ s wounds are healed by Zangetsu and he continues his battle with Kenpachi. In turn, Kenpachi gets so excited with the battle, he decides to take off his eyepatch that absorbs his spirit energy so his fights can lost longer. The gloves are off, they prepare for one final all out attack with Zangetsu helping Ichigo and Kenpachi using his raw battle prowess. The end result… a draw! Ichigo is wisped away by his companion Yoruichi, and Kenpachi by his lieutenant, Yachiru.

The play written by Shakespeare known as Macbeth, has a intriguing list of characters. The most intriguing or interesting to me is Macbeth himself. His inner monologues provide me with a deeper understanding of the character and his constant confusion with his decisions. Also, his character development from the beginning of the story compared to when he had just killed king Duncan was a great insight on the character. His battle prowess against enemy forces in the beginning proved to be quite impressive and that he seemed to never grow tired of striking down his enemies. Macbeth is the proclaimed hero of this story, although some may disagree when taking into account his actions later on. I believe the true villain isn’t Macbeth, but instead Lady Macbeth. She may not have done the deed herself, but she did greatly influence Macbeth to do it himself rather than her. Lady Macbeth stated that she would’ve killed the King if he didn’t resemble her father, but I believe that was an excuse more than anything. She saw the guilt in Macbeth’s eyes when he came out the king’s chambers but pretended she could not see why he was acting so terrified and shocked of what he had done. The true villain is her, she reaps the rewards of Macbeth being crowned king and her, now queen while the humble, honorable, old king lay dead in cold blood on his bed. The plan shouldn’t have worked if the two sons of the king didn’t parts ways with one headed for England and the other for Ireland. In addition, with no heirs to the throne by birthright, Macbeth would be crowned king because of him being Thane of Cawdor. As of right now, I believe that Lady Macbeth will be assassinated or simply die of unnatural causes. Macbeth will die of old age after relinquishing his title of king to one of Banquo’s sons.

I am currently reading the anime/manga series, One Punch Man. My reading preference for this series is online because the library doesn’t have any up to date volumes. The story revolves around the main character named Saitama and his fellow heroes in the fight against monsters. These monsters have recently banded together to form an alliance in order to defeat all the heroes, leaving the innocent defenseless. Saitama used to be your average twenty year old looking for a decent paying office job. However, this all changed one day when he was attacked by a monster and almost beaten to death. Then, he decided to train for the next two years to be able to better defend himself. The main conflicts Saitama faces throughout the series are fighting villains consisting of monsters, humans, and an alien with an armada. Reading is one of my favorite activities when I’m not playing video games. I tend to read between 30 minutes to 2 hours a week as my workload permits.

When I was younger, I read more often. However, I don’t spend as much time reading because of all my obligations associated with being a kid in school, not to mention my chores. My habit is doing my reading late at night, laying on my bed, with my lamp piercing the darkness of my room. I like to read books that are immersed in fantasy, a dash of romance, and of course, bloodshed. The following quote describes the type of fantasy I enjoy reading: “As the swordsmen unleashed his spirit animal to attack his foe, he remembered his ill wife and decided to have mercy on his foe.” Also, anything with a main character using all types of swords like kodachis, rapiers, katanas, or spiritual powers are a must read! The thing that most distracts me from reading are my grades. Constantly, my grades fluctuate up and down throughout the week and months until the end of a grading period. Sure, they end up being fine by the end of it, but the end of a term I’ll be lucky to read one-hundred pages! This is because my parents only allow me to read for pleasure after I finish my homework and do all the things parents force kids to do. Sometimes, I will mange to slip in at least two to four hours of reading during weekend depending on the workload and of course, my grades. Reading takes me away from the reality of being a teenager and helps to relax my mind. Reading is a past time I will always enjoy.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton