Mushoku Tensei II – 04 – Onward and Upward

Rudy has now done his adventuring thing in the Northlands for two years. He works well with Soldat and his party, and is even able to take out a red dragon singlehandedly (I wish I could tell you that battle looked good, but it didn’t). Who should arrive at the tavern where Rudy and his new comrades are celebrating but Elinalise Dragonroad. And here I thought they wouldn’t cross paths anytime soon!

Elinalise continues to be someone who loves gettin’ it on with every man in sight. But while she’s flirtatious with Rudy, he’s still unable to respond, and she isn’t that keen on getting with Paul’s son anyway.

So while the horniest character not named Rudy can’t cure his ED, she does provide him with crucial information: Zentih is in the labyrinth city of Rapa in the Begaritt Continent.

We also learn Elina avoids things getting messy with her bedmates by paying them, a form of reverse prostitution.

Rudy is prepared to head to Begaritt to reunite with his mom, but one day he receives well-timed invitation from Ranoa Magic University to be a special student. He doesn’t jump at the chance at first, even though Elinalise assures him he can reunited with his family afterwards.

But what really causes Rudy to make up his mind is when he has his first dream of his naked former self in years. Goofy ol’ Hitogami tells him if he enrolls at Ranoa and research the Fittoa disaster, he’ll get his manly mojo back. That settles it for Rudy, even before he wakes to find Elinalise sleeping in his bed.

After saying his goodbyes to Sol and the others, he and Elinalise make the trip to Ranoa, putting Rudy on a collision course with a whole host of yet-to-be-introduced but likely powerful Ranoa students, as well as Sylphie (in disguise) and her royal charge.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – 17 – All Dogs Go to Soul Society

What if Nakano Nino died her hair, broke bad, and became one of the most powerful Quincy elites? We’d get Bambi Basterbine, who is easily my favorite Quincy foe so far, based largely on Taketatsu Ayana’s voice performance, her character design, and her bad attitude. Also, she doesn’t like to lose, and loves dogs.

With her Vollständig unlocked, she makes quick work of Captain Hirako, since his reversal of up and down and left and right mean nothing against her power to turn anything her reishi touches into a bomb. When a valiant but reckless Lieutenant Hinamori Momo rushes in to defend her captain, she’s save from Bambi’s onslaught by Captain Komamura.

Bambi is fine with this, as she wanted to fight the “doggy” all along. But to her disappointment, the big furry dog transforms into a human, due to Komamura’s wolfman clan’s Junka technique. Embued with temporary invulnerability, he unleashes a version of his Bankai, Kokujou Tengen Myou’ou, with his armor stripped down.

Because Kokujou Tengen Myou’ou’s armor is his life, being stripped of his armor means there’s no life for Bambi’s bombs to take. The colossus just keeps coming at her, until she’s no longer able to fire bombs fast enough to make up for the ones harmlessly detonating against Myou’ou’s body of pure spirit pressure.

I liked Bambi when she was an imperious, arrogant princess, and also when she was ragdolling captains. But I like her even more as she’s essentially humanized along with Komamura, albeit in terms of emotion rather than physicality. There’s genuine fear and panic on her face as she tries in vain to flee.

There’s even greater fear in her face when her fellow girlbosses show up, led by Gigi, who is poised to do…er…something the battered Bambi begs them not to do. As for Komamura, in exchange for the power to defeat a Stern Ritter, the Wolfman Elder eats his heart, and all trace of humanity is erased. His loyal lieutenant Iba Tetsuzaemon scoops him up, not yet willing to give up on his fuzzy captain.

Haschwalth notes that the battles outside seem to be evening out, but he also reveals he’s been stealing reishi while standing there, and is able to lower Nanao’s barrier. No matter; Nanao simply raises another, completely different type of barrier.

In response, Haschwalth removes the proverbial gloves and prepares to unleash his Vollständig, but is stopped by a summons from His Majesty. He promises to return, and Shunsui assures him some nice tea will be waiting.

Finally, one of the goofier Stern Ritters is beaten by the combo of Shuuhei, Ikkaku and Yumichika, only for a tiny old man named James to basically will his burly friend back into the ring. He defeats all three of them with a couple of moves, and when they protest being “defeated” simply because of a three-count, he is ready and willing to bury them, but his boot is stopped dead by Captain Muguruma, who has arrived along with Captain Rose to deal with him.

As we look forward to the new battles and consider the consequences of Bambi’s defeat along with Ishida’s arrival on the battlefield, our boy Ichigo continues his interminable march down that hallway of ropes. The reason his advance is so laborious is explained by Ichibe: he’s bearing the weight of the power of the Soul King himself.

When he appears to pass the test, he’s transported to a pink and purple throne room festooned with elaborate tapestries, where a serene and stately lady sits on a throne before him. Ichigo’s first words to her are 100% Ichigo: “What’s next?”