Bleach: Ichigo vs Ulquiorra

My daughter and I finally got to the good parts in Bleach (Arrancar downfall arc: begins with episode 266). The problem with Bleach is that when it is good it is really good, but when it is bad (and by bad I mean filler episodes) it is bad. Sometimes you have go through 30-40 filler arc episodes where nothing happens. Some other anime I know only have 20 episodes full of fun and character development so imagine 35 episodes of no character development to speak of! But after that, quite unexpectedly, in the episode 266 it all just becomes excellent to the point of fantastic. We both had to literally hold on to the end of our seats watching the battle of giants: Ichigo turns into a Hollow monster and defeats the Arrancar number 4 Ulquiorra in his resurrection form. It was wonderful! The speed! The gorgeous artwork! The emotional intensity! The depth! I was ready to give up on Bleach just 10 episodes ago, and how glad I am that I didn't! In fact, I probably would have stopped watching if it was just me, but my daughter is a fine little completist , so we continue.



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Quick note about romantic relationships in Bleach:

I must admit that there is not too many romantic relationships in Bleach that I hold dear to my heart, especially not any involving Ichigo who continues to be a male version of Mary Sue. The guy is too prefect for me to actually imagine him liking anyone in romantic sense. But someone has to defeat Aizen. But I must say: Noriaki Kubo is a tease. At the beginning of the series, I was sure he was aiming for Ichigo and Rukia to be together. Now, I am not so sure anymore. Orihime and Ichigo seem to have great chemistry in the recent storylines. No wonder Bleach fandom is known for it's ship wars: the author doesn't seem to have made his own mind! Or may be he doesn't care. I certainly don't.