BLEACH: ROSA RUBICUNDIOR, LILIO CANDIDIOR (VOLUME 17)
May 22nd 2011 23:49
Category: Manga
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Story & Art by: Tite Kubo
English Adaptation: Lance Caselman
Translation: Joe Yamazaki
Touch up Art & Lettering: Mark McMurray
Design: Sean Lee
Cost: AU$12.95/US$7.95
If you were to ask me precisely what the meaning of rosa rubicundior, lilio candidior was I had to say I’m guessing but I believe it’s something to do with the redness of roses and the whiteness of lilies. Just a guess, as my skills at the language of Imperial Rome, lawyers and doctors is pretty much non-existent. So there is obviously a flower motif going on here, and when you look at it the motif of flowers and the cycle of life itself are very much complementary themes, the one shows and illuminates the transience of the other. And who better to understand the transience of life than a soul reaper, one whose job description effectively means that they deal with the transience of that very thing on a daily basis.
So now the morning of the fatal event has arrived and as with any such occasion the various parties involved are all gathering at Sokyoku Hill in order to witness the execution. But as captains, assistant captains and the Captain General himself are all making their way to the site there are other forces moving, moving to fulfil their own unique agendas. One such person is the assistant captain of Sixth Company; Renji Abarai. Born in one of the rougher districts of the Rukongai Renji grew up with Rukia, the two of them were close friends from earliest days and entered the Soul Reaper Academy together.
Ironically though Renji was one of two soul reapers sent to the world of the living to capture Rukia, the other being his captain and Rukia’s adopted brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, head of the noble Kuchiki family. Now as Renji makes his way to Sokyoku Hill his path is about to cross that of his superior and the man who helped him capture Rukia in the first place, putting her in this precarious situation. A titanic confrontation is about to occur one which will quite literally alter the landscape of the Seireitei as one man fights for doing what he believes is his duty and the other fights for what he feels is right.
But Renji isn’t the only person interested in what is happening on this day, this most beautiful of days – for it is truly a clear sunny day, a day which seems more suited for the beginning of life rather than the taking of it but there is a special kind of irony in just that fact alone. You’d expect it to be pouring, as if the very heavens were weeping in despair in such a situation. But in fact it is quite the reverse, almost as if the events that are about to unfold are very much in tune with the weather, with the turning of the wheel of existence. All that though means about as much to Kenpachi Zaraki as evidence of global warming does to a climate sceptic. All he’s concerned about is the execution is about to occur and he’s been willing to help Ichigo’s friends in the hopes of having a second bout with the spiky orange haired ryoka.
He is currently involved in a major league confrontation with Captains Komamura and Tosen who feel that he has betrayed the Seireitei and should be stopped. Zaraki being Zaraki doesn’t think that they’re up to the task but is willing to take them on just to get himself warmed up for the second round with Ichigo. In the eyes of Komamura and Tosen (bad pun intended) this just makes the Eleventh Company commander even more contemptible but they’ve no real idea of the nature of their opponent. One could almost say that Zaraki is a living incarnation of battle and war itself that lives to fight and revelling in combat, slick moves, funky kido effects and self righteous proclamations aren’t going to stop him. If only Tosen and Komamura could grasp that fact they might have half a chance…
Bleach Volume 17: Rosa Rubicundior, Lilio Candidior is wall to wall action interspersed with moments of pathos and recollection with a little bit of malevolent teasing. In fact the appearance of Gin Ichimaru, Third Company Captain is perhaps the most interesting aside in this story. Rukia likens him to a snake when she meets him en route to the Sokyoku Hill and recalls that at not stage in her career has she ever felt comfortable in his presence, she certainly doesn’t now. For some reason he shatters the self resolve that she has managed to centre herself in, malevolent cruelty or something else? If you like supernatural action then Bleach is the manga for you and this volume has plenty of action and a gripping story that will keep you coming back for more…Scatter…Senbonzakura…
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