Manga Review: Love Me Bitterly Loth Me Sweetly by Tite Kubo

Title: Love Me Bitterly Loth Me Sweetly
Series: BLEACH #51 
Manga-ka: Tite Kubo
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Graphic Novels, Teen Ages 13+
Publisher: Viz Media, Shonen Jump Manga, Shueisha Inc.
Format: Paperback, 192 Pages
ISBN-13: 9781421543048
Release Date: November 6, 2012
Source: Borrowed from Wentworth Library
Rating: 4/5

Purchase Here: Paperback

Tagline(s): Don't put your finger
                     In my heart
                  
Summary: Knowing Tsukishima is after Ichigo, Ginjo continues the Fullbring training at a secret base. Ichigo is mastering Fullbring at an incredible speed and regaining his lost powers, but is he ready to face Tsukishima just yet...?

Review:

As Ichigo is fighting Jackie and her Fullbring Dirty Boots, Tsukishima attacks! Ichigo fights him, but his Fullbring isn't quite there yet. Yukio uses his Fullbring, Invaders Must Die, to place Ichigo in a different dimension and away from Tsukishima. Ichigo's next training opponent is Ginjo himself and his Cross of Scaffold. Orihime is brought in to help with Ichigo's training. And Urahara and Isshin's plan moves forward with a little help from the Soul Society.

In Ichigo's battle with Jackie, we get a glimpse of how little they know about Ichigo's past experience as a warrior. "I was a Soul Reaper for only a short period. But in terms of experience...I got more then you guys." It's after this that Ichigo's Fullbring advances into a clad-type. "For Ichigo, wearing his power is his true form." This form of his Fullbring isn't complete, but it looks just like his shihakusho.

After Tsukishima's attack, Ichigo continues his training. His next opponent is Ginjo. Chad brings Orihime to help with this stage of training to heal Ichigo when needed. It's funny to see Riruka get a little jealous when she sees Orihime. She wants to dislike Orihime, but Orihime has a way of making everyone like her.

We see vague images of Urahara and Isshin going about their mysterious project, and with the help of a Soul Reaper. In the meanwhile, Ginjo takes drastic measures by blinding Ichigo. What is Urahara and Isshin up to? Who is the Soul Reaper helping them? What does it have to do with Ichigo? And now that Ichigo's sight has been taken from him, will he be able to defeat Ginjo? These are all questions I was left with by the end of this volume--I can't wait for the answers in the next volume.

About this Manga-ka:

The son of a town council member in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima. He never took drawing seriously until he was 17; after reading Dragon Ball he knew he wanted to be a manga artist. At the age of 18 he submitted his first concept for the series Zombiepowder but it got rejected. Zombiepowder was rejected multiple times until Kubo was 22, when it finally was accepted by Shonen Jump. It did not last long; it was cancelled after four volumes in late 2000.

His next series, Bleach, about a high school student who becomes a shinigami and fights hollows, was not such a failure. Bleach began regular publication in 2001. It has been running in Weekly Shonen Jump ever since.

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