The crew enters the Soul Society using a special gate created by Urahara. After a close encounter with a force used to clean out the various portals, the crew ends up face-to-face with Jidanbo, a giant guarding the entrance to Seireitei, the Soul Reaper's inner sanctum. Jidanbo challenges Ichigo to a one-on-one fight, which Ichigo is able to easily win. As per his agreement, Jidanbo opens the gate for Ichigo and his friends, where they encounter Gin Ichimaru, the captain of the 3rd division.
Gin is able to push Ichigo back through the gate, denying the group access and forcing them to find a new way into Seireitei. Yoruichi decides to look up an old friend, Kukaku, who may be able to help them. While waiting in town, Ichigo runs into Ganju and his gang of warthog riding thugs. Ichigo and Ganju immediately dislike each other and the two hotheads begin to fight, only to have the battle suddenly end when a clock goes off.
Yoruichi finds his friend, but Ichigo refuses to go, instead deciding to finish his fight with Ganju when he returns later that night. Yoruichi is able to "convince" Ichigo to leave his vigil and journey to Kukaku's home. Upon arrival, the group finds out that Yoruichi is an expert fireworks maker and agrees to launch the four into Seireitei provided they bring along a supervisor. Meanwhile, Rukia's execution is moved up and she is transferred to Shishinro, the Repentance Cell.
Bleach 06 marks a much different style of show than the previous five volumes. With most of the introductions handled, the next four episodes are able to focus more on action without having to stop and give backstory. Volume six features one major fight, Ichigo's battle with Jidanbo, and a semi-major battle with Ganju that is more comedic, but serves as a good introduction to the character. However, the emphasis on action doesn't take away from the show's character building and storytelling. In fact, the battle with Jidanbo actually serves as a introduction of the new, more powerful Ichigo. The show also manages to build up suspense and lay the ground work for future episodes, such as the growing struggle within the Soul Reapers' ranks, some of whom have doubts about the real reason Rukia faces such a strong penalty.
As far as extras, Bleach 06: The Entry features the same set of extras as previous volumes, which boils down to more production art (which is a great asset for budding artists) and more stickers of the box art and episode title cards.
For a Bleach fan, volume six is another must buy. For anyone just hearing about the series, volume 6 could be a good starting point since it begins a new arc, though you won't be familiar with the characters or their backgrounds, so you may want to pick up the box set before jumping into Bleach 06: The Entry.
