(L) Bleach - Thousand-Year Blood War Arc - anime episode discussion

[Kanon]

This is what you get for explaining your ability instead of leaving your opponent confused, although I'm pretty sure Bambi would have resorted to bombing everything around her anyway. Still, that was stupid of Shinji.

They tell us Komamura was consumed by revenge and this is what caused his undoing but at the end of the day he went out saving two of his comrades. In the manga he never actually got to go on ahead because Shinji was immediately blasted, but here he did and he went back for him. He didn't completely lose sight of what mattered.

[Strahan]

Originally Posted by Kanon

This is what you get for explaining your ability instead of leaving your opponent confused, although I'm pretty sure Bambi would have resorted to bombing everything around her anyway. Still, that was stupid of Shinji.

Yep, another shounen staple. Battle expositing, lol. I really wish the writers could come up with other methods to get information to us. It's very stupid to have battles pause for a few minutes so they can go into detail explaining the how and why of their current forms / moves.

Just freaking kill your enemy already, Christ. Also why do soooooo many battles end with the winner just like "yea, they are probably totally out of the fight now, I'll just go ahead and walk away". Both the vice captain threesome and Komamura were guilty of that recently. When the mask guy when down, they should've went and cut his head off to be sure. Same with Bambi. Just because you knocked her out of the sky doesn't mean she's dead, as we saw. Should've impaled her with that massive bankai blade, pretty sure that would end her as a threat. But noooo, gotta let her live so she can potentially come back later.

Cool though seeing Komamura in his human form. Him immediately losing it though was not a surprise to me once he mentioned how he's immortal whilst human. Can't have that kind of perk stick around, because Ichigo has to be the one to kick Yhwach's ass; can't let the protag be upstaged by a supporting character

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Strahan

Yep, another shounen staple. Battle expositing, lol. I really wish the writers could come up with other methods to get information to us. It's very stupid to have battles pause for a few minutes so they can go into detail explaining the how and why of their current forms / moves.

Just freaking kill your enemy already, Christ. Also why do soooooo many battles end with the winner just like "yea, they are probably totally out of the fight now, I'll just go ahead and walk away". Both the vice captain threesome and Komamura were guilty of that recently. When the mask guy when down, they should've went and cut his head off to be sure. Same with Bambi. Just because you knocked her out of the sky doesn't mean she's dead, as we saw. Should've impaled her with that massive bankai blade, pretty sure that would end her as a threat. But noooo, gotta let her live so she can potentially come back later.

Cool though seeing Komamura in his human form. Him immediately losing it though was not a surprise to me once he mentioned how he's immortal whilst human. Can't have that kind of perk stick around, because Ichigo has to be the one to kick Yhwach's ass; can't let the protag be upstaged by a supporting character

At least with Bambietta she was pretty much done, otherwise her girl posse wouldn't have been able to take advantage of her like that.

[Strahan]

One would hope, but I'm not holding my breath lol

[Frontier]

No surprise Mayuri isn't too worked up about the fate of his fellow captains moreso how everybody else is dropping the ball...and of course he straight up calls up Shunsui to tell him what a terrible job he's doing. But good on Shunsui for getting an order out there when Mayuri connects him to as many people as he can .

Boxer vs Wrestler! Finally time for Kensei to really show off his Bankai and what it can do! Not that Mask de Masculine is putting up that much of a fight, Kensei beats him in two punches. Uh...shows over folks? Well, except for James, Mask's Superfan, who can revive him and super charge with just calling out to ohis Superstar. If only Shuhei had warned him just a little earlier !

Wait, where's Mashiro? Shouldn't she be here ?

At least Rose had enough sense to take James out and use his Bankai on Mask, a full-blown elemental Orchestra of golden backup dancers that consume Mask...but he didn't have enough sense to not shut up about how his Bankai works so that Mask could just take his ears out. He kind of brought that Star Beam through the torso on himself. I know he's part Hollow, but not like that .

Renji is back! With even more drip! Heck, even Rukia is wearing a visor now. They look like they're dressed more for Hueco Mundo than the Soul Society .

So many surreal James moments. James hopping around with just his torso, Renji beheading him, his head popping out a bunch of naked baby James' .

Isane! Good to see she's still healing as many people as she can .

I love how Mask released state is him in full stripped down Wrestler regalia with a black mask and he even gets a cape and a star crown. He really committed to that wrestler bit to the bitter end. Even to the point of vaporizing his fans .

Zabimaru had been playing with Renji this whole time!? They'd never given him his full Bankai!? No wonder Renji'd been jobbing for so long. Good thing Ichibei knows the true name of everything .

So-Oh Zabimaru! No longer a giant and easily destroyed snake but a full on armor with a sword for Renji! He even gets his own vocal track!!! And he basically smashes Mask and immolates him with an energy snake bite! That's right...RENJI WON A FIGHT !

No Ichigo but Yhwach is absorbing Mask' remains and then sleeping? Something feels up there

[Gerard07]

Having seen the chapter, the Captains Kensei and Rose were defeated in part for being too talkative (hopefully the Vizards in general redeem themselves later...), but Renji appeared with his new Bankai and except for the day XD, to wait for the next chapter!.
Question; Has it been mentioned if the Vizard are forbidden to wear their Hollow Masks?.

[Kanon]

I actually loved seeing Kensei get completely bodied by Mask after he trash-talked Hisagi for losing to him. Rose deserved to lose for being a complete idiot as well. His opponent was utterly confused by his bankai and on the verge of defeat (not exactly true I know, he still had Vollstandig), and the dumbass goes ahead and explains how it works so his opponent can use the super obvious counter to it. Vizards really are the biggest group of jobbers.

On the other hand, Renji has officially outgrown his jobber status by effortlessly beating an opponent that handed their asses to two captains. Royal Palace training really is something else.

Originally Posted by Frontier

Wait, where's Mashiro? Shouldn't she be here ?

She's aware of her group's jobber status and is sitting this arc out. No, seriously, the only time she ever showed up in the manga was that little training scene with Hisagi. She was never seen nor mentioned afterward.

Originally Posted by Gerard07

Having seen the chapter, the Captains Kensei and Rose were defeated in part for being too talkative (hopefully the Vizards in general redeem themselves later...), but Renji appeared with his new Bankai and except for the day XD, to wait for the next chapter!.
Question; Has it been mentioned if the Vizard are forbidden to wear their Hollow Masks?.

Vizards being forbidden to use their masks is just headcanon. It's absolutely possible they were, but that's the kind of ban that gets lifted during such desperate times. Remember that bankais are normally forbidden to be used inside Seireitei, too. Yamamoto had to give special permission during the SS arc.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Remember that bankais are normally forbidden to be used inside Seireitei, too. Yamamoto had to give special permission during the SS arc.

It's not just bankai that are forbidden. Soul Reapers aren't allowed to carry around their zanpakutou unless they're on duty or have been given special exemptions.

[Wandering Soul]

The vizards really are the biggest disappointments in the series. Outside of Hachi defeating Barragan, the entire group has just existed to job. At least Renji has managed to pull out a win.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

On the other hand, Renji has officially outgrown his jobber status by effortlessly beating an opponent that handed their asses to two captains. Royal Palace training really is something else.

Not only that they even retroactively justify why Renji was such a jobber .

She's aware of her group's jobber status and is sitting this arc out. No, seriously, the only time she ever showed up in the manga was that little training scene with Hisagi. She was never seen nor mentioned afterward.

I was about to say .

[alex_drian]

Mask didn't convice me in the beginning but the dude really meet and even surpassed my expectations. He kicked the living shit out of two average captains while in Bankai state and wasn't even near his full power (yes I consider Kensei and Rose average powerwise in relation to the rest of the captains not taking into account the masks).

You suck Rose, weaker than Siren Sorrento.

So Royal Palace Renji is stronger than the average captain and probably stronger than even the really strong ones like Gin or Byakuya pre-royal palace training so that probably put in like in the Top 5 of the Seireitei powerwise.

So yeah. James was defeated, gonna miss him.

Originally Posted by Frontier

Wait, where's Mashiro? Shouldn't she be here ?

I doubt this is gonna get answered here as it didn't get answered in the manga so probably there isn't problem with me answering this.

Spoiler:

She's defending the Shinigami Academy.

Originally Posted by Gerard07

Question; Has it been mentioned if the Vizard are forbidden to wear their Hollow Masks?.

This is only headcannon and my theory so take it as such but I think it isn't possible to use Mask and Bankai at the same time. For the power that it gives Bankai spend a shitton of reatsu, then the masks spend a shitton of reatsu.

Unless you have a ridiculous reatsu pool using both should be viable. Then there is the case of Ichigo that actually meets that requirement but even he in the beggining could only hold the mask with Bankai for seconds. He got better in that but as we now know what is Ichigo and how he works he can't be compared to the rest to the Vizards anymore so those things don't apply to him.

Even the perfected Vizard Tousen didn't use both Mask + Bankai and instead opt for Resurreccion.

Not that it would have helped much anyway. Hollow masks are an unga bunga power up so it shouldn't helped Rose really, only Kensei and Mask wasn't even near his full power so they would have been bodied anyway.

[Kanon]

I'm pretty sure mask + bankai is possible otherwise that topic would have been brought up during Ichigo's training and they would have been shocked Ichigo could use both at the same time.

[Strahan]

Yay, Renji finally gets to be cool lol. Kinda funny; I'm picturing Kubo sitting around thinking "man, I want to power up some guys with cool new stuff. But how? Hmmm I know! Their zanpakuto never gave them their real names, yea, there we go!"

This is good, but I kinda miss the humor of the original run Bleach.

[Alchemist007]

Visually impressive ep, and James was a fun dude.

[Mad Pierrot]

I haven't seem so much plot armor since Saint Seiya Episode G. The amount of blood loss these Soul Reapers go through is ridiculous. Even Dragon Ball was more realistic.

[Frontier]

It's nice of Squad Zero to see Ichigo off in his new snazzy Hueco Mundo style clothes (all the better to go through all the barriers he has to pass through), though he doesn't have time to waste when the Soul Society is already under attack. Who needs stairs when you can just jump through them ?

Already starting the build up to Ichigo entering the fray! Hype !!!

Well, sucks for Cang Du and BG9, but I guess I'm not surprised the Sternritter are cutting off the losers to power up Yhwach considering how many of his own men Yhwach had already killed by this point .

When things suddenly turn into a horror movie, you know you're fighting As Nodt, who still wants to fight Byakuya, but will have to settle for drawing him out by fighting his little sister. And Rukia is more than ready to avenge her brother .

As Nodt can try to hit her with fear to break her like he has everybody else, but now Rukia has achieved the true Sodenoshirayuki! Which not only lets her freeze anything that comes into contact with her but also freezes her body to the point where she's practically a corpse and that way she's basically immune to As Nodt's powers! And then she just slashes and freezes him! What a stellar ice queen !

You finally really understand that's Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as As Nodt when you hear him in the flashback. I guess being a sickly being teetering between life and death really put it into perspective for him what fear truly is, but it wasn't until Yhwach gave him power that he gaind the fear of never faling him. And that induces his transformation into a pure horror movie monster .

Even his very sight is enough to induce emotionally breaking fear (dat Ichigo, Orihime, and Byakuya decomposing corpses), but luckily Byakuya arrives just in time with his upgraded Shikai to give Rukia a reprieve! And Senbonzakura never looked more beautiful and powerful! Just imagine what it can do in Bankai form now .

Oh snap! Byakuya acknowledged Rukia's strenght! Oh snap! We're finishing this fight over the ED credits! Oh snap! RUKIA JUST USED BANKAI!!! Oh snap! She's literally become Sodenoshirayuki! Oh snap! She froze As Nodt to absolute pieces! She even got her brother to compliment her Bankai! GO RUKIA !

Isane and Yachiru! Kind of ironic to see these two paired together, but it's cute watching them helping in healing Kensei and Rose. Too bad now they have to fight a Sternritter of their own who can disappear from sight and mind .

[Gerard07]

Having seen the chapter, Ichigo goes to battle, Ishida saw how the losing Quincys were executed, Rubia using her Shikai and Bankai was fine, and in the end Yachiru and Isane come out (hopefully they shine a little more), to wait for the next chapter!.

[Kanon]

Rukia's bankai looked soooo much better in the anime than in the manga, where it was just a pure white kimono. The decision to have it made out of ice was brilliant.

You also have to love Byakuya's character development. This is the guy who had her promotion denied behind the scenes so she'd never have to be in danger, but now he trusts in her strength enough to let her finish the fight on her own. Rukia looked so proud to finally earn her nii-sama's acknowledgment as a peer.

Originally Posted by Frontier

You finally really understand that's Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as As Nodt when you hear him in the flashback. I guess being a sickly being teetering between life and death really put it into perspective for him what fear truly is, but it wasn't until Yhwach gave him power that he gaind the fear of never faling him. And that induces his transformation into a pure horror movie monster .

I genuinely had no idea it was him until then. His performance in this episode was stellar.

[FlareKnight]

That was pretty good. I like that it managed to balance out letting Rukia have her moment, but also getting Byakuya in there. This guy did take him down so not having him involved at all would have been a bit unsatisfying. But it let Rukia have her moment to shine and wow she brought it. Both her shikai and bankai are powerful forces. Tricky to use. She'll need a long time to really get an ideal grasp on it. But that trickiness connects to the potential power it holds. Beautiful win for Rukia.

Here I was giving the Quincy credit for gathering up their fallen allies so that their forces weren't dwindled. Instead they were making sure to finish off those that failed them . The Soul Reapers leaving some of them alive was quite problematic. I guess we can call these wins for Soi Fon and Hitsugaya then? I mean they didn't kill their opponents, but their actions did get them killed.

I'm kind of with Ishida in questioning killing off their forces even if it powers up Yhwach. Though I guess that's hard to say with certainty since their true goals remain in shadow. If it was purely about revenge then honestly it makes little sense. But clearly Yhwach is powering himself up for something. Which definitely isn't good .

Only criticism I have for the episode is the mid-episode info screen..having an explanation of Rukia's Shikai...and Bankai! Come on Bleach. We hadn't actually seen it yet!

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

That was pretty good. I like that it managed to balance out letting Rukia have her moment, but also getting Byakuya in there. This guy did take him down so not having him involved at all would have been a bit unsatisfying. But it let Rukia have her moment to shine and wow she brought it. Both her shikai and bankai are powerful forces. Tricky to use. She'll need a long time to really get an ideal grasp on it. But that trickiness connects to the potential power it holds. Beautiful win for Rukia.

Here I was giving the Quincy credit for gathering up their fallen allies so that their forces weren't dwindled. Instead they were making sure to finish off those that failed them . The Soul Reapers leaving some of them alive was quite problematic. I guess we can call these wins for Soi Fon and Hitsugaya then? I mean they didn't kill their opponents, but their actions did get them killed.

I'm kind of with Ishida in questioning killing off their forces even if it powers up Yhwach. Though I guess that's hard to say with certainty since their true goals remain in shadow. If it was purely about revenge then honestly it makes little sense. But clearly Yhwach is powering himself up for something. Which definitely isn't good .

Only criticism I have for the episode is the mid-episode info screen..having an explanation of Rukia's Shikai...and Bankai! Come on Bleach. We hadn't actually seen it yet!

In fairness they seemed to try hard to obscure it .