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

[Strahan]

Yea, I do think it is a little weird too but it's not like they didn't hint at it. Remember all the times she acts serious and it scares the bejeezus out of people? They never really explained the reaction in the original run, but if one considers her backstory it makes a little more sense.

But yea, killing the character off like that was kinda sad. You'd think the captain of the fourth division would have some sort of medical trick up her sleeve to pull her through at the end.

[MCAL]

Trailer for the Second Cour:

YouTube

https://youtu.be/53_QT4NSB48

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[Kanon]

They're going to include new content as expected. The big one being Shinji's bankai which was never featured in the manga.

The Sternritter meeting is also new and obviously a reference to the Espada reveal. I remember back then people were speculating whether the Espadas were seating according to their rank which turned out not to be the case but the Sternritters are sitting in alphabetical order. Their letters don't reflect their ranks though, so it really doesn't matter, it's just a fun detail.

[Frontier]

Can't wait! Looks like we're in for more awesome-ness !

[Frontier]

Bleach is back! With the (re)birth of Yhwach as the pour of the the Quincies flows through him. It's a very...creative introduction .

New OP! Instead of the usual action and spoilery shots we got Ichigo, Uryu, the Soul Society, and the Sternritter in casual Bleach drip just hanging out and being themselves...until Yhwach shows up in a chopper piloted by Jugram to pick up Uryu before Ichigo shows up and it gets crazy. Did I also spot best girl Yoruichi? Are they actually teasing fights with the characters fighting in casual clothes? That's hilarious. Though it seems like the centerpoint for this second cour will be Ichigo vs Uryu !

Time for Ichigo to train once again! It's all well and good that he's unlocked his Quincy powers and forged his true Shikai, but he can't just run off half-cocked for the umpteenth time without mastering them and surpassing what it means to be a Soul Reaper. He must become someone else...something else .

The Sternritters have a nice castle. Perfect for getting everybody together and announcing Uryu as Yhwach's successor...which surprises everybody, especially when it seems like Jugram was the heir apparent. Seems like he and Bazz-B have some kind of history .

So Bambietta regularly picks up hot guys with the prospect of sex and then cuts them in half to relieve stress? Did the dude at least get his dick in before he bought it? I'm only asking if it was worth it. And it turns out Bambietta has a whole group of Sternritter babes filled out with Aoi Yuki, Nao Toyama, Reina Ueda, and Yumi Uchiyama because this cast wasn't star-studded enough as is .

Uryu is the successor because he survived the culling that restored Yhwach, the one that took his mother from him? What's Uryu's endgame here? He doesn't really hate Soul Reapers any more, especially Ichigo, he knows what Yhwach did to his mother...why would he work with him? Though I guess drinking the Yhwach's blood will probably power him up to catch up with everybody .

Meanwhile in Hueco Mundo, Orihime and Chad are training! Nel and her Fraccion are goofing off! Some mysterious guy in a cloak is just sitting around! If only Orihime could see shirtless Ichigo right now .

Well, it was decent of Shinsui to show up and warn Ichigo's friends (Keigo! Tatsuki! Mizuito!) that he might not come back if he becomes too powerful to go back to the world of the living...nice of Keigo to stand up to him in honor of his friend, but also Shunsui giving them Soul Society passes to let them see him if that happens was nice. I can already imagine the filler episode plots if Ichigo's human friends start visiting the Soul Society .

So Shinji's roping in the rest of the Visored who didn't go back to help clean up? I guess sweet talking Hiyori still works. Also Lisa in a ponytail !

Ruki! Renji! And a restored Byakuya! Looking forward to seeing the fruit of their training with Squad Zero .

Dang, the Soul Society is at peace for only like five minutes and then suddenly they're transported to the world of the Sternritter so they can hunt and kill the rest of them. Yikes .

The new ED is pretty haunting with the spectres of the Sternritter following Soul Reapers like it's a horror movie .

Is that Rangiku narrating for Hitsugaya in the next episode preview ?

[Huh...?]

OP & ED Songs of Season 2 are really not that good, in my personal opinion.

[Gerard07]

Bleach is back, and although they preferred the previous Opening and Ending, these aren't bad. Regarding the chapter, it seems that they added extra material (or maybe I have forgotten some things) although the only thing is that Kyoraku personally went to the human world to give that ticket to Ichigo's friends?, although morally that's good, don't you have other things to do as the new Commander?, at first I thought I was going to recruit Isshin but it seems that's not the case, but good, let's wait for the next chapter!.

[Kanon]

That was not the kind of OP I expected to see. It looks pretty cool nonetheless, though I'm not digging the song. The ED is good.

They picked up right where they left from, with Uryu officially joining the Quincies. I will forever be confused that Qilge knew about him and held him in the highest of regards yet every single other Sternritter have no idea he even existed and outright despise him.

They omitted Rukia's ass last season, but they gave us a better look of Bambi's boobs than the manga did so we'll call it even. Actually wasn't sure whether they'd keep that scene as is.

Ichigo's training is new, it was off screen in the manga. They cut the palace of the lady with the mechanical hands and I'm not sure they're going to include it later since it was comedic and the serious stuff has started again. They'll probably tell us what her contribution to Soul Society was, at least.

And the invasion resumes!

Originally Posted by Frontier

Dang, the Soul Society is at peace for only like five minutes and then suddenly they're transported to the world of the Sternritter so they can hunt and kill the rest of them. Yikes .

The new ED is pretty haunting with the spectres of the Sternritter following Soul Reapers like it's a horror movie .

Is that Rangiku narrating for Hitsugaya in the next episode preview ?

That's not what happened. If you rewatch the scene again you'll see the buildings were being slowly replaced. The Quincies being in the shadows of the Shinigami in the ED is another hint.

[Wandering Soul]

The OP really does feel a bit out of place for the type of arc this is. I honestly do prefer the previous OP and ED.

I'm honestly surprised they kept that Bambi scene.

[Frontier]

Can't say I ever expected to see an Ayana Taketatsu character kill a dude in mid-coitus, but that's Bleach for you .

I guess we needed at least one OP in this final arc that's everyone in casual drip .

[FlareKnight]

God that girl is a hazard. Poor dude. I hope he got more than a good look before he was literally cut in half! Though considering she only kind of had her top open...I'm thinking he didn't get that lucky. Though I'm hardly surprised that Yhwach doesn't care if his subordinates kill each other so long as it's not in his direct presence.

This episode was all kinds of fanservice I suppose. The OP was fun and very much classic Bleach. Gotta love it. Plus it does seem to have solid plot relevance. I'm sure we will get a Ichigo vs Ishida fight at some point and the matchups we saw there seem plausible to happen. I'm all for it since that would mean we get another fun Shinji fight.

Ishida has to have a plan going here. No matter what he read in his Grandfather's journal I don't see him rallying to Yhwach's cause. Is there a long history of Soul Reaper and Quincy violence? Absolutely. But that's not much reason for him to willingly join the slaughter. Plus this guy basically killed his mother. I guess we'll see. Either way his new "allies" don't much care for him. Now look I could see Ishida taking a power boost to go and kill Mayuri for good this time. But that's literally the only Soul Reaper I think he has any sort of vendetta against.

Not sure Ichigo has time for a training arc! But hopefully all this shirtless walking around is going to power him up somehow .

Originally Posted by Frontier

Time for Ichigo to train once again! It's all well and good that he's unlocked his Quincy powers and forged his true Shikai, but he can't just run off half-cocked for the umpteenth time without mastering them and surpassing what it means to be a Soul Reaper. He must become someone else...something else .

He must become the Green Arrow!

[Mad Pierrot]

It's a shame how they are handling Ichigo considering in the previous cour they made a big deal about being part Quincy out of nowhere. He will not return until much later. In fact, for the first episode there was no action at all. Just characters talking.

The new opening feels like a mix between "Tonight" and "Stay Beautiful" which is kinda sad since this is an action series. Probably "Change" by Miwa and "Alones" by Aqua Times were the best Bleach openings since they mixed interactions with action scenes properly while using normal colors.

[Frontier]

I guess it makes sense for the Sternritters to finish off the Captains they stole Bankai from and completely decimate the Soul Society and all hope they have left before they have enough time to recover...and they plot this all from their huge table that would make the Espada blush .

Shirtless Ukitake !

So the Sternritter were there all along! They'd been hiding in the shadows of the Seiretei this whole time! Underneath the Soul Society's noses, and ready to pounce when it was most convenient for them. And Jugram is going straight to the head by approaching Shunsui !

Those poor R&D guys. Didn't they go through enough last cour!? Though I guess it was the perfect time to debut golden neon Mayuri and Nemu! Because of course Mayuri figured out what the Sternritter were doing and made sure they couldn't surprise him, and he'll brighten up any Sternritter shadow. Also, Nemu thighs and boobs !

Bazz-B vs Hitsugaya! Fire vs ice! Doesn't feel more fitting than that! And the only thing better than that classic Rangiku smile and charm is watching the two of them hold off Bazz-B's fire .

Even in war Omaeda can share a tender and sweet moment with his little sister Mareyo, although the fate of their family is kind of in question...and the moment is kind of ruined when BG9, who is a straight up robot, shows up to try and kill Omaeda to find Soi Fon. Luckily she's mastered Shunko and is ready to rip off his machine gun and tear this bot to pieces !

Nanao with the kido barrier! Nice !

Nakk knows fighting Mayuri would take too long and bails, though it basically comes off as both sizing each other up and seeing who would make the first move before...well, neither of them do. Nakk seems like a cool customer

Of course the tide turns back again against the Soul Reapers when it turns out the Sternritter had fully prepared for the Captains to try and hold their own without their Bankai's...not that it saves Hitsugya from Bazz-B's overwhelming fire or Soi Fon when BG9 straight up self-destructs on her .

Count on Mayuri to gloat that he's the only one who can win without Bankai when his fellow captains are seemingly dying, but then Urahara chimes in that he's found a way for them to reclaim Bankai and totally showing him up .

And in equally positive news (I hope), Ichigo's training is still in progress and will hopefully got smoothly .

Man, Bambietta's next episode preview is straight up yandere logic .

[Gerard07]

Seen the chapter, Ukitake was meditating, the Shinigami try to fight without their Bankai although they did not do very well in their fights..., but in the end Urahara being Urahara with a method to return the Bankai, and in the end Ichigo is seen in his "training", well to wait for the next chapter!.

[Kanon]

It's nice to finally see Soi Fon's outfit uncensored in animated form. That makes me look forward to Yoruichi showing up even more. Of course she still jobs when she's the one captain who can fight just fine without her bankai and in fact hates using it (but still did for no real reason). Oh, and Nanao remembered Kidou exists, unlike the captains.

I have no idea where they're going with Ichigo's training.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Kanon

It's nice to finally see Soi Fon's outfit uncensored in animated form. That makes me look forward to Yoruichi showing up even more. Of course she still jobs when she's the one captain who can fight just fine without her bankai and in fact hates using it (but still did for no real reason).

Her opponent was a robot, not much room for her poison to work.

Oh, and Nanao remembered Kidou exists, unlike the captains.

Most captains aren't actually all that good at kido compared to swordplay.

[Frontier]

Kido is for Filler fights .

I do think more attention needs to be payed to the Sternritter having a frikkin' robot as a member .

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Endscape

Her opponent was a robot, not much room for her poison to work.



Most captains aren't actually all that good at kido compared to swordplay.

She didn't know her opponent was a robot until this ep. And she doesn't need to use her shikai to kick ass with Shunko. It was incomplete until now, but she could and should have used it in the first fight instead of her bankai.

Byakuya is good at Kidou, yet he resorted to using his bankai right away knowing they'd steal and put his hopes on Renji of all people

And I'd say captains not being good at Kidou is a problem in itself. They should be proficient in all forms of combat.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Kanon

She didn't know her opponent was a robot until this ep. And she doesn't need to use her shikai to kick ass with Shunko. It was incomplete until now, but she could and should have used it in the first fight instead of her bankai.

Byakuya is good at Kidou, yet he resorted to using his bankai right away knowing they'd steal and put his hopes on Renji of all people

And I'd say captains not being good at Kidou is a problem in itself. They should be proficient in all forms of combat.

Well, the prerequisite for being a captain is having a bankai, not being very good at kidou.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Well, the prerequisite for being a captain is having a bankai, not being very good at kidou.

And I'm saying that's the problem.

The shinigamis were taught the hard way that the reason Aizen was so fearsome was that he had honed all of his abilities to their peak. He literally only used Kyouka Suigetsu to troll Hitsugaya, he could have owned them all (minus Yamamoto) without it.