Bleach Thousand Year Blood War episode 16 review
So, how are the Captains going to fight if they have their Bankai stolen and now being used against them, as in Toshiro’s case? Easy! Just have Kisuke give everyone senzu beans/food pills, and their Bankai is automatically restored! This is about as disappointing a way of resolving this issue as I can imagine. Had each one of the Captains had to get stronger and overpower their Bankai in order to steal it back, I would be on the edge of my seat. As it is, I still kind of am on the edge of my seat, but I feel as if this magic pill that gives back Bankai is a contrived plot device because Tite Kubo painted himself into a corner.
But never fear! The Soul Society is already in shambles. Why not have a character who can set off a nuclear explosion at any second? And I’m not talking about Soi Fon, who seemingly defeats her foe by using her newly-regained Bankai with a mushroom cloud. I’m talking about this Stern Ritter, whose name I don’t know yet, who seemingly is beaten by Squad 5 new Captain Shinji, but then lets off an atomic bomb and causes what presumably Yhwach describes as “despair.” Okay, good, let’s have no hope left for the Soul Society and have everything come down to Ichigo. It’ll make for bad television and even worse fandom, but sure, let’s boil this thing down to Ichigo vs. Yhwach/Uryu. Come on.
The trouble with the Stern Ritters is that I have no idea what any of their names are, and barely anything about their personalities. To be a good villain, I’ve got to get to know you. And not only do I not know them, some of them seem dead before I can even remember their names. So, I’m not a big fan of the opposition of this arc of Bleach. Even the Bount arc had better villains than this. Yet, I’m still watching these episodes intently, because this is still the best Bleach since the Soul Society.
Best girl of the episode: Soi Fon (5), for that awesome scene where she uses her Bankai once again
Episode rating: 8/10
Tommy A. Phillips 