Category: anime

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Bleach TYBW 5: Ichigo, it’s Rukia. Renji’s here, Byakuya’s dead, call me back.

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Bleach Thousand Year Blood War episode 5 review

Way back in episode 52 of the original series, the first review I ever wrote was titled “Rukia, it’s Ichigo. Byakuya’s here, Renji’s dead, call me back.” It was a play off the old Seinfeld line “Jerry, it’s Frank Costanza. Steinbrenner’s here, George is dead, call me back.” So I felt it fitting to use the same title here.

Only… that’s exactly what happened in this episode. Byakuya gets beaten by his enemy with Renji watching as he goes down. Then the Soul Society, including Rukia, calls for Ichigo to come and rescue the whole place because they’re getting wiped out.

And the biggest problem going for TYBW at this point is that there’s actual concern that characters might actually die. When you watched the original Bleach, you knew there was no chance of any good guys dying, so you could get yourself swept up in the shounen excitement. There was nothing to lose there; the worst thing that might happen is that they’d lose an appendage but get it back later.

But now we’re closer to the end of the manga, and everyone can’t live forever. Plus, there are spoilers. But even without spoilers, you’ve got to figure… some of these characters are going to die, and it’s going to be painful.

So, watching Byakuya get the crap beat out of him makes you wonder… is this the end for one of the pillars of the Bleach series? And then it happens to Kenpachi at the end of the episode. Is this really it? Or are these guys going to make us all happy in our shounen feels, like they always do?

Old Man Yamamoto never had a backstory, and certainly his Lieutenant didn’t, either. (Or Vice-Captain, I can’t remember which one is the correct term.) So, we finally get one for both of them, even though one of them is already dead. And the Old Man’s still got it; he easily defeats his opponent in front of Shuhei Hisagi, the guy who is popular and important but never actually does anything.

So, Ichigo’s in “Jail,” Yamamoto’s forced to go out on the front lines, Byakuya’s beaten to a pulp, Kenpachi’s in a chokehold, and Rangiku cut her hair. All of these issues are very troublesome. Can everyone hold it together for the next 47 or so episodes?

Best girl of the episode: Rukia Kuchiki

Episode rating: 9/10

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Bleach TYBW 4: You cannot be serious

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Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 4 review

The bad guy Quincys (should I spell it Quincies?) have invaded the Soul Society and killed hundreds, not just the very insignificant Lieutenant from episode 1 – it’s possible that the Lieutenant of Squad 3 Izuru Kira may be dead, but I’m doubting it. So now the bad guy Quincys choose to go up against four Captains at random. And two of those four happen to be the most popular Captains of all – Squad 6 Captain Byakuya Kuchiki and Squad 10 Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. Oh, one of them just happens to be my favorite Captain, Soi Fon (or Sui-Feng as the cool kids call her). The other is the wolf – not a fox, like I thought when I was into Bleach over a decade ago – Sajin Komamura of Squad 7.

So what happens? The bad guys prove to be too strong, so everyone decides to immediately go Bankai. This is in stark contrast to the original series, when characters would wait until 90% of the blood in their bodies had spilled out until they finally “went all out” and used their Bankai. But this decision is a bad one, because the Quincys don’t just have the power to seal their Bankai – they have the power to steal said Bankai.

How this is going to work is beyond me, because it seems like a pretty hopeless situation if Bankai are all they’re cracked up to be. Soi Fon actually suffers a cut to her face. That obviously means that these guys mean business. Now, in desperation the Soul Society calls for Ichigo, in what can be nothing less than a “come and save us, we beg you!” cry. Isn’t this the Ichigo they all… never mind.

So, Ichigo’s about to go back when the Quincy he thought he beat suddenly gets up off the canvas and seals Ichigo inside a Quincy box. Obviously Ichigo is screwed and the Soul Society will be destroyed. It’s time to wrap up the show, if that’s the case. Unless…

Best girl of the episode: Soi Fon

Episode rating: 8/10

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Bleach TBYW 3: The last Quincy

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Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 3 review

That above pic might be the single-best screenshot I’ve ever seen in Bleach. There’s Orihime, who was tortured by the two people sitting a yard to the left of her – and she’s healing them. Even Loly, who did some really nasty things to her. That pretty sums up Orihime as a human being. If you don’t like Orihime, then may I suggest you give up anime and go watch reruns of King of the Hill?

Anyway, Ichigo is fighting the Quincy guy, while back at home in the world of the living (see, I still remember the Bleach terminology well) Uryu goes to work on trying to find why the hell there are all these Quincys. Remember, when Uryu was first introduced, he was billed as the “last Quincy.” Then his father came along, so now there’s two “last Quincys.” Now, there’s an entire army of Quincys attacking the Soul Society. That’s right, an entire army.

How could Uryu and his father be so catastrophically wrong about this? The answer is in one of the millions of books at the Texas School Book Depository. And Uryu realizes that the answer is on the sixth floor, I mean, a desk of his father’s. Now he’s going to figure out how the single biggest retcons in anime history manages to make sense.

Ichigo had a pretty epic fight, while a few of those other Arrancars fight and get beaten by the Quincy. By episode four, I should know his name, but I won’t make any promises.

Best girl of the episode: Orihime (2)

Episode rating: 8/10

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Bleach TYBW 2: Loly lives!

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Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 2 review

If you know anything about me… okay, I just used that in the prior review. But it’s true: if you know me from my Bleach-loving/hating days, you’d know that I absolutely love Loly Aivirrne. Why? She was such a good villain for being so minor a character. She was the kind of character you love to hate. Except I stopped hating her at some point. You’d think that I’d hate a character who hurt poor Orihime, but keep in mind that Orihime healed Loly, only making her angrier. That’s what I like to see in a villain! They get a chance at redemption and they turn it down, only to be redeemed against their own will.

And that’s what happens here. A Quincy guy is going around Hueco Mundo killing Arrancar, and he’s about to kill a whole lineup of them, when suddenly two of them burst out and attack them. And it’s none other than Loly and Menoly! They even announce their names, which is odd for characters who end up getting one-shotted. That’s right, one-shot defeats for both of them.

Luckily for them, Orihime came along with Ichigo, Chad, and Kisuke Urahara. We’ll get to what happens with them later, but for now, Ichigo has come to Hueco Mundo to save the Arrancar. Yes, seriously. A character even points out how ridiculous this sounds. But hey, if he saves Loly and Menoly, then he’s made my day!

The episode had so much to like, even beyond Loly’s appearance. We get the re-appearance of Nel, which of course is bizarre in itself, since Nel’s disappearance was a plot hole in the original series. We also get the re-appearance of that guy who looks like a coyote or a jackal or something. I totally forgot he existed, and I can’t find his name via a quick Google search. Ichigo is about to take on this powerful Quincy as time runs out on episode 2.

Best girl of the episode: Loly!!!

Episode rating: 9/10