Bleach Thousand Year Blood War episode 24 review

What’s the biggest danger in introducing a whole cast of new characters? Simply, your audience barely had time to learn their names, and suddenly they’re supposed to care when said characters’ lives are on the line. Squad Zero fits that bill perfectly. I have no idea who any of these people are, and they were introduced by name so quickly that I couldn’t memorize them (or even remember one, for that matter). Whether they die or live, I couldn’t care less. That’s the problem here.

Now, there is hope – Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, Ganju, and Yoruichi are all on their way to presumably join in the battle. But let’s face it: we’re going to have to waste a lot of time trying to either kill off or lionize the members of Squad Zero. I wouldn’t mind if Yuwabara (Yhwach) killed all of them in one swift blow. As for now, we seem to be in a waiting period before something big actually happens.

You know why I loved the Gremmy/Kenpachi fight so much, right? Because Kenpachi Zaraki’s character had been built up for such a long time, that he meant something to me. If he would have died, I would have cried. And that’s the difference between a character we know fighting, and a character we don’t know fighting. Sad to say, this was the most boring Bleach episode since TYBW started.

Best girl of the episode: Orihime (4)

Episode rating: 5/10

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War episode 22 review

A rather disappointing episode today. Giselle battles against Ikkaku and Yumichika by using the former members of Squad 11 as zombies. That would have been entertaining, but suddenly Mayuri Kurotsuchi shows up. He’s obviously entertaining, so if he would have fought, that would have been cool too. But no, Mayuri decides to have four former Arrancar do the work for him. These Arrancar are some of which I forgot existed.

Similarly, when Yoruichi shows up for the first time in this arc (with a new voice actress), she is seen working with those people who showed up in the final arc of the anime but I totally forgot existed too. Ordinarily an appearance by Yoruichi would be enough to give her the best girl award, but that has to go to…

…wait a minute, is Yumichika telling the truth? Is Giselle really a guy? Because that would retroactively disqualify Giselle from yesterday’s award. I think we’ll do this NCAA style. We’ll let her play out her season and accumulate wins, then if she’s found to be a man, we’ll vacate all those victories. Works so well in college sports that might as well use it here.

Best girl of the episode: Giselle (for now)

Episode rating: 6/10

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War episode 21 review

So, Kenpachi gets beaten up right after winning the battle with Gremmy, and Yachiru is nowhere to be seen. Then we get introduced to four female Sternritters, who all have different personalities and all can transform like the Sailor Guardians. But guess who shows up in time to fight them all? Ichigo. His song plays, although it’s being sung by someone else than Hazel Fernandez. Number One fights off four at once, until male Sternritters show up as if to say “don’t pick on women.”

And then guess who shows up? The Quincy Uryu. He attacks Ichigo, only to have Chad and Orihime appear out of nowhere to SAVE him. So now Ichigo’s mad at Uryu, but Uryu says nothing.

Here’s the problem I have with Ichigo: None of his fights post-Arrancar arc have been interesting to watch. He’s overpowered and there’s no chance at him dying. What made him entertaining in the earlier arcs was that his opponents were so much stronger than him. And the one time we do see Ichigo put in “Jail” by Quilge, he simply powers through off-screen. So, I’m not enjoying his fight. Give me the 1-on-1’s between Sternritters and Captains. That’s more entertaining than this.

Best girl of the episode: Giselle Gewelle, for turning those Squad 11 members into zombies and forcing them to kill themselves. I hope we get to see her powers more and not just have Ichigo one-shot her.

Episode rating: 7/10

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War episode 20 review

Oh, my, where to start? This has to be one of the greatest Bleach episodes of all time. Kenpachi vs. Gremmy, a Sternritter who can create anything simply by imagining it. So he lets his imagination run wild, and he comes up with every last thing he can think of to beat Kenpachi. And every time, Kenpachi proves to be too strong.

He tries drowning, stabbing, shooting Kenpachi, even creating a giant meteor that would destroy the whole Soul Society. None of it works, because… well, I’d like to say because Kenpachi is Kenpachi, but truth be told, Gremmy is the stronger warrior here. The problem for Gremmy is that he himself imagined Kenpachi to be unbeatable, and his own imagination causes him to lose!

There is a flashback of how Kenpachi met Yachiru, and this is perfect. Why? Because the addition of a sad flashback in this episode makes you think for sure Kenpachi’s going to die. Instead, Kenpachi just keeps beating everything Gremmy throws at him. But Gremmy remains defiant, and absolutely nuts. He’s got to be one of my favorite villains. He’s a guy you love to hate. And you enjoy every last time Kenpachi fights right through his attacks and comes out on top.

In short, this may have been the greatest battle in Bleach history. Kenpachi wins, Gremmy loses, but we all win. What an episode.

Best girl of the episode: Yachiru Kusajishi

Episode rating: 10/10