Bleach Thousand Year Blood War episode 17 review

Sajin Komamura proved to be too much like Kaname Tosen, a fellow Captain who had a one-track mind. In Komamura’s mind, all that mattered was revenge, specifically revenge for Old Man Yamamoto. So he uses his powers of his clan to turn into a human, who promptly dies fighting one of the Stern Ritters. Of course, he had to kill off the most interesting of the Stern Ritters, in fact the only one who had any personality up to this point. And now he’s dead, so our furry friend is gone. Pour one out for Sajin Komamura.

But there’s a new Stern Ritter who has some personality! That’s boxing guy. Boxing guy hears the bell, and he awakens. He then wipes out Shuhei Hisagi, Ikkaku, and Yumichika in one fell blow. But not to worry! New Captain of Squad 9 arrives so we can have a one-on-one battle! I was personally hoping that Shuhei would actually do something for the first time in Bleach history, but apparently not even now will he get some much-needed character development. He remains just the guy with the number 69 on his face.

Best girl of the episode: Momo Hinamori (who Sajin protected from getting killed)

Episode rating: 7/10

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

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War episode 15 review

When was the last time Lieutenants actually were useful? And for that matter, three of them in the same episode? Even the weakest ones? Because that’s what happens here.

First, 10th Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto provides a solid defense core for herself and Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. Then, newly-minted 1st Lieutenant Nanao Ise also provides a force field to hold off one of the “Stern Ritters” – the term for the new bad guys. Finally, 2nd Lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda is able to protect his sister until his Captain shows up.

And boy, does she ever show up. Soi Fon comes out of nowhere to fight the Stern Ritter, and she does mostly a good job before eventually running out of gas. Same with Toshiro. He fights a good fight before his opponent overpowers him. Meanwhile, Mayuri is off facing a Stern Ritter in a suit made out of lights. I’m not sure how many lights there are, but my best guess that… there… are… FOUR… lights!

All these battles prove that we’re in for a whole lot of good battles, even if they have to be one-on-one battles. I want to see Soi Fon and Toshiro kick these guys’ asses. I hate the Stern Ritters and hope they get wiped off the face of the Soul Society. And with Kisuke Urahara (Mr. Hat & Clogs!) saying that he might have a way of returning the stolen Bankais… yeah, this could get really good here.

Best girl of the episode: Soi Fon (4)

Episode rating: 8/10

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War episode 14 review

So, everything gets reset in this episode. Ichigo’s training in the Squad 0 lair, Orihime and Chad are training in Hueco Mundo, and Renji and Rukia are training as well. Uryu has joined the ranks of the Quincys and now has been named Yhwach’s successor. And now the Quincys plan on destroying the Soul Society in nine days. These are going to be the longest nine days of our lives.

The most interesting part of this episode is when new Head Captain Shunsui shows up in the world of the living to tell Ichigo’s pals that there’s a 1-in-10,000 shot that Ichigo may never come back, so here’s a few bus tickets to the Soul Society just in case! The concept of the “Soul Pass” might be one of the ironically funny things in Bleach. This entire scene made absolutely no sense, but what made even less sense was that Tatsuki barely got a word in while Ichigo’s other two friends did all the talking. Didn’t Tatsuki use to be important? I thought she was Ichigo’s best friend. Why is she being shoved to the side like this? I wanted to give my “best girl” to her today, but I’m afraid it’s going to have to go elsewhere.

Overall, not a bad episode, but not all that great either.

Best girl of the episode: Orihime (3)

Episode rating: 6/10