review – Page 105 – Tommy A. Phillips

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

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

Tag: review

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

Bleach TYBW 4: You cannot be serious