What they say:
Hueco Mundo is in danger. When Nel and Pesche arrive in the world of the living, they plead Ichigo to save it. Ichigo doesn’t have to think twice. He along with Urahara, Sado, Orihime, Nel and Peche, and Urahara, travel there and find it ravaged by the same enemy that attacked the Soul Society. In the Soul Society, still reeling over the deaths of their comrades, the enemy’s identity is finally revealed.
Content (Please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the fanservice out of the way, Bleach is ready to move forward with its main story and does it ever deliver here. Moving at a brisk pace, the episode begins right where the previous episode left off, in Hueco Mundo with the few members of the Wandenreich reporting to their leader. He’s referred to as “majesty,” so he must have some royal position or supreme power within the Wandenreich. His Majesty ripped off his underling’s arm last time for arguing in his presence. His Majesty finished the job this time when his underling’s report mentioned “5 days from now.” This does not interest our leader friend, who only wants to hear about the present, so he offs the subordinate before killing off Ebern, who was in fact, an Arrancar. This confirms that the Wandenreich are using Arrancar as foot soldiers. This is also hinted at later when a character named Quilge commits an assault within Hueco Mundo and gathers the survivors to see if any are worthy of serving the Wandenreich. His Majesty also rips a curtain and reveals Harribel has been taken captive. What the Wandenreich plan to do with the Arrancar is unclear but whatever is in store for them can’t be pretty. What we do know is that these guys mean business and are willing to kill both Soul Reapers and Hollows and exploit them to meet their needs, and their boss is cold and powerful.
Back in the world of the living, Ichigo and the others are made aware of the attack on the Soul Society and Sasakibe’s death via the two new Soul Reapers’ phone. This leaves them all clearly distraught at the news. They each cope in their own way, with Ichigo choosing to aimlessly patrol the area to clear his head. Seeing Sasakibe go is hard. I think this will resonate more with anime viewers than manga readers. Sasakibe was never a large character in the series but his presence was always welcome. He was often the butt of the joke about him getting sidelined and the anime made several original scenes (particularly in the “Guide to Soul Reapers” segments that aired after episodes) about him wanting to stand out more. But the audience feelings aside, the anime made a great effort in conveying Sasakibe’s importance to the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Back in the Soul Society, they carry out his funeral.
There was no eulogy in this scene, no crying out or tears. Just the Soul Reapers quietly mourning the loss of one of their own. This hits especially hard for Yamamoto, the Head Captain, as Sasakibe was hit Lieutenant. There’s only a single flashback in this scene to convey how important Sasakibe was to the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. It features Sasakibe kneeling down before Yamamoto, indicating his loyalty. The camera shows the faces of the other Soul Reapers, but Yamamoto is shown from the back, his face is left to our imagination. He then speaks the only line of dialogue in this whole scene, “light the fire ” (Sasakibe is being cremated). It’s painful but in as few words as possible, it conveys every bit of emotion perfectly. It’s a beautiful scene, sad as it is, and the standout for this episode. I mentioned previously how I was eager to see how Tomohisa Taguchi’s direction would freshen up the series and how he would bring his experience from “Akudama Drive” into this adaptation. This is a fine example of that. None of Ichigo’s friends say anything either. Taguchi has a keen cinematic eye and understands how to make use of anime as a visual medium. He is content to put a freeze on dialogue and let the animation do the talking.
It isn’t all glum, though. Nel and Pesche arrive to provide a touch of comedic relief and exposition to keep the story flowing. They were known in the previous series for being comical characters. They plead Ichigo to save Hueco Mundo from its current threat. As it turns out, the Third Espada Tier Harribel survived the battle against Aizen in the previous series and ruled over Hueco Mundo with her Fracciones as the “Tres Bestia.” However, this new enemy invaded and His Majesty defeated and captured Harribel, leaving Quilge to sadistically commit atrocities on the Hollows and Arrancar populating Hueco Mundo. Nel and Pesche were able to escape, but the third member of their group, Dondochakka, was captured. Ichigo’s friends already know what his answer is, and with Urahara who conveniently was eavesdropping outside Ichigo’s window, Sado, Orihime, Ichigo, and Nel and Pesche all head to Hueco Mundo.
There, they encounter Quilge, designated “Stirnritter J,” sadistically dragging off the Arrancar to see if he can manage to recruit any into the Wandenreich army through his own personal tests (although his subordinates imply that this is all unnecessary and he is doing all this purely out of twisted enjoyment). He kills a few Arrancar and injures Loly Aivirrne and Menoly Mallia, two other Arrancar from the previous series who served under Aizen. The Tres Bestia arrive and begin fighting Quilge with Ichigo on the way. The action here is sharp and the animation is fluid and gorgeous. The fight between them only lasts a few moments before Ichigo arrives but it’s a few moments of great action, and with our protagonist arriving at the scene, a bigger battle is hinted for next week. That battle is something I am immensely looking forward to.
Back in the Soul Society, Captain Kurotsuchi of Squad 12 reveals that the enemy terrorizing both Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society is, in fact, Quincies. This had already been hinted at in the previous episode, but it is now fully confirmed here, and “His Majesty” is referring to the Quincy King. This is an interesting concept. Before, the audience assumed Ishida was the last Quincy because they had been mostly wiped out by the Soul Reapers and his father rejected the Quincy mission, choosing to ignore his power. The Soul Reapers got rid of the Quincies because they destroy Hollows whereas Soul Reapers purify them, and the Quincies caused an imbalance by destroying too many Hollows which threatened the stabilization between the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the world of the living. But now they are back, and their story is one that interests me, although those questions probably won’t be answered for a while. More importantly, I am curious to see where Ishida falls on this issue. Orihime remarks at the beginning that Ishida and Ichigo had become good friends even though Ichigo is a substitute Soul Reaper and Ishida is a Quincy. The two had been on many adventures together but now Ishida will have to choose between his heritage as a Quincy and his relationship with Ichigo (and by extension his proxy relationship to the Soul Society). I hope that is a major conflict going forward, one that would deliver some nice character development for Ishida.
The animation and art have also been significantly upgraded from the previous adaptation. Hueco Mundo looks much better. Even the bridge Garganta dimension looks much more pleasing to look at than before. Whereas before it was simply pitch black with blue spiritual pressure lighting the way, this time we’re treated to a blue and black background with golden spiritual pressure to light the way. Hueco Mundo in the previous adaptation was mostly a black sky and a sandy ground with the moon providing the light to see, but here the illumination of the moon and flames from the Quincy weapons provide a much more colorful scheme that casts light on objects, which both emphasizes how dark Hueco Mundo is and makes it much more attractive to look at. The music also blares the German-inspired Quincy themes which is a nice touch, although I am waiting to hear if any original tracks from the previous anime will return or if this adaptation will contain all entirely new tracks. Either way, the soundtrack continues to fit either way.
The opening and ending sequences are also both beautiful to look at and listen to and I’m eager to see how the shots in the opening reveal their meaning as the context of the anime makes them clear. A rock theme from Tatsuya Kitani fits the explosive intro this arc created. The plethora of pink is also pleasing to look at and looks appealing contrasted with the black and white. The ending is simpler and visually only features the Zanpakuto of all the captains but the song by SennaRin adequately sets the mood for where the arc is headed.
In summary:
This episode was nearly perfect. It showcased the upgraded artwork and animation beautifully and featured some great direction. We now have a better idea of where the story is going now that the fanservice introductions and exposition are out of the way. This episode feels a bit longer than the previous one because of that. The episode makes great use of visuals and offers an enchanting scene where the late Sasakibe is mourned by his colleagues and captain. Tomohisa Taguchi understands how visual storytelling is a powerful driver for emotional resonance and his skill has shined through in this adaptation already. But not everything has to be serious. There’s some comedic relief with Nel and Pesche and thrills and action with Quilge and the Arrancar in Hueco Mundo with even more action promised next week. If I had to nitpick something, it’d be that the action between Quilge and the Tres Bestia doesn’t last as long as I’d have liked but that is a minor, minor concern. Everything else about the episode was polished and executed masterfully and there are only promises of more great things ahead. For now, Thousand Year Blood War retains a strong entry going into the fall season.
Grade: A+
Streamed by: Hulu (US), Disney+ (International)
