Creative Staff
Story/Art: Tite Kubo
Translation: Jan Cash
Lettering: Vanessa Satone
What They Say
Twelve years after the events of the Thousand Year Blood War, Ichigo Kurosaki gets invited to a special ceremony celebrating the life of Captain Ukitake.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Quick recap for those who haven’t touched Bleach in five years: Three captains died in the Thousand Year Blood War, one of whom was Jushiro Ukitake. Twelve years after a captain dies, the Thirteen Court Guard Companies perform a ceremony to celebrate their life, where a hollow is captured from the living world and sacrificed in the Soul Society.
Things go awry when Ichigo’s son unwittingly opens a portal to Hell (as we have all done, at some point in our lives) and the captains are faced with a shocking twist – Captains who die don’t become one with the Soul Society, like lesser beings do. Due to their strength, they are cast to hell.
After a flashy fight against some Hell monsters involving two new characters, one of whom is a mute soul reaper who uses sign language and who has one of the coolest abilities ever, the oneshot hits us with the return of an unexpected antagonist, the Espada Szayelaporo. I forgive you if you forget who the hell he is. He fought Uryu and Renji and then also Mayuri. Pink hair. That guy.
Szayelaporro informs the cast that, because of the events of the Thousand Year Blood War, Hell is now unsealed, and the people in it are twisted versions of themselves.
The biggest strength of this one-shot, as is Tite Kubo tradition, is the art. Tite Kubo’s craftsmanship in the visuals department has always impressed, and the creativity on display here is astounding, as usual. What the one-shot lacks in the writing department it earns back on both the art and the novelty factor of seeing some of the characters again. (Catch me scanning every page for a whiff of Shinji Hirako.)
The other biggest strength is that it’s not a one-shot. Judging this as if it were a standalone chapter of Bleach, it would be fine. Not up there with some of the true standout moments of the series. What it is, to my delight, is the beginning of a new arc for Bleach, one exploring an oft-ignored part of the canon – Hell. Count me in, because I have Bleach trash-brain.
In Summary:
Tite Kubo’s return to Bleach is strong in visuals and teases us with events to come. A strong start to an arc that promises great things.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A+
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: VIZ Media
Release Date: August 9th, 2021
MSRP: N/A
