Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict

2024 has been a year that can be described as 'giving back to the fans'. Franchises such as Fairy Tail and Spice and Wolf made their returns while classics such as Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura got their remake treatment. It came as no surprise that Bleach wanted a piece of that pie. With confidence, I can say that Bleach marks one of the greatest anime comeback in recent memory. It wasn't a long break so if you need some refresh of memory, just read the premise and the promotional videos. The core of the plot still involves Ichigo, Soul Society, and their allies defend againstYhwach and his draconian Wandenreich army. The most elite among them are known as the Sternritter. This season pits our main characters against some of the most creative and deadly enemies the franchise has ever seen. Sternritter's higher ranked members are no pushovers as they push the Gotei 13 captains to their limits. Even the captain commander Shunsui Kyouraku is pushed to his limit when confronted by the Sternritter leader. Watching this season constantly pushes the limits of what Bleach characters can do. From malevolent transformations to otherwordly abilities, there's no shortage of entertainment. As a very plot focused season, we also find out Yhwach's motivations and how far he's willing to push himself to achieve his ends. Commanding a legion of forces, he is describe as a 'final boss' of the season. To get to him, this season truly explifies the meaning of war. It's interesting to note that to achieve a meaningful plot, there's character background stories told for both Soul Reapers and Quincys. Characters such as Nanao and Ukitake's stories are told with important narratives. Others including Bazz-B gets deeper character study of how they ened up as who they are. Bleach's background storytelling sometimes defines what it means through loss, characterized by a character suffering through some form of tragedy. This is no different when we see how war and tragdies affects them. Bazz-B is a classic example of what he has experienced in the past and present. Nonetheless, popular characters in the past arcs also return who viewers should be very familiar with. However, because this season is heavily plot focused on the war, their roles are given through battles rather than more background stories. I've always thought Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War had a thirst to prove itself through unorthodox battles. Let's say if you're in for some glorious action, this season won't be a letdown. The chereography achieve cinematic sequence through its usage of character movements, expressions, and creativity. Every character in this arc is unique in itself that we question what their limits are. Yhwach is at the top of the hierarchy as we witness his power, a force that truly sets his reptuation in this entire final arc. Others such as Mayuri and Kyouraku have more creative abilities to deal with their adversaries beyond just brute force. To put it in perspective, Ichigo is not the one carrying this season on his back. But likewise, this season is also a rollercoaster of emotions when unresolved conflicts take place. For instance, how does Ichigo deal with Uryu, his former friend who joined the other side of this war? Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict continues to prove itself that no matter how longm it delivers what fans want to see. From the emotional storytelling through its cinematic battles, there's really no shortage what this final arc has set out to to do. It once again shows that Bleach is one of the greatest anime to make its comeback in history.

I really wanted this cour to succeed. The promise of new anime-original content gave me some hope that it could fix the flaws of the manga’s poorly received final arc. Unfortunately, this season couldn’t escape the problems of its source material. No amount of nostalgic callbacks, solid animation, or impressive sound design could save it. This feels like one of the most overhyped anime in recent memory. That being said, if you’re a fan of Bleach like I am, I still recommend giving it a watch—but go in with lowered expectations, or you’re bound to be disappointed. Story/Plot: 4/10 The plot is where this cour falls apart.Just like in the manga, the story feels barebones and poorly constructed. Many characters are shoved into the narrative not because they serve a purpose, but because their presence panders to fans. It’s bloated, overcrowded, and detracts from moments that could have been better fleshed out. There’s a severe lack of stakes throughout this cour. Weak characters like Chad and Orihime somehow survive impossible situations because they’re fan favorites, but it’s completely unrealistic given the circumstances. This leads to a lot of plot conveniences and fake-out deaths that kill any tension. By this point, the trope feels tired and predictable. Ichigo, Renji, Lille—so many moments could’ve had lasting emotional impact but instead feel cheap and meaningless. Animation: 7/10 While the animation started off strong, it quickly revealed its limitations. Initially, I was impressed, but as the cour progressed, I noticed more still panels and an overreliance on DBZ-style explosions rather than meaningful choreography. The battles lack creativity, and the muted color palette throughout the season gave the visuals a dull, lifeless look.There were a few standout shots, but some of the most hyped scenes didn’t even match the quality of the original series. For a series with such high expectations, this season's animation felt overhyped overall. Characters: 6/10 When I say everyone is back, I mean everyone. The Vizards, the Arrancars, Nel, Grimmjow, Kira—the list goes on. While it’s nice to see so many familiar faces, the sheer number of returning characters completely derails the narrative. Most of them have no meaningful role and are just there to please fans. It’s frustrating to see characters like Nel and Grimmjow brought back only to do almost nothing. Chad and Orihime are present all season but contribute absolutely nothing of substance. Instead of developing key players or focusing on meaningful relationships, we get a “greatest hits” montage of cameos that detracts from the story’s flow. It felt like an old Oprah episode: “You get a cameo! And you get a cameo!” Sound: 8/10 There is not a lot to say here it's Bleach we know what to expect from the sound design. The opening and ending themes didn’t do much for me, but the OST was solid. The nostalgic tracks from the original series were a highlight, and they did a great job of setting the tone for some scenes. However, even great sound design couldn’t save the season from its narrative shortcomings. Enjoyment: 5/10 My enjoyment of this cour was heavily weighed down by its overreliance on nostalgia and the fanbase’s overhyping of this arc. The execution felt sloppy, and the pacing was all over the place. Instead of focusing on the important parts of the story, the season jumped between scenes in a frantic attempt to cram too much into too little time. The humor also felt outdated, with gags interrupting serious moments and pulling me out of the immersion. Key characters weren’t given the time they deserved, and others shouldn’t have been included at all. It feels like the staff prioritized quantity over quality, which is a shame considering the potential of this arc. Final Thoughts Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Cour 3 had the potential to elevate one of the series’ weakest arcs, but it fell short in almost every way. While the sound design and occasional moments of animation were enjoyable, the barebones plot, bloated cast, and lack of stakes made it a slog to get through. If you’re a Bleach fan, it’s worth watching for the nostalgia—but keep your expectations low. This cour is a reminder that not everything can be fixed with callbacks and flashy animation. Here’s hoping the next cour delivers on the potential that this one missed.

Bleach has changed, changed for the worst. This is one of the worst seasons of Bleach I've ever watched. There's not a single thing good about this. The animation? puke color and too flashy. The Music? Forgettable, a serious crime because one of the best aspects of Bleach anime was the iconic music. The plot? lol. The characters? Horriblly written. The Fights? Terrible like the manga. They added new ones that are Uryu centric, but no one cares about him or his awfully defined motives. What a waste of screentime for someone so boring and useless. Who ever was in charge of this needs tobe fired. Bad fights and overly focus on stale unpopular characters is a recipe for disaster. I see why this fell down the ranks and no one is talking about it.

Bleach's Thousand Year Blood War arc had, in my opinion, a superb first cour and a bit of an underwhelming second cour. After a long wait, I was excited to see if the extra production time benefitted the season, and I also wanted to see if season 2's sacrifices ended up benefitting season 3 as many people told me it would. And it did. ==SPOILER WARNING== Bleach's third cour has so many strengths. It has - for the most part - very good animation and detail. It's new director has incorporated a ton of versatile and unique shots that add gravitas to the individual fights. It's voiceacting is, as always, superb, and its soundtrack is the best it has ever been. Most notably though, it adds a ton of new contact. We got brand new fights, none of which felt out of place or tacked on, as well as extended battles that we'd only seen brief fragments of in the manga. The additions elevate the story and help to flesh out individual character arcs. For example, Uryu's additional fight with Renji help to portray the character in a more ambiguous light, and his extended battle with Ichigo makes his perceived 'betrayal' that much more impactful because we see how well the pair understand each other. Bleach's fights fell apart for me in cour 2 but I think they've mostly recomposed themselves. For starters, it helps that there aren't too many fights, whereas the second season felt over bloated. Secondly, cour 2 fell into the issue of unexpected power up reveal followed by unexpected power up reveal which made the season feel very repetitive. That isn't really the case here. We have a lot more actual combat where the characters play around with the arsenal that is available to them and therefore when one character gets the upper hand in a fight, it feels much more earnt - for example, in the Mayuri vs Pernida fight or the Yoruichi vs Askin fight. That doesn't mean there are no deus ex-machina type moments - I'll get to that in a bit - but on the whole the fights feel stellar. The pacing of this season was well done, in my opinion, with no fights feeling prolonged to the point where it damages the viewing experience. The season's opening is stellar, with amazing animation and superb creative choices in regards to its use of colours. It's ending is also good, although its reversed version feels a bit half-baked as a concept and you can tell it doesn't fit properly. Nonetheless, both great themes. The season does a very good job at fleshing out characters with backstories. It also reveals the stories in segments, as opposed to one heavy dump, which allows the backstory and current events to run concurrently and keeps the episodes well paced. The Friends flashback sequences were very well done and I very much enjoyed how the episode switched between the past and the present to maintain good pace and action. Bleach has always been a character driven series and its character work is really something here. There's a lot of great moments between characters like Shinji and Momo, or Shunsui and Nanao. The story also progresses nicely, with some of the key villains falling, and the Soul Society going on the offensive. The change of setting is very nice and as much as I loved the red skies of the Sereitei and the dazzling blue of the Soul King Palace, I think the backdrop of darkness is the best in TYBW so far. There are some flaws with this season, however. I'll first discuss a couple things I would've liked to have seen done differently, but don't impact the score: - Bleach only introduces backstories directly before we see the pay-off of them. For example, we only see the Shunsui and Nanao flashback during the fight where it becomes relevant. It is the same with the Nemu and Mayuri flashbacks. I don't mind this, but would have liked a change of pace every now and then with some being at least partially introduced before they became integral to the plot, as I feel they would have then had more emotional impact. - I would have liked Pernida to be hand-drawn as giant Gerard was. The CGI just looked a bit weird in my opinion. - I would have liked the antithesis to have played into Renji's survival and his inclusion with the Gerard confrontation felt a bit janky. There are other issues I can't look past and ultimately pull the season down a bit. - Episode 1 begins with a lengthy recap - I think there are production reasons for this so I understand it but it does ultimately harm the viewing experience. The ending of episode 14 with Askin also felt like a weird way to end the season: it would have worked maybe partway through or in the penultimate episode but alas. - Episode 2 is not well animated and I was very surprised to see people enjoy the episode, as for me it is visually the weakest episode of all of TYBW. All detail is completely lost during the Yhwach vs Ichigo fight but this isn't replaced by good choreography or fluid animation - a lot of the fight is janky and simply comprised of different coloured lines flying around. It also was filled with awkward movements, especially the sequence with Ichigo stabbing the Soul King. This episode really hurts the overall quality of cour 3. - Nanao's sword feels just as much of an asspull in the anime as it does in the manga. It should have been foreshadowed, perhaps in the episodes were the Soul Reapers were preparing to head up to the Soul King Palace, as there was a lot of room for character interactions. It even could have been hinted at in the first part of the Shunsui vs Lille fight. Instead, it just ends up feeling cheap and a silly convenience. - Uryu's actions in episode 14 feel very silly. It doesn't make sense, to me, why he would just decide to tell Ichigo his plan when he did - why not do it sooner? Why not keep it a secret? I am excited for the consequences but it just felt so nonsensical. He gets surprised when Haschwalth appears but this doesn't make sense to me because he knew Haschwalth had the almighty. I am also confused as to why Haschwalth was referring to his normal schrift despite saying he'd swapped powers with Yhwach, and also as to why Yhwach wouldn't suspect Uryu if he too can see into the future and would know Uryu is a traitor, but because I feel like that will be explored in cour 4 these don't really affect me. Just Uryu's actions do. - Some of the dialogue feels corny but hey its a Shounen. I will say though, the soul reapers' reactions to Byakuya decapitating (?) Gerard in the final episode was ridiculous. How is killing your enemy, who threatens the entire universe as you know it, going 'too far'? Despite its flaws, Cour 3's strengths heavily outweigh them. This feels like a very solid season, with a good balance between different storylines, great pay-offs, emotional moments, exciting action-packed moments, and simply unforgettable moments. Paired with killer animation, composition, and an ingenious use of colours, along with a director with a unique vision, Cour 3 learns from Cour 2's mistakes and lays the groundwork for what could be a truly mind-blowing final season. I give this season a 9/10