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Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
Episode 5

by Nicholas Dupree,

How would you rate episode 5 of
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War ?
Community score: 4.6

Bleach's greatest boon and most systemic hindrance has always been its full-to-bursting cast. It's a boon because Tite Kubo's eye for character design is keen enough to deliver dozens, if not hundreds, of some of the most iconic designs in anime, allowing for a metric fuckton of characters all with distinct and unique aesthetics. But it's often a hindrance because, as the cast grows larger with every new arc, it tends to dilute focus and stretch out conflicts beyond their original lifespan. The Fullbringer story arc is a good example of that in action, starting out as a smaller-scale conflict focused on Ichigo and this new group of characters, before inevitably stalling out with countless one-on-one fights that only served to make Ichigo's character arc feel less meaningful.

That's definitely a risk here, especially since the Alphabet-themed power set of the Quincy suggests we've got at least 26 new bad guys to cover. Factor in how Ichigo is, for somehow the second time in the series, stuck inside a Garganta and unavailable to join the fight, and you have a recipe for introducing new characters and powers that could easily make this invasion grind to a halt. Thankfully, the first half of “Wrath as a Lightning” avoids that entirely, zeroing in on a single fight and making it hit hard for both characters and the audience.

I'll admit I've never exactly been a huge Byakuya fan. He was the perfect antagonist for Ichigo in the Soul Society storyline, but I've always felt like his face-turn was a little too easy, and all of his appearances since then haven't been all that interesting. Yet seeing the franchise's most unerringly stoic fighter trembling in fear, lashing out in desperation, and totally on the backfoot against Äs Nödt worked really well. The Quincy himself is a bit too talkative for my taste, but I'd be lying if I said his power to instill instinctual fear wasn't a pretty fantastic ability, and capping it off with him turning Senbonzakura Kageyoshi on its original wielder is the perfect touch. When it first appeared, this was a power that left our heroes bloodied and helpless against its sheer might, and seeing it in that role once more is a fantastic bit of poetry.

It also helps that unlike in the Fake Karakura Town battle, Ichigo isn't just running late or having an impromptu training arc while everyone gets slaughtered. He's trapped, and desperately trying to get to the battlefield. Ichigo gets some criticism as a character for being defined primarily by wanting to protect his friends – and there are certainly issues that can arise from that – but when it's used right that motivation hits home hard. Ichigo will face down any threat, no matter how ill-prepared, if it means keeping somebody he cares about safe, and whenever he fails it tears him apart inside. So you totally buy the desperation, the boiling rage and fear as he tries to get out of there, while we know that the Soul Reapers he's closest to are already on death's door, and every second means that door creaks a little further open.

That would honestly be enough to make for an episode on its own, but this story is already far too busy – and has a massive amount of ground to cover even for a 50-odd episode series – that we have to move on from there, and a lot of tension dissipates as a result. Zaraki strolls in to give us a cliff-notes version of the three Quincy he killed off-screen, before just jumping straight at King Ywach (he finally has a name!). But even as somebody who really likes Zaraki, it feels like letting the air out of a balloon. I already know Zaraki is crazy strong and throws any power scale he meets out a 20th-story window; I don't need a whole scene reiterating that when there are already a dozen other fights happening around him. The guys he beats don't even have particularly funny names either. It's a wash.

Then there's Yamamoto's flashback about Sasakibe which, while nice enough, feels a bit like subtraction through addition. That one funeral scene, along with Yamamoto's dour demeanor and visibly restrained rage, did more to sell me on their relationship than any flashback could. While a longer, narrated explanation of who they were to each other does concretely communicate what their bond was like, I feel like this adaptation's direction is evocative enough to get by saying more with far fewer words. Maybe that's nitpicking a bit, but I can't help but think Yamamoto's story slows things down just a little too much for what it accomplishes. Though it's ultimately worth it to see him melt the Quincy who stole Sasakibe's bankai, and exciting to see the old man finally fighting for keeps.

Still, for all my grumblings this episode did a lot to get me invested in the on-the-ground action of this invasion. There's real tension in Ichigo's struggle to escape, some genuinely affecting drama to the heroes losing, and next week might just shed some light on our new villain.

Rating:

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is currently streaming on Hulu.


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