Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War

Episodes 12-13

Last week, we finally got some answers about Masaki and her role in Ichigo's increasingly complicated powers. Though we got more of an introduction to those answers than anything concrete, I was okay with that because I find the character drama far more compelling than any explanation of how exactly Ichigo wound up with a sampler platter of supernatural blood. I was more interested in learning who Masaki was as a person, of how she and Isshin met and fell in love despite the millennium of bad blood between Soul Reapers and Quincy. Or maybe we could start to unpack the generational tension within the Ishida family and how that might have fed into Uryu's upbringing. Those are the most dynamic story angles here and offer tantalizing avenues to develop not only these parental figures but the larger stories of their children.

And to its credit, “Everything but the Rain June Truth” does some of that. There are some compelling scenes between Uryu's eventual parents that, while not conclusive, show you how they might have started to fall in love and eventually form a family. Little details about Ryuken's mother beg many questions and could potentially contextualize her stern, utilitarian treatment of Masaki. The sequences of Isshin describing his feelings for Masaki are incredibly sappy but in a way that perfectly communicates how important she was to him. I especially like that Isshin immediately agreed to sacrifice his powers to save Masaki when the choice was put before him, not only as a way to reciprocate her previous kindness but as a testament to his altruism. All that stuff is good, and I would have loved a whole episode just focusing on these people's complicated, awkward story.

Unfortunately, this isn't a flashback meant to tell the quirky love story of a former Soul Reaper and his amazing Quincy wife – it's meant to tell us how their kid ended up with the Neapolitan flavor of superpowers. So, much of the episode is taken up by exposition and backfilling to make all these revelations about Masaki fit with what we knew. There's a lengthy section that's just Urahara explaining the magical mumbo jumbo behind Masaki's hollowfication, then conveniently revealing how he made a special gigai that just so happens to allow Isshin to counteract the process. Again, Isshin's ultimate choice makes the scene worthwhile, but it is all a little too dry and protracted to feel more than utilitarian.

And then there's the lengthy explanation of how Ywach just happened to steal back the powers of Quincies he deemed “tainted” on the exact day, at the precise time, that Masaki and Ichigo encountered Grand Fisher. There's an ever-raging argument with fans about how much of Bleach's larger story was planned from the beginning that I'm not interested in stirring up, but at the very least, this part feels like a hasty justification for why Secret Quincy Mom became Dead Anime Mom without contradicting all this new information. It's awkward, is what I'm saying, especially since it's meddling with Ichigo's most personal and significant motivation. Altogether it makes for a messy episode that, at times, is genuinely affecting and, at others, feels like a step above homework. The important part is that Ichigo finally has answers about where he came from and has regained the confidence to stand back up.

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That brings us to the finale for this cour, and it's almost entirely about getting everyone watching excited for the eventual second cour. Everybody in Soul Society who took a hard L in the invasion is starting their training arcs for an eventual rubber match. Mayuri is cooking up something in his lab that's fucked up even for his usual standards. The best Vizard shows up for a second to kick Hisagi's ass. The only people we don't check in on are, uh, our main cast. Renji and Rukia are presumably still training with Zero Squad, though we have yet to see them. More puzzling is the total absence of Chad, Orihime, and Urahara – all of whom were last seen futzing around in Hueco Mundo, but for all we know, they've been banished to the shadow realm in the episodes since then. It's an odd exclusion when much of the Non-Ichigo part of this episode is all about the larger cast preparing for war, but I suppose it wouldn't be the first time those characters lost focus in deference to the Gotei 13.

But that's all just place setting for the next entry. The real meat of “The Blade is Me” – and really this whole mini-arc – is when Ichigo finally reforges his Zanpakuto. Though “reforge” isn't quite the right word, considering we learn that the Zangetsu he's known for so long wasn't who he said he was.

Yep, there's one last twist to sneak in before the end, and this one at least feels like it was intended well beforehand. All the various pieces fit together nicely, and while the reveal takes the form of yet another scene with Ichigo staring aghast while somebody explains things to him, here our hero at least gets to speak back a bit. And you can feel the shock, denial, and anger Ichigo feels at this seeming betrayal. It's also where this adaptation's direction truly shines, freed by the freeform rules of Ichigo's inner world. Seeing this familiar setting coated in the harsh pinks and blacks of the season's OP, then shifting into suppressive grey that's slowly illuminated by Zangetsu's sword, once again shows how much this team can perfectly emphasize the material.

And it's a critical moment for Ichigo, who feels like he's spent 90% of this season locked in timeout or floundering with indecision. After finally learning about who he is and where he comes from and accepting both aspects of his powers, he, at last, sees his Zanpakuto not as an ally but as a part of himself. It's a critical moment that resonates far better than a simple power-up or upgrade. It makes me excited to see him in action again.

The actual last scene is that stinger with Uryu arriving at Ywach's stronghold. That's a solid way to close out the finale for this story section, but there's also little to go on. Uryu's only been in the margins of this season, and while his joining the Bad Guys is a big event, it only has little weight when we haven't seen his thought process. Sure, he has no sympathy for Soul Society, and I could see him wanting to join them just for the chance to send Mayuri to hell where he belongs, but it's hard to buy in without actually knowing why he joined. Still, it's a good hook for next season, where we'll learn what's going on inside his head.

So that's Thousand-Year Blood War, for now at least, and while there have been some awkward stretches and growing pains, I've had good fun with it. This adaptation has done a lot to bring out the best of Bleach's strengths while not being afraid to make adjustments and streamline things to help it all work in the episode count they were allotted. Most of all, the series oozes a level of self-confidence you love to see, and it has me very curious about how they'll handle the future, much messier parts of this arc.

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