#nowen talkin bout bleach
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November talking bou...💀💀💀
BLEACH TYBW ep 25: Well, it was nice while it lasted
What an episode. We're riding high and feeling alive; then, next thing we know, we're watching as our childhood stuffed animal is set on fire right before us. This is all hyperbole, of course, but I still feel it's a very accurate metaphor. This episode is a good episode, but it comes at a point in the story where we have to set up the insurmountable odds our true protagonist has to face in order to save the day. The downside is is that while we get to enjoy the thrills and highs of a brand new fight that seeks to make amends for a fight that was originally quite lackluster, we also have to now deal with the true ending of that fight which unfortunately cannot change and only now serves as a punch to the gut after seeing something that I feel appeased nearly all of us. So, as the title says, it was nice while it lasted. Still, great moments for the characters and an especially vicious and somewhat haunting usage of a technique that we've heard about but never gotten to see. Plus, we all now know why you don't mess with the eyeball monk.
So now to do a death tally and wait for next we-...what do you mean the next episode is out already? Wait, WHAT HAPPENS?! Soul king I need to pay attention more!
Shinigami deaths: 16
Quincy deaths: I can't count that high (20 named going by death portraits)
Spoilers below
Real fast
Things I liked:
We get to see the remaining visored again as well as Yoruichi's brother! But we also get to be reminded of Kisuke's habit of sending sacrificial pawns to buy time for him to figure out solutions. What can I say, even after a hundred years, old habits die hard.
Whenever Ichibe draws anything with his brush I always like the effect of following the brush stroke. It makes it feel more supernatural
Ywach is such a hardcore fighter, it really is a perfect matchup between him and Ichibe. One is willing to humiliate the enemy by any means while still beating them down, the other will risk deadly injury just to negate the humiliation. Absolute refusal to give an edge to both sides.
A return of sanct bogen! Although this one doesn't serve as a sword delivery device
Ichibe's eyeless moment is straight from the Manga. It is perfect and really fits the name thing he has been doing this episode (this is why I've been bolding his name btw, gotta show respect)
It's very subtle but I love Haschwalths ability just ruining everything for everyone else. It will really be great to have it explained eventually.
I think this is a great episode for Uryu because we get to see Chad, Orihime and Ichigo's power ups, but with this we see Uryu hasn't been slacking either. Also I want to thank @takibikaen for the comment on how Ywach got out of the cage. Uryu's antithesis just straight up teleports now and him dodging Tenjiro's water ball kinda proves it.
If I could have a wacky spin-off show with just Nimaya and Askin, I would be the happiest man alive. They're roommates in San Francisco and they hate each other. Boom, instant hit. But seriously, with a ton of comedic moments cut, these two provide a great amount of levity to the situation.
Aizen did the slut strand look first, but I'm willing to bet that Askin stole it and made it his. Man earned it this episode
Senjumaru is the QUEEN this episode. Has been clowning on everyone for two episodes now, if she does it in the next one, she's my new favorite (edit here: she did and she is now)
This whole fight really is a battle of overpowered ability versus overpowered ability.
Askin and Nimaya are the kids who would role-playing sword fights on the playground to try and compete on looking cooler and you cannot change my mind.
Aushwhalen is way more brutal than I thought it would be. Also it shows that Ywach never explained what it was to his army, just waving it off as just a purging of unworthy Quincy. But then when the unworthy are gone, who is picked to full their spots?
Giselle is creepy as hell in this episode. I hope her fans are enjoying themselves. I mean that legitimately
It was nice to see Bazz B and Liltotto reacting the same to the betrayl. It's a nice setup to their switching sides
PERNIDA'S LITTLE HAND WINGS!
UKITAKE IS BACK!! And oh no he brought a friends with him ✋️
Things I didn't like:
I feel like if they were going to introduce Yuishiro so soon, we should have gotten to see him sooner, especially since we've got one episode left of the season. It's a bit abrupt but it's nice to see him at least, let's hope he gets some love later on
I thought it was Weird how Ichibe was bleeding from his coat when he dredge Ywach's arrow. The first thing I thought was that maybe he's so ancient that his body doesn't function the same way that a more modern Souls body would. I'm probably overthinking it, but it does make me wonder
I still think we don't get to see what Kinpika really does beyond glow. Granted if I had to fight someone with a sword and someone was on the side shining a flashlight in my eyes the whole time, I would find that pretty distracting too. Not every sword gets to be super powerful
I did not expect to see Giselle like that today. Not a bad thing, but dang I was expecting her to just eat the blood from her guts, not-im gonna stop there. Also there were claims of her possibly being romantically and or amorously entangled with the otherwise alive, I don't think that it's a possibly anymore, I think it's an actually. Glad Liltotto is my favorite especially since they're the only two left. Cannibal or Zombie lover, starting to remember why I didn't like the Bambi's so much.
They cut the scene of Robert having his meltdown and trying to kill Liltotto. Real shame. Plus we get confirmed that Giselle and Liltotto are the only female sternritter left.
Last thing and this is a silly thing, but with the amount of blood that Giselle was consuming and or covered in, how does she keep the all-white outfit clean? Do Quincy uniforms repel moisture? Or do they just have an unlimited supply of stain remover everywhere?
Needless to say great episode, and now that I know that there is a second episode I have to watch that. So I guess we're getting two this week. Still, seems like it should be a fun one regardless. ( hi Nowen from the future here, just wanted to say I watched the episode and holy s***.)
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Nowen talkin bout bleach
BLEACH TYBW EP 24: What to do When the Abyss Blinks at You
(or, I CALLED IT SUCKAAAS!!!)
Alright folks. In the first five minutes we get a bricks worth of lore thrown at our heads, we then get a return of a character who actually is a big deal (kind of), and we get a good look at the skills and abilities of the zero division.
Overall I kept repeating one phrase through the episode. OH SH**!! Absolutely insane episode. The fight hype is real and we are going to see something cool (I hope). It’s just funny that I mentioned power scaling last week because it is going to come into play today and next week.
And yes, that ice cold son of a eyeball gun blinked this week. He blinked 5 times (yes I counted and watched it twice to be sure.) He blinks when he’s about to do something bad. Like murder, or lying, or even taking the eyes from a tiny god
Shinigami deaths: 16
Quincy deaths: 16
(Leave it to the zero division to tie up the game)
Spoilers below
Things I liked:
The whole intro that just completely explained where The Soul King’s hand came from, how Ywach made the decision to invade 1000 years ago (ngl he was probably gonna do it anyway), and what happened to the eyes he inherited from his dad. Needless to say, utterly amazing.
Ganju! I completely forgot you were in this! It makes sense, though that he’s going to the Royal Palace, considering that he is part of one of the noble families, but I don’t think that’s going to come up until way later.
Mayuri being so butthurt about Kisuke and his rocket. Man is the DEFINITION of petty
The shot of the frontline Invasion forces little broken circle. Clever work!
I’m sure it was just a testing tactic, but did Haschwalth really just drop some soldat and expect them to not get killed? Clearly he was using them as Guinea pigs, but still.
Senjumaru is so coldly polite, showing etiquette and courtesy when needed but with no sincerity. And then immediately murdering in the most cold-blooded way. This woman has it going on.
Nyanzol looks so baked goofy but still maintains menace. Great balance by the voice actor.
The Quincy royal guard look menacing as hell and are wonderful. Each of them get their own bullet point. starting with Askin! He is such a goofy fella, easily the one people will love later on
Gerard sounds exactly like I’d expect. Bombastic as heck and as murderous as a razor sharp knife
Lille exhudes arrogance and superiority, and his gun and shooting look great.
Pernida is scary as fuck. Plain and simple. Did you see what he did to that one guy with a look? I am not looking forward to hearing him talk.
Senjumaru addressing Pernida, and his silent words are just peak set ups for his reveal. 
God, I love Nimaya. He’s the perfect blend of goofball and monster that I like. Also, he laid out every single one of the Quincy royal guard before anybody else could lift a finger. 
The way Nimaya clowns on Lille is peak. Love it so much. 
The sound that Sayafushi makes as it cuts is interesting. It kind of sounds like a single second of the hum of a vibrating blade. Which makes sense considering that it’s so sharp that it cuts through anything it touches and is most likely cutting straight through the air molecules to make that sound
 The way Sayafushi ends up in Pernida’s head is so sudden I stopped breathing on the first watch. God I love this fight.
Last thing about Nimaya, his broken English is so fun that it completely circles around to grating and then right back to fun
Everybody knows that Ichibe is a killer. Compared to Yamamoto and Unohana, their kills are just playground fights compared to the stuff he’s done. There is a reason I bold the man’s name, and it is because he is the scariest being to ever exist.
Things I didn’t like:
Minor thing. random Quincy girl, kudos on the bravery of attacking the scariest person in existence btw, shot bullets. Granted they were Quincy bullets, but if this was 1000 years ago does that mean that the Quincy invented guns? Or is it like just a fast cannon? Questions I have.
That after all of Senjumaru’s sick as hell moments, we don’t get to know more about her palace or her roll. Each of the squad zero members has something that contributed to soul society. Names, healing, zanpakuto, the uniform, and artificial souls/cooking. We get to know the about the other four, why not the fifth. 
Nyanzol’s toungues made me think he had pieces of deli meat hanging out of his mouth.
I don’t remember how Ywach escaped the cage beyond him throwing the medal, so I’m hoping they explain things next week beyond “I’m metabreaking”
This is not so much an issue with the anime, but rather with the story. For those of you who know, squad, zero loses this fight. And on top of that, they lose bad. And because of that people think that squad zero is not as strong as day are supposed to be.  the thing that I like about this is that this episode shows squad zero is exceptionally strong because of their unique abilities as well as skills. They just unfortunately went up against a mini God with the most nonsense powers ever conceived. And I know that next episode, there’s gonna be a bunch of people saying “oh man squad zero is so weak, how could they have lost?” I’m really hoping that things look good next week before the big L drops 
And that’s the episode. If we’re doing 13 episodes for this core, then we’ve got two more. It looks like one is going to be all about the squad zero fight, and the final most likely will be Ichigo and his friends arriving at the palace to find that things have not gone well. Still, it I won’t be all bad. After all, we’ll finally get to meet the Soul King! The guy who all the fuss is about 😁
Just don’t blame me if you throw up when you look at it
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Bleach TYBW ep26: I am utterly and completely flabbergasted (or what to do when hit by a curveball)
So, Bleach TYBW 2nd core is done. very nice. now about the episode : AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT?????HOOOOOOOOOOLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYY F****************************K!!!!!!!!! I have no words, I am almost entirely drained by this. I should have anticipated, that this would be a two-parter season finale as it was with the first season. But for some reason, it just never occurred to me. So upon watching the second episode release today, I just thought that it would be a nice little treat. To my surprise, it is insane and I can barely process anything at this point. Realistically, within the past three episodes we have seen what is essentially a beat down, a turnaround, another beatdown, an ACTUAL RESURECTION, another beatdown, A REVERSAL AND A FREAKING EXECUTION!!! And on top of it that is where they end it there!!! This isn't a cliffhanger, this is falling off a cliff when an arrow suddenly fires and pins your shirt collar to the cliffside, then you reach into your pocket and open a fortune cookie you already have and inside is a fortune that says "you will be rescued next year," I legitimately do not know where we can possibly go from here. I'm beginning to question everything I know. Im calling it now, Kon and Chair-sama are going to become the new Soul King, PUT IT ON THE BOOKS!!!!! Is this what it feels like to need a cigarette? God, this series is going to kill me.
Shinigami deaths: 19
Figures with seconds on the clock they'd get a few good hits in.
Quincy deaths: 20
Again I'm going by death portraits ( also can I even count him? I know he's not dead but still, how can he go further from there? That wasn't a beat down that was an ASS WHUPIN)
Spoilers below
Things I liked:
Lille just dropping his shrift right here. Since this is a brand new fight, it makes sense that it should be here. Plus, it'll make his fights later on that much more stakes heavy by showing just how nuts it is
I love Senjumaru's magic stuffing, but it leaves me with questions. The questions are thus. Is there a gift shop in the Royal palace? Do you think there are plush versions of squad 0 for sale in the Royal Palace gift shop? Do you think Ichigo or Rukia bought plush versions of squad zero in the Royal Palace gift shop?
People have a lot of praise for the bleach soundtrack, and I am no exception. But when you think about it there aren't really that many songs. If you don't count the intros and outros that they have, it's not a very varied playlist, but damn does "treachery" work here. I think I've heard it about 5 to 7 times this season, but it really does its work here setting the mood
I'm going to go into work on Monday and say quote, "Dead morning! Everybody, my buddies," just to see how people react
I forgot to mention it last episode, but Hikifune saying, "Now this is a squad zero fight," felt super appropriate there. But here it feels like thevringing of a bell for the second round
It's quick, but the Quincy royal guard (that is what I will call them because I will not use their real name) getting grabbed by the vines is fun for me. Also Pernida is upside down! Poor little guy!
They have their own little stages! How cute!
Senjumaru straight up b**** slapping Gerard. Need I say more? Yeah he reverses it quick but dang does it feel good in the moment.
I don't know if you can weaponize running away, but I think Askin can
I don't know if anyone realizes it, but the royal guard has not only their own Specialties that they can control at will (fabric,water,life,names), but they also have their own hado techniques. Love that this is shown here
Ichibe just flexing blüt out of his veins. Man is a monster
Okay now this parts going to be a little bit nutty because it has to do with not only the manga illustrations but also Ichimonji itself. There are versions of the Bleach Manga that have colored illustrations. People like it, but I think that's where it really takes away the meaning of Ichimonji. It's power is not only to control all things that are black, but it controls all things that are the color black. So when you read a manga which is in commonly black and white, that essentially means Ichibe has control over the entirety of black ink of the manga. And later on when he refills his bankai, and he gains control over all things that are white, it really benefits the Bleach Manga if it is in black and white. If you are going to read it, I feel that it is important to read it in black and white as this part really gives it a meta-narrative explanation of his powers. Anyway sorry for my sword autism, it's going to happen again
I love the foreshadowing about Gerard when we see his heart take up the majority of his chest. Brilliantly done
I got so used to seeing chubby hikifune that when I saw her go slim, I immediately knew oh crap she's on her last rope. Excellently done
Logically, it makes sense that for Squad zero if they die, power gets routed to whoever is remaining. Because if they are facing an attack from the front, if one of them dies, the others should become stronger to fight off the attack. Each of them are as strong as the 13 divisions combined so it would make sense that their bankai's would be so monumentally powerful that they would break reality. It reminds me of a more extreme version of genkei kaijo that shows up when grimmjow first attacks, where captains and lieutenants can't release their full power in the human world because it could damage things
Things I didn't like:
Okay I'm going to get this part out of the way first and foremost, so that way it's done. I did not expect an illustrated guide to Soul Reapers in this series. After the first season and not seeing it, it made sense to me that a lot of comedic elements would get cut since this is a serous part of the series. But seeing it come back after so long, felt so far out of left field that I had to pause it and leave the room. I figured that we just wouldn't get it, or it would be its own episode later on at the end. At most it would be a special feature on the Blu-ray if you buy it. It was like your dog running away and then coming back a year later unchanged and full of love for you. But, I can see why some people are complaining that it's here, especially when they left the story in its current state. Also I feel that if it's going to be back, then it needs to be fully animated . Now I understand when the majority of your budget is going towards the new fights and all the amazing stuff we've seen thus far, you can't afford it. But if they are bringing it back they need to do something more to make it feel special. I imagine that the majority of the cut comedic content from the series will show up here if they do it again. If you're one of the people who was complaining about cut jokes about Orihime's boobs, Rukia's butt, or Ishin talking about Rangiku sweating, I hope this appeases you.
I don't think we get to see where Uryu is during this fight until after Senjumaru does her bankai. I think he's currently having a panic attack because he literally just got his life saved by the thing that killed his mom.
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Bleach TYBW Ep 20: the power of imaaaaginaatio-*gets stabbed*
I said I would be feral. And I was feral included in this post is a collection of noises I recorded myself making for the first half of the episode. Please don’t judge me too harshly.
Anyway, this episode was fantastic. Animation was great and I’m glad we got the whole fight. Everyone featured got to shine, and overall, I think that people will agree that this is one of the top fights in the second core. Although compared to what happens to our murderhobo boy next, this fight does pale in comparison. But still, Yachiru had her moment and even Isane shined in some very subtle ways. If ever another light novel gets written, I hope there is major focus on Isane and Kenpachi’s connection with Unohana moving forward. Anyway, I’m having a dopamine overload right now, so I need to go take a nap.
SHINIGAMI DEATHS: 15
QUINCY DEATHS: 13 (I’m not counting Guenael)
Edit: upon further research, kubo gave Guenael and Yachiru a death portrait and I consider that pretty official so it’s now 16 and 14 respectively.
Spoilers below
Things I liked:
Yachiru does not think, she just attacks on sight and instinct. Love this for her, it really does kinda setup more intrigue around her. Plus if you know her backstory and what she really is then I makes so much sense.
Guenael looks cool. I don’t like him but they made him look cool, which is more than I can say about Shaz Dominoe and and they’re both imaginary.
Yachiru’s explanation of “tingles” feels just like how a child would describe it, and knowing the ineloquent nature of Kenpachi, he would describe emotions like that.
I love the look of Sanpo Kenju’s Monsters (Boney and Lumpy) and how their ability works. It’s shows up once but it really is kind of memorable because of the oddness of it.
Yachiru’s little high five and dance!
I’m not a fan of Gremmy, but I will say that his pompous presentation suits someone with his ability. And the way he destroyed Guenael feels appropriate for his character.
Isane getting very upset when her patients are threatened. Isane is just a healer, she’s not accustomed to fighting, and when she’s put in a situation where the sick or injured are at risk, she’s going to be upset. I would love to see more character development from her, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Kenpachi shows up because he was looking for Yachiru is so sweet to me. He was already on the way I’m sure but showing up because he felt her being threatened warms my heart. AND HER EYES GETTING GLOSSY AGAIN AFTER SHE SEES HIM! God when she disappears it’s going to feel tragic.
Isane asking if Unohana is dead. Her legs give out after it’s confirmed and it really drives home the loyalty between her and her captain. Even after Zaraki offers her a chance for revenge, she’s relieved that he is who he’s supposed to be now. It’s so poetic and honestly a beautiful moment. In a lot of ways the 11th and 4th division are extremely similar, both are willing to risk everything for their duty, their Lieutenants are fiercely devoted to their Captains, and their Captain’s are the pinnacle of what their squad embodies. And now that their duties have been balanced, I can only imagine both Isane and Kenpachi getting stronger as time goes on. SOMEONE WRITE A LIGHT NOVEL ABOUT THESE TWO TALKING ABOUT UNOHANA WITH LOVE!
There’s so much about Gremmy and Kenpachi’s fight that I’m just going to put it all here. All throughout the fight Gremmy gets challenged by Kenpachi’s power. When he imagines himself harder than steel, when he tosses Yachiru down a hole and tries to crush and drown Kenpachi, even when he tries to drop a meteor on him, his expectations for the outcome continue to get overturned. With that surprise comes an excitement that I think is the most stimulus Gremmy has had in a while. I imagine he hasn’t had any form of sensation for however long he’s been a brain in a jar, but now with Zaraki, he’s feeling something for the first time in a long while which is how he ultimately destroys himself. He chases that sensation, and when he finally witnesses a possible defeat he gets frightened and overcompensates with how he imagines things. I think this episode will be a really good example for a metaphor of demonizing another person. No matter how cruel a person can be, they’re still human, and humans are all capable of terrible acts of cruelty. Now I personally believe that people are also capable of incredible acts of kindness, in the same regard no matter who they are, but that’s not what we’re here for.
When Kenpachi tells Yachiru to get clear, she just says yep and YEETS herself off the side of the cube. She is precious!
Kenpachi does not know what a cookie is. That is Yachiru’s job. The only luxury he enjoys is baths.
The way Kenpachi cradles Yachiru after he breaks open the ground gives me such parental vibes.
Seeing the protective dome of the Seireitei get broken by the meteor is really interesting. Also seeing it get fixed makes me wonder if squad 0 was involved somehow. Also you think the people in the Rukon district saw that?
Askin! What’s up buddy?
Nozarashi looks ANAZING!! And the little moment with Yachiru after he says the name, my heart broke a little. But then the shift from our kenpachi to a younger version as he slices the meteor just fixed me right back up!
The space scene was really well done, the effect on Kenpachi’s eyes was amazing and the explanation was a nice cherry on top. And immediately after, Kenpachi is just GRABBING onto the fabric of reality from space really must have been the thing that convinced Gremmy he was a monster.
Things I didn’t like:
I wish we could have started the episode with the end of last weeks episode so everything would be fresh. But I understand that you gotta get through these chapters quick so the big fights can be focused on.
I would have liked to see more focus on Sanpo Kenju. I’m glad they gave it a “wow that shikai is so weird” moment, but I would’ve loved to see more from the monsters
I know it’s unavoidable for this part of story, and it’s in the canon material, but I don’t like seeing violence against children in media. The arm breaking just made me uncomfortable. Nothing I can do about it, it’s just my personal feelings.
Minor thing, very small, I thought Gremmy would have more guns. I know there were a bunch, but I thought it would be like a giant wall. 
I think they were trying to explain by showing with Gremmy doubling himself, was that one version could fight, while the other one narrated what was going to happen. Making Kenpachi focus on the fight with one while the other did fate weaving from outside of combat. I think they could’ve explained it a little bit better, especially since he suddenly summoned up six versions of himself after Kenpachi sliced the meteor.
It kind of feels that at the end they were trying to paint Gremmy as a tragic figure. On one hand, yeah he’s a living brain in a jar and I can’t even imagine the kind of nightmare that must be. But on the other hand, he’s also working for an organization that employs extremely sadistic people. I think there is something to be said about Ywach finding people who are either sick like As Nödt, and people like Gremmy and giving them power where they have none or very little, says a lot about how he views people as tools to be used. But even with that, it takes away from the tragedy of Gremmy and focuses more on the cruelty of Ywach. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when he gets a bigger spotlight. 
I WISH we could have had one last Yachiru scene, because then we would have had the underlying question of “what happened to Yachiru? Is she dead? Is she missing?” Im sure that we’ll get it next episode but I’m impatient.
And with that, I have managed to calm down a tiny degree. I usually write these posts on mobile, which apparently doesn’t like me trying to upload personal audio recordings, but there’s really nothing I can do about that. Overall, our strawberry protagonist is going to make an appearance next week I imagine, and then we will get the set up to one of my favorite fights in the thousand year blood war. Mayuri has upgraded from war crimes, to crimes against nature. 
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I will not apologize for being feral this episode.
You have been warned
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Bleach TYBW ep23: Is Mayuri the Soul Society Version of Big Pharma?
Well, after last weeks episode, and the drama that unfolded there, we have the conclusion to the start of that fight. Now I have another confession. I am a diehard squad 11 fan, but, if I had to pick another captain to fawn over, it would probably be Mayuri.  I know that doesn’t make me sound good considering half of what Mayuri does, but you gotta admit the man gets results.  anyway, great episode with great characterization and extremely fun fights. Plus we get introduced to a wonderful new Sternritter that has been foreshadowed as early as the first invasion but has only been introduced now! Don’t get attached, he’s the worst! And that’s comparing the sadistic zombie maker girl as well as the literal cannibal. Still, this is Mayuri’s episode, so I hope you’re ready for a lethal dose of FUN! (Warning:funmayhaveterribleunintendedsideeffects.pleaseconsultLieutenantAkonofthe12thdivisionbeforepartakinginanyfunprescribedbyCaptainKurosutchi.)
Shinigami Deaths:16
Quincy Deaths:15 (although Robert ain’t looking too good)
Side effects below
Things I liked:
When Hitsugaya goes on the offensive. On one hand it really shows just how powerful a captain and lieutenant can be. Because even though Ikkaku avoided the majority of the blast, he still got a leg frozen.  The main reason I say this is because throughout the course of the series, captains and lieutenants have had a shrinking gap between them. To put it in a power levels style of perspective, it would be like a standard soul reaper is a 1, a seated officer is a 5-10, a strong lieutenant is a 20-30 and a captain is a 50-100. That gap got slowly less and less as captains lost fights, or demonstrated less skilled than lieutenants going up against opponents. On the other hand, it also shows how serious soul reapers can be. If they didn’t spend a lot of time, talking about their abilities, or trying to play coy while using their sword and just straight up going for it, a lot of fights might end up finished faster. Still, this sequence is brutal and I think it’s perfect.
Speaking of, I loved when Ikkaku rescued Yumichika. I maintain that these two are brosexual or at the very most ace or aromantic, but still sweet.
Yumichika about to use the real name of his sword to avenge Ikkaku 🥺
Mayuri just getting killed. Hitsugaya is a prodigy, and while I KNOW we won’t see Mayuri get his ass anywhere near a training arc, he can compensate by using tech and smarts. Still, even he knows that he can’t keep up physically with Zaraki or Byakua, so he uses chemicals, poisons, anything to level the playing field. He really does embody Kyoraku’s philosophy of “fight dirty because it’s a fight”
Mayuri’s auto-guard device. In the manga, it initially just looks like pieces of metal sticking out of the sword with a wrapping around it. Here it’s straight up alive. Needless to say, I think it looks really cool, but still very gross.
 the title card intro. I never really talk about these, but this one feels awesome, and it transitioned into the opening very well.
 OMG, Mayuri is Spider-Man. Does this mean he’s going to be in the next spider verse movie? 
This is something I’ve believed for a long time, Mayuri works on Batman logic. Everyone says if you give Batman enough prep time he can beat anybody. Mayuri is the same way except he doesn’t need a long amount of prep time. we saw when he fought Szayelaporro  that he was only watching him for a few minutes through Uryu, and in that time managed to make duplicates of all of his organs and put them in his body. I refuse to believe that the man did not have something like this just lying around. He must have the worst kind of ADHD.
I am now fully convinced that the reason Mayuri was locked in the maggots nest, was that he would’ve ended up starting a pharmaceutical company. 
NEW RELEASE EFFECT FOR ASHISOGI JIZO! Very creepy, fits him perfectly, also, it makes me think of a baby being born 
Hitsugaya’s voice actor is selling it with those screams
The cut to Byakua after Robert talks about beating Ichigo. “Really? You think you can take on the guy who is the number one special threat?”
Another use of Sklaverai! I like Robert’s little boots. Also, I think I figured out his shcrift! It’s N for NYOOOM!
Senbonzakura can apparently shred a bullet to nothing. Sick
Shuhei! Oh no shuhei….
Liltotto’s line “ puke or pig, anything is better than nothing” that goes hard and I love it 
Byakua asking if Shuhei is being controlled by the enemy or if he’s the enemy in disguise. He’s smart enough to know that based on one guy who can induce fear, another guy who can manifest a wrestler, lady who can make anything into a bomb, and a guy with the power of imagination, Quincy abilities could be literally anything. He just needs to know how to disable him
I like that Pepe’s episode is one and done. He was my least favorite, sternritter, for a couple of reasons. his power is straight up gaslighting through emotional manipulation.
Pepe getting his ass kicked, very funny.
Cirucci attempting to poison Mayuri, cute moment.
Mayuri the Goat for respecting Giselle’s gender. It makes sense, considering the amount of modifications that he’s done to his own body to make it something more useful to him, but it’s still surprising, considering his lack of respect for everyone else’s bodily autonomy.
I have to say, the Bambi’s have grown on me, and my favorite is Liltotto. She is 110% done with this whole invasion, she just wants to go home get a shower and go out to a nice Buffet. Also, she ate Pepe, which not gonna lie kind of cool  
Things I didn’t like:
Charlotte gets beaten. I know it’s canon. I know it’s in the manga, but I still think he should have remained. Also, it makes me wonder if resurrected arrancars can perform a resurecíon. Because if so, WHY HAVE THEY NOT DONE THIS!
I would’ve liked to see more repeats, I understand why we didn’t get them, but I think it would’ve been cool to see the different ways Mayuri ate it as well as Hitsugaya reacting to them.
I think they should’ve lengthened the Mayuri fight. If his appearance was enough to garner a part two to his episode, then it makes sense that he should have a little bit more time. But I understand that people want to see a longer Byakua fight.  still this started out as a Mayuri episode, but that flower petal boy had to steal the spotlight. 
Pepe really doesn’t get introduced. He shows up in this episode, shows off, then dies. He was shown as far early back as the first invasion when Jidanbo attacked the 12th, and aside from a few background shots, he hasn’t really been seen or done much of anything. So it does make me wonder, how people who haven’t read the manga are feeling about him being beaten this episode.
I’ve heard of people saying that Pepe is a negative stereotypes. And I wasn’t really sure about that until I started looking for it. I suppose he could be a racist stereotype of a black man who is a soul singer? But I always figured he was a priest who was also a sexual predator. That I felt was a little bit more obvious to me. 
I would have loved to seen an explanation on why Pepes love power did not work on Byakua. I think it was because he already has love in his heart filled by his dead wife either that or that oken cloak is quality stuff.
Sick episode, loved it. The Quincy are at the royal palace. Can’t wait to see what happens next we-…………
I think we’re gonna see that motherFUCKER BLINK!!!!
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Bleach TYBW Episode 15: ok I know this looks bad (or “why I think Soi Fon and Marechiyo are cool”)
Literally the title. So. *uncomfortable silence here* how we all feeling after that? The last time the Wandenreich invaded, s*** got bad real fast. And it looks like the same has occurred again. Or has it? Yes. It’s bad, very bad. But before it gets too bad, we get a lot of great things for this episode. We get a lot of great entrances in this episode and already Mayuri is stealing the spotlight (literally he is wearing it). But we get to start the first round of rematches and new fights off with Toshiro vs Bazz-B! We catch up with Rangiku and Marechiyo, find out what Soi Fon has been up to and we get to see BG-9 naked! Oh also Mayuri and Askin show off against each other in an epic clash. But who cares about that? Not me, no sir.
Also, it may just be me but these episode are just FLYING by. 22 minutes is not a long time because it is going fast.
Shinigami deaths: 8
Quincy deaths: 6
Mayuri crimes: 3
(The crime is against interior lighting design)
Spoilers below
I lied. I care, I care a lot!
THINGS I LIKED:
I’m a sucker for a good war table scene and we get it! Also great to hear As Nödt’s creepy as voice more.
All the sternritter just being super chill with with the invasion. These guys know they’re going to stomp the Shinigami and are just exuding confidence.
Kyouraku and Haschwalth just having a damn conversation the whole episode. The man who takes nothing seriously vs the man who is serious 110% of the time.
Askin just insulting the 12th to their faces, only to have the spotlight stolen by Mayuri! I know he is a monster, but damn does he know how to make an entrance.
I really like the effect on Mayuri’s light clothes. I figured it would just be golden colored but they went with a digital effect that still kept the detail. Whoever is doing the shading on this show really should be getting a raise now that Mayuri is here.
Mayuri just casually slinging Askin’s insult right back into his face!
The shaky footage of the fight near the squad 10 barracks. We get sidetracked by what the captains and lieutenants are doing, we forget the rank and file are also fighting for their lives
Toshiro lookin cool in his head wrap and Rangiku posted up behind him like the bad bitch she is!
Toshiro just not caring about Rangiku explaining how the ice wall works
We get to see Nanao in action finally! In the manga we see her throw out a kido or two and try to execute Chad in the Ryouka invasion, but after that, nothing. It has been literally a decade in real time since she has done something.
Ok, here’s where I talk about Marechiyo and Soi Fon. I like them, I know a lot of people don’t, but I do and here’s why because I love this fight and I like these two a lot.
I even dropped the bullet format cause I care that much! Soi Fon is a ninja, and she is a serious ninja who doesn’t take kindly to people screwing around and not taking her as a ninja seriously. She trains to the extreme not only to increase her own skill but to try and surpass Yoruichi (that’s another thing for another time). Then there’s Marechiyo. You’d think the 2nd in command for the stealth force would be some badass ninja master but it’s this flashy, goofy, wears too much gold, lazy, good for nothing guy. But as we see in the Fake Karakura arc, he clearly knows what he’s doing. I don’t remember if it’s an actual thing, but I remember hearing about a type of ninja whose job it was to distract other people so that the regular ninja could do the main mission. I’ve always felt that this was Marechiyo’s purpose and that’s why the two are Captain and Lieutenant respectively. One draws attention so the actual threat can do their job. Point is Marechiyo shines in this arc and people should appreciate him more.
And yes I think the “Aizen bypassing Soi Fon’s shikai ability because he’s stronger” is bull. That’s some Hogyoku interference I tell you h’what!
It’s nice to see the 2nd division captain uniform in all its glory. I know it’s Kubo’s excuse to draw side boob, but it’s a cool fit and Soi Fon deserves some love.
Askin just leaving cause Mayuri is too hard to fight. And then mayuri just telling him “fine, f*** off!” Accurate to the manga, and I love the nasty face that Mayuri makes as he leaves. “I don’t care for you and I am going to poison you before this is over!”
All the animation in the Soi Fon fight is awesome, great job there.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
They’re burying a lot of what Ukitake is doing and I know it’s only the second episode, but it’s gonna be a long time before the reveal so I was hoping they’d be doing more.
Ywach doing the explanation of the Quincy shadow situation is good. But I feel like with the dramatic reveals from the first core, this one’s gonna have a lot more explaining to do.
I know it’s in the manga, but I hate Nemu’s low cut light outfit. There is shadow in cleavage Mayuri! Also it looks goofy, but I like her little hat.
I just know that BG-9 is going to die without us knowing his damn Schrift. People have been wanting to know, FOR YEARS!!
Bazz-B’s burner fingers have never been my favorite schrift or ability. He’s cool, but it takes a while to warm up to him in the manga.
I like BG-9 but the missiles were gross. No one wants to see your weird nipples man
I didn’t care for Hitsugaya’s fight taking a back burner to the others. I get that they are the first big ones, but I feel with how much love he gets, Toshiro should have gotten a bit more. Oh well, more time for angry hornet lesbian!
And that’s that! The second invasion is underway, and the first two big fights have already started. Good to see we’re still catching up with Ichigo and Ichibe and their training. Real cool. Downright neat…..WHAT IS IRAZU SANDO??!?!!
It translates to “no entry to the road of the shrine” it’s super reiatsu and Ichigo becoming more than a Soul Reaper, one could say, kingly
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Nowen Talkin Bout Bleach
Bleach TYBW Ep 16: “oooooh…I forgot they could do that.”
Ok so great episode, they are jamming a bunch into these episodes. The Shinigami are back up and ready to swing (their swords at the enemy). We get to see the complete Hitsugaya and Cang Du fight, as well as the new Bambietta and Shinji fight. Urahara shows up and so does Komamura! It's a good day for the Soul Reapers! Seems like this war will be over...What? *whispering* what do you mean it's not over? Wait, what do you mean Volstandig? Oh....oooooh. I totally forgot they could do that.
WE AINT OUT OF THE WOODS YET FOLKS!!
Shinigami Deaths: 10 (rip Queen and King)
Quincy Deaths: 7
3 :hceeps sdrawkcab s'ijnihS daer ot edosipe eht desuap I semiT
spoilers below
Things I liked: (there is a lot im so sorry)
We get to see how all the different divisions and their Lieutenants were handling the invasion and fighting against the Soldat, squads 7, 5, 4, 9 and 11. out of the five, three of their captains are missing and the other two are elsewhere in the Seireitei.
Toshiro and Cang's whole exchange. Cang is just twisting the knife into Toshiro by just tossing Rangiku's body in front of him and then using Hyōrinmaru in front of him, complimenting it and being all nice. He's really completing the objective of breaking the Shinigami's spirit.
Urahara and Mayuri's exchange. Urahara just calling Mayuri on the phone and Mayuri just hanging up on him. I feel like its no secret that these two hate each other but this really shows how far Mayuri will go to snub Kisuke. Also you know Mayuri made a mental not of the guy who complimented Kisuke, he is going to get dissected for sure.
less than 1 second later he shows up and we get an explanation on the Shineiyaku and how Quincies are allergic to hollows. Good reminder from "Everything but the Rain" and I think we got a better explanation of why the Quincy dont really use Sklavern. The explanation being that they used it in the medalions that stole bankai.
Mayuri's Rgb drip, he would have a gamer keyboard
The squad 12 team immediately springing into action once they have consoles in front of them. Really shows how important of a role communications play in a war even if they don't fight.
Shinji just not caring about Urahara's happy little speech. Who wouldn't know the man after the nonsense he has done.
Cang and Toshiro's fight. The immediate shift when Hitsugaya gets his bankai back. The blood and ice from Cang, the red glare on the eyes from Toshiro, the immediate dis of Hyōrinmaru wanting to ditch Cang. Toshiro having a conversation with Hyōrinmaru while stomping Cang. now that we know more about Bankai's it makes sense how Hitsugaya knew what his was before he even got an asauchi. The little touches that show Hitsugaya now has some hollow in him, the voice distortion and the red eye. He even apoligizes for not making the ice he freezes Cang into into a pentagram for a grave, this kid is a class act. Also I may be mistaken but I think hollow themed music is playing?
Omaeda and Soi Fon's little aside before they blast BG-9. How can people not love these two as a team? Also BG-9 just asking if they can speak up to keep listening in.
I did not think we would see SHINJI'S BANKAI SO EARLY!! it looks great, and its effect really drives it home how cool it is and also how DANGEROUS it would have been in the Fake Karakura arc. Also everything reversing before it activates is great.
Of course Shuhei would be the only guy to understand wrestling lingo.
Komamura! he's got some sick armor and I thought we'd get to see his fight, but here is where we get to see Shinji versus Bambietta instead! I guess they're going to save the best for later and I am here for it.
Shinji and Bambietta's fight. I love the backwards subs and vocals as well as the trippy visuals. He's got jazzy music going, he's clowning on her, and he's doing some intimidation as well, it's a shame that he forgets that this is what happened when he fought Aizen. Stop talking and start stabbing Shinji, come on.
I'm glad that they gave the Sternritter different colors for their Volstandig again. I know that for the colorized manga they do that, and while I feel Bleach should be read in black and white, it's a nice touch.
Good to see our straberry boy is doing well with training, its getting tough but he's hanging in there. Oh he's getting visions? Oh no he's getting visions... Still it's nice to see how they're setting up the the reveal for the literal most important person in the universe. But it does make me ask if Ichigo will become a candidate and if this will be the true ending for Bleach.
Things I didn't like:
I love a good explanation on how things work, but man do Mayuri and Kisuke use thirty words when five will do.
all it takes is a push of a button to do the Tentaikura? (the kido spell where you make a zigzag mark on your arm and you become a loudspeaker) its the third time it ever gets used, but its weird that its like this to me.
I think I've already said this but it bears repeating. I don't like how they've tried to make Bambietta or the Bambi's cute. we see her just straight explode some guys and an episode ago we saw her lure a man into her room and then VERTICALLY BISECT HIM! Also the Quincy are straight up sadists, I know that some of the Shinigami are as well but still it doesn't work for me. Also all of the female Sternritter have some kind of theme to make them attractive and stand out and it feels so blatant and ridiculous that I do not care for it.
Very excited to see what happens next! I'm also dreading/interested about the shadowy figure that hovered over Hitsugaya's corpse and how they get handled. It was not handled well in the manga.
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Bleach TYBW EP 17: Tumblr Werewolf Fandom Just Got a New Blorbo
OK. So full disclosure, this is where the death count gets a little bit screwy. At this point you have people “dying“ and you also have people “not dying“. Still, we get to see the voltstandig of Bambietta vs Shinji (yes it went how you think), as well as the result of Komamura’s training with his giant wolf great great grandpa!  We got a set up for Mask De Masculine’s two on one deathmatch with Rose and Kensei. Oh and let’s check in on Ichigo and- OH MY GOD OH MY GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING WHAT IS GOING ON ITS TOO MUCH ITS TOO MU-oh ok everything is fine now.
And yes, Ichibe has still yet to blink
Shinigami Deaths: 11
Quincy Deaths: 8
Shinji Win/Loss record: 💥
Spoilers below
Things I liked:
The bells with the Quincies Holy forms are a nice touch. It really drives home the difference in culture between the Shinigami.
The difference in wing color really looks good between the Quincy. As does the sort of burning staticky effect
I was simultaneously excited and scared to see Momo attack Bambietta. I yelled out “No Momo run!” Still, it’s good to see her and GREAT to not see her get stabbed again.
Komamura’s Human form looks AMAZING!! I feel that Komamura doesn’t get enough love as a captain or character, but I feel like he’s going to get a lot of anime analyst youtuber’s attention for the poetic nature of his characterization and eventual defeat.
Initially, I wasn’t feeling the 3-D effect on the bankai’s. But looking at Dangai Joue just appear behind silently Komamura and watching it fight Bambietta as she flies around it, really made it grow on me.
I also was a little bit confused at the weird, hollow, thumping sound effect when Dangai Joue was running. But really listening to it alongside the background noise, gives the whole fight, a very mystical, and almost poetic vibe.
The smoke coming off Komamura as he fights Bambi’s bombs is so cool. It makes it feel like he’s the giant in my eyes.
 Bambi‘s frustration and fear as the fight goes on. Chefs kiss for her motivations and how scary shinigami can be
The shot of Komamura’s bankai through the Silbern window. I might make that into a Home Screen for my computer.
Komamura’s heart still beating in the cup.
I’m glad we got to see Iba again. Love to see him.
Haschwalth and Kyoraku still just being totally polite with each other. Shunsui even offered the man tea, I was half expecting Jugram to go, “that would be very nice, thank you.” but that boy is way too emotionally repressed.
Masks English is awesome
Shuhei still trying to fight and also using wrestling terminology. It is now officially cannon that Hisagi got Mayuri to hook up a tv with free wwe streaming for him
It took me a minute to realize that the energy around Ichigo was all the different energy of the different races in bleach. Hollow, Quincy, Shinigami and Human/Fullbringer
Ichigo’s training with Ichibe really feels like a horror show with the amount of weird cuts, silent moments, and sudden shifts. And if that didn’t convince you, Ichiko straight up, almost exploding after swelling up and screaming before things calm down.
to Ichibe: BLINK MOTHERF***ER!
Oh hey Senjumaru! I forgot you were here!
Things I didn’t like:
Shinji just lost straight up. I know that it’s accurate to the manga but he could have put up more of a fight.
Bambietta explaining her Schrift. Girl, YOU JUST SAW SHINJI DO THIS FIVE MINUTES AGO, DONT LEARN BAD HABITS!!
I know it’s anime, I know its not realistic, But Bambietta should have been cut in half. SHARPEN YOUR SWORD KOMAMURA!
I don’t really feel anything about Mask vs Yumichika, Hisagi and Ikkaku. It’s not a bad thing since Yumichika and Ikkaku get a good moment later on, but it’s hard to be invested, knowing what’s going to happen with Mask next.
Kensei criticizing Shuhei. I read the manga Kensei, YOU DONT HAVE ROOM TO TALK!
Well, it looks like things are kind of balanced out. We got some wins, some losses. Overall a quiet episode. We’ve got those two new combatants in the wings and it looks like Bg-9 and Cang Du survived! Oh hey Uryu, what’s u-
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BLEAH TYBW ep22: Mayuri Gets a Chance to Shine!
Ok, we get a week off, but we’re back now baby!  I didn’t expect that we would be seeing this part of the story this week, I’m sure it was advertised but I just watch and do these episode reviews and don’t keep up with the rest. Regardless, this is an episode I have been simultaneously excited for and dreading at the same time. In it we get to see Giselle go up against Mayuri in a bit of a flexing contest. The contest is how big is a creep can you be. Believe it or not it’s kind of a tie…sort of. We also get the return of some lovable characters, and the the start of the plan to defeat Ywach  before he does anything drastic. And I should mention that this is the part of the series where the death counter is going to get a little bit screwy. We also get a moment that I feel I should make a statement about,  i’ll save it for the spoilers below, but I think it should still be addressed. Still! Fantastic episode, made me laugh out loud a bunch! I’ll need Bazz B and Renji Best Bros fanart on my desk by Monday please and thank you!
Shinigami Deaths: 16
Quincy Deaths: 14
Mayuri Warcrimes: I counted at least 10 this episode
Spoilers below:
OK I’m going to address the Giselle situation here. I will say first that I am a cisgendered male and asexual, so if I say anything that might offend, I apologize in advance, as this covers issues that I do not experience everyday. According to the author Tite Kubo, “Giselle is biologically a male”.  I don’t agree. This is my personal stance, but I believe that everyone deserves to be allowed to refer to themselves as whatever they see fit. And that’s that.
Now, there’s some people who say that Giselle refers to herself with male Japanese pronouns, but I don’t know anything about how to speak, or read Japanese, so I’m not going to touch that. What I will say is that bleach does not have a very good track record about dealing with with characters that do not conform to traditional gender standards. This episode we get to see Charlotte Chuhlhourne, a character that I love who is infamous for this. I’ve read some discourse online about how Charlotte is meant to be a joke character because they are a masculine appearing individual dressing and acting effeminately. A big chunk of the fight between Yumichika and Charlotte features them insulting the appearance of one another, calling each other either ugly or too masculine, in a way meant to played for laughs. And then this episode we see Yumichika referring to Giselle as male rather than female as she has been refered to by others. Now I will say that the anime handled it way better than they did in the manga. But even so, a character did out a trans character, and purposefully used the wrong pronouns. 
From a story perspective, I’m willing to say that Ywach does not care what the sternritter get up to as long as they accomplish their goals. If they have their own gender politics, I imagine Haschwalth is the one to deal with it. And I’m willing to go so far as to say that he doesn’t even care. Now for the soul reapers, I’m willing to bet that under Yamamoto, not a lot of evolution of gender politics have changed. It appears that men and women have been equal in terms of military service since the Gotei was founded. But in terms of society, it’s not regressive, but it’s not great either. And I’m even willing to believe that Yumichika did what he did as an insult to Giselle to provoke action from her so they could counter attack. He has a long history of insulting his opponents, so that he can dispatch them quickly. In squad 11, I imagine he’s one of the few strategists that they have. There’s no excuse for it, but it did elicit an affect, which was I think his goal. Considering the general nature of squad 11 is “as long as you can fight, we don’t care”, I don’t think that Giselle’s gender mattered all that much to Yumichika. If anything, he would not have cared if this person wasn’t an enemy who had attacked his captain and his squad.
Finally, this series was written in the early 2000s in Japan. Gay and trans characters were treated as comedic relief or outright mocked in media.  It has gotten somewhat better today, but there are still a few outliers who still mock LGBTQ+ individuals. My stance and interpretation is as such. Gisele is female. Yumichika said what he did as a way to antagonize her. It was wrong, but I feel it was said with the intended effect of antagonizing her into attacking and not in anyway criticizing her . Again, I am a cis gendered male, and I’m not an expert on trans language, or trans politics.  if I have gotten anything wrong, please let me know. I would love to learn where I went wrong, and what I can do to change. I love this series, but I do recognize that there are some problems in it. I do not want to defend those issues, as they are problematic and do not reflect my views, but rather I want to defend the artistic value of the series. As I feel that it has interesting philosophical and story based value
Now that that’s done, here’s the rest of it.
Things I liked:
Chad and Orihime holding Ichigo back behind santen Kesshun because he would have just charged in and gotten smacked with rubble. Also Ichigo, don’t scream in Orihime’s ear, that’s rude.
I like seeing the fallout of the Big Quincy Invasion Beam(tm). The wind and shock waves blowing about dust and debris all over the place.  plus all the little scenes of everyone weathering the sudden rubble in their own way. Byakua using his Shikai to block the rubble, Kyoraku and Nanao doing the barriers, Renji just catching it with bankai. Very nice. Especially since it also very suddenly shows how strong are human cast has gotten. Orihime’s barrier was still standing right after the blast. Normally it would be broken, but it was still up and functioning. Girl got a power up for sure. 
Straight up thought Uryu called Ichigo no good before I realized it was the soundtrack
Speaking of, Orihime being so chipper and sweet right after, and then the immediate jump cut to Ichigo brooding. Very fun. Also Ichigo just knows that Ishida is doing something, he’s a smart kid. He’s annoyed he didn’t tell him but he trusts him still.
Tetsuzaemon! And Komamura! I know people don’t really care about him, but I think, in terms of characters, I think Tetsuzaemon is a subtle stand out one. Plus seeing the two of them also still heading to where the last place Ywach was, still walking towards revenge, loving that. Now, if only we can figure out what his shikai is named and what it does!!
I didn’t expect that Renji and Bazz B friendship was something that I needed, but now I really really want to see how these two interact more. Love that pineapple head found an alt fashion bro.
The way Renji shoves the rubble right at Bazz where it breaks apart is great, it’s very “don’t talk to my girlfriend man” also Bazz’s wings are awesome
Yumichika and Ikkaku being the only two people in squad 11 confirmed
This is probably just me, but I’m very glad they didn’t do the whole “Yoruichi appears from Orihime’s boobs” scene. Thank you for not including that. There’s enough discourse about her outfit, I don’t want to see more.
Yumichika and Ikkaku’s teamwork, they fight extremely well together. I really hope we get to see more of their Tag Team fighting.
I’m glad they finally explained how Giselle turned Bambietta into a zombie. I had always assumed that it was just blood alone, and if Quincies are immune to other Quincy abilities then it would make sense that Bambietta would have to die first. It also really shows how sadistic Giselle can be. I will say that when reading the original manga, this was the point where I was done with the Bambi’s entirely, but now that I’m interested in them, it’s a weird feeling because it’s starting to slip back.
Mayuri and Giselle’s interactions are peak. Two sadistic characters, appreciating the nonsense that they inflict on other people, love it.
Charlotte immediately seeing Yumichika and insulting him. Meanwhile Yumichika seeing him and thinking, “oh no, the only person who knows my secret is alive” love the interactions between these two.
Weird to see Mayuri quoting Yamamoto. But he’s not wrong. 
Charlotte totally tried to hit Mayuri. I don’t blame home though.
THE RETURN OF BEAUTIFUL CHARLOTTE CHUHLHORNE’S FINAL HOLY WONDERFUL PRETTY SUPER MAGNUM SEXY SEXY GLAMORUS CERO: REVIVED! (also love that he added the little echo.)
Things I didn’t like:
I got a little confused, trying to read the subtitles when the visored were talking and Kisuke was explaining the distortions. I love seeing the visored, but maybe we didn’t need their conversation right then.
I thought that the Reishi neutralization devices that mayuri made were supposed to completely make Bambietta’s ability, useless. I may be misremembering, but I think they changed it. 
Why did they make the zombie squad 11 members CGI for a little bit and then 2d for a little bit? A little confusing. On one hand, I get it because it’s a Quincy ability, all the Bankai’s and Quincy abilities have a little CGI. But if it’s going to be CGI, why not keep it CGI and not switch animation styles. 
While I love the arancar showing up, I feel like some people would need reminders of their names because it’s been literally 10 years 
This is a very minor thing, but where did they get the outfit for Toshiro? Did Giselle just take him after she zombified him to a Quincy bunker and then gave him a uniform? Did he have to be measured for it? It’s one of those tiny little things that I’ve always wondered about. 
A bit of a long one this time around. With the part that I have been dreading being over now, I think I’ll be able to enjoy the series a little bit more. While writing this post though, I found out that they kept the “you stink of semen line” in the Japanese version. It’ll be interesting to see how it is received online. Regardless, I feel as though I have done my best to make my case and opinions known. Until next week, where we get to see our favorite little man wreck some shit. 
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Bleach TYBW E 21: Ichigo Clowning on the Ladies
Apologies for the lateness of this, I didn’t get to watch the episode until 2:30 today cause some stuff happened. Still, it was a great episode that checked a lot of boxes  for the series so far. It was a good transition from a very big and major fight sequence within the story. It’s served as a very good demonstration on how powerful the protagonist has become. And it serves as a good introduction into the next part of the story. Which will start to get a little screwy. I don’t wanna make any major predictions, but I think the second core is going to end with a really big death. If you’ve read the manga, you know what’s coming. If you haven’t, I will say that it has been hinted at very heavily so far. But beyond that, I only have two questions. One, are they going to do that scene where Yoruichi shows up in a certain way? (I hope not) And two, WHEN WILL Ichibe BLINK FOR GOD’S SAKE!?!!?!
Shinigami death count: 16
Quincy death count: 14
Number of fiveways (four v1 fights) Ichigo has been in: 3 (2 canon and 1 non canon, our boy gets around)
Spoilers below
Things I liked:
I’m going to get this out-of-the-way first, if anyone has been reading these posts, y’all know I don’t like the Bambi‘s. They feel very forced in a lot of ways, but this episode I feel justifies them much better than the source material. I know that bleach has a long history of having wacky characters in the middle of a serious setting, and these ladies are no exception to the rule. But for some reason, the characters never appealed to me. They have interesting abilities, interesting looks, but overall nothing to write home about. This episode really made me start to feel interested in them as characters. It even gave me a favorite (Liltotto). I’ll talk more about the things that I like from them further in, but I wanted to put here that this episode made me actually care about characters that I haven’t really ever liked. Kudos.
After seeing them in most of the episodes throughout the core, we finally get to see the Bambi’s abilities and they look awesome. They especially did a good job with Liltotto’s glutton, the way her jaws stretched was very unsettling. And I didn’t expect Candice’s lightning to be blue but still neat.
When Ichigo descends from on high, everyone immediately looks up to the heavens as he drops in. This boy is really taking the Messiah metaphor very far. 
New version of number one! It’s awesome and if anyone put it on YouTube, I’m definitely going to put it on a playlist
We get another use of Sklaveri in the series! I think it really answers the question of what the ability was supposed to do. From what I am guessing, based on looks, it absorbs a massive amount of reishi so the user can power up their holy form. The only reason Quilge looked the way he did was because he absorbed reishi from something that was toxic to himself. Overall a great way to answer questions that I’m sure people had for years of why didn’t the Quincies do this during the series and only do it once.
When we get to see Ichigo’s outfit, I had already had this thought before, but my eyes were drawn to that white skirt around his waist, in a way it’s similar to the shoulder cape that his dad has when Isshin fights Aizen. It’s an almost Captain style coat. Which if I’m going to be honest is a major flex. Senjumaru throwing a shade from up high.
It’s silly, but I do like the magical girl style transformations.
I think the hyper violence against Gisele really works to show “this lady is not OK.” End it really drives home the zombie influence with her.  I can’t wait to see how they handle the rest of her abilities later on.
Renji!
I don’t think we got to see all the sternritter wing styles, and the fact that we get to see so many is really fun.
Chad! Love his outfit!!
 Orihime and Chad showing up right at that minute to see Uryu rising up with his new boss, he’s going to make for a very interesting conversation piece next episode. I think that was excellently done. 
Things I didn’t like:
I hate to say this, but I will say that Kenpachi’s voice actor is doing the best he can with the style of Kenpachi’s voice. There’s only so much you can do with a very guttural tone. But considering the emotional deliveries that we’ve seen so far, I kind of feel that the line about Yachiru was a little lackluster. I may be completely misinterpreting it though.
 I didn’t expect Giselle’s ability to be explain so quickly, especially considering the foreshadowing they did with Bambietta and Toshiro. But it makes sense considering they had to show things off for these guys to be scary for the audience.
They changed Ichiko’s line a little bit. In the original material he said “I’m here to save you” But here it says “I’m here to help you“. I’m sure I just read a different translation, but it’s a little strange.
The dramatic reveal ofYwach’s plan of hijacking the staircase Ichigo used to get down to the soul society kind of felt like an after note. It’s setting the stage for the next part, but overall if they ended on just the beam going up, I feel that would have done a bit more. But then again, they have a lot of chapters to cover, so yeah, do what you Gotta do. 
That cannot be it for Ichigo and Uryu’s big dramatic bro confrontation. They have to at least fight at some point during the next few episodes. 
I have never really understood Orihime’s outfit in the final arc. Chad, I can kind of understand because of the way his powers work (he’s proud of his skin, so he uses that to activate his fullbring). But it feels very fanservicey animated right now. Her abilities look good, especially considering we haven’t seen them since the first episode and second episode really, but I still don’t like the outfit. And this last thing isn’t really a complaint just an observation, she gets a lot of battle skirts to wear in the series. Granted, it’s only like two, but it’s a little strange that it’s happened twice. 
And with that, we have the bad guys, taking an elevator to heaven, the biggest gun taken somewhat out of the fight, and one friendship that is in dire need of a couples counseling session. Here’s hoping that in the next episode the royal guard actually does their job. Chances are they won’t though.
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Nowen Talkin Bout Bleach
BLEACH TYBW EP 19: AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! (Or ice to meet you)
OK so I have basically become feral. I have spent the majority of this episode, screaming at the TV, mostly excitedly. Here are some highlights:
“Oh, oh no Jugram”
“Nooooo!!! You bastards!!!”
“EUGH!”
“COLD AS ICE!!”
“Oh I don’t like this.”
“GET FROSTED GOTH BOY!”
“YEEEAAAHH!!!! Here comes the setup!!”
“OHHHHH I HATE HIM!”
And at least 12 gasps of astonishment and 7 held breaths.
We have eaten well in this episode. And the best part is, we’re only on the soup course, we still got plenty of courses left to go! I hope you’re ready for more because the next few episodes are going to be WILD!
Shinigami deaths: 13
Quincy deaths: 12
We tying it up baby!!
Spoilers below
Things I liked:
Getting to see the scales for “the balance” it’s a really cool affect and I feel communicates well the basis of Haschwalth’s powers
Hikifune sending Ichigo down with a snack, she is such a mom and I love her
Once Ichigo finds out, the fighting has already been going on for three hours, he doesn’t even bother walking down the stairs. He just jumps. Gotta love that boy.
Immediately seeing the dead hand on Rukia, I felt instantly uncomfortable
When Rukia caught the fear spike, I started cackling, like a madman.
The SASS when Rukia said she was dead! the little smirk! my heart melted!
It was interesting to see Rukia keep track of the temperature shift when coming out of shikai. You don’t get to see that in the manga I think. But it makes sense considering how cold her shikai and bankai is
The Voltstandig for As Nödt is probably one of a handful that changes the user so significantly. It’s animated amazingly and hearing his voice change from calm and eerie to a scream was incredible. Body horror really works for the guy. 
BYAKUA!! What an entrance.
I know he doesn’t “emote” as much when compared to other characters (maybe someone could analyze and see if he’s on the spectrum). But internally, he had to be laughing his ass off when As Nödt started talking about his bankai. GET FLOWER PETALED IDIOT!!
Byakua acknowledging Rukia’s strength and then later complimenting her bankai, I almost teamed up.
Hakka no Togame looks beautiful. I know it seems silly to say that an anime transformation that lingers for a few seconds is beautiful compared to a painting that is more easily described as such. But looking at it, as well as knowing the story of how it came to be and the story of the character utilizing such a technique, it really looks beautiful. Whoever animated this, should receive an award because it took my breath away. On a second speed through to re-familiarize myself with everything, I had to pause, and just watch and stare for a few seconds to take it all Lynn.
Yachiru and Isane! love to see these two, and this is one of my favorite fights with her coming up. Compared to the others, which are like meals, this one is my favorite snack.
Things I didn’t like:
We didn’t get to learn bg9’s Schrift. Haschwalth even said Cang’s Schrift, but we couldn’t get Bg9’s. This was the “you bastards” one.
We again skip over Senjumaru. I don’t know why she’s always getting skipped over. Compared to what the others have brought to soul society, food, names, healing, weaponry, clothing is still a major contribution. Senjumaru made the uniform for the Gotei and we just SKIP HER?! Come on!!
the whole weird scene where As is explaining his philosophy on fear and there’s just hands crawling on a naked fleshy pink rukia made me very uncomfortable. I get it but not ok with that.
As Nödt is just gross. Frickin nasty. I have a top nastiest characters in bleach list in my head and As Nödt just made the top three. Just behind Tsukishima at 2 and Szayelaporro at the top. That’s not to say that the body horror aspect wasn’t effective, I was creeped out. But still, very gross.
We didn’t get to see Byakua arrive. I’m sure it would have been hard to fit him in, but they could have just done a quick shot of the explosion that showed Renji and Rukia appearing for him.
I didn’t expect to get ending credits over the fight, it was a little confusing seeing the subtitles for the song on top of the subtitles for the speech. Still, I’m glad they gave us more time to focus on Rukia’s bankai as well as the set up for next week. 
We didn’t get to hear why As Nödt was in the hospital. I think it’s implied that after the aushwhalen, they were hospitalized. It killed plenty of other Quincies. So I imagine, that even for the ones who survived there,had to have been some after effects, with the exception of the really strong ones.
Having to look at the stupid damn face of that fake asshole! I hope there’s an extra scene added in where Yachiru tears his throat out with her teeth!
Gremmy’s poem fucking sucks and I hate him.
Next week is going to be insane. I don’t think we’re going to get the full fight, but if we do, I’m going to be replaying it on loop in my head for the next month for free serotonin.
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NOWEN TALKIN BOUT BLEACH
TYBW episode 14: Oh s***, Round 2 Start!
Ok so to recap, the first part of the series dealt with the first invasion and Ichigo learning about himself and his sword.
So after Aizen’s defeat, Ichigo an’ friends  get jumped by this random Quincy poser Arrancar. They then get a message that Hueco Mundo, is now under ghost Nazi occupation. Our boy, of course, jumps in with his crew, minus Uryu, to put a stop to this nonsense.  Upon there, he fights a ghost Nazi, who has the ability to one: turn into an angel, basically. And two: imprisoned anyone in an unbreakable jail. Ichigo fights him, gets put in jail and breaks out a little later.
Meanwhile, soul society gets jumped by the first wave of Quincies.  Head captain Yamamoto has his number one guy Chojiro gets killed when the Quincies show up out of nowhere and declare war.  then they show up with a small squad, they start wrecking shop and killing soul reapers by the dozen. So the captains go out to meet them and use their Bankai. Bad news, the Quincy can now steal Bankai. So things look bad, bankai’s have been jacked, Kenpachi got bodied by the Quincy boss, and there are a lot of named characters dead (rip Izuru). Luckily, head captain Yamamoto shows up to fight the boss. He unleashes his bankai and it’s four forms against the Quincy boss and kills him. Bad news, that wasn’t actually the real boss, that was just a shapeshifter that took out Kenpachi and got killed by Yamamoto.
The real boss shows up and slices Yamamoto down the middle. Everything seems hopeless, and that’s when our orange haired boy shows up and fights the boss. He gets wrecked. His sword gets broke, his friends are beaten up and he has a tummy ache. At this point the zero division show up, these guys are the boss of all soul reapers, including the head captain,and serve directly under the soul king. They basically show up to say “you guys screwed up, fix this problem” before taking Ichigo and a few others up to the royal palace to heal, train, and overall get better.
During all this, Uryu is learning about Quincy history and arguing with his dad. Before he gets a mysterious offer via a blonde dude in a white ghost Nazi uniform.
Ichigo hangs with some of the zero division members before he gets kicked out of soul society entirely after he tries to get a new sword and fails because he doesn’t know who he is. He gets sent back home where his dad tells him the truth. Turns out Ichigo’s dad is a soul reaper captain and his mom is a Quincy. Add that to his human side and Hollow side, and our boy is mixed as hell. He then goes back, gets his new swords (yes he gets two he deserves a treat.) and is now ready to beat the hell out of Ywach. Unfortunately, it turns out that Uryu has joined the Quincy army and is now an enemy of Ichigo. Again. Like he already kinda was.
But that’s the first core, we are here for the second. So here’s episode 14:
We get a brand spanking new intro, and I actually went back to pause and check out all the scenes
We get a freaky intro sequence that I initially made a joke about ghost sperm, turns out I was right. Then we get a first look at Hyosube Ichimonji's palace and his style of training. He tells Ichigo that his friends are gonna get hurt, and when Ichigo of course leaves to go stop that, he tells Ichigo he ain’t s*** compared to Ywach.
Then, smash cut with dramatic music over to the Silbern where Ywach introduces his new favorite boy, Uryu Ishida, to his top generals who have been with him for years and tells them this kid is their new boss. Needless to some don’t take it very well. We also get introduced to the ghost nazi fanservice division, I’ll talk about them in a minute cause I have opinions. We also get a really good luck at some future sternritter who will be important, but for now we should look forward to the Baz-B and Jugram angst fest that will unfold later.
We got a small aside with Uryu and Ywach about why he has been chosen as the successor. Uryu brings up his dead mom and we actually hear about the Aushwalen from Ywach. Then our Quincy boy drinks some “Quincy Jesus tm” blood and now he’s got a cool super power. but you don’t know what it is yet! 
We check in on Kisuke and the human crew in Hueco mundo and they start training and get some MYSTERIOUS (not really) ALLIES!! then we cut back to Ichigo getting some training, Rukia and Renji who are getting some training, and Byakua waking up after falling asleep from multiple stab wounds through the torso.
We get a little aside in soul society with Nanao, Kyouraku and Shinji, who calls his visored buddies and enlists their help with something.
Then Kyoraku shows up and talks to Ichigo’s human (but non-fighting so they get no screen time) friends and tells them that Ichigo ain’t coming home cause he’s too op, but he gives them tickets to visit him in the afterlife if he gets stuck there.
We see soul society has recovered somewhat from the first attack, people are smiling, children are playing, the sun is shining, and things are-oh, oh s***, that shouldn’t be happening. Oh dear God! Oh, dear God, they’re back, they are going to kill us all! 
Round 2…ready?…
Things I liked:
We get my favorite thing that kubo does. We get to see characters that are otherwise in a non-normal setting just hanging out in normal street clothes. He does that better than any manga artist. In my opinion. The fits are always fresh, and the style always fits the character.
All of the fights coming up for the second core get teased here, I’m especially excited about Shinji versus Bambietta. I’m rooting for you king!
Ywach pulling up to Uryu in a helicopter! Even in an intro sequence, the man is extra
Rukia just spraying As Nödt with a fire extinguisher, great foreshadowing, and also get extinguished goth boi
Uryu grabbing the violin with the bow and Ichigo grabbing the double guitar. clever, very clever.
I need to take a second to talk about Kenpachi and him throwing the flowers off the bridge.  So when he does that, he is honoring the death of Unohana. Here’s my evidence as such, the flowers he is throwing off the bridge are known as Bellflowers, the same flowers that are part of the insignia of squad four. He’s basically saying “I miss the only person in the world who I looked up to an actually cared about, besides my lieutenant.”  I am not skipping this intro ever and it is entirely because of this. If you don’t know how much I love this character by now, you will know soon enough.
 when Ichigo gets told that Soul Society will get attacked, he bows, says thank you and prepares to dip. That man just got back here, just got a new set of swords, and immediately goes to help his friends 
Ichimonji does not blink. In all the scenes we see him in thus far, he has never blinked.  for those of you who know his backstory, this makes sense and serves to make him a very creepy dude. For those of you who don’t know, just wait and you will see. 
Pernida is always on Yhwach’s left. I love it.
Baz looks so good and so feral, I know people are gonna like him
I think the scene where the random sternritter gets killed, really answers the question that that I had of whether Bambi slept with the guy and then killed him or just killed him. And I think it is stated as the latter in this. 
The scene of young Uryu standing in front of his mother’s grave and then you realize that he is surrounded by Quincy graves really sends home how alone this kid was in every sense of the word
Aushwhalen gets mentioned but not explained
We get to see the visored again. I was wondering when they would address their role in the story, and I’m glad to see that it’s still here. also when Hiyori hears the package is from Mayuri, she gets serious. The two of them are not on good terms, so she knows that if he is asking for help, it is deadly serious.
We get to see Byakua and Rukia are alright after what was a really bad time for them. And of course, lord cherry blossom gets all monotone and serious as soon as he wakes up. Love his emotionally stunted nonsense
We get to see tatsuki, keigo, and mizuiro for the first time since forever
When the 2nd invasion starts, we hear clock ticking and then shadows come out. Beautifully done.
The outro perfectly for shadows where the Quincy were this whole time. Literally hiding within the shadows of soul society. While the soul reapers were walking in the light, the Quincy were hiding in their literal shadows getting ready to strike.  imagine having to see the people who were responsible for your entire extinction, walking around and you can’t do jack about it. beautifully executed.
Things I didn’t like:
I get why they included the whole child of prophecy bit, I just didn’t expect to see ghost sperm for the first thing, for the first episode of the second core
None of the in between scenes data sheets are translated.  I know that chances are they won’t be translated, but I still would like to know what they say because I am a sucker for lore. 
 In the manga, we don’t actually get to see Ichigo training with Ichimonji. But it does raise the question of since they’re adding this, are they going to add something with Senjumaru? And I don’t think they are.
While I don’t mind the scene where Bambietta kills the random guy, I am not a fan of the Bambi’s (even though I’m a sucker for a color coded group). I get that they all have their own thing about them, but when I saw them in the manga and I saw them here, I couldn’t help but think that they were clearly designed to appeal to a wide category of male viewers and readers.
As much as I like to now know, and feel justified  in my assumption, that Bambi did not have sex with the random trooper and instead just killed him after flashing some cleavage, they clearly “enhanced” somethings about her
I did not like the wet sounds Askin’s ball makes. I know what it does, if you’ve read the manga, you know what it does, but that felt nasty just hearing it. I was eating a late lunch at the time and I had to put down my plate because I didn’t want to eat while I was hearing that noise.
Why doesn’t Kyoraku lead with the soul tickets next time? Why do all soul reapers have to be so goddamn dramatic this might be my communications training, but maybe teenagers wouldn’t try to punch you if you used proper communication strategies
Overall, I had a lot to type this time. I’m gonna go back to the easier format next time. Here’s the statistics so far, let’s see who gets bodied next episode!
Shinigami Deaths: 8
Quincy Deaths: 6 (i’m not counting the guy Bambi killed, he does not have a name)
Mayuri Warcrimes and crimes against nature: 2
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So bleach TYBW is back today. But I’ve got like several things scheduled today. So it’s going to be a little bit before I can watch the episode. That being said,  I’m still going to be doing the episode recaps. Minimal people liked them, but that feels par for the course for Tumblr engagement. So I’m doing this for me and for my love of the series.
Now let’s go watch a teenager try and fight Jesus and a ghost nazi army
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Bleach TYBW episode 3: yup, it’s ghost nazis!
I’m really trying to not be “anime review white guy” still, but I have to say this episode was very heavy on the explanations. Lotta talking. But now that the major explanations are out of the way we get to see our boy Ichigo fight a nazi angel named Quilge Opie. Also we finally get the convo between Mayuri and Yamamoto I’ve been waiting for. This starts off the counter for Mayuri’s war crimes(I’m keeping track now)! But I’m glad we’re getting more of Ishida in the show, what happens with him majorly threw me for a sec when I found out in the manga, so I’m liking what I’m seeing. I like seeing Opie‘s abilities finally, and they’re a lot more vicious and gory than I expected. But now that the stage has been set for the real big fights, I’m eager for us to be done with him by next episode and get into the real meat and potatoes that’s gonna really stir the whole thing together.
Mayuri war crime counter: 1
Named shinigami deaths: 3
————Spoilers below—————
Things I liked:
Ichigo catches the arrow and then later deflects arrows with his sword. The animation was so great looking
Ishida having his “I hate you dad” moment
The explanation on why quincies are dangerous to soul society. It was concise and to the point but there are things I didn’t like about it.
Quilge using his sklaverei on ayon was amazing, just seeing him absorb him piece by piece just shows how dangerous the Quincy can be.
When hearing Hirenkyaku, it sounds different to the way shinigami and arrancar do their shunpo and sonido. I have a theory on why the sounds are important in Bleach but I don’t know how to present it.
GENSHIRO OKIKIBA! (Who?)
Things I didn’t like:
When Quilge is explaining volstandig to Ichigo, there’s a lot of recycled animation. I understand that with the expense of animation you gotta cut costs somewhere, but while he’s explaining things it feels like a meme.
I may be misremembering but they cut the image of the balanced plate with the black and white fluid on it from the manga during the “quincies are bad because…” scene. Maybe it’ll come back later
I don’t remember most of these suddenly named background characters, I think they’re just getting named so they can get killed off with more dramatic emphasis. (Kubo names a lot of people tho so it may revolve around that one guy who comes later)
RIP Izuru Kira, he’s dead. Never coming back. Not at all. Totally gonna stay dead and not become the scariest dude ever later. Yup.
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Nowen Talkin about Bleach
Bleach TYBW Ep 18: Cage Match with a Baboon Snake!
Let me tell you something brother, Mask De Masculine is a big mean mother you don’t want none of! When he gets his 21 inch pythons around you, you’ll be wishing for an aushwalen to come and save you! But that bad boy visored dream team of Kensei Muguruma and Rose Orotobashi still stood up and told the Mask that he ain’t nothin! But faster than you can say 3 count, the mask took them to town! But like the cream of the crop rises to the top, the Baboon Snake Man of the Rukon shows up to answer the call of mask, “WHO WILL TAKE ME ON?!” Well he answered brother, and soon we’ll see how the scariest man alive will face up to someone stone cold!
(Translation: mask beat up two visored and then Renji showed up. It was sick!)
Shinigami deaths: 13
Sternritter deaths: 9
Bankai’s explained: 3
Level of shade from Mayuri: infinite
Spoilers below
OK, so for real, episode was awesome. Seeing Renji’s bankai was phenomenal. Overall, I’m very happy for him. As for Rose and Kensei, I’m glad they got to show off their stuff, but no one can say that Shinji is the only visored who has a problem with explaining his abilities. Clearly, it’s a side effect from hollowfication or they’d at least learn some restraint.
Things I liked:
Squad 12 really is doing the best possible job for the war. They get lumped into the non-combat category pretty easy because of their captain and the research institute, but logistics and information are important part of warfare. I do want to see how the tank and file folks are fairing though.
Kyoraku being polite. Mayuri has no chill, and will not hold back insults. But for Kyoraku to just be calm and polite through his jabs makes me feel like he channeling Unohana. He could easily just stab you, but he’s gonna be chill until he has to you know?
It’s cool to see how the different division barracks have ended up after the initial chaos. Most everything is destroyed, and soul reaper forces are at almost 30% strength. Things are going to get worse before they get better unfortunately.
The sound effects from Tekken Tachikaze’s wind punches was really cool. Reminded me of hurricane winds near my window as a kid. 
I really liked the juxtaposition between James and Mask and how they were equally parts, goofy, and strange. By far the superstar isn’t the strangest ability, the Sternritter have, but it is one of the most unique. And I feel they did very well with balancing the bombastic nature of Mask’s wrestling persona with James’s strange power set.
 Renji and Rukia‘s arrival was awesome. They look so good and I’m so glad to see them. Also not to undercut Rukia’s badass moments in this arc, but she looks adorable in her little hat. Also she and Renji have kinda matching goggles!
I had forgotten that mask’s holy form had his wings form a collar for a cape. So seeing that was very fun. 
James really gets the worst of it in this fight. Stabbed, sliced in half, burnt up, even splitting apart and having to be naked. But, at least his power went back home.
If we’re getting to see Isane so soon, I’m hoping will at least get a set up for the start of Yachiru’s only fight in the series, and that would lead to our favorite murder boy and his grand entrance!
Things I didn’t like:
As much as I give grief for explaining bankai’s in the middle of a fight, I wish Kensei had demonstrated white Tekken Tachikaze could do. The wind explosions that it creates do different shapes based on the knuckle dusters form and I wish we could’ve seen a better portrayal of that
Kinshara Butodan is officially the first bankai that I don’t think it looks good at all in cgi.  I imagined the dancers, moving more when I read the manga, but instead, they’re sort of standing still and rotating. Not very dancy, and while the effect is kind of cool and eerie, it just doesn’t feel animated. 
This is a very, very minor thing. But the way Rose was conducting is not accurate. Like I said, very minor, I’m only bringing it up because my work involves music and conducting and I’d like to see more accuracy of how things work in media. 
I feel like Hisagi can now take some of Kensei’s insults with a grain of salt, because he was still alive after fighting mask. Just saying, give the man a break, he’s been through a lot. 
Well, that’s one more episode down. Next week it looks like it’s going to be a bit cold, so bundle up!
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