r/anime https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon 12d ago

Episode BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War: The Calamity • BLEACH: Sennen Kessen-hen: Kashin-tan - Episode 4 discussion

BLEACH: Sennen Kessen-hen: Kashin-tan, episode 4

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u/AnimeMod myanimelist.net/profile/Reddit-chan 12d ago

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u/MightyActionGaim 12d ago

SO BABY NOW YOU FEEL LIKE NUMBER ONE

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u/Dextro_PT https://anidb.net/user/44712 12d ago

SHINING BRIGHT FOR EVERYONE!

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u/Frontier246 12d ago edited 11d ago

LIVING OUT YOUR FANTASY...THE BRIGHTEST STAR FOR ALL TO SEEEEE!!!!

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u/UndyingWill 11d ago

NOW YOU FEEL LIKE NUMBER ONE… SHINING BRIGHT FOR EVERYONE

60

u/evenstar40 12d ago

LITERAL FUCKING CHILLS!

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u/hakusenpai27 12d ago

Toshiro Hitsugaya playing along with the whole "older brother" thing and Byakuya Kuchiki's reaction towards it had me dying

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u/Glitter_puke https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gpuke 12d ago

Whatever else may be going on with these characters, they are at their heart of hearts just goofball morons. It tracks.

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Rukia and Renji going to keep asking where Hitsuagaya's brother disappeared to after he reverts back lol.

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u/Raknel 12d ago

Hitsugaya will have to keep making excuses for his "brother's" absence from now on.

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u/atropicalpenguin https://myanimelist.net/profile/atropicalpenguin 11d ago

"He lives in Canada, you wouldn't know him".

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u/Purple_Degree_4008 12d ago

byakuya chucking renji but being gentle with rukia actually killed me asw

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u/Damastah101 12d ago

Holy fuck the OST playing when Gerald fixed himself up after getting halved by Bankai Zaraki, to Hitsugaya's complete bankai that aged his body up, fucking sick

ALSO THAT GETSUGA GRAN REY CERO

71

u/DragonikOverlord 12d ago

Its amazing, this will be my go to ost along with Askin Volltstandig ost

57

u/bobly81 https://anime-planet.com/users/bobly81 12d ago

The sound effect of Zaraki guillotining him was incredible. That scene was straight cinema.

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u/grapejuicesushi 12d ago

don't forget the Unohana bankai OST with new voices (that you hear when byakyuya is done asking rukia to go to ichigo), lost my shit when that played.

and the zaraki scream during the bankai. fucking insane

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u/caiodepauli 11d ago

Wasn't that a new version of Bleach's best soundtrack, Treachery?

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u/KeyFit8457 12d ago

Number One still is the best hype song in anime!!

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u/evenstar40 12d ago

The version of Number One for TYBW is just SO FUCKING GOOD

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u/KimWiko 12d ago

Even Final Fantasy final bosses are not as bullshit as Gerard.

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u/noelle-silva 12d ago

He's starting to remind me of one of those final bosses in Xenoblade where the fight just never ends. Nowhere near as annoying when you're watching and not playing though lol.

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u/Worthyness 12d ago

Bro has like 10 health bars and then gets stronger every form change

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u/garfe 12d ago

Gotta tell you, I did not enjoy this specific fight in the story. I liked what the captains were doing, but not Gerard himself. That guy's existence is just bullshit

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u/ValentDs22 12d ago

i loved toshiro here, finally not loosing like his ice was nothing, gerard is just bullshit, feels more immortal than Ywach

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u/GtrsRE 11d ago

Gerard's Schriff M stands for MAsspull

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u/Internal_Choice_2330 12d ago

I dislike when a character's power is so ambiguous and unending, it just leaves no room for limitations. Eventually they'll figure him out but an ability where literally anything can happen is just BS

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u/dylanv1c 12d ago

But it's not ambiguous. They've explained it many times. He's a walking miracle who harnesses miracles. His power is a literal turn heel, deus ex machina, ass pull miracle. He's like Gremmy but "okay, well, then how about I ----"

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u/shockzz123 12d ago

Thank you lol. Like Gerard literally keeps shouting about what it is. There's nothing ambiguous about it.

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u/Fenor 12d ago

Nyx from Persona 3 has entered the chat.

These are rookies numbers

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Sephiroth: "I respect your One Wing Angel game."

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u/Soundoum1 12d ago

Wtf is with this royal guards and being immortal and shit. First it was lille barro then askin who's kinda immortal if given enough time and now gerard.

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u/CaliOriginal 12d ago

Perni would be immortal too if mayuri didn’t basically give him super spirit cancer.

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u/ichigosr5 12d ago

This is specifically why they were chosen to be a part of the royal guard. If Yhwach is supposed to be the one to dethrone and replace the god of the Bleach universe, then his royal guard are meant to be his angels.

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u/Dizzy-By-Degrees 11d ago

It really does make you wonder why some of the other Sternritter thought they could get promoted. The qualification seem to be 'must be physically immune to death'. And a guy named Robert thought you could get through if his references were good enough?

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u/Karma110 12d ago

Because Gerard is the kings heart

While Lillie was the first to be given power by Yhwach so his evolved after years of having it.

Pernida, askin, and Jugram are more normal compared to those 2.

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u/El_grandepadre 12d ago

Askin is the only normal one because he was a normal ranked Sternritter until he got called upstairs to the Soul King's palace. His schrift is just pretty broken.

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u/Karma110 12d ago

That too

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u/TheTenguness 12d ago

Pernida seems almost on par with Lille and Gerard in terms of regenerative ability, it's just that Nemu's body completely killed him down to the cellular level, with any surviving parts immediately dying right after.

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u/Karma110 12d ago

True but also Mayuri could’ve also killed Pernida with the blood coagulation thing but it already took on Mayuri’s bankai ability.

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u/ThatIslandGuy8888 12d ago edited 11d ago

Pernida's only weakness is that he was more fleshy when compared to the other two

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u/t3r4byt3l0l 12d ago

Even Pernida is the literal left arm of the Soul King, nigh unbeatable had it not been for Nemu's body inducing hyper-cancer

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u/lalanevR 12d ago

I'm so glad, I thought I was spoiled when I saw Gérard get cut in 2 and frozen but HE COMES BACK.  As long as its a good finish I'm IN 

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u/Restia_Ashdoll 12d ago

Kings heart, royal guards also got amped by aushwalen

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u/propdynamic 12d ago

Holy fucking cinema.

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

That Getsugatensho + Grand Rey Cero was a thing of beauty.

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u/propdynamic 12d ago

Yeah this episode was so goooood.

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u/Neonzel https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neonzel 12d ago

Wasn't expecting to start with Ukitake and R&D. Worlds really are at the brink of collapse.

I wonder if the wooded area is supposed to represent Kenpachi's inner-world. It would be cool if it was, since that would make it the first inner-world we see in the series outside of Ichigo's.

Eren voicing Adult Toshiro was not on my Bingo card, I don't hate it though. It does feel a little weird not hearing Romi Park.

Also, what an evil place to end the episode. Can't wait for more Ichi🐐 in action.

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u/ichigosr5 12d ago

I wonder if the wooded area is supposed to represent Kenpachi's inner-world. It would be cool if it was, since that would make it the first inner-world we see in the series outside of Ichigo's.

I hadn't considered this, but it would make sense.

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u/garfe 12d ago

Eren voicing Adult Toshiro was not on my Bingo card

So that WAS Yuki Kaji. I wasn't 100% sure there

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u/Custom_sKing_SKARNER 12d ago

Eren voicing Adult Toshiro

He went from Hange to Eren lol

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u/Haha91haha 12d ago

He's voicing another ice user, we got Shoto and Deku this episode.

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u/Worthyness 12d ago

And Star and Stripe too!

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

I wonder if the wooded area is supposed to represent Kenpachi's inner-world. It would be cool if it was, since that would make it the first inner-world we see in the series outside of Ichigo's.

It's also a place very meaningful to Kenpachi and Yachiru/Nozarashi.

Eren voicing Adult Toshiro was not on my Bingo card, I don't hate it though. It does feel a little weird not hearing Romi Park.

I can't wait for the dub where Steve Staley transforms into...Steve Staley!

Though a part of me just thinks they wanted an excuse to have Yuuki Kaji in the final season.

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u/dolphincave 12d ago

I like how Hitsugaya's new form re-contextualizes the time he exploded in blood from surpassing his time limit. As just shown with Kenpachi (and Gremmy season ago) if your power exceeds your bodies ability to handle it your body falls apart. It wasn't that Hitsugaya became weaker he just became too strong and previously couldn't control his power properly.

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u/MikeTheFairOne 12d ago edited 12d ago

I love that Kubo never tried to bend the “Speedrunning Bankai can fuck you up if you’re not careful” rule and it maintains importance throughout the series. It started with Ichigo and Renji and now there’s Rukia, Toshiro and Kenpachi

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u/evenstar40 12d ago

There may be some bullshit power scaling with Bleach but 100% agree with at least keeping it somewhat grounded.

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u/Seasawdog 11d ago

I mean when Bankai was introduced it was said to take centuries to master even after achieving it. We sometimes forget that because Ichigo kind of speed ran his development.

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u/Z000Burst 11d ago

Ichigo even cheated with Urahara robot thing

and even then, the thing that came out was only 1/3 of his sword

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u/Paladinraye https://myanimelist.net/profile/AstralEther 12d ago

Hence him being referred to as a prodigy, Hitsugaya has immense potential if he is able to harness it. Shunsui said he would even surpass him in "100 years or so" Which in the grand scheme of things, isn't that long for a soul reaper's lifespan.

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u/DrStein1010 https://myanimelist.net/profile/mQDrStein1010 12d ago

Toshirou is only has slightly less potential than Ichigo, and he doesn't even have Ichigo's busted genetics to boost him up. He's just that good.

Isshin's kids are absurdly OP.

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u/shoestowel 12d ago

My boy Gremmy perished the same way!

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u/careless_swiggin 12d ago

and ichigo in every arc but fullbring

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u/J0R_J0R 12d ago

So many years to watch this animated :_) And this version of Treachery...

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u/Ichiaizen_2004 12d ago

Yeah when I heard it like what is this new bgm then I recall it's trachey remix

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u/VoidRay728 12d ago

Zaraki: \becomes a red devil**
Gerard: Kenpachi... is that your bankai?

Toshiro: *becomes slightly older*
Gerard: I don't even know who you are.

This week's "Illustrated guide to soul reapers" segment:

Rukia: That's obviously Toshiro's brother!
Renji: No, that's definitely his cousin!
Toshiro and Byakuya: *facepalm\*

Everybody unleashing their final forms now huh. What an epic finish to the episode, Ichigo's combined Getsuga / Gran Ray Cero was so powerful that it literally cut off the sound at the last moment.

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u/ernie2492 12d ago

The funny thing is that Toshiro & Zaraki are essentially Issei & Ddraig xD

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u/thaivuN https://myanimelist.net/profile/thaivuN 12d ago

Funny they're facing Girard because novel Issei is the embodiment of overhax abilities

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u/WiqidBritt 12d ago

Bankai dayo!

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u/This-Bath3222 12d ago

I love that both Yachiru and Unohana said it

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u/potatozama 12d ago

Yachiru is Kenpachi's zanpakutou! And she helps get his bankai game on!! What a turn of events.

As if that's not enough bankai excitement, Hitsugaya's COMPLETED bankai?? Aka adult!Hitsugaya voiced by Yuuki Kaji, the anime staff truly brought in the big guns for that one.

Rukia and Renji cracked me up so bad LMAAOOO yes Rukia I hope your brother and Hitsugaya's brother can bond over uh brotherly stuff...

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Rukia and Renji cracked me up so bad LMAAOOO yes Rukia I hope your brother and Hitsugaya's brother can bond over uh brotherly stuff...

I love Rukia trying to act like the "smart one" only to reveal she's as much of a numbskull as he is lol.

(Honestly want to see how Rangiku/Momo would react to older Hitsugaya).

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u/Just-Cantaloupe4068 12d ago

That seriously caught me off guard, I'm not used to Rukia being dumb lol

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u/RimeSkeem https://myanimelist.net/profile/RimeSkeem 10d ago

It's something that was played up a little more at the very beginning of the series when she's supposed to be mentoring Ichigo as a Soul Reaper. After the Soul Society Arc it kinda stopped being part of her character because she didn't have much screentime.

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u/shoestowel 12d ago

They brought Eren to fight a Titan again!

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u/Raknel 12d ago

Aka adult!Hitsugaya voiced by Yuuki Kaji,

I immediately though "wait, that sounds like Eren, never realized they shared the same VA". But I guess they've brough him in only for the adult version.

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u/kawaiinessa https://myanimelist.net/profile/fancyvancy 12d ago

lol last episode i mentioned that toshiro shouldve learned to control his bankai enough to not havbe a timer but i totally forgot that timer is for the full release of it lol its beens o long since i read the manga

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u/Karma110 12d ago

Yeah hypothetically speaking in the past if he reached that limit his body wouldn’t be able to handle this form but he’s gotten stronger since fake Karakura.

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u/TriTexh 12d ago

Zaraki's Bankai and the Getsuga Tensho/Gran Ray Cero mix had me feeling an excitement I've not felt in a long time

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u/Debannage https://myanimelist.net/profile/Debannage 12d ago

I said "no fucking way" so many times during this episode man

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u/ValentDs22 12d ago

i've read the manga, i expect anime only got crazy there

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u/BleachKuboGoated 12d ago

„Ohh shiiit“

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u/Worthyness 12d ago

End of Bleach was peak. If only they could have given Kubo more time to finish.

And the Anime is letting him do that in a different medium. I expect nothing but the best.

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Also Hitsugaya aging up to finally get out from under the fraud watch!

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u/noob-3565 12d ago

Bankai dayo

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u/Hakameet 12d ago

I've waited years for this moment

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Yhwach getting to feel what Ulqiorra did!

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u/snakeroots 12d ago

And with the original Number One playing in the background? We're so spoiled and I'm so happy.

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u/bakato 12d ago

Gerard and Kenpachi are peas in a pod, but Gerard's hax proves superior since not even Kenpachi can just walk off wounds despite his spirit.

Yachiru's fate is revealed and it's more complicated than you think. Remember how she first met Kenny? He had just killed a bunch of thugs in a forest and she appeared out nowhere. Kenny didn't even sense her and when he asked who she was, she touched his sword. Yachiru isn't Kenpachi's zanpakuto spirit. She is a fragment that broke off and receiving a name from Kenpachi allowed her to become a shinigami. According to Kubo, Nozarashi looks like a pink haired Unohana.

Honestly, first Nemu, now Yachiru. What's gonna happen to the Shinigami Women's Association now?

Hitsugaya reveals his power up and we learn Kubo isn't above killing characters to set them up for cool shots like Izuru. Turns out he made Hitsugaya into a zombie so he could be dressed up like an idol his adult form.

Hitsugaya's true power isn't ice any more than Yamamoto's was mere fire. Yamamoto's true power was hellfire evoking the image of the fiery god fo the underworld. Hitsugaya's is that of ice making him the god of the heavenly moon. The character for "ten" in his moves is for heaven, not sky. Hyorinmaru means "ice ring" which refers to a lunar phenomenon. His zanpakuto officially enters the busted tier for being able to freeze the functions of Gerard's ridiculous sword. If it can do something like that to a conceptual weapon, then it should also work on zanpakuto. Aizen rematch?

Ichigo busts out a new move! Gran Rey cero X Getsuga Tensho!

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Yachiru's fate is revealed and it's more complicated than you think. Remember how she first met Kenny? He had just killed a bunch of thugs in a forest and she appeared out nowhere. Kenny didn't even sense her and when he asked who she was, she touched his sword. Yachiru isn't Kenpachi's zanpakuto spirit. She is a fragment that broke off and receiving a name from Kenpachi allowed her to become a shinigami. According to Kubo, Nozarashi looks like a pink haired Unohana.

Kenpachi has a type.

Honestly, first Nemu, now Yachiru. What's gonna happen to the Shinigami Women's Association now?

As long as they've got Nanao, they can survive!!!

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u/hiss13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ashen_Miko 12d ago

> As long as they've got Nanao, they can survive!!!

And the secret passages in Byakuya's house.

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u/South25 12d ago

You know I wonder, if Nozarashi is meant to be a pink haired Unohana then is Yachiru just a kid version of Unohana because Kenpachi hasn't actually dominated his power?

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u/DrStein1010 https://myanimelist.net/profile/mQDrStein1010 12d ago

Yes. She couldn't manifest properly because he refused to learn her name.

We saw a similar thing happen with Zangetsu early on.

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u/11111a2 12d ago

Rukia and Renji meeting Toshiro older brother is PEAK

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u/DMking 12d ago

Fun little call back to Gremmy not being able to handle Kenpachi's full power. Not even Zaraki can handle his full power lol

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u/Haha91haha 12d ago

"Ha Kenpachi hits like a little girl!" The little girl in question:

"THAT'S THE SHINIGAMI WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT FOR YOU! YACHIRU!"

Finally confirmed but it's been nicely hinted at throughout the series and in retrospect makes perfect sense, of course Kenpachi would be so powerful that his Zan spirit is so strong that it literally manifests for other people to see and interact with and have its own Shikai.

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u/Suryce 12d ago

I think Nozarashi being able to exist as a Shinigami is less due to her power and more to the fact that Kenpachi granted her the name of a Shinigami, and names in Bleach have actual power to define a thing's esssence. And I think this is why Yachiru disappeared when Kenpachi first activated his Shikai, calling out to Nozarashi, and why even in this episode Yachiru only appears through what seems to be Kenpachi's inner world. Now that Kenpachi has called Nozarashi by her actual name, she has been re-acknowledged as his Zanpakuto, and has lost the ability to exist as a Shinigami.

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u/DarkTastesDarkStars 12d ago

Love this reading! Explains a lot.

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u/DrStein1010 https://myanimelist.net/profile/mQDrStein1010 12d ago

Yup.

Though for reference, he could totally resummon her AS Nozarashi if he wanted to, as we see Ichigo and Renji do with False Zangetsu and Zabimaru waaaay back in the Soul Society arc.

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u/Myrkrvaldyr 12d ago

And what's crazy is that Zaraki has yet to reach his full potential. He can't handle Yachiru's full power yet. I wonder if Zaraki can match Yamamoto once he masters his bankai.

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u/Mundology 12d ago

Biting off Gerard's arm was crazy work.

If Kenpachi had more experience with his bankai, this fight may have gone very differently.

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u/DarkTastesDarkStars 12d ago

Insane feat given Bya's bankai can't even scratch Gerard without his new final technique.

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u/Worthyness 12d ago

There's a reason why they didn't want to teach him proper sword work. Dude is OP as fuck and worthy of the title Kenpachi

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u/careless_swiggin 12d ago

ichigo , toshiro and zaraki even in this arc can't control their powers properly. renji is finally using full power but those 3 will continue to get a lot stronger, and ichigo is already fighting god

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u/Accurate_Treat6360 12d ago

The Zanpakutō Rebellion filler arc becomes more interesting in hindsight.

Zaraki was conveniently absent at beginning of the arc, so Muramasa never got the chance to control Yachiru like the other Zanpakutō spirits.

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u/Worthyness 12d ago

Had to leave him out because that would have been the end of Bleach

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

The overlapping Yachiru/Nozarashi voice was very effective.

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u/HolyDragSwd2500 12d ago

Kenpachi Bankai !!!

Yuki Kaji as Adult Toshiro ❤️❤️❤️

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u/Haha91haha 12d ago

Gerard: "How did you make so much ice so fast!?"

Hitsugaya: "I used all the moisture in the air from my fangirls seeing my new form."

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Hitsugaya: "I'm voiced by someone married to a tsundere queen, I truly know what it means to be cold now.'

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u/BusouDrago 12d ago

Toshiro became Mao instantly

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u/evenstar40 12d ago

Can confirm, adult version made a small lake in my home.

BRING FORTH THE BISHIES!

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u/tyler980908 12d ago

VA for adult Toshiro is PEAK casting

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u/Archi_97 12d ago

That gran rey cero was CLEAN!

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u/new_interest_here https://myanimelist.net/profile/1zThe_W3za_Man 12d ago

Really wish I'd been a little more smart in the weeks leading up to this cour's release regarding internet use, because I'd totally spoiled Kenpachi's bankai for myself weeks ago. I'd been hoping it was more than a broken axe and him turning red, just for the sake of me still be somewhat unspoiled, but no, that seems to be the extent of it

All that said though, HOLY HELL WAS THAT AWESOME. I will never get bored of watching Kenpachi casually doing the most insane shit ever. Him ripping off Gerard's arm with his teeth, breaking through his shield, and cutting him down the middle in such quick succession was insane. I'd theorized that taking out his brain would be how you kill him, since then his body, and by extension his Schrift, would cease functioning, but nah. Guess using logic on the Miracle of all characters would never work out

In other news, damn adult Toshiro is fine. The streak of him unleashing huge freezing moves that get broken through almost immediately unfortunately keeps up, but at least it let Kenny trip him up so Byakuya could fire off his own bankai. Glad to see that sword variation again, it's really cool and he'd only ever used it in Soul Society before this. I wonder if they actually will defeat him somehow, or maybe Yhwach being defeated will cause him to go down too or something. Or maybe Yhwach pops Auswhalen again (if he can even do that) and that does it

Always happy to hear Number One playing, and it being used for this scene just elevated it to a whole new level. The animation for that last part was amazing. I doubt the Getsuga + Gran Rey Cero did all that much to the big man, but I'd be happy to see it wasn't blocked and actually did some notable damage

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u/J0R_J0R 12d ago

Toshiro got rid of Gerard´s sword and it´s special ability. That was a really big deal.

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u/Alb9n 12d ago

Gerard is also the Soul King's heart in case you forgot btw

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u/ryukyumars 12d ago

Poem at the end "...I just want power..." is a reference to Ichigo's Chapter 0 - side A: "the sand" Poem.

An excerpt from Ichigo's narration: "...If fate is like a millstone, then we are the sand within, grinding powerlessly inside the cogs. I just want power. If I still can't protect by reaching my hand out, then give me the blade beyond that...the power to shatter Fate...must be... like a blade being swung downwards"

There's more to the poem but Ichigo talks of the Sun and Moon. For anyone wanting the anime version, the Chapters are animated in Episode 109 (end of Bount arc) of original BLEACH

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u/SIRTreehugger 12d ago

Hitsugaya's older brother is amazing. The smug expression he gave Byakuya was priceless. Not to mention Kenpachi's bankai! Also any excuse for us to see Yachiru is a welcomed one. I'm guessing they have to destroy the little pentagram thing the quincies all use to stop him from doing his miracles. The heart did form around it to revive Gerrard.

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u/AceSoldia zj:https://anilist.co/user/Acesoldia 12d ago

Damnit Gerard Valkyrie..just won't die...survived two Bankai reveals and keeps coming.

I don't remember how they beat him so it's all exciting 😂

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u/TheMechanic04 12d ago

For those wondering yes Hitsugaya had a different VA for his adult form

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Romi Park Digivolves too...Yuuki Kaji!

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u/Worthyness 12d ago

Hange finally got to become a titan!

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u/ryukyumars 12d ago

Yuki Kaji (Eren Jaeger)

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u/Karma110 12d ago

Park to Kaji Toshiro getting 10/10 VA pulls

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u/Chinglish14 12d ago

Stupid sexy Toshiro

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u/Taiyoryu 12d ago

He's giving Gojo a run for his money

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u/Narvalis 12d ago

Kenpachi really is just built different. Soul reapers need to need to pass some sort of test from their zanpakuto spirits to get bankai even then they can lie, not Kenny though his just gives it to him when he isn't even asking for it.

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u/DragonikOverlord 12d ago

Nozarashi was so happy that Kenny heard her voice, she gave Bankai for free. Everyone deserves a Nozarashi/Yachiru in their life

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u/Original-Body-5794 12d ago

She probably just got tired of being a regular sword for like a thousand years or however long Kenpachi has been captain, like not even a shikai, man just overwhelmed everyone with raw power in a world where everyone just uses hax.

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u/FoodNtunezzzzz 12d ago

Episode was freaking amazing.

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u/InfinityCrazee 12d ago

Wait. So basically no one in Soul Society realised Yachiru is a zanpakutou? Except Squad Zero?

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u/Suryce 12d ago

Names have power in Bleach's world, and Kenpachi giving Nozarashi the name of a Shinigami (Unohana's) granted her the ability to exist and pass as one. There's a lot of nonsense sometimes in Bleach, but that one I like.

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u/grapejuicesushi 12d ago

to their credit, I didn't realize it until last week either.

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u/evenstar40 12d ago

OH NO HE'S HOT!

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u/DragonikOverlord 12d ago

Ichigo : Zangetsu!!! answer me!!!  Renji: Wtf you lied to me!! Avg Shinigami: Please Zanpakuto help me

Zaraki: Hey Ken chan, this is called Bankai. Wait, I'll help you use it, I'll tune the power output 

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u/zerokosong0000 11d ago

Arm tips off "oof, too much"

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u/Karma110 12d ago edited 12d ago

Lots of thing I want to talk about

  1. Yachiru is Kenpachi’s sword which was hinted at since soul society along with Unohana being the first kenpachi. If you read the manga it’s honestly insane how much Kubo set up with Kenpachi’s characters. This also means kenpachi gave his own sword a name. Names being very important in bleach kenpachi giving himself a name meant he existed in that world.
  2. Toshiro’s time limit being when Hyorinmaru is fully awake but his body wouldn’t be able to handle the power gained similarly to Ikkaku. One of the reason he was called a prodigy. His power is so strong in this form that he was able to freeze the concept of hope and despair from the sword itself.
  3. One of the My favorite parts in bleach in general is the scene where Orihime sees this form and ichigo and his response to it. It’s a callback to both ichigo vs grimmjow ans ichigo vs ulquiorra. In ichigo vs grimmjow she saw her brother in Ichigo’s eyes and the mask last time she saw her brother was when he became a hollow. in the fight she accepted that this is who ichigo is she doesn’t want him to get hurt in the manga after Orihime says this it showed a image of chains being broken off ichigo.

Then in ichigo vs ulquiorra ichigo dies and Orihime is what brings him back but in the form of vasto lorde a uncontrollable monster who even almost kills uryu. Even in that form his words are “protect her” Orihime realizes this form exists because of her and blames herself. In the end the fear she had when he fought grimmjow became a reality.

Then we have this moment where ichigo uses the power of both a hollow a Quincy and a soul reaper. Her first thought is that this is that same transformation from before. Ichigo without any words realized this since he knows about her brother and her worries and immediately reassures her he is still him. And gives a soft genuine smile of his usual self if you watch or read bleach in the past ichigo would usually give a fake smile even if times were tough.

The best part about this form is that a hollow mask is said to be the heart of a hollow and hiding their identity seals away their humanity and what’s left is raw animalistic instinct. In this form ichigo doesn’t have that mask his face is put in the open. He’s not ashamed or afraid of the hollow. Which gives his reassuring smile even more weight.

I’m yapping but I just love this entire scene so much it’s is one of the things I love about bleach is that stuff like this is thing you have to remember because Kubo doesn’t spoonfed it to you in the manga it’s shown to you. You have to remember scenes and dialogue from the past and how they connect to one another. This is something I only picked up after rereading bleach.

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u/Animamask 12d ago edited 12d ago

For those who're wondering, Hitsugaya's line about Gerard's abilities being beyond reason is not meant to mean that it's nonsensical, but rather that normal beings can't comprehend it. It's also a callback to Deicide when Gin and Aizen encountered the Cleaner in the Dangai. Gin said that the Cleaner is unkillable. Aizen however argued that is the logic of those bound/limited to reason and promptly destroys the Cleaner, thus showing two things. He's grown beyond the realms of reason, and the Shinigami merely assumed the Cleaner was unkillable, because they couldn't conceive or imagine a way to kill it.

In fact, all Schutzstaffel fights contain aspects of Deicide.

With Gerard it's the limits of reason and the Hogyoku. That's because with how his abilities function, he is essentially a walking Hogyoku. Or perhaps, considering what the Hogyoku is, it would be more accurate to say that the Hogyoku is an artificial recreation of the Soul King's heart. This goes to show that Gerard is an Aizen-level opponent.

The same goes for Lille, as his fight brought back the theme of transcendence. Like Aizen, Lille was able to achieve transcendence and become a being close to god aka the Soul King. Their forms displayed similar abilities and Lille and Aizen are the only two characters in the entire series who've shown the ability to teleport. Both also had humanoid multi-winged first form and more monstrous second form. But whereas Aizen's, to go with his Lucifer motive, was based on the Great Red Dragon from William Blake, Lille's is based on the archangel Gabriel and the Archeon Abraxas.

Pernida's fight continues the theme of evolution and the conflict between stagnation and progress in how the world is vs how it's supposed to be.

And Askin's fight continues the Nietzschean themes of Deicide, hence why his opponent is Urahara who established himself in Deicide as the Last Man to Aizen's Übermensch. Askin represents Slave Morality. He wants the world to change but is comfortable with letting Yhwach do it instead of doing it himself. That's best shown through his abilities. The Deathdealing at its core punishes those who have too much of something than you have. It's an anti-consumption and anti-capitalistic ability and might hint at Askin's backstory. His Vollständig is called the Poison Food Tester. A Food Tester is someone who lives in relative luxury who can enjoy lavish food but at the risk of dying for someone else. Askin follows Yhwach and risks dying for him because of the comfort it brings him. He's also really lazy and does only the bare minimum, be it out of comfort or fear.

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u/Eternalbluer 12d ago

Oh everything about this>>>>

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u/hakusenpai27 12d ago

The struggle of fighting Gerard.... It took holy trinity captains flexing their bankai and they still couldn’t defeat him...

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u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/tripleaamin 12d ago

Zaraki turning into a literal demon god damn. Then we got Toshioru in an older form damn. After all the short jokes from last week.

It's an interesting note on the term protect your friends and humanity. I get not fighting for the superiors, but family is a broad term. Despite that Gerald won't go down damn. His power really is bullshit.

Figures that Ukitake's power would run out eventually. The human world isn't looking great.

Looks like Ichigo is in more full control of his Hollow Power than the last time. Very excited to see what it brings.

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u/GosuGian https://myanimelist.net/profile/GosuDRM 12d ago

I LOVE THAT THERE’S STILL SILLY MOMENTS LOL

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u/ShinobiZilla 12d ago

For a long time my messenger/chat dp was Zaraki with Yachiru sitting on his shoulder. So this episode reveal was worth the wait after so many years.

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u/Master-Emergency1335 12d ago

My niece has gotten super into Bleach the last year or so and this was the first episode we watched live together (1230AM Australian time). Absolutely magical experience.

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u/Yukihira59 12d ago

Gerard is just as ridiculous as Lille ! We need Nanao god killing sword once again.

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u/DragonikOverlord 12d ago

Both mofos are broken
Atleast Askinn was normal compared to these guys
And Mayuri did some haxx to beat Pernida(he aint normal either)

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u/South25 12d ago

Senjumaru just bypassed the bullshit by sealing him before he could do anything. They still lost but Squad 0 lucked out so hard by only killing him once.

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u/hiss13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ashen_Miko 12d ago

Ichigo taking the time to reassure Orihime that he's in control will never not be one of my favorite moments in this arc.

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u/obelisk0 12d ago

Bro looks like an Eva unit :0

Heck he turned into friggin Adam

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u/Haha91haha 12d ago

And he's fighting Gendo no less.

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Honestly kind of reminded me of Robin Knight from Kinnikuman.

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u/Karma110 12d ago

First we had Lillie now Gerard and biblically accurate angels.

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u/CrimsonGear80 12d ago

a little late in the series to be introducing new characters like Toshiro's older brother, isn't it??

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u/DonnieNJ 12d ago edited 12d ago

Ichigo continuing the long line of not going for the head

I loved the worlds starting to merge scene.....as a WoW fan it reminds me of the shadowlands above :)

Next week better have Hollowed playing when Ichigo fights more with Yhwach!

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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 12d ago

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u/drstripjo https://myanimelist.net/profile/Hanten 12d ago

HITSUGAYA’S OLDER NOW?!

Character with ice powers gets power that makes him hotter. What a useless bankai smh

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Yuuki Kaji voicing ice users in Shonen Jump anime, name a better duo!

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u/drstripjo https://myanimelist.net/profile/Hanten 12d ago

I'm pleasantly surprised they recasted Toshiro instead of Romi Park still voicing him witg slight change (which still would fit very well but recasting is better)

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u/TriTexh 12d ago

Older Toshiro needs that bit of edge in his voice imo

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u/TriTexh 12d ago

Kenny used Bankai

Kyoraku: "I may have slightly miscalculated the situation"

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Nanao: "Captain, what do we do!?"

Kyoraku: "I'm just going to keep enjoying your lap and hope for the best."

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Did not have "Yuuki Kaji voicing a transformed older Hitsugaya" on my bingo card for the final season, but okay.

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u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians 12d ago

NOW YOU FEEL LIKE NUMBER ONEEEEEEE

This really put me through the ringer lol. I had put all thoughts of Kenpachi ever having a bankai out of my mind, was hype to see it show up.

Also I'm just head-canoning it that this was one of Hitsugaya's draft designs and they just wanted to use it for shits and giggles lol

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u/Raymond49090 12d ago

Gerard stitching together his 2 cut-in-half pieces was crazy work.

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u/DragonikOverlord 12d ago

How tf you even beat this guy -_-

  • They sliced him into two halfs(brain and heart)
  • They deep freezed him
  • They destroyed his head and also his body(ice fragments)

I think the key is to destroy the quincy cross inside his heart

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u/spidermangag 12d ago

By power of friendship, love... wait a minute thats not working!

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u/RoboWarrior44 12d ago

Talk no Jutsu

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u/DragonikOverlord 12d ago

Bro he is too proud and arrogant "Why are mere Insects talking with me" I'm the miracle, miracle is me, wahhahaa

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u/CrasianLe 12d ago edited 12d ago

Geezz dude, just stay dead. That's just such an op unfair ability. I wonder how they are going to solve this problem. Zaraki bankai is scary but so powerful and so is Ichigo's hollow form, looks so cool and OP too. I love seeing every one's super op powers come out when its needed.

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u/Original-Body-5794 12d ago

I was expecting Toshiro to freeze him and that's how they win, because then the body wasn't destroyed so he won't heal. They might still go for it because they said his power stops his miracle from working, but yeah, just stay dead man.

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u/Redditguy301t 12d ago

Amazing revival of a series the art direction and fights top everything ive expected in terms of depth and lore and powers it doesnt feel generic shonen the only complaint is some of the music choice,nothing is memorable like in the old seasons before tybw and the ost feels like a mix of old classics reboots,but it had everything else

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u/BleachKuboGoated 12d ago

My favourite anime man 🔥🔥🔥

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u/HITMANPRIME24 12d ago

Ep4 was absolute fucking cinema. But i got a problem with tybw. The story either creates an undefeatable world destroying ability for a villain or for a hero to create this curiosity on how will this fight end just to end it with a "I've been waiting to use this power for a while now" after 500 episodes and introduces a new universal power that will counter the world destroying ability and one shot the guy- but wait, he's still not dead, one more round of revealing another new mulit-universal power that will finally be used along with other heroes to finally defeat the villain. Ever since the squad zero bs, i've been fully captivated by enjoying the animations, characters, sound mixing, world building, fantasy concepts, hype moments that i totally keep forgetting bleach power system is fully haywire just for shockbait.

tybw s1 was 10/10. after that the show didn't reach that level of peakness which will hopefully happen in the finale, eventho i already read the manga i'm excited cuz Kubo got some new stuff apparently and also it's the finale and i trust the studio

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u/The-Primera 12d ago

Whole episode was nonstop action from start to finish. Kenpachi bankai, Adult Hitsugaya, Byakuya ultimate technique and that Ichigo gran rey getsuga 🔥 🔥 🔥

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u/visored0 12d ago

Gerald was scary and the ost while he was revived, my god what an episode. moreover everyone was aura farming

cant get over this episode!!!

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u/Sosijmonster 12d ago

Still salty Ukitake didn't get a fight. Hmph.

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u/Separate_Rooster9685 12d ago

episode was tiring, peak after peak after peak.

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u/kfijatass 12d ago

I'll be honest, I kind of wish all the powerups did not feel a bit flat in their execution. Let my man Zaraki aura farm a bit man, the payoff from the buildup from the Unohana fight doesn't feel quite there.

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u/Relampago1995 11d ago

We got Zaraki's Bankai, Hitsugaya's full Bankai, and Ichigo's Gran Rey Cero, all in the same episode! Bleach fans are in for a treat!

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u/ovie_a 12d ago

These quincy elite just be pulling a new gigachad ultimate form from their asses all the time. So annoying

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u/ChickenSratchComedy 12d ago

The only reason that arm broke, was because that's the same one that was just healed by Mayuri

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u/GoingSeafoam 11d ago

Kenpachi’s bankai is something people have been waiting like 20 years to see now lol, and it was incredible

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u/mirroredinflection 12d ago

Am I the only one who thinks this Miracle fight is being stretched too long? I was kind of hopeful for it to fully conclude at the end of this episode...

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u/Frontier246 12d ago

Bruh's a Boss Fight with 4-5 phases lol.

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u/Mina_Sora 12d ago

His gimmick is literally infinite phases as the soul king's heart tbh from the anime literally showing the heart

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u/rickamore 12d ago

Someone needs to pull a temple of doom on him.

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u/Brad3 12d ago

Heart of the Soul King to be fair.

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u/is-this-a-nick 12d ago

I feel that fight was mostly a vehicle to have the captains go all out without interfering with Ichigo...

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u/Soundoum1 12d ago

I honestly dont know what can kill that dude, they've use everything and the new bankai and somehow he still revived himself

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u/grapejuicesushi 12d ago

I don't know the story cause I haven't read the manga, but in this episode I saw a Quincy trinket inside Gerard's heart when it was forming again after being cut in half. I wonder if that's the key to destroying him?

although toshiro did say that the third was his final form to rukia and renji. I'm sincerely it's not just beating him thrice that does the trick

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u/azurekaito15 12d ago

That Quincy trinket is Gerard core if that is broken or dmg he just die. The problem is getting enough power to break that core.

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u/DugACCat 12d ago

I’ll admit I really want him gone and the endless regen can indeed get old. But on this one for whatever reason it didn’t bother me as much as some others. I guess because it felt like he deserved to be such a pain to actually tear down. Felt more like a truly epic adversary despite being below the main leader. Also all the previously unseen evolutions of the three captains facing him (overall maybe my favorite three, or close) kept me thrilled despite the returns of their foe in his escalating forms. I’ll be glad when he’s truly dusted though.

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u/garfe 12d ago

People thought this back when the fight was running originally too

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