Summary
At this point,BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood Waris in competition with itself, as each successive part in the adaptation of the climactic final arc of Tite Kubo’s magnum opus has brought something bigger and better than the last. In the fourth episode of Part 3, titled “The Betrayer”, Ichigo and Uryū finally cross paths after their arrival at the Soul King’s Palace.
It is packed with developments that we didn’t get in the manga, including an epic brawl between Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryu Ishida, not to mention a first-everlook at the latter’s Quincy: Vollständig. The episode ends dramatically as Uryū fires an arrow that carves a giant hole in Ichigo’s side, and Yhwach finally absorbs the Soul King.
Ukitake’s Attempt to Save the Universe Fails
A New Soul King Was Almost Concretized
Ukitake’s invocation of the Kamikake in order to allow the Right Arm of the Soul King to stabilize the realms was a self-sacrificial move that saps away the Captain’s remaining life force so he can act as the linchpin of the realms – a replacement Soul King. Seeing what the dark arm was doing, Ichigo’s friends sprung into action, and were thwarted by Yhwach’s Schutzstaffel. Yoruichi laid down talismans to re-seal the Soul King, using the Right Arm of the Soul as the new cornerstone, while Ichigo took on Yhwach, overcoming the surge of reiatsu that forced him totightly grip Yhwach’s sword and bifurcate the Soul King.
Together, Ichigo and Yoruichi seem to be doing a good job; however, Ichigo is shocked to see Yoruichi sustain a vicious injury from an arrow, with Uryū standing in the distance. Yoruichi manages to take cover, but her broken focus meant that the sensitive situation with the Soul King was very quickly collapsing again. With the re-containment failed, Yhwach once again assumes the position in front of the Soul King and attempts to absorb him, repelling all of Ichigo and his friends' attempts to stop him. He even sics Pernida Parnkgjas on Yoruichi, violently contorting her arm with his power as theLeft Arm of the Soul Kingbefore Yhwach blows her off the Soul King Palace platform, hurtling to the ground below.
A Brilliant Fight: Ichigo Kurosaki vs Uryū Ishida
The Anime-Exclusive Scene is The Best Part of the Episode
Ichigo keeps trying to attack Yhwach while he absorbs the Soul King, but Uryū keeps firing arrows, making it difficult for Ichigo to interfere. As Yhwach continues, the black shadow of Mimihagi becomes visible again, and he draws it away from the main body of the Soul King. The Soul King’s Palace is ripped apart by the tremors caused by Yhwach’s activities. The effects in this episode are some of the best ofBLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3so far, and even Uryū’s countless arrows have been elevated in both their appearance and movement.
It is very pleasing to see the dazzling light of Uryū’s arrows accompanied by the crisp sounds of them being unleashed and deflected, with the highly cinematic and dramatic encounter between Ichigo and Uryū. He makes his decision clear: Ichigo will have to kill him to get to Yhwach. Ichigo is devastated to realize that his friend has, with full presence of mind, decided to betray them and help Yhwach’s cause. There is a stunning comparison between four-pointed and five-pointed shapes, a nod at the clash between the Shinigami, who want to defend the current structure of the realms, and the Quincies, who arerepresented by a five-pointed star.
Some of these shapes are quite understated, but it continues the Thousand-Year Blood War arc’s interesting direction that elevates the cinematic feel of the series and feels a lot more like a deliberate pivot into a more theatrical atmosphere in which every piece of the visuals carries with it a lot of thematic information and nigh-Easter Eggs.
There is a little bit of time given to the clash between the other members of the Schutzstaffel and Ichigo’s friends, and as cool as it was seeing Orihime jump into the fray with full confidence and serve as an invaluable member of the team from the word go, there was something special about the direction of the Uryū and Ichigo fight that makes it one of the series' most memorable. The feeling of Ichigo’s shock at the betrayal, and even more so his shock at suffering the kind of vicious blow Uryū inflicts upon him at the end of the episode, is palpable.
After the Credits
The Beginning of the End
After Ichigo falls from the sky with a huge chunk of his torso missing, Uryu rejoins the other Quincies to witness as Yhwach completes his absorption of the Soul King. He recites the final lines of the Kaiser Gesang as his Schutzstaffel raise swords of reishi in celebration as Yhwach breaks open the crystal, releasing the mutilated remains of Adnyeus from their prison. He declares that he will take in all that is the Soul King and return the world to the way it should be before disappearing in a blinding flash of light. Moments later, flashes of Yhwach’s new form appear in rhythm with his beating heart. Countless eyes blink in tandem as the assimilation is complete.
Withthe Ichigo and Uryū fight being an anime-original scene, it was a major treat for fans of the series to finally be able to see Uryū’s Quincy: Vollständig, eight years since the end of the manga’s serialization. This was a stellar episode.
