Most fans would agree thatBleach: Thousand-Year Blood Warhas been a fantastic adaptation of the series' final arc, enhancing the experience by adding new scenes that help to explain more, or show off characters' powers better. However, no adaptation is perfect, andBleachhas had to cut some content along the way that some fans have come to miss.
There aren’t many entire scenes that were cut, but there were a lot of smaller moments that were cut–individual lines of dialog, for example, or events that weren’t strictly necessary to understanding the plot.These cut moments often helped to develop certain characters, particularly the Sternritter, who were considered underdeveloped characters in the manga and are (mostly) even less developed in the anime. While small, they add a bit of personality to the story that some fans have been disappointed to see cut. Here are 10 of the best cut moments (or series of moments) missing from theThousand-Year Blood Waranime.
10The Reactions to Gremmy’s Meteor
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During Gremmy’s fight with Kenpachi Zaraki, he summons a massive meteor, intending to destroy the entire Seireitei if that’s what it takes to kill Zaraki.In the manga, it cuts to reaction shots from several characters, including Haschwalth, Renji, Askin, and Bazz-B, who each have very different reactions to what they’re seeing. The Sternritter understand immediately that Gremmy must be the one responsible for this, cursing his recklessness and wishing he hadn’t been allowed to fight at their side, while Soul Reapers panic, with no context for what’s suddenly happening.
Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Finally Hints At The Hell Arc
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The reaction scenes help to emphasize that there are many battles going on at this same time, and that the scale of damage that this meteor will cause is immense. By skipping them, the anime kept the focus on Zaraki and Gremmy, but it also cost the scene by not having its massive impact recognized by other characters.
9Two Minor Soul Reapers Get The Spotlight
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In the very beginning oftheThousand-Year Blood Warstory arc, it actually begins by focusing on two low-ranked Soul Reapers assigned to Karakura Town, Ryunosuke Yuki and Shino Madarame.While these characters do appear in the anime, their role is substantially trimmed down,making them little more than extras, while the manga took the time to get to know these characters a bit.
Ryunosuke Yuki and Shino Madarame continue to appear in background scenes, crowd shots, and reaction shots throughout the rest ofThousand-Year Blood War, even in the anime, so fans who do recognize the characters from the manga may still be able to spot them from time to time. However, these two aren’t developed at all in the anime, so anime-only fans are unlikely to even recognize them as proper characters.
8Askin Likes Snacking
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In the manga, there’s one Sternritter, Askin Nakk Le Vaar, who doesn’t seem to be taking things quite as seriously as everyone else.On several occasions, Askin stops and hides during the conflict between Quincy and Soul Reaper to have a little snack. He does this in the anime exactly once, whileGrimmjow is pursuing him, but that’s actually meant to be the culmination of a running gag.
Askin’s proclivity for snacking adds an element to his character that’s missing from the anime, which is a shame because he already got so little characterization.
These scenes aren’t very important, so it’s easy to see why they’ve mostly been cut from the anime.However, it removes some of the opportunities to get to know the personality of Askin, who is one of the most well-liked Sternritter characters in the series. Askin’s proclivity for snacking adds an element to his character that’s missing from the anime, which is a shame because he already got so little characterization.
7Ichigo and Orihime Got More Time Together
Bleachchapter 481 (and others)
In the manga, there are several small scenes and moments that are cut which focus on Ichigo and Orihime and their relationship.One such scene early on sees Orihime bringing bread to the group, with Ichigo criticizing the bread for being old before being chastised by his friends for notaccepting Orihime’s generosity. These scenes help give some context to where Ichigo and Orihime’s relationship is at, given that they are the main couple within the series.
Many of these moments were cut from the anime in order to keep the focus on the action and plot.It’s unfortunate, as these moments of tenderness between Ichigo and Orihime go a long way towards building up their relationship and showing how they care for one another. It’s a reminder of the things that Ichigo is actually fighting to protect, so the absence of these scenes can be felt by those who read the manga.
6Getting to Know the Bambies
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The Bambies, a group of female Sternritter named for their leader, Bambietta Basterbine, see a little more focus in the manga than they get in the anime.The Bambies are very popular characters in general, largely due to their character designs, but they don’t get too many moments to establish their personalities before the big battle in the anime.
In the manga, the Bambies have an entire scene reacting to Bambietta killing one of their own soldiers, with the group weirdly nonchalant about her habit of killing.
Cutting this scene removes some of the small amount of characterization that the Bambies do get, making them into flatter characters than they are in the manga. Many fans were hoping for more scenes with characters like the Bambies, not less, so the loss of this moment stings a bit more for their fans.
5Robert Accutrone’s Demise
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Robert Accutrone is one of the Sternritter, who particularly stands out for his cold demeanor and using what appears to be an ordinary pistol as his Quincy weapon. Robert is ruthless against his foes, killing messengers and laying down threats against even the most powerful Soul Reaper captains. In the manga, when Yhwach begins to perform the Auswahlen, Robert realizes what is going on before most of the other Sternritter and begins monologuing about how his life belongs to Yhwach and the cause.Robert is then struck by one of the beams of light, and immediately reduced to a skeleton.
Robert’s death may have been a little hardcore even forThousand-Year Blood Warby being turned into a pile of bones, but it also doesn’t make much sense, since no other Sternritter hit by the light was annihilated quite like he was.This scene being cut has sparked some speculation among fans that Robert might actually still be alive in the anime, but if he’s to reappear, it hasn’t happened yet.
4Royd and Loyd’s Backstory
Bleachchapter 510
Royd and Loyd Lloyd are twin Sternritter “Y"who have very similar abilities, which allow them to disguise themselves perfectly as anyone else. Loyd is able to use even the power and abilities of the person he’s disguised as, while Royd is able to access even their memories, making it impossible to tell him apart from the real thing.Royd is famous for battling Head Captain Yamamoto while disguised as Yhwach, wearing out the experienced Soul Reaper before the real Yhwach showed up.
The cut scene is a brief flashback to Royd and Loyd’s birth, explaining how their powers first manifested.As it stands in the anime, it’s not clear what the deal with Loyd is or how his powers work, but this scene existed to clarify that. The information isn’t too important to be cut, but it does spell things out a lot more clearly than the anime.
3Isshin Kurosaki Explains Why He Didn’t Save His Wife
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Fans watching theThousand-Year Blood Waranime might be left with a question when it comes to the death of Ichigo’s mother, Masaki Kurosaki: why didn’t Ichigo’s father Isshin go to save her? As it turns out, the manga has an explanation for this which was omitted from the anime.Isshin states that he was aware that Masaki had encountered the Grand Fisher, able to sense their spiritual powers from home. However, Isshin was confident that Masaki could easily handle the Grand Fisher, and didn’t see a need to intervene.
Isshin couldn’t have known about the Auswahlen stealing her powers, so while he knew she was faced with a Hollow,he was under the impressionMasaki could kill it with her Quincy abilities. It makes her death even more tragic, in a way, and it’s easy to see why Isshin might blame himself for her death.
2Byakuya’s Eulogy for Chojiro Sasakibe
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Yamamoto’s lieutenant,Chojiro Sasakibe, is the first victim of the war between the Quincy and the Soul Reapers, who was killed and had his Bankai stolen during the Quincy’s first appearance in the Soul Society. Because it’s before the war has broken out, they’re able to give Sasakibe a proper burial.In the anime, the scenes of Sasakibe’s funeral are silent, with everyone quietly respectful. However, in the manga, Byakuya speaks to Renji about Sasakibe’s life and the challenges he faced.
Sasakibe did get an anime-original flashback a few episodes later, which may have done a better job of filling out his character than Byakuya’s eulogy.
Chojiro Sasakibe was a very underdeveloped character compared to other lieutenants like Rangiku, so talking about his personality like this helped to give a better idea of who he was to fans.Sasakibe did get an anime-original flashback a few episodes later, which may have done a better job of filling out his character than Byakuya’s eulogy.
1Guanael vs. Yachiru
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While Yachiru’s confrontation with Guanael wasn’t completely cut from the anime, it was substantially trimmed down.In the cut segments, Guanael explains how his ability works, speaks with Isane and Yachiru, and dodges several of the latter’s attacks by using his ability. It’s soon revealed that Guanael isn’t a real person, but rather a figment of Gremmy’s imagination, and is basically deleted from existence when Gremmy deems him useless.
The scene works a bit better in the manga as a result, and helps to foreshadow the eventual reveal of exactly what Yachiru is. It seems this confrontation was mostly a victim of pacing;Thousand-Year Blood Warmoves through chapters extremely fast, and compresses some scenes as a result. Since it’s effectively Yachiru’s final scene in the manga, it’s a bit of a shame that it was cut so short, making it perhapsBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s biggest cut moments.
Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War
Cast
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is a sequel series to the popular anime from creator Tite Kubo. This anime follows Ichigo and his friends as they investigate why people are disappearing while trouble arises in the Soul Society. The first season was released in 2022 and has been critically acclaimed since its beginning.
