Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s anime adaptation has done a great job of fixing fan complaints about the manga, adding in new fight scenes, more context, and some mysterious scenes whose purposes are still not quite clear. But there are still some major issues with the final chapters of the manga that the anime can, and should, improve upon.
It’s well known thatThousand-Year Blood War’s finale was rushed, due in part to Tite Kubo’s failing health at the time. The anime presents the perfect opportunity to expand on things that had been overlooked in the final sprint to the ending, and a chance to expand scenes that were important, but kept very short in the manga. With Kubo’s involvement, fans can finally see the end ofBleachthe way its creator always envisioned it, without the constraints of weekly manga publication or his health. Here are 10 moments coming up inBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s final batch of episodes which would greatly benefit from expansion.
Needless to say, there will bespoilersfor part 4 ofThousand-Year Blood Warahead.
10Ginjo and Tsukishima’s Quest
Bleach, Chapter 681
A key scene in Bleach’s finale involves Kugo Ginjo and Shukuro Tsukishima,two of the Fullbringers from the Lost Substitute Soul Reaper arc, coming to Ichigo’s aid with little warning. They help Ichigo to fix his broken Bankai, then turn and leave, making the scene abrupt and a tad confusing.Ginjo and Tsukishima have already been seen in the anime, so expanding on their roles somewhat to make their sudden appearance at a critical moment less of a shock seems like a perfect fit.
Even in the manga, Ginjo and Tsukishima are shown training to fight against the Quincy, but are never actually shown battling any Quincy. Adding a fight scene for Ginjo and Tsukishima showing how they arrived in Wahrwelt and made their way to Ichigo wouldn’t take up too much time, but would solve the problem of their abrupt arrival and departure.
9Yoruichi Vs. Askin
Bleach, Chapters 656-663
One of the most anticipated scenes in the final block of episodes is Yoruichi’s battle against Askin Nakk Le Vaar, in which she activates an incredible transformation that allows her to finally defeat the deadly Quincy. The fight is of a fair length in the manga, but it could stand to have a little more detail, especially once Urahara shows up.
Yoruichi’s transformation doesn’t last very long in the manga, so expanding the fight to show off more of her abilities and give her a really cool moment would be fantastic.Yoruichi remains a fan-favorite character, and this fight is essentially her last important scene in the manga, so sending her out on a high note would be an incredible change that wouldn’t require too much new content to be created. The anime has already done wonders for Uryu, so perhaps it’s Yoruichi’s turn.
8Isshin and Ryuken
Bleach, Chapter 674
Isshin and Ryuken are Ichigo and Uryu’s fathers, respectively, and they were seen briefly at the end of part 3 ofThousand-Year Blood War. They’ve arrived in Wahrwelt hoping to deliver a special arrow, made of Still Silver, to Uryu, who should be able to use it to defeat Yhwach for good. They arrive very late in the manga, give the arrow to Uryu, and then leave, making for an abrupt scene that’s a bit jarring.
It would certainly be interesting to see Isshin and Ryuken struggling their way to Uryu, dodging the collateral damage from the battle against the giant Gerard Valkyrie. They do seem to be trying to keep themselves concealed from the Soul Reapers as well, so sneaking around the other characters could make for an interesting element of the story.
7Gerard Valkyrie Fight
Bleach, Chapters 658-674
The fight against Gerard Valkyrie had already begun by the end of part 3, but the Quincy’s near-invulnerability makes it a long, drawn-out fight that pushes theSoul Reaper captainsto their limits. The fight is full of cool scenes for Zaraki, Hitsugaya, and Byakuya, but its ending is a little anti-climactic, as Gerard is ultimately killed by Yhwach’s final Auswahlen rather than by the efforts of the Soul Reapers. As such, the fight’s conclusion could certainly stand a little rewriting.
Many fans want to see other characters who are present, such as Rangiku, take part in the fight as well, making it a true group effort. This would be a good way to expand the fight in general, but wouldn’t necessarily fix the ending. It might be better to have Byakuya and Hitsugaya defeat Gerard Valkyrie on their own, then have the Auswahlen strike just before he would’ve died anyway, giving him the last laugh.
6Nel to the Rescue
Bleach, Chapter 666
After Yoruichi and Urahara’s fight with Askin, the Quincy detonates one of his “Gift Balls” to poison the area, hoping to take his opponents out with him. Nel is shown in the distance watching the fight, then resolves to go in and rescue the four people trapped inside the Gift Ball’s cloud (Yoruichi, Urahara, Grimmjow, and Yoruichi’s brother, Yushiro). However, Nel is never actually shown completing this task, leaving the fates of these characters in a weird spot.
This is a pretty simple fix, of course: simply show Nel going in to rescue these four and bringing them to safety.Nel hasn’t gotten to do much since she arrived, so giving her a scene where she saves these characters would be a good way to put her to use. This way, fans won’t be left wondering about the fates of Yoruichi and the others until the end of the series.
5Ichigo’s White Transformation Extended
Bleach, Chapter 675
During his fight with Yhwach, Ichigo transforms into a new Hollow form, with one horn and black and white skin, as he summons upthe power of his inner Hollow. It’s a very cool transformation, but unfortunately it only lasts for a short period of time before Yhwach destroys it and forces Ichigo back to his standard appearance. Yhwach is busy demonstrating the extraordinary range of his powers, making the fight take a backseat to exposition.
TheThousand-Year Blood Waranime has already expanded several fights between Yhwach and Ichigo, making Ichigo look much tougher in the anime than he was in the manga.This would be another excellent point on which to expand, giving fans a chance to see what his new form is truly capable of, and how it stacks up with his previous Hollow transformation.
4Uryu vs. Haschwalth
Uryu and Haschwalth’s final battle takes place over several chapters, but it only takes up a small portion of each chapter, basically just checking in on how Uryu is doing periodically rather than showing the fight. Uryu is ultimately “saved” by the Auswahlen, as it strikes down Haschwalth right before he intended to kill Uryu. Haschwalth tells Uryu to exchange his wounds, putting Uryu in a much better place to go confront Yhwach and attempt to end this situation for good.
Uryu has already gotten several new and extended fights inThousand-Year Blood War, but expanding this one is arguably more important than almost every fight seen so far.Seeing their respective Schrift powersup against one another could be very interesting, as both involve manipulating the course of events. The fight’s ending works well as-is, so this would really just be expanding the actual fight scene.
3Rescuing Tier Harribel
Bleach, Chapter 485
Tier Harribel isan Arrancarand former Espada who was ruling over Hueco Mundo after Aizen’s defeat. She was captured by the Quincy early on inThousand-Year Blood War, but isn’t seen again after that point, leaving a lot of questions as to what happened to her. As one of the more popular Arrancar, many fans were disappointed that Harribel’s situation was never resolved, although the light novel set afterThousand-Year Blood War, known asCan’t Fear Your Own World, reveals Harribel was saved by Nel at some point.
Since Nel hasn’t gotten to do much, this would be another good opportunity to put her character to use, especially if she’s supposedly doing this offscreen already. Fans would surely welcome the chance to put their questions about Harribel’s fate to rest, and as a popular character, seeing her one more time before the series ends would be more than welcome.
2Extend the Epilogue
Bleach, Chapters 685 & 686
As mentioned above,Bleachhad to rush its ending for various reasons, resulting in an awkward transition from the final battle directly into an epilogue that was a bit too short to really reveal everything that it wanted to. It’s set ten years later, and features Ichigo and Orihime married with a child, as well as Rukia and Renji married with a child. What plot it has revolves around a remnant of Yhwach’s power reappearing, although it is soon destroyed.
Expanding the two epilogue chapters to take up a full episode seems like the best move here.It can reveal what happened to more characters, and perhaps take the chance to introduce some of the new characters seen intheNo Breathes From Hellone-shot, which is set two years after the epilogue. Since this is likely the last fans will see ofBleachfor quite a while, it’s important to nail the epilogue and give these characters a good send-off.
1Reveal Ichigo’s Bankai Properly
Bleach, Chapters 678 & 682
During his penultimate battle with Yhwach,Ichigo calls upon the power of his brand-new Bankai… only for Yhwach to shatter it almost instantly, meaning that fans never get a chance to see it in action. Ginjo and Tsukishima show up and repair the damaged Bankai, but when Ichigo faces Yhwach again, he simply breaks the Bankai one more time. What was the point of repairing the Bankai at all, then, if Yhwach is just going to do the same thing? It makes little sense from a narrative perspective, suggesting this is something that was rushed.
If the series wants to maintain Ichigo’s Bankai being broken twice, then the least that it can do is give Ichigo a chance to actually use his Bankai in combat with Yhwach, showing off his new powers and abilities that he’s gained as a result of the new, proper Bankai. While many of the other items on this list would be nice to see, this is one scene thatBleach: Thousand-Year Blood Warabsolutely must fix.
