Unohana and Kenpachi are facing off to death in Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 10, as Ichigo and Renji meet the creator of the Zanpakuto. Let’s see how it went in this review!
Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 10 Overview
What is there to be said about Bleach that hasn’t been said before? It is one of the most popular anime in the west of Japan of all time and is considered a part of the Big Three, a trio of anime widely recognised as having been a part of popularising the medium of anime. The show is back after a hiatus of nine years, as its first run ended in 2013. The newest season of the show is being developed by Studio Pierrot, the studio behind the original series, as well as other giants such as Naruto and Tokyo Ghoul.
The final arc of Bleach is directed by Tomohisa Taguchi, who has been involved in the productions of Persona 4 The Animation and Twin Star Exorcists, and the series is based on a manga written by Tite Kubo. This episode is also referred to in original Japanese as Bleach Sennen Kessen-hen Episode 10 (Bleach Sennen Kessen hen Episode 10) and Bleach TYBW Episode 10. Click here to read the review of the previous episode!
– Bleach Sennen Kessen hen Episode 10 Review does not contain spoilers –
Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 10 Review- The Battle
There’s not much in this entire medium better than a good fight. When done right, a fight can be an extremely effective storytelling medium, and it can also be the culmination of years of storytelling, meant as an end or a new beginning. Somehow, in this episode of Bleach, it felt like both of these aspects. Not only was it the end of an extremely troubled tale between two of the strongest Soul Reapers alive, but it was also the path to finding themselves for one of them. This was an amazing episode.
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The previous episode’s Retsu Unohana reveal had been backed up by decades of slow building and planning by the writer, and it was highly effective in doing what it was meant to do- put an end to one generation of Soul Reapers and kickstart a new one capable of defeating Yhwach’s forces. “Only one of us is going to leave this place alive” was a bold claim by Retsu, but you believed every word that came out of her mouth after revealing who she really was. She was Yachiru Unohana, the first Kenpachi and once the strongest Soul Reaper to ever live.
The fight between the Kenpachis was intense, hard-hitting, and just as explosive as you would expect it to be. The magicians behind Studio Pierrot did their best with the animation, bringing the horror behind Yachiru’s eyes as the source material always intended it. The OST for this fight was horrifying and terrifyingly presented by Shiro Sagisu, the genius behind nearly all of Bleach’s OSTs. Not being overly familiar with the source manga, I couldn’t tell you that this was perfectly adapted, but if this was less than perfect, it speaks more about the high quality of the manga and is not a knock on the anime.
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After one of the best anime fights you’ll ever see came the Ichigo and Renji section of this episode, which you would expect to be completely overwhelmed by considering what came before. You would be wrong. Not only because Oh-Etsu is already the best character in the show (I will accept no questions or counter-arguments at this moment, please respect my admittedly poor judgement), but the second half of the episode never even tried to challenge the first one. Instead, it pointed you towards something else the show does very well, that being subliminal storytelling.
Bleach has layers upon layers of lore that are left unexplored, not because the author didn’t feel like explaining it, but because he wanted to let people do the work if they wanted to know what lay underneath. Bleach makes you ask questions and gives you just enough information to put the pieces together yourself, which is extremely rewarding for multi-time watchers, and people who don’t like to be spoon-fed details. Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 10 also did wonders in this direction, whether it be Retsu’s true powers or Ichigo’s old sword, there were a lot of avenues explored here with much success. This was a masterful episode.
Verdict
Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 10 was absolutely worth the hype and anticipation it had gathered for all these years. Bleach is peak shonen, and this was peak Bleach.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!