Bleach: Sennen Kessen-hen - Soukoku-tan

After an awe-inspiring battle with Ichibei Hyousube—leader of the Soul Society's Royal Guard—the powerful Yhwach moves into the final stage of his master plan. He aims to slay the Soul King, the being whose very existence maintains the status quo of three worlds: Hueco Mundo, the Soul Society, and the realm of humans that Ichigo Kurosaki and his closest friends hail from. Conquering his own bout with the remainder of the Royal Guard, Uryuu Ishida joins Yhwach in his efforts to create a new world in his image.

With a flood of resolution and newfound power, Ichigo rushes to stop Yhwach from accomplishing his ultimate goal and save the countless lives within the three existing realms. But Ichigo has a complicated lineage, one that leaves him susceptible to Yhwach's sinister influence.

Meanwhile, in a final desperate gambit, Jirou Sakuranosuke Shunsui Kyouraku, the newly promoted head captain of the Soul Society's combat corps, enlists the help of an old enemy whose immense power may turn the tide of battle.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kurosaki, Ichigo Main

Morita, Masakazu Japanese

Ishida, Uryuu Main

Sugiyama, Noriaki Japanese

Zaraki, Kenpachi Supporting

Tachiki, Fumihiko Japanese

Urahara, Kisuke Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Aizen, Sousuke Supporting

Hayami, Show Japanese

Kuchiki, Rukia Supporting

Orikasa, Fumiko Japanese

Hitsugaya, Toushirou Supporting

Park, Romi Japanese

Kuchiki, Byakuya Supporting

Okiayu, Ryoutarou Japanese

Jaegerjaquez, Grimmjow Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi Japanese

Shihouin, Yoruichi Supporting

Yukino, Satsuki Japanese

Taguchi, Tomohisa Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard, Series Composition

Murata, Hikaru Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Nagasaki, Yukio Sound Director

Chen, Dali Episode Director, Storyboard, Chief Animation Director, Key Animation, Assistant Animation Director

Reviews

Dec 28, 2024

Stark700

Recommended

2024 has been a year that can be described as 'giving back to the fans'. Franchises such as Fairy Tail and Spice and Wolf made their returns while classics such as Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura got their remake treatment. It came as no surprise that Bleach wanted a piece of that pie. With confidence, I can say that Bleach marks one of the greatest anime comeback in recent memory.

It wasn't a long break so if you need some refresh of memory, just read the premise and the promotional videos. The core of the plot still involves Ichigo, Soul Society, and their allies defend against ... Yhwach and his draconian Wandenreich army. The most elite among them are known as the Sternritter. This season pits our main characters against some of the most creative and deadly enemies the franchise has ever seen. Sternritter's higher ranked members are no pushovers as they push the Gotei 13 captains to their limits. Even the captain commander Shunsui Kyouraku is pushed to his limit when confronted by the Sternritter leader. Watching this season constantly pushes the limits of what Bleach characters can do. From malevolent transformations to otherwordly abilities, there's no shortage of entertainment.

As a very plot focused season, we also find out Yhwach's motivations and how far he's willing to push himself to achieve his ends. Commanding a legion of forces, he is describe as a 'final boss' of the season. To get to him, this season truly explifies the meaning of war. It's interesting to note that to achieve a meaningful plot, there's character background stories told for both Soul Reapers and Quincys. Characters such as Nanao and Ukitake's stories are told with important narratives. Others including Bazz-B gets deeper character study of how they ened up as who they are. Bleach's background storytelling sometimes defines what it means through loss, characterized by a character suffering through some form of tragedy. This is no different when we see how war and tragdies affects them. Bazz-B is a classic example of what he has experienced in the past and present. Nonetheless, popular characters in the past arcs also return who viewers should be very familiar with. However, because this season is heavily plot focused on the war, their roles are given through battles rather than more background stories.

I've always thought Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War had a thirst to prove itself through unorthodox battles. Let's say if you're in for some glorious action, this season won't be a letdown. The chereography achieve cinematic sequence through its usage of character movements, expressions, and creativity. Every character in this arc is unique in itself that we question what their limits are. Yhwach is at the top of the hierarchy as we witness his power, a force that truly sets his reptuation in this entire final arc. Others such as Mayuri and Kyouraku have more creative abilities to deal with their adversaries beyond just brute force. To put it in perspective, Ichigo is not the one carrying this season on his back. But likewise, this season is also a rollercoaster of emotions when unresolved conflicts take place. For instance, how does Ichigo deal with Uryu, his former friend who joined the other side of this war?

Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict continues to prove itself that no matter how longm it delivers what fans want to see. From the emotional storytelling through its cinematic battles, there's really no shortage what this final arc has set out to to do. It once again shows that Bleach is one of the greatest anime to make its comeback in history.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 29, 2024

logic340

Mixed Feelings

I really wanted this cour to succeed. The promise of new anime-original content gave me some hope that it could fix the flaws of the manga’s poorly received final arc. Unfortunately, this season couldn’t escape the problems of its source material. No amount of nostalgic callbacks, solid animation, or impressive sound design could save it. This feels like one of the most overhyped anime in recent memory. That being said, if you’re a fan of Bleach like I am, I still recommend giving it a watch—but go in with lowered expectations, or you’re bound to be disappointed.

Story/Plot: 4/10
The plot is where this cour falls apart. ... Just like in the manga, the story feels barebones and poorly constructed. Many characters are shoved into the narrative not because they serve a purpose, but because their presence panders to fans. It’s bloated, overcrowded, and detracts from moments that could have been better fleshed out. There’s a severe lack of stakes throughout this cour. Weak characters like Chad and Orihime somehow survive impossible situations because they’re fan favorites, but it’s completely unrealistic given the circumstances. This leads to a lot of plot conveniences and fake-out deaths that kill any tension. By this point, the trope feels tired and predictable. Ichigo, Renji, Lille—so many moments could’ve had lasting emotional impact but instead feel cheap and meaningless.

Animation: 7/10
While the animation started off strong, it quickly revealed its limitations. Initially, I was impressed, but as the cour progressed, I noticed more still panels and an overreliance on DBZ-style explosions rather than meaningful choreography. The battles lack creativity, and the muted color palette throughout the season gave the visuals a dull, lifeless look.There were a few standout shots, but some of the most hyped scenes didn’t even match the quality of the original series. For a series with such high expectations, this season's animation felt overhyped overall.

Characters: 6/10
When I say everyone is back, I mean everyone. The Vizards, the Arrancars, Nel, Grimmjow, Kira—the list goes on. While it’s nice to see so many familiar faces, the sheer number of returning characters completely derails the narrative. Most of them have no meaningful role and are just there to please fans. It’s frustrating to see characters like Nel and Grimmjow brought back only to do almost nothing. Chad and Orihime are present all season but contribute absolutely nothing of substance. Instead of developing key players or focusing on meaningful relationships, we get a “greatest hits” montage of cameos that detracts from the story’s flow. It felt like an old Oprah episode: “You get a cameo! And you get a cameo!”

Sound: 8/10
There is not a lot to say here it's Bleach we know what to expect from the sound design. The opening and ending themes didn’t do much for me, but the OST was solid. The nostalgic tracks from the original series were a highlight, and they did a great job of setting the tone for some scenes. However, even great sound design couldn’t save the season from its narrative shortcomings.

Enjoyment: 5/10
My enjoyment of this cour was heavily weighed down by its overreliance on nostalgia and the fanbase’s overhyping of this arc. The execution felt sloppy, and the pacing was all over the place. Instead of focusing on the important parts of the story, the season jumped between scenes in a frantic attempt to cram too much into too little time. The humor also felt outdated, with gags interrupting serious moments and pulling me out of the immersion. Key characters weren’t given the time they deserved, and others shouldn’t have been included at all. It feels like the staff prioritized quantity over quality, which is a shame considering the potential of this arc.

Final Thoughts
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Cour 3 had the potential to elevate one of the series’ weakest arcs, but it fell short in almost every way. While the sound design and occasional moments of animation were enjoyable, the barebones plot, bloated cast, and lack of stakes made it a slog to get through. If you’re a Bleach fan, it’s worth watching for the nostalgia—but keep your expectations low. This cour is a reminder that not everything can be fixed with callbacks and flashy animation. Here’s hoping the next cour delivers on the potential that this one missed.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jan 3, 2025

Cyrose

Not Recommended

Funny

I would rather live in sad reality than live in fabricated happiness.

OG Bleach (366) was somewhat decent as a TV series. It had so many cool characters and events that was meaningful, funny and entertaining to watch. However, this new seasons “Thousand Year Blood War” is completely the opposite.

Old Bleach was slow given all the events to build up for the viewer, but now things happen in an instant that just ruined the whole build up and connection for all the fights to unfold and for characters and the story to grace in any way.

Fans after the last episode of the previous ... season of TYBW hyped up Senjumaru like she is the 🐐 and unbeatable. I knew right the way what is going to happen. It is task book Bleach outcome; She gets this super power up to impress everyone, then she gets destroyed by plot as always.

This was indeed the main issue with Tite Kubos writing. He can’t possibly write meaningful and comprehensive stories that has fundamentally driven by the act of the characters. Rather he writes nonsensical and soulless outcomes of the events since these characters like Senjumaru or Ichibei are so powerful that they could have ended the series. So does Aizen in the OG series should have defeated Ichigo with a single move, but Tite tried his best to gave Ichigo 2 years to train in the middle of the story which was hours in the actual timeline so he can somehow makes this train wreck story move forward into.. an absolute madness like it did.

The whole conflict is ridiculous anyway, Quincy’s are just made for being the bad guys that couldn’t get along with the Shinigamis. Obviously someone pulled the strings to make them hate each other, but they are so stupid to just talk through things. It is also way more interesting to put on flashy, but zero effort fights.

The real reason for my dissatisfaction with Bleach is its chaotic emptiness and the lack of any revelatory narrative to tell. Battle on top of battle just consumed this series alive since it has nothing behind its flashy overpowered characters acting battles between each others for years.

Every single Bleach episode now is random fighting against random pop out plot device characters that you will only know for no longer for one episode as the “strongest opponent”. Those who got beaten up and should have died like four times so far are getting stronger and still alive… Those who should have stayed alive are getting killed by plot. Ridiculous..

Lets talk about the battles and powers, because this show possesses the most unbalanced power system and unga-bunga action tactics ever.

All the powers are random and hardly had any foundation whatsoever.

Senjumaru should have killed everyone, but again the plot saved all the Quincy’s… so the story can continue. Not to mention she killed everyone in her Bankai, except Uruyu so HE can be the one who ends her.

Even Bleach fans knows that she is way above the league of Uruyu, but still can’t accept that this series and Tite Kubo is just playing with the viewers with his extremely poor writing. Since no one saying this out loud, he is free to write this mediocre nonsense all day.

Also, since when does Uruyu can use Sasukes Rinnegan abilities? Didn’t know it was their voice actor’s ability all along.

“This is my highest level” until you kill me and I come back stronger Ahh power system.

They are supposedly multiverse level, but in battle they do normal human damage to each other. The biggest attack power is probably small town level, but usually their attacks are building or wall level. However their aura and “spiritual pressure is shaking worlds”. We all know aura is a big deal.

The sad fact is that the whole power scaling is so unbalanced that no strong opponent can last longer than one second against another stronger opponent. They one tapping each other because they are so lacking correspondence to their titles. No worries though, the gap might be large in powers, but they are equally boring in battle tactics.

The villains in bleach follows the trope of evil for the sake of evil without any reasonable or rational justification of their actions or goals. They just want the opposite of what the other group wants. Kindergartners level scrimmage.

Deaths also has no emotional connection since characters dies from one frame to another without any logical connection to the battle or story.

Tite creates these crazy cool characters to appear epic, just for them to die a few frames later. One tap 90%. Also gives random explanations to some new stuff that he pulled out from no where.

The animators had to drag the scenes like “his aura is shaking worlds now” it might look cool and powerful.. but definitely not well written or enjoyable.

When it comes to actual battle, one side acts like they are the strongest ever, then when they don’t have anything else to say gets one tapped immediately. Don’t worry though, they are fine.

Yamamoto: “There is no better protection here than myself.”

Five minutes later: 🥝

Poor Toushirou was humiliated five times and he still alive.

Team Zero were named zero, because you need zero effort to defeat them. (Strongest group in Bleach btw).

Ichigo dies for the fifth time, I guess the training at the dinner table and in the jacuzzi wasn’t enough for him.

“Absolute Cinema” more like absolute Circus.

Considering that all Quincy’s are turning into a Pokemon, it is pretty accurate.

Whenever you hear an anime is called “peak cinema” - run.

Conclusion,

This series in its essence is all smoke, and people acting like there is fire.

Bleach was actually somewhat interesting as a shounen back then on its TV scheduled pacing. Now unfortunately it rock button with its extremely low effort of writing standards and nonsensical unbalanced content that made it look like a random piece of show off that has nothing to offer, but lazy action on top of action without no genuine or valuable content to disclose.

This type of battle Shounen what Bleach TYBW provided has been the most abundant of all action stories I have seen. What starts with a Ban-kai will end with a Ban-kai, eventually.

Everything in the middle is milky-parody.

As a result, Bleach has fallen from its knees to its face with this one. “Bah-ouch”.

Final Score: 1/10 ⭐️

I have a big appetite, but after all these exquisitely plated titles, I am still hungry for quality.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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