First Impression on Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War

The first episode starts like in the 2nd trailer. It shows the tension of a new thread we know nothing of but were spoiled years ago by manga readers and wallpapers on the internet. Here’s my thought on it, who never read the manga.

Spoilers Ahead

Later introduces two new characters and a recurring character with cool new visuals and animation. I’m guessing they’ll be the equivalent of Hanataro. A mysterious guy is popping a coin to attract hollows, which we already have seen done by Uryu in season 1. Then a hollow shows up and chases one of the new characters. This is practically set up the entrance for the main cast. After a chase scene that is really well made, we get to see the whole team showing off and Ichigo busts out the Bankai unnecessarily. I love how the sequence plays out with crispy & vibrant animation and the classical theme music “Number One” by Shirō Sagisu, which I was most eager to hear ATM. Then all the main characters get an introduction stylistically. Orihime, Uryū and Yasutora Sado (Chad) get the proper introduction they deserve. Then the title card drops. I’m still hoping they bring the unique title card back for every episode just like the old days.

Later we see the characters in their casual ways, barging into Ichigo’s house uninvited. The new guy wakes up next to his Gigai, which is a funny way to introduce the concept. Next, that mysterious guy shows up, which we’re guessing is a Quincy but with a hollow mask, which adds another layer of mystery. He and Ichigo start fighting then.
We see mysterious events taking place in the Soul Society and the introduction to Ikkaku Madarame. Then more of the mysterious people showed up right in front of the Head Captain, which begged the question, how? After they disappear without a trace, we hear a shocking statement from one of the injured Soul Reapers that they can steal Bankai. That’s when it made sense why they made Ichigo show off his Bankai in the beginning. Now giving us a false sense of fear that we may never see it again after that brief introduction for a while. But SIKE! That didn’t work against Ichigo for some reason. That is a great way to leave off and make people come back to find answers to the questions raised in episode 1.
In the final scene, we see Hueco Mundo and those mysterious people walking in. Then the main threat is introduced shockingly and fittingly when he chops off the hand of one of those guys who was being cocky & basically asking for it. Then the full version of the special ending theme song “Rapport” by Tatsuya Kitani plays out with the montage of everything that happened before, and the credits roll in a cool & stylistic way.

After Thought

I’m loving it so far. The style, the storyboarding, the animation, the new visuals, the music, everything has my praise. I’m also glad that there was no boring exposition scene. They just let the visuals speak for themselves. Bleach is back after 8 years on the television screen, and it is banging. Tite Kubo, the mangaka of Bleach is supervising the whole project. So, we can rest assured that it won’t be disappointing.