Aizen and Grimmjow Comebacks! What to Expect In Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 31

On October 29, 2024, we received previews for the upcoming Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Episode 31: “Against the Judgment”, showing Aizen’s first big move in the arc, as well as the return of some familiar enemy faces.

Preview Images

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Episode 31: “Against the Judgment” will adapt Chapter 621: “The Dark Curtain” all the way to Chapter 626: “The Holy Newborn.”

#BLEACH

BLEACH TYBW EPISODE 31 PREVIEWS pic.twitter.com/ULUjQYst7y

— خالد (@0ciha) October 29, 2024

The official preview images suggest a more manga-oriented episode will be adapted for next week as there is nothing new revealed in the preview images so far.

We see Aizen’s purple Reiatsu emitted, likely for his first appearance in the episode where he emerges to crush the Soul King’s Reiatsu blobs with his own Reiatsu.

We also see Shunsui and Urahara’s expressions and the emergence of the survivors of Yhwach’s Auswahlen led by Bazz-B.

One more preview image shows Mayuri pressing a button, which is meant to control the chair Aizen is sitting on to contain his Reiatsu and thus restrict Aizen’s actions.

There are additional leaked images showing Aizen emitting his Reiatsu from a faraway distance, as well as a shot of him being stuck in Chair-sama.

https://twitter.com/FuhrerHaythem/status/1852099939330883927

Staff List

Scriptwriter: Masaki Hiramatsu
Storyboard: Takumi Ichikawa
Episode Director: Takumi Ichikawa
Chief Animation Director: Yukio Hasegawa
Animation Directors: Rina Suzuki, Hiroshi Natsuki

Takumi Ichikawa is quite new to the industry yet has made his mark through Delicious in Dungeon Episode 2.

Dungeon Meshi Episode 2

ED/SB: Takumi Ichikawa. https://t.co/H28o4B2eSf pic.twitter.com/cH7VSII4NP

— #BLEACH | عبدالعزيز العتيبي (@3z_0q0q) October 29, 2024

Meanwhile the chief animation director, Hasegawa, has done excellent work with a handful of Bleach TYBW episodes

https://twitter.com/ayoluffy_/status/1851883476041044185

While this is by no means an “action episode”, there are a handful of animators for this episode who have some good contributions

https://twitter.com/ruthalt212/status/1851714061093740593

Tadashi Fukuda: Naruto Shippuden and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Nobuhiro Okazaki: Kids on the Slope, Attack on Titan Season 2

Tsuguyuki Kubo: Gegege no Kitaro (1968, 1971), various Naruto movies up to Naruto Shippuden Movie 1, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. He has worked on the first two cours of Bleach TYBW.

Daiki Katō: Dandadan

Kōichi Takai: Kamen Rider Fuuto PI

What to Expect

This episode comes with a few notable events after the spectacularly hype row of four episodes that kickstarted this cour.

Aizen’s Strongest Kurohitsugi Yet

The Soul King has been absorbed but the power is overwhelming even for the Almighty Yhwach.

So the Soul King’s Reiatsu manifests as black blobs that descend upon Soul Society.

Think of the Gate Children from the 2003 adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Even Sui-fon’s Bankai was useless to stop their rampage until Aizen flexes with just his massive Reiatsu.

And with an influx of the black blobs, Aizen performs a Hado No. 90: Kurohitsugi without incantation that is confirmed by Urahara to be much stronger than the one that Aizen used while in his Hogyoku form.

Leakers have confirmed that 2202 TYBW suspense will be played during the casting of Kurohitsugi, which they have called out as a bad choice due to lacking the epic grandness of the likes of “Stand up, Be Strong” from Bleach Movie 3: Fade to Black.

https://twitter.com/BBSHER0/status/1851922509144186882

However, they have also commented on how the track does not fit the episode.

Aizen Gets Owned by a Sternritter

Yes, Aizen does get owned by this guy but only for a while.

NaNaNa Najahkoop uses his Schrift, U – The Underbelly, which the anime showed much earlier in Episode 21: “The Headless Star” to analyze Aizen’s Reiatsu and find any “holes” on it, which his net targets and causes his target to be immobilized for a few minutes, although the intended effect was to kill.

This was the first character to actually incapacitate Aizen.

Not even Dangai Ichigo stunned Aizen.

However, he gets taken down by Bazz-B as he and the Bambies (a fitting combo) offer to join forces with the Shinigami and with their combined Reiatsu, they open a Senkaimon to the Soul King Palace.

Grimmjow’s Return

Ichigo awakens after being thrown off the Soul King Palace by Uryu and finds Yoruichi having her torn left arm healed by Orihime.

The group prepares to counterattack but Yoruichi points out that there will be no need to use Reiatsu pads to climb back up, which would be risky.

So Yoruichi calls for a Garganta to open, revealing former 6th Espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, much to Ichigo’s surprise

https://twitter.com/0ciha/status/1851571113442116028

Grimmjow was clearly teased in Bleach TYBW Episode 8: “The Shooting Star Project (ZERO MIX)” since his voice actor Junichi Suwabe is quite distinct and familiar while it would be harder to tell from the text in the manga.

Grimmjow was the one who cut down Quilge Ople in Episode 4: “Kill the Shadow” and has been Urahara’s hidden ally in Hueco Mundo since.

Post-Credits Scene: Yhwach’s Frightful New Form

The middle of Chapter 626: “The Holy Newborn” would be adapted into this episode, where Yhwach emerges from the pit of darkness, scaring off every Sternritter, especially Askin, but not Haschwalth, who just kneels and awaits Yhwach’s next orders.

Episode Poem: The Holy Newborn

The episode poem will be from Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez:

“My claws will tear you apart.”

This poem’s simplicity mirrors Grimmjow’s first poem in Volume 24: “IMMANENT GOD BLUES”

“Doesn’t matter who it is

I’ll fucking crush anybody”

This indicates that Chapters 625: “The Living Jaguar” to Chapter 629: “Gate of the Sun” will be covered in the next episode.

Episode 32 will be titled, “The Holy Newborn”, the title of Chapter 626 and will be released on November 9, 2024.

Source: Twitter

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