PEAK RENJI EPISODE! Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 33 Review!
It’s been 20 years since these two last faced off. Bleach TYBW brings another anime-original fight that could shape the storytelling of the rest of the season.
Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Episode 33: “Gate of the Sun” might be the only episode here to be considered an “anime expansion” more than a normal canon episode.
This episode adapts Chapter 629: “Gate of the Sun”, the first five pages of Chapter 630: “Twinned Twilight” and pages 6 to 12 of Chapter 635: “Hooded Enigma”, adapting only 28 pages that make up the first ten minutes of the episode.
However, within this episode is easily one of the best performances of any Bleach character since the Arrancar Saga.
Warhwelt View
We get yet another demonstration of Pierrot’s great 3D as we feel the scale of Warhwelt, this massive floating landmass with five cities.
The five Schutzstaffel stand on each point of the Quincy cross on one of Silbern’s towers, each point having a Gate of the Sun, where we see the episode title of the same name.
After a telepathic roll call from Yhwach, the five Sternritters teleport to their chosen destinations.
Notice that every guard brings out their Quincy Crosses upon being called, with Uryu and Lille doing theirs normally, Askin being chill and not really showing it, Gerard pressing on his chest because his Quincy Cross is his core and Pernida forming a Quincy Cross from his eyes, signifying how the Left Arm sees itself as a Quincy.
Everyone from the Ichigo and Gotei 13 teams begin moving out but the Quincy allies stay behind, using Shadow to teleport to a Gate of the Sun near Silbern.
Through a slight tilting of the axis, Mayuri opens the Gate again to have his own fun but Kenpachi comes in, being late to the party due to a bathroom break.
Grimmjow vs Askin Nakk Le Vaar
Grimmjow Chasing Askin This Shit So Fun 😭😂#BLEACH #BLEACH_animepic.twitter.com/3CIprfSHCj
— Shardyyy 🍓 (@__Espada0__) November 16, 2024
Askin gets the short end of the stick as he immediately counters the biggest threat, Ichigo but it is Grimmjow who catches after him in a really well done chase scene, once again highlighting Pierrot’s improved 3D animation.
This is also our first and only taste of a partial Resurreccion from Grimmjow, who turns his hands into claws for faster movement.
Even after catching Askin off-guard a few times, however, Askin’s Gift Ball manages to disable him.
Sniping the Lieutenants
Lille Barro scours his quadrant for the biggest group, the Gotei 13 and Vizards using his Diagramm.
With the accuracy of his X-Axis Schrift, Lille first snipes Hisagi’s but what the anime does brilliantly is show how the event actually scattered everyone as Omaeda and Kiyone responded to Hisagi’s fall and were shot down, with Kiyone in particular receiving a hole on her chest.
Isane would later fall brutally as well.
Of note, Tite Kubo drew illustrations of the lieutenants that were sniped, for fun of course.
— 久保帯人＆スタッフ (@tite_official) November 16, 2024
It is during this time that Renji separates from the room, managing to deflect the shots of a different Sternritter, Uryu Ishida.
Uryu vs Renji: The Beginning
Upon meeting Uryu, Renji acknowledges that Uryu will not be their guide (ally or double agent) and asks him questions.
Pay attention to Uryu’s statements before the fight.
Uryu tells Renji that the Shinigami have no hope because
This is something none of the other Shinigami know about.
They only know that Yhwach took over the Soul King Palace and killed the Soul King but none of them realize that Yhwach was even able to absorb the powers of the Soul King.
Renji then asks if Uryu has come across Ichigo and Uryu says that he killed Ichigo or so he thought.
Hearing this, Renji engages the battle and immediately identifies him as the enemy, calling him “Quincy” and not by his name.
For those who recalled, Renji’s first fight in the entire series was actually with Uryu and Uryu lost to Renji.
In a way, this was a match that was bound to happen.
Also notice the title of Chapter 53, in which the two fought is, “Nice to meet you. I will beat you.”
During this chapter, Renji defeats Uryu off-screen while the middle of the chapter was just Ichigo in the toilet as he prepares to find Rukia.
Sōō Zabimaru Expanded Abilities
After a brief clash, Renji quickly activates his Bankai: Sōō Zabimaru and begins with Orochiō but unlike in the manga scene, we see the blade of the snake head burn with intense flames, such that it melts both Uryu’s arrow and one of the surrounding buildings in Wahrwelt.
Uryu uses Licht Regen but Renji blocks the arrows with the Hihiō hand and swings debris at him. Renji uses the snake mouth to grab one of the blocks and uses it to hit Uryu on the head while the snake mouth pins him to one of the buildings.
With the baboon arm, Renji punches Uryu through several buildings, causing mass destruction, and stabs him with the Orochiō blade, finishing him off with Sōō Zabimaru, Zaga Teppō, releasing jaws of spiritual energy to crush his opponent.
However, we see Uryu’s Blut surround his body, nullifying the blade completely.
This might be the strongest Blut we have seen in the series outside Yhwach’s and it might possibly be his signature skill. Who knows.
Now in his Vollstandig, Uryu used his Licht Regen, his signature attack at this point, but Renji makes an “ok” gesture with the giant arm and blocks the arrow barrage with his Hihiō arm, resulting in the furs being shaven.
However, this was still part of Renji’s Bankai, as shown from the gesture. Now, the fur that had been shed from Uryu’s Licht Regen turn into multiple arms through Hihi Tenshō, confining Uryu in their grasp.
This was part of Renji’s plan as we see a new flashback from his training with Ichibe Hyosube where we learn that Renji’s Bankai needed more Reiatsu to maintain itself for 20 seconds to unleash his strongest attack,
Renji swings the snake body Orochiō using the baboon hand of Hihiō until the snake forms into a massive flaming whip and eventually a massive ball of exploding energy that lands on the target and causes a massive explosion strong enough to not only decimate a chunk of a city but get the attention of Mayuri and Kenpachi, who were on the other side.
Although Mayuri dismisses the lack of intelligence from Renji’s Reiatsu, Kenpachi acknowledges the work he has put into it.
Uryu’s Newest Move a Throwback?
Uryu falls on the ground, still quite intact.
Uryu begins absorbing the Reishi of the various debris and buildings, initiating Sklave Rei, his first use of the technique, which empowers his Vollstandig to the form he used against Ichigo.
Suddenly, he imprisons Renji by combining his feathers into five serrated rods that form bindings resembling Rikujōkōrō and drains Renji of his Reiatsu.
This technique, Federzwinger allows Uryu to apply the basic Quincy ability of Reishi dominance upon a living opponent.
Federzwinger feels like a dead ringer to the Reishi-absorbing blade, Seele Schneider and its Ginto technique Sprenger, where five Seele Schneider swords are placed to form the Quincy cross to blow up the opponent inside.
There is a Hell Verse version that is even more similar to Federzwinger called Geldschrank, where the target is confined in an energy cage and the Seele Schenider cuts forcibly releases Reishi out of the target’s body to empower the explosion of the Geldschrank trap.
Uryu uses Federzwinger to drain Renji’s Reiatsu so he is unable to maintain Bankai.
Through the fight between Renji and Uryu, we also learn that a Shinigami needs to maintain a certain amount of Reiatsu in order to maintain their Bankai and any absorption of Reiatsu would result in the Bankai falling apart and deactivating.
This was something implied through Ichigo’s clad-type Bankai as his shihakusho represented his Reiatsu, as well as Isshin noting that having no serious injuries is needed for him to activate his own Bankai, likely due to how those injuries would impair control over his Bankai.
Renji at his Peak
In spite of losing much Reiatsu, Renji rises and forces out a skeletal arm from his left arm, revealing that he can still use his Bankai and fires a Hikotsu Taiho, his original Bankai’s tehcnique, but this was easily pierced through by Uryu’s arrow.
Uryu aimed for Renji’s Soul Chain and Soul Sleep to disable him, which he has done against opponents such as Jirōbō Ikkanzaka early into the Soul Society Arc and PRivaron Espada No. 105, Cirucci Sanderwicci.
This is Renji’s “The Blade is Me” moment.
In Chapter 684: “The Blade”, Ichigo finishes off Yhwach by using the Shikai form of his Zangetsu, which was revealed after Yhwach shattered the “scabbard” of Ichigo’s true Bankai with the Almighty, with Ichigo overcoming an impossible situation to slay the moon.
In the same way, Renji uses his old Bankai technique even after Uryu puts him in a similarly impossible situation and although he fails, Renji has truly proven himself.
Renji deserves the spot on the Volume 73 cover through the anime scene.
In Volume 73, we see Renji’s Bankai form with an exposed right arm showing off more of his tattoos.
Like Ichigo, Renji had a false Bankai (at least one with a false name) and in both false and true Bankai forms, Renji “wore” his Bankai.
And just like Ichigo, in recognizing the true name of his Bankai, gaining his Zanpakuto spirit’s (and thus his own) acknowledgement of growth and deservedness, Renji would embody the lesson of Oetsu Nimaiya as to the true meaning of Zanpakuto: “The Blade is Me”.
How was Outcome of the Fight?
This fight was quite impressive on both sides.
Although this continues the hot win streak Uryu has had since killing Senjumaru and greatly wounding Ichigo, two of the most powerful beings in the verse, this was not quite easy.
Ichigo was holding back a lot in his fight while Renji was holding back even less, even while Uryu acknowledged that Renji had no full commitment to kill the Quincy.
In spite of this, Renji’s performance could be considered better than his fight with Mask de Masculine.
For one, Mask had no information or Daten about Renji’s true Bankai since this was a new development.
Additionally, Mask arrogantly used his Vollstandig’s Star Flash: Super Nova to kill James, who Kubo confirmed in Klub Outside Q&A No. to be the actual Quincy who wields the Schrift “The Superstar” and that James was only a product of his design.
Renji essentially defeated a cocky, unprepared opponent whose guard was quite low at this point.
His fight with Uryu displayed his full talents, capable of inflicting much damage to one city in Wahrwelt and he forced Uryu to take him seriously by using not only his Vollstandig but even a lethal technique like Federzwinger.
However, Uryu was intent on only drawing out and weakening Renji enough to leave him incapacitated.
Another factor to keep in mind is that Wahrwelt used to be the Soul King Palace, a dimension where the environment had a different Reishi density.
Uryu had control of the battlefield yet because of that disadvantage, Renji’s performance was arguably better than in the manga.
Ending Changes
Today’s Bleach ending was in reverse. What are they cooking??? #BLEACH_anime pic.twitter.com/wBuVbEMggw
— SMN🇵🇸 (@smn99221) November 16, 2024
There is a noticeable change to the ending song, Monochrome.
As you may have noticed, the entire ED is going in reverse, which could indicate the usage of Antithesis either in this episode or sometime in the end of the cour.
This could also be in relation to the outcome of Renji vs Uryu, where it was actually in favor of the Gotei 13 as Uryu provides some relevant information and a warning.
Then again, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure did a similar thing for Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable due to the antagonist Yoshikage Kira’s new power: Killer Queen: Bites the Dust, which creates a time loop.
Episode Poem: Baby, Hold Your Hand
This episode’s poem is by Mayuri Kurotsuchi:
“There is only you,
Be your own god.”
As the mad scientist of Bleach, Mayuri sees himself above morality because he perceives every being as on their own
The storyline of the coming chapters is where Mayuri expresses his deepest desire: to create life out of nothing
The man with a god complex yet his deepest wish, his “prayer”, is to realize life out of nothing, to show that man can be god or is god and when he sees that through Nemu’s performance in the fight against Pernida, there we see the fruits of a strong character for one of the most vile yet most enjoyable characters among the Gotei 13.
Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Episode 34 will be titled, “Baby, Hold Your Hand” and will likely cover everything from the end of Chapter 635 until at least the first two “Baby, Hold Your Hand” chapters.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE ANIME EXPLAINED WHATSAPP GROUP CHAT NOW!
