Ichigo has lost his sword for the second time, and this one was much worse than the last. Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 8 sees the aftermath of the Quincy invasion of Soul Society. Let’s get right to the review!
Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 8 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 8 (Bleach Sennen Kessen hen Episode 8) and Bleach TYBW Episode 8. Click here to read the review of the previous episode!
– Bleach Sennen Kessen hen Episode 8 Review contains spoilers –
Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 8 Review- Rebuild The Soul Society
The war is over for now, as the show moved on to tell a different kind of story than it had been since the show’s start. It was always going to be a somewhat weird transition because how do you go from the darkness and destruction of the first attack on Soul Society to the show’s usual light and jovial nature? It would never be the same again, as too much has been lost now to forget everything and lounge around. It is time to rebuild the Soul Society because the threat still lurks in the background.
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The Soul Society has lost most, if not all, of its strongest fighters. Yamaji is gone forever, and Byakuya and Kenpachi were soundly defeated and critically injured by the Sternritters. Ichigo lost his sword, and the future looked hopeless, which was conveyed very well by the show’s tone in the first half. The Soul Reapers were trying to pick themselves up from the ground and move on, but no matter how much people like Shunsui tried, it would be hard to move on from this kind of blow. However, all was not lost. It never is.
The mythical Squad Zero has been mentioned in passing before, some ten-odd years before they would be required to show up in the show. However, their existence would always raise questions like “Why did they not interfere with the war” or “what were they doing when this happened”. The show did an admirable job of answering all these questions in a way that was satisfactory to the show’s lore and made Squad Zero look as badass as we had always imagined them to be. You are allowed to be goofy if you are that strong and confident in your abilities.
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I guess we didn’t talk about why I am talking about Squad Zero in the first place since that technically constitutes a spoiler. Well, without talking about them, this episode didn’t have anything of note happen. There were some great scenes which allowed for more time for our beloved characters to shine, but as it often is, when you have this many characters in a single show that are fan favourites. Some are going to get left behind, and there is not much anyone can do about that. Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 8 did a decent job of juggling the cast around while telling a great story.
However, this particular episode was about rebuilding, scraping yourselves off the ground and starting back up. It was a slower outing which showcased a lot of the new and the old, introduced fresh characters and reminded us all of the old ones that we had maybe forgotten about. The series can’t be all action all the time, and episodes such as this are very welcome in the middle to establish more of the plot. The season has headed towards a very interesting direction for Ichigo and his allies, and it should make for fantastic viewings once the plot is set up.
Verdict
Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 8 was exactly what it needed to be. It was a fresh start to the Soul Society and a rebuilding of their forces. It introduced a lot of new characters and concepts, alongside paying homage to the old ones.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!