Renji and Rukia’s shocking fate at Yhwach’s hands was tough to witness. The situation also leaves Ichigo broken, but are they really dead?
-
Bleach TYBW Part 4 Anime Director
Murata Hikaru, Taguchi Tomohisa
-
Original Title
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity or Bleach: Sennen Kessen-hen – Kashin-tan (BLEACH 千年血戦篇-禍進譚-)
Bleach TYBW Part 4: Does Renji Die?
Yhwach’s Return Proves Why The Almighty Is So Terrifying
After Orihime’s sacrifice, it felt like Yhwach would not be a problem anymore. But that was not the case. Even though Orihime wiped Yhwach out of existence altogether, he came back. This happened because Uryu’s fight with Jugram made it possible for Yhwach to get his The Almighty power back. With this ability, not only does Yhwach receive the power to see the future, but also to alter the future as he sees fit.
If Yhwach willed it, he could pick any possibility from the endless possibilities and make it happen in reality. Thus, after he returns, he wastes no time wreaking havoc in Ichigo’s life. He attacks his friends left and right and makes Ichigo witness it while taunting him that he cannot do anything to protect his friends. The moment Ichigo tries to unleash another attack, Yhwach goes one step ahead and thwarts it before it can even land.
Ichigo Was Forced To Watch As Yhwach Tore His Friends Apart
After Yhwach makes it a point to completely annihilate everyone, he goes through Ichigo’s friends one by one in an attempt to showcase his dominance. That was when Renji suddenly decided to do something about it and release his Bankai. However, before he could even make a single strike, Yhwach came from behind and completely ripped Renji apart. The attack was so gruesome that Renji’s body parts were sent flying around Rukia. Not only Renji, but Yhwach also attacked Rukia and most likely killed her as well.
On the other hand, Yhwach also fatally pierces Ganju and Chad. This whole carnage completely breaks Ichigo. He was literally lying on the ground while his friends were getting stabbed and killed. This makes Ichigo despair like never before, and we see genuine hopelessness in his eyes. Off-screen, we also hear Ichigo’s ear-splitting scream, telling us that he truly felt the most powerless in this episode.
Renji And Rukia Might Not Be Gone For Good
Even though Orihime is not dead, she is very brutally wounded. However, considering her broken powers, Orihime will most likely be able to heal herself very soon. After that, she could bring Renji and Rukia back along with others. But even if this is not the case, we could see something happen later in this series that would bring them back.
The makers are not at all going by the book, and they are including many different things that were not in the manga; that is why it’s very difficult to predict what can happen next. There is also a high chance that Aizen’s involvement would do something that would render whatever is happening in this episode useless. If not Orihime’s healing powers, maybe Aizen’s illusion would be the one thing that would save everyone.
Renji Isn’t Weak, He Just Keeps Fighting The Wrong Opponents
Renji and Rukia had no real opportunity to contribute in this episode. Even before, Renji tried to use his Bankai on opponents who were far stronger than him, and he very rarely managed to actually defeat them. That is why this fate was guaranteed for him even if he didn’t try to attack Yhwach first.
However, this does not mean that he is a weak Soul Reaper. His powers are actually pretty solid, and it is unfortunate that he doesn’t get as many situations to showcase them properly.
Watch Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War on Netflix. What are your thoughts on the episode? Let us know in the comments below!