#as nodt vs. rukia

[irlkisukeurahara]

TERRIFIED FOR THIS FIGHT THEY BETTER DO MY BOY ÄS NÖDT JUSTICE

[silkhy-john]

Rukia and Byakuya having the most beautiful bankai like,,, okay Kuchiki family

[exo-raskreia]

Do you think Cour 3 and 4 will give Rukia anything ?

My ideas would be for her to get something emotional with Ukitake , because they've not interacted for the entire arc , and when they finally do , he's about to sacrifice himself

And his death , it falls flat like a pancake , as Kubo treats it like it's just another plot point , we don't even know that Ukitake's dead until the very end of the series

I'd also want for Rukia to have a little team up with Byakuya and Toshiro against that Bottom Bargain Thor

Because again , Kubo's such a hack and fraud , why aren't your Kuchiki siblings and ice users not teaming up ?

Kubo wipes off Rukia and mostly everyone else of the board because he just didn't know what to do with them , really , for that week when he was writing and drawing the chapter , it was blatantly clear he just didn't have any real ideas and so went with the easy way out

And I mean , if Bottom Bargain Thor is such a strong opponent , shouldn't you want him to face more people ? 1 against many ? Especially with how huge he gets

There was no reason for Kubo to clear so many characters off the board other than his pure laziness and lack of ideas , when really all he had to do was simply let your characters use their abilities , Rukia doesn't even get to use hers since her fight with As Nodt

Lastly , I'd want to of course see Rukia with Ichigo in the final fight against Yhwach , as it was promised infamously by Urahara , which to this day , are still his final words in the series

So curious on if the new anime will keep that in or cut it right out , or worse , change him saying Ichigo & Rukia , to Ichigo and Orihime

I have so many ideas on how the final fight could go , but it would take me quite a while to write them all out

The main points would be , what can anybody even do against Rukia's absolute zero ? Maybe Yamamoto’s bankai , but Rukia’s power is to actually control / lower the temperature , so couldn’t she just lower the temperature / heat of his flames ?

Yhwach also mainly uses his almighty to break people's swords , how can you break Rukia's when she can obviously reform it with ice , as she does in her fight against Aaroniero

The real question should be , what can Ichigo even do against Yhwach when he enters that final fight with only a third of his powers ?

He had both his Hollow and Quincy before , now he only has his Shinigami side , surely he can beat Yhwach now

Tbh, I don't know. I don't watch the TYBW anime adaptation & don't have any particular hopes for it to fix anything. There's just a bunch of plot holes in this arc (Bl3ach in general 🙄) & underdeveloped characters that the cop-out ending left in its wake 😮‍💨.

It's a crime that Rukia was sidelined in the final arc. She never did anything significant after her bankai. She should've been beside Ichigo against Ywach, NOT Ori, who was treated like a ragdoll by Ywach, was more hindrance than help to Ichigo, & couldn't even encourage him! As if Rukia would've ever told Ichigo, "You can't fight anymore" !!!

She definitely should've had a moment with Ukitake, who should've lived imo. We never even saw him fight 💀.

Who knows if they'll remove Urahara's cryptic words about IchiRuki. It's a huge plot hole, so either they'll keep the scene as is with no elaboration (and we'll witness Bl3ach burn again), remove it, or keep it but actually give us the IchiRuki tag team we deserved. Ichigo vs Ywach, the final boss fight of Bl3ach, was an entire circus. Worst final boss fight I've seen in a battle shounen 💀. The IR tag team could save it, but that would mean the atrocious conclusion to the series would have to be fixed. They'd have to fill in the other plot holes too, no? I don't wanna have any expectations on that, tho.

Wish Ichigo had seen Rukia's bankai 😫. Remember how impressed he was when he first saw her shikai? He couldn't stop staring 😭. Imagine when he sees her bankai 😩.

That Thor fight never had a conclusion, did it? Just another plot hole that I don't know if the anime will fix. I personally enjoyed the Kenpachi, Byakuya, & Hitsugaya team up 🙃. It would be cool to see our fav ice users team up for something, tho.

Anyway, I'm only looking forward to seeing clips of older Hitsugaya & the GrimmNel scenes 😅.

Sorry for the late reply!

[ichinoue]

Instead of arguing IR vs IH, people better turn their head to the beauty of RukiHime's friendship. It's not as explicit as TatsuHime, not as bubbly as Hime-Riruka (idk what their friendship name?) or not as bold as what Rukia had with Renji or Ichigo back then. It's more like soft, gentle kind of trust they have for each other. You would not see they interact so oftenly, but you know it's there. I see some people say that RukiHime is so forced, but I'm sure it mostly because they hate Orihime in the first place. Kinda stressful to see people narated as if they're competing and didn't get along well. If that's the case, why did the figure of Orihime melted-down and destroyed appeared as As Nodt tried to activated his schrift to Rukia, that made her screamed devastatingly? Rukia might be kind of awkward (yeah you could see she's kind of awkward except towards Renji or Ichigo), but she always adores and stands for Orihime. On the other side, Orihime admires Rukia so much. She saw her as a wise and matured older sister, that's why she tried to be calm around her, so much different with how she acted close friends around her age. I want to see your opinion about RukiHime, if you wouldn't mind ^^ (sorry for my grammatical error, i am still learning)

Yeah, the competition that people tried to create between Orihime and Rukia is so pointless because it's not like that in the manga at all. Even when Orihime expressed jealousy towards Rukia, she turned those feelings inwards and said she hated herself for feeling that way instead of ever taking it out on Rukia. And Rukia has a strong exterior, and Ukitake literally said she always had a hard time opening up to people and making friends, but yet she softens towards Orihime and it's very sweet.

I think it's like you said, a lot of people only think their friendship seems forced because they don't like Orihime, so when they see their favorite character interacting with the character that they viscerally dislike, it's like it can't compute in their brain. Like, "ew, I can't stand Orihime, there's no way my queen Rukia could actually like her, this is so forced." When in reality they're just projecting their own dislike for Orihime onto Rukia lol.

[rays-of-fire-and-ice]

BLEACH: The Thousand Year Blood War Ep 18 & 19 Reactions and Thoughts

Overall reaction:

First up, I didn't write anything for episode 18 last week because when I sat down to do it, all I could think to talk about was Renji's bankai reveal, which was epic, but didn't have much more to say beyond that. I loved the whole thing though, they made Renji look like such a badass throughout. And the reveal itself was *chef's kiss*

As for this week...WOW. JUST WOW. INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, WOW. There's one main highlight and you all know what it is. Just...look at her:

This is one of the most stunning things I've ever seen coming out of this show, that includes the original series. Hell, this is one of the most stunning bits of animation I've ever seen. How did they make her bankai more pretty and elegant than it already was in the manga?! I just love that her collar and sleeves are transparent, and the little details like the snowflake pattern that constantly moves over her clothes.

The visuals for this episode were so amazing, and as you can tell, I can't reblogging gifs of it. I loved every second from a visual standpoint, everything was beautifully drawn and coloured, whether it was make Rukia look fierce or terrified or beautiful, or to make As Nodt more creepy and hellish than he already is. I mean, just look at this creep:

I loved this design in the manga, and I am LOVING it here now! Paired with church bells and music, this was a fantastic reveal.

As this adaption continues to show, when it comes to the fights of this arc, it's 10/10. Whether it's added content, hearing these characters say the lines, or just finally seeing these panels animated, it's reminding me of why I was so desperate to see this arc adapted into an anime. The moment I saw As Nodt's hand graze Rukia's, and she flinches and tries to find him, I got hyped. The moment he transformed into his Vollstandig, I was screaming. And then Rukia unleashes her bankai, and I was rolling in my chair. If As Nodt vs Rukia doesn't go down as one of the best anime fights from this year, I'll be shocked.

For one, while it goes without saying at this point, I cannot emphasis enough how GOOD the animation is:

I also loved the call back to decaying characters and the flies and how they were used for Rukia's greatest fear. It's a connection to Byakuya, an experience they can say they've both shared now, and it adds to the scenes that come next when he tells her he's proud of her and he helps her defrost.

Speaking of that scene, it was already a great moment in the manga, but see it not only animated but voiced, I teared up a little. I looked forward to seeing the dub version of the scene too, I have no doubt Michelle Ruff and Dan Woren will do great here. It's a small, emotional moment for the two them, and it's more or less a conclusion their brother-sister arc. We've come a long way since the beginning, huh?

While we're on voice acting, can we give As Nodt actor absolute praise. He made him so gosh dark creepy throughout. This is the kind of voice I would hear while reading the manga, and the way he was able to morph his voice from quiet monotony to raging growls was just amazing. He was a standout in the episode for me honestly.

If I had two nit-picks about the animation, one is that As Nodt's eyeball monsters looked a little weird and out of place, but it's so small it didn't take away from the fight for me. The other is the weird video filter they used over Rukia's flashbacks; not sure why they used that filter? Is it trying to say the original show is that old now? Were they trying to be creative? Regardless, it jarred me a little, but again, it's a nit pick in what is otherwise a fantastic episode.

Overall, it was an amazing episode that will likely be in my top fifteen of the arc of the show. Next week, I'm preparing for two shikai reveals and maybe a few tears ;_;

[linkspooky]

Byakuya Kuchiki vs As Nodt 

Happy Bleach Monday! In the anime this week we see the beginning of the fight between Byakuya and As Vodt. Tite Kubo writes his fights as not just about power levels but the personal conflicts faced by the characters who are in the fight. As it’s a personal conflict, if a character wins a fight they have overcome some flaw deep within themselves, and if they lose it’s because they’ve succumbed to that flae. 

With that out of the way we ask, why did Bykuya lose so easily to As Nodt the first time they fought?

1. Reason vs Instinct

As opponents, Byakuya and As Nodt are an interesting compare and contrast. Of all the soul reapers Bykuya is the one most known for setting his feelings aside, and acting with a cool head in any situation. This seems like naturally a quality of his that would make him a perfect fit against As Nodt, someone whose literal weapon is turning ones irrational and uncontrollable fears against each other. 

In fact Byakuya’s entire character revolves around controlling his emotions. It is at the same time, his greatest strength, and his flaw. It’s most exemplified by his Banaki, he fights by turning his sword into thousands of cherry petals at once which he controls at the same time to wield as a weapon. He doesn’t fight for strength or the thrill of battle like Kenpachi, he doesn’t fight by taming his hollow side like Ichigo and turning it into a weapon, Byakuya is all about control. To the point where he even tells Tsukishima when he defeats him that he thought Battles were always fought after years, and years of discipline that he didn’t until just now experience fighting in the heat of the moment. 

Byakuya is all control. It relates to his character backstory, once a hot headed young man who after years and years of practice became the discplined young man we see today putting his duty to  the Byakuya Household above all else. 

Byakuya’s strength comes from reigning in his stronger emotions and remaining in control at all times. In fact, this becomes the point of conflict between him and Ichigo in the climax of the soul society arc. It’s not that Byakuya wants to hurt Rukia the last remnant of Isane, but rather having chosen once to betray his parents wishes by marrying someone from the poorer distrcits he swore on their graves he would uphold the duty towards his family and noble position from then on afterwards. 

His fight against Ichigo could even be seen as a battle between emotions and reasons. Byakuya suppresses his own individual emotions and acts in obedience to the law instead. He makes himself subordinate to the law. Ichigo however, is willing to fight the law on his own terms, he puts his individual emotions as more important even if it brings him in conflcit with the world. 

Ichigo says that Byakuya deciding to punish his own family instead of attempting to save Rukia is cruel, but it’s not carried out of malice towards Rukia. It’s cold, rather than cruel. Byakuya pretends to be... acts indifferent about Rukia’s personal suffering, because he’s suppressing what he really desires in order to serve the law. Byakuya’s ability to suppress his emotions like this is sometime a great strength, sduring the Zommari Rureaux fight he suppressed his emotoins in order to stay calm and win the fight while Rukia was injured, keeping a cool head in a crisis. Against Tsukihima, his ability to be cold and decisive allowed him to overcome the manipulative ability of his fullbring which allowed him to insert themselves in their past. 

Byakuya is coming off of two relatively easy victories, when he faces As Nodt. And he loses to him for essentially the same reasons he lost to Ichigo. 

As a brief aside, I believe the way Byakuya and As Nodt parallel each other relates to the way Ichigo and Zangetsu do. The king and his horse metaphor that Zangetsu uses is about the division of consciousness, specifically Jung’s interpretation of it. He divides consciousness into two, the consicous mind where thought and reason reign supreme, and the subconscious mind or the shadow which is made up of all of the aspects of consciousness and ourselves we are not aware of. 

WHat’s the difference between the king and his horse? Ichigo and Zangetsu represent two aspects of Ichigo’s mind, Zangetsu looking like Ichigo’s literal reflection. What makes one the ruler then?

Zangetsu’s answer is instinct. If Zangetsu represents the shadow, then the only way to be in control of your shadow is to be aware of it. Zangetsu threatens if Ichigo doesn’t rule over his instincts, that he’ll take control instead. 

You either rule over your instincts, or you’re ruled by them. If you’re not aware, you’re caught by surprised and kicked off your horse. Which is exactly what happens to Byakuya. 

Byakuya lives by constantly trying to rule his instinctual side and keep them suppressed, and in contrast As Nodt exists in an almost perpetual state of fear even back to his origin. If Byakuya is rational at all times, As Nodt is irrational by comparison, if Byakuya exists in a constant state of calm, As Nodt believes that living itself is to feel fear. 

Which is in line with his backstory, if Byakuya has years upon years of training and grooming to become the successor of the Kuchiki clan, a young prodigy nurtured into an adult, As Nodt’s backstory is one where he only remembers living in a constant pain, where death was his only relief. However, even death itself brought with it the fear he might go to hell and experience even more pain. 

As Nodt was reduced to his illness until there was almost nothing left, a shell, and now even with Ywach’s power having resurrected him he still acts as a creature of instinct. There’s barely anything human about him, he mutters constantly, he speaks strangely, he acts irattionally, he’s constantly lashing out from his emotions. When he first approaches Rukia while chanting like a maniac he is also stepping out onto a pool of water, water being the symbol of the subconscious mind. 

Byakuya is the representative of the conscious mind of logic and reason, while As Nodt is the animal-like untamed subsconscious. As there’s no order or higher consciousness commanding As Nodt’s actions, he acts at all times disordered, out of control, with very little rhyme or reason for why he does the things he does besides following his instinct. 

It seems natural someone who is as good at controlling his emotions as Byakuya would win against him, buy emotions aren’t things that can be completely controlled. 

Which is what As Nodt draws attention too, that Byakuya believes that through years upon training and discpline he has completely conquered fear, whereas AS Nodt lives constantly feeling that fear so he is at least aware of it while Byakuya has become blind to it. 

This relates back to the Soul Society arc, both Byakuya’s first and final fights deal with his tendency to try to suppress his own emotions completely which makes him blind to his true feelings. In the Soul Society arc his desire to save Rukia was stronger than his desire to fulfill the law, but Byakuya ignored that in order to try to serve the wishes of his dead parents. 

Once again, Rukia is at the center of Byakuya’s conflict with his own emotions. This time is the opposite, while Byakuya in the Soul Society arc ignored his desire to protect her to enforce the law. This time Byakuya knows full well of his desire to protect her and has long since reconciled with Rukia, only to fall victim to his fear of losing her. 

In both times it’s because of Byakuya’s tendency is to push Rukia away, that leaves him unaware of his own feelings. Byakuya’s particular obsession is control, but the same control is what leaves him unaware of his instincts. As Nodt’s words are almost a mirror to Zangetsu’s in this regard. Fear is just as much of a part of life as bravery, a person cannot exist without their shadow, and they can’t ignore their instincts. The same way that there’s no happiness without pain, and no living without death. 

Byakuya loses because he ignores that truth  that As Nodt existing in a constant state of fear and pain has been living with his whole life, and while he is not in control of his fear, he is knowledgeable of it. Until Byakuya learns about that aspect of himself that is afraid, until he learns there is no true control, he cannot win. 

[shinixgami]

im NOT ready FOR the NEXT episode

as NODT vs RUKIA aaaaaaaaaaa

[fivehundredsporks]

omfg this newest episode of bleach... I think it may be my favourite episode out of the entire anime so far... Rukia v As Nodt is now also my favourite fight, the way they animated that was so good!!!! and that scene between Byakuya and Rukia??!

honestly Byakuya may have one of the best character arcs in that anime hands down. and that tease at the end??? can't wait for Zaraki vs Gremmy next week!!

[gulava]

*vibrates* They’re finally getting to the Rukia vs As Nodt fight. I’m so excited to see it animated!

[dem1verse]

stuffs i wanna see in the bleach tybw anime !! (MAJOR spoilers ahead !!) p.s, i'll be editing this list for every episode that comes out or if i think of smth else.

byakuya vs as nodt ✓

chojiro's bankai (+ a lil fight between him and yama bc why tf not) ✓

yamamoto vs yhwach ✓

the royal guard (senjumaru and hikifune the lomls) ✓

kenpachi vs unohana ✓

kenpachi vs gremmy ✓

komamura's bankai ✓

yoruichi's cat form

renji vs mask de masculine ✓

rukia vs as nodt ✓

urahara, yoruichi & grimmjow vs askin

pepe vs byakuya ✓

THE FUCKING SOUL KING

mimihagi

byakuya's ikka senjika (gerard vs the gotei 13)

gran ray cero getsuga tensho

[irlkisukeurahara]

as nodt is a one ep fight broooo

And...your point? What purpose were you trying to serve?

"You can't like Äs because he only survived 3 episodes"? Is that what you were trying to say?

Sorry you haven't noticed yet, but all TYBW fights so far have been "one episode fights." The only one split up into multiple episodes was Zaraki vs Unohana, and that's only because they altered the story structure to start animating the fight as soon as possible because of how hyped it was. Half of each episode was the fight, the other half was Royal Palace. No fight has taken up more than one episode's worth of runtime unless it was cut between other things. Why does it suddenly matter to you for Äs? You could say the same about Rukia's Bankai, and people would be mad if you slandered it.

[imperial--orthodoxy]

I really, really, really cannot wait to see Rukia vs As Nodt.

[swan2swan]

Does anyone know which female character in a non-female-led shonen manga has the highest win count? Counting via KOs and Kills of other named characters, and battles that at least had a starting panel and a closing panel...possibly with more as a minimum, but we’ll get to that.

Again, this is for non-female-led stories. Claymore, Soul Eater, and Sailor Moon are obviously all led by the ladies so they’ll skew higher. Possibly. 

Off the cuff, I’m gonna assume it’s someone from Fairy Tail or One Piece, but to set up some solid rules:

1. It has to be a fight. Curbstomps and single-strike wins count, but you don’t rack up fifty kills because you swing your blade and cut down fifty people in a scene (valid feat, not what we’re looking for). I’m looking for things that can show up in the Wikis or the YouTube videos as “______ vs. _______”. 

2. “Holding their own” and “knocking their opponent out for a moment” battles don’t count. Just because she goes and knocks out her opponent, then turns and walks away, and then the opponent gets up and starts fighting again doesn’t mean she’s won (sorry, Videl, looking at you). 

3. Fanon names count, too. “Plant-Faced Monster” works if the name wasn’t there and the fandom goes “Oh, yeah, the planet-faced monster”, BUT the battle has to START, too (Mai Valentine laughing as she takes the Star Chips from a kid in Duelist Kingdom doesn’t count as a score, but her victory against that movie star guy in the filler episode does).

4. YES, you can count filler episodes, BUT those might be pared off in final qualifications.

5. ...do we need a five? Do you see how this works?

The catalyst for this question was Rukia Kuchiki from Bleach, who I realized actually has a decent count compared to a lot of other ladies: with a Fraccion, a giant Hollow, a major Arrancar, an Espada, AND a Sternritter all to her name, she’s got a count of at least five (D. Roi, sand dude, Rudobonn, Aaroniero, As Nodt). Her count goes up with filler, too.

I’m pretty sure Nami might hit double digits...

OH.

6. Multiple-enemy battles still only count as one, unless they start off as a 2 v 2 and the girl carries (BUT even if she defeats one and gets beaten by the other, it’s still counted as a win...e.g. Asajj beat Luminara, but Ahsoka shows up and stalls her...or does that count?). 

[rays-of-fire-and-ice]

BLEACH: The Thousand Year Blood War Ep 5 Reactions and Thoughts

Overall reaction:

BEST. EPISODE. YET.

An episode so good I broke my own rule and had to use two gif reactions instead of one, because the intensity of emotions was just too much to capture in just one. This episode just came crashing in and basically screamed 'I AM THE HYPE!' In fact, it's been well over 12 hours since I watched the episode and I still went about my day with the surge of hype I got while watching it.

An absolute roller-coaster of emotions for this one, I don't even know where to start!! We got horror, we got awe, we got HYPE, and we got anticipation! THIS EPISODE SHOWS YOU WHY BLEACH NEEDED THIS ADAPTION, AND WHY THIS ARC HAD SUCH A FANTASTIC START.

Hightlights

Byakuya vs As Nodt: I had high hopes for this one, a lot of us did. I was not only not disappointed, I was blown away. There is so much good stuff in this fight, from the fear sequence (more on that below) to Byakuya's reactions to Renji's fury to Byakuya's near-death. To see As Nodt assume the same pose and to have the camera angled and drawn back the exact same why as it was when Byakuya released his bankai showed not only that the tables had turned, but also how wrong it is for As Nodt to have his power and adds to the angst of having Byakuya been torn apart by his own power. And by gosh was he torn, getting hit with one barrage of Senbonzakura, and starting to tip forward, only to be hit by another wave. It was horrifying and so, so sad. And Renji, coming in to try and stop it, to hear him screaming in rage against As Nodt, that made me tear up. Then of course there was Byakuya's apology to Renji and Rukia, and cue the waterworks from yours truly. Just like when I read this scene for the first time, to see Byakuya, one of the fan favourites and one of the strongest Shinigami get defeated and almost die, it was heart-rendering. My one and only nitpick, and it truly is a nitpick, is that we didn't get a direction adaption of the panel after he roars; honestly though, considering we got a fantastic bit of sword animation in it's place, I don't really care!

The fear sequence: absolutely chilling, from start to finish. I'm actually a little in awe for how they adapted this. From Byakuya being shown at different angles all the way up to the flies, it was downright unsettling. I'll start off by saying I love their colour choices here. I love the blend of pinks, reds, and purples and the swirling motion that happens behind Byakuya as As Nodt narrates. As the sequence goes on, the colour gets completely evaporated to greys and dark shadows, with only the pink of the flies being vibrant in an otherwise desolate, colourless scene. As Nodt's voice is incredible, I was honestly surprised how well it suits him. He could be seen as droning on and on, but I honestly captivated by his voice, the speed and low pitch just drew me in. It makes me very curious to see how he'll act later on when he has to face Rukia. Speaking of whom, Rukia's 'decay' was just as creepy and horrifying as the manga, I'm glad they didn't hold back. I loved the transition from her smiling against a white background with soft lighting on her to the deep red and harsh shadows, and just the quick transition from her normal to her rotting was just...*shudders*. And the flies, the freaking flies! Just look at these shots:

Watching them crawl over Byakuya, and then completely swarm him, it's almost exactly how I imagined it in motion while reading the manga. I loved the original panels in the manga, Kubo used the black and white to make for a shocking moment. Seriously, the use of pink here is so effective, not only in making the flies stand out and be on brand for BLEACH's marketing colour, but also in being a reflection of Byakuya himself with one of his primary colours swarming over him and immobilize him). Combined with the music, motion of the flies, As Nodt's low, monotonous voice, and the swirling motion happening behind Byakuya, this is going down as one of the most memorable scenes in the whole series for sure!

Ichigo:..this poor kid. I know it's a shounen, teenagers just go out and save the world without a second thought, but Jesus if this doesn't show you the pressure he's under, to save not just those he cares about, but the Souls screaming out - Souls he can't even see. He's not even 18 years old yet and he's going through all this crap! In all seriousness, fantastic voice acting here from everyone, just...God it was almost harrowing!

Kenny!: he makes his grand entrance, slingind three bodies over his shoulders and confronting Yhwach like it's nothing. 'Oh look, it's the Big Bad, time to cut you down!' basically. Also, was I the only one who got flashbacks to the Reigai arc while watching him fight against a copy of himself?

Hisagi: with all of this action going, I want to take a moment to give credit to Shuhei Hisagi. He only appeare don screen for, like ten seconds, but he deserves a spot here. Keep going Hisagi!

Chojiro's bankai and backstory: in terms of look, this one was fantastic! Loved seeing his backstory with Yamamoto, it was handled beautifully! Also, the lighter colour scheme was a nice reprieve, but it also showed happier times and helps to again emphasis how bleak this war (and arc) is.

Yamamato's rage: HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPE! I basically screamed when Yamamoto eviscerated Driscoll, that close up on his skull was intense and brutal. Them when he launched himself into the sky and flew straight for Yhwach, I kicked my feet in the air and actually screamed. I had goosebumps for that entire scene, and I'm getting them again just remembering it. Not only did this scene show you why Yamamoto is respected and feared, it practically radiated with his utter rage. The manga of course did this too, but my God did the anime take full advantage here! The flames, the colours, the music, everything came together to make this one of the most epic scenes yet. You can't tell me you didn't see this shot and not have your mouth agape:

And everyone's reactions to said rage: great to see my boy again, but even better to finally see my girl! Momo, it's been too long! And then there's my man, Shinji! This is the first time we've seen these two animated on the screen together, so needless to say I was very excited (on top of the hype I was feeling from Yamamoto's rage) to see them. Then there was Sajin, who I think got the best part of this scene, showing him rallying up his men and motivating him; I loved that last shot of Iba and his men, you can feel the commitment they have! And Shunsui getting back into the fight in style, as is typical of him.

As it's been noted time and again, there's a lot more violence and gore in this season, showing the carnage of war and how dire the situation is for the Arrancar and Shinigami. Just like with Izuru, I was surprised they didn't make Byakuya's death more violent (as in the manga you can clearly see his ribs! ) However, this scene is sad enough as and maybe making it as violent as the manga would just make me even more sad! I mean for God sake, the man lost his left arm (Kubo strikes again!). I think though I'm starting to see a pattern: they're saving the more violent and gory details for either background characters or characters who have a very minor role in the story (Driscoll and Berenice, for instance), they don't seem to go very violent for main or supporting characters. It's just a theory though, and we'll see if this changes in the upcoming episodes.

Overall, WHAT AN EPISODE!! I keep seeing gifs of Byakuya vs As Nodt, and it's no wonder (it actually reminds me a little of the huge attention this fight initially got when the manga chapters dropped, and how everyone was freaking out about Byakuya's 'death') What a fantastic adaption of that fight, and what follows is just as awesome, if not more so in the case of Yamamoto's rage. There was so much packed into this one (I didn't even mention Grimmjow's return!) Every scene, little and big, has an impact in this one, hitting you either in the heart or in the part of your brain that just goes 'HYYYYYYYYYYPE!'

And now next week, next week we're FINALLY getting Yamamoto's bankai!! And based on what we got in this episode, my hopes are sky high. IS IT MONDAY YET?!

[littleeyesofpallas]

I'd been going on about powers a while back, and alternate Gotei13-v-Sternritter fights... I did some alternate takes on whose bankai would be stolen by whom, but I never really ironed out a full set up of fights that would account for who'd sensibly beat whom and who'd be properly equipped to fight their opponents to at least a stalemate. (I was going to build a little bracket of all the original fights for comparison too but something distracted me and I don't really feel like it anymore. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ woops.) So, since I'm not gonna tackle the full blown roster here's just a random assortment of fights I had sitting in my drafts with kind of minimal context...

So a few notes that have to be made in excusing this match up... let's ignore that BG9 never got a real power... let's ignore that he'd stolen SuiFeng's bankai... and let's partially ignore that Nozarashi doesn't appear to have an actual power, and is just a big cleaver...

In the context of Zaraki as a character, it seems apparent that Nozarashi's meaning as "weather beaten" or "sun bleached" or effectively "worn down(by the passage of time)" refers to his own path as a fighter, but if it did lend itself to a power I imagine it'd be a power that takes advantage of the fact that Zaraki thrives in prolonged combat where as any normal or sane person wouldn't.

That said, with BG9's whole robotic analytics and precision style of combat I feel like the smartest way to make a fit match for Zaraki would've been to have BG9 read all his moves, effectively making him untouchable to Zaraki. Then Zaraki whips out the shikai, lands a few good hits, but then BG9 catches back up to speed and becomes untouchable again, but Zaraki's nigh infinite stamina facilitated by/in conjunction with Nozarashi's withering effects basically wear down BG9 on a physical and mechanical level until it doesn't matter if he can predict all of Zaraki's moves, because he's too worn out to act fast enough to do anything about it.

First of all, criminal underuse of Mashiro <period> but also, specifically, no East-v-West masked superhero fight? Really? Have them have this fun back and forth over both playing up the superhero routine in really silly superficial ways but then, kind of like how he did himself in fighting Renji, have him get too frustrated and get James caught in his line of fire; Mashiro can save James in the process proving she's the real hero and that Mask is the villain. Unmask them both in the process, but for Mashiro it's done in a heroic way and for Mask it's a lunchador style dishonorable unmasking.

I know Kubo never actually intended to give Hisagi a bankai and only came up with one because Narita asked him to, but it would've been neat to see Hisagi face off with As Nodt and readdress his thing with Findor and Tousen about fearing his own power. Have his training with Kensei and Mashiro be technically incomplete given how little time they had, with all the internal discussions with Kazeshini ending without a proper compromise or understanding, Hisagi always too afraid to manifest Kazeshini into the outer world as a bankai. But then As Nodt hits him with fear thorns, he hallucinates Kazeshini being free and almost involuntarily releasing the bankai and spending the fight trying to rein his own out of control bankai back in, really putting As Nodt on the defensive in the process, and ending with Hisagi finally learning to compromise with and accept Kazeshini so they can finish As Nodt off together.

Also, I know it was inevitable that Bazz-B and Jugram would have to have their patented Kubo-formula fight of the villainous faction bad boy rebel vs stoic high(but not highest) rank officer fight (the Renji-v-Byakuya, the Grimmjow-v-Ulquiorra) but working off my personal running idea that The Heat should've been a power contingent on passion, rather than.. number of fingers... I think a sensible, if kind of superficial match up would've been a Renji-Rukia tagteam against Bazz-B. Where Renji goes first and he and Bazz just rile eachother up, which gives Bazz the advantage, until Rukia is forced to step in with her Bankai and rather than just icing him in one hit or something, she draws the battle out in a way that Bazz-B doesn't realize until it's too late that he's been slowly losing power as the dropping temperature slows his body and brain until he can't muster any raw passion and energy to keep him going.

...

Honestly i just really don't like that Rukia and Renji were given their truename bankai. I like the designs just fine, and im super glad Rukia got one at all, but they feel like they really do feel like they were thereout of obligation to give them more powerups. Considering the bankai is supposed to be that expression of the sword spirits, who's the reflection of the inner self, even with Ichibee's truename powers as a shortcut, you'd think we'd at least get some neat little moment of revelation as to WHAT having these forms means about each of them...

What about Rukia was so vitally expressed thru coldness? Through beauty? Through the ability to stop things in their tracks? Not fearing? Not feeling? Being powerful but brittle? A power that puts her at risk as much as it hurts her opponents? it could have been super cool to have a whole big thing about how much her character is defined by loss:

losing Hisana

losing her rukongai friends

having to abandon Renji to be adopted by the Kuchiki

losing Kaien

having to relive the trauma of losing Kaien watching Ichigo fight Grandfisher

having to abandon Ichigo to try to keep him from rescuing her

losing Kaien again fighting Aaroniero...

You'd think her functionally losing Byakuya(before Kubo chickened out and brought him back from the brink) could have/should have been the catalyst for some kind of revelation about her identity in relation to loss... but we didn't even get the slightest hint that she discovered anything new about herself either in order to facilitate or as facilitated by her achieving bankai... not a damn thing...

And what aspect of Renji's had been going unexpressed? What does even having only half a bankai, or in some senses a kind of false bankai even mean about Renji? What truth about himself did Hihiou Zabimaru express, and what truth was he yet hiding, even from himself that Souou Zabimaru? If the baboon half was about his more obvious firey wild side as rival, is his snake side more patient and deceptive? As a snake is he more akin to Gin even in this true form: in the way gin spent his life patiently, sneakily creeping up to Aizen and waiting for his chance to strike, does Renji too have a patient, cold and silent side, biding its time for something that his wild exterior exists to hide? We'll never know, because as far as it appears, Kubo didn't bother to think that hard about it... disappointing...

as a tiny aside, there's some interesting history to the yokai that Zabimaru is based on: The Nue. It's generally depicted as a kind of chimera, with the face of a monkey, body of a dog, legs of a tiger, and a snake for a tail, but technically there is an older series of accounts that attribute the name Nue to a bird-like yokai instead. And even once the myth shifted toward the more familiar chimera form, part of its lore still denotes an eerie bird-like cry it makes in the night. So if there had been some revelation about a "true form" of the Nue it could've actually been really cool to see it manifest as some archaic form of the myth. It is incidentally also attributed shapeshifting powers, and it's possible that that as well as the chimera form itself are actually just a means of smoothing over continuity of what were once conflicting accounts.

Actually, in a neat kind of round about way, it could have been cool to see him fight Gremmy. With a shape shifter Nue spirit and a new bankai, it would've been interesting to see Gremmy take on more of a moralistic slant. Kind of riffing off of Mask's shtick, it could've been a good excuse to let Renji really flex, if Gremmy, instead of using his power to generate random op creations, tried to enact narratives. basically envisioning how the story should go and warping reality around him to suit it, basically projecting weaponized Quincy propaganda fanfic at Renji. But Renji's been the villain before, and the rival, and the hero, his character is more flexible than just "good and bad" and maybe his true form could've reflected that in a way that wasn't compatible with Gremmy's imagination.

(big drawback with this Rukia and Reanji set up is that I honestly would've preferred Byakuya legit died in the first round rather than hang on by a thread --it was way more interesting and dramatic in that brief period of time where it really didn't look like he'd be coming back-- but if he died then one of those two should've been the one to avenge him, but I just don't think they have a fun dynamic with fighting The E. Or at least it'd take a pretty heavy rewrite of Bambietta for it to work to my liking, and I didn't really feel like it: a Bambi/BazzB -v- Rukia/Renji tag team could've been something tho...)

...and this is most of the random bits i'd had floating around. there wasn't really a collective direction for all this. eventually it'd just devolved into just shuffling tiles around and matching up odd ones out on either side of the war, and at that point match ups stopped being meaningful and just started being excuses to tie off loose ends, so i went and started scrapping half the roster... I might do one more on the whole Schutzstaffel, Royal Guard, Ichigo & co... thing... because I firmly believe if anyone should've been the ones to tackle the classic 4 kings midboss set up for the final arc, it should've been Ichigo's gang... (Chad deserved to arm wrestle Pernida, gddmnit!!)

[quincyheadcanons]

YOO! I totally get you! Honestly I'm happy that it seems more gritty and dark since apparently it will be completely uncensored, so it makes sense that they will be making this appear more serious if you will. I'm super happy about that though, since one of the best parts about TYBW was just the sheer brutality of it, and Im just happy they won't change that, or at least I hope they won't lol.

As for characters being expanded on, that is a very real possibility! If I heard right Kubo actually is playing a key part in developing the anime, so its likely it will be extended and there will be more details added alongside more of the characters having a backstory, like how they got into the Vandenreich (Kinda like how Äs Nodt did before Ruki killed him), which I would be SO down for! Like, imagine Quilge, Giselle, Candice, Bambi, Askin, Lillie and other Sternritter getting a small backstory of meeting Yhwach and joining him like- I'm just so bloody hyped I'm telling you lol

As for the fights- Ngl as long as they do the Femritters vs Ichigo, Bambietta vs Komamura and Rukia's bankai beautifully I'll take it, although I'm holding onto hopes that the animation will be amazing nonetheless. Like, so many good fights to be animated, and we may get even more! My biggest hope is that its revealed how Rose vs Nanana ended, along with who Rukia and Jushiro fought during the first invasion. I'm guessing it may be Candice for Rukia and MAYBE Lillie for Jushiro? Just throwing some wild guesses out there cause I'm way too hyped lmao.

October. Man, that seems like ages away lmao.