‘Bleach: TYBW’ review: “Gate of the Sun” keeps up the hot streak

Readers, I have to be honest: I have no idea what the plan is anymore. This series is supposed to just be an adaptation of a decade old manga arc. But over the course of this third cour, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has quickly become attendant viewing for me. I once dreaded this assignment and now I relish it. How could I not, when Bleach TYBW episode 33 is an episode that leaves me, someone who’s read the entire series, reeling. Did Uryu just kill Renji? 

Uryu is doing the knocking, Renji’s doing some punching

Not to get too ahead of things, but likely that’s not the case here. Even so, Uryu’s continuing to break bad every week and I’m loving it. It would have been plenty to finally give him and Ichigo a proper fight — a fight that ruled despite being brief. Instead, Uryu drops right into another brand new fight against another friend. This all new material is so great, both readers of the original and people going in blind get to be blown away all together. As things go on, Uryu is becoming more and more menacing in a way no other Bleach villain has been. 

These segments have shot this part of the arc all full of life, and it really seems like each week another complaint I’ve had gets addressed. It wasn’t that long ago that I was pointing out Renji was really just sitting on the sidelines. Now, it’s as if the series agreed with me. Compared to his showing in the last cour, Renji really gets to run amok with his true Bankai in Bleach: TYBW episode 33. 

Renji gets some incredible choreography throughout his fight; moving in ways his previous powers never allowed him to. Really, we’re seeing Pierrot Films flexing their sakuga muscles again, but it’s so very welcome. There’s even a bit of power scaling going on here: Renji manages to force a reishi foothold briefly, which is something last week highlighted as particularly difficult. 

A wild Le Vaar chase

Not being able to get footholds has grounded both the Gotei 13 and Ichigo’s group. As a result, they spend most of Bleach: TYBW episode 33 running to their next fights. Quite literally in the case of Ichigo’s group, as Askin Nakk Le Vaar comes across them and immediately bails. Grimmjow isn’t having any of it and gives chase, in an attempt to give some levity to this part of the story. The humor of the situation is okay, but Le Vaar’s slacking is pretty flat compared to his encounter with Kurotsuchi. Bleach has done this type of character a bit better before, he’s somewhat a dud no matter what. 

Meanwhile, Lille Barro puts the other Soul Reapers through an active shooter situation. Compared to the manga and with the hindsight of ages of gun violence here in the west, it’s actually unsettling to watch. Multiple bodies get dropped and the others don’t quite clock right away. Really, this is more well blocked scenes on the part of Pierrot Films. I won’t count my poisoned American perspective against this, because there’s nothing really wrong with the scenes. Even so, I couldn’t help flinching. 

Pierrot Films continues to level up

One other thing that I haven’t commented on much but really deserves mention now is the use of title integration. This episode’s title, “Gate of the Sun,” is the first thing shown this week. It’s circling the giant turning Quincy emblem as the Schutzstaffel deploy. The use is clever, and most episodes do similar things. Often, these title cards punctuate endings or big moments. They emulate the way Kubo sometimes integrates titles, but these episodes are doing it much more regularly. It’s a small but stylish detail and I’m a fan. 

Ultimately, “Gate of the Sun” is yet another very strong episode of a cour much better than it has any right to be. Pierrot Films is knocking each week out of the park, in large part due to their own contributions to the work. By the time we get the final cour in the tank, it could be argued that this is the best way to enjoy Bleach’s conclusion. Which would be particularly great, because then we’d actually have a way to enjoy it. Don’t let me down, Pierrot. 

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is available on Hulu. 

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Featured image ©Tite Kubo/Shueisha, TV TOKYO, dentsu, Pierrot