©Tite Kubo/Shueisha, TV TOKYO, dentsu, Pierrot
I don’t think there’s a long list of anime TV shows where episodes can be pieced together into movie lengths and then shown in theaters without anyone being able to tell it’s a TV series. But episodes like this really show how Thousands of bloody battles is one of those few titles that are fleeting. I’m amazed every week at how jaw-droppingly gorgeous the animation looks, but every week It still manages to find ways to transcend itself. The animators are clown movie You should be extremely proud of yourself because Thousands of bloody battles— especially Season 3 — has always looked absolutely top-notch. From the perspective of the Vaal world at the beginning, to the fight between Oolong and Renji at the end (we’ll get to that later), there’s not a second in this episode that doesn’t look absolutely gorgeous.
It can be said that this is a powerful episode. We start with the aforementioned dynamic footage from the World of Val, where we see Grimmjow chasing and fighting Askin Nak Leval, but the highlight of the episode is of course the fight between Oolong— — who thought he killed Ichigo, but now realizes he didn’t — and Renji. While I know calling Renji one of the coolest characters has never been controversial bleachI didn’t know he and his thick red hair were ever as awesome (let alone strong!) as he is in this episode.
Also, if I had to pick a favorite moment (visually) from this beautifully animated episode, it would easily be the one where a skeletal arm pries out of his skin while using his Ukai moment. I say “easy” not because it doesn’t have competition (because it has a lot of competition), but because it looks so amazing. In a series filled with some of the best-looking fights in the shounen genre, this is honestly probably the best from a visual standpoint. I’m pretty sure I’ve said it at least once before this season (e.g., during Ichibei’s fight with Yhwach), so the fact that I have to say it again is a testament to how incredible the animation of this series is Breathtaking.
Honestly, it’s hard to overstate how good the overall direction of this series is, and episodes like this are proof of that. I know I spent a lot of time praising the visuals specifically – and they deserve a lot of praise – but the overall direction is also excellent. Visual effects, pacing (something this series has had issues with in the past), storyboarding, sound design, script, voice acting – this episode truly ticked all the boxes for a production.
Still, it’s tempting to act like Renji vs. Oolong, and that’s the only thing going on this week: There’s more to this week’s episode than just that. Unfortunately, there’s no Aizen, but we do get the start of a fight between Grimmjow and Leval (side note: I’m really grateful that we have at least one opponent still around who isn’t necessarily actively seeking a fight – even avoid fighting). We had Chun Shui’s crew suffer some casualties. We get some fun banter between Mayuri and Kenpachi, who are an unexpected duo in this series. But I loved the comedy in their dialogue. It gives the episode some breathing room, which is refreshing.
But again: Renji vs Uryu is really the star of the show this week, or more specifically: this is definitely Renji’s episode, everyone else just takes up space in it, except maybe Uryu, since he’s the one fighting Renji Economic. The fight between these two powerhouses had everything I wanted except for Renji’s victory: tense, A+ visuals, spectacular new attacks, both showing how ridiculous they have become in such a short amount of time of strength, and a speech in which Uruu, shrouded in drama, explains to Renji the reasons for his failure, the most notable of which is that, unlike Uryu, Renji ) doesn’t kill people (although I have a hard time believing Renji would die here). Oolong must have gone full villain mode at this point, but it wouldn’t be a betrayal in a shounen anime if he didn’t.
grade:
Bleach: Thousand Years of Blood War Part 3 – Clash Currently streaming on Hulu, and Disney+.
