Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Part 2 has been Perfect so far

Key takeaways from Bleach: TYBW Part 2 mid-season review:

1. Bleach’s Thousand Year Blood War Part 2 adaptation has defied initial doubts, impressing viewers with its faithful portrayal of the manga arc and even surpassing it in some aspects.
2. The anime effectively integrates elements from Can’t Fear Your Own World LNs, adding depth to Ichigo’s training. Pacing adjustments contribute to a more cohesive narrative compared to the manga.
3. While the adaptation maintains strong animation and visual style, certain character defeats and pacing choices, like Rojuro and Kensei’s quick downfall, have garnered mixed reactions, slightly affecting my overall rating of 9/10.

It is funny to think that there was a time when all thought that this arc of Bleach will never get an adaptation. Then when the adaptation was announced a certain group of people was like “No way it is going to be good”. We’ve reached the 18th episode, and the adaptation has been nearly flawless. Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War arc Part 2 is still going strong without any indication of slowing down.

Although I do have some minor complaints about the latest episode, overall I feel that the anime has greatly surpassed the manga. As a result, I am willing to overlook these issues and give them the benefit of the doubt.

So welcome back to the 2nd mid-season review for this season. And today, of course, we are talking about Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War arc, Part 2. Just watched episode 5 and I had to talk about it. So let’s get started.

What do I think of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Part 2?

To start things off, I love what they’ve done with Ichigo’s training. It fits in perfectly with what we learned in the Can’t Fear Your Own World LNs. And it adds more nuance to training. After all the minor improvements in the previous episodes, this is a big step up. And I feel like it has great potential to affect the plot moving forward. Staying on the topic of stuff CYFOW, I am glad to Shinji’s Bankai made it to the anime as well, giving him a moment to shine that wasn’t in the manga.

I like how the pacing has changed a bit. In the manga, during the 2nd invasion, a lot of the fights were not continuous, as the manga tried to show multiple things at once. Because of that some fights felt disjointed. No such worries in the anime as they’re dedicating a whole episode to the major fights of this arc. So far, Uryu’s role in the plot has also been expanded upon. I’m curious to see how his conversation with Haswalch goes in the next episode. Alas, we didn’t get to see Ichigo in episode 5. Hopefully, he gets some screen time in the next one.

In episode 5, I was disappointed that Rojuro and Kensei’s coolness only lasted for 30 seconds before they were defeated. I appreciated the effort put into Rojuro’s Bankai, Kinshara Butoudan, but it would have been satisfying to see him help Renji in defeating Mask de Masculine instead of being easily defeated. Despite this, the animation and art style were amazing and I cannot praise them enough. Initially, I was unsure about the red sky in the background, but it has grown on me and fits the tone of the 2nd invasion.

Conclusion

That is all for now. I’d have given Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Part 2 a 10 but episode 5 left me slightly sour so 9/10 it is for now. I’m only human, I have my biases. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. I will take my leave here. See ya!

Also, check out my mid-season review for Bungou Stray Dogs Season 5 here!