Bleach TYBW – First Impressions!!

Finally! The glorious day is upon us and the first episode of Bleach TYBW dropped yesterday! Man, back in the day when I finished Bleach anime and then the manga for the first time, I didn’t think that I’d see this day. Bleach was pretty much forgotten about for a while but then Brave Souls came out and it was pretty successful. Then we had the anniversary announcement of this project and the whole Bleach community just lost it.

So welcome to another one of my “first impressions” articles. Today we are finally getting the chance to talk about Bleach TYBW. And man, let me go out and say, the first episode was pure fan service for Bleach fans. So let’s get into it man, boy am I pumped.

Oh and, there will be minor spoilers ahead since I will be mainly discussing the first episode. I won’t tell you the main plot-related stuff though so don’t worry.

What do I think of Episode 1?

Just as in the manga, the episode also opens with Mayuri hearing about Hollows “disappearing”. When a Soul Reaper kills a hollow, they don’t “disappear”, their souls become purified and they’re sent to the Soul Society. So if hollows are disappearing, some other forces are at work  (wink, wink). This is basically the beginning of Bleach TYBW and the setup for the entire upcoming arc.

Then we shift to two random Soul Reapers being sent to Karakura town to deal with the increasing number of Hollows. When both of them fail, Ichigo and the gang show up to save the day. Chad outright destroys a building by punching a Hollow into it… I mean I know they wanted to show off but come on guys ^^;… This scene really highlights Bleach TYBW’s animation quality. They have improved so much man.

Then a remix of “number one” starts playing in the background. You know who it is. We know him, we love him. Ichigo steps up, Bankais and Getsuga Tenshous every remaining Hollow into oblivion. Like this scene again, I know why it exists but Ichigo doesn’t need his Bankai or Getsuga Tenshou to deal with basic Hollows lol. This all is part of the fan service I mentioned.

But regardless man, the first episode was one heck of a ride. Bleach TYBW seems to be on the right track. NGL, I felt like a kid again with the amount of hype this episode alone gave me. People often trash the TYBW arc but some moments of this are just chef’s kiss.

Conclusion

As you might have guessed, I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode. It was amazing and despite a few goofy moments, we are off to a great start. I really look forward to more of Bleach TYBW, there are some moments in this arc I cannot wait to see. Let me know what you guys thought about it in the comments. I know the whole MAL rating war is ongoing again, but that’s something I’ll talk about later. With that said though, I will take my leave here. Gonna go watch Chainsaw Man now… an article on it coming soon. See ya!!