Bleach TYBW Son of Darkness Episode Review – Urahara Bankai Revealed!

At a glance:

• Urahara’s Bankai? Worth the wait. The presentation alone was chef’s kiss, no spoilers, just go watch it.
• Askin’s abilities look incredible. Purple, poison-themed, and the sound design is on point as always.
• Some manga vs. anime differences. A couple of scenes play out very differently here, and I’ve got thoughts.

And here we go, TYBW Part 4 shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, I am not mistaken; we will run out of manga chapters to adapt in a couple of episodes, so I cannot wait to see more of the original content they’ve clearly planned to add. The first two episodes already gave a lot more screen time to Uryu vs. Haschwalth than the manga did. But yeah, Bleach TYBW has been amazing, and here’s my Bleach TYBW Son of Darkness episode review!

Of course, there will be spoilers ahead. I will be discussing the episode in detail, including potential spoilers about the arc’s future. So please watch the episode before reading. With that said, let’s get started.

Okay, Urahara’s Bankai Was Worth the Wait

I had been waiting to see his Bankai in the anime for YEARS. And they did not disappoint. I absolutely loved the presentation of his Bankai. The creepy framing as Benihime climbs out of the shadows, the sound effects for the puppet joints, the background music, and the colors- everything was so damn perfect. The “zipper” effects as he moved around also looked very cool and fluid. Aside from that, this episode was a great character showcase for Urahara as well. Prepare for anything and everything.

And not to mention, Askin’s abilities look so damn cool too. The purple color fits the poison theme well. And it paired really well with the DNA motif on all his abilities and Vollstandig. And once again, the sound design was great. Also, I appreciate that the anime showed how Urahara, Yoruichi, and Grimmjow got out of the Gift Ball Deluxe. Nel was actually watching over, and presumably it was she who pulled them out. The manga did not have this scene at all.

Speaking of cool animations, the Soul King’s black reiatsu looks even creepier in the anime. I have no idea what’s going on with Yhwach and Haschwalth at this point. In the manga, The Balance returned to Haschwalth once Yhwach woke up. And yet in the anime, it seems that Hashbrown still has a version of The Almighty? Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on here. But I will say, Haschwalth, shrouded in the Soul King’s reiatsu, looked cool as hell. So I hope they explain just what the hell is going on with bro.

And yep, we also got just a little bit of Ichigo vs. Yhwach in this episode. Once again, the coloring on Ichigo’s golden reiatsu is cool as hell. And I loved the detail of Ichigo and Orihime working together seamlessly; Orihime playing backline support effortlessly is a very cool addition.

But that is all for now!

So yeah, let me know what you guys think in the comments. Son Of Darkness was another amazing episode from Bleach TYBW Part 4. I know we’re just 2 episodes in, but The Calamity is turning out to be something very special, and I am here for it. Given the poem at the end of the episode, the next episode should feature Hitsugaya’s adult Bankai, another hype moment. With that said, though, I will take my leave here. See ya!

And if you’re curious, check my coverage of last week’s episode here!