Dec 30, 2024
Season 3 of the Thousand Year Blood War is the arc at its strongest so far. With every episode, the intensity builds. The anime heavily rearranges the manga, piecemealing pages and sometimes small moments from different chapters. The result is a far tighter adaptation. To add the cherry on top, the anime was given a longer production time, providing a more immersive experience. So we have a tighter adaptation with improved production. If you’re this far into the series, I have to hope you’re a Bleach fan. This is Bleach at its best.
When most people think of a good series, they don’t immediately nerd
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out on the production quality – the music, animation, and art. The story and the characters are always the drivers in any vehicle, and while Bleach isn’t high-literature, it’s deeper than you would think at first glance. There is a heavy emphasis on lore within this arc – exposition set deep in the past. Unfortunately time is of the essence here and a lot of the lore is undeveloped. There is a lot of it, but they’re like half-popped or even mostly unpopped kernels of popcorn – the flavor is there, but the depth isn’t. For example, in episode 7 of the TYBW (season 1, so I’m backtracking a bit, but the example still holds) we, the audience, receive a flashback to the original blood war between the Quincy and the Shinigami. This was more than we received in the source material so it was a welcome addition; but, it barely provides anything. It still lacks context. A more recent example, one that takes place in cour 3, is Bazz-B’s past. While the anime conveys his history succinctly and beautifully, it’s difficult to invest yourself in a character’s plight with less than one episode of exposition. That doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate what we do have but it’s that love for Bleach that leaves you wanting more.
Despite the breakneck pace, some of the cast shine brighter in this arc than in previous arcs. Shunsui and Mayuri both receive huge slats of time dedicated to who they are and why they act the way they do. Both characters are given ample time on stage and their battles aren’t abbreviated like many of the TYBW’s prior ones. While Starrk vs Shunsui span more episodes than Shunsui’s battle in cour 3, we learn more about Shunsui in his battle here than we did when he fought Starrk. Uryu, too, has received an enormous amount of characterization throughout the arc. In the source material, Uryu’s motivation and participation was mostly absent, whereas the anime provides a much stronger role for his character. Unlike the previous 2 cours, cour 3 has rearranged the events from the source material to provide characters like Uryu the opportunity to more heavily stake their place in the story.
Lastly, we need to discuss the production: The art, animation, and score. Cour 3 has knocked all 3 out of the park. Other than episode 8, which has some wonky CGI, I have been very satisfied with the production. The art is incredible. Every frame looks like a painting, with episode 12 looking like it was ripped straight out of a Studio Ghibli film. The environments are lush, detailed, and vibrant. The animation is fluid, intermixed with beautifully crafted choreography and large sweeping camera arcs. Dynamic camera angles truly shine in episode 7 during Renji’s anime-original fight. Paired with the amazing soundtrack, every battle feels emotional. Episode 11’s brand new song when trompete is charging is beautiful.
If you’ve made it to cour 3, you’re either a huge fan or suffering through for some reason. If you’re a fan, this review is more or less pointless. If cour 1 and 2 weren’t enough to rope you in, then cour 3 will also be a slogfest. I don’t know who this review is for but I enjoyed this season so here are my thoughts.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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