Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 - The Conflict

Episode 32

I was so excited about Aizen being back last week, that how could Grimmjow's return—which would've been the centerpiece of just about any other episode—ever hope to compare? It's astounding to think that anyone could refer to a return as momentous as Grimmjow's—the kind of thing that could compel his legion of fans to scream at volumes only detectable by dogs—as an “afterthought,” but that's kind of what it felt like, at least for me. But not so this week! Aizen being nowhere to be seen all episode long (alas), we get to really soak up Grimmjow's return, in all his skinny-jeans-wearing glory. Side note: Grimmjow in skinny jeans; it looks so wrong, it's right.

Grimmjow isn't the only person to return this episode of course; it's good to see Nel and the others as well (even if this isn't Nel's first time appearing in Thousand-Year Blood War), but I don't think it's unfair to say he's still the most notable return by far. And honestly, I'm more shocked that it took the series this long to let him return, than by the fact that he returned at all. Truly, it only felt like a matter of time. All the same, however long it took, he's back and edgier than ever. I wouldn't have it any other way.

In any case, the matter of Grimmjow's return aside, this is definitely a more low key episode that was mostly just spent letting the various protagonists regroup—quite a contrast to all the 2000s-AMV-bait we've had in the past few weeks. Still, I don't know if my heart (not to mention my lungs, still worn out from singing the praises of Aizen's return) could take another episode on par with what we had last week without a breather, so this is nonetheless fine.

Actually, in some ways, it's more than fine. In a series which has been consistently praised—including by me—for having spectacular animation, this has been another one of those episodes that, more than usual, it's hard to not constantly pause or rewind just to marvel at this series' visuals. I'm of course referring to the current state of the Royal Palace, which is now being called Wahr Welt; it's like one of those abandoned buildings/areas that nature has reclaimed, but in this case nature is a bunch of crystals. The design, the coloration, the way it's animated as part of it rises from the ground—all of it is absolutely gorgeous. I can't believe that even this far in, this series' visuals are continuing to impress me. It makes me wonder: if a TV series looks this good, what about a full-blown movie? Being an anime-only viewer for Thousand-Year Blood War, I'm not sure how well that would work for this arc, so I hesitate to call it a good idea, per se. Still, I can't help but wonder what that would look like.

Speaking of things I can't help but wonder about—I mean, you know me. What's going on with Aizen? Getting to the Royal Palace—that was, you know, a key part of his whole deal at first. And as he lamented about last episode, here Ichigo is, ironically making it there before him. Surely, Aizen wouldn't allow that, right? Not that there's much Royal Palace left of course, but all the same. Restrained or not, I can't imagine that Aizen would take so many people from the Soul Society getting a ride to the Palace, well, sitting down. There's no way Kubo is done with him yet, and whether he's found a way to make it to the Palace or not, I can't help but wonder what he's going to do next. That's a huge indicator of villain-charisma, right there; where you still can't help but wonder what they're doing next, even when they don't appear once all episode long. I think his name came up maybe all of once, too. Come to think of it, I'm curious how Ichigo will react when he sees that Aizen is back too, whenever he hears about it.

But lest I somehow find a way of making an Aizen-centric review out of an episode that Aizen didn't even appear in, I'll get back on track. As I said before, this was a comparatively uneventful episode, but it's nice to take a break from the action every now and again anyways. It helps the tension build. The animation was gorgeous, and the stage is now pretty thoroughly set for something big to happen, whether it's more fights, or another dramatic yelling session between Ichigo and Uryu, perhaps featuring Grimmjow. …Let's be honest, it's almost certainly more fights, but in an anime as visually glorious as this one, I certainly don't mind that.

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Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 - The Conflict is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+.