The eighteenth season of Bleach begins with a 2001 style trippy dream sequence in which a Star Child-like babe is born and then uniformly, fanatically adulated by the masses. Just another day inside the head of the King of the Quincy. It’s a vision of the past, but also the future, when the honor of the Quincy is restored. All it will cost is Soul Society, and the World of the Living as we know it.
In other words, No Pressure, Ichigo. Sure, he’s a shinigami again and has a shiny new zanpakuto, but Hyousube Ichibei makes sure he’s aware that he still has a long way to go. In his current form, he cannot defeat Yhwach. And at this point, Ichigo isn’t even aware that Ishida has chosen blood over friends and turned his coat. The return on that betrayal is considerable: Yhwach names him no less than his successor, confusing and infuriating many of the Stern Ritter.
No one’s sterner or ritterer or frikkin’ pissed off than Bambietta Basterbine, who has a terrible name but I still love her to bits. This is no doubt thanks in large part to Taketatsu Ayana having every word she utters drip with contempt. But also, “Bambi” has a penchant for picking a hot guy out of the rank-and-file, inviting him to her room, not to fuck, but to just kill him. The other members of the Female Quincy Caucus take exception to this, not because it’s serial murder, but because the guys are hot.
Like Bambi, the mohawked hawthead Bazz-B is also none to pleased with Yhwach’s baffling decision to name Ichida his successor. For one thing, he thought His Majesty already had one: the Teutonic Haschwalth. When he confronts Haschwalth, calls him a coward, and they draw their weapons, a fight is broken up by their comrade, who refers to Haschwalth as “their future emperor”. Could a Stern Ritter squad really be a match for their king?
Meanwhile, Yhwach has Ishida in a position of subordination, with the camera often placing Ishida’s head right in the center of the king’s crotch before Ishida drinks blood from a cup and it stains his lips. Perhaps I shouldn’t read too much into any of that, but it’s clear Ishida has made his choice and is going all the way into Quincyland.
I don’t think this means he was never friends with Ichigo, Inoue, Chad, and the others. But he’s now putting his destined mantle as the Last Quincy ahead of those relationships…and the general well-being of at least two major realms of being. Blood runs thicker than water.
After a call from Shinji, Hiyori announces to the other assembled Visored that they’ll forthwith be forming the “Fixing the Super-Pain-In-The-Ass Distortion Between the Living World and Soul Society. Her comrades are generally less enthusiastic, but one can’t underestimate a crew of captain- and lieutenant-level fighters.
In without doubt the most adorable scene of the episode, Rukia and Renji are locked in a sweaty staring contest while their wooden swords are drawn. No, it’s not foreplay; it’s training. Renji says it’s tough because he doesn’t like staying still or pointing a weapon at an ally. The chemistry between these to continues to be lovely.
Even lovelier is Rukia’s face upon learning that her brother has recovered from his injuries. Byakuya is well aware his powers aren’t anything he can let get to his head, but he fully intends to obtain the strength to let it very much get to his head, which is very Byakuya.
Another nice scene involves Kyouraku paying a visit to Ichigo’s secondary school friends of Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro, and letting them know they need to be prepared to say goodbye to their boy. He makes clear it’s only a 1 in about 10,000 chance that Ichigo’s training will result in him gaining a power that will keep him from returning to the living world. But it’s still a chance.
Faced with this courtesy, Keigo curses Kyouraku for once again using their friend for their own convenience. All Kyouraku can provide in return are tickets to Soul Society for the three of them, should the need arise for them to say goodbye to their friend forever. These are now Chekhov’s tickets to Soul Society…I expect them to be used!
Finally, we check in with Inoue and Chad, still training with the Arrancar Comedy Troupe. This makes for a quieter, warmer, and more contemplative atmosphere after all the drama and pomp before it. Inoue thinks it’s nice that they can exist in Hueco Mundo, helping out the Arrancar. Chad agrees. Both of these characters prefer the more peaceful route, so this tracks.
Unfortunately, the Quincy are not in a negotiating or forgiving mood. They were nearly wiped out by Soul Society, and now they’re returning the favor, plain and simple. Yhwach amends the timing of this rise by stating that the King of the Quincy shall regain control of the entire world (which is to say, all of the realms living or otherwise) in nine days.
The good guys have a lot of work to do, but I’m looking forward to them completing their training, getting back out to the battlefield, and getting into some very complex rollercoaster-y battles. Bleach has aged like a fine wine, with its cinematic direction and full orchestra operatic score. Every episode is an event, and this was a worthy prologue.
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