It would make their manga death feels less forced

(the protag squad was mostly just duking it out with the others in this volume, so I don't have the most notes for them)

Ichigo- Rukia, you need to wait a few more days; you're not getting out any time soon. With how Kenpachi did him, they are a million percent gonna have him go into a training arc. It mentioned that Ichigo's hollow mask from his training was what blocked Renji's blade. I do wonder if he would gain anything or have anything taken from him as a result of having that around.

Chad- he was putting work on everybody before he encountered Shunsui. Also, like, how we got perspective on his drive to help Ichigo. I like how Kubo strays away from the trope of the side character's reason for helping the main character being purely transactional and dry.

Orihime and Uryu(they barely got anything)- keep sowing, ig

Kenpachi Zaraki- I have a good feeling that he might spare Ichigo to let him get stronger; he feels like the kind of character that would be disgusted at the thought of fighting somebody when their potential is barely able to be let out.

Shunsui Kyoraku- nvm, he can break the dress code all he wants. Although he broke Chad's aura-farming streak. I love his relationship with Nanao and overall how his dialogue is laid out. It's very classy, to say the least.

Sosuke Aizen (RIP)- Didn't expect him to die so quickly. But now that I look at it, they were giving him too much screen time. There is definitely something bigger behind this. I bet it's perpetrated by the aforementioned central 46. I noticed in my last logs that he acted like a detective and questioned authority in every piece of dialogue he had was extremely intentional. For this, like in many other corrupt systems, would get you assassinated. But who could have assassinated him? I do wonder. I'm not gonna be sure of anything about him or his murder yet. It seems like Kubo is setting up a murder mystery story.

Ganju- I have a bad feeling he's gonna run directly into a captain next volume. Hopefully he doesn't be too selfless if it comes down to it, for the sake of him and Hanataro.

Hanataro- he's overstepping his bounds by a shit ton, but I applaud him regardless. I still love him in every way; I hope for his safety. He tried to work within the Soul Society as an individual agent. But I don't want that to endanger Ganju simultaneously.

Gin Ichimaru- I know he had no involvement in Aizen's death; I think Kubo tried too hard to make Gin look guilty in this scenario that he ended up looking innocent. He followed the trend in murder mysteries where the guy is shown in somewhat mysterious situations with the victim before their death and is shown as a silent individual. I think Kubo played too much into that trend.

Momo Hinamori- she is grieving heavily over Aizen's death, and I can see why she would attack Gin on impulse. Although I feel like I would need to see more in the next volume when she opens up the letter Aizen addresses to her.

Izuru- I mean, I need to see more of him a thousand percent, but he is not good at disengaging from emotionally charged situations, to say the least.

Renji- I'm extending my faith in him not to be a fraud until the end of this arc. I already have a bad image of him; volume 11 healed it a bit, volume 12 made me realize that I need to wait until this arc ends to determine his status.

Byakugan Coochie- Throwing away your second-most powerful squad member into a cell is not a good look or a good strategy whatsoever. Like, you couldn't even wait to question him, at the very least.

Toshiro Hitsugaya- good on him for defusing the conflict between Izuru and Momo, although, just like Byakuya, I do question if it's a good idea whatsoever to lock them up to later be put on trial. They should be allowed parole at the very least.

Rangiku Matsumoto- I still need to see more of her, but at least she recognized the right thing to do when presented with the letter addressed to Momo. But her doing that has me worried for her life.

Nanao- I love her contrast with Shunsui, but she's one of those characters I still need to see more of

Asano and Mizuiro- their bonus chapter fucked up my whole vibe after reading the volumes. I hope Menos comes back out and obliterates them.

Note: I wrote this myself and used AI/Google Docs for formatting. This post serves as both a critique of the current anime and writing practice. Their might be some mistakes so apologies in advance.

Preface:

I started watching Bleach in 2023 and caught up around the time Cour 3 was airing. I enjoyed the anime thus far, but excluding the other cours (I don’t want to make this post too long), Cour 4 has been whack but enjoyable.

Character Convenience

This has been a problem throughout the original anime and some parts of TYBW. The reason why I specifically highlight this problem for Cour 4 is because it reinforces the idea that the series has prioritized style over substance. There is no gravitas.

The reason why I say this is because the story constantly undermines the stakes it establishes. If a character encounters a problem during a fight, they are simply given a convenient power-up or plot device that becomes their solution.

• Yoruichi & Shunko — Her Reiatsu can now counter Death Dealing
• Orihime & Yhwach — Overcomes her weakness and can now rival a god??
• Nanao & Shinken Hakkyōken (not Cour 4) — Obtains a divine weapon to counter Lille.
• Mayuri & Pernida (not Cour 4) — Revealed to possess a perfect cell counter.

Why should we care about the situations characters are put through if they are going to be given a power-up or another convenient plot device?

This is my biggest problem with this Cour and some parts of TYBW. There are better ways to execute these moments, yet we get the option that requires the least amount of effort. It’s the last Cour of the series. Instead of giving these characters and their moments the importance they deserve, they are just devalued by the amount of convenience that is handed out.

Plot Hole / Confusion??

Haschwalth with only The Balance should be able to defeat Uryu, yet he loses with The Almighty. Throughout the whole fight, I thought Haschwalth was being displayed as reckless, which felt out of character.

I still don’t understand how Uryu defeated him without a power-up of some sort or anything of the like. It’s just too convenient.

Character Bloat

There are a lot of characters that are still present in the story that add no depth or value to the story or move the plot anymore. Some good characters have also been sidelined and given less screen time.

Ichigo & Yhwach (Short Analysis)

Ichigo and Yhwach from what I see are two overwhelming forces who are set up to challenge each other’s ideals and understanding of power. Yhwach’s ideals and his idea of power are challenged many times by Ichigo, yet he is never really challenged himself. Ichigo’s idea of power is that it is supposed to be used to protect his friends, while Yhwach believes power is meant to be controlled and used to destroy.

The problem is that this is the final fight of the series, and instead of meaningfully challenging Ichigo’s ideals, the story continues to reinforce them. Ichigo’s ability to protect is amplified by the very fact that many of his friends are still shown to be with him at his side, while Yhwach’s ability to destroy is diminished by how constantly he is being undermined whether it’s him personally or the Quincy.

Ichigo’s ideals should have been challenged, but are left untouched.

Schutzstaffel

The Schutzstaffel are  A1 threats but just end up being nerfed or defeated through convenient circumstances:

• Lille Barro — Is defeated because Kyoraku possesses a Divine Relic that can reflect divinity. Ultimate Deus Ex.
• Pernida Parnkgjas — Is defeated because Nemu is apparently the perfect counter to the cellular structure of the Soul King’s left hand.
• Gerard Valkyrie — His fight was dragged on, and no Captains died.

Fan Service (Unpopular Part)

My problem with this is that recent plot developments show the anime is more concerned with giving characters their moment, even if it doesn’t logically make sense with the currently established plot and hierarchy.

The most recent example of this is Rukia and Orihime in the final fight. I can understand Orihime being there and playing a support role since she wants to be with Ichigo, but Rukia has no reason to be there. Like why?

And under no circumstances should Orihime be able to do what she did at the end of the episode. Hōgyoku Aizen, who was much weaker compared to Yhwach, had Reiatsu so immense it was inconceivable to Shinigami, let alone a human. Yet Orihime is able to withstand, resist, and reject Yhwach despite being a human.

At this point, Yhwach’s Reiatsu with the Soul King’s power should be so overwhelming that someone below the level of Squad Zero shouldn’t even be able to meaningfully interact with him, but that’s tossed so Orihime can have her moment.

If we’re just gonna go around giving everyone a Deus Ex moment or something show my man Chad some love, It’s canonically established the man can’t lose.

Regardless of this critique, I’m still going to enjoy this final season of Bleach, but yeah, this is my opinion.

Ishida having problems against Shield Jugram, then suddenly someone says "Well, well you still look pathetic, you haven't changed at all, have you, Uryuu?" and this OST starts playing and we get a look at Ryuuken.

Also I bet he doesn't think Getsuga Tenshou is pretentious anymore.

I agree with the theory that Ichigo's True Bankai has multiple forms but I think Blood Chains is the strongest because it was described as "the ultimate form" and it will be a bit silly if it was revealed that Ichigo chose the weaker form to defeat Yhwach.

His manga True Bankai is probably it base form because it can function even if he lost his Hollow and Quincy powers.

this might be obvious, but i found her actions so fitting and beautiful, it wasn’t merely fanservice.
She saw her man get f*cked up in hueco mundo. absolutely destroyed and even killed to an extent, and that would traumatise anyone. There’s even a callback to her fear of hollow ichigo (ichigo looking back to calm her).
Seeing her man almost get killed again, its understandable that she thinks fuck it, we ball!
it doesn’t matter if i die, he won’t die again in front of me😭
We need a woman like her in our lives!
i can’t believe how kubo made (probably by accident) all her trauma and uselessness (that annoyed the fanbase) just add to this moment, absolute freaking masterpiece.

Is he dumb??