GRAN REY CERO GLORYYYY!!! ICHIGO ON DEMON TIME! Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Episode 44 Review!

In the previous Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War episode, the fight against Gerard Valkyrie, the Miracle, begins properly while Ichigo finally awakens his Half-Hollow “Horn of Salvation” form.

Chapters Adapted

Episode 44 is titled, “The Perfect Crimson”

This will cover the entire Gerard Valkyrie fight, from Chapter 668: “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” (pages 5-17) to Chapter 671: “The Perfect Crimson 2”, Chapter 672: “Son of Darkness” (pages 1-6), Chapter 673: “Father” (pages 1-4), Chapter 674: “Father 2” (pages 7-13) and Chapter 676: “Horn of Salvation”

For a total of 8 chapters and 98 pages, a surpring amount of manga content while still having enough room for expanded fight scenes and a lot of added contextualization.

This is nearly 100 pages and yet they added 5 minutes of additional anime content.

This means there are 10 chapters of Bleach left, scattered across 6 remaining episodes.

New Scene: The Collapse of Three Worlds

The episode begins with the SRDI led by Akon panicking over the Collapse of the Three Worlds, reminding the audience of the cosmic stakes involved.

A slowed down version of the iconic Treachery track plays throughout, which is not even the only Treachery track played.

Akon reveals that Jushiro Ukitake is getting even weaker.

While the manga kills him off after Yhwach rips off Mimihagi in Chapter 620: “Where Do You Stand” (Or Episode 30: “The Betrayer” for anime fans), the anime extends his life by a full anime season to maintain the Balance of the Three Worlds for what appears to be a full day (Yhwach slept for a full rest, it seemed).

Unlike in the manga, we see actual, visible manifestations of the Collapse of Three Worlds throughout the entire cour.

Rather than wait for Yhwach’s Black power to swallow up the world back to its primordial form or the usual Spiritual Pressure shakes, we see a progression of scenes where the Balance is disrupted.

After the Soul King is killed, we see the usual manga scenes but starting with Episode 39: “The Visible Answer”, we get new content, such as Mimihagi and Ukitake still surviving to maintain hold of the Three Worlds while Yhwach is trying to let the Merger happen.

This makes Ukitake and Mimihagi’s sacrifices more meaningful.

Then in Episode 41: “God of Thunder”, we witness and hear an elaboration of the Collapse, with not only Haschwalth’s monologue but also Tessai and the Urahara Store staff witnessing a massive spacial distortion.

Modified Fight Choreography: Bigger, Faster, SMARTER Gerard

The anime’s superspeed pace with the 8 chapters it has adapted and yet we see more action, displaying Gerard’s terrifying speed in spite of his large size.

He was reacting exactly like how a person with superhuman speed in normal size would, even when he is currently a giant.

He is not impeded by weight resistance or the limits of vision because all Soul Reapers and Quincy are capable of witnessing high-speed combat and as such, Gerard is already performing high-speed combat against Kenpachi here, who is also keeping up.

Modified Moment: Two Bankai Voices

The first big change is the scenery, this time to the forest where Yachiru was first found by Kenpachi touching his Asauchi.

This was Kubo’s visual hint that she was Kenny’s Zanpakuto.

We see her talk the same as the manga but the big change is who says the word “Bankai”.

Both the Shikai form, the adult Nozarashi, and the Bankai form Yachiru Kusajishi, speak.

This Bankai activation is Kenpachi’s fully-acknowledged, excitable Zanpakuto revealing herself, a daughter wanting to give everything back for all the love Kenpachi has shown her.

Knowing Nozarashi’s name was like Yachiru’s way of being acknowledged as more than being a child but as the strength of a person, of a father, that their bond transcended the paradigm of the “Blade is Me”, to the “Blade is Her(e)”.

But this also meant that the reveal that his daughter and blade was capable of using Bankai all along was a premature gifting, that its use would not be sustainable anyway.

We still do not know his Bankai name, so it is possible that since Kenpachi named Yachiru after Unohana’s real first name, whose voice is similar to Nozarashi’s, it is likely that the Bankai name is also Yachiru (which means “Eight thousand/many flows”), which is a fitting name to represent the limitless potential behind Kenpachi’s existence.

Bankai Kenpachi UPSCALE

Bankai Kenpachi was a quick execution, his presence lasting about 2 minutes within the 5 minute timeframe his content was on yet he delivered a better performance in the anime.

While everything in the initial fight was the same, it was the continuation that was impressive.

We see three impact frames (two of Gerard’s face and outline) but the first and best one is the slash from Kenpachi himself, as if the slash itself is the skull aura he emits from his Spiritual Pressure, except it is him cutting up a big skull.

But it was when Gerard activated Vollstandig that we see Kenny shine a bit more.

First, it was Kenny’s charge deflecting Gerard’s beam that separated the nearby Wahrwelt branch, not Gerard himself trying to blow up the whole area.

Second, contrary to the manga, Kenpachi did not end his Bankai time when losing his right arm and then being cut by Gerard’s Hoffnung blade.

Instead, Kenpachi continued the fight by dodging the slash easily, climbing onto his sword and running up his arm to reach for his neck.

Gerard was so threatened to actually used Blut Vene upon impact and tried to grab Kenpachi with his other hand.

It was by this point, by exerting all energy to climb the giant and land a failed, high energy hit, that Kenpachi would lose power as his Bankai would begin breaking his body before attempting to cut through Gerard’s helmet.

COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION: HEART OF THE SOUL KING

A new track plays, with a female choir.

Kenpachi’s bisection reveals that Gerard’s body was an empty vessel.

He was merely a golem powered by the Heart of the Soul King.

The Quincy Cross was not just a tool to activate Spirit Weapons of Quincy Vollstandig.

In Gerard’s case, this was the Heart of the Soul King’s physical form, similar in concept to Orihime’s Shun Shun Rikka hairpin, except way more indestructible, the opposite of the Fullbringer’s trinket.

We see the Quincy Cross gather blood from Gerard’s flesh form, then turning that blood into the Heart that enters the hollow vessel as light stitches the parts together.

If Mimihagi the Right Arm took Jushiro’s lungs to occupy that physical spot, then it is likely that Gerard’s real heart and organs were also removed, that is assuming we hold the Can’t Fear Your Own World implication.

But since there are two Quincies that hold Soul King Parts, it is likely he is just like Pernida Parnkgjas the Left Arm

It is fitting that during the final arc of Bleach, Kenpachi Zaraki fought against TWO of the strongest Parts of the Soul King, first being Gremmy Thoureaux the Visionary with his real body being a brain in a canister and Gerard Valkyrie the Miracle with his real body being the Quincy Cross.

With this pattern, it not only easily confirms Gremmy’s status as a Soul King Part who imagined a body to contain his vulnerable core but also cement Kenpachi’s unique status as a Special War Threat.

The anime version is the most correction version of this scene for two reasons.

First, since Episode 25: “The Master”, we have already seen hints of Gerard being the Heart of the Soul King.

Second, the anime corrects a manga error, which shows Gerard’s lost right arm returning.

This right arm had his red markings that represented empowerment as part of Godly Size’s effect but the anime makes it consistent, showing that Gerard still had his light-form, incompletely generated arm even when beign stitched up.

We also see a full view of Gerard’s form, revealing that like the manga slightly implied, he was wearing shoes now instead of sandals.

However, Hoffnung is fully changed in the anime, where its initial state was the usual steel blade color while it finally gained its black hue when he entered Vollstandig.

Crucial Anime Additions Fuel Plot Progression

Throughout the episode, we see more cohesiveness and writing tissue as the Gerard fight not only affects those directly fighting the monster but also everyone else.

First, we see the reaction of Rangiku and Hanataro, who carries one of the shot down Soul Reapers (likely Kiyone Kotetsu), watching Kenpachi’s outpouring Spiritual Pressure.’

Prior to Gerard’s second wind, we see Momo Hinamori going after her captain, who was defeated last episode.

He looked tired and unprepared to go to battle again, in a similar state to Shunsui Kyouraku after Nanao finished Lille Barro off.

However, Shinji tells Momo to heal Renji and Rukia and although he does not explicitly say it, the reason is clear to Momo: both of them still have more energy to fight.

Shinji and the other Vizards used Hollowfication, one of them even using Bankai alongside his mask, multiple rounds of Ceros, and all of that failed.

Shinji himself used chantless Hado 91: Senju Kōten Taihō, which would still cost a lot of Spiritual Energy anyway.

He was done here.

We also see Yumichika and Ikkaku reacting to Gerard’s revival.

Those two have been watching two of the final fights.

In the manga, Gerard just fires his beam for no other reason than to do damage and show off.

Here, Gerard was the second one moving, responding to Kenpachi jumping towards him by firing a beam at him.

This beam was pushed back and deflected, resulting in the slice that cut up the north-eastern branch of the Wahrwelt cross that was behind the Gerard fight arena, unlike in the manga where it was caused simply by Gerard’s activation of the beam itself.

Because of this, the unconscious Rukia and Renji, with Momo panicking but Toshiro was able to retrieve them.

We also see Shunsui and Nanao being affected by the debris nearby, confirming that they were on the south-eastern branch of Warhwelt, which is now mostly gone thanks to Lille Barro’s Trompete, outside of the connecting branch itself.

MATURE TOSHIRO HITSUGAYA: How Does This Work?

As stated in our preview of the episode, Yuki Kaji, aka Eren Jaeger, joins the cast as adult Toshiro Hitsugaya.

Mature Toshiro worked out exactly like in the manga, with some variations.

For example, Toshiro kept a lot of distance upon activating his technique, leading to Gerard trying to chase him with his sword before choosing to throw the shield like a disc, which is once again another way to add a logical reason to an act and it works out good.

Rise to the Call is a good track here.

Since we are here, let us talk about why Toshiro is in adult form after his ice petals have been used up.

In Klub Outside, Toshiro is confirmed to be a bit older than his childhood friend Momo Hinamaro, who is currently shown as a short but more mature-looking girl compared to Toshiro.

There are two theories behind it.

In Episode 35: “Don’t Chase a Shadow”, it is stated by Shunsui while hiding from Lille Barro in Vollstandig form that the more Spiritual Pressure a person has, the less likely one can stay unconsciousness or die.

This can apply to aging, as Captains have been shown to be the longest lived characters, with Yamamoto clearly being not only above 2,200 years old, by which time a young, possibly above 100 year old Chojiro Sasakibe achieved Bankai, but potentially even closer to 2,500 years old as he was a middle-aged man by this point and he had seen much, even achieving Bankai much earlier.

The second is that ice has the property of halting or reducing the aging of an object or person, like cryofreezing.

Both theories work because in a way, Toshiro has always been in ice the moment he first activated his Bankai before joining the Gotei 13 and becoming a Soul Reaper, meaning that by melting the ice through “aging” the Bankai via constant exposure or thawing, then the shell breaks, empowering Toshiro with superior ice control compared to his younger, childlike state.

Senkei Senbonzakura Kageyoshi Ōgi: “Ikka Senjinka”

And the finishing touch from Senkei Senbonzakura Kageyoshi Ōgi: “Ikka Senjinka”, Byakuya’s most lethal attack outside of the secret desperation: Shūkei: Hakuteiken (which is more of a Mugetsu-style attack when needing to finish the attack at the cost of current power).

The anime delivers the manga’s intent fully by showing all the possibly CGI blades coming one row after another towards Gerard’s head to highlight the catharsis of finishing the episode

New Scene: The Side Cast Has a Part

A shy Ryūnosuke Yuki suggests that the rest of the Soul Reapers should handle the overwhelming flow of gigantic Hollows and Menos Grande coming into the Human World.

One of the best things about the current Bleach adaptation is the insistence that every Soul Reaper is an active agent, something that Episode 3: “March of the StarCross” did in the manga canon.

Starting with Cour 2, however, we see more mobilization from the Soul Reapers through Shunsui’s more presented leadership skills, which is the same with Episode 32: “A Holy Newborn”.

Now we see two non-officers, Ryūnosuke Yuki and Shino Madarame, taking initative.

The two who started out the Thousand Year Blood War but quickly got diminished within 3 episodes have reclaimed their relevance somewhat.

Not as relevant as Falco Grice and Gabi Braun from Attack on Titan: The Final Season, who had a strong first 13-episode streak, but it still shows where Kubo is improving, by giving important or necessary characters time to shine.

We see Squad 1 second Lieutenant Genshiro Okikiba leading the remaining Soul Reapers, including Zennosuke Kurumadani and Makizo Aramaki.

BEST POST-CREDITS SCENE CUT: HORN OF SALVATION

We saw Horn of Salvation Part 1, a total of 17 pages, adapted into merely 2 minutes of pure action, thanks to Yoshihiro Kanno’s work in this scene.

It begins with the flash of effects he used in Episode 7: “Born in the Dark” but it was even quicker, as after that point, it flashes distinct impact frames representing Ichigo’s species.

Purple combining red (Hollow) and blue (Quincy) sides, which is seen in the Gran Rey Cero creation, alongside a yellow core (Soul Reaper)

The anime even drags a little bit with the flashbacks to key moments involving Ichigo’s prior Hollowification to remind the audience of how far Ichigo came.

The cut to Ichigo’s foot followed by him swiftly moving in front of Orihime’s Santen Kisshun was done so perfectly to capture Sonido’s tactical superiority over Hirenkyaku and Shunpo due to its instinctual silence but most of all, this is a perfect representation of Ichigo’s self mastery via The Blade is Me.

Ending the Number One remix with a hard stop on the Gran Rey Cero was perfection, even with the zoom to sweep akin to a crescent sword swing fits the momentum the manga conveyed just as well.

The best thing about this whole episode is the sheer fast-paced action, akin to Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 4: “Perfect Preparation”.

Next Episode Poem: Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue

“There’s nothing I can do.

I only want power.

The power to protect,

Nothing more.”

The first two lines come from Ichigo and this is a line he has always said about why he fights.

The last two lines are from Orihime.

This follows the pattern since Cour 3 in Episode 30: “The Betrayer”, of middle episodes having two people delivering poems together.

It also follows the same spirit as Episodes 11 and 12, the “Everything but the Rain” mini-arc where the poem for Volume 60 is split between Masaki and Isshin, Ichigo’s parents.

Cour 4 seems to be reparing the damage done by the previous anime adaptation by highlighting Orihime’s importance to Ichigo.

Episode 45 is titled, “Defend You” and will be released on August 22, 2026.

This is the second anime-original title since Episode 37 : “Shadows Gone”,

While it does set up a lot of anime-original content coming, it is strange for the anime to choose an anime-original title instead of “Horn of Salvation” but since that is a two-chapter title, this could mean that the episode after is “Horn of Salvation”.

This may make the episode mostly-anime original as Ichigo will be showing off more powers outside Gran Rey Cero.

It seems all of Ichigo’s fights against Yhwach are always extended, from his first one in Episode 7, which is coincidentally handled by the same action and effects director, to their second fight in Episode 28: “Kill the King” and now this one.

We could also see some parallel action with Rukia, possibly even the second usage of her Bankai, as it has been heavily hinted throughout the cour so far and given the color scheme of her scene in the trailer, she might be joining the fight against Yhwach while Renji helps Chad and Ganju against the statues.

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