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Yoruichi, the God of Thunder! Quincy Encyclopedia is Back! Rangiku Knows Gerard? What to Expect from Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Episodes 39 and 40!

Bleach TYBW’s latest season will end with a lot of setups for the final battles against the Quincies.
Vincent Reyes 27 Dec 2024
yoruichi bleach tybw
BLEACH © 2001-2016 by Tite Kubo/SHUEISHA Inc.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Cour 3 will conclude with two episodes, giving us a full hour of Bleach to sit through.

Episode 39: The Visible Answer

Episode 39 is titled, “The Visible Answer”

Episode 39 will adapt a portion of Chapter 647: “The Theater Suicide”, the end of Chapter 654: “Deadman Standing”, Chapter 655: “The Miracle”, Chapter 656: “God of Thunder”, Chapter 657: “God of Thunder 2”, the start of Chapter 658: “Fatal Matters are Cold”, the middle of Chapter 659: “There Will Be Frost” onwards, and the start of Chapter 660, which the episode is named after.

This is one of the most dense episodes in terms of chapter content in the entire Cour 3, as the content of 8 chapters will be covered here.

The average Bleach episode covers around 4 chapters.

Preview Images

During Jump Festa on December 22, 2024, we saw a Lookback video of the entire cour, with the last minute teasing the last two episodes.

The scenes shown were Jugram Haschwalth awakening the Almighty and using Yhwach’s shadow powers and, unique to the anime, Uryu preparing to fire a Seele Schneider, a weapon he prominently used in Hueco Mundo.

This is the first time since Bleach: Hell Verse (2010) that the weapon had been implemented in any way.

Staff List:
Script: Masaki Hiramatsu
Storyboard: Itoko Nagai
Direction: Itoko Nagai

Animation Director: Rina Suzuki, Yonghun Jeong, Ayako Sato, Mari Tominaga, Cindy H. Yamauchi, Teruko Takeshima, Hiroshi Natsuki, Kumiko Kato, Chengxi Huang

Chief Animation Director: Michio Hasegawa (Main), Kiyoshi Komatsubara (Sub)

Action and Effects Animation Director: Atsushi Wakabayashi

Nagai has done some work for the Bleach TYBW adaptation, first for Cour 2, in Episode 18 and Episode 26.

Itoko Nagai had also worked on Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 286

The following key animators will be involved in Episode 39:

(Missing five names)

Masaaki Endou
Atsushi Wakabayashi 
Katsuhiro Takagi
Hiroto Tanaka
HAN SEUNGAH
Teruko Takeshima
Tsuguyuki Kubo
Haruko Ichihara
Nobuhiro Watanabe
Yoshiyuki Tomita
Mayu Saitou
Ichizou Kobayashi
Retsu Ookawara
Yuuki Kitajima
Haruo Miyagawa
shaolong
Weixin Chen
Takanori Saitou (PIERROT FILMS)

RA CRAFT
gobble
KANENOBU

Runtime

Bleach TYBW Episode 39 will run for 23:50 minutes, which is a bit longer than most episodes.

Meanwhile Episode 40 will have the normal runtime of 22:34, a minute less than the previous episodes.

The special will run for a total of 46 minutes, 24 seconds.

What to Expect from Episode 39:

Jump Festa released a preview of the last two episode titles and the new scenes.

Along with the preview, we did receive a synopsis for both episodes.

Episode 39’s synopsis is as follows:

Shinigami and Quincy, Ichigo and Uryu, resolve and pride – the story progresses beyond The Separation to the end of The Conflict.

After he had pierced through Renji, Uryu returns to the Wahr Welt. Haschwalth walked in and greeted him there, but there was something about him that seemed different.

Meanwhile, the Shinigami, believing in the escape route opened up by Kyouraku, hurry towards the main palace of Wahr Welt, but their path is blocked by Gerard Valkyrie.

Gerard is at a disadvantage in the face of the Captain ranks of the Gotei 13’s onslaught of repeated attacks, but his expression remains composed as he says “miracles” only occur in times of crisis.

Elsewhere, Ichigo, Orihime and Chad’s group are driven into a corner by Askin Nakk Le Vaar, who uses his ability to make Reishi poisonous, but they are rescued by Yoruichi Shihouin.

Ichigo runs off and leaves her to handle the battle against Askin.

Everything is starting to connect. After getting through the fierce life-or-death battle and making it through to the other side, what is reflected in Ichigo’s eyes is…

NEW: Visored Heal Renji

Bleach TYBW Hachigen

Since Renji was defeated by Uryu in an anime-exclusive battle, he will need to rejoin the main Gotei 13 group

Hachigen Ushoda would use his expertise in Kido and Kaido to heal Renji’s wounds.

Perhaps there might be an observation of how Renji even survived in spite of facing Uryu.

The Miracle: Gerard Valkyrie

Bleach Gerard Miracle

Gerard Valkyrie will finally get his battle against the Shinigami, likely following the manga where he leaps towards them, growing his cape so that they do not proceed any further without fighting him, and then be defeated by Renji.

There have been unconfirmed whispers of Ikkaku getting a major scene so he might deliver the “finishing” blow to regular Gerard

However, Soi-Fon will be involved, unlike in the manga, and use her Bankai against Gerard to contribute to the damage he has sustained.

Maybe she should not have done that.

Because when Renji and Byakuya finish him off, Gerard reemerges as a giant who towers over even Espada No. 0 Yammy Llargo’s Second Resurreccion form.

Like in the manga, Renji and Rukia, Momo Hinamori and Shinji Hirako are thrashed by giant Gerard.

And for those who are worried, it is confirmed that God Size Gerard Valkyrie will NOT be CGI.

Which makes more sense since Gerard is a human character, whereas Pernida would need to stand out as a giant arm.

NEW: Rangiku’s Secret Finally a Thing?

As Gerard slowly grows in height, everyone in the Gotei 13 group is in shock, except for one person.

Rangiku.

Her expression seems to suggest “I know who he is”, or rather “what he is”.

This indicates that we will see Gerard fighting everyone, including the Visoreds, and eventually run into Toshiro.

Kubo has been planning the Thousand Year Blood War since 2007, around Volumes 26-31 (Visored training-early Hueco Mundo)

In an interview in Repeat&Reboot in early 2012, Kubo mentioned his plans for the Quincy War, which he confirmed was the final arc.

Interview kubo 2012 bleach tybw

Majority of the plans he listed for each character did happen in some shape of form (those who would reveal their Bankai,

Some bits were unfulfilled, such as Yoruichi and Urahara’s permanent exiles from Soul Society, which would apparently be referring to present times instead of what happened in the Turn Back the Pendulum Arc.

One thing that was striking is Rangiku having a past that will be key to the story.

To note, this interview was done in early 2012 and by this time, he had begun work on the Thousand Year Blood War.

Although Rangiku’s past with Gin Ichimaru may be a key part of the Arrancar Saga, that story had already finished by the time Kubo began actually writing the final arc.

This means that Kubo might be bringing back an old plan that was never at all implemented in some fashion

It could just be Rangiku’s reaction or this reaction will set up Rangiku’s involvement for the final cour of Bleach.

God of Thunder: The Shiho’in Siblings vs Askin Nakk Le Vaar

askin nakk le vaar bleach

After Kyouraku’s Bankai ends, Askin subjects Ichigo to Gift Bad or Poison Bath, which strips Ichigo of his immunity to the dense Reishi of the Soul King Palace dimension that normally poisons anyone within the area.

Ichigo Gift bad bleach tybw askin

This is interrupted by the arrival of Yoruichi, Chad, Orihime, and Ganju. with Yoruichi keeping Askin at bay while Ichigo and the rest head for Yhwach.

Yoruichi’s fight is given particularly high praise due to the unique, eye catching impact frames.

There is a confirmed deleted scene from the manga, where Yoruichi headbutts her brother Yushiro for being a clingy younger brother who has not seen his sister in an actual century.

This might make her less of a harsh sibling in some people’s eyes.

And she did teach Yushiro her Shunko technique, which would likely be around 100 years ago since Soi-Fon was able to use it against Yoruichi in their battle in the Soul Society arc.

However, Yushiro’s barrages do nothing as Askin gains immunity at the cost of his shirt.

The Askin fight will last longer than the Gerard fight, it seems, as it covers 2.5 chapters worth of content for this episode, rather than the 1.5

Jugram Haschwalth Susses Uryu Out

Bleach Jugram Haschwalth

In the manga, Jugram was able to figure Uryu out, or rather, had the means to weed out Uryu’s treachery because of the Almighty, along with revealing the chips made from Uryu’s old Sanrei glove that would be used to destroy all of Wahrwelt and bring it crashing down, a somewhat short-sighted plan considering Yhwach and the Schutzstaffel’s powers.

However, in the anime, this scene takes place before Yhwach falls asleep as Yhwach falls asleep in the next episode.

Jugram already figures out Uryu’s deception through deduction rather than “cheat” or corner Uryu with the inescapable power of Yhwach’s all-seeing, all-powerful eyes.

The episode ends as Ichigo finally reaches Wahrwelt and comes across Uryu just like the end of Chapter 659.

Perhaps the start of Chapter 660 will be here but notably, the title chapter is not the prominent content for this episode.

Since Haschwalth might not have the Almighty in the scene, when Ichigo appears, we have normal Jugram interrogating based on ordinary logic.

This could mean that when Uryu and Ichigo decide to separate from Jugram’s gaze, Yhwach had yet to fall asleep and only a short time passed between the Gotei 13’s invasion of Wahrwelt and this episode.

NEW: Ryuken Ishida Post-Credits Scene with Isshin Kurosaki

Ryuken Bleach TYBW

Uryu’s distant father, Ryuken has gained more prominence in the anime, especially in Cour 1 where he is the one to explain to Uryu about the Wandenreich.

Now we will see a 24-second scene with Ryuken.

In this Cour, specifically Episode 28: “Kill the King”, we only saw briefly holding what appears to be small fragments of the Still Silver.

This episode will also feature the flashback of Ryuken’s autopsy of his wife Katagiri, where he removes the Still Silver, a rather traumatic scene that likely began the cold relationship between father and son.

It is clarified that the 24-second clip is of Isshin and Ryuken talking, likely Ryuken telling Isshin they need to get to the Wandenreich and deliver the Still Silver, which Ryuken might have forged now after learning of either Uryu joining Wandenreich or of Uryu’s true plans to sabotage Yhwach

Episode 40 Poem: Uryu Ishida

Uryu Ishida Volume 72

The final episode poem is from Uryu Ishida

“If my words had a form

They wouldn’t reach you standing in the dark”

This poem is taken from Volume 72: “My Last Words”, which had Uryu on the cover.

Episode 40: My Last Words

Jugram Haschwalth bleach tybw

Meanwhile, Episode 40 is titled, “My Last Words”.

This will cover the first part of Chapter 635: “Hooded Enigma”,  the middle of Chapter 654, some of Chapter 657, the rest of Chapter 660, Chapter 661, where the episode name is from, and the end of Chapter 674: “Father 2”.

After this point, Bleach will only have 24 chapters left to adapt.

If we follow the pattern of Bleach episodes, the average episode adapts 4 chapters, which means about half of Cour 4 will follow the manga while the other half of the final cour will feature brand new content that will alter the way the entire Bleach story ends.

Throughout Cour 3, we are seeing the seeds planted for those significant changes.

Episode 40 Staff List:

Storyboard: Hikaru Murata
Director: Hikaru Murata, Tomohisa Taguchi
Animation Director: Kumiko Horikoshi, Ichirou Uno

PIERROT FILMS
Minami Shiba, Mika Ookubo

Assistant Animation Director:
PIERROT FILMS
Saeko Ozawa, Chen Dali, Tomoko Hayashi

Miyuki Kawano

Chief Animation Director : Kumiko Takayanagi
CADCo: Kiyoshi Komatsubara

Action and Effects Animation Director: Takashi Hashimoto

Taguchi is back after helping direct “Don’t Chase a Shadow”, the episode where Shunsui Kyouraku’s Bankai made its glorious animated debut.

As overall series director, Taguchi will help make sure the entire episode is one cinematic finish.

Murata, the current series director, is directing the final episode, just as he did in the first one.

However, Murata also storyboarded Episode 28: “Kill the King”, an episode with a beautiful 10 minute original battle between Yhwach and Ichigo, and the expanded lore of the Soul King.

The following key animators will appear in the episode:

Takahito Katayama
Hikaru Kodama
Hikaru Koga
Shiori Sekiguchi
Jason Yao
Yoshifumi Miyaji
Mitchell Gonzales
Reina Kawasaki
Takahiro Fujii
Kento Akagi
Kaede Takeno
Yuuta Suzuhana
Yoshiki Nozawa
Qiuyu Chen
Masato Yoshida
Kazuko Matsumura
石川真弓 (?)
Eri Kanehara
Haruo Miyagawa
Heigo Akashi
Kumiko Takayanagi (PIERROT FILMS)

What to Expect from Episode 40: 

Episode 40’s synopsis is as follows:

Ichigo Kurosaki and team confront Uryu Ishida. Jugram Haschwalth with the Almighty face Uryu Ishida, Ichigo Kurosaki and team.

According to some accounts, the new episode preview shown during Jump Festa featured scenes exclusively from Episode 40 instead of 39.

Some speculate that Episode 39 was finished last, likely due to the number of scenes and fights within it, such as Gerard Valkyrie growing giant.

Deadman Standing…Kinda?

Izuru Kira deadman standing bleach

Chapter 654 is famous for an iconic scene, the return of supposedly-dead fan favorite, Izuru Kira, lieutenant of Squad 3.

We even see the hole on his chest fitting the crescent moon.

However, we might not be sure if this is how the cameo will work as, more than likely, we will see a silhouette of him (a man with a hole on his right side) if the intent is to hype the audience for Cour 4.

In Episode 4: “March of the Starcross”, Bazz-B supposedly kill him by using Burner Finger 1 to put a hole on his shoulder.

However, leakers have confirmed that we will only see Izuru and not the whole scene of where he appears, which does ruin the surprise of that moment

This means we will not see the fragments of Lille Barro rampage Soul Society or Izuru fighting them.

It is just a brief cameo of the Deadman Standing and it might make the iconic moment in the anime less cool, unless we ignore the scene and only have it there to hype up the audience.

Yoruichi vs Askin Continues!

yoruichi

We will be treated to more animation of Askin and Yoruichi fighting to continue off from last episode.

Due to the long runtime of Episode 39 and the number of fights and scenes crammed in it, we might not have enough time to show off everything but this scene exists to confirm that Yoruichi vs Askin will be extended for fans to enjoy, yet another bit of Kubo fanservice.

Liltotto and Giselle Fail Against Yhwach

Liltotto Bleach TYBW

At the start of Chapter 635, we see Liltotto Lamperd easily defeated by Yhwach, with Giselle Gewelle lying around.

The scene might show exactly how the two ex-Sternritters fell and will be modified to include the zombified Bambies.

This will be the point where Yhwach will sleep and swap powers with Jugram, who will open his eyes to reveal the Almighty.

Will we see the last Sternritter survive in the final cour, just as they did in the Bleach novel, “Can’t Fear Your Own World”?

NEW: Soken Ishida and Kanae Katagiri Scene

soken ishida bleach

Soken acts as the narrator here, which would set up his own narration once we reach the final battle in Cour 4.

“Emperor Yhwach isn’t the savior of the Quincies. He used Auswählen to steal powers and lives for his gain. As Quincies, we must protect this world and those we love. On our honor, we’ll stop him and end his tyranny”

This could be one of the final pages of the diary and is a message for his grandson, Uryu, to not despair in spite of having Yhwach’s blood in him, which is his own “Blade is Me” moment of self-acceptance in spite of the tragedy of his people because of the tyrannies of both Yhwach and the unjust Shinigami.

NEW: Rose and Kensei are Back!

kensei rose bleach tybw

Remember the two capsules behind the one that held Toshiro and Rangiku?

Those capsules held Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi and Kensei Muguruma, who have been zombified by Giselle Gewelle after Gremmy Thoureaux killed them while they were injured from their battle against Mask de Masculine in Episode 20: “I am the Edge”.

In the manga, they would fight against Mayuri’s zombie Arrancar but never show up outside of the two capsules stored.

It seems like we will see the full Visored lineup try (and fail) against God Size Gerard in Cour 4 and not just the ones that did not turn into zombies.

Uryu Ishida Reveals His True Plans

ichigo vs uryu

Ichigo and Uryu face off after their tragic battle on the Soul King Palace where Uryu bore a hole through Ichigo’s chest.

Like in the manga, we will see them clash initially until Ichigo tries to make sense of Uryu’s motivations, now that Jugram is out of the way.

Jugram Haschwalth’s Almighty is a Scene Stealer!

Bleach Jugram Haschwalth

The leakers have noted how Jugram Haschwalth looks magnificent in the shot revealing the Almighty.

In contrast to the manga that shows it once he has proof of Uryu’s treachery, we see the Almighty form in the shadows as Jugram catches up to Uryu and Ichigo.

NEW: Seele Schneider is Back!

bleach preview ep 39

The preview showed Uryu using Seele Schneider for the first time since the original Bleach anime.

His latest use of the weapon was in Episode 341: “Invading Army Arc, Final Conclusion!” in the anime released in September 27, 2011 and its only manga use in the fight against Privaron Espada Cirucci Sanderwicci from Chapter 259: “Flicker Flames” on January 22, 2007.

Isshin and Ryuken Arrive!

isshin ryuken bleach tybw 674

Episode 39’s anime-only post-credits scene sets up Ryuken and Isshin’s arrival in Wahrwelt, where they use a Key of the Sun that Ryuken’s father, Soken Ishida, kept after his exile from Wandenreich.

In the manga, their entrance was controversial because Ryuken barely appeared, except conspicuously in the last 30 chapters of the manga where he would provide Uryu the means to momentarily stop Yhwach’s powers.

Ichigo and Gang Head Up the Stairs

my last words bleach tybw

The episode and whole cour will end in the middle of Chapter 661, where Ichigo and the rest are climbing the massive stairs leading to Yhwach’s throne room and the shadow they cast will show the title card just like it did in the manga.

This episode mostly serves as a setup for the final battles ahead for the final cour.

This cour, we finished two of the four Schustaffel.

Askin and Gerard remain among them and of course, Jugram and Yhwach will face off against Uryu and Ichigo respectively.

QUINCY ENCYCLOPEDIA IS BACK!!!

Bleach Quincy Encyclopedia

Much like the last cour finale, the episode’s main content is only 17 minutes long but this will be more productive as we will get original anime omake content.

After 10 years, we will see the return of the Quincy Encyclopedia segment once hosted by Ryuken Ishida (feat. Isshin Kurosaki).

It seems here we might get new facts about the Wandenreich because instead of Ryuken, it seems Askin Nakk Le Vaar, one of the Schutzstaffel, will be the host and he will be enjoying his cafe au lait while doing so

New Name Reveal

Bleach TYBW Quincy waifu

There has been hype for Kubo’s new name but to play along with the joke, there is a new name and it is from the female Quincy from 1,000 years ago, one of the first Sternritter.

Her name is Nikita Deslock.

This is the finale of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Cour 3.

There is only one cour left and we look forward to knowing when it will drop

Source: Twitter

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