In many ways, the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime is an improvement on its 2000s-era successor. In the Fall 2022 and Summer 2023 anime seasons, longtime Bleach fans were treated to modern animation, better pacing, hard-hitting plot twists, and even some great intro credits sequences. But there are still issues in the story itself, most of all why these heroes fight.
Visually, the new Bleach anime's action sequences are reaching new heights thanks to sharp animation techniques and cool powers/abilities clashing, such as Kenpachi vs Gremmy or Yamamoto vs Yhwach. The stakes behind those fights feel hollow, however, since each side in the Thousand-Year Blood War is fighting mainly for survival's sake. Compared to the original Bleach anime, these fights lack serious personal stakes that make the fights more compelling and heartfelt. There are some exceptions, to be sure, but not where it counts the most.
Fighting the Sternritter Has Limited Emotional Impact
Shonen action scenes are far more engaging when one or both fighters have serious personal stakes on the line, from protecting a lover from harm all the way to seeking much-needed personal validation or making amends for past wrongs. However, the personal and emotional stakes in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc are more one-sided, since the Soul Reapers and protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki have no personal connections to any of the Sternritter, the elite warriors of the Quincy empire, aside from the late Yamamoto. The Sternritter are enemies for the sake of having enemies, and they are reduced to mere boss battles for the Soul Reapers to overcome one by one. It's all business, and that robs the new Bleach anime of what made the original series so compelling when the fighting starts.
Nearly all of these Quincy and Soul Reapers are meeting for the first time, and none of them have good reason to explain their backstories or emotional stakes to one another. Debates and heavy dialogue are acceptable in shonen fight scenes if it's personal enough, such as fighting a friend turned enemy, like Naruto vs Sasuke in the Naruto, or Ochaco and Himiko debating true love in My Hero Academia. Even if Ochaco and Himiko only met recently as heroes and villains, they have plenty in common and will discuss it during their fights. But nothing like that is happening in the new Bleach anime. There is no connection between the two sides, so the Soul Reapers' personal stakes in the fights are one-sided.
There are several notable examples of this. Captain Sajin Komamura sacrificed everything to repay Yamamoto and defeat his enemies – in this case, Sternritter E, Bambietta Basterbine. But aside from personally stealing Sajin's bankai with a Medallion, Bambietta has no connection to Sajin, and Sajin could have made his ultimate move against any of the Sternritter. His foes are interchangeable, and that's not a good sign. Similarly, Sternritter J, Quilge Opie, simply happened to be the one to invade Hueco Mundo, making him Ichigo's enemy due to sheer circumstances and nothing more. The most intense, high-stakes fights of all, such as squad 0 vs the four Schutzstaffel, have no personal stakes whatsoever. It's all business between those two sides, power vs power, making it an obligatory fight and little more. A "big three" anime like Bleach can do better than combat for its own sake, and it certainly used to. The new anime needs more of that.
Bleach's Original Anime Made the Best Fights Personal
While it's true the original Bleach anime also had plenty of minor fights for their own sake, all the best fights in that anime had serious personal stakes for both sides, and thus a greater emotional impact. Overall, the original Bleach anime did that far more often, and better, than the current Thousand-Year Blood War arc, and that's why the original anime's fights are memorable classics. The key factor is that most villains and antagonists in that anime had personal business with the heroes and weren't always strangers they just met. Or at least, after two fighters meet, their best and most personal fight won't happen until later, after they've personally figured each other out.
Protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki had several of these fights, and they were far more personal than Ichigo fighting Candice Catnipp and her friends in the TYBW arc. The single best example is Ichigo's long-standing feud with Byakuya Kuchiki at the end of Bleach's first arc and all of the Soul Society arc. Ichigo and Byakuya each had intense personal stakes concerning Rukia Kuchiki, and that led to some heartfelt dialogue after they fought each other to a stalemate. That barely finished when Sosuke Aizen showed up with his minions, and Byakuya started doing things Ichigo's way by defending Rukia from harm at a great personal cost. That emotionally-driven fight set the stage for Byakuya's redemption and his improving bond with his foster sister, Rukia.
Even the true villains in the original Bleach anime made things personal, more so than the Sternritter have. Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, for example, declared himself Ichigo's rival since he wanted to prove himself top dog to fill the emptiness inside him, and Ichigo responded in kind. They had three fights, each more personal than the last, until Ichigo won their grudge match in Las Noches. They even exchanged personally meaningful lines after the fight was over, something Ichigo would never do with Candice Catnipp and her magical girl-style friends. Aaroniero Arruruerie, the 9th Espada, made it personal when he assumed Kaien Shiba's form to use psychological warfare on Rukia and torture her, forcing Rukia to face her own grief and guilt. Only by overcoming those deep-seated feelings could Rukia win the fight, and she did just that.
The Thousand-Year Blood War Must Give Ichigo Personal Stakes
The new anime arc has glimmers of personal stakes, such as Rukia getting her "senpai noticed me" moment after Byakuya watched her defeat Sternritter F, Äs Nödt, which completed the Kuchiki siblings' shared arc. Still, the TYBW anime has been underwhelming with its personal stakes in its combat sequences, so it's up to Ichigo Kurosaki himself to change that. The overall Bleach anime is rapidly approaching its endgame, so most likely, Ichigo will now take center stage and fight the most consequential and emotionally charged battles of all.
First, Ichigo must face his Quincy friend Uryu Ishida, who sided with the Wandenreich and even became Yhwach's successor. That's the kind of Naruto vs Sasuke battle the Bleach anime needs so it can do more than go through the motions. Also, King Yhwach himself can provide more personal stakes when and if he faces Ichigo, assuming Yhwach is in shape to fight after his clash with Ichibe Hyosube. Yhwach is the one who hinted at Ichigo's mother Masaki being a Quincy, and Yhwach views Ichigo as his son born in the dark. Ichigo now knows the truth about Masaki and how she met Isshin, so Ichigo must settle matters with his Quincy "grandfather" and prove what his real family is like. That's as personal as it gets, and that's what the TYBW arc needs to end Bleach with a memorable, heartfelt bang.
