Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 1 episode 11 recap & review

In ‘Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’ episode 11, Isshin Kurosaki finally tells Ichigo how he met his mother. The episode is now streaming on Hulu.

Recap

Nimaiya reveals to Renji that he knows the whereabouts of every Zanpakuto he has ever forged. He describes the relationship between an Asauchi and a Soul Reaper and how the latter transforms an Asauchi into a Zanpakuto.

Nimaiya presumes that even Renji knows that Asauchis and Hoohden won’t work for Ichigo. He claims that Ichigo needs to figure out the whereabouts of his soul first.

Ichigo is sent back home. He takes a shower at Ms. Ikumi’s and reassesses what his next move should be.

Soon, Isshin Kurosaki shows up. He lets Ichigo know that he is aware of everything that went down at the Soul Society. Isshin realizes that this is the right time to tell Ichigo who he really is.

Back in time, when Isshin headed Squad 10, he received news about the deaths of the Soul Reapers that are taking place in a mid-sized city called Naruki. The fact that these deaths haven’t stopped encouraged Isshin to investigate on his own.

It’s Sosuke Aizen, who is conducting Hollowfication experiments with the help of Gin and Kaname.

Isshin joins the Soul Reapers looking after the city and assures them that they can leave if it rains, as it gets dangerous here whenever there is a storm.

Masaki, a Quincy, is navigating her life at the Ishida family’s residence. She is treated harshly by Izumi, who won’t shy away from stating the fact that they have taken Masaki into their family only because she is a Quincy.

Izumi’s son, Ryu, intervenes during their quarrel and stops his mother from going all out on Masaki.

He, as well as Masaki, knows that his mother wants to protect the Ishida family’s Echt Quincy Blood. He often wonders if Masaki will be happy if they ever get married.

Meanwhile, Isshin finally encounters the entity responsible for killing Soul Reapers here in Naruki. He recognizes it as a Hollow, and a battle ensues.

Masaki senses the spiritual pressure released. The Hollow continues to kill more Soul Reapers whenever someone comes close to it.

Masaki feels that she should protect people if she can. Therefore, she leaves the room to go out there and fight. Ryu stops her and reminds her of the rules they have here.

They should protect themselves as they are Echt Quincy Blood. Masaki confesses that she will regret staying here later. Especially when she has a chance to save someone’s life.

During the battle with the Hollow, Isshin comes to realize that a traitor is pulling the strings of this entity. Just when Isshin was about to lose the battle, Masaki came to his rescue.

She attacked the Hollow, who then decides to take care of Masaki first. The Hollow ends up walking straight into her trap. Isshin does his part and saves Masaki when the Hollow proceeds to self-destruct.

Masaki offers to heal a heavily injured Isshin. He asks who she is. Masaki hesitates a bit, wondering how he would react upon learning that she is a Quincy, but she decides to not keep it a secret.

She tells him who she is, and Isshin shows no signs of hostility. He is actually quite happy to meet a Quincy for the very first time.

Aizen, Gin, and Kaname observed everything. Even Ryu and Katagiri had come to see if Masaki is fine, and they leave after ensuring that she is.

Review

• The episode offered nothing new to viewers. The show has already been dropping hints that Ichigo is half-Quincy. It just confirmed it again, and Isshin decided to tell the story behind it.
• Masaki’s story over here is also not unique either. She possesses the typical characteristics of an anime protagonist.
• The story aside, the Hollow featured in the episode certainly is quite scary, and the episode makes it out to be no less than a myth.

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Also Read: Yhwach’s theory around Ichigo’s Blut Vene in Bleach: TYBW explained