Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 1 episodes 12 & 13 recap & review

The final two episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s first part see Ichigo discovering who he really is as he gets ready to go back to Hoohden. The episodes are now streaming on Hulu.

Episode 12 recap: Everything But the Rain “June Truth”

Isshin reports to Yamamoto about the Hollow he faced back in the city of Naruki. Yamamoto asks if he has covered everything and hasn’t left out any intricate details.

Isshin assures him that he has told them everything they need to know. Turns out, he hasn’t mentioned meeting a Quincy during his time there.

Both Masaki and Isshin keep wondering about each other’s well-being. Isshin thinks of going back and thanking her properly for saving his life.

Masaki, on her way back home from school, senses something inside her. She crosses paths with Urahara, and even he senses the same.

Back home, Ryu’s mother confronts Masaki for fighting a Hollow last night. Ryu immediately figures out that it’s Katagiri who has informed his mother about the battle with Hollow. He corners her immediately and demands to know why she opted to do that.

Katagiri confesses that Masaki is injured, and if she doesn’t get treated by proper Quincy methods, there is a chance that the future Ishida bloodline will get tainted.

Ryu goes back to defend Masaki, and before she could say anything, she tumbles down. A Hollow’s hole starts appearing below her neck. Ryu wastes no time and takes her to get treated.

On their way out, a Hollow tries to eat them but gets killed by Isshin. Ryu blames Isshin for Masaki’s condition. Urahara interrupts their conversation and requests that they come with him.

Urahara explains what Masaki is going through is called ‘Hollowfication’, where a Hollow’s soul is poured into another soul. The souls that undergo Hollowfication eventually turn into mindless monsters and self-destruct against their will.

The only way to save Masaki is to inject her with something that counteracts Hollowfication. Also, the only person that can help Masaki is Isshin Shiba, as Soul Reapers are the opposite of the Quincies and humans are opposites of Hollows.

Masaki is a hybrid of a Quincy and a Hollow. To counteract this, they need someone who is a hybrid of a Soul Reaper and a human.

Urahara offers Isshin a special Gigai created from a human soul. Upon using it, Isshin will become a hybrid of a Soul Reaper and a human.

Isshin can save her, but there are a few downsides to this decision. Urahara will bind Isshin, Masaki, and the soul of the Hollow inside Masaki with a string of Reishi.

As long as Masaki lives, it will be forever passed down to her descendants. During the time Isshin stays in this Gigai, he will lose his Soul Reaper powers, and with that, he will also lose the ability to see the Hollows.

Without a second thought, Isshin agrees to save Masaki’s life. Masaki lives, and once she graduates high school, the Quincies let her go.

Isshin opens up a clinic. Masaki often visits Ishhin, who lies to her about his powers. He suggests that he lost them because the Soul Society banished him.

Isshin believed that somewhere Masaki knew he was lying to her. The day Masaki died, she faced Grand Fisher. She lost the fight because she lost her Quincy powers that day.

Yhwach took the powers of the Qunicies he believed were impure. As a result, Uryu’s mother, Kanae Katagiri, and Masaki lost their lives. Isshin also reveals that Yhwach is the father of Quincies. The bloodline of Quincies started with him.

Episode 13 recap: The Blade is Me

After learning about his roots, Ichigo sets off to meet Nimaiya again. One of Nimaiya’s bodyguards appears out of nowhere and picks him up.

Ichigo finds himself inside Hoohden again, where he chooses his Asauchi. Nimaiya then takes Ichigo to the place where he forges Zanpakutos, which is surrounded by water.

Nimaiya tells Ichigo that now he has to part ways with his Zangetsu. Nimaiya and his bodyguards start to forge Ichigo’s new Zanpakuto.

While Nimaiya forges the Zanpakuto, he explains why Ichigo’s Asauchi turned white. He reveals that this Asauchi is the Hollow within Ichigo.

He then guides Ichigo to figure out who his Zangetsu is. It turns out that Ichigo’s Zangetsu is none other than Yhwach from a thousand years ago.

Zangetsu discloses that he is the source of the Quincy power inside Ichigo. Zangetsu admits that he did lie to Ichigo, but only about his name.

He says every time Ichigo was in danger, he resorted to taking help from the Hollow to save Ichigo.

He confessed that he didn’t want Ichigo to become a Soul Reaper, and that’s why he suppressed Ichigo’s true powers. He would have had to kill Ichigo if he became a Soul Reaper.

Nevertheless, Ichigo chose the path of a Soul Reaper. Ichigo used that opportunity to hone his skills and become what he is today. Over time, Zangetsu accepted Ichigo’s decisions and admired them. He then proceeded to step away from him.

Ichigo then picks up his new Zanpakuto. The water surrounding the place where Nimaiya forges his swords evaporates. Ichigo reveals his two different Zanpakutos and decides to fight on his own from now on, without Zangetsu.

Amidst all of this, back at the Soul Society, each and every member thrives to grow strong in order to face the Quincies when they show up again.

Review

• The one-hour finale is a storytelling treat. The viewers get to learn a lot about Isshin’s past, and though the story is predictable, it does come with a lot of revelations that leave the viewers in awe.
• Viewers can’t help but feel nostalgic as they watch the past unfold and recall how things were when Bleach first began.
• Shifting towards a more story-oriented part with less action towards the end might’ve been a little risky, but ‘Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’ makes it count.
• Overall, the finale sets things straight for the upcoming second part, which may start off slowly with Ichigo learning more about his Zanpakuto before facing Yhwach and the Quincies again.

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