BLEACH: Thousand-year Blood War ep 2 review
(This includes some slight Bleach: TYBW manga arc spoilers)
Let me get one thing right off my chest: the fact they expanded just slightly certain scenes, like the sorrow of Sasakibe's death and the casualties in First Division, the invasion of Hueco Mundo, and Yhwach's getting his report from the arrancars was a good pull from the anime's makers.
In the manga, I couldn't really feel these things which I find actually very important when setting up a mood. In the manga, it felt more like Kubo stated this is like this and that is like that. But now...oh man. I really loved how the second episode set up things.
The fact that Sasakibe and a bunch of First Division members got killed felt like the shinigami are actually facing a big crisis and not just something that could be easily brushed under a carpet. Even the Karakura gang could feel the heaviness of it all, even though that all didn't directly concern them. While it did, it only felt like it hit home when Nel showed up. This brings me to another point: I just loved the whole Yhwach vs. Harribel and arrancar conflict was actually shown as in the manga we just see Harribel being chained up and...that's it. But now as a viewer, I could get Nel's sorrow and arrancars despair. Plus, I just loved how Harribel was crushed against that stone wall and knew she wouldn't be able to make it and Nel and her company would die, but like a good Queen, she told them to run away while she still faced OP Yhwach. And yes, the fact we're seeing this early Yhwach IS indeed OP is a big thing. It makes the threat feel all the bigger and more dangerous.
Plus, the scene where he just gets the reports from the arrancar, and after their usefulness has been used? The fact he kills them on-screen was perfect. The despair within the arrancars, Yhwach being all 'this is for the sake of the peace' is coloring him nicely as a lunatic villain who is a bit deeper than your average anime villain. (Somehow, when he was talking to Jugram about the arrancars and why their death didn't really matter, I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw those two quincies mopping the floor from blood. I don't know, it felt like a very natural thing, which implies Yhwach has made them mop the floor more than a few times...)
Though, I couldn't help but wonder if the anime will show that glimpse of Sasakibe's and Yamamoto's past? I suppose it's alright if they show it in the next episode, but delaying it any further (unless we see it when Yamamoto dies) could cause pacing issues. Also, I'm still wondering if Tres Bestias were on a picnic or where when Harribel faced Yhwach or what? Like seriously, where were they? Anyway, it was still amazing to see them fighting against Quilge Opie, just like seeing Loly and Menoly fighting against him too. The whole prisoner scene with arrancars and Quilge Opie craziness/not caring about arrancar prisoners? Ah, it was perfect. Really made me as a viewer dislike the guy as we're supposed to side with the Karakura gang and in this case with arrancars...and yes, just like Urahara pointed out, the irony is strong, but we love it. (It made me lol when Urahara all but admited 'yes, I stalk Kurosaki, so what?') Also, it was nice how naturally the whole blue fire explanation came as it gave even more sense of dread about how deep trouble Hueco Mundo is, not talking about the scattered bodies. (Just showing empty scenes with no bodies, even though there were clear signs of destruction here and there doesn't really give the feeling of 'oh no, we're in BIG trouble!')
I think this time when a new character was introduced (I just love the neon pink aesthetic that all but is used as blood in certain animes yet the anime still uses the actual color red when showing blood) it was smooth and suited the atmosphere. Oh! The garganda had also gotten a nice upgrade. Now it felt like an actual dimensional tunnel and not just a black tunnel underground. I still dig how at the end of the episode there is a manga panel with a 'poem' that is spoken aloud by the character (I think this time it was Quilge Opie? Not sure?) and both the opening and ending were this time very good. Loved how they used the pink aesthetic in the opening and generally how it felt. It was also a nice touch in the opening, how they showed us, the viewers, some upcoming fights in it. But the ending this time? Seeing all those Zanpakutos lying on the ground like broken toys? And at the very end Ichigo's Zanpakuto on top of the dead bodies of several shinigami? Anyone who has read the manga knows the reference hint to that. Also, SennaRin who sang the ending song sang it beautifully and hauntingly! It gave me this feeling of something beautiful yet mysterious. (Even though I know how this all will go down unless the anime makes some sort of drastic changes to Kubo's plot, which I doubt.)
