Updated on October 2, 3:45 p.m. (GMT+8): Improved relevancy.
The Zero Squad finally get their dues — and one Senjumaru Shutara proves that she can weave her own fate.
When Ichigo Kurosaki said goodbye to Rukia Kuchiki at the end of the original Bleach anime’s run (episode 366 in March 2012), it was a little meta nod to the fans as well. The anime had mostly caught up with the manga’s then-content, and instead of dragging the anime out with filler arcs, the Bleach anime simply ended.
Even when the manga ended, it was on a bit of a sour note. Whether it was because of Tite Kubo’s health problems or a directive to wrap up the long-running manga, several key scenes were obviously skipped. One such scene: Squad Zero’s fight with the elite Sternritters being pretty much offscreened.
10 years on, we are getting it back — and more.
Spoilers for Bleach episodes 391 and 392 (Thousand Year Blood War arc 25 and 26) ahead.
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Zero Squad’s Senjumaru Shutara is Bleach’s newest shining star
Though things proceeded mostly according to manga canon, some major fight scenes were added. Each individual Zero Squad member got their chance to shine with one-on-ones against the elite Sternritters, who were revived after Yhwach’s powerful Auswählen. So far, the additions were nice, but nothing to really write home about.
Then, Kubo drops the bomb — of course the Zero Squad have more to give. Why not? In the manga, when the fight ends after Ōetsu Nimaiya gets shot by Lille Barro, the anime reveals that each of the members have sealed their true powers away in a blood pact, in a sort of cultish accountability circle. Only by sacrificing three of their own lives — Senjumaru, Nimaiya, Kirio Hikifune, and Tenjiro Kirinji — can one of them unleash their final form.
It was time for the master weaver, Senjumaru, to make her mark.
Spoiler warning again! For Bleach episodes 392 (Thousand Year Blood War arc 26) ahead.
Please watch it. If you’ve ever liked Bleach, whether you’ve fallen in, out, or somewhere in the middle of loving the series, what transpires is arguably one of the best-animated sequence the series has to offer.
Senjumaru drops her Bankai and its absurdly long name — Shatatsu Karagara Shigarami no Tsuji — is a reality-bending, abstract mass of power that literally shook the heavens and earth once activated. What appears is a great loom that entraps all the Sternritters into a cloth prison of their own fates — ranging from an Iron Maiden made out of Senjumaru’s stylish form to eyes that make its victims go blind.
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It was certainly a fitting addition to the show — literally killing with drip. Take a bow, Senjumaru Shutara. Discussions have abounded about the strongest characters in Bleach since time immemorial, but her performance in the Thousand Year Blood War season 2 finale has firmly put her in the discussion.
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