Warning: Spoilers for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, Episode #26One issue that some fans of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War have had is that the series’ rapid pace has forced it to cut much of the comedic content from the story, making it come across as much more serious than it did in the manga. The second cour finale responded to this particular complaint by bringing back an old segment from the original anime, featuring humorous skits set during the story of Thousand-Year Blood War.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has been adapting as many as 8 chapters per episode, a truly rapid pace compared to the 2–3 chapters per episode that is more commonly seen for anime. That has meant that a lot of moments were shortened, or even cut entirely, and these cuts have applied to fights just as much as they have to comedic moments. At the same time, Bleach had added new content, often fights that were resolved off-screen in the manga, shifting exactly who and what is in the spotlight. While these changes have largely been for the narrative’s best, some fans can’t help but mourn the comedic moments that have been lost along the way.
Kon Returns With Comedic Post-Credit Bleach Scenes
In a surprising move, the post-credits sequence of the finale wasn’t a tease for the next batch of episodes, but rather the return of the “Illustrated Guide to Soul Reapers,” also known as “Shinigami Zukan.” This is a segment, hosted by Bleach’s troublesome mascot Kon, which in the original anime featured comedic skits, often adapted from the manga’s “omake,” or bonus content. In Kon’s return, he comments on how serious the Bleach anime has become, and how it needs more comedic moments to help balance it out, giving voice to one of the common fan complaints about the Thousand-Year Blood War adaptation so far.
The segment performed two sketches, one featuring Mayuri, Kon, and Ichigo, and another featuring Renji, Rukia, and Senjumaru of Squad Zero. The first scene adapts a moment from manga chapter #516, where Kon at Squad 12’s barracks bumps into Ichigo, while the second adapts a moment from chapter #545, with Renji and Rukia lamenting their time with Senjumaru and sympathizing with Byakuya, who still has that ordeal before him. Both scenes were shown in limited animation style, with pop-up images of characters’ heads over a static background, but were fully voice-acted.
Bleach Openly Acknowledges Fans’ Criticism
While it may not have been exactly what fans had in mind, the segment did bring back moments cut from the anime proper, restoring a bit of the lost comedy that the show’s rapid pacing has left by the wayside. The segment was described as a special treat, so it seems this won’t become a standard part of the post-credits like it once was, but even that is a welcome addition for those who miss Bleach‘s comedy. Still, it’s not off the table for the segment to return sporadically, perhaps at the end of the next cour’s finale, too. Bleach has at least taken the time to acknowledge the comedy that’s been cut, so hopefully that’s enough to tide some fans over until the series returns in 2024.
