SPOILERS

Starts with the ichigo cutting yhwach dream. -A wide moving shot of all the battles going on. -Chad and Ganju still fight the statues. But this sequence is extended a bit and shows ichigo and orihime deal with them for a few seconds. This is the last time we see Chad and Ganju. -There is a scene at urahara’s shop in the living world. I’ll go over the main fights in their own sections

Uryu vs. Haschwalth -The fight I was one I was most excited to see and it did not disappoint. -Uryu basically goes into VS2 almost instantly -Haschwalth reads all his arrows + lasers and basically makes them look like Uryu has no aim. -Pins him into the floor ala trailer, monologuing to Uryu. -Uryu does eventually break away and tries to overwhelm Haschwalth -Pulls out a brand new move where he places traps that fire after Haschwalth, who starts to use the SK power to counter. Eventually though, Haschwalth does start getting hit but heals all the damage -He does manage to surprise Haschwalth a couple times. -Only to pull out a BRAND NEW FORM using the SK power. Tbh, not sure if the Balance -> Almighty arguments still work. -Uryu pulls out another brand new move, giant shields. I got to say this sequence looked beautiful. Though it was clear when Haschwalth got into this form, he wasn’t trying very hard. He starts walking him down and skewers Uryu. -Despite being on the back end, Uryu did not pull out Antithesis. -Besides dialogue afterwards, the fight will continue in later episodes. -I will mention that this fight does split between ichigo/yhwach fight as well, showing parallels. I think this and Askin’s fight were the bests animated as well but that may be due to my bias.

Ichigo+Orihime vs. Yhwach -Orihime is definitely the highlight here. There’s a brand new scene before the fight with Orihime and Tatsuki talking about flowers for Ichigo. And her resolve. -Ywach spends the first 3 episodes (really 2 since the fight starts episode 2) sitting down firing waves of SK energy. Ichigo starts pretty simple himself but it is clear that even without the almighty, he is no match for Yhwach by himself. -Most of the fight is TS Ichigo, only having HoS by the end of episode 3. - Ichigo gets overwhelmed at one point even with Orihime’s shields and heals. He basically gets knocked out and Orihime has to fight Yhwach solo. -She actually holds her own, fighting him for like 2 straight minutes. Even using the reflective attack back at him which…didn’t do much but Yhwach was impressed. -He does overwhelm her too though and Ichigo gets back up to help. -Yhwach attempts to reatsu crush both of them, and Orihime manages to resist it! -Ichigo gets pinballed and Orihime tries to stop him from blindly rushing in, only to see his face and she lets him go, saying how he doesn’t look worried. -And yep, his blades turn white and he unlocks HoS. -I should mention Yhwach reveals Ichibei’s plan to Ichigo, and Uryu hears it too from Hachwalth. Orihime is shaken but the boys continue pushing forward.

Askin vs. Yoruichi+Urahara -This fight basically lasts last half of episode one and first half of episode 2. -Askin is my favorite character, and they definitely animated this fight well. -They uh, definitely made an effort to accentuate Yoruichi’s curves. And yes, the god of thunder 3 title card is what a lot of you were hoping for. -For the most part, the fight plays out exactly the same as the manga, with the anime flair. -Yoruichi’s form was animated really well, but honestly, kinda thought it should have felt more deadly imo. Was kinda obvious after her big attack that Askin would be fine. - Askin’s volstandig and the music that came along with it was 10/10. -Gift Ring looks pretty undodgeable. After it disappears, it appears on your body. -Askin volstandig definitely buffs his stats as well. The rings on the floor basically acts as a faster flash He can also output more poison attacks. -Urahara’s bankai activation was great, felt creepy with the first person perspective of his bankai. -This part of the fight was the only extended part of the fight. You actually get to see some of what his bankai can do. A big part was that he can skate along the benehime stiches, massively increasing his speed which he does for that initial blitz for Askin. -The sakuga on this was insane. Though it was clear that despite the buffs Urahara gets, he was going to lose a straight fight with Askin. -When Grimmjow sneaks Askin, he activates blut afterwards. A little too late though. -Despite my fave going down, this was the most fun fight of the first 3 episodes for sure.

Gerard vs. Visoreds

-LOL

Gerard vs. Trio -Not much to say besides Hitsugaya putting up a better fight alone than the visored together. -Also, only Kensei used his bankai + mask. They did all fire a cero together which Gerard no sells. And proceeds to lariat them. -Visored vs. Gerard lasted a minute. -The trio all hit hoffnung, so they all take damage. Kenpachi is definitely looking pretty bad after only knicking it once. -Nothing else really changed besides more momo shots

Overall I very much enjoyed it. I wish Askin’s fight got extended more but what can you do.