Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 11 Review

Over the course of the season of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, there has been a more significant focus on the lore of the universe. What has been mainly left out is Ichigo. He spent much of the early season locked away by the Quincies and the later season recovering from his battle with Yhwach. Despite this, the season has been great. A regime of Quincies previously thought to be wiped out came onto the scene. The introduction of Squad 0 gave the history of creating the quintessential powers the Soul Society possesses, like the healing springs, Gikon, and Zanpakuto. Squad Captains like Zaraki, Unohara, and even Yamamoto have been given more background to their characters. Now, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 11 looks to shift focus back to our hero and dig deeper into the thread of Ichigo’s Quincy blood.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 11 opens with Ichigo back in the human world. Unlike Renji, Ichigo could not pass the test put forth by Squad 0’s Oetsu Nimaiya, the creator of the Zanpakuto. Oetsu alluded that Ichigo did not know his true self, which makes him unable to regain his Bankai in the same way that Renji and other Soul Reapers can. Viewers will know that this has to do with Ichigo having Quincy blood running through his veins which was revealed early on in the season but has been unexplored to this point.

377 episodes into the Bleach series, Ichigo still on the road to self-discovery this late in the series is a testament to the storytelling. The eccentric Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo’s father, is known as a former Squad Captain who is honestly more present than most manga/anime fathers. Kurosaki’s mother has always a bit of mystery. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 11 begins to unravel that mystery. Through a flashback, most of the episode is dedicated to Isshin and Masaki meeting.

There is much unpacking in the flashbacks of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 11. A Soul Reaper/ Quincy relationship has never been explored before but seeing Isshin and Masaki together gives more context to where Ichigo gets certain personality traits from. Masaki has connections to the Ishida family, which will likely change Ichigo’s and Uryu Ishida’s relationship. Even Aizen returns with a peak behind the curtain of his initial scheming in the background of the Soul Society. His manipulations of Hollows likely have an even bigger impact on Ichigo’s life than maybe even his Quincy revelation. Of all the episodes this season, this will probably be the one where fans go back and watch over and over again to catch every little detail.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 11 continues this season’s trend of answering many questions while opening up Pandora’s box of speculation. All of the twists and turns feel earned. I find myself once again being drawn in by yet another character that we did not know much about before the season. Bleach has always been a series with powerful women, and Masaki certainly adds to that list in only a few short scenes. A few episodes ago, I was upset about the lack of Wanderiech in the episodes, but that is completely gone. They will come when they come. For now, I am all about learning more about the Kurosaki family.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 11 is available now on Hulu, with new episodes airing every Monday.