REVIEW: BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 47 — “The End 2”

If last week’s “The End” was BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War at its most hopeless, then BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 47, “The End 2,” is the fascinating inverse. At least for most of the runtime.

After spending the previous episode watching Ichigo’s (Masakazu Morita / Johnny Yong Bosch) final hope for victory seemingly crumble before him, “The End 2” takes a step back and reminds us that there are still plenty of other people fighting for a future where the Three Worlds survive.

It is a surprisingly hopeful episode, considering Yhwach (Takayuki Sugō / Richard Epcar) is somehow even more powerful than ever. That contrast makes the episode work more often than not.

“The End 2” finds a way to leave hope behind its pain, even if it’s just for its characters and not victory.

“THE END 2” opens with something that fans have desperately wished we had gotten during the Thousand-Year Blood War manga: Shunsui (Akio Ōtsuka / Steve Kramer) and Ukitake (Hideo Ishikawa / Aleks Le) actually saying goodbye. Their relationship has always been one of the more quietly meaningful friendships in BLEACH, dating all the way back to their days as students under the late head captain Yamamoto.

The anime finally gives them a proper farewell, allowing Shunsui to acknowledge what Ukitake’s death means while also confronting the enormous responsibility he now carries. It is a small addition, but exactly the kind of character work this final cour has needed. Placing it at the start of the episode is a great choice.

Meanwhile, with Haschwalth dead, Uryu (Noriaki Sugiyama / Steve Prince)) is now free to help his friends. But first, he focuses his attention on destroying Wahrwelt itself and preventing the collapse of the Three Worlds. His plan involves a bunch of bombs, and what follows is one of the most delightfully BLEACH things imaginable: the Last Quincy gets help from a bunch of unexpected Arrancar.

Yes, everyone, none other than Pesche (Takehito Koyasu / Michael P. Greco) and Dondochakka (Daisuke Gōri / Pete Sepenuk) are back! And, because apparently we are getting even more of an Arrancar Arc reunion before this whole thing ends, Tier Harribel (Megumi Ogata / Jeannie Tirado) shows up too, assisted by Nelliel (Tomoko Kaneda / Collen O’Shaughnessey), Shunsui, and Nanao (Hitomi Nabatame / Kate Higgins).

Seeing Quincy, Soul Reapers, and Hollows all continuing to work together to save the world is such wonderfully poetic material. These are factions that have spent the entire series fighting one another, now united by the same goal.

The anime also expands the efforts of the Research and Development squad, giving characters like Akon (Keijin Okuda / Gavin Harrison) and the other scientists like Rin (Miho Saiki / Julie Ann Taylor) and Hiyosu (Kouhei Matsumoto / Kirk Thornton) considerably more to do as they desperately try to maintain the balance between the Three Worlds.

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 4 is a tremendous work of adaptation.

This is another area where the anime adaptation has been doing a tremendous job. It isn’t simply adding flashy fights for the sake of adding flashy fights; it is patching holes, expanding character roles, and making the entire story feel more interconnected and thoroughly satisfying as it wraps things up.

The big moment for “THE END 2” is the surprise, anime-exclusive battle in the skies above Wahrwelt, with Uryu, Nel, and Harribel facing Yhwach as the enormous structure comes crashing down below them. It’s exactly the kind of completely insane BLEACH spectacle that you’d want from these final episodes.

Uryu’s Antithesis once again becomes the key. It allows him to interfere with Yhwach’s Almighty in a way that actually makes him feel like a legitimate threat rather than simply another character standing helplessly before the final boss.

But of course, this is still Yhwach we’re talking about. His Final Auswählen allows him to reclaim power from across the battlefield, absorbing the powers of poor Ichigo and the remnants of his surviving Schutzstaffel. Even Gerard Valkyrie’s death—which unfortunately remains as hilariously anticlimactic as it did in the manga—is ultimately just another reminder of the absurd level Yhwach has reached. He isn’t merely winning anymore. He is operating on an entirely different level of existence.

That’s why the cut back to Ichigo works so well despite its awkward placement. Most of this episode is dedicated to telling us that there is still hope, despite the odds. Ichigo’s despair-laden moment as his powers are taken away from him and he finally gives up reminds us why that hope may still not be enough. The excellent deployment of Shiro Sagisu’s “Nothing Can Be Explained” is what makes this part truly click.

Ichigo has reached a point we almost never see from him: genuine despair. His ultimate, true Bankai cannot even reach Yhwach. The guy who has spent the entire series charging headfirst into impossible battles finally looks like he has no idea what to do next. But there is still one thing Yhwach cannot completely erase: the people who refuse to stop fighting.

Yhwach in Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 47 is unflinching in his power.

And that brings us to Shunsui’s declaration that the final battle is truly beginning. After everything that has happened, after all the deaths, betrayals, power-ups, sacrifices, and seemingly endless “final” battles, somehow we are finally approaching the FINAL final final FINAL battle. There are now three episodes left. Seemingly, for good. So buckle up.

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 47 is yet another fantastic example of why this anime adaptation has become so much more than a simple retelling of Tite Kubo’s manga. It fills in the gaps, gives characters their proper moments, and turns what was already an enormous finale into something that feels like the culmination of the entire series.

There may be almost no hope left for defeating Yhwach, but as long as BLEACH keeps finding ways to bring everyone back together in surprising and exciting ways, there is still hope for the world. And that just might be enough.

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 45 is streaming now on Hulu and Disney+ with new episodes every Sunday. 

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