Bleach: TYBW episode 7's flashback of Original Gotei 13 steal the spotlight from Ichigo's grand arrival

With the release of Bleach: TYBW episode 7, fans witnessed Ichigo Kurosaki's grand entrance into the bloodbath at the Soul Society. Furthermore, Ichigo's encounter with Yhwach revealed some very interesting facts about the series' protagonist while also hinting at further revelations.

However, with the addition of an anime-original scene featuring the silhouetted and muted original Gotei 13 Captains fighting Yhwach and his forces a thousand years prior, as well as their appearance in the outro, hardly any fans seem to be discussing this aspect of Bleach: TYBW Episode 7.

Follow along as this article briefly recaps the major events of Bleach: TYBW Episode 7, as well as covers predominant fan reactions.

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Fan's obsession with Bleach: TYBW Episode 7’s original Gotei 13 cameo over Ichigo’s return, backstory is questionable at best

Fan reaction

Bleach: TYBW Episode 7, released on Monday, November 21, saw an incredible number of events and reveals within 24-and-a-half minutes of runtime. The episode cold-opened with a brand new flashback scene of the original Gotei 13, featuring each squad’s Captain in muted and, for the most part, silhouetted appearances.

This scene ran for roughly 2 minutes, focusing on the original Gotei 13’s defeat of Yhwach and his forces a thousand years prior before the episode jumped into its theme. After Yhwach's final words to Yamamoto and destroying his body, the scene cut to Ichigo desperately trying to break free from Quilge Opie's Jail.

He eventually breaks free, appearing in the Soul Society and instantly defeating one of the Sternritter upon arrival. He then briefly stops to have a word with Byakuya Kuchiki in what appears to have been Byakuya’s final moments, before jumping up in the air and disappearing altogether. Bleach: TYBW Episode 7 then saw Ichigo reappear, with the two beginning to fight shortly thereafter.

However, it was eventually revealed that Ichigo was subconsciously using Blut Vene, a Quincy technique, to heal his wounds. Yhwach then began implying that Ichigo was part Quincy on his mother’s side, before also sharing that he had planned to temporarily capture Ichigo and “slowly re-educate him.” In light of this Blut Vene development, Yhwach instead decides to forcefully subdue and kidnap Ichigo.

Unfortunately, it’s revealed that Yhwach and his Sternritter forces, down to the foot soldiers, are seemingly on a time limit for how long they can be in the Soul Society. Yhwach insists at first that he can spare more time but soon learns that something Sosuke Aizen said during their conversation has impacted his perceptions. Episode 7 of Bleach: The Young Blades World finishes with Jugram Haschwalt breaking Ichigo's Bankai, while the outro theme visuals feature paintings of the original Gotei 13 Captains.

Despite the significance of the Ichigo reveals present in this episode, fans are seemingly discussing the appearance of the original Gotei 13 Captains. While this is an exciting tidbit of worldbuilding, the lore reveals behind Ichigo in this episode appear to be much more exciting on the surface.

Furthermore, whereas the appearance of the original Goei 13 Captains in Bleach: TYBW Episode 7 provides little worldbuilding, the Ichigo reveals provide plenty. This discovery has far-reaching implications, including those related to the history of the Quincy and Soul Reaper families, the possibility of a Hybrid being descended from the two, the romantic history of Ichigo's mother and Isshin Kurosaki, and more.

Yet, it seems that even anime-only fans have been sucked into the original Gotei 13 Captains wormhole. While manga readers certainly have a right to be focused on their appearances and the implications it has for the potential Hell arc continuation, anime-only fans have plenty of story to get through before then. As such, it’s somewhat confounding that the fandom is universally focused on such a small cameo.

Regardless, Bleach: TYBW Episode 7 continues the series' internet-breaking streak of episodes, as almost every installment appears to have done. Fans are certainly overjoyed with the long-awaited and merited continuation of the series, despite some concerns about the show's focus on specific topics.

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