Pierrot Films ruined Mayuri's most hyped moment in Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War anime and fans won't forgive

The ͏Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War anime has largely been celebrated for its ͏faithful adaptation of Ti͏te K͏ub͏o's iconic manga. However, episode 34 marked ͏a sour͏ note for fans eagerly ͏awaiting the climactic battle between Mayuri Kuro͏tsuchi ͏and͏ Perni͏d͏a Parnkgj͏as.

The CGI used by Pierrot͏ ͏Films to depict Pernida,͏ the Soul King’s left hand, has drawn widespread criticism for undermining one of the͏ arc’s most ͏intense and visually striking moments. With ͏jarring visual inconsistencies,͏ ͏lackluster ͏rendering, ͏and a ͏failure to capture the ͏character's unsettling aura, fans are calling this a major misstep, and many feel ͏it’s one they can’t forgive.

Pernida's CGI debacle in the Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War anime

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In the Bleach manga, Pernida's introduction and subsequent battle with Mayuri were widely praised for their creativity and the sense of dread and unease they evoked.

Pernida's unique, otherworldly appearance as the left hand of the Soul King, with its chains, eyes, and eventual transformative abilities, was a critical part of what made the encounter so compelling. However, when it came time to bring this character to life in the anime adaptation, fans felt Pierrot Films fell short.

Pernida Parnkgjas as shown in the Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War anime series (Image via Pierrot Films)

According to fans, the CGI used to render Pernida's design stood out starkly against the hand-drawn animation that dominated the rest of the series. The lack of visual cohesion between Pernida and the surrounding environment was jarring, and the quality of the CGI model itself left much to be desired.

The long, focused shots of Pernida in the foreground only exacerbated the issue as the flaws in the CGI became increasingly apparent. Moreover, fans believe the color inconsistencies in the anime further undermined the impact of Pernida's appearance.

A snapshot of Pernida from the manga series (Image via Shueisha)

Fans noticed that, in the manga, the nerves that extended from Pernida's body were depicted as stark black, creating a strong visual contrast. In the anime, however, the nerves were sometimes rendered as a fleshy white and, in other instances, a vibrant red.

This lack of a consistent visual identity for one of the series' most important antagonists left many fans feeling that the anime had failed to capture the essence of the source material.

Fans' reactions to the Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War anime's CGI

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The CGI execution of Pernida in the Bleach: Thousand-year Blood War anime has not gone unnoticed by the show's dedicated fanbase. Social media platforms have been flooded with criticism and disappointment from viewers who had been eagerly anticipating this pivotal moment in the series.

"The pernida cgi was just bad, there is no other way to put it, and just after the renji vs ishida 10/10 episode?? The bar was so high. Other than that, story wise, no critiques, mayurie is a crazy sob", said a fan.

"Awful CGI, awful storyboeading, awful Pernida characterization - one of the best written fights in Kubo's career was not at all made justice in the anime. Do better and stop butchering emotional heavy fights like Unohana v Kenpachi, Komamura v Bambietta and now Mayuri v Pernida", said another fan.

"Yups as I feared pernida looks so f weird in CG , looks lifeless , those weird movements , ahh I f hate it , pierrot really destroying top 5 fights of Bleach" yet another fan said.

Many fans have expressed frustration with the stark disconnect between Pernida's CGI and the rest of the animation, arguing that it undermines the tension and horror the character meant to evoke.

Some have even gone so far as to suggest that the CGI used for Pernida is among the worst they have seen in any anime production, a sentiment that speaks to the depths of their disappointment.

"Cgi pernida did not look good at all which is weird cus komamuras bankai wasnt bad", a fan said.

"Honestly I enjoyed the episode but I really do think choosing to use CGI to portray Pernida was the wrong call. There Re moments where the CGI is used to great effect but most of the time I think it would have been just as good if not better using traditional animation.", another fan said.

"That CGI was trash, I don't know why they keep pushing it If only they hadn't made Pernida move around like that for a solid few seconds it would be bearable", yet another fan said.

Others have pointed out that similar CGI models in other anime productions have managed to blend more seamlessly with the surrounding hand-drawn environments, suggesting that Pierrot Films' handling of Pernida's visuals was a clear misstep.

The lack of consistency in the nerves' coloration has also been a source of significant criticism, with fans arguing that it further diminishes the impact of Pernida's unsettling appearance.

Final thoughts

Mayuri took on Pernida Parnkgjas (Image via Pierrot Films)

The Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime adaptation ͏has been a highly anticipated event for fans,͏ but ͏the execution of͏ Pernida Parn͏kgjas' CGI in episode 34 has ͏left many viewers deeply disappointed.

According to fans, the stark contrast between the͏ CGI ͏model and the hand-drawn animation, coupled with the inconsistent coloration of Pernida͏'s defining features, has undermined the impact ͏of͏ one of the arc's most important and compelling antagonists.

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Edited by Shreya Das