'BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War' episode 45 sparks mixed reactions from fans
Ichigo Kurosaki (Facebook)
The latest installment of "BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity" is making waves online.
The episode introduced a new form for Ichigo Kurosaki called “Ichigo of the Blood Chain (Kessa no Ichigo).” This anime-original transformation was designed and named by the series' creator and supervisor, Tite Kubo.
Since this form never appeared in the manga, its reveal quickly sparked reactions among fans.
Some deemed it one of the best episodes in the series so far, praising Kubo.
"Bleach never disappoints; it surprises you chapter after chapter, but sometimes it surpasses itself to levels beyond comprehension of animating something as immense as the protagonist's bankai. I give it a 10, the maximum. But I'd give it an infinite score. Thanks so much, Kubo and Pierrot," A fan wrote on X.
"Kubo understands his audience," insists another fan.
"Such an unbelievable episode. I was absolutely shocked; they really improved on the manga so much," said another.
"Now we can all agree that Bleach is the most goated anime."
Meanwhile, some fans are not so happy about it.
"I drooled the entire episode like, I don't remember this in the manga what the actual duck is going on..."
"This looks completely different from the manga; maybe we will get a completely different story from the manga"
The episode joined a select group of anime episodes to earn a perfect 10/10 rating on IMDb. It now stands alongside acclaimed episodes like Attack on Titan’s “Hero” and other Bleach: TYBW highlights, including “The Fire” and “Born in the Dark,” which have also achieved a perfect score.
While the rating may change as more viewers cast their votes, reaching a perfect 10/10 on IMDb is still a major milestone for "Bleach."