The first episode of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, titled "The Blood Warfare" was an incredibly animated and artistic, posing the strongest possible start for the return of the franchise. The direction of the series is Tomohisa Taguchi, known for his work on Akudama Drive, and due to his influence, there are a vast number of takeaways from the first episode.
One of the most interesting aspects is the way the first episode used environments and setting to communicate information regarding the scene before the action itself has played out; and one of the instances of this lies in the foreshadowing of Asguiaro Ebern's brandishing of a strange medallion in the climax of his fight against Ichigo. Here's how Ebern's attempted use of the medallion was foreshadowed several times in the first episode. Warning: The following contains spoilers for BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War.
Is It An Arrancar? Is it a Quincy?
Ebern arrives in Ichigo's room shortly after Ryuunosuke Yuki awakens from his two-day slumber. Uryu notes that Ebern has a broken mask, which would make him an Arrancar. The clear fear in the faces and body language of Ryuunosuke and Shino Madarame is also clear evidence that Ebern is particularly powerful, but since Team Karakura has seen their fair share of scary enemies, an Arrancar isn't very shocking anymore.
None of the gang have actually seen this guy before, so Ichigo steps outside to investigate. More accurately, he kicks Ebern in the face, out through the bedroom window so that they can converse in private. Ebern lands somewhere in the distance, positioned over a manhole cover that is situated next to a painted symbol on the road that resembles an asterisk; more specifically, an asterisk with five points, in a huge crossing that has five paths.
Ichigo tells Ebern that he's probably in the area because of him, but Ebern refuses to give him the satisfaction. Ichigo tells the Arrancar to follow him, so they can have a proper conversation without distraction, and leads him to the H-shaped bridge seen in the beginning stages of the episode when Ryuunosuke is attacked by a huge spider-like Hollow.
He tries to coax Ichigo into asking more about his identity, but he assumes Uryu's observation to be correct; however, Ebern seems to take being called an Arrancar personally. He brandishes a Quincy Cross from his left wrist, and to Ichigo's surprise, the Arrancar wields a crescent moon-shaped Quincy Bow.
Motif War
The episode begins with narration about the slow return of the Quincy King over 999 years. As he speaks, a glistening Quincy Cross becomes visible, and a hand reaches out to grab it. The Quincy Cross becomes a constant visual motif as the return of the Quincies, long thought to be extinct, is confirmed by 12th Squad Captain Kurotsuchi himself.
The scene ends with an aerial shot of Karakura Town in which the river flowing through is visible, and two routes connecting both parts of the town are seen. One route is the big bridge which becomes the most important location in the episode as it is where Ryuunosuke is seated when he is first attacked, it is where Ichigo fights Ebern, and it is brought into focus soon after Ryuunosuke and Shino arrive in Karakura Town. The bridge is illuminated, not to mention straight, in this scene, while the other road joining the two parts of Karakura Town is dimly lit, and a clear bending road.
Together, the two paths create a shape that is similar to that of a bow, with the river flowing through it being the arrow – more visual communication regarding the upcoming threat. The scene fades to black, with the next shot being of a crescent moon. An unknown arm cuts through the shot, through the centre of the moon, and a Quincy Cross cascades from the person's wrist, creating another bow-like image, with the greatest point of illumination in this shot being the chain from which the Quincy Cross dangles. This is a similar visual as the various steel guys holding the bridge in place; however, the crescent shape of the moon itself is later invoked when Ebern shows Ichigo his bow. Despite it being a crescent-shaped bow, it still has spokes, invoking the same asterisk-shape of the Quincy Cross.
Foreshadowing and the Power of the Asterisk
Things get very interesting when one sees the shape of the Quincy Cross as an asterisk. As Kurotsuchi reminds the viewers in the first few scenes in the episode, there is only one existence capable of erasing the very existence of a Hollow. This differs from the Shinigami, who purify the souls of Hollows so that they can also pass over safely. Asterisks serve several functions in various contexts; however, a notable one, in this case, is their use in the censorship of words. The Quincies and their influence over the balance of the world through the very destruction of Hollows serves as a kind of omission, and given their apparent extinction and existence in the shadows, their symbol being a mark of omission or censorship is quite powerful a visual motif.
This explains the frequent use of the shape; however, with regard to Ebern specifically, the asterisk and manhole cover he is seen standing over shortly after meeting Ichigo are foreshadowing of his eventual use of the Medallion, an object possessed by members of the Wandenreich capable of literally stealing and sealing away a Shinigami's Bankai. This is significant on various levels, as the Medallion features an asterisk shape – the mark of the Quincy; it renders a Shinigami incapable of accessing their most powerful ability (a kind of censorship), and Ebern's mission was to steal the Bankai of one of the biggest threats to any anti-Shinigami organization; Ichigo Kurosaki.