The following contains spoilers for "The Battle," Episode 10 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War now streaming on Hulu & Disney+.Bleach:Thousand-Year Blood War burns towards the conclusion of this arc with episode 11, “Everything But the Rain” which fills in a lot of details for long-time fans and new watchers. Mostly told in flashback, it becomes a “How I Met Your Mother” filling in the story of how Ichigo’s parents met and therefore more information as to who he really is. It’s a visually dense episode, with brilliant use of rain imagery, particularly in the transitions.
"Everything But the Rain" opens in the sunny world of the Soul King, where Oh-Etsu Nimaiya explains to Renji that he is aware of every single Asauchi, and that all the Soul Reapers who ever existed use an Asauchi and bond with it to eventually get a Zanpakuto. For Ichigo it would be hopeless to continue because that path is not open to him, like it or not. He needs to find where his soul is.
Kids Should Rely On Adults
Meanwhile, in the Land of the Living, Ichigo finds himself standing in front of the family clinic in the pouring rain. His father, Isshin Kurosaki steps out to greet him but Ichigo has already fled, unable to face his family bereft of everything that has defined him up until that moment, He runs to the house of Ikumi Unagiya, his earthly and erstwhile employer. She only mildly berates him for missing so much work while allowing him to shower and drying his clothes for him. She feeds him and says that while she prefers him to do his job, she feels like his big sister and he can come to her anytime because “Kids should rely on adults.” There’s no time to recover from the roughly warm fuzzies as there’s a knock on the door. But nobody’s there…except of course secretly Isshin in full Shinigami garb, there to collect Ichigo, who makes his polite good-bye and leaves with her none-the-wiser.
Dad’s heard all the news from Urahara (!) and figured out that he’s been kicked out of the Soul Society as in his current state there’s no way he can fix his Bankai because, “You don’t know anything about yourself.” Dad sets about rectifying that with a flashback. On another rainy day, a long time ago, his mother, Masaki Kuriosaki, introduced herself to a badly wounded Isshin as…a Quincy!
Souls Apart
Back in the day, in the Soul Society, Isshin Shiba, Captain of Squad 10, hears some bad news from his Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto and their third, a young Toshiro Hitsugaya: three soul reapers have died in the last two months via “accident”. Suspicious, Isshin jaunts off to investigate, concerned enough to leave Rangiku and Toshiro safely behind. He finds the two current Soul Reapers on patrol and learns that whatever killed the others happens during the rain Meanwhile, in a dark lab, the infamous Sozuke Aizen, whose plots have yet to be unveiled, meets with his cohorts Gin and Kaname to discuss their latest secret experiments to produce a transmittable Hollowfication. It’s not perfect yet, but there’s time.
In the mortal realm, young Masaki Kurosaki is being quizzed by her dissatisfied Aunt Izumi Ishida, in whose house she currently resides. Izumi is most concerned with how Masaki is progressing as a Quincy, the last of the great Kurosaki line. Her son, Ryuken Ishida interrupts the diatribe as a kindness, knowing that Masaki is being set up as his potential wife, but Masaki is relentlessly upbeat anyway. He airs his concerns with Katagiri, who is serving in the household and absolutely convinced of Ryuken’s good intentions (she will later marry him and give birth to their son Uryu, Ishigo’s Quincy friend). Their discussion is interrupted by Masaki sensing the arrival of a Hollow and strong spiritual pressure. Despite the Quincy policy of waiting for the Soul Reapers to handle the problem, Masaki heads out to prevent any loss of life.
How I Met Your Mother
On patrol in the pouring rain, Isshin tests a theory that whatever is attacking the Soul Reapers is going after strong spiritual presence by unleashing his. His underlings don’t have much time to be impressed before they are swiftly killed by Aizen’s altered Hollow, an all-black creature whose empty heart has been filled and powers increased, and which looks remarkably like White, an aspect of Ishigo. The creature attacks Isshin who fights it off with an impressive blood induced Bankai, but is badly wounded by Aizen secretly attacking him from behind..Isshin realizes that he was attacked by a Zanpukto and that there is a traitor amongst the Soul Reapers guiding the creature. He manages to take an arm from Whtie, but is further injured as the creature goes after the newly arrived Masaki. When the creature dodges every arrow she fires at it, she lures it in to bite her so that she can shoot it point blank. Isshin saves her from the resultant explosion but is further injured. Masaki attempts to heal him, and in their banter, decides to reveal herself as a Quincy. Instead of a negative reaction, Isshin’s innate kindness overflows and he tells her he feels lucky to meet her. She’s relieved that Soul Reapers aren’t as bad as she thought. Maybe everyone can get along!
Overlooking the scene, Ryuken tells Katagiri that since Masaki is safe, they will report everything as normal. But it most certainly is not, because back in the lab, the explosion indicated that the creature had reached the final phase and passed the Hollowfication onto Masaki through the bite! Aizen reassures them that sometimes a deviation is exciting. A Hollow created from a Soul Reaper, passed itself onto a Quincy, its polar opposite. What will happen next?
With Friends Like These?
In an episode full of surprising revelations, the most portentous one was saved for a brief after-credit sequence. A present-day, visibly distraught Uryu Ishida stands in the rain. Behind him? Jugram Haschwalth, the second of Yhwach, leader of the Quincy group that attacked and murdered much of the Soul Society. Why are they together at all? There is much to stew about before the double feature of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War screening on December 26. The final poem at the end of this episode? “Even with your sins, you are like the sun.”