The following contains spoilers for Episode 9 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, “The Drop,” now streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ internationally.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is the shonen juggernaut’s final story arc, and it’s holding nothing back. Protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki’s character arc is being pushed in fascinating new directions, and the same goes for his Soul Reaper allies such as Captain Byakuya Kuchiki. Now Captains Retsu Unohana and Kenpachi Zaraki are getting a turn, too.
For years, Bleach fans thought Captain Unohana was a gentle healer and Kenpachi had reached peak strength as a warrior, but TYBW is changing all that. Unohana has just revealed herself as the brutal Yachiru Unohana, and she will fight Kenpachi to the death to unlock the young man’s true potential.
Captain Yachiru Unohana Has Absolute Faith in Kenpachi Zaraki
For a brief moment in Bleach’s new anime, it seemed Captain Unohana would be sidelined to a background role as the main healer for all Soul Reapers in the upcoming battles. Then, Episode 9 took her arc in a whole new direction, because she is no longer a background character or a healer. She was revealed to be Yachiru Unohana, the first Kenpachi and a member of Yamamoto’s vicious Gotei 13 from 1,000 years ago. The first Soul Reaper to lead Squad 11 now she must face her modern successor, Captain Kenpachi Zaraki. The two crossed blades in Muken — where they can fight in peace — but this isn’t an ordinary shonen training sequence.
Kenpachi is strong, but will need a serious push to get even stronger and realize his full potential before fighting the Wandenreich again. Only a truly powerful warrior like Yachiru Unohana can provide that push and help reforge the Soul Society’s best warrior, but it will come at a steep cost. Both know that one of them must die in this battle, and the winner will be that much stronger. Unohana will hold nothing back and aim to kill, but she also dearly hopes her younger successor will overcome this deadly challenge and become a true champion.
Unohana always saw Kenpachi’s hidden potential — they clashed centuries ago in the latter’s boyhood — and Unohana knows that anytime Kenpachi is on death’s door, he will grow stronger. She considers it their mutual sin, but it’s also a huge boon — and she may be secretly excited to see what her protégé will do next. Yachiru is like a proud mother, albeit a bloodsoaked one who feels no shame in taking a thousand lives on command.
How Kenpachi’s Upcoming Clash Ties Into Bleach’s Theme of Eternal Change
This action scene in TYBW Episode 9 is far more than an excuse for another training sequence or to please Kenpachi’s many fans. His and Unohana’s final duel represents how everything in the traditional-bound Soul Society might change. This world’s politics and culture change at a glacial pace, but the best Soul Reapers are always open to changing themselves for the better.
That’s what makes them true shonen heroes, and every time it seems a character’s arc is complete, Bleach throws open the door to new progress with shocking new developments. Such was the case with Byakuya multiple times, such as how his and Ichigo’s relationship went full circle. Even Toshiro Hitsugaya might change soon, going from a complacent boy wonder to a humbled young man ready to reinvent himself and undergo serious growth.
Fans thought Kenpachi had nowhere else to go, seeing how he doesn’t even know his zanpakuto’s name, but the young warrior is full of surprises. He swallowed his pride and defeated Nnoitora Gilga with kendo, or two-handed sword techniques, which showed growth as a warrior and a character. Now Kenpachi may expand yet again at the cost of his beloved mentor’s life, revealing a whole new side to him. Kenpachi just might become humbler and wiser — at least by his own standards.
If Ikkaku Madarame can suddenly learn bankai to grow as a fighter, then surely his Captain can do the same and learn shikai. That just might be the growth Kenpachi needs to defeat the Sternritter when the Thousand-Year Blood War inevitably resumes. It’s never too late for any Captain in Bleach to grow.
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