The following contains spoilers for Episode 8 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, “The Shooting Star Project [Zero Remix],” now streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ internationally.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is the anime’s final story arc here in the Fall 2022 season. At a glance, it seems like more of the same with updated visuals, but TYBW must truly stick the landing to help fix Bleach’s iffy reputation — and that means refreshing the story with shocking new twists and pushing characters in unexpected new directions.
In just eight episodes, several major Bleach characters have been set up for substantial twists and developments in their personal arcs, which includes an unexpected character: Captain Retsu Unohana of Squad 4. Fans took Unohana for granted as a motherly healer for years, but based on flashbacks and her recent scenes, a big surprise may be coming soon.
The Hidden Dark Side of Captain Retsu Unohana
Even in Bleach’s “Soul Society” arc, when most Soul Reapers were hostile to Ichigo’s team, Captain Unohana did the heroes no harm. Instead, she focused on her duties as the Seireitei’s #1 medical expert, and her Lieutenant, the dandere Isane Kotetsu, followed her lead. Unohana also generously healed Chad as well as an Arrancar in the “Hueco Mundo” arc. Like Orihime, Unohana is a borderline pacifist who will heal anyone who needs it, regardless of their allegiance. Bleach fans expected more of the same here in the TYBW, but things are getting weird. Unohana oversaw the healing of countless wounded Soul Reapers after the invading Quincy departed, but she has something else on her mind.
Unohana was humbled when Squad 0 arrived, with Tenjiro Kirinji establishing himself as her former mentor and medical instructor. Then, Tenjiro took over the duty of healing Rukia, Ichigo and Byakuya, and Unohana was forced to back off as an irrelevant healer. Her primary purpose is already faltering, and she had a dark expression the entire time. If she isn’t Bleach’s best healer, then her character arc must involve something totally different in future Bleach episodes — and the past provides another hint.
The anime-only flashback with the original Gotei 13 included a brutal female warrior who resembled Unohana with her hair loose, suggesting she wasn’t always so gentle. Perhaps Unohana was once a total thug like Kenpachi Zaraki, and turned her life around with healing. If Retsu Unohana won’t be the heroes’ primary healer in this Quincy war, then perhaps she can serve as another fighter and directly clash with the Quincy with her zanpakuto, kido, or even her bare fists. With so many Soul Reaper casualties, the Seireitei can’t spare any fighters. If Unohana was once a brutal swordswoman in Yamamoto’s original Gotei 13, now is the time for history to repeat itself. It’s likely that few other Bleach characters know about this side of her, but Unohana may reveal it soon.
How Unohana Fits Bleach’s Trend of Dynamic Character Arcs
After 300+ episodes, some Bleach fans may have concluded that most character arcs had run their course. What else could the series do with its main characters after all this time? Thousand-Year Blood War has the answers, with this brutal, tightly-paced arc delivering exciting action and unexpected plot twists. This is a new era and a new war, which gives every character a chance to reinvent themselves or at least show a new side of their personality. Right up to the end, Bleach’s anime will keep refreshing its characters with exciting new twists.
If Unohana goes back to her brutal ways and fights the Quincy as a healer-turned-soldier, it may prove that even Bleach’s gentlest characters have their aggressive side, and vice versa. The anime also hinted at a redemption arc for Grimmjow, who was almost certainly Quilge Opie’s killer. Grimmjow was once a bloodthirsty villain who identified entirely with violence and rivalries, but now he has graciously called a truce with the heroes. Now he and Unohana are meeting in the middle as characters with deeper personalities than anyone expected.
Even Ichigo and Byakuya are joining the trend of Bleach characters with last-minute developments and twists. Ichigo might be part-Quincy, hence Yhwach calling him his son born in the darkness. This may reveal much about Ichigo’s ancestry and how it redefines his role. Meanwhile, Byakuya has come full circle as a formerly villainous Captain turned friend who begged Ichigo to save his beloved Soul Society home, a total reversal from previous events. No one ever expected the vain, arrogant Byakuya to do such a thing, or for Unohana to consider abandoning her healing duties. But it’s happening now, and that promises many fresh twists in TYBW’s future. Even in this late stage of Bleach’s story, no one is quite what they seem to be.
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