Episode 45 of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity, titled "DEFEND YOU," aired on the 22nd, and it dropped a bombshell: a brand-new form for Ichigo Kurosaki. Dubbed "Ichigo of the Blood Chain (Kessa no Ichigo)," this anime-original transformation was personally designed and named by series creator and supervisor, Tite Kubo.
Alongside the episode, a new key visual showcasing Ichigo's various forms, including the new "Ichigo of the Blood Chain," was released. This completely new look, which never appeared in the manga, immediately sent the fandom into a frenzy. However, it was another anime-original plot deviation that unexpectedly had fans everywhere asking the same question: "Where the heck is Shūkurō Tsukishima?"
(Note: This article contains spoilers for Episode 45, "DEFEND YOU," of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity. Read at your own discretion.)
"Ichigo of the Blood Chain" is the ultimate state achieved when Ichigo awakens the dormant Hollow blood within him, enters a "half-Hollowfied" state to unleash his Bankai, and merges with his Zanpakuto.
He sports a pair of horns reminiscent of his "Vasto Lorde" form, while chain-like spiritual pressure, dubbed "Blood Chains," erupts from his neck, hands, and feet. In his battle against Yhwach, who has absorbed the power of the Soul King, Ichigo demonstrates a whole new level of power, with his spiritual pressure, physical abilities, and reaction speed all reaching an unprecedented realm.
▼ The studio even dropped a special clip of "Ichigo of the Blood Chain" making his grand entrance.
Of course, the *BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity* anime adding scenes that weren't in the original manga is nothing new. But for Tite Kubo himself to design a completely new form for Ichigo at this stage? That's something that absolutely shattered fan expectations.
Naturally, this new form... also reminded fans of the manga scene where Shūkurō Tsukishima used his "Book of the End" ability to rewrite the past, making it so Tensa Zangetsu was never broken. This allowed Orihime's "Sōten Kisshun" to successfully repair the blade. But in the anime, Orihime instead charges toward Yhwach, and both vanish at the end of episode 45... This led to fans joking about having "non-existent memories" implanted again, while also demanding to know where Tsukishima is XD.
(It's still unconfirmed whether Tsukishima will appear in the final battle as he did in the manga.)
▼ Orihime's final scene in Episode 45 of *BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity*.
Even famed light novel author Ryōgo Narita jumped in on the fun XD. He mentioned that he's said before how the anime-original scenes feel so natural that he can't help but think, "Oh yeah, I remember this scene from the manga..." and even visualizes it with the manga's art style in his head...
"The result is that every week, Tsukishima-bro—no, the anime—is forcibly implanting non-existent memories into my brain. XD"
▼ After the episode aired, it wasn't Ichigo's new form that started trending, but Tsukishima. LMAO.
Meanwhile, in *BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity-*, Yhwach has become a being who transcends even "The Almighty." This fierce battle, with the fate of all three worlds on the line, is steadily approaching its climax. Just how will the anime adaptation handle the grand finale? We'll have to wait and see how Tite Kubo decides to rewrite this part of the story.
via： X@ 【公式】TVアニメ『BLEACH』