Bleach Sennen Kessen-hen S017E04 ‘Kill The Shadow’ was nothing less than a bloodbath and heartbreaking massacre of Soul Society.
While Ichigo Kurosaki is trapped in Hueco Mundo fighting Wandenreich Captain Quilge Opie, things aren’t looking so bright for Seireitei and Gotei 13 Captains.
Although Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Episode 4 ended on a high note, the beginning of “Kill The Shadow” was relatively slow, with an unnecessarily long recap.
Ichigo was facing Quilge while Urahara was scheming and trying to turn the situation as usual.
Someone unusual called Urahara and asked for Ichigo’s help. Who was the caller, and what was the purpose of the call?
Meanwhile, the Captains had their enemies facing the potential threat of getting their Bankai's sealed. What secrets were the Wandenreich invaders hiding?
What Chapters were adapted in “Kill The Shadow”?
Exceeding expectations, Bleach Sennen Kessen-hen's “Kill The Shadow” had unforgettable fight moments between Ichigo and Quilge.
The arrival of Wandenreich in Soul Society was threatening, and the turmoil was yet to pass.
As usual, some scenes didn’t make it in Episode Four, but the impact of the flow of sequence and narration was top-notch.
Kill The Shadow adapted manga chapters from 495, 496, 497, 498, 499, and 500.
What happened in S017E04 “Kill The Shadow”?
Bleach TYBW S017E04 opened with massive slaughter on Soul Society.
Things were bleak and it was a one-sided war at this point where Shinigamis were exterminated by the Stern Ritter and Wandenreich Army with Yhwach’s supervision.
The Seireitei was engulfed in blue flames as Yhwach had his eyes on Soul Society.
Who are the Wandereich invaders?
Knowing Ichigo is stuck at Hueco Mundo, Yhwach sent the Wandenreich army to assault and invade the Seireitei.
Stern Riter “U” NaNaNa Najahkoop, Stern Ritter “F” As Nodt, Stern Ritter “E” Bambietta Basterbine, Stern Ritter “B” (Jugram Haschwalth), Stern Ritter “H” (Bazz-B), Stern Ritter “I” (Cang Du), Stern Ritter “K” (BG9), Stern Ritter “N” (Robert Accutrone), Stern Ritter “S” (Mask De Masculine) and others appeared.
However, only NaNaNa Najahkoop, As Nodt, Bambietta Basterbine, BG9, Robert Accutrone, and Cang Du engaged in fights in Episode 4 Kill The Shadow.
Which Gotei 13 Captains encountered Wandenreich?
There was a brief glimpse of Rukia Kuchiki, but she is yet to make an appearance.
The fight began with Squad 3 Captain Rōjūrō "Rose" Otoribashi’s encounter with Stern Riter “U” NaNaNa Najahkoop.
Captain Rose hears the news of Lieutenant Kira’s death and gets ready to engage with the invader.
Meanwhile, Renji Abarai gets into action to deal with Stern Ritter “F” As Nodt and kicks away Stern Ritter “S” Mask De Masculine into a deep hole.
Renji fights As Nodt, and Byakuya Kuchiki (Squad 6 Captain) enters the fight to deal with the invader.
As Renji gets conflicted about how to deal with Nodt being unable to cut him, Byakuya shows how to inflict a cut using Senbonzakua.
Somewhere else Captain Jushiro Ukitake and Shunsui Kyoraku meet their enemies.
Captain of Squad 10, Hitsugaya Toushiro and Rangiku Matsumoto deal with Stern Ritter “I” Cang Du.
Whereas Squad 2 Captain Sui Feng fights Stern Ritter “K” BG9.
Elsewhere, Squad 7 Captain Sajin Komamura encounters Stern Ritter “E” Bambietta Basterbine.
The captains face a disastrous defeat as the Stern Ritters steal their Bankai.
Byakuya Kuchiki, Hitsugaya Toushiro, Sui Feng and Sajin Komamura lose their Bankai as they didn’t expect the Stern Ritters could steal their Bankai instead of sealing them.
Squad 12 Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi was still trying to analyse the enemy when Rangiku Matsumoto used Tenteikura to alarm all the Squads that the enemy can steal their Bankai.
We did get a brief glimpse of the remaining captains like Yamamoto, Unohana, Kensei, Zaraki Kenpachi, and Hirako Shinji. Unohana remarks how Squad 2,6,7 lost their Bankai (Squad 10 lost as well).
Mayuri was furious at the defeat and we can all see how this is going down. Some of the powerful captains lost their powers while the Wandenreich was brutally massacring everyone.
Captain Shunsui Kyoraku was yet to face his enemy (Stern Ritter “N” Robert Accutrone).
The battle had just begun and Shunsui was already at a disadvantage.
Renji and Byakuya were still facing Nodt whereas Akon was worried and decided to call Kurosaki Ichigo for help.
Urahara Kisuke was at the other end of the call as Akon called to inform the situation.
What happened to Quilge Opie?
The battle between Kurosaki Ichigo and Quilge Opie was going on. Quilge was getting restless because he couldn’t steal Ichigo’s Bankai.
Ichigo was closing in on him and beating the hell out of Quilge, quite relentlessly. He was flustered and angered because nothing could beat Ichigo.
That’s one tough opponent Quilge got! That’s precisely why Quilge won’t let Ichigo leave because the moment he reaches Soul Society, the entire battle can be flipped.
While Ichigo was fighting him, Urahara sneaked in an attack on Quilge and incapacitated him.
Can Ichigo Kurosaki Save Soul Society?
As the battle wrapped up, Ichigo hurried off to Soul Society, but there was an unexpected twist.
Quilge prevented Ichigo from leaving the Garganta by trapping him in his “jail” closing the gate (exit).
Unfortunately, Urahara was attacked as well along with Orihime and Chad, and not in quite a good condition.
Urahara got careless as he had his guard down. This could prove extremely costly for everyone, especially Soul Society.
As Ichigo is trapped, all he could hear is the echoing screams as everyone was getting murdered by the Wandenreich.
The scenes involving Yhwach were not shown in this episode. The next episode of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Episode 5 is titled “Wrath as a Lightning”, hope Ichigo can break free from the prison.
Zaraki Kenpachi’s fights would be amazing if it’s adapted in the next episode. Stream now and stay tuned for Bleach TYBW!
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