Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Creates An Unexpected Squid Game Easter Egg

Bleach’s Thousand-Year Blood War has been one of the biggest comebacks of the fall anime season this year. Much like previous arcs in the supernatural shonen series, the fight against Yhwach and the Sternritter is one that sees nearly every member of the Soul Society receiving their chance to shine. Now that the Shinigami have lost their former leader Yamamoto, Shunsui?Sakuranosuke Jir¨­ Ky¨­raku?is attempting to carry the torch and lead the Soul Reapers to victory. In doing so, Shinsui’s power has been revealed and its abilities would fit right into the world of Squid Game, making for quite the surprise for anime viewers.

Warning. If you have yet to watch the latest episode of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, be forewarned that we’ll be diving into major spoiler territory. When last we left Shinsui and the Soul Reapers racing toward Yhwach, they were under siege thanks to one of the Wandenreich’s strongest members, Lille Barro. The mad sniper has been picking off soul reapers when he can so it is now up to the Soul Society’s new leader to take him down a peg or two. In showing off his ultimate techniques, Shinsui has shown that not only is he worthy of leading the Soul Reapers but might just be one of the strongest characters to ever exist in Bleach’s universe.

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A Bleach Squid Game

While none of the characters of Squid Game make an appearance in the Soul Society war, Shinsui’s abilities are such that it would fit right into Netflix’s game of life or death. Shinsui’s Zanpakuto had the ability to “transform children’s games into reality,” albeit with a deadly twist. In fighting against Lille Barro, Shinsui explains the current game that his sword unleashes upon the Sternritter member.

“Bodhidharma Falls Down is a game when your ‘it’ (shadow) looks back after they say the verse with their eyes closed. Whoever’s caught moving is captured. There are three rules. One, the “it” must be in a location where they can be seen by all participants. Two, if the participants are caught moving by the ‘it,’ they lose. Three, if the participants can touch the ‘it’ before they are caught, they win.”

The Blood War Games Aren’t Over

Despite Shinsui’s Zanpakuto being a force to be reckoned with, it isn’t enough to defeat Lille Barro right off the bat. The Wandenreich sniped reveals that he keeps one of his eyes closed to give his opponents a fighting chance and has an ultimate transformation up his sleeve for any given occasion. Of course, these tricks didn’t ultimately matter when Shinsui unveiled his Bankai, aka “Katen Kyokutsu.”

While Yamamoto was a force to be reckoned with within the Soul Society, Shinsui’s power might outdo the fire-wielding old man. Unleashing his Bankai, the entire reality around all the Soul Society and Sternritter changes to a yellow hue, as Lille Barro begins to realize that he has gotten more than he bargained for. Despite Barro employing his ultimate transformation, Shinsui changes reality to make the villain appear to be underwater while also giving him some wild wounds in the process.

With Shinsui transferring injuries to Lille and bringing down the villain’s resolve, the new head captain of the Soul Society scores the win. Luckily for Shinsui, the Shinigami is also able to avoid his own Bankai as the physical manifestation of his sword asked for so major payment for claiming victory, aka his other eye. Thanks to both his power and character, Shinsui appears to be the perfect replacement for Yamamoto.

Want to see who ultimately claims victory in the Blood War? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Bleach and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.