From JFMaster:
-Starts with the ichigo cutting yhwach dream.
-A wide moving shot of all the battles going on.
-Chad and Ganju still fight the statues. But this sequence is extended a bit and shows ichigo and orihime deal with them for a few seconds. This is the last time we see Chad and Ganju.
-There is a scene at urahara's shop in the living world.
I'll go over the main fights in their own sections
Uryu vs. Haschwalth
-The fight I was one I was most excited to see and it did not disappoint.
-Uryu basically goes into VS2 almost instantly
-Haschwalth reads all his arrows + lasers and basically makes them look like Uryu has no aim.
-Pins him into the floor ala trailer, monologuing to Uryu.
-Uryu does eventually break away and tries to overwhelm Haschwalth
-Pulls out a brand new move where he places traps that fire after Haschwalth, who starts to use the SK power to counter. Eventually though, Haschwalth does start getting hit but heals all the damage
-He does manage to surprise Haschwalth a couple times.
-Only to pull out a BRAND NEW FORM using the SK power. Tbh, not sure if the Balance -> Almighty arguments still work.
-Uryu pulls out another brand new move, giant shields. I got to say this sequence looked beautiful. Though it was clear when Haschwalth got into this form, he wasn't trying very hard. He starts walking him down and skewers Uryu.
-Despite being on the back end, Uryu did not pull out Antithesis.
-Besides dialogue afterwards, the fight will continue in later episodes.
-I will mention that this fight does split between ichigo/yhwach fight as well, showing parallels. I think this and Askin's fight were the bests animated as well but that may be due to my bias.
Ichigo+Orihime vs. Yhwach
-Orihime is definitely the highlight here. There's a brand new scene before the fight with Orihime and Tatsuki talking about flowers for Ichigo. And her resolve.
-Ywach spends the first 3 episodes (really 2 since the fight starts episode 2) sitting down firing waves of SK energy. Ichigo starts pretty simple himself but it is clear that even without the almighty, he is no match for Yhwach by himself.
-Most of the fight is TS Ichigo, only having HoS by the end of episode 3.
- Ichigo gets overwhelmed at one point even with Orihime's shields and heals. He basically gets knocked out and Orihime has to fight Yhwach solo.
-She actually holds her own, fighting gim for like 2 straight minutes. Even using the reflective attack back at him which…didn't do much but Yhwach was impressed.
-He does overwhelm her too though and Ichigo gets back up to help.
-Yhwach attempts to reatsu crush both of them, and Orihime manages to resist it!
-Ichigo gets pinballed and Orihime tries to stop him from blindly rushing in, only to see his face and she lets him go, saying how he doesn't look worried.
-And yep, his blades turn white and he unlocks HoS.
-I should mention Yhwach reveals Ichibei's plan to Ichigo, and Uryu hears it too from Hachwalth. Orihime is shaken but the boys continue pushing forward.
Askin vs. Yoruichi+Urahara
-This fight basically lasts last half of episode one and first half of episode 2.
-Askin is my favorite character, and they definitely animated this fight well.
-They uh, definitely made an effort to accentuate Yoruichi's curves. And yes, the god of thunder 3 title card is what a lot of you were hoping for.
-For the most part, the fight plays out exactly the same as the manga, with the anime flair.
-Yoruichi's form was animated really well, but honestly, kinda thought it should have felt more deadly imo. Was kinda obvious after her big attack that Askin would be fine.
- Askin's volstandig and the music that came along with it was 10/10.
-Gift Ring looks pretty undodgeable. After it disappears, it appears on your body.
-Askin volstandig definitely buffs his stats as well. The rings on the floor basically acts as a faster flash step. Hebcan also output more poison attacks.
-Urahara's bankai activation was great, felt creepy with the first person perspective of his bankai.
-This part of the fight was the only extended part of the fight. You actually get to see some of what his bankai can do. A big part was that he can skate along the benehime stiches, massively increasing his speed which he does for that initial blitz for Askin.
-The sakuga on this was insane. Though it was clear that despite the buffs Urahara gets, he was going to lose a straight fight with Askin.
-When Grimmjow sneaks Askin, he activates blut afterwards. A little too late though.
-Despite my fave going down, this was the most fun fight of the first 3 episodes for sure.
Gerard vs. Visoreds
-LOL
Gerard vs. Trio
-Not much to say besides Hitsugaya putting up a better fight alone than the visored together.
-Also, only Kensei used his bankai + mask. They did all fire a cero together which Gerard no sells. And proceeds to clothesline them.
-Visored vs. Gerard lasted a minute.
-The trio all hit hoffnung, so they all take damage. Kenpachi is definitely looking pretty bad after only knicking it once.
-Nothing else really changed besides more momo shots
From MShadows:
Kensei used Bankai+Mask.
Most of their fight happens off screen. It opens with them in formation and then switches to other stuff. When we return to them they're hiding around buildings with Gerard looking for them.
All they really do is try to gang up on him: Shinji uses Sakanade, dodges a hit and then stabs him in the nape, Hiyori uses her mask and launches a Cero, Bankai+Mask Kensei and Mask Mashiro bumrush him, Lisa, Love and Rose use Mask+Shikai, Hachi uses Kido.
It ends with them all doing a Power Rangers stance and firing a combined Cero with does nothing to Gerard. He then knocks them all out with one Lariat swing.
I think the visual presentation is the biggest highlight.
The major fights featured all have additional content and the animation was pretty good. The visual effects remain top tier and the OST was also good.
In just the first 3 episodes there are also some greater narative additions that fill in some gaps and gives a better understanding of Yhwach's overall motivation. Characters like Orihime also get more focus on a personal level.
I felt like they tried to make this final portion feel more personal for certain characters, so the story flows in a more organic way.
If the first 3 episodes are an indication of what's to come, I think they might actually considerably improve the final rushed stretch of the manga.
TS Ichigo vs SK Yhwach is doubled in length.
Ichigo simply keeps pressing through torrents of black goo while being backed up by Orihime. There's some sick team work instances, like Orihime covering him with her shield while also creating footholds for him.
During the midpoint of the fight, Yhwach reveals to Ichigo that Ichibei has been manipulating everyone behind the scenes and that he was planning to make Ichigo the new SK all along. Ichigo's reply is that he doesn't give a shit about that and that his current goal is to defeat Yhwach. Failing to do that would mean that he wasn't capable of protecting his loved ones.
This pissed off Ichigo so badly, he nearly cuts Yhwach in half with an angry Getsuga Tensho.
After this, the fight plays off like in the manga, but it's made more obvious that Ichigo has a plan and doesn't just blindly charge into his attacks.
When he goes HoS, a giant explosion of red flame happens. That's all we got.
Even more spoilers tnx to MShadows:
Long sequence with Ichibei looking menacing and writing a circle on the (newly blank) paper that previously held the zero squads blood oath seal. Big ink salamander randomly floating around him as he drinks a bowl of ink again
Yes, he also says "I'm sorry." after taking a sip.
Jugram and Yhwach state that the colorless, black reiatsu is a feature of the Soul King's power itself. And that Ichibei governs over BLACK.
Ichigo's existence in itself, a hybrid of all races, is a miracle. And that he himself also happens to wield this BLACK power.
Ichibei put Ichigo through Irazu Sando because he wanted to see if Ichigo, the perfect vessel candidate, truly was capable of making the cut.
The giant black tear in space we saw in the teaser is the fabric of the world falling apart.
Yhwach's plan was to destroy the current cosmic state and reshape everything into a paradise for the Quincies. For that, he came up with an elaborate plan: exterminating Hollows in the WotL and decimating the Shinigami so that it would upset the balance of the world and start falling apart. What's more, him having absorbed the SK would have granted him the means to reshape the world to his liking.
Massive TS Ichigo upgrade:
TS Ichigo gets angry and nearly bifurcates SK Yhwach in 2, like Yhwach did to Yama. However, Yhwach heals the damage tnx to the Reio reiatsu which can heal wounds (Jugram does the same with the wounds he gets from Uryu).
