In this second part of the Arrancar arc discussion we get into the Turn Back the Pendulum and Fake Karakura Town sections of the story, filled with: more backstory and more fights than ever before. Find out where this stacks up compared to Soul Society in our estimations.

Timecodes:

0:00 Re-introduction - second half of the Arrancar arc

0:32 Turn Back the Pendulum sub-arc - a flashback to break up the action

5:05 Aizen vs Urahara as the central conflict of the Arrancar arc (and the series)

8:02 The morality of Soul Society, The Maggot’s Nest, and Mayuri’s ‘crimes’

11:83 Death as a core theme of the series and an unforgiving afterlife

13:21 Kubo at his most details with backstories and character connections

16:00 Turn Back the Pendulum ratings

17:24 Fake Karakura Town arc - a Bleach fan’s dream, a Bleach hater’s nightmare

23:03 The fights are conversations

28:40 Standout fights worth shouting out

39:00 Ichigo vs Ulquiorra - comparing Ichigo to Kenshin

42:13 Gin and Rangiku’s history and Gin’s betrayal of Aizen

46:35 Kubo doesn’t seem like a writer who regrets his choices

48:58 Ichigo vs Aizen final fight, Urahara’s involvement, hint of the Soul King

57:31 The resolution of Ichigo losing his powers - could the series have ended here?

1:00:15 Explaining Toshiro Hitsugaya’s massive popularity

1:03:56 Fake Karakura Town ratings

1:05:18 Samu’s recommendation: Rurouni Kenshin (Kyoto arc) byNobuhiro Watsuki

1:06:22 Enzo’s recommendation: Yu Yu Hakusho by Togashi Yoshihiro

1:10:21 Final overview + rating