Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Makes Hollows Scary Again

Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc will focus on a new villainous force known as the Wandenreich, a Quincy family branch that has an ax to grind with the Soul Society that plays into this new season’s title. While these new villains will be the strongest foes that Ichigo and his friends have faced to date, the premiere episode took the opportunity to paint the Hollows in a far scarier light despite the heroes moving past being threatened by the monstrous, supernatural beings.

To catch you up to date if you need a refresher, Hollows were originally humans whose souls were unable to transfer into the afterlife, instead hanging around the Earth, which eventually causes them to transform into monstrous shapes and sizes as a result. There are various classes of these creatures that have been introduced throughout Bleach’s history and in the earlier days of Ichigo’s career as a Soul Reaper Substitute, they still packed quite the punch when it came to the Shonen protagonists. Over time, as Kurosaki and his friends gained new powers and abilities to add to their strength, Hollows became more of a nuisance than a legitimate threat, though the premiere episode was able to make them quite terrifying all the same, especially through the eyes of Shinigami rookies.

The Arrancar are a race of opponents that Ichigo and company faced earlier on in the series, with the unique beings revealing that they were originally Hollows that were able to tear off their “masks” and become figures quite similar to those that make up the Soul Society. Apart from the regular Hollows we see in the first episode of the Thousand Year Blood War Arc, the new villain Ebern appears before Ichigo wearing what looks like an Arrancar mask, making the origins of the Wandenreich that much more mysterious. 

While Ichigo and his earthly companions were able to easily dispatch the Hollows, their initial confrontation with the rookie Soul Reapers, Shino and Ryuunosuke, helped to show just how scary these supernatural beings could be if presented in the right method. On top of everything else, Pierrot’s new animation style nailed how scary these foes could appear to boot.

Which Hollow in Bleach’s history is your favorite to date? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Soul Society.