Moviepedia Presents BleachIchigo Dies! is the seventeenth episode of the Bleach anime. Ichigo Kurosaki loses his Shinigami powersand Rukia Kuchiki is taken back to Soul Society. As a wounded Ichigo Kurosaki falls to hisknees with blood spurting from his shoulder, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai retractshis Shikai, Zabimaru, and asserts that this is the difference in their strength beforeexplaining how a Zanpakutō changes in size and shape depending on its wielder's Reiryoku,with Zabimaru being the shape of his power. With Ichigo trembling uncontrollably and unableto look up as he continues kneeling wordlessly on the sidewalk, Renji decides that it istime that he and his fellow Shinigami left.
Because he does not like the air here andlevels Zabimaru at Ichigo. Watching this in shock and concern, RukiaKuchiki mentally notes that she had hoped a single direct attack from Renji would causeIchigo to realize the great difference in their strength and decide to retreat withonly a small injury before he got seriously hurt by a proper battle against a trainedShinigami. While Rukia admits that she knew Ichigo wouldnever give up for such a reason, Renji asks Ichigo if he is ready, prompting Rukia tomentally urge Ichigo to get up and run if he can still move. However, Ichigo remains unresponsive, andas Renji charges in to deal the finishing.
Blow, Rukia runs up and grabs his sword armwhile spinning around to his back, restraining his movement. Surprised by this, Renji demands to know whatRukia is doing and if she purposely wants to make things worse for herself as she pullsback his arm while crouching on his back. Despite Rukia telling him to get up and run,Ichigo grabs his Zanpakutō and begins standing up, to her and Renji's surprise. Incredulous that Ichigo still has the strengthto move, Renji throws off Rukia and claims that he was just thinking how it is no funto slaughter someone who cannot move anymore. As Ichigo gets to his feet, Renji encourageshim to fight hard and die while Rukia screams.
At him to run away if he can stand, only tostop mid-sentence as she sees the tassels on Ichigo's Zanpakutō moving on their own. Renji declares that he will make the firstattack if Ichigo will not and assumes a battle stance, but while more power condenses aroundIchigo's Zanpakutō, the tassels on the end of the hilt burst off as he unleashes a powerfulwave of Reiatsu, stunning Renji. Glaring at Renji, Ichigo surges toward himand slashes through his left shoulder as he leaps into the air behind him. Upon landing, Ichigo quickly turns back toface Renji, and as the latter raises Zabimaru in an attempt to block him, Ichigo deliversa powerful upward slash, knocking Renji backward.
Off his feet and into the air. Forced to grab onto a nearby railing in orderto bring himself to a halt, Renji looks up at Ichigo while bleeding from the foreheadand is shocked when his visor snaps in two. An astonished Renji wonders how Ichigo acquiredthis sudden burst of power despite being on the verge of death a moment ago as Ichigostands up and grins at him. As he exerts more Reiatsu, Ichigo asks Renjiwhat is wrong and declares his movements have gotten slower, leading Renji to mentally asserthe is the one who has gotten faster instead, before admitting he feels great and does notfeel pain from his wounds anymore even though he does not understand why.
When Ichigo claims he does not think he canlose anymore, an angered Renji gets to his feet and swings Zabimaru at him, only to retractit and swing again from a different angle when Ichigo further exerts his Reiatsu. After Ichigo dodges his second swing, Renjifully retracts Zabimaru and swings downward at him, prompting Ichigo to deflect it witha slash. Knocked off-balance by this, Renji retractsZabimaru once more and assumes a battle stance as a grinning Ichigo leaps over the railingand attacks Renji, who dodges to the side. As she watches this, Rukia is left incredulousat Renji being pressured by Ichigo while 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki continuesto watch silently.
Nearby, Ichigo runs and jumps over a rooftopto slash at Renji, leading the latter to leap away and land back on the street, where hefalls to his knees as Ichigo lands nearby and sarcastically praises his ability to runaway. Feeling another surge of Reiatsu from Ichigo,a speechless Renji can only wonder how much higher it can go. Ichigo proclaims that this is about to endand leaps high into the air. With Renji unable to move due to his heavyand intense Reiatsu, a yelling Ichigo hurtles toward him and slashes downward as Renji mentallystates that he cannot dodge in time. However, as the dust clears from the resultingimpact, Ichigo discovers his Zanpakutō is.
Suddenly missing most of its blade, with Renjinot having been wounded by his last attack. With Rukia equally shocked by this, Ichigorealizes Renji himself did not do anything and turns to look at Byakuya, whom he mentallyasserts could not have done anything at that distance before seeing Byakuya is holdinghis Zanpakutō's severed blade. While Byakuya drops the severed blade on theground and moves his hand to grip his own Zanpakutō, Ichigo notes he will be attackingand prepares to intercept him. However, as he initiates Senka, Byakuya appearsnext to Ichigo and moves behind him faster than he can follow, and while Renji and Rukiawatch in shock, a stunned Ichigo stands for a few seconds before looking down to his chest,where blood suddenly begins spurting out of.
A fresh wound. Ichigo begins to fall over and wonders whathappened while mentally admitting he cannot even tell if Byakuya hit him from the frontor the back. Appearing next to Ichigo, Byakuya mocks himfor falling slowly. Though Rukia calls out to him in an attemptto stop this, Byakuya merely looks at her before stabbing Ichigo again, completing Senkaas Ichigo collapses. Watching this from behind the two of them,an astonished Renji mentally admits that Byakuya is still incredible in action after all thistime and that he had to strain his eyes in order to follow the second attack after beingcompletely unable to tell when Byakuya drew.
His sword or attacked the first time. As he notes that Ichigo likely has no ideawhat happened if he could barely follow Byakuya himself, Renji wonders how Ichigo was ableto exert such tremendous Reiatsu earlier, only to be alerted when Byakuya asks him whatis wrong. Renji asserts that Byakuya did not need tohelp him with someone of Ichigo's level, but Byakuya merely states that he would get rustyif all he did was watch Renji fight, though Renji mentally denies this. Upon seeing Rukia running over to Ichigo,Renji angrily intercepts her and pins Rukia against a sign pole with his free hand.
When Rukia tearfully demands that he let hergo so she can tend to Ichigo, Renji declares that Ichigo is dead, to her surprise, andexplains that just touching Ichigo will add 20 years to Rukia's prison sentence beforedemanding why she would want to do this for a dead person, leading Rukia to note she isthe one who got him involved in this. Declaring that she is the reason Ichigo died,Rukia questions what is wrong with her going to him if this is the case, discomfortingRenji. As he steps in front of Ichigo, Byakuya observesthat Rukia would knowingly make her prison sentence worse just to go to Ichigo and statesthat he understands as he notes that Ichigo looks a lot like “him”, further saddeningRukia.
Suddenly, Ichigo grabs the hem of Byakuya'sshihakushō, which alerts him, and requests that he stop talking about Ichigo like heis not here. Surprised by this, Rukia begins to happilycall out to Ichigo before stopping upon noticing Byakuya's expression while he tells Ichigoto let go. As Ichigo claims that he cannot hear Byakuyaand tells him to make eye contact when speaking, Renji internally expresses disbelief at Ichigostill being able to move, and when an irritated Byakuya decides that Ichigo must no longerwant his arm, a shocked Rukia runs over and kicks Ichigo's hand away from Byakuya, tohis surprise. While Ichigo inquires what she is doing, Rukiarecalls the time she has spent with him in.
The Human World before coldly berating himfor laying a hand on her brother and telling him to know his place, stunning Ichigo. Turning to Byakuya, Rukia asks him to takeher back to Soul Society because Ichigo's actions have finally opened her eyes. With Rukia promising to atone for all hersins, a confused Ichigo demands to know what she is saying, only to be interrupted whenRenji pins him down with his foot and tells him to give up and die rather than keep squirmingaround. After asserting that there is no need to killIchigo because he will eventually die from his wounds on his own, Rukia reiterates herdesire to leave and stands next to Byakuya.
As Ichigo questions what kind of joke thisis and tells Rukia to look at him. However, when Ichigo attempts to get up, Rukiaorders him to not move and tearfully declares that she will never forgive him if he movesor comes after her as she looks back at him. Rukia tells Ichigo to stay put and live justa bit longer since he is going to die before turning away. As it begins to rain heavily, Byakuya agreesto not deal the finishing blow and explains how he has shattered the vital spots of Ichigo'sSoul, the Saketsu and Hakusui, which means he should die within the hour, before revealingthat Ichigo somehow surviving will still leave him with no Reiryoku or Shinigami powers.
At Byakuya's command, Renji opens a Senkaimon,which three Jigokuchō fly out of, before returning his Zanpakutō to its sealed formand sheathing it as he, Byakuya, and Rukia walk through the open doors, leaving Ichigolying behind them. As the doors close behind Rukia, she looksback one last time at Ichigo, who continues to lie motionless as he mentally notes thathe cannot move or speak at all. With the Senkaimon fading from view, Ichigobemoans having been protected again and slams his fist into the ground as the rain growsin intensity. Shortly afterward, as the nearby streetlampflickers back on, Ichigo notes that his body is heavy and feels cold while blood continuesto flow from his wound.
Suddenly, Ichigo is approached by Kisuke Urahara,who is carrying Yoruichi Shihōin on his shoulder and holds an umbrella over Ichigo, and looksup at him before losing consciousness. Some time later, as he regains consciousness,Ichigo realizes his body no longer hurts and wonders if this means he is about to die. Theorizing he can no longer feel pain becausehe is on the verge of death, Ichigo observes he is feeling warmth now despite how coldhis body was earlier and slowly opens his eyes, only to find Tessai Tsukabishi lyingon top of him. When Ichigo begins screaming in fright, Tessaipraises his quick reaction and alerts Urahara that Ichigo is awake as the latter attemptsto push Tessai off of him for being too close.
Ichigo recognizes Tessai as Urahara's friendand demands to know why he is on top of him before managing to kick Tessai away. Glaring at Tessai, Ichigo suddenly grips hisshoulder in pain, which leads him to realize that he is actually not dead as he wonderswhy. As he looks around the interior of the UraharaShop, Ichigo observes that this is not his house and questions where he is as the panelsto the room open. Urahara walks in, prompting Tessai to quicklysit up and assume a more respectful position, and chides Ichigo for moving around so muchbecause his wounds not having closed yet means he will die if he keeps it up.
Upon recognizing Urahara, Ichigo concludesthat this must be his house, which Urahara confirms, and inquires if Urahara is the onewho saved him. When Urahara notes that it sounds like Ichigodid not want to be saved, Ichigo recalls his failure and defeat the previous night beforesuddenly remembering the presence of Uryū Ishida at the site of the battle and askingUrahara if he is here as well. Revealing that Uryū went home because hiswounds were not serious despite his blood loss and would not have killed him for a coupledays, which allowed him to treat them there, Urahara asserts that Uryū was concerned aboutIchigo when he left, and as Ichigo denies this being possible, Urahara recounts havingasked Uryū to rest at the Urahara Shop for.
A while, only for Uryū to claim that he wasalright. With Urahara recalling how Uryū told himto take care of Ichigo because he is the only one who can beat the Shinigami and save Rukia,Ichigo considers this for a few seconds before scoffing at the idea of him being able tosave Rukia now that she is in Soul Society. However, Urahara questions if he really believesthis and reveals that there is a way to get to Soul Society, shocking Ichigo, who getsto his feet and demands Urahara tell him how. Agreeing to tell him, Urahara declares hewill only do so if Ichigo agrees to train with him for the next 10 days. Incredulous at this proposition, Ichigo claimsthat they do not have time for this since.
Rukia will be executed. Noting that Ichigo does not seem to understand,Urahara pushes him over and pins him to the ground with Shitonegaeshi while clarifyingthat Ichigo will die if he goes to Soul Society right now. As he inquires if Ichigo believes he coulddefeat the Shinigami if he fought them now, Urahara explains that he let him fight Renjiand Byakuya this time because he figured Ichigo would understand that better than words beforeasserting that Ichigo would be useless in Soul Society at his current level of strength. Urahara asserts that a weak person enteringthe den of the enemy is called suicide and.
Berates Ichigo for using others as an excuseto kill himself. With Yoruichi walking into the room, Uraharastands up and explains that Soul Society usually has a one-month waiting period before an execution,which should be true for Rukia as well, as Ichigo expresses shock at the idea of Rukiabeing executed. Noting that it is done differently than executionsfor Humans, Urahara details how they have 10 days to train Ichigo, 7 days to open thegate to Soul Society, and 13 days after they enter Soul Society, leaving them with lotsof time. As he recalls Rukia walking into the Senkaimon,Ichigo asks Urahara if he can really become stronger in 10 days, prompting Urahara toaffirm this will be the case if he truly wishes.
To save Rukia. Urahara praises Ichigo's feelings as beingstronger than steel and tells him to abandon all doubt before inquiring if Ichigo can playa game of life and death with him for 10 days. After contemplating this for a few seconds,Ichigo firmly asserts that he can do so, prompting Urahara to grin, and mentally notes that itfeels like the rain has stopped as Yoruichi meows.
