Warning: Contains spoilers for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3, episode #7.While Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has been making plenty of changes to the manga, there has yet to be anything too substantial. The anime has expanded on the largely underdeveloped lore of the manga, and it’s also both expanded on fights and created entirely new ones, but even with those additions and others, the general plot of the manga has remained largely unchanged.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s changes to the manga have been largely for spectacle up until now, but that might have finally changed. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3, episode #33 was another episode filled with original content, and in a surprise twist, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has completely changed the story with the death of a major character. The twist is probably more complicated than it appears, but of all the changes made to the manga, this one is easily the biggest and most dramatic to date.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Kills Renji In A Surprising Twist From The Manga

In Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3, episode #7, Renji’s group in Warhelt was suddenly ambushed by Uryu, sparking a fight between Renji and Uryu that, as with other fights, was completely original to the manga. Renji’s reluctance to fight Uryu made him hold back and allowed Uryu to win their fight, ending it by shooting an arrow straight through Renji’s chest; Uryu winning was to be expected, but Tite Kubo then posted new artwork of Renji to X, something he only does when a character dies, meaning Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has drastically changed the manga by killing Renji.

As surprising as Renji’s death was, it’s exactly what the anime needed. As great as the anime’s changes to the manga have been so far, they’ve mostly just expanded on what was left underdeveloped in the manga without making any substantial changes to the narrative, which can be disappointing for anyone who was hoping for larger divergences from the manga. Because of that, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War seemingly killing off Renji proves that people can expect the anime to make bigger changes to the manga, and whatever those might be will be great to see.

Is Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Really Willing To Make Such A Big Change To The Manga?

Why Renji Might Still Be Alive In Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War

Renji’s death in Thousand-Year Blood War is as big a twist as people could have asked for, but it’s hard to say if it will stick. Not only is Tite Kubo’s illustration of Renji made less serious by Kubo also drawing art of Isane and Hisagi, two characters unlikely to be dead, but Renji’s death would completely upend Bleach’s Echoing Jaws of Hell arc, most notably by getting rid of Renji and Rukia’s daughter, Ichika. Renji is unlikely to be dead because of future Bleach stories, and if he is dead, he’s bound to just be revived at some point.

Isane becomes the captain of Squad 4 after the Thousand-Year Blood War, and Hisagi is the protagonist of Can't Fear Your Own World, a trilogy of novels that serve as Bleach's sequel.

Renji’s death might not be permanent, and it’s easy to see why. Renji has been a part of Bleach for almost the entire story; he’s one of the characters who helps make Bleach such an iconic anime, so as great a twist as it would be, Renji surviving his fight with Uryu in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is necessary to help maintain its identity as an anime. Future episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will surely clarify Renji’s current status, but whether he’s dead or alive doesn’t keep this from being one of the biggest moments in the anime yet.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War releases new episodes Saturdays on Hulu.

Sources: Tite Kubo's official X , Tite Kubo's official X .