Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Episode 4: Three Captains unleash their Bankai against Gerard
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Episode 4: Three Captains unleash their Bankai against Gerard
Akihito Chakma Sat, August 15, 2026 at 6:26 PM UTC
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Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Episode 4 ©Studio Pierrot
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Episode 4 features the most outrageous part of the fight sequence against Gerard Valkyrie. The episode is almost entirely action-packed with bankai revelation after bankai revelation, creating almost no break between the transformations of the captains. Each captain who is still alive uses everything he has against Gerard, as the formidable foe escapes all of the attacks that should have ended the fight.
Kenpachi finally unlocks Bankai, Hitsugaya's ice ability becomes unexpected, Byakuya uses his strongest weapon, and Ichigo finishes the fight with a combined attack against Yhwach. The episode provides answers to long-standing mysteries about these characters but also raises new questions about the outcome of the remaining fighting sequence.
Kenpachi's Bankai Finally Arrives
Kenpachi Zaraki's Bankai - Source: Studio Pierrot
In this arc, Zaraki Kenpachi had not used a single named zanpakuto attack until now. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Episode 4 finally reveals his first named attack. Yachiru appears mid-fight, and it is revealed that she hadn’t been separate from Kenpachi's sword at the time. It turns out that she is a part of Kenpachi’s sword spirit, a part that got its own identity as a shinigami when Kenpachi gave it the name many years ago.
This reunion triggers Kenpachi’s new transformation into a red berserker who fights as much with teeth as with his broken sword. He can rip Gerard’s arm off and cut him in two with Nozarashi in pieces! It all looks bloody and wild.
Hitsugaya's Complete Ice Form in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Episode 4
Adult form of Toshiro - Source: Studio Pierrot
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Episode 4 shows how Toshiro Hitsugaya's body transforms upon reaching his time limit. Instead of collapsing, he matures physically to an adult version of himself while his bankai is finally used to its full extent. As a result, a mature version of Hitsugaya is voiced by Yuki Kaji instead of his regular cast member, creating new difficulties for the fans.
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This fully unlocked bankai allows Hitsugaya to freeze or destroy anything in his way, which leads him to disarm Gerard from using his main ability. Rukia and Renji need a second to recognize their captain, thinking he is a member of their family.
Byakuya and the Weight of a Collapsing World
Final attack on Gerard by Byakuya - Source: Studio Pierrot
As the captains engage Gerard, Ukitake fights to maintain the boundary between worlds from being torn apart. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Episode 4 consistently shifts its focus to Ukitake’s difficulties, demonstrating to the audience that the battle has wider implications than just what happens in the fight itself. The weakening of the borders causes Karakura Town to be filled with Hollows, resulting in side characters having to defend themselves.
Eventually, Byakuya uses Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, showing yet another captain’s attack against Gerard. Still, nothing can bring him down, given that the power of Schrift allows him to recuperate from injuries devastating for ordinary opponents. Instead of resolving the situation, the episode uses the ability to heighten the risks.
Ichigo Closes the Episode with a New Combined Attack
The final stretch focuses on Ichigo unleashing a fused Getsuga Tensho and Gran Rey Cero towards Yhwach. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Episode 4 marks this as its most climactic moment, with the corresponding music being the Number One track that signifies the biggest moments in Ichigo's life. The attack is immense enough to make Yhwach draw the sword and stop being composed.
Although this is only a brief moment compared to several long Bankai sequences in the current episode, it means a lot because the attack is directed at a very important person. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity Episode 4 concludes with the unanswered question of what Yhwach will say or do about the attack, leaving audiences with heavy curiosity for the next episode. The current episode has no fewer than three Bankai reveals and an attack on the final antagonist.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
