Warning: Spoiler for Bleach: Thousand Years of Blood, episode 15Bleach: Blood of the Thousand Years saw Quincy begin their second assault on Soul Society, with Quincy Sternritter confronting the Soul Reaper Captains. One such match saw Sternritter, Bazz-B, against Toshiro Hitsugaya, and Quincy was quick to brag about the strength of his shooting. However, in the manga, Bazz-B’s bragging is completely absurd, as he claims to have a flame stronger than even Captain Yamamoto’s Bankai.
That may sound like normal bragging to some, but longtime Bleach fans know that Yamamoto’s Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, has been restricted to almost never being used, due to the immense heat it generates. When Yamamoto activated his Bankai during Quincy’s first attempt at invasion, Captains throughout the Seireitei were able to feel the heat radiating from Yamamoto’s position, allowing them to instantly know what he had done. It has even been said that Yamamoto’s flames are so hot that objects and enemies hit by his super-hot blade will cease to exist. So how can Bazz-B fit in?
Hitsugaya’s Zanpakuto proves Bazz-B is lying about his power
When Yamamoto activated his Bankai, Captain Hitsugaya was unable to use his own Bankai, as the intense heat instantly melted his ice. However, while fighting Bazz-B, Hitsugaya had no problem summoning ice with his Shikai, the Zankir’s weaker unlocked state. In fact, Hitsugaya’s ice was able to withstand some tough attacks thanks to a bit of creative thinking, though it eventually faltered. The fact that Hitsugaya was able to challenge Bazz-B proves that his bragging about his flames couldn’t be true, even if he did retain some of his power in battle.
With Bazz-B’s line about being greater than Yamamoto’s fire removed, the scene makes a lot more sense in context. After all, if Bazz-B is capable of generating such intense heat that Hitsugaya can’t fight back, then why doesn’t he do it? Their goal is to crush the morale of the Captains, and that will certainly accomplish the goal. Even if fans assume Bazz-B lied when he says the first sentence, it’s still an obvious lie. They left out some of Bazz-B’s less outrageous bragging, so that the two could still joke in battle, which accomplishes the same goal without making an unreasonable and easily refuted claim.
While it’s impossible to say why the line was removed, the overall footage is much better for it, so it’s likely a deliberate choice. The original breach line exists for pure shock value, but Bazz-B’s performance on the manga has made it clear that that can’t be true. These are the kinds of changes that have made Bleach: Blood of the Thousand Years successful anime so far and hopefully it’s a sign of more changes for the better to come.