Bleach/The Immortal Man

The Immortal Man
Season 2, Episode 19
Airdate	July 5, 2005
Production Number	39
Written by	Genki Yoshimura Masahiro Okubo Masashi Sogo Michiko Yokote Natsuko Takahashi Rika Nakase
Directed by	Noriyuki Abe
ADR Writer(s)	Mark Ryan
ADR Director(s)	Kirk Thornton Wendee Lee
← 2x18 Desperation! The Broken Zangetsu	2x20 → The Shinigami Whom Ganju Met
Bleach — Season Two

The Immortal Man is the nineteenth episode of the second season of Bleach and the thirty-ninth episode overall. Ichigo, left for dead by Zaraki, is forced to seek refuge in his inner world, where he receives an epiphany which turns the tide of the fight.

Co-Stars: David Lodge (Kenpachi Zaraki), Richard Epcar (Zangetsu), Brian Beacock (Yumichika Ayasegawa), Vic Mignogna (Ikkaku Madarame), Kari Wahlgren (Yachiru Kusajishi)

Plot Overview

After having his sword broken and body pierced by Zaraki's sword, Ichigo is left for dead in the catacombs. As Zaraki is walking away, Ichigo is confronted by Zangetsu, who takes him into his inner world after he declares that he intends to win, not just to survive. Zangetsu gives him a low grade zanpakutō and denies him use of his original sword, which is taken by a pale doppelganger. In order to get back Zangetsu, he must take it back from himself. He suffers a moment of doubt when his clone clearly outmatches him because of the sword and is taken aback by its style of swinging the sword by the cloth on its hilt. During this time, the impostor chides Ichigo for thinking that he's mastered Zangetsu just by calling its name and he hasn't bothered to understand the inner-workings of his sword. The battle resumes when Ichigo realizes that he's been no better than Zaraki, who doesn't know his sword's name. This epiphany allows him to accept the sword that his partner was once wielding. He disappears from the inner world and the doppelganger is reabsorbed into Zangetsu's body.

Back in the real world, Ichigo's sword has fixed itself and the wound from his chest has stopped bleeding. While marveling at Ichigo's newfound spiritual pressure, Ichigo gets off several hits on Zaraki, a feat which he couldn't previously accomplish. The two go back into battle until Ichigo backs off to question why Zaraki loves battle so much. Zaraki just laughs at Ichigo's fear of his own mortality. After fighting a bit longer, Zaraki declares that perhaps Ichigo is his equal and that an equal deserves to be fought without any restraints. He pulls off his eyepatch and the city practically explodes with his energy.

On the roof, Yachiru is still watching the fight when a member of the stealth squad approaches her with a message regarding Captain Aizen's death. But, because she's so wrapped up in the fight, she makes him go away without reading the note he's trying to deliver. She goes back to the fight, which has escalated greatly in the few moments taken away by the stealth messenger. Zaraki's power is such that he can cut a building in half with one swipe, but Ichigo remains confident that, with Zangetsu's power being given to him, he can still win. They clash one final time, but it's Ichigo who suffers the mortal wound and not Zaraki.

Trivia

The Show

• Closing Credits: After 13 episodes (one for each court squad), the ending theme and animation have changed once again. The song played now is "Happy People" by Skoop on Somebody and the animation, converse to the content of the episodes, takes place almost entirely in the living world.