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BLEACH TYBW: Harribel Returns Alongside Nelliel in an Anime-Original Scene

BLEACH禍進譚、再登場したハリベルとネリエルの共闘シーンに日本のファン反応

BLEACH TYBW: Harribel Returns Alongside Nelliel in an Anime-Original Scene

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War's final cour gives former Espada No. 3 Tier Harribel an anime-original scene fighting alongside Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, a pairing that never happened in Tite Kubo's manga.

Across the video's 239 comments, the top one (651 likes) jokes that even the story's own "Emperor" would ask Kubo why this deviates so far from the original — with the punchline being that Kubo made her too strong himself. From there, the section splits into cataloguing which Espada survived the war at all, and a smaller side-conversation wondering how differently things would have gone if Coyote Stark, who didn't survive, were still around.

By the end, it's less a debate than a group of longtime readers grateful the anime is spending screen time on side characters the manga never had room for.

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BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War's final cour has been filling in gaps the manga never had room for, and this episode's biggest one is a scene where former Espada No. 3 Tier Harribel fights alongside Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck — a pairing Tite Kubo never actually put on the page. The reaction channel behind this video collects comments on the scene, and the top of the section reads it as a friendly jab at the author for going beyond his own source material rather than as a real objection to the change.

"Emperor": "Hold on, sensei. Isn't this way too different from the original?" Sensei: "Well, you're the one who made her too strong."

陛下「ちょっと先生。原作と違いすぎん?」 先生「だって君強くしすぎたんだもん」

@ガードナーレイチェル-k8j651 likes

A few replies push the joke further, framing the anime-original material as details the manga's readers simply weren't sharp enough to catch the first time — a running bit rather than a real complaint.

As always, they're just filling in the part us small-minded readers couldn't pick up on.

矮小な読者には読み取れなかった部分を挟み込んでるだけ定期

@akashta-w8mjtdjtm32 likes

From there the section turns into an informal roll call: which Espada-affiliated characters actually made it to this point in the story alive.

It's funny that Dondochakka and Pesche also ended up counting as part of the surviving upper tier.

ドントチャッカとペッシェもそこそこ上澄みなのおもろいよな

@がおがおちゃん_a577 likes
Watching Harribel here made it obvious: if more of the Espada had survived, they'd genuinely be pulling their weight right now.

今回のハリベルを見てはっきり分かったのが、十刃がもし生き残ってたらめっちゃ活躍してたんだろうなと

@CHICKENNANBANSUKI202 likes

That line kicks off the closest thing to a debate in the section — whether Coyote Stark, the Primera Espada who didn't survive the war, would still be fighting for Soul Society's side by this point if he had lived through it like Harribel did.

If Stark had survived, I feel like he'd get seriously ready to kill for his friends' sake. He probably wouldn't clash with Harribel either, so they'd keep a comfortable, hands-off relationship.

スタークが生き残ってたら 仲間の為にめっちゃ殺る気になりそう ハリベルと揉めることもなさそうだから付かず離れずな関係を上手く保てそう

@パナイの202 likes
I would've liked to see Stark actually fight too — I bet he'd have gone all-out to protect his friends.

スタークの戦いも見てみたかったな多分仲間守るためなら本気出すやろうし

@おっとっと-r6i51 likes

Harribel and Nelliel's specific chemistry in the scene gets its own thread, with a few viewers noting the two share more than just a former Espada ranking, right down to their personalities and how each of their stories ultimately ended.

Harribel and Nelliel seem close somehow — there was a lot of physical closeness between them. Maybe two former No. 3s just click.

なんかハリベルとネリエルは仲良いのか、スキンシップ多めだったな。 元No.3同士でウマが合ったのかな。

@エイルスタン50 likes
They're both pacifists at heart too.

平和主義なところも同じ

@ホットホット-y7k18 likes
Back when BLEACH was still running, I genuinely thought Harribel might die. The fact that she made it all the way to the end still surprises me.

BLEACHの連載当時ハリベルは死ぬかもしれないと、本気で思っていたよ 彼女が最後まで生き残ったのは本当に驚いたよ

@榎本滋-b7y82 likes
I'm just happy Dondochakka's voice hasn't changed after all these years.

ドンドチャッカの声が昔のままなの嬉しい

@ka67061 likes

Even the returning character actors get their own shout-out — that comment about Dondochakka's unchanged voice after more than a decade sits next to a note further down praising Megumi Ogata's delivery in a different reappearing role.

I think I saw somewhere that the manga's run had a length limit tied to the series' 15th anniversary. If that's true, it's great that the anime can now show us what the story was originally meant to be without that constraint. Rumor aside, the fact that the author himself went all-in on this is more than enough reason to be grateful.

15周年に合わせて連載のリミット設定してたってどこかで見かけた気がするけど、ソレが本当だったらリミットが来なかった場合の本来の展開がアニメで見れるのありがてぇ リミット云々置いといて師匠本人が盛りまくったってだけで感謝の極みではある

@マンティス-p4c9 likes

Nobody treats any of this as a slight against the source material. If anything, the joke about Kubo "overpowering" his own character is the section's way of saying the same thing twice: after fifteen years, they're happy to watch him use the anime's runtime to finally give these two the fight the manga never had space for.

FAQ

What anime-original moment is this video reacting to?
BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War's final cour gives Harribel a scene fighting alongside Nelliel — a pairing of former Espada that never appeared together in Tite Kubo's original manga.
Which former Espada members are shown as still alive in this arc?
Commenters list Harribel, Nelliel, Grimmjow, Dondochakka, and Pesche as the Espada-affiliated characters confirmed to have survived through to this point in the story.
Do commenters think this scene contradicts the manga?
One top joke frames it that way, but nobody in the section is actually upset. The consensus is that Kubo is simply using the anime's extra runtime to give side characters the spotlight the manga never had space for.
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