One of BleachThe recurring problem from the beginning has been figuring out whether this is a serious shonen anime with comedic moments or a comedy with a bit of drama and action. This struggle becomes even more blatant in episode 6, “Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo”. Ironically, as BleachThe protagonist is forced to face a rogue version of himselfThe anime clashes with its two opposing tones and unfortunately, neither of them emerges victorious.

There appears to be a small time jump between episodes 5 and 6 of Bleach, as the story doesn't feel as directly connected to what came before. This solidifies that the shonen anime is definitely a hybrid between episodic and serialized storytelling. While the balance in tone breaks the immersion, there's still enough good stuff in the episode that keeps it from being a total failure. Bleach Episode 6 aired in Japanese on November 9, 2004, and then on October 14, 2006, in English.

What happens in Bleach episode 6, “Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo”?

Following Rukia's instructions, Ichigo places an artificial soul into his body.

• Characters appearing in Bleach episode 6: Rukia Kuchiki; ;

Sitting high above Karakura Town, Rukia realizes that her artificial body, Gigai, is starting to give her trouble and that she is running low on supplies. Meanwhile, Ichigo's family discusses his recent behavior and how secretive he has been. Ichigo goes to give Rukia dinner, expecting her to be in her closet, but discovers that she is not there. The next day, Rukia goes to the Urahara Shop to buy special items for her spirit communicator.

While there, Rukia receives an item she had requested, which ends up becoming a catalyst for the events of the episode. When she arrives at the school later, she forcibly takes Ichigo aside and introduces him to Soul Candy, a pill that a Soul Reaper can take to temporarily replace their body with a soul so they can focus on their fight against Hollows. After trying the candy, Ichigo's replacement goes rogue and things escalate, forcing Ichigo to confront his replacement. The episode ends with them on opposite sides seconds away from a showdown.

Why is Rukia worried during Bleach episode 6?

Rukia fears losing control of her Gigai and not being able to defend Ichigo.

Since his fridging in episode 1, Rukia expressed that there is a limit to what she can do within her Gigai., and every episode since then has shown how weak Rukia is because of it. Episode 6 adds an extra layer when Rukia realizes she can't stay in this Gigai for that long, raising the stakes even further. But with all that seriousness, Bleach loses sight of this terribly a few seconds later, as the episode takes on a mostly comedic tone.

It is common knowledge that shonen anime targets the male demographic and most include comedic elements. However, the shift between tones more often than not hurts the overall appeal of an anime, making it seem like the story doesn’t take itself seriously, even when the events that occur involve life-or-death stakes. This is more than evident in Bleachsixth episode. Rukia's goal throughout this episode is to make sure Ichigo is prepared in case there is a time when she and her abilities are not accessible.

For someone in Ichigo's position, this should be extremely worrying. Yet Bleach choose to focus on fan service and the perverted antics of a soul that went rogue while inhabiting Ichigo's body. Even though it's made clear that this is temporary, the episode doesn't seem to care all that much. What viewers are left with is a confusing episode that doesn't really know whether it wants to make viewers laugh or care about a main character's deteriorating fate.

What is Project Spearhead and why is it important?

Project Spearhead is a program launched by Soul Society

• Events that occur in Bleach episode 6: The Mod Soul Incident

After Rukia instructs Ichigo to eat a piece of Soul Candy, his soul is removed from his body and enters his Soul Reaper state. What replaces his soul is an artificial soul that ends up going rogue throughout the episode. As events progress, Ichigo senses something is wrong with the artificial soul after defeating a Hollow. He and Rukia go after it and realize that the soul is extremely strong and fast.

Rukia then tells Ichigo about Project Spearhead, which is where Episode 6 gets good. When the focus shifts back to worldbuilding and the anime takes a more serious tone. Bleach is extremely intriguing, engaging and entertaining. The Spearhead Project is Bleach what Treadstone represents to the Bourne universe, or what super soldier programs represent to the CIA. In the case of BleachHowever, super soldiers were artificial souls designed for combat that were placed into the bodies of dead humans to fight Hollows.

Although the program was canceled and the artificial souls were destroyed, some survived, and the soul inhabiting Ichigo's body is one of them. It's unfortunate that instead of causing any real havoc or danger, the artificial soul mostly acts like a pervert and frolics around town. It's only when he comes across a group of boys playing video games that things take a slightly darker turn, as the boys begin to say things that ultimately awaken the soul and bring to light the trauma of his existence.

Is Bleach episode 6 good?

Bleach Episode 6 Struggles with Tone

To cancel completely Bleach Episode 6's lack of conviction in tone would be a mistake. Yes, the series struggles, but so do most shonen anime. Ultimately, these breaks in tone feel more like expected elements of the shonen formula. While their occurrence in this episode may be jarring, the way events unfold in the second half of “Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo” saves the episode from failure.

Thankfully, episode 6 ends with a standoff between Soul Reaper Ichigo and Rogue Ichigo, setting up what could be a great showdown for episode 7. Bleachthe sixth episode could have been better, but it had enough meaningful character moments and world-building to warrant interest in what might come next. With over 300 episodes remaining, not every episode will be a perfect 10, and the anime wouldn't have earned a spot as one of the Big Three if the overall story wasn't good enough.