To be fair, all quincy powers are his. So he is basically lending it out so they can nurture it and then he takes it back. He is all might more or less

This is explained in a little more detail in the manga. Yhwach's holy selection targeted all mixed blooded Quincies in the Living World/Human World to restore his own powers. Pure blooded Quincy in the Living World like Ryuken were not targeted, which is why he and other Quincy in the Living World were still alive. Uryu's mother was targeted it because she was born a mixed blooded Quincy, while Masaki was deemed impure because White's infected her with hollowification, and was targted as a result. All mixed blooded Quincies on that day lost their powers and eventually their lives, except for Uryu. In the manga Yhwach explained that despite being targeted by the holy selection Uryu resisted it and retained his powers. Uryu is the only Quincy to ever resist Yhwach taking their power. Yhwach believes this means Uryu has the potential to surpass him. That is why he is so interested in Uryu and one of the reasons he made Uryu his successor. I hope that helps clear some things up on why Yhwach didn't mention Ryuken as a survivor and why Yhwach is interested in our favorite emo Quincy boy. Good reaction and I hope you continue to enjoy the upcoming episodes. Cour 2 has some great moments IMO.

Kyoraku looks chill but he is one of the most dangerous💀

I love how Shunsui gives the Soul Tickets to Ichigo's friends- he knows they are worried about him and goes himself to meet them. It already shows you the stark contrast from Yama, who would never consider putting down his role as the Head Captain to go and meet humans for something so small as this. Shunsui does really care about Ichigo and people overall, and he is much more willing to show it. Byakuya has never really been in the thick of war to let his pride be shattered. So he felt no real fear. He had a resolve to win, but not real and visceral fear. He stayed in Hueco Mundo for all of the Fake Karakura Town arc, defeated an Espada in HM with some ease, rose to the rank of captain naturally.... it was kind of a smooth ride with no real fear. But he lets go of his pride, in order to be able to grow. Something that's not mentioned in the anime was the wish that Byakuya had to let go, to die- and he feels it would be better for Renji and Rukia if he did. Showing that he did not really value himself that much, and that he feels he is limiting them. It's a similar arc which Ichigo goes through, learning to value himself and not throw his life out every single time (and if he wants to protect people, to do it intentionally instead of a trauma mechanism). Byakuya is learning to value himself, especially in the eyes of people he is important to. knowing that they love and care for him as well. Certain stuff to keep in mind: the interactions between the Sternritter. Keep in mind those faces and interactions, it will definitely contextualize a lot of scenes later. Oh, and Ichibei. He's quite a tricky one (as you guys noticed already), so pay attention to that as well.

Fun Fact: Yhwach being born and linking his Soul with thousands of people as they chant his name was a scene added to this episode when it was originally a part of a scene from a later chapter. === Opening 17 is probably my favorite opening since the original opening. I also like it because it has so many spoilers in it but only clever anime-onlys and manga readers would understand them all. === Oh no,, Bambietta is a bit of a black widow. She f**ks and then kills pretty boys who draw her attention. === Uryu is specifically the Last Gemischt (Mixed) Quincy. Ichigo doesn't count due to being a freak of nature. === I love how Yhwach is a subversion of the Messiah-archetype being the savior of the world. === Remember what happened to Humans who got near Aizen after his transcendence? Their souls were erased from existence. Even Gin, a Captain-class Shinigami, was badly injured by coming into contact with Aizen. Now apply that logic to Ichigo once he regains his own transcendence. If he doesn't have complete control of his power, his mere existence would cause massive disruptions to the balance of the universe. === You didn't mention Yukio Hans Vorarlberna and Riruka Dokugamine (the Fullbringers) approaching Kisuke Urahara's tent in this episode when talking about past enemies coming together.

Part 2 is here!!! This is a wild season, enjoy! They skipped a little bit of stuff in this episode, but the other comments covered most of it 😊

They are improving/changing so much vs. the manga that I think a different ending may very well be in the cards…

Speaking of the opening (the one with the music), Kubo was pretty hands-on with it. I'm not sure if he did everything, but he did design all the outfits.

Ichigo is still a teenager but adult women love him 😂

I wish they explained it in the anime as well, Ishida being named successor was a good ploy because it means all the sternritter will be watching him due to not trusting him. Locking him into working with them.