Back to Back, a Fight to the Death!

Back to Back, a Fight to the Death! fourteenth is the episode of the Bleach anime.

Statistics

 * Original Airdate: January 11, 2005
 * English Airdate: December 8, 2006
 * Opening Song: *~Asterisk~
 * Ending Song: Thank You!
 * Manga Chapters: Chapter 45, Chapter 46, Chapter 47, Chapter 48, Chapter 49, Chapter 50.
 * Kanji: 背中合わせの死闘!
 * Romaji: "Senaka awase no shitō!"
 * Arc: Agent of the Shinigami arc

Synopsis
Uryū Ishida and Ichigo Kurosaki are in the middle of a contest to see who can defeat the most Hollows. Ichigo has been searching for Uryū, and finally finds him, telling him the the contest is no longer about who can defeat the most Hollows, but a personal fight between just the two of them. Kon (in Ichigo's body) notices a crack in the sky while Uryū comments on how Hollows are gathering there. Uryū runs off to fight the gathering Hollows, calling himself "The Last Quincy". Rukia Kuchiki explains to a confused Ichigo about the extermination of the Quincys 200 years ago. Kisuke Urahara had explained to Rukia about the balance between spirits in the Human World and Seireitei. Rukia then relays the rest of the information she learned to Ichigo -- Quincys, unlike Shinigami, do not purify Hollows. They completely destroy them. The destroying of Hollows upsets the balance of spirits. If the Quincy situation had not been destroyed, that imbalance would have been the end of the world. Shinigami were given the nickname "Balancers", or regulators, because they destroyed the Quincy population so they could maintain the spirit balance.

Ichigo, believing this to be Uryū's reason for fighting, goes to consult him about it. Uryū says that that is not his reason for fighting. He fights for his sensei, who died right before his eyes. His sensei wanted to work together with the Shinigami, but was rejected every time he suggested it. He died while fighting five Huge Hollows because the Shinigami didn't show up until it was too late. Uryū fights to prove the strength of the Quincys to the Shinigami. Ichigo kicks him in the head and reminds him that his Sensei's wish was not to prove the Quincy's power to the Shinigami, but to combine the two powers together. As they fight the Hollows, Ichigo confides in Uryū that his mother was also killed by a Hollow. Ichigo says that he fights so no one will feel the pain his family felt after his mother's death. They continue fighting, but there seems to be no end to the amount of Hollows. Uryū then notices a giant Hollow coming out of the sky. The smaller Hollows around them begin to charge while Ichigo and Uryū are distracted by the giant Hollow in the sky.

Urahara and his shop employees arrive and decide to take care of the "small fry", so Ichigo and Uryū can take care of what Rukia describes as "a gigantic Hollow said to be born when hundreds of Hollows pile atop each other and intermingle" - a Menos Grande. Rukia goes to stop the two from fighting, but Urahara uses a Bakudō spell, saying that the fight is necessary for both Ichigo and Rukia. When neither Ichigo nor Uryū's attacks work, and Ichigo is thrown back, Uryū grabs Ichigo's Zanpakutō to pull him back up. The Reiryoku Ichigo is releasing flows through his sword and causes Uryū's bow to grow bigger.

Chad and Orihime are watching everything that is going on from a bridge some distance away. Orihime notes that she hadn't forgotten anything that has happened to her recently, she has merely doubted her memories. She asks Chad what they are supposed to do, confused about the path to take.

Uryū suggests for Ichigo to "control [his] Reiryoku and increase it to maximum output". However, Ichigo has no idea what he is talking about, saying that maybe his Reiryoku is just always on full blast. Meanwhile, the Menos Grande prepares to fire a red ball of energy that Rukia describes as a "Cero". Ichigo charges the Menos as it fires the Cero at him. Uryū marvels at Ichigo's reiatsu as Ichigo blocks the attack with his Zanpakutō. Uryū realizes that Ichigo's reiatsu, in fact, was not on full blast before, in fact it stays bottled up at all times. In an epic display of force and determination, Ichigo reflects the Cero back at the Menos, hurting it and sending it retreating back through the Garganta (the tear in the sky). The crack disappears, and Ichigo collapses. All of Ichigo's reiatsu releases at once. If he doesn't get rid of it, he could possibly die. Uryū steps in to help, standing on Ichigo's Zanpakutō, and releasing Kurosaki's reiatsu through his arrows. Uryū apologizes to the memory of his sensei for saving a Shinigami, and we learn that his sensei was also his grandfather.

Kon-sama's Ultimate Shinigami Illustrated Guide
This episode marks the beginning of a new omake segment after the next-episode preview which features Kon introducing Shinigami characters. The featured character is Byakuya Kuchiki.

Characters in order of appearance

 * 1) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 2) Uryū Ishida
 * 3) Kon (in Ichigo's body)
 * 4) Rukia Kuchiki
 * 5) Kisuke Urahara (flashback)
 * 6) Sōken Ishida (flashback)
 * 7) Menos Grande
 * 8) Ururu Tsumugiya
 * 9) Jinta Hanakari
 * 10) Tessai Tsukabishi
 * 11) Orihime Inoue
 * 12) Yasutora Sado
 * 13) Acidwire (flashback)

Powers and Techniques used
Kidō used:
 * Unnamed Bakudō used by Kisuke Urahara

Hollow Techniques:
 * Cero (虚閃 (セロ), sero; Spanish for "Zero", Japanese for "Hollow Flash", 'Doom Blast' in the Viz translation)

Other powers:
 * Kōjaku (弧雀, Lone Sparrow)