Bleach/Beat the Invisible Enemy!

Beat the Invisible Enemy!
Season 1, Episode 5
Airdate	November 2, 2004
Production Number	05
Written by	—
Directed by	Noriyuki Abe
ADR Writer(s)	Carl Macek Liam O'Brien Mark Ryan Michael Sorich
ADR Director(s)	Michael Sorich
← 1x04 Cursed Parakeet	1x06 → Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo
Bleach — Season One

Beat the Invisible Enemy! is the fifth episode of the first season of Bleach. The hollow that was haunting the spirit of a boy trapped in a cockatiel has made itself known, but only Ichigo has the strength to destroy the monster for good.

Co-Stars: John Demita (Shrieker), Jamieson Price (Yasutora "Chad" Sado), Colleen O'Shaughnessey (Yuichi Shibata)

Plot Overview

Picking up directly after Rukia was cornered by the hollow, Ichigo has brought his sick sister back home and has started to race in the direction of where Rukia was fighting the hollow. Although Ichigo is far from Rukia, she is suddenly saved by Chad, who decided to turn back and help her even though he can't see ghosts. To Rukia's surprise, he can, however, hear and touch them. The hollow flies into the air in order to avoid Chad's punches, but with Rukia's directions, he manages to hit it out of the air with a telephone pole that he pulled out of the ground. Although he was downed by Chad, the two are subdued by several parasites until Chad breaks free.

The hollow flies higher, but Rukia makes Chad throw her at the hollow, but she is stopped when he spews leeches at her. The leeches explode, leaving enough time for the hollow to steal the bird cage and threatens to blow it up with more leeches. Rukia tells Chad not to move and runs in the opposite direction, attempting to avoid the parasites until Ichigo shows up to defeat the hollow. While the hollow is distracted with fighting Ichigo, Chad secures the birdcage.

Before Ichigo does in the hollow, he asks if the hollow was the one who killed to boy's mother. The hollow recounts his last kill before he died and how he tricked the boy into allowing having his soul put in the body of a cockatiel for three months. The hollow claimed that if the boy remained in that form, he would revive his mother. But, in actuality, he only intended to kill whoever attempted to protect the boy (hence the supposed "curse"). Infuriated by this revelation, Ichigo pulls out the hollow's tongue and cuts him in half. What Ichigo didn't expect was a massive black obelisk with two skeletons grafted to it to appear. Rukia explains this is the Zanpakutoh, a spiritual entity that takes a spirit to hell if it has sinned heavily after death.

After the hollow has been vanquished and sent to hell, Ichigo makes good on his promise to his sister and tells the boy/cockatiel that in the Soul Society, he'll be able to see his mother. Ichigo sends the boy's spirit into the afterlife, which seems to heal Karin's sickness.

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