"Peak reference"— Fate x Bleach crossover fan art featuring Ichigo and Bambietta becomes both fandoms' new obsession

Modified Sep 25, 2024 16:30 GMT

Fate x Bleach crossover fan art featuring Ichigo and Bambietta becomes the fandom's new obsession (Images via Studio Pierrot)

The Bleach and Fate series have introduced some of the most iconic characters in anime. Although these series differ significantly in both story and character aesthetics, their legendary moments such as Ichigo's "Bankai" and Saber's "Are you my master?" have become widely referenced in various media.

Saber's famous line, spoken to Shiro at the beginning of Unlimited Blade Works, has been immortalized within the Fate series and referenced in numerous games and shows.

Recently, a fan on Twitter shared a recreation of Shiro's first meeting with Saber, but with Ichigo and Bambietta Basterbine replacing them. Despite the grim nature of Bambietta's character, the artwork has sparked significant discussion in both fandoms.

Disclaimer: This article contains minor spoilers for the Bleach as well as the Fate series.

Bleach: Artist recreates Saber and Shiro's first meeting with Ichigo and Bambi

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Bambietta Basterbine has been a beloved character within the Bleach fandom ever since her debut during the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. Despite being an unconventional character with questionable morals and actions that warrant speculation and disdain, her fanbase rivals that of Yoruichi and Rangiku.

An artist with the handle @sonzhonDAYA shared fan art depicting Ichigo as the novice master summoning Bambietta as a Saber. While many have appreciated the art and Bambietta's inclusion, others have taken the opportunity to suggest that Rukia might have been a better fit.

Fan reactions to the fanart

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Many fans have expressed that the Fate reference remains one of the peak anime references, being versatile enough to incorporate various characters. A few fans speculated how Bambietta's relationship with Ichigo might have changed her grim fate, which involved becoming a zombie under Giselle's control.

Others pointed out that the scene would have made more sense with Rukia, referencing Rukia and Ichigo's first meeting, which had similar elements.

"wonder how much bambi will change besides ichigo tho, kinda fell bad for the girl," one fan said.

"This would've made more sense with rukia imo," another fan said.

Shirou and Saber's first meeting as shown in the anime (Image via Ufotable)

Several fans noted that this particular scene is one of Fate's most iconic and frequently reused moments in the franchise. Others found the situation peculiar, given that Bambietta and all Quincies are archers, while Uryu Ishida's voice actor, Noriyaki Sugiyama, has voiced various iterations of Shirou, including some archer versions.

"Arguably the most iconic and reused scene in the entire franchise," another fan wrote.

"Well damn, Quincies are all Archers then I suppose. This is even funnier since Ishida is a Quincy and he shares VA with Emiya Shirou," one fan wrote.

The Bleach series will return with Bleach TYBW Arc Part 3 on October 5, 2024. It will have two cours, consisting of 23-24 episodes. It will be available as part of the Fall 2024 anime season lineup on Hulu, Disney+, and Ani-One Asia.