'BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War' has made a few major departures from the Manga, with today's episode being a prime example
In a 2022 interview with VIZ, Tite Kubo explained:
"I had decided in my head to end the manga in 15 years. And with so many characters appearing in that last arc, there were many battle scenes that never made it to the manga. So I hope to help insert those scenes back in as much as possible."
He also revealed that he had sent Studio PIERROT "lots of battle and design ideas," allowing previously unrealized scenes from Kubo's mind to be animated
In addition, Kubo stated that he originally drew TYBW without having to worry about the TV restrictions he considered during the anime's original run, saying "I was worried some scenes might be too heavy if it was ever animated."
So while it's likely that not every single anime original moment comes directly from the mind of Kubo, today's major differences from the manga were able to include material that Kubo wanted to be brought to life, but were unable to make the final cut during the manga's serialization