Bleach: 10 Things To Expect During The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc Based On The Manga

Running from 2001 to 2016, Tite Kubo’s Bleach has made an indelible mark on the shape of anime. This show has earned its place as one of the Big 3 shonen — even if the anime received conflicting feedback due to its unconventionally excessive number of filler episodes. The manga however, never waned in popularity, spanning a massive 74 volumes during its run.

The TV series was canceled in 2012 due to terrible ratings, but Bleach received a (mediocre) movie adaptation in 2018. Finally, the anime is now making a comeback to cover the concluding events: the Thousand-Year Blood War. The story delves into the mythos of Soul Society through the actions of its oldest nemesis, Yhwach. Here are a few important things that the animation will bring to life.

10 The Invasion Of Soul Society

The arc begins with a mysterious accusation by Mayuri Kurotsuchi, blaming Yamamoto Genryuusai for not having “killed that man” when he had the chance. The man in question is, of course Yhwach — the first Quincy, Son of the Soul King, Emperor of the Wandenreich, and most importantly, Ichigo’s ancestor.

This spells the beginning of the end of the old order, as the Stern Ritter burst into Soul Society and lay waste to several Captains. It is a cruel shock to many Shinigami, having experienced a situation neither as brutal nor as successful as this one.

9 The Death Of The First Shinigami

Captain-Commander Yamamoto is entirely aware of what is going to happen to him: he still charges through the battlefield, blighting a number of powerful opponents with a casual swing of his zanpakuto. He faces “Yhwach” down, unleashing his bankai in its full glory.

Fake-Yhwach, AKA Royd Lloyd, is no match for Zanka No Tachi, but Yamamoto realizes that he was conned a second too late. The real villain glides into view, and blithely steals the old man’s bankai. At this point, the battle has been won: Yhwach bisects Yamamoto, shattering the very heart of Soul Society.

8 The Revealing Of The Royal Guard

Ichigo’s arrival on the scene changes nothing, except for getting Tensa Zangetsu sliced in two. The significance of Yamamoto’s death is great enough for the Royal Guard to make a rare visit down south. What shocked fans the most was the revelation that the all-powerful guardians of the Soul King were just five Captains, each of them weirder than the next.

Regardless of their pompous entrance, Kyouraku states that the combined might of Nimaiya Ouetsu, Ichibei Hyosube, Senjumaru Shutara, Tenjiro Kirinji and Kiro Hikifune exceeds that of all Soul Society in conjunction.

7 The Last Kenpachi

In another sub-plot, Kyouraku threatens Central 46 with lack of protection, citing the overwhelming destruction that occurred in the previous attack. In a massive twist, it falls to the First Kenpachi, Unohana Retsu, to train Zaraki Kenpachi until he unlocks his “true strength.” This is an important nexus in the narrative, as Yhwach himself calls him a Special War Power based on his battle prowess.

The fight between the Kenpachis continues for a considerable amount of time, each death bringing Zaraki closer to self-actualization. At the end, after expending her bankai, Unohana perishes at his hands, leaving him with her title and the name of his zanpakuto.

6 The History Of Ichigo

Nimaiya dumps Ichigo back into the Human world, spouting some nonsense about zanpakuto connections. It is obviously a gateway towards exposition — which occurs in the form of flashbacks, narrated by Isshin Kurosaki to his son. Ichigo finally learns the complex events that went into his making, thereby coming to terms with his eclectic genetics.

This realization was apparently relevant to Nimaiya’s whole spiel, and now Ichigo knows that he has two Zanpakuto spirits, both of whom are integral to him. Ouetsu considers his epiphany a satisfactory conclusion; an inferno blazes brighter than the sun, producing two Zangetsus.

5 The Second Seireitei War

Worlds are swapped: warm wooden Seireitei is replaced by the harsh winter of Wandenreich City. The battles continue as if they had never been paused, but this time the Quincy aren’t able to make the same impact as before. Proud Bambietta is decimated by Komamura’s sacrifice, and Urahara’s  shin’eiyaku tablets poisons the bankai-less Captains with Hollow reiatsu.

This act allows the stolen bankai to detach from the respective thief, returning to their original soul. However, Yhwach has foreseen this already; he triggers at least seven Vollständig, confidently claiming that his minions need nothing more than his own blood to destroy the Shinigami.

4 The Almighty

As Nimaiya single-handedly wipes out the Schutzstaffel, his boss does the same with Ywhach. Ichibei, the “Monk Who Calls the Real Name”, is confident of victory, mocking Yhwach’s ambitions by recreating the latter’s identity as a black ant. Unfortunately, this is the point at which the Almighty chooses to activate itself.

This allows Yhwach perceive all future events and timelines, further allowing him to negate Ichimonji’s editorial power. Although the gamut of its ability is only explained much later, the Almighty can not merely observe every outcome, but also locate the one most beneficial to Yhwach and overwrite the current reality.

3 The Absorption Of The Soul King

Ichigo’s Quincy blood makes him destroy the Soul King, resulting in the worlds losing their crux. Ukitake generates Mimihagi, which stabilizes the situation for a short while. Yhwach promptly absorbs Mimihagi, killing Ukitake.

The resultant explosion of energy causes eyeball creatures to spiral down to Seireitei, but Aizen awaits them with his Kurohitsugi. Ichigo, Yoruichi and Orihime are forced to flee the Soul King palace due to Uryuu’s interruption, as Yhwach entirely consumes his father.

2 The Battle For Life And Death

The Soul King is dead, Yhwach is omnipotent, the rebel Captains (and their unexpected allies) have snuck into the Royal Realm. The battles they face here are beyond challenging, forcing the heroes to bring out every play in the book.

Nanao Ise’s Shinken Hakkyouken reflects Lille Barro’s divine energy back into him; Urahara, Yoruichi and Grimmjow destroy Askin Nakk le Vaar; Haschwalth and Bazz-B have some sort of fraternal tiff; Kenpachi goes bankai at Gerard Valkyrie, and many more simultaneous fights. The climax is as expected, taking the combined efforts of Aizen, Renji and Uryuu to give Ichigo the sliver of hope needed to end Yhwach once and for all.

1 All Them Sweet Bankai!

The best feature (arguably) of the final arc is the long-awaited revelation of a number of different bankai — Kenpachi’s Nozarashi, Urahara’s Kannonbiraki Benihime Atarame, Kyouraku’s Karematsu Shinjuu, Rukia’s Hakka No Togame, to name very few.

Several bankai have developed further abilities, like Mayuri’s Modified Matai Fukuin Shoutai and Hitsugaya’s Completed Daiguren Hyourinmaru. None of them fail to disappoint, even if the overall story receives a conclusion that is paradoxically both lukewarm and polished at the same time.

About The Author

Ajay Aravind
(429 Articles Published)

In real life, Ajay disguises himself as an academic, mainly writing textbooks for children — who all hate him for making their lives more miserable. He also writes about TV and film, strewing his opinions across the internet to see if people care (they don’t). You can find him @stain_dprinc_ss on Twitter.

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