After roughly a decade of sporadic signs of life that included a live-action movie and a mobile game, Bleach will be coming back in full force next year with the anime adaptation of the final arc, The Thousand-Year Blood War.
The finale covers Soul Society’s final war against the Quincy, their ancient archenemies who were long-thought to be extinct. Before Kurosaki Ichigo and the rest of his friends and foes return for the long-awaited conclusion, there are some things that should be remembered.
10 The Power Levels Don’t Make Sense
The final arc flipped Bleach norms, revealing that the strongest Arrancar and captain-class Shinigami were nothing to the Quincy. In the invasion’s start, the Quincy effortlessly waste entire armies and heavy hitters, from Espada Number 3 Tier Harribel to Kenpachi and even the entire 1st Squad (i.e the Gotei 13’s strongest division).
But then, Quincies lost to whatever Mayuri pulled out of his sleeve or a slightly decked out Bankai, which were established to be the only way to even scratch a Quincy. Vollstandigs were outsmarted in the dumbest ways, like As Nodt’s fear attacks having no effect on Rukia because she froze her body to medically-dead temperatures (dead spirits in the afterlife fear nothing, apparently). Bleach’s closing fights were an endless game of rock-paper-scissors more than Soul Society’s last stand.
9 A Lot Of Shinigami Die, Then Don’t
The finale’s opening set an exciting if terrifying tone, with many captains and Shinigami readers loved dying. Seireitei, the symbol of Soul Society’s power, was wiped out in a single attack, and strong Shinigami like Byakuya, Hitsugaya, Kira and Matsumoto fell quicker than expected.
These dire stakes were undone at the halfway point, though. Resurrections and zombifications were handed out to just about every dead Shinigami (minus anyone in the 1st Squad). Also during battles, Shinigami an inch from losing were saved by luck, convenient power-ups and last-minute Zanpaktou reveals, robbing the final war of any emotional depth it could’ve had.
8 Most Zanapktou Are Finally Revealed
Part of Bleach’s fun was finding out what each Zanpaktou does, and some were unknown for the longest time. The final arc remedies this, revealing Nanao’s god-killing zanpaktou was being kept safe by Kyoraku this whole time, Shinigami (i.e. Kyoraku, Renji, Rukia, Unohana, Urahara, etc.) unleashed their full Bankai, Hitsugaya and his Zanpaktou achieve maturity, and Kenpachi’s massive Nozarashi makes its presence known.
The most notable reveals were 1st Squad Vice-Captain Choujiro’s thunder-powered Bankai’s posthumous introduction and the sheer might that is Captain-Commander Yamamoto’s fiery Ryujin Jakka. Once unleashed, Ryujin Jakka nearly burns down all of Seireitei by merely being active. Isane and Iba’s Zanapktous, though, remain a mystery.
7 Bankai Theft Is No Big Deal
One of the most shocking turns was the Quincies’ counter to Bankai: stealing it. Using a special medallion, four Sternritters steal the Bankai of four captains (i.e. Byakuya, Hitsugaya, Komamura, and Soi Fon). The biggest steal was Yhwach taking Ryujin Jakka before killing Yamamoto.
Thanks to Urahara and Mayuri’s scientific know-how, they create an antidote that essentially turns the Bankai into poison for a Quincy’s body. Doing so returns the Bankai to its user, but this also allows the Quincy to activate their more powerful Vollstandig. Stealing Bankai wasn’t as useful as anyone thought it would be.
6 Hueco Mundo Is Basically Gone
Following The Fake Karakura Town arc, the Hollows’ domain of Hueco Mundo was left in shambles. With both Aizen and most Espada gone, rule defaulted to the highest-ranking Arrancar left: Harribel (plus her Tres Bestias, of course).
Harribel’s reign started in the short story Nestle to Night which took place before the finale, where she was captured by Yhwach. Following the Wandenreich’s fall, Harribel returns to Hueco Mundo in the sequel light novel Can’t Fear Your Own World, where she strikes a shaky truce with Soul Society and fends off some Quincy stragglers. Hueco Mundo still exists but the superpower it once was is no more, especially since Harribel has no ambitions for conquest and would prefer the Hollows be left alone.
5 Soul Society Is As Broken As Ever
The Wandenreich’s assault on Soul Society was devastating, but it’s hard to claim that it wasn’t inevitable or even deserved. One of Bleach’s core themes is that Soul Society is far from perfect, as it’s guilty of committing atrocities for the sake of the bigger picture (i.e. keeping the living world and the afterlife apart no matter what).
The finale shows this even more, with the Quincy avenging their clans’ near-extinction at the hands of the Shinigami, though Yhwach has his own agenda not related to his soldiers’. To defeat the Quincy, the Shinigami resort to acts they wish they never had to do, like letting Mayuri run amok, wiping out entire villages to maintain spiritual balance, and even temporarily releasing Aizen.
4 Ichigo Really Is That Powerful
Over the years, Ichigo became somewhat infamous among more serious anime viewers because of his never-ending power-ups. The fact that he’s been viewed as a passive protagonist didn’t help, making some believe that his overpowered nature was unearned. The finale somewhat addresses this, revealing that his ever-increasing powers were meant to be.
Ichigo got the best of the Shinigami and Quincy because he’s the son of a Shinigami father and Quincy mother. This explains how his mother Masaki was able to see the Grand Fisher Hollow, why his Bankai was immune to the medallion, and why Zangetsu sticks out among Zanpaktou souls, donning a distinctly Westernized (i.e. Quincy) aesthetic and looking suspiciously like Yhwach. Also, being overpowered is apparently genetic as Ichigo’s son is so powerful that he accidentally slapped Yhwach’s reaitsu to death while playing around.
3 Two Major Romantic Pairings Are Canonized
Though romance wasn’t exactly Bleach’s focus, it was an undeniable part of it. After years of back-and-forth, the epilogue formally confirms two major pairings: schoolmates Ichigo and Orihime, and childhood friends Renji and Rukia. Both couples are married and even have kids by the time of the epilogue, set 10 years after the war’s end.
That said, a good chunk of the fanbase was letdown because the fan-favorite Ichigo/Rukia pairing never came to be, though this was Kubo’s plan all along. Kubo stated that Ichigo and Rukia’s relationship was more than simple friendship but not fully romantic. This platonic connection is something Kubo says is rarely seen in manga, hence his decision to give it a shot.
2 A Bunch Of Subplots Were Cut Out
One of the most enduring criticisms of the finale was that it had tons of interconnected subplots and what felt like 10 years’ worth of material that wasn’t unraveled properly. Instead, major plot points were rushed to while smaller but nonetheless important character beats were either left hanging or abandoned altogether, leaving plot holes all over the place.
Originally, the finale would’ve been even longer than the multi-part Arracnar arc. Due to outside factors and time constraints, Kubo had no choice but to barrel through the plot and skip the supplementary material. Some of the casualties include better-fleshed out Sternritters, better-written returns for the surviving Arrancar and Fullbringers, more satisfying fights especially in the closing chapters, epilogues for the entire cast (supporting and otherwise), and literally anything about Ichigo’s non-powered classmates. Can't Fear Your Own World wraps a few if not all of these loose threads.
1 Kubo Tite’s Health Affected The Finale
Aside from its abrupt cancellation, waning popularity, and editors’ demands, Kubo’s health drastically and negatively impacted personal life affected the final arc. His body was collapsing under the weight of nearly 15 years of non-stop work and getting hospitalized on a dangerously constant basis. The only thing that motivated him to finish was a letter from a terminally ill fan, who loved Bleach and hoped Kubo would conclude it properly.
This is why The Thousand-Year Blood War felt rushed and incomplete. Still, Kubo got to draw some major plot twists and the epilogue he planned from the start, leaving him proud of what he accomplished. Fans hope that the upcoming anime adaptation will allow Kubo to retell the finale as he originally intended.