Bleach Lovers are now in the dissection phase of the latest season of The Thousand-Year Blood Wars: The Separation Arc. Now that we have all wrapped up watching, watching again, and then rewatching one more time. We are now slowly and periodically rewatching each episode for the sake of witnessing all the tiny little points we might have missed in the power-watching the first three times. We are ready! We are now equipped with the information to discuss some subplots that have baffled manga lovers for a long time.
One of the main backstories not revealed in the Bleach manga in detail and had the entire fandom completely mystified was the elusive past of Yhwach, the main villain of the Blood War arc. The Quincy King Yhwach is the leader of the Wandenreich, a hidden empire of Quincy. Throughout the previous episodes, the viewers were beautifully introduced to the race of Quincy (literally meaning “the monk of destruction” in Japanese). The powers of the Quincy human race, how they wield their spiritual power, their history, their physical capabilities, and finally their fall—every aspect of the Quincy legacy was deeply explored. Naturally, their formidable leader, King Yhwach, was also featured quite frequently in the narrative. However, what led to him becoming such a powerful villain intent on eradicating all 13 Divisions of Imperial Guards and wreaking havoc on the Soul Society? This backstory remained a mystery.
The Separation Arc of the Thousand-Year Blood War has finally completely revealed the back story of King Yhwach, and it is as impactful and exciting as the man himself. Throughout the anime, he is simply referred to as Yhwach by his adversaries and as Your Majesty by his subordinates; he deserves the title of being called the King. He faced and sadly eradicated some of our very beloved and impossibly powerful Shinigami warriors, including Captain Yamamoto.
The viewers abstaining from reading manga to avoid spoilers were left reeling at the abrupt, powerful, and humiliating death of Yamamoto, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13. And so early on in the season as well! Yhwach even stole Yamamoto's formidable Bankai and sealed it in his medallion. Yamamoto died a mundane death at the hands of his centuries-old nemesis, with a single strike of his Quincy sword! This death nailed Yhwach’s fear and supremacy in the ranks of Soul Society. But at the same time, it raised questions like, How was he even defeated in the first place 1,000 years ago? What was his connection to the Soul King? And why was he so set on Soul Society's destruction? Well, we found out all about it in a powerful flashback in the 24th episode of The Thousand-Year Blood War Arc.
THE BIRTH OF QUINCY KING, YHWACH
Although his age was not disclosed in exact figures, it is implied that Yhwach is a little more than 1200 years old. That is a kid in front of 2100-plus-year-old Yamamoto. But that means he was about 200 years old at the time of the first Quincy battle. But age is more than numbers. Yhwach is the progenitor of the whole Quincy race. Well, because he is revealed to be the Son of the Soul King himself, it is no surprise that he birthed the whole new human race, Quincy, and blessed it with the spiritual power to absorb and manipulate Reishi into spiritual weapons.
RETURN THE WORLD OF BLEACH TO ITS ORIGINAL STATE
In a series of powerful flashbacks that took place before the first Quincy war, it was revealed that IchibeHyosube, the leader of Squad 0, had offered Yhwach a peace treaty. The treaty stipulated that Yhwach and his followers would be allowed to live as long as they did not interfere with the current order of the world. This order was divided into three balanced spaces: the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living.
However, Yhwach refused to accept the treaty. He declared that his ultimate goal was to merge all three worlds into one, with no distinction between life and death.
REASONS BEHIND THE LOSS OF THE FIRST BATTLE
Yhwach refused the truce and promised to disrupt the balance between life and death and create a world without the fear of death. He attacked Ichibe using his ultimate power move, The Almighty, but Ichibe had an ace up his sleeve—he had taken the Left Arm of the Soul King as his own and used its powers to nullify The Almighty.
After the confrontation, Ichibe left, declaring that Yhwach would never be able to use The Almighty again until his death. Ultimately, this was the main reason for his weakened state against the original Gotei 13. Yamamoto dealt the blow that sealed his powers 1,000 years ago with the help of Chojiro Sasakibe. Ironically, both were among the first wave of casualties in Yhwach's second war against the Soul Society.
BLEACH EXPLAINS WHY YHWACH IS WAGING WAR
In these revealing scenes, Yhwach refers to the Soul King as his father for the first time. He also expresses his open resentment for the condition in which the Soul King is kept. It was implied that the Soul King's body parts are kept separate from him, as his state plays into the three balanced spaces of the Bleach world.
This narrative from the lips of the man himself answers a lot of questions about his motivation. We can see a clearer picture of his overall perspective on the world he envisions for his followers. Now the viewers do not just see him as an uber-villain wreaking havoc in our beloved Bleach world for the sake of violence. But as a multi-dimensional character, a ruthless leader, a disgruntled son, and a seeker of the new world balance according to his principles.
