Bleach Created One of Anime's Strongest Villains, And That Power Is Causing Problems for Thousand-Year Blood War

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is nearly through its third of four parts, and one problem remains from the manga: its villain, Yhwach, is just too strong. With just one part left to work with, is it possible for Bleach to come through and give Yhwach a satisfying defeat?

Yhwach, the leader of the Quincy Wandenreich, is inarguably one of the most powerful villains in anime history. His abilities define the term “God-tier,” and there’s no hero character who can even come close to wielding that level of power. Having a villain who is far more powerful than the heroes isn’t necessarily a big problem for most stories; it simply requires that the heroes outsmart the villain in some way, leading to his defeat. The problem with using that technique against Yhwach, however, is that Yhwach isn’t just omnipotent; he’s omniscient as well.

Yhwach’s Powers and Abilities Explained

Yhwach Wields Unmatched Strength in Bleach

Yhwach is far from an ordinary villain, in that he wields a variety of tremendously powerful abilities that make him near impossible to defeat in a satisfying manner. Yhwach’s primary ability, the Schrift power A “The Almighty,” allows Yhwach to see not only the future, but all possible futures, and to instantaneously counteract those futures in whatever way he sees fit. This ability alone would be enough to make Yhwach overpowered, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Yhwach is also able to bestow these Schrift powers on others, and the powers that they gain can be just as broken as his is.

Yhwach’s other key ability is the Auswahlen, which allows him to take back the power he gave to others, and gain the strength that they acquired using the Schrift as well, empowering him further. Yhwach has used the Auswahlen twice already, killing an overwhelming majority of his own men to increase his power to these godly levels. He, of course, also has all the standard Quincy powers as well–the Blut Vein, Holy Arrows, and reishi manipulation. He’s extremely skilled with both sword and bow, making him a difficult opponent even without his other powers.

Finally, part 3 saw Yhwach absorb the powers of the Soul King, who is effectively the God of Bleach. In so doing, Yhwach gained even greater powers than he already had, allowing him to manipulate energy, create barriers and portals, reshape matter (as seen when he transformed the Soul King’s palace into Wahr Welt), and gained immunity to Hollows, something normally dangerous to Quincy. At this point, he could combine the three worlds into one, as he planned, at any time, and simply has chosen not to because he wants to see the Soul Reapers utterly defeated first.

Yhwach’s Abilities Make Him Unbeatable

No Fight With Yhwach Can Possibly Be Fair

With the literal powers of a god, Yhwach is all but unstoppable in Bleach right now. His precognitive ability alone is a massive advantage in any fight, meaning that he can’t be surprised, nor can he be tricked. The fact that he could win at any instant he chooses means that the world is only continuing to exist in its current state at his whim, and that’s something that could change at any time. Yhwach has only been established to have one weakness so far, and one weakness that comes about in the manga later: aspects of the Soul King, which are immune to his precognition, and Still Silver, created when he performs the Auswahlen.

Ichigo is absurdly powerful himself, wielding the abilities of almost every race within Bleach, but even he can’t hope to measure up against Yhwach. Even every Soul Reaper attacking in unison would be but a minor inconvenience to Yhwach at this point, and that includes all the captains with their own ridiculously powerful Bankai. Yhwach could use his precognitive abilities to foresee such an attack and destroy every Soul Reaper’s Zanpakuto simultaneously, leaving them utterly powerless. His spiritual pressure is so absurd that no Kido spell could possibly contain him.

It’s no spoiler to say that the way Yhwach is defeated in the manga isn’t considered particularly satisfying by most fans. Without getting into detail, Yhwach’s defeat is rushed, and the solution comes out of nowhere rather conveniently. The final battle does have some interesting and redeeming qualities, but overall, it fails to provide an ending that’s both believable and satisfactory for fans.

How Can Thousand-Year Blood War Fix Yhwach’s Defeat?

Bleach Has Already Made Changes That Could Fix the Final Battle

Bleach: Ichigo on Irazusando, the forbidden path.

Fortunately, Bleach has already laid the groundwork that could allow for a more enjoyable final battle. In the anime, Ichigo undergoes special training on the “Irazusando” path, which gives him visions of the Soul King’s origins. Many fans have speculated that this was a test to see if Ichigo was a good candidate to become the next Soul King, should one be needed. But what if this imbued him with some fraction of the powers of the Soul King as well? Awakening these powers would make Ichigo immune to Yhwach’s precognition, allowing Ichigo to surprise or trick Yhwach.

Ichigo isn’t exactly portrayed as a clever character, so perhaps a surprise assault would be more in line with who he is. This would give Ichigo the ability to stand on at least somewhat even ground with Yhwach, and with help from his friends, Ichigo might actually be able to pull off the win. It would also give him the chance to show off his new Bankai, something that is disappointingly short-lived in the manga.

Yhwach’s overwhelming power level makes him a problem for the story, but it’s not an insurmountable obstacle. Ichigo would be far from the first anime character to receive a divine power-up at the last moment, and it’s been suitably foreshadowed such that it won’t feel like it’s being pulled from nowhere. While this would necessitate some changes from the manga’s ending, Thousand-Year Blood War has already made it clear that it has no qualms with making changes if they enhance the story, and nothing would enhance it more than an absolute rewrite.