Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 7: Original Gotei 13 gets anime-original scene, Yhwach hints at Ichigo's lineage

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 7 had been highly anticipated by fans as they looked forward to learning about Captain-Commander Yamamoto's fate. Captain-Commander Yamamoto was defeated by Yhwach, but it was yet to be confirmed whether he had passed away or not.

Meanwhile, fans were also left excited for episode 7 after Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine unveiled a poster of the First Generation Gotei 13 captains. While it wasn't revealed what the poster indicated, fans believed that it had something to do with episode 7.

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Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 7 saw Yhwach hinting Ichigo about his lineage

The First Generation Gotei 13 captains (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 7, titled Born in the Dark, opens with an anime-original scene of the war from 1000 years ago, as the First Generation Gotei 13 managed to defeat the Quincy and seal Yhwach. How Sasakibe played a pivotal role in the eventual defeat of Yhwach was something that had been kept under wraps until this episode.

The episode then resumed with the events from the previous episode as Yhwach managed to slice Yamamoto into two. Viewers were treated to a flashback scene in which the Captain-Commander worked with Shunsui Kyoraku. Presently, Yhwach was ready to leave when Yamamoto intervened. Yhwach immediately severed Yamamoto's arm and began babbling about the original Gotei 13 and how the later generations had weakened.

Yhwach as seen in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 7 (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Yhwach killed Yamamoto after which he ordered Jugram Haschwalth to have the Wandenreich soldiers destroy the Soul Society. The Sternritter opened the portals for the soldiers to drop in as they annihilated any enemy they could spot. This is when Ichigo escaped from Quilge Opie's prison, immediately rescuing Akon and heading to meet Byakuya Kuchiki.

Byakuya asked Ichigo about Rukia and Renji's status, after which he went on to ask him for a favor. The Division 6 captain was ashamed of his condition but had no other choice but to ask the Substitute Shinigami for help, as he urged him to protect the Soul Society. Enraged, Ichigo flew away to fight Yhwach, who immediately dropped-in on him.

Ichigo as seen in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 7 (Image via Studio Pierrot)

While Yhwach and Jugram wanted to go back to Wandenreich, Ichigo was too adamant about fighting the enemy leader, which convinced Yhwach to fight him. While Yhwach dominated the battle, Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho posed a threat to even the Wandenreich King, prompting him to sever Ichigo's neck.

Ichigo, on the other hand, managed to stay alive, thanks to some ability, upon which Yhwach exclaimed, "Blut Vene," which was a Quincy technique. Yhwach explained that sending Quilge to stop Ichigo was a mistake because Sternritter's reiatsu had managed to awaken Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure memories.

Ichigo's Blue Vene (Image via Studio Pierrot)

The thing is Quilge Opie's Jail is only meant to capture enemies, thus it cannot trap a Quincy. Yhwach was basically hinting that Ichigo was inherently a Quincy through his mother's lineage. But because Ichigo himself was unaware of his mother's secret, Yhwach refused to explain himself and decided to attack Ichigo.

However, his time at Soul Society had ended as he and the Sternritter were forced to return to Wandenreich. Just as Yhwach was walking into a portal, Ichigo attacked him, and Jugram defended him by cutting Ichigo's Zanpakuto into two. Yhwach asked Ichigo to heal himself and wait for him until he could bring him to Wandenreich, referring to him as his son born in the darkness.

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Final thoughts on Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 7

Ichigo as seen in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 7 (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 7 left fans with lots of mysteries, as Yhwach called Ichigo his son and hinted to him about his lineage and the possibility of him possessing the powers of a Quincy. While the details of the same are yet to be revealed, it seems like Ichigo's mother was a Quincy, which would inherently make him Half-Quincy and Half-Shinigami.

Now that the Wandenreich army has finally retreated, the Gotei 13 can finally take a look at the situation and calculate the number of casualties. They will have to quickly get back on their feet given how they have already lost thousands of Shinigami, followed by Captain-Commander Yamamoto Shigekuni.

Division 0 as seen in Bleach TYBW opening (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Considering the number of deaths in Soul Society, it could finally be time for the Zero Division to show up

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 8, titled The Shooting Star Project (Zero Mix), will be released on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, at 12 am JST.