The ending of Bleach manga, explained

Bleach as a manga and anime series has managed to captivate millions of people across the globe. One of the most fascinating aspects of this series is its combat system, which makes for a host of well-written and choreographed fights. This is further enhanced by great characterization and aesthetically pleasing designs. Tite Kubo, the creator of the Bleach manga, concluded the series a few years ago.

The anime, however, is ongoing at the time of writing, and the series is currently exploring its Thousand Year Blood War Arc. This is one of the most anticipated story arcs in the series, as the prime antagonist Yhwach gets a lion’s share of screen time.

Since the manga ended way back in 2016, this would be a good time to revisit its ending. Like every shonen title, this series also concludes with one of the biggest fights in the series that takes place between Ichigo and Yhwach.

Disclaimer: This article contains massive spoilers from the Bleach manga chapters.

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Bleach: A recap of the battle that took place between Yhwach and Ichigo

A panel from the fight between Yhwach and Ichigo (Image via Tite Kubo/Shueisha)

During this epic finale fight, Yhwach revealed something about The Almighty that would change Ichigo Kurosaki’s perception. This ability of Yhwach’s allows him to see the future and change it according to his will. Ichigo's Bankai was broken, and his Hollow and Quincy powers were being absorbed by Yhwach. He also proceeded to kill Jugram Haschwalth and Gerard Valkyrie. Orihimwe was unable to use her abilities to revert the Tensa Zangetsu to its original state. The most shocking part was what followed next. Ichigo was stabbed by Shukuro Tsukishima.

The Fullbringer stabbed Ichigo’s shoulder with Book of the End, which angered the latter. Shortly, he revealed that this was done in order for Orihime to revive the Tensa Zangetsu. His sword gave him the unique ability to nisert his presence in people’s history. While Yhwach used The Almighty to change the future, Shukuro uses this technique to alter the past where the Tensa Zangetsu was not broken. This allowed Orihime to use her Soten Kisshun to revive the Tensa Zangetsu.

With both Ichigo’s spirit and his Tensa Zangetsu restored, this incredible fight in the Bleach series raged on. Aizen sided with Ichigo and fought against Yhwach. He once again nearly broke the Tensa Zangetsu as a small crack began to form. Aizen and Ichigo work in tandem to create an opening which finally allowed the latter to use his Getsuga Tensho to defeat Yhwach. But things weren’t going to be that easy. Yhwach used The Almighty, one of the most powerful techniques in Bleach, and managed to revive himself.

Things started to look bad for the Bleach protagonist. Yhwach revealed that his ability to overwrite the future allowed him to overwrite his death. But something unexpected happened. Uryu Ishida managed to attack Yhwach with an arrowhead of Still Silver, something that stripped the anatagonist of his powers when it came in contact with his blood. Ichigo capitalized on this opportunity and attacked Yhwach, who in turn tried to break the Tensa Zangetsu fully. What shocked him was that the white-colored crumble deceived Yhwach because Ichigo’s Shikai was in perfect condition.

The Bleach protagonist impaled Yhwach and killed him. During his final moments, he realized that the vision he received from the Sternritter’s top man, Jugram Haschwalth, was not just a vision but a glimpse of Yhwach’s future.

The antagonist’s plan to fuse all the realms into one failed as he accepted his fate. The manga then ended with interactions that take place between the main characters and the deuteragonists. Finally, readers also got a glimpse of Ichigo and Orihime's son - Kazui Kurosaki.

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Stay tuned for more Bleach anime and manga news as 2023 progresses.