Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has closed its second cour, and it went out with a bang. Ichigo and the Soul Society are still grappling against the threat brought about by Yhwach, but the Soul Reapers aren’t being idle. They are fighting back just as we saw Senjumaru do with their never-before-seen Bankai, and a new theory is out showcasing just how insane the ultimate is.
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Over on Reddit, the thorough breakdown comes from user Saturn_Eclipse as you can see here. Not long after Senjumaru’s Bankai was released, many fans were left wondering what the ultimate did. After some research, it seems Senjumaru’s power has plenty to do with Buddhist lore, and it is downright horrific.
According to the theory, the Bankai named Crossing of the Old Woman’s Gate, Kala’s Corpse and Thorny Entanglement is a beast. In the Bleach anime, we saw Senjumaru use her Bankai to literally weave the fate of her enemies, but there is more to the Bankai than that.
Known as ๅจ้ฅ่ฟฆ็พ ้ชธๅบ็ตก่พป in Japanese, the characters of Senjumaru’s Bankai can be found in one of the Eight Great Bodhisattva’s texts. The text itself refers to the creation lore of Japanese Buddhism. We can see this idea reflected in the Soul Reaper’s ultimate because the Bankai begins by forming a Buddhist gate.
As the viral theory states, a better reading of Senjumaru’s Bankai comes after you know Buddhist lore and traditional Japanese arts. “So Senjumaru’s Bankai means in Japanese: Crossing into the Buddhist world(ๅจ้ฅ), only the skeleton will remain at the end of time (่ฟฆ็พ ้ชธ). The sewing needle (ๅบ็ตก) constructs the crossroads (่พป) of life and death,” the Reddit breakdown reads.
“In other words this Bankai is not really a physical attack but rather a karma attack, another term that comes from Buddhism and roughly translated to “cause and effect. People affected by this Bankai essentially make a choice that will lead to life and death, and the choice itself is set as the effect so no cause can change the outcome. Senjumaru essentially “sew” the destiny of those 6 characters when they each made the choice, hence when the Bankai is released all three worlds are shaken, it literally rewrites the very foundation of logic.”
As you can see from this breakdown, Senjumaru’s Bankai is extremely powerful. It isn’t every other day we see a Soul Reaper confound logic, but that is what her Bankai allows. Her sword becomes the sewing needle that writes out the fate of those who cross her Bankai. So if you thought Senjumaru was the meekest of Squad 0, think again.ย
What do you think about this top-tier breakdown of Senjumaru’s Bankai? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!
