Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Surprises With Isshin's Big Decision

By Nick Valdez

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War fleshed out some key details about the past between Ichigo Kurosaki's parents, and the final episodes of the first slate of episodes in the new anime series reveal the huge decision Ichigo's father Isshin had made in order to protect Ichigo's mother Masaki. Leading into the final episodes of Part 1, Ichigo found out that he would not be able to reforge his Zanpakuto until he learned more about his own power and come to a new kind of understanding as to how to use it. As it turned out, this was because his mother was actually a Quincy.

The final episodes of Part 1 continued to dive into the past between Isshin and Masaki as it not only revealed how the two of them first met, but how the two of them ended up together despite being a Quincy and Soul Reaper. It's soon revealed that when Masaki's in trouble of transforming into a Hollow, Isshin needs to sacrifice his previous life as a Captain in order to stay behind with her and keep the Hollow within her from taking over. 

What Did Isshin Need to Do to Save Ichigo's Mom? 

After letting the mysteriously powerful Hollow bite her in order to defeat it with her Quincy power, Masaki Kurosaki soon discovers that she's now in danger of becoming a Hollow herself. Kisuke Urahara then approaches both Isshin and Uryu's father, Ryuken Ishida, and gives them an option to save her. To keep the Hollow power within her from taking over and killing her completely through "Soul Suicide," there needs to be a constant balance of spiritual pressure to keep it at bay.

READ MORE: Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Explains Why Ichigo's Mom Died | Bleach Creator Celebrates the Anime's Best Moms in New Art | Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Reveals How Ichigo's Parents First Met

It needs to be at such a rate that due to her Quincy powers making her very succeptible to the Hollow, that the only way to balance it would be to constantly keep a Soul Reaper's power near her. Thus Isshin needed to sacrifice his previous life as a Reaper, become a human, and keep Masaki safe just by being in her vicinity. He doesn't hesitate in the slightest, and while he never tells Masaki that this was a decision he made, he always felt she knew. 

It's a decision that ultimately led to Ichigo's existence, so it's clear that it was the right sacrifice to make. But how did you feel about this explanation of why Isshin had become a human to save Masaki's life? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

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