Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is now gearing up to return later this Summer with the second cour of its new anime series, but it left things on a pretty huge cliffhanger with the reveal that Ichigo Kurosaki’s Zanpakuto, Zangetsu, had actually been keeping a secret from him for all this time. One of the big shake ups in the first part of the new anime taking on Tite Kubo’s original manga series was the fact that Ichigo actually had some Quincy powers within his blood. It’s made for a questionable path back to recovery, and thus Ichigo needed to learn more about himself before taking on the Sternritter again.
In the final episodes of Part 1, Ichigo learns that his mother was actually a Quincy herself. But it was a little more complicated than that as she actually had both a Quincy’s power and a Hollow within her. This passed down to Ichigo, and it turns out that both of these sides of his mother were actually buried within him all along. But the bigger reveal was that this was right in front of his eyes this entire time as Zangetsu was not exactly who he said he was.
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What Happened With Ichigo’s Zanpakuto?
It was explained by Ichigo’s father Isshin that because his mother had Quincy powers, she too had the blood of Yhwach flowing through her. The same happened to Ichigo, and apparently this part of Yhwach had been keeping a close eye on him all this time. Taking the form of his Zanpakuto, Yhwach’s blood had been holding back Ichigo’s power for fear that he would become more of a Soul Reaper (and thus less of a potential Quincy as a result).
READ MORE: Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Celebrates Part 1’s Finale With Full Ending: Watch | Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Shares Part 2 Trailer: Watch | Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Sets Release Window for Part 2
In Ichigo unlocking a new level of power (and thus forging a new Zanpakuto), it’s here that Zangetsu as Ichigo knows him officially says goodbye. He wasn’t exactly the spirit helping him that Ichigo thought he was for all this time, but ended up becoming one of his biggest allies after seeing Ichigo continue to grow in as much power as he did. But now this missing piece of his power has officially returned to Ichigo and brought him to a new level.
What did you think of Ichigo’s secret tie to Yhwach? What do you think it means for Ichigo’s future powers? 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!
