Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Part 3 has returned for the Fall 2024 anime season and is making a huge buzz online. Despite the long-anxious 10 years of delay, Ichigo’s comeback was met with positive feedback, earning widespread applause for its improved animation and refined picture quality. TYBW focuses on the conflict between the Soul Society and the Wandenreich, a hidden Quincy faction.
After Sōsuke Aizen’s defeat, Yhwach sees an opportunity to reshape the Soul Society and eliminate the Soul King. Yhwach goes by many names—Your Majesty, Father of the Quincy, Emperor of the Wandenreich. Yhwach is the primary antagonist of the TYBW arc and one of the most terrifying villains in the Bleach storyline.
The resurgence of the rivalry between Soul Reapers and Quincy has surprised fans, earning widespread applause from the fandom. Interestingly, Uryu’s English voice actor recently shared their thoughts on why casting the Quincy faction as the final villain is the perfect twist, serving as an ideal epilogue.
Uryu’s Voice Actor on Why Yhwach and the Quincy Faction Are the Best Villains in Bleach
For decades, Bleach has stood as the pillar of the Big Three and is recognized as one of the greats, on par with One Piece and Naruto. Bleach‘s last episode aired back in 2014. Naturally, many fans felt the anime wouldn’t return, especially when the epilogue felt pleasing.
With the return of Bleach TYBW Part 3, fans are eager to see Ichigo’s return and his showdown with Yhwach. Season 2 focused on highlighting each Zero Squad’s members, with Ichibē Hyōsube emerging victorious against Yhwach. Tite Kubo has some unique plans to unfold in Part 3 with Yhwach again overcoming his doomed fate.
Nevertheless, introducing Wandenreich, the hidden Quincy faction, as the villain for the final saga, has taken everyone by surprise. Interestingly, Uryu’s English voice actor, Derek Stephen Prince, recently shared his views on why the Wandenreich serves as the best antagonist in the entire Bleach series.
Derek mentioned that revealing the hidden Quincy faction’s plans spanning 1,000 years adds an intriguing and exciting element to the story. He added:
They’ve been around for thousands of years, and they’ve just been hiding for thousands of years, but they’ve also been planning for thousands of years before to come up with the best plan of attack based on each of the Quincy’s individual attributes. It’s “So you’re throwing us out of our own home. We’re going to come back and take it, try and stop us.”
Derek also accepts that he doesn’t intend to undermine the other antagonists. However, he personally can’t get over Tite Kubo’s narrative to explore bloodshed and war, between the two fractions. In TYBW, fans learn that Yhwach’s actions are guided by desperation and grief after living according to the rules of the world.
Bleach Creator Reveals the Most Complex Character in the Series
Despite being on the good side, many fans still view Mayuri Kurotsuchi as an evil character. This is understandable given Kubo designed Mayuri as a complex character who wasn’t timid about his immoral methods. However, this only resulted in some viewers disliking his beliefs and character.
Interestingly, in a joint interview with My Hero Academia‘s creator, Kōhei Horikoshi, Kubo opens up about his initial insecurities while designing Mayuri’s character.
After learning about Mayuri being Horikoshi’s favorite character, Kubo talks about the common misjudgment readers have against him.
The mangaka revealed he never planned to portray any of the 13 Court Guard Squads as the bad guys. However, Mayuri’s complex character made the fandom misunderstand his good intentions. It’s a creator’s job to highlight the complexities of black and white through their work and Mayuri’s character is a testament to Kubo’s beliefs.
Bleach and Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War are available for streaming on Crunchyroll
