Along withOne PieceandNaruto,Bleachwas considered to beone of the Big 3 shounen titles. At its peak, the story of Ichigo and friends was followed religiously by countless anime fans all over the world. Unfortunately, most fans would agree thatBleach’s last arc was the weakest one of them all.
Make no mistake, there are still so many great things aboutthe Thousand-Year Blood War arc, particularly the mesmerizing art and the thrilling action sequences. That being said, it is ultimately the overall story and the poor handling of the characters that left the fans feeling so disappointed. Readers typically don’t mind the death of an important character as long as it is done properly and truly serves the story. But more often than not, some of the most shocking deaths are also the most underwhelming ones. The best example of this is none other than the death of the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
RELATED:Bleach: Everything You Need to Know About Gotei 13
The Overwhelming Power of Yamamoto’s Bankai
Before talking about his death, let’s talk about how strong Yamamoto actually is. During the entireBleachmain saga, Yamamoto only appears in the front line to go against Aizen and Yhwach. Out of the two, he only unleashes his Bankai when he fights against Yhwach. And it is safe to say that Yamamoto had one of the most deadly Bankai in the series.Yamamoto’s Bankai is called Zanka no Tachi (Blade of Ember). This Bankai has four different forms, the East, West, South, and North. Zanka no Tachi: East allows Yamamoto to concentrate all of his insurmountable flames onto the tip of the sword, which eradicates anything it touches.
Zanka no Tachi: West creates an ultra-high degree flame that engulf Yamamoto’s entire body and acts as an impenetrable defense against any attack. Zanka no Tachi: South has the power to summon and command the souls of those that were slain by Yamamoto in the form of hordes of undead. Last but not least, Zanka no Tachi: North is a slash attack that can erase anything out of existence. Other than its power, another notable thing about Yamamoto’s Bankai is its ability to affect everything around it. This Bankaiproduces such an absurd amount of heatthat it is practically taking out the moisture from the atmosphere. The whole soul society can feel this effect. That is why a prolonged use of Zanka no Tachi can be dangerous for the soul society itself.
The Shocking Death of Yamamoto
As you may see from the previous section, Yamamoto’s Bankai is absurdly powerful. Even fighting with only one hand, it is hard to imagine him losing in a battle of pure power. And yet he is killed by Yhwach inthe most underwhelming way possible. So how can Yhwach kill one of the strongest characters inBleach? The answer is by using deception and underhanded tactics.
RELATED:Bleach: Why the Story Ended so Abruptly
As the story goes, Yamamoto is going all out against someone who he thought to be Yhwach. In reality, his opponent is actually one of Yhwach’s officers, the Sternritter Y “The Yourself” Loyd Royd, who has the ability to perfectly mimic an individual. Just after old man Yamamoto uses his full strength and is now in a state of fatigue, the true Yhwach appears in all of his glory. He then proceeds to steal Yamamoto’s Bankai, and strike him down. And that is how the legendary Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto,the founder of Gotei 13, lost his life.
Why is it Such an Underwhelming Moment in Bleach
The main reason why mostBleachfans see the death of Yamamoto as one of the low points in the series is simply because of how anticlimactic it is. Here you have one of the strongest and most influential characters in the whole series who justspent the last few chapters displaying the full extent of his might, and yet his death is due to the main antagonist stealing his power and attacking him when he is tired.
Sure, one can say that Yhwach simply uses a better strategy at the time. After all, all is fair in love and war, right? But for most people who’ve been so eager to see the fight between these two juggernauts, it justlooks like bad writing. Rather than crafting a proper action sequence, the series just killed the founder of the Gotei 13 in one of the laziest ways possible.
Sure, the main idea behind this fight is to show how powerful the main antagonist really is. But how can the readers know about that if Yhwach doesn’t actually fight Yamamoto in the first place? Yamamoto is the oldest shinigami in soul society, fighting with only one hand. How can you say Yhwach is stronger than him if he only fights the man once his Bankai is stolen, and he is exhausted?
Tite Kubo spent several chapters hyping this fight only to let it end in two pages. It feels just like a massive build-up with no release, a set-up with no punchline, an unfulfilled promise. It is not only underwhelming, it is downright disappointing. But in a way, this fight is also foreshadowingthe final fight between Yhwach and Ichigo. Because that too, is just as disappointing as this one.
