Because it made its return to tv final October, Bleach has managed to turn into extra common than ever. That is largely because of the unimaginable anime adaptation of the “Thousand Yr Blood Conflict” arc being dealt with impeccably.
Having been teased all through the collection, the true introduction of the Quincies was unimaginable to observe, in addition to the reveal that Ichigo himself was one. Nevertheless, as superb because the latter was, manga readers know full properly that it finally by no means has any actual affect on the story at any level, making it an enormous underdeveloped disappointment. What’s so unlucky about that is that, apart from the apparent causes, there have been so many alternative ways in which the collection may have made probably the most of this reveal.
One of many greatest complaints about Ichigo’s Quincy heritage is that it was by no means really capitalized on, leading to these skills by no means reaching their full potential. In actual fact, the one confirmed Quincy capability that Ichigo ever used was Blut Vene, and even then, he used it lower than a handful of instances. That is unlucky as a result of there have been so many alternative ways in which his Quincy powers may have been used and developed all through the collection.
Since virtually the start of his profession as a Shinigami, Ichigo has been accompanied by Uryu Ishida, who simply so occurs to be a Quincy as properly. The collection states that Ichigo was capable of unlock a few of his Quincy energy — particularly, the flexibility to make use of Blut Vene throughout his battle with Quilge Opie in Hueco Mundo as a consequence of some Quincy non secular energy being transferred to Ichigo throughout his imprisonment. Contemplating how typically Ichigo is round Uryu, particularly when the latter is using his Quincy powers, Ichigo ought to have managed to unlock his skills a lot sooner, however even regardless of that, he ought to have not less than had an concept about the right way to use these skills much better than he did.
As Uryu’s solely skills have been his Quincy ones, he needed to turn into extremely proficient at utilizing them, giving Ichigo a reasonably nice instance in addition to quite a lot of concepts about the right way to use his personal Quincy powers. Not like Shinigami powers, which differ relying on the Zanpakuto they wield, Quincies can all make the most of the identical methods apart from the Schrifts that have to be assigned to them by Ywhach. Which means that each Quincy capability in Uryu’s arsenal that did not require gear, Ichigo was theoretically able to utilizing at any level.
One capability that might have been unimaginable to see Ichigo make the most of is the one permitting Quincies to soak up and manipulate non secular energy. In environments which might be dense with non secular energy, such because the Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, their capability to soak up that power makes them a drive to be reckoned with. Contemplating how a lot Ichigo struggled to maintain up with Ywhach throughout their battle, it will have made sense for him to make use of this very primary and core Quincy energy, and even any of the opposite extra superior methods like Shadow, particularly if he was able to utilizing Blut Vene instinctively. If his battle with Quilge unlocked the primary of his Quincy powers, then his a number of fights with Ywhach ought to have woke up much more, however for no matter motive, it did not.
After all, Blut Vene is just one facet of the Blut energy, particularly the defensive one. The offensive variation of it is named the Blut Arterie and is simply as helpful as its counterpart, giving Quincies the facility to tackle Bankai-wielding Shinigami without having to make use of their Schrifts. Contemplating simply how robust his opponents have been — Ywhach specifically — Ichigo ought to have utilized the Blut energy way more, particularly since he’d already unlocked the facility throughout his battle with Quilge. Nevertheless, Ichigo by no means makes use of Blut Arterie regardless that he had already utilized Blut Vene, additional highlighting how little his Quincy powers have been utilized or developed.
In all probability the most important letdown was that Ichigo by no means as soon as used the Quincy energy to create weapons, which arguably would have been excellent throughout the forging of his true Zanpakuto. In keeping with the collection, Ichigo’s Quincy powers are separate from and by no means fused together with his Hole and Shinigami powers. Consequently, Ichigo’s internal Hole is the true Zangetsu, with the Outdated Man being a personified manifestation of his Quincy powers. Consequently, the smaller blade that represents the Outdated Man and his Quincy powers would not make a lot sense, as they are not linked to his Shinigami powers and due to this fact cannot be his Zanpakuto. Nevertheless, that does not imply that the concept wanted to be discarded solely.
It could have been unimaginable to see Ichigo wield the Zangetsu solid by Nimaiya alongside one other blade solid from non secular energy together with his Quincy skills. Not solely wouldn’t it be a terrific illustration of his blended heritage, however it will even be a greater solution to signify the duality of his powers by means of his swords. The bigger blade, which represents his Hole/Shinigami powers, however, had a number of moments the place it bought to point out off the character of its skills, whereas the smaller blade by no means bought the identical quantity of depth. If he created the second sword by means of his Quincy powers, it will have been much more impactful, in addition to a more true illustration of his heritage. Furthermore, given how his Quincy powers by no means merged together with his Shinigami ones, this is able to make way more sense plot-wise.
In the end, it was disappointing how little growth Ichigo’s Quincy skills obtained. Even within the latest one-shot manga chapter, Ichigo’s smaller blade is nowhere to be seen, with solely his bigger one showing. Whereas it was acknowledged that he nonetheless has it and may seemingly summon it when he likes, it goes to point out how little significance his Quincy heritage has been given within the collection, making it virtually inconsequential the very last item it needs to be. Hopefully, contemplating that the anime adaptation is supposedly going to repair sure issues within the storyline of the “Thousand Yr Blood Conflict” arc, there’s an opportunity it would do one thing worthwhile in regard to Ichigo’s Quincy powers.