The following contains spoilers for Episode 5 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, “Wrath as a Lightning,” now streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.
Bleach’s final anime arc continues to hit hard in the Fall 2022 anime season, with the Wandenreich’s invasion of the Soul Society in full swing. Few, if any Soul Reapers can stand up to the mighty Sternritter or elite Quincy, but Captain-General Yamamoto might be an exception.
Yamamoto could only watch when Lieutenant Sasakibe was killed in an earlier episode. Now, with the Seireitei on the brink of collapse, Yamamoto unsheathes his zanpakuto to lead the counterattack, and few Quincy can stand up to him. However, even Yamamoto’s involvement doesn’t guarantee victory, as he has failed before.
Yamamoto’s Personal Stakes in the Quincy War
Most Soul Reapers don’t know a thing about their Quincy foes, and none of them have personally met any Wandenreich member before. Captain-General Yamamoto is an exception, having clashed with the mighty Quincy king centuries in the past but failing to kill him. Now the Quincy have returned for much-desired revenge, and perhaps Yamamoto blames himself for this. He could have and likely should have finished off the Quincy last time, and the current calamity resulted from his negligence. His beloved Lieutenant has already paid the price for it, and Lieutenant Shuhei Hisagi nearly pays that price in Episode 5 until Yamamoto saves him. Yamamoto confronts Sternritter O, Driscoll Berci, and avenges Chojiro Sasakibe’s death with one fiery strike. Driscoll perishes, but many Sternritter remain, and Yamamoto vows to slay them all.
Yamamoto’s grief for Sasakibe runs deep, and killing Driscoll Berci is just the start. Yamamoto seethes with rage in Episode 5, and he leaps into the air and rushes into the battle with uncharacteristic haste and boldness. Ordinarily, Yamamoto holds back and keeps his cool, such as in the final battle against Sosuke Aizen in the replica Karakura Town. This time, Yamamoto’s role is far more personal, and if he survives this, he might never be the same again. His grief, guilt and rage are bringing out a side of him Bleach fans thought they’d never see, and he’s not done yet. Yamamoto will probably take on the Quincy king next and turn the tide with a long-overdue rematch. Yamamoto might not find inner peace, but he can bring back the Soul Society’s peace.
Why Yamamoto Might Fail in This War
Given Yamamoto’s overwhelming combat power and experience, he is likely to slay most other Sternritter in duels, from the fire-wielding Bazz-B to the reckless Bambietta Basterbine and the aristocratic Jugram Haschwalth, the king’s right-hand man. However, Yamamoto has failed before when the stakes were at their peak, and the same might happen here. In a contest of strength vs strength, Yamamoto likely could have defeated Aizen, but he didn’t because the Arrancar named Wonderweiss Margera nullified his powers. Yamamoto took the threat of Aizen too lightly, so it fell to Ichigo and Kisuke Urahara to finish the job. Then, out of pride, Yamamoto declined to have Orihime Inoue restore his lost left arm.
Now Yamamoto might suffer for his arrogance. He thinks humans are beneath him, no matter their spiritual gifts, and he keeps underestimating his strongest foes, mainly the Quincy king and Aizen. With that in mind, Yamamoto just might fail once again in this final battle, and if so, it’ll fall to Ichigo once again to save the day. Given how brutal and one-sided this war is, it also wouldn’t be surprising if Yamamoto failed once again to defeat the main villain. This war against the Quincy is challenging the heroes like never before to raise the stakes and build incredible tension, and it would be anticlimactic if Yamamoto ended the threat so easily. Episode 5 shows him truly fired up, but whether it pays off is still in question, no matter his power.