Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has been full of shocking twists and brutal new developments so far in the Fall 2022 anime season. This final arc depicts the militaristic Wandenreich waging a genocidal war on the unsuspecting Soul Reapers, and this Quincy army is holding nothing back. They have weapons the Soul Reapers can’t even imagine.
In previous Bleach anime arcs, viewers got a preview of the Quincy style with the heroic Uryu Ishida, such as his use of spirit bows, Seeleschneider, explosive ginto fluid and more. However, the Wandenreich’s soldiers have even more weapons at their disposal for Bleach fans to marvel at, including the medallions and the return of Uryu Ishida’s best emergency weapon.
New & Returning Quincy Weapons: Blut Vene, Medallions & Ransotengai
In essence, Bleach’s combat system is really three in one, split between Soul Reapers, Hollows/Arrancars and the Quincy. The Soul Reapers make exclusive use of shikai, bankai and kido, while Arrancars exclusively use cero blasts, bala shots and Hollow-based zanpakuto. That leaves the Quincy tribe with its many ingenious items and weapons. These range from Uryu’s spirit bow to the mobility-enhancing Hirenkyaku technique and the lightsaber-like Seeleschneider, which can shred and steal the opponent’s spirit energy for Uryu’s own use. Now, in the Thousand-Year Blood War anime, the elite Sternritter bring back Uryu’s best move and showcase a few new ones.
Back in the “Soul Society” arc, Uryu Ishida used an advanced Quincy move called Ransotengai, or a heavenly puppet. The user can form and attach spirit energy strings to their own body, externally moving their body if they are too injured or tired to move normally. Uryu did this to overcome the paralyzing effects of Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s shikai, and in Episode 4, the brutal Quilge Opie used it to keep fighting after Ichigo and Kisuke dealt near-fatal blows to him. This allowed Quilge to strike Kisuke from behind and use his ability, The Jail, to seal Ichigo’s escape route. Perhaps more Sternritter like As Nodt, Bambietta Basterbine and Cang Du will also use it if they’re pushed to the brink. Either way, the return of the remarkable Ransotengai technique was overdue.
The Sternritter can also defend themselves with an all-new technique called Blut Vene, German for “blood vein.” A Quincy can flood their bloodstream with spirit energy to harden their skin on certain areas, similar to an Arrancar’s hardened hierro skin. As Nodt was seen using Blut Vene to easily deflect blows from Renji Abarai’s shikai, and it took Byakuya Kuchiki’s own shikai to break through those hardened defenses. The Quincy can also use an offensive version called Blut Arterie to boost their power, though they haven’t yet been seen doing this. Most of all, the Sternritter can use medallions to not seal but actually steal a Captain’s bankai. Asguiaro Ebern failed to steal Tensa Zangetsu from Ichigo, but As Nodt, Bambietta, Cang Du and BG9 all stole bankai in recent episodes, turning the tide of battle in shocking ways. Not even the Espadas could have done that.
How the Soul Reapers Can Overcome These Challenges
For now, the Sternritter have a serious advantage over the Soul Reapers. The Sternritter have Captain-level strength, the element of surprise, one-sided knowledge of their opponents, and unique tools like Blut Vene and the medallions to counteract anything the Soul Reapers can throw at them. For now, the Quincy empire is nigh-unbeatable with these remarkable weapons of war, but that advantage might not last too long.
On a meta-level, anime fans know that Bleach’s heroes will surely overcome these odds and win in the end, as that’s simply how these stories go. However, Bleach can use more than the power of friendship or contrived power-ups to give the Soul Reapers a chance against such formidable odds. The Soul Reapers have been complacent for some time now, but they’re more clever and resourceful than they look, and now they’re properly motivated to innovate new powers and strategies to fight back. It also helps that the tradition-bound, arrogant Soul Reapers have humble, creative allies such as Ichigo and the Visoreds on their side, who may influence them and push the Soul Reapers to reinvent their combat technique.
Anime villains usually have the edge at first with powerful, never-before-seen abilities to pose a threat to the heroes and create an exciting challenge. Over time, the heroes’ sheer grit, creativity, resourcefulness and perhaps sacrifices will allow them to bridge that gap and win in the end, growing as people along the way. Even cocky, pretentious characters like Byakuya and Soi Fon might act like true shonen underdogs for once and experience more growth than they thought was possible. When they’re up against the likes of Blut Vene, Ransotengai and the medallions, they have little choice.
