The following contains major spoilers for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, available for streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus with English subtitles.
Anime protagonists battling against god isn’t exactly something new. “God” is supposed to represent the pinnacle of power in the universe; omniscient, omnipresent and all-powerful. For shonen battle or action franchises that typically focus on the power progression of their characters, it makes sense that a god becomes their final opponent. However, whether they’re true gods or self-proclaimed ones depends on the story and setting.
Bleach’s latest arc, the “Thousand-Year Blood War,” has introduced one such character: Yhwach, Father of the Quincy. The Quincy are the counterparts to the Shinigami, the protagonists, and they’re death gods in their own right. Yhwach is often referred to by his subordinates as “Lord” or even “God,” and while his most godly feats are sure to be shown later as the arc progresses, Yhwach’s real-life connection to God is something not many fans might know of.
Yhwach’s Connection to Judaism Lies in His Name
Yhwach’s name is a direct reference to the Tetragrammaton; four letters in the Hebrew language that spell “YHWH.” Phonetically, this is pronounced as “Yahweh,” although according to belief, saying this name out loud or even just writing it down is considered blasphemous. This could potentially tie in with Yhwach’s Quincy army referring to him as Lord or God rather than by name, but this is most likely out of respect rather than fear of retribution.
The theme of Yhwach as a god is supported by the abilities he uses, which usually include the words “holy” or other religious wordings. Most obvious is his Schrift, The Almighty. By using his Schrift, Yhwach is able to become both all-knowing and all-powerful by perceiving all possible events of the future within his gaze. By perceiving these futures, he can choose which one he deems most beneficial to himself, giving him both the ultimate offense and defense: knowing what his opponent is and will be doing at all times.
Yhwach’s Name Originally Confused Translators
Other than leaving the audience with a feeling of “how can he possibly be defeated?,” Yhwach confounded translators when the “Thousand-Year Blood War” story was originally being printed in manga form. Because of the unusual spelling of his name, translators were at a loss as to how his name should properly be rendered into English.
Written in Romanized Japanese, Yhwach’s name would be “Yuhabahha,” but no reader would see “Yhwach” and come to the correct pronunciation. Even now in the anime adaptation, hearing the characters speak his name versus what appears on the subtitles at the bottom can be something of a disconnect. Translators originally wrote his name as “Juha Bach,” which is, after all, what his name sounds like, but it wasn’t until much later in the arc that it was properly translated into the consonant-filled, godlike name viewers see today.
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