Warning: SPOILERS for Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War episode #6

Fans of Bleach have been waiting for years to see the strongest Shinigami, Head Captain Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, unleash his real power on the battlefield, and when it finally happens, the most powerful warrior in the Soul Society is defeated by an unbelievably simple trick.

Genryusai fits in the classic trope of the old but powerful warrior that is found in so many manga and anime. In Bleach, however, the Gotei 13 Head Captain was never surpassed by the younger generation of Shinigami. Throughout the entire series, he is teased as the strongest and most dangerous Soul Reaper in the entire Gotei 13, which obviously created a lot of hype around the time he would eventually step on the battlefield. This happened for the first time during the final battle against Sosuke Aizen in the fake Karakura, but in that occasion, Genryusai showed only a glimpse of his real strength, and Aizen was able to deal with him using a cunning strategy to seal the flames of Yamamoto's Zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka.

Related: Bleach's Quincy Are Teaching Byakuya the Meaning of Fear

In Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War, the secret empire of the Quincy, led by their King Yhwach, invades the Seiretei and starts slaughtering the Shinigami. Genryusai goes into battle to face Yhwach, just like he did 1,000 years before during the last war between Shinigami and Quincy. In episode #6, the Head Captain unleashes his Bankai for the first time in the series, showing overwhelming destructive power. After he cuts down Yhwach, however, it is revealed that this was not actually the Quincy King but one of his Sternritters, Royd Lloyd, who has the power to imitate other people's appearances. The real Yhwach then appears behind Genryusai, steals his Bankai, and the effortlessly cuts him down, killing the strongest Shinigami with ease.

The Strongest Shinigami Has Fallen For The Simplest Trick

bleach-yamamoto-vs-yhwach-anime

There are a few things that do not make a lot of sense in what should have been one of Bleach's best battles. Genryusai is a warrior with 2,000 years of experience, and yet he could not realize that the Yhwach he was fighting was much weaker than the one he faced in the past. Despite never being in danger throughout the fight against the fake Yhwach, Yamamoto still shown all the four different techniques of his Bankai, fully knowing that this could allow the Quincy to steal it. Even if Yhwach states that he could have taken the Bankai regardless, this is inconsistent with what was previously known about the Quincy's Medallions, which can only steal a Bankai after it has shown its full power.

Overall, the battle between the two leaders of the Shinigami and Quincy was incredibly disappointing. Fans were excited to see Genryusai use his Bankai, but when he did, he simply showed off his techniques one after the other with no real purpose. The fact that a 2,000 years old warrior could be fooled by the simple trick used by Yhwach is also highly inconsistent with the image that Bleach gave until now of his strongest Shinigami, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Next: Bleach Reveals One Soul Reaper's Bankai after his Death

All the episodes of Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War are available to watch on Hulu and Disney+.