Warning: Spoilers for Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 6The big return of Bleach in The Thousand-Year Blood War has already brought some spectacular battles to the small screen, but the most recent episode has easily taken the crown for greatest Bleach fight to be animated, and it features none other than Bleach's top Soul Reaper, Head Captain Yamamoto.
In the last episode, Yamamoto took off to battle the leader of the Quincy, Yhwach, and had already begun using his Zanpakuto's abilities to defeat the invaders. With the most powerful Soul Reaper and Quincy both facing off, the resolve of their subordinates was strengthened, and the fight reached a new level of ferocity. In episode 6, Yamamoto takes this to another level by unleashing his Bankai, bringing with it the power of the Sun.
Yamamoto's Bankai, called Zanka no Tachi, takes the flames that surround him as part of his Shikai and seals them into his Zanpakuto, providing it a radical boost in destructive power. Activating his Bankai creates an immense heat wave across the Seireitei, and is bright enough to turn night into day. Yamamoto boasts that it uses the fires of the Sun itself, burning at 15 million degrees C. It even renders Soul Reaper Captain Hitsugaya's stolen Hyorinmaru Bankai useless, as all water in the area is instantly evaporated. Yamamoto then uses an incredible series of special Bankai moves on Yhwach, each named for a cardinal direction. One of these involves reanimating the corpses of Yhwach's dead followers, while another absolutely vaporizes entire buildings with a single swing. The fight turns into a beat down the likes of which Bleach has never seen before, and Yamamoto wins handily... or he would have if he was really fighting Yhwach. Unfortunately, the fight was against a Quincy impersonating Yhwach, and the real Yhwach emerges unharmed and is able to steal Yamamoto's Bankai before killing him outright.
Yamamoto's True Power Was Beyond Imagination
Head Captain Yamamoto put on one of the most visually exciting fights ever in the series, easily trumping any fight from the first anime. The effects work used for Yamamoto's flames look incredible, and despite the end result, it really felt like the old man's full abilities were on display. Yamamoto says that he hasn't used his Bankai since the first war with the Quincy ended, and it's easy to see why. The sheer scale of his Bankai offers an immediately understandable reason as to why he's never used it before in the series: it's simply too destructive to risk using under anything other than the direst of circumstances. While the reveal that Yamamoto was never fighting the real Yhwach is disappointing, especially in light of his death, a warrior couldn't ask for a better way to go out than at the height of his power.
With their most powerful warrior now down, the Soul Reapers of Bleach are definitely in a difficult situation. It may be for the best if they were to abandon the Soul Society for now and regroup elsewhere, as no one else will even stand a chance at defeating Yhwach. Without a leader to order a retreat, however, that may prove difficult, so the Captains may be on their own in future episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War.
Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War is available to stream on Hulu, with new episodes each Monday.