Uryu Ishida’s decision to join Yhwach and the Sternritter organization has left Bleach fans puzzled and concerned. As one of Ichigo Kurosaki’s most powerful comrades, Ishida’s apparent betrayal threatens to turn this trusted ally into a formidable enemy.
However, Ishida’s true motivations likely run deeper than a simple change of allegiance. Throughout the series, he has demonstrated tremendous growth and likability as a character. His strength and capabilities have always rivaled Ichigo’s, forging a connection as both rival and friend.
The central mystery now is whether Ishida intends to support or sabotage Yhwach’s plans. With his promotion to Sternritter, Ishida has gained even greater power. Will he use that strength against Ichigo or the Quincies?
As the arc deals directly with the war between Quincies and Soul Reapers, it revolves around the history and motivations of Ishida himself.
Shonen series often focus heavily on one central protagonist while still developing a strong supporting cast. In Bleach, each narrative arc tends to emphasize the background of one of Ichigo’s comrades.
The Thousand-Year Blood War centers on the Quincy – Ishida’s people. This suggests Ishida may play a pivotal role in the conflict ahead, for better or worse. Only time will tell whether the embattled Substitute Soul Reaper can still count Ishida as a friend rather than a foe.
Uryu Ishida’s Ominous Shift and the Looming Confrontation with Ichigo
Right from the start of this latest Bleach storyline, Uryu Ishida begins behaving in ways that seem out of character and raise questions. Subtle comments from both Orihime and Ichigo himself hint that while the two are allies now, a confrontation may be imminent.
When Orihime remarks that she’s happy Ichigo and Uryu are close friends, it flags that their camaraderie is significant to the overall plot. During battle, Ichigo notes it’s been a while since Uryu shot one of his trademark arrows at him – potentially foreshadowing a future fight.
The biggest red flag comes when Uryu declines to help rescue Dondochakka in Hueco Mundo, coldly stating it is Quincy’s purpose to defeat Hollows. This diverges sharply from his normal willingness to aid Ichigo and his friends against threats.
Between these moments, Bleach makes it clear something suspicious is unfolding with the enigmatic Quincy. His sudden shift toward Quincy’s ideology over his personal relationships hints he may soon turn against former allies.
While his true motives remain hidden, the stage has been set for Uryu to possibly battle his one-time friend Ichigo Kurosaki as the “Thousand Year Blood War” rages on. Whatever happens, his questionable behavior shows their camaraderie standing on unstable ground.
Ishida’s Drastic Change from Ally to Adversary
Ishida’s refusal to help Dondochakka comes as a surprise given his past willingness to work alongside Hollows and intervene against injustice.
He had previously fought alongside Pesche, Dondochakka, and Nel to rescue Orihime in Hueco Mundo, showing no discrimination over allies from enemy races. And despite his hatred of Soul Reapers, he still showed concern for Nemu being mistreated by Mayuri.
This contrasts his sudden hardened distinction toward Hollows now. Ishida has always tried to help the vulnerable regardless of faction dynamics in the past.
Yet here he coldly cites Quincy’s doctrine over bonds with former comrades. It seems oddly contrary for someone normally aloof but good-natured.
Ishida had never portrayed such uncompromising dogma over moral conscience previously. So when Ichigo’s team departs without him to rescue Dondochakka, it makes his isolation more suspicious in retrospect. The next time they crossover, it is with Ishida shockingly revealed as a Sternritter and now their enemy.
While Ishida’s intentions were unclear, Bleach had never depicted him as an antagonistic character until this pivot. But in the context of his recent suspicious behavior, his enlistment with Yhwach’s forces raises deeper questions about where his allegiances truly lie.
His unexpected actions set the stage for bigger reveals once the truth emerges.
Ishida’s Tragic Discovery and the Shadows of Quincy Loyalties
Following his split from Ichigo’s team, Ishida becomes fixated on digging into Quincy history, ignoring his father’s objections. This clandestine research unearths a disturbing truth about his mother’s death.
While supposedly due to illness, she was actually killed by Yhwach enacting Auswählen – the Holy Selection. This ritual drains power from impure Quincies to bolster Yhwach himself.
In an eerie twist, Ichigo and Ishida’s mothers died on precisely the same day from Auswählen. Yhwach targeted and murdered them both to claim their abilities.
This not only bonds the two friends in tragedy but gives Ishida deeper motivation to seek vengeance against Yhwach.
Learning how Auswählen cut his mother’s life short only raises further questions about Ishida’s shift in allegiance though. Why would he ever align with the tyrant responsible for such a brutal loss?
Is he plotting retribution from inside enemy ranks? Or does some other complex scheme fuel his startling betrayal? The truth of Quincy’s intentions remains carefully obscured for now. But these shadowy revelations from his past draw the coming confrontation between former friends into even sharper relief.
Ishida’s Double Game to Uncover Yhwach’s Achilles’ Heel
The tragic deaths of both Ishida and Ichigo’s mothers are traced back to Yhwach siphoning their power via Auswählen. Masaki perished battling Grand Fisher without her Quincy abilities. While the chronically ill Kanae died from the sudden loss of energy keeping her alive.
Enraged by this massacre disguised through deception, Ishida hatched an elaborate plot to infiltrate and sabotage Yhwach’s empire from within. He joins the Sternritter, rising to become Yhwach’s heir – all as cover to act as a double agent for the Soul Society against the Quincy tyrant.
To sell his apparent switching of sides, Ishida confronts his former comrades asserting he will deal with them before Yhwach awakens. But in truth, he had discerned a critical gap in the emperor’s ability.
Yhwach’s omnipotent “Almighty” is compromised whenever he divides the power with his second, Jugram. This rare vulnerability provides a slim chance he could actually be defeated.
Through cunning and sacrifice, Ishida achieved his initial objective – discovering Yhwach’s weakness and delivering the intelligence to the Soul Reapers.
But with relations severed even from longtime allies, successfully sabotaging or surviving his deception remains an uncertain, ominous gambit. By uncovering the scope of Yhwach’s past atrocities though, Ishida’s complex subterfuge proves deeply personal behind the thin veil of betrayal.
Yhwach’s Puzzling Choice of Uryu as Successor
Yhwach selecting Uryu as his successor sent even bigger shockwaves than Quincy’s initial heel-turn. The Quincy emperor is highly cunning and regards his many followers as disposable pawns, with one exception – his unwaveringly loyal right-hand, Jugram Haschwalth.
By any calculation, Jugram seems the obvious heir apparent. He is the strongest Sternritter, entrusted to wield half of Yhwach’s nigh-omnipotent “Almighty” power. Yet Yhwach passes over his most proven lieutenant to name Uryu successor instead – an unexpected move from the normally strategic tyrant.
Several factors likely draw Yhwach’s interest toward the young Quincy talent though. Uryu remarkably survived Auswählen as a child despite being considered an “impure” Quincy.
And since unlocking his Vollständig power, his growth in strength and skill continue rising at an incredible pace.
Still, Uryu seems a questionable candidate compared to the dependable Jugram. Does Yhwach hope to mold the last living Gemischt Quincy into his true ideological successor?
Does he have designs to pit his two most powerful acolytes against each other? Or does he simply intend to use Uryu as a contingency should Jugram fall?
As with all things in Bleach, the emperor’s motives remain obscured behind shadows. But his unexpected decision elevates Uryu’s role drastically in the coming endgame. Whatever “The Almighty” has planned, this surprise shakeup of succession will surely factor heavily into the climax ahead.
Yhwach’s Calculated Move with Uryu as The Antithesis
To the shock of his forces, Yhwach publicly declares Uryu to be his successor. He grants the young Quincy incredible new power as “A” – The Antithesis – with the ability to reverse events between targets. If Uryu takes injury in battle, he can instantly redirect the damage to his opponent while healing himself.
Yet despite these overt shows of favor, Jugram discerns Yhwach’s true intentions – to keep Uryu under observation rather than sincerely name him heir. As The Almighty, little slips past Yhwach’s notice.
He likely saw through Uryu’s supposed betrayal from the outset. But rather than eliminate this potential threat, The Quincy King opts to elevate Uryu as bait within his ranks.
This grants Yhwach’s loyal warriors the opportunity to scrutinize the new successor. While also allowing someone of Jugram’s strength a chance to remove Uryu should he prove troublesome.
In the end, Uryu maintains his secret agenda despite his cover being compromised. But now he must operate under even more perilous pretense – betraying betrayers who were expecting his betrayal. The deception and counter-deception continue escalating to even greater high stakes.
