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Sep 11, 2023

Biggest Plot Twists In Bleach

Bleach is a series packed full of plot twists, many of which turned the story completely on its head when they were first revealed. Bleach is a show with no shortage of plot twists, with every major

Bleach is a series packed full of plot twists, many of which turned the story completely on its head when they were first revealed.

Bleach is a show with no shortage of plot twists, with every major arc containing a few shocking revelations that often turn the entire story completely on its head. However, this is the genius of author Tite Kubo and his writing style. While he is very well known for his astonishing character designs and creative fight sequences, he was once known as somewhat of a "troll" by the fans considering just how many twists and turns he would introduce to the story.

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It's hard to argue that this isn't a major reason why Bleach's story is captivating since it means the fans can never accurately predict what's going to happen next, and this is a trend that continues right up until the very end of the series. While the anime is packed full of these surprising turnarounds, there are a select few that shocked fans the most and made the biggest impact on the story.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

It's safe to say that Ichigo has an incredibly hard time throughout the Fullbring Arc, especially when he comes to learn about Tsukishima's ability, Book of the End, which erases Ichigo's friends' memories of him entirely, something that shakes him to the core when his sisters don't even recognize him, until eventually, the only person he can rely on is his new friend Ginjo.

Towards the end of the arc, Ginjo stabs Ichigo in the back, stealing his Fullbring and leaving him an emotional wreck which is arguably the lowest fans ever see Ichigo in the series. Considering just how close Ginjo had become with Ichigo, it was quite a surprise when he revealed that he was actually partnered with the main villain, Tsukishima, the whole time.

Yammy didn't exactly strike fans as being a very important or even powerful character when he was introduced, especially when standing next to the menacing Ulquiorra. When it was revealed that Yammy was actually Espada number 0, implying that he was the strongest member of Aizen's army, it was a shock, to say the least.

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As he grows into a giant, becoming a force of sheer destruction, it takes both Kenpachi and Byakuya working together to finally defeat the behemoth, but considering how absent Yammy was for much of the Arrancar Arc, it could never have been expected that he would be so almighty in his strength.

Ever since the beginning of Bleach, it was made clear through Uryu that the Quincies not only had a deep hatred for the Soul Reapers but that most of them had also been exterminated by the opposing group, leading many fans to accept that they wouldn't make an appearance in the story.

Kubo gave fans exactly what they wanted when he revealed that the new enemy force that was planning to launch an invasion on the Soul Society during the Thousand Year Blood War arc were Quincies. This reveal was huge at the time as fans began theorizing what sorts of powers the Quincies would use, and most importantly, if their hatred for the Soul Reapers could see them come out as the victors of the oncoming war.

A major theme of the Arrancar Arc is how heavily Ichigo relies on his Hollow powers to win his fights, and while they had helped him triumph in every encounter he had come up against during his mission to save Orihime, he wasn't as successful when facing Ulquiorra in his Second Release form, who throws Ichigo around like a corpse for much of the fight.

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Many fans understandably would have expected Ichigo to make some sort of triumphant comeback in classic shonen fashion, but what fans got was a striking visual of Ulquiorra holding Ichigo's lifeless body up with a giant hole in his stomach. While Ichigo was eventually revived by turning into his Vasto Lorde form, seeing the main protagonist die was still a very disturbing and unforeseen twist that took everyone by surprise.

It was made clear very early on in the story that Gin was a mysterious, secretive, and manipulative figure, often being compared to a snake in the way he would behave and how opportunistic he was in nature. So, it wasn't too much of a surprise when he revealed that he was actually in on Aizen's plan the entire time by the end of the Soul Society arc.

However, this was just a ruse to hide Gin's true intentions of turning on Aizen to steal the Hogyoku, thereby rendering Aizen's plan useless. This was a twist that well and truly came out of nowhere, but the way Gin betrayed Aizen was also incredibly creative, with him implanting a chip in Aizen's heart by using his Bankai, which would allow him to acquire the Hogyoku. It's just unfortunate that this would also result in Gin's demise.

Aizen first explains the power of his Kyoasuigetsu in the Soul Society arc, and how it can hypnotize people to see only what he wants them to see, but since his encounter with all the Captains in the Fake Karakura Town arc is such a long time after this, it makes sense that fans would have forgotten about it by this time.

Logically, every single Soul Reaper Captain against Aizen seems like it should be a guaranteed victory, but when Hitsugaya goes to stab Aizen, only to realize it was an illusion and that he had attacked Momo, each of the Captains falls into a blind rage, falling one by one to the immense power of Aizen, who was on the path to becoming a godly being.

It wasn't until near the very end of the final arc in the story that fans were finally able to understand the truth behind Ichigo's inner powers, specifically that of Zangetsu, who all this time had been presumed to be the embodiment of his Bankai, but who is revealed to be his Quincy powers.

The truth is, Ichigo's mother was a pure-blood Quincy who passed down her abilities to Ichigo, meaning that he was officially a human, Soul Reaper, Quincy, Fullbringer, and Vizard all rolled into one spiky orange-haired protagonist.

When fans first see Aizen in the story, he is one of the most reasonable and passive Captains out of the bunch, but it's not long before we get to see his Kyokasuigetsu's illusionary powers in action when Aizen is mysteriously pinned against a wall, indicating that he had been killed while going out for a walk. Up to this point, Aizen had only been known as an intelligent but also good-intentioned Captain who had many personal connections within the Soul Society, so it was impossible to guess who exactly would have been targeting him.

Of course, at the time, fans had no idea that this was all a small part of Aizen's plan, so it left a huge mystery that made the Soul Society arc even more intriguing, while at the same time, proving that Aizen was a key player in this story for one reason or another.

No fan of Bleach can ever forget the first time they saw Aizen steal the Hogyoku, slick his hair back, and rise up to the heavens with Gin and Tosen by his side at the very end of the Soul Society arc. In most shows, the moment Ichigo saves Rukia would have been the end of the journey, but as Aizen reveals that he intended for this to happen and becomes a god-like being disappearing into the abyss, it creates a twist that no one could have seen coming.

The whole sequence of Aizen standing tall against each of the Captains was the first indication of just how strong he would eventually become, and there's a reason this is regarded by many to be one of the greatest plot twists in all of anime since no one could have ever predicted the arc ending in the way that it did, setting up the series' greatest villain as a result.

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Ewan has been a content writer and a game enthusiast for many years, with a particular passion for the survival horror genre. An avid trophy hunter, he strives to one day have a platinum trophy in each of the Resident Evil games. Outside of gaming, Ewan loves reading the latest shounen manga and searching for retro hip hop vinyls to add to his vast collection!