History WhamEpisode / BLEACH

[[WMG: New Beathes from Hell]]

* Chapter 516: Broken bankai can never be restored to their original form, thereby redefining the power levels of every shinigami that has experienced a broken bankai in the story, including Mayuri, Ikkaku, Renji, and Ichigo. Komamura's the only exception to the rule because of the way his bankai works. Even though the damage done to it is reflected on him, if he undergoes healing it will fully restore his bankai.

* After debuting as a cat with a masculine voice, it was rather surprising to see Yoruichi Shihoin turn out to be a ''female human'', and a former captain of the Gotei 13, at that. It changes the entire dynamics of the group's relationship with her from that moment on.

* Chapter 499: For the first time in the entire story, the Soul Society openly seeks help from Ichigo, after we learn that a third of the Gotei 13's forces have been decimated by thousands in the space of only a few minutes. Not even Aizen created this much havoc.

* Chapter 520: Shunsui Kyouraku, once the LazyBum, takes over as the new captain-commander. Unlike Yamamoto's era, where captains - even Yamamoto - could not question the decisions of the Central 46, Kyouraku begins to fight decisions from the moment he's promoted. It's the first sign that the Gotei 13 will now function in a different way to how it functioned in the past.

* Chapter 565: Yhwach's backstory and powers are revealed. He has an ability to distribute pieces of his soul into the souls of other individuals, and when they die, those pieces return to Yhwach with all the memories, experience and powers that those people possessed in life. By doing so, he can make himself more powerful and prolong his own life. This is how Quincies were created, but most importantly, the whole Gotei has now been infected with pieces of Yhwach's soul... meaning EVERY death on the battlefield increases Yhwach's power.

* The Soul Society arc sets up the Soul Society's laws as the problem, given a face by [[PillarsOfMoralCharacter Byakuya]], who is dead-set on killing his sister, Rukia. Then, he [[TakingTheBullet takes the bullet for her when Gin tries to kill her]]. When asked why, he reveals that his wife Hisana (who looks like Rukia), was actually Rukia's sister, and he adopted her into the family to fulfill a promise he made to a dying Hisana. The reason he was set on executing her was not because of the law, but because he ''also'' made a promise to his dead parents ''to'' uphold the law. Now that Ichigo's freed him from this problem, he stops being an antagonist and becomes one of Ichigo's [[UndyingLoyalty staunchest]] allies.

* Chapter 614: Ichigo does not save the Soul King. His Quincy blood causes him to kill the Soul King himself.
* Chapter 621: When Yhwach absorbs the Soul King and releases the seals on the Soul King's power, it's revealed that the enemy of the Soul King is not the Quincies -- it's the Shinigami. Until now, the story has appeared to show that the Soul King and Shinigami were a united concept on the same side. This is the first indication that there's a much darker truth to the history of the Shinigami and Soul King and that, given the choice, the Soul King actually sides with the Quincies against the Shinigami.

* Chapter 614: Ichigo does not save the Soul King. His Quincy blood causes him to kill the Soul King himself.

* The [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice rather brutal murder]] of Chojiro Sasakibe, proving that yes, good guys can and ''will'' die, even in ''Bleach''.

* Chapter 502: Byakuya, previously thought by the fandom to have unassailable plot armour, is curb-stomped in one of the most graphic attacks in the entire manga.

* Chapter 540: Zangetsu isn't actually Ichigo's Zanpakuto. He's the personification of Ichigo's Quincy powers, which have taken the form of a younger Yhwach from 1000 years ago. Furthermore, it's ''the Hollow'' that's Ichigo's real Zanpakuto.

* Chapter 539: Komamura's revealed to be part of a unique secret race that's in hiding, that possesses a great secret that can allow Komamura to compensate for his loss of Bankai, and which carries the knowledge of the truth about Soul Society: that Shinigami are not the original rulers of Soul Society.

* Chapter 556: Komamura's past changes the understanding of the Soul Society and how spiritual punishment works. Werewolves exist and in the distant past were turned into animals for their unspecified sins. In exchange for beating his ancestor, Komamura learns the secret clan technique - rip out the heart, [[BishounenLine become human]], and regain your full power.

* Chapter 621: When Yhwach absorbs the Soul King and releases the seals on the Soul King's power, it's revealed that the enemy of the Soul King is not the Quincies -- it's the Shinigami. Until now, the story has appeared to show that the Soul King and Shinigami were a united concept on the same side. This is the first indication that there's a much darker truth to the history of the Shinigami and Soul King and that, given the choice, the Soul King actually sides with the Quincies against the Shinigami.

* Chapter 543: The entire chapter changes the view and flavour of the Vandenreich completely. Remember when Opie mentioned Soken and Uryuu Ishida by name? Turns out, Opie was the ''only'' one to know of either. We learn of this through Yhwach nominating Uryu as his successor (over Haschwalth, the previous favorite). The army is so taken aback by Yhwach's choice as to suggest that the troops are loyal ''not'' to [[TheEmperor Yhwach]], but to ''[[TheDragon Haschwalth]]''.

* Chapter 633: Every few decades an apparently powerless Quincy would be born and culled until Yhwach is born. Then a period of two centuries passes without one being born at all until Haschwalth. Yhwach explains these legendary Quincies have the ability to [[SuperEmpowering share power]] instead of absorbing reishi ''just like Yhwach''. Unlike Yhwach, they cannot also [[PowerNullifier steal power]]. This leads to complete reinterpretation of both Uryuu and Ichigo's abilities given Uryuu's alleged lack of talent and Ichigo's apparently unique inability to manipulate reishi the way both Quincies and Shinigami can. It also indicates that Yhwach cannot be the original Quincy he claims to be, given that Quincies were being born before he came along.

* Chapter 633: Every few decades an apparently powerless Quincy would be born and culled until Yhwach is born. Then a period of two centuries passes without one being born at all until Haschwalth. Yhwach explains these legendary Quincies have the ability to [[SuperEmpowering share power]] instead of absorbing reishi ''just like Yhwach''. Unlike Yhwach, they cannot also [[PowerNullifier steal power]]. This leads to complete reinterpretation of both Uryuu and Ichigo's abilities given Uryuu's alleged lack of talent and Ichigo's apparently unique inability to manipulate reishi the way both Quincies and Shinigami can. It also indicates that Yhwach cannot be the original Quincy he claims to be, given that Quincies were being born before he came along.
* Chapter 678: Ichigo finally activates his new Bankai against Yhwach... and it snaps in two as soon as it appears. Cue Yhwach holding up the broken off half of the sword and reveals the The Almighty's true ability is to change the future to his liking, as opposed to being able to simply see it, proceeding to completely destroy Ichigo.

* The Soul Society arc sets up the Soul Society's laws as the problem, given a face by [[PillarsOfMoralCharacter Byakuya]], who is dead-set on killing his sister, Rukia. Then, he [[TakingTheBullet takes the bullet for her when Gin tries to kill her]]. When asked why, he reveals that his wife Hisana (who looks like Rukia), was actually Rukia's sister, and he adopted her into the family to fulfill a promise he made to a dying Hisana. The reason he was set on executing her was not because of the law, but because he ''also'' made a promise to his dead parents ''to'' uphold the law. Now that Ichigo's freed him from this problem, he stops being an anatogonist and becomes one of Ichigo's [[UndyingLoyalty staunchest]] allies.

* Chapter 633: Every few decades an apparently powerless Quincy would be born and culled until Yhwach is born. Then a period of two centuries passes without one being born at all until Haschwalth. Yhwach explains these legendary Quincies have the ability to [[SuperEmpowering share power]] instead of absorbing reishi ''just like Yhwach''. Unlike Yhwach, they cannot also [[PowerNullifier steal power]]. This leads to complete reinterpretation of both Uryuu and Ichigo's abilities given Uryuu's alleged lack of talent and Ichigo's apparently unique inability to manipulate reishi the way both Quincies and Shinigami can. It also indicates that Yhwach cannot be the original Quincy he claims to be, given that Quincies were being born before he came along.

* The Soul Society arc sets the Soul Society's laws up as the problem, given a face by [[PillarsOfMoralCharacter Byakuya]], whom was dead-set on killing his sister, Rukia. And then he [[TakingTheBullet takes the bullet for her when Gin tries to kill her]]. When asked why, he reveals that his wife Hisana (who looks like Rukia), was actually Rukia's sister, and he adopted her into the family to fulfill a promise he made to a dying Hisana. The reason he was set on executing her was not because of the law, but because he ''also'' made a promise to his dead parents ''to'' uphold the law. Now that Ichigo's freed him from this problem, he stops being an anatogonist and becomes one of Ichigo's [[UndyingLoyalty staunchest]] allies.

* Chapter 621: Yhwach starts absorbing the Soul King, releasing the seals on the Soul King's power. The power floods Soul Society, attacking the Soul King's enemies. Not the Quincies, however; the enemies of the Soul King are now the Shinigami.

* Chapter 544: Uryu was the only mixed-blood to survive the Holy Selection, and is the only Quincy in history to have resisted it, because of a mysterious special power that Yhwach wants to know more about. Haschwalth deduces a second reason: Yhwach is ''expecting'' Uryuu to betray him, and Yhwach believes in keeping your friends close and your enemies even closer. Even if Ishida was planning to mount an assassination, the scrutiny from the Stern Ritters will prevent him from doing so. This nips fan expectations over a protagonist joining the antagonist's side in the bud.

* Chapter 514: Ichigo's time in Opie's prison actually awakened his innate, but largely dormant, Quincy energy, allowing him to use Blut Vene.

* Chapter 458. The ArcVillain is revealed to be Ginjou, not Tsukishima. He was bookmarked at the beginning to become Ichigo's friend and the entire arc has been about him devising a way to obtain Ichigo's power.

* Chapter 633: Every few decades an apparently powerless Quincy would be born and culled until Yhwach is born. Then a period of two centuries passes without one being born at all until Haschwalth. Yhwach explains these legendary Quincies have the ability to [[SuperEmpowering share power]] instead of absorbing reishi ''just like Yhwach''. Unlike Yhwach, they cannot also [[PowerNullifier steal power]]. This leads to complete reinterpretation of both Uryuu and Ichigo's abilities given Uryuu's alleged lack of talent and Ichigo's apparently unique inability to manipulate reishi the way both Quincies and Shinigami can, as well as Kisuke's previous claim that Orihime's and Chad's powers awoke thanks to their exposure to Ichigo. It also indicates that Yhwach cannot be the original Quincy he claims to be, given that Quincies were being born before he came along.

* Chapter 633: Every few decades an apparently powerless Quincy would be born and culled until Yhwach is born. Then a period of two centuries passes without one being born at all until Haschwalth. Yhwach explains these legendary Quincies have the ability to [[SuperEmpowering share power]] instead of absorbing reishi ''just like Yhwach''. Unlike Yhwach, they cannot also [[PowerNullifier steal power]]. This leads to complete reinterpretation of both Uryuu and Ichigo's abilities given Uryuu's alleged lack of talent and Ichigo's apparently unique inability to manipulate reishi the way both Quincies and Shinigami can. It also indicates that Yhwach cannot be the original Quincy he claims to be, given that Quincies were being born before he came along.

* Ulquiorra was once built up as the strongest Espada under Aizen's command. Then he reveals he's only the fourth strongest: even if Ichigo defeats him, he's nowhere near achieving victory against Aizen.

* Chapter 461: Ichigo has changed Soul Society enough for its laws to begin changing. The law Rukia broke in Chapter 1 that almost got her executed is declared by Yamamoto to not be as inviolate as they first thought; it can now be broken if upholding it would ruin everything the Gotei 13 stands for.

* Thousands of Rukongai dwellers have been disappearing for an unknown reason. Kira deduces, and Mayuri confirms, that ''Shinigami'' killed those civilians, in order to restore the balance between the worlds. It hammers home just how morally ambiguous the Soul Society can get, and it returns Mayuri [[MadScientist back to form]] instead of having him as comic relief.

* Chapter 520: Shunsui Kyouraku, once the LazyBum, takes over as the new captain-commander. Unlike Yamamoto's era, where captains - even Yamamoto - could not question the decisions of the Central 46, Kyouraku begins to fight decisions from the moment he's promoted.
* Chapter 523: Kyoraku confirms that Unohana was the first Kenpachi, founding the 11th Division and laying the work for [[BloodKnight everything it's built on]]. Zaraki's misunderstanding of Unohana's abilities in that distant past is effectively why the 11th division has its anti-kidou stance in the current age.
* Chapter 527: Zaraki's zanpakutou finally begins communicating with him, changing his status from the only captain in history not to have a shikai or bankai.

[[WMG: Everything But the Rain]]
Just like the main arc of the Blood War, "Everything But the Rain" is a wham episode in its entirety. The amount of stuff we learn is more than what most other manga can accomplish in the same period of time.

* Chapter 539: For Ichigo to get his Zanpakuto fixed, he has to ''abandon Zangetsu''. Meanwhile, Komamura's revealed to be part of a unique secret race that's in hiding, that possesses a great secret that can allow Komamura to compensate for his loss of Bankai, and which carries the knowledge of the truth about Soul Society: that Shinigami are not the original rulers of Soul Society.

* Chapter 542: Ichigo finally accepts that he and his blade are one. This allows him to complete the forging of his Zanpakuto, whose true form is revealed to be a pair of dual swords, mirroring the two spirits who encompassed his power.

* Chapter 546: The Seireitei vanishes into shadow to be replaced ''by the vandenreich's city'' and Yhwach reveals that the old Quincy tale of the Sealed King has a stanza that isn't commonly recited: He reclaims his heartbeat, mind and his power, alright... and then he reclaims his world. Yes, apparently the "world" did once belong to Yhwach.
* Chapter 547: The reason the Quincies weren't extinct is because they've been hiding under the Shinigami noses all along. Within the [[PocketDimension shadows]] of Seireitei, the Quincies hid a thousand years ago and have remained ever since. The implications for the behaviour of the Ishida family throughout the story are huge.

* Chapter 587: '''Yhwach has entered the Royal Realm.''' Just let this sink in. Not even Aizen has ever made it this far.

* Chapter 621: Yhwach starts absorbing the Soul King, releasing the seals on the Soul King's power. The power floods Soul Society, attacking the Soul King's enemies. Not the Quincies, however; the enemies of Soul King are now the Shinigami.
* Chapter 633: Every few decades an apparently powerless quincy would be born and culled. Then a period of two centuries passes without one being born at all until Haschwalth. Yhwach explains these legendary quincies have the ability to [[SuperEmpowering share power]] instead of absorbing reishi ''just like Yhwach''. Unlike Yhwach, they cannot also [[PowerNullifier steal power]]. This leads to complete reinterpretation of both Uryuu and Ichigo's statuses given Uryuu's alleged lack of talent and Ichigo's apparently unique inability to manipulate reishi the way both quincies and shinigami can.

* Chapter 633: Every few decades an apparently powerless quincy would be born and culled. Then a period of two centuries passes without one being born at all until Haschwalth. Yhwach explains these legendary quincies have the ability to [[SuperEmpowering share power]] instead of absorbing reishi ''just like Yhwach''. Unlike Yhwach, they cannot also [[PowerNullifier steal power]]. This leads to complete reinterpretation of both Uryuu and Ichigo's statuses given Uryuu's alleged lack of talent and Ichigo's apparently unique inability to manipulate reishi the way both quincies and shinigami can.
* Chapter 650: The answer to an old mystery is revealed to be something that was impossible and even unthinkable until now. Why does Kyoraku have two zanpakutos even in sealed form? Because one of them is actually another person's zanpakuto... ''Nanao's''.

* Chapter 633: Every few decades an apparently powerless quincy would be born and culled. Then a period of two centuries passes without one being born at all until Haschwalth. Yhwach explains these legendary quincies have the ability to [[SuperEmpowering share power]] instead of absorbing reishi ''just like Yhwach''. Unlike Yhwach, they cannot also [[PowerNullifier steal power]]. This leads to complete reinterpretation of both Uryuu and Ichigo's statuses given Uryuu's alleged lack of talent and Ichigo's apparently unique inability to manipulate reishi the way both quincies and shinigami can.

* Chapter 633: Every few decades an apparently powerless quincy would be born and culled. Then a period of two centuries passes without one being born at all until Haschwalth. Yhwach explains these legendary quincies have the ability to [[SuperEmpowering share power]] instead of absorbing reishi ''just like Yhwach''. Unlike Yhwach, they cannot also [[PowerNullifier steal power]]. This leads to complete reinterpretation of both Uryuu and Ichigo's statuses given Uryuu's alleged lack of talent and Ichigo's apparently unique inability to manipulate reishi the way both quincies and shinigami can.
* Chapter 637: Pernida Parnkgjas, one of Yhwach's Schutzstaffel, is the Left Arm of the Soul King. This raises the question of why the Soul King's Left Arm would aid the man who killed him, alongside the statement of it having always been a Quincy in chapter 640.