History Bleach / TropesUToZ

* WeAreAsMayflies: Soul Reapers and Hollows (and for that matter ordinary Soul Society civilians) live ''vastly'' longer than humans. But it's a bit of a subversion, since they're what humans might ''become'' after dying.

* WerewolvesAreDogs: A {{Filler}} HalloweenEpisode has Hitsugaya as a werewolf. At one points, he behaves more like a dog than a wolf.

* WeHaveReserves: Deconstructed in the Soul Society Arc. By the the end of their first day in the Seireitei, Ichigo, Ganju, and Chad had already incapacitated most of the 11th squad and many other rank-and-file soldiers, and we see that a lot of the Shinigamis' resources were run thin providing relief and aid as a result of their trail of carnage.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Ashido, a character in the Menos Forest arc. Kubo created the character and fully intended to use him but ran out of time to insert him into the manga. The anime decided to create a filler arc based around him and insert him where Kubo had originally intended to use him. However, the filler arc ended with him facing down the enemy to give the group time to escape and Rukia vowing to go back to Hueco Mundo to search for him. She never did, so Ashido's fate remains unknown.

* UpToEleven:
** Ulquiorra defeats Ichigo with his released form. However, he still takes on a second release, something no other Arrancar has been seen to possess, to not only kill him, but to defeat him with pure despair. Ichigo's Hollowfied response takes this even further, beyond anything even Ulquiorra has seen a Hollow be capable of doing.
** Bankai is supposed to be the final release of a Zanpakutou, the ultimate SuperMode. Then it's revealed Final Getsuga Tenshou exists... and that more than one user knows how to develop it.

** Imaginary Number 1 is a chapter detailing two Espada having been sent to Hell after their deaths in the {{canon}} as an advertisment for the fourth film which is set in Hell.

* WholePlotReference: The Bount arc is lifted almost wholesale from ''Anime/YuYuHakusho'''s Sensui arc. Both start with an attack on the core cast by a trio with strange powers who actually turn out to be working for the group's mentor figure. Then a group of actual enemies with strange abilities appear with the goal of using one of the core cast members' powers to open up a gateway to another world.

* YearInsideHourOutside: The "density of time" within the Precipice World - which acts as the primary passage between Soul Society and the real world - is 2,000 times higher (e.g. 2,000 years inside = 1 year outside), which made the place a useful prison in the past. It was [[spoiler: used by Ichigo and his dad to compress 2,000 hours (approx. 3 months) of TrainingFromHell into a single hour, in order to power him up for the final confrontation with Aizen]].

* UltimateJobSecurity: Captains are the strongest beings in Soul Society, so they have the freedom to do a lot of what they want and get away with it. Even when Mayuri blows up his own squad, it doesn't damage his position as captain, because the law only prohibits captains from doing anything to ''other'' captains' soldiers. Kiganjo was too lazy to turn up to meetings, Ukitake too sick; Zaraki only toes the party line when it suits him and Kyouraku avoids work because he's too lazy or chasing skirt. Zaraki and Unohana once agree that captains can get away with things precisely because they're normally too powerful to be brought to justice.

* WalkingShirtlessScene: Common occurrence for the rougher characters. Kenpachi, Renji, Ikkaku, Ichigo and so on all get their bare-chested moments as a result of the fights they get into. Many of these instances double as {{Fanservice}}.
* WalkingSwimsuitScene: The BeachEpisode is pure fanservice, with all the female characters posing one-by-one to show off their costumes to the audience and then spending the entire episode in them.

* WeakenedByTheLight: Espada #9 Aaroniero Arruruerie can't stand sunlight and can't maintain or perform his shape-shifting in the light.

* WeWillMeetAgain: In anime episode #141 the Arrancar tell this to their Soul Reaper opponents and in episode 322 Kageroza Inaba says it to Ichigo.
* WhamEpisode: Many times. See trope page for examples.
* WhamLine: The manga sports several of these. See trope page for examples.

* WritingForTheTrade: Definitely a series that reads better in ArchiveBinge form.

* YankTheDogsChain:
** Orihime and Ishida, so, ''so'' much. Just see the page example.
** In a meta example: Tite Kubo keeps doing it to the readers.

* YouAreAlreadyDead: It happens pretty often, but a good example is when [[spoiler: Aizen attacks Hitsugaya in the council chamber]].
* YouCanSeeThatRight: Anime episode #199, during the battle between Captain Mayuri and Espada #8 Szayelaporro Grantz. After Mayuri's Bankai attack (a giant deformed baby) swallows Grantz, Renji Abarai and Uryu Ishida watch it chewing Grantz's tentacles into its mouth.
-->'''Uryu''': Are you seeing what I'm seeing?
-->'''Renji''': As much as I wish I wasn't seeing it, yeah I am.

** Subverted in episode 36. After Ganju grabs Hanataro and escapes, Ichigo tells Kenpachi Zaraki that he can't let him pass through to pursue them. Kenpachi tells him that he's not interested in the others: he's just there to fight Ichigo. And what a battle it is.
** In episode 54 Ichigo faces off against three Soul Reaper lieutenants and Captain Kuchiki so Renji can get away with Rukia.
** In episode 154 the Arrancar Dordonii repays a debt of honor to Ichigo by fighting Rudbornn Chelute and the Exequias to give Ichigo and Nel time to escape.
** In episode 319 Yoruichi holds off the Reigei so Ichigo and Rukia can escape through the Senkaimon gate.

** [[spoiler:Kensei]] does this to several Menos Grande during the [[spoiler:Visoreds]] BigDamnHeroes moment. With his ''bare fists''.

* WomanInWhite: Thanks to the arrancar uniform, the female arrancar fall into this trope, where white symbolises evil and death.

* WarIsHell: A prominent theme about ''Bleach'' is that there is a distinct lack of "happy" deaths. When people die here, they invariably die in rather ''ugly'' ways, from decapitation to bifurcation and incineration, among other things. If their deaths are not particularly nasty (see Starrk), their scenes are still [[AlasPoorVillain executed in incredibly depressing ways]]. Even if they're particularly nasty characters, well, their deaths may be deserved, but in each case, Kubo refuses to glorify how they died (see Driscoll) by making it as gruesome as he can. If they do accept their fate gracefully, Kubo consistently shows that, despite their peace at the prospect of death, their compatriots are affected in negative ways (Kaien to Rukia, [[spoiler:Ichimaru]] to Rangiku and [[spoiler:Unohana]] to Zaraki). Even if it doesn't lead to death, several characters get permanent scars, lose their limbs, [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal suffer several severe sets]] of wounds, or end up so traumatized by their experiences that it influences their personalities and philosophies later in life (Kira, Hisagi). This all comes to a head during the Vandenreich arc, where the Stern Ritters' pragmatism seriously cripples much of the Soul Reapers and defies a multitude of Shonen battle clichés as a result. Aizen, himself a former teacher, once recited one such a commandment that all cadets are taught to in the Spiritual Arts Academy.

** When the Menos Grande first appeared Rukia said she'd read in textbooks that only the Royal Guard can fight them. Ichigo could barely scratch it. Now that it's been confirmed that was a Gillian, the lowest level of a Menos Grande, and that any high seated Soul Reapers can handle them. As the power levels of the main characters develop to lieutenant and captain levels, the Gillians have accordingly become regarded as mook-level threats.

** Ordinary, Hollows are the worst threat in the early stages of the story. Then this is ramped up when it's revealed there are giant versions of Hollows called Menos Grande that only the Royal Guard are supposed to handle. It turns out Rukia's textbooks were wrong: any high seated officers can handle Menos Grande if they're Gillian level and captains and lieutenants can handle Adjuchas levels. Only the Vasto Lord level of Menos Grande gives captains trouble.

* WorthyOpponent: While this trope is more specifically and blatantly played with in regards to character motivations and fight matchups, it is a DownplayedTrope in a more general sense. ''Bleach'' naturally borrows customs and mannerisms from Feudal Japanese {{samurai}}, who would often ask or announce their name and title before a match to acknowledge that they were facing a peer in combat. Obviously, [[FantasyCounterpartCulture members of the Gotei]] do this, but so do members of other factions, such as the Espada and Vandenreich. In fact, a major EstablishingCharacterMoment for Nnoitra is when he asks Ichigo for his name, only moments later to claim he forgot it because Ichigo is simply trash to him.

!Tropes for ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' :
* Bleach/TropesAToB
* Bleach/TropesCToD
* Bleach/TropesEToG
* Bleach/TropesHToK
* Bleach/TropesLToN
* Bleach/TropesOToR
* Bleach/TropesSToT

* WholeEpisodeFlashback: The anime is fond of these, partially because the manga itself toys with them. There are even entire flashback ''arcs''.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Ashido, a character in the Menos Forest arc. Kubo created the character and fully intended to use him but ran out of time to insert him into the manga. The anime decided to create a filler arc based around him and insert him where Kubo had originally intended to use him. However, the filler arc ended with him facing down the enemy to give the group time to escape and Rukia vowing to go back to Hueco Mundo to search for him. She never did, so Ashido's fate remains unknown.
** Many characters' final fates were not revealed after the final showdown, even some who were hinted to have more to do in the battle to come.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Ashido might be this manga's only genuine example of this trope. Kubo created the character and fully intended to use him but ran out of time to insert him into the manga. The anime decided to create a filler arc based around him and insert him where Kubo had originally intended to use him. However, the filler arc ended with him facing down the enemy to give the group time to escape and Rukia vowing to go back to Hueco Mundo to search for him. She never did, so Ashido's fate remains unknown.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Ashido might be this manga's only genuine example of this trope. Kubo created the character and fully intended to use him but ran out of time to insert him into the manga. The anime decided to create a filler arc based around him and insert him where Kubo had originally intended to use him. However, the filler arc ended with him facing down the enemy to give the group time to escape and Rukia vowing to go back to Hueco Mundo to search for him. She never did, so Ashido's fate remains unknown.
** Tier Harribel was last seen imprisoned in the Silbern, the Vandenreich's headquarters, having been taken hostage to ensure the compliance of the Arrancar. Due to the manga's cancellation and swift ending, her fate remains unknown.
** The epilogue only shows us the fates of [[spoiler:the main cast, the Captains and their lieutenants, and Yhwach. The fates of characters like Urahara, Yoruichi, and the Arrancar, who were last seen in very dire and possibly fatal situations, Komamura, who's left as a seemingly non-sapient dog, and the quincy and hollow halves of Zangetsu, who were absorbed by Yhwach, aren't explained.]]