Warning: Spoilers for Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War, Episodes 12 & 13Fans of Bleach have long known that Ichigo's mother died protecting him from a Hollow attack when he was young. However, after the reveal that she was a Quincy, the question immediately became why she didn't defend herself against the Grand Fisher. Now, the anime is offering a tragic answer that gives Ichigo some personal motivation in the conflict with the Quincy.
In the twelfth episode, "Everything but the Rain: June Truth," Ichigo's father explains that Masaki was infected by the bite of the Hollow known as White, and that the only way to save her was to give up his Soul Reaper powers. The Soul Reaper powers were injected into her and kept the Hollow from taking over, which saved her life. Despite this, Masaki's Quincy powers remained intact, meaning she should have been able to defend herself from the Grand Fisher. Ichigo's dad even says that he didn't run off to her rescue when he sensed the Grand Fisher's spiritual pressure because he was confident she could handle it. As it turns out, she tried to fight back against the Grand Fisher, but her Blut Vene technique failed, for reasons that Masaki didn't understand. It wasn't some crazy coincidence; the revived Yhwach had used a technique known as Auswählen, which allowed him to take the power of any Quincy in Bleach whom he considered to be impure, to steal Masaki's Quincy powers away. Caught by surprise without a means to defend herself, Masaki quickly fell to the Grand Fisher, although she did still save her son from the same fate.
Bleach Confirms Yhwach Basically Killed Ichigo's Mom
Given previous revelations in the season, much of this won't come as a surprise to fans. Ichigo's mother in Bleach, Masaki Kurosaki, was revealed to have been a Quincy earlier in the season, a shock to none more so than Ichigo. While it's not apparent if Ichigo began wondering the same question as fans when he learned this fact, the obvious question after was how Grand Fisher killed Masaki. With the revelation that Yhwach specifically played a role in her demise, everything finally adds up and sets the stage for an incredible battle between Ichigo and Yhwach.
Bleach Makes Ichigo's Fight Against Yhwach Personal
Prior to this revelation, Ichigo had very little reason to actually fight Yhwach. Sure, Yhwach had attacked and destroyed the Soul Society, which Ichigo considers himself to be aligned with, and injured some of his friends, but he doesn't actually have a formal duty there. Yhwach's confusing parting words in Bleach, where he referred to Ichigo as a "son born in the dark," suggested there was some connection, as well as his knowledge of Ichigo's mother. With the reveal that Yhwach's actions directly led to Masaki's death, Ichigo now has a very personal reason to get involved here. Ichigo definitely held a grudge against Grand Fisher for killing his mother, but that was just a Hollow being a Hollow; now there's a person involved who deliberately chose to do this, and that must be met with vengeance.
Giving Ichigo a personal investment in the conflict between Quincy and Soul Reaper brings a lot more depth to the fight that's going on in Bleach.
The first 13 episodes of Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War are now all streaming on Hulu, and the series will return for more in July 2023.
