Bleach TYBW Part 4 Episode 8 saw the much-anticipated arrival of Aizen. However, many fans felt the hype ended up becoming bigger than the actual episode. They felt Aizen’s treatment could have been better.
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Bleach TYBW Part 4 Anime Director
Murata Hikaru, Taguchi Tomohisa
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Original Title
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity or Bleach: Sennen Kessen-hen – Kashin-tan (BLEACH 千年血戦篇-禍進譚-)
Did Aizen Die After Getting Attacked by Yhwach?
Aizen becomes one of the most unexpected players in the final battle against Yhwach. Despite being imprisoned in Muken, he is eventually released by Shunsui to help stop the Quincy Emperor. However, Yhwach quickly proves that Aizen is no match for his overwhelming power.
After suffering several devastating attacks, Aizen gets engulfed by Yhwach’s mysterious darkness. This leaves fans wondering whether the arguably strongest character in Bleach finally meets his end. However, Aizen’s fate is not quite as straightforward.
Yhwach Overpowers Aizen in the Final Battle
When Yhwach returns to Soul Society, Aizen is freed from his restraints and immediately makes his intentions clear. He has no interest in serving the Quincy Emperor. Instead, Aizen wants to stop anyone who attempts to control him. This also makes Yhwach confused, as he reminds Aizen that he was trying to protect the same Soul Society and Soul Reapers who captured him. He tells Aizen that their goals resonate, so they should not go against one another. Yet, Aizen just rebuffs the Quincy King.
Aizen uses Kyoka Suigetsu to interfere with Yhwach’s perception and even disguises himself as Renji and Ichigo. His illusions become an important part of the strategy against The Almighty, but Yhwach eventually manages to overpower him. Yhwach cuts Aizen’s left arm and sends him flying with a powerful attack. Aizen later appears behind him disguised as Ichigo, but Yhwach sees through that. Yhwach later impales Aizen with his hand before getting ready to destroy Soul Society, the human world and Hueco Mundo. Things become even worse when Yhwach’s body turns into a mass of darkness.
Despite how brutal the attack looks, Aizen does not die.
Aizen’s Hōgyoku Fusion Makes Him Nearly Impossible to Kill
The biggest reason Aizen survives is his fusion with the Hōgyoku. After undergoing his transformations, Aizen evolves into something more than just a Soul Reaper and gains a form of immortality. His previous battle with Ichigo already demonstrated that. Aizen survived being vertically bisected by Ichigo’s Mugetsu and quickly regenerated from the devastating injury.
Urahara also understood how difficult Aizen would be to kill after his fusion with the Hōgyoku. Hence, instead of trying to kill him, Urahara’s plan involved secretly placing a sealing Kido inside Aizen while he was vulnerable. The Central 46 later sentenced Aizen to 20,000 years in Muken rather than executing him. His immortality was one of the reasons he was considered unsuitable for execution.
Even Yhwach was aware of Aizen’s unusual condition and acknowledged that killing him would be a difficult and time-consuming task when they met for the first time. Thus, at the time, Yhwach left Aizen alone.
Yhwach’s Attack Isn’t Enough to Finish Aizen
No, Aizen survives Yhwach’s attack. Although Yhwach severely injures him and the darkness completely engulfs him, Aizen’s incredible resilience allows him to survive.
The attack therefore does not kill Aizen. Aizen can be defeated, but actually killing him is not really possible.
Aizen Is Imprisoned Again After the War
Aizen’s survival is ultimately confirmed after Ichigo defeats Yhwach. Rather than dying during the final battle, Aizen is imprisoned in Muken once again and bound to another chair.
Ten years later, Aizen remains alive. He senses that the final remnants of Yhwach’s Reiatsu have disappeared and reflects on the Quincy Emperor’s final words about death and fear.
Watch Bleach TYBW Part 4 on Netflix. What are your thoughts on the episode? Let us know in the comments below!
