Bleach 541 – The Blade and Me 2

I'm not Zangetsu, or Bringetsu, I'm Juhagetsu...                            and your Hollow is actually Zangetsu...

First up, this chapter continues to play off the precedent set at the end of last chapter. Zangetsu is not Zangetsu, he is in fact… Juhabach from 1000 years ago, and is somehow the manifestation of Ichigo’s latent Quincy powers. Ichigo begins to see the links between things he previously dismissed, as well as how conclusive facts begin to stack themselves neatly. Meanwhile, having been exposed as an impostor, Juhagetsu is subjected to an onslaught of questions concerning his motives, and asked to explain everything. Rightly so, considering his identity has been revealed as that of the villain who overran Soul Society, and more importantly, the man behind Masaki’s death.

Congratulations, Captain Obvious

Ichigo must be suffering mixed feelings, especially since Juhabach, the person he's supposed to absolutely hate for all the crimes he committed, is the person who is a part of him, and taught him to use his powers. Shock is prevalent, with Ichigo coming to terms with this profound revelation which threatens to undermine him. In a style reminiscent of a tragic hero, he demands Juhagetsu to answer him, not wanting to believe everything so far has been a deception, which really shows how deeply he cares for Juhagetsu. While Juhagetsu admits to not being his ally, he claims he isn't an enemy either, and has only ever sought to offer Ichigo his ancient wisdom, and fortitude. Looking in hindsight, Juhagetsu didn't really take any active role in nurturing Ichigo’s powers, mostly utilizing the Hollow to take Ichigo past his limit. The Hollow’s sense of self-preservation is what's been saving Ichigo on the most dangerous of occasions, something which has been apparent all along, rather than by Juhagetsu’s grace.

'Ichigo, let me give you this mighty sword. It might help you kill the evil, future me'

We gain further insight towards Juhagetsu’s agenda, with a confession to his attempt in suppressing Ichigo in every way possible, which may seem really underhanded at first. However, it was all in order to protect Ichigo from the pains, and sufferings of being a Shinigami, and Juhagetsu truly believed Ichigo would not live if his Shinigami powers came to fruition, since Juhabach’s intense hatred of Shinigamis would've lead to him destroying Ichigo in a destined battle. This shows the depths, and various facets of Juhagetsu’s personality. He is a devout Quincy who hates the Shinigami, but merely desires to protect Ichigo, and is still a human, who's many wishes seem to conflict with each other. Over the duration of Bleach, he has come to resemble a paternal figure for Ichigo, though Isshin is still the cool dad.

So, you're trying to tell me you aren't Zangetsu,
and that you've been pretending to be him all this time??!!!

Juhagetsu finally disappears before telling Ichigo everything, leaving many questions unanswered, and open for debate. In his place, he does leave behind the true Zangetsu, which is wrapped around the Reishi of Ichigo’s Quincy powers. This makes for an incredibly interesting development, and I can’t help but wonder what the extent of the true Zangetsu is, and whether Ichigo will be able to incorporate all of his unique powers into it. A new ability should also be in store, and with his limitations lifted, Ichigo might just become as powerful as he was after his Dangai training, or reach the level of Yamamoto, something no Shinigami has been able to achieve since the advent of Soul Society. With the plot beginning to thicken in Bleach, I can’t help but fear the next chapter will drag our focus to another concurrent event in the series (i.e. Kenpachi’s Zanpakuto’s True Name, Komamura’s fight to obtain his bloodline secrets, Uryu’s defection to the Vandenreich). Anyhow, I look forwards to the next Bleach. That’s it for this weeks review!

Time to draw Excali-, I mean, the TRUE Zangetsu