The Quincy legends posit that the king will take 999 years to return to power, but what does that mean?
Highlights
- The Kaiser Gesang is an important element in understanding the strength of the Quincies and speaks of the return of the King of the Quincies after a 999-year dormancy.
- The Kaiser Gesang serves as a prophecy, accurately predicting the events that have led to the overwhelming strength of the Quincies during the Thousand-Year Blood War.
- The “sealing away” mentioned in the Kaiser Gesang likely refers to the actions undertaken by Royal Guard leader Ichibē Hyōsube, who sealed away the name and power of Yhwach with his sovereignty over names.
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The following contains spoilers for BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, available for streaming on Hulu and Disney+, as well as the Can’t Fear Your Own World novels by Ryohgo Narita.
One of the main narrative devices when it comes to the war between the Shinigami and the Quincies is a piece of lore first revealed during the first cours of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War arc. As we had already known, the two factions went to war long before the events of the series; a fact that left Uryū Ishida with the belief that he was the last Quincy alive. During the first cours, Uryū delved into a section of history that had been hidden away from him, history in the form of a diary kept by his master and grandfather, Sōken Ishida.
Therein, a song or poem passed down through time etched itself into Uryū’s memory, and has been repeated a number of times throughout the Thousand-Year Blood War arc: the Kaiser Gesang. What is it, and why is it such an important element in understanding the current strength of the Quincies?
Offering
Kaiser Gesang Auswahlen – BLEACH Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 12
“The confined Quincy King…
Regains his pulse after 900 years.
His mind after 90 years.
His strength after 9 years.
And the world… in 9 days.”
The Kaiser Gesang (“King’s Hymn”) is an element of Quincy legend that speaks of the return of the King of the Quincies after a 999-year dormancy. Given our understanding that the previous war against the Shinigami was waged 1000 years ago, in which the Quincies were thoroughly defeated, and their leader supposedly killed by Genryūsai Yamamoto Shigekuni himself, the Kaiser Gesang is hence a prophetic verse speaking of the return of Yhwach. During the first episode of the second cours of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, “The Last 9 Days”, Yhwach asks his new recruit Uryū if he knows the Kaiser Gesang, at which Uryū recites the poem, leaving out the damning final line. One of the first times we hear of the Kaiser Gesang is during Episode 12, “Everything But the Rain ‘June Truth'”, during the second half of Ichigo’s father, Isshin’s explanation of the circumstances of Ichigo’s birth and the death of his mother, Masaki Kurosaki on June 17, 9 years prior.
Isshin explains that Masaki’s death was caused by the loss of her powers through the Quincy selection process conducted by Yhwach known as the Auswählen, an incident in which Yhwach forcefully absorbed the powers of Quincies he deemed impure, leaving Uryū Ishida as the sole survivor of the selection. In the case of Masaki, who was an “Echt” Quincy, the Auswählen stripped her of her powers during the encounter with the notorious Hollow, Grand Fisher, leading to her demise. In the Kaiser Gesang, the line pertaining to the return of the king’s strength is in reference to the Auswählen, and during the second cours of BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, we see a small-scale version of the mechanic at play when Yhwach absorbs the powers of his fallen soldiers.
Prophecy
Yhwach Haschwalth and Uryu Ishida – BLEACH Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2 Episode 1
The Kaiser Gesang has immense significance when it comes to the events that take place during this arc, having served as prophetic insight into the return of the Quincies and Yhwach himself. Given its accurate prediction of the events that have led to this point, the final line which reads “And in the last 9 days… the world” is a chilling addition as it foresees Yhwach’s victory. The overwhelming strength of the Quincies and their mostly one-sided decimation of the Shinigami during the Thousand-Year Blood War, including the death of Genryūsai in combat give even more credence to the prediction that the King of the Quincies will “reclaim the world”. During the 1000 years since their defeat, the Quincies retreated into the shadows of the Seireitei, slowly amassing their strength in a realm they call the Wandenreich – the Walled Empire.
While the “sealing away” could be interpreted as Yhwach’s apparent demise in the last war, it very likely refers to the actions undertaken by Royal Guard leader Ichibē Hyōsube, who used his sovereignty over names to seal away the very name of Yhwach, and thus, significantly undercut his power. The entity that Ichigo once knew as “Old Man Zangetsu” bore a significant likeness to Yhwach due to the fact that he was the manifestation of Ichigo’s Quincy powers, not his Shinigami powers. Upon introduction all the way back in the Agent of the Shinigami arc, “Old Man Zangetsu” attempts to tell Ichigo his name, but he cannot hear it. In the manga, this scene features a notable censor bar over the speech bubble, which has branches reminiscent of binding (or the cracks in glass), which was a direct reference to Hyōsube’s attempt to seal away Yhwach. Perhaps the Kaiser Gesang’s reference to “the sealed King of the Quincies” instead of his name is another consequence of the sealing away of the name.
Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime
