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In the Bleach Thousand Year Blood-War arc, Sousuke Aizen was considered one of the war potentials by the King of the Quincy, Yhwach himself, because of his immense reiatsu. As a character, Aizen has always fascinated the anime community.
The first part of Bleach TYBW saw Aizen being introduced for the first time in Muken, where Yhwach had approached him to join his Quincy forces. However, Aizen politely refused his offer, simply because he didn't want to be anyone's henchman. Since then, fans haven't caught a single glimpse of the Shinigami while the battle outside raged on.
Considering the fact that Sousuke Aizen is one of the most popular characters in Bleach, fans are wondering whether the king of reiatsu will make a comeback in the upcoming episode of Bleach Thousand Year Blood-War.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from Bleach TYBW arc.
Sousuke Aizen appears briefly in Bleach Thousand Year Blood-War episode 21 in an original scene
Sousuke Aizen does appear in Bleach Thousand Year Blood-War episode 21, which was released on Saturday, August 26, 2023, at 11 pm JST. However, Aizen only appears for a few seconds with no dialogue involved.
The episode titled The Headless Star of Bleach Thousand Year Blood-War sees a brand new scene featuring the new captain commander, Shunsui Kyoraku, where fans also catch a glimpse of Aizen just after Shunsui's dialogue.
However, Aizen does not have any dialogue in the episode because he is still inside the Muken with his eyes and mouth are sealed. However, showing him during Shunsui's speech has important implications, as discussed below.
It was previously implied that Shunsui wanted to take drastic measures to have an upper hand against the Quincies, one of which was making Aizen Sosuke an ally. To proceed with his plan, Shunsui intended to visit Muken and unseal some of the restrictions imposed on Aizen.
Exploring why Aizen would become a key figure in Bleach Thousand Year Blood-War
Fans already know that Yhwach saw Aizen Sousuke as a threat to his plans, and as a result, he wanted to have him on his side. Aizen, with his immense spiritual pressure, was deemed one of the five war potentials by the King of the Quincy, Yhwach himself.
Even though Sousuke Aizen was sentenced to 20,000 years in Muken with multiple restrictions following his defeat against Ichigo Kurosaki, the Shinigami's powers didn't weaken. Instead, he became even more powerful than before.
As a result, in Bleach Thousand Year Blood-War, Shunsui felt that having Aizen as an ally on the battlefield would have served in the best interest of the Soul Society. The new Captain Commander determined that Aizen Sousuke's powers were necessary to combat the forces of Yhwach, even if it went against the opinions of the majority.
Shunsui knew that it was impossible to protect the world with pride alone. So he went to the deepest part of the Central 46 jail known as Muken to meet the very same Aizen who betrayed the Soul Society and released his three bindings. The Captain Commander wanted to use evil to defeat evil.
Now, this doesn't mean that Shunsui Kyoraku 'trusted' Aizen, otherwise, he would have released all the seals imposed on him. However, the Commander of the Gotei 13 knew that the interests of both the Soul Society and Aizen aligned.
The Soul Society wanted to protect the three realms from Yhwach, and on the other side of the spectrum, Aizen refused to be controlled by a godly being. In other words, their interests aligned, and it gave Shunsui an impetus to use Aizen's powers against the Quincies.
It's expected that the upcoming episodes of Bleach Thousand Year Blood-War would tease Shunsui's plans even more. Moreover, fans finally got to see Aizen in episode 21, even though it was only for a few seconds.
Keep up with more anime news and manga updates as 2023 progresses. Find the complete list of Bleach filler episodes to skip here.
