Yhwach's Auswahlen is a double-edged sword in Bleach

In Bleach, Yhwach’s Auswahlen is a game-changing yet highly controversial ability. Introduced during the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc, Auswahlen is a holy selection that allows Yhwach to absorb the powers of every Quincy he deems unworthy. Through this, his powers significantly increase, and he is able to reassign the energy to other Quincies to give them power boosts.

Yhwach uses this skill three times in the series, and it serves as a major demonstration of his dominance. That isn’t all, each Auswahlen has gone on to influence countless characters and helped push forward the narrative.

At the same time, the Auswahlen is also a double-edged sword. In contrast to its deep impact on character motivations, it also undermines Yhwach’s war effort. By the end, rather than being an exciting moment where the main antagonist becomes more formidable, it becomes akin to plot armor, concluding several character arcs, rather disappointingly.

To properly understand why the Auswahlen ignites mixed reactions from fans, it is important to track the periods when it was used. Before the main Bleach storyline began, when Ichigo was only 9 years old, Yhwach had used the Auswahlen for the first time to revive himself and gain the power of every Quincy judged as “impure”.

This ceremony killed Kanae Katagiri, Ishida’s mother, and stripped Masaki Kurosaki of her powers. Consequently, Ichigo’s mother was left defenseless while fighting Grand Fisher and was killed trying to protect him. The deaths of their parents were a major motivation for both the protagonist and the deuteragonist.

The passing of his mother made Ichigo mature, and when he discovered Yhwach’s role in killing her, the emotion and intensity of their final battle were significantly heightened. Ishida, on the other hand, was more directly impacted. As a Quincy who had lost his mother to the Quincy King, Ishida infiltrated Yhwach’s ranks intending to betray him when the opportunity presented itself.

Yhwach’s second Auswahlen came against his own soldiers, as he stripped the energy off the Sternritters in the Seireitei to revive his Schutzstaffel. This allowed the elite Quincies to fight and beat Squad Zero and make their way to the Soul King. At the same time, being struck by the Auswahlen earned the ire of Sternritters such as Bazz-B and Giselle, who were left behind.

This pushed them to ally with the Soul Reapers and fight Yhwach. Due to this, there is little doubt that the Auswahlen pushed the narrative forward in Bleach’s Thousand-Year Blood War Arc while making Yhwach into a tyrannical king who would sell out his army for greater power.

The stakes presented by the Auswahlen and the excitement surrounding every scene where Yhwach uses it make it a highlight of the series. Unfortunately, by the end, many believe this power had overstayed its welcome and was used as a forced tool to hasten the story to an end instead of actually enhancing it.

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Why Bleach fans are disappointed by the Auswahlen

We have already seen how crucial the Auswahlen is in Bleach. It has set the foundations for countless important dynamics and built up unparalleled tension. At the same time, it has also contributed to one of the most underwhelming endings in shonen manga.

During the final struggle between the Soul Reapers and the Quincies, the main cast was left with no answers against Gerard Valkyrie and Jugram Haschwalth. While Gerard’s "The Miracle" made him effectively immortal against captains like Zaraki, Toshiro, and Byakuya, Ishida was also getting beaten by Jugram’s "The Balance".

Right when victory seemed impossible for the heroes, the antagonists were struck down by the Auswahlen. Gerard was instantly killed, while Jugram lay at death's door due to losing his powers. This occurred since the Quincy King had reabsorbed their powers and set out to destroy the world.

Most fans agree that this was a very unsatisfying choice that was made solely to kill off Gerard and Jugram, who were too overpowered for their own good. Their abilities had no loopholes to exploit, and they were easily dominating their opponents. As a result, Kubo made it so that Yhwach was consumed by his greed and killed his two most loyal soldiers for no good reason.

The Quincy King’s third Auswahlen in Bleach would have made more sense if he had been stuck in a difficult battle, but it annoyed readers more since he activated it after brutally beating down Ichigo. This made it apparent to most that Kubo had been forced to make this choice due to his declining health and the pressure to end Bleach quickly.

It did not help that even following his power-up, Yhwach was beaten immediately after by Ichigo, Uryu, and Aizen. Therefore, the Auswahlen became the primary narrative tool Kubo used to justify the rushed ending of the manga.

Hence, what was once a sacred ritual that symbolized the Quincy King’s terrifying power soon became the cause of his undoing. Regretfully, due to its execution, rather than seeming poetic, it just seemed like plot armor that did not carry the weight of the previous Auswahlens.

Nevertheless, considering that Kubo is working with Studio Pierrot to correct several parts of his manga, everyone is hoping for him to flesh out the Bleach finale further and preserve the Auswahlen's value.