Bleach: What Is Uryū Ishida’s Schrift, “A”?

Uryū Ishida is a character from Bleach that we have not written a lot about, even though he is actually one of the main characters in the series, but due to his increased role in the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc, we are going to be writing about him much more from now on. In the first episode of this cour, Ishida finally completed his transition and joined the Sternritter, just as Yhwach desired. After being named as his successor, Ishida was given Yhwach’s blood so that he could activate his true Quincy power; with that, he was also given a Schrift (Letter), and Yhwach gave him the letter “A,” the same one he is holding. What does Ishida’s Schrift mean? Keep reading to find out.

The Schrift is a signification of a Sternritter’s ability, and in the case of Uryu Ishida, the “A” means Antithesis, a very special power that was also quite powerful. Antithesis allowed Ishida to pick any two targets and then completely change what happened to them, i.e., he could transfer any injuries from one target to the other with the same intensity. This power is first shown during his fight against Jugram Haschwalth near the end of the story.

As you might have guessed, the rest of this article will be dedicated to Uryu Ishida and his powers and abilities. And we are going to talk about these powers and abilities in general. We will focus on his Schrift, Antithesis, which was an enormously powerful ability, even by Sternritter standards. This article will contain many major spoilers, so be careful if you haven’t actually read the Bleach manga, as this article will reveal a lot.

Ishida’s Antithesis made him the Sternritter “A,” and he was undoubtedly one of the most powerful ones among them

Uryu Ishida is one of Bleach‘s protagonists. He started off as a rival of Ichigo’s, but later, out of loyalty to his friends, he became an ally and traveled with them to Soul Society (to save Rukia), and even Hueco Mundo (to save Orihime). He participated in all major battles and was an important ally throughout the series.

But, when Yhwach launched his invasion of Soul Society, Ishida, as a Quincy, started to explore the hidden history of his group and uncovered some major truths about Yhwach. Without actually telling anyone, he met up with Jugram Haschwalth, Yhwach’s second-in-command, and joined the Quincy army in a move that shocked everyone, especially because it was not foreseeable.

Sure, Ishida valued Quincy pride, but he’d gotten so close to Ichigo and the others that no one thought that Ishida would simply abandon all of it to join a brutal murderer and tyrant like Yhwach. But he did. And while he did not participate in any battles directly, he was by Yhwach’s side, and he was even named as his successor to the shock of most of the other Sternritter.

After that, he drank Yhwach’s blood and awakened his true power, being given the Schrift “A” – Antithesis. And while there are several interesting points to this, in this article, we are going to tell you about his power in particular.

Antithesis was a truly special power, even by Sternritter standards. As we’ve said, Ishida received his Schrift from Yhwach not long after he joined the Sternritter and activated his Antithesis by drinking Yhwach’s blood. With this power, he can reverse events that have already happened between two points. In the fight against Haschwalth, he seriously injured him by simply swapping his wounds with Haschwalth’s. According to Haschwalth, “Antithesis” is the only power that could resist and even counter Yhwachs’ ability “The Almighty,” which made Ishida so special.

Now, why did Yhwach trust Ishida with such an amazing power is a point of debate, but he did, and with all of Ishida’s other powers and abilities, he made Ishida a powerful ally but an even more powerful foe. We don’t really have much to say here apart from this, which is why we will just tell you a bit about Ishida’s other powers, so you can get an idea of how powerful he was as a Quincy.

Uryū has a similarly flexible development over the course of the story as Ichigo, which is why his abilities often change over time. He is one of the strongest main characters and can put most opponents under pressure. Uryū is primarily an archer, but he also has other fighting techniques up his sleeve.

As we’ve said, he is a talented archer, which was already evident in the first saga. He could defeat a weaker Hollow with just one shot, and he’s also mastered the Sanrei Gauntlet and Ginrei Kojaku over time. Even when he was only wearing the Quincy bracelet, he could take on the Bount Jin Kariya. Now he can also take on Captains and weaker Espada. Currently, he can shoot 1200 arrows per second.

The Gintō are among Uryū’s best weapons, and he knows how to use them very well. He uses them both offensively and defensively and even used them when he was still losing his Quincy powers. His Ginto techniques are similar to the Shinigami’s Kido, and he often combines the Ginto with his Seele Schneider to create very powerful explosions.

After the time skips, he developed impressive martial arts skills and was able to take down an entire gang of thugs single-handedly. Similar to an archer, he fights with precise punches. With the Seele Schneider, the only bladed weapon of the Quincy, he can also compete as a swordsman and has very good techniques with it. He fought with Seele Schneider against Cirucci Sanderwicci, who had to counter heavy attacks, or against Senbonzakura, where Uryū used successful blocks.

The Quincy also made stab attacks with high jumps in the fight against the Togabito Taikon. Since he fights with Seele Schneider, it’s easier to absorb the opponent’s Reishi afterward.

His Reiatsu is very high, as seen in his fight against Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He himself is very good at tracking down and analyzing Reiatsu. His own Reiatsu can be used on his arrows in case he cannot absorb Reishi. His bows are also from his Reiatsu. Even after losing his Quincy powers, he could still see ghosts but had too little Reiatsu to fight properly. But he got his powers back from his father.

As Quincy, he can harness reishi from the environment or even from his opponents. In his form Quincy: Letzt Stil, he could absorb entire structures in Soul Society, e.g., roof tiles, and thus shoot powerful arrows. Most arrows are made from absorbed Reishi; in places with a lot of Reishi, like Hueco Mundo or Soul Society, Uryū is particularly good at absorbing Reishi. He can transform spiritual energy not only into arrows but also into swords (Seele Schneider) or into liquids (Gintō). He also uses the Reishi he absorbs from his opponents against them, and the power of his attacks then increases enormously.

His Hirenkyaku is extremely fast, and he can even rival Ichigo’s Bankai when it comes to speed. Ulquiorra Cifer also found his speed impressive. In addition, Uryū can levitate with his Hirenkyaku and easily move around in a Garganta. Despite his physical weakness, he can last for a long time in fights and rarely breaks down.

On top of that, Uryū is one of the best tacticians and never fights haphazardly or would defeat an opponent with the same tactics. He can analyze his opponents and set traps or other maneuvers against them.