What Is Ichigo’s Quincy Form? When Does He Become & Use Quincy Powers for the First Time?

One of the biggest revelations in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War was the fact that Ichigo was not only a human being with the powers of a Shinigami, but he was also a Quincy. That means that he has Quincy powers that are similar to the powers that the other Quincys have, as this was something that was revealed to be from his mother’s side. So, what is Ichigo’s Quincy form, and when was he able to use his Quincy powers the first time?

The Bankai form that Ichigo manifested before the events of Thousand-Year Blood War was always his Quincy form, as the Zangetsu he has in his inner world was actually the manifestation of his Quincy powers. However, he first used Quincy powers in the first battle against Yhwach.

Yes, the fact that Ichigo was always a Quincy was something that was quite surprising, considering that he was always regarded as a Shinigami before the events of the Thousand-Year Blood War. This fact changes everything, but it also allowed Ichigo to find the true power hidden under his Quincy form. Now, let’s talk more about Ichigo’s Quincy form.

What Is Ichigo’s Quincy Form?

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War introduced a new wrinkle to the beloved Bleach manga and anime series that has always been popular all over the world. Of course, this final arc in the Bleach storyline introduced the most fearsome enemies of the Shinigami, as the Quincys returned to the height of their power and invaded Sereitei in an attempt to destroy Soul Society once and for all.

The one leading the attack was the Quincy King Yhwach, who was the father of all of the Quincy and was the most powerful of them all. However, he has now reached an entirely different level of power that allowed him to strengthen his Sternritter. He even defeated Yamamoto, who was the most powerful Shinigami in Sereitei. That was when Ichigo came in and tried to defeat him after learning what he had done to Soul Society and the people that he became friends with through his run as a substitute Shinigami.

After a valiant effort against Yhwach, Ichigo was quickly overpowered and was about to be taken to Wandenreich together with the other Quincy that attacked Sereitei. However, Yhwach was surprised to see that his sword didn’t penetrate Ichigo’s flesh as it was clear that he was now able to use Blut Vene, which is a Quincy power that allows him to improve his offensive and defensive capabilities. That was when Yhwach revealed that he had Quincy blood all along. So, if that’s the case, what is Ichigo’s Quincy form?

The truth is that the Quincy form is not something that is manifested but is inherent in a Quincy. Ichigo, being a Quincy, had the natural capabilities of a Quincy but was never able to truly manifest his powers before the events of the Thousand-Year Blood War. But the big twist is that the Zanpakutō that he had been using the entire time was not a real one but was a manifestation of his Quincy powers, which created a Zanpakutō using his Hollow and Shinigami powers. As such, the Zangetsu he was wielding was not the real one at all.

Instead, the Zangetsu that Ichigo had was a manifestation of his Quincy powers, as that was confirmed by the Zangetsu that was hiding in his inner world. The Zangetsu that Ichigo had been speaking with the entire time before the events of the Thousand-Year Blood War was a fake version of his true Zanpakutō and was merely created by his Quincy powers. That explains why the fake Zangetsu looked like Yhwach, who was the father of all of the Quincys and is the one from which all Quincy powers come.

The fake Zangetsu revealed that he had been repressing Ichigo’s true Shinigami powers because he never wanted him to be a Shinigami. As such, it is possible that Ichigo’s original Bankai form was actually a manifestation of his Quincy powers as well, even though it is generated from a combination of his Hollow and Shinigami sides. 

It was also revealed that Ichigo’s true Zanpakutō was actually the white Hollow version of himself within his inner world. The fake Zangetsu told Ichigo that this was the reason why, whenever Ichigo needed power, it was always his Hollow side that came to his aid to help him. That’s because this was always his true power. As such, after the Quincy Zangetsu relinquished his hold over him, Ichigo was now able to truly make use of his actual Zanpakutō.

When Does Ichigo Become A Quincy?

As revealed by Yhwach, not even Ichigo knew about his true past and the identity of his mother. He was always a Quincy from the very start but had never used his Quincy powers to full effect until the events of the Thousand-Year Blood War. As such, he was born with the blood of the Quincy due to the fact that his mother was a Quincy.

In fact, unlike Uryū Ishida, Ichigo’s mother, Masaki Kurosaki, was an Echt Quincy. That means that she was a full-blooded Quincy whose ancestry goes all the way back to Yhwach, who is the father of all of the Quincys. That is why Ichigo is so powerful, as his mother’s Quincy blood was actually very strong, considering its purity.

When Does Ichigo Use His Quincy Powers For The First Time?

Yhwach also revealed that he should never have sent Quilge Opie to fight Ichigo because that was when his inner Quincy powers were awakened. He never intended for Ichigo to awaken his Quincy side early. Of course, we saw Ichigo’s Quincy powers manifesting when he was able to use Blut Vene, which allowed him to survive the stab from Yhwach’s sword.

What happened was that Ichigo fought Quilge Opie, whose spiritual powers as a Quincy created a reaction within Ichigo’s body to make it remember that he had the innate abilities of a Quincy. But this was not something that happened all of a sudden during his fight with Quilge.

After seemingly defeating Quilge when Urahara disabled him with an attack, Ichigo proceeded to head to Soul Society using the Garganta that Urahara created for him. However, before he could exit the Garganta and reach Soul Society, Ichigo was imprisoned by Quilge within the void, as he revealed that he was still alive.

Ichigo, of course, couldn’t escape the prison that Quilge created because he was always meant to be able to have the power to trap non-Quincys with this jail made out of energy. Even when he was attacking the jail with all of his power, Ichigo struggled to damage it as it was clear that his Shinigami powers were not powerful enough to break through it.

However, as Yhwach explained, the fact that Ichigo kept on attacking the jail made out of Quincy reiatsu allowed the energy from the jail to rebound to his body and force it to absorb its energy. That was when his body reacted to it and awakened the dormant Quincy powers that were hiding in Ichigo’s body.

As such, the jail allowed Ichigo to escape because it was never meant to hold a Quincy. That was when it was clear that Ichigo had now manifested his Quincy powers and was now an awakened Quincy.