The Quincy society plays a very important role in the story of Bleach, especially in the anime arc that is being released this year. Bleach fans already know about Uryu Ishida, the last surviving Quincy who is an integral part of Ichigo’s squad. However, the Quincy society holds many more members than just him and they are revealed in the new thousand war blood war arc. So, for the uninitiated, here’s everything you need to know about them.
The Japanese word “Kuinshi” actually means “Monks of destruction”, which is quite a fitting name for these warriors. Even their attire was designed to be similar to a priest’s garb. Now, although they consider Hollows to be their enemy, they do not really see eye to eye with the soul society.
Are the Quincy human?
The Quincy are spiritually aware human warriors who fight and kill Hollows. They absorb and manipulate Reishi in the air to make spiritual weapons like a bow and arrows. The only limitation to how many arrows a Quincy can produce is their own stamina.
Quincy vs Shinigami
The Soul reapers have always been very cautious of the Quincy clan as they think the Quincy will be the reason for the collapse of the world. Quincys kill Hollows and it’s safe to say that they are very good at their job. So much so that the equilibrium between worlds became unstable. The Shinigami know that the balance between the realms is very delicate.
There should be equal parts living souls, departed spirits, and Hollows. However, the Quincy were killing all the Hollows which could be a huge problem. This could make the weight of the human world too heavy with only living souls and Seireitei could tip over. This would then break the divide between life and death.
Where did the Quincy come from?
Now, over a thousand years ago, the Shinigami launched their assault on the Quincy clan. As far as anyone knows the Quincy were eliminated except for Uryu Ishida’s family. However, a small group survived the assault and hid in a place that would not be guarded, the Seireitei.
They used their powers of Reishi manipulation to hide and formed the Wandenreich or “The Invisible Empire”. The Quincy slowly built up their strength and prepared to launch a full-out war on the Soul reapers. They were just waiting for the right moment to strike and Aizen came along with just the right opportunity.
The Wandenreich quickly and quietly conquered Hueco Mundo while Soul society was distracted fighting amongst themselves. They abducted Tier Haribel and formed an army of Arrancar. Thus began the “Thousand-year Blood war”.
