Ryuken Ishida: THE FINAL PURE QUINCY | BLEACH: Character Analysis

Ryuken Ishida is the last & final pure blooded quincy within BLEACH, that is until the TYBW arc and the return of Yhwach and his quincy empire. In this video I breakdown and analyse the mystery surrounding Ryuken, including his disdain for his Quincy heritage, his dysfunctional relationship with his son Uryu, and his friendship with Isshin. Through Isshin and Ryuken's friendship we learn a lot about his past, via the events of everything but the rain, I will also be going over this amazing BLEACH flashback arc so that we can understand his character better.


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[jrgenvellesen]

I really like the contrast of Ryuken being such a cold and cynical individual, while being a doctor. I get the feeling that he thought his Quincy heritage brought him nothing but misfortune, so he turned his back on it and instead dedicated his life to saving the living. I do hope his role is expanded upon in the TYBW.

[MrGksarathy]

One thing strikes me about Ryuken, and it's why Ywach completely overlooked him despite knowing he killed the former's wife. At first it felt a bit odd, but then I realized that Ywach literally cannot comprehend a Quincy hating him for stealing a loved one's life via the Aüschwälen. To Ywach, it is the greatest honor for any Quincy to give back power to him at the cost of their life, so any Quincy planning a long revenge is foreign to him, and that was his downfall.

[manuelacosta]

It's great that in the end, despite the turbulent and aloof relationship Ryuken and Uryu shared, it has started to heal and now Ryuken has his son covered financially for his education with Ichigo. His not objecting to his son's friendship with an ally of 'enemies' so signifies the new era of relations between Shinigami and Quincy in the postwar period. In the end you can't blame Ryuken for his quirks given the many tragedies he endured. Him saving lives as a doctor is a bonus.

[nobilisvaga]

I think the reason he keeps all his quincy crosses around has to do heavily with something he said early on. Don't worry about the dead that's a shinigamis job, instead work to protect the living. After all if you pay attention you never see a hollow attack at the hospital.

[Dogflamingo]

I find it interesting how both Ryuken and Isshin practically no longer use their respective powers, but instead focus on helping the living (with Karakura Hospital and Kurosaki Clinic, respectively)

[ikariasakura]

"You're an amateur who got slashed by the enemy and almost died. Don't you dare go telling the doctor what he can or cannot do."
Daaaamn...spittin hard facts with intensive care after a surgery.

[skyrogue]

There’s a line in ep 122 of the dub when Ryuken is training Uryu, telling him to carry out the plan.
Though there is no such line mentioned in the sub or manga.
It would be amazing if said plan referred to working to bring about Yhwach’s downfall.

[RunicRasol]

Profit doesn't always mean money. It simply means having SOMETHING to gain from the exchange. And given what happened with both Misaki, AND Kanae Katagiri, I can see how he might view being a loyal quincy as a bad deal.
As he said: "I chose my words carefully" and "There's no profit in it". These 2 lines likely mean more than what was implied in the video.

[caseyteague]

I always thought Ryuken hated the Quincy because their existence ultimately caused Misaki to die since he initially loved and cared for her before she met Isshin. But then again maybe his disdain for them furthered increased when Katagiri also died because of the Quincy. To him the Quincy took almost, if not everything, he ever loved and cared about all for Juha Bach's revival.

[onemanarmy]

Definitely one of the strongest, coldest and most impacting characters in Bleach. Really hyped to see what you did with this character!

[rbq]

If you notice, when uryu got to heco mundo he he no longer claims he's the last quienci, instead saying 'tell aizen to be afraid of quiencies'. I think it foreshadows the tybw.

[spectralfox]

That moment Uryu is about to get pwned by that menos and Rykuen's stfu arrow cuts it's tongue off from a far.. I still remember the song playing as if it was yesterday.. such an impactful entrance.

[bryanfeliciano]

I think bleach coming back may create a lot of interest in these characters. It may give them spinoff manga or maybe even filler arcs or spinoff anime. In this case then having some wasted potential may be a good thing

[JavierPwns]

Isshin and Ryuken vs Ywach would’ve been epic

[emilio]

I hope we see more of soken Ishida and since Kubo is closely involved in the anime I'm sure there's a lot of plot points that will be expanded upon, your videos are a great help to remember this amazing series and great for waiting the rebirth of bleach! Greetings from México!

[guythat]

I just realized that uryu using his technicalities never involved himself with shinigami as he promised

[MrFraiche]

Kubo should have given Isshin and Ryuken one fight TOGETHER against a Quincy, like a Naruto/Sasuke moment. That would have been amazing.

[lucesandlue]

I'm really looking forward in the anime series regarding Ryuken's involvement and somehow a closure between them and Uryu regarding their family fiasco.

[poelogan]

I love the theme Ishida has of turning warriors into healers and mentors after they retire through the main duo's fathers. Archetypal in some way I cant explain.

[bleachfan.]

Awesome character analysis as always. Keep it coming.