Quincy

Quincy

The Quincy (滅却師 kuinshī) are a fictional sect in the animated and manga series Bleach. The Quincy are a race that are originally a mixture of survivors of the hollow attacks and those who’d lost their dear ones to hollows. Because of the emotions that they held towards the Hollows who nearly robbed them or had already robbed them of their loved ones, they developed a variety of supernatural powers that allowed them to hunt and kill the hollows before they attacked humans (or to destroy them if they were late) The Quincy became nearly extinct due to the examinations done by the Shinigami 200 years prior to the Bleach storyline.

Amongst the main traits that sets the Quincy apart from the Shinigami is that they actually kill hollows instead of cleansing their spirits. The Quincy were slowly disrupting the balance of souls between the two worlds, and would have destroyed both worlds. This difference was led to the Quincy-Shinigami war. The victors of the war were the Shinigami and the Quincy line was closely monitored over the decades.

Later Quincies advocated the idea that since they were more numerous and already among the living, that they could act as the ‘first responders’ to the hollow attacks, since the Shinigami were less in number and could not respond to all the Hollow attacks prioritizing the more dangerous and current hollow attacks. The Quincies would be the first ones to attack while the Shinigami would send a representative to finish the Hollow off. But this was not accepted among the Shinigami who still decided to follow old procedures.

Mayuri Kurotsutchi, the Captain of the 12^th Division preformed experiments, (some of them cruel) on 2,661 Quincies.

Another difference between the Shinigami and the Quincy is that the Shinigami are dressed in black traditional clothing while the Quincy wear futuristic white uniforms. Another peculiar reoccurring motif is the cross that seems to appear on the Quincy uniforms.

Also, the Quincy usually use bows and arrows as weapons to fight against the hollows, which are made from spirit energy, while the Shinigami have sword-Zanpakto who can be considered allies.

The Quincy are also a very proud clan and there is an ethic called the Pride of the Quincy that by which the last Quincy, Uryuu Ishida lives by. The Quincy can be compared with knight as well as priests and crusaders.

Uryuu Ishida- Ishida’s character page can be found on the Major Character page of this site.

Ryūken Ishida (石田竜弦, Ishida Ryūken)

Ryuken is the father of Uryuu Ishida and the son of Soken Ishida. He is now the Director of Karakura Hospital and is also known as the last Quincy (a status contested by his son)

Ryuken appears to be a cold, workaholic who is very estranged from his family. He hates his status as a Quincy because it simply does not bring any money on the table and prefers to focus on saving the living rather then the dead. He is also against the idea of his son associating so much with his own father Soken and tells Uryuu Ishida not to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps.

Not much is known about Ryuken except that he helps his son regain his powers if he agrees not to associate with the Shinigami (manga) and that he has a special training chamber underneath the hospital.

We also know that despite Ryuken being a rich man, his son is rather poor and lives alone and not with his father. Uryuu Ishida had a strong bond with his grandfather who he describes as a warm and gentle man while stating that his father is cold and uncaring. Uryuu probably also dislikes his father since he was probably never there for him and his mother (we later find out in an episode in the Bounto Arc)

Sōken Ishida (石田宗弦, Ishida Sōken)

Soken is Ryuken’s father and Ishida’s grandfather. He was a kind old man that truly loved his grandson (and probably his son as well) He was an advocate for the Quincy idea to become the first responders and he truly believed in his cause to save people from hollows. He also instructed Uryuu and trained him to become a Quincy.

Sadly Soken died when battling a Hollow and the Shinigami did not come to save him in time. This has lead to the fact that Uryuu hates the Shinigami and he blames them for the death of his grandfather and the unnecessary suffering of other people because the Shinigami are slow to respond.

Soken was the last specimen that Mayuri Kurtsuchi obtained for his study on the Quincy.