This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about, since although I am very attached to Aizen as the big bad and am not ready to give him up, I have to admit that the Quincy have done a pretty boss job as villains so far. In fact, here are some reasons why a person might consider them to be even scarier than Aizen & co.!
1. They steal powers.
The espada were pretty powerful, of course, and their release was about as strong (if not stronger) than a captain’s bankai. That’s frightening. But more frightening are people who can take a person’s bankai away - and then use it against them. I mean, unless Soul Society’s plan is to have Ichigo defeat every single Quincy (I wouldn’t put it past them, actually), then our guys have got to figure out how to either get their bankais back or find a different way to fight. Because right now they have no chance.
2. They work together.
I mean, I have to hand it to the Quincy - so far they seem to make a pretty good team. Er, army. They harnessed the power of cooperation and did a number on Hueco Mundo AND Soul Society. Aizen and his minions never seemed to actually want to to work together - the arrancars were kept in line by fear, not loyalty, and Aizen was pretty lax about sacrificing them. Not to mention his #2 guy, Gin, was out to get him the whole time. The Quincy may head in that direction - Juha Bach has already coldly sacrificed one subordinate, and I’ve heard theories that his #2 is another Gin. But for now they’re working together pretty well, and that’s pretty frightening.
3. They’re managing to kill people.
This is perhaps the main thing I’ve noticed. I mean, Aizen never actually killed anyone, possibly because he sucks at stabbing. Well, except for Gin, but that was a redemption death. Nobody openly on Team Good was killed. But the Quincy have managed to kill Sasakibe and probably Yamamoto (I still think he’s alive, but that’s just me), and that was just in their first attack.
4. They invaded Soul Society.
To be fair, Aizen also invaded Soul Society, technically. But really he invaded Karakura Town, which happened to be inside Soul Society. The main fighting took place elsewhere. But now the Quincy have attacked and decimated Soul Society itself - which is pretty scary, given the fact that that’s where most of our favorite characters live.
5. They’re human.
There’s something scarier about the Quincy because they’re human - at least to my mind. Hollows were monsters. Arrancars were characters…but still monsters. And Aizen and company were soul reapers. All of them were dead and other-worldly. But the Quincy are human, much like us the readers (only with super powers and apparently immortality). And somehow they’re winning. That’s pretty crazy.
6. Juha Bach is potentially stronger than Yamamoto.
I’m sorry. I really think Yamamoto isn’t dead. But let’s just say I’m wrong. Then Juha Back freakin’ killed the head captain - and even if I’m right, then he at least defeated him! That’s hardcore. Even Aizen made a special arrancar to seal away Yamamoto’s flame rather than fight him himself.
7. They got Squad 0 worried.
Squad 0 didn’t show up when Aizen was threatening to invade their realm. I’m still not entirely clear why (they were busy?). But they did show up for the Quincy, which seems to mean that they consider the Quincy to be a bigger threat.
8. Shutara’s analysis
Plus there’s what Shutara said about Aizen being the embodiment of evil and the Quincy being worse, which still makes me giggle (seriously I don’t understand how you can be worse than the embodiment of evil). But still.
9. They think they can get Ichigo on their side.
Now, this seems unlikely to me. Even if Ichigo comes from hearty Quincy stock, there’s just no way he’ll join them. But Juha Bach seems pretty confident. And maybe he has his reasons. And seriously - there would be nothing scarier than the Quincy getting Ichigo on their side. Because Ichigo is an army by himself.
10. They could destroy the world just through their daily activities.
I mean, I’ve been afraid of the Quincy since Ishida was first introduced. Because it kinda freaked me out that the Quincy cheerfully went about killing hollows even though that was going to destroy the world. I just couldn’t fathom why they’d do that, and it honestly drove me crazy at first that Ishida also killed hollows (but I guess maybe if you just kill a few it’s ok). So, I mean, even if the Quincy weren’t destroying Soul Society and killing entire squads of soul reapers, they’re still an enormous threat just because of their hobbies. They should really just take up calligraphy, like Aizen.
1. They steal powers.
The espada were pretty powerful, of course, and their release was about as strong (if not stronger) than a captain’s bankai. That’s frightening. But more frightening are people who can take a person’s bankai away - and then use it against them. I mean, unless Soul Society’s plan is to have Ichigo defeat every single Quincy (I wouldn’t put it past them, actually), then our guys have got to figure out how to either get their bankais back or find a different way to fight. Because right now they have no chance.
2. They work together.
I mean, I have to hand it to the Quincy - so far they seem to make a pretty good team. Er, army. They harnessed the power of cooperation and did a number on Hueco Mundo AND Soul Society. Aizen and his minions never seemed to actually want to to work together - the arrancars were kept in line by fear, not loyalty, and Aizen was pretty lax about sacrificing them. Not to mention his #2 guy, Gin, was out to get him the whole time. The Quincy may head in that direction - Juha Bach has already coldly sacrificed one subordinate, and I’ve heard theories that his #2 is another Gin. But for now they’re working together pretty well, and that’s pretty frightening.
3. They’re managing to kill people.
This is perhaps the main thing I’ve noticed. I mean, Aizen never actually killed anyone, possibly because he sucks at stabbing. Well, except for Gin, but that was a redemption death. Nobody openly on Team Good was killed. But the Quincy have managed to kill Sasakibe and probably Yamamoto (I still think he’s alive, but that’s just me), and that was just in their first attack.
4. They invaded Soul Society.
To be fair, Aizen also invaded Soul Society, technically. But really he invaded Karakura Town, which happened to be inside Soul Society. The main fighting took place elsewhere. But now the Quincy have attacked and decimated Soul Society itself - which is pretty scary, given the fact that that’s where most of our favorite characters live.
5. They’re human.
There’s something scarier about the Quincy because they’re human - at least to my mind. Hollows were monsters. Arrancars were characters…but still monsters. And Aizen and company were soul reapers. All of them were dead and other-worldly. But the Quincy are human, much like us the readers (only with super powers and apparently immortality). And somehow they’re winning. That’s pretty crazy.
6. Juha Bach is potentially stronger than Yamamoto.
I’m sorry. I really think Yamamoto isn’t dead. But let’s just say I’m wrong. Then Juha Back freakin’ killed the head captain - and even if I’m right, then he at least defeated him! That’s hardcore. Even Aizen made a special arrancar to seal away Yamamoto’s flame rather than fight him himself.
7. They got Squad 0 worried.
Squad 0 didn’t show up when Aizen was threatening to invade their realm. I’m still not entirely clear why (they were busy?). But they did show up for the Quincy, which seems to mean that they consider the Quincy to be a bigger threat.
8. Shutara’s analysis
Plus there’s what Shutara said about Aizen being the embodiment of evil and the Quincy being worse, which still makes me giggle (seriously I don’t understand how you can be worse than the embodiment of evil). But still.
9. They think they can get Ichigo on their side.
Now, this seems unlikely to me. Even if Ichigo comes from hearty Quincy stock, there’s just no way he’ll join them. But Juha Bach seems pretty confident. And maybe he has his reasons. And seriously - there would be nothing scarier than the Quincy getting Ichigo on their side. Because Ichigo is an army by himself.
10. They could destroy the world just through their daily activities.
I mean, I’ve been afraid of the Quincy since Ishida was first introduced. Because it kinda freaked me out that the Quincy cheerfully went about killing hollows even though that was going to destroy the world. I just couldn’t fathom why they’d do that, and it honestly drove me crazy at first that Ishida also killed hollows (but I guess maybe if you just kill a few it’s ok). So, I mean, even if the Quincy weren’t destroying Soul Society and killing entire squads of soul reapers, they’re still an enormous threat just because of their hobbies. They should really just take up calligraphy, like Aizen.
