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I don't know how much of a hot take this is, but if we're talking about the villains of Bleach specifically in context to Ichigo, I would genuinely describe Ginjo as Ichigo's most evil and vile villain he's faced. Ichigo's, not Bleach's.

I would possibly describe Aizen as the most evil villain in Bleach. It's genuinely really hard to pick between him and Yhwach, but I would say it's Aizen if I had to pick. However, neither Aizen nor Yhwach actively fucked with Ichigo in the way Ginjo did.

Yhwach is closer compared to a force of nature. Ichigo was not specifically targeted solely or alone (as in he wasn't the final person with casualties before him). And, similarly, Aizen's plans were fucking EVIL but none of them were really aimed specifically at solely hurting Ichigo. Don't get me wrong, both of them DID target him. He was a factor in their plans. Part of their actions were aimed at him. But he was one person in a loooong line of people, one in a crowd that they hurt.

Ginjo, on the other hand, went straight for, solely and specifically, Ichigo. His intent was to hurt Ichigo. He went after Ichigo. He was Ginjo's final destination, his main goal. Ginjo did not hurt Ichigo despite how many others were hurt, Ichigo was not just another casualty in a long line of people, he had many people get hurt BECAUSE he wanted to hurt Ichigo.

Aizen and Yhwach's motivations and goals had NOTHING to do with Ichigo. They never did. Ichigo's existence is a pure accident on the part of Aizen, who was already decades deep into his evil. But Ginjo's goal? Ichigo. The entire time.

On top of all of this. Every single antagonist and villain Ichigo has ever faced was conscious of the fact Ichigo is a child. We are quite literally not allowed to forget that these characters are KIDS. It is repeated and emphasised so fucking much. And Ginjo is no exception to this. He knows Ichigo is young, he knows Ichigo is just a kid, he knows Ichigo isn't even 18 yet. He knows Ichigo is only in high school. He knows Ichigo is a high school teenage boy still living with his dad and sisters. And Ginjo is not a spiritual being who has lived for hundreds of years. He is not someone who doesn't understand emotions. He is not someone who quite literally lost his humanity and became a beast.

Ginjo is fucking human. He's not an ordinary human by ANY means. But he is human. Exactly like Ichigo. He has lived a human life. He is a 28 year old human man. And all of that, in my opinion, makes Ginjo's actions even more disgusting and vile than anything anyone else in Bleach has done. (Aside from Orihime and Sora's parents, and Jugram's uncle)

I loath Aizen with all my heart. His actions were despicable, down right horrific. There is nothing you can say that would make me like him. He is a beautifully written character, and I'm quite glad I hate him. Yhwach is my favourite villain in Bleach, and one of my favourite characters in Bleach, but I will not pretend like his actions were not also despicable. And with no due respect, absolutely fuck Mayuri. Fantastic character, disgusting person (who unfortunately made me sob at the end. Wtf was that about??)

And yet, I don't personally believe that any of what they have done could compare to how downright vile and disgusting of a person I fully believe Ginjo is.

To be very clear. I think Ginjo is a fantastically written character. I really hope that this post does not come off like I don't understand his character because this kind of hatred I have for a character comes from understanding them (I hope anyway). However, if I have genuinely missed the mark somewhere, I would love for someone to just kindly poke me and correct me. I don't think I'm missing anything because I'm viewing this all in context of how they happen, and why the villains acted that way, and what their motivations were. As an actual villain of Bleach, Ginjo is probably third place for most evil. But for Ichigo specifically, I do genuinely believe he's the worst.

recurring-polynya

i know tybw is not and has never been into giving us closure on anything, but I would really really really like it if we could have one more interaction between renji and ishida where *either* ishida is like "i'm sorry i had to do that to you" and renji is like "no worries bro i understood your coded messages referring to our battles together in hueco mundo and could tell this was actual a ruse intended to save my life from other quincy" OR rukia and renji tag-team punch ishida and yell at him and ishida gives them a patented ichigo-soft doe-eyed look because he knows it means they forgive him

recurring-polynya

bleachplease

Why all Captains go to Hell?

(Bleach lore & Buddhism):

It makes a perfect sense that Captains in Bleach are sent to Hell after death, let me explain why (through the Buddhism lens):

In Buddhism, there are 6 realms of existence and 6 classes of beings (this is a leader of existence that a soul climbs on their way to enlightenment, or fells from due to karma).

Classes:

Hell beings - in Bleach we only saw Szayelapporo in the Hell state but with the Hell arc, I guess we are going to learn more. This is an existence of the most suffering, caused by the very bad karma accumulated in previous lives. This state of being is a consequence of doing 'wrong' things and collating karmic sins.

Hungry Spirits - in Bleach they are Hollows living in Hueco Mundo, always hungry, always eating Souls and their own comrades. This is a state of being full of suffering due to bad karma, and never-ending craving of what the lack.

Animals - well, these are actual cats and dogs, the existence better than a Hollow but still filled with suffering due to the fear for survival and lack on knowledge/meant to receive the teachings to improve your karma.

Human beings - again, this one is obvious, this state is actually preferable because the paths to receive the teaching, burn off the bad karma and collect the good karma through good deeds is the easiest. This state of being contains suffering due to attachment.

Demi-gods (Asuras) - they might be equivalent of Shinigami in Bleach (Gods of Death), they are characterized by jealousy of actual gods (I'm looking at you, Aizen). These beings are powerful but still not free from suffering and still collecting karma (good or bad).

Gods (Deva/Devi) - the highest state of being that beings can reach and be reborn as when they collect especially good karma in their previous lives, beings very powerful, pure, living an existence free from suffering and filled with joy. Perhaps Squad Zero might represent these kind of existence? Or perhaps the Noble Houses?

So the trick is, the longer a Soul lives a joyful, suffering free life, the more karma they burn. Which leads to all their karma being wasted (in no new good karma is collected, that is) and since Gods are still not enlightened, they are very likely to be reborn in Hell. Because no good karma is left for them.

This is what I think is happening to a very strong Shinigami in Bleach like Yamamoto, Ukitake, etc. They symbolize the very top of existence and so their karma symbolically is used up as they live their existence in fighting, and not practice to better understand themselves. And so they end up in Hell.

This not necessary means that these characters did something sinful to collect negative karma (although through war they might) but more like the privilege of being powerful in the world of Bleach comes with the cost of burning out good karma and being reborn in Hell.

At least that's how I see it, looking of the 6 realms of existence.

bleachplease

The more I think of Aizen the more I realize how much of a fucking chud he is

I think that's a valid point, Anom, but please elaborate the specifics of the foolishness of this man!

Personally, I was hoping the plot of Bleach will prove Aizen wrong about the Soul King being a marionette and a 'thing', because this would be so juicy if the whole worldview of Aizen was build upon a wrong assumption and misunderstanding of Soul King's self-sacrificial role.

I think, this would nicely click to Aizen's belief that the strong should not serve the weak. I mean, Ichigo already proves him wrong on that one but imagine if the Soul King thought exactly the same thing, and him getting chopped apart and sealed was actually a conscious decision and sacrifice for the benefit of the weaker beings. Something that Aizen would have never comprehend.

Well, but that's just my headcanon, I guess.

Perhaps we would learn more about the Soul King and his beliefs someday.

takibikaen

How TYBW reframed the Quincy and minimized their original purpose

As a fan of the Quincy, I wanted to express my thoughts about what TYBW has added/recontextualized about them so far before Cour 4 airs especially with how the manga/novels end. Unless they get a more positive ending in the anime, this is how I view their conclusion even though I have enjoyed watching Bleach's final arc and how it's been adapted. @bb-bluearcher’s posts inspired me to write this!

The Quincy are introduced in Bleach as a clan of spiritually-aware humans in Uryu's debut to rival Ichigo and the Shinigami. They eliminate Hollows entirely instead of purifying their souls like the Shinigami, unfortunately unbalancing the cycle of souls. Their purpose is to kill Hollows for the sake of avenging those slain by Hollows and because the Hollows are a threat to people and lingering souls.

Not only that, but Quincies need to defend themselves from Hollows anyways because these corrupted souls constantly are hunting for souls / powerful spiritual energies to consume. They even displayed malicious intentions considering how the first arc of Bleach presented them like Sora, Shrieker, and Numb Chandelier.

Even after the Quincy genocide 200 years ago, Soken made the argument that the suriving ones should be allowed to handle Hollows in the World of the Living because the Shinigami wouldn’t be able to respond in time. This is continued on with the presence of Uryu who continues to respond to Hollow sightings after he regains his powers as shown in the Fullbringer Arc with Ichigo’s inactivity.

However, Ryuken Ishida's character and beliefs are introduced as a criticism to the Quincy's role in the series. In Uryu's flashback during the Mayuri fight, his father shows disapproval of wanting to be a Quincy and their lifestyle. This idea is pondered as something of confusion to Uryu, not understanding the negative perspective on their identity as Quincies until TYBW.

In TYBW

The Quincy and their history get expanded on greatly at the cost of being the villainous faction of the final arc aka the Sternritter. Here, we learn that the Quincies have a weakness to being poisoned by Hollows, the very enemy they dedicated their lives to fighting. Kurotsuchi and Urahara asserts that’s why the Quincies must exterminate Hollows because of a fundamental fear for preserving their lives.

This assertation is rooted in the lenses of Quincies being the current enemy and minimizes the role they were initially presented to have in the Substitute Shinigami arc. It doesn’t take into account how Hollows often roam the WOTL for soul consumption/attacking in areas where Quincies reside in. We see this in the EBTR flashback in this same arc with Masaki going out to fight White she sensed nearby, even with Ryuken telling her to not go until the Shinigami assigned are already dead.

There’s also an irony to Mayuri’s claims of the Quincy are so fearful to preserve their souls from being poisoned by Hollows that they’ll go out and exterminate them en masse. He’s the same person who went and ‘expunged’ 28,000 residents from the Rukongai to keep the Soul Society from spilling into the WOTL, a cost so great to preserve everyone’s lives.

Yhwach

Ryuken's negative perspective of his heritage is elaborated in this arc through Yhwach's history as the Quincy King and his heinous actions in killing Katagiri and numerous other Quincies through Auswählen. Every mixed Quincy descended from Yhwach is subject to being absorbed into fuel besides Uryu, unable to escape their fatal fate once he sees no more use for them. This applies to the Wandenreich that followed his orders callously in carrying out his destructive vision for the Three Worlds and the regular Quincies who live in the World of the Living.

Furthermore, the reframing of the Quincy is explored more in the FRIEND flashback of Bazz-B and Jugram where we learn about how the Quincies operated 1000 years ago. Back then, they were composed of individual clans/groups of Quincies who had territories of their own before Yhwach conquered everything into his own empire. There’s no mention of Hollows anywhere in this flashback or other duties the Quincies had besides training their youth and keeping themselves fed.

However, after this flashback and before the Lichtreich invasion that Yhwach started, there is this anime-only meeting between Ichibe and Yhwach. Ichibe mentions how the Quincies should leave the world up to the Shinigami and enjoy the prosperity of Yhwach’s empire. It could be referring to leaving Hollows up to the Shinigami to handle yet Yhwach's qualms with life and death being separated is what's brought up.

At the end of the current TYBW anime (Cour 3), the Quincy’s responsibility of being protectors is referenced in anime-original scenes to give context for Uryu's plan which wasn't in the manga. Soken’s words signify that the Quincies of the World of the Living need to stand against Yhwach when he arrives. One thing to note is that Yhwach is basically a Hollow at this point, consuming souls for his own benefit which is quite ironic since the Quincies are supposed to exterminate Hollows that kill their loved ones which the Quincy King has essentially done.

After the Blood War, the role of the Quincy is greatly diminished from being introduced as humans dealing with Hollows in their own way to now having a heritage tainted with Yhwach's influence and considered disposable by the Soul Society who only now have more reason to monitor the surviving Quincy.

zabiume

so, there's a scene in early cour 3 where ichigo tells the group how powerful squad zero is, and orihime comes to the completely valid conclusion that if they're that strong, there's a chance they may be able to take down yhwach themselves. obviously, when they later go up to the soul king palace, ichibei gravely tells ichigo that the fight against yhwach comes down to him, that defeating yhwach is his responsibility and that he's sorry but he's going to be down and out for a good while – as will the rest of squad zero.

orihime is there for this conversation btw, and i think this is interesting because it immediately sets up a dichotomy between her and the rest of soul society. everyone in soul society believes to some degree that ichigo is not only capable but also the world's only hope for taking yhwach down, which is an immense pressure that we've seen ichigo valiantly take up but also buckle under throughout this arc. orihime's first thought, however, wasn't him but the actual soldiers responsible for keeping the soul king safe. orihime doesn't default to ichigo. rather, her entire journey throughout bleach has been to stand strong and – if not support him – then at least not be a burden to him. she wants to be able to pull her own weight, and while she has struggled with that historically, her post-FB transformation reveals a genuine effort towards this goal. where orihime needed uryu to take her up to the tower in las noches, she spends the entirety of tybw ferrying her group (which includes ichigo) around on her shield. ichigo even calls for her to do this, which is significant because ichigo rarely calls upon anyone else's powers – he purely relies on his own. more to come on this front.

i want to note some soul society exceptions here, namely rukia and renji. rukia has told ichigo repeatedly that he needs to rely on his friends ("rely on us, ichigo") and renji, as we know, accompanies ichigo in the final battle due to a promise he made himself to protect ichigo, the one who brought him and rukia together. you also have chad, who has been ichigo's day one since day one, and uryu, who also joins the final battle (alongside aizen). but i think it's important to acknowledge that even though these allies have been "partners" to ichigo, orihime is on a different level for a variety of reasons, the most important being that she was the one ichigo asked. renji insisted on coming, uryu joined in, aizen joined in. but not only did ichigo ask orihime to come, he implied that them fighting together would be an advantage, and he repeatedly called on her to use her shield during pivotal moments of the battle. ichigo may have fought with others by his side, but orihime is the only one he actively asked for – which is huge because again, ichigo has never, ever done this.

and i think this is so perfect on a thematic level because orihime explicitly trained to be battle support for ichigo. while everyone else motivated him to become stronger and conquer the enemy in battle, she motivated herself to become stronger and help him. to reduce his burden and fight for him so he could focus on fighting for everyone else (and for himself). there's a lot of talk about who ichigo's battle partners are, and all the names above have been featured in the conversation. however, all of them are combat-oriented, zanjutsu-oriented fighters who ichigo has realistically and thematically never needed. realistically, their powers don't complement his perfectly. thematically, ichigo has already said that he doesn't care if someone else could fill in his shoes, he's going to fight to the death because he's here and he has the power! what ichigo truly desired was orihime's power – her ability to stall, to heal, to shield. he may have accepted and even used his other allies' powers to his advantage but he certainly never asked for them explicitly.

i think this difference becomes even more clear when you see their first brush with yhawch during the soul king seal fiasco. as ichigo flew into battle, orihime quickly began healing him. i can't imagine how powerful it feels for him to be bruised and sore one second and then immediately cleansed in the next – not having to worry about that at all. nobody else in the history of bleach has directly contributed to his battle effort like this. everyone fought their own enemies, but it was pretty much decided that The Big Enemy was all his. and he had embraced this for the most part, until he faced his biggest enemy yet and he asked her to come with. and it is unbelievable how hard orihime has worked for this. how long she's wanted this. she told ichigo right at the end of the soul society arc that she's sorry she couldn't do it. in hueco mundo, she literally throws up a shield in front of theee espada #4 ulquiorra to protect him. she stood up to grimmjow for him. she beat herself up so much for what happened at the tower, she not only trained for 17 months, she also told ichigo she was working on herself and then proceeded to protect him from ginjou. again, throughout these arcs, all of ichigo's friends have fought their own enemies. what sets orihime apart is that even at her weakest, she was determined to fight ichigo's. of the entire cast, i would say orihime is the one who pushes herself the hardest because she knows ichigo's burden will be the greatest and she's preparing to stand against his opponents. everyone else is preparing for their own battles, but she has always been preparing for the final battle, the one that traditionally falls on him. even though she was by his side before, she had never been able to do it because she had never quite gained fluid confidence in her own ability. but she kept returning, she kept returning and now she's one of a very small group of people who went toe-to-toe with yhwach – and actually lived to tell the tale.

ichigo578i

Thanks for the request, @coyoteazule 💗💗💗

reebls

If they gave tatsuki a gun, bleach would be 40 episodes and a cool movie

a-cosmic-glow

#BleachRarepairBang26

That hashtag is what you need to pay attention to for social media posts about this, if you don't want to have to follow me for this. Once the event is underway, most communication will be over discord or email. Please read the google doc for more info!

If you participated in the previous round, you can get access to the discord early.

I have no gifts in graphic design, so we’re doing this semi-old school, in a google doc. What is the Bleach rarepair bang? Exactly what it

gutros

Day 01. Childhood ✨

And the ichigo week begins!

oddseal

I really wish bleach did more with our two main Fullbringers like I get Chad gets both arms but I would love for him to get like a almost suit of armor style thing since his power is his skin. For Orihime I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SEE THE DRAGON FORM FROM THE CONCEPTS like holy shit Kubo if that shows up in the hell arc I will scream!

neo-zone

What I like about the potential direction of making Ichibei the true villain of Bleach in Hell arc is that, there's nothing more sinister than the status quo defender who will do the worst just for the sake of maintaining the system that had done nothing but harm to every single living being

canaltulembra

Delay? #worldcup #futebol #edit #gta6 #copadomundo

transasmodeus

I think this would be a funny option, where he's mostly normal

animepopheart

★ 【LAM】「石田雨竜」 ✔ republished w/permission ☆ follow our YT interview show!

eternalweaponriver

Is it just me or is Urahara 100% using Kazui as a "Hell Vaccine" because the Gotei 13 are too lazy to fix their own mess?

So I started getting obsessed with Bleach again, and I’ve just realized… the Gotei 13 is so incredibly incompetent it actually borders on criminal. We all fell for the "Drip." We fell for the Bankais and the poetry. But if you look at the actual mechanics of the world Kubo built, the Soul Society isn't a "Heaven"—it’s a failing power plant run by people who refuse to read the manual.

1. The "Balance" is a Scam

The Gotei 13’s entire "moral high ground" is based on the "Balance of Souls." They committed genocide against the Quincies because Quincies "deleted" souls. But let’s look at the math:

Uryu Ishida: Casually "deletes" a few dozen hollows. Gotei 13: "I sleep."

HELL: A literal cosmic drain that has been permanently removing the most powerful and "sinful" souls from the reincarnation cycle for ONE MILLION YEARS. Gotei 13: "I also sleep."

If a few thousand Quincies were an "existential threat" to the universe, then the billions of souls currently rotting in Hell should have collapsed reality during the Stone Age. The "Balance" is just a political stick they use to hit anyone who threatens their authority.

2. The 5-Billion-Soul Problem

Let’s talk numbers. Real-world human history says ~117 billion people have lived(according to the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), a well-known non-profit organization that specializes in demographic data and global health) . Even if only 0.5% of those were "heavy" enough for Hell, that’s 585,000,000 souls. * The Gotei 13 has 6,000 soldiers. * They are a tiny police force standing on top of a "trash can" containing billions of "Conceptual Entities" (Souls no longer bound to flesh, just pure ego and sin, look at the panels of syazel and what he says, that 8th espada).

They never investigated it. They never tried to "purify" it. They just put a "Lid" on it (the spiritual pressure of Aizen/Yhwach) and hoped it wouldn't explode.

3. The "Kazui Vaccine" Theory (The Darkest Part)

Now that the "Lid" is gone, the Gotei 13 is panicking. And this is where it gets messed up.

The Reality: You can’t fight "Conceptual" enemies with swords. You can’t Bankai the air.

The Theory: Urahara (the ultimate prepper) realized the Shinigami system was failing. Is it a coincidence that Ichigo’s son, Kazui, is a new hybrid species who finds Hell "fun"?

Is Kazui a child, or is he a biological counter-measure? A "Vaccine" engineered to be compatible with Hell’s corruption so he can be used as the New Lid?

The Conclusion: Ichigo’s Final Choice

The series went from "Soul Detective" to "DBZ with Swords," but the Hell Arc is the only thing capable of forcing Bleach to finally face its own reflection. For hundreds of chapters, Ichigo has been the Gotei 13's ultimate "fixer," but let’s be real: Ichigo has been turning a massive blind eye to the Soul Society's rot.

Kubo has kept the Gotei 13 in a state of narrative stagnation. We see the corruption—the genocide of the Quincies, the abandonment of the Rukongai, the negligence of hueco mondo, the literal dumping of "heavy" souls into a pit of eternal fire—and yet Ichigo just collects his Substitute Badge and goes home. He protects the status quo without ever questioning if the status quo deserves to be protected.

But this is where it has to change.

If the Gotei 13 and Urahara try to use Kazui as a "plug" for the leak they created, Ichigo’s "neutrality" becomes a crime. I am really hoping that this arc finally gives Ichigo the development he’s been missing. We don’t need another power-up form; we need Ichigo to doubt. We need to see the moment Ichigo realizes that the "comrades" he fought for are the same people who would sacrifice his five-year-old son(if this theory is true) to maintain their "stagnant aesthetic" of a world.

The real finale of Bleach shouldn't be Ichigo vs. a Devil(if Kubo decides to make a new species) It should be Ichigo vs. The System. The Gotei 13 doesn’t need more Bankais; it needs a revolution. It needs to stop treating Hell like a "trash can" and start taking responsibility for its own waste. I want to see a world where Ichigo finally draws a line in the sand and says, "I'm done being your weapon. If the balance of the world depends on sacrificing my son's humanity, then the world doesn't deserve to be balanced."

Give us Ichigo vs. The Gotei 13. Give us the audit. Let the "Soul Detective" finally solve the mystery of why his friends are actually the villains.

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