Kira Izuru/Wabisuke Analysis
This started off as an Izuru Bankai theory post but devolved into an analysis of his character + Wabisuke.
I like the theory that Izuru’s Bankai inflicts mental anguish on its opponent as discussed in this thread. Personally I think his Bankai might also have a self-mutilating component to it (might also be why Kubo says his Bankai would be nauseating/grotesque to draw). There are a lot of discussions surrounding how Izuru is negative/clinically depressed/an embodiment of despair and generally not of a very sound mind but there’s an aspect to his personality that isn’t discussed as often- his tendency to oppress his self and bound himself to the rules & hierarchy of the organisation.
For instance: In the Soul Society arc, Izuru stops Momo from throwing a fit at Byakuya when Byakuya demands to have Renji put in a cell following Renji’s independent actions and defeat against Ichigo. Izuru promptly (and respectfully) apologises to Byakuya, despite being concerned for Renji as well. In this scene we see Izuru’s personality being presented as a foil to Momo’s- while Momo is temperamental, Izuru is prone to suppressing his own emotions.
This contrast between Izuru and Momo is elevated following Momo’s discovery of Aizen’s (fake) dead body. As Momo loses it and charges at Gin, Izuru swiftly draws his sword against Momo.
He also addresses Momo as “Lieutenant Hinamori” to remind her that she is first and foremost a lieutenant and should have the decorum of one, regardless of the mental anguish she was in.
Unlike the interaction with Byakuya, Izuru shows no sign of yielding here, simply because Momo is not his superior and his duties compel him to fight Momo. We later see him pulling his hair out from self-hatred in his cell for having been hostile towards Momo.
I’m not sure about this, but I think in one of the flashbacks with Renji, Momo and Izuru, it was hinted that Izuru might have a crush on Momo.
And there’s also the scene where Izuru coldly lures Toushiro and Rangiku away from the bloodbath at the Chambers of Central 46 (although he defies Gin a little here by telling Toushiro that Momo had been following them, in an effort to get Toushiro to turn back and make sure that Momo is safe I suppose).
His adherence to hierarchy also manifests in the Fake Karakura Town arc, where Izuru knocks Yumichika out and then chastises Yumichika’s insolence against Shuuhei, who outranks Yumichika.
Anyway my point is... Izuru habitually “kills” his own emotions when the situation calls for it, but his emotions and guilt amplify when he is alone and tears him up inside. His self-destructive personality that is reflected in his Shikai.
Wabisuke is shaped like a person with their head bowed and its release command is to “Raise [its] head”. However, Wabisuke doesn’t actually raise its head- it forces its opponent to prostrate themself in front of Izuru, hence placing its opponent in a lower position/hierarchy than Izuru. This places Izuru’s head in a elevated position relative to the opponent. Paradoxically, in this position, Izuru’s head is probably bowed down simply because he has to look down in order to see his opponent.
And instead of raising its own head it... Wabisuke kind of raises the opponent’s head in the moment it is hooked around the opponent’s neck, right before the opponent is beheaded. Rather than alleviating its own anguish my raising its head from despair, Wabisuke acts by externalising the self-destructive behavior Izuru is prone to by inflicting a greater degree of despair and violence on its opponent. And this is all done for the sake of the organisation, under his superior’s orders.
(In this sense having a raised head=falling into death and despair.)
As for Izuru’s Bankai: I think if Wabizuke raises its head it would signify the emergence of Izuru’s normally brutally repressed self and his abandonment of the sense of duty towards Gotei 13. Ironically, despite the destructiveness his sense of duty inflicts upon his self, his sense of duty allows him to cling on to reason. Without it he can only descend into madness.
On a side note, Izuru’s personality also contrasts Gin’s personality- unlike Izuru, who kills his emotions for the sake of the organisation, Gin literally kills the organisation for the sake of fulfilling his personal agenda. Such is the despair of the Third Squad- the self cannot co-exist with the greater organisation.
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