I really enjoy reading your posts and would love to hear what do you think of Aizen's monster form having three holes.
Thank you for your support! I put a lot of mental energy into these posts and analysis.
I love your question! It is an extremely interesting topic!
The three hollow holes of the Monster Aizen (AKA The three-holes problem).
This is the question that is bothering me from a while now, and I still don't have a satisfying answer to it.
But let's try to come up with some possible meanings.
We know that a Hollow hole is created when a soul leaves the body and their soul chain is broken and corroded. So the hole replaces the core of the chain. The chain itself might symbolize the attachment to the material realm (anchoring to the body in literal sense, but to all the things in the Human World in the metaphorical sense, like your connections to the family and friends, hobbies, goals, everyday life etc).
So a Hollow, as we know, is created when this attachment is physically broken by death but mentally the Soul is still clinging to it without letting go. This is explained as feeling grief, anger, need for revenge, and so on. But all these feelings comes from the same place - attachment. This attachment generates a sense of loss after death. And boom - we have a Hollow - with one hollow hole. A hole symbolizes the lack of heart, lost humanity, and this immense sense of loss and emptiness after being unable to move on, to let go.
I think in Espada's case their personal emptiness and this negative space, the thing they feel they are missing, and that prevents them to be whole is deeply connected with their aspects of death.
So take Aaroniero, for example - his aspect is Greed. He is missing the opposite of greed. Fulfillment. Satisfaction.
Same goes for Aizen in his Monster form imo. The first hole, the one on his chest, it the one symbolizing his heart (kokoro) which is understood as the connections with the others. The Hogyoku is filling that gap for him (visually). The Hogyoku is his equivalent of being understood. He even phrases it that way: "It looks like the Hogyoku finally began to understood who I am." - this is not what the artifact should be doing for him, this is an artificial equivalent of a human connection.
But then what about the two other holes below?
Perhaps, if the one is the connection with the others, the other one might be a connection with himself? Deeper self-understanding.
And the last hole would then represent the connection to the Three Realms, to the world itself. Because in this form Aizen is disconnected, he is on a totally different plane of existence, and the others can't even sense his reiatsu anymore. He removed himself from this existential plane.
And since they are the holes, they point out of what he misses. They suggest the absence that is not neutral, but a cause of his existential suffering (which might be not even conceptualized by him). Just like Ulquiorra who subconsciously feels there is something missing but can't grasp the concept of the Heart.
The other possible meanings of the three holes is that they could represent the Three Realms: World of the Living, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo.
Aizen in his monster form crossed the boundaries between being a Soul, a Shinigami, and Hollow. He doesn't belong to either of the Three Realms, and three races anymore.
Next, let's look where these holes are placed. Their position is aligned with three spectific chakras:
The top one is the Heart Chakra (Anahata, the green one) representing feelings, emotional openness, and healing. Also love, compassion, harmony, kindness, and forgiveness. I don't have to explain why in Aizen's case this is empty.
The spiritual imbalance of this chakra manifests as: desire, possessiveness, arrogance, egoism, hypocrisy, misery.
Middle one is where the Solar plexus chakra (Manipura, the yellow one) would be. And this is an interesting one. Because this chakra connects the person with their power, lifeforms, will, assertiveness, self-love.
Does the emptiness here means that this form is a Dead Butterfly, an empty shell that didn't come from Aizen's own will, resolve, and conviction, but rather was forced upon him by the Hogyoku and came as a fear response? It suggest that Aizen in his form doesn't even fully believe he could win this fight, he is in denial, it isn't even him in a sense, it is an abomination of what he had strove to be. This is not what he wanted. And perhaps he does feel some self loathing for entering this form of twisted evolution.
The deregulation of the Manipura chakra causes: thirst, jealousy, treachery, shame, fear, disgust, delusion, foolishness and sadness.
The bottom one is correlated with the Sacral chakra (Svadhishthana, the orange one) responsible for the creation of things, and creation of self. Also pleasure, sensuality, sexuality.
The negative aspects for this chakra are: pitilessness, feeling of all-destructiveness, delusion, disdain, and suspicion.
I think the lowest hole in this case represents Aizen's detachment from both self, and the physical world. Or perhaps hints that his desire to create the new hierarchy is empty, and it is not an act of creation, but an act of destruction.
I think there can be also the other interpretations and meanings.
I am very interested in digging deeper into this topic, so if anyone has their own analysis, and want to share, please do!
id love to hear some more lieutenant aizen stuff from you i love how you write him so much >_<
Sure!!
Putting it under a cut in case it gets long.
I've mentioned this before, but I think it's in this "era" where Aizen adds the final touches of his Nice Guy persona. He is really doting and caring to his fellow squad members and they rely on him. Sometimes it pisses Shinji off how they go to Aizen rather than him sometimes lol.
I'm of the belief that Aizen and Urahara were classmates at the Soul Academy. I think about the line "you're exactly the man I thought you'd be Urahara Kisuke" - which means they knew each other in some capacity. Maybe Kisuke was an upper classmate 🤔
He doesn’t care for living souls, but Aizen as a lieutenant, probably witnessed a lot of technological changes which him (and Kisuke) brought into Soul Society (but they both kept it under wraps). The concept of scientific ethics wasn’t very much established back then, and certainly not in soul society.
I’d like to say he gets a lot of chocolates for Valentine’s Day haha! He has so many admirers, and of course he’s so polite about it and thanks them, but I doubt he eats them (sad).
Kind of related, I don’t think he likes milk chocolate all that much. He seems like a dark chocolate kind of guy, or very into traditional Japanese sweets.
I don’t wanna say he’s a foodie by any means, but I think Aizen will try any food so he can be able to say he’s tried it and have an opinion of it. At the same time, he’s not “passionate” about food, he’ll like to do fine dining, he respects the effort put into a dish, but that’s it. I think a part of it is because he wants to be perceived as being well-mannered and “cultured”.
Lieutenant Aizen looks like the kind of guy to try and manage a book club, but it’s really just a way for him to vibe check people lol. I think about the snippet of how (as a captain) he lent Momo some of his books, and she read them, but didn’t care for the topics. Makes me laugh lol.
Aizen probably never thought about sharing his poems, but Shinji (rudely) read one and jokingly said he should publish it in the Sereitei newspaper/journal. Because Aizen’s petty, he did and they offered him a column because his poetry skills are unmatched.
Aizen likes them either sweet and soft or a brat. There is no inbetween. The type of partner he has dictates his behavior in the bedroom. If he is brat wrangling it can get pretty spicy.
obviously i have to mention how much i love your work first. my question is: what is your favourite line(s) of dialogue from aizen? :)
You're too kind! I'm flattered. ^^ And I want to say that it is always a joy to read your works, I love how you write Bleach characters!
To answer your question, hmm, Aizen has so many really good lines.
"Good morning, my dear Espada. We are under attack. But first... let's have some tea." - OK, so this one made me fall in love. Absolute cinema! Absolute lack of concern, absolute control over the situation. And on a top of that - prioritizing tea! Since I love a good cup of tea myself, this line fills my heart with joy. Peak villainy with class!
"A winner shouldn't talk of how the world is, but how is should be!" - I love that one because it is actually inspirational if you take it a healthy way. What I mean by that is, it can be optimistic to believe you can actually make a difference.
"There is no truth and lies - only hard facts." - I like that line because I kinda agree, I like to think of truths being very subjective things.
"Since when were you under the impression I wasn't using Kyoka Suigetsu?" - well, absolute classic and peak Aizen trolling. Gotta love how cold that one is. Pure badass line.
"A betrayal you can see is trivial, a truly terrifying betrayal is the one you cannot see." (to Shinji) - Sound obvious but in the context of Pendulum Arc, it works so painfully well. And I love the delivery of this one.
"You are laying here today because you never tried to get to know me." - this one gives me serious feelings, ah, the bitterness of it, the irony of it!
"Do you hate me? If you hate me, come and attack me. I will make exception for you and fight you with my sword." (to Shinji) - I love that one because it sounds so personal and provocatively intimate. Of course he wants that hate like it is fun to trigger it. It gives me so many thoughts.
"Perhaps I did feel something akin to excitement. Do you find that strange?" (to Gin) - I love that one because it shows how incapable he is at openly talking about his inner world and feelings, and yet, in his veiled way, he does admit to enjoyment. And then has to check if that is 'normal'. I love the detachment that this suggests.
I hope I got these lines correct because I was typing them from memory.
Thank you so much for asking! It was great question!
What would Aizen say to Ichigo if he got the chance to talk to him? Why did he want to talk to him anyways?
That is another great question! Let's try to think of possible options.
First of all, the sheer fact that Aizen wanted to speak with a human, a human whom not long ago he called "lowly" and dismissed entirely - this is telling! It suggests that Aizen recognized Ichigo as worthy, perhaps even as his better? Or if not, then his equal. And I think Aizen feels something like gratitude toward Ichigo, for defeating him - but specifically for proving to him that:
a) Aizen is not alone with his immense power
b) There is still more power to Shinigami then Aizen had known off, Shinigami can fuse with its sword and achieve new heights of self-acceptance, and self-integrity by merging with its spirit
c) That change to the system can happen from within, not forcefully (after all, even Yamamoto made exceptions for Ichigo)
d) That something unexpected can always happen and you just have to embrace that even if you don't understand it
So these themes could inspired Aizen to wanting to talk to Ichigo, not to openly thank him, but I guess, in a warped attempt to actually connect with him on some level of understanding. Because yes, Ichigo DID reached him during that battle. And for Aizen, who believed he is above connections - this was a life-changer.
But what exactly would Aizen said to Ichigo there?
Maybe a warning about Ichibei preparing him for the next Soul King? Maybe some different detail about what needs to change (according to Aizen) so Ichigo could potentially make a change in his own way?
We know that Aizen gathered vast knowledge about Three Realms so perhaps he wanted to share it with Ichigo, not only to 'educate' him but more like, to try if their worldviews could align if they powers could.
If Aizen had a little more humanity in him and had love in his cold, handsome heart, do you think someone like Momo would be his type? Or do you think he'd go for someone more independent/hotheaded
I like this question, especially because it rightfully-so implies that there is no love in his cold, handsome heard - only Hogyoku. :D
I have two types of answer. One is wishful, and one is realistic.
Realistically speaking, if we assume Aizen could be able to genuinely care and love someone - he would need that someone to be equal to him on some level. Not necessarily a power level (this would be difficult) but at least mental level, intellectual, or self-realization. And I don't think Hinamori meets this criteria, at least not when she was his lieutenant. She was a lost, little girl back then. Probably without any knowledge of the Three Realms and inner Soul Society working.
My wishful thinking says, in many years, when Momo grows confident, and unlocks her full potential, perhaps then she could reach the level of self-understanding and some understanding of Aizen that would interest him. But the thing is, after all he did to her, I don't believe it would be healthy to engage with him. Although, it would be an interesting story of forgiveness, and compassion if knowing full-well what he is, she still accepted him (deep 'goodness' is really hard to write without making a character look naive, but I'm a sucker for stories about selfless compassion).
With that said, Momo might be at least physically his type, even if her admiration for him is what actually would rather repeal him then attract him. She relied on him so much that for a sheer boost of his already inflated ego, I guess, he potentially could have indulged. But that would be not a connection, not care or love, it would be using her for his own, twisted games. If he wanted to really devastated Toshiro emotionally,, he should go for that option.
You know what I sometimes wonder how the Bleach world would be like if Aizen had zero interest in the soul king and hogyoku. But he still has the immense reiatsu and still mastered every shinigami aspect. Because let's face it Aizen is that much of a nerd he would do it just for fun.
That is a very interesting "what if" scenario.
If Aizen has no goal to replace the Soul King, he also doesn't need to grow stronger by breaking the boundaries between Soul Reaper's and Hollows, so he doesn't research the Hogyoku.
I think, he would never wanted to join Gotei13 in that scenario since he joined only to dismantle the system from the inside, using his position as a cover for his experiments.
If he is never a part of Gotei, there is no betrayal. No Arrancar war. And Quincie come to wipe out the Gotei all the same, but this time they success because:
a) the captain did not train enough like they had after the Arrancar War
b) there is no Ichigo, because if not for Aizen's experiments there is no White biting Masaki, so even if Masaki and Ishin still somehow met and had children, Masaki was not hollowfied - and Ichigo isn't a perfect hybrid of all the races (he is half-shinigami half-quincy in this scenario).
So well, if not for Aizen. The Three Realms got conquest by Yhwach and blend together - the Bleach universe has ended in a sea of primordial chaos.
Unless...
Aizen, in this scenario made another goal for himself, being as strong as he is, he'd likely conclude he is meant to play an important role in the history of Soul Society. Because if he was born this strong, there has to be a purpose to that, right? There are no coincidences in this world, no blind flickers of fate. He has this power to do something with it.
What other goal an immensely powerful being like him could have? Perhaps he could start gathering some followers around himself early on, if he decided not to hide his potential, and he'd create an alternate organization to Gotei 13? Like he gathered Espada. However, this move would make Gotei to react, so sooner or later there would be an open conflict between the two organizations. Unless his new movement was actually supporting Gotei in some way and got legitimized by Central 46. Perhaps this could be some alternative Research Center because, as you said, Aizen has a thing for gathering all types of knowledge like he's chat gpt personification.
More disturbing option would be if the group around him was something like a new religious cult. Because if a single soul could be stronger than the entire Gotei13, then isn't this soul meant to rule? But this curse of action would for sure engage the nobles, and Central 46. So this little scenario would end up with violence.
Another option I can see is, that even if Aizen didn't want to initially join the Gotei, with his potential he'd get noticed and convinced to join. Or alternatively, perhaps he'd simply join because Gotei at least offered a contact with strong, powerful Shinigami, and his isolation could naturally made him be drawn to people like that.
So there is also an option for Aizen to be on a Shinigami side, in this case, not as a 'good guy' (his personality would still be cold, and detached) but we assume he has no agenda on his own to betray the Gotei. Or if he has his own goals, they align with being a Shinigami like what if he was an original Research and Development founder?
In this scenario, when Quincies attack, Aizen is still a captain fighting on the Gotei side. I don't think he'd defeat Yhwach but perhaps Yamamoto wouldn't have died at least?
Well, anyway, without Ichigo being part Hollow and helping Gotei, I think the Three Realms still would collapse in the end.
The conclusion - Aizen's evil experiments actually saved the world.
Why did Aizen become more like a hollow in his final transformation?
Aizen's transformations were inspired by the life cycle of a butterfly (caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly, and the dead butterfly) so the final one is what happens after the cycle/after death - and this is a little similar to becoming a Hollow after the death of a body while kept attached by anger, grief, desperation so on.
This form also represents degeneration of the evolution, something unnatural, something monstrous - like Hollows are the degeneration of Souls feelings and wishes. The Hollows are monsters driven by their suffering (hunger), and when does Aizen transforms into this form? Only when he reaches an absolute bottom of 'there is no winning' and his ego, rage, resentment and disrespect toward human spikes - this is when his calm, collected, wise, all-knowing facade gets degenerated by the Hogyoku. This is in fact a similar process to Hollowfication of the soul.
Third aspect is that the Hogyoku itself was reading Aizen's desires and from the start the desire he had was to break the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollows, so I think this is the factor too in what the Hogyoku did to him. He got what he wished for in a way. As Gin had told him: "You always wanted to have a hole in your heart".
In a way, this form also reveals a lot about his ugly truth, the one he hides beneath the civility and his self-lie. Hollowness of his self-serving existence.
I think this is a very fitting transformation for a character like him, and thematically tying everything we know about him together: him being a King of Hollows, ascending from Soul Society to Hueco Mundo, surrounding himself with the Espada as their leader, and being a collective of all the flaws the Arrancar/Hollow characters had in this show - flaws they ironically never saw in him. Poetry! <3
