Why I think Kisuke is the best narrative foil to Askin - A long thread I wrote a while ago.
I’m gonna start with the panel where Kisuke joins in the fight Askin was already having with Yoruichi and her brother.
Kisuke is presented and known by Askin as the guy able to find a way around any enemy plan, and adapt to situations. Askin is a guy that analyzes his targets/situations and makes plans. His body analyzes reiatsu, reflexively coming with counter measures, building immunity. Quite the match already, right?
May I point out that at this point, Kisuke was using Yoruichi’s body to counter Askin’s ability, while Askin uses his own body to counter his opponent’s power/reiatsu. Askin is also capable of overcoming challenges - like activating his Vollständig to quickly end Kisuke’s solution with Yoruichi’s changing reiatsu. Kisuke is good at imagining different patterns and trying them out in battle. Askin is good with analyzing patterns and planning attacks or having his body build up immunity against them (and then attack).
Askin being “just some guy” is both a façade and partially true, and is one aspect that makes him so dangerous. He knows it and he uses it to his advantage. The “just some guy” play is also a strategy Kisuke uses, but he is better and more widely known than Askin that lived hidden. The act hardly fools anyone anymore.
With the risk of repeating myself too much, I will keep my original draft off Discord chat when I first touched this subject:
Kisuke's character and power takes survival instincts to extremes, making it the ironically good match for someone like Askin that doesn't have to try hard to survive. Imagine someone very intelligent but with super anxiety, so much they always think of the worst thing that could happen, like it's their second nature, worse if they do it intentionally while preparing for battle. Because they are very intelligent and knowledgeable, the number of "worst things that could happen" that they can identify is insanely big. They also try to come up with a solution for every one of those worst case scenarios. More than that, the calculations of "worst case scenarios and possible solutions" are actualizing in real time (much like Askin's immune system) - that is Kisuke. I started to joke saying Kisuke is a smart, anxious rat. By contrast, Askin avoids dangers more to avoid unpleasant sensations than being killed. He is used to "not dying", or not seeing death as a permanent thing, something to be experienced just once and for good. I think his survival instincts might have been eroded in time by his powers, which is why it took him so long to understand Kisuke. Idk how much of a difference it would have made in the end though, for Askin to fully understand Kisuke's "terrifying drive" as he called it. This also nicely ties with Kisuke calling his ability to forge immunity at a “terrifying speed”.
So, Kisuke is like a really tough rat. His survival instincts are driven to extremes, like a terribly anxious guy obsessively searching for ways out, planning back-up plans to back-up plans, imagining every “what if” that he can imagine and coming up with a solution for each of them. His bankai best reflects this and it was quite eye-opening when I read it. It would be lame to be like that and not have the brain power to do something about it, so Kisuke is also very smart. (It could also be said he is like that because he is so smart. The other side of the “ignorance is bliss” - which coincidentally or not, was one of Askin’s lines many chapters ago. So, Kisuke cannot help being aware and thinking of possible outcomes and so on.)
Point is, someone like Askin didn't imagined such an extreme anxious rat even if he knew how smart he is. I say someone like Askin because of the nature of his power. He has survival instincts, although I suspect they are lower than those of a regular person, and he is not used to such a need for surviving - for e.g., as a guy that experienced deaths and revivals, has a body that reflexively builds up immunity.
Kisuke's restructuring power is also similar to Askin's immunity, it's about adaptation. They have similar powers, similar strategies, and similar intelligence levels. Again, a nice play was Askin’s ability to shoot down every organ and Kisuke’s (counter) ability to restructure it. And just about when Kisuke has started to use his abilities on his own body, Askin starts to alter their environment again. The whole fight there is this balanced exchange, and flow from one to the other, whether it's in their dialogue or expression of abilities, exposing motivations. I think this would have been harder if not impossible to achieve with another match for Askin.
I do wonder now about the roots of Askin’s powers. I said they are similar to Kisuke’s - a body that so rapidly processes substances and reiatsu and comes with counter measures almost instantly (and can even weaponize it) is about adaptation and survival. Kisuke, however, comes out plain and simple and says it is only natural to do anything to survive. Meanwhile, Askin, despite his extreme powers, doesn’t fall in the same line of thought, and couldn’t imagine that such an extreme survival-driven guy like Kisuke could exist. Or maybe he could, but given his history and the kind of guy he is, it wouldn’t be at the top of his mind.
It makes sense when I think of Askin’s known background - quincy that survived in the shadows for 1000 years and prepared for retaliation, that wants to see the world this powerful guy he met will create - his motivation is driven by simple curiosity! not survival! While curiosity is not a bad thing, but something natural (like survival may I point), especially for scientific guys (like him, Kisuke and Mayuri), considering the context, it weighs differently, and Kisuke even called him deranged for it. He doesn’t even follow Yhwach as his God in a religious way, but because he happens to be a powerful guy capable of doing things he is interested to see. They are also bound by blood but that’s just convenient I guess. Anyway, his God gave him powers to serve him while serving his own interests, powers that made him almost impossible to kill, and revived him if he fell anyway. He is the “Death Dealer”. It’s not like dying is an “once and forever” event for him. Starts to make sense why surviving isn’t such a priority for him, doesn’t it? And this despite his power seeming so survival-driven, like Kisuke’s. Even if he gets scared, even if we see him instinctively flinch back - like in the fight with Nimaiya, dodging the sword, or when Yhwach gets the creepy eyes and black goo, or when Kisuke’s bankai starts undoing his arm. Even if he expresses surprise and concern, something of common sense in supernatural and crazy situations that the others just roll with it - and what makes him feel so human and closer/relatable to us. It is a contradiction that is part of his character. I have imagined some headcanons about his childhood to partially explain it and ways he might feel because of his powers, but I would digress too much from what is supposed to be a canon analysis.
Back at Kisuke calling Askin “deranged” (the translation I read was “demented” but I disagree at derogatory use of mental illness terminology), Kisuke isn’t any better. He has a very long history of doing controversial, illegal, unethical things just because he could, for science, for his own curiosity and ambitions. He just isn’t as called out for them as he should. I think this is a big reason why Askin was interested in him and thought Kisuke could understand “where he comes from”. I don’t see Kisuke’s help over the series as much of a redemption or balance for his shady businesses and it’s quite annoying to see him perceived as a good guy.
For e.g. The creation of Hogyoku and freeing Mayuri. Kisuke thought it was a waste of intelligence/resources, as long as he provided a purpose for Mayuri and other prisoners that was in favor of Soul Society, it doesn't matter if they kill, torture, etc. Mayuri is loyal to SS as it gives him the freedom of research and experimentation, no matter how unethical it is, and SS gives him a pass because well, it often works for them. His achievements, even if born of personal ambitions, are ultimately seen as that of the SS. They really don't operate on a moral scale. Kyoraku, even if I get he may be a guy with better views long-term speaking, he is also willing to roll with anything unethical, controversial, evil, as long as it is in the favor of SS. Of course this knowledgeable, practical and flexible guy also falls in the “good match” category for Askin. But Kyoraku lacks some of Kisuke's traits and context that simply fit better for the flow.