#bleach 325

[ak47melee]

[rays-of-fire-and-ice]

hello! since you're doing hitsuhina's construes even with the filler episodes, can you talk a little about the moment in reigai saga when the fake hitsugaya showed off his motivations?

Hello! Yeah sure, though it likely won’t be a ‘little’…morelike an essay XD. For me, thisepisode has become very interesting in light of the recent BLEACH chapters(Hitsugaya and Byakuya are FINALLY interacting and making my BROTP areality!!), so this should be really fun to delve into.

As I’ve said before in my rant on episode 326, I think offillers as way to reflect on or reiterate what has already been established incanon, and can be used as a way of exploring and enjoyingthe ‘what if’ scenarios you put characters through to bring out the overt and implicit traits/relationships we know and love. So if nothing else, you can take this postas a small analysis of how Hitsugaya’s reigai counterpart (andin part this battle with Byakuya) exhibits what was already and has recently been established incanon in terms of his character and hitsuhina. Now, onto episode 325 and the moment where reigai Hitsugaya revealed hismotivation.

BLEACH episode 325 and how it reflects on canon

Just as a recap for this episode: while in battle, Byakuyaasks reigai Hitsugaya why he is fighting under Kageroza. Reigai Hitsugaya  says he wants to protect ‘someone’(in the subversion, it’s ‘something’) and in order to keep her safe, he’ll do whatever ittakes. He further goes on to say that he wishes to fight and beat his originalcounterpart, because they both want to protect the same person but the reigai Hitsugaya  believes his original doesn’t have what ittakes to protect her, not without the powers and strength Kaeroza has given tothe reigai counterpart. Byakuya views Hitsugaya words as those of a personwithout honour or pride, but  reigaiHitsugaya dismisses him and admits that the reigai can never become theoriginals, but it’s because of this fact that he will use any means to protecthis own intentions, which is something he can hold onto with pride.

As a hitsuhina fan, this moment had me fangirling prettyhard, because even before the dub version came out, I always thought he wasmaking references to Momo. I once read somewhere on a forum discussing the subversion that some viewers thought he meant the Soul Society. Protecting theSoul Society is something that has been ingrained into Hitsugaya as a captain ofthe Gotei 13, and it is important to him, but in the case of this episode Ireally don’t think that’s what reigai Hitsugaya wants to use his newly acquiredpowers and strength to protect. In the past Hitsugaya, has not only shown to bemotivated to protect Momo, but has wanted to obtain more powers and strength inorder to protect her. She affects him on a far more personal level and is farcloser to his heart, to point where she becomes a motivation and a reason forhim to train harder to gain new strengths. This is made abundantly clear inchapter 423:

And also in other non-canon material, such as track 8 of oneof the drama CDs (where he learns the name of his zanpakuto based solely on hisdetermination to protect Momo). His wish to protect the Soul Society has neverhad this effect on him and can be seen as more of a ‘duty’ as a captain rather thana personal goal for him. I mean, even the translators/scriptwriters for theEnglish dub knew he was talking about Momo!!  In the dub version, he doesn’t bother to makeit vague, he just comes out says there’s ‘someone’ he wants to protect, andgoes on to identify this “someone’s” gender. Also, the fact that the nextepisode deals with the original Hitsugaya having to confront two reigai Momosright after an episode where his reigai counterpart revealed his motivation toprotect her…I really don’t think it’s a coincidence!

However, this is also a somewhat sad moment for me to see,as it reminded me once again of chapter 423. As the reigai Hitsugaya is a nearperfect clone of the original’s personality and attitudes, it shows thatHitsugaya doesn’t feel he is good enough, despite the fact that none of whathappened in the Fake Karakura Town was truly his fault. But he takes it uponhimself to grow stronger for Momo, to protect not just her wellbeing andhappiness, but her pride which was wounded once again when she was used byAizen to turn the battle in his favour.

With all this said, it’s interesting how the reigai Hitsugaya implies he wants toprotect the original Hinamori. He could have been referencing the reigaiHinamoris, but he states there’s ‘someone’ and that ‘…what I’m determined to protect, my original wants to protect as well…so until she’s safe, I cannot lose to anyone’,implying there in only one Momo he wants to protect. For me, this is a reflection on just how strongly and deeplyHitsugaya feels about Momo, that even his reigai counterpart wants to protectthe original, who is meant to be his enemy.

Speaking of character personality and attitudes, we see afew differences between the original and reigai Hitsugayas. Aside from that smile (the one Hitsugaya fangirls went nuts for!), there’s thefact the reigai Hitsugaya states his personal intentions aloud to an enemy,where as in the original Hitsugaya often keeps anything personal to himself - maybespouting a mild taunt or bit of exposition here and there, but mainly keeping hisguard up. This is seen in most of his battles (except against Aizen), like inhis fight against Tia Halibel, where he attempted to shrug off the spiritualpressure disturbance she noticed from him. If anything I’d imagine if Hitsugaya ever did state his personal intentions/motivations aloud, he’d keep them vague(in this case, the sub version falls more into line with his character) from both viewers and his opponent/s. He’ssaid a few times in the past he intends to protect and fight for the SoulSociety, but again, this seems to be more out of duty then anything personal.

And finally, let’s talk about thefact he revealed his motivation to Byakuya of all people. Aside from these twobeing fan favourites and this being a battle some fans have wanted to see (theepisode is even titled ‘For the Sake of Believers! Byakuya vs Hitsugaya!’ ‘Believers’= BLEACH fans, ‘Sake’ + ‘Byakuya vs Hitsugaya’ = fan service), the staff behind this episode consciouslyplanned out the battle beat by beat, including the motivation reveal. It’sbecause of this episode that realised how similar Byakuya and Hitsugaya are, and I think it’s because of these similarities in characteristics - from a story-telling/character perspective - that the anime staff had thereigai Hitsugaya reveal his motivation to Byakuya. These two are cold,introverted  stoics who take their dutiesas captains very seriously, possess immense power and intellect, and want toprotect what is close their hearts. However, there are some obvious differences between them. Byakuyararely ever gives into or reveals his emotions in battle (the only exceptionwas with As Nodt), while Hitsugaya has done so on more than one occasion.Though Hitsugaya is a child prodigy, he still has a long way to go in terms ofkeeping his emotions in check in heated situations. It comes down to years of experienceI guess, as Byakuya is centuries older then Hitsugaya (I presume).

But what about the things Byakuya said during this battle? Byakuya’sideology suggests reigai Hitsugaya has thrown away his pride because he woulduse any means necessary to protect Momo . If we were to follow Byakuya’s logic,we get a subtle reference to chapter 390, where Hitsugaya proclaimed he’d willingabandon his title and rank if it meant killing Aizen out of hatred, which is aslap in the face for the captains who hold their rank with any pride. But Ithink chapter 390 (as well as chapters 131 and 132 before Aizen’s betrayal and Gin was the main suspect) also hints that Hitsugaya’s pride doesn’t fully lie in hisrank, but in Momo’s wellbeing, happiness and honour, and his ability toprotect/avenge these parts of her that have been tarnished by a man who’s falsepersona had an important role in the creation and maintenance of these. Assuch, when Hitsugaya fails to protect her, his own pride is wounded. This conceptof Momo being part of his own pride is reflected in the moment his reigaicounterpart reveals his motivation, as he states that though he can’t becomethe original he holds pride in the fact he can protect ‘his own intentions’. I don’tknow about you, but that’s probably another reference to Momo and his belief henow has the powers and abilities to protect her. This is also similar to Byakuya, who admits afterthe battle he would do the same to protect his ‘pride’, a throwback to hisbattle with the seventh espada when Rukia was in danger

If nothing else, this episode emphasizes that Hitsugayawould do anything, become anything, and abandon everything if it meant ensuringMomo’s safety and happiness, a concept that has been constant throughout themanga, on both subtle and overt levels. 

Probably ranted and rambled for longer then I should have,but thank you for your question/request :)

[maounosekai]

so... lille doing the shuuhei lille pls

shuuhei vs lille sounds like an interesting fight neh? the scaring thing and the unpredictability thing... and the contrast in their battle tactics

[nekojen-blog]

Bleach 325

Good episode, and as always, the art for this arc is SOOOO GOOOOD

But the art in this episode was different. Everyone looked...rounder?

IDK, it was still a good episode

[yahoo201027]

Coming in 2014: Ichigo to Trenzalore...I mean the Soul Society to Kick Kageroza's Ass!

[yahoo201027]

And Kageroza talks to a Shell

[yahoo201027]

Coming in 2014: To The Soul Society!!!!

[yahoo201027]

Add the Number of Defeated Reigai to 9