not doing a full reread but i did skim through the first couple chapters and lol. lmao. ok dude. whatever you say. your own soul was scared that being powerless and unable to help would destroy you, but sure
I am going to skip from episode 63 to episode 110 in my Bleach watch.
Good lord, by the Bount filler arc went on forever?? I didn't remember the length of it... well, I guess because this is one of the places where I got bored and stopped watching the anime when I was a teenager.
Anyway, Hirako Shinji¹ is introduced really fast in the arrancar² arc, so I'm pleased to have gotten to it. Maybe I will go back to the Bount arc or something later. Maybe we won't though.
¹ Shinji!!!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧ I will find more characters whose appearances I treat like celebrity sightings in this arc. Probably like... quite a lot of them.
² Arrancar! They've got no souls but got great h— hey, who said that?
Oh wow I'd totally forgotten that Tōsen shows up on the heels of the Kurotsuchi fight. CJDJFHGT. Uryū, if you were the main character, a kindly healer would kidnap you between massive set piece fights. But. You're not. Anyway, Tōsen puts him down very quickly. He's kind of on his last legs anyway TBF.
Meanwhile, Ichigo is doing bankai training with Zangetsu. Interestingly, I feel like the Old Man Zangetsu has a sort of Low Rent Alucard (Hellsing) vibe, with his glasses and his floaty hair and the perpetual sense that his body is possibly a body and possibly just a ragged coat. It's a good vibe. Someone could just give him a giant fuckoff gun and an attitude problem, you know?
Oh, Renji, under arrest in the sixth division prison, is performing fan service duty with all his tattoos out. 👀
Of course Renji breaks out.
Okay, this is the Kira Izuru portion of the episode and I confess I do not understand him very well so let's pay attention for a second:
Kira Izuru is an anxious wreck. His arms are tied up in some kind of abbreviated straitjacket thing in his cell, even though Renji got cuffs, which indicates to me that the appearance of psychological distress is intentional.
He's upset about pulling his sword on Hinamori for realsies, and he's panicking about it in the quiet of the Division 3 holding cell.
Ichimaru arrives and Kira screams "WHO IS IT?" in a froth as soon as the lights come on.
I am not sure that he really has any rational reason to be as scared of Ichimaru as he seems when Ichimaru shows up — well, like, yet, anyway. Ichimaru is his own captain and although he's one of the more recently promoted captains, they have presumably worked together for at least a few years by now, and they have seemed like pretty friendly acquaintances under other circumstances. Kira defends him when he super does not have to.
Although... Kira does know that Hinamori felt Ichimaru was responsible for Aizen's death, of course...?
Anyway, Kira really seems to be having some kind of actual psychiatric problem, which would explain his terror, anyway?
It's like, people don't always like their bosses, but Kira appears more upset about Ichimaru than anyone is about Kurotsuchi, who casually kills his own subordinates.
So: Is this an inconsistency presented to the viewer to make Ichimaru seem so very scary, or is it an actual facet of Kira's relationship with him? Is it meant to be just Kira's character? What's, like, happening here? I have many questions whose answers are dependent on through what lens I choose to interpret this character.
Anyway, back to regular programming.
I like that the fight for bankai is just old man Zangetsu going like: Ichigo, we have to find the one piece of your fragile heart that's a weapon. I have helpfully represented all of them in the material plane for you. Yes, I've made them all look like weapons. What about it.
We get a little Hinamori interlude!!! I like how we keep seeing her in these big rooms where she looks so tiny. What a cute little girl. Aww. She is just as emotionally compromised as Kira, in her way. She has more obvious reasons, though.
Hinamori breaks out. Her breakout is WAY cooler than Renji's, in case you were wondering. She sedates her guard with kidō and then creates a perfectly round hole in the wall outside and just walks out.
God, she's so cute. Momo! 👏 Momo! 👏 Momo! 👏
Damn. It's almost like Renji and Momo are leaders in a military structure that strongly prizes individual might or something... Weird.
--
Episode 46:
Unsurprisingly, we see that Ichimaru breaks Izuru out. Although since it's his subordinate I guess it's not really like being "broken out"? That seems like it's entirely within Ichimaru's discretion
Oh, we're doing a flashback to the shinigami academy days. Meh. Okayyyyy. At least it will be full of Hinamori.
So, importantly, it establishes that she and Hitsugaya are very old friends, having grown up together, for whatever value of 'growing up' exists in the afterlife here.
Academy lore drop, which may prove useful for fic reasons later:
Yes, they have the separate classes for better students.
ZAN KEN SO KI, as Kira classes it: zanjutsu, hakuda, hohō, kidō, or swords, hand to hand, movement and magic.
Kira is from a "good" family like Hinamori and unlike Renji and Rukia (obviously Rukia does some upwards movement here LOL)
A teacher name is revealed: Ounabara Gengoro teaches the advanced class at the academy while Renji, Rukia, Hinamori and Kira are studying there.
Hisagi is 5 years ahead of Kira, Renji and Hinamori.
The other two sixth year students who are killed in the hollow attack in this episode are Kanisawa (short, slight woman, pale brown hair, one pigtail tied with little red baubles on the left side, serious face) and Aoga (tall man, broad shoulders, cleft chin, almost no eyebrows, close cropped black hair). Listen, sometimes it's nice to know who some of the background characters are.
Kira thinks he has more raw talent than Hisagi. How cute that he still has confidence and dreams here! This is a big contrast against what he's like as Ichimaru's lieutenant. What did big mean Ichimaru-taichou do to you, kiddo? And can I watch? 👀
Hinamori is still cute, in case you were wondering. Born cute, I fear.
The task here is that the advanced class goes to the living world and tests their new skills against dummy hollows that are released within a safe perimeter.
However, the sixth years running the exercise acknowledge that the activity can attract actual hollows so they must be on the lookout.
There is an attack from big hollows that wreck the test and everyone has to evacuate etc.
Interestingly, in Hinamori's memory (not necessarily reliable), Aizen almost ignores the other three to speak to her specifically. He pats her head and tells her that she's safe and doesn't have to fight because he's here.
Ichimaru is also here! He uses Shinsō like some kind of extendable light sabre. Very fun.
Aizen doesn't even call out whatever kidō he uses here.
And then we flash forward again to Hinamori breaking out of prison with kidō. She's come such a long way!! (人 •͈ᴗ•͈) ♡ And yet, Aizen is still undermining her. Same same, huh?
--
Episode 47:
Ichimaru and Matsumoto flashback! Matsumoto is dreaming of the way Ichimaru brought her food when she was younger and starving. Aww.
Side eyeing Matsumoto for lecturing Hinamori about her duties as a lieutenant and then sleeping in the office and leaving her captain to do two divisions' paperwork. >_>
Hitsugaya, arriving at the 5th division holding cell, points out that Hinamori is an expert at kidō and if they really wanted to hold her against her will, they'd have sealed her spiritual power, but nobody expected her to try.
Hitsugaya calls the spell 'HAKUFUKU.'
He dashes off to save her from a confrontation with Ichimaru.
Ichigo is still trying to find the part of his soul that's just a weapon. Good luck Ichigo. Because Ichigo is the main character, Yoruichi is present to watch his battle and commentate so the audience knows how well he's doing!
URAHARA INTERLUDE. He's back! It is an interlude in which Yoruichi talking about him makes him sneeze and Tessai forces expired medicine on him.
Back to Hinamori. Aizen's note to her includes him asking her to question a bunch of symptoms of conspiracy that he arranged. "Why do they keep moving up the date of Rukia's execution?" Shit, Aizen. Who could say???
As far as I recall, this serves absolutely no purpose in his larger plan? He is just fucking around? I am very interested in this aspect of Aizen's character.
Ichigo is very upset about Yoruichi bathing with him. He's so upset that Yoruichi turns into a cat. Then she tells him he looks disappointed and calls him a pervert. I, too, would threaten to drown her. Annoying people is truly the mutual love language Yoruichi and Urahara share.
Aaand she's back in naked lady form.
Ichigo looks away from the hot naked lady and just interrogates her about Urahara, by the way. If we care.
ANOTHER URAHARA INTERLUDE. Now he is stuck on his toilet, screaming because Tessai poisoned him. A pleasing contrast to Yoruichi talking him up.
Hitsugaya intercepts Ichimaru and Kira. It seems breaking Kira out was against protocol after all? But he is — again — Ichimaru's underling. Like. Kurotsuchi straight up kills members of his division and nobody blinks. Ichimaru frees his own lieutenant who was imprisoned for (checks notes) a single public brawl and it's a federal issue?
The rules of soul society sure are a mystery to me and I think they could be a mystery to other characters in a fic.
"If you wanted [breaking Kira out] to be a secret, why didn't you cover your tracks, Ichimaru?" "Well, that's a funny thing to say... I did it on purpose, so you'd know." Thank god Ichimaru said it. 😌 Obviously, it wasn't a secret, boy genius.
Hitsugaya is convinced that Ichimaru killed Aizen, but he is also convinced that by rushing in and picking a fight first, he can prevent Hinamori from acting on the same feeling. The mistake he perceives is NOT that she's trying to kill Ichimaru, it's that he thinks she's not strong enough to kill Ichimaru and will get hurt. Weird how the C46 was needed to execute Rukia but Hitsugaya, one of the top 13 officers in this military society, is perfectly willing to let that process fall by the wayside in this case.
I sense Ichimaru maaaay not be popular around the water cooler, hahaha.
Aaand there's the reveal: Aizen told her Hitsugaya killed him, not Ichimaru.
I think he has leaned REALLY hard on not just Hinamori's feelings of worshipful admiration for him, but also how accustomed she is to following his orders. Hinamori has known Hitsugaya for many decades, before she even became a shinigami, so her sudden 'Well I know Hitsugaya wouldn't do that but Aizen says so?' is interesting because it means she's totally rejected the simplest possible conclusion: that Aizen is wrong. (Not even, like, evil. Just incorrect.)
In the background of this confrontation between Hitsugaya and Hinamori, Ichimaru is just like: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Oooh I forgot that Aizen told her Hitsugaya wanted the the Sokyoku to destroy Soul Society. That's an insane story, btw. Why would Hitsugaya care about that? Hinamori, please engage your brain!
Hitsugaya must feel very bamboozled in this scene though. Why would poor murdered Aizen, who he knows to be a good guy, say this about him??? The maths is not maths-ing.
Aizen also writes that he'd like Hinamori to confront and kill someone Aizen couldn't kill, which, for all her skill at blowing things up and breaking out of prison, does not seem like a thing she would be able to do. Please, Momo. Think with your brain. Not your hysterical grief and disordered affection for your captain. Your brain!!!
Oh good, Hitsugaya is pointing out all these problems with the letter. I didn't remember that either. Thank u for ur role as The Only Sensible Shinigami, Hitsugaya. If you swapped Matsumoto for Ise you'd take over the whole military.
I love the way Hinamori starts screaming and tries to kill him though. She's so good at that.
It's also very sweet that Hitsugaya is like 'think about it, you fool!' and 'She's too upset to think straight' instead of just going 'Hinamori, i fear you are a COMPLETE MORON.'
Hitsugaya continues assuming Ichimaru is behind everything — he thinks he forged the letter.
HITSUGAYA BACKHANDS HER OUT OF THE AIR.
Ichimaru chides him for hitting Hinamori so hard when she's so hurt and upset.
Hitsugaya makes the WILD statement that Ichimaru made Hinamori grip her sword so hard her hands bled. I suppose, being a cute girl, she... doesn't make grip choices on her own? Uh-huh.
This episode ends when Ichimaru and Hitsugaya both prepare to draw their swords. They are glowing with spiritual energy! Truly this is a shonen series.
--
Episode 48:
It would appear that Ichimaru pretty much outclasses Hitsugaya at zanjutsu and hohō. He looks mildly out of breath from that whole assault. He is very complimentary but we can assume he means it like an asshole.
Oh, yeah. That's right.
Hitsugaya can just summon an ice dragon.
Oh, yeah, I remember that now.
Man. how annoyed would you be if YOUR power was Extendosword 2000 and this 13 year old just whips out a fucking elemental deity. rude. I think Ichimaru should kinda get a reroll.
Hyōrinmaru IS badass though.
Oh no, he takes out Kira as collateral. Poor Kira.
Ichimaru blocks the ice with his sealed wakizashi-sized zanpakuto, gets one arm frozen, and then tricks Hitsugaya by extending his sword through the visual obstacle of his coat, in such a way that if Hitsugaya dodges, Hinamori (who he knocked out when he backhanded her) gets hit.
This was quite a clever strategy! Cruel, but clever. Good job being a villainous shit, Ichimaru. ilu.
Matsumoto arrives — against her captain's orders — just in time to block Ichimaru's blow from reaching Hinamori.
I don't think, when I was younger, that I paid much attention to the Matsumoto-Ichimaru relationship. They're both slightly more interesting characters to me this time around. - She — politely, compared to how these guys have been talking — tells Ichimaru she will engage him if he doesn't withdraw his sword.
Notably, her sword already has a massive crack in it where she blocked his. It's unclear if this is a hint towards Haineko's nature, or if it's meant to be read as her weaponising her own vulnerability towards Ichimaru in the hopes that his supposed affection for her will make him retreat lest he hurt her, or if she's just saying she'll fight him and ignoring that weakness? Any of the above seem possible.
Meanwhile, Ichigo is... doing sit ups. He will be required to fight all day again but I guess that's not enough core exercises for our hero.
Rukia is notified that her execution date has been moved up. It's now tomorrow. Teehee.
Hitsugaya and Matsumoto stare at Hinamori's unconscious body and discuss the fight. At least she's got medical care, I guess. Matsumoto's upset about how Ichimaru is secretive and avoidant — it's pretty clear that she cares quite a lot about him. It's less clear (at this stage of the plot) that he cares about her.
Everyone else gets the notification of Rukia's execution date being moved up, everyone clearly thinks it's weird, and nobody thinks to check on c46 because I guess random and capricious behaviour is actually totally normal for their government.
Is moving the date up a symptom of Aizen getting antsy about how fast this is unravelling? Or just fucking around? Hmm.
Renji goes to find Ichigo and join him for bankai training and he's FINALLY gotten rid of the sunglasses. Delightful.
Man, Rukia is going through it.
Now she's dreaming about Kaien. I guess we find out more about the dead guy who looks like Ichigo soon! Dun dun duuun.
--
Episode 49:
An episode of Rukia's flashback about Ukitake, Miyako and Kaien.
It seems clear that despite the amount of power the nobility have — and how powerful the shinigami from the noble families are — they can still be looked down upon if they use their status to be exempted from checks and balances the other shinigami consider important. Byakuya didn't want her sitting the graduation exam or getting scuffed, so her colleagues think she's essentially ornamental and respond accordingly.
Of course, it's laughable for a nobleman to be like "ohhh nooo, I'm being oppressed because the peons don't accept me at my job I don't need!!!" but I see why, for Rukia's specific circumstances, that would feel bad and isolating
Kaien is like a more annoying, louder version of Ichigo. It's true. They really do resemble each other.
His subordinates are drunk in the middle of the day though. :/
MIYAKO JUST SHOWS UP AND SMOOSHES A HANDKERCHIEF INTO RUKIA'S FACE TO RUB DIRT OFF WITH NO WARNING. I see, I see... Both Ichigo and Kaien are mamas' boys... It all makes sense...
She was wise, kind, and beautiful... she was Rukia's idol... Man, Rukia should meet Masaki and become obsessed with her then? It only makes sense.
Oh wow, okay, Ukitake finally showed up to work. But only in time to see Miyako become a weird zombie?
Kaien is different to Ichigo in that he has a lot less plot armour. 🤔
Speaking practically, I would question Ukitake's choice to prioritise Kaien's feelings over his life when eliminating Metastacia is literally a Gotei-13 mission and should be absolutely Ukitake's business.
However, if you take a step back and look at the whole Miyako-Metastacia thing as a metaphor for rape (played for horror) then it becomes socially if not practically somewhat clearer why Ukitake might consider avenging his subordinate to be the right of her husband. (More on that here.)
So Kaien gets obliterated standing 2 seconds away from his alleged backup. Thanks, Ukitake.
And there's Rukia's big bad Ichigo-looking trauma, I guess. Welp!
Outside of the flashback, Byakuya is determined to accept Rukia's death with all of the grace he can muster and continues to act with absolutely none of it towards any of the people around him. Good job, Byakuya.
