#❃ Bleach Verse; What the hollow is a soul reaper | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

badmusejail · 11 months

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TLDR:

Welcome to the BLEACH worldbuilding page, containing the overarching headcanons that connect my muses.

My BLEACH muses generally exist within the verse my (currently unpublished) fanfiction does, which expands slightly upon the universe and changes some things, mainly the depiction of the Spirit King.

I spent several years of my youth building on Kubo’s world, exploring and playing with different concepts, but above all, regardless of my feelings or how I shift things around for the sake of exploration, I fully respect Kubo’s decisions and refuse to insult his storytelling.

I'm willing to change or adjust anything to fit your headcanons and will write in a strictly canon sense if asked! Nonetheless, here is a summary of the verse I write in, followed by more details.

Quincies were originally meant to safeguard humanity from 'demons,' entities that have broken free of the chain of Hell. Demons exist outside of the cycle of reincarnation, meaning they can be destroyed without consequence.

The exact circumstances and decisions that resulted in the Quincy abandoning their path as holy protectors of humanity and war/tension between them and Soul Society has mostly been lost to history, resulting in a scattered and corrupted version of the original Quincy.

A Quincy can become a Soul Reaper by inverting the flow of reiatsu through their soul and vice versa; Hollows and Demons have a similar relationship.

Demons are poisonous to Soul Reapers / average Souls in the same way that Hollows are poisonous to Quincy.

Demons have become much less common over the years, making the Quincy mostly obsolete.

Sasakibe was (and still is) an Quincy who learned the Soul Reaper arts and sought to befriend Yamamoto in an effort to prove that their people didn't need to fight. Though he managed the first goals, he never did actually reveal himself as a Quincy, but he did later fully abandon Yhwach as the king grew unstable.

Geoferd is a living Quincy residing in what is essentially the Quincy capital of the world, a neutral party that avoids association with both the Fallen King and Soul Society. Geoferd is essentially a historian, who watches the world and keeps note of things for future records. Although Geoferd will engage in combat, he's not particularly strong, and he will not use his powers on anything other than demons, well aware of the consequences.

Futsuku is the current Head Judge of the Central 46 and also the same judge that was ruling at the time of the Vizard's (attempted) execution. Futsuku had always been interested in doing good, but far too meek to be a warrior, so he pursued law. He served on Central 46 for about forty years before being rotated off after the Vizard's case. Normally, council members don't serve twice, but he was called back in on emergency after Aizen murdered the current council, and still holds the position.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Species and Hybrids

Zanpakuto and Bogengeist

History of the Quincy

Additional note: While the fanfic mentioned above has different rules than canon for the Spirit King and Royal Realm and Guard, those headcanons are typically admitted for roleplay. Feel free to ask about them, though!

SPECIES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS

A Demon is an entity that has broken free of the chain of Hell, granting them freedom and usually immense power.

A Quincy is an entity possessing a certain sort of reiatsu, commonly referred to as light magic.

This light magic infused in the Quincy offer them some unique strengths and weaknesses--while the demon energy is usually corrosive and poisonous to souls, Quincy are able to resist it. In turn, however, the emptiness of hollows are poisonous to them instead, making combat with them especially dangerous.

Soul Reapers are meant to exterminate hollows, Quincy are meant to exterminate demons. Quincy killing hollows is disastrous for the balance, and while a Soul Reaper killing a demon doesn't have much in way of consequence, it's akin to trying to tear down a brick wall with a butter knife. The purifying aspect of the zanpakuto does not work on demons, and they can only be struck down with one by pure blunt force. It's simply not the right tool for the job.

The relationship between these entities make their hybridization an especially fascinating concept. Hollows can shinigamify and soul reapers can hollowfy, and similarly, in the right conditions, a quincy could demonfy and a demon could quincify.

The adjacent entities tend to be more complicated, and much more unstable, especially given that certain entities are poisonous to others.

A hollow could quincify but hollowfication would kill a quincy; and a demon could shinigamify but demonification would kill a soul reaper. The final two sets are essentially opposites of one another: quincy pull in and manipulate external energy, while soul reapers exude and manipulate their own energy. Hollows are the result of an emptiness, and demons are the result of an excess. Thus, a hybridization of these sets are not supplemental to the original entity, but rather a complete rewiring of the intrinsic nature of the powers.

They cannot exist at the same time, and rather than requiring some external stimulus, a quincy could obtain soul reaper powers or a demon could obtain hollow powers just by training themselves to invert the powers they already have.

Bogengeist and Zanpakuto spirits are, in essence, one and the same. An internal representation of the powers of the soul, the key to unlocking and understanding the true power possessed by the soul.

In the case of hybrids, the Bogengeist and Zanpakuto spirit are literally one and the same, shifting along with the soul to represent whichever set of powers are active at the time.

A Quincy that obtains Soul Reaper powers would have a Bogengeist that matches their personality and a Zanpakuto spirit that opposes it; while a Soul Reaper that obtains Quincy powers would have the opposite.

HISTORY OF THE QUINCY

under construction/needs finalization and tweaking

The history of the Quincy has been lost.

Between Soul Society's destruction of the people, and the Wandenreich's own twisted interpretation of the Quincy arts, little to no history remains of who the Quincy really were, who they were meant to be.

Yhwach is known now to be the King of the Quincy; some say he was the first, some say he was one of many, others say he was a false king who usurped the people and used them for his own good.

Regardless of the truth, the Quincy kind were gifted with such knowledge as ancient spells, a new language (known in modern times as Old High German), and possibly secrets of the worlds to guard. In addition, through various ceremonies, the power of the Quincy could be passed on.

The first ceremony is temporary, to instill powers into a single generation or to restore the lost powers. By exhausting a creature mentally and physically then firing a Quincy arrow, infused with light magic, into a specific energy pathway near the heart. This technique can restore lost Quincy powers and also gift the power of a Quincy onto a non-light being, though the secondary use is dangerous, not unlike the Soul Reapers’ ability to gift Soul Reaper powers. It should be noted that this technique is on an energy level only, meaning that the recipient’s blood is not modified and the powers will not be inherited.

The second ceremony can only be executed to its fullest potential by Yhwach, though there is nothing preventing another Quincy from doing so. By drinking a small cup of the blood of a Quincy specially infused with a high concentration of light energy, that is the Quincy must specifically create this mixture—it is not contained naturally in their blood, a nonQuincy can gain the powers of for himself and all future generations. This technique is meant to be deterring to all but those most dedicated to the cause, in order to prevent the creation of undedicated Quincy.

Blood purity was considered very important in the older times, though it has since been realized that blood purity does not have any impact on the power level of the Quincy. Some modern Quincy still follow the ideals, though these are mostly the arrogant ‘pure bloods.’ They are referred to as ‘pure’ (Echt) and ‘mixed’ (Gesmicht). While many Quincy no longer care of these ideals, calling the wrong Quincy Gesmicht can result in a painful retaliation.

??? years ago, the Fall of the Quincy

For reasons lost to all but whispered myth, Yhwach began to grow tired of his role of giver—of protector—a thankless role that got him and his people called many names, chased out of many towns.

Perhaps he wanted to claim Soul Society as a sanctuary for his people.

Perhaps he saw the hell that was Seireitei and wished to repair it.

Perhaps his goals were never anything other than greed.

Perhaps he was like this all along.

Perhaps...something more sinister was afoot.

Nonetheless, Yhwach began to scheme: Quincy began to realize how to keep their powers after death, and the fact was exploited to create an army within the very place the Soul Reapers reside: Soul Society. Yhwach began scavenging the world for the remaining Quincy, offering sanctuary in a world that rejected their kindness and services.

Yhwach’s technique for gathering his army should be noted. Remember when it was mentioned that a Quincy entering Soul Society through a Senkaimon or similar portal, they possess their power after death. By learning how to create such a portal, he was capable of bringing living (or soul) Quincy into the Soul Society, effectively bringing the battle to the Soul Reapers.

In addition, because his blood runs quite literally in all Quincy, he is also capable of seizing control over this blood (or more specifically the energy within) and quite literally forcing the Quincy into doing whatever it is he desires. The amount of energy and focus required to achieve the effect is excessive making the practical uses nil yet horrifyingly effective for the sadistic man wishing to thoroughly torture his Quincy. The technique is more powerful the purer the Quincy is. This ability is also one of the main reason no Quincy, fallen or otherwise, has ever (successfully) overthrown Yhwach. He can also forcibly rip a Quincy’s powers from him, a generally fatal process.

1,000 years ago, Seireiteian/Vandenreich War

After years of amassing forces, the Vandenreich finally stormed Seireitei, resulting in a massive chaotic surprise attack.

When faced with an enemy that unabashedly cut through anything that crossed its path even if it was its own soldiers, Seireitei was at a loss.

The threat was unlike anything the Seireitei had ever faced: Hollows were no comparison. With the signature organized chaos of the darkness, the Seireitei was nearly obliterated in the course of a few days. Not even Shigekuni Yamamoto could defeat Yhwach completely.

At the very end, using a forbidden demonic spell, the Seireitei managed to pull off a desperate counterattack that managed to save what was left of the city and seal a majority of the Vandenreich’s forces, including Yhwach, into God knows where for a thousand years. Those that were missed by the spell retreated shortly after.

Seireitei had pulled through.

Up until this point, Soul Reapers were best described as heartless creatures that only protected humanity because it allowed them to hunt down hollows. However, this battle was a changing point. Yamamoto began to realize the necessity of an organized military system: hence, the Gotei 13 was born. After this war, the Soul Reapers began to become more human; Soul Reapers not born in Seireitei began to join the system, eventually morphing the Gotei 13 into the (mostly) noble society it is today. Yamamoto is still a merciless, cold man, but he is not heartless.

600 years ago, rising of the Quincy of the Old Order

It took a very long time for any semblance of the Quincy culture to resurge. Of those that did not get killed, even fewer remained good, and even fewer yet still desired to wield the power. The survivors of the war were few and scattered and most of them put down their bow—some even going as far as undergoing painful removals of the power entirely—in response to the shame their King brought upon them.

The Pride of the Quincy was virtually nonexistent.

Though no human records of it exist, it is accepted as fact that the angels also turned their backs on the Quincy after the Falling.

The Quincy were torn: should they follow their king, their teachings, or abandon both?

Unfortunately, many chose the third option, growing bitter at the events that transpired. They felt abandoned, lost, and in return, they abandoned all that they knew.

Surprisingly, very few outside of the Vandenreich decided to follow their king, mostly because they were outside his reign of influence.

Some Quincy even went rouge, either using their powers for their own sense of good or their own sense of evil. This Quincy were the direct cause of the modern Quincy nearly 400 years later.

There were the fewest, however: Those that decided to step up and salvage the pride of the Quincy, and rebuild from scratch.

Like minded Quincy eventually gathered in modern day Germany, where they decided to start anew. They dubbed themselves Quincy of the Old Order, referring to the style of Quincy that existed prior to the fall of the King.

In a cruel twist of fate, the QOO find themselves essentially obsolete. Demons are virtually nonexistent. Regardless, they will stand fast, ready to defend the worlds should they ever need them.

500 years ago, Building of Shutzestadt.

Finally, the Quincy gather enough in order to begin building a new city. Building churches, libraries, and schools that still stand today all dedicated to the light and heaven above.

Schutzestadt starts out small, with only approximately 200 inhabitants. The city is blocked off from humans, powerful spells hiding the city from sight and essentially existence despite being just outside the edges of human civilization. It is by word of mouth and by word of mouth only that new Quincy managed to discover the city; even experienced Quincy would have difficulty discovering the city on their own.

Quincy have a love of bells, and as such nearly all important buildings have one of their own. A very rigid schedule has been set for the bells, with various tones indicating times of the day, generally the sunrise and set, which is also a city-wide sense of opening and closing for public buildings, special holidays, and even a set for communication, such as alerting the city to an attack or other source of danger.

The Quincy also employ a unique sense of architecture, with their spiritual abilities allowing them to create buildings that couldn’t exist by the human laws of physics. Shops and other facilities are stacked upon each other, with Hirenkyaku allowing Quincy to reach their doors without large and cumbersome staircases.

This city became the Quincy capital of the worlds, with a proud sign declaring itself as such to any who find its magnificence.

Showing an outstanding degree of adaptability, the remnants of the war create a completely self-sustained city, complete with currency, government, and culture. Currency became all sorts of ware and crafts, as some Quincy specialize in arts, others in clothing, others in weaponry, and so on; the government became a council, as no Quincy here dared to invite a new King to the top (plus Yhwach took the idea of ‘divine right’ to a whole new level); and the culture was a new adopted code based on the Quincy of the Old Order’s ideals of morality.

Even as Quincy constantly brought everything they had of the so-called ‘Golden Years’ to the capital, a great majority of the Original Quincy culture was lost to the world, buried under the remnants of various villages, locked away in the depths of the Vandenreich, or forgotten in a temple by some deceased Quincy.

Even so, it is doubtful that this material is permanently destroyed, as they were protected by the light and are generally much more durable than even the Quincy who guide them. Perhaps they will be unearthed again one day.

The Quincy of the Old Order do follow a path close to that of the original species, even if some of the details and abilities available to them vanished.

In Schutzestadt, the designation of ‘Gesmicht’ was removed from official use, though the slang of the term does still exist as a grave insult.

The Quincy survived to meet a new era.

250 years ago, rise of the Modern Quincy.

Unfortunately, word of mouth was not enough to attract every Quincy as they travelled the world. With communications cut and no way to find the rest of their kind, the QOO were powerless to stop various distorted forms of the art from arising.

One grievous case is recorded as the Modern Quincy, a group growing astoundingly quickly, embittered by the hollows that plague the world and the Soul Reapers who are not only negligent, but also hate their clan.

It cannot be said that the Modern Quincy were evil in any way, merely misguided and lost from their path of light and righteousness. However, that does not prevent horrendous consequences for them.

Almost all traces of demons were forgotten in this modern group. Those that practice religion generally follow a human form. At best, these Modern Quincy could be described as nothing more than a shadow of even the QOO.

They even forgot the existence of their bow spirits, the literal meaning of the phrase ‘my soul is in my bow,’ merely operating on the metaphorical meaning that they used their powers to fight for what they believed was right and just.

In fact, they forgot the most important rule of all:

Quincy must only strike down demons.

The world has a very specific order, in which humans are allowed to live out their life on Earth and Soul Society, with death in one world leading to life in the other. Should a human lose touch with his humanity, the life of a hollow awaits him.

When striking down a demon, the balance is unaffected since they were already removed from it. However, when striking down a hollow, soul reaper, or human, the balance shifts in favor of the other world. Again, this event will not cause a problem occasionally, however, when you have thousands of Quincy in the same general area taking out hundreds of hollows each, the balance begins to shift dangerously so.

The Soul Reapers were not blind to the issue, and knew that it needed to be corrected.

It was decided that peaceful attempts would be attempted first (rather than deal with the morality of erasing an entire species from existence—the Modern Soul Reaper was much more morally inclined than the Old Soul Reaper).

Unfortunately, the Modern Quincy were not willing to negotiate on the necessary terms.

200 years ago, the Genocide of the Modern Quincy

After years of arguing with the Quincy and years of failing, it was finally agreed that the majority of the Quincy must be erased, preferably with their own powers, in order to ensure that they would never rise again (as the Soul Reaper’s understanding of the Quincy was minimal).

The war was bloody.

The Quincy were overpowered quickly. They may be strong, but without the spells and equipment of the ancients that made them truly powerful, the superior numbers, experience, and strength of the Soul Reapers quickly wiped them out.

Even those willing to negotiate would not do so on the terms necessary to preserve the balance of the world. Those few Quincy who desired peace were destroyed, and those few Soul Reapers had to eventually cave for the sake of the world.

A scant few of the Modern Quincy remained scattered throughout Japan, while the Soul Reapers remained blissfully unaware of the QOO’s existence, and said QOO would not learn of the genocide until it was far too late.

100 years ago, restructuring of Schutzestadt.

Whenever the QOO finally learned of the genocide, there was nothing they could do beyond sigh and mourn the stupidity of their kin.

After all, in this situation, the Soul Society was truly blameless and their kin was at fault.

Though it may be since they had an emotional distance from the occurrence, they could clearly see that the Modern Quincy were at fault and should have listened to Soul Society, who did their best to avoid resorting to extremes.

They made attempts to reach the remainders of the clan, they were mostly shut out and treated with suspicion: After all, what true Quincy could side with the Soul Reapers?

It was at this point that the QOO decided that there needed to be changes.

Schutzestadt, the complete pride of the QOO, was nearly completely deconstructed: only the churches, temples, and schools remained untouched. However, over the years, various stubborn elders hide secrets amongst the city, dying without ever revealing these secrets and even more of the original lore and magic fell to the wind, even if the morals were still kept.

The spell protecting their city finally came down after 400 years, being replaced by various smaller spells to protect their secrets from the average human. Humans could finally step into the sacred ground of the Quincy as it still stands today.

The Quincy appear as basic humans with a fascination with white, blue, and crosses, and many of the shops are open for trading and buying of (nonspiritual) wares and even the churches, temples, and schools can be accessed in the right conditions.

There are hotels, but Shutzestadt is a very closed community, with no nonQuincy being able to take up residence there.

Slowly but surely a mixture of human culture made it to the QOO, allowing them to adopt their inventions and mannerisms without ever losing that which made them Quincy.

The humans came and went, and eventually it became another one of Germany’s marvels, though spiritually aware beings can see the unnatural shops and activities that take place there.

The previous council still exists, in order to deal with such things as spiritual issues. It was renamed the Old Council, while an aptly named New Council deals with situations involving humans doing human things.

The Soul Reapers remain blissfully unaware of its existence.

75 years ago, the outing of Mayuri Kurostuchi

And of course, no history of the Quincy could be complete without an honorable mention to the Quincy’s greatest fan, Mayuri Kurostuchi, infamously known for the brutal, torturous experiments performed on the Quincy.

Although most of the Soul Society wished to punish him for the actions, there was nothing they could do besides attempt to prevent further incidents, although it is almost guaranteed that Mayuri continued in the background.

He got off on the simple loop that Soul Society didn’t have a law against it. Yes, there were laws against the mistreatment of humans, though he had prepared a large case about why exactly the Quincy could not be considered human, which the Soul Society had to begrudgingly agree with.

This declaration successfully left Mayuri blameless, as Soul Society’s only laws required the destruction of any entity endangering the balance. The law did not state in which way they must be destroyed, and no legal action was implementable against him. The law was shortly after amended to call for the humane dispatch of enemies.

Unfortunately, he also cited reasons of research, as his research did reveal plenty of information about the spiritual archers, and Soul Society could not risk losing opportunities to gather information about enemies, so they did not place any restrictions on what Mayuri could and could not do.

This does not stop him from showing an interest in any other Quincy that crosses his path, regardless of whether or not he feels the information is complete. Any Modern Quincy would kill him nearly instantly and he remains one of the few Soul Reapers the QOO honestly hate.

9 years ago, the “holy” selection, auswӓhlen.

The crazed Vandenreich began to awaken. Since the Fall nearly 1000 years ago, Haschwalth was in charge of them, which plays a large part in the fact that the nonsleeping members did not strike at Soul Society again.

Haschwalth told the soldiers that it would be unwise to make any move while their king was indisposed.

As Yhwach began to stir, he had differing plans. He began a ceremony, a literally deadly spell that would summon the powers of the Gesmicht, by the old definition, Quincy back to him to speed his recovery.

An application of his ability to control the light energy in other Quincy, such a large scale required undiluted attention and a huge preparation and it is unlikely that such a spell will be carried out again in the life of the world, if Yhwach is even capable of doing so again. It is unknown if he is capable of doing the same spell on Echt Quincy.

The spell caused interworldal chaos, as the remnants of the Modern Quincy, the QOO, and even Quincy living in the Soul Society were suddenly and brutally killed. Those that knew the legend cringed in shame at the actions of the man they call king, while those who did not were left to mourn the unexpected loss of those they loved.

Some of the few Modern Quincy continued to be deluded by the Quincy’s illusion of grandeur, believing the King and auswӓhlen to be the turning point of the Quincy, feeling as though their King would finally arise and avenge them, not knowing that the Quincy have fallen a long time ago.

Yhwach rose to power.

Current

The Quincy are still in existence, despite their lowered numbers and powers. A majority of them reside in the shadows of Soul Society in the Invisible Empire, just waiting for the moment when their king is ready to strike. Others, such as the Ishida in Karakura are mostly isolated, ignorant of the true path of the Quincy, and merely doing that which they feel is best. The QOO has still opted out of any major affairs in the worlds.

Who will side with who, and will good or evil reign supreme? None can tell…

#|| ooc | out of character.#|| shared | verse | bleach.#|| shared | headcanon | bleach.

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needlcssgone · 3 years

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@jiruga said: Holding up a picnic basket. “I’ve got a whole side of beef in here!” - for DEI ( lMFAO )

MISC FOOD SENTENCE STARTERS PT. 4 accepting

❃ There were a lot of thoughts going through his head. Why? What was the purpose of that much beef? And why bring this to his attention. And furthermore-

“Oi, oi, whe-... wh... That’s a lot of beef, hm.” Words failed him, completely.

#you broke him a little i think #jiruga #❃ Bleach Verse; What the hollow is a soul reaper?#❃ Deidara #❃ I might just blow up in your face! IC #Asks #NNOITRA BROUGHT THE B E E F

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orphanedshadow · 3 years

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Bleach verse

Hell had grown tired of waiting for scraps to filter down from above. Their prey was delivered so very slowly, as Soul Reapers eventually dispatched hollows of those that had been sinners in life.

So a program was started, run by an entity known only as "Grandmother." She pioneered a technique for creating abominations, Hell's attempt at making something like soul reapers.

These abominations did not often last long enough to even be born, and that suited Grandmother fine. If they were too weak to even make it to birth then they would never be of any use, not to anyone.

They were a mess of energies, shadows and fire forced to learn how to form a vessel before they faded out of existence. The weakest of these abominations was a girl, one who had clawed her way back from the brink of death thousands of times before her vessel finally settled and could keep her stable. Grandmother did not have hope for the girl, but nonetheless decided to throw her to the wolves so to speak.

That girl was trained like any other, forced to fight for her survival. But from her weakness came strength, for the hungry darkness and the child's spirit had only lived by learning how to work as a single unit, as well as how to hide.

The little girl was given the name Kara, and her weakness allowed her to hide. It is difficult to avoid blows from what you can not detect, and even harder to kill it. She was forced to be silent, for using words to activate anything was a sign of weakness. That tactic paid off, though at the price of her ability to speak. A silent killer, exactly what Hell wanted.

With every sibling she killed Kara gained strength, feeding on their energy and adding it to her own. At some point the battles were no longer against others of her kind, for none remained but her.

Once she was strong enough they waited, until the gates opened to let in a victim and the soul reaper responsible had their back turned. The child was ejected from her home, sent out into the world to collect what the soul reapers were too slow at bringing.

Now she feeds on Hollows, and occasionally living humans who have done it enough to capture the attention of a Hell. Through her the souls may be digested and cleansed, with anything irredeemable sent into the waiting arms of Hell's denizens.

#collector of the damned: bleach #mobile bio #look at me making an actual page for a verse i am so productive

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recentanimenews · 4 years

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10 Bleach Fight Scenes That Make the Anime Unforgettable

From the very first episode to the finale, fights were always Bleach's bread and butter. Whether it's the early battles against hollows or the latter fights against Arrancar, Bleach never failed to deliver a memorable showdown. Though both the anime and manga are over, Bleach has a big announcement coming up with its 20th anniversary event next month. To celebrate, we're counting down the top 10 Bleach fights that've stuck with us even after all these years!

**Watch out for spoilers and enjoy the list!**

10. Ichigo vs. Ginjo

As Bleach’s final battle, you can tell that the staff behind Ichigo vs. Ginjo gave it their all. Featuring some of the best animation in all of Bleach, it’s also a great reintroduction to Ichigo’s power as a Soul Reaper. It’s great to see him back at his former strength (and then some), after spending most of the Fullbring Arc trying to catch up to everyone else and figure out Tsukishima’s plan.

But now, with his powers returned and the other Fullbringers defeated, it’s down to him and Ginjo. Each exchange makes it clearer and clearer that Ichigo is far and away the superior fighter, and our excitement only grows with that realization. The Hell Verse soundtrack that plays during their final exchange is the cherry on top here, adding the perfect epic sound to conclude this fight. Bleach may be over now, but it certainly went out with a bang!

9. Shuhei vs. Findorr

Shuhei Hisagi was always in an odd position among Bleach’s supporting cast. He was always around, but never did much until this point. Here, though, he proves that he’s one of the coolest Lieutenants in the show. The fight starts off solid, if unremarkable compared to Bleach’s best fights, but doesn’t stay that way for long. Once Shuhei’s forced to use his shikai, it turns into nonstop momentum as Findorr tries to dodge Kazeshini and its odd angles of attack.

Kazeshini’s design makes for an interesting fighting style, and it can be hard to tell where Shuhei’s next attack is coming from. Will he use it as a melee weapon, will he throw it again, or will it loop around for another hit after his last attack? For all that he says he doesn’t like Kazeshini’s shape, Shuhei’s clearly mastered its use. He keeps both us and Findor guessing until the final blow, making this one of Bleach’s most dynamic fights.

8. Chad vs. Shunsui

Chad vs. Shunsui can barely be called a fight, but it still deserves a spot on this list for being a perfect example of how to do a one-sided fight. Chad had been built up as one of the stronger fighters in Ichigo’s group, so it’s startling to see him outmatched so quickly.

The fight plays with expectations, first showing Shunsui blocking and evading Chad’s attacks effortlessly, then setting Chad up for a comeback as he reflects on why he’s fighting in the first place. His final attack has all the marks of a finisher: large scale, obvious effort behind it, triumphant music, everything we’ve come to expect. Only, it fails. Shunsui easily avoids it and downs Chad in one blow. The shock of such a sudden ending comes with a realization: sometimes the heroes just aren't strong enough.

7. Kenpachi vs. Nnoitra

Sometimes you want a tactical battle, where each side is trying to outsmart the other. Sometimes you want to see what tricks and special abilities the fighters are concealing as they wait for just the right moment to get the upper hand. And sometimes you just want to see two tough guys hammering each other and refusing to go down. The latter is where Kenpachi vs. Nnoitra comes in. The two of them both specialize in raw power; power that’s on full display here. Even their special moves (Kenpachi’s kendo and Nnoitra’s Santa Teresa) are essentially ways to amplify their already considerable strength.

Simple as that sounds, it makes for quite a thrilling duel. Both of them are so strong that it sometimes feels like the fight comes down to who can endure the most punishment, especially once Kenpachi manages to cut Nnoitra. Part of what makes it so engrossing is how much fun Kenpachi’s having for the entire fight; it’s hard not to get caught up in his joy at facing a challenging enemy. And this isn’t even his best fight!

6. Yoruichi vs. Soi Fon

Though it’s partially overshadowed by Ichigo vs. Byakuya, Yoruichi vs. Soi Fon is a great fight in its own right. Bleach has always excelled at moments of pure cool, which is exactly how this fight starts off. Soi Fon summons a group of her underlings and seems to have the upper hand, only for Yoruichi to defeat all of them in an instant! That immediately sets the tone for the rest of the fight, which becomes a battle of speed between two masters of close combat.

Soi Fon’s Suzumebachi adds to the stakes, making every blow a risk for Yoruichi, as a second hit from Soi Fon means instant death. Bleach fights are typically built around weapons, but this fight proves it can more than handle hand to hand combat as well. With an explosive ending to top it off, Yoruichi vs. Soi Fon truly earns its place here.

5. Ichigo vs. Kenpachi

Ichigo vs. Kenpachi marks the first time we see a Captain really fight (Byakuya defeating Ichigo before doesn’t really count as a fight), and Kenpachi’s the perfect character to demonstrate why these Captains are such a big deal. Seeing even Ichigo overwhelmed by Kenpachi’s spiritual pressure hammers home that this guy is on a completely different level from everyone else Ichigo has gone against before, and that’s even before we see him stop Zangetsu with his bare hands!

Once we see just how strong Kenpachi is, the fight takes on a new dimension. It really feels like Ichigo could die here, and the tension becomes palpable as he realizes that too. It’s only by pairing his power with Zangetsu’s that Ichigo is finally able to make headway, and even then the fight is about as close as a fight can get, ending with both of them on the verge of death with everything around them reduced to rubble. Ichigo vs. Kenpachi shows us what it means to really fight, and it’s a lesson we won’t soon forget.

4. Ichigo vs. Aizen

Even though Bleach continues on afterwards, Ichigo vs. Aizen has the feel of a final battle. Everyone else is dead or incapacitated, Aizen’s goal is in reach, and Ichigo’s the only one left to stop him. With his Final Getsugatensho training complete and Aizen’s transformation continuing, the stage is set for them to finally clash, and what a fight it is. Their every exchange destroys the surrounding terrain, and even Aizen finally seems to be on the ropes. After so many episodes of Aizen dominating everyone who stands in his way, it’s gratifying to see someone finally outmatch him for once. As Aizen’s finally defeated, this fight marks the end of Bleach’s longest storyline yet, and it’s an end you won’t soon forget.

3. Ichigo vs. Grimmjow

Put simply, Ichigo vs. Grimmjow is the ultimate grudge match. The two had fought twice before, both times with Ichigo only surviving thanks to outside intervention. This time, though, there’s nobody else to interfere, and both of them are free to go all out and settle things. The raw force of Grimmjow’s Resurrección makes it clear that this is a battle for keeps, one that’s going to take everything Ichigo has.

Once the fight kicks off, it’s nonstop momentum as the two engage in a constant back and forth across the ground and air. Watching it is a thrilling experience as each hit seems like it could be lethal, with even the missed attacks destroying large chunks of the surrounding buildings. Ichigo’s finishing blow is the perfect way to end the fight, exciting and triumphant as he finally defeats Grimmjow, his biggest rival since the Arrancar first showed up. Though there are plenty of fights left before Orihime is safe, Ichigo vs. Grimmjow marks a turning point in Hueco Mundo, and is the perfect way to cap off the arc’s first half.

2. Everyone vs. Aizen

We knew Aizen was strong from the moment he revealed his true colors. After all, he was able to stop Ichigo’s bankai with just a finger! But even that didn’t prepare us for what happens when all of the remaining Captains and Vizards tried taking him down in the Fake Karakura Town Arc.

One by one he defeats these powerful fighters without breaking a sweat, all culminating in the moment he takes down Toshiro, Shinji, Shunsui, and Soi Fon in the span of a few seconds. At this point Aizen seems unstoppable, a force of nature that nobody can stand against. Though we know Ichigo is inevitably going to defeat him, at that moment, when he smiles as the Captains fall to the ground, Aizen truly seems invincible.

1. Ichigo vs. Byakuya

Out of all the fights here, Ichigo vs. Byakuya is far and away the most iconic, and for good reason. This is the culmination of everything the Soul Society Arc has been building to ever since Rukia was first taken. The stakes are clear: if Ichigo doesn’t defeat Byakuya, then Rukia’s never going to be safe, and we know that Ichigo is the only one there who can beat him. As the two engage, we learn just how far Ichigo has come, from losing without even seeing Byakuya’s attacks to fighting on even terms. Even before it kicks into gear, their relative abilities are perfectly matched, making for a thrilling back and forth.

And then the moment finally comes: Ichigo’s bankai. Few moments across Bleach’s 366 episodes are so iconic as the first time Ichigo uses Tensa Zangetsu. The fight from then on runs a gamut of emotions, from confusion at Tensa Zangetsu’s unremarkable shape compared to other Bankai to excitement at Ichigo’s crazy fast movements to shock at the emergence of Hollow Ichigo. All of that culminates in a final clash as the two fighters put everything they’ve got left into one strike. Ichigo vs. Byakuya far and away sets the standard for Bleach fights, and I can’t think of a more deserving fight for the number one spot.

What's your favorite Bleach fight? Let us know down in the comments!

Watch Bleach On Crunchyroll!

---

Skyler loves writing and chatting about anime, and is always ready to gush about the latest One Piece chapter. Read more of his work at his blog apieceofanime.com and follow him on Twitter at Videogamep3.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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creative-type · 6 years

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The Problem with Ichigo Kurosaki

Back when Bleach’s final chapter came out, the one thing that perplexed me most about the omnishambles that was the last arc was that Ichigo had taken over the Kurosaki clinic.

I’d long-since given up on a satisfying end to the series and was following out of morbid fascination more than any sort of interest. I’m not a shipper and the glacial pacing and empty pages killed any spectacle that might have been entertaining enough to cover the massive flaws of the series. I entered the Quincy arc with no expectations and still managed to be surprised by how little thought and effort Kubo put into his product. There was no personal investment left, so I didn’t care enough to get upset over how things ended up.

But Ichigo taking over his father’s clinic...that was a surprise. And through that I came to a startling realization that after almost 700 chapters and 15 years I still knew nothing about Ichigo as a character.

I want to be careful when writing this, firstly because as a self-admitted filthy casual I’m not nearly as familiar with Bleach as I am with most other things I write about. Secondly, while it’s a nice bonus I don’t think that every story necessarily requires a deep, super nuanced character driving it.

I’m gonna use One Piece as an example here because I think it fits well. Luffy isn’t a complicated dude. He’s well-rounded with clearly defined dreams and goals, but ultimately he’s your basic Shonen power fantasy. What sets One Piece apart from almost every other manga in existence is its world building, and by creating Luffy the way he is, Oda has made a main character that facilitates the exploration of his world.

Ichigo starts off well enough for the protagonist of a monster of the week-style battle manga. I think it’s pretty apparent that Kubo wrote Bleach by the seat of his pants, because a lot of early details don’t match what we see later in the series.

...

And, again, this type of writing can be done, but it has to be done carefully because without forethought it’s really easy for plots and characterization become a muddled mess.

Early Ichigo stood out from other mainstream manga protagonists. There’s a mature edginess to early Bleach, and a strong aesthetic that highlights one of Kubo’s greatest strengths as an artist: drawing really cool shit. Ichigo isn’t a hyperactive goofball, in fact he gets pretty good grades and is generally regarded as being a reliable - if grumpy - guy. His backstory isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but again, having a main character that’s hellbent on protecting others is exactly the sort of protagonist that can drive a monster of the week-style story.

More importantly, at this point in the story Ichigo has agency as a character. In chapter 2 of the series, Rukia demands that Ichigo fulfill her duties as a soul reaper while she’s out of commission. He initially says no, but quickly changes his mind when he sees a cute kid almost get eaten. Ichigo agrees to help, but on his own terms. In his own words, he’s only paying off a debt.

Fast forward to chapter 25. Ichigo has survived his encounter with Grand Fisher and had a nice little heart to heart with his dad. He makes the above declaration, effectively choosing to continue on as a soul reaper even after Rukia regains her powers and his “debt” is paid.

What makes the Grand Fisher fight effective is that it highlights how much growth Ichigo needs to undergo, not as a fighter but as a character. It is vitally important for a battle manga not to have fights for the sake of fights, or even because they’re demanded by the plot. A good fight conveys story and develops characterization - a clash of ideals as much as swords.

The problem is that this doesn’t really go anywhere. Ichigo’s gotta protect them all nature suits shorter, one-off arcs but isn’t suited for the long, sprawling epic Bleach would become. The scope of Bleach’s world and story expanded, but Ichigo stayed the same. Or rather, he devolved into something lesser.

Ichigo’s goal to protect those he cares about is problematic in two ways:1) it requires someone to need protecting, and 2) it’s reactionary. This limits how much influence Ichigo has on the plot as a whole. It’s no wonder that the Arrancar saga is copied wholesale from the Soul Society arc because rescuing people from danger is literally the only thing Ichigo ever shows interest in doing.

Instead of taking the time to develop Ichigo as a person, Kubo instead has to create increasingly-ridiculous ways for him to play a part in the plot. This has the unfortunate side effect of making Ichigo literally everybody’s pawn to be used and manipulated in whatever way it takes for the story to get from Point A to Point B. I would think by the time Yhwach comes around he’d be sick of it, but all Ichigo is capable of doing is react, react, react, often looking very surprised when someone plays him like a fiddle yet again.

And maybe to compensate Kubo gives Ichigo a mishmash of powers and abilities, but ironically the more things that are added to Ichigo’s moveset the less unique and special each one becomes.

It’s kind of like mixing colors. Red and blue together make purple but if you add yellow and green and orange along with it, in the end all you’re going to have is a brownish sludge. Ichigo starts the series as a human-shinigami hybrid. For the sake of brevity, I’ll call this version of Ichigo a humigami. As a humigami he has basic swordsmanship, immense spiritual power, and the ability to follow spirit ribbon thingies to find people. So far so good.

But with the introduction of the Soul Society and the massive influx of characters, Ichigo is no longer The Special. Kubo has two choices here: further develop Ichigo’s shinigami powers or add something new into the mix. Kubo elects to do both, and Ichigo gains his hollow masks AND learns bankai in a matter of days.

Now a human-shinigami-hollow (humagollow for short), Ichigo saves the day only to get curb-stomped by Aizen. The post-Soul Society chapters would have been a good place to do some old-fashioned character development, but while there is some nice closure chapters nothing really changes before the next major arc kicks in.

Put yourself in Ichigo’s shoes here. You’ve gone through the gauntlet to save a friend from her execution, witnessed the slums of the afterlife, fought several life or death battles against an organization who keeps, among other things, genocidal maniacs in their employ. You’ve seen corruption, you’ve seen conspiracy, you’ve seen a totalitarian regime that insists on following the letter of the law over common sense and justice. You’ve lived your entire life striving to protect those weaker than yourself and the last several months sending spirits to what you thought was a peaceful, idyllic afterlife.

Would you leave the Soul Society in good terms? Would you consider them allies and fight their wars? Would you be okay with leaving your friend, who you risked life and limb to save, in the very environment that wanted her dead just days before? Would you not have questions and demand answers?

Apparently not, if you’re Ichigo Kurosaki.

Fast forward again to the introduction of the arrancar and visored. It’s about this time where Ichigo loses everything that made him unique as a character. A whole host of characters are introduced that have a mix of shinigami and hollow powers (which, despite ostensibly being antithetical to one another are functionally identical) and it’s revealed that Ichigo isn’t even the only shinigami in his family.

Isshin’s fight verses Grand Fisher becomes especially egregious when we the audience get this little tidbit about how all high-level shinigami compress their sword’s spiritual power into a smaller form

because back when Ichigo first showed off his bankai one of the notable things about it was that it was kind of tiny - a direct contrast to how most releases worked.

It’s the same for all of Ichigo’s other attacks. His bankai is supposed to boost his speed to incredible levels, but he’s constantly out maneuvered by enemies, the surprise attack from behind being a Kubo specialty. His main ability is nothing but a giant energy slash, easily replicated by a shinigami’s kido or a hollow’s cero.

By having Isshin steal the Grand Fisher fight from Ichigo, Kubo robs his main character of a chance to show off how he’s changed since the early part of the series and robs him of his uniqueness as a fighter. The fight itself is not good, memorable, or fun enough to counterbalance how much the author is crapping on its protagonist, a trend that unfortunately gets worse as time goes on.

Anyway, through training Ichigo becomes a human visored (hisored) and goes off to Hueco Mundo to kick ass and get his ass kicked in about equal measure, and once again questions are brought up, if not explicitly than implicitly through the course of the narrative, that are never even addressed.

1) If it weren’t already obvious, the Soul Society cements itself as being absolutely terrible by its treatment of the visoreds. Are they really the good guys here, and why is no one trying to reform their more archaic and barbaric practices?

Unfortunate Implication: Ichigo is willing to ally with complete assholes to accomplish his goals. The whole “protecting those who can’t protect themselves” schtick only applies when people he cares about are in danger.

Conclusion: Ichigo is kind of an asshole, or at least apathetic to the plight of others, a direct contrast to his characterization thus far

2) If hollows are impure spirits, and high-level hollows spirits who have evolved by consuming countless others, would it not be in the best interest of Nel and other “good” arrancar to be purified? Is it even appropriate to think of hollows who have evolved as individuals or a conglomeration of all the souls that have been consumed? Are hollows inherently evil, or has the Soul Society’s understanding of the hollow/non-hollow spirit dynamic been flawed this entire time?

Unfortunate Implication: Either Ichigo doesn’t think through the logical conclusion of having hollows as allies enough to question what he’s been taught about hollows thus far, or he’s okay with leaving countless spirits in an impure state and damning them to a miserable existence of insatiable hunger and denying them access to the proper afterlife/reincarnation cycle

Conclusion: Ichigo isn’t as smart as he’s presented to be, or he’s okay with making friends with the very monsters he’s sworn to destroy...as long as they’re cute and helpful

This is what I mean when Ichigo devolves as a character. By the time the Fullbringer arc rolls around (for those keeping score at home, Ichigo has gone from hisored to fullbringer back to humigami) Kubo has built a world full of shades of grey, but continues time and time again to have Ichigo play it as if it were black and white. The reveal that Ichigo is, in fact, a quincigami is just the icing on the cake, stealing the one thing that made Ishida unique only for it to go absolutely nowhere and confuse an already muddled backstory.

All of these changes in power and the complete disregard for the moral quandaries brought up by the story mean that any change in Ichigo is superficial, like a skin change in a video game. He might look cool and give his attacks spiffy names, but it’s all an excuse for Kubo to draw him in different outfits because once again, all Kubo really cares about is drawing really cool shit. Everything else is secondary. Nothing has to make sense. Who cares about Ichigo’s hopes and dreams and desires when he can have two swords that he’ll never use in battle. Oh, it’s the epilogue and Ichigo needs to be a grown up doing grown up stuff...might as well make him a doctor. It was good enough for his old man, right? It wasn’t as if he said anything against taking over his father’s clinic some day.

Then again, Ichigo never said that’s what he’d like to do either. Almost 700 chapters and 15 years went by and Ichigo never once said what he wanted to do with his life when he grew up.

And that, my friends, is a problem.

#Bleach #Manga #Analysis #ichigo kurosaki #character analysis #character development #bad character development #writing #creative-type analyzes

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lesserlovedlovelies · 4 years

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Bleach Extended Universe

Much of my world for Bleach was created to fill in the gaps that hadn't been revealed yet and therefore are highly divergent from The Thousand Year Blood War.

The Spirit King is an actual person and the King's Realm is a populated place with many guardsmen and a large diversity of people and species.

Like many fanfics, the Soul Society has several different areas, with Seireitei and Rukongai we see in Canon making one part of Soul Society as a whole; being surrounded by a huge desert that makes traveling to the other areas incredibly difficult.

Logistically, the Soul Society is divided into five different areas, only one being "active" at a time due to how the spiritual realms work. The active realm is generally the only realm that has the threat of hollows and needs soul reapers; the active area generally falls into disarray and behind, while the others typically experience piece more like the idyllic afterlife most people hope for.

The process of different areas becoming active is referred to as the hollow migration pattern. The active area is merely dictated by which area happens to be spatially closest to Hueco Mundo and tends to change every five to ten thousand years.

The Spirit King is a hereditary role primarily concerned with the balance of the realms. Although he does have legitimate power, the role is in many cases more bureaucratic than anything, and he's most definitely not a God. He doesn't quite understand why Aizen was so interested in trying to usurp his position.

In addition to Soul Reapers, Hollows, humans, and Quincy, the extended universe also features Demons and Angels. Rather than being religious in nature, they're merely another layer in the cycle of life, but outside of the Spirit King's jurisdiction.

Rather than the dynamic as it was in bleach, humans are in the center of the species relationship chart--soul reapers and hollows are opposite each other and Quincies and demons are opposite each other, while Angels represent an elevated state of humanity. Quincies cannot hollowfy and soul reapers cannot demonfy. A soul cannot exist in the state of being a soul reaper and a Quincy at the same, nor as a hollow and a demon.

Yhwach was the original king of the Quincys. What exactly happened has been mostly lost to history--but many of the currently living Quincy refer to him as the “Fallen King” and refuse to talk about him. Many of the Quincy still alive in Shutzestadt have diverged enough from him to be unaffected by the Auswahlen.

Quincies originally evolved as protection from demons--souls outside the Spirit King's domain that can therefore be safely destroyed without impacting the balance. However, as time went on, Quincies became far more numerous and spread across the world, eventually encountering hollows and, with good intentions, engaging them in battle and ejecting them from the cycle of life without realizing what disastrous consequences their actions could have.

This resulted in action from Seireitei which lead to the war which was mostly built on misunderstandings. Although the population had considerably fell, many of the surviving Quincy did come to understand the true nature of their powers and stayed away from using their powers on anything that wasn't demons. Many of them still have a grudge against Seireitei.

The Spirit King in general has no bias against any species. He's well aware that each species plays its part and can range from mindless to vastly intelligent. His realm has all sorts of beings and he holds no judgement about who can or or cannot live there so long as they follow the laws. Seireitei in general has a biased and prejudiced mindset due to millennia of war. Their mindset generally isn't shared across the rest of soul societies.

If you're not interested in writing in the Extended Universe, I'd advise against writing with the following muses:

The Spirit King Sasakibe (Quincy)

Sasakibe in his main verse adheres to canon (except for the part where he ... dies.) and Futsuku and Geoferd can likely be adapted to share your headcanons.

Although this is how my universe has developed after years and roleplaying, I’m more than happy to talk things over with you to either incorporate your lore, or make it more enjoyable for you! Don’t be shy to build a world with me :)

#|| OOC | out of character.#|| BLEACH | extended universe.

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galaticblue · 4 years

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Present

I finally met Zoro after 2 years! It was truly an unforgettable experience. He was passing by on Grove 42 on Saboady Island by himself. I couldn’t help but to bring him into my brace. It’s been 2 years... 2 years ever since the incident with Kuma! I couldn’t help but wonder what hardships they must’ve encountered and faced. I’ve heard about it all via newspapers and broadcasts. I missed the Straw Hat crew. The only reason why I was able to meet them was because of those troublesome Hollows. They travelled in and out of the Bleach verse, which is frightening. I don’t know who’s responsible from the Soul Society, but that gate from the other side should’ve never been opened. Now we have to pay a visit to different universes to slay the Hollows.

2 years ago

By the time I reached The Grand Line in One Piece universe, A group with monstrous strength was already battling a hollow. I couldn’t describe the amount of shame that ran through my body. Hollows just get to bad from worse. There is no salvation for them. I drew my sword and flew through its head, ramming my weapon straight through, cutting it clean like a breeze. The hollow slowly evaporated shortly after.

“I’m so sorry! This is my responsibility!” I apologise for this incident. “You guys should’ve never been caught up with this...” I paused, then I remembered that they might not be able to see me. “It’s no big deal!” I sighed and carried on walking to the portal. But it seemed that I was wrong. A man with green hair walked up to me. He was quite handsome indeed. Just when I was about to draw my sword away, he stopped me and lightly held onto my wrist.

“Oi, where’d you come from? You appeared from out of nowhere just like these ugly bastards.” He spoke with his husky voice. It rumbled through my ears. My eyes opened in shock.

“You can see me? You can touch me? How is this possible?! No one’s supposed to notice a Soul Reaper! Just who are you!” I growled at him. He grunted in response.

“Why don’t you tell us who you are and we’ll tell you who we are!” He argued back. “No, you first!” I shout back. This mini arguement seemed to turn into a long battle of stubbornness. I was itching for a fight and clearly so was he.

“Just because you’ve got 3 swords doesn’t mean that you’ll win... you overconfident brat!”

“Who’s a brat?! You look about 12!”

“But I’m lifetimes older than you!”

“Oh yeah? Well let’s see if your swordsmanship lives up to it!”

“Oi, Zoro! You idiot of a swordsman! You dare to hurt a lady?” A man with blonde hair and large swirly eyebrows interrupted us. Zoro drew his swords away at the same as me. Looking at him, his eyes were in shapes of a love heart and I could’ve sworn that he had a nosebleed pouring out of his nose... not only that but did he just say “Zoro?!” I accidentally spoke out loud, causing him to turn around and grin.

“Oh, so you’ve about me from your universe? Guess I’m quite famous!” He turned my way smiled largely. But no way... Zoro? He’s such a big shot over here in the soul society. He is the talk of the Seireitei! He is a pirate and a great swordsman at that!

To be continued...

#bleach x onepiece #crossoveranime #bleach oc #zoro #sanji #roronoazoro #soulsociety #onepiece #oc story #bleach #oc #originalcharacter

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bux-blurbs · 5 years

Photo

BLEACH MOVIES:

1. Memories of Nobody

The story begins on a peaceful day in Karakura Town, or as peaceful as it ever gets when Hollows are stomping through the local park on a regular basis. While our tangerine hair coloured hero Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki know how to deal with those well enough, they're not sure what's up with a different visitor, a young girl named Senna. She looks like a Soul Reaper, swings a sword like a Soul Reaper, and certainly thinks she's a Soul Reaper herself, but it might not be quite so simple as that.The spirits in question are called Blanks who are searching for an item called “the Shinenju” which stores their combined lost memories which are found inside Senna. Also seeking the Shinenju are The Dark Ones. The malevolent warrior group wants to harness the power of the Blanks to exact revenge on the Soul Society (the Soul Reaper home world) who banished them years ago after a failed invasion. Channeling the might of the Blanks will allow them to summon a dimensional bridge capable of destroying both the Soul Society and Earth.With about 20 minutes to go, Memories of Nobody settles down to non-stop violent pyrotechnics -- most of the series' major cast members get a chance to waste one of the bad guys in some expensively spectacular way.

2. The Diamond Dust Rebellion

Almost the entire film takes place amongst the SS members and both Rukia and Ichigo are marginalized over the course of this story making this seem more like a spinoff than a Bleach movie. A Soul Society artifact has been stolen and no one knows who did it or why. It’s not that it’s a bad plot per se, but it just isn’t a Bleach plot worthy of a feature. I imagine the writers were trying to produce something that wasn’t directly tied to the TV show timeline, but in the process they ended up making a Soul Society movie.The majority of the film takes place in the Soul Society, and it's really an opportunity to tell the story of a character that doesn't often take centre stage. Toshiro Hitsugaya is one of the Soul Society Shinigami captains, and not a major protagonist in the series. Conversely, it does mean that the creators can build a feature length story around him, and develop his character without significantly impinging on the series. Hitsugaya goes on quite the emotional rollercoaster when a piece of the past that he considered dead and buried comes back to haunt him.It turns out that he has something in common with Ichigo. After the death of his mother, Ichigo turned inward and decided that he had to deal with his feelings himself, and instead wound up bottling up that grief and rage. Following his traumatic past when he first became a Soul Reaper, Hitsugaya has done the same; only he hasn't had a family to help him past that. The guilt, rage and grief that he has kept bottled has had no outlet up to now, until the advent of the masked thief who carries the same sword as him. Hitsugaya recognises the thief, and believes that this is a situation that only he can resolve. He winds up becoming an outcast and an exile from the Soul Society as he pursues his obsession. Those who know him best are certain of his innocence, while when Ichigo encounters him in the real world, he recognises the look of despair and desperation in his eyes, and realises what he is going through.The Diamond Dust Rebellion is quite a deliberate, melancholy film for the first two-thirds, focussing more on character than visual pyrotechnics. There's not a lot of humour to it, but as the story unfolds, it becomes quite an engaging watch.

3. Fade to Black

In the third installment, Rukia is kidnapped by a couple of weirdos who attack the world of the Soul Society and erase her existence from the memories of everyone except Ichigo and Kon. The two of them are suddenly seen as invaders and the rest of the SS think they’re the cause of the attack.Fade To Black is very emotional and the focus is on relationships. It's deep without becoming "too mushy". It isn't action packed but its story gives you a reason to care about the fights that do take place.

4. Hell Verse

The Hell Verse tells the tale of the kidnap of Ichigo’s sister Yuzu by hell’s sinners, bringing her with them into the underworld. Her release is on the condition that Ichigo frees them from the chains which bind them to hell, or she’ll join them for good…

In making the movie, they forgot an important thing that made Bleach great – its cast of characters with their diverse and flashy skills and abilities. Unlike the previous movies where most of the captains had air time, here the focus is largely on Ichigo, meaning you won’t be seeing most of the fan-favorites save for a cameo line or two.What’s also missed is the battle choreography, where from what was once a splendid furry of attacks being exchanged you get instead a turn-based bombardment of skills from either side as well as that rather pathetic beam spamming from Ichigo’s final hollow form.

While it is nice seeing Ichigo back in a form we’ll unlikely see for a while to come, as well as being outfitted with a new costume and being all god-like, you’ll probably tire (or are already tired) of those one-hit-KO single slashes after seeing them being used so often.

My Favorite characters:

Kisuke Urahara

Toshiro Hitsugaya

Byakuya Kuchiki's Senbonzakura

#anime #bleachmovies #bleach

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