http://www.onemanga.com/Bleach/412/06/

1. Tatsuki: Waaaay back Tatsuki was exposed to hollows (pre-soul society arc) but she has been acting like Karin and ignoring the spirits. We later see her get re-introduced to them when Yami came to town, but she still hasn’t really come to terms with them, however in this chapter she notes Rangiku as one of “Ichigo’s friends” and in her typical R.B.D. fashion is angry at Ichigo for not mentioning her. Will her powers finally awaken and if they did would they be any use? or will she just be cannon folder for Aizen’s rampage? I’m guessing she’ll awaken her power only to have Aizen own her like everyone else.

http://www.onemanga.com/Bleach/412/13/

2. This leads to my next point. Rangiku: Last chapter she arived to save the day, after which she promtly puts Don Konoji in his place. When she was yelling at him I couldn’t help but wonder if she was talking about what she would do or Aizen… Anyway, Aizen tells Gin that they’ve got time to kill, so Gin grabs Rangiku and takes her to a roof top, where she confronts him about her actions on the premise of Izuru’s honor, but Gin promtly sees through this and tells her she is in the way.

http://www.onemanga.com/Bleach/412/16/

3. Then it skips over to Asano: We see him holding a sword, to which my first reaction was to think that he finally awakened his powers meaning Tatsuki would soon folow. But, it turns out he just took “afro-man’s” sword. Again this had me fooled thinking that Kensei was afro-man until I remembered that almost folder character who took over protecting Kakura town in Rukia’s place. This is also a reference to the rapper Afro-Man. I think his sword will shatter when Asano uses it since he isn’t pumping Reiatsu into it, OR Aizen will stab Asano with it to raise the spiritual awareness levels of Kakura town.

http://www.onemanga.com/Bleach/412/18/

4. Finnaly we switch back to Rangiku: It seems like Gin has killed her, but this whole situation has made me think of the movie “Hero” about a man who learns how to fake assasinations by stabbing a person in the correct spot on their chest. He does this in order to get close to the Chinease Emporer to take revenge for his dead brother but in the end decides that killing the Emporer would only bring more instability and death, something his brother wouldn’t want, so he uses his same fake assasination technique on the emporer. The topper for this whole connection is that the name of his technique was also the “God Killing Spear” (lance) as it was meant for the Emporer or was treated like a god. Therefor following the metaphor, I think he is simply faking Rangiku’s death to get close to Aizen.

Enjoy and discuss.

Aizen’s counter-arguments to these claims are Chad and Orihime who don’t seem to resemble either Hollow or Shinigami powers. However the do resemble something else… Arrancar and Visored respectively. Chad is fairly obvious in this respect… Besides that both he and Uruhara compared his abilities to that of hollows, He clearly resembles an Arrancar who has used Resurecion and his spritual energy blasts greatly resemble Arrancar’s bala blasts. Not only has his relationship to Arrancar been mentioned, it just makes sense given that he attributes his right hand abilities to his dead grandpa and his left hand abilities to his own desires. Orihime is a bit more complicated… the best proof is her similarity to Hachigen, though there is more. Hachigen stated that he created his signature barrier abilities after becoming a Visored, that no shinigami could have a similar ability, and that since Orihime can create a similar barrier and infiltrate his own, she must have a similar ability. But this brings up an interesting question…

Where does that ability come from? I think it comes from the hollow abilities (since Hachigen said that it wasn’t in the shinigami arsenal and hollows are left by process of elimination). Hollows have abilities that, although they don’t realize it, closely resemble Orihime’s three abilities. Ability 1. Santen Kesshun: This is her shield ability, the closest ability besides Hachigen’s is a hollow ability… Negacion, which Menos Grande use to protect their allies from harm. Ability 2. Soten Kisshun: This is her healing ability. Unohana explained to Ichigo that Orihime’s healing and Shinigami healing are almost opposite. Shinigami healing is done by restoring spiritual pressure allowing the body to heal itself, while Orihime’s healing restores the body to it’s previous condition allowing them to regain their spirit pressure on their own. What it does resemble though, (again besides Hachigen’s ability) is another Hollow ability, (re)generation. The only difference between her ability and the hollows is that hollows are selfish, they wouldn’t think about using it on someone besides themselves because they want to eat everyone else, and most of the hollow who become Arrancar give up their ability to regenerate anyway. Ability 3. Koten Zanshun: Orihime’s least used ability due to it’s fragility and Orihime’s lack of battle lust, it’s a bit harder to analyze than her other two, though I would compare it to another hollow exclusive ability, Heirro, just used in a different capacity. It’s name says that although it acts as a weapon it is actually a double sided sheild (think Captain America). It’s similar to when Grimjaw attacked Rukia with her fists, it’s not his strongest attack, but still an attack.

His fighting style: Renji has an interesting fighting style when compared to a hollow. His signature Kido spell Hado 31: Shot of Red Fire is remarkably similar to a Cero attack. He also has a high level of durability, strength, speed, and spiritual pressure. These aren’t entirely remakrable to me except for the Red Fire, so next…

His Zanpaktou: Zabimaru is one of the few split personality Zanpaktou (The others are the dual-weilding Zanpaktou users and Ichigo). Joshiro Ukitake’s Zanpaktou doesn’t really resemble a hollow or point to him being a visored but Ichigo and Shunsui Kyoraku’s Zanpaktou denfinitely scream hollow… We see that Hollow Ichigo is a part of Zangetsu, and as Ichigo starts to get dominated by his hollow side, Hollow Ichigo eliminates Zangetsu. Similarily, I think the Baboon and the Snake that make up Zabimaru are competing for domination of Renji, but somehow they have come to a balance. Given that the snake is the more violent of the two, I would equate him to hollow Ichigo, and say that the Baboon is the original Zanpaktou personality. As I said I don’t think that Renji is a full visored or knows what is occuring, and just thinks his Zanpaktou is normal.

His Bankai: I find his bankai fairly interesting. It has several hollow themes built into it. 1. Bones: bones/exoskeletons are common themes among hollows, Renji’s Bankai seems to closely resemble hollows in this respect, and is almost identical to a hollow Kenpachi Zaraki fought in a flashback. 2. Cero: Similar to Hado 31, Baboon Bone Cannon closely resembles a Cero, and is even shot from Zabimaru’s mouth. 3. Instant regeneration like most hollows, Zabimaru has the ability to regenerate quickly if it’s damaged 4. Hollow mask: a common theme among Arrancar/Visoreds/Hollows, Renji has a similar mask on his Bankai uniform, said to be the skull of a Baboon.

Uruhara: Renji has a strange connection to Uruhara, and it was a conversation they had that sparked the idea for this post after I noticed that about two hundred chapters before Shinji used his Shikai, he showed the ability to write backwards. Renji stayed with Uruhara during the Arrancar introduction arc, and made a deal with Uruhara that if Renji trained Chad, Uruhara would “answer the questions he had.” One of the things Uruhara seems to specialize in is hollowification, so if Renji were to seek Uruhara out specifically, this seems like the subject he would ask about.

Well that’s all the proof I have right now, pictures will come later, but right now I have to go do chores for my mother.

Barragan was apparently a King of Hollows before his death, which leads me to wonder what Hailibell and Stark were before their Shinigamification.

The story starts with Barragan complaining about the complacency of the other Hollows. He thinks he wants a battle, how wrong he was… Then Aizen and crew arivie, after some short comments about Barragan’s crib from Tousen, Barragan gives Aizen the typical “Killing you will be entertaining” speach, calling them insects as usual, probably thinking Aizen in his Shinigami was a good guy… How wrong he was…

Aizen does his usual Shikai ruteine and traps Barragan while Tousen and Gin kill all of Barragan’s minion Hollows.

In Aizen’s illusion, Aizen offered Barragan a chance at more power, but Barragan just scoffs.

Aizen then releases him, giving Barragan little choice to join him, but Barragan promises to use the power Aizen gives him to destroy him.

The chapter ends with Stark commenting on how little Aizen cares

There are two things I noticed about this chapter:

1. Hueco Mundo obviously underwent some renovations to become the Domed Citadel it is now, which makes me wonder when all of it happened. Pre-Rukia’s Execution, Post?

2. Stark said the hollows weren’t the type to avenge Barragan’s death, but all the other Hollows so far seem to contradict this. But I guess his theme being lonelyness means he doesn’t care as much…

I want to start off by saying two things… 1. I was wrong about Aizen fighting Yammato (for now at least…) and 2. WTF Vizards??? for some reason I was expecting them to pull an Ichigo and go the whole fight with their badass masks on but it seems like they are already dispearing, starting with Love, whose mask lasted a whole three minutes… I feel like they should have used them for something more than a couple (thousand) Menos…

I suspect their masks’ life span will depend on three things, 1. how much they use it, that’s why Love’s is already gone 2. How strong they are, I suspect Kensei and Shinji will last the longest 3. How far the masks have deteriorated so far… Already we see that their masks have gone from full coverage to partial. Some would see this and think, the Vizards are going to get owned, BUT I think it’s worth remembering that, even without their masks, these Vizard are Captain and Vice-Captain level fighting already tired Arrancar in a two to one fight and if the Shingami aid them it will become three or four to one.

I’m very interested in seeing what their Shinigami powers are, it would be lame if all they are, are squad twelve type Shinigami on steroids, but Rose’s singing and Hachigen’s barriers do give me a lot of hope.

First things first though, Last chapter Shinji, maskless, tried to strike Aizen, let’s face it, we all knew he was going to get owned… Tousen stopped him and cut him in the procces, apparently going for a “Kill bill” style decapitation but Shinji dodged semi-succesfully. Then, to counter Tousen, Captain Sajin Komamura steped in along with Vice-captain Shuhei Hisagi.

Hallibel rejoins her fight with Hitsugaya only to be interupted by Lisa and Hiyori who come to aid him. By this time only half of their masks are left on their face… Hiyori doesn’t want to help the Shingami but the other Vizards like Barney and start to talk about how they don’t need a special reason to be friends, this seems to really annoy Soifon inparticular, her friends must all be imaginary…

Regardless, Hachigen pairs up with Soifon to take on Barragan, I have a feeling his barriers will be just as effective against Barragan as Byakuya’s barriers were against Zommari and then Soifon will finish him with either her Shikai or her Bankai while Hachigen holds Barragan in place.

Kensei takes out the last of the Menos so he gives Mashiro Superchunky to take on.

Mashiro apparently doesn’t like tounge and goes for “El Susantivo” as we have been calling him (the mouth in spanish) He pulls out a second hand and seems to have a white orb for a head with a moustache underneath, weird… Mashiro kicks him several times and we see that her sword isn’t just floating next to her, but is tied to one leg. Kensei joins her but has yet to inflict any damage…

Love and Rose pair up to take on Stark and Lilinette. In his usual laid back additude, Stark asks if Love’s mask is already gone, Love confirms this stating “ We’re Superheroes so they only last 3 minutes”

So it seems like the final match-ups are:

1. Tousen vs. Komamoura and Hisagi

2. Hallibel vs. Hitsugaya, Hiyori (Half masked), and Lisa (Half masked)

3. Barragan vs. Soifon, Hachigen (Maskless) and Omeada

4. Stark vs. Love (maskless) and Rose (maskless)

5. The Tounge vs. Mashiro (Mask AND Might Gai get-up)

6. The free agents are: Aizen amd Gin vs. Yammamoto, Shinji, and Kensei

My guess is that Kensei will have to help out Mashiro, Shinji will try to take on Aizen but end up fighting Gin, and Yammamoto will take on Aizen but lose.

This chapter made me think of what the fraccion represent, here is what I found…

Primera Espada – Stark – Loneliness: Lillinette is his only Fraccion.

Little has been revealed about her, but her eye patch and sawed off horn could indicate abuse… She seems attention starved and seems to scream emotional distress…

Segunda Espada – Barragan Luisebarn – Aging: Barragan has the most Fraccion of any of the hollow, They are:
A. Choe Neng Poww: (Whale) A giant who uses only fist techniques, Choe doesn’t really represent  Old Age in anyway, though he does make “God” references to Barragan.

B. Charlotte Cuuhlhourne: (Rose) Obsesed with beauty, Cuuhlhourne deprives his opponents allies of the ability to sense the of death of his victim by hiding them in a rose bush. Part of old age is the decay of the body and the loss of physical beauty, because Cuuhlhourne should naturally detest old age, Barragan may have used his powers to stop Cuuhlhourne from aging with his abilities.

C. Avirama Redder: (Eagle) He is very battle crazy, he is symbolizes Native American tribes in his fighting style, personality and Resurreccion (his release command is Scalp). I think under the Theme of old age he is meant to represent how Native Americans were basically killed off.

D. Findor Carias: (Crab) Findor progresses through battle by fighting at the level of various seated officers by slowly removing his mask piece by piece. Findor’s philosophy is that life is just a series of questions and that one’s fate is base on getting the correct answers. Under Barragan’s theme, Findor represents maturity and progression through life.

E. Nirgge Parduoc: (Woolly Mammoth) Nirgge resembles a woolly mammoth in appearance and Resurreccion. Nirgge is defeated accidentally by his own team mate… Under the old age theme, Nirgge Parduoc represents the extension of the woolly mammoths.

F. Ggio Vega: (Sabertooth) Ggigo is a martial artist, at first he relys upon a mix of speed and power but then quickly dies in his next form that sacrifices speed for power. Like Nirgge, Ggigo represents an extinct animal, the saber tooth.
Barragan’s Fraccion all represent natural themes. With the exception of Charlotte, they are animals. Barragan’s theme seems to have some influence over his Fraccion, but because of their large numbers, none of them really connect fully.

Tercera Espada – Halibel – Sacrifice (Nel-former)
Fraccion: Apache (Deer), Mila-Rose (Lion), Sun-Sun (Snake), Allon (Chimera):

All three of Halibel’s fraccion give up a body part in order to summon a stronger monster (Allon)… thats pretty sacrificial… (This theme also fits Nel and her fraccion as well…)

Cuatra Espada – Ulquiorra Cifer – Emptiness

Fraccion: Ulquiorra doesn’t have any Fraccion… This fits his theme pretty well…

Quinta Espada – Nnoitora Jiruga – Despair/Hopelessness

Telsa (Hog/Wart): Telsa wears an Eye Patch in honnor of Nnoitora, before becoming his fraccion, Telsa didn’t have this symbol, Telsa is extremely loyal to Nnoitora, His Jacket appearance however, is fairly similar to Szayel’s Scientist theme, indicating he may have previously been loyal to him and then switched sometime after becoming an Arrancar. He tries to be strong like Nnoitora but fails to understand his motivation.

Sexta Espada – Grimmjow Jeagerjaques – Destruction (Luppi-former)

Grimjow’s theme is destruction, it is interesting to note that Grimjow was responsible for the destruction of his Fraccion’s collective dream to become Vasto Lorde when they were still hollow.

Septima Espada – Zommari Leroux – Addiction/Obsession: oddly enough he doesn’t have any fraccion, you would think he would have dozens as “Obsession”…

Octava Espada – Szayel Apollo Grantz – Insanity/Madness

Lumina and Verona: They fit into the theme of insanity very well, they seem demented in a few ways, they finish each others sentances and appear to like repeating certain words (like Dead)…

His other Fraccion, Medazzepi, seems to also be mentally retarded, he is incapable of speech and is hypersensative to pain.

Novena Espada – Aaroniero Arleri – Greed: Greed doesn’t like to share, needless to say, Aaroniero doesn’t have any Fraccion, unless you count the people he transforms into as his minions…

Decima/Cero Espada – Yammy Riyalgo – Rage: Yammy isn’t the type to lead, he isn’t smart enough and he is to angry (as his theme suggests…) At first it was thought that he was UL.’s Fraccion because he was so subservient… It is obvious from how he treats Loly and Melony that he wouldn’t tollerate subordinates for very long, if he had any, they are long dead by now.

What do you think?

Shinigami: In this series Shinigami are seen as the protagonists, they are believed to be inherently good because they kill the evil things that haunt humans, but are they really? As Aizen, Gin, and Tosen proved they can really be just as evil as anyone else. There are also several others that are maybe not evil, but are definitely crazy, such as Kenpachi Zaraki or Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

Vizard: These former shinigami are now exiled, but why? They were the unfortunate victimes of fate. What have they really done? In the beginning of the series, Ichigo is plagued by the thought of what happens to the souls of the victims of hollows, these people are no different than those unfortunate victims. Ichigo himself is proof that the shinigami and the vizard have a lot in common and can live and work in peace.

Arrancar: These beings are a bit more sinister than the other two; these beings were once the baddest of the hollows, the greatest and most vicious Menos Grandes. However with the influence of the Hougyoku they lost their masks and became much more human-like. Because the Arrancar act as antagonists in this series, they are seen as evil. However, some of the Arrancar are good such as Nel, Gantenbainne Mosqueda, Pseche Guatiche, and Dondocahkka Blistin. Others such as Stark are simply doing what is necessary and dislike fighting. Others, still, are simply crazy – such as Wonderweiss Margera.

The Shinigami, especially Shinigekuni Yamamoto Genryusai need to learn to be more philosophically flexible and excepting of others. They need to learn that actions dictate morality and not stereotypical features.

For those of you who say “Wouldn’t that kill the manga?”: Not necessarily, there are still plenty of evil people, like Aizen and Ulquiorra to kill.

Hope you liked thisfirst part series!