The end? I think not…

How long ago was this battle initiated? Almost 80 chapters? And how long has it been hyped? About 200 chapters? It would seem that this fated, and undoubtedly epic clash of the titans would be a fitting end to Aizen and Co.’s feud with the shinigami. Whatever the outcome, it would be decided here where everything was put on the line. But will it truly end here?

Personally I don’t think so. The power gap seems too great for Aizen to lose. Aizen and Gin haven’t even gone beyond shikai and have taken out almost the entire Gotei squad very effortlessly. They still have bankai, and presumably a hollow mask, then ressureccion. The only person who is might be strong enough to take Aizen on is Yamamoto. There are two problems with that happening though: 1.) He is also under Aizen’s hypnosis, 2.) He isn’t Ichigo. Everyone who has ever read a shonen manga knows the main character has to be the one to defeat the main bad guy. I actually think that if Yamamoto ever finally does step up to fight, he will lose his life in this battle (but probably with the same result as Sarutobi Vs. Orochimaru in Naruto, where he sacrifices himself to at least halt Aizen’s current onslaught).

Aizen could have finished this battle long ago, just look at what he has done so far, with so little effort. He is toying with the shinigami. He could have prevented his Espada from dying, but let them continue their battles out of self amusement. I believe he wanted Ichigo to see what is happening here. From the beginning of this battle Aizen knew who he would kill, and who he would leave alive.

By the end of this battle, Ichigo will have experienced an eye-opener like never before. To close this immense gap between himself and Aizen he will either have to train with that mysterious faja of his, or partake in a a little theory I’ve had for a while. The theory is that after this battle, and after seeing how Aizen treats them, some of the Arrancar may betray him. I think that there may be some Espada still alive after this. Starkk was never officially confirmed as dead, Grimjoww isn’t dead, and even though she was stabbed through the torso, Harribel could still survive. Hell Momo was stabbed the same way by Aizen back in the Central 46 chamber and lived. If they decided to betray Aizen, they know they will have to side with somebody to survive. Even if they hate shinigami, Ichigo is kind of like a middle man. If they find common ground, I think they could be very helpful in teaching Ichigo to control his hollow powers. Possibly a fully controlled ressurccion like the one that fought Ulquiorra? I just read somebody talking about Toshiro and his huge defeat. It is probable that he is due for some epic training as well. I don’t think he will look toward hollow powers, but that is always an interesting option.

It seems as though Aizen is dealing a fatal blow to the strength of the shinigami, there would still be a substantial amount of enemies left for him later.  The Zero Division contains soldiers that are all above the level of the captains (aside from Yamamoto), Urahara, Yoruichi, Tessai, and Mr. Kurosaki will be powerful allies. And all those Aizen decides to let live will probably all fight again next battle.  I suspect the next giant bout will probably take place in the Royal Dimension.

I think Aizen has big plans for Ichigo. I obviously don’t know what yet, maybe the “Kurosaki” (if that is his true name) lineage delves deeper into the plot, and Aizen’s motives than we thought. That would explain not only his interest in Ichigo from earlier, but Gin’s manipulation of the corridors back in Las Noches, Aizen waiting for Ichigo to arrive before putting on such a show, and eventually leaving Ichigo alive.

One of the biggest reasons this can’t be the end is, I just don’t see there being another villain that can fill Aizen’s shoes. He is too strong, stronger than anybody the Bleach-universe has seen before. So his demise might (dare I say it) bring about the end of the series. The series can’t end with so many unanswered questions and mysteries. All the bankais, the truth behind Ichigo’s dad, Ichigo and Orihime finally getting it on, etc…

I know that this was all just a bunch of random information, sorry lol. And of course now that I say this, the next chapter will prove me otherwise.

-ssj

Little Weapons

Post Author: ssj sousuke

After reading an interesting comment about the child prodigies in Bleach, I though it would be noteworthy to analyze them a little bit. So here it is…

Kaien Shiba:

Kaien Shiba was undoubtedly a child prodigy. He gew up in one of the great noble households in Soul Society. After deciding to pursue becoming a shinigami, he completed the 6-year curriculum of the shinigami academy and graduated in only one year.  After this it only took him one year to work his way into being a seated officer. He didn’t become a Lieutenant until he was somewhat older and married, but that is most likely due to his stubborness. It is very probable that if he didn’t die so young, he would have soon achieved bankai, and with the right motivation, might have received a Captain position in time. Perhaps one of his strongest attributes is his maturity and intellect, especially for someone so young. After his death the Shiba Clan fell from one of the 5 Great Noble Households.

Gin Ichimaru:

Gin grew up in a rough part of the Rukongai, but even as a kid he displayed the ability to easily fend for himself. Just as most of Gin’s motives are unknown, so is his reason for becoming a shinigami, but for whatever the reason, Gin entered and graduated the academy all in under one year. It was noted that this was even faster than Kaien himself. Strait out of the academy Gin was placed as a seated officer, and almost immediately killed the third seat of that division with very little effort. To put it in perspective, Gin decided to become a shinigame, entered the academy, and advanced all the way to becoming a very strong seated officer all in one year. He didn’t become a Captain for some time though, serving as Aizen’s Lieutenant at least until he grew physically some more. He then must have achieved bankai in this period because he later became the captain of the 3rd Division. I think out of the information available, Gin has this most impressive resume’ for a child prodogy.

Toshiro Histugaya:

Even as a child, Hitsugaya possessed a tremendous amount of spiritual pressure, to the point where he made the environment around him colder because he couldn’t control his rietsu from leaking. After joining the shinigami academy, he quickly surpassed his friend Momo (who had already been in the academy for 5 years), and graduated very early. How long it took him to complete the shinigami academy was never stated, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was close to Kaien or even Gin’s time. His graduation time however is not what makes him such an impressive child prodigy however, but how fast he advanced post-graduation. Toshiro sailed through the ranks becoming the youngest shinigami captain in Soul Society history. Since he is still so young, it is likely that Toshiro, more so than any of the other captains, still has room to grow and reach his full potential…

Ichigo Kurosaki:

Ichigo probably possesses the fastest progress the Soul Society has ever seen; as stated by Urahara and Aizen alike. He obtained his shinigami powers, learned to trace rietsu, achieved bankai, mastered flash step, and discovered and mastered his Vaizard abilities, all within months. These are each things that take years for even some of the most skillful shinigami out there. And even though he may not have started as young as Gin or Toshiro, he still went from zero experience to a Captain level in record breaking time. Perhaps the most impressive fact is that he is a human. At age 15, he may look older than Toshiro, but he is actually way younger since humans age faster than people in Soul Society. Just like our other bright haired friend over in Shannaro, the key to Ichigo’s quick success is  determination.

Some sketchy possibilies -

Byakuya Kuchiki:

Byakuya was around the same age as Gin in the Turning Back the Pendulum arc. and didn’t graduate yet, but was noted by his grandfather to be very strong, and he already had an abnormally good handle on flash steps. Since then he has achieved the same rank as Gin, and (even though we don’t know if it is true since we don’t know just how strong Gin is) he was definitely more feared as a combatant when they were both captains.

Yachiru Kusajishi:

Yachiru is the youngest ranked officer in the Soul Society. To be a Lieutenant alone at her age seems prodiginous. The only question is if she is actually as strong as the other Lieutenants, or if she has her position because of Kenpachi’s influence. She at least has powerful enough rietsu to scare off standard level shinigami as seen when she loses her temper in the Ichigo vs Kenpachi fight. She is seen to be incredibly fast on her feet, and is confident enough in her skills to “take all the strong ones,” when going to help Ichigo on Soukyoku Hill. At such an incredibly young age, she is definitely at least a candidate to be considered a child prodigy.

I’m sure there are other possibilities out there, and if you can think of any worth mentioning, do so here.

-ssj

Random Thoughts: Future 7?

I was reading some of the older Bleach chapters and came across chapter 33. The title of the chapter is “ROCKIN’ FUTURE 7″ and the cover shows Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Chad, Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuro. We know that Ichigo, Rukia, Chad and Orihime will play important roles in the future Bleach storyline, but what are Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuro doing there? Did Tite Kubo mean to have them receive spiritual powers in the future or was this just an idea which he later through out. Tatsuki definitely is spiritually aware, but what about Keigo and Mizuro? Those two seem like insignificant third-tier characters and Kubo hasn’t really developed them at all in the 300+ chapters that have passed by since chapter 33. I wouldn’t mind seeing Tatsuki gaining some spiritual powers in the future, but I wouldn’t care so much for Keigo and Mizuro. Let’s hope Kubo abandoned his plans to develop their characters long ago.