#aizen meta

[my-my-my]

I've rewatched these few episodes this weekend and I'm really enjoying the subtle differences they've made to Aizen's character/personality from the manga.

The biggest one was the distinct lack of smugness that was present in the manga. In the manga, it was almost as if Aizen was taunting Shunsui to undo his seals, but in the anime, he looks exhausted. I also thought in "The Dark Arm" he physically looked tired with a bag under his eye (but again, might be the animation).

It could be argued it's just the lighting and such, but even in "Against the Judgment" Aizen was still cold, but not smug. I think it's a great way/tool to "humanize" Aizen by showing that his 2 years in Muken, have affected him to some degree.

Yet, he still remains cold to the Gotei 13. He's not gloating his power, it's just very "matter-of-fact" for Aizen at this point in time. It makes me curious to what further changes we'll see with his character as TYBW goes on!

[my-my-my]

I have a similar hc about his inner world too (doubled by the fact Bleach Brave Souls also depicts something like this as well).

I imagined it to be something like Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, except it is expansive to reflect his own going search for personal growth (mentally, spiritually, intellectually, etc.). The mountains are always at a distance, no matter how much he tries to reach them, because he will always be on the search for knowledge/power.

But now being in Muken, I hc it to have moments where his inner world is slightly "dry" (akin to when it rains in Ichigo's inner world). But also, his time in Muken allows him to spend time in his inner world, so maybe the distant, once dry mountains, are beginning to show signs of vegetation!

You didn't ask for this, but I wanted to put it here too. I always hc'd Kyoka Suigetsu to look like Yuuko Ichihara from xxHOLiC

Or The Mirror from Card Captor Sakura:

(This is more of a bias because I think CLAMP's artwork suit Aizen so beautifully. He looks like he would be a CLAMP character haha.)

Bleach fans how do you think Aizen's inner world looks like?

This my idea

in his world there is day and night cycle, at night there's always a full moon reflecting on the surface

Day

Night

I imagine a seamless world of sky and the ocean.Like you cant really tell where the sky ends and where the sea begins,kinda representing the whole aspect of illussions he can make(or the fact that he hides his true self and you dont know which is the REAL him)

Also the vast ocean represents both his ambition,thirst for knowledge but at the same time his lonelyness!

Usually the need to explore the ocean means our need to discover something new,be brave enough to get out there and find new horizons, new worlds..It makes you feel free right?

But on the other hand the thought of being stranded in the middle of the ocean is terrifying,you feel hopeless and guess what, lonely!!!

Which is something Aizen always felt!!

Yes his world is limmitless but he is the only one there no other life not even an island or something exists.

It's just him on a boat sailing into the endless sea searching for someone to understand him but no one can (except for Ichigo,but he had to become a freak of a powerhouse and even then he got a glimpse)

So when Aizen couldnt find anyone equal his world from this beatifull vibrant place turn into a moonless dark place instead

It looks breathtaking but it still you cant help yourself but to feel isolated and maybe by the time we get to the hell arc Aizen' world is complete enveloped in darkness!! (Aka depression,like when Ichigo is grieving in his world it rains so much the buildings go underwater)

Anyway this is my thought about this subject,feel free to comment your own ,i would love to read it!!

[uraharashouten]

From Klub Outside:

2024.09.23

Q676. 過去篇の浦原が隊長に就任する際、平子が「えらいユルそうなんが入ってきよったな」に対して藍染が少し意味深に答えている感じがするのですが、藍染は浦原が隊長に就任する前から注目していたのでしょうか？その場合、その時点で浦原はなんらかの研究で名をあげていたのでしょうか？それとも霊術院の同期とかですか？ A676. 藍染は喜助が夜一と関わるより前から知っています。

Q676. In the flashback arc, when Urahara was appointed as a captain, Hirako remarks, "We’ve got a pretty easygoing guy coming in," to which Aizen responds somewhat cryptically. Was Aizen paying attention to Urahara even before he was appointed as a captain? If so, was Urahara already recognized for some of his research at that time, or were they academy classmates?

A676. Aizen knew Kisuke even before Kisuke got involved with Yoruichi.

I've already shared some thoughts on this information here, but wanted to post the original question and the actual manga panel that it refers to.

I think it's pretty evident that Shinji did not know Kisuke prior to his promotion, but Kubo confirms that Aizen did. It is also evident that the knowledge was one-way, or we would have seen some acknowledgement from Kisuke that he was familiar with Aizen Sousuke.

So I believe that rules out them being childhood friends or school chums in favor of the idea that Aizen has been watching Kisuke for a long time.

[evilkitten3]

i have a theory about shinji, gin, and aizen, but i'm not really sure how to word it.

we never really see shinji and gin interact all that much, which makes sense bc both of them have significantly more important relationships with aizen, but at the same time it's a little odd how much there isn't.

like. gin cut hiyori in half. shinji is understandably pissed about that, but he aims that anger at aizen - and this seems to be one of the very few things in the bleach world that honestly isn't on him bc he never told gin to do that, he never even implied it. hiyori was never a threat to him. hell, we don't even know if she was charging in the right direction; if anything, attacking her implies that she was which is a really stupid thing to do when you're surrounded by a bunch of people who super want you dead and would kill you if they could be sure you weren't tricking them into stabbing each other (ofc it could also be a fakeout but still)

but i don't remember shinji's beef ever really being with gin, even tho he didn't seem to anticipate that gin was working with aizen the whole time during tbtp. so like does he feel responsibility there? cuz gin went straight from academy to 3rd seat and shinji could plausibly feel like that sent him right to aizen bc he doesn't know that gin was always aiming for that. did he blame himself? does he feel like he should've seen it coming? does he still see him as some weird genius kid? does he just view gin as an extension of aizen, which is both dehumanizing to an extent but also entirely fair bc gin did that to himself?

the thing is, since we never really see them interact much, it's kind of only interesting on shinji's side of things, bc gin doesn't really care about much outside of whatever the fuck he thought he was doing and the version of rangiku that he has in his head who needs back something that the real one doesn't ever seem to have realized she lost to begin with. gin's so disconnected with basically everybody that most of the time you can usually assume his thoughts are just "lol. lmao" and there's no reason to think that doesn't extend to shinji as well (gin has deep thoughts on: aizen, ichigo, and matsumoto (massive asterisk on that one ofc) and i think everyone else is kinda set dressing to him lmao the guy is Fucked Up)

anyway i think it's interesting to toy around with that relationship as it was in reality as well as how it might've been perceived, but also in the sense of both of them being sort of opposite ends of the manchild spectrum - shinji leans into his childish side but still has a fairly adult worldview, and gin is able to pull off maturity to an extent but was never able to escape a deeply childish mindset

[writerswhy]

Self-care for the Soul: Hinamori's Edition

(Or, my 2am rambles on Hinamori that briefly touch on nonviolence while I lightly express some fandom guilt ft. one mention of Frankenstein and some Tobiume hc 🫠 Thank you @bleachbleachbleach for your encouraging words on this post! <33)

TL;DR: Much of Hinamori’s external life has been chosen for her. She thrives at exercising a form of internal non-violence of the spirit, where despite the lack of tools (as a Rukongai ghost) and later in spite of the master’s tools (the Seireitei), she asserts her power through choice - choosing to love, defend, create - through which she fights back against the institution that created and enabled the violence inflicted upon her. This is in her nature, always has been since she befriended Hitsugaya to rescuing Hisagi.

"Be like the bird that, passing on her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings." -Victor Hugo

Sometimes I feel like such a fake Hinamori fan because I worry that my interpretations discredit her character, which isn't what I want at all! With regards to Aizen and forgiveness, I get a sense that the popular belief is that it is in Hinamori's nature or best interest to come to reject everything about their relationship, that she would even hate him, want to enact some form of violence on him. And that's all fine! I mean, anything is believable if you come at characterization from the lens of “what would make a character do XYZ?"….but I just can't help but feel like this is us (or at least me) moving on without her - which is how Hinamori canonically felt post-Winter War (and I would go so far as to say she's been feeling like this for a long time, since before leaving for the academy).

Like, would it help Hinamori to hate everything about him? To reject all of him? What is she, someone who deeply values her relationships and what she gets from them as much as she gives, choosing to leave behind by doing so? So much of her (external) life happens to her: she has to enter the academy because her powers awakened, she was pre-selected to join the 5th division for a plan that started decades before her and would be put into motion a few decades later, and of course both stabbings.

Given this, I think Hinamori is someone who appreciates making a choice of what she's given, often internal, often against the status quo, and gains exactly what she needs. She chooses to befriend Hitsugaya despite the village's rejection of him (and finds herself a lifetime partner); she stays behind to give Hitsugaya a proper goodbye even though it'll make her late to the academy on her first day (to keep Rukongai close which feels especially important given Seireitei wants to neglect, forget what's outside their walls); she chooses to save Hisagi against his orders (and years later she can look back and know she's brave); she chooses to defend Renji despite Byakuya's authority and Kira's acquiescence (and realizes that to stand up for what she believes in she may be the only one in the room left). And if she chooses to hold close the fond memories she created with Aizen and the lessons she learned from him, she'll know that under all his power laid her power too.

These choices she made are all born from her internal character and I think that's something she tries to hold onto (even when it feels like everyone is moving on without her, that the narrative is moving on without her, that fandom sometimes moves on without her).

And it's not because of the naivety or delusion that's so often attributed to her. It's this instinct to create, to save, to love, despite the lack of tools (and then in spite of the tools). I don't think it's far-fetched to believe that she, an artist who spends her free time reading (about history and fantasy, about the past and the future) would try to create what she needs, imperfect as it is. Hinamori has always been a "be the change you want to see" type of person.

Unlike Hisagi who fears his power in his own hands, Hinamori fears her power in the hands of others. In a way, it's a rejection of the Seireitei. In a way, it's a rejection of the institution that created and enabled the violence inflicted upon her.

——

(Another reason why I feel like a fake Hinamori fan is because I don't think she needs bankai to tie up her arc or to prove/reclaim her power. Like I mentioned above, I think Hinamori does a pretty solid job of reclaiming her power outside of Seireitei's tools. Bankai feels almost like a resignation to me. It's hard to explain without needing 2000+ words and referencing Frankenstein, the internal/spiritual nature of nonviolence of a solider, and elaborating on Hisagi and Kaname because these two are very much part of the same conversation.

But anyways! My Tobiume hc plays into all of this. It's pretty much the same as the rest of the fandom's - some iteration of a phoenix + forest (I love the seagull cry when Tobiume releases and this imagery of being rooted deep in the earth with an expansive sky to soar above this middle space where the man-made sits), but I hc that she's never really been able to see Tobiume. That Tobiume always wants to keep just out of sight, perched high in the trees or a shadow over the sun to keep her wondering because Hinamori is an artist (who once had no brushes), a life-long learner (who once had no books), and I think it’d be neat if her inner world was something she created out of imagination and hunger for somewhere beyond her body and something beyond the constraints of their society. Another poem I associate with her is "Cherry Blossoms" by Toi Derricote:))

[linkspooky]

Hey friend, beautiful metas, you are great at this. I would like to hear your opinion on the one who is the second best antagonist in Bleach for me, Yhwach. It's my favorite manga and I would like to hear the opinion of someone who could understand the message of his character and the final arc of TYBW which for me is also the best of the manga.

Yhwach's philosophy about a world without the fear of death has great value in the work for me and one of the things that makes it so interesting is how he somehow contrasts with Aizen in the arc of the arrancars. Both of them were wrong in their ideologies, and only realized it when they achieved exactly what they wanted. Aizen becoming an infinite existence, and Yhwach becoming a stagnant existence.

So, fun fact Ywach is my second favorite Bleach Antagonist now (not counting Ulquiorra because he's just a precious misunderstood little baby) but when I first read TYBW I didn't like him at all. It really took the anime for me to understand how plot important Ywach is to the story. I usually don't like saying this, but if you think Ywach is a badly written antagonist then you really just don't get him.

The thing is everyone says they want to have nuanced villains but it's okay to have antagonists who are just symbolic forces of nature. The true antagonists in Bleach aren't the bad guys, it's the inability of the ensemble casts to overcome their personal issues, or work together as a team. Bleach has really strong character conflict, it really feels like every character who gets screentime is on a journey that's symbolized by the progression of their powers, whether they be quincy, fullbringer, or Shinigami.l

Therefore it is okay for Ywach not to be a character with a backstory as deep and human as Shigaraki, because he's symbolic of the force of FATE that the main characters are fighting against. Which is why the best way to understand Ywach is by comparing him to Aizen, Bleach's best antagonist. More on that under the cut.

The Fraud vs. The Real Deal

So ironically just like the best way to understand Aizen is also by comparing him to Ywach. Everything Aizen tries to be, a force of fate, the controlling force in the narrative, the one who has everyone dancing on the palms of his hands Ywach just naturally is. Aizen tries to become divine through schemes and plots, Ywach was literally born divine. He doesn't need to call himself a god, everyone already calls him a god. The quincy gave him the name "Ywach."

Before we get deeper into their comparisons, I'm going to give an example of just how Aizen is a fraud. The reveal of Misaki's backstory in thousand year blood war really did salvage Aizen's character for me after I started to dislike him towards the end of Arrancar Arc.

There's a fine line to walk with mastermind characters. You have to ask yourself is the character genuinely smart, or is the author just moving things around in the plot and letting the villain have plot armor and plot convenience in order to make them appear smarter than they already are.

Aizen claimed that he'd had everything in the palm of his hand since Ichigo was born, and that was what made me officially call bullshit. Then, the Misaki backstory reveals that Aizen was in fact just bullshitting the entire time.

Aizen didn't actually engineer Ichigo's birth as he claimed. One of his experiments just happened to attack Ichigo's mom, and Aizen decided to stay back and observe the situation. Then he kept monitoring Ichigo to see if he would be useful later. Which is what Aizen does in general, he puts his fingers in a lot of people's pies and then is clever enough to push situations into his favor.

He claims to be an omniscient planner, but he's really just clever and good at improvising when random things like White attacking Ichigo's mother happen so he can turn those situations into his advantage. When Aizen claims "I had everything planned from the beginning" it's just another illusion he's using to try to control you, and characters who buy that are easy to manipulate.

Because Aizen is a fraud. That is literally his zanpakuto, making illusions that control the senses. Everything down to his zanpakuto the literal reflection of his soul is fraudulent. Aizen makes claims at godhood but he doesn't even believe what he's saying.

Aizen yells at Ulquiorra that people shouldn't accept the way the world is, that they should try to be gods if they have the ability to while at the same time Ichigo called him out that his true desire was to be just another soul reaper.

However, in the world of Bleach godhood isn't all it's cracked up to be. The closest thing to a god, the Reio, the lynchpin of the unvierse is a limbless being, sealed in a crystal, that was not only betrayed and backstabbed and brutally massacred by the shinigami who supposedly worshipped them he's also like completely helpless.

He's eternal and all powerful and the very being that holds the world together, and also all he can do is passively observe reality. Destroying the soul king is a mercy because it releases him from his eternal suffering.

This is where we finally reach Ywach, who is what everything Aizen pretended to be. Aizen had to rely on the Hogyoku entirely to give other people power, whereas Ywach naturally can gift the quincy with his power. Aizen wanted to become the soul king he was a mortal who tried to ascend to divinity.

Ywach is heavily implied to be the soul king's literal son. Unlike Aizen he can actually claim to be a divine being, and he's worshipped as one taking the name of the christian god.

Aizen claims to be behind Ichigo's every fight in the manga, while Ywach actually is behind Ichigo's every fight because he's been there all along, pretending to be Ichigo's zanpakuto spirit. Ywach as Zangetsu even admits this, he was limiting Ichigo from his true power while also convincing Ichigo he was an ally because he never wanted Ichigo to become a full fledged sorcerer since he's not only a fragment of Ywach but the embodiment of his quincy powers.

Ywach is responsible for ichigo's desire to protect others, because his decision to terminate all impure quincy killed Ichigo's mother. Ywach has been with Ichigo since birth, since all quincies carry a fragment of Ywach's power in them. When Ywach calls Ichigo his son, he's not bullshitting either, because Old Man Zangetsu the fragment of Ywach inside Ichigo was in a sense a mentor and a father figure to him.

Ywach is a force of nature, in this case he's fate. The same fate that Ichigo wanted to shatter with his sword. Unlike Aizen's claims to be in control he can actually back this up. He controls Ichigo to slay the soul king, and his literal ability "The Almighty" is to rewrite the future to bring whatever future he wants into being. He can peer into every possible future and see millions of possible variations fo the future like grains of sand and then just make the one he wants happen. He literally, creates fate.

However, as I said it's not actually a good thing to be god in Bleach. Ywach because he is divine, can't live in the world with everyone else because of his fear of death. He's terrified of death probably for two reasons, one because he existed in a world without death, he watched his own father get butchered in the worst way possible, and he was basically stillborn. He fears returning to the state he was at birth unable to itneract with the world. A state ironically that was much like his father when he was sealed in the soul palace.

He's also experienced the deaths of every quincy he gave his power to over and over again. So Ywach is the force of fate itself, but just like fate which cannot be controlled, Ywach is an entirely stagnant entity.

The exact opposite of Aizen who was someone who wanted to be just like every other soul reaper. It's why even though Aizen's a fraud, between the two of them Aizen is the ideological victor in the end.

Since Aizen was saved by Ichigo in a way. By giving him the worthy opponent that he always craved, Aizen was knocked back down by the pedestal he always stood on. He became just another soul reaper as he always wanted to be. That's why he was able to believe in humans in the end and give up his notions of becoming a god.

[vahvah]

I really don't understand people who love Gin and hate Kaname at the same time. No, really, think about this for a second before you go back to your blind, fanatical love for cute boys (of course, I'll go back to that too).

Gin acted like a bastard, hurting people, killing, dooming people to death for about a hundred years because, well, as a child he saw what Aizen's minions did to Rangiku (almost sapped her powers as a soul). He realized that Aizen is a dangerous, cruel psychopath who poses a threat to three worlds. Honestly, I don’t remember canonical materials on whether Aizen shared with Gin the truth about the structure of the three worlds (about the Soul King as a puppet of Squad Zero, etc.), but even if Gin knew how ugly the setting of Bleach is - I believe he believed that putting him in the hands of Aizen, who did not care about the lives of civilians and even loyal subordinates, would be madness. His motivation makes sense, it shouldn't be reduced JUST to revenge for Rangiku, especially since she survived.

On the other hand, Kakyo (Tousen's friend/lover, in case you didn't know) didn't survive. Tokinada killed her (and the other shinigami), not for the sake of a higher goal that “justifies” the means, but because he was a sick bastard who liked to torture and kill, just like that. Yes, he also knew the truth about the Soul King, but he handled it differently than Aizen. And, well, being a vicious aristocrat, he used every opportunity provided by the clan to avoid punishment, and he was FAR from the only one of his kind. Kaname was trampled, the Soul Society system literally shouted in his face about its injustice, and Aizen was the only one who extended a helping hand to him. Aizen trusted Kaname, and Tousen asked him to kill himself so that he would never end up on the side of the Gotei 13.

(I think Aizen trusted Gin too, because at the moment of his betrayal, he actually looks shocked - it was not part of his plan lol).

I think Kaname and Gin were very similar and both suffered similar sins and can be understood.

[alexiethymia]

In relation to that earlier (crack)post, it dawns on me that for all that they call him ‘Aizen-taichou’, neither of Aizen’s vice-captains really choose him.

Sure, Aizen has only disdain for bonds, but I’m also of the interpretation that he tried to replicate at least a facsimile of them through twisted ways - loyalty, dependence etc. - but it always boiled down to no one would ever be able to understand him because no one was at his level, so he discards them.

What makes a prodigy? Age? If so, Nanao would be considered one. Intellect? But no one really alludes to either Hirako or Urahara as a prodigy. Maybe potential, and if so it would make sense that Gin and Hitsugaya are referred to as prodigies. And it would make sense to show that Aizen was at around the same age (at least physically) as Gin when he started to question everything. Despite being prodigies, Gin and Hitsugaya had what Aizen didn’t - people who understood them and made sure they didn’t feel too “other”. From his perspective, I could easily imagine Aizen perceiving his fellow prodigies as being held back by those bonds, at not even attempting to nurture their potential to be ‘god-like’. I am also of the theory that Aizen did want to bring Hitsugaya into the fold, or that he had a sense of his potential so if he wasn’t going to be under his control like Gin, then he had to be cut down.

But going back, when I say that neither of Aizen’s vice-captains choose him, this is prefaced with the context that both Gin and Hinamori were people he cultivated for years, maybe even centuries. Aizen showed Gin his true face (or as true as it could be knowing that Gin meant to kill him) while showing Hinamori the ideal captain, the image of the best captain even. But unlike Gin’s vice-captain who fights Hinamori to defend him (no matter how sick and self-loathing it made him feel deep inside), Hinamori despite being ordered by Aizen himself couldn’t manage to avenge him (she didn’t even try to her fullest capabilities). This was not in Aizen’s plans, and he even says it himself. Aizen was one of the most revered Captains, and he intentionally manipulated Momo to become dependently loyal on him, to the point that, he alleges, ‘she couldn’t live without him’. But if both were a test of loyalty, Kira passed his while Hinamori didn’t. And Gin rewards this (in a twisted sort of way) by involving Kira just enough that he could make sure that he and Rangiku were outside the blast point.

I could easily believe that Aizen intentionally did make Momo fall in love with him (his use of the words, ‘as a man’ in his letter for example), but unlike Hitsugaya who was ready to commit murder and treason just to keep Hinamori away from threats, she couldn’t fully severe that connection with Hitsugaya to avenge him. For all that Aizen seems to be above Hitsugaya and Gin, and they both lose to him, they will always have something he will never have. Even later, Momo despite the centuries of hypnosis chooses to stand on the battlefield against him.

In other words, in that confrontation, as a vice-captain, Hinamori couldn’t do for him what Kira did for Gin, and as someone who ‘loved’ or ‘admired’ him, she couldn’t do for him what Hitsugaya was willing to do for her, and this is after years and years of intentional emotional manipulation. For all of his ambitions, he failed to be the most important person for someone he intended to mold for that exact same purpose. And this is why in the realm of canon and headcanon, I do believe that as much as Hitsugaya hates Aizen, Aizen also hates Hitsugaya, just as much, insofar as someone like Aizen is capable of hatred. This is where you can see Aizen’s surface level understanding of bonds, as well as his being an unreliable narrator. His plan was for Kira and Hitsugaya to kill her, both people shown to love her, and when they couldn’t do it, for him as the person she ‘loves’ to deal the final blow. Did he really think that either Kira or Hitsugaya could actually go through with it? Maybe because he assumed that Momo actually would (because he knows the lengths Hitsugaya would go through and suspects the same of Gin, so as someone she ‘loves’ he might have had that same expectation of her).

He made sure she knew who was the one to hurt her, and he did it in the cruelest way possible. When I think about his overall plan, the interaction in Central 46 never had to happen. He already had his distraction. He didn’t have to deal death blows to both Hinamori and Hitsugaya, especially since no one at the execution knew what was going on at Central 46. In fact, it was because of that interlude that Unohana was able to warn the rest of the Gotei. But that wasn’t just an interlude. It really was part of his plan to kill Hinamori because ‘she couldn’t live without him’. Or maybe he convinced himself of that fact.

Even with Gin. For all that he says it was all part of his plan, and that he only kept Gin around because he knew Gin was going to kill him, I find it difficult to believe that he told Gin Kyouka Suigetsu’s weakness with that in mind. This is where his being an unreliable narrator comes in. When all is said and done, he can just claim it was all part of his plan. But I noticed he let his guard down when Gin claims to have killed Rangiku, and that he acknowledges that he could have been wrong about Gin having feelings for Rangiku. It seems to me that having another prodigy who was against Soul Society was something that he maybe wanted? And that he was just waiting for Gin to fully cut off those ties (to Rangiku) and prove his loyalty, in a manner of speaking.

So showing both his true face and his ideal face didn’t secure him the loyalty that he [wanted]. All the pieces fell into place, but it was actually his vice-captains who acted against his expectations. He claims it was Hirako’s rejection or suspicion that allowed him to hollowfy the Vizards, but even when he actually and actively exerted his influence over them, still neither of his vice-captains choose him. Even Urahara, who he considers an intellectual equal, still does nothing about the Soul King despite knowing the truth, because Urahara also has existing bonds he wishes to take care of. No matter how many people he hurt and defeated, and no matter that he considers it all a part of his plan, no matter that he doesn’t consider bonds important in the first place, ultimately Aizen was rejected on every front.

[my-my-my]

Aizen, Calligraphy and Poems (?)

In addition to getting into fountain pens, I have also started to read waka poems, which are Japanese poems. While I’m personally not interested in calligraphy as a hobby, reading about the historical aspects of Japanese calligraphy and waka poems made me curious about Aizen’s relationship with calligraphy, and by extension - poetry. We don’t know much about him in relation to those two things other than:

Aizen enjoyed Japanese calligraphy/considered it a hobby

He was so good at calligraphy that he was teaching it at the academy

Hinamori began to practice calligraphy during his captaincy and he held monthly calligraphy sessions for his squad

Aizen had a column in the Sereitei Communication called “The Yin of the Pine Needle”

Japanese calligraphy is a subject often taught to children in elementary school, but it has even older historical roots tied to professional warriors of the bushi rank (samurais are a part of this ranking system). These warriors were trained in bujutsu – were bu means war, and jutsu means technique, and budo. Budo doesn’t quite have a direct translation, but some describe it as the “martial ways to peace.” Even within budo, there were two “emphasis” students needed to focus on: 1) bu which were war and combat strategies, and; 2) bun which were Japanese literature and fine arts. Warriors of the highest ranking were expected to learn all of this, and some students were even expected to learn the flute (shakuhachi), Noh dancing (shimai) and flower arrangement (kado – which was one of Unohana’s hobbies!).

Japanese calligraphy, known as shodo was considered a vital part of a warrior’s training – so it is of no surprise that the Soul Academy, would incorporate it in their curriculum as a class, in addition to kido and sword fighting training.

But why is shodo so important to a warrior’s learning?

Well to many warriors, if sword fighting was considered a reflection of one’s mind (see my post here about Aizen and Kyoka suitgetsu), then shodo is the physical representation of the artist’s spiritual force. Shodo is more than just writing – it is a visible way to sense a warrior’s mental and physical condition. For centuries, leaders in Japan were expected to be strong calligraphers, and some of the best sword fighting masters in history, such as Miyamoto Musashi, were also regarded as some of the best calligraphers of their time.

Each brush stroke must be precise and unwavering – there isn’t room for corrections. An artist must be decisive once the brush hits the paper. The same can be said for sword fighting. You do not swing your sword “hoping” you will get a strike; you swing your sword because you are certain you will strike. Just like in any of the combat arts Shinigami must learn, mistakes are ultimately final in shodo.

Just like handling a sword, holding a brush is also a particular skill. Some teachers in shodo will grab brushes out of their students hand to check their grip. But the trick is that you can’t have too tight of a grip, as your brushstroke becomes rigid and your writing becomes static. Thus, you must be concentrated, but also relaxed. Shodo has an emphasis on balance and flowing, dynamic characters, just like with sword fighting. It’s why there’s often difficulty in painting a straight line, because your mind and body must work together as a unit. Once your brush hits the paper, your hand must paint without hesitation – your thoughts are free as they are focused on the “here” and “now” of painting. Aizen, who had a strongly concentrated mind, was also relaxed – his fight with the Gotei 13 in Fake Karakura Town is an example of this.

I already talked about this in a previous post, but Kyoka suigetsu acts as a metaphor for visualizing before striking. Shodo has a similar concept as well. Skilled artists should be able to visualize the kanji they’ll paint, and then make the decision for the first brush stroke. It would not surprise me if the Soul Academy then made calligraphy an elective because for students to be relatively decent at calligraphy, it would be a safe assumption that they would be good with a katana. Both require accuracy and skills to be effective.

Aizen was already a master sword fighter, so it is then, of no surprise, that his calligraphy skills were also unparalleled. While it’s a shame we don’t see any of Aizen’s calligraphy work, he was recognized in his skill in it that he became a teacher. I also wouldn’t be surprised if this was his way to “vibe check” students as potential conspirators with him, because of the underlying assumption that brush, katana and mind are one.

Calligraphy is just one aspect though; some calligraphers were also talented poets! One specifically that comes to mind is Sugawara no Michizane. To be honest, Aizen kind of reminded me of an evil version of him lol. Sugawara no Michizane was a poet, scholar and politician employed to the Emperor of Japan. Long story short, a political conflict arose, where two other clans working for the emperor made comments that suggested Sugawara was trying to usurp power from the Emperor. As such, Sugawara was exiled from the imperial court.

Another fun fact about Sugawara no Michizane, he had a favourite plum tree in the imperial garden! So much so that on the day of his exile, he wrote a poem for it: When the east wind blows/ let it send your fragrance/ oh plum blossoms. / Although your master is gone/ do not forget the spring. The legend goes that Sugawara missed this tree so much that it flew to him during his exile. This gave the plum tree the name: tobiume.  

Sugawara died not long after his exile, but the imperial palace, and those who wronged Sugawara, experienced dreadful things. Specifically the Emperor’s palace was destroyed through a fire… which was triggered by lightning. Such as the fall of the Sereitei during the first invasion of the Quincy after Aizen’s defeat (Sasikibe dying and Yamamoto burning Squad 1). While Aizen is indeed alive, the imperial court were incredibly superstitious and made temples in honor of Sugawara. And we have Shunsui (temporarily) releasing Aizen for the war (I admit, this connection is a bit of a reach!)

As for poetry, I again, wish we had an example of some of the things Aizen wrote, but the Yin of the Pine Needle is an interesting title for a reoccurring column! He wrote 50 volumes for it. (For context, Unohana’s column had 1041 volumes.)

In Japanese flower language, pine needles (matsuba) symbolize harmony. The “yin” in Aizen’s column’s title, is a bit more ambiguous, because yin can mean different things in this context. Yin can represent assimilation, quietness, sluggishness, psychological or spiritual work, it can also be interpreted as suppression when yin is associated with emotions. Regardless of what exact meaning Aizen’s column was meant to be, it would be a safe assumption that Aizen was publishing something that was could have been a critique, commentary or something where he’s pointing out the “harmony” either within Soul Society or something more ambiguous lol, is not what it seems.

Here are my rambles, thanks for reading! Would love for Kubo to write more Aizen, but alas! I'm always going to overthink the crumbs we get of Aizen's character lol.

[midnightactual]

I want one thing to be supremely clear to you, oh reader mine. All Aizen had to do to win in Bleach was intercept Yoruichi during TBTP.

If he had done that, Kisuke would be depowered, Tessai would be imprisoned, the Vizard would all be dead, and probably Kaien would still die and Isshin would still desert but Masaki would die and Ichigo would never be born. Aizen's plans probably would have succeeded at least until he encountered Zero Division (who absolutely knew everything he was up to and were unperturbed). At any rate, Bleach would not have happened.

All he had to do was stop Yoruichi. Not even beat her or kill her. Just stop her.

He didn't. He didn't even try. He didn't even try with Gin and Kaname and all the other forces at his disposal.

He didn't even try because he had no confidence in his ability to stop her even with all that. He deemed it superior to allow loose ends to develop, which ultimately resulted in his defeat, than even attempt to engage her at that time.

That means he assessed that fighting her with everything he had would essentially guarantee his defeat one way or another, whereas having loose ends only presented a "minimal" risk of eventually being defeated.

I don't care what anyone thinks about this. That is the only way to read the risk-reward structure presented in TBTP. It perfectly explains Aizen stammering in FKT when she appears as well. And it fits in with Aizen explaining in SAFWY that he feared fighting Kenpachi in a mortal body. He knew he did not have good odds of winning in a fight against Yamamoto, Kenpachi, or Yoruichi without Hōgyoku. These are simply the facts of the text of Bleach as it actually exists.

You can imagine whatever you like, but this is what Kubo (and Narita) wrote. It's canon.

[chaoticreivingu]

Reminder that Kubo confirmed that the original villain of Soul Society arc was Hanataro

Not Urahara, not Ukitake.

Him.

[uraharashouten]

On Opening a Garganta

Hollows do it naturally. But when shinigami need to— it's a little more involved. Let's examine different methods that have been used.

Here's Mayuri in chapter 381, using 'spoils of war' obtained from the laboratory of Szayelapporo Granz to open a Garganta back to Fake Karakura Town. Note that both he (right) and Nemu (left) are required to operate it, standing beneath the black orbs.

Is there a simpler version? Why yes— Urahara Kisuke's Garganta requires only one person (himself) to operate, as we see in chapter 240:

And perhaps this is why Mayuri says:

But he must mean on their side, because there is a shinigami whose artificial Garganta requires no additional operators, as per chapter 313:

Oh! And it's got stairs!

Yeah, that would've been an improvement.

[berrymascarpone]

Consider:

1) one needs to see Aizen’s Kyoka Suigetsu’s shikai in order to be affected by the illusions

2) Aizen used Kyoka Suigetsu to publically fake his dead body in the soul society arc

3) in that same arc, we are told that captains and lieutenants are not supposed to carry their zanpakuto around in peace times, and therefore

4) it is unlikely that literally every shinigami has seen Aizen’s shikai, despite his attempts to impress them early at the academy

In conclusion, there is statistically at least one low level new shinigami graduate who overslept on the day of Aizen’s practical demonstration lesson and therefore did not see Aizen’s body pinned to the wall, just all the captains and lieutenants and the rest of the Gotei 13 freaking out over nothing, and had to emperor’s new clothes his way through the rest of the arc.

[keikakudori]

But also I'm going to be shoving this whole YOU CAN WEAR A GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING OUKEN INTO MY MOUTH AND EATING THIS VICARIOUSLY AND HAVING EVEN MORE BRAIN JUICE HYPER ZOOMY MOMENTS BECAUSE WHAT THE FUCK YOU CAN WEAR A FUCKING OUKEN WHAT THE SHIT IS THIS LORE---

[obsidiennes]

Okay, so when Rangiku shows up and steps in to save Don Kanonji and Tatsuki, Tatsuki finds her really remarkable. (The fact Tatsuki doesn't recognize her means she only turned up at Karakura High School the one day, and that was apparently during lunch or something as neither Tatsuki nor Orihime were in the room at the time, so Tatsuki just never saw Rangiku until this point.)

So as Aizen menaces Gin and Rangiku, Ichigo shows up.

Everyone is reacting to him in the first page, and it feels weird that Tatsuki and Keigo question if it's really him, but whatever. Tatsuki and Keigo look way more distressed than Don Kanonji, Chizuru, and Mizuiro, which reflects the fact they probably both knew they were gonna die at certain points versus Aizen, whereas Mizuiro and Chizuru didn't and Don Kanonji is crazy enough to shrug it off. But here's where things get really interesting.

In the Xcution arc, after Ichigo punches Tsukishima, Tatsuki and Keigo once again look far more distressed, though with Keigo it seems almost like shocked disappointment and with Tatsuki it's hot rage. Really look at her expression in the second panel. She wasn't even that angry by comparison when Ichigo told her to butt out when Orihime went missing:

Now we know that to Chad and Orihime, at least, Tsukishima defeated Aizen. Every altered history need not necessarily be the same, but it seems likely that feature is consistent, and from what we see there, Tsukishima appeared when Ichigo canonically did in actual history, meaning events otherwise proceeded as we saw (meaning Don Kanonji and Rangiku stepped in earlier on.)

This is supported by the fact that Tatsuki's incredible anger at Tsukishima being attacked doesn't seem to stem from personal familiarity, given she's still respectfully calling him "Mr. Tsukishima," the page before, which suggests their main interaction was him saving her (and everyone else) from Aizen, not anything longer. Now why does this register so strongly with her?

Probably because of this. Mind you, Tatsuki has already endured something similar:

But what happened with Aizen is far worse. So, the defeat of Aizen was such a big deal to Tatsuki because:

She definitely consciously faced down (a probably grisly) death, with to some degree far more awareness of it than the previous times with Numb Chandelier and Yammy

She had memories of being the sole survivor after Yammy's attack and so a repeat scenario but worse is basically a massive PTSD trigger

the people at risk due to Aizen were likely notably more important to her

her lady crush who'd just awakened something in her was in peril too

(Good time to recall that Tatsuki is incredibly durable, as I've said many times, and that this event also caused her to train incredibly hard afterward.)

[chaoticreivingu]

The thing is, Kubo did actually have a plan for the story at this point, but it was a very different Soul Society arc from the one we ended up getting.

The reason why Renji and Byakuya act like coworkers and not Captain and Lieutenant is because at this point there wasn't much of a ranking system yet(notice how neither of them have captain robes or a lieutenant badge) and the Gotei 13 as we know it only started to form after their designs were created.

In the first arc Renji says he got picked up by the Kuchiki clan like a retainer in a noble house(which is why he calls Byakuya captain here)but doesn't mention his own rank at all until chapter 59, which is when we first see a more familiar version of the Gotei 13 with captain haoris and distinct squads. Before that, the only other glimpse we had was Ukitake who, just like Byakuya, has no haori or indication he's a captain of a squad.

Besides this, the cast in the original version of SS arc was smaller than what we got(no Soi Fon, no Toshiro, no Yachiru, no Aizen) and was going to be way shorter too. In fact, Kubo was planning to end Bleach itself in 2004 and only started getting interested in it after Aizen's fake death. With this in mind, the concept of Bankai and the Substitute Shinigami Badge probably didn't exist either.

With Aizen not even existing yet, the original villain and mastermind of this version of Soul Society arc was also very different than what we got. The answer may surprise you.

This panel where we're firstly introduced to Renji and Byakuya is so fucking weird...

I don't think Kubo knew what the hell to do with those characters.

They speak to each in that first part as if they're work buddies instead of Captain and Lieutenant.

I mean, the author of the manga himself gives a first depiction of these two that is completely ooc, according to what we see later on. It's almost like if Kubo was writing by instinct instead of having it pretty much planned out.

And what's those hoods supposed to be and do? And what the hell is a compass scroll?

And what do you mean you entered the Senkaimon and we're crossing the Precipice World without the guidance of the Jigokucho?

What a mess it was at the very beginning...