#love muramasa

[japhgura]

The Zanpakutō Arc is my favourite arc of the anime. 

Really weird pick, I know. But when I saw it for the first time when I was much younger I loved all the cool spirits, I’ve always been super in love with the concept of Zanpakutō and getting a look into what the spirits are for everyone was so cool.  

When I rewatched the Arc, I realized that I still very much love the arc, but for different reasons. Namely, the Antagonist, Muramasa. I love his motives, how he goes about stuff and his character. He might be my favourite character in all of Bleach and this is a filler arc. 

But as much as I realized my love for the antagonist, I noticed that the stories of the Zanpakutō Spirits, as well as the designs and what they’re like seemed... Very lacklustre. I get that it’s filler and character development or anything isn’t allowed but.. oof. 

This turned out rather long so the rest is under the cut, including Kazeshini mini-makeover!

So one day, I wanna rewrite that Arc and give it as much love as it deserves. Kind of a passion project that would take a shit ton of work, but the end product would be something I could not only enjoy and share, but look back on fondly for a very long time. 

When/if I do that there’s a few things I wanna do for it. 

We’re gonna play by AEIWAM (by @gallusrostromegallus, go look at the tag) rules.  

Bleach without mods is very hard to play after having experienced Aeiwam and I can’t go back anymore.

This would very much be just me joining the bandwagon of creators playing in Gallus’ sandbox of wonder, but Aeiwam is what got me back into Bleach and the world building is too gooddddd. So, Zanpakutō Arc would once again be more of a filler (though Gallus if you find anything in it that you like please feel free to pick and choose if I ever manage to write this) 

The Spirits need some serious make overs. 

 While some designs are cool, others are kind of uninspired and really do feel like filler. Some of the personalities are stereotypes pretending to be characters. The whole Haineko, Tobiume, Hyōrinmaru love triangle was kinda weird imho. Stuff like, just put a bit more autistic special interest spice in it, make it more funky. Spend actual quality time on the Zanpakutō spirits, their appearance, their characters and their relationships. Have more funky things like Itegumo the Avalanche (Courtesy of @gallusrostromegalus). Spirits like Hōzukimaru and Ruriirokujaku would are prime candidates f.E.

3. Muramasa deserves better.

For real. Did not deserve to turn into glitter after breaking himself over and over for his Shinigami. Absolute Love and Loyalty met with nothing but hatred. The guy stabbed him and broke the sword and Muramasa was still nothing but loyal.

Fun Fact: Maegawa's first appearance was in a story we later called Zanpakutō Stories: Stockholm Syndrome. Very good time.

Her powers were made specifically to be able to save him from death by getting the hollows out of him without hurting him.

Her name is a bit of a wordplay. Asahi, the morning sun of a new day. And especially Maegawa. Muramasa expresses multiple times to his Shinigami to leave behind the past and look forward. To move forward. Together.

Maegawa, roughly translated: forward river. Pretty on the nose, but I couldn't resist

Actual cool stories between Zanpakutō and Shinigami.  

The conclusion of almost all sub stories between Shinigami and Sword Spirits was kind of a let down. The arc started strong in that regard, but then everyone broke swords left and right and they fixed it at the end with Mayuri Special Clown Magic. The premise of losing your powers forever if you kill your Zanpakutō Spirit was very cool but eventually ignored and even subverted by the Shinigami starting to purposefully destroying the swords halfway through.  

It would be a lot cooler if instead of just defeating them in battle everyone has to properly engage their Zanpakutō spirit and work out whatever gripes Muramasa has drawn out and strengthened. 

In that same vein, here’s an example I was pondering for this arc. A prime suspect of both ?? Design and very very unsatisfying story conclusion: 

Kazeshini 

The design was always really out of left field for me. A rude, battle-hungry being of slaughter with random cloth for decency and a vaguely scythe like haircut. 

...And that’s... Shūhei’s Zanpakutō spirit? Shūhei from the 9th? Who doesn’t particularly enjoy bloodshed, is always ready to help others out and though trying to be edgy is actually very much a goof? That Shūhei?  

That never really clicked with me. 

I mean maybe it’s implied violent tendencies or some random blood thirst deep down but I never felt like we really had any proof for that with Shūhei himself. Though it might’ve very well have gone r/whoosh. I struggle retaining all the information sometimes.

But then I had a fun little thought. 

At his very core, I feel like Hisagi is someone whose just intrinsically helpful. He wants to help, to do whatever he can and to prove himself to others. 

He puts on a tough front and some people fall for it, but he’s actually extremely kind-hearted and a very hard worker. 

Why would his Zanpakutō spirit not share that trait? The trait that’s at his very core.  

Slaughter Demon Kazeshini is a front. A tough looking exterior from a Zanpakutō spirit that really just wants to help its Shinigami with all its heart. 

The moment I saw Shūhei’s Shikai for the first time I actually had to think of Naruto for a moment. And when I pondered what those scythes might actually look like my thoughts returned to that thought: Kamaitachi.  

("Kamaitachi" (鎌鼬) from the Kyōka Hyaku Monogatari by Masasumi Ryūkansaijin)

Kamaitachi are yōkai that resemble weasels with scythe-like front claws riding on dust storms. Now the version I’ve sketched is a ferret because I can’t keep my wiggly guys apart apparently, but also has the scythes more ferret-forearm-area. But Kamaitachi were the inspiration. 

So this little guy is giddy as all hells when the Shikai first happens. Finally he can help his shinigami!! He’ll do his best and they’ll be so cool together and- 

Shūhei looks at his blades in a mix of shock and repulsion. “They look like they reap life itself” 

He hates his shikai. 

Kazeshini is distraught. Why..? Why the hatred for their blades? Fear? He doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know _how to help_. But he wants to help! He needs to help! 

And then he gets an idea.

He needs Shūhei to hate _him_. Not the blades. He needs Shūhei to be stubborn, to use these blades and become stronger.  

So Kazeshini comes up with a plan. Shūhei doesn’t know his true form yet. He hasn’t seen the little ferret trying so hard to be a sword spirit he can rely on. And then Kazeshini does what he learned from Shūhei.  

He puts on a front.  

And that front is the rude Slaughter Demon Kazeshini, who never fails to infuriate Shūhei, to infuriate him to want to become stronger. To get Shūhei to show him that his blades can be used for more than death. 

Their Zanpakutō Arc story would be this little communication disaster falling in on itself and Shūhei finally seeing Kazeshini for what he really is and coming to terms with the blades (and himself in a way)

(The initial idea was that Kazeshini sees Hisagi's hatred for a part of himself (Hisagi hating Hisagi I mean) made manifest in the blades and decides to redirect Hisagi's hatred against his own soul toward itself to protect him, but since Zanpakutō spirits in Aeiwam work a little different I thought I'll need that overhaul that a little hehe)

But yeah, there we have it. This has been steeping in my brain soup for a very long time. But I really need to finish Maegawa Backstory before I start anything else haha

[cestacruz]

Finally continued some of LB6

[waterlinkedgirl]

Musical Touken Ranbu: Yorozu no Hana Utsusu Kagami (A Mirror Reflecting Myriad Flowers) Sengo Muramasa & Tonbokiri souki shutsujin

Karma: (in Hinduism and Buddhism) the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. — Oxford Dictionary

I dedicate this one to the friends of mine who love Sengo and Tonbo. It's a beautiful performance with a wealth of interpretations, a myriad of feelings.

Keep in mind that these are only the subtitle files, timed and tled to the DMM senshuuraku and the bluray respectively. The archive version will have a talk at the start, so the starting times of the subs will have to be delayed accordingly.

You can find the subtitles and my TL document here!

[despairforme]

He chooses violence all day every day, what else is new?

[grailfigure]

MODEROID Third-generation Seishuusengou Uemon-no-jou Muramasa. woman thats also a spider and also a suit of armor.........

just posted her :]

i love model kits ^_^ i am a model kit guy first and foremost as a figure collector i want to try + build every major line of model kits, but i havent gotten around to having a moderoid yet ! this one is really cool though i think ive seen figures of her in her human form as well but her kit is also really nice looking

[i-want-men-and-attention]

Holy fuck i must be doing the valentine's even for far too long for me to have forgotten I have never given Muramasa the chocolate yet

[mako-neexu]

collab drink cute!

[sasayakc]

:D 🎶

No thank you. That was his immediate reaction to the aura of this Shinigami. It was unpleasant to him. Like murky water. Something sinister. Not evil, but - not with good intentions either. His eyes fell to the cane. The man's Zanpakuto, hidden - but not to him, of course. Her name? Benihime. His name? Unknown. ❝ I think that's close enough. ❞ Muramasa stated, tempted to hold out a hand to stop the other from approaching him any further. He didn't like him. Didn't like him at all.

[ebitenpura]

[connectjump]

HOWLING WITH LAUGHTER!!!

just the thought of the lady servants just dunking on grandpa for giving a sword as a return gift is great. because it means that he also hangs out with them often enough for it to happen. 🤣

[japhgura]

Guess whose manic interest metronome has once again returned to Bleach? Maybe I'll actually make it through the fullbringer arc this time, I always sink into long ass anime when I'm very distressed

When I was writing my diploma and had the worst entrance exams of my life I caught up in one piece.

But what do we do when we return to bleach brainworm? Of course, thank the brain for finally allowing me to enjoy some good aeiwam again while dusting off my blorbos

There's some things I wanna attempt finishing writing but we'll see how much brain permits me while freaking out about the disability card thing oof

[baltears]

okay but if they wanted kisukes storyline to be good they shouldbe showed us flashbacks of him and torahime falling in love or whatever. otherwise i literally could not care less bc i have no fucking idea what their dynamic is supposed to be. both torahime and momohime are pious little waifs with no thoughts or desires other than to be good girls and go to buddhist heaven but at least momohime is playing off of a selfish asshole for her entire storyline and is put in situations where her innocence can play to their advantage (eg taking her body back accidentally while in hell bc she was too freaked out and using the opportunity to convince the big demon to eat her so she could rescue jinkuro. and the little demons only let her through bc she was so nice and polite they didn't think she could possibly be dangerous) conversely kisuke is initially rude but then basically nothing but respectful and admiring toward torahime after he remembers who she is. and shes just like. oh kisuke you came for me. oh kisuke what are you doing here. oh kisuke im already dead and i have 49 days left on earth AND THEN THEY DON'T EVEN DO ANYTHING WITH THAT EMOTIONALLY. literally they are like watching paint dry i cant think of two other video game characters who seem less like they should fuck but theres absolutely nothing else going on in his storyline besides a funny little side plot where he keeps bumping into her sister at the hot spring and then they end up fighting to the death

[strunmah-mah]

okay, the TMNT x Naruto announcement has given me fanfic ideas. Genin squad of April, Casey, and Angel. Whose their Jonin instructor? Could be a Naruto or TMNT character

[greaterpaladin]

finished avalon le fae. SO! i really, really enjoyed it. like, a lot. some of if not the best writing in fgo (but it is still fgo so there was some loose ends that i'm still ??? about. morgan and tristan in particular but whateverrrr). i kinda wanted more oberon at the end, felt like that went by really quick which is a shame bc i fckin love that boy. i really liked how much it reminded me of babylonia in the sense that it had that melancholy, doomed feel but by god we're going to try, even if everyone dies, even if the world dies, we'll try because we have to and because we don't want to let our friends down- the sort of tone that fgo is excellent at, most of the time.

[biscuitdetective]

During one of the talk shows last year it was confirmed that Oberon wanting a sword was genuine, for the simple reason that he does have the heart of a boy after all, and boys think swords are cool. The translation kinda nerfed the cuteness of the line because he wasn’t saying he wanted a sword as a grown man, he was saying he wanted one as a boy.

Oberon fanboying over ninja.

[raccoon-in-the-danger-room]

Sometimes I see reviews about D&W where people think Worst Wolverine's backstory is super lacking. That they expected something epic like how Mysterio tricked Logan to slaughter everyone in the Old Man comic run.

But that plot, at least to me, doesn't make The Worst Wolverine. It probably makes the Most Tortured Wolverine -- the story of a man slaughtering his own family with his bare hands because he was mind controlled. Which inevitably created a power vacuum so gigantic that the world basically collapsed as supervillains take over the world.

But the title of Worst Wolverine should belong to the Logan that completely abandons his most important moral value: to be the protector.

Sure, he tends to be nomadic and at times self-isolates, but at his core he truly knows what it means to be a pack animal: to be a part of a cohesive family unit, rely on others, be a guardian for the weak.

In a literal sense, a common backstory for him was that he just fucked off from human society after he mutated to live with a pack of wolves. He turned feral, but they also taught him about the importance of community.

Even if you aren't a fan of the wolf background (which I AM because I think it's funny and dramatic as hell), there's other stories where he got taken care of by the Blackfoot Tribe and Lord Ogun before somehow winding up in the Weapon-X Program. Then, the Hudson family rescued him and helped him gain his humanity back after the adamantium experiments. He joined Department H, and sometime after, he found his place with the X-Men.

My point being that past or present, Logan has always belonged to a family. He needs it -- his human AND animal side both need it. He's not meant to be a creature of solitude. When he is, it's a form of punishment that he inflicts upon himself because he doesn't feel worthy to be around the people he loves or he's worried about hurting them. Or it's something inflicted upon him -- aka he's been captured and is being experimented on.

So what does all this tell us about Logan's moral code? He cares deeply for others because it's in his nature to be a part of a pack and he will do anything to protect them.

He's very caring towards animals (ex. looking after wolves that took care of him, mercy killing a bear in The Wolverine, and saving the horses in Logan). He tried to save Silver Fox's life when Sabretooth attacked her. When his wife Itsu was murdered, he relied on the advice of Lord Ogun to get vengeance for her with the Muramasa Blade. He joined Department H and Alpha Flight because he owed the Hudsons so much after re-acclimating him to society. He stayed with the X-Men because Charles gave him a home, family, and purpose outside of being a weapon. He enabled him to be the good man that he is by not only using his powers for the good fight but also being a teacher for the students.

As a character, Logan was created to reflect the archetype of the cowboy/samurai with the morals of honor, integrity, and justice. He's also not afraid to be judge, jury, and executioner for the people he loves. He's a man of action.

So what is the antithetical? A man who dishonors himself by not taking his job seriously. A man of inaction who abandons those he loves. A man who doesn't seek justice but wallows in regret and guilt.

And what did the Worst Wolverine do?

He let his fondness for drinking harm his work. While he was drinking at a bar, a group of humans invaded the X-Mansion and killed a large part of the staff, students, and X-Men. He entered a berserker rage where he murdered the invaders AND innocent people. He tarnished the legacy of the X-Men.

The title of Worst Wolverine doesn't go to the man who got brainwashed and killed without knowing. The title goes to the Logan who killed indescriminantly and didn’t want to stop.

He chose to walk away when they called out for him. He went into a beast state that made the public completely turn against the X-Men in just one night. Instead of making up for his sins, he just went back to the bar -- the very thing that killed his family. He did everything he could to go against his morals of honor, integrity, and justice.

He was a man who failed his family.

THAT'S what makes him The Worst Wolverine.