#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���) 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!

[r26yz]

i will make va jokes until the day i die and no one can stop me

[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!

[snurtle]

The weirdest thing to me is Orihime is so... Seperate from everyone else. At first she got her powers from Ichigo, same as Chad, but then wait, Chad's actually just a fullbringer, shuffle him off to a different category, so Orihime's very unique and yet... It's unexplored? I know she has like two fights she REALLY gets to participate in (and one's in the FILLER) but she's made so special and so unused it makes for the weirdest vibe. Honestly all Ichigo's human friends get wasted but her case is special to me.

Oh god, don't get me started on the rest of the human crew. My tears, endless. And yet! Ripe and fertile grounds for plenty of fanfiction/ fan speculation! So it's not all bad, i suppose.

Anyway, I believe??? We get a crumb of validation vis a vis Fullbringers and their generalized weirdness in the novels...

[ lore spoilers for CFYOW and TYBWA if you're invested in keeping up with the anime + extra canon novels in order. Light spoilers under this note, heavy (picture/manga) spoilers under the cut]

I think that it's in CFYOW that Fullbringers are explained as actually having Tiny Mincemeat Pieces of the Soul King in them, which is what makes them so deliciously enticing to hollows. It's also said that you can have bigger/smaller pieces, leading to differentials in power.

And yet. Aura has a full organ (the soul chain/ power amplification organ) , and while she can put Kisuke Urahara on the back foot, that's still not quite the same as what Orihime does. Even for a fullbringer (if she does actually fit into that category along with Chad), she's pretty weird.

I don't beef super hard with her not participating in fights; it's cool that by the fullbringers' entrance, she's not afraid to get into the down and dirty of it, though. I mean, she does this to Ginjo:

and that's just some regular-degular boundaries and self-defense in in the day of a lady who can--

tank hits from Ywhach by the end of TYBW???

After he's absorbed the Soul King, no less. Her shield doesn't even crack.

Like. What's up with that? Weird vibes in fucking deed.

Husb also added an interesting aside, to the tune that souls in Bleach can be overwhelmed by spiritual power that far supersedes their own. It crushes them, renders them sweaty and unable to breathe- lays them flat out on the ground, in the case of Nanao with Yamamoto, or pulps them into paste outright (sometimes without them even being aware of it), such as Hyogoku! Moth-Aizen and that poor random human in Karakura.

It's not that Orihime is going to get 0hko'd, or that she couldn't sense Ywhach's reiatsu. If that were the case, her shield wouldn't be able to block a blow. Which leaves another scenario open to possibility....

So yeah. Weird vibes!

[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.

[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

[eorzeashan]

[mihotose]

LITERALLY

[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. 🤣

[yeahivegotanaccount]

[medi-melancholy]

hey. hey fgo wiki. why don’t you include any of redrop’s art of masc kama in their extensively-kept gallery. why not. hey fgo wiki i just want to talk