#pikachu face 10th division

[bleachbleachbleach]

This is our favorite scene from all of Bleach. It has no rival.

I laugh out loud every time I see this cap, and have been doing so for over a year. Out loud. Every time. Sometimes I’ll see it, laugh, and then scroll back up and laugh again. I ABSOLUTELY ADORE IT.

Like all masterworks, each time you behold it there are new details to uncover, new energies within the painting you hadn’t yet processed:

I like to begin with Matsumoto’s hand. Her incredibly long arm, the peggy-leggedness of its finishing point. Immaculate.

Matsumoto’s hair is a perennial struggle and I respect that but oh man, that hairline!!

HER TAMALE UP FRONT. Was it once a bow? I guess, but now holds snaccs.

Pupils? What are pupils when you can have cold dead eyes?

Matsumoto’s head makes me wanna sing “Shape of You,” idk why.

Hitsugaya’s head got caught in the lawnmower, which, if I may be so bold, is likely the canon explanation for his hair here. I can’t explain the sideburns and mullet. Maybe it was an 80s lawnmower.

It looks like he has a sea urchin test on his sword sash? Or maybe a green manju.

Hitsugaya’s sword is actually just a purple flute. (A flattened ocarina of time.)

Mushroom head guy came straight outta one of The Beatles animated series, just to show Hitsugaya he’s not the only one who can make a dated musical reference.

We’ve also spent so much time looking at his head and cannot decide whether or not he’s wearing a hat, of if that’s just the shape of his head/hair. The shading seems to indicate it’s a hat? But it could also be a shaved head? (y’all ever read that Shel Silverstein poem Wavy Hair and the dude has a wavy head? That’s what I’m imagining for this guy)

How are the cannon fodder guys in the bg actually better put together than the foreground characters tho.

THE GUY IN THE VERY BACK IS HAVING SO MUCH FUN. He’s trying to look mad or at least territorial (I think they’re dealing with a Bount invasion here) but that is the face of a man keeping back pure glee.

Maybe he’s actually just looking at how the backsides of these goofs are drawn?

Can we also address his eyebrows? He’s got that eyebrow cock MASTERED and it rivals that of The Rock.

Hitsugaya:

The mileage we have gotten out of this Pikachu 10th screencap--untold. 

Its impact on our lives--profound. 

This sounds like aggrandizement but I can assure you we’re being completely serious. I have not beheld a single other image from Bleach (or possibly anything else) as often, as long, or as regularly as this absolute gem. It’s a precious commodity!!! 😭😭😭

[bleachbleachbleach]

me: Bleach my light, my life, the only thing I wanna to with my life is write an Encyclopedia SoulSocietyicca detailing the innocuous, minute, and largely bureaucratic details of life in the Seireitei and laugh pseudo-anthropological studies of Soul Society’s history and culture but also just imagine boring salaryman workdays but shinigami and also think about content for the Shinigami Academy curriculum revamp and Seireitei Communications and wonder about where they get their food and water from and what the climate is like and why Third has a big-ass outdoor boardwalk that’s nice enough to not wear shoes onto and all the weird little vagaries of life and experience and shitty Soul Society “fuck it good enough” culture and askfjalf;kj I LOVE THIS SERIES AND EVERYTHING WITHIN IT WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL

also me: see meme

[bleachbleachbleach]

For the ask meme: E, K and R!

Ask game here!

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

Lots of crack, for sure! Hilarious—that’s not for us to decide. If we find it hilarious to ourselves, we will post it.

One of our favorite topics of conversation between ourselves is Byakuya’s vibrant inner life. Detective Byakuya, Director Byakuya, Rock Superstar Byakuya (TBA)… The man is brilliant, a trailblazer, and I don’t think he cares if anyone fully comprehends or follows. He saves those expectations for his employees.

Some of our other crack post favorites:

Sasakibe + Zaraki bathhouse bros

Hisagi’s Impeccable Fashion Choices

Pikachu Face 10th Division, AKA our favorite screencap in all of Bleach

Seireitei Communications: Special Birthday Edition, which is not all hilarity/crack (but please make sure to check out the Komedy Korner). We are super proud of this creation and will shamelessly self-promote it any chance we get.

Here’s a link to our original content posts, many of which are some flavor of crack!

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

ippoddity: This is going to sound incredibly cliche and sort of a cop out, but I’m just gonna have to say Ichigo. I know he is our main character, and literally the entire series is about his development! But I feel like I can’t even pick just one development arc for him, because they’re all good ones in terms of his growth. Look at these faces and tell me this boy did not go through Hell (literally) and come back changed and evolving and growing and UGH I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

(inspired by this post and this post, which I think about a lot)

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

whipplefilter: Hoo boy I could throw a dart and hit a friendship that I adore in Bleach, and my hand-eye coordination is not it! I like…all of them… Yamamoto and Sasakibe, live your best lives my friends (er, poor choice of phrase—RIP). Byakuya and Rukia, amazing. Byakuya and Renji. Renji and Rukia. Ichigo and Rukia. Ichigo and Orihime. Orihime and Rukia. Orihime and Tatsuki. Ichigo and Tatsuki. Byakuya and Zaraki and Hitsugaya running around together in the reigai arc. THE NERD SQUAD (all configurations of Renji, Kira, Hisagi, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Akon, Matsumoto, Hinamori). The SWA. Ukitake and Kyouraku. Ukitake and Kyouraku and Byakuya. Urahara and the shop fam and the fact that they’ve all been to Hawai’i together. Akon and Mayuri (not because it’s a fulfilling relationship, Akon is just the one man for the job). Anyone and their zanpakutou. SASAKIBE AND ZARAKI, BATHHOUSE BROS. Byakuya and Yachiru. Matsumoto and Orihime. Matsumoto and Hitsugaya. Hinamori and Hitsugaya. Hinamori and Shinji. Hitsugaya and Jidanbou! (What’s their origin story? What do they do/talk about? How often do they hang out?)

I was going to choose one to talk about in more depth here, but then I ended up with SCREENCAPS and ASIDES and I’m just going to… put that in a separate post because I'm already taking too much space here!

ippoddity: ^^ x1000. I'd also just like to add Hanatarou into the mix, because he's low-key one of my favorites and even though he's actually there in a bunch of crucial scenes, I think he often gets overlooked. Hanatarou and Byakuya? Hanatarou and Renji? Hanatarou and Ichigo? But really, one of the greatest things about Bleach is that there are hundreds of characters for you to choose from and imagine any flavor of relationships between them.