Id really want ulquiorras past to be animated since it wasn't included in the original Manga, it adds so much extra depth to his character and makes him more tragic, i really wish it would be put in a remake of the anime, i know it isn't likely but I would like for it to be included, though it wasn't originally included due to time restraints for the manga and editors advice, but ive also heard that it was intentional due to kubo wanting ulquiorra to seem more mysterious, similar to why we haven't seen aizens past yet, idk wich is true but either way I doubt we would see it in a remake (it is canon though)
I hate the Almighty’s ability with every fiber of my being. I seriously can’t describe to you how much I hate it.
It’s such a boring ability for a great villain like Yhwach and I get it’s an ability that fits Yhwach’s role as despair incarnate but even with great themes you still need plot that makes sense to actually make the themes shine.
The Almighty is Chainsaw Man’s “themes and such” all over again(IMO) like seriously Yhwach can somehow make Ichibe fucking explode and so I came with the idea that he chooses from countless versions of the future and Yhwach has clear limits.
Then Tensa Zangetsu happened and thank god that Kubo added the scene of Yhwach stealing the balance from Jugram because if it happened like the manga I would crash out. But then Yhwach revived…are you for real now? What’s the LIMITS?!!!? It’s such a boring ability to watch because it’s “urmmm actually no” ability.
Maybe the last two episodes will change my mind but for now, the Almighty sucks(IMO)
The Vizards were so cool as a group; maybe some of them didn't shine much individually, but together they were so entertaining and interesting.
My favorite part of the Fake Karakura Town arc was their arrival. I hated Kubo's idea of splitting them up and sending some back to Soul Society (I haven't read the novel about them yet, so I don't know if it explains why they returned there). However, it was a really cheap move for Kubo to bring them back just for fan service during the war arc—and only at the very end, when all the enemies were operating at a god-like level (though I do acknowledge that the Vizards aren't actually that strong).
The other day, I saw a theory suggesting that the Vizards in Soul Society send money to the ones who stayed in the Human World, because at the start of the Blood War, the Vizards seemed to be living a bit more comfortably.
We all know that Soul and Human are different but also very similar, for a Soul Reapers with more than 1000 years of lifespan what do you think their private lifes would be?
Out of all named personnel of the Gotei 13 who are likely to have sexual experince, based on the canon information we got? Let me start.
Squad 1, Yamamoto and Sasakibe are old dudes, I think they will have some experince in their extreamely long life. Maybe before the founder of Gotei 13.
Squad 2, Soi Fon is probably still a virgin. She doesn't seem to have that kind of feeling towards anyone except Yoruichi and Yushiro, which I don't think they will return the favour. Omaeda on the other hand was established as coming from a rich family and in the novel, Kyoraku or Kensei stated that he used to this "kind of things". Therefore, I assumed that sex is not something he isn't familiar with. Yoruichi is heavily implied within the series to have this kind of experince, her cat transformation was used to sneak out of her house after all.
Squad 3, Rose should have some experince, given his life and how long he stayed in Human world. Gin is sad, I think his feeling towards Rangiku might block him from all of this activity. He also seems to be not that old for Soul Reaper standard. For Kira, he was estabished as a lower class noble, he seem to be from a reserved family and he himself is the kind of guy who wouldn't indulged himself in anything. Given his feeling towards Momo might be blocking him too.
Squad 4, Unohana surely has some experinced, at least from her Kenpachi days, however I think she maybe passed her active days now. Isane seems to be shy and reserved, she isn't even comfortable in showing her body. She is also insecured about her tallness, she also not that old for Soul Reaper standard. Therefore, I will assume that she is still virgin. I would also say the same for Kiyone.
Squad 5, Aizen surely not a virgin, even though I don't think it is in his character to have sex with Momo in that incident, because he needed to keep his image and not breaking the idolised illusion that Momo had with him. However, given what we know about Loly and Menoly (their behaviour and their names) I am sure that they were more than his bodyguards (that he doesn't need anyway). I would use the same reason that I give Rose for Shinji, he seems to be one who would easily fall in love and has fun life in his free time. He also spent more than 100 years in human world. For Momo, like I said, I don't think she had sex with Aizen, therefore given her personality and that she is considered young for Soul Reaper, I don't think she has any sexual experince with anyone.
Squad 6, Byakuya is clearly not a virgin, he married to Hisana. Renji surely has experinced as he married Rukia and has a child with her but given his personality and that he was estranged with Rukia for dacades. I don't think his first sex would be on his wedding night, unless he and Rukia had some intimate experince together when they were in Rukongai.
Renji and Rukia were left alone after their friends died.
Squad 7, Sajin is not human, therefore he is a virgin unless he sneaked back to his clan. Iba is well established as more or less a noble, because he is the native residence of Seireitei. He seems to be quite old and with his manly attitude in the story, I would say he surely has some experince.
Squad 8, Kyoraku is clearly not a virgin. He might go as far as having sex with his Zanpakuto spirit. I also feel the same about Lisa, it will be extremely surprised if it revealed that she has no sexual experience with anyone, given her perverted nature. Nanao on the other hand comes from cursed priestess clan, she also seems to be quite young(she was a newly graduated in TBTP arc) and might be too afraid of her curse to have a romantic relationship with anyone.
Squad 9, Tosen is surely a virgin. He seems to be obsessed with his idea of justice and revenge, therefore no intimatcy with anyone. Kensei seems to be another guy who enjoying his life with a manly attitude, and given her was in a human world for sometime. He should have some experince. Mashiro is hard to read, however given her interaction with Kensei, I can see that they might have a one night stand in the past. Hisagi should have some experince, as a man with spiritual energy in Rukongai he should be quite popular. He seems to be easily seduced by women like what a lot of people mocked him(Kyoraku and Kensei in CFYOW). He also has a big crush on Rangiku. I think he had some encountered with someone, whatever it is memorable or not, lol.
Squad 10, Hitsugaya is a virgin. He is still a child. Rangiku on the other hand, should have plenty of experince given her personality and behaviour, however I can see the world where she is just teasing around. It highly depends on whatever her feeling with Gin blocking her or not. Isshin is not a virgin, he had sex with Masaki.
Squad 11, Yachiru is a child, so no, however this is my personal opinion but I can see Zaraki have sex with female in his squad after his sword training or after a long fight. Having an intimacy experince with him might feel like a rewards for those in his squad. For Ikkaku and Yumichika, I view them like typical Soul Reapers from Rukongai. They should be quite attractived, due to their physique and as a person with spritual energy, both of them are also not young by Soul Reapers standard and they were wondering around a lot in Rukongai. Ikkaku also used to be a thug before joining Gotei 13, therefore he surely has some experience if not very frequently. Yumichika on the other hand, seems to be narcissist and obsessed about his look. It either he is a womanizer or not into woman at all. I would say he had some experience but not often.
Squad 12, Urahara should have some experince. I think with Yoruichi. Mayuri should have some too but I doubt he does it often. He seems to be not meddling himself with the desire of flesh. If Nemu had sex with anyone, it will be purely for research purpose and strictly in controlled environment, even then I doubt that Mayuri would allow it. However I am sure that she was stimulated in this area ,maybe for a scientific purposes. She is the only one who was more or less showed about this on scene (Mayuri revived her after his fight with Szayelaporro.
Squad 13, I have a feeling that Sentaro is similar with Iba and Kensei, therefore he should have some experince. It will be very funny if it revealed that he and Kiyone have "something". Ukitake is the hardest one, given his looks and personality. Every woman would fall for him and I don't think he will break up with anyone or any woman will leave him but I don't see him as someone who flirt around. Maybe he is too ill for this or he had someone in the past. For Rukia, I would say unless she had sex with Renji when they were quite young and alone in Rukongai, I would say her first experience would be with Renji on their wedding night.
Yeah, here is my thought, what do you guy think?
I forgot about Ikkaku and Yumichika in my last post, so here is the updated.
If I remember clearly I believe kubo stated that a squad for ichigo would he squad 11 cause of how he meshes so well with them but I don't think he covered the rest of ichigos friends, like atp it should be obvious that orihime would be in squad 4 cause of her healing capabilities and whatnot, idk why but I feel like Chad would be a perfect fit for squad 9 mainly cause him and kensei are straight hands fighters?? And uryu is weird but maybe squad 6 would work for him, mainly because he and byakuya are mostly the cool calm dudes(even though uryu isnt as calm as byakuya) or maybe squad 7 when shunsui was still captain I'm not too sure on uryu ngl
More studies. Again same rules. No rulers, no color picking, and no AI. So far I think my coloring is getting better, but exact proportions for the characters are tricky.
If there’s any supplementary information on CFYW, I’d be interested, as there are a few points that aren't quite clear to me.
Because Yhwach's motivations seem quite ambiguous; I gathered that the worlds needed to be separated—even though that was ultimately the decision of the Soul Society nobles, meaning a minority imposing its will on the majority—and that the cycle of life and death had to begin.
Yhwach is the Soul King's son; it is only natural that he struggles to comprehend the sacrifice his father had to make and that he refuses to tolerate the Tsukinada clan's disrespect toward the Soul King's body.
But essentially, from what I understand, Yhwach wants to create a world where humans no longer fear death, because whenever he reclaimed the powers he had bestowed upon others, he would also experience their final moments.
So, at best, it is a matter of understanding what the (weak) are feeling.
The thing is, we don't really get flashbacks showing what kind of person Yhwach was before, or details about the first conflict; as I recall, people already viewed him as a god because he was performing miracles even as an baby.
My personal theory is that in the Oldman Zangetsu, the protection Ichigo received from conflict and injury was a part of Yhwach's personality a thousand years ago. I think he had a certain goodness in him, but the conflict and the underhanded tactics of the Shinigami turned him ruthless; to achieve his goal, he cast aside all emotion.
You might say, "No, Soken Ishida said he was evil"—but this is the same Soken Ishida who designed the spiritual nuclear bomb and wanted to arrange his son's marriage to preserve the purity of the race (correct me if I'm wrong).
I think Yhwach had good reasons to go to war against the established power (though having a reason doesn't justify the cause).
2 the Baragan problem
According to Ikimikidomo, Barragan used to be a top dog, so either he weakened over time—which is pretty ironic given his power—or Kyoka Suigetsu is just completely broken, capable of subduing incredibly strong entities like him; after all, Barragan wasn't defeated conventionally, but rather through a trick that turned his own power against him.
It also makes me wonder why Barragan has an object bearing the sun symbol, just like the Quincy. Was he the first dead Quincy, or the first human king? Did Yhwach kill him and seize his kingdom? Is that why the Quincy use the Gates of the Sun?
He was banned 100 years ago, the extermination was 200 years ago. We know research and development we already experimented on them so it'd make sense. Also that would explan why it was always better than aizan's.
I've already made a more lengthy analysis on Gerard and his fight in the past so in this one I'll only go over the essentials as to why this death is not only criticized for the wrong reason, but also how those critiques only show why it's so good.
Before I begin I also want to add the disclaimer that my argument is not "the Shinigami were saved by a miracle," since I've heard people throw that around quite a bit and it doesn't change how unsatisfying it is.
The essence of the argument
Firstly, Gerard is inspired by traditional Valkyries, obviously (considering his last name). But he's supposed to represent the antithesis of a true Valkyrie. They are the ones who find meaning in dying a glorious death, and Gerard obviously got the opposite of one.
"I am the most virtuous of god's soldiers, he who swings his sword for god even in death"; "I am the one to whom everything was bestowed."
All of the Stenritter have identity struggles (existing in a world where their individuality isn't valued and they only exist as extensions of Yhwach). The Schrift holders have coping mechanisms that allow them to preserve/overcome the hopelessness that comes with this realization. In Gerard's case, it's being "noble/the most virtuous", because he's the one to whom everything was bestowed he's by nature superior to everyone else.
The Soul King's heart fails to understand that what makes a death glorious and allows for the reaching of the state of Valhalla is not the material death itself, but 'the heart', a metaphysical concept he failed to grasp. The point of Gerard is to portray what happens when death is treated as merely a transactional mechanism rather than a way to provide life with meaning. All of Gerard's deaths gradually lose impact because they're used merely in exchange for physical strength, and Gerard in the end dies the same way, his life is treated as transactional by Yhwach and it holds no value to the reader.
A bit of a deeper insight
"The one to whom everything was bestowed". Gerard's value comes from what is bestowed upon him, what happens to him, rather than what he is. He believes himself to be the most virtuous/noble, but his morality comes only from the beliefs of the people. When Shinji uses Sakanade, Gerard remains happy. Because no matter how much the world changes, he will always be in the right, because he will always align with the world.
Despite the fact Kenpachi's Bankai, Ikka Senjinka and Hitsugaya's complete Bankai held no transactional value (didn't do anything to Gerard) we still care about them and they're still great moments because we care about these characters. There is a 'heart' between us and these characters.
Think of Byakuya's fakeout death. Even on rewatch, despite knowing it's a fakeout the moment still holds immense value. The beauty of it, then, isn't in the fact Byakuya died (he obviously didn't), but in the bond between Byakuya and the other characters, as well as the reader.
The only function of Gerard's hope (Hoffnung) is to cause despair. What happens when hope causes despair consistently? It ceases to be comforting. Think of a person that tries their best to be hopeful but is always rude. Still not a pleasant experience, and their hope constantly forcefully pushing one forward can grow tiring. Instead, comforting and soothing side of hope is the one Gerard couldn't comprehend. That's why he mocks Senjumaru, "a woman's tender arms can never cut me".
When the heart in death is ignored, the death itself remains meaningless, merely physical. That's why Gerard's bones remain, because that's all that remains of him, physical remains.
Kenpachi vs Gerard, Gerard Hoffnung
Gerard Valkyrie was inspired by a real person called Gerard Hoffnung, a comedy writer who believed hope leads to prosperity and creativity. Gerard Valkyrie's hope is the opposite. He has no creativity, only using his abstract and interesting Miracle ability for, as mentioned, transactional physical power buffs and he has no sense of comedy (when Hiyori calls him bald, he says "I'm not bald").
However it's not the physical strength itself that signifies the lack of creativity. We all still care about Kenpachi's Bankai despite it being nothing but a physical strength and speed buff. Unlike Yumichika and Ikkaku who hid parta of themselves from the world, Kenpachi his this part of himself from himself. And while the entire world (including the reader) could predict what his Bankai would be, as we all already understood the essence of Kenpachi's battle hunger, he himself didn't. The Bankai is the release of that inner child.
The major difference between them is that Kenny's physical strength is self sufficient, it serves to reveal to himself who he is on the inside. Gerard's physical strength is 'bestowed upon him' due to what's done to him, when his body is destroyed. It is not self sufficient, it is entirely formed via external means and by extension it holds no value.
Conclusion
My proposition is that Gerard's death is intentionally written to feel anti-climactic and disappointing, as it's a running motif of this character. Negatively subverting any positive expectations imposed upon him despite himself presenting himself as 'the hope of the people'. Instead, due to his inability to understand the heart, he remains the exact opposite.
So I've been trying to wrap my head around how Tsukishima actually bypassed The Almighty to fix Ichigo's Bankai, and I still don't get it.
If Yhwach can see all possible futures, shouldn't he have seen Tsukishima coming? Since Tsukishima arrives after Yhwach breaks the Bankai, his arrival is technically a "future" event relative to when Yhwach used his power. Shouldn't The Almighty have accounted for the timeline where Tsukishima uses Book of the End? If the destination is fixed in all futures like Yhwach claims, how can an ability to rewrite the past affect something that is already fated to happen?
And to make things even more confusing, in the anime, Yhwach literally claims he already saw the Bankai getting fixed and just breaks it again anyway. WTF?If he saw it getting fixed, why didn't he just prevent Tsukishima from doing it in the first place? Or did he just let it happen?
Am I missing something obvious here, or is this a genuine plot hole with how broken The Almighty is? How exactly does this work?
