THE FALL OF AIZEN SOSUKE - Did the Deicide Arc RUIN His Character? | Bleach Discussion
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- Опубліковано 23 чер 2020
- Aizen is perhaps Bleach's greatest villain, but Kubo made some strange choices with his characterisation during the DEICIDE Arc of Bleach. In this video essay, I'm looking at whether Kubo's treatment of his main villain damaged the character overall, or if Aizen remained in character throughout the finale of the Arrancar Saga.
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What the fans did not understand is that this whole "Cool, calm, always in control" Aizen was an act. They got fooled by it just like the arrancars were.
The hollows followed Aizen because hollows are defined by misery, loss, incapability to deal with grief and their own emotion. Here comes one guy who is perfectly in control of himself. A sane man in Hueco Mundo, a place defined by madness. The last words of Aaroniero were "You said you would take away the pain"
He lied, of course he cannot do that. And he lied to himself by believing he was perfectly in control. The smartest man in the show is a guy who always felt terribly lonely, who was never able to create a meaningful connection to anybody else and thought godhood and the hogyouku could fill that void.
Bleach, at its core, is a story about how to deal with grief, with pain and how to get stronger through the creation of meaningful bonds with others.
Of course he would break down and freak out, because he was just like Starrk, alone, sad, smart and incredibly powerful. I think out of all the arrancars, Starrk was the one most like Aizen. The difference was that Starrk was honest about what he was, he did not lie to himself.
At the end of the day, Deicide revealed what Aizen truly was deep down. A crying lonely kid desperate for meaningful human connection. He became weaker because he never had to deal with pain and grief.
His power up during the thousand years blood war arc is even more explicable through that lens : After that breakdown, he had to confront his inner demons in prison and re-examine his behaviour and motivations, deal with his grief. In Bleach, emotional growth is always followed by spiritual growth, and when the characters are essentially spirits, spiritual growth means simply being more powerful. The most powerful characters are always those who dealt with their issues in a healthy way
Well said 👏. In the end, no one could escape loneliness.
I could not have said it better myself.
This also ties into Aizen's psychopathic tendencies. Just another layer to Aizen's illusions to his personality. First he's a nice calm and wise captain, then he's the cruel calculating villain, then its revealed he's a lonely bitter man.
@@prophetofbara1214 I think he is so used to playing characters that he has no idea what he is. Really that time in prison is the best thing that could happen to him. Do they have therapists in soul society ?
Aizen played the character he needed to be to have his plans moving forward. In that he didn't really know what he really wanted deep inside or how he felt. Aizen is not a psychopath even people claim he is, he has a lot of emotions. He's like a little kid who has always gotten what he wants because he knows how to play adults around him. Finally he was taken down and he lost his shit. Love that, spending time in prison was the best thing for him.
I don’t think he lost his kyoka suigetsu, it was stated that it actually merged with his very being while he was being sealed by kisuke. In the tybw, that was why he was able to put yhwach under a hypnosis even while sealed. Great video btw!
Not to mention he messed with Ywach perception on time
So basically all the Hogyoku did was give him a power up similiar to mugetsu and the final getsuga? Seems like he overpaid for that one!
Man, a shikai that can mess up a God's senses. I wish they revealed the bankai.
@Jean-Kolela Grathie "Perception of time" has everything to do with senses and not time itself. It was still shikai Kyoka Suigetsu.
@Jean-Kolela Grathie Aizen might've not used bankai for a reason. It could be a Shinji's case, where shikai outweights bankai in most situations and bankai is only ever usable under 1 specific scenario. It's possible that Aizen's bankai is better then shikai.
Aizen's personality shift actually made a lot of sense, Aizen was always extremely arrogant, and with him not needing to plan anymore he decides that he won't, since he's so much more powerful than anyone else. His personality shift was wholly within his characterization.
Aizen's transformations were cool IMHO, and I thought they looked good. I also thought that the Ichigo vs Aizen fight was good, apart from the FGT.
At least Ichigo for the most part defeated him by himself with the help from Kisuke and didn’t get his Bankai broken multiple times
Nah the final fight was really underwhelming I was expecting more, I really wanted to see Aizen go all out
@@christianmorales8978he did go all out
@@redred1952 no he didn’t Aizen didn’t use his shikai, his bankai, or even the full extent of his new powers. It was just some sword swings, a kido spell, and basically a cero and that’s it. There were filler fights that were longer than that.
You look like a fusion of Aizen and Kisuke
Aizen's character wasn't ruined . The butterfly form wasn't only a metaphor for his transcendence but also a metaphor for his zanpakuto; a butterfly is known to camouflage or to cause illusions which Aizen is known for.
Soo..... Sosuke Kisuke
@@SunGodNika-bi2jr Mr. Hax n Clogs
I think his butterfly form is a metaphor for his god complex that he developed.
Yeah reminded of like in death note you had light yagami and L ryukzaki both intellectuals at war with each other.
He very complex villian in story. Idk if this is due to a lot of main characters in story due to plot armour. He bit like grnadelwald very smooth with his words and gets other people to do his deeds for him. Hes a sociopath and yhwach that comes later is Voldemort in my perspective a psychopath.
I also like the note that the butterfly during the soul society arc was essentially doom as it was Aizen.
24:12 It's fine that you didn't like the way some of his transformations looked. Aizen himself didn't like them- when Urahara first shows up and comments on Aizen's changes, Aizen's first and only response to it was that "all beings undergoing metamorphosis are unsightly." Aizen knows he looks dumb, he just doesn't care.
What I found kinda deep and interesting was precisely the way he went down. Conciously creating a worthy opponent while unconciously wanting to be defeated was a nice way to bring down a villain with his characteristics, someone so sure about the power of his intellect and his capacity to have everything under his control and scope. Everything but himself and his unconcious desire.
I've heard and read people saying that Aizen does not need a tragic backstory or a complex motivation to make him work as a villain, and I tend to agree. However, it would've been nice if we have got, at least, a heart to heart moment from him and some personal reflection
about his defeat and what it meant to him after the fact (hiding under all that mask of arrogance and self-entitlement, of course).
No aizen was awesome pretty much the entire time even his sealing was satisfying
Also you have to remember he was toying with ichigos friends because he wanted to see if ichigo could pull off something to challenge him again which he did of course on top of that i like his transformations and his fight with ichigo was good as well at the end it wasn’t a battle between ichigo and aizen but rather between aizen and kisuke and yeah aizen drops his guard thats what ends up being his ultimate defeat he wanted a challenge and he could never really have a challenge if he used his shikai
"Since the beginning, no one has ever stood in the heavens. Neither you, nor me, not even God himself. But that unbearable vacancy in the throne of Heaven shall be filled"
Damn Aizen From the beginning he knew that the Soul King had been mutilated and sealed by the Shinigami.
Azien is Lucifer
@@Allhailthesith No
Aizen is perfect as an antagonist and as a character. I think that is what Bleach is best at, the characters. Followed strongly by the magic system obviously
That said, lets watch the video.
No front I love bleach but I think the magic system is one of the worst out there it’s so soft and barely has any specific rules to follow like you can do everything and most of the time abilities are really vague
@@thekkore8082 Yeah the Hado and Bakudo were never like a central thing to the story a d were never like really well elaborated on, like we didn't even see all of the numbered ones, and a few of them seem either redundant or next to useless (like as in they aren't distinct enough, you'd think that every specific hado or Bakudo has some specific specialty and reason to use it).
@@thekkore8082 bro that's a matter of taste not quality. For a magic system to be good it just has to be consistent, not purely hard and with everything hand fed to you. And for one everything zanpakuto related makes sense to me, even if some things are "asspules" it'd still consistent. It's like LOTR is trash because we don't see enough of the magic and Tolkien never explained it
@@occultninja4 again just because everything isn't given it doesn't mean it's bad. It's a matter of taste. You wanted more, me too, but it's not bad. Kubo is subtle with his work, but just because not too many things are fully explained means is wrong, it's up to you to understand or give your own view on the matter. If you don't like that I am sure there are anime with hard magic systems and where everything is explained and handfed
Jacob Battashi idk for Tolkien things seemed more consistent I find the power scaling and explanations of things way off at times especially stuff like the final getsuga tenshou or so I do have problems with. While I like the idea of Zanpaktous at times they just seem super random and unbalanced which I’m in shounen am not a fan of
Aizen's character arc was actually kinda beautiful, really. I really appreciate you taking the time to illustrate that to us, he has always been an amazing character, but after this video it really added some layers to him.
no he wasnt ruined. his mad rant at the end and becoming everything he looked down on without realizing is perfect.
Fanboy
@@Temujin18S only thing bad about aizen was he had no back story and no bankai., but most people have a back story and bankai so him not is still a unique to a villain. im glad bleach was cancelled im no fanboy
@@givmespace bleach is back 2021
@@givmespace you gotta remember most of them don’t remember stuff from their human life’s and it’s stated by Aizen that he’s been planning this thing since captain so who knows tbh Aizen could of been a simple human who died as a weak human then goes to the soul society and becomes this strong person because maybe he remembers his human life that’s why he’s so much smarter than the rest because he’s has more memory about the world than the soul reaper because they all honestly forget their humans and consider themselves death gods instead
I’m gonna be THAT GUY and say that I really like Aizen’s butterfly form
yea, same, I didn't find it dislikable. I really liked the colours to it too, purple is my favourite colour hahah
looks terrible doesnt even make sense. so his clothes are part of his skin?? i think his forms were the worst part. after his cocoon stage he should done a new human form but meh its done now
@@givmespace no it's cool and beautiful
@@vegetalover9297 so clothes for skin combo is you think....ok
givmespace he’s like a really cool banana what are you on about
Aizen did not lose his Kyoka Suigetsu... he said in the end of his fight with Ichigo that he was achieving the same state that Ichigo was, wich was becoming one with his zanpakuto. That's his state in TYBW, he is fused with his zanpakuto, and he can use it's powers just by being looked at (this happened with Yhwach when he visited him the prison and was instantly put on hypnosis). He and his zanpakuto are one.
Do you think Kubo did Aizen justice in the Deicide Arc?
It made sense for his character for him to be the reason for his downfall (if it wasn't for him wanting to lose and kisuke aizen would have won)
i agree with literally everything you said lol, there were just so many different things he could've done with fake karakura town, or even before that, he could've written in yammamotto and unohanna in somehow different than how he did in the previous arc too I think, just to, many weird, FORCED storytelling that makes like no sense lol, all that said i still enjoyed it bcuz i love aizen lmao
Yes, we only ever knew one facet of his character to begin with. I don't think it's right to call it a character change as so much as we are just seeing more of his character as a whole. To me Aizen accomplished everything he wanted and through his understanding of the hogyoku, he knew he was basically immortal; so why not flex? Everything Aizen has done is for his own benefit and enjoyment. The only things left to do was to defeat ichigo who represented a natural supreme being with his own artificial gained power and prove himself the superior.
I think everyone forgets that gin betrayed him and even though he said he kinda knew not to trust gin he was the only person aizen killed and didn’t seem fascinated with himself after he kinda had this moment where he just stared at gin like “damn not you too” then Ichigo shows up defeats him and says that he felt alone? I think that was the reason kubo had gin betray aizen ps who remembers ruroni kenshin? Does sojiro kinda reminds you of gin? He does to me
@@Richboi567 Yeah, Aizen definitely was brilliant but ultimately human (you know what I mean) so for Gin to betray him after being together that long was probably soul crushing, even if he knew it was coming. After that all he had left was his belief that he accomplished his plan of being all powerful
"Ichigo is the creature that Aizen wanted to be" LOL Ichigo in that form is a "Creature" That was funny.
i think aizen if case he succeeded wanted to use ichigo to replace the soul king after he killed (if you read the novels you will understand) that way he can create the world he wanted using him as the point of balance .
Now the evolution thing is different because ichigo is a combination of the 3 races (shinigami ,hollow ,human(quincy)) and aizen wanted to become something greater than all the races by becoming something new
@@SoyElBrokas nah aizen wanted to be the soul king himself and rule over everyone
Misteywoods i don’t think so because literally the soul king is basically a sacrifice and remember that aizen saw it and he decided to change the world because of it but the only form that he can do that is to kill the soul king and replace it but not with himself but something else and he will be the one with power that’s basically what the shinigami are doing the soul king trapped in a state of almost been dead and his part ,organs were cut and separated between the worlds,the zero division are literally keeping the secret from going out
@@SoyElBrokas the soul king was not literally a sacrfice before i spoil did u read can't fear your own world?
basically u can be the soul king and still being completely fine and able to do watever u want.
aizen wanted to be the soul king himself and rule over everyone because he hated how people like central 46 and the nobles and the soul king who is a corpse are the people who rule over soul society(and him),thats why he told urahara "with your intelligence why dont u make a move why would u submit to someone like him",if u read can't fear your own worl u would understand a lot of stuff i hope u didnt read it yet cuz of u read it and still think as u think right now then u probably didnt pay enough attention or was unable to completely understand.
Misteywoods dude you literally said that the soul king is a corpse and no the soul king is not able to do anything and yes i read the novels and is explained that the soul king allowed himself to be sacrifice (in a sense ) so the worlds were separated but the nobles betrayed him , separated his parts literally living him and empty thing ,basically there was no soul king that’s why the shinigami are so afraid of the true going out
Edit: yes I read it but you need to learn to pay attention to what you read by the way he didn’t say that
i.stack.imgur.com/P525N.jpg
i.stack.imgur.com/lOy3o.jpg
I really like the interpretation that Aizen is just making shit up to sound smarter towards the end
I think the change made sense, he got too cocky
TYBW Aizen might be the best thing about that entire arc. "Oh so you thought you were looking at Kuroskai Ichigo?"
I've always had a theory that Aizen never had a bankai. In his arrogance he just thought his shikai was so OP (which it is) that he thought going for bankai would be a waste of time for him and a sign of becoming too much of a shinigami .
I really hated all those Hogyoku transformations. When Aizen was destroying the captains, not only he was way more badass and stylish, he was also way smarter and more effective as a fighter. No flashy teleportations or Cero - just good old Kyoka Suigetsu and trolling.
But Aizen in the final arc is the GOAT.
Given what we know from CFYOW I think Aizen was part of either a low level noble family or someone who found out the truth about the soul king and it made him hate the soul society and the Great Noble families in particular and so he decided to do something about it.
@Embodiment of destruction Well we know they cut up the soul king and separated his parts and used him to preserve reality and despite his meganomiacal tendencies he has his reasons and it would definitely make his hatred of the soul king a more compelling story.
Aizen is the true hero of Bleach!
can u explain what they told us about aizen in cfyow?
Nope, hes still the best
not really
@@LeoArmada hes better than your favorite character in bleach
@@rayzer9344 sooo Aizen is batter then aizen?
@@LeoArmada i mean yeah. Chair - sama taught him well to be better than how he was before teaching him how it feels to lose
@@rayzer9344 ngl i like post espada arc aizen the most, i dont think he is the best, but he is my favorite
In TYBW he didn’t lose Kyoka, he merged with it in TYBW.
So, there's actually a reason why Aizen's final evolution is a butterfly. And it took me until recently to put together that it's actually loaded with symbolism. It all revolves around one word: imago. Literally, the word is latin, and means "image". However in modern parlance it has three main uses. In Jungian psychology, the term is usually used to refer to a person's idealized self or the idealized form of a relationship within a person's psyche. It's symbolic of the way we unconsciously want things to be. And I don't think I need to explain how this relates to Aizen in Deicide. There's also the Judeo-Christian concept of Imago Dei, or the Image of God. This refers to the belief that humans were created in the image of god, and describes God's self actualization and will as exerted through humanity, and the pursuit of exemplifying the godly qualities within oneself. Taking this philosophy to the extreme, Aizen wishes to BECOME a god; not just exemplify godly quakities. Aizen wishes to become the new Soul King. And lastly, imago is the term used to refer to the adult (post pupa) form of most insects... but especially butterflies or moths. Hence the butterfly like form. It plays off of this one word to symbolize Aizen transforming and reaching his final penultimate state as he attempts to reach his idealized self and become as a god.
Butterflies are also symbols of the soul or psyche (Greek). Making Aizen the ultimate soul reaper/shinigami.
Its so FUCKING WHOLESOME to see this awesome analysis channel talk in videos from 4 months ago about hitting 3k subs and now see it sit happy at 30k
Ichigo vs Aizen is my favorite fight in the whole series. It's incredibly satisfying to me because we'd spent so long seeing Aizen on top of the world, wrecking absolutely everyone he had fought for ages. So seeing Aizen get so much more powerful after he had already beaten everyone that could have been a threat to him, seeing him so close to achieving his goal and seeming so unbeatable, only to get exactly what he'd been dishing out to everyone else shoved right back into his face by Ichigo (Like seriously, Ichigo interrupting Aizen by shoving him to the edge of town is one of the most badass parts of the entire arc), can only be seen as poetic justice.
Besides, with how often Aizen was evolving and growing even stronger after transcending, it really gives the idea that the fight needed to be short or Ichigo couldn't have won. The last form Aizen took in the fight nearly made Ichigo's arm useless, and so the Final Getsuga Tensho was the only way to prevent things from getting out of hand. On top of that, the fact that it didn't even kill Aizen, and how he needed to be sealed in the end, just hammered in how close they'd actually been to losing that fight. If just one thing had gone differently, it would have been over for everyone.
So anyway there's my Ted Talk, like comment and subscribe to Pewdiepie
Ichigo vs Aizen was logical conclusion for Aizen. It reminds me alot a cell vs gohan in DBZ
Nah bro it wasn’t even satisfying at that point to see Ichigo beat Aizen cause it just felt like such an asspull. It’s like “oh here’s this super secret move that once you learn it you’ll be miles ahead of the main villain for no reason. Why? What is this move? Why didn’t we hear about it before? Why weren’t you taught this, why are you the only one able to do it? Who knows.” They definitely should’ve made the fight longer, it’d not only make it more satisfying but it’d respect Aizen as the main villain and give him the final fight he deserved. It might’ve been more satisfying if we actually got to see Ichigo train and fully understand what the final getsuga tensho was but not even at least that.
@@christianmorales8978 all valid points I guess. I think I'm just too blinded by how cool Mugetsu is to really care too much thst it came out of nowhere. And while it doesn't really help too much, there are lines in thr manga at least hinting that Isshin also knows the technique. I'll also say that the fight itself is definitely too quick in the manga now that I've read it. Imo the anime paces things much better and gives the blows the proper weight.
@@DFFfanalltheway I mean yeah ngl mugetsu was sick asf but they just should’ve done it properly, it would’ve added so much weight behind it. Also yeah in the manga the fight was pretty bad, at least in the anime it was actually good but I still feel like it should’ve been a bit longer, like I feel like we should’ve seen Aizen go all out. It probably wouldn’t have done shit to Ichigo at this point but it’s just something I wanted to see.
Great breakdown! Would love to see your thoughts on more characters.
Kubo seems to have an issue where he nails that thematic's or the big picture but has a really hard time fleshing it out in a way that's satisfying. Like he knows what he wants to do but the way he gets there usually leaves something to be desired. This is part of the reason I'm excited for Burn The Witch (and maybe even a sequel if he's behind it... maybe) I wanna see if he's managed to learn from Bleach. Even if he hasn't I'm sure I'd still enjoy it flaws and all.
On a bit of a side note I really loved Aizen's final crazy monster form especially how his face was split open. It was like a visual representation of the real the real Aizen breaking through his calm and cool facade, exposing us to the monster beneath.
On an even further side note you said something about Aizen losing the fear of death and I remembered his speech at the end of Bleach and it just made me appreciate it so much more.
discovered your channel today, I’m binge watching a lot of your videos, keep up the fantastic work! I wish you the best!
I found your channel today because of your sternritter video, I subscribed immediately, I really enjoy your content, it's egoless, truthful and fun as hell ✌, thank you , I would really like to see a video ranking the top 50 beings of all time in the bleach verse, from manga, anime, filler, movies and light novels 🙏🙏🙏
Great video you had me rethinking stuff
I always put your videos on in the background whenever I draw, its super soothing
What ruined Aizen for me was that literally everything in Ichigo's life was part of his plan. It was too contrived and didn't really make sense to me. Also i feel like Aizen is pretty under developed, we never really got why he wanted to go to the soul palace and what his goals and motivations really were
I feel people exaggerate this to much to Azien Ichigo was just happy coincidence he could mess with he didn't need Ichigo to save Rukia to get the hogyoku he full expect it to survive the sokyoku. He never plan for Isshin and Misaki to fall in love and make Ichigo. He was even fine killing Ichigo at the end of the Soul Society arc he only started taking active interest in ichigo ability sometime after.
@@archere6833 agreed
Lol yhwach said literally same stuff to ichigo and i dont remember much of fullbringers arc but i remember ginjo say something like "it was all part of my plan"
Kubo used same trope for 3 times, thats even funny to think about
He did say his goal was to kill the soul king when he first stole the hogyoku. Now they never properly elaborated on why he was trying to “kill the lynchpin” of soul society. So my guess on that based on what he said to urahara as he was being sealed is, he cant figure out why anybody would be so devoted to something that appeared to lack any form of intelligence, especially one of kisuke’s level.
As you watch all the fights aizen actually seems like he’s slowly being unraveled the more he views the captains killing the arrancar, because as smart as he was, he can’t imagine why they’re fighting so hard for something he sees as an inferior existence... And then he turns up again to defend the same thing he tried to kill in the final arc, so yea that was all fucked, no matter how you look at it.
@@-kenjo-421
yhwach was a lame version of Aizen. His whole thing was seeing the future instead of making plans.
Kubo repeats himself at least 3 times throughout the series. Ichigo meets a new group of people, trains, is betrayed, looses his powers, gets new ones, rescues one of his friends and beats the bad guy. I think it's one of the series' biggest flaws
Don Kanonji trolling return is actually one of the best moments in the series when you think about it.
Other people in the comments have explained why does Aizen breaks down and why he never was that calculating scientist, just an alone shinigami with desires for greatness
But I want to talk about the final fight
The reason it was so one-sided it's because you can't do it any other way against a villain that is always evolving
Ichigo had to be way sronger than him or we would have asked why doesn't Aizen just evolves and defeats him
And that is supported with the fact that his Vasto Lorde transformation injured Ichigo's arm
He was always going to evolve the only way the fight would make sense it's if it was quick
Otherwise you run into problems
Also, Kubo knew that Ichigo just defeating Aizen wouldn't be that great
The reason I love the ending is that it's Kisuke eho defeats Aizen, Ichigo has his revenge for the Soul Society arc, the kidnapping of Orihime and the torture of him and his friends
And Kisuke avenges the Vaizards, Tessai, Yoruichi and his own pride
@@arindamadhikary1844 because that would have been a soul reaper thing to do, and his pride did not let him do it, also because he wanted to test his powers against Ichigo's, who was a true natural transcended being from his birth unlike Aizen.
Also, I like this guy's interpretation of what happened but at the end Aizen lost because he felt alone due to how powerful he was. This is stated by Ichigo the next episode, and is also wonderfully depicted. As Ichigo lost all his power Aizen boasts about how he defeated the only guy that could have stood a chance against him, how Ichigo lost his powers but he(Aizen) will continue to evolve further and then snap. The hogyoku reads his will and makes him weaker, which in turn makes Urahara's seal take effect.
Later he gets imprisoned and has time to actually think about what he wants and the hogyoku starts making him more powerful again.
Your channel is popping off!
Bro keep up the videos. Love it
13:38 Tousen's giant fly transformation is way worse!
tbh I loved that transformation
@Jordan Williams I loved this experimental, out-there design with the menacing black body like it was made of darkness, the little details like the little rings at the side of his head, and the eyes that looked like cut fruit. Some of Kubo's experimental designs fall flat for me like Zommari's resurrection and Lille Barro's transformations but this one was dope, not really sure why 🤷♂️
I think Kubo got inspired by Kafka's Metamorphosis
More character breakdowns like this please!
I totally agree with you, as writer I must say some of the great writers just don't know how to play with their overpowered characters despite the fact that they are great and loved.
Your channel rlly be blowing up and I’m diggin it
I've said it before on other Bleach content channels, and I'll say it here: Bleach the anime needs a reboot in the style of Full Metal Brotherhood, with all of the fat trimmed, the superfluous characters and concepts removed, better foreshadowing, and perhaps re-edited finales . . . .
Maybe talking about squad zero (is it a dissapointment?)
How about we stop talking about the disappointments and bad aspects of the final arc, and instead focus on the cool/hype moments???
I'm beyond tired of these kind of videos that emit bad vibes about Bleach
KeN SmilePachI agreed. There are dozens of Bleach video how it was “disappointing” and “fall from grace” and whatnot but everyone seems to forget it was one of the best shonen manga of all time. Yes it wasn’t perfect, but nothing is. It’s one of the Big 3 for reason.
@@saktimanganda9397 You see all those videos and posts about that BECAUSE it was one of the Big 3. It had incredible potential, right up until the end of Ichigo vs. Aizen. If the series ended there, no one would complain. But as usual for Shonen Jump, it kept on going and it was clear the same thought process and energy just wasn't there anymore.
Same happened to Naruto. If the series had ended not long after Naruto vs. Pein, the series would still be celebrated (Sasuke Shippuden concerns aside). But it continued past the point where it should, the law of Shonen Power Creep seeped in, and we got the mediocre finale to the original series.
@@ryanchase9332 Bruh...
@@ryanchase9332 I don't think all people would have been fine with ending there , at least not all . I for sure wouldn't , there was still to cover and expend the universe , like zero squad , soul king , bankais , reveals etc .Even with the big final arc , Hell wasn't explored at all in canon , hope we will find out more about it , in the future .
Just subbed & liked. Thanks for the vids. On a side note. That's what confounds me when people explain the drop in quality on time restraints. Kubo had time to draw panel after panel of Aizen chasing Ichigo's friends around yet not enough time to make a decent narrative.
I agree with you. This arc was the logical conclusion to all of Aizen's delusions. However, the pacing of the story and the fights could have used a little more nuance.
Thank you so much for all videos you made. You are one of my absolutely best youtubers ever. :)
Jsi borec.
When you said a lot of sternritter breakdown I immediately thought of As Nodt lol.
I fully agree, I did not expect this.
Man you criticism is some of the best I've ever heard even in literature in general. Your videos should be published along with the manga as a sort of philosophical apendice. You really got a sub here 👏👏
I have the feeling that Aizen didn't stand much of a chance from the beginning. Even if he managed to reach the Soul Palace somehow, it would've been a matter of time that Ichibe defeated him with his bankai or at least sent him out of the Palace. At that point he was all alone and had no army and no one else loyal to him.
And thus his idea of standing alone at the top backfires on him.
the thing i find most intriguing about aizen's character is his loneliness. aizen is the only villain i have come across whose character revolves around loneliness. i really like that concept
The butterfly theme grew on me
He even says "you wasted the chance I gave you." Implying that he was in fact .... Waiting for ichigo
Great video can you do one of the Gotei 13
I can’t wait to watch thousand year blood war arc when it’s animated so I can just binge your videos
Ultimately the guy who lies to everyone lies to himself the most.
Im extremely excited for the discord. Id love to join once its available.
As for the video itself, i think you made some very good points. Personally speaking i REALLY feel like Aizen lost his edge once the hogyoku began to transform him.
Though personally, while I really, REALLY wanted a longer fight with Ichigo...im not gonna lie i enjoyed the beatdown Aizen recived for what he did to Momo.
Hope we find out what his bankai is though.
Hi i have a video suggestion about the fight between Aizen and Shinigami it still bugs me a little. So Ichigo says what are you doing guys and then we see Hinamori get stabbed by Toshiro and so on. But when did Aizen change with Hinamori? Because it looks like it doesnt make sense. Were they fighting Hinamori the whole time? I know he can show whatever he wants but he switched at some point right
I feel like when Aizen arrived at Karakura town he was just waiting until Ichigo arrives to face him.
I mean he also destroyed the "soul train"? on purpose so Ichigo could get stronger.
He wanted Ichigo to reach the most powerful level to devour him or to be defeated by him.
Aizen had high expectations in Ichigo from the beginning but at that point he clearly surpassed them.
do you play Alien war or bleach brave souls? both are bleach games
I wish we got more of a fight with Gin vs Aizen... I mean He waited over a century to kill him!
Oh hey, meet the man who LOVED Ichigo's final confrontation with Aizen. And well, another guy said it better than me, butt in the end, we never actually knew who Aizen was. All his actions and his personality until there were just lies, and I wanna bring up something here, that's actually the reason he never achieved Bankai. People tend to forget Zanpakuto are a represenation of the persons Soul, Shikais s bascially what you show to people, is the personality you let people see, and Bankai si who you trully are. We can see this a lot in Soi Fon, her Shikais is exactly how she portrays herself: Calm, composed, small, deadly, silent, but her Bankai is exactly how she actually is: Loud, big, stressfull, immature, heavy to carry, and well, it only shows to achieve Bankai you need to understand yourself, or at least know who you truly is, that's the reason characters like Zaraki only achieved it in the end, cause only in the end he finally accepted his true self, but Aizen, he never knew who he actually was. He never had people he could be true with, he never made a meaningufll connection with someone, and the only person he felt close to was Ichigo cause both were "annomalies" but even then, Ichigo never truly understood him and they never made any connection. That's one of the reasons I love Aizen never had a Bankai, cause it only reinforces how lonely he actually is and how he actually doesn't know anything about himself! How can a man who always pretended to be someone else, could achieve a power only given to those who truyl comprehend their own souls? And in regards to their last fight, I love how the fights was not only refreshing to see, cause at the time, the common norm was the MC always shouting about his desires, wishes, how he's going to win, and a very long drawn out fight, but when we reached the end, we had a silent MC, a desperate Villain who talked and talked, and the MC did what he had to do in no time and I also loved the irony of it, cause until now, Aizen had always been the confident one, who defeats his opponent quickly and silently while they confronted him about everything and asked for reasoning, and in the end, by the hands of the person more close to him, in regards of being, he was the one shouting and asking for comprehension, reasoning and was killed quickly and slently, the same way he always did with everyone
i love how he is sealed though and how thinhs play out in TYBW
When Aizen arrived in Karakura Town, I would have shit myself if Kenpachi, Byakuya, and Mayuri were there. That would have made things so much more interesting until Ichigo arrived.
For me, Aizen was at his best at the tail end of the Soul Society arc. Not only was his death being a fake out a really rad twist, there was something pretty creepy with how he came back while looking so nerdy and harmless with his glasses hiding his eyes, only to completely body everyone who got in his way. After that though, he kind of just slowly became less and less interesting as nothing was really learned about him nor his motives, and he turned out to be more and more hideously overpowered. Not to mention the way he planned literally every single step of his master plan to an absurdity and unbelievablity that would make Madara Uchiha blush. And even now, despite how long he was the villain, we still hardly understand his motives, he's now immortal because he's too popular to kill off, and we don't even have the full scope of his abilities because Kubo couldn't come up with a Bankai more busted than his Shikai, so he got a butterfly transformation instead.
I really wish he stuck to being a normal Shinigami who lucked out with a really good Zanpakutou, sticking with the nerdy nice guy look and smartly won all of his fights, instead of just being just another typical godly shonen villain. Really bizarre that out of he, Gin, and Tosen, (hell, even most of the Espada), Aizen himself ended up being the least developed and least interesting compared to his own lackeys. We don't even know his backstory...
Aizen was really overpowered even back in the soul society arc I’m not sure what was so surprising about him bodying captains in the fake Karakura town arc, mind you with the hogyoku being in his possession for months at this point and the captains weakened by top three strongest Espada. Sure you can say Aizen is underdeveloped but to say he’s the least developed villain in the story and referring to him as just another shonen villain just shows a deep lack of understanding of his character.
Aizen is easily the greatest character in bleach tho his character development is more then just the deicide mini arc I honestly think it enhances his character because he wasn’t simply killed off
aizen is my favorite character, btw can you do a vid on why aizen is your favorite?
Yo I BELIEVE the Hôgyôku was supposed to grant wishes from the start. It granted Aizen's wish to break the barrier between hollow and shinigami. Then, it makes him evolve given Aizen wants to become the perfect being, and then it allows Aizen to lose instead of re-buffing him because he actually wanted to be defeated.
You're almost as OG as I am :D I started reading Bleach on Daily basis on the end of Grimmjow vs Ichigo fight, while watching anime almost entire year prior (mid Bount arc which is crazy now that I think of if)
As for Aizen: the entire Deicide mini-arc was dragging for me and I wanted it to quickly so we could move with the story. Personally I didn't mind Aizen breakdown and I think that it was done pretty well. But him reverting to his pre-deicide persona in TYBW raised an eyebrow. Maybe it was the hogyoku that took control of him and now once hee's free of it reverted to his former self?
I also remember being disapointed with Don Kanonji's arrival. I was hoping for it to be Ryuken. But later I thought that Kubo had for him a bigger role to play in the final arc (but we all know by now how it turned out).
Can you do a video on Aizen's Bankai?
Do you think Aizen's villainous breakdown comes from the loneliness he feels? Ichigo mentions that when he crossed blades with him all he felt was a supreme loneliness. That kind of seclusion even surrounded by lesser peers explains his devolution and deconstruction of all that he was. If he is doomed to be alone and without peer he might as well embrace the offer of the hogyoku. Thus attaining an infinite power but being an almost seperte being then what he was before. This is symbolized by Aizen going through a literal Kafkaesque moment from Metamorphosis where he comes through that ordeal a completely changed being. So no and no, did it ruin Aizen? No, but it wasn't really the we knew aizen at the end either
I understand the disappointment - in particular when it comes to Aizen's personality completely changing here, which I remember really bothering me. Here is how I make sense of it:
There was such a drastic change in "Aizen"'s personality in this part of the story, I find it hard to believe it was his own, to be honest, which is in great part where the following theory comes from. Although it makes sense for him to break down at this point, I still think it's a bit too drastic (which may probably be both my opinion and Kubo going a bit too far, but here goes anyway:)
I feel that the Hogyoku - that is said to have a sort of conscience - could perfectly have influenced Aizen's behaviour in his last fight with Ichigo. Aizen's transformation si of a nature that is nothing like we've seen before - it doesn't even look Hollowish - so that is probably all the Hougyoku's doing - and if it has a conscience, then it is likely to have a personality, and there is no reason that it wouldn't transfer some of it to Aizen, considering the amuont of modification it throws at him.
These modifications seem done against his will, several times - he looks like he doesn't see them coming, meaning he isn't in full control of the situation at this point. I wonder if the Hougyoku didn't consider Aizen's additional power, and to an extent, Aizen himself, as its creation - if so, then all the lines such as "the Hyougyoku can't accept that I'd get beaten by a mere human" weren't actually the Hyougyoku speaking through Aizen.
Kisuke's theory - the Hyougyoku rejecting Aizen as its master - makes no sense to me - why would it turn against him at the last moment like that? Aizen had healed, and could still go and achieve his goal. To me, that means Ichigo's theory is closer to the truth - Aizen would've pulled the brakes himself, and since the Hyougyoku's original nature is to absorb people's wishes, it complied - possibly begrudgingly. Maybe he realized the Hougyoku was become his master instead of the opposite - certainly rings true, and since in the last arc he said he couldn't stand to have anyone above him... Maybe also he realized that the last person who was at his level, Ichigo, was no longer going to be at his level at all (he was losing his powers - keeping in mind, too, that he helped Ichigo get this strong in the first place, to an extent), and, realizing he'd be alone at the top, his loneliness doubled over...
That's the way I interpret things anyway.
As for my opinion on the Hyougyoku being a deus ex machina.
I am rather glad, to be honest, that it didn't end up being just another MacGuffin. We also knwo that it wasn't really responsible for Orihime and Chad's powers because of the light novels. Also, what's up with everyone believing everything Aizen says?? The guy is a master at lying, but you don't consider that even half of what he says may be bullshit? He may have just made that up to make other characters uncomfortable and cut them down while they are questioning half of what they know...
Now, for Aizen wondering around Karakura town.
It depends on what you consider Aizen's emotional position to be. Aizen's a planner, but a few times he allowed himself to just go off-track and do whatever 'felt right' to him at that point in the story - like what he cuts down Harribel, when he could just leave the Espada to fight the Gotei and leave for Karakura. Or by just keeping Gin around in the first place - he claims to have known all along (who knows if that's true, but let's assume it is right now) - he just seems to like to play with fire when he judges that he can afford to do so without his plan being impacted.
Chasing Ichigo's friends around? That's clearly just a way to wait around for Ichigo to come save them. Why the hell would he do it for otherwise? To me, it really just appears he was waiting around for Ichigo to show up so he could test his abilities.
My crazy theories aside, Aizen looks rather cool as a cocoon, okay as a caterpillar, still kinda okay as a butterfly (he looks grand and non-human, at least)... Forget all the other ones after lol. I love the designs, but my goodness, I wouldn't want to look like that X'D
As for Ichigo and Aizen's last fight, Aizen's weird personality aside, I actually really liked it. I loved how Ichigo just completely crushed him, tbh. It was a nice change. But maybe that's also because I'm one of these people who don't care for the fights all that much in the first place - I really only care because I like cool powers and because I love how character development and rivalry can be built in within them. So maybe I'm not the right person to give an opinion on this.
As for how I feel about his justifications - that's the one part I really liked too. It works well with the rest of his last minute character development, and somehow still gives an echo of his former pride. As if he still had it, but had left dignity behind. I don't particularly have a problem with the above theories clashing with the more commonly-accepted ones either, tbh - both make sense to me, in two completely different ways.
If you want another take, a more realistic and just as interesting one, see Slim Naccache's comment
Dont know if you have an idea for another ranking video and probably exhausted from last one but you should rank all the zanpakuto. Independent of the user skill level
This video is fucking hilarious. I knew I always had a twinge of disappointment watching Aizen fall from grace but you put it in perfect context. Good vid.
My favourite video so far! Aizen really lost his composure in that fight, he got very cocky and angry. Far removed from the Aizen we've been show in the past. It always bothered me he didn't even try to release Kyoku Suigetsu in front of Ichigo, makes it seem like he lost out of pure hubris, which isn't very smart or Aizen-like.
An Urahara Kisuke review would be awasome.
He literally was waiting for ichigo. That's why he said he would hang their bodies just to make ichigo go farther because everyone else he WANTED to kill with his massive power were disintegrated. It was heavily implied. I don't know if you miss context but a lot of these videos don't do a deep enough dive. It's like I get you but you usually only cover the second layer as to where there are many more below it
Hey man, Love the video! I've been digging your videos a lot since I found you a few weeks ago. Anyway, I've always had mixed opinions on the deicide arc. I remember reading it week to week and actually being mostly excited for each development in it. Personally, and I know it's an unpopular opinion, I think all the transformations for Aizen look pretty cool, including the butterfly. The thing I have mixed opinions on the most is the final fight. In one sense, it's refreshing in a shonen battle manga for a character like Aizen to just get manhandled and stomped down quickly after being an obnoxious troll for hundreds of chapters. But in another sense the fight feels short and a little unsatisfying. And yeah, I would've liked an epic Aizen bankai moment. I love your analysis about Aizen becoming a monster devoid of his wit and strategy. Overall I'd say my opinion of the arc was mostly positive at the time of reading, and I think a lot of the art of the anime adaptation is gorgeous. Anyway, Keep up the great work with these videos. You're exactly what this community needs in the long wait for the anime's return!
It makes sense to me since so much of Aizen's character is built on deception, that in the end even the cold and calculated personality he was portraying after his betrayal was a deception. The zanpakuto reflects the owner, and Kyokasuigetsu reflects his desire to change the world. That extends to himself - Aizen was deeply lonely and unhappy and wanted nothing more than to change himself. I personally am a fan of the Aizen transformations, plus when a caterpillar is in the chrysalis they actually do liquefy like we saw after it broke.
To be perfectly honest, I've never had any issue with how he handled Aizen's specific personality traits. Mental breakdown is one of the best ways to handle a character built on arrogance and wit. With a character based arrogance, it's usually their downfall and I think he did a good job of slowly building that (albeit, a little too far in some aspects). The justifications based on blind arrogance were a nice touch to me because of how they slowly started back in the fake karakura town. You go from a character who thinks he understands everything to a character who's fallen and is doing nothing but asking questions to help him understand things as he's being imprisoned. My issue was, almost quite literally, with everything else around that. Fight, pace, transformations, the hogyoku sentience as a love pet, events, DESIGN!...fking butterfly Aizen..
Hey man are you still working on your Manga on DeviantArt? It’s me Arrancarfighter if you remember
Hey man! Great to see you here - sorry for taking so long to get back to you. Yes I'm definitely still working on my story (I want to find some way to incorporate it here on the channel in some way) but it's just a case of finding the time for it...
MrTommo2304 No problem, from what I can see you’ve been really busy, your UA-cam channel is really blowing up thats awesome to see, I would have started watching your videos sooner if I had known but I’ve been going back and catching up on them. I’m actually learning a lot of stuff that I never knew before.
i absolutely love deicide except for the last fight, i loved the transformations even butterfly aizen and ovbiously the last one, the fights agains isshin urahara and yoruichi are one of the fight i rewatch the most, also yes i think destroying his personality is very fitting for the character because he doesn´t think there is anyone who can defeat him even the royal guard itself i think so his arrogance took everything he once was, for me the part where he is chasing after ichigos friends was really good i was at the edge of my seat on that part mostly because aizen could kill anyone at any moment so he is just playing with them, also the fact that the normal humans could see him was interesting for me, at the end i love all of this portion of the arrancar arc but the end while it has some crazy scenes its really short and one sided.
btw great video
Oh, what a coincidence! I also started reading on the weekly basis since Kenpachi vs Nnoitra.
Cool video.
Lol guys Ik im late but if the hogyoku was a sentient lifeform the whole time was it like a parasite that began to grow within Aizen at the moment he fused with the Hogyoku. Was it preparing a body for itself and while doing so manipulating Aizen's thought process without him knowing. Because when I really think about it the way the Hogyoku's spread across Aizen's body to the way his mindset had completely changed when he went into cocoon form into hatching and growing into butterflaizen and his final monstrous form which was where his mind seemed to be the most unstable. Alot of people say that if Aizen continued to grow he would have been completely unstoppable and you yourself said that recently maybe that was because the hogyoku would have made a perfect body for itself and completely taken over Aizen's body as well. What if the Hogyoku was just fulfilling its own wish since it is supposed to be a wish granter. It was waiting for the moment when Aizen's power was at its peak. Then used that as its base. It's wish to be free from its fate of being used and then sealed. All the wish granting it did seemingly would work towards everyone was just it was all building to the granting of its own wish. I know it might seems far fetched but it can explain why this downfall of Aizen. And I think it makes alot of sense.
I feel like the Aizen we got at the end of the Arrancar arc was justified, since a goal of his has been to find that one person who can give him a satisfying battle. None of the other captains could challenge him or pose a threat except Kenpachi and Old Man Yamamoto.
There was a reason he made contingency plans for them and how to handle them. But for Ichigo, he's been exponentially growing faster and faster with each fight since that first Menos Grande. Since the moment Ulquirroa made the comment on how Ichigo's Reiatsu has been Fluctuating like wild from being weaker to him in base form to even being stronger than him at his best from their first encounter.
It was only a matter of time before Ichigo surpassed that power range till all the Zenkai Boosts he got from near-death fights, and the death from Ulquiorra and then the crap beaten out of him for 3 whole months of just pure fighting from Zangetsu. Mind you the boosts throughout the Arrancar arc for him have been one after another, seemingly all fights happened in the span of like 1 week at most and just from that the power boost from White when he took over was immense so its no surprise the fight later with Aizen was so One-Sided, like he lost all his power after that fight to just put Aizen down several pegs. Whilst Aizen just kept getting more and more boosts through-out his toying with the captains and seemingly getting drunk off his power from the Hogyoku.
It seems perfectly fair for Aizen to act that way, He is Arrogant as hell, why would he think he could just sit idly and kill them like that and not even need to think about what he does anymore. That's, why the moment Aizen is revealed later as a weapon for fighting Ywcha later, is just so much cooler. He has all the Boosts and then some and now is just base Aizen we saw at the end of Soul Society Arc.
Personally, this whole ending to the whole Arrancar arc for me was fairly entertaining if not to say really enjoyable and wouldn't want to have it changed in any way. But then again I'm open to a scenario where some better ideas can be presented.
I think it's obvious that aizen in the chase dowm wasnt really trying
he just kept walking around and didnt approve of gin killing ichigos friends until ichigos arrival was really close
yes he knew how long isshin can keep the dangai thing going on
Butterflies has a significant meaning in bleach and shows up all the time.
I’m pretty he completely fused with his Zanpakuto like Ichigo did with the final Getsuga Tensho. That’s why he’s able to cast kyokasuigetsu without a sword and is just able to whip out his sword out of nowhere against Ywach
"Just fabulous!!!!" Nice!!!
The only thing that I disappointed with Kubo’s writing about Aizen in this arc is that he was not written to reach the Soul Palace which I think he will obliterate the 0 division within second as he had already become a transcendent being that cant be touched by anyone that are not in the same level as him
I wasn't very active in the Bleach community online back then, I didn't have many people to talk about it with as nobody I knew watched/read it... but I liked the final forms haha and his demise made sense. I was geniunely happy with the end of th series (as I thought it actually was the end)
The sword completely fused with his soul. He could use kyoka Suigetsu at a distance and didnt have to use a release command. On top of that he could materialize the sword at will. He imitated what ichigo did with Zangetsu.
Isn't the don kanonji part anime filler?
u r a lovely human
I mean, all of this about Aizen just boils down to him being extremely cocky.
Aizen was the true hero of bleach. I feel like back when he was locked away by Urahara, when he said "You saw it, didnt you?" That he was referring to something Aizen came in contact with that gave in a glimpse of the future and what was to come. Sorta like Juhabaha, he could see and change the future, but not in its entirety based on what he saw.
Aizen ja my favorite my anime character of all time. My favorite quote from him is proably this one but my mind isnt set on that "Any betrayal you can see is trivial, what is truly frightening and much more lethal, is the betrayal you cannot see".
I agree that Aizen's character was drastically hurt by the Deicide, although not exactly ruined (the Thousand-Year Blood War went a far way in restoring his mystique). There were a couple of problems: first off, he was established as impossibly strong before he underwent any transformation, so the three(!) upgrades he gained before his final battle with Ichigo felt more deadening than threatening. I think this would have been avoided if 1) Isshin beat him at brute strength and 2) If Urahara figured out a way of overcoming Kyōka Suigetsu. The Aizen we were familiarized with for 200 chapters needed to be both defeated and outwitted *before* he transformed. The way it played out felt unearned and completely scrambled the power scaling.
Next up, his lackadaisical attitude after transforming seriously dragged the arc until the stakes felt diminished. If the antagonist feels no urgency to carry out their threat, then why should the audience feel that urgency? It makes even less sense with hindsight: Aizen's goal was to conquer the Royal Realm and replace the Soul King. He was only halfway towards his objective, and yet he behaved as though he had already won. It felt like his entire motivation ended with transcendence, but he was spiking the football only at the 50 yard line. Instead of being a threat that was growing closer to his goal, he hung around with nothing to do but spout off overly didactic monologues. He shifted from a Machiavellian visionary into a self-satisfied fool, and it made all the mystery surrounding him feel cheap in retrospect. A completely unforced error.
Lastly -- and this is also made worse by hindsight -- Aizen shouldn't have been shocked by Ichigo's strength. He knew from the outset that he was dealing with a Hollow/Human/Quincy/Shinigami hybrid and he had spent the entire saga trying to draw out his potential. By all accounts, Aizen should have viewed Ichigo's overwhelming power as a new opportunity to evolve himself. Losing his composure and barking that he shouldn't be outclassed "by a mere human" makes no sense because he knows he's not dealing with a mere human. It was like he had completely forgotten the series' lore that he had been exploiting up to that point.
So those were my problems with Aizen's characterization in the Deicide.
i think aizen's butterfly transformation is related to the shinigami's life he's been through.. the butterfly that all the shinigamis that has been using to communicate and all was displayed once again
3 things I wanted to see from Aizen:
1-His *Bankai*
2-His *backstory*
3-His D!!!!!!!!!!!!!ck
🤣