So, Why DOESN'T Ichigo Use His HOLLOW MASK Anymore? | Bleach Discussion
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- Опубліковано 23 січ 2023
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Beware manga spoilers in this video!
Ichigo's Hollow mask used to be a core part of his identity and power set - yet, after the final battle with Aizen, we never see it again. Why doesn't he use it anymore? In this video, I give my speculative thoughts as to an in-universe reasoning, as well as why narratively and thematically, Kubo chose to remove it. Enjoy!
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These are just some of my thoughts on why Ichigo doesn't use his Hollow mask anymore, but I want to know what you think! Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Would you have liked to have seen the mask again at some point?
The Mask was so iconic and made Ichigo way more threatening, such a shame it doesn't reappear
Also wondering when ichigo uses the final getsuga tenshou, he loses his shinigami powers but does that include his hollow powers? I mean like ik zangetsu and while merged in the dreamscape fight but like they were separate, would that mean the hollow and fullbring powers merge then when he gets his shinigami powers back, they join into his new form?
He accept old man zangetsu and hollow ichigo as part of himself. Zanpakutou made from soul. Which means ichigo zanpakutou might be soul king himself. The differences between ichigo and kazui was trauma experience. Ichigo helping people worried becoming his past self the soul king and kazui helping people without worried about his past self his father and soul king. Kazui was 100% identical to his father. I think.
I think you're wrong for all the right reasons. In fact, I think you're 99.99% right. I feel that your only true oversight is the fact that White/Hollow Ichigo/Zangetsu was the source of both Ichigo's Shinigami and Hollow powers. I believe Ichigo's true failing was that he tried to not only separate himself from his inner hollow but also separate his inner hollow powers from his Shinigami powers which we later find is impossible. Other than that I think you were spot on. Love the video. Also I think the horn of salvation is better/more appealing than the mask, so I no I don't want to see it again.
Hey MrTommo, I have an idea for a follow up video. Could you do a video exploring the difference between Ichigo's strange lizard form at the beginning of the Arrancar arc, and the horned vasto lorde later on? I also liked how you explored how the vizards had "imperfect" hollow powers. Could EOS Ichigo be similar to Hollow Tosen in that he could attain high speed regen?
His mask was always so cool. Would of loved to see it in the anime, such as the scene where he goes ballistic and attacks Yhwach after seeing Byakuya.
Then we'd have the humiliate a super saiyan form to introduce a newer one as more powerful situation
He’s wearing it already, Fullbring armor
Can you do yhwach vs Ichigo and aizen
Exactly, it added so much to his design 😔
@@bbmthegreat2209 That happens anyway, his sword gets snapped like a twig and then he has to come back with even more power lol
Ichigo’s mask and voice will forever be iconic. But I’m glad he’s at a level now where he doesn’t need to use it😊
What would’ve been cool imo is Ichigo’s new bankai looking like how he looked when he curb stomped Ulquiorra.
@@dances_with_myself9305 it sort of does, since he has half of the elements of the vasto lorde mask, which he uses to create cero like blasts with his zanpakuto
@@dances_with_myself9305 yeah i wish he got a ressureccion instead of the new bankai. Would have made bringing Grimmjow back make sense because he could have been the one to train Ichigo to do it.
@@TheIronMask1954 I mean horn of salvation is sort of a resurrection(may just be a form of hollowfication like the mask and so have a level of hollow power ichigo has not reached yet) and is a separate thing from his bankai that ichigo at least by end of the series can not call on at will
@@TheIronMask1954 He wouldnt need it. His new form is like a soul reaperified ressurection which should be 10x stronger than a regular one considering existing calcs. Assuming he is even still capable of a ressurecion anymore, considering his hollow powers are no longer sealed, it would be like adding a tiny drop to an ocean
I really like the idea of all hollow masks, even the low level monsters, being an expression of shame. Their last piece of humanity trying to hide their faces, when Ichigo managed to embrace it as part of his humanity.
Would explain why he doesn't use the mask anymore then
This makes a lot of sense. That is why Ichigo's final tranaformation is Horn of Salvation, he doesn't need to hide his face because he knew the blade is himself, therefore there was no sense of shame from his hollow powers.
This is my thoughts on the Hollow Mask. In the arrancar arc Ichigo was using his shingami powers. Think of it as one pool until White showed up. After conquering White his Hollow powers became another pool. So using just his bankai is one pool of power and using g the hollow mask taps into that other pool of power. I say tap because we don't see the full power of his Hollow until Ulqiorra killed him.
Now after regaining his shingami powers in the fullbring arc it basically takes those two pool and put them together in one pool and if that's the case he doesn't have to use his hollow mask as he's already using all the power available to him at that point. The reason I think this is, Fullbring power is hollow based in nature. And you see it influencing his new Shinigami attire.
Share your thoughts.
That’s basically what happened lol even though it doesn’t make sense how he never realised his hollow heritage, the fact it went and came with his Shinigami power should’ve alerted something
This is totally my head canon. Figured the Fullbring allowed a more passive draw on those abilities as opposed to the Mask applying a direct, timed, buff.
I think they are still separate pools to a degree but it could be that the fullbring helped to bring them into a more perfect balance and so ichigo in essence is always using the mask aka he is always in normal hollowfication mode and horn of salvation is him taking the power to the next level and unleashing his Resurrection, could also see it as the horn is just the correct way to go about hollowfication aka what the mask does and so it replaces it and ichigo straight up admits he does not know how to call on it on his own could lean either way
White even brings up that he and old man were one and the same right away and how he was linked to ichigo shinigami power
That's fairly close, although I think he actually tapped into both pools after accepting Tensa Zangetsu's blade in the Dangai.
but its always been stated that his shinigami and hollow powers where fused and linked since the start. they have always been one pool. they didn't only merge after he got his power back. they where always fused together.
Kubo's mastery over writing concepts of trauma, depression and reflection through the lens of battles, powers and the inner world is just masterful. To have a story so spread out that Ichigo always seems like Ichigo to us, despite the fact that he has changed and progressed so much. You don't notice the changes necessarily as they happen however, when you compare him from the start and him at the end, he has changed so much. Just like how you don't notice yourself change day to day but you now is totally different to you 10 years ago when you look at it. I just love how Kubo tackled the idea of "fighting" your problems only being half the battle and that true progress comes from eventually realising you must accept them, accept your weaknesses. Accept yourself. You are not wrong, you are just you.
if you like this style of writing you should give monster a try
@@Daniel-xb4oy thanks, I actually have! Love it!
Well said
@@SK-lc7jw I’m watching it right now im almost done😭
Someone recommend it to me under one of my comments about bleach so I wanted to pass it on
They told me the animation might not be the best
It’s so good that the animation doesn’t bother me one bit
@@Daniel-xb4oy The tackling of moral dilemmas in Monster in a realistic way *chef's kiss*
I always thought this was quite clear, Ginjo even has a line where he says “I have a hollow inside me too” and he fires a cero which Ichigo just puts out his hand and catches it as if to say “old news”.
wait did ginjo actually have a hollow? idr that
@@blackkurosaki4565 I think he actually said “I have hollow powers too”. For some reason I remember it as being “I have a hollow inside me too” though. Regardless, at the time Fullbringers were beings whose mothers were attacked by hollows at birth I believe.
@@kevinfunk83 i guess its one of those things kubo didn't have time to fully go into
Why he's shooting a cero? That doesn't make very much sense
@@eggseed6543probably because it's ichigos fullbring he stole, and ichigo has a hollow
I hope it's revealed, maybe in the hell arc, that he gets the horn of salvation look when he goes bankai from now on. That was the absolute peak Ichigo design for me
I can understand that, but I think I would have liked it to show as more of a broken mask somewhat like the arrancar, or even the fused Tensa Zangetsu. Mind you that is just my opinion, I'm just not the biggest fan of the horn coming directly out of his head.
This would probably make the most sense to me at least. I’ve always seen that mask as more of a metaphorical representation of how Ichigo views his Hollow powers. In fiction, masks usually represent the desire to conceal something away. Think how in Phantom of the Opera, The Phantom wears a mask to hide his disfigurement. One could say that Ichigo saw the Hollow as a disfigurement on his soul. When Ichigo dons the Horn of Salvation for the first time, it always struck me as a sense of acceptance. Ichigo is finally proud of who he is and is ready to work with both Quincy and Hollow/Shinigami spirits to defeat Yhwach. Although I don’t see it as a Bankai but as a Resurrection like the Arrancar get
Unlikely since we see him activate the form while still in Shikai. There's nothing intrinsically connecting the Horn of Salvation and Tensa Zangetsu.
@@Jeikobu Bleach Brave Souls has that version of him officially voice acted and with official artwork while also being a 3D character you can use. Still love that game
@@kevinbell5674 well isn't the hos form the representation of his collective powers finally blending perfectly with eachother and Ichigo himself ?
The mask in itself is the literal representation of him hiding/denying his true self. The power he gains is the superficial high one gets that goes with the acceptance one receives by pretending to be someone you are not. The time limit represents how one's true self must eventually be accepted or risk going down a self-destructive path.
What about visords? Do they all have same self-acceptance problem
@@maximus-go1um Komamura has the answer for you. Ichigo didn't have a choice. White IS part of him. Unlike Shinji and the others where the hollow soul was forced into them.
@@guiltycross the answer is good but who is komamura
@@maximus-go1um dude, if you don't know who komamura is in bleach...
Ichigo accepting the Hollow in him is very reminiscent of what Carl Jung was talking about in embracing one's Shadow. Ichigo has eventually accepted that the part of him that is destructive and is ashamed of is something that's a part of his being. Integrating it onto his self revealed a higher form or state that he was able to use to slay his Cambellesque Dragon.
Yes, exactly. I think the Lust Arc showcased this the best, since when Ichigo was pure instinct all he was doing was protecting Orihime. He had no concept beyond that, which is why he attacked Uryu as well.
Perfect analogy wow
Damn, how dare you use Jungian thinking to explain Ichigo's powers go brrrrrrr
A keen assessment for sure
Yes! This is an excellent analysis. I have no idea how conscious Kubo is of this dynamic in formal Jungian terms, but the way that many of the characters in Bleach reach higher and more complete inner lives is the most unique nd well-developed synthesis of Buddhist and Jungian insights that I've ever encountered.
When you brought up the Vizard, it made me realize, it would have been so cool if in TYBW when some of them are defeated (and then forgotten) instead they had their own hollow takeover moment like Ichigo vs Ulq where they went full beast mode and we got to see what their inner hollows could do.
Their Hollows were prototypes for White. They wouldn’t be as sophisticated as Ichigos White. It somewhat makes sense why they don’t
@@stonalisa3729 Even if thats the case its fused with their soul which is why the training Ichigo did was the same as the others. I could still see a hollow takeover being a thing as it still at its base instinct has self preservation.
@@stonalisa3729 And probably because they fully subjugated and accepted it unlike Ichigo who was afraid and disgusted by his hollow power which sadden and pisses White off.
In "We do knot always love you" and even in ATYBW we see the visoreds using their masks, what are y'all talking about? At least Mashiro uses her hollow mask to make Hisagi refine his bankai, and uses it again (but only the we do knot always love you novel states it) in the final battle to protect the shinigami academy.
What you do for BLEACH is so crazy... I got i to it this year and love it. There is no one who goes it the depths that you do or brings up the best conversation pieces that you do. I'm happy I found your channel. You do an amazing job, ridiculously great job.
I wish we could have had white said something in the thousand year blood war when ichigo learned the truth.
Also there is an awesome short I saw that someone drew white healing ichigo after he died and the look on whites face is perfect I could see kubo drawing the scene like that.
Zangetsu
White was the hollow created by aizen. This guy is named zangetsu.
wow. what a great analysis.
I read Bleach as a kid growing up and never really grasped the full picture of Ichigo's struggle to accept his hollow side. But this really puts it all into perspective, and gives me newfound appreciation for who I thought was a weakly developed main character (though my favorite nonetheless).
I wish, somehow, I'd understood Ichigo's journey to self-acceptance when I was a kid -- I would've loved it so much more than I do already.
Bravo, job well done 💯
the couple times that he releases all his power are two of the best fights of the series his finally fight where he lost his powers, and the one where he dies but goes full beast mode, that was insanely awesome
Don't forget Soul Society vs Byakuya, he was literally breaking under the strain of his Bankai and White had to take over
I actually really like the idea that after the fullbring arc his hallow powers show up as fullbring like accents on his soul reaper garb because that's how he had learned to channel his hallow powers during his time as a fullbringer
you worded the symbolism of ichigo's hollow mask and inner growth/acceptance most excellently. Another great video ❤️
The mask resembled chaos and uncontrolled state but now that he accepted zangetsu as himself it displays itself as his true Zanpecto in sword form. As Ichigo states he no longer need them to fight for him because they are him
this is honestly the best way to explain this ive been trying to explain to my friends myself but your execution was flawless absolutely amazing video
Man!! I live you so much, you articulate these thoughts so well! Keep the good work
you explained it perfectly love it bro keep upi the good work. this was my first time watching one of your video's and you earned a sub
I always took it that post-Lost Agent, he had the power boost the mask would give him but 100% of the time. Like it's always on and inherent to his power.
A topic that I’ve rarely seen discussed like this before. I love every thematic in Bleach and this video was really interesting!
In my head cannon it always seemed that Ichigo had integrated his shadow and as a result would not need the mask anymore to utilize the power of his inner hollow. Makes me wonder if Tite Kubo reads Carl Jung, since it seems so similar to Jung's philosophical writings.
I heard someone say essentially the difference between fact and truth is facts are things we know happened and truth is fundamental understanding that always seems to be. I thought of truth when you said you wonder about Tite Kubo reading Carl Jung and i think even if he hasn't that truth is everywhere no matter what words we use or how we illustrate it. My favorite examples are the main religions and books they swear by. They all have many of the same core truths which is why they resonate so deeply among so many.
@@prodigygod1 Themes and archetypes are prevalent in all form of media and are based on storytelling formats that have existed since ancient times, such as the hero's struggle, battling one's self expressed in metaphor etc. In a way these stories are expressions of our psyche in literate form, and they can be seen in a similar way in shows like Bleach where these themes such as self acceptance are being presented.
My man asking the real questions. I always wondered about this, and this discussion video summarized and capped it off perfectly. Thanks MrTommo!
Wow, everything you said is on point and perfect. Your rather brilliant!!! I have a question, is each ago at the end of the series far more powerful than then he was in the Arrancar arc vs Ulquiorra orbs Aizen?
Bro this video is absolutely golden!!! Well done 👏🏾
38 seconds ago.. this is the earliest I’ve ever been to any video😂 Love your content dude!
Hey Tommo, love your videos! There’s just a bit of audio distortion with the “When Ichigo is free” bit right around 5:30, just so you know!
The Blade is Me had me tearing up. He, after so much fighting externally and internally, finally excepted himself and grew past his fears and problems. It was powerful. The anime did it so so well.
Your collaboration with tekking brought me to your channel :)
Hey! Nice Touch of the 20th Anniversary Book One Manga in the Background!
Nice, Just confirming how I remember reading it and understand it. u put it in more elegant way to explain it then I would had
finished reading bleach a couple days ago and binged a ton of your videos love the content
Your videos are great, thanks for making them 👍
Beautiful explanation!
Everyone has been wondering this. Great topic to discuss.
What an excellent video. Very informative and easily digestible.
Amazing analysis 👍
Brilliantly put!!! 👏🏾👏🏾💯
Honestly this makes a lot of sense, thanks for explaining in great detail. When I was finished the manga, I'll be honest I was somewhat confused. Now hearing this makes some comfort as a Bleach fan.
fantastic video 🖤🖤
Thanks for the videos
sounds very logical to me! i agree with ur points :) also makes one realise how Kubo really thought everything through..so many moments from the past tie perfect into what we saw in the final arc as if everything was leading to this
That’s such a good question and I’ve always wondered why
Great video!
I would love to see you come up with moc up images of what the pure vizard forms of the others would look like and possible the powers they be have with those forms
Dropped subb cause you the goat of bleachtube
I think people forget that the part of him that made the mask is half of the being that represent his powers wich divided in Hollow Ichigo and Tensa Zangetsu but they fused, so there's a chance he can use that power without using the mask
You my friend just gave me a brilliant idea. Thank you.
This theory is the most sound of this I've heard. You've earned a sub. It follows Kubo's style to a T and ties up all the loose ends.
Excellent analysis.
Something you didn't say explicitly is what a hollow mask is. A hollow's "heart" leaves its soul and covers its face to hide the shame and lingering humanity. I think what hollow power means for Ichigo is that he literally wears his heart on sleeve, his heart becomes his uniform and blade instead of a mask to hide and suppress his feelings. That's why I think his hollow power is being tapped at all times to some degree after his dangai training without ever wearing a mask. Could also be a hint as to why certain captains never wear their hollow masks again.
My problem with that would be that we never see those captains come to the same sort of breakthroughs as Ichigo. Ichigo we are with him during his journey of self discovery, meanwhile the vizards just sort of drop the concept and a part of me feels like it would have been more interesting to have had a least a moment to show them tackling the same concepts. Maybe we see them struggling not to use the masks, maybe have one of them use a similar power and explain that they've all had such a breakthrough. It just doesn't feel as good or as earned without a single nod or explanation.
@@LupineShadowOmega tonmo explains it here though, ichigo's hollow powers are already naturally a part of his dna, hollowification for everyone else was dangerous and their only option to live with it was to beat it into submission. but its dangerous to use as its literally trying to take over at all times
@@TheWiseleader Except we never get that in practice. We see the Vizards using their masks in battle after the idea of beating your hollow in to submission and this wasn't something that Ichigo did that they didn't. They literally helped him with the idea because to them he was in the same state as they were. We even hear from them directly that the time limit on hollowfication was different for each of them.
If it was that dangerous they definitely wouldn't have been testing it and we might even have seen something like someone being overwhelmed in battle.
Plus, that runs counter to the point that we've heard time and again about Soul Reaper and Hollow powers being opposite sides to the same coin. Arrancars are literally Hollows with more Shinigami like powers and Vizards are the opposite. Ichigo might have a more complex connection to his powers, but nothing about it says that its so different from the rest who were experimented on. Because if Shinigami powers are opposite Hollow powers, then that would mean even being Hollowfied, that's still their intrinsic powers. You are still yourself. Much like with their shingami powers.
@@LupineShadowOmega Yeah I definitely agree that without the in-story acknowledgement any solution for the visoreds lack of masks in tybw feels shitty. Functionally the difference between them presumably is that their hollow powers aren't as fully integrated into their Zanpakutou spirits. Ichigo was born with latent hollow powers that his Zanpakutou spirit embodies, I think the visoreds either a) have foreign hollows implanted in them like what happened with Masaki in which case coexistence is likely impossible and the visoreds are therefore complete as they can be or b) a part of their "heart" was torn off and hollowfied, in which case I think varying degrees of integration are possible, from how they currently exist to possibly making the same breakthroughs as ichigo by reintegrating the hollow into their souls and Zanpakutou spirits. Although given what is known about their hollowfications, how ichigo is implied to be different from what they taught, and how those ideas of hollowfication are reinforced with masaki in tybw, I think it's much more likely that ichigo is the special case and the other visoreds are afflicted with hollow not of themselves.
@@Calithilhel We just don't know and it only gets more head scratching when we factor in stuff like the Bankai Hollowfication.
I always thought that Ichigo wouldn't use his hollow mask ever again because it had merge with his Fullbring powers once he got his Shinigami powers back. So to hear you make that connection made my day. Also, this was a great analysis! I love your work.
I'm in agreement with this love ur in depth analysis of it
✨🙏🏾🙏🏾. Thanks for the explanation
Really cool theory, I think I'll adopt it as well since it fits so well and personally love it so much more than mine. At first I thought Ichigo lost his hollow power but then came out the blade is me and it showed he still had it. So then I thought ok so he just rejected it once he got it back and finally came to terms with it in the last arc. But it flew contrast to his fight with Tensazangestu so it was a half-hearted theory that is now going to be replaced with yours. Thanks and great work as always
Your geting a sub man
Very great insight
I always loved ichigos hollow mask and hollow powers. Gave me goosebumps during his fight with grimjoww when he put on his mask
Can you go along with your idea from the Gin character analysis, with what if Gin survived or even killed Aizen.
MrTommo needs to be at a 1m this is crazy
Great job man. Could you talk about mugen? His black form that Ichigo used on Aizen
I think it has something to do with the Final Getsuga Tensho, my theory is that upon mastering the technique, Ichigo was able to quell the Hollow nature of his Zanpakuto. It was still apart of him, as Hollow Ichigo IS Zangetsu. However, by mastering the Final Getsuga, Hollow Ichigo/Zangetsu had acknowledged the strength of Ichigo's soul, even after very recently becoming a Vasto Lordes at the time. I think part of the reason behind training with Tensa Zangetsu was so that Ichigo could both redeem and learn to forgive himself for how the battle with Ulquiorra ended.
I like that you mentioned the fullbring being the evolution of the hollow mask
Your videos butter my biscuits thank you
even though I didn’t watch this video this time around and will come back to it after the rest of blood war errors I really appreciate that you gave a spoiler warning for us anime only enjoyers
Man from some. Of these colorized panels I wish they would have done the vertical stripes on his second hollow mask design in black. It looks so slick that way.
Great video. Makes perfect sense
Wow, this was a fantastic literary breakdown of Ichigo's internal journey.
Loved this video
Dude where do you find the colourized version that you're always referencing in your vids?! I can never find totally colourized but man that would be sweet to finish the series as I just have the last dozen books left to read!
one thing that i wanna add that you probably missed or didnt think of since you didnt mention it in the video at all.
the reason the mask doesnt appear is not because ichigo "accepts" or is in "harmony" with his inner hollow. Aizen and Nimaiya actually mention and explain why. during his final fight with aizen he explains that ichigo finally became one with his zanpakto and transcended basically meaning that during his training in deicide he achieved mastery of his powers and became one with them. thats why he no longer has need for the mask to use it actually.
aizen is the same way after his fight with ichigo and his sword became one with him and its physical shape started to vanish and only coming out when he required it. as an example aizen no longer needed to have people see him activating his zanpakto to use kyoka suigetsu on them and you can see this when he did it juha bach when he altered his perception of time and its the same with ichigo at that point. his powers are always there now since he became one with them.
what happens during the blade is me arc is not him accepting his sword since he already did that during the deicide arc where he confronted them. what happens during the blade is me "training arc" is that ichigo finally learns, lets go and moves on from the burdens that he had since he was a child and his mom died.
if you look at how ichigo was portrayed in his flashbacks (such as chads flashback on how they met) and at the beginning of the series you will see that ichigo is not a kid thats at peace and has a lot of trauma. hes aggressive and picks fights a lot (even if it is for a good reason), in every fight up until his hollow appeared during byakuyas fight you can see how he is rash and even looking for fights instead of actually avoiding them. when his hollow actually appears he actually represents ichigos emotional state (the demonic version of it) and the reason ichigo is afraid of him is because it was the dark path he was on and hollow ichigo represented the culmination of it.
when the blade is me "training arc" began he was actually thrown out of it because he was so lost. he had to go to his dad and learn everything that happened with him mom and how he came to be. when learning that he learned that his moms death wasnt his fault (which he still thought it was as we can see during the grandfisher fight), he learned what his hollow actually is, he found the truth and had the holes filled in about everyone who was closest to him (his dad, mom, old man zangetsu and even his hollow).
after that arc what actually happened was ichigo finally letting go of all his trauma and finally being able to move forward in harmony with all of his powers that he already possessed. the reason they are much stronger at that point is because ichigo fully trusts and knows all of them and doesnt passively or actively have to push or be afraid of them as was the case with hollow ichigo. you can see this when both of the spirits inside them are looking out for him when he pulls out the twin swords compared to how he never even tried to talk with old man zangetsu or hollow ichigo after getting his powers back during the fight with ginjo.
ichigos relationship to his powers are based on his state of being thats why in the beginning when he as aggressive and confident in his abilities while trying to do good things his inner world is filled with skyscrapers and after falling to despair his inner world reverted to his place of comfort, his hometown. you can further see this during his last meeting with old man zangetsu where his inner world was filled with skyscrapers again since the deicide arc where he found out that hollow ichigo was a part of it and he accepted both of them as such. then you can see how his inner world started collapsing when he found out that old man zangetsu basically lied to him from the start.
hope this was clear enough and that it helps.
You explained it perfectly but from the beginning i thought it was obvious that once he fused everything, there was no longer a need or should i say even available because that power is now part of him at all times. I always thought of the mask as version 1 of growth and im glad you touched on the vizards who reject the power inside and instead use it as an outwardly tool for dire circumstances and in some cases not at all as we see later.
I think the reason ichigo doesn't use his mask again after he leaves the dangai is because when goes to face aizen, he's accepted every part of himself, including his hollow powers, and so he permanently has the hollow powers active to an extent, and giving him a permanent buff
An excellent view of it. Pretty accurate too.
i dont believe thats the case but i could definitely see this as an in universe reason. personally i just think kubo forgot about it.
@@Marius696969 i think that'd be pretty hard to do after it being a thing from Soul Society arc to the end of the Arrancar arc. Like, that'd be on the same level as forgetting Getsuga Tenshou and seems way more intentional that he no longer needs it as a crutch
@@willjoyce5013 it really isnt that hard considering kubo forgot plenty of other important details that randomly popped up later. histugya's bankai having its petals in some chapters and then not in others only to return later is a good example, which even ended up getting put in the anime. he went months without ichigo using the hollow mask, its perfectly understandable if he did forget. i dont know if you're an anime only fan but the last time ichigo hollowed in the manga was somewhere between chapter 354 and 365, i'm not entirely sure where. the only time we hear about ichigos inner hollow again isnt until chapter 528, thats around 163 chapters later. if we look at the release date for the volumes, since i cant find the release date for the individual chapters, 354 came in vol 41 which was released in 2009 and 528 came in vol 59 which was released in 2013. almost a full 4 years later was the idea of his inner hollow brought back up. its wouldnt be unrealistic if he literally forgot especially since he forgot a lot and ended up retconning things later. seriously, if you havent read the manga find it and read it you will see so many instances where things that were brought up in earlier chapters were totally ignored later.
@@Marius696969 i don't think one bankai that pops up a couple times versus a main character's notable equipment feels like a good comparison. It'd be more like him not having a sword or Kubo forgetting bankai exists
@Mrtommo2304 could u please make a vid on the best moments in tybw arc
i ve always love ichigo s original hollow mask. looks awesome, wish they brought it back even if he doesnt need it
I think it makes sense, I have a similar theory. Before Ichigo thinks that he is borrowing the power of the Hollow inside of him hence the mask, but now after the Blade is Me. He is not using the hollow's powers anymore but that hollow power is HIS power, so no need for the mask, whether he use his shinigami or hollow power they all came from the same root.
I feel like Kubo is truly happy that through all of his subtlties, all of his imagery and periodic hints layered through countless volumes that there's a person that is able to pick up on all of it and understand it properly. You've turned me from a casual fan to a diehard defender of this show and you are truly remarkable
6:07 Every time I imagine zangetsu siting there in ichigo's inner world slowly watching as the seemly endless down pour of rain floods his master's subconsciousness and buildings being shrunk must've felt suffocating it's no wonder why they where so aggressive when it came to his safety
at 6:00 I could hear the music playing looking at that scene lmaoo
Definitely like your take on this, but missing these form esp the activation
Truly deserving of a like❤❤
Another interesting thing though, while I dont believe the mask is gone forever, as it appears that he actively wears the mask in other ways. Such as the fulbring armour, and again, on his Shuhaksho when he completes his training at the the royal palace. His left shoulder pauldron and his lower right hip on where his sword rests, is Identical to his old hollow mask!
In short, 'The Blade is Me', after that point, There is no 'Shinigami', 'Hollow' or 'Quincy' Powers individually, they are all Ichigo's Power. Although, like in the final battle, Ichigo can tap further into a certain part of himself to counteract certain foes he opposes to better suit his strengths, with dramatic results. This is seen with the Horn of Salvation form he takes in the fight.
Ichigo is fully integrated with his hollow powers since he used the Final Getsuga Tencho (since white Zangetsu stabbed him) which is why when he got his shinigami powers back he has white accents on his Shihakusho unlike before where he had the hollow mask. Basically, Ichigo is always using his hollow powers... especially after he fought Aizen
This is what I came here for
its good to see some people dont miss the obvious.
@@abbacuspotter9232 Trust me a lot of people do miss the obvious, since Kubo doesn't like to spoon-feed information and prefers to leave little hints and foreshadowing, some people think he is a bad writter because they themselves don't pay attention to Kubo's work.
Would love a video on if Nimaiya created the aroncars zonpokto as well
I really hope they keep the masked voice when he goes HoS form though :P would be a really nice touch
Very good 2 cents. Agree with you in all of it. Kubo really knows how to link pieces of who we are and the Battles against ourselves.
always thought those x like gauntlets and the x on his chest were tattoos akin to that of hollow markings. however, it also got me thinking about his appearance and how the x's represent his quincy powers and shinigami powers connecting. this is further proven with his emergence during the second invasion as he's clad with a white x shape like vest to prop his sword behind him while also connecting to the small sword by his hip. great attention to detail
This is the reason why : Shadow integration is a process of bringing the hidden parts of the Self into consciousness. “Shadow” is a term coined by Carl Jung to describe the repressed or denied parts of the Self. It is a light metaphor for what many others have referred to as the unconscious. Ichigo by the end says " you are me " he finally integrated his shadow
i think kubo just forgot about it until he got to the part where ichigo fixes his sword. theres so many instances of kubo forgetting parts of his own story and retconning later. he's a good author but you can clearly tell he didnt plan anything out, he started writing a story and then just added and added and added, even overwriting things that was said earlier. this is easily seen when every interaction between ichigo and "old man" zangetsu for all intents and purposes looks like HE is his shinigami powers. pretty sure he even says "pull me out" or "take hold of me", something along those lines, during his shattered shaft training. kubo literally just retconned him being a younger ywach for the last arc. there was nothing to give even the slightest hint that the old man part of him was lying about what or who he was, or even hiding it. in fact, if the old man was a representation of his quincy powers then why didnt the hollow appear during his bankai training? the tool they used is meant to draw out the zanpakuto spirit, not remnants of the quincy founders soul that no one even knew existed within ichigo. 100% guarantee kubo literally just forgot about it until a chapter or two before the "everything but the rain" chapters and then was like well too late to incorporate it now.
Yeah I always thought it was just the Fullbring stuff. Since his Hollow and Shinigami powers became one, when the Fullbring calls his shinigami powers, it also called his hollow powers. That and Fullbring is a hollow ability, so it would make some sense that his mask just became part of him when he got his powers back.
The stuff that happens in the Dangai is also probably valid, though it’s less explicit, and we really have to read into the symbolism Kubo is aiming for.
I have though on this for a long time, but what if the form that ichigo takes vs ulquiorra, its not a regular hollowfication, not a "vasto lorde" form, but its resurection, I do also belive that its lizard form could aslo be its resurection, we know for a fact that visored can achive resurection thanks to tosen, and in the "hollowfied" kensei, he also doesnt look like a reg hollow, but like a resurrection, being the resurection in the arrancar, the awaken of their former hollow powers, this can also explain why they lost their consciousness when acheiving this form, and why ichigo can control horn of salvation (that can perfectly be the name of its resurecction) later in the tybw, on why ichigos resurection changes forms that many times, even if you want to count the ones seen in filer arcs and movies, that change of form might be the actual power of its resurection like yami's, or it may symbolize its resurection evolving like ulquiorra's
u bout to smack through that 200K!!!
Obviously we will never know 100 percent, but this video was very very well done. Everything makes sense and is well thought out. The hollow mask was just so iconic I wish that it was still something to summon, even if it was just one eye changing to some capacity before the Yuwa fight. The final transformation makes so much sense, the mask just made the scenes so much more iconic than a regular bankai.
By the end of TYBW the hollow mask basically just turned into one pointy boi
This is really interesting, but I also like how you bring up the Visoreds and how their masks represent a power that was beaten into submission, kept at bay, a reminder of what happened and the threat of being consumed. It makes me wonder if they could accept their powers and become a perfect union. Would pride as a shinigami get in the way of that?
I'm so looking forward to part 2, and part 3 of the thousand year blood war
The mask was just a way for ichigo to tap into the powers before he fully let the hollow and shinigami powers merge. Similarily his powers changed once he learnt and could accept his history of the trinity of powers that he has. aka "true bankai" etc etc
Good job, I have yet to see anyone else explain it so well. 5 star review sir, 5 stars.
Or 5 powers of Ichigo.