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Dads! Dads! Dads!

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My problem with Ichigo’s Conclusion

I have many problems with Bleach’s ending but this will be focused on Ichigo and why I am discontent with his character conclusion:

My first problem is that I believe it’s an extremely bad idea for Ichigo to have kids. Sounds strange? I just think having an overpowered kid is a recipe for disaster. Ichigo is a hybrid of every race and we saw how everybody wanted a piece of him. Everyone took advantage of his one-in-a-million genes and as we know, nobody really changed in the end of the story. So isn’t it likely that the same fate would befall Kazui?

Ichigo’s journey was two years long, starting when he was 15. Though he was already a perfect hydrid from birth, he didn’t know how to use all of his abilities from the start. Kazui is like 8 years old and he killed Yhwach’s remains and is able to open the gates off Hell. An 8 year old. Opening gates to Hell. It’s a terrible idea to pass down your genes when you’ve been deemed a Soul King Candidate. A young and impressionable kid given powers he has no idea how to control and no idea the problems using those powers may cause is bound to go very badly.

And to be clear, this isn’t personal to Ichihime. Ichigo really shouldn’t have biological kids with anyone cause the same problem would arise.

Another problem I have is the setting. Ichigo should’ve been in the Soul Society by the end of the manga. It doesn’t suit Ichigo’s character to be a part of the Gotei but he really shouldn’t be in the World of the Living. Do I think he prefers Karakura to the Soul Society? Of course. But he shouldn’t physically be able to exist there cause his reiatsu is too high and too influential.

Above all else, my number one problem with Ichigo’s conclusion is that Ichigo is aware of the Original Sin, he is aware of the severely corrupt ways of the Soul Society, he’s aware that the Soul King has been replaced with Yhwach and yet… does nothing? He’s practically living in a falsified reality cause Ichibei Hyousube rewrote the Soul Society’s history after the war and yet he is okay with it?

Whether Ichigo wanted to live in peace in Karakura or live in the Soul Society there is no in-character explanation as to why he would ignore something so huge. It’s actually doing Ichigo’s character a supreme disservice to have him ignore such blatant corruption.

Ichigo is a character that shouldn’t have been involved with the Soul Society in the first place. However, he became a Soul Reaper and broke his way through their traditions and made a real difference. He defeated their foes for them and never expected anything in return. He remained loyal to them and became someone that they had to rely on. He went to the Soul Palace and learned the root cause of Soul Society’s problems. He led them through a difficult war and came out victorious.

He learned so much and bared so much of a burden, it makes no sense for him to ignore his whole journey in favor of a quiet life. It’s inconsistent with his character arc.

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Aizen, Calligraphy and Poems (?)

In addition to getting into fountain pens, I have also started to read waka poems, which are Japanese poems. While I’m personally not interested in calligraphy as a hobby, reading about the historical aspects of Japanese calligraphy and waka poems made me curious about Aizen’s relationship with calligraphy, and by extension - poetry. We don’t know much about him in relation to those two things other than:

Aizen enjoyed Japanese calligraphy/considered it a hobby

He was so good at calligraphy that he was teaching it at the academy

Hinamori began to practice calligraphy during his captaincy and he held monthly calligraphy sessions for his squad

Aizen had a column in the Sereitei Communication called “The Yin of the Pine Needle”

Japanese calligraphy is a subject often taught to children in elementary school, but it has even older historical roots tied to professional warriors of the bushi rank (samurais are a part of this ranking system). These warriors were trained in bujutsu – were bu means war, and jutsu means technique, and budo. Budo doesn’t quite have a direct translation, but some describe it as the “martial ways to peace.” Even within budo, there were two “emphasis” students needed to focus on: 1) bu which were war and combat strategies, and; 2) bun which were Japanese literature and fine arts. Warriors of the highest ranking were expected to learn all of this, and some students were even expected to learn the flute (shakuhachi), Noh dancing (shimai) and flower arrangement (kado – which was one of Unohana’s hobbies!).

Japanese calligraphy, known as shodo was considered a vital part of a warrior’s training – so it is of no surprise that the Soul Academy, would incorporate it in their curriculum as a class, in addition to kido and sword fighting training.

But why is shodo so important to a warrior’s learning?

Well to many warriors, if sword fighting was considered a reflection of one’s mind (see my post here about Aizen and Kyoka suitgetsu), then shodo is the physical representation of the artist’s spiritual force. Shodo is more than just writing – it is a visible way to sense a warrior’s mental and physical condition. For centuries, leaders in Japan were expected to be strong calligraphers, and some of the best sword fighting masters in history, such as Miyamoto Musashi, were also regarded as some of the best calligraphers of their time.

Each brush stroke must be precise and unwavering – there isn’t room for corrections. An artist must be decisive once the brush hits the paper. The same can be said for sword fighting. You do not swing your sword “hoping” you will get a strike; you swing your sword because you are certain you will strike. Just like in any of the combat arts Shinigami must learn, mistakes are ultimately final in shodo.

Just like handling a sword, holding a brush is also a particular skill. Some teachers in shodo will grab brushes out of their students hand to check their grip. But the trick is that you can’t have too tight of a grip, as your brushstroke becomes rigid and your writing becomes static. Thus, you must be concentrated, but also relaxed. Shodo has an emphasis on balance and flowing, dynamic characters, just like with sword fighting. It’s why there’s often difficulty in painting a straight line, because your mind and body must work together as a unit. Once your brush hits the paper, your hand must paint without hesitation – your thoughts are free as they are focused on the “here” and “now” of painting. Aizen, who had a strongly concentrated mind, was also relaxed – his fight with the Gotei 13 in Fake Karakura Town is an example of this.

I already talked about this in a previous post, but Kyoka suigetsu acts as a metaphor for visualizing before striking. Shodo has a similar concept as well. Skilled artists should be able to visualize the kanji they’ll paint, and then make the decision for the first brush stroke. It would not surprise me if the Soul Academy then made calligraphy an elective because for students to be relatively decent at calligraphy, it would be a safe assumption that they would be good with a katana. Both require accuracy and skills to be effective.

Aizen was already a master sword fighter, so it is then, of no surprise, that his calligraphy skills were also unparalleled. While it’s a shame we don’t see any of Aizen’s calligraphy work, he was recognized in his skill in it that he became a teacher. I also wouldn’t be surprised if this was his way to “vibe check” students as potential conspirators with him, because of the underlying assumption that brush, katana and mind are one.

Calligraphy is just one aspect though; some calligraphers were also talented poets! One specifically that comes to mind is Sugawara no Michizane. To be honest, Aizen kind of reminded me of an evil version of him lol. Sugawara no Michizane was a poet, scholar and politician employed to the Emperor of Japan. Long story short, a political conflict arose, where two other clans working for the emperor made comments that suggested Sugawara was trying to usurp power from the Emperor. As such, Sugawara was exiled from the imperial court.

Another fun fact about Sugawara no Michizane, he had a favourite plum tree in the imperial garden! So much so that on the day of his exile, he wrote a poem for it: When the east wind blows/ let it send your fragrance/ oh plum blossoms. / Although your master is gone/ do not forget the spring. The legend goes that Sugawara missed this tree so much that it flew to him during his exile. This gave the plum tree the name: tobiume.  

Sugawara died not long after his exile, but the imperial palace, and those who wronged Sugawara, experienced dreadful things. Specifically the Emperor’s palace was destroyed through a fire… which was triggered by lightning. Such as the fall of the Sereitei during the first invasion of the Quincy after Aizen’s defeat (Sasikibe dying and Yamamoto burning Squad 1). While Aizen is indeed alive, the imperial court were incredibly superstitious and made temples in honor of Sugawara. And we have Shunsui (temporarily) releasing Aizen for the war (I admit, this connection is a bit of a reach!)

As for poetry, I again, wish we had an example of some of the things Aizen wrote, but the Yin of the Pine Needle is an interesting title for a reoccurring column! He wrote 50 volumes for it. (For context, Unohana’s column had 1041 volumes.)

In Japanese flower language, pine needles (matsuba) symbolize harmony. The “yin” in Aizen’s column’s title, is a bit more ambiguous, because yin can mean different things in this context. Yin can represent assimilation, quietness, sluggishness, psychological or spiritual work, it can also be interpreted as suppression when yin is associated with emotions. Regardless of what exact meaning Aizen’s column was meant to be, it would be a safe assumption that Aizen was publishing something that was could have been a critique, commentary or something where he’s pointing out the “harmony” either within Soul Society or something more ambiguous lol, is not what it seems.

Here are my rambles, thanks for reading! Would love for Kubo to write more Aizen, but alas! I'm always going to overthink the crumbs we get of Aizen's character lol.

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I've rewatched these few episodes this weekend and I'm really enjoying the subtle differences they've made to Aizen's character/personality from the manga.

The biggest one was the distinct lack of smugness that was present in the manga. In the manga, it was almost as if Aizen was taunting Shunsui to undo his seals, but in the anime, he looks exhausted. I also thought in "The Dark Arm" he physically looked tired with a bag under his eye (but again, might be the animation).

It could be argued it's just the lighting and such, but even in "Against the Judgment" Aizen was still cold, but not smug. I think it's a great way/tool to "humanize" Aizen by showing that his 2 years in Muken, have affected him to some degree.

Yet, he still remains cold to the Gotei 13. He's not gloating his power, it's just very "matter-of-fact" for Aizen at this point in time. It makes me curious to what further changes we'll see with his character as TYBW goes on!

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Happy Halloween 🎃🦇

Print available here:

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I don’t think anyone made one of Byakuya and Renji yet so here you go

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★ 【穣】 「 rukia & momo 」 ☆ ✔ republished w/permission ⊳ ⊳ follow me on twitter // bsky

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I always laugh whenever I remember Ichigo was depicted as Frankenstein's monster because it's perfect for him

He's a hybrid of so many contrasting things balanced together perfectly to stay alive. It'd take a miracle to do it again

Happy Bleach Halloween! 

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Saw this meme and I had to do this

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he's a bad influence and he's not doing good

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Ruri'iro Kujaku

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That only kid who failed kido in the gang (affectionate

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Art dump