#ebtr

[dopepoisonivyoncrack]

[j-u-u-z-o]

DADDY

[miyagipointguard]

[deathberi]

aizen’s bitches

[elyonholic]

" even The Sinful you is like the Sun."

ー Bleach: TYBW Poems #11

[incorrctbleach]

BLEACH FANS HOW ARE WE FEELING??

[allofthebees]

I hope the anime fixed Everything but the Rain bc what Kubo did to Isshin, Masaki, and Ryuuken was so atrocious I can't stop thinking about it lmao

[the-sage-libriomancer]

i feel like the fact that Isshin probably spent several months learning how to be a living person post-EBTR is severely overlooked by the fandom. this man was born and raised in Soul Society, a place that is heavily modeled after feudal Japan (except worse) and also notoriously behind the times, and his only experience in the living world is as an invisible, intangible ghost. he has no fucking clue how to function as a living breathing human being in 1980s Japan. and the main people teaching him basic social skills is a mad genius with a perchance for humiliating people, an unhinged cat lady who doesn't think there's anything wrong with running around butt naked, and a persnickety househusband.

like. imagine the comedy potential.

[troius]

Bouncing off your Ichigo being sidelined discussion (which, yes, where's he been this whole arc?) One thing that really made TYBW suffer imo was the lack of inner character insight from the main squad, Ichigo and Uryu (poor boy got practically offscreened in an arc about his own people) especially, given that the supposed rift between them is meant to carry the Karakura gang side of things and only got /one/ quick scene (and where, i think, the arc being cut short suffers). Where Hueco Mundo managed to balance both Ichigo/Orihime/the Six Hearts gang, their issues and give them a narrative to follow and spent time with them and gave them genuinely compelling moments (the Lust mini arc centered around Ichigo/Orihime/Uryu/Ulquiorra remains, imo, the very best writing Kubo did, it had great art, genuinely compelling writing, good fighting and interpersonal relationships between Ichigo and the three of them, and kept us hooked because we /care/ about these characters and the despair they're going through), and made room for the SS Captains without them being overwhelming (Mayuri/Szayel was tedious, I'll give you that), TYBW really became a Shinigami fest (the extended time spent on characters like Mayuri (two fights, restores everyone's bankai, gets "closure" with Nemu and conveniently zero repercussion for his crimes against the quincies) Shunsui, Urahara and Zaraki (also two very lenghty fights) which yielded, ultimately, not all that much in terms of meaty character development and relied on a lot of convenience/deus ex machina/plot armour, and feels unsatisfying when you're waiting to get back to Ichigo and the squad where the emotional crux of the arc lies (Yhwach killed his mother & Uryu's mother, and it yields... also very little), the arc, despite being super long also did extremely little in developping the Quincies (aside perhaps from Jugram and Bazz, and even that was limited. Uryu suffered the most for it imo, but I guess showing any hint of inner conflict with him would have gone against what Kubo tried to pull with him, the anime also cut out his exchange with Jugram, where Jugram spells out for him that the blood ritual has essentially trapped him on Yhwach's side and Uryu being clearly horrified by it & Uryu's reaction to Yhwach asking him why he's alive), and dropped the ball big time on the main characters we *should* be invested in (poor poor Chad tbh). It's a shame, when you see what Kubo /can/ do with a contained story like Everything but the Rain; which had heart and character development, and made us care about Masaki/Isshin/Ryuken and Katagiri because what limited stuff we were given was actually compelling, and we're already attached to both of their kids and the friendship between them. The Gerard Valkyrie fight goes on for just as long as ebtr, features the three most popular captains, but has none of that heart (and a lot of plot convenience), which is why people bemoan it so much.

It's pretty telling that even anime fans last cour were clamoring for Ichigo to come back after episodes of mere cameos from him, but also nice to see that while Mayuri/Byakuya/Zaraki and co are popular, *Ichigo* is the one who remains the heart of the story, the nexus that pulls together the Shinigami, his gang of friends and the audience. Given that animation can oft make what feels long and tedious in manga (Gremmy vs Zaraki was one ep in anime vs going on forever in manga), the Pernida/Lille stuff should hopefully not last beyond 2/+1/2eps. With all the talk about Cour 3 having a lot of addition, I'm crossing my fingers the anime will spend more time with Ichigo/those close to him (*cough* and the dad squad) in the next parts! Visual fights are nice and all, but character relationships, conflict and depth are, ultimately, far more compelling and memorable than any Cgi flashing swordfight and brute strenght boost can do, there's a reason ppl remember the Ulquiorra stuff on the dome as the pinnacle of Bleach, and not, say, Zaraki vs Gremmy. While I'm not expecting a Lust arc round 2, if the anime team takes their time, I'm hoping the ultimate Ichigo (&co)/Yhwach showdown to be reworked into something just as compelling.

Lol I feel kinda guilty posting this because there's not much to say in response. Get yourself a Tumblog anon, otherwise I'll get all the credit for your meta!

[xoxomyseriesxoxo]

There’s something that has been irking me in the past few months... /That/ part of the fandom (that mostly was NOT here when the manga was still published weekly and when it got cancelled by SJ) changed the narrative about our reaction to the ending.

Now it’s all ‘omg mean IR shippers who are bitter over their ship not being canon!! They are terrible people!!!’ and calling us us bullies when no, you weren’t there back then where there were daily d*ath th*ats and rude asks sent to us... Not to mention we were mainly angry at the way the ending was so rushed and poorly written. We didn’t even know whether I//sshin, R//yuken, G//rimmjow (AGAIN), U//rahara and Y//oruichi were still alive or not because it was never said IN THE MANGA (because we only got an answer in light novels years later but majority of people only read the manga, not the novels that are semi-canon at best). We were angry over U//rahara’s “forgive me, K//urosaki, K//uchiki, for leaving everything to you” was somehow forgotten and the final fight with I//chigo, R//ukia and U//ryuu (who had THE silver arrow) VS Y//hwach never happened. We were angry because C//had ended up fighting for profits (profesionnal boxing) and U//ryuu ended up alone (again), overworked and working as a doctor just like his father and that go against their character arcs. We were angry because there was a whole arc and hints in the final arc clearly showing how I//chigo didn’t fit in the human world anymore and yet stayed there in the end. We were angry because the Sokyoku, the symbol of S//oul S//ociety’s old ways and injustice that I//chigo destroyed, was REBUILT. We were angry because M//ayuri was still a Captain and not in jail for his crimes. We were angry because we loved and cared for the story and the ending went against the main and side characters’ arcs and against the s//hinigami’s new ideals represented by I//chigo and R//ukia. And yes, we were angry for the pairings too because it was so badly written but most of us were fine with an open ending or IR and ISH ending but the new ‘IR would be nothing without anime filler moments’ argument is so ridiculous because even if you only look at the manga, IR was great, developed and made sense. Weirdly enough, the ones repeatedly shouting that filler “argument” aren’t saying a word about R//ukia’s scenes getting changed/deleted in the anime rn despite being the deuteragonist as if her erasure hadn’t been bad enough in the manga vers. of the final arc (same for B//yakuya scenes to a lesser extent)... But yes, our anger is mainly aimed at how poorly written the ending was, not only shipping-wise but in general. And now it’s irritating to see new fans act as if criticism that were there for a decade is not allowed towards the story or the mangaka.

While I’m watching the anime so far and I’m happy with the added scenes (especially the ones with U//ryuu concerning his heritage and the conflict he feels over the whole situation), I must say I don’t like how they deleted R//ukia scenes and B//yakuya scenes on purpose. I prefer the old characters designs as well and though and color palettes are now closer to the manga’s, the body proportions often look wrong (B//yakuya’s face, U//ryuu’s jaw to mention only a few exemples) and the lighting is horrible. I’m watching because I want to see EBTR, R//ukia’s bankai, U//nohana’s true self etc. but I do understand why fans who were in the fandom back then aren’t watching the anime or simply left the fandom given how we’re being treated and how some people are changing the narrative.

(And before my words get twisted... There’s nothing wrong with being a new fan, just don’t make up a new version as to why we dislike the ending/how we react(ed) to it. The criticism towards the writing is also more than fair and has existed even before the last arc even started.)

[dopepoisonivyoncrack]

[j-u-u-z-o]

It’s giving eggplant energy

But -

[blitzo-x-stolas]

Losing my mind over this person's angsty art on Twitter (@ TeaTheKook)

https://twitter.com/TeaTheKook?t=EBtr-Qlfa0MoGWC0CXy-EQ&s=09

[el-yon]

Do you think Ryuuken and Kanae really did loving each other romantically? I mean, Kanae was obviouslu devoted to him, but in your opinion how about Ryuuken? Is it possibly a half-hearted relationship that ended up as a marriage, because Ryuuken was kinda lost in such a painful situation?

"Ryuuken was kinda lost in such a painful situation" pretty much describes him throughout Bleach, doesn't it? Girl he was supposed to marry out of arrangement but he had feelings for gets attacked by a hollow, barely makes it out alive thanks to a bizarre spiritual move, marries a shinigami and then dies. Women he loves and becomes the mother of his child falls into a comma and dies. He tries to keep his kid away from the warring-troubles with the worst approach to it, and his estranged son befriends the shinigami-hollow-quincy-human who happens to be the son of the girl he liked and the shinigami she married, and now they have to join forces to defeat the quincy-king who is responsible for both women's deaths. OOF. Anyway, onto the ask:

I should start by saying that I am not exactly a Ryuuken deep-diver... but this ask does seem like a great opportunity to dive a tiny bit more, so thank you for this ✨-- i had a lot of fun writing this, so brace yourself !

Do I think that he loved Kanae? Yes, and I believe it was a whole-hearted relationship; despite of Ryuuken's terrible emotional aloofness and inability to express himself.

This is something to keep in mind: we know that Ryuuken is not good with expressing/receiving affection, as we have seen from how he handled things with his son. His feelings for Masaki were also ill-expressed; they only manifest in an angst-filled situation when her life is in danger and he resents his powerlessness (even though he was young, Kubo's message about his character seems pretty consistant).

And to make matters worse, we don't have any glimpses on how Ryuuken and Katagiri got together; all we know is that Masaki left the Ishida house, which was (according to Isshin) the decisive move for Ryuuken to detach himsel, and a few years later, Ryuuken and Kanae are married and with child. This may have some angst bittersweet taste to it, but this was actually a good thing. The Ryuuken/Masaki possibility got scrapped during EBTR - letting Masaki go was a post-fact liberating act for everyone involved, so I don’t think that Ryuuken got “stuck” in his feelings for Masaki. They grew up, life went on. 

But let’s dig for his and Kanae’s bond.

The nobility quincy nonsense makes it clear that Katagiri is a servant, but we have these indications that Ryuuken saw their rapport in a different light. When he talks about his mother and Masaki, he seems to confide in her - something that his character would not do if she was, in fact, “just a servant”. On the fateful events, one could say that he told her to follow him when he went after Masaki because it was her duty; but Ryuuken knew Masaki was breaking the rules. It would have been wiser to a) just send someone - Katagiri alone, for instance - but Masaki would suffer the consequences for it, or b) go by himself, that way he would guarantee to be the only one to know about it. Yet he takes Katagiri, and he is certain she will “follow his order” because he is trusting her, and this is my impression of it, but he trusts her in a more intimate manner than just duty-bound procedures. I say this because of *this* reaction:

He could have yelled at her, he could have just trapped her with the arm next to her, but he pins her wrist with his hand against the wall (I mean... come on!!... anyhow, I have come to over focus on hands, blame Kubo for his narrative style)  -- and their clashing eye contact after is really more than a master-servant relationship, methinks. Later that night, Ryuuken may try to deflect it and re-center them around formalities, but Kanae refuses to do so and exposes her feelings. Now, even though his “that’s enough” does seem cold, it seems to me that part of him, the part that tells her “let’s come back home” is actually accepting a) Kanae’s feelings, and b) his own (late) confirmation that this person right there is not just another formality, that the trust he built around her so far was not just based on quincy-duties, but on genuine affection. 

Onto speculation now, but there is another issue: Katagiri is considered “inferior”. From what we gathered so far about his family, it feels safe to assume his mother and/or other authorities (?) were not fond of the idea of her marrying into the Ishida family. Ryuuken probably went through some trouble to solidify their relationship, and I don’t think he would have done it if his heart wasn’t fully in it. 

Kanae was probably one of the very few bonds (a heart, if you will) that Ryuuken managed to build, and when she is taken from him, he looses it in a very Ryuuken fashion - which traumatizes his son on the process, not only because of the autopsy, but because of the entire aftermath. Ryuuken was probably confirming that her death did happen due to Ywach (and there is a major TYBW spoiler as to what else he finds in there), due to being a Quincy, and as if this wasn’t enough to crush him, it informs him that their son is bound for trouble in the future if he follows down the Quincy road, so Ryuuken closes himself off.

The anime showed a frame of Kanae holding Uryu (thank you SP for the heartbreak, by the way) when Isshin is telling Ichigo about her death, but the original shot was Ryuuken facing the window and a small frame of solo-Kanae. Because of the contrast of Isshin over-the-top picture of Masaki in the living room and him constantly bringing her up, it can be easy to think that Ryuuken and Kanae’s relationship was not as “loving” as Isshin and Masaki. But I don’t think that is true - these are two very different couples. Isshin and Ryuuken are two very different men, and Masaki and Kanae are two very different women, but both of them understand their respective partners and their deflection strategies - humor and aloofness -, embrace their love as they come, and build their own affection spaces, each on their own way. 

Ryuuken’s mind might have been troubled by resentment, anxiety and fears over the course of his life, but as far as his relationship with Kanae is concerned, I like to think that there was a beautiful heart right there, that he did love her as well as his emotionally troubled self could, and that amidst all his angst, he was actually happy -- even if Kubo won’t let us see that. 

[midnightactual]

We have here Viz, an English fanlation, and the original Japanese. The Japanese is:

夜一サンは普段から気分屋つスけどあの姿の時は更にブレッブレで 霊圧もそのアオリを直に受けてブレッブレになるんス

A full translation is something like:

"Yoruichi-san is usually a moody person, but when she's in that form, it's even more jumbled. Her reiatsu is also affected by that directly and becomes jumbled too."

Kisuke is using an interesting term here in ブレッブレ, which has been described as:

Originally, an adjective to describe "blur" of a photo from a camera-shake, but it is also used flip-flopping of a person's opinion or such like things, as in ボスの計画について見方はブレブレだ。昨日とったケーキの写真はブレブレだった。[Opinions about Boss' plan are mixed. The photo of the cake I took yesterday was blurry.]

In this context it would be the former case, so "mixed". But in context it's more like "jumbled", which does suggest "random" or "erratic", so you can see where the fans came up with "capricious" ("given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior").

The Japanese basically agrees with both in overall gist and really in implication, and while I settled for "jumbled" above, I think the fan translation use of "capricious" is actually a good word choice and that in this case, the fanlation is better. It's also notable that 気分屋 means exclusively "a moody person".

So, now that we know what he said, we can talk about it.

First of all, it's kind of weird for Yoruichi's good friend to be describing her as "a moody person" in front of her (even if she's supposedly "indisposed" mentally; the fact she knows the hybrid form is, in Viz's words, "that half-assed grotesque form", means either A. she remembers being in it, so she's still conscious throughout or can at least parse those memories, or B. Kisuke recorded the first run somehow, which isn't really his style) to an enemy...

... but to intensify it further by suggesting she's typically capricious, with an "even more" construction is also a strange choice, given routine capriciousness is viewed as a negative.

This is also at odds with what we know of Yoruichi. We know from SS arc and EBTR that she's not a particularly impulsive person. She prefers to approach things thoughtfully, rationally, and with a plan. We see this from her constantly berating Ichigo's recklessness, her inner thoughts on how to handle his Bankai training, and how she approaches the Hollowfication Incident.

Yoruichi is generally methodical. The person she's far and away the most capricious toward is Kisuke himself, followed by Ichigo, and that's because they both irritate her, and the former goes out of his way to do it. (It's worth remembering that in CFYOW, she's essentially described by Shinji, Kensei, and Shūhei as good-natured and the only likable noble, meaning this behavior is only really observed by Kisuke and Ichigo.)

Look carefully. Notice he's smiling here?

And here in the top-left?

And look, he's doing it again here.

Now given Kisuke absolutely knows he's riling her up because he routinely takes delight in doing so, isn't it interesting that he decides to talk shit about her right in front of her only when she's finally not in a position to do something about it—something he did to her against her will—when every other time she's either dressed him down, glared at him, or hit him for his troubles in provoking her?

Between all this and her calling him "Urahara" for a spell, I'm not really feeling the simplistic, "Teehee they are just the best of besties!" narrative that almost everyone in the fandom seems to want to buy into. (If they don't just reflexively ship them because a man and a woman just being friends? Unheard of!)

It's more complicated than that.

[rangikuxmatsumoto]

Meta; Headcanon: Rangiku’s Bankai | Suisane no Tanebi: Haineko | Waning Essence of Embers, Ash Cat

“I am ash… from your fire.”

I was convinced for the longest time that Rangiku would never achieve bankai and while I am still of mind that it is not her main objective; her notion of wanting to achieve it has changed. Back in EBTR, when Isshin insinuates that Toushiro will be the next captain of the Tenth, Rangiku protests; she knows that to be a captain (outside of the 11th), one must have the ability to achieve bankai. This shows that she is of the mindset that eventually she’ll achieve bankai because there is a slight notion that she’d ultimately be a captain one day. However, the idea of wanting to be a captain is quickly thrown out the window after Isshin’s disappearance.

As the vice-captain, she would have been the acting captain until Toushiro would have assumed the rank – I believe the two of them work more so in tandem than sole responsibilities falling upon Rangiku, but this gives her a glimpse at what being a captain could be like she decides that it isn’t for her. This puts her bankai training much more on the back burner of things until the events of the main storyline of Bleach. It is after the events of TYBW and Toushiro’s sacrifice/loss of his bankai that she decides that she needs to become more diligent about trying to achieve Haineko’s bankai.

However, Haineko isn’t exactly onboard with the notion. As her zanpakuto is more acutely aware of damage to her soul than she is; without the knowledge of what was done but much of Haineko’s laziness, moodiness and self-centered attitude is a way to deflect her from pushing her too hard. Not knowing what might happen to her, should she bear too much burden from achieving her bankai upon her fractured soul. However, for the notion of discussing what I headcanon as Rangiku’s bankai, I’m going to speculate that eventually, Rangiku is able to convince Haineko to work with her on achieving her bankai.  

The concept that I constructed back in March of 2021 is similar in concept to the fourth idea in this linked video – with some differences. First, upon the release of her bankai, a small circle of fire rapidly extends outwards in all directions, quickly reducing everything in its path to ashes – for without fire there are no ashes. The new finer ashes of Haineko are quickly dispersed into the air and are controllable just as they are within her shikai. While Haineko’s ashes can be easily blasted/blown away in the shikai state, this is still possible but due to the volume of ashes it can reassemble or build back much faster than in her shikai. Most enemies at this point will assume that her bankai is just a glorified display of her shikai and won’t take her actions seriously. After all, she’s fighting without a sword.

But this is where the truly sinister part of the bankai comes into play, for the whole-time that she has had her bankai released, her enemy has been breathing in the ashes. The longer her enemy is enveloped within Haineko’s ashes the more deadly her bankai becomes in the long run; for all she needs to do is snap her fingers and her ashes will violently rip out from her enemy’s body. This essentially could be a one-hit kill depending on the individual’s strength, durability, and depending on the length of times they have been breathing her ashes. Additionally, this action can be compounded upon, the stronger the individual, the snap could simply begin to rip apart their lungs, making it so the longer they continue they’ll eventually choke upon their own blood, if she doesn’t snap her fingers again and end their suffering. This is also a slight callback and play on Gin’s bankai, that a piece of Shinso can poison an unsuspecting enemy due to its ability to turn into ashes/particles for a split second.  

Now, there are some limitations and some hinderances to her bankai – until she has gained full mastery over it the space in which she can burn is limited to around 50 yards. However, the ashes are not limited to that space, they can and do travel with her. However, the biggest issue with her bankai is that it is not limited to affecting just enemies, it also affects friends and herself. Once she has mastery, she could be able to differentiate between who is affected but until then friend or foe would be at risk. As for her, the effects of her bankai are minor even prior to mastery, unless she is enveloped within the ashes for an extremely long period of time.

The reason I love this concept for Rangiku is that it is a literal smokescreen. Rangiku is so often dismissed due to her outward nature of laziness, but not when it comes to her fights. She is serious, she is a tactician, she’s strong, capable and shouldn’t be counted out. Her bankai would be dismissed as nothing of importance, not strong, not dangerous, but where as her serious, capable, destructive, powerful nature is hidden behind a lazy bombshell – so too is her bankai’s ability!