Bleach/Fridge

Agents of Shinigami Arc

 * I got a bit of insight regarding Karin's crying during the Shrieker arc, early in the series. Ichigo mentioned that up until Masaki's death, Karin was as big of a crybaby as Yuzu was, but when theyr mother died she never let people see her cry so as to become stronger. When in the presence of Yuichi Shibata - a spirit trapped in a parakeet's body - their closeness in age and her own budding spiritual abilities caused her to - as she told Ichigo later - feel and all-but-witness his most vivid memory, which was his mother's murder, and it drove her to tears. Obviously, she is empathising with him because of closeness in age and similar circumstances (it's not a pain you'd want anyone else to feel like that) but it's a lot deeper than that:
 * First off, the experience leaves her bedridden the next day, evidently from emotional sickness. She's seen trembling in bed the night leading up to that, obviously disturbed. On some level, she's suddenly feeling all that grief and sorrow that she's been bottling up since then - perhaps including what she felt about her mum's death - hit her full force. That kind of emotional strain would be immense, and would certainly explain why she was hardly able to move at all (particularly while knowing that poor boy's spirit is restless in his own grief). But it gets worse, because -
 * Secondly, Yuichi saw his mother murdered protecting him, and he looks to be, what, eight or nine years old? Now, how old was Ichigo when Masaki died? What, exactly, did he wake up to that day? His mother's dead body right on top of him, and it only becomes worse when you learn that . So Karin was not only feeling grief similar to her own or empathising with Yuichi - she was pretty much feeling just how her older brother must have felt at the time! Small wonder she forced herself out of bed despite her condition to find Ichigo, and finally let it out in front of him of all people, especially when he's the one in the family she's closest to personality-wise. Talk about rolling Character Development and Myth Arc into one package, and disguising it as a Monster of the Week filler-sort of episode ... Tite Kubo is a fucking genius!

Soul Society Arc

 * The moment when was revealed to be the Big Bad in Bleach, I thought it was something like the epitome of Ass Pull, especially considering that . Then I realized that they'd probably been planning this practically since they, and if not at least a while before The Reveal, because they'd been foreshadowing it since before they . -- Snake712 User:Black Humor
 * Kenpachi's inner debate while he's fighting Tousen during the Soul Society arc turns out to be brilliant after the fact when we see what tactic he actually used. The illusion of Yachiru advises him to swing wildly, which he dismisses as useless. Ikkaku advises him to use the mind's eye, which he dismisses because he can't do it. Yumichika advises him to give up beautifully, which he dismisses indignantly. Then he gets his brainwave - since Tousen has to hold one end of the sword, if the sword is pinned in one spot, Tousen will be easy to locate and grab. The only way to pin the sword is to bury it in his body. In other words, he quits fighting in order to tank a sword to the gut, thereby letting him locate and grab Tousen. In other words, he took Yumichika's advice, after all - and he interpreted it in a way that was beautiful for his Blood Knight aesthetics.
 * During the Soul Society arc, I always wondered why Byakuya didn't just kill Ichigo on the bridge, when Ichigo and Rukia were bickering. Ichigo was clearly distracted, and he could've killed him in seconds. Then, when everything about Hisana is revealed and we see that Byakuya was a lot more conflicted than he let on, you realize he was probably stalling on purpose. He had the perfect opportunity to kill Ichigo, but waited until after Ichigo and Rukia were finished to do anything.
 * That was actually Lampshaded: Ichigo thanks Byakuya for not attacking him while he was distracted, but he simply tells him that he doesn't need to attack an enemy while's distraced to win.

Hueco Mundo Arc

 * I found the way Rukia defeated Aaroniero to be fairly interesting upon further examination. Earlier on, when Rukia used the double chant to attack him, he mentions that . When Rukia finally gets out of her Heroic BSOD caused by, she uses Shirafune, a previously unmentioned technique, to defeat him. It's actually quite interesting if you remember that . -- User:Rampulus
 * There is another instance of brilliance here. Back when Kenpachi was fighting Nnoitra, he commented on how he met many guys who claimed they couldn't be cut, much like Nnoitra. He told Nnoitra that in those experiences, he found that there was no opponent he ever fought who could survive getting their neck/throat being cut open, or being stabbed through the eye. When Hisagi, he stabbed him STRAIGHT THROUGH THE NECK, one of two parts of the body that no matter how much reiatsu you have, is not protected by a Shinigami's overflowing reiatsu, or an Arrancar's Hierro. In other words, it wasn't an event that ignored the difference in power; Hisagi simply aimed straight for the weakest spot  . It also gives a little insight into the Zanpakuto spirit Kazeshini's personality, and Hisagi's own supressed nature: he used a tactic that Kenpachi himself has used in the past, hinting at Hisagi's hidden and suppressed Blood Knight side.
 * Another piece of fridge brilliance, for those who are pulling their hair out over why Ichigo has been struggling to beat his opponents whereas Captains he'd previously bested were having better odds. You want to know why the Captains were so late? It was because Urahara had been working on stablising the Garganta (the gate to Hueco Mundo) so that Captain-Level Shinigami could pass through at full power. So chances were, because Ichigo was so impatient, he used the Garganta before it was ready (evident by Soul Society's initial refusal to participate in the rescue), and thus as a result wasn't able to use his full power in Hueco Mundo. It wasn't Badass Decay, it was Ichigo's own unwillingness to wait before going off to rescue Orihime that was holding him back. This of course only stands if he regains his badass by going back to either soul society or the human world, so until then...
 * No. He fights Grimmjow in the human world and in Hueco Mundo. He utterly gets his ass kicked in the first fight, while when he fights Grimmjow in Hueco Mundo he's only losing by a small margin in the beginning, when he has no mask and Grimmjow is unreleased. I know his hollow had something to do with his loss in the human world, but it didn't interfere until Ichigo used Getsuga Tensho, and he was getting shitkicked way before that.
 * It could maybe simply that Hueco Mundo's atmosphere is detrimental or harmful to humans and shinigami, far more than it is to Hollows. This would make sense since the world is entirely populated (with the rare exception) by Hollow creatures. So, since Ichigo has been fighting in this world for quite a while, it could be fatiguing him, impairing his ability to fight.
 * It must also be considered that Ichigo has simply been exerting himself, by running and fighting for who knows how long in Hueco Mundo. He was once, but was saved by Orihime's miraculous healing ability, and then only barely . Does that not account for battle fatigue?
 * About the Narm-King Zommari Rureaux. His powers, on a second thought, are extremely dangerous, as he has to look at your head to defeat you, so, why he's just the Septima Espada, Reishi levels besides? Because he's too dumb and careless with his powers, making him a lesser threath than other high-level Espada.
 * Hitsugaya's team practising bankai in the human world. Yumichika gives up training in frustration at his zanpakutou's refusal to cooperate with him, saying he's incapable of it. But his fights with Hisagi and Charlotte reveal he's hiding his zanpakutou's power from Ikkaku (and others), and the method he uses to achieve this is to call his zanpakutou by a name it loathes to deliberately prevent it from cooperating with him and releasing its power. Now take this knowledge back to that training session and what do we notice? Not only is the training occuring in front of Ikkaku, but Yumichika is using the zanpakutou's loathed nickname. In other words, Yumichika was deliberately sabotaging his own training to protect his secret.
 * And if you subscribe to the theory that Yumichika having a Kido-type release in a Melee-type Company is the Bleach analogue to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, like this troper does, then you may come to the conclusion that Yumichika sabotaging his training in front of Ikkaku to keep his release a secret is the equivalent of a Straight Gay cockblocking himself on purpose in front of his straight buddies.
 * Just a random thing this troper noticed - maybe a weird sort of Call Back? When a Hollowfied Ichigo is fighting Grimmjow, Orihime thinks about how Ichigo doesn't 'see' her/didn't come for her. Later on, when he's fighting, Orihime is the only thing he seems to 'see'. - Ody
 * One off the reasons why Zommari lose so quickly against Byakuya (other than misusing his powers?) When you think carefully about it, Byakuya's power is perfect against a power like the one of Zommari. Against another opponent things may have gone differently...

Fake Karakura Town Arc

 * A similarly interesting moment comes when Tousen is taken by surprise . Hisagi and Komamura had set out to open Tousen's eyes, and it just so happens that Tousen enables him to see. Tousen, the first person to accept Komamura despite his appearance, denounces him as ugly, and relying on his sight instead of the other senses that helped him become a Handicapped Badass, doesn't notice, and Hisagi comments that he should have been able to avoid it if he were blind. In a tragically ironic sense, Komamura and Hisagi succeeded in opening Tousen's eyes, but in so doing, revealed how far he had fallen, and  -- User:Rampulus.
 * For years, fans were wondering why Soul Society puts up with Ichigo. I mean, yeah, he's deciently powerful, but since all he does on a normal basis is kill Hollows, how does that justify them forgiving him for running into Hueco Mundo and playing right into Aizen's hands?
 * In chapter 392, many people, including I, has wondered why Ichigo didn't start yelling at the captains until after they had torn apart . And then the personal epiphany: He was yelling from the beginning, but since
 * Another long running head scratcher was why Aizen even bothered to retreat after the reveal in the first place - given his game breaker power why didn't he just finish it then? It only got more confusing as he causally discards the espada who were supposed to be the reason he was spending time building up in Las Noches in the first place. Then finally he owns up in chapter 393 that Yamamoto actually could kick his ass due to the sheer power of his Zanpakutou - and his counter?
 * Speaking of which, the reason Aizen fears Yamamoto's Zanpakuto? Flames cannot be hypnotized, so his Shikai would have no effect.
 * The Deicide chapters reveal that Aizen's actions were also supposed to awaken the Hogyoku to his will and allow him to achieve godhood. The battle in Karakura town was so that he would fight captain level opponents with the Hogyoku implanted in him; without it, the lucky hit Ichigo landed on him after Yamamoto's 96 kido attack would have seriously wounded him.
 * And now, everything seems to be falling into place. Aizen has revealed that  I'm probably overanalyzing this, but it makes sense. Why send a captain and Lieutenant to the human realm?   Why let them run amok in SS?   Why not, after he's stirred things up, just kill Ichigo, who is a distraction at best?   Why keep Grimmjow alive?   Why leave, Uliquorra, of all people, behind?
 * In a bit of a tie-in with the above troper's entry, I never really thought much about Aizen's comments to Ichigo during the Soul Society arc; that is, until the most recent chapters when Aizen said  I reread the Soul Society scene just recently and realized: as he goes through the Negacion, Aizen says to Ichigo, "You were interesting... for a human."
 * And it seems that Aizen's got to be omniscient to see it all coming, but at least it makes some sense of the situation.
 * Here's one- in both his fight against Ichigo and Komamura/Tosen, Kenpachi Zaraki has grabbed the blade or arm of his opponent- and then against Nnoitra, the first opponent where he's in danger of dying, it won't help him, because Nnoitra has six arms.
 * Halibel. Her Aspect of Death is "sacrifice". The manga never gets into this, so it seems like a bit of an Ass Pull, right? Yeah, that's what I thought until the anime got more in depth about it. While everyone's commended Halibel on how close and friendly she is with her Fraccion, and how much she hurts after their deaths (especially in comparison to the Espada who are indifferent to or outright abuse their Fraccion), they didn't realize that she's actually the CRUELEST of them all. Halibel's element of sacrifice isn't referring to herself--it's referring to them. Unlike the other Fraccion, Halibel has specifically trained her Fraccion to kill themselves in order to help her cause. They're essentially suicide-bombers, which explains why they do the most damage of any other Fraccion in the series. And the reason Halibel lets herself get close to them is so that when they die, she can kick their killers' ass that much harder.
 * Also rather minor: This troper found the Kyoraku vs. Starrk battle to be rather anti-climatic. (Kyoraku stabs/slashes Starrk in the hollow hole, killing him.) Because, really with all the damage Bleach characters take, that's going to be what kills the Primera Espada? However, I read through some of the earlier chapters and realized that Kyoraku stabbed Starrk in the same spot where Byakuya stabbed Ichigo, causing Ichigo to lose his Shinigami powers the first time!
 * Aside from the fact this troper found Kyoraku's efficient last attack to be more satisfying than an over-blown 'final battle super power...thing', she has limited knowledge of Bleach canon and so wonders whether Starrk dying in the specific manner mentioned above suggests he may not be dead, merely depowered.
 * And THIS Troper questions how stabbing Starrk in the Hollow hole would have any effect at all, since it's, y'know, a whole. Remember when Zaraki stabbed Nnoitra through the eyepatch and - surprise! - that's where his Hollow hole is? Same thing.
 * (previous troper) Eh, right, it doesn't work. However, IIRC Nnoitra's hole was just that - you could see through it - whereas Starrk's is just black and Kyoraku appears to stab straight through it. Given the colour's there, perhaps for the purposes of the game the lack of a physical target doesn't matter. Flimsy, I know, but the premise of the crazy-ass shikai does make a 'any colour counts' rule seem appropriate in its lack of sense.
 * His shikai just became a lot more broken if that's the case. Irooni Black at nighttime would be a 1-hit KO if its rules count non-illuminated voids as black.
 * Actually, long after suggesting that I've recently re-watched the episode where Starrk dies and it appears that while the colour called is 'black' and the shot focusses in on Starrk's Hollow hole, the actual hit is diagonally across his chest, not just in/over the hole. The 'black' referred less to any colour on Starrk and merely the power-up Kyoraku gained from calling it when he was wearing only his black clothing (the slow loss of his 'colourful' image being another minor well-done bit) since in Irooni the damage caused is related to the risk to the 'attacker' meaning what he is wearing most of.

Deicide Arc
1. Gin's attempt to kill the "god" Aizen 2. Aizen's attempt to kill the "god" The Soul King
 * People have been ripping on the Deicide arc for the longest time due to the misspelling of its name. The correct spelling is Decide, right. Wrong.
 * On that topic, Gin's Bankai, Kamishimi no Yari, means "God-Slaying Spear".
 * Urahara on the other hand
 * Also, why use 'deicide' as a name? After all, Aizen might be ridiculously powerful, but he's not God. Firstly, remember that at the end of the Soul Society arc, he proclaimed he'd "stand atop the heavens"? Uh... he more or less managed that. Secondly, it's generally accepted among theologians and some philosophers that a 'true' god cannot die (basically, that deicide is impossible).  A case of God Is Evil?
 * The "Deicide" chapter title could actually be seen as a double entente:
 * I always wondered what took Gin so long to  since he would've succeeded if he had just done it earlier. I realized that Gin couldn't have done it earlier even if he wanted to. That moment was the only time Gin knew it was definitely Aizen. In Soul Society and Hueco Mondo, there were plenty of arrancar and shinigami around to be decoys for Aizen. For all we know, Aizen could've been chilling in a secret room the entire time while hypno-generated Aizen interacted with shinigami/arrancar. Hinamori in Fake Karakura was Tite Kubo's example of why Gin  . When they entered the real Karakura town, it was the only time when he knew the real Aizen must be there and the two were alone. The reason Gin carried Rangiku away was.

Lost Substitute Arc

 * Fridge Brilliance AND Fridge Horror.
 * A bit of Fridge Brilliance from reading chapter 461. It explained why Rukia's actions in the beginning were illegal! Why would transferring one's powers to a human be illegal unless it had done before? Laws are rarely made preemptively. To me, it made the whole series make more sense.
 * Fridge brilliance is an accidental interpretation but Kubo's set this information up for a long time so it's not really fridge brilliance, it's more a case of tying up loose ends or at least answering questions some fans have had for a very long time: In Chapter 1 Rukia knew this method of transferring power to a human existed, so it was obvious even then that there had to be a history of it happening. The fact it was against the law simply reinforced that notion. Then there was Ukitake at the end of the Soul Society arc when he gave the substitute badge to Ichigo, telling him it was given to any substitute that proved useful to Soul Society and the badge was invisible to humans because it was dangerous in the wrong human's hands. That immediately told us that Ichigo wasn't their first substitute and it even inferred that they must have had substitutes that didn't prove useful as well as proving useful. Then there's the idea of actually knowing that a substitute's badge is a problem if it falls into the wrong hands, suggesting that it's happened in the past for them to know about it. Yes, Kubo's given a lot of information for fans to ask questions about for a very long time. It's nice to see him addressing it at last.
 * Remember waaaayy back when
 * It also explains why they were so quick to trust a guy that had just committed breaking and entering on a military facility and assaulted high-ranking officers based on his own personal ideology. It might have been correct at the time, but its still not a terribly trust-building thing to do.
 * As of chapter 479, there's been some changes in Soul Society after Ichigo's 17 months out of action. Namely, things like . And then the realization: after Aizen's incarceration,
 * Which only means it's the calm before the storm...
 * There is also the caption at the end of Deicide 18 [The End], which says "Time Stops...!/Enough to stop time...!".

Filler

 * Fridge Brilliance: Why have Kageroza and Nozomi gained such a reputation as Mary Sues?  Exactly like a bad Fanfic writer might make a character that's essentially him/herself but with Superpower Lottery winning powers.

1000 Year Blood War Arc

 * The reason why Ikkaku was never forced to become captain along with Renji right after Aizen's betrayal is because Yama's lieutenant is exactly the same as them.  because he strictly kept his loyalty to Yama and no one else. Yama is no idiot. He would've known Ikkaku had Bankai, but because he was strictly loyal to Kenpachi, he respected his wish because he has a lieutenant who is exactly the same.

Zapakuto and Bankai

 * I first thought Zangetsu (Slaying Moon) was named that just because it sounded cool then I realized what the name meant when Byakuya told Renji about the monkey and the moon. When Byakuya told that it was impossible to capture to moon, then I realize that not only can Zangetsu capture the moon, but he can also slay it. The name means it Zangetsu can do the impossible which fits into how Ichigo always pulls off miracles.
 * Not to mention, after his second fight (and defeat) with Ichigo, Renji (who's zanpakto's a baboon) realized he had to stop aiming for the moon (i.e. thinking that killing Ichigo will solve Rukia's predicament).
 * Too minor to be truly 'brilliant', but this troper found Ukitake's shikai - though all too-convenient for the circumstances, thanks author - rather neat. He can't really rely on his own strength, so he turns others' against them. Although the manipulation of power and speed Starrk calls 'malicious' could be cause for concern.
 * It's been somerhing of a running gag that Hanataro is oddly popular with women. Well, guys with big swords are compensating for something, right? Hanataro's shikai is TINY. Perhaps he is compensating for the opposite? On the other end of the spectrum, Gin's bankai extends 200 feet. Doesn't seem to effect his popularity with female fans, though....
 * Well Gin's Shinso isn't that big either, sure it can extend but its normal size is not much bigger than a knife
 * There is a correlation between a Shinigami's physical appearance, their Reiatsu, and their Zanpakuto. This would explain the outlandish haircolors that many characters have, among other things. -Rock Lee Your Face
 * For starters, Ichigo. His hair is orange (color of the Sun) and his Zanpakuto is Zangetsu (Slaying Moon).
 * Then there's Toshiro. His hair is white and his Zanpakuto is an Ice type. His Reiatsu is white and was said to feel "cold".
 * Renji has red hair (and red Reiatsu), and Zabimaru's Bankai form resembles a snake with a red mane.
 * And though we haven't actually seen her use her Zanpakuto, Yachiru fits this as well, to an extant. Her hair is pink, the color of her Reiatsu.
 * Though certainly questionable, Izuru Kira might fit this. He has one angular bang that hangs over his eye, and his Zanpakuto's released form looks like a normal Zanpakuto except that the blade is in the shape of three right-angles.
 * Ikkaku's shaven head is reminiscent of buddhist monks. His bankai is a combination guan-dao and chinese monk-shovel, weapons strongly associated with chinese fighting monks.
 * Yumichika's feathers (multi-coloured in the manga, solid red and solid yellow in the anime) are an obvious link to his peacock-themed zanpakutou. However, while his eye colour is the same wisteria-purple shade that's reminiscent of his zanpakutou's fake name Fuji Kujaku, his zanpakutou's real name is Ruri'iro Kujaku, Azure Peacock. In Feng Shuai and Japanese colour schemes, the natural and spiritual colour complement for azure is orange. That is exactly the colour Yumichika's been using to accessorise his uniform.
 * I've never really payed much attention to his eye color, but damn, that's pretty interesting now that I think about it. A Zanpakuto is made from your soul, and reflects who you are as a person. Yumichika's eyes are wisteria-purple, the color that Ruri'iro Kujaku absolutely can't stand. Does that mean that Yumichika isn't as proud of his appearance as he says he is?
 * Yes, it does raise the question of whether or not he hates his eyes. His volume poem also reveals that he doesn't think people are capable of being beautiful, and only flowers can be. It seems that Yumichika's very much not what everyone thinks he is.
 * I just realized that Ruri'iro Kujaku's hilt is also purple. And in a hillarious scene in the anime, Yumichika is hitting a rock with his Zanpakuto because Ruri'iro kujaku won't cooperate with him. Perhaps Ruri'iro is ticked off that Yumichika is wearing a purple shirt.
 * I think that has more to do with the name-calling. Remember that Yumichika only ever uses the name Fuji Kukaju to make his zanpakutou refuse to cooperate with him? And remember that he'd rather die than reveal his sword's abilities in front of Ikkaku? Now look at that training scene again. Ikkaku is present and Yumichika is using the name Fuji Kujaku. Whether or not Yumichika was genuinely angry with his sword in that scene, he had deliberately provoked it.
 * That's an interesting way to look at it. I didn't give the scene serious thought, due to it's seemingly played for laughs nature. It's very possible that wearing the wisteria-purple shirt, using the name Fuji Kujaku, and hitting Ruri'iro Kujaku against the rock were all done to keep Ruri'iro from using his actual shikai ability.
 * I don't know if this is significant or not, but Four Is Death and so is purple (in Japan, at least). Purple happens to be the color of squad 11. Yumichika is supposed to be fourth seat, but says the kanji for four is ugly. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but I can't help but wonder if there is some kind of meaning here. I don't think it's a coincidence that Ruri'iro Kujaku's hated color happens to be the color of the squad that Yumichika is in.
 * In another case of possible overthinking, purple is also a colour "beautiful boys" used to wear to advertise their role involved with other men. It's recorded that not all "beautiful boys" liked this role and were only doing it because they had to. The reluctant "boys" had to hide their dislike of their situation and were eager to discard the purple. Once able to, they could now engage in their own preferences (for many, this meant having heterosexual relationships and getting married).
 * Soifon is very small and short, and her hair is reminiscent of a butterlies antenna. She also wears black with a yellow sash around her waist, giving her a hornet-like appearance. Her Zanpakuto is Suzumebachi (Hornet). It's Shikai looks like a giant stinger, and it leaves a butterfly shaped mark on those it stings.
 * May I nominate Ichigo's bankai? The first time it was used he managed to (marginally) beat Byakuya, a man who has had his bankai for what one can assume is centuries. When you sit down and think about the abilities of most bankai, Ichigo's bankai seem pretty basic right?... That's the point! Ichigo's bankai is covering his lack of experience by giving him a bankai that's easy to use. He's more a brawler and good at close combat, so wouldn't increased speed and strength from a easy-to-use bankai help with his fighting style? - Average NOOB
 * Captains normally need 10 years training with their bankai after gaining it meaning that they have to center their fighting style on their bankai. Ichigo's bankai, however, fits around his fighting style rather than forcing him to change it when he uses his bankai.
 * It goes even further - excepting when he fires off Getsuga Tenshou, he keeps his power quite focused and "around him" most of the time, "cloaking" himself in it just like Chad noted. When we compare the style of his bankai to the captains, it becomes obvious pretty quickly that the majority of them are the opposite. Big, flashy effects that get just tossed all over the place, with their weapons/effects of said weapons sometimes becoming these big, vulnerable, flailing behemoths (Hitsugaya and Komamura being the two biggest offenders in this case.) This might even be why some of the Fullbring arc fights the Captains were involved in so recently ended up playing out like they did - they're starting to see how effective his style is, and are trying it his way now. Doing things quickly and efficiently instead of throwing power all over the place might end up being the new norm.
 * Thanks for making me realize that above troper. Another plus for Ichigo is that he stays in his bankai longer then should he be, making me question why at first. Sure he has a crap ton of reiatsu but so do most captains. This makes me think that EVERY bankai(bar Ichigo's) sacrifices most of their reiatsu to enter bankai. Ichigo's just takes a little reiatsu to activate and leaks off little leading to why he just sits in it even an hour after a fight with no minus whatsoever. So with the fight with Byakuya he didn't just overwhelm him but also wear him down by just showcasing his speed. Hell, the longest time we have seen him hold it is from when he fought (in order) Ulquiorra, lost, came back, killed Ulquiorra, healed injuries, saved Rukia, fired a Gestuga at Yammy(Yami?), walked through the Garganta with Unohana for what can be assumed to be an hour BEFORE she offers to heal his reiatsu. And through all that he ended up at 40-50%. In terms of time that's round about 2-3 hours. Just wow. - Averge NOOB

General

 * Loads of fans have been complaining of . However it becomes brilliance when you realise that most of the bad guys only got swords and their new powers after the soul society arc, while the soul reapers have been training for hundreds of years in most cases. So logically the good guys SHOULD be out-fighting them at every turn
 * However, that doesn't explain how Ichigo was in the exact same situation earlier (with his foes having hundreds of years worth of experience compared to his few months) with him pulling out several wins against the captains, aside from his status as the main protagonist. --@/Megadoomer
 * claims that this was because he planned it. Whether or not this makes it any better, or whether you even believe it for that matter...
 * This is subtly addressed in the recent manga arcs (Fullbring stories.) It makes sense when you look at the Soul Society as a whole, and then look at Ichigo. Soul Society, until recently, has been largely unchanging over hundreds of years - rather stagnant. Ichigo on the other hand, had to go through some rapid changes in a pretty short amount of time. His powers came from an urgent need. The rest of the Soul Reapers developed their powers rather slowly, due to the nature of Soul Society apparently making them think they "have all the time in the world." Cut to present-day, and we find guys like Renji and Shuhei immediately going out after the Arrancar crisis ended, to train and get stronger instead of just "patiently waiting for it to happen." Renji himself admitted to having trained to try to be strong enough to take on Aizen. The whole thing was a huge wake-up call to Soul Society at how complacent they'd gotten.
 * Captain Retsu Unohana, an extremely powerful woman implied to be the most Badass of them all, is the leader of Squad 4, a healing squad. A fairly arbitrary number assignment, right? Well, Four Equals Death, in case we needed even more hinting that she is the epitome of awesomesauce.
 * She's also the head of the squad that does all the healing. Surely someone with all the knowledge on how to heal someone would know how to kill them with relative ease, no?
 * When the first chapters with Hirako Shinji were revealed, my first thought was, "Hey, he looks familiar." I shrugged it off when I realized that nobody in the cast knew him. But when I went back to reread some of the earlier books in order to prepare material for a fanfiction, I noticed that familiar face in THE TITLE PAGE FOR CHAPTER ONE. Seriously. Either Kubo seriously slipped up, forgot to add one of the characters he designed for the class, and had to make up for it by throwing him into the mix later, or he is a genius who planned that entire story arc from the very beginning. Either way, it's brilliance. --User:Silver Shoelaces
 * Upon further inspection, we see a blonde girl, along with someone with spiky black hair (doesn't look like Kenpachi's) and a girl with reddish hair whose faces are obscured. More future characters? ...Actually, that one with reddish hair seems a bit like Yachiru... -Dragoryu3000
 * This troper guesses that it's something of an "executive/story change-induced fridge". If you look at the start of the series, it seems to be intended to take place in the real world, in a sentai-ish way. In such scenario, the whole vaizard thing is just at home with no problems, which can be taken to mean that the arc was already planned. However, for whatever reason, we got the Soul Society arc interrupting it. It's quite evident when you take into account that the starting arc established our main heroes as Ichigo, Ishida, Chad, Orihime and Rukia and then suddenly all but Ichigo vanish for pretty much the whole arc, also, you can notice a shift in the story dynamic. Come the vaizards, things more or less revert to what they once were (training sessions, more light-hearted despite all, characters dress differently again, etc).
 * Another bit about Shinji: the other day, I just realized that Shinji's Shikai release was already alluded to waaaay back. When introducing himself to Ichigo's class while posing as a student, Shinji wrote his name backwards on the board, and explained that he has a gift for reversing things. Then there's the more obvious walking around town upside down in midair... It might just be what he's comfortable with.
 * Orihime's power in regards to her characterization. Orihime is an idealist. She exists in a very violent world, yet refuses to fight unless she's under really terrible pressure. She used to see Ichigo as her Prince Charming, her Knight in Shining Armor, until she realized that is simply wasn't the case. The girl was pretty much living in her own little fantasy world to cope with her HUGE troubles, which is why yanking her out of it and making her face a reality so alien to her own left her so distraught. So what do her powers do exactly? Reject reality.
 * Also in regards to Orihime, the reason why Loly and Menoly hate her even more after  is more' complicated than just being Ungrateful Bitches. To start, Hollows/Arrancar/Espada/etc. as a whole   And here, two Arrancar girls (Hollows who have removed their mask and gained Shinigami-like powers) have witnessed   What is a Crowning Moment of Awesome for Orihime, in the view of these two girls (and specially Loly, who had a better look at all of this than Menoly since, yanno, she was horribly mutilated by Grimmjow yet she was not dead) is , which explains the whole "she's a monster" deal; while it is about Yandereism to quite a degree, it also involves one hell of a Mind Screw for Hollows/Arrancars/etc.
 * Hollows, beings that are born from death, despair and fear, are being faced with a being who  so that events do not occur. Taken in this context,   is less like an angel of mercy to these two and more like Cthulhu from their perspective. A being whose nature and abilities are so alien that they outright defy explanation. Considering this, its understandable that they would react less than pleasantly to what happened to them. -- Other tropers
 * Further to the above point on Orihime's character in relation to her powers - there's a very specific reason why Orihime actually used to be useless on the battle field, and it's not any kind of limit on her power. It's been heavily alluded to that Orihime's power is pretty much limited by her own imagination. Naturally, when it comes to helping people, her healing powers can reverse pretty much anything. However, think about who Orihime is. She wouldn't hurt a fly if she could help it. She can take down random hollows like that mook that was attacking Tatsuki in the school because it's monstrous in appearance, and they'll hurt more people if she doesn't attack. Place a humanoid enemy in front of her, and will take her a while to see that she should consider them an enemy, and she simply cannot attack them unless it's really needed. This is why Tsubaki's power will always be the most limited of her set.
 * Actually, about Tsubaki... let's analyze the Shiten Koushun aka Shield of Four Heavens' Resistance. How is it formed? Via adding Tsubaki to the Three God Reflection Shield, thus making him turn a defensive barrier into an offensive weapon. Tsubaki is the weakest of the six Rikka spirits as well as the one who's less like her, personality wise; and the ones forming the Reflection Shield (Hinagiku, Lilly and Baigon) are relatively similar to her in character. This means that, if she wants to join the battle effectively, Orihime must accept to use Tsubaki yet not by simplu sending him off towards the enemy (like many of her haters want her to), but by integrating him to the side that she dominates the most. Only by using Tsubaki in combination with Hinagiku, Lily and Baigon she can draw his attack potential... mirroring how Orihime must now fight alongside Ichigo, Chad and others if she wants to not stay behind. Also, when was the Shiten Koushun seen first? When she and Ichigo were attacked by Ginjou. Who was actually a humanoid enemy ; This means that Orihime either is working on the issue mentioned above, or has already gotten past behind it.
 * As for her Santen Kesshun (Three God Reflection Shield)? It too, is not the fragile thing it seems to be. it is specifically stated to Reject an attack and it's consequences. It stands to perfectly good reason that it doesn't matter if the shield shatters instantly or not - anther can always be thrown up. What matters is that whether the shield shatters or not, it genuinely DOES reject the attack that hits it.
 * The anime has the attacks Lanzador Verde (Green Lance) and Projectile Azul (Blue Projectile) colored Magenta and Yellow respectively sounds dumb at first then the brilliance: Green/Magenta and Blue/Yellow are both cases of "opposing" colors.
 * The opposing colors to blue and green are orange and red, respectively. This time, they just screwed up.
 * Orange/Blue and Green/Red are complimentary subtractive colors (colors of pigment), Green/Magenta(Violet) and Blue/Yellow are complimentary additive colors (colors of light).
 * Why is Mayuri's favorite hobby reading every single word of Shinigami Communications from cover to cover? Because when he was locked up in isolation in the Maggot's Nest, that was the only thing he had to do with his time!
 * Kyoraku's...striking choice of clothing isn't just 'stylish', it corresponds to his zanpakuto's colour game. The potential for an opponent landing a hit for Massive Damage is greatly reduced by Shunsui wearing so many colours at once on top of his black and white uniform. The whole business of 'games' revolving around killing your opponent also sums up his behaviour rather nicely as Crouching Moron Hidden Badass, as it's not clear he's pretending as per Obfuscating Stupidity.
 * When you look at Neliel, it appears that her hollow hole is missing or hidden. If you remember, Hollows gain there holes when they lose their hearts. When you think about it, this explains her personality and actions. Because she's the only arrancar/espada that hasn't lost her heart.
 * But if she hadn't lost her heart then she wouldn't have become a Hollow in the first place. It is possible she 'regained' her heart, though. The same could be said for the hole-less Harribel.
 * Except that, according to the most recent manuals, Harribel's Hollow Hole is located in her womb, covered by her skirt. So, no, she's not hole-less.
 * When if found out that Ggio Vega's seiyuu could speak Spanish, I wondered why it he didn't pronounce the Spanish words right. Then it hit me: just because the voice actor can speak the language, doesn't mean the character can. It's possible that all Hollows and Arrancar are originally Japanese souls who gained foreign names upon Hollowfying. Remember Grand Fisher? Bulbous G? Numb Chandelier? Orihime's brother Sora who became "Acidwire"? Although these could be code names given to them by Soul Society (they seem to be more decriptive than they seem to be actual names), I doubt so many people would be able to speak Japanese if their names were indicative of where they originated: Yammy Llargo, Dordonii Alessandro del Socaccio, Gantenbainne Mosqueda, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Zommari Rureaux, Szayelaporro Grantz, Coyote Starrk...
 * Grimmjow is able to run through Luppi on his arm, showing enough strength with his fingers to pierce flesh. This troper was watching a show about animal-inspired Kung Fu, and Tiger Style artists train their fingers to have this kind of power.
 * Look at Mayuri's speech about perfection, about how becoming the absolute best would only stunt your growth, as it offers nothing more to learn or overcome, and that for scientists especially, perfection would only bring about despair. Now, analyze what just happened by the end of the Deicide arc: . Coincidence or is Kubo smarter than we give him credit for?
 * Ichigo's hair is the color that Asians get when the BLEACH it..geddit? BLEACH it? (Corniness)
 * Harribel as an Espada has more raw power than Ulquiorra (though probably not his rankless second transformation), coming up behind only the former king of Hueco Mundo and a Hollow who leaks enough energy to kill most things around him. Yet in her anime-only flashback, she gets her Vasto Lorde butt kicked by a former Adjuchas. Maybe the Hougyoku provides that much of a power boost. Maybe her opponent was a Wonderweiss prototype, an Arrancar that swapped its mind and not its high-speed regeneration for power. But what we do know about Harribel is that she rejects power gained by killing and eating others. She would have had to do that to reach Vasto Lorde stage, and only then stop, stunting her growth and keeping her near the level she was when she initially evolved. The Hougyoku unlocks all possible potential, powering Harribel up all the way without her gaining her power the usual Hollow way.
 * So Szayel Aporro's Hollow hole is located . Then you realize that the smallest Hollow hole we've seen was no smaller than that you could fit a golf ball through with maybe 1/4 of an inch of free space on each side.   Fridge Horror or Fridge Brilliance?
 * Maybe
 * It is forbidden to transfer Shinigami powers to a normal human. Reason? Aizen and Shao-Long said it themselves. Basically(paraphrased and summarised): " A dead soul be it Shinigami or Hollow has a set point to where their power can reach. After that they stagnate and their power stops growing." They ARE dead so that's "DUH" right? Humans, however, keep growing and we age. The dead don't. Ichigo is basically a result of why that law is in place. If the law wasn't in place what would stop, say a Shinigami from having 3 kids, have 3 Shinigami transfer their power to the kids, give them training from hell akin to Ichigo, help them master their growing powers then have 3 kids end up like Ichigo near the end of the Deicide Arc? Yeah... In case your lost, it's to make sure no unstoppable gods are made.
 * Before his supposed death Aizen pointed out that Rukia transferring her powers was a minor offense at most and the Shinigami constantly express surprise at how powerful Ichigo and (during the Soul Society arc) the rest of his friends are. They clearly don't expect humans to get that kind of power. Besides the flashbacks we see of Renji, Byakuya, Suifon, Ikkaku and Yumichika suggest they weren't as powerful as they are now, implying that Shinigami can increase their power. - Grant
 * " A dead soul be it Shinigami or Hollow HAS A SET POINT WHERE IT'S POWER CAN REACH. After that they stagnate and their power stops growing." I wasn't suggesting that the others had reached their peak. I always figured they could get stronger if they weren't lazy and made the effort. Urahara did say that when a soul is in danger, its reiatsu increases dramatically. Ichigo soul has been through A METRIC BUTTLOAD of danger and he always comes out stronger due to this. the others have too but not to the extent Ichigo's has. - Average NOOB
 * There is a very good reason why the Espada did not matter that much in Aizen's plans, the same way Gin and Tousen didn't matter that much in the end. It all goes back to Aizen's claims about Ichigo being what he needed for his research. Aizen did not need the Espada, since he showed he could defeat the Shinigami Captains all with his own power, aside from Yamamoto; he did not need Tousen or Gin either, one who desired vengeance for his friend's death, and the other who wanted revenge against Aizen. So why did he recruit all of them, and create the army of Arrancar? Curiosity. And a smoke-screen. The Espada were nothing more than a "false army" to distract Soul Society from his true goals, goals which had to do with Ichigo's developing power, and him becoming a "Being that transcends Hollow and Shinigami". Aizen didn't need the Espada, or Tousen and Gin to help him take on the Royal Guard and the Soul King: he believed that, once he became a Transcendental Being, he would not need anyone's assistance. Every single character, both on soul Society's side and on Aizen's side were hoodwinked.

Fridge Horror

 * Chizuru's Karakurizer suit is designed to rape enemies. And Mizuiro was supposed to be the fifth member!
 * So.... Mizuiro was supposed to wear a suit designed for a woman! Oh Noes!!
 * Ichigo's fullbring has  and Allows any fullbring to be worn. Thing makes the powers of  so much more powerfull now that they're not
 * Actually
 * A little bit of extra brilliance here as to why  were so easily curbstomped..
 * Unohana. No, seriously. As pointed out near the top of this page, someone who is particularly skilled at healing would also be particularly skilled at killing. However, since she has a whole squad of healers under her command, and is herself an accomplished healer, you won't die unless she lets you. Suddenly, her scaring the shit out of everyone in Soul Society (including squad eleven, whose leader is Kenpachi Zaraki) becomes somewhat less funny, and a whole lot more terrifying.
 * She's to healing what Yamamoto is to mass destruction in Soul Society; one you don't want to anger but can't really do without. Ukitake comments at one point about there being no-one capable of replacing Yamamoto, and it's not far-fetched to think the same applies to Unohana because, in her own area, she is just that much better than anyone else. Like the old man, she has some recent examples; her helping Ichigo as he traveled to fight Aizen, and then able to save Hiyori from being cut in two. Now, if some villain has sense they'd target the old captains, not the kids...
 * How long did Riruka keep that guy she "fell in love with" hidden away?
 * In Bleach, Ukitake has been sick with Tuberculosis for at least a century. It doesn't seem unreasonable that this would have been considered a seriously debilitating disease at the point he caught it, as it was known to kill people pretty effectively in the past. However, now, in the 21st Century, TB is quite cureable, and Soul Society has been shown to possess technological advances far beyond the mortal world. So, this leaves FOUR disturbing possibilities:
 * 1) Soul Society is so out of touch with the human world that they haven't even bothered to notice that a deadly disease that affects a Captain's job performance has a cure.
 * 2) Soul Society knows this, but decides that curing Ukitake's condition is either impossible or impractical for any number of political/sociological reasons.
 * 3) Shinigami physiology is SO foreign compared to humans that either a cure wouldn't work or the disease has spent a century mutating into something even more horrific.
 * 4) People are stuck with certain diseases after they die, imprinted onto their spiritual body in a constant incurable state for all eternity.
 * Those are all very good explainations, but Ukitake was never said to have Tuberculosis. The fans just assumed he did because he coughs up blood, which happens to be a sympton of many diseases- not just TB. TB is contageous so if it was TB, I wouldn't put Ukitake in a position where he is in contact with a lot of people (like a captain is....). Also, he comes from an aristocratic family and has siblings, so I seriously doubt that he was born in the human world. In the Bleach character book SOULS, it says that he contracted the disease when he was young, so he wasn't born with it. We also know from the incident with Hisana that people in Soul Society can become sick despite being healthy in the human world. I think it's safe to say that these are diseases unique to Souls, and far beyond what could be cured by human methods. And if Soul Society had a way to cure Hisana, I'm damn sure Byakuya would have used it.
 * I went to The Other Wiki and found this piece of info: "When people suffering from active pulmonary TB cough, sneeze, speak, sing, or spit, they expel infectious aerosol droplets 0.5 to 5 µm in diameter." Yeah. If Ukitake has TB, his squad is totally screwed. Incurable Cough of Death, indeed.
 * Soul Society itself is arguably this. While the Shinigami-dominated system isn't so odd in shonen series, stop to consider what we know about parts of Soul Society from Yachiru's flashbacks, the occasional genocide of artificial life forms and the fact that some of the most important captains unrepentent murders. Suddenly Soul Society is more like a military-dominated state that doesn't seem to care much about much beyond keeping itself in power. Heck, if it wasn't for Aizen's really dickish actions his efforts would seem much more reasonable.
 * Ashido Kano. Everything about the man screams absolute fridge terror. First of all, there's the fact that he's been living inside the FOREST OF MENOS for over half a millenium. Yes. The man's been living in the nesting place of the most powerful hollows in Bleach for over 500 years, which is longer than some of today's Captains have even been alive. Then there's the realization of how difficult it's been for him- all of his friends and allies are dead, and he has to either not use his Release or kill absolutely everything that sees him. These are Menos, the weakest of which are a massive challenge for even a Lieutenant.
 * Aizen claims Wonderweiss gave up his speech, his memories, his emotions, and his sanity to serve the purpose Aizen had for him. He never once even suggested that Wonderweiss did so willingly.
 * After Ichigo goes berserk during the last part of the fight against Ulquiorra, he finishes him by planting his foot on his head and hitting him with a point-blank Cero aimed at his head. Then the manga cuts away for some reaction shots and a quick visit to Rukia and the others. Then we return to Ulquiorra, who is inexplicably missing the lower half of his body and left arm. Then you notice that the wounds are straight-edged. Holy shit, was Ichigo carving him up like a Christmas turkey while the two of them were off-screen?
 * Tsukishima's fullbring, "Book of the End". It is an ability that allows him to rewrite the past of whomever is cut by it. No, not their memories. Their actual past, as in, swapping in an alternate timeline of the wielder's liking. Everything  in your past will have been arranged exactly as the wielder desires. Your entire past could be a carefully-fabricated lie, and you'd never even realize it. Now imagine that power in the hands of a stalker. Or a ruthless dictator. Or AIZEN.
 * Oh, crap indeed. For an even worse bit of terror, imagine if Aizen not only had Tsukishima's power, but was able to use it in tandem with his own zanpaktou's shikai. Not only would he be able to manipulate peoples senses, he'd also be able to rewrite the past as he saw fit.
 * You know, they never mention his Bankai at all, and it seems obvious that he's powerful enough to have one...
 * Captain Hitsugaya's cold personality (And in effect, his Zanpakuto) at first seems pretty standard, nothing really special. It's lampshaded a few times, but even then it really is just your regular Jerk with a Heart of Gold. However, when looking through the series again, I noticed something interesting: Hitsugaya has been in Soul Society since he was a little kid. He still is a kid, actually, but judging by the age of him in his flashbacks it would appear that he's been living there since he was at least a first-grader. But wait, if he lives in Soul Society, wouldn't he have had to have DIED first? It's hardly unreasonable to think that this was the cause of his cold personality. After all, if you live a full life and die happily, you'll be pretty content. But actually dying when you can't even be any older than twelve years old would surely be extremely traumatic.
 * At one point, he looks about the age of 9, and it's implied that he had already been with his Grandmother and Momo for a while. With a good parental figure and lots of nurturing, children can continue their lives without any long term effects or suffering from bad experiences. He seemed to be pretty well content with Momo and his Grandmother. Based on how he acts with Momo, I think it's more likely that he just considers himself the 'man of the family' so to speak, and takes things more seriously. I don't think it has anything to do with being traumatized.
 * Furthermore, it's implied that he froze to death, which is why his Zanpakuto is ice based.
 * When Byakuya and Kenpachi are fighting against Yammy, Mayuri is openly expressing a trait of dissecting dead combatants, whether ally or enemy. When Ichigo comes back to fetch Kuugo's body from the Soul Society for burial in the World of the Living, Sui-Feng informs him that out of the Captains that come to greet him, Mayuri and Ukitake aren't present. One can only guess, but....
 * Ginjo mentions that Tsukishima's ability allows him to make people believe he is their friend, mentor, cousin, or lover. It gives the term "mind rape" a whole new layer.

Fridge Logic

 * Unohana told Ichigo that he was the best one to fight Aizen because had never used his hypnosis powers on Ichigo during their fight. There are two problems with that. The first is that Ichigo has no idea whether or not Aizen used his shikai during their fight, all he knows is that he doesn't remember Aizen doing that. The second (and even more odd when you think about it) is that there's nothing that they know of to stop Aizen from using his shikai on Ichigo during the current battle.
 * When Ichigo fought Zaraki the two were going all out and it ended in a mutual KO. Much later after Ichigo has his bankai and Visored powers he still struggles against Grimmjow who is number 6 among the Espada. How the heck does Zaraki manage to kill Nnoitra who's number 5 among the Espada? Did he do some secret, off-screen never mentioned before or after training? Are power levels just bullsh*t?
 * His resolve was complete against Zaraki. Against Grimmjow, his resolve was all over the place. Plus, everyone had been getting stronger. Kubo seems to work by the mantra 'that which does not kill you makes you stronger' so his characters are all getting stronger all the time. No-one was at the same level of power as the Soul Society arc, hence the higher levels everyone fought at.
 * Now, a bit of Fridge Logic: Aizen managed to  So, why he said that he feared his powers, or why did he bother to create Wonderweiss in the first place?
 * Perhaps it was intended to test out a) what the old man would do without his zanpakuto and b) whether it was possible to seal an ancient, powerful sword in the first place. Or at least that's the sort of 'explanation' one could imagine Aizen giving on another couple of test subjects. Yamamoto did genuinely seem to catch Aizen by surprise, firstly by grabbing his sword and secondly by using the spell, indicating (Aizen being uber-prepared as he appears) that Captain Broken didn't know enough about the head captain to face him one on one and be sure of winning. So he threw poor Wonderweiss (he was afraid!) into the ring in order to work the rest out. The flames didn't matter, but maybe getting Yamamoto to provide Aizen more information did.
 * Aizen didn't so much survive Yamamoto's explosion as flee it. It's not like he was able to retain his position and withstand the blast he had to actively escape it as fast as he possibly could - something he was so flustered and in haste about that he dropped his guard completely enough for Ichigo to finally get a hit in. It's also pure speculation, but Aizen did have the Hougyoku inside him as well and it's only moments later that it heals the wound Ichigo gave him. It's never said, but it's possible the Hougyoku protected Aizen as he fled Yamamoto's power. He completely failed to kill Yamamoto as a result, and Yamamoto was the only captain he had actually planned to kill.
 * The Quincy extermination. So a bunch of humans who've been around for a short time (50-60 years maybe?) gaining power are labeled a threat by Soul Society. Quincy being able to completely eradicate a being out of existence aside, how badass must they have been to need genocide get rid of them? How hard is it to restrain them with kido and harmlessly mess up their soul sleep? How is defending yourself from Hollows due to the Gotei 13 doing a crappy job wrong? - Average NOOB
 * Perhaps that choice was made because it would ensure that this group of people with such powers could not grow any larger. Messing with individual souls wouldn't stop their children inheriting the same powers as their Quincy parent/s.
 * Point to you Sir or Madam. Wouldn't it have been easier to just explain the effect their powers have? Poor Communication Kills just screwed over the Quincy. - Average NOOB
 * Imagine if, instead of evaporated water condensing into clouds, it disappeared completely. That's esentially what the quincies are doing