Posts made by Xanegoh

I finally finished CFYOW, and it was daunting.

I don't know if it's Narita's style, the translation, or something else, but trying to get through that last volume felt like a chore.

@access-timeco that's been Bleach the whole time. It's just a lot of the hardcore fans like to do the extra work for kubo and make things seem deeper than they really are.

So, I think I may have come up with a way for the quincy-hollow-allergy: only the 'pure blood' quincy are allergic, the mixed blood have the immunity. This could help explain why characters like Uryuu didn't suffer the soul destruction.

@MetaMario it's because the soul balance just gets fucked that way. Why would it need to be like that? Much like with the quincy suddenly being spawned all from one guy and being allergic to hollows, it's just something Kubo simply tossed in without really considering how it affects the rest of the world.

I can't remember if it's been discussed here or not, but Soken Ishida, Uryuu's grandfather, breaks everything about the quincy in TTBW.

So I decided to check CFYOW, and it's okay, I guess. I've only read the first volume, so I'll reserve judgment. But it does feel like an arc that could have happened between Soul Society and the Arrancar arcs. Obviously tweaked because it occurs after TTYBW, but have the Fullbringer arc, then this, then gear up for the Arrancar arc. It would certainly help with world building and character development.

Granted, I am saying this as a reader divorced from the actual writing process and publishing requirements of SJ, but still.

I'm behind because I'm watching the dub on hulu, which is a month delayed for whatever reason. But watching Ichigo fight the femcies is essentially what I wanted the quincy to do all along.

Pretty much green lanterns with varying reishi constructs. Not random bs powers that don't make sense with quincy.

@access-timeco the fact that the quincy were initially sympathetic antagonists makes that even weirder. Kubo probably chose the German phrases at random to make Ishida seem more 'alien' to the rest of the soul society. Hell, I don't think the overall German angle was necessarily bad, perse. But making them actually soul nazis was beyond stupid.

I think a lot of us wanted Ichigo's human friends to become relevant again. The fullbring arc would have been the best place for that to happen. It would've been great if they had awakened their own powers and the focus was on them, Orihime and Chad. Cut down Ichigo's involvement since he doesn't need to be the extra-super-special.

Watching these recent episodes reminds me how stupid the quincy fights were. It's just repetitive 3-4 shinigami all going bankai just to take down one sternritter. The mask de masculine fight being the epitome of this.

Isn't that more because Kubo doesn't really have varied faces? We made fun of many of the guys looking the same. Hell, there's one dude in this arc who looks just like Aizen. So it stands to reason this extends to the female characters.

@access-timeco you know what bothers me? The fact that they never explain how the medallions work. With how everything else is over explained in Bleach, it's weird that this thing is just ignored for the most part. The bankai stealing is fine, in and of itself, but given how intrinsic a bankai is to the shinigami there needed to be something. A quincy absorbing the reishi that made up the bankai? Sure, I could potentially see a super skilled quincy pulling off something like that. It's a stretch, but it can also be something only the most elite are capable of.

The only thing I could ever come up with is that the medallion targets the asauchi and severs the shinigami's connection to their zanpakuto. This way, it's reasonable for the quincy to steal bankai and the shinigami would have to come up with some way to reclaim them that isn't some nonsense, out of nowhere, contrivance that isn't even utilized later on.

@zeltrax225 not to mention the fact that urahara somehow figured out the quincy weakness to hollows from ichigo's fight with Opie, even though the reason his bankai couldn't be stolen was because it was actually quincy power. Also that Mayuri, the guy who did extensive and horrific research on the quincy, didn't know about this. Then there's the hollow allergy that's only mentioned the one time and never brought up again.

Here's a thought: why not have urahara or mayuri, or hell even both, study one of the quincy medallions from any of the dead sternritter? Kenpachi cut down at least half a dozen. That way their deduction of how to recover the stolen bankais doesn't retroactively contradict anything.

@Shiebs

I can't remember if we talked about this, but why did the quincy not just eradicate every arrancar they encountered? They were eager to disrupt the soul balance and (outside of the first one at the start) we never see the arrancar fight for the quincy. So, why would they ever bother keeping them around, especially since quincy are deathly allergic to hollows?

@ea77 I think the isshin stuff happened first, then kaien was killed. Again, the timeline in bleach is so wonky.

Also, who knows what would happen with the kuchiki's? The decision making in soul society is so random.

@ea77 I think the Shibas still had their noble status when isshin was captain. Then again, who knows? That shit could've happened twenty years ago, or two hundred years ago. There's no way to tell. Also, there are still two other noble houses we literally know nothing about.

It still honestly boggles my mind that kubo decided to make ichigo related to the shibas and then did nothing with it. It could be something interesting but ultimately it's just a tiny footnote in all of it.

Not to mention WHY WERE THE SHIBAS STRIPPED OF NOBILITY IN THE FIRST PLACE????!!!!

@ea77 don't forget time guy who wanted to test his powers by killing his own wife. Then got cold feet, tried to reneg, but lost both her and an eye. Yeah, I feel real bad for these schmucks.

@access-timeco I never did. Most were unrepentant assholes with stupid backstories. Jackie was the only sympathetic one, and we literally knew nothing about the lucky guy. Pretty sure that the rest should be in hell for being awful people.

@Johnny-B-Decent one of their parents was attacked by a hollow, then had a kid, passing on the hollow energy. Not sure why that gives them weird ass powers, but whatever.

As stated previously by virtually everyone here, the fullbringer arc happened way too late in the series to have any real impact. Plus, ichigo hijacking it from Chad just so he could be the special anime boy. If it happened right after the soul society arc, it would have been much better. Low stakes and fleshing out characters and the world. Probably could have given the rest of ichigo's school friends fullbring powers so they have some relevance and don't just fade into the background.

So, I decided to read through those translated Q&A, and dear God why are there so many inane questions asked? 'Who has the biggest boobs?' 'Does grown up ichigo have chest hair like his daddy?' 'How tall is toshiro?'

Yes, these are the pressing issues that need attention.

Looking at the answers kubo gives to a lot of these, it's apparent he's terrible at world building and planning out the story.

@zeltrax225 wait, what are you referring to?

@Daz what? Naw man. It totally blends so well with the rest of the story. You just weren't paying close enough attention to the super subtle details.

I'm going to have to take the time and go through these, but from the few I've read it really just sounds like kubo is talking out his ass.

@King-Cannon I'm now wondering if Rukia being related to the quincy would have been a better idea.

If we do get a hell arc, I gotta wonder how kubo would contrive ichigo into being connected to it. And what kind of new powers he'll get and inevitably ignore.

@MetaMario I think the problem is where do we go from reality ending god being? Kubo played himself by making ywach so stupidly powerful. What could he possibly do with a hell arc? Bring that dimension to earth? Also, how does hell factor into the soul cycle and balance? Let's not forget that captains are sent to hell after 'death' as well as some arrancar. It feels like Kubo threw in hell early on but didn't bother to think about it too much.

If he does continue bleach, I hope kubo actually plans out the story.

@King-Cannon it just makes no sense. Some short, fat dude shows up with no prior appearance or mention, and we're just supposed to believe he's the puppeteer to this one character? Just omit him since he literally adds nothing. This already has an over bloated cast, don't keep adding more extraneous characters.

@MetaMario that sounds way too interesting to happen in bleach. Gotta have the charm exposit about their powers and act all superior.

@King-Cannon that doesn't really make sense about Mask. Why would the groupie be able to turn into a bunch of minis after being cut up? Then again, the quincy are no longer human so logic just goes right out the window.

I think I figured out why the royal realm bothers me so much. It's not Takamagahara. You know, the place where the major japanese gods reside? We should have seen the equivalent of Izanagi and his children, and others. They should have been the in world inspiration for the japanese pantheon. Instead, it's largely empty save for five dickheads and this asshole stuck in amber. What's the purpose of those giant platforms and the palace if there's nothing there?

@Shiebs yeah probably. And god knows how many other captains. As well as anyone else with captain level power. Makes you wonder how this affects the soul balance since they aren't put into the reincarnation cycle? Or is hell just exempt from that for inexplicable reasons?

So, I had another thought about why the quincy hollow allergy doesn't make sense. Mayuri didn't know about it until now. You know, the guy who performed horrific experiments and research on them? He somehow didn't know they lacked "hollow antibodies". This is why the hollow allergy was just a stupid idea altogether. No real thought put into it.

@Shiebs said in Bleach Discussion █: Soul Society, but not!:

Strange to talk about how good Kubo is at character designs and make unique characters, I mean he did a fantastic job with both Soul Society characters and the espada, I still remember them years after having finished and I don’t think I’ll ever forget them

I remember we would make fun of kubo for 'drawing the air' in every panel. Admittedly, in the Hueco Mundo arc it did make sense that it would be empty, but it just persisted after and never let up.

@access-timeco said in Bleach Discussion █: Soul Society, but not!:

I like to check on the Bleach Brave Souls simulator site ( https://bbs-simulator.com/ )once and again just to check if any new character was released because the art is always good.

They have been giving some awfully overdesigned power-ups to characters in form of Beyond Bankai and Beyond Resurrección forms (I shared the Espada ones some pages ago). They all look way too over the top and nothing like the great designs Kubo made.

But I just looked at it now and... omfg... daaaamn

They give one of those awfully awful designs to Tosen and I am just gushing. Don't know if I am biased but he actually looks amazing (it reminds me of the "half Hollow" look he had when he was seconds away from dying, a look I always wanted to see more clearly depicted)

I remember that. I even said those designs were way too busy and that kubo needed to simplify. It's like all the creative character designs the quincy lacked we crammed into these.

You know what would have been cool? If after ichigo got his true zanpakuto and returned to soul society, his zan was sealed as a normal katana and at some point he actually released his shikai and we learned what its incantation was. Something like "Split the Heavens" or "Chain the Moon". After going so long with a permanent shikai, it would have been a nice touch.

Am I crazy, or was there never any explanation/foreshadowing for the quincy blood silver stuff? Just randomly thought of it.

I'd say Bleach is good in isolated segments. But taken as a whole it falls apart.

Alright, thank you all for waiting patiently. I'm finally able to sit down and surmise what I believe is the biggest problem with the quincy in this arc.

Even disregarding all the evil assholery and nonsensical schemes, the real issue with the quincy is that they're no longer human. Before this arc, the quincy were defined by the fact that they were human. Sure, they had strong spiritual affinity and had the unique ability to manipulate reishi, but at the end of the day, they were still just human. But then Yhwach shows up with his new hoard of sycophants, and they become increasingly deific. Quincy are no longer regular humans with strong spiritual powers, no. Their progenitor is the "son of the soul king" (whatever that means) and they are the chosen people who will inherit the land. Hell, a handful of them are even over a thousand years old and participated in the original war with the shinigami.

But why? Why go so absurd with the powers and the lore behind them? Much like the hollow allergy, it's really just lip service for the world building. Let's look at that, actually. It was theorized in universe that the reason for quincies total hostility towards hollows has to do with "Primal fear towards something that threatens our lives". I figured being able to see horrible spirit monsters that attack people on sight would be a good enough reason for any hostility towards something. Humans aren't allergic to bears or lions, but we contain a certain level of hostility towards these creatures because they can brutally maul us. If I had the means to eliminate a threat, I'd use them. This only get more egregious when you remember all the times Uryuu was injured by a hollow/arrancar. Yet he still miraculously lives past those encounters. Then there were the times he absorbed Cirucci's spiritual energy into himself and Quilge absorbed that hollow chimera into himself. Neither seemed particularly perturbed in doing this. And of course, there was the bankai stealing. Obviously the heroes were going to reclaim their bankai, but how could they possibly do it? Would they abandon the asauchi and manifest their zanpakuto on their own? Maybe they'll simply break the medal and take them back? Nah, let's give the quincy this weakness that was never a thing before and never mentioned after. That can't possibly be a serious detriment to the story and its worldbuilding.

I want to end this with a 'removed' look at the quincy, so to speak. Looking at Yhwach and the quincy, I honestly think it would have been better to save this kind of stuff for a different faction of antagonists. Keep the quincy human and their grievance with the shinigami purely a revenge one. There's no need to complicate their story with anything. That way, you can have the quincy story and still use the crazy powers/characters at a later time.

This is going to have to wait until I'm home and behind my computer, but I think I have an answer for why we take such umbrage with the quincy in this arc.

It's because kubo kept changing yhwach's plan throughout the arc.

So I just looked at the chapter list, and the quincy arc lasted two hundred six chapters. It's weird that the arc was that long yet it felt like so little happened.

So, personally, it comes down to three things really:

1. the quincy are another group of overly smug pricks. Coming right after the fullbringers it's somewhat exhausting. Especially since they act like impetuous teenagers who want to stick it to the man.

2. most of them are cartoonishly evil. Here's a group with a long tragic history, but instead of going the sympathetic villain route, they gleefully slaughter people at every opportunity. They even kill their own as quickly they kill shinigami.

3. the arrancar army. If part of their goal was to disrupt the soul balance, then why aren't they just eradicating them on sight? They have no reason to keep them around, especially with the hollow allergy.

@ea77 ask why what?

I decided to bite the bullet and start watching this arc, the dub is available on hulu go figure. I'll admit that the animation is top notch. And having just watched the Yamamoto fight, yeah, it was glorious seeing his bankai in action.

There is admittedly some good stuff at the start. And I think in a vacuum it probably would be great. But then I'm slowly reminded of why I can't get behind the quincy as the antagonists here.

@MetaMario I don't remember if I said it on one of the threads here, but the whole "Yammy is the 0th Espada" feels like Kubo had forgotten about him and someone (editor/publisher/assistant) reminded him he was still around. Then, as just some kind of twist he threw it in. Because there's literally no build up or foreshadowing to this revelation. Yammy just Resurreccions and goes "LOL! I'm really the strongest!" If he truly were the strongest of all the Espada, then him releasing should've destroyed Las Noches. Remember, Ulquiorra flat out said that Espada 1-4 weren't allowed to use their Resurreccion within the castle because it would damage the building. So, by that logic, Las Noches should be rubble. This goes along with the theory that 1-4 were in fact vasto lordes, and the rest were adjuchas, with Aaroniero being the only gillian. Really, Yammy should've been the benchmark for what the weakest of the Espada were. I don't mind that his gimmick was getting bigger and physically stronger, but in terms of actual danger level? Nah, fam. It doesn't add up.

To change topics a bit, I still wanna know how the quincy stole shinigamis bankais. Even after all these years, and now with the anime revival, that's still something we don't know. Especially since bankai are intrinsically linked to their shinigami. If the explanation was perhaps that since shinigami were using asauchi, the quincy medallion allowed them to disrupt the communication between them, then maybe I could get behind it. Then Ichigo could be immune because he didn't use an asauchi. But that all goes out the window with Kubo wanting ichigo to be half quincy and was using fake shinigami powers. Then there's the whole quincy are allergic to hollows, which I'm positive Kubo threw in as a way to justify how the shinigami would get back their bankais. Let's not forget that Urahara somehow deduced (correctly I might add) the hollow allergy from his observation of ichigo. Who, again, wasn't even using real shinigami powers. Apparently, word of god says that if a person has even a tiny bit of hollow energy in them, the medallions won't work. Despite the fact that the explanation for ichigo's immunity was due to his quincygami power. And Urahara figured out the hollow allergy...somehow.

@MetaMario I still say kenpachi should have fought just yammy alone. It would have been a good time to show off his shikai. He never should have fought nnoitra. Nel should have been the one to defeat him.

@MetaMario that's what bugs me too. With Uryuu already there, and ichigo never bothering to use his quincy power, why make him half quincy? Also, with Uryuu there, it means he has to share the spotlight with ichigo. Remember the fullbringer arc and how it was supposed to be Chad's? Sorry, chico, but ichigo has to be center of attention.

Also, to play devil's advocate a bit, after ichigo learned he was half quincy, wouldn't it have been a little nice if he sought out Ryuuken to learn a bit about his newfound power to possibly give him a leg up in the war? Not a lot, of course, but some basic quincy techniques that he could possibly blend with his shinigami power after obtaining a real zan?

@JulieYBM she could have been a fullbringer. That gives her some agency and credence to ichigo being so powerful. She dies to grand fisher while protecting ichigo. Isshin keeps the truth a secret because he doesn't want his children chasing after ghost monsters.