Ackerman-19s - Ackerman-19

ackerman-19s

1 year ago

Another change they made to Levi's ending that I wanted to talk about, and that I loved, was the birds flying over head, with him, Gabi and Falco watching them.

We see Levi look up at them, and I feel like it's the fulfillment of his own philosophy, his own belief in the sanctity and value of life. I feel like, with that final shot of him, looking up at those birds, at the sight of life thriving, despite the devastating destruction and loss of life they all experienced not so long before, it's like the narrative affirming that Levi was always right.

Throughout the story, Levi was diametrically opposed to Zeke in their beliefs and philosophy, Zeke representing the idea of life being meaningless and worthless, Levi representing the idea of life having intrinsic meaning and worth. And I feel like that final shot, with the birds, and with Levi looking up at them with maybe the most contented expression he's ever worn, is a confirmation of Levi's belief and what he represented within the story, that life matters, that life is worth living, that life is worth protecting and cherishing and fighting for, and a rejection of Zeke's belief, that life is meaningless and worthless and nothing but cruelty. Levi won against Zeke in more ways than one, then. Not just physically. He won against Zeke's nihilism and cruelty. His beauty won against Zeke's ugliness.

I think that's also part of what makes Levi's ending so powerful and satisfying. It feels right that Levi should win that battle. That compassion and kindness and empathy should defeat bitterness and hate and selfishness. Even if just for Levi's story, that holds true, it's enough to leave the rest of us with hope.

Because I think that's also what Levi represents within the story.

Hope.

He's the best that humanity has to offer.

As ugly as we all can be, as cruel and heartless and uncaring, there's always the exception, always the example of what a person can be beyond that cruelty and heartlessness, in spite of the cruelty and heartlessness. And in Attack on Titan, that person is Levi. He's that exception.

Levi is relatable to us, not because he's like us, necessarily, but because he's what we hope and strive to become. He's like a shining light in the darkness. He's that person who shows us we can be better, who shows us the way to being better.

In many ways, Levi is the beating heart and soul of Attack on Titan. He's that little bit of hope in the story, that maybe, some day, some how, we really will all find a way to live, showing greater compassion and kindness to one another. That's Levi. By being the best of us, he shows us we can be better too.

Tags :

Attack on Titan aot Shingeki no Kyojin Shingeki no Kyojin snk snk levi ackerman levi ackerman

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ackerman-19s

1 year ago

It's been over a year, and I'm still never not thinking about the fact that that Hihiou Zabimaru was one man's unsuccessful forty-year project to beat Kuchiki Byakuya in particular. And, like, that sounds so pathetic and depressing, but it's really not! For one, the fact that Hihiou Zabimaru is designed to fight against Senbonzakura means that they also fight really well together, in the sense that they are both useful in the same conditions, and they cover for each other's weaknesses (Senbonzakura is faster, Zabimaru is more durable). Both of them can do offense or defense, but have trouble doing both at once. That's not a problem if Byakuya and Renji work together, and gives them a lot of flexibility.

Sometimes the way to defeat a sword is to create its opposite, but in this case, they're actually pretty similar, and if you think about the skills needed to wield them, they're very similar. For all that Byakuya and Renji butted heads in the Soul Society Arc, they get their shit sorted out pretty well, and by the TYBW, I think they have one of the best captain-lieutenant fighting partnerships, in terms of communication, trust, and sweet combo moves (Hitsugaya-Matsumoto is the other one that comes close, imo).

My thesis of this Tumblr post is that I think Byakuya spent a lot of time mentoring Renji, and the development of his bankai, specifically. From the first moment he sees it, Byakuya comments that Hihiou Zabimaru is Good, Actually.

He then immediately identifies how to defeat it:

I simply love whenever one slightly older Bleach character who is fighting a younger one cannot stop themself from giving battle tips and general life advice to their opponents (Ikkaku and Renji both do this to Ichigo and then Byakuya does this to Renji). I'm sure you could chalk it up to shounen manga using its characters as mouthpieces to explain what's going on, but in my mind and in my heart, it's because these dudes just love teaching!!! And you know why Byakuya was able to pinpoint Renji's weakness, just, immediately? Because that was him. You think Ginrei didn't do exactly this same thing to him a thousand times when he was learning to use Senbonzakura Kageyoshi?? (oh shit oh FUCK it's literally The Dodge all over again).

Anyway, you will never convince me that Byakuya doesn't love the fact that Renji picked him as his Favored Enemy and then went ahead and developed the Most Fun Bankai Possible for Senbonzakura Kageyoshi to Fight.

Just today, I realized that, while So-oh Zabimaru might represent Renji moving on from his rivalry with Byakuya, they also contain a very visible aspect of Byakuya's influence: the hand movement.

I'm not gonna lie, mostly I wanted to make this post because the idea of post-Blood War Byakuya and Renji sparring in bankai and waving their arms around like they're casting wizard spells is extremely hilarious to me. Do you think Byakuya could shape his petals into a giant hand so they can magically arm-wrestle? (RIP Komamura, this could have been you)

All jokes aside, though, the idea that it took Byakuya's help for Renji to learn to use The Grabby Arm--the thing that allows him to close distance, the thing that allows him to hold on to the things that matter to him--is honestly kinda poignant.

Tags :

Renji Abarai Byakuya Kuchiki Bleach

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ackerman-19s

1 year ago

It's been over a year, and I'm still never not thinking about the fact that that Hihiou Zabimaru was one man's unsuccessful forty-year project to beat Kuchiki Byakuya in particular. And, like, that sounds so pathetic and depressing, but it's really not! For one, the fact that Hihiou Zabimaru is designed to fight against Senbonzakura means that they also fight really well together, in the sense that they are both useful in the same conditions, and they cover for each other's weaknesses (Senbonzakura is faster, Zabimaru is more durable). Both of them can do offense or defense, but have trouble doing both at once. That's not a problem if Byakuya and Renji work together, and gives them a lot of flexibility.

Sometimes the way to defeat a sword is to create its opposite, but in this case, they're actually pretty similar, and if you think about the skills needed to wield them, they're very similar. For all that Byakuya and Renji butted heads in the Soul Society Arc, they get their shit sorted out pretty well, and by the TYBW, I think they have one of the best captain-lieutenant fighting partnerships, in terms of communication, trust, and sweet combo moves (Hitsugaya-Matsumoto is the other one that comes close, imo).

My thesis of this Tumblr post is that I think Byakuya spent a lot of time mentoring Renji, and the development of his bankai, specifically. From the first moment he sees it, Byakuya comments that Hihiou Zabimaru is Good, Actually.

He then immediately identifies how to defeat it:

I simply love whenever one slightly older Bleach character who is fighting a younger one cannot stop themself from giving battle tips and general life advice to their opponents (Ikkaku and Renji both do this to Ichigo and then Byakuya does this to Renji). I'm sure you could chalk it up to shounen manga using its characters as mouthpieces to explain what's going on, but in my mind and in my heart, it's because these dudes just love teaching!!! And you know why Byakuya was able to pinpoint Renji's weakness, just, immediately? Because that was him. You think Ginrei didn't do exactly this same thing to him a thousand times when he was learning to use Senbonzakura Kageyoshi?? (oh shit oh FUCK it's literally The Dodge all over again).

Anyway, you will never convince me that Byakuya doesn't love the fact that Renji picked him as his Favored Enemy and then went ahead and developed the Most Fun Bankai Possible for Senbonzakura Kageyoshi to Fight.

Just today, I realized that, while So-oh Zabimaru might represent Renji moving on from his rivalry with Byakuya, they also contain a very visible aspect of Byakuya's influence: the hand movement.

I'm not gonna lie, mostly I wanted to make this post because the idea of post-Blood War Byakuya and Renji sparring in bankai and waving their arms around like they're casting wizard spells is extremely hilarious to me. Do you think Byakuya could shape his petals into a giant hand so they can magically arm-wrestle? (RIP Komamura, this could have been you)

All jokes aside, though, the idea that it took Byakuya's help for Renji to learn to use The Grabby Arm--the thing that allows him to close distance, the thing that allows him to hold on to the things that matter to him--is honestly kinda poignant.

Tags :

Renji Abarai Byakuya Kuchiki Bleach

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ackerman-19s

1 year ago

Part Twelve: Byakuya's Private Thoughts!

(This entry is far less exciting than that title might suggest just in case anyone was hoping for something spicy.)

You know... I had forgotten the altar was at the Sixth. I had thought that Byakuya was at his private residence during this scene. (I assume Kuchiki Manor is near the Sixth, but maybe it's not.) As it turns out, I was wrong. Judging by the establishing shot and the usage of "Captain Kuchiki," it seems pretty clear that Byakuya keeps a family shrine at the squad, which is certainly a choice.

Another thing that I had forgotten is just how large and spartan this room is. I assume the minimalism was an artistic decision on Kubo's part to reflect Byakuya's internal feelings similar to how big and empty the room that Renji barges into during the Rukia adoption scene appears to be--basically a white space with floorboards and little else, which seems to be done to emphasize Renji's internal confusion--and then, once the Kuchiki squad leaves, some of the details of the room comes into focus until Renji puts on his performance for Rukia and it ebbs again into action lines and white space. Or, maybe this room isn't particularly well-furnished for obvious reasons, i.e., Byakuya might not want random Squad Six officers lounging or horsing around near his family's altar, assuming this room is accessible to the general squad members.

Either way, art is abstraction, and I think we are supposed to get a sense of feeling absorbed into this desolate space with a singular focal point because our POV character is feeling similarly desolate and absorbed by "private thoughts," at the moment.

How far away is the Soukyoku from Squad Six if Byakuya needs to get a move on five hours prior to the execution? Perhaps Yamamoto wants the senior leadership accounted for well in advance given the humans running amok. Or, maybe Byakuya is planning on running some errands on the way a la, "My sister's execution may be on the to-do list today but it ain't my whole day." Who can say?

Beyond the odd "snap to it" given the stated timing, we finally see what is holding Byakuya's attention, and it's a picture of a woman who could be Rukia's doppelganger. We know it's not a picture of Rukia since Byakuya helpfully provides the woman's name, Hisana. (Although, I wouldn't have put it past Byakuya to already have placed Rukia's picture on the family altar prior to her execution as it would have been very efficient even if incredibly morbid.)

In a previous entry, I wondered when Kubo might have baked the dead wife trope into the narrative as a way of humanizing Byakuya. Officially, it does not appear to have been an actual 11th-hour decision since we have a ways to go before the confession scene between Byakuya and Rukia. At this point, I don't think we, the audience, know for certain that Hisana is Byakuya's late wife nor do we know her connection to Rukia even if it seems sort of obvious that they're related. Although, Kaien and Ichigo are supposed to look a lot alike as well (at least to Byakuya), and we're left thinking they aren't (due to Byakuya's explicit denial of relatedness) until we receive confirmation much later on that they're indeed related.

This brings me to the issue of doppelgangers in this arc. We have two of them, one for Ichigo and one for Rukia. And, each of the doppelgangers carries great significance to one of the Kuchiki siblings. I would argue both of the Kuchiki siblings had romantic feelings toward their respective doppelgangers with Byakuya's romantic attachment being far more apparent since he married Hisana. Rukia's attraction to Kaien, however, is left ambiguous. I suppose one could read Rukia's reflections on Kaien as purely platonic. Personally, I flop back and forth depending on my mood.

Assuming that Rukia had a crush on her squad's lieutenant, her interest was unrequited. Unrequited love could be another similarity between the siblings depending on how you choose to read the confession scene. Personally, I don't think the text strongly supports that for Byakuya as outlined in mind-numbing detail here. I think this may be an instance where the similarities draw attention to the differences being explored between the siblings' relationships to their respective doppelgangers.

First, I don't think Rukia makes much out of the physical similarities between Ichigo and Kaien. Byakuya, however, does. This leads me to think that the issue of lookalikes is more of a Byakuya issue. Which makes sense. He has been dealing with his late wife's doppelganger for decades at this point. My guess is that, on top of the lie and the cognitive burden of having to maintain that lie, Byakuya avoids looking at Rukia because it's painful for a host of reasons, some of which were already touched on in Part Ten. However, the perceived similarity--that Rukia may be allowing her emotions for Kaien to cloud her feelings for Ichigo because Ichigo reminds her of Kaien--allowed Byakuya to try to project connect with Rukia and her pain regarding Ichigo during the arrest scene. (Meaning that Byakuya likely feels this pull with respect to Rukia because she looks like his dead loved one.)

Second, Rukia's relationship with Kaien appears to have been very different from Byakuya's relationship with Hisana. The most notable difference is that Kaien and Rukia were not romantically involved and Kaien's direct relationship to Rukia was that of her boss, meaning that he held significant power over her in that relationship. Now, Kaien appears to have been a mostly good boss, and he used his position to make Rukia feel welcome and give her a sense of normalcy. In Byakuya's relationship with Hisana, the power dynamic clearly favors Byakuya given his institutional power as a Kuchiki along with any power conferred to him as a member of the Gotei 13, assuming he was an officer during their courtship and marriage. However, Byakuya being Hisana's spouse puts them on better footing as equals--albeit not perfect footing--than Rukia's relationship with Kaien granted her.

Third, Rukia had a direct hand in Kaien's death so, while she loves him (romantically, platonically, or both... take your pick), her primary emotions when reflecting on him are that of guilt, shame, and a sense of being pathetic. This deep shame leaves her feeling deserving of her fate as penance for the wrong that she believes she has done. Byakuya, however, doesn't appear to have this same guilt over the loss of Hisana. His wife died of "consumption dead-wife-fluenza" for which he was not responsible. To the extent that Byakuya feels guilt, it's because he is unable to fully honor the promise that he made to his wife on her deathbed due to the dumbass oath he took at his parents' graves that no one asked for, by the way. In this case, Byakuya's guilt is more of the conflicted variety--i.e., his heart urges him to follow the promise he made to his wife while his oath to his parents prevents him due to how he is supposed to resolve these competing obligations in favor of his parents--while Rukia's guilt is more of the shame variety.

To add to that point, as we see in this scene, Byakuya appears to be consulting his wife (or perhaps apologizing/pleading his case/staring meaningfully into her picture for answers or internal fortitude), and I think the audience is supposed to get the impression that he is conflicted at this moment. In contrast, I don't think Rukia would feel entitled to look to Kaien for guidance at a Kaien altar (or as Ukitake does with the Kaien that lives inside his heart) as I think her shame would prevent her from taking even that small amount of comfort at this point in her character arc.

All of this wild gesturing to say: I think the similarities between the Kuchiki siblings and their respective doppelgangers are there; they're just more superficially there (e.g., Byakuya and Rukia both loved and lost in their own ways and, also in their own ways, those losses continue to haunt them in this arc). Perhaps less superficially, or at least more obviously, rendered are the cautionary parallels that we can draw between the doppelgangers (Kaien and Hisana) and Generation Xerox (Ichigo and Rukia), which are: (i) the perils of recklessly "following your heart" for Ichigo/Kaien; and (ii) the perils of forever "being consumed by guilt and shame" for Rukia/Hisana.

TL;DR: I'm glad Kubo leaned into the gothic doppelgangers angle, giving both main characters in this arc their own lookalikes and leveling both Kuchiki siblings with the doppelgangers' deaths in their own fun and unique ways!

(Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of the read-along).

Tags :

Bleach Byakuya Kuchiki hisana kuchiki hisana kuchiki Rukia Kuchiki Rukia Kuchiki kaien shiba kaien shiba Ichigo Kurosaki

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ackerman-19s

1 year ago

Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and its references to Noh, and the connection between Byakuya and Minamoto no Yoshitsune

It's a known fact that Byakuya's design is thematically based on the idea of noble samurais, and if there's one that perfectly fits the bill, it's Minamoto no Yoshitsune. The camellia, Noble Reason, the symbolism of Senbonzakura, and his poem, the Out of Bloom... But as I went down this rabbit hole, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi seems to refer to something more. And so the concept of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and its many forms, the "scenes", being based on Noh, particularly the plays of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, was born.

The scenes of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi

What we do know about SK is that each form is a "scene". We've seen three so far in canon, excluding the base form which I consider as the "stage": Senkei 殲景, Gokei 吭景 and Shukei 終景.

If you translate each scene: Senkei is the Annihilation scene, Gokei literally means Throat scene, and Shukei is the End/Final scene.

(Older translations for Senkei was Slaughterscape, which frankly sounds way cooler than Annihilate lol)

What about Boukei?

For those who are not aware of BBs, Boukei 望景 is Byakuya's special form that was created in celebration of the game's 5th anniversary. It is Byakuya infused with Shukei, a form that transcends Bankai. He is the first to start this whole series of Bankai fusion characters.

Interestingly, Boukei was fantranslated to be "Hopescape". The thing is, 望 is a verb used to describe the act of looking far away or desiring for something unreachable. That's where the "hope" definition comes from. Both have the future and distant connotation; something far away that is yet to come. But if you add 景, that 望 becomes an adjective, and so the definition also transforms into a distant view, or panorama.

What about Ikka Senjinka?

Is Ikka Senjinka another "scene"? No, it was clearly released from Senkei. I figure as a secret technique of Senkei, it functions as a desperado mode.

Noh 101

Noh stories have two kinds: Genzai noh, those that are set in present times and follows a linear timeline; and Mugen noh, those that are more focused on dream states or hell, usually involving ghosts, but can also occur in present times but timeline is more murky.

As it is heavily protagonist-centric, a Noh program is based on the protagonist's character type: Waki noh (God), Ashura noh or Shura mono (Man/Warrior), Onna noh or Katsura mono (Woman), Kyouran mono (Madwoman/Crazed), and Demon/Ending (Kiri noh). I'll be interchanging between these terms, but it's basically it.

Gobandate is a full noh program that consists of all five stories, which would last an entire day: god and warrior in the morning, woman in the afternoon, crazed at dusk and then demon at night. Modern noh usually only show two though, as holding a gobandate is too exhausting for both performers and audience.

God noh are typically stories that celebrates life, blessings, and carries a noble atmosphere. You'd have a character who starts off as a man and then revealed to be a god.

Man/Warrior noh feature the protagonist with a goal to be accomplished, whether it's to right some wrongs or overcome some personal demons. In Mugen noh, which is my original basis for this meta, the Warrior is usually a ghost seeking redemption in his journey to hell.

Woman noh uses the beauty of a woman to tell the story of love and suffering. In contrast, the crazed noh, often times a madwoman, is what happens when the woman is driven to madness by whatever she had suffered through. In Mugen noh, they can be vengeful spirits.

Finally, we have the demon noh. Kiri noh literally means the End play. Afaik they mark the end because most protagonists are fated to reach hell, and demon noh commonly feature yokai and such characters. Compared to the others, it's the most intense, energetic and flashy one out of the five.

Almost all of these apply to Mugen noh. Genzai noh, not so much. I've seen it slotted as a Fourth Category. In a gobandate, that's where the Madwoman is.

There is another secret character, the Okina (Old man) but we won't touch on that anymore.

So which is which?

First off, I don't believe shikai 2.0 and Ikka Senjinka are the only techniques Byakuya took home with him from his training in the Royal Palace. He must have unlocked a new form of Bankai in his training, we just didn't see it because (1) Kubo had to fulfill the earlier foreshadowing of Ikka Senjinka first (from the first Senkei appearance, vs. Ichigo battle); (2) the whole point of his training in the Royal Palace is to elevate the degree of his power to a point that he doesn't need to use his Bankai in 1v1 battles.

Second, to be honest, I wanted to include Boukei because thematically it fits the God category. But it's non-canon so I have to exclude it. Who knows, maybe there truly is a mystery new Bankai form, and as the last one to be seen, it'll turn out to be the first scene in the gobandate.

I should note it's also completely unintentional that the scenes would lay out in reverse to the gobandate. So here we go~!

With the missing God scene, we'll jump straight to Shura.

Senkei is the warrior who could be telling his story of fighting some conflicts, both external (vs Renji) and internal (vs Ichigo). It is the vibrant display of a battle, a possible reference to two Yoshitsune noh, Yoshima and Shōzōn.

I like to think that the base form, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, is actually the Woman. It is simple and beautiful in its form, but as the connecting node of all of the forms, it can transition to anything. However, it's not necessarily a "scene", so this can be a placeholder.

Obviously Gokei as the throat that connects the head to the stomach, in its violence of churning its enemies into minced meat is the madwoman that connects the daylight programs of Man and Woman, to the evening program that is the Demon. The implosion of Gokei is the implosion of the crazed who finally lost her grip with reality and became a vengeful ghost.

Kiri noh being the literal end play that is bombastic, loud and fantastical, is perfect fit to Shukei, the Endscape, and its majestic wings and halo creates either an illusion of a white phoenix or a tengu, both symbolic representations of Byakuya.

In BBS, Byakuya's Spirit Society version is a tengu lord, that perhaps a nod to tengu being considered as reincarnated spirits of proud swordsmen. What is most interesting here is that there's one particular legend that says tengus taught Yoshitsune military arts, and that brings us to something that has been sitting in my mind for a long, long time.

Yoshitsune and Byakuya

Okay, quick history wiki rehash time.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune is a very popular samurai and commander, half-brother to the shogun Yoritomo. He's usually depicted in literature as a noble warrior, handsome, honorable and overall an astute leader. Sounds familiar? But wait, there's more!

His story is a bit tragic. Yoshitsune gained the emperor's favor, earning him his title of Kurō Hōgan, and this put him in a period typical power struggle with Yoritomo. Eventually, he sided against Yoritomo, and thus the assassination attempts begin. In the end, he sought refuge in an ally but was betrayed. Yoshitsune was forced to commit seppuku after his men, particularly his right-hand man, the giant warrior-monk Benkei was slaughtered by a rain of arrows.

(Benkei's story is also very interesting. Some Noh about Yoshitsune's story actually has him as the protagonist. See Ataka.)

There are a handful of Noh revolving around him, but among all of those, there are two that stand out: Yashima, a Mugen Shura noh about the ghost of Yoshitsune visiting a monk in his dreams to retell about his battle.

Shōzōn, a Genzai kirimono - about Shōzōn, an assassin sent by Yoritomo, and Yoshitsune's supposed nobility and purity in his treatment of Shōzōn after suspecting him to be an assassin.

Both plays are about the vibrant displays (sorry not sorry) of Yoshitsune's battles, and this leads us back to Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, the link between Yoshitsune and Byakuya.

Senbonzakura Kageyoshi initially drew me to Yoshitsune's story. The two scenes of Senkei and Shukei reference Yoshitsune as a historical figures and Yoshitsune as a legend, respectively. (You could say some stories about him is almost mythical because of his popularity.)

Senkei, the Shura that is the slaughter of Yoshitsune and his men, the pride of Benkei in his final stand against Yoritomo's assassin to protect Yoshitsune the tragedy that made him famous, and Shukei, the kirimono that depicts the rebirth of Yoshitsune in folklores and legends, what with the stories about tengus and ghosts.

Byakuya is not just connected superficially to Yoshitsune. There is a Japanese term, "sympathy for a tragic hero" that was derived from Yoshitsune's Kurō Hōgan title, and ultimately, that is what the culmination of Byakuya's story in Soul Society arc evoked from readers.

Tags :

Bleach Byakuya Kuchiki

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