My Top 5 Bleach Women And Why I Love Them: Part 3

My top 5 Bleach women and why I love them: Part 3

If you haven't seen Part 1 and 2 of this, here's the link.

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My top 5 Bleach women and why I love them: Part 1

(Some of this based on what makes them awesome, or how they're written. Also, this is Part 1 of the entire post, so it'll only show the firs

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My top 5 Bleach women and why I love them: Part 2

If you haven't seen Part 1 of this, here's the link. https://www.tumblr.com/takibikaen/725767150684520448/my-top-5-bleach-women-and-why-i-lo

1/5. Rukia Kuchiki ~ Squad 13 captan and Number One

I don’t think I have to explain this but I’ll touch over what themes I love, some of it’s duality and how it all helps encompass her character as one of Kubo’s best.

Upbringing and Human Nature ~ Throughout the first arc, we get glimpses into how Rukia was raised and what kind of warrior culture the Soul Society had. Despite her life in the Rukon District and being treated horribly in the Kuchiki Clan, Rukia maintains that Soul Society is better than the human world, that letting an inexperienced Ichigo fight Grand Fisher on his own was considered right by her captain’s standards. However, there’s cracks in these beliefs even from the moment she met Ichigo and began making friends in the human world. It’s especially more painful when she didn’t see Renji for 40 years, and knew she would have to return to Soul Society, that her brief stay with humans was where she felt she belonged, where she didn’t feel empty in the heart.

Self-Worth and Finding the Heart ~ Saving someone usually means the rescuee wants to be saved right? Not in Rukia’s case, her self-loathing over her execution is visible throughout the SS arc. It’s tragic, she was forced to kill Kaien to stop Aizen’s Hollow experiment from continuing to use his body, that she besmirched the Kuchiki name by giving Ichigo her powers, the guy who looks alike to Kaien. Renji and her split up decades ago due to the divide between them, and compounding all of that corroded her self-esteem to the point of her accepting her execution. However, she finds what connects her to those important people and how they care for her, the heart. Therefore, deciding to stay in Soul Society and reclaiming her self-worth.

Renji declares he won’t leave her in the face of Aizen.

Byakuya Kuchiki protects her to fulfill his promise to Rukia’s sister.

Kaien’s relatives forgive her for being the one to end Kaien’s suffering.

If it can be said that the heart is unchanging, then that is strength. - Bleach Vol. 54 poem

A Soldier’s Heart and It’s Duality ~ At the crux of Rukia’s character is her bonds and how she got there through becoming a Shinigami. Kaien was her mentor who taught her to fight and the theme of “The Heart”. To not die alone, to have meaningful connections is where Rukia ensures she makes sure to support her friends through her manner. I think it’s really poignant that the way she tries to sway Ichigo out of his doubts and fears of his inner Hollow…that it doesn’t work because Ichigo hasn’t been in the shinigami life as long as she had. Ichigo’s issues are far more embedded due to how he’s been changed by them….while Kaien’s heart which Rukia metaphorically holds in her, hasn’t changed at all.

Emulating Kaien’s mannerisms because Kaien’s heart carried strength, Rukia’s way contrasts with Orihime’s nature, which ends up helping out Ichigo even for a moment in the Hueco Mundo arc. However, the soldier’s heart is what allows Rukia to continue fighting against Aaroniero the 9th Espada, because she finds strength in it to want to save Orihime, protect her loved ones, and move past the obstacle, because she cares about the reawakened connections she has.

The top three art pieces are made by @srkbom108 on Twitter. Black and White background art is done by @Mak_ai_ on Twitter. The last two art pieces are by @rakusakugk on Twitter.

Thanks for reading, if you want to see my full-length post of all three 3 parts, then here's the Quora link for it!

Quora

Who are your top 5 favorite waifus in Bleach?

Kirun Uzumaki's answer: HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?! For real tho, this is my first Bleach answer so I’ll answer it seriously lol. 5. Ikumi Unagiya

My top 5 Bleach women and why I love them: Part 1

(Some of this based on what makes them awesome, or how they're written. Also, this is Part 1 of the entire post, so it'll only show the first 3 characters, due to Tumblr's limit on how many links/media I can use.)

5/5. Ikumi Unagiya \~ Owner of Unagiya Shop

Why?

It’s an unique choice since she doesn’t get that much screen time compared to the others but I really think she’s got a fun personalty and somewhat of a good adult character in a shonen manga that doesn’t have many adults that’ll be there for the MC on an emotional level.

In the Fullbringer arc, she’s one of the only adults in Ichigo’s life who tries to be there for him even with her unawareness of shinigami and hollows. Ikumi still reminds him that he is a kid and he should be able to rely on her, and I think it’s really profound that she says this but Ichigo hasn’t ever really believed in that for most of his life.

Another underrated moment is her getting Ginjo to stop subtly upsetting Ichigo and made him leave her shop. Ginjo wasn’t even a villain at this point but Ikumi still knew the questions he was saying about Ichigo’s dad and his family were screwing with Ichigo’s mind. Maybe I’m giving her too much credit for being a reliable adult for a shonen manga, however it still puts her in my list.

Even in the TYBW arc, she’s still there to be a form of stability to Ichigo who goes through hell before visiting her. Her personality between a dependable, intuitive adult and a stubborn woman who kidnaps teenage employees in broad daylight is what stands out to me as a character.

4/5. Tier Harribel \~ Tres Espada

Why?

Her whole look with the jacket and the hollow mask is honestly pretty cool to see in the series and her serious, calm personality is nice to see among the Espada. Plus her motif as the ‘Espada of Sacrifice’ adds a whole new layer of her concern for her Fraccion, like Nel who was the former 3rd. Her sword release is also dope, “Tiburon”.

In the Arcancar arc, she only gets one main fight (which she got done dirty on) and then gets betrayed by Aizen, but at least I have to appreciate the moments throughout the arc that build her character.

Again, it’s really rare here to see an Arcancar care about their own considering the whole process of Hollows devouring each other from Menos Grande - Adgjunchas - Vasto Lordes. Plus, having the balls to go up to Head-Captain Yamamoto and say you’ll avenge your subordinates is pretty insane.

There is no world without sacrifice. Are you unaware? We are in a sea of blood, ashes floating in hell crying the name of a fading world. - Bleach Vol. 42

The series could have used her more outside of the Arcancar arc but in TYBW arc, she was the ruler of Hueco Mundo and saved Nel & friends from Yhwach. However, they forgot about her for the rest of the TYBW arc which I’m hoping the anime will fix, maybe adding a scene. In the timeskip, she’s adjusted to the role of it all and looks OP af, I personally love this look on her.

Appearance-wise, it’s obvious how stunning how she is honestly.

I used to think “Harribel” was her first name but Tier is actually her first name.

https://twitter.com/jessjessdraws - Artist who drew the Harribel sketch on bottom right panel.

3/5. Unohana Retsu \~ Squad 4 Captain and First Kenpachi

Why?

Almost every Bleach fan loves Unohana but besides the obvious mommy vibe she gives, I really appreciate the dual traits she's had. I really love how she’s a healing captain whose committed to the Gotei 13, and how it’s revealed later that she was one of the original Gotei 13 and the First Kenpachi. The way she holds herself from the beginning of her debut to her death, she always been caring to those she healed and worked with but held a intimidating demeanor around her.

Battle is everything - Bleach Vol. 59

Kubo’s character design is something that took me a while to realize there’s certain symbolism in it. Unohana’s mainstream design is much more meaningful when you find out the core of her character and how she started. The braid she puts her hair in resembles chains that Unohana put on herself to hide away her past of immense bloodlust as the First Kenpachi like the scar on her chest.

At the core of her character, fighting is everything to her considering the environment she’s grown in. The Soul Society and Yamamoto has harnessed her strength and killing prowess for the sake of protecting their interests. One of the themes of Bleach is the “The Heart” where many characters and groups have revolved around the belief of what the heart means to them. Unohana’s role in TYBW shows how her heart is centered around fighting and how her sin is the foundation of her persona as the kindhearted, healing Captain of Squad 4.

I always heard criticism about how Unohana got centered around Kenpachi and got killed for Kenpachi’s development, but I point to the overall themes of the story and how shinigami like Unohana who had to fight harshly to survive in the Rukon district. They often centered or associated themselves around another person who brings a feeling, emotion or sensation within them, that drives them to do actions in a story.

Learning healing kido to extend a fight for who knows how long is a pretty unique concept for the whole medical character trope. It’s so riveting to me that even through healing others, Unohana was helping the other shinigami live on for another fight which is something Kenpachi advocated to Ikkaku, besides doing her job. In her final battle, she was doing that not for Kenpachi but for the sake of the Soul Society’s survival. Thus, her heart and purpose might be with Kenpachi now, but she found meaning outside of her original role for centuries, and briefly enjoyed peace from being a fighter of bloodlust until the Wandenreich arrived.

@Mak_ai_ on Twitter is the artist who made the Unohana art with grey-black backgrounds and @srkbom108 on Twitter made the Unohana art that has red backgrounds to it. Check them out!

Bottom left art by @joranz1204 on Twitter and bottom right art by @Mak_ai_ on Twitter

Made by @rakusakugk on Twitter. Sorry about the whole art dump in this answer but I couldn’t help it lol, there’s just so much good Unohana art on the Internet, also I own none of the fan art here.

Hope you enjoyed it so far! Here's Part 2 of the post!

My top 5 Bleach women and why I love them: Part 2

Also, talking about her themes

Check me out on Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kirun-Uzumaki

I don’t know if Segunda Etapa and Ichigo’s Dangai version of his Bankai/Mugetsu could be considered equals. Vasto Lorde Ichigo overpowered Ulquiorra’s second Resurrecion and then Dangai Ichigo was overpowering Hyogoku Aizen’s multiple forms who claimed he was transcending hollows and Shinigami.

Mayuri’s surveillance bacteria are by far Kubo’s greatest “has no relevance except this one fight” concept. Someone should ask him about it at Klub Outside.

the official and fan translations really don't agree on chapter 552:

but if Bankai and Resurreción are equivalent, then Segunda Etapa and Final Bankai are equivalent, and Ulquiorra did it without any drawbacks whatsoever

from chapter 348 it apparently wasn't the first time he'd ever used it, so he could use it as many times as he wanted. Uryū was there for most of the fight (although he admittedly didn't see the transformation), and Uryū:

was infected with surveillance bacteria per chapter 303

in other words Mayuri, via SRDI staff like Akon, should've had footage, if not far more advanced telemetry, of an Espada using Segunda Etapa, the equivalent of a Shinigami's Final Bankai, and should have known it was theoretically possible to stabilize the latter

this man apparently never researched the matter for even an instant, not on Shinigami or on his resurrected Arrancar, nor did he ever talk to Kisuke about it (nor did Ichigo, Uryū, or Orihime) because if that research ever had happened, TYBW would've been the time to use it or at least mention it as being unready

this dude literally has footage of someone operationally going from an atomic bomb (~20 kt) to a hydrogen bomb (~200–1,000 kt) in lethality and shrugged and went meh to play around with Privaron Espada and Arrancar corpses

are you kidding me

what, did Akon or Hiyosu or somebody delete the footage?

also how the fuck did Ichigo never mention having seen Segunda Etapa after having lost his powers from using Final Bankai? especially when he'd literally seen Uryū lose his powers from using Letzt Stil only to gain them back? Ichigo dude why were you moping around for 17 months when you literally knew people who'd used equivalent powers who either didn't lose them or got them back soon after

like it is INCONCEIVABLE that Mayuri and Kisuke don't know about Final Bankai (Kisuke literally showed up as it ended versus Aizen) and couldn't analogize it to Segunda Etapa and Letzt Stil, and yet neither of them shows any apparent interest in it whatsoever

some scientists

"Oh, the hydrogen bomb? Meh, I don't wanna be Edward Teller, I'm a Robert Oppenheimer kinda guy."

this is likewise INCONCEIVABLE when Kisuke and Mayuri should know Wandenreich is coming, despite their apparent total lack of preparations

unless they deliberately ignored the research avenue to let Wandenreich kill as many people as possible

then they both roll out smartphones and internet streaming by NBFH to bring down Shinigami culture hmmmmm no conspiracy there no sir

Bleach characters, Ichigo has decided to quit being a soul reaper and go to college instead! Your reactions?

As requested by anon. :)

Hisagi: Awwww….I kinda *liked* the universe.

Soi Fon: Kurosaki is abandoning the fight now? Ridiculous.

Soi Fon: If he had learned the importance of duty and assassination when he was little, like a normal child, this would not be happening now.

Urahara: Actually, children in the human world learn things like coloring and counting! Not murder!

Soi Fon: No wonder humans are so weak.

Chad: Ichigo, I support education, but are you sure you want to *completely* give up being a soul reaper?

Chad: When you lost your powers, you were not happy.

Ishida: Plus, the universe tends to need you, Kurosaki! You have obligations!

Orihime: Maybe you should go on doing both school and shinigami stuff? We’ll help!

Ichigo: Guys…I was basically never in class during high school.

Ichigo: Being a shinigami is too much of a time commitment! So if I want to do college, I need to just do college.

Keigo: I-Ichigo…

Keigo: You…

Keigo: YOU REALLY ARE A NERD!!!

Ichigo: Shut up.

Byakuya: Kurosaki Ichigo, you do not need further schooling to achieve success.

Byakuya: Merely tell people that you are a noble. 

Ichigo: Yeah…being a part of a dead noble family from the afterlife doesn’t do much in the human world, Byakuya.

Byakuya: Humans are more barbaric than I realized.

Rukia: Hmmm….I’ve never been to college…

Rukia: It sounds fun!

Ichigo: W-what makes you think you’ll come??

Rukia: Because you always need me, fool!

Grimmjow: I don’t buy it, Kurosaki!

Grimmjow: You love fighting too much to give it up!

Grimmjow: The first time you see a hollow, your shinigami instincts will take over!

Ichigo: Naw. I’m probably gonna be a shinigami for the rest of my natural life and then for eternity in Soul Society.

Ichigo: I think I can handle taking four years off.

Grimmjow: WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH KUROSAKI?!?

Ulquiorra: All of you, enough. Kurosaki Ichigo is a human. He is allowed to lead a human life.

Ichigo: Uh….thanks, Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra: He will most likely be dead before he manages to finish four years of anything, after all.

Ichigo: …

Ichigo: Thanks so much.

Incredible, I love how you can correlate the ups and downs Ichigo has Hollow Zangetsu with these kleshas.

Zangetsu, you’re making it sound like that’s a bad thing.

But the fear of becoming a raging monster…is a perfectly reasonable and healthy fear. We should all have such a fear!

Some alternate titles.