Aizen's HOLLOWFICATION Experiments, EXPLAINED | Bleach Discussion

[@MrTommo2304]

What did you think of Aizen's Hollowfication experiments subplot? Are there any questions left unanswered? Let me know your thoughts!

[@dekuavatar8777]

When do you think aizen took over hueco mundo I say right after gin become captain

[@Raifyiix]

i was really bored this night until you uploaded, keep up the good stuff man

[@jdrodrigues7]

Who were the souls in the blobs and who was the specific Shinigami that became “White?” How can so many souls be stored in blobs with out the Science department noticing discrepancies when counting the soul numbers?

[@CaptainKotetsu]

@@dekuavatar8777 I also wondered when this took place. It must’ve been a while ago because you’d think Aizen was god to the arrancars. Hell, even after Aizen betrayed Halibel and cut her down, she still refers to him as “lord Aizen” in the cfyow novels.

[@s.4155]

I've always felt the similarity between a hougyoku in Bleach to that of the Philosopher's stone in FMA. There's a unifying idea of transcending natural laws by harnessing the power of shinigami and hollow souls in Bleach and human souls in FMA. Although the Bkeach version appears to be significantly more potent than the FMA one. What do you think?

[@CaptainKotetsu]

Ah, hollow experiments; the only scientific field where you WANT the resulting data to have holes.

[@Georg3e]

The only 👀

[@c-handle2676]

That joke has so many layers 😂

[@griszrox]

What about cheese science?🤨

[@jamespearsoniii914]

Studies on black holes begs to differ

[@CaptainKotetsu]

@@griszrox Now i’m imagining Aizen slicing Swiss cheese to achieve the perfect holes. Before cheese is cut, it technically doesn’t have holes; only craters and air pockets. “Hollow Cheese”

[@manuelacosta9463]

Aizen certainly continued because he wanted to inflict damage and distraction, chip away at Gotei 13's forces via attrition and have their complacency chalk it up to random Hollow attacks a perfect cover. Then he found a scapegoat in Urahara. It's certain Kisuke was involved in such top secret experiments and that's why he was the main suspect brought before Central 46. Aizen played his cards well but ironically his own inner doubts where his ultimate downfall in the end.

[@ShayPatrickCormacTHEHUNTER]

his own inner doubts?

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

Urahara in the end outwitted aizen, proving urahara is the superior intellect.

[@ShayPatrickCormacTHEHUNTER]

@@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716 but Aizen never denied it tho

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

@@ShayPatrickCormacTHEHUNTER he never acknowledged it either

[@ShayPatrickCormacTHEHUNTER]

@@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716 nope. Rewatch the anime.

[@crosis2]

I think Aizen did his experiments later for 2 reasons. First he needed to confirm how the Hogyoku actually works or what exactly triggers it's power and second he still had some need to create an army to fight Souls Society (or at least something against Yamamoto). Also he had nothing to fear about being detected as his Zanpaktou would make him almost invisible in that regard. Urahara could not find anything leading to Aizen, only the time he confronted him 100years ago (but that's nothing to do with having any proof against Aizen.)

[@dendrien]

your idea is deeply flaued and pretty much contradictory at best. for starters th Hogyoku plot not only was poorly written and pritty much a plot device that is pretty much an anomaly within a the story. secondly the need of an army, for what? nothing. first of it woudnt affect Yamamoto at all having one which is kinda obvious. thirdly his Zanpaktou, well the most OP dumbest plot device ever made had effect on everyone that includes Yamamoto. everyone was under its effect which is why Itchigo and the only reason why he was a key figure against Aizen. to be honest the entire story alone is badly written which further contradicts really everything till the end and most of all didnt explain anything other than having a sloppy story

[@CaptainKotetsu]

Aizen: “I’m the superior intellect. What could you possibly have that makes you a better scientist than me?” Kisuke: “I’m not in jail.”

[@yamatonoryuujin4871]

*Jinta and Ururu exist Urahara: "Nothing I'm not a better scientist than you...even though I basically did what you and Mayuri were trying to do for hundreds of years, funnily enough the only thing you managed to imbue life with the use of the hogyoku was a one time use puppet who was retarded."

[@Everythingz127]

Aizen: well, In jail but getting stronger while... sitting... Thank you for dooming my soul society even further.

[@TymeTraveling777]

Aizen: laughs maniacally kisuke: shuts the door 🚪 Aizen: .............

[@Slifer29]

This is why the both of them are war powers, according to the Wandenreich. Aizen for his immense reiatsu and Kisuke for his incalculable means and tactics. Aizen is without a doubt a very smart individual, but Kisuke is always the one who can think of something on the fly, and always knows how to craft one plan after another, and that is what led to Aizen’s downfall, because once he was further empowered by the Hogyoku he became increasingly arrogant, and believed that there was not anyone who could beat him but Kisuke was able to craft a sealing Kido to seal Aizen although his body needed to be weakened enough in order for it to take hold and that’s where Ichigo came in another war power. It’s almost like when Aizen was beaten Kisuke was like “You’re smart Aizen, but I’m something wiser”.

[@dendrien]

@@Slifer29 im pretty sure Kisuke stated the only reason it was able to defeat Aizen is due to the Hogyoku read his feelings and therefor wanted to be defeated. basically Aizen lost on purpose or subconsciously

[@isaacfaith9369]

Hollowfication is so creepy yet cool at the same time. Hollow / Arrancar is the coolest race in Bleach imo. Their designs and abilities are so wicked and edgy, and it is cool to see the Vizards use them as well. I wish they had been more prominent in the TYBW. Since their Reiatsu is poisonous to Quincies and all... Since it is related to this, could you perhaps attempt to chart the timeline of Aizen's Arrancar army? We know they were in the works for at least 20 years. Nnoitra's line of "having the strongest Hierro among the *long line* of Espadas" always intrigued me deeply, because we don't really get to see it. We get a glimpse in his & Nelliel's flashback.

[@holmesholmes.8784]

well, funny you said something about hollowfication during quincy war

[@rafflesiadeathcscent3507]

The espada arc was disappointing because the espadas werent really utilized well, no captain even died by their hands it was so underwhelming after being hyped to be stronger than captains.

[@yazid6024]

​@rafflesiadeathcscent3507 ur right i think tite kubo didn't want to kill any of the captain back then

[@iwx4021]

@@yazid6024you’re both right. he definitely (rightly) got more bold in tybw

[@radiantkratos5562]

Love this! Have you ever thought about making a video on what he planned to do when becoming soul king? I always had a theory that he was hoping to change the world for the better. Maybe changing all races (Hollow, shinigami, human, quincy) into a single race to create peace. And the reason he never brings up his ultimate goal as soul king is because it would break the illusion that he’s a power hungry villain.

[@MrTommo2304]

Thank you so much - and yeah, that sounds like a great idea for a video!

[@petrueshhka]

I feel like he was hoping to create a better world indeed, but Aizen is ultimately so selfish and he'd do whatever fit his own vision at the time So it could go very wrong even if his intentions were alright. Even in the Central 46 probably not everyone deserved to die, and I don't think it'd be beyond Aizen to eradicate the nobility in its entirety, our beloved Byakuya and Rukia included (maybe not Yoruichi though) So even though the Soul King was a rather pathetic ruler, I think in Bleach they'd be better off with someone like him rather than a guy who actually wants to play god

[@42CZ]

I would just like to add that the goal you stated is a type of genocide so it's still very villainous.

[@radiantkratos5562]

@@petrueshhka True. I wonder if he actually wanted to kill central 46 though, along with the others he killed, or if he just saw it as a necessary evil. “In this world, there’s only one thing that matters, hard facts.” If his ultimate plan was to make the world better, eliminate poverty, war, cancer etc. a few dozen, hundred, or even a thousand people sacrificed is nothing compared to the incalculable amount it would save. I just can’t get his final words to Kisuke out of my head “A victor should speak of how the world should be”. Along with what Ichigo said after beating him “I only felt loneliness coming from his sword.” So not someone who was obsessed with power. Extrapolating from that it seems Aizen didn’t just want to become king and say “Ha I did it!”. And I gotta say, looking at the current world, especially in bleach, I can’t honestly say I disagree that the world should change. But this is becoming pure philosophy at this point. Honestly I should just make an hour long video about it 😂

[@petrueshhka]

@@radiantkratos5562 Honestly, I feel like Yhwach fits the bill better for world-saving purposes. First, he's already a god and unlike Aizen he's already proven himself capable of being a god for thousands of years. Second, his motivation isn't as selfish. He isn't as obsessed with power (he simply wants to win and power is necessary for that), and it's explicitly said that he wanted to eliminate the fear of death. This means if Yhwach had won (and managed to make all that come true) we would've gotten a utopia exactly like you described So do you think that Yhwach would've done a better job than Aizen?

[@jasmineolivine]

IMO Aizen continued his Hollowfication experiments despite having realised that the hogyoku was the answer to his wishes, because he could no longer continue to conscribe lackeys from the ranks of the Gotei 13 without arising too much suspicion. He had found a couple of powerful and loyal allies in Gin and Tousen, but he knew that he would need an army to make his stand against all of Soul Society. It's a shame we don't learn if he was responsible for the occurrence of the Arrancar, outside of those we know he created/modified with the hoagie. We get the early scene of Grand Fisher having his mask stripped back by Aisslinger (Iceringer?) while D-Roy watches. We never find out if this was happening in Las Noches. But my headcanon is that it was, and Aizen had been building this army since White. The only origin we really get of Aizen in HM is him sacking Barragan's court. But he is already in post-shihakusho outfits, so it's not clear how recently it truly occurred.

[@SpliffingBrit]

I totally love your theory but the "hoagie" made me literally LOL

[@ralphcoleiv8095]

This analysis is very well done! They always are, but the patience kept here while articulating intricate concepts was exceptionally impressive! Nice, dude!

[@TravisAxel]

I think the reason Aizen insisted on hollowfication experiments was because if he was going to become the new soul king, he may have intended to dissolve the realms to its original state prior to the original sin. And likewise dissolving the boundaries between species would ensure that souls would all homogenize into one species once again. This might have been his plan before realizing the hogyokous true power and getting drunk on said power. I believe that was his biggest weakness in FKKT.

[@cupidlsu]

The Hollow Masks are themselves themed after the characters. Hiyori has a demon disposition, thus she has an oni mask with an oni horn (which is an appendage). Mashiro (mushi means bug) has her mask as insect-like and her leg armor is more akin to cricket/grasshopper jumping power. She's carefree, like an insect. Kensei (note a kensai is a weapons master in Japanese) has a combat knife for a shikai. Likely the column projections are analogous to a kind of armor to indicate how sturdy/tough he is. Etc.

[@LucciClubStudios]

“I’ve been wanting to tackle this topic for a while now” Me too homie I’ve been waiting for you to drop this video for awhile now thank you 🙏🏾

[@LB-vf2hm]

I think it's more that composites of many souls have those properties regardless, it just happened to be Shinigami souls most of those times. My reasoning for thinking so is that Menos also seemingly get their immense power from the fact that they're a fusion of a great many souls. They even follow a similar progression to Zanpakutou, beginning as blank, identical beings with no identity of their own, unlocking greater power only if they happen to contain a soul powerful enough imprint its identity across the rest, and very rarely progressing to a third form at roughly captain class. Gillian is equivalent to Asauchi, Adhuchas is equivalent to Shikai, and Vasto Lorde is equivalent to Bankai. My guess as to what the Hogyoku is is that it is something like an object which has approximated the power of the Soul King, which is why, despite being a wish granting device, the wish it seems most likely to grant (Based on the fact that two different people invented it specifically FOR this wish, it's the only wish we've ever seen it grant, and in the case of Chad and Orehime, it seems like it tries to grant this wish even for people who don't know that that's what it's for -- or indeed, even that it exists), is greater power, an/or transcendence. It pushes people towards a form like that of the Soul King. I think the wish granting powerr of the Hogyoku is related to the unique powers of Zanpakutou. I suspect that it's doing a very similar thing to what a Zanpakutou is doing when it bonds with a host and causes them to manifest a new power they didn't have before based on the nature of their soul, it's just so much further beyond a Zanpakutou that what it can achive by doing so is basically anything. It even bonds to a user who imprints on it.

[@Xainfinen]

Yes, that's the most likely explanation, it's just plain and simple but still need quite a bit of discernment. There is 2 types of Spiritual beings in Bleach, Hollow & Shinigami, there isn't many form or paths that any of those beings could take to evolve. That's why the Hôgyoku gave Aizen a transcended Shinigami form, then a Transcended Hollow form to fight Ichigo when the previous one wasn't effective. Lacking the third aspect (Quincy) he couldn't possibly be a three dimensional spiritual being like Ichigo, something he grossly overlook. It's exactly because of how Hollow naturally imprint from their human souls and from one another that Ôetsu devised a way to create Asauchi and Zanpakuto, as tool that fully realize the battle spirits of the Shinigami. Hollow by their very nature and the fact that they come from Human Souls, are effectively the only Spiritual beings who can mold and affect every other Spiritual beings and Spiritually Aware Human.

[@panthergawwwddd5887]

The algorithm showed me this channel a couple of months ago and I’ve been binging videos ever since. Thanks so much for putting out all the dope content! Looking forward to you covering the second cour of TYBW!

[@hairball178]

You think that maybe Kaname may have been infected during TBTP or become like a patient zero himself, leading into his full Hollowification before his death? He always seemed really stringent concerning the Arrancar & the Vizards, kinda wondered if he may have had a much deeper stake in the Hollowification research by the way he acted. Probably reading too much into it, but he seemed to have such an intense interest in all of this.

[@rayvonvelez3129]

Kaname basically wanted to become more hollow like, since he hated soul reapers so much. So aizen with the hogyoku granted his wish bestowed upon Kaname that power. Kaname definitely got the hollowfication in the arrancar arc. Cuz before he never had that power.

[@grantlach1668]

Love your channel man. Please keep up the amazing work we love and appreciate you

[@GoogleAccount-vh7ht]

Man I love Aizen, such a great villan.

[@Walrus907]

Okay, so if Asauchi are basically just Shinigami versions of Menos (think about it, what is a Menos but hundreds upon hundreds of hollow souls) then what would be the Shinigami version of a Vasto Lord? Maybe thats all the Hogyoku is. Maybe Nimaya, Aizen, and Urahaha all came upon the same conclusion. That if you keep forcing souls upon each other, they will eventually evolve. Hollow Spirit: Menos (hundreds of hollow spirits combine by attempting to devour one another) --> Adjuchas (hundreds of Menos combining until one hollow spirit is able to gain dominance) --> Vasto Lord (hundreds of adjuchas devouring each other and combining) Shinigami Soul: Asauchi (amalgamation of hundreds of shinigami souls) --> Individual Zanpacto (Asauchi that eventually gains a dominant personality -from the living shinigami-) --> Hogyoko (hundreds of Individual Zanpacto combined)

[@Raifyiix]

I was so bored this night until i got the upload notifications damn his content is so good

[@NeufAtora]

Based on the release dates of their respective chapters, I fully believe the hogyoku is Kubo referencing/paying homage to the philosopher's stone in Fullmetal Alchemist. They're both made with lots of souls, both typically take a circular shape, purple is a shade of red, and what the hogyoku ends up being able to do sounds almost exactly like how the philosopher's stone bypasses the law of equivalent exchange and achieve basically anything they desire

[@ultimateshadeofwar]

23:25 Have in mind the dialog later on implies very clearly that Tousen was angry because it choose to hollowfy a Quincy, and White was created to hollowfy who he would coinsider it's perfect target and transfer his soul, which Tousen expected to be a Shinigami, exactly why he coinsiders White a failure, while Aizen was fascinate with the actual result which was a Quincy Human

[@LightSkinJedi1920]

I wonder if Gin refused hollowfication. Which makes me want to know how strong he actually was especially since we didn’t get to see him fight anyone but Ichigo and even that fight didn’t go anywhere. He was teasing Hitsugaya when they fought. One of my favorite captains and he barely got any fights.

[@prismaticc_abyss]

One thing you could have mentioned it how natural Composites of Hollow souls create Menos Grande type hollows, there seems to be a parallel to the composites of shinigami souls, which can not occur naturally like with hollows, so doing it unnaturally makes interesting results, but, not unlike menos, results that are greater than the sum of their parts

[@feliperodriguez832]

I swear I always manifest what I want. I have been wanting a video on hollowfication! Thank you for the amazing content. Its like I am listening to a friend while I work.

[@ragnarlothbrok4748]

you using thr hogyoku or sth?

[@joshshrum2764]

I literally just watched the turn back the pendulum mini arc in the anime, and then he puts this out kind of creepy he’s watching me like aizen, lol, also i decided to watch it after fake katkauria, since I think it flows better.

[@joshshrum2764]

@@ragnarlothbrok4748 Or he has the miracle lol.

[@daymianhogue1634]

Why aizen continued the hollowfication experiments despite learning 100 years ago that the Hogyoku grants wishes and doesn't have anything todo with hollowfication? My best guess... is basically like Ichigo said at the end of Deicide, Aizen wanted competition. Aizen wanted to merge with Hogyoku to become a transcendent being. And take the thrown of soul king. But he also wanted to have other powerful beings that could rival him, and part of his God complex probably made him decide to create them manually rather than using the Hogyoku. Also? Maybe for Tosen. Since Tosen apparently wanted to be a hollow.

[@cpShadow9]

Mr. Tomo me and my sons love your technical analysis and commentary. You're freakin awesome. Some of the best Bleach interactions out there. Keep it up!

[@brandonmiotke]

The hogyoku is actually a very interesting concept because it seems like an extremely similar concept to a philosopher’s stone. Aizen kind of seems like Father in FMAB in that their arrogance of being a “great being” are what is ultimately their downfall. Just a thought.

[@CelestQB]

Can you please do a “what if Aizen fought the sternritter” video. Mainly the top tier sternritter like Gerard Valkyrie, Lille barro, HaschWalth, Gremmi etc.

[@ZafoolTV]

I agree with this

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

Gerard valkyrie is far too bs

[@joshshrum2764]

@@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716 The fierce battle of the immortals Damn that’s metal.

[@Leslie1984Adams]

i always thought of the Hōgyoku as a well of endless power, each soul adding to this pool, and eventually the souls fused in the little glass ball becomes something else, a sentient power that has no physical appearance but can latch onto someone like a parasite. I always assumed Aizen knew this and experimented with the Arrancar and Shinigami to find the best way to try and fuse with this sentient parasite without loosing himself and thus used small "pieces" of it to "infect" Arrancar etc and like the Mastermind he is, watched, took notes and formed a plan. Its worth nting you said yourself that Kisuke said the Hollow and Shinigami souls are mixing and causing the person infected to go wild and seemingly loose all humanity they had, so i feel that also applies to the Hōgyoku as all those souls mixing and mashing together, and whatever is forming inside that mass of souls is what Aizen was after.

[@DayzHacksful]

14:35 the way you describe the hogyoku here makes it sound suspiciously like a Philosophers Stone from FMA

[@Chikararyoku]

I think, for some of his hollowfication experiments, like the hollows with soul reaper powers and finally white, he used his incomplete Hogyoku if Kisuke could save the visoreds by wishing them to stabilize, than Aizen could wish for his hollows to get certain powers.

[@holmesholmes.8784]

kisuke didnt just wish for them to stablize to save the visord, he used another thing, to create a vaccine

[@darthsacul3940]

It's very simple. For you see, Aizen wanted to hear that sweet Espada soundtrack. Like Nube Negra, and Fiesta De La Guerra.

[@neilthomas9463]

This is exactly why your the Goat

[@derekhogan9685]

A video on arrancars would be fun. The hollow ability to become more like a shinigami is a fascinating, but more stable, inverse to hollowfication. Aizen must’ve even found it a better alternative since he chose to modify areancar.

[@slothbroth780]

I recently saw your bleach brave souls beyond bankai reviews and I have seen you rank captains and bankais before. I think it it be cool to speculate who would be strongest with their beyond bankai

[@slothbroth780]

Maybe it would be better as an April fools video, and there will probably be at least 1 more set of beyond bankais by then

[@JelloFluoride]

...Damn. This isn't just a great video, this is an example of how good your powers of observation are. Well done, sir!

[@protosonic17]

Great video man. When it comes to bleach you're the best

[@Eldagusto]

Technically they didn’t become perfect vizards right off the bat, they needed to have their personal trials against their inner hollow like ichigo before mastering their mask.

[@Watcher40K9]

I think part of the reason why multiple Shinigami Souls are necessary for these different thing mentioned around the 15 minute mark is that the Shinigami soul is unique compared to it's Hollow, Quincy, a Human counterparts in that it is a singular soul with a large amount of personal spirtual energy usually built up over refining itself through training and/or bloodlines. Hollows are an amalgamation of numerous souls of varying quality, Quincy have a Yhwack soul fragment parasite and only use a small amount of personal energy they use to take command of the environmental spirtual energy, and Humans have a single soul but have very weak personal spirtual energy. Kidou seems to allow a Shinigami to alter the wavelength of their personal spirtual energy to manifest elements different than their usual nature. Hitsugiya's uncontrolled spirtual pressure created frost that harmed the old lady he and Hinamori lived with, which happened before he joined the academy and received his Asauchi. This shows that a Shinigami's spirtual pressure can take elemental form even without a Zanpakutou. That Kidou can allow those with a natural ice affinity to manifest flames shows how versatile a Shinigami soul can be through training. I believe these qualities give a Shinigami soul a singular, powerful, and adaptable 'voice'. Combining many of these 'voices' into a 'choir' may be necessary to produce something powerful enough to warp reality into granting a wish. As for the sentience, we do also see this with Menos Grande. A hollow that accumulate so many souls that the original Hollows personality can be lost under the cacophony of the other souls becomes a standard Gillian, but some Hollows with a soul that has a strong enough ego (original hollow soul or one consumed) can become the core of a new consciousness. This type of unique Gillian consumes other Gillians in the evolutionary process from Adjutas to Vasto Lorde. This example demonstrates how something containing countless souls can build a sentience under the right conditions.

[@AminoSpeaks]

Didn’t the Vizards need to have an inner fight with their hollows to fully control their power as well?

[@dzhonnikihirin4006]

No

[@MaxIronsThird]

Just to control the transformation, not the actual Hollows(aka Soul Suicide). Think of when Ichigo first got his own Shinigami powers when training with Urahara, he already had a balanced soul, with Human, Shinigami, Hollow and Quincy, he was already complete/perfect, his soul didn't try to commit Suicide, he just had to awaken his own Shinigami powers, to even out the reiatsu within himself, he didn't need the Hougyoku or the vaccine, bc he's already has the "vaccine" and is somewhat close to a Hougyoku. Hougyoku is made from the Soul Kings nails.

[@TheGreatDevlin]

There's still an element missing to tie together the creature known as White for me. But I definitely enjoyed getting that explanation. It did tighten the series' plot effectively.

[@Kubinda12345]

I always thought that the infection among the Vizards was spread via air which is why Tosen was wearing a breathing mask and goggles.

[@Kubinda12345]

@@dorothychambers1455 But the injuries were caused differently; by Tosen's blade, by Kensei's hollofied form etc. And was Hiyori injured at all? And even if it happened through injuries, how would it get to the bodies? My only idea is that there was some pathogen in the air.

[@danielmacdonald9287]

@Kubinda12345 Hiyori was bleeding, so I'm guessing she was injured in some way when she came into contact with Kensei. Maybe there is a pathogen but it only passes into injuries, directly to the blood?

[@in-craig-ible6160]

I personally think Visored were the cooler of the two hybrid races, between them and the Arrancars.

[@SpliffingBrit]

I agree

[@WindLogia]

This was definitely a much needed video. Thank you!

[@N7Spades]

I just got an idea with aizen raising his sword and you referencing kill them all. Made me think his bankai could be his illusions/hypnosis being able to physically affect things/reishei. So with his bankai, he could kill all of them at the same time with the downward slash as each version of him that the effected see/sense are actually "real."

[@nathanielduggan1684]

You do a great job breaking it down here. On a very surface level, I was always a little peeved the entire hollowfication subplot didn't matter -- in a narrative sense, the single purpose of Aizen getting Arrancar soldiers was to make Wonderweiss to counter Yamamoto. Like, the espada, his base in hueco mundo, literally none of it mattered because Aizen proved he could tank the entirety of the gotei 13 plus vizards solo. The whole war was rendered filler simply because of how OP Aizen with basic Shikai is

[@kenshin391]

This is why you have to love Bleach. It's mysteries and twist to everything is beyond captivating.

[@rayvonvelez3129]

After hearing that aizen was trying to replicate how oetsu creates zanpakuto but with hollowfication. Like kaname zanpakuto could be made into a resurrection, Now we see a little more how shady soul society is

[@Charlieandp]

Ye it's fascinating how shinigamis greatest weapons are hollows they bond with and share their own soul with.

[@draco_nyxieX]

love the video but wish this was a one hour video because I think there's stuff that needs a longer review on hollowfication and the hogyoku

[@LupercalRising]

Yeeeees, MrTommo coming in with my most wanted video idea. Aizens Hollow Experiments are the backbone of the entire series. Without it we wouldn't have Ichigo, the Vizards or Arrancar

[@ElKabong3345]

29:10 You actually answered it yourself in the video. He's testing, but also trying to draw out the Vizards, who are close to Kisuke, with good bait to peak Urahara's interest to show up, just like he did 100 years ago. Doing this would help pinpoint the Hogyoku further.

[@Miso.coop.projects]

Based on all the stuff about rage speeding up Shinjis transformation, and the very nature of regular holes turning into hollows, I always interpreted it as souls who are ready to be hollowfied (via this “hollowfication virus” or exposure or proximity to Aizen’s hogyoku, or whatever) begin to hollowfy as they’re pushed/challenged, whether it’s intense emotion (like shinji) or physical shock/trauma (like Kensei). Hiyori has been physically pushed/exhausted, but not grievously wounded, so takes longer. I also think this fits with how they (the visored) train Ichigo by starting with trying to get him to work out until he collapses, and then Hiyori fighting him until his mask comes out on its own. Also given how Kisuke and Aizen talk about “progression” I think it’s probably right that the reason for extra hollow features on Kensei and Mashiro are mostly due to time elapsed.

[@That_One_Guy-.]

14:51 It´s probably unrelated, but this kinda makes me think of the explanation we were given on Yhwach´s powers in chapter 565, the idea that something that could not be done with one soul could be done with more than one.

[@InutehUnicorn]

I alway had this crazy idea that the Hollowfication was some sort of variation or power of Aizen's Bankai. I thought of it as a parallel of his Shikai; where when activating that one Aizen can trick the senses, when activating the Bankai he can trick the genetics/soul itself. Thus I thought that perhaps that was why he couldn't or wouldn't use it as often, since his entire journey was basically learning the nature of the soul. How do you fake or make something artificial without knowing what it is supposed to be to begin with?

[@RandomGirlDiana]

thats a good take

[@sageaizen6837]

In an ideal world created by Aizen i think he would have every person human hollow or shinigami to integrate their shadow to live with the opposite force within like ichigo , unlike yuha bach who would eliminate death , aizen i think would create one heaven

[@mystic1360]

Lol you actually think that 😭😭, it would be hell to live in his world

[@MarsCorporations]

I think Aizen fell for the same Trap that many scientists fall into: Testing the same thing (with only slight alterations) again and again. We all do it: Test something. Does it work? -> Test something very similar to move forward. Does it fail? -> Test the previous step again (even though we already know the answer) to have everything in a known state.

[@eazybrowniemix]

The Hogyoku is literally just the philosopher's stone from FMA.

[@petrueshhka]

This is an amazing video. Thank you so much for finally discussing this topic. Probably it's the most coherent explanation we can get based off the manga, if only Kubo went out of his way and said what he meant exactly

[@Jimbobalina1]

Great work Tommo!

[@deepbreeze9058]

Seems like hollowfication would have been an important part of Aizen's plan even if he knew what a hogyoku could do. Aizen's evolutions are all inspired by what he's seen. Ichigo's form with long hair and dark eyes at the start, and then something aproximating hollowfication. Guess he needed something to wish for?

[@hikariizuki1693]

Is it not that kisuke finds out why shinji and the others become stabiles after he used the hogyoku and come to the idea of making that vaccine? When hearing about the vaccine, what I think is, kisuke take sample from sinji and try to find out what is the key to stopping the soul suicide. This is because he already, or planning to hide the hogyoku inside rukia. He have to know how to fix it without the hogyoku in case he is facing something similar, and he can't just use hogyoku all the time since it's a dangerous item

[@0DdOne]

I personally enjoy the holes I haven't created

[@justinrivera1618]

I find it interesting that the story of how the Menos are made is exactly how special devices have been made throughout the Soul Societies history

[@KingFaTeX]

Tosen is wearing a face mask during the turn back the pendulum arc so maybe it is airborne.

[@ameliagalleon3108]

Hmm. Younger Version of Genryusai fused with the Hogyoku instead of Aizen would even beyond Butterfly Aizen & Monster Aizen 🤔 Maybe nearly/ or equal to Ichigo's FGT Version If Yamamoto was give a Order to Kisuke Urahara to create a Hogyoku in the TYBW Arc then could see a Fight between Genryusai ( Hollowfied & Hogyoku Version ) vs. Soul King Yhwach 😅🤔

[@radicalred474]

Have any of you maybe thought that this is just another version of the philosopher’s stone? They literally are using the same ingredients for this hogyoku as they would the philosopher’s stone. Just look it up I’m sure you’ll draw the same conclusion as I when you watch full metal alchemist and now bleach.

[@ce11fire]

Here’s an interesting question that only kubo could answer. Quincys being the masters of reishi manipulation, could they break down the reishi of a dead captain lvl soul reaper?

[@R_SENAL]

Continuing experimentation with White may have been less to do with inquisitiveness and more to do with the other half of what he was doing, something kinda missing here, and that's Aizen's Arancar experiments. His creating tailor made Arancars for his Espada army but also making things like Wunderweiss, since he probably had the idea for him long before he knew the true nature of the Hogyoku. Also I think Aizen knew where the Hogyoku was for a long time before he made a play to get it. He says as much to Ichigo in fake Karakura.

[@gammafrost]

I’m very curious what would happen if ichigo was exposed to the hogyoku. Would he gain an actual resurrection somehow like Tosen? In can’t fear your own world, that fullbringer who fought urahara asked him why he didn’t make a hogyoku for ichigo

[@yamatonoryuujin4871]

Because Ichigo is already one, the true meaning behind the name "Hogyoku" is the jewel that breaks barriers, Ichigo himself who is already similar to the soul king has broken the Barriers just by being born. Kisuke already knew this, and knows there's no point in basically giving him a hogyoku since his potential itself is practically limitless and compared to people like Aizen who lived for hundreds of years or more and Kenpachi who lived near a thousand or more, Ichigo is relatively young & he barely scratched the maximum limits of his powers. What's funny is that both Orihime and Chad might have gotten their abilities when they got really close to Ichigo as that was one of the theories aside from the Hogyoku inside Rukia during her time in the living.

[@Itzxkazer]

@@yamatonoryuujin4871 i’d never thought about ichigo being a hogyoku, cool theory!

[@dmannycarter9537]

@@yamatonoryuujin4871Would that mean that if say a human soul got attacked by a Hollow and they started to hollowfying, if Ichigo was near the area of the attack could he stab them with Zangetsu and stabilize the hollowfication as well as give them power

[@joshshrum2764]

He’d turn into a goat because he the goat hah.

[@codywinchester8779]

Wait a second,off topic but is that an English 13 Blades copy? Also thank you for this video,you are covering everything I've ever wondered about in the world of Bleach. Definitely the best Bleach YT channel I feel. Keep it up brother

[@AlexESR71]

So Aizen was still developing the whole hollowfication in the turn back the pendulum arc. It means he hadn't fully developed yet his system to create his arrancar army. I mean this because Lisa does make Aizen mention how they ( the vizards) are mock arrancar. Meaning the arrancar themselves were the final product of his experiments. As in the whole conversion had to take place within the most recent 100 years, or even as recently as the last 20 years given how white was still a work in process. Not really relevant of a thing but still fascinating to think how las noches was still a nest of adjuchas and vasto lordes roaming around, aside from Ulquiorra and Stark who appear to be the only natural born Arrancar, meaning back stories like Nel's aren't even that long ago. I wish we could get some more material on the actual gathering of the espada, and how Aizen actually managed to trace every one of them and what he ended up doing to convince them to join. Especially with Ulquiorra and Stark, given how they were not only the strongest, but probably the least interested in joining him. I'm guessing it actually had to be Aizen himself to fight them for a while to convince them he's strong, with both Gin and Tousen just standing on the sidelines, or even being about to be taken out by them until Aizen shows up.😂

[@thedarkblitz]

My take on this is that Aizen managed to turn hollowfication into an infectious "disease", he stabbed Kensei then infected Kensei managed to turn the others by injuring them like a zombie would(sometimes even a scratch would suffice).

[@august6281]

just from listening to Aizen explaining very complex stuff, he got me hypnotized. No way im surving in Bleach Universe.

[@Michael_govorko1]

Thanks! Great video❤

[@babaG819]

Isn't him becoming transcendent a vital part of getting to and killing the soul king? I feel like it's the same end goal not two separate ones. Technically he could probably do it without the hogyoku but it would be more difficult aka have more contingencies which is not what he's about, and also he doesn't just want to stand at the top for the sake of it, he wants to shape the world in his image and likely needs the power of the hogyoku to do so, especially if he was trying to replace the soul king and not just get rid of him period.

[@Beraka114]

well my answer for why aizen bother to do hollowfication beside what you told is kyouka suigetsu can make people maybe forget or faking hollowfication easly

[@alfiexnakama4678]

Now i want u to talk about Aizen hollow form 😌

[@carloscruzartchannel5345]

It’s crazy to think ichigo is aizen’s best experiment.

[@gammafrost]

Makes you wonder what kazui is going to be like. The guy is literally opening portals to hell as a child and potentially might even have orihime’s powers

[@0kamar189]

@@gammafrostand I’ve been wondering technically ichigo isn’t a combination of all the races because of sinners in hell, but maybe something weird happend in his shiba bloodline with the sinners because I know one of the noble clans were messing with it

[@gammafrost]

@@0kamar189 I don’t think sinners in hell actually qualify as a race but we’ll see. No. 8 espada is still an arrancar even tho he’s gained new powers

[@MrCavonta]

The hogyoku is essentially bleach's "philosopher's stone".

[@ZafoolTV]

It's so much more than that...

[@RavinerPayne]

Lol it'd be funny if during that first part when Gin was spying on him, Aizen found out the fate of the Soul King due to the nail.

[@Travizzizzle]

ive seen alot of comments stating similar sentiments to what im about to say, but what you never touched on really is the fact that if urahara was under the impression that hogyoku would stabalize the boundaries that is why Aizen made his own... in making his own he was also unaware of its true power, that is why he deemed it a failure, because it didnt due what urahara implied it did... in possessing a hogyoku and continuing his expiriments he was only able to create White because that is what he desired and why that "expiriment" worked, and once whites form was broken and seperated forcibly the shinigami souls did infact commit soul suicide, thus the reaction of suprise when it "fails" the hogyoku allowed it to be created but aizen never wished for an immortal being and the real kicker here.... his dream wasnt any of that.... his dream was to kill the soul king, and thus White targets ichigos mother to then create ichigo with the very unique porperties that we all knew but were revealed in EBTR. Aizens hogyoku literally mainfested ichigo and the events surrounding his unique characteristics, and after it fuses with uraharas it becomes a completly seperate entity Dwarf in a Flask style. No aizen hogyoku to manifest hes dream of creating a transcendent being i.e. Ichigo no ichigo, outstanding depth and understanding of the lore, i just think your didnt ponder this train of thought enough

[@TymeTraveling777]

The hogyoku is probably the essence of the Soul King

[@mattgerardteves419]

Aizen knew the quincy waa gonna come..Anything he has done would have been to mitigate that end...

[@gralegambino1433]

Exactly!!! If Aizen doesn’t recruit the espada …. Then yhwach would have forced them into his army like ebern and ludas and hallibel

[@Jaheemjb]

brilliant

[@curse-banger]

I really like the Thumbnail!

[@Exile_Sky]

I think Aizen was hedging his bets. He wanted someone to transcend the corpse that is the Soul King, and wasn't completely sure he could do so. He became deluded there at the end when Ichigo arrived not as a trascended being, but as a simple Soul Reaper. What's odd is that Aizen seemed to be suggesting that Ichigo could have reached his Blood War Arc state sooner, at least to me. Ichigo does do some outright nuts stuff during the war compaired to what he does to Aizen at the end, but that's yet to be aired.

[@moscowfreak795]

You forgot to mention Tosen's hollowfication

[@redred1952]

I think Aizen uses kyoka suigetsu and it's done off screen for infecting Hirako and co

[@jacobgonzales7588]

Perhaps the experimentations were in an attempt to lift others into a state of transcendence with him? Obviously he was always going to be “at the top” since he believed himself superior and the true power of the hogyoku is meant for one. But what if all the effort in the meantime was to bring the rest of soul society into something halfway resembling his level of existence? Basically he tries and fails at “mass producing” transcendence and is left a lonely king of nothing by the end of the arc.

[@fortello7219]

If the Hygyokyu is a piece of the Soul King's nail then; is it possible that it's a type of Fullbring? The Soup King has the powers of all types of spiritual beings, including Fullbring. As well Fullbrings act on the intentions of the user and can operate independently. It would be unusual but also fitting of the Soul King to have a power like this. Furthermore it awakens other Fullbringers. As Fullbrings can alter the world in ways unlike other spiritual powers it's well within the power set, and we know they can be strengthened and enhanced. Especially with Soul Reaper powers as we see in their Arc where they steal Ichigo's mixed powers for themselves.

[@Kaluriel]

one interesting parallel is that a hogyoku and asauchi are created in the similar manner as menos are, only using shimigami souls

[@xscythe67]

Aizen, with the hogyoku's help, completed the hollowfication metamorphosis, indicated by no longer having a mask on his face

[@nickolasmage7440]

The hogyoku is a version of the philosophers stone. It's made by sacrificing a large amount of lives/souls it grants the bearers wish and its a bit of a monkeys paw

[@Infinite8blue]

Actually it was tousen that infected them all, when he use his Bankai. I believe he stab each of them to start the hollowfacation

[@frederickmeadows8716]

Thanks for the breakdown Bleach and Hunter X Hunter be confusing sometimes

[@wanderlustwarrior]

I'm surprised you didn't mention that Tosen's Hollowfication is a much better version than the Visored, with super healing and without the time limit.

[@hollowify_tensa_zangetsu]

I always pondered on the masks with color or markings. 1.Ichigo 2.Hiyori 3.Hatchi With Ichigo the markings and color represented his growth/control of White and his Zangetsu power. With hatchi and Hiyori being the biggest on my mind. Hiryori markings I think having to do with how she uses ceros. Being there 4 markings and I know in TYBW she has a 4 cero attack which is purple. And Hatchi being A bakudo user and his is the most powerful. But hiryori is t too strong Shinji is my favorite and he is the strongest but his mask has none on it at all. But his is my 2nd favorite mask obviously White is my top

[@fathergucci9588]

Great video and all but imagine if Gerard Valkyrie used Sklaverei during his fight in the final arc 😭

[@gralegambino1433]

Brooooooooooo

[@justinedwards5047]

It seems that Kiske's hogyoku was more successful than Aizen's initial attempt, so perhaps he continued working on hollowfication because he knew that's what Kiske was working on when he developed his and he was hoping to find what Kiske had found that he had missed in the process

[@sicilianmammalian]

The hogyoku is basically a philosophers stone also white has a name it’s zangetsu