THE MOST EVIL SHINIGAMI: Ichibei Hyosube | BLEACH: Character Analysis

[@KaiserAfini]

The shikai and bankai reflect the nature of the shinigami. Yammamoto kills whatever is in front of him with unrelenting aggression, Ichigo focuses on being a protector and Urahara's zanpakutou allows him to adapt his preparations on the fly. But what is Ichibei's approach to fighting? He takes away your identity and agency with his shikai, and then condemns you to whatever place he chooses in his order of things. That is twisted on a profound level, he is one of the most unambiguously evil beings in the setting.

[@eavyeavy2864]

Anti-auth screaming in comments 😂

[@gipsymelody1268]

also he choosed the ant... well it's a very bad opportunity what kubo not used! an ant stronger 100 times... so yhwach could use this feat against him! :S also his power to naming everything :S but yeah he is dishonored

[@Maxjuliann]

What does Aizens zanpakuto say about his nature ? 😮

[@KaiserAfini]

@@Maxjuliann He is someone who understands war well ("all war is deception"), who would rather focus on manipulating than solely on killing.

[@gipsymelody1268]

@@Maxjuliann want to control the things… Probably His bankai extending the shikai’s ability and can manipulating others’ time sense too! Like litereally yhwach was affected by it during when he visited in the prison! And said how aizen manipulated/changed His sense of time! (Because he tought it was just a few minute but around 10-20 minutes) And His shikai can’t do this! So deffinitly it was His bankai! Maybe it is the reason why he never used cause it’s pointless in the fights…

[@roseredthorns]

i find it weird that fans are upset with ichibei's depiction as an evil bastard. it's 100% appropriate for the story. everyone forgets the gotei 13 were the antagonists for the first 2 seasons. they even let monsters like kurotsuchi run a squad. the maggot's nest imprisoned people for thought crime. the structure of the gotei 13 and central 46 is not a morally good one. it's appropriate for the head of the shinigami to be an evil bastard. it wouldve been disappointing if the head of the shinigami, an organization of ruthless authoritarians, ended up being some isshin kurosaki-like good boy.

[@revimfadli4666]

Is it "necessary" evil though? Or outright unnecessary?

[@neco_drip4347]

@@revimfadli4666 Yes it is.The Soul Society is the embodiment “morally grey” and “the end justifies the mean”.It is more FITTING Ichibei to be that way.

[@Manuel-gt9jf]

People where mad?

[@louisrobitaille5810]

@@revimfadli4666 Genryusai was just like him for millions of years. He only softened up in the past 200 years (since the quincies were thought to be eradicated) and even more since Ichigo interacted with them. That's also what got him killed.

[@poochyenajones1362]

As was stated, the shinigami used to be called protectors of "balance", not justice, or good and definitely not truth.

[@jrgenvellesen7800]

Ichibei is the ultimate personification of the phrase: "History is written by the victors". His power is one of the absolute best in terms of showing how a Zanpakuto is a manifestation of a Soul Reaper’s soul. I am really looking forward to seeing his fight against Yhwach in the anime!

[@joselase6894]

I feel the anime has been rushed. I hope it's not the same as the first half.

[@TruthSeeker23099]

@@joselase6894 definitely feels rushed…and the second half will be the same unfortunately

[@axcel2656]

@@TruthSeeker23099 how is it rushed? can you tell me what part of the manga they've cut? except 2-3 useless dialoges and it even added some scenes

[@dawidklonowski923]

Manga was rushed, not anime

[@visuyhmgroup]

@dawidklonowski923 Kubo also confirmed the anime will add fights and EXPAND on even more of the manga going further into it.

[@Grayson-Winchester]

It is no secret that the Shinigami have a bad reputation outside of seritei. I think part of the reason why they are viewed as evil are mostly the original Gotei 13 which I imagine they were like the phantom troupe. And of course that the nobles basically killed Reio and scattered his body parts.

[@hollow9846]

The last part is a secret only known to "few" (every supporting character 😂)

[@mufeezsyed2664]

I hope they adapt soul king backstory for the anime

[@superiorrule34]

Honestly the shinigami are neither good nor evil their job is to maintain the balance of the worlds.

[@BotBehavior]

@@mufeezsyed2664 why wouldn’t they. Expect things to be explained in more detail given the rush of the mange to be over.

[@Grayson-Winchester]

@@superiorrule34 like I said in my comment it was mostly the original Gotei 13 that made people think of the Shinigami to be villainous. After Yamamoto founded the seritei and academy Shinigami could work to have a better purpose in life. But that still doesn't cleanse the predecessors guilt. Aizen,Tosen and Tokinada are well aware of that.

[@micah459]

The title is so accurate. Ichibei was really going to sacrifice Ichigo against his free will. That's some evil shit and I love that Kubo let's you know that the Soul Society isn't good either

[@Pqihtyieojn12]

*isn't

[@darthstar7945]

@@micah459 No Aditya is trying to tell you that you put the wrong word in the last part "Soul Society isn't good either"

[@micah459]

@@darthstar7945 oh I didn't see that 😋

[@nobleactual7693]

Well, it may be considered "necessary" evil that was for the greater good. The alternative was that the three worlds would collapse on each other, destroying *all* life.

[@Fireitup3222]

Ichibei’s sole duty for a million years has been to protect the balance. If he failed to do that it would destroy the lives of billions. It’s not really evil to do what it takes to prevent that. What’s one life compared to the destruction of three worlds?

[@storageunit2683]

The one thing people seem to forget was Kyoraku gave those soul passes to Ichigos friends for a different reason. Not because Ichigo would end up powerful, but because if shit hit the fan Ichigo would have been sliced up and turned into the soul king

[@solitary2]

Yk what’s interesting? I only really began to understand, or, better put, place into a better perspective, how much Shunsui knew/knows after seeing it animated

[@ronaldwestbeal2269]

@@solitary2 shunsui likes ichigo and the other ryoka but if it was neccessary for them to be sacrificed to save everything else hed have no issue doing so he always does what it takes to win you can see that when he free'd aizen from some of his lock and even when he realized aizen had more locks unlocked than he thought he still went ahead and released more seals so he could use aizen

[@zeppelincraft1443]

@@ronaldwestbeal2269 Shunsui has at least has the courtesy to let his friends meet Ichigo if he becomes soul king.

[@maindawn8327]

yeah, there's no way shunsui knew about Squad 0's plan.

[@solitary2]

@@maindawn8327 Bro what? Yes he did? The first episode of Season 2 even confirmed this, he said something along the lines of "Is this what you're planning, Osho?" The thing about Shunsui is that he knows FAR more than he lets one. He knows about the dark secrets and societies of the Seireitei. He knew about Unohana's past and how she was going to die to Kenpachi. He knew Ichigo was the pick to be the Soul King, hence why he said to his friends "Ichigo may come back with a power that would disrupt the fabric of reality, and therefore, he must stay in the Soul Society" Ichigo's power has never once disrupted the world, so why is it now that it would? Aizen even remarks him when he said "You truly are an intriguing man".... When does Aizen EVER direct the SEMBELANCE of intrigue in literally anyone outside of him? And those he does you could count on Aizen including the man he said

[@daydreamsinpastels]

Ichibei has to be one of the most terrifying characters in Bleach. I remember reading the manga and thinking "oh he seems jolly and awesome" but as it continued becoming so uncomfortable with him. He is probably the worst of the worst even though he is the protector of the Soul King.

[@keronrussell9271]

Who said he was the protector? He assisted int he man's imprisonment after all How I explain it to my cousins is: "The zero division are the soul king's prison guards" (and even in his sealed state the soul king's power is passively on thier level or higher. The only people who can actually hurt him are people with monstrous power levels (like the zero division and the original heads of the noble families) or trancendents like himself (as well as Ichigo, Bach and Aizen), so what protector does he specifically need?)

[@daydreamsinpastels]

@@keronrussell9271 fair. Protector isn’t the best descriptor to use, guard is more accurate.

[@49ersfoldem]

@@daydreamsinpastels The Soul King is just a corpse and excuse.

[@daydreamsinpastels]

@@49ersfoldem I can see why he could be seen that way. Especially with what we know about him and the many aspects of his body (probably a poor choice of words but I am trying to maintain a spoiler free comment).

[@49ersfoldem]

@@daydreamsinpastels 👍🏿

[@Resjek]

The terrifying part of this Soul Reaper is any ordinary person that isn't holding the ability Almighty has to just die when they face this man. Ichibei is exactly that guy his skills and will is absolute. He just ran into someone that was unwilling to die and had the powers to back it up. Crazy anime crazy characters I respect the mind that made these

[@JeffCJY]

He is at the top of the World for a reason.

[@ophhate]

Glad juha killed him. Shame he came back especially since juha absorbed the SK bones and all

[@w47765]

It's weird he didn't foresee "The Almighty" ability. Someone as manipulative as him feels like the type who would have accounted for such a high tier ability.

[@KakashiHatake-kq6ol]

Aizen solos him extrem diff >> and ichigo true bankai 2 >>

[@satwikkala2541]

Ichibe being a representation of shinigami ugliness is the reason I like villains such as Kaname, Aizen, Ginjo, Yhwach.

[@Yee____]

Yhwach was not a villain he was an anti hero,he wanted to end his father’s humiliation and wanted to remove the concept of death

[@SunGodNika-bi2jr]

Ichibei had the makings of the Final Boss if the Series

[@TruthSeeker23099]

@@SunGodNika-bi2jr definitely sounds like if…from what I’ve been reading…he ain’t shit lol

[@kidcircuit1955]

@@Yee____ bro, he's on the Pure Evil Wiki, what do you mean?

[@TheDragonsPit]

Aizen doesn't really fit here (Nor Ginjo) Aizen was ultimately trying to break the very system that Ichibe represented his methods however were less then ideal, Aizen wanted to make things fairer for everyone and was against those that wished to see the system remain the same, frankly the great thing about Aizen is just how alike he and Ichigo are as people yet are still totally different people its not hard to see why Ichigo is the only one that can really understand him. Ginjo was a victim of the system itself and practically used by the Soul Society his actions against Ichigo while not justified were a result of what happened to him.

[@jamesw2831]

Ichibe is literally an amazing depiction of a chaotic neutral, who has moments of human consciousness, but is devoted to the goal. In 613, he legit “apologized” after Ichigo and his friends left because he knew they wouldn’t be able to defeat Yhwach and Ichigo would have to be sacrificed for the balance. However, I think this is why there may be strong hints that Ichigo’s power is one which changes Fate through the actions he made, not just Zangetsu. Here is what Yhwach and Ichibe missed: 1) Ichigo’s relationship with Uryu and Uryu’s desire for revenge against Yhwach for killing his mother and his desire to protect his friends. 2) Neither party predicted Ryuken doing his own autopsy on his dead wife to find the silver clot that he used to make the arrow that he would bestow to Uryu during the end game. 3) Yhwach absorbing the remnants of Reio in order to counter the threat that was Ichigo was something that even Ichibe didn’t see and Ichigo again, subverting what he predicted was Fate. 4) Neither party saw that Ichigo’s empathy toward Ginjo would lead to a debt that would lead to Book of the End being used to pay back the favor to bring Ichigo’s blade back after Yhwach broke it, stole his Hollow and Quincy powers. 5) I could talk about Aizen intervening in the end game, but I’ll leave that alone. So all these small actions (including what we learned about what Haschwalth saw when he had The Almighty) actually led to a Fate Yhwach dismissed and Ichibe couldn’t see meaning Ichigo got to survive. But back to Ichibe, I still feel iffy about him

[@lankeysob]

Very well put!

[@gallavanting2041]

I don't know if I agree that he's chaotic neutral. He literally helped instituted and serves the cycle of universal order and will do anything no matter how evil to uphold it and stop it from falling back into chaos. That's way more LE than CN to me, especially considering that the origin of Lawful and Chaotic is literally rooted in a cosmic war between the forces of law and chaos and he acted to institute the order of law on a chaotic cycle.

[@RJMacReady1]

@@gallavanting2041 this. Theres no way this guy is chaotic neutral

[@Kobalt_Rax_the_one]

Actually Ichibey may have expected some of those , he looked way to calmed imo . But we can all agree , that the guy is not quite the nicest at all, he is very gray at least. He is the kind of character that can easily be an antagonist , an enemy the next day . He always is shady and i think there is even more to him , hope Kubo gives him a role in the Hell arc .

[@jamesw2831]

@@Kobalt_Rax_the_one put it like this, I think even Ichibe doesn’t want to fuck with Hell

[@williansouza8724]

it’s very likely that the soul king accepted to become what he did. he had the power of the almighty, so he knew everything that was going to happen, presumably up until yhwach and ichigo killed him. so the last thing he saw was his son avenging him, wrecking the hell out of the soul society and the soul reapers. but the almighty has its flaws.

[@DayaRam-bs2cx]

Or maybe the original world was so chaotic, so decided that maybe the new world would have some sort of peace. Most humans in bleach don't even know about the soul society. They are just living their normal life, away from the otherworldly conflicts. And in Can't Fear Your World novel, I think it's stated or heavily implied that he protected humans or wanted what is best for them.

[@CasperAJ]

When I first read these chapters, I thought the wording was odd. The way he spoke to Yhwach was not of an enemy, but as someone who's causing trouble. It was like he was punishing him, instead of killing him. Seeing as though he's been around for millions of years, he probably saw when Yhwach came into existence, and knew what he was. He wanted Ichigo to "stop" him, not kill him, I found that statement really odd at the time, Yhwach was the biggest threat to everyone, but he didn't want him dead. So if the Quincy legend is true, then a Quincy similar to Yhwach will be born again in the future, or will it not happen because ichigo's son seems like he has a portion of Yhwach's powers.

[@CNNBlackmailSupport]

Ponder this. If Ywach had been killed earlier, Gerard would have straight up destroyed the universe.

[@justifano7046]

I think ichigos kid sent the yuha reincarnation to hell.

[@Kobalt_Rax_the_one]

@@justifano7046 Oh shit , that is a possibility .

[@JeffCJY]

@@CNNBlackmailSupport Nah, Ichibei was already revived and could nullify his Miracle.

[@CNNBlackmailSupport]

@@JeffCJY by definition, The Miracle beats everything hostile. Maybe Ichibe could make Gerard into a friend and convince him to give up in the best interest of the world, but power to power isn't a contest. Gerard gets hurt by Ichibe, then he completely reforms even larger and destroys everything. Maybe Ichibe survives, but everyone and everything else is toast.

[@mung01re]

Can't Fear Your Own World describes Ichibei as pretty sociopathic, but also as a wholly necessary evil. He fulfills a role that must be fulfilled, and he takes it excruciatingly seriously.

[@ultradripstinct7105]

He's evil because he would have had the only other person who could create the balance of the worlds become it?

[@krimsonk-9478]

​@@ultradripstinct7105right, dude is practically a force of nature. Hes lawful neutral at best

[@KirkTacticz]

@@krimsonk-9478perfectly stated. 100 million years for the world to stabilize is insanity .

[@aleksacakic9571]

@@ultradripstinct7105 I understood that Bleach is one of the best pieces of literature EVER written when I understood that Ichibe and Urahara are the actual antagonists, Y.H is a Jesus and Austrian painter combined(which is basically good means with evil process), and Aizen was right all along, he just fucked everything up by being egotistical. Imagine if Aizen became the Soul King, killed Zero Squad, remake Gotei 13, destroyed Central 46, and killed the aristocracy? Exactly, it sounds like a fair world(of course it wouldn't be perfect). What do you guys think about this?

[@manuelacosta9463]

He's a representative of Soul Society's history and the ancestor's will to control. His worst aspect was his plan to mutilate and seal Ichigo as the next Spirit King. After what Ichigo did to save the worlds and its inhabitants that would've been a bleak and nightmarish future. Luckily according to WDKALY Ichibei could be called to account for his past actions.

[@David-hx6hw]

I'm blanking here, what does WDKALY mean?

[@manuelacosta9463]

@@David-hx6hw It's 'We do knot always love you', light novel set after the war that focuses on Rukia and Renji's wedding along with the start of Ichigo/Orihime's relationship. It also clarifies 5he fates of many others and the state of the worlds. Ichibei is facing scrutiny for not protecting the Spirit King adequately and Soul Society encountering adverse environmental consequences including a long period without night.

[@David-hx6hw]

@@manuelacosta9463 ah thank you, I figured it was one of the novels but I completely blanked on which

[@fenris4760]

Idk about worst. They already did that to the Soul King and he stood with them. Soul King was a saviour of much larger scale than Ichigo and that dude was trapped for an unimaginable amount of time, living his death and mutilation again and again. The ppl who knew that and still didn't do anything are fked up. Even the Ichigo and company did the same to Bach

[@ultradripstinct7105]

Ichigo would have probably consented to it to save the worlds

[@abbamalami9171]

I remember during his battle with the yhwach I found myself rooting for yhwach coz ichibei just seemed so sinister lol, he's really the most broken shiningami and seems to be the only character with conceptual manipulation

[@scottvgamer1163]

I feel like that might be the case, and if the anime can reveal what plans they had for Ichigo before their battle, it might make the Zero Division’s defeat more satisfying than disappointing.

[@doncinati7644]

Yhwach then answered your prayers (aha get it) by bring forth THE ALMIGHTY

[@quannguyenminh8870]

Agree, in battle wiki, he is put in darkness conceptual manipulation but he only character with concept "black-ness", he really show good points for "concept manipulation"

[@abbamalami9171]

@@quannguyenminh8870 it's not just darkness, it's the color black, and name manipulation is also conceptual

[@badrzouggagh]

@@abbamalami9171 The fact that he had his powers before the creation of the zanpakuto is also to be kept in mind

[@NoHandsJames]

Honestly, I saw ichibe as more of a character with conviction that exceeds limit. He was around before the soul king and the separation of the worlds, he has seen the chaos and instability first hand. As "bad" as his actions may seem to us as the reader, he was making choices for the sake of the overall balance. If Ichigo wasn't our MC and just a random character in the world, and we were told that he needed to be sacrificed to keep the worlds from collapsing and ending life as it exists, nobody would bat an eye at ichibe for making that decision. The sacrifice of one life to provide balance to 3 entire worlds full of beings, thats far from being unreasonable or evil. At the end of the day, that was everyone's end goal. Ichigo and the gotei 13 were both fighting to keep the universe as they know it from ending, if ichigo lost the fight but could still save everyone by becoming the next soul king, thats still in line with the end goal of saving everyone, especially since the chances are losing to ywach at that point would've killed ichigo anyway. if you take a step back from the story as ichigo must save everyone, and take the entire story into the picture, ichibe was just going with the plan that he was most sure would save everything and it makes sense. I love ichigo and im glad it didn't turn out that way, but I can't call ichibe evil for his thought process. Save the universe over one soul reaper.

[@JohnJodioJojolands]

Idk it would be taking whatever information he said at face value, he is the only source of the world's 'true history' per his words and do you really expect someone that captured and mutilated a divine being would say it like it is? For all we know him and the other stronger beings were threatened by the soul king's power and decided to 'save' the world by keeping him in a torturous existence of

[@NoHandsJames]

@@JohnJodioJojolands their actions still kept balance in the universe. Like I said, when you're talking in terms of trillions of beings existences things enter the grey zone very quickly. If it was 1 person saved at the cost of the soul king being in that form it would be clearly bad. When you think about it as one being for the sake of the entire universe it starts to become more about what you value more and ichibe, regardless of his intentions, chose the path that kept stability for all.

[@themutupoguy]

The more I rewatch Bleach, the more I appreciate the tension between the necessary existence of Shinigami and their moral flaws as an organization. Throughout the story, as TYBW and the fullbring Arc show, they change because of people like Ichigo. That's so cool!

[@skubaRu7]

Barely lol. Ichigo just is naïve enough to ask no questions💀. He sees “friends” and runs with whatever.

[@goodday643]

@@skubaRu7that’s what makes me like ichigo, his selfless love for his friends may be stupid but you can tell he has a heart

[@skubaRu7]

@@goodday643 having a heart shouldn’t equate to being stupid lol. Nor does being a good friend. He’s fighting for things he barely knows anything about. That’s very dangerous. It’s why naruto needed to have that fight against pain. He grew from it, his perspective changed once he considered things another way. He still protected his friends but he also sought better conclusions. Ichigo just says well they say he’s bad so GETSUGATENSHO!!!😂

[@ironrex6979]

@@skubaRu7Naruto is cringe and pain is one of the most pathetic villains ever. Bleach will always be better

[@gustavosauro1882]

​@@skubaRu7the problem is that Naruto didn't really change after the pain fight, and he also just completely ignored the rain village lol

[@justsomeguywithamustache2901]

I don't know about others, but ichibei vs yhwach, is the most anticipated fight I'm looking forward too

[@Grayson-Winchester]

That's what makes a good battle. The build up. A story should always pin the strongest vs the strongest.

[@imp4ktth]

you dont?

[@culifabrizio1479]

@@Grayson-Winchester they beat ichibei so fast in the manga

[@User-zx6tt]

For me it was Yamamoto vs ywach, but now it is done. it is either ichibei vs ywach or kyoraku va lily

[@Grayson-Winchester]

@@culifabrizio1479 the anime Version of the fight will be 🔥

[@wumbojet]

I actually like that ichibei, probably the one with the most "political" power inside the soul society is technically responsible for all evil that plagues the world so he needs to keep it balanced.

[@monkasphalt]

Nah, he is neutral in chaos. He wants to maintain the balance the exist regardless of the chaos that underlies in it. He doesn't do anything to the top, he maintains the top, if he needed to wipe an entire world for it, he would.

[@plstmb6000]

​@@monkasphaltCalling him chaotic neutral doesn't bring attention and views, this is KZbin after all. Regardless of him doing things for the better world or just being selfish, once they oppose MC, they suddenly become evil in the audience eyes.

[@ranxjokerrda1]

I dunno about every other person but ichibei vs yhwach is one of my best fights in bleach

[@healthychuku3297]

In retrospect Ywach wasn’t technically that evil he just wanted revenge for what they did to his father the soul king

[@equinox1223]

Lolwot the soul king's heart and left hand literally wanted him dead and betrayed him

[@ivolopes3757]

He is evil and ruthless, but he was not wrong for wanting revenge...

[@timeportal2859]

And put his father out of his misery for million years of torment in that crystal.

[@zLeniel]

Revenge is evil

[@yaqbulyakkerbat4190]

Besides the fact he was going to literally kill the world

[@edmund1737]

I understand ichibei's perspective. Protecting the soul king is the most important job and I like that he's willing to go to any extent to do it. At the end of the day he can't simply let everything crumble due to one life. You can think he's immoral but at the end of the day his actions are what maintain some level of peace and stability. Besides it's implied the soul king let himself be cut up and ichigo would have willingly given himself up if it truly meant saving everyone. I wouldn't call ichibei evil, I think he's just indifferent. he's like urahara and kyoraku in that aspect but to an even greater extreme.

[@micah459]

The fact that they said they would forced Ichigo to be the soul King is the messed up part. Ichigo willing did it himself, that's a different story but best believe his friends would immediately cut ties with the soul society after that

[@FTW1230]

@@micah459 the life of one or the life of literally billions. Fucked up but the choice is kind of obvious, very much a necessary evil type of character

[@jashan8282]

​@@FTW1230 well the thing is those billions of lives won't die Because death wouldn't exist

[@jameskosusnik1102]

It's just people who think in 2 dimensions, trying to comprehend a 3 dimension thinker. Such people will never be able to understand things in the grand scheme if things.

[@diinouhothead9362]

I still don't get the hate for him planning to make Ichigo the new Soul King. Like what he's supposed to do? Let everything crumble down? Even none of Soul Society's biggest enemies want the Soul King gone. They want to put a new Soul King of their own design instead (Aizen impies being the new Soul King is his endgame plan, Yhwach actually became the new Soul King, Tokinada wants to replace Yhwach's dead body with Hikone)

[@nerdtrongaming5444]

After reading the light novels, Ichibe has got to go!! But in all seriousness, I love the fact that the Shinigami/Soul Society are the "good guys" but their whole foundation is based on lies and the original sin. I wonder when said foundation will finally crumble...

[@mufeezsyed2664]

Hell arc

[@nerdtrongaming5444]

@@mufeezsyed2664 Exactly what I was thinking!

[@micah459]

Tbh, I honestly hope the soul society faces consequences for all the fucked up shit they've done and I honestly wished Ichigo cut ties with them considering they were going to force him to be the Soul King. Like how many times do they have to show Ichigo that they aren't good for him to realize he shouldn't associate with them?

[@pondr3225]

@@micah459 Ichigo wouldn't cut ties with them, if anything he'd try to fix the system with his friends

[@micah459]

@@pondr3225 I guess but at some point you have to realize they're beyond saving. I'm not trying to save someone who tried to kill my friend, lie to me on multiple occasions, and then set me up for failure just to forced me to become the Soul King. I love Ichigo but he's definitely ain't built like me

[@MandatoryFruit]

As quote on quote "evil" as Ichibei may be, he at least felt his actions were just. And I don't necessarily disagree with him. Ultimately his actions were in service of preserving peace and balance. Characters like him are always some of my favorites. The morally grey types are so interesting.

[@RickyUzumaki993]

He’d still evil, even if he’s preserving peace and balance

[@mnam5822]

@@RickyUzumaki993 a necessary evil

[@RickyUzumaki993]

@@mnam5822 True

[@Chaingangsoldiernit]

Its quote-unquote...no such thing as quote on quote.

[@MandatoryFruit]

@@Chaingangsoldiernit Fr? I've been using the saying wrong this whole time? That's embarrassing

[@sirenblack]

You know when you are watching a horror movie and telling the character not to go into a room or trust someone? That was my reaction the first time I saw ichibe. I never trusted him and I knew he was shifty. He was willing to make ichigo the new soul king against his own will. Like I get it we aren’t supposed to like Yhwach but you can’t really blame him for wanting the destruction of the soul society

[@mjm3091]

Nothing says that we are meant to dislike Yhwach. Aside Ichibe and Yamamoto and the Squad 0 members telling us that. He is not a good person, but for most part - he only treats Hollows and Shinigami badly. two factions that directly added or straight up created his suffering.

[@AntiC7]

Isso nem tem sentido kkkkkkkk

[@flamex5988]

ichibei i dont know whats the deal with him even when i saw him first time in the manga it was almost as if i could read through his character,emotions and desire i knew someting was wrong when he called ichigo to the soul king's palace for a different reasonbtw nice vid keep up the good work

[@KingPancakez]

I really appreciate your channel man, it’s been around a decade since I read the manga for this arc. And like most people back then found it ‘meh’, so didn’t bother read more than once. Forgetting what happened & now with the anime brilliantly redeeming the manga your channel is a godsend. Keep it up 👍🏽! Subbed

[@christopherwilson868]

I understand Ichibei's perspective tbh. What I get from the story is that the Soul King already knew what was happening and allowed it because he knew it was for the greater good. Now, we can very much say that Ichibei may have twisted that story but until we get another perspective from that time, we'll have to go with that. Ichibei essentially has to choose whether 1 person's life is worth billions of others, he would have most definitely chose to sacrifice Ichigo in a heartbeat in order to keep some semblence of peace and stability. It's even insinuated by Shunsui I think that Ichigo probably would have agreed to be the new lynchpin if it came down to it but Ichibei would have forced him, if Ichigo opposed. Somebody has to make the tough decisions and that so happens to be the leaders i.e Ichibei and Shunsui.

[@daymianhogue1634]

Considering Yhwach also has a perspective from back then and very much implies it isn't for the best and all that... And the only reason there's a world stability issue... is because the shinigami created the unstable worlds rather than leaving it as 1 world they separated the worlds.

[@christopherwilson868]

@@daymianhogue1634 There's not a mention that ever states Yhwach is millions of years old which is when the Soul King and Ichibei seemingly first came about. So as of right now, only 1 person's story is somewhat plausible

[@yumyumlolly]

@@christopherwilson868 I thought he's the son of the soul king

[@christopherwilson868]

@@yumyumlolly Beside him saying that, we never got an actual explanation into that history. I would assume that since Ichibei came about the same tike as Soul King, he would have mentioned or made reference to it but nothing as far as I remember

[@Magpie5yndrome]

Ichibe goes beyond "making tough decisions" though. He allowed the Soul King to be butchered despite it being completely unnecessary. In all his years, he did nothing to search for an alternative to a living lynch pin if the Soul King was ever killed. He had more than enough time to find a way to go forward without a sacrifice being necessary. Did he? Nope. And he would not have felt the least bit apologetic about subjecting Ichigo to that horror.

[@N9r91]

When yhwach absorbed Reio, it is noticeable that the realms stopped shaking, which indicates that Reio no longer needed to be sealed. Though out of fear of retaliation, I doubt Ichibe and Squad Zero would ever release the SK. In the novels, Ichibe does reveal that he and the SS will eventually get their comeuppance, which could be soon.

[@AJ-kt5zo]

Think hell will wipe them out themselves.

[@skyrogue1977]

@@AJ-kt5zomaybe it’s a Ragnarok situation.

[@skubaRu7]

The soul society isn’t a good place. Ichigo is just so naïve he literally ask no questions💀. As far as he’s concerned they’re nice to him so he doesn’t care. That’s why aizens and yhwach little comments are so great. They hint all the time about what’s wrong with soul society and nobody really listens.

[@DayaRam-bs2cx]

Ichigo just wants to live a normal life with friends and family. He even considers the soul reapers as friends. The Soul Society represents the real world in which we live, sometimes good, sometimes bad and even worse.

[@CookiePieMonster]

The fact that Ichibe knows how to and participated in mutilating and sealing the soul king on top of his shiki and bankai leads me to 100% believe he's the real ruler. The soul king is just a figure head.

[@pwndizzy3873]

I can now understand why Juhabach hates them. In a way he had a right to defend his father. Soul reapers shunned the soul King. Made a mockery off him. Ichibe is The evil one.Maybe he knows that his the necessary evil.Damn good video

[@pondr3225]

After CFYOW Ichibe really starts to feel like Final Boss material.

[@emoishguy08]

Having Ichigo team up with Aizen to fight him would make an amazing arc

[@jonahbrown5669]

@@emoishguy08 Why would that be an amazing arc? It'd make 0 sense whatsoever and would honestly be pretty stupid lol

[@gratedradish6699]

@@jonahbrown5669 Why would that make zero sense? Aizen already stands against the idea the current way of the world and ichibe is willing to sacrifice ichigo, its not hard to think of multiple scenarios where they would team up against him.

[@juancarlosvalladares8486]

Maybe he will have a pivotal role in the Hell Arc. After all, he is partially responsible for the chaos Hell is bringing upon reality.

[@AJ-kt5zo]

@@juancarlosvalladares8486 💓

[@adonisbabuni9824]

The absolute quality this man’s providing 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@shaderax_storm6165]

Ichibie is very much like Odin in some ways. Vast knowledge, knowing the names of all things and the gods, immense strength... And a twisted sense of humour and fierce desire to test those that came after him. Odin has a lot more pets though

[@johniemitchell9764]

Some of which may or may not have uhhhh "fathered" his grandkids

[@kylelouthan4759]

I am really hoping for one or more arcs from Bleach after the TYBA is concluded. I would love to see just how powerful Ichigo has become. It would be cool if we could get some concrete dialog comparing his new abilities vs his old ones and where he now stands in relation to the other characters within the series. I would like to see the same thing for the rest of the cast as well, as all of them get yet another massive power boost. It would be amazing to see just how far they have all come.

[@antiwolfer8691]

What i love about bleach is that it isn't all cut and dry, the manga has exclusive momens that explain the anime, and the anime had unseen things that aren't in the manga, most shows would just use the manga as a script for the anime but bleach doesn't, atleast not as cut and dry as most animes that had manga previously, this makes the concept so interesting that it's almost one of a kind

[@forteka81]

Always look forward to your uploads, thank you for your work

[@michaelwalker8870]

It's quite a fitting end to the dictator known as Yuha, to be treat as nothing more than a simple doorstep in Ichebei's wide scheming plans. He actually did beat him in the end, he won. His triumph is the sheer fact that he is indifferent to this person's past accolades or intelligence. "Damn, he killed the Soul King, siphoned his power and then he himself ironically ended up doing himself in, well i guess we'll just take his head and stick it on a pike somewhere, i could careless if you can breathe and feel or think, the fact is you did this to yourself, you killed Mimihagei sama and became the new Soul King and unfortunately, we're going to proceed to use you like a tampon" i think it panes out fine, so fans dont like but i actually love when the main villian has done so much dirt in their life to progress to where they finally get in the storyline, only to be treated like another cog in a neverending wheel. Now the villian is just like everyone else. I think it's a fate worse than death because ultimately who cares, they became someone important because they were an obstacle and now that obstacle is gone.

[@deuntaethomas7437]

Sauvage

[@ReturnoftheLightning]

In the We do Knot Always Love You novel, Ichibei takes the credit for having defeated easily Yhwach and his Elite Quincy army and saving the Soul King without any problems. I’m truthfully fascinated by the situation around this guy, you can see why Shinigamies think stuff like the Royal Guard being stronger than the Gotei, but it’s like the propaganda also reaches on a whole meta level when even a 4th dimensional overseer aka a reader/watcher of the show believes it, when the best he was able to do was practically continuously weaken his one only opponent because he couldn’t defeat at full strength (well, “full” because Yhwach cannot use Volstanding and the Almighty is just the schrift), and if you think about it, he was sending Ichigo to die for nothing basically, since he couldn’t stop Yhwach and had no idea about Ryuken, he’s definitely an evil PoS, pathetic, fraud and a prime candidate to dying if the Hell Arc ever arrives

[@matthewjean-mary2761]

What should Ichibei have done if there was no soul king?

[@AntiC7]

Americanos são burros assim ou vc tá de bait?

[@AnimeLuffyFan]

I like his fight with Yhwach i’m looking forward to seeing that animated. I predict that it will be on court 2

[@barkouaissa8362]

No it will be in court 3 because it will be to much chapter adapted if it in court 2

[@scottvgamer1163]

@@barkouaissa8362 it’s more likely to be cour 3, but it’s possible we could get it in cour 2. The first cour adapted more than 60 chapters already, and with the next cour having more action, it’s possible for them to adapt even more. Of course, I’d prefer they save this for cour 3 so the content in cour 2 can be paced well and expanded upon (and it’s already confirmed that that’s going to happen, but we don’t know to what extent).

[@KingseekerFrampt]

This will either be in the last episode of cour 2 or one of the first episodes of cour 3

[@mjm3091]

If you go purely just by the chapter count - it won't happen before Cour 3. It's actually likely that Yhwach won't even enter the Soul King Palace in Cour 2. A main focus of the part probably will be just Sternritters vs Shinigami, with Kenpachi vs Visionary taking the Yamamoto vs Yhwach spot of this part. We literally have to fit finish to the Palace training. Then have fights for Komamura, Soi-fon, Renji, Rukia, Toshiro and additional scenes for Shinji. That's easily like 10 episodes. And then you can have prelude for Visionary and an actual fight with Kenpachi. Cour 3 probably having all if not most of the god-level Sternritters fights and the Palace invasion. With Cour 4 focusing mostly on Yhwach vs the world and the clean-up. Maybe some lead up to CFYOW and/or Hellverse. And as interviews imply - there may be more additional scenes and fights during Cour 3, which could push some of the biggest fights to the Cour 4. Like the Antithesis revelation for example.

[@abolii]

@@mjm3091 this aged like shit lol

[@cttommy73]

Ichibei doesn't act like he is some saint. He does what is good for all of reality and if that means letting questionable people and beings live or doing some horrendous stuff like trying to turn Ichigo into a puppet like what the Soul King would become, so be it. He is a very pragmatic character and is much more like the younger version of Yamamoto who would do anything for victory because they both understand that being leaders means doing and making the hard decisions, even if you are hated and treated like your are evil. Which is why Ichibei is my second most fav character in Bleach after Yamamoto and like my fourth most fav character in all of manga and anime after Whitebeard, Roger and Yamamoto. P.S. Let's face it, the Soul King is even more powerful then Almighty Yhwach. IF he didn't allow what happened to him to happen, who can capture him? Serious question. You can't blame Ichibei for the Soul allowing what happened to him to happen. Again, just see how powerful Almighty Yhwach was and tell me seriously, if Ichibei with million more years to develop his powers couldn't scratch him, how would any of the ancestors of the 5 great noble houses and Ichibei capture and mutilate the Soul King if he didn't allow it? Fact of the matter is, the Soul King DID think it was a great plan and frankly, unless you are telling me the 5 noble houses and Ichibei possess more power then Soul King with an even more powerful version of Almighty, you are not gonna be able to convince people the Soul king, a transcended being, didn't think peace and prosperity wasn't a good plan and state for the world.

[@mrsister032]

I think the biggest let down of the TYBW was the broken powers Ywach had. It just wasn't fun to read anymore as toward the end the "almighty" just beat everything. People blowing up, bankais breaking it just got so tiresome. It's like Kubo wrote himself into a corner and had no idea how to fix it, so he used the magical silver bull shit arrow to instantly solve the almighty BS.

[@randomguy1928]

He was sick. Shonen was also forcing kubo to finish as they initially told him not to write after the fullbring arc.

[@AJ-kt5zo]

@@randomguy1928 I agree with and somebody's else's comment. I'd gladly take a sedu anime 🍵 reckon of the final fight Allah all 5 war potential s vs Stolen BANKAI Ychwach in all.

[@justifano7046]

I think what made Ywach OK, was that there were already established counters to the Almighty. Book of the end and Kyoka suigetsu are excellent counters and didn't require Uryu's magic arrow thing.

[@AJ-kt5zo]

💚

[@Getsuei_Tsugikuni]

They are also the most op Shinigami. Their Zanpakutō can literally alter reality. (Whatever they draw becomes real.)

[@SantiagoOXfir]

It’s just him not they

[@Sa.D.B0]

@@SantiagoOXfir he said they

[@deepdungeon8465]

Lol what? Hogyouku Aizen, Dangai Ichigo and Prime Yamamoto are the strongest Shinigami in terms of Raw Spiritual Pressure alone. 😂

[@solitary2]

Ichibe really doesn’t give a fuck about Ichigo or the soul reapers, only the advancement and existence of the Soul Society

[@asellape9270]

Ichibei is one of my favorite characters, despite his sparse appearance in the series. He's such a fascinating character to me; the one who has seen everything, he's so removed from everything, his worldview is so far beyond every other character in the series.

[@affixrey419]

Is he good or evil?i am confuss

[@jashan8282]

​@@affixrey419 both Good guy because he is the reason why this world exists rn And bad guy because he is the reason this world exists rn

[@asellape9270]

@@affixrey419 I wouldn’t say he is good or evil. What I would say is, Ichibei is devoted to maintaining the way things are, and he is willing to act however he deems necessary to do so. He doesn’t really seem to care about the morality of his actions so long as they maintain the status quo. Some may think he is evil for that, others may not. I’ll leave you to form your own view.

[@brandonspringfield2861]

​@@asellape9270lawful neutral is what it sounds like tbh, hes no saint but hes also not outwardly trying to F up the balance of all things, he just does what is necessary with no feelings involved its strictly business with him not personal.

[@asellape9270]

@@brandonspringfield2861 That does seem to be the case, I agree

[@LeoLikesLamb]

Your videos butter my biscuits thank you

[@DBZimran]

Lmfao gotta love the dedication!

[@Henbot]

He was a great gate keeper for the palace. This was because you could see how dominant his power would be and is and why he been on the top for so long. Like how they show his power you could see he was a power designed perfectly to make him rule over any shinigami and even other zero squad. Considering shingami whole society is determined by white and black

[@InazaDX]

“All black is mine to control” 💀

[@Spartt204]

The newest episode proves how cold ichibei truly is

[@Thermobarik]

I already like Ichibei’s motives. Maintaining the balance of reality is a noble goal. I just really like the way characters are written in bleach.

[@artkneeko]

I have to disagree with you on this one. Ichibei could not stop what happened to the soul king as it’s clear the soul king had already understood his purpose and the sacrifice needed. He shouldn’t get a bad rap for doing what is necessary in order to keep Existence together.

[@kikima258]

The problem with this interpretation is that it ignores the fact that the sk heart one of his hands and probably his brain are all quincy not to mention that when he was destroyed and freed from his prison his reitsu directly attacked the shinigami while ignoring yhwach and the rest of the quincy which suggest that the sk hated the shinigami only mimihagi was on the shinigami's side because it lived with them for millions of years and it seems it developed a mind of it's own

[@kidcircuit1955]

@@kikima258 the Soul King was Yhwach at that point

[@kikima258]

@@kidcircuit1955 no the reitsu that attacked the shinigami wasn't absorbed by yhwach it was just leaking after the seal got broken and started acting on it's own and the sk is dead but some of his body parts and even his reitsu can have their own will gerard the heart and pernida the left arm weren't created by yhwach but they were stil quincy who obeyed him and were under his control before the ss invasion

[@artkneeko]

@@kikima258 how did i ignore that fact? The soul king is composed of all beings. He, himself, is also a being beyond comprehension, but it has nothing to do with my statement of why ichibei should not be blamed.

[@niggamancer6985]

​@@artkneekono one is blaming him but talking about his part in it whether or not he is to be blamed os irrelevant he still took part in the incident as well as he was planning on sacrificing ichigo and him taunting about what happened to the soul king as if he took pleasure in it.

[@sanddry738]

Ichibe is a fascinating character in how he is willing to do whatever needs to be done even if it’s evil. I would’ve LOVED to see some character interaction between him an Aizen because I think Aizen would absolutely hate him for what he represents. The fact he was going to throw Ichigo in the Soul King’s place is horrifying but instead we have Ywach’s corpse instead. Still so much to be explored about the SS but I think the future is positive with the new Captain Commander and changes slowly developing

[@vinceisdead6063]

It's shows that Ichigo and the people in his circle are the ones who's moral compass is sitting in the right spot. Even urahara has always done what's "right" as opposed to Kurotsuchi who's just in it for "research"

[@coatguy2990]

I know I’m a year late to the party, but this video just strengthens my belief that Aizen was right the entire time. He’s actually the „good guy“ in bleach

[@Jorge26367]

So let's say the Quincy's win & Ichibe turns Ichigo into the new soul king what's to stop Yhwach from returning & killing him too after defeating the 0 division again?

[@rohanshah7559]

Yeah ichibei was taking a pretty big gamble thinking he would somehow be able to beat yhwach the second time around, when yhwach would be even more powerful

[@shaunmcgee4156]

More I have a question. If they were going to walk to mately use Ichigo as the Soul King could they have also used Souke Aizen since he was also a transcendent being?

[@neco_drip4347]

No.Ichigo is the lynchpin bcz he’s a goddamn hybrid between Shinigami,Hollow and Quincy.Sure Aizen’s Reiatsu is pretty huge but still he ONLY achieve Hollow and Shinigami powers.He didn’t receive Quincy powers.Thats what i think tbh.

[@ettcha]

Hogyoku might be one of the few hard counters to Ichibei's power outside of Almighty.

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

I'm always surprised that Yhwach instead of going on and on about killing Ichigo's mother through his actions never stopped and constantly brought up the countless atrocities the Soul Reapers have committed against reality itself. Like if he'd led with, "My followers and I are trying to remove death from the universe, we're getting revenge for being genocided by the Soul Reapers and oh yeah, they betrayed and imprisoned my father as a living corpse. Remember how they euthanized your friend Kon's people? Remember how they have abject poverty and classist society where families never link back up? Oh and Ichibei was going to do to you what he did to my father and will someday do to me. Does ANY of this seem right to you Ichigo?" he might have not had to deal with Ichigo as an enemy.

[@Swelly_K]

I agree, Kubo should've done a better job in revealing these things from Yhwach in the manga, would've actually made the plot far more interesting and actually let us view this as a battle between two sides that feel justified not a "evil quincies" fiasco. Also would've let Ichigo seem more conflicted but convicted in his decisions for supporting the shinigami while knowing these things.

[@kikima258]

Totlay agree one of the biggest problems for me in this arc is that none of the quincy seemed to care about the atrocities commited against their people it was brought up at the bigining of the arc but later it seems like kubo wanted us to forget or something while at the same time trying to paint the like of mayuri in a better light it was a messed oportunity to make the fight more nuanced which would have being way more intresting than what we got this is why i hope that the sk backstory would get animated

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

@@kikima258 Indeed. I never really liked how Uryu just kind of forgets that Mayuri bribed Soul Reapers to not help his grandfather so he'd die just so that the mad scientist could dissect the body.

[@kikima258]

@@grandadmiralzaarin4962 me neither and it was just weird how kubo made their interaction into comic releif during the arancar arc i seriously don't understand kubo's writting sometimes it's like he tries to avoid heavy subjects and themes in his manga he introduces them but never elaborates on them or let them have any actual consequences on the plot or the characters it seems to me he wants ichigo and his friends to be allies to ss no matter what and to downpaly theire crimes so that the fans keep loving them which is a shame because it would have made bleach far more intresting instead of just focusing on fights but luckely the lore is good and well fleshed out

[@timeportal2859]

Yhwach: Think Ichigo Think, your just another puppet on the hands of a corrupted Shimigamis and the world. They will try to mutilated you and imprison you in the Piller for eternity. You will never ever see anyone who's love you again. That fate worse than death.

[@ALLSEEINGEYE-o]

_Its quite interesting the way the dynamic between ichibe, Juha, the previous Soul King, and even Aizen are built. The base and reasoning as to why Ichibe and the Royal Guard do what they do behind the scenes is to keep absolute balance. As there needs to be both bad, and good in the world. Even the means for the good are bad and vice versa, whats done must be done. Realistically speaking, although Ichibe'a plan was absolutely deplorable, in the grand scheme of things it was required for the world to keep itself afloat. Without a proper linchpin, the world would deconstruct itself and supposedly go back to its original state. As for Aizen, his goal unlike probably any Shounen antagonist I've seen, was truly noble. Although his means were distasteful and deplorable, he was fighting against the most corrupt and unjust society in the verse, that same society that is protrayed aa the good whilst Aizen is protrayed as the bad. He wanted to basically free the previous Soul King from the Fate Worse than Death, and end the corruption that is the Soul Society. To become the king of the world, and supposedly, make it a better place. As for Juha, his goal and honestly means, were pretty somewhat tame and noble. He wanted to free his own father from the Fate Worse than Death and bring back the world into its original state. Compared to Aizen or Ichibe, he didn't need or want to take innocent lives as a means for his goal. The con is that in that world, there would be no sense of morality. There would be no bad, hence, there'd be no good. That type of world has its pros and cons. In my opinion, the world that Aizen or even Ichibe wanted to create/ continue was the best outcome. As there is a need for both bad and good, and although Juha's goal was understandable, I'm not quite sure how it'd work out in the long run. The bad and the good are all the same. How the Soul Society is supposed to be the good when they would incapacitate their own savior. How Aizen and Juha were the bad when one of them just wanted true liberty and justice for the world, and the other wanted to save his father and son from their demise. Kubo truly is a genius_

[@CEmpty2044]

To shorten this video and the story, Ichibe is the actual evil in Bleach hes not against our lead, but he forced the soul king to be what he is and controls shinigami and others for his Benefit and believes and even considered killing Ichigo for the only reason of His Benefit.

[@warrior_of_salvation12137]

You should explain some of the sternritters or explain more about yhwach's powers and abilities that he gave to the sternritters

[@DBZimran]

Thats the plan between now and the start of cour 2

[@warrior_of_salvation12137]

@@DBZimran so you'll do it around july

[@fortunelekoto6704]

@@warrior_of_salvation12137 not really, e probably means thaat between now and July, he will do it

[@skyrogue1977]

His soul is as dark as his beard.

[@odgarig8601]

After seeing Yhwach vs Yama, I just KNOW Ichibei vs Yhwach is going to be godlike!

[@kazuyahirako4843]

I hope the light novels be animated too. So that anime only fans would get to know more. As both a reader and a watcher, I know what's going to happen. I also hope that other light novel of the timeskip be animated too. From what I saw, Ichigo's son is pretty strong too.

[@jaredgreco2096]

This is the first video of urs of I've seen and top notch bro

[@peagames2002]

I wonder if those four eyes represent eye watching over the four realms, real world, hell, Hueco Mundo and Soul Society?

[@ezra1735]

I actually came up with a crazy twist while creating bleach fanfic; it went something like this: Near the end of my story was that Ichibei was the true son of the Soul King and not Yhwach, with him being responsible for the scattering of all the soul king's fragments across the world, ultimately resulting in Yhwach creation. But he is not the final and true villain of my story, but rather something else and a lot deeper. He was initially given life by the Soul King, taking pieces of himself to do so, giving him his duty and the world's darkness. He did this to help defend the world from the growing hollows across the deathless world, but when the Soul King realized the stagnation of his world, he made plans to create a world to prevent this somehow. He gave Ichibei the duty of watching over whatever was made and preventing its destruction, even if the methods were wrong, then allowed himself to be mutilated to create the new world. While Ichibei dutifully followed the Soul King, he still felt guilt for his actions and sought to find a way to keep the new worlds balanced and free the Soul King from his fate. Thus he scattered the pieces of the Soul King while destroying his name given to him by the Soul King, Shin'ainaru Musuko(meaning Dearest Son), to weaken himself and create his facade as a duty-bound man who would do anything to protect the Balance of the Worlds. He hoped a new piece would become more potent than the Soul King and would hopefully kill him before replacing him. This, of course, went to hell with Yhwach, who grew too powerful and nearly destroyed everything, but that is not the point. During all this, he twisted history and his story to make it seem like he was genuinely heartless and had mercilessly watched the Soul King be mutilated without any thought. After everything is done and Yhwach becomes the new Lynchpin, he tells the Royal Guard the supposed truth while leaving out the truth behind his existence, knowing that with time they would turn against him and imprison him for his crimes. He also did this to punish himself for his inaction while keeping his promise to the Soul King to protect. He also knows that the world no longer needs him, a man of cold duty and logic, with good-hearted people like Ichigo there to defend it. In the end, he directs all the sins of the Soul Society to himself to free everyone from their burdens of them. (I know it's a wild idea, and it is doubtful he did any of this in canon, but I like the concept of Ichibei being so much more than he genuinely lets on.) P.S. Congratulations to anyone who finish this; you have long attention, and thank you for reading it.

[@angkhoapham8209]

Gotei 13 was a bunch of notorious killers. What were people even expecting in Squad Zero?

[@MILDMONSTER1234]

It was a different time

[@jeepamir508]

The fact that Ichibei didn't even hide his intentions to save Status Quo at any cost is mind blown. But the way he shows his diabolical nature during the battle is smth else, he's basically becoming the Devil itself and he's going to take everything (literally) away from you. And I definitely like that Squad Zero isn't depicted as some outride Good guys. That's simply impossible considering who the OG Gotei 13.

[@bluemenace04]

My only reason for disliking ichibe is what he would've initially done to ichigo if ichigo refused to do what he wanted. Ichigo has assisted the soul society many times and saved many reapers and souls. Ichigo doesn't deserve to be treated that way, it's utterly disrespectful and dishonorable coming from a society that goes by honor and respect.

[@broggy52]

Ye, but gotta protect the universe

[@donjoel6754]

Thank you for another great video analysis DBZimran. Ichibe character is an interesting character however his slightly evil hints in the story reminds me of how Aizen betrayed everyone. Plus realising what he wanted to do to Ichigo is really dark. I guess thats what makes a great villian.

[@rondoobie69]

Ichibei is the secret final boss

[@jacobfreeman5444]

Ichibei was defeated but he wasn't destroyed. His foe, despite having such a broken ability, lacked the power to finish the job. Let that set in. It means Ichibei is himself a transcendent being on about the same level as the Quincy King. But maybe not as strong as the Spirit King. As to Ichibei's allegiance...I believe Ichibei is only loyal to his duty. It is the only thing a being of such power who holds such a contentious position can be loyal to. He is the one who guards the lynchpin. That is all he is and can ever be loyal to. It leads him to being deceptive and cruel to those whom were his willing allies but the consequences of not doing his duty are so dire he has not the luxury of such things like sentiment. Dislike him for his brutal and effective methods all you like the man is in a terrible position where he must betray all so he can protect it. His punishment is the duty for which he does these terrible things.

[@deepdungeon8465]

Dude he's by no means as powerful as Ywach, Aizen and Ichigo. The skill of his Zanpaktou is just a Hax but isn't as powerful as those beings like the SK, Ywach, Aizen and Ichigo. When Ywach, Aizen and Ichigo fought, the sheer amount of Spiritual Pressure they releases during the fight is stopping the Gates of Hell from opening. 😂

[@Truth-wonder]

I mean Ichibei had likely never faced anyone who had even a portion of a chance to defeat him. In his mind if I lose we lose but at least those kids can try. I mean the dudes power is so broken that the only way it could be defeated was with something equally broken so I don’t really blame him tbh

[@pinocchioprince]

when I read CFYOW I actually thought at one point that Ichibei is the true antagonist of bleach, I have no idea what I was thinking, I was just feeling like it need to be like that. If bleach continues its story, I will definitely read it because I really curious about how is Kubo going to reveal all his plot twists bankais and mysteries in bleach.

[@selfproclaimedesper778]

It’s weird to find out zanpakuto can just be manufactured like that. I thought a shinigamis relationship with their zanpakuto was special and unique to each individual, and took shape depending on their soul. No wonder why in diamond rebellion there was also a guy who could use hyoinmaru.

[@J.c410]

Asauchis are powerless swords. Zanpakuto are indeed specific to his shinigami the asauchi is just a base. Thats why zaraki could turn a dead shinigami's ausaichi into his own sword

[@groovysenseitaylor3892]

Great Review brother.

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

The whole point of the zero division is to maintain the balancr of the worlds. One life is a small price to maintain all of existence. I disagree that he is evil, he is neither evil nor good, he just did what is necessary, without that the world wouldn't be the way it is.

[@yutaokkotsu4829]

Great video!!

[@ZzzarieL]

Bro has dementia as shikai and gaslight as bankai 💀

[@michaelspikes1506]

Amazing recap

[@ichigocr77]

i don´t know why but in his fight against Yhwach i was cheering for Yhwach . : )

[@kikima258]

I was on the quincy side in this conflict ss needed to pay for the humain experimention conducted on the quilcy alongside the genocide not to mention the crimes commited against those modified souls and all the corruption and lies it was satisfying to see them finaly get a taste of their own midicine i was just sad that a good guy like ukitaki had to die in the process

[@WatcherXel]

Almost all of Gotei 13 members are terrifying and sinister, Ichibei is just one really powerful example. They do what must be done. Bleach arguably has one of the most prominent morally grey characters in the genre.

[@mrm64]

Ichibei and Yhwach are both evil. That's why Bleach is so good lol. Which "evil" is better for the world? Hm...

[@RickyUzumaki993]

Indeed

[@aortenzio]

I truely am sorry that your page only has 12% of subscribers because it does deserve so much more. I feel like your videos are much better than some of the other content creators on here and you seem to do topics before others.

[@Katyloveheart]

I know ryt

[@adradox]

3:05 Ichibe has gamer skull dent. Not surprised he is that sinister, he grinds league of legends ranked after all.

[@astro-ko3cu]

Ichibei looks like Evil buda but I believe he actually represents the false prophet. Pretending to speak the worlds of god and act in god's will. BTW I'd love to see more videos on the novels .

[@Laembort]

Ichibei is a primordial being and equivalent to a creator god through his acts. He doesn't follow mortal morality.

[@deniswood5271]

I remember back in the day when these chapters were coming out Ichibei looked off to me when he appeared with the Zero Division.

[@kevinhormozi]

I have been a fan of this show and series franchise since I was a 16 years old and I appreciate the Dedication you have to Showing us these videos and not to mention that this show also helped me when I was in my teens and I appreciate you doing these videos thank you sir

[@mrfixa7702]

But hold on, even if they turned ichigo into the soul king, THERES STILL THE PROBLEM, OF YHWACH EXISTING

[@rohanshah7559]

Ikr idk what ichibei was scheming, but no shot yhwach would just sit and watch ichibei restore the status quo he had just worked super hard to destroy

[@purpledragonman100]

Bro I love your setup and your videos😊

[@lonestar2495]

Does anyone else hate the dumbest op abilities ever like it doesn’t even make it fun

[@dawndishsoap3398]

i wouldn't say that Ichibe is evil, he isn't just one of the oldest Shinigami, but one of the oldest beings to ever live in general. He helped create (in this story) what it means to exist. If you ask me putting the lives of individuals (including his own) at this point in the story, is a no brainer. Sure it sounds cruel as hell but when you look at the alternative what other choice makes any sense at all? He very clearly loves the opportunity to flex his demi-god like powers over others but i mean how could he not its not every handful of millennia he gets to do anything but just sit and do nothing but wait. Everything he does is in service to keep existence (in its current form) from collapsing in on itself, fading away, and then killing almost everyone. Horrible decisions MUST be made, and someone HAS to be the one to make them on the spot. That is the role hes found himself in because if he doesn't no one else is going to. Cruel, cold, indifferent absolutely. Sadistic for its own sake? no.

[@thatuzumaki7802]

Ichibe has always been my favorite of the secret division(0 Division)

[@melysacook6244]

I understand that ichibei believes he's 'protecting the balance'...what I can't stand is how two-faced he is. Also, was keeping the soul king in a state of limbo and mutilating him really necessary?

[@madambutterfly1997]

I love Ichibei even if he is evil

[@davidrlz1001]

I really hope more of these concepts and genesis on their world is potentially discussed in Hell Arc. My personal hypothesis is that Kubo doesn't want to draw Hell Arc, but wants to have it animated a year or two after cour 4 ends of TYBW. It gives him a lot of time(and the last 10+) years to think about what else he can pull from this world before closing the book forever(please show me Ichigo's real bankai).

[@BrianYN]

This guy and captain of squad 1 are depicted as being so strong based on their powers and past victories. Only for both of them to get shit on easily by the main antagonist. Pretty shitty imo

[@Marc_Araujo]

Bad and lazy writing is bad and lazy writing.

[@tumainira7703]

I also LOVE the few One Piece videos you have done. I hope you do more in the future