Why Rukia Didn't Recognise Isshin, REVEALED | Bleach Discussion

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Beware manga spoilers in this video!
Kubo recently revealed the reasoning behind why Rukia didn't recognise Isshin, despite them living in the same household, and despite them both serving in the Gotei 13 at the same time! Luckily this is one of the more straightforward answers we've received...
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[@MrTommo2304]

It's always great to get these answers from Kubo - what do you think of this answer? Which of the reasons for Rukia not recognising Isshin did you like best? Let me know!

[@MrKrispins]

So I have a thought about ishin, his gigai might age but when ishin leaves it surely he should look like his former self from everything but the rain.

[@overlookers]

Occam's Razor: Isshin being a Shinigami was likely planned but not thought out. The same as the Zero Division originally being Menos Hunters back when Menos were a big deal.

[@MopeeDuck]

I think the reverse is easier to figure out honestly, ishin wouldn't reveal himself to a possible enemy hed have knowledge of the kuchki clans usual absolute obedience to soul society law. Maybe the gigai ishin is in gives off different spiritual qualities.

[@Bonuscheck]

I agree with the last point the most in the video, and Isshin also had no spiritual pressure at all until the arrancar arc. So I can see why Rukia wouldn’t of notice.

[@onemanzerosquad5591]

I just ehhh with these answers cause I'm expecting to make a full return to be honest.

[@Evilman_520]

One crazy thought I had always had was that Isshin actually DID recognize Rukia, and the reason that he was so welcoming to her from the start was actually being done in service to Kaien Shiba. Like, maybe he did recognize Rukia from Kaien's squad and knew that she had been a good friend to him, so as a gesture of good faith to Kaien's memory, he was more than happy to extend a welcome to her at any time.

[@BlackHedgehog]

I'm 99% certain this is what happened. Isshin does give a vague indication of this to Kon.

[@shadenox8164]

I mean he's a nice guy, but the level of hospitality we're talking about is a lot more than what would make sense if he didn't know who she was.

[@loka7783]

@@shadenox8164 It does track if you consider Isshin didn't want his past as a Soul Reaper brought up Also consider the fact that Rukia did take some measures to hide the fact she was living with Ichigo in his closet. You'd think at the very least he'd have made her sleep in Karrin and Yuzu's room if he wasn't pretending he didn't know she was there.

[@adamstewart9383]

Facts I was about to ask why didn't Isshin recognise Rukia before I saw this comment

[@masaruten5213]

There's also the fact that if he came out and revealed himself, it would mean revealing the existence of Urahara & the Visored. Also, he was likely protecting his kids, since they're a blatant middle finger to the 'Common Knowledge' that humans & Shinigami cannot breed.

[@skyrogue1977]

The fact there wasn’t a moment where the other Captains who knew Isshin didn’t find out he was Ichigo’s dad and have a “This explains everything” scene always disappointed me. Hopefully the anime will include such.

[@corruptangel6793]

If nothing else, I want Isshin to help fight Gerard so we can get a scene of him and Toshiro interacting.

[@Menhtrol]

I'm honestly more disappointed that we never got to see Isshin and Rangiku interact since she was his lieutenant... Especially after Ichigo defeated Aizen

[@bqw2094]

@@corruptangel6793 I was just about to ask “ what the hell could isshin do to geralds broken ass” but I understood the interacting with toshiro part .

[@masondyer7604]

Byakuya coming to the realization that ichigo is basically a noble

[@corruptangel6793]

@@bqw2094 ideally, the fight gets changed so both Halibel and Isshin help as I could imagine Halibel's reiatsu (since hollow reiatsu is established to be poisonous to a Quincy's very existance) could overwhelm the Miracle and keep Gerard down. Isshin would simply help Byakuya and Toshiro buy her time to prepare. But yeah, mainly I just want him to do SOMETHING once he and Ryuken show up and it also provides the perfect opportunity to interact with Toshiro.

[@corruptangel6793]

Don't forget that when the plebs recognized Unohana and Isshin, they were wearing their Captain's coat, instantly identifying them as captains. From there, the plebs would have a basic, if not vague knowledge of how the Captain's look and would know them by name. In Rukia's case, not only has Isshin aged, not only is he, for all intents and purposes, human, but he's obviously not wearing any indicators of rank to help her identify him.

[@AJZulu]

And at the time Isshin doesn't have spiritual pressure.

[@matheusbecker2351]

And let's not forget that Rukia is actually a Kuchiki, and not a random shinigami. So she must have come in contact with many important people, including captains.

[@TimeIguess]

@@matheusbecker2351 i mean i doubt she knew him or his personality AT ALL because why would she im pretty sure its known that the shiba didnt have a great relationship with the other houses ESPECIALLY the kuchiki because of how they behaved. also she wasnt really treated like a normal noble. its insane how many assumption you are making when there are twenty million things stacked against that. not only did isshin age tremendously he had all the things mentioned and more that made him look human.

[@matheusbecker2351]

@@TimeIguess Okay, so I maybe I wasn't very clear, or you misinterpreted what I said. Either way, let's try again. First, I didn't make "one million assumptions", a made literally one assumption, which is "She's a Kuchiki, she must have stumbled upon many important people in her life". Now, to make it clear, I do find believable when Kubo says that she didn't recognize him because of the Shinigami-Human incompability. However, my issue is exactly the explanation that she didn't know Isshin because she was a lowly Shinigami. We've seen maaany cases os lowly Shinigami meeting with other Captains. Example of this is the Renji, Hinamori and Kira's flashback when they were still STUDENTS at the academy. And, as I said before, many important people must have dropped by the Kuchiki's.

[@senbonzakurakageyoshi662]

@@matheusbecker2351 No, not quite because of her rank, but it's not impossible though

[@silenthesia4522]

In the SS arc, Renji actually has no idea who the 10th division Captain is. He asks Rangiku, and when she replies that it's Toshiro, he just vaguely remembers him as this child prodigy people talk about. So the whole Shinigami not being well acquainted with each other is something that's been brought up before.

[@FatherManus]

Toshiro is young so he was probably just promoted. Everyone knows the Captains that have been around for years.

[@jkacvbhijfn]

Ok but when ichigo and Ikkaku were fighting each other and ichigo mentioned urahara trained ichigo, he immediately recognized urahara (a guy who hasn’t been a captain for 100 yrs) and stopped holding back against ichigo. Maybe renji’s just really bad at his job. He’s the 2nd in command of a squad, there’s no reason he shouldn’t have professional relationships with all the captains and vice captains

[@MugetsuFused]

​@@FatherManusisshin wasnt a captain in turn back the pendulum, so he hadnt been a captain all that long either. 😅

[@MrGksarathy]

​@@jkacvbhijfnUrahara's just super famous, either as a scientific genius or a notorious criminal.

[@_Zephster]

​@FatherManus Toshiro was promoted after Isshin left so like 30 years before the start of the story

[@Kaminari99]

I'd rather know why the entire gotei 13 didnt think it was necessary to find out what happened to one of their captains and just accepted him disappearing to god knows where and never even thought about looking for him.

[@vicenteestebanlorenzutti2292]

The weird part is also that its been like 20 years so not exactly alot of time by SS standards

[@sawe6051]

Aizen exists so makes sense

[@AgrestisAnima]

Same goes for the vizards

[@JohnGlow2]

Tbh that should be a concern regarding alot of things. For whatever reason defections and disappearances just arent seen as a big deal. Hell, Yoruichi was a wanted fugitive by squad 2, and everyone else was kinda like “oh hey Yoruichi, how have you been these past 100 years?” Or even the Vizards. Instead of being questioned its more like “hope you guys enjoyed your extended vacation in the world of the living! We have vacancies to fill, you are back to being appointed as the leaders of your small army without any questioning. Under the sole guideline that despite how useful it may be, you are not to use your masks under ANY circumstances”

[@DiamonDust]

Aizen may have covered up his disappearance or even faked his death in any number of ways, he wouldn’t want people to investigate since he was involved.

[@lanariy6362]

What actually annoys me the most is that noone besides Ukitake and Byakuya ever mentions that Ichigo looks almost identical to Kaien Shiba and even they essentially just forget about this fact for the rest of the series. I think someone like Ukitake wouldn't just brush this off and actually try to deduce that Ichigo might be related to a defected captain (Isshin) through Ichigo's resemblance with Kaien, (who is Isshin's nephew if i remember correctly) that just makes sense considering Ukitake is portrayed as a pretty witful person.

[@corruptangel6793]

Soul Reaper's can't have human kids. Moreover, it's common for someone to look very similar to someone else. There was no reason to assume Ichigo had any connection to Isshin.

[@lanariy6362]

@@corruptangel6793 I disagree. First of all, Isshin's disappearance was probably pretty weird for other captains as they never got any actual explanation on it. Secondly, Ichigo went to Soul society with his OWN shinigami power even though Byakuya destroyed the power given to him by Rukia which is also weird. Thirdly, Ichigo's resemblance with Kaien is uncanny (again, Ukitake was suspicious of it the first time he saw Ichigo). I think it would make sense for someone like Ukitake to be very interested in ichigo's nature and start an investigation of some kind, notice things i mentioned above and conclude that Isshin might be alive and somehow related to Ichigo (yes, it is not possible normally for a shinigami to have a kid with a human but it is also not possible for a human to just gain his own shinigami power out of nowhere). I am not saying i want Ukitake to just crack this case immediately and reveal Ichigo's nature very easily, i just feel that this is a lost opportunity to explore what other shinigami characters think about the way Ichigo gains his powers.

[@damaniherrington4170]

@@corruptangel6793 was gonna say this too. Thanks

[@corruptangel6793]

@@lanariy6362 Isshin's disappearance is odd. However, everyone refers to Ichigo as a human who gained Soul Reaper powers, which is technically true, and they would also know he's involved with Urahara (post SS arc) explaining where he got said powers and a Zanpakuto as they wouldn't know his was an anomaly. Especially since he's a hybrid meaning they'd sooner suspect him of being related with the renegade Vizards than they would Isshin. Also, any human soul can become a Soul Reaper, all they need is to be born with spirit energy and go through the required training, which would normally be done at the Academy. 99% of all Soul Reapers are just the souls of dead humans. Ichigo merely awoke his soul power with the help of Urahara while still alive, when he still had a living physical body which his soul form, his konpaku, could return to at will. Ichigo's similar appearence to Kaien is mentioned, shocks Ukitaki, then is promply shot down by Byakuya who states there's no relation between him who Ukitake is thinking of. Byakuya took it as a simple coincidence (which as I explained is perfectly understandable. I personally have been referred to as a "young Tom Cruise" like from Top Gun by customers at my work on multiple occasions) and an explanation as to why Rukia would give him her powers, saving his life at the cost of her own.

[@corruptangel6793]

@@lanariy6362 I do agree that they should have looked into Ichigo's origins more, and if they did we should agve seen it. It is odd how they simply accept and go with it the way they do. Mayuri, if no-one else, should have gotten to the bottom of it almost immediately as I can't imagine him not looking into where Ichigo came from

[@matus19971]

I always assumed its that she only knew of him as "Captain Shiba" and maybe never actually met him, only heard about him, so from Kaien it couldve been "oh my uncle, the captain" etc. so when she moved in, she met Isshin KUROSAKI, so it wouldnt even cross her mind alongside the other given explanations

[@moseszero3281]

With everyone in the house possibly calling him dad it is possible she never heard his name. But I haven't watched in forever so I could be wrong about how they address him.

[@ember-evergarden]

It makes sense she wouldn't recognize his face. She probably only knows Captains by name at the time aside from Byakuya, Ukitake, Yamamoto, Shunsui and Unohana. Any other Captain is not as noteworthy for an unseated shinigami. Also there is one glaring example of Renji not even knowing who Rangiku's Captain was even as a lieutenant in the Soul Society Arc, during the first Captain's meeting.

[@lewisaino]

Rukia knows Shunsui because of Utikate and Yama with Retsu since they are important. Ofc Byaku is self explained

[@jkacvbhijfn]

She’s not your average run of the mill shinigami, she’s a member of a noble family. She was part of the higher society, she should know all of them. Also, right before she was about to get executed, we see her mentioning whenever ichimaru spoke to her she felt like she was being suffocated. Gin’s not on your list of captains, if she spoke to him often enough to find him suffocating, she probably spoke to the rest of them too

[@Bonuscheck]

With the other way around, he admits to playing dumb to Kon. He knew about rukia living in the closet, knew about her brother. Etc he knew when Ichigo had to go train after her brother showed up to take her.

[@abdoul5176]

And didn't Ichigo cause Iishin's powers to reawaken, so he could kill Grand Fisher?

[@connordanielson8833]

@@abdoul5176 nope, isshins powers were awakened when ichigo fought byakuya

[@abdoul5176]

@@connordanielson8833 Thanks now that explains why he was left in an injured state.

[@Bonuscheck]

@@AgarioSplitrunner yep

[@OnAChairSitting]

​@@connordanielson8833 Just imagine if Isshin stepped in at that moment. "Ah, I see that this boy is of shinigami descent. Therefore, Rukia has broken no laws and may be pardoned."

[@wolfgod6443]

The 2nd answer sounds like a very "Soul Society Arc" kind of answer. There they emphasize it more that the lieutenants and captains don't regularly fight, operate independently from each other, and meetings are somewhat of a special occasion. In other words they used to be separated much more, but it feels like the concept was dropped in favor of letting the important characters converse more, including in flash backs.

[@MrGksarathy]

Also, most of the important characters we meet are seated officers, if not all Vice Captains.

[@rendezvousennewyork5053]

I was always under the assumption that Isshin knew that Rukia was a shinigami, that's why he acted to so graciously to let her come into the house and didn't question why Ichigo and Rukia were always together. I thought that all of this was discussed with Urahara "offscreen". And that he was prepared that Ichigo's powers were ignited by the appearance of Fishbone D.

[@ArmageddonAngel]

The other reason it is hard to believe is that she is part of the nobility like Isshin and it feels like, maybe she doesn't have a passing knowledge of Isshin the Captain but I can't believe Byakuya didn't instruct her who Isshin the Shiba noble is.

[@MarcelleJr92]

But isshin isn't apart of the main Shiba clan. He's apart of the branch family. Remember when rangiku said you'll bring shame to the main shiba branch if you keep slacking off?

[@MichaelisBLee-nw8wy]

You mean the same man who has never looked her in the eye once prior to the ending of the Soul Society arc? I mean I get what you're saying and I agree it's unreasonable for us to believe she never knew Isshin Shiba, but I seriously doubt Byakuya would care enough to tell her. He didn't even warn her to treat Kaien with respect as seen with her first meeting the deceased lieutenant.

[@GammaRingHunter]

Also seeing how Byakuya is I doubt he'd recognize (acknowledge) the Shibas as nobels

[@Crunchysopa52]

He never looked at her with eye contact for 40yrs + it's Byakuya he kept, still does tbh, things succinct so ya he sure wasn't gonna go outta his way to tell her that lol.

[@corndog7813]

@@MichaelisBLee-nw8wy Regardless whether Byakuya cared enough to inform Rukia or not, she is expected to know who her higher peers are. She's a shinigami. I'd reckon even someone who's just living in the seireitei is aware of who the captains are.

[@kingsuksasmal860]

May be she knew who isshin was. But didn't meet him up close and personally.

[@sternritternovad]

I'm fine with Kubo's explanation but in all honesty, I just always assumed since Rukia never mentioned that Kaien and Ichigo looked alike she was just actively ignoring any family resemblances from between the Shibas and Kurosaki.

[@ihateflatbunz]

After her brother cut Ichigo down he tells her he does bare a striking resemblance to him referring to Kaien.

[@josephaliyu1443]

when he came to save her in SS the first time, she actually saw the resemblance

[@josephaliyu1443]

when he came to save her in SS the first time, she actually saw the resemblance

[@lewisaino]

Rukia knew but I mean Issin couldn't do anything else so maybe he went ok

[@nahte123456]

For recognizing Captains, could just be recognizing the face thing. Like sure you know the Captains basic description, but are you really studying their faces enough to know it on sight? If Shiba was in his Captain gear she probably would know him, but not by just his out of context, now bearded, face.

[@JordYaku]

The answers by Kubo make perfect sense to me. And if that's not enough, sometimes it's just best to suspend your belief towards a piece of fiction and accept that maybe Kubo hadn't come up with the idea of Isshin being a Captain or even a Shinigami at the very start of the series.

[@JohnSnow1001]

That’s not true because I believe he stated In an interview years ago it’s actually in a data book I believe That he planned on having Ishin be a Shinigami from very early on.

[@FatherManus]

@@JohnSnow1001 There’s a difference between planning for him to be a Shinigami and planning on him to be a former Squad 10 Captain with subordinates that literally come to his house and dont recognize him. Kubo 100% did not plan the latter.

[@SuperSilver316]

That’s where I’m at, a lot of things don’t line up if you don’t do this.

[@akumaking1]

If Kubo planned everything out from the beginning, then his pacing didn’t express it well.

[@samirraza9069]

@@FatherManus fr like Toshiro, Rangiku and all the captains were literally in Ichigo's room and they all know Isshin since decades by now so it doesn't add up.

[@MichaelWilliams-kf6pg]

Speaking from my own military experience, it is not uncommon for rank and file soldiers to be unfamiliar with the names and faces of another unit's leadership outside of their own chain of command unless they've conducted joint operations with them or simply met them in person. That being said, given how long lived shinigami are and the tendency for the command personnel to stay the same for decades, a case could be made for expecting shinigami eventually learning about all the captains.

[@1nZayne]

was about tot comment this and the part about their long lives never crossed my mind, so good point

[@AndyTaken]

Very valid point however the squads are so much smaller in this than a real army, and it's like not knowing who Patton and Montgomery were in ww2 when you squad is actually only 1 step removed from them. Imagine if your squad reported into Gen. Patton, you are going to know who MacArthur, Eisenhower and Monty are at sight and Monty was another country's Field Marshall. (If you're British them picture the reverse or another country a similar scenario).

[@24kam48]

Yeah just considers most people at worst just knew a name and division and would just match the captains' hiyori when they see them

[@ArnulfoSalgado]

@@AndyTaken good point but you have to take into account the fact that aside from Captain to Captain and Vice Captain to Vice Captain, interactions between divisions in Bleach were not very common. Prior to the issues with Ichigo and then Aizen, the divisions were very much independent from each other. People could see others from other divisions every now and then but that usually didn’t involve the captains themselves. We’re also seeing things from the perspective of a post-Ichigo invasion Soul Society. They had no choice but to unify after Aizen’s defection.

[@AndyTaken]

@@ArnulfoSalgado but surely that's an assumption. I would make an assumption that they would have large scale meetings, announcements with all of the squads Yamamoto. We've also seen many cases where the squads have had to work together to face a threat and I doubt that would have only happened post Ichigo. There's many assumptions that could be made but ultimately it's just a massive oversight by the author. Look at how deadly hollows are supposed to be something a Shinigami should fear, or how Gillians when introduced are supposed to be so powerful it should multiple captains to take down. Yet as the story progresses neither or remotely an issue for any Shinigami. It's clearly just something Kubo wasn't considering when he initially wrote the story the same way there's lot of things in star wars that don't make sense in later movies because the "A new hope" was all Lucas had thought up to and once he started world building all these plot holes developed like why does Hans solo not believe in the force when he's partner literally fought along side Jedi.

[@Rhekon]

There have been times when I didn't even recognize my own dad and times when I've hidden in plain sight simply by changing my attire. Isshin does that and has facial hair now, and rarely spends time around people that could recognize him in panels. He could've pulled a Superman/Clark Kent lol

[@TheBronf]

im like that with people i see every day. work mates when i see them down the street it takes me several seconds to recognize them after they come to talk to me.

[@Heavenlydrag]

Didn't Isshin say he got his powers back once Ichigo awakened Zangetsu. Meaning when fisher d attacked he was powerless.

[@schizoreze]

Isshin got his powers back when White was unleashed against Byakuya during the Soul Society arc not when Ichigo first awakened Zangetsu.

[@FatherManus]

I’m pretty sure he was slowly getting his powers back since Ichigo was born. He said he was very weak but sensed Gran Fisher approaching Masaki and Ichigo and could have done something to fight Gran Fisher. He just figured she was more than powerful enough to fight Gran Fisher on her own (which she was but she lost her powers during the fight due to the Aushwalen from Yhwach)

[@JoseSerrato0420]

He got his powers back when his existence no longer kept Hollow Ichigo in check, so around the battle with Byakuya

[@rustycalloway1814]

I mean ok sure I'll buy it for Rukia but Rangiku was also in the house and she was his Lt. I just don't see that happening. Also, as his Lt. she had to be intimately aware of Isshin's Zanpacto Engetsu's abilities. I mean Ichigo's Zanpacto is Zangetsu and he also uses the Getsuga. There's no way she didn't see the connection.

[@Soupshark11]

Im pretty sure rangiku and tosh didn’t make direct contact with Isshin

[@ilewdlolis939]

i guess she knew but shut up about it, I mean they almost executed rukia in the previous arc. she probably wanted to cover up for her old captain knowing he definitely had his reasons and a family now

[@rustycalloway1814]

Direct contact, probably not but I highly doubt they'd just enter a house, through window or vent, without some recon around the house at least laying eyes on the members. Either way it's more the extreme similarities between abilities and Zanpacto name that I was referring to especially as often as Rangiku fought near Ichigo and more than likely with Isshin. I mean there's always the possibility that she figures it out quickly and just kept it close to her chest but, I would have still loved to have seen a true reaction to realizing that Ichigo was the son of her old Captain.

[@corruptangel6793]

She might have thought Ichigo's power was similar to Isshin's, but A) it's been 20 years, abd B) there are distinct differences too. Especially since the only time she ever saw Ichigo in action was during the FK arc when he was in Bankai. I mean, Rangiku's Zanpakuto is incredibly similar to Byakuya's, but there's obviously no connection there. She could have felt the same of Ichigo and Isshin.

[@tripkings547]

Isn't Dangai Ichigo carrying Isshin with him when he comes to stop Butterflizen and Rangiku is right there? Sure she is sad because Gin died but she doesn't once say "is that...?" I mean sure Isshin looks older with full facial hair even, so I _might_ be able to buy that if he were in human clothes, but he's in the whole shinigami get up, he even has part of his captain haroi and _his Zanpakuto._ She would at least recognize his sword, and at least note the similarities.

[@klissattack]

Isshin couldn't see ghosts or hollows until after Ichigo became fully corrupted by the White (or whatever its name was) so I'd say the "almost killed" part at the very beginning of the series was merely a surprise attack

[@GODOFAWSOMENESS1]

Hollowfied is the term.

[@klissattack]

@@GODOFAWSOMENESS1 thank you lol

[@starplayah1572]

Glad to see your channel prospering ! Been subbed for a while , I’ve always enjoyed your content .

[@giomilahy]

I think on vol 20 of the manga, Issin stated that his power just recently awakening post soul society arc, cmiiw.

[@emeraldxr]

The second reason was what I already considered before, because Rukia (apart from the fact that she is from a noble family) most of the time was just another common shinigami like the thousands that are in soul society and that as we have seen at times where nothing is happening, the interaction of a common soldier is very limited to the people of his division so I'm not surprised that she has never seen him up close or has seen him a few times, because in addition to being from different divisions, their status was literally extreme different from the pyramid and along with the fact that shinigami have everyday duties to fulfill which probably further limits interaction with members of other squads and even more with officers, lieutenants and captains.

[@AM-ct5je]

Even if your a mere shinigami, am sure your going to know the 13 captains

[@LupineShadowOmega]

@@AM-ct5je Know of isn't the same thing as know. I know of tons of celebrities, but if I met them in person, who is to say I'd know exactly who that is. I might get a "Huh, where do I recognize this person from?" Now take that and add 25 years of aging to it, in a society where people don't typically age.

[@desroth]

"He looked completely different" Same face just a bit older and with stubble, and Ichigo is Kaien with orange hair. Like I get it, there has to be an explanation, but that portion of it is just questionable at best. He could literally just say he made the connection long after the fact or made up that story point after the initial opening arc.

[@sasuke9825]

By any chance, have you ever unintentionally encounter an old friend ? Within 10 years I hadn’t been able to tell if someone is an old friend or not. In 20 years, people can change drastically.

[@aqmaalh.9519]

Agreed, i love Bleach and the way Kubo subtly does things but this is def one of the things he thought of later and had to give an answer for

[@arthurmarshall6825]

You are also talking about people who aged slower than humans. It would be like someone you saw 6 months ago aged 25 years, would you recognize them today?

[@Ghasthund]

This year has been great for bleach questions finally being answered

[@diz1233]

great stuff MrTommo!! your videos have revitalized a love for bleach and manga back in me!! thank you!

[@ferenczliszt]

Something I always think of as an explanation for this is what Shunsui told Lille in their fight: shinigami are accustomed to always looking at the world with both their ordinary vision AND their spiritual sense. It's so natural to them that they don't even think about it, and if their spiritual sense is obstructed (as, for example, Rukia's was in the very first chapter) they can have difficulty perceiving (or at least identifying) even someone right next to them. I believe this explains why Rukia didn't recognize Isshin: even if she'd for a moment been like "oh that human looks a bit like Isshin Shiba", the fact he doesn't have spiritual pressure would prevent the thought of him BEING Isshin from even crossing her mind. Because even if he superficially resembles the former captain visually, SPIRITUALLY there's no resemblance at all at that point, and thus Rukia would fail to identify him. Now, would this still apply AFTER he's regained his shinigami powers? I'm not sure. It seems that his spiritual pressure is only detectable when he's actually IN shinigami mode: and while we don't actually see him separating from his body, I always assumed we were meant to understand that he'd need to leave his physical body the same way Ichigo does. So perhaps when he's still inside his human body, his presence and identity aren't perceptible: only when he leaves the body as a shinigami can other shinigami sense him. Which could potentially also explain why Hitsugaya and Matsumoto didn't go and have a chat with him: the only time (to my recollection) that he and they were around each other in the same place at the same time while he was outside of his human body was when he arrived to fight Aizen -- by which point, both Hitsugaya and Matsumoto had fallen. Matsumoto might have sensed him at a distance, maybe, but there wasn't an opportunity for them to really interact at that time (unless they did offscreen after the battle).

[@Jonas.A.Larsen]

What I found kinda strange is how Rukia never mentions or ponders on the fact that both Isshin and Ichigo look a hell of alot like Kaien, put dark hair on Ichigo and he is close to identical to Kaien, and Isshin while being older also looks alot like him. I also found it weird that both Matsumoto and Toshiro spent that amount of time around the kurosaki household without ever noticing that they where in close proximity of their former captain.

[@CRIS_IS_ON_INFINITE_EARTHS]

This was a good video, I'm glad you mentioned Simo Urahara :D Here's some ideas for bleach what ifs I think would be interesting to get your thoughts on: What if kisuke's original plan to get rid of his hogyoko actually succeeded? Or What if Karin became the main character after Ichigo lost his shinigami powers?

[@jschoma11]

Tom, you're all over these topics in the best kind of way!

[@ulliquarahyuga7534]

As someone formally in the military I can assure you that you will rarely learn the faces of people that high up in rank. Especially if they aren’t apart of your own chain of command. You might know there names of course, but definitely not faces. You just don’t have a reason to since like Kubo said you will rarely interact with them. I would also say that it’s been over 20 years. Even if she did vaguely know his face I doubt she would remember it well enough to compare it to an aged up Ishin.

[@badman3000]

I feel like Isshin knew who Rukia was he just pretended not to know. I like to think that after the social society arc. They did their research on Ichigo and found out who his dad was and that's why they gave him such leeway.

[@moseszero3281]

He admits that to Kon, I think the night with King Fisher.

[@sapher4994]

I would also think that she never actually learns Isshins name because, at least from what I remember, Ichigo never refers to Isshin anything other than "dad" or "father"

[@Gabanatora]

I think it makes a lot of sense that Rukia has seen very little of the captains when Isshin was still there. She was adopted by the Kuchiki clan, who were set in their old ways, I'm fairly certain that they wouldn't have let her have the freedoms other members of the clan would have. Her being outside of the family and only being adopted due to the will of Byakuya's wife and all.

[@morving7714]

I think what Kubo was trying to tell us , that rukia did know who isshin as a captain but never meet him or even if did it was very brief . And knowing who is a captain isn't that hard , just look at the cloke they are wearing . And even if we assume that rukia meet isshin , it would still be brief and with facial Change and many other reasons like kids and stuff . It would be hard , she even knew ichigo looked like kaien but she never brought it up much .

[@joshuabaatjes1001]

For those who want more insight on Bleach characters and what they are doing present time.There are several bleach artbooks that have Q and As (lots and lots of Q and As) with Kubo.Their quite insightful and have a gold mine of law that was never discussed in the story

[@philipcarey3213]

I mean the hell arc shows them now getting into trouble like good old times putting a halt to the humane lives they were living...

[@BleachBtch]

think I agree most with your thoughts on this, thanks for the vid!

[@MrTommo2304]

Thanks for watching!

[@ryeastra262]

I highly disagree with you about everyone needing to know all Captains by name, face and squad because wearing the white marked robe is the official indicator of Captainhood.

[@ryeastra262]

Rukia also was INCREDIBLY vocal about spending time with Kaien Shiba, she trained and admired him so much it was as if he and Byakuya were the only 2 people in all of Soul Society.

[@ryeastra262]

Isshin knowing this would draw attention to him would not admit to knowing Rukia, remember he was hiding from Ichigo he was a Soul Reaper until Grand Fisher came around.

[@FatherManus]

Every character in the soul society, no matter how insignificant, was always shown to know Captains by name. Unseated officers from other divisions were shown to know who the other Captains are. It makes no sense for Rukia (an unseated officer) to not notice a Captain she knew 20 years ago when shinigami live for hundreds of years and dont have short memory spans.

[@aydinsha]

I dunno man. There's literally just 13 of them. People in reality know hundreds of celebrities. You're telling me she wouldn't know one if the 13 "celebrities" in her world.

[@Crunchysopa52]

@@aydinsha Ya true Captains are the celebs of Soul Society, she could at least remember the name. But to not know his face etc is much more understandable

[@lolggez]

Now the real question is how did rangiku not notice isshin when ichigo dropped him when gin died

[@Direwolf181]

She probably did but pretended not too

[@lolggez]

@@Direwolf181 what's the reason to do that though?

[@blazingocean4206]

“A Shinigami and a human cannot produced a child” R.I.P. Ichiruki fans 🤣

[@morving7714]

Unless ichiruka fans goes to kisuke and force him to make another gigai like isshin .

[@FatherManus]

Uhhh Masaki Kurosaki was a human (Quincies are human) and she had Ichigo with Isshin (a shinigami in a gigai).

[@morving7714]

@@FatherManus That gigai is a special kind , it basically made isshin a human in exchange of spritual energy.

[@FatherManus]

@@morving7714 Kisuke provided Rukia with a special gigai too. It was unable to be detected by the Soul Society unlike normal gigais. So in other words it’s absolutely possible for shinigami to have kids with humans if given the right gigai. For all we know Rukia’s gigai had that ability too. If not, Kisuke could have given her one that did.

[@blazingocean4206]

@@FatherManus Isshin lost his shinigami powers and became a human through a gigai.

[@KingTaichi]

Coming from a military background I can see the second reason being possible. Lower enlisted soldiers tend to not interact or even know neighboring unit's commanders.

[@sircheezpuff1111]

I hope in TYBW anime that they add more interactions between characters, for example seeing Isshin and Toshiro reunite would be cool, and I also hope that they show spiritual pressure like how they did in soul society with like the screen shaking and stuff

[@shinkenhakkyoken8655]

Well, I certainly agree that his appearance has changed, as he's obviously evolved into his final form as the Ultimate Transcendent DILF.

[@legion0764]

This is the same answer for how Komamura didn't recognize the Vizards. A normal unseated shinigami barely see captains from other squads. The real question is, what squad is he back then when the Vizards where captains?

[@schizoreze]

He's probably in the 7th and is theoretically, Love's Lieutenant or 3rd Seat by the time Turn Back the Pendulum started. Assuming, that he did become a Lieutenant or 3rd Seat at the same time as Tosen

[@DarkJ7985]

Good video as always. Honestly a bigger question would be why didn’t rangiku and toshiro recognise ishhin.

[@Silver-Kaitou]

I don’t think they had any interaction with him post White.

[@saitosan876]

You are the best Tomo! Seeing the picture of the Gotei 13 made me think about the first 13 captains who fought Yuha in the first war, wouldn’t it be great if we see them all together in one picture? Who were these captains? I have a theory based in the silhouettes we saw in the manga. The first silhouette from left to right looks a lot like Kensei or Aizen (ancestor of one of them), the second it’s Unohana, the third one believe it or not could be Ichibei the tallest of the group ; the sandals he use are the same, the fourth it’s Yamamoto, the fifth one is Tenjiro (the yakuza captain of the zero squad) he was the healer instead of Unohana at that time and the last captain looks like Ichibei, Sasakibe or Toshiro. Please look the at picture to see what’s your opinion.

[@bryan5561]

I wanna know why none of the other captains didn't question the similarities between ishiins zanpakto and Ichigos. I mean how often do zanpakto have similar names and pretty much the same power?

[@anaideviveiros6597]

Interesting question and good answer. Makes sense 👍

[@Xong217]

Hoping the anime expands heavily on this. We're getting this arc in two week as of me writing this

[@finalandreo]

I disagree. Being a military member myself, it's not common that I recognize commanders not in my own chain of command unless I've had interactions with them. I know airman who don't know who the chief of staff of the Air Force is, much less what he looks like.

[@elijahholmes4925]

The way I see the explanation where she never really got to see him cause they are in different squads. I think what he means is that they rarely see the captains in person. Like she may know the name but other then that barely seen what they look like and if so it’s very rare also the soul reapers that saw isshin in katakura town would most def regconize him especially since he was wearing his captains coat. That literally says his seat and such. I may be wrong cause that scene is blurry in my memory.

[@Lyoco507]

You’re looking great btw!

[@unRottenemSpines]

another awesome vid 👍 nice haircut ❤️️

[@gager998]

The obvious answer is that Kubo hadn't decided Isshin would be a shinigami until later in the series, so you have to suspend disbelief for any excuse. The third reason is the most plausible, but obviously not perfect. The second reason has another hole in it though. We have precedent of Rukia following Byakuya around and coming in close contact with other captains, as we see when she describes how she feels about Gin when he "offers" to free her. If anything, Isshin should have been more likely to interact with Byakuya because of his personality and possibly knowing Rukia's relationship to Kaien. Still, the other reasons are plausible enough that they can be accepted, even if them recognizing each other should have been arguably more likely.

[@Tsepotawana]

Whether or not what you’re saying is true, amending a story is something that’s done all the time by a writer and as such. when it came to this popular storyline loophole; it was surely in Kubos best interest to have already thought and decided about it how to fill it. So I think these questions are still very much relevant whether or not(At the time) he hadnt decided if Ishin was going be a shinigami. Also, I feel Kubo did actually know that ishin woulid be a shinigami at that point because we know he confirms within the very same story period that ichigo was born with his own Shinigami powers. Assuming that they where passed down to him, which I imagine is what most people would do,Given her backstory it was pretty clear masaki had no shinigami background meaning, the only logical conclusion would be that he’s father was a shinigami before him

[@carlosjosejimenezbermudez9255]

Which is wrong considering an interview in which he said was gonna give Isshin the job of a funerary man (who wears black), but an assistant told him that would be kinda spoilery.

[@gager998]

@@carlosjosejimenezbermudez9255 I've heard the mortician thing before, but not that it was changed for spoilers. If that's true, then I have no problem conceding I'm wrong. I think that makes Isshin's behavior in the very early series even stranger, though.

[@gager998]

@@Tsepotawana Sorry if I have the impression I was saying Kubo couldn't or shouldn't have given post hoc explanations. It's his story, he can do anything he wants with it. I was just trying to point out issues to consider, but I also conceded the explanation was believable enough for me. Perhaps that came across poorly. And agree to disagree about Isshin being a planned shinigami from the beginning. Unless what the poster below me said about the mortician being changed for spoilers being true (which it certainly could be, I legitimately just don't know), I don't think shinigami powers being hereditary to be the automatic assumption without any other hints. We see in the SS arc that's not necessarily the case anyway. I initially read it as anyone could have them, and Rukia's power had awakened Ichigo's. I could easily just be dumb and weird, though.

[@0eyes]

Renji didn’t know Rangiku’s captain was and Rukia hesitated when Renji first made his appearance as if she wasn’t sure it was him.

[@FatherManus]

The real reason is Isshin wasn’t written as a former squad 10 Captain during the first arc.

[@Flounderboy15]

This. I love Kubo, but he's definitely a guy who has fallen prey to a weekly schedule. It's just not possible to plan these sort of twists years ahead.

[@FatherManus]

@@Flounderboy15 The sad part is there was an easy way around this. Kubo could have made Isshin a former Squad Zero member. He was already shown to be strong enough to fight base Aizen one on one after decades of inactivity. Yet he was shown to be a normal Captain in the TYBW arc flashback. It makes more sense if he was former Squad Zero. And this plothole with Rukia wouldnt even exist since Squad Zero members arent known by literally everyone in the Soul Society, unlike regular Captains.

[@imbored5951]

@@FatherManus He was fighting an Aizen that had just bodied several captains and whose soul was being restructured by the Hogyoku. It wasn't really Aizen at his peak. Alos i think its fairly obvious that even early on Isshin was someone important. Like when Ichigo leaves he seems to understand more than he lets on.

[@FatherManus]

@@imbored5951 Its still impressive to be able to fight on a relative level with even a fatigued base Aizen, especially when Isshin was out of action for 20 years.

[@imbored5951]

@@FatherManus yeah no question. Being a noble in the Bleach verse is kind of ridiculous. But that raises the question, where the fuck did Aizen come from?

[@AmbitiousMuscle]

This is the whole hiding in plain sight effect like with superman and his glasses. Sometimes we overlook something right in front of us due to certain variables at play which seem out of character.

[@majora320]

There's also the fact that Rukia can be completely oblivious to certain details sometimes. Like in the filler arc where they were protecting rurichiyo she did not recognize her clan at first.

[@Michael_mki233]

To the point of unseated officers not necessarily knowing all of the Captains, is it really that far-fetched? Speaking to Americans, how many can name the President, VP, Speaker of the House, Senate Majority Leader, and all nine Supreme Court Justices? Or if you just to keep it in the Executive Branch, the President, VP, and the President's Cabinet members? That's about the same number of people as the 13 Captains, but I'd say a significant number of Americans couldn't do that.

[@JohnA...]

Something that always seemed to confuse me with the story was the "souls" in Soul Society having children. Now of course I'm mixing "western" religious mythology with "eastern" mythologies and the idea of rebirth so are the children in Soul Society ones that had just died in the real world? Its just another fiction but you see in some cases like with Rukia where the major Families adopt "souls" into their families, but also some families seem to have direct children and pass on skills from generations, and in the end (before the newer arc) isn't that Rukia & Rengie's kid we see interacting with Ichigo's kid?

[@Nayuta94]

Fresh haircut MrTommo🔝 i love when kubo sensei answers questions he is a living legend. And i'm always happy to hear new details about Rukia/Isshin^^

[@xvoidxhunter2129]

Hey do you think you could analyze early Bleach stuff? Like Ichigo vs Grandfisher, the cool as hell shinigami from the stealth force that first showed up to bring Rukia back, Ichigo vs Byakuya, Ichigo vs Renji and Byakuya in Karakura town (if you havent already)

[@zach415]

How didn’t Rangiku know? She had to have met him or seen him when she was at Ichigo’s house

[@jakesexton3640]

She did

[@fullyactivated]

I think regarding the 2nd answer, Rukia knows each Captain's name and about them in general, but maybe she never actually met them in person. You mentioned how they are like Celebrities, but if you met on at the grocery store and they were not all glammed up, it would be possible for you to not even recognize them.

[@lewisaino]

I remember that where was a news where nobody interacted with Henry Cavill

[@Indigoblue294]

We need the second division analysis video 💯

[@DrCaptainSquirrel]

I thought it was said somewhere that Isshins powers only just now came back. When he and Kisuke met after killing Grand Fissure, I thought it was mentioned he was powerless until recently. Which I would assume meant he probably couldn’t see spirits and hollows, similar to Ichigo at the beginning of the fullbringer arc

[@justinduffany5580]

Shinigami and Humans can’t make children. Isshin: Challenge accepted.

[@aboody8618]

Kisuke: now this looks like a job for me

[@BaguetteDeMal]

His wife is a quincy tho

[@jacoblantigua1366]

what i also want to know is how she doesn't notice that is ishinn shiba later in the story of bleach and as for another character, how does Rangiku not recognize ishinn? does rangiku never see him in bleach other than seeing him when he was a captain?

[@connordanielson8833]

Rangiku never entered the kurosaki house as far as I am aware.

[@jacoblantigua1366]

@@connordanielson8833 she did, during the time after bount arc when soul reapers where sent to investigate arancar activity in karakura town, i think thats when she went to his house.

[@connordanielson8833]

@@jacoblantigua1366 anime only

[@brandonleathers2938]

MrTommo2304 I wanted to say thank you for putting the manga panels you show into English. I believe I said at least twice that you'd get more views if you did that. Since then you've done that, thank you again.

[@evanminton8315]

I always wondered this!

[@LeoArmada]

Tommo got that trim, looking nice.

[@Nevrbetrolled466]

But then why wouldnt Isshin recognize Rukia?

[@Theta117]

Why would isshin even remember a non seated shinigami, there's thousands of them

[@oscarflores7750]

Yo tommo, i like your new haircut. You look fancy my guy, nice job with the videos !!!!

[@MstrCorrin]

I think its a lot of the third reason with the fact that she may have seen him before but not gotten his personality - and so with the gigai being so much thinner (esp around the shoulders) and having aged twenty years combined with no captain spirit pressure all three reasons come together.

[@Cieges]

I think the second point is fine as well. You’re just not looking at it from Rukia’s perspective. She didn’t seem to care for much besides those she already cared about

[@corndog7813]

So people from seireitei age up whenever they're on the physical world as they're on their physical manifestation then? What happened to Kisuke, the vizoreds, Yoruichi and all of them in the shop? Comparably, shouldn't time be much slower in the seireitei?

[@morving7714]

It's the gigai difference the gigai of isshin is completely different than the gigai that kisuke and other vizards are using .

[@brianfenech10]

@@morving7714 I assume Isshin losing his powers made him basically human whereas the others are still shinigami or vizards [Edited] My bad it's just the special Gigai Kisuke gives Isshin which makes him in most aspects a human including the ability to have children with a human

[@carlosjosejimenezbermudez9255]

You forget there is a special Gigai that Isshin can't get out of that also happens to age. The reason why Isshin recovers his powers is because Ichigo's own shinigami power is enough to counter balance his existance and not cause soul suicide on him. Ishin spent his time in this gigai first for Masaki, then for Ichigo, who inherited the entire hollow apparantly, and then finally just for the sake of his family. It wouldn't surprise me if Isshin visited soul society after the events of Bleach.

[@corndog7813]

​@@morving7714 Convenient how a certain someone can effectively create a human suit who can procreate and a second life ticket in the human world, for an ex-human. Swear, Kisuke is doing god-stuff most of his life. :/

[@morving7714]

@@corndog7813 He was doing it from the start , Hogyoku , then max level gigai and a lot more . He is only not doing it because he doesn't want to mess up the world. But if you know the origin of the world it makes sense basically at some time before the division of the world , humans and souls do exist as a same entity .

[@kittylitty01]

great video i love this

[@SpitefulTalks]

This was a question I always wondered too xD

[@mitzz6401]

I just wanna know how byakuya didn’t recognize isshin? He was present at the captain’s meeting when isshin was the captain in the flashbacks. Byakuya has said that Ichigo looks similar to Kaien a couple of times but I wonder why he never made the connection to Ichigo?

[@morving7714]

Did byakuya ever saw isshin ???? Like I don't remember .

[@historicflame972]

I forgor if they even met

[@FatherManus]

@@morving7714 Not directly. Byakuya was in Hueco Mundo when Isshin showed up in Fake Karakura Town to fight Aizen. But Byakuya and Kenpachi did come to Ichigo’s house to force Toshiro, Renji, Rukia, Ikkaku and Yumichika to return to the Soul Society. And Byakuya also came with the group to rescue Ichigo from Ginjo in Karakura Town. He wouldnt have been able to do that without being involved with the surveillance of Ichigo while in the Soul Society. Which means its very likely he saw Isshin during that surveillance.

[@morving7714]

@@FatherManus After ichigo's fight it was already revealed that isshin is ichigo's dad . Maybe they did talk , we just didn't know anything because ichigo was powerless . Before that byakuya didn't meet isshin .

[@mitzz6401]

@@morving7714 at 1:16 you can see him in the corner.

[@benloper5727]

I think the explanations are perfectly fine. Even if she had seen Isshin a few times in the past, you have to remember that 20 years is a LONG TIME. Do you think you would immediately recognize someone that you had never met in person, maybe only seen a handful of times in your life, twenty years later? Yeah right :| The idea that the captains are famous is true, but not like celebrities in the sense of the modern world filled with television, social media, movies and magazines. The fact that other shinigami recognize captains immediately in the manga is also easily explained because the captains are always wearing uniforms. Their uniforms and incredible reiatsu kind of make them stick out like sore thumbs.

[@MarcelleJr92]

But if you read what kubo said he said regular soul reapers didn't really spend a lot time around the captains. Also its stated in we do knot always love you that isshin would make frequent visits to squad 13 and when Kaien died he wanted to speak with rukia but he thought he was too devastated over it so he prolonged talking with her.

[@RoboTech_Voltron]

that still wouldn't make sense though, especially in a military organization. I would expect that members of the Gotei 13 would have basic domain knowledge on the chain of command for captains & vice captain, especially since there's only 13 captains to remember. that'd be weird for a soul reaper from a different division to run into Kenpachi or Byakuya and be absolutely clueless on who they are. not knowing the seated officers under the captains & lieutenants is more understandable though.

[@pblue305]

I always thought that Captains rarely interacted with lower ranked officers that are not part of their squad.Ex when Aizen was talking to Renji at the beginning of the soul society arc, it indicated to me that they have not seen each other since Aizen transferred him out of the 5th to the 11th division (which would have been about 40-50 years before the main storyline.)

[@rougerider0373]

I think one way of resolving is by having Isshin be from a prior generation of Captains, having come over to Earth centuries prior.

[@michaelshahoe]

that would be problematic regarding how he met Ichigo's mom

[@FatherManus]

@@michaelshahoe Not really. Isshin didn’t know Masaki until he was attacked by White and she intervened. It would make no difference when he came to the world of the living. As long as they met during the fight with White the results would be the same.

[@jakesexton3640]

@@FatherManus 😂 but that's the thing, if it was "centuries prior" they wouldn't meet at all since she wouldn't even be born

[@michaelshahoe]

@@FatherManus No, because having not only Urahara but Isshin conveniently be in Karakura Town for no reason at that moment in time would be weird and just for the sake of plot. With Isshin leaving his post, the fall of the Shiba family happening at that moment after he left his post which explains why the Shiba family isnt part of the noble family anymore is something which would explain everything nicely instead of having too many coincidences happening without much explanations. The coincidences with Ichigo works because everything are connected. Ichigo resembling Kaien is because Ichigo is a shiba. Ichigo having high reiatsu is because he's a noble of not only from his dad but from his mom as well + White. The fall of Shiba clan happening after Kaien's death would explain with Isshin's disappearance since Kaien dying wouldnt make sense why the Shiba clan wouldnt be considered a noble family anymore And I can continue ofcourse. When Isshin left is pretty important with the previous established facts. This is how Kubo works after all. He leaves out something vague just to tie it up when he finds the right moment. Like how Grandfisher knew Ichigo was from a noble family. Or how Aizen wanted to reveal Ichigo was something else before Isshin cut him off.

[@Dragon9Nexus]

Just forgetting the fact that even in this video it's said Ishin was in the soul society when Katie died some 20 years ago⁉️ So the fuck with these "centuries ago" talk 🤷🏻

[@BlizzardofOze]

Wait, so aren't Yuzu and Karin also human/shingami/Quincy hybrids? I mean they wouldn't have hollow reiatsu, but they've gotta be powerhouses in their own right. Bit of a shame this was never explored.

[@Nerthos]

It might be that the years spent in the gigai supressed Isshin's reiatsu or that they're just not talented in spiritual things without something to awaken them like rukia in ichigo's case. Plus Ichigo an a now combat capable Isshin would never allow them to be in the line of fire to be awakened. But it'd be a pretty interesting path to explore for certain, and they are Don Kanonji's disciples after all.

[@AzorAhaiReborn]

your haircut made me go back a whole year. about the video now, i think kubo always intended for isshin to be a shinigami, cuz i belive ichigo being a hybrid was the plan from the get go. but some things might not have been so well planned, like the shiba/kaien conection and maybe even his captain status or something on rukia's part idk, maybe a special function urahara implemented on his gigai. he sure is weird at the beginning, but i can easily buy that he was just pretending to fool whoever, for whatever reason

[@sage0fthiccpaths656]

The last one is definitely my favorite as well and makes the most sense. I still think it should've been atleast noted that he looked similar to the former captain or holds a resemblance to Kaien, but I guess Kubo hadn't thought that far ahead yet? I feel like he would've though, especially since we meet Kukaku and Ganju in the second arc of the series and learn about Kaien. And gotta say, after reading Everything But The Rain, it's been so weird to me that we didn't see some sort of reaction from either Toshiro or Rangiku or literally anyone else when Isshin pulled up during the Karakura Battle with Aizen.

[@0eyes]

Actually it makes even more sense considering Rukia when seeing Renji in Karakura hesitated when saying Renji’s name and didn’t even know he became a vice captain to her brother. There’s also the fact that Renji didn’t even know the captain of squad 10 during SS arc.

[@KiwiHavok777]

Looking fresh🥶

[@warlordnathugar3618]

Honestly the ones that surprise me is that neither Hitsugaya or Rangiku recognized their former captain despite visiting the Kurosaki household several times throughout the story, though I suppose a case could be made that they only ever visited Ichigo's room, and during hours that Isshin could either be out and about or working. I guess the appearance thing, plus the fact that Isshin's reishi was all but nonexistant could explain why they never thought of him as anything but another human

[@floriel]

In a real life company, it is true you don't always know who are the main guys from other part of the organisation (at least not their faces). I know the name of some of the main guys in my previous company because they are cited in articles in the press, or when they appear for big announcement twice a year for 3 minutes. But wouldn't be able to recognise them at all.

[@JaiSinVern]

theres also the superman answer where without his captain attire you dont notice him as much. even henry cavil proved that by standing next to his superman poster and wasnt recognized

[@TenebraeXVII]

It's fair to say that 20 years back it's pretty likely the Soul Pager didn't exist. Combine that with the Seireitei being a very large place (nearly the size of the lower peninsula of Michigan) and the Soul Society arc establishing that prior to then it was very rare for all the captains to be relatively close together and it's perfectly reasonable to believe that any lower level Soul Reaper could be expected to know the names of the 13 captains but less likely to know their faces. The Squad 13 soldier stationed at Karakura in Everything But the Rain might not have known Isshin Shiba's face at all but he definitely would have seen his uniform and the crest on his haori which would be sufficient identification even to someone in the same organization who doesn't know his face. The Shihakusho and captains haori are parts of military uniforms, which are usually designed so that the rank and file can identify commanders by sight even if they don't know their faces.

[@MugetsuFused]

I think a scene from the ss arc realy explains it. Renji, a vice captain, didnt know who matsumotos captain was. 😂

[@aliveandwellinisrael2507]

What's interesting to me is that these humanizing gigai would provide a way for captain class individuals to avoid unbalancing things on their death, and needing that hell ritual performed. Of course it's not really usable since captains kinda need their power while in that position and can unexpectedly be killed in action, but I could imagine them coming up with a scientific solution to that problem once the threat from the recent chapter had been dealt with

[@ilewdlolis939]

i had always assumed isshin didn't say anything about rukia cuz he probably assumed that kisuke had something to do with it and knew she was gonna be punished in the soul society so he wanted to protect her probably the same with rangiku when she was at ichigo´s house she recognized him and wanted to protect her old friend after the mess of the soul society arc

[@SnackMuay]

I believe that at some point in the soul society arc, someone refers to Byakyuya as the “most famous of the gotei 13” which to me sort of indicates that there are some captains who are relatively unknown (although I wouldn’t think that a Shiba would be among them)

[@LupineShadowOmega]

Why not? He was sort of a slacker. Sure he's from a noble house, but so are tons of other captains past and present.

[@housey2]

Reason 2 makes sense from a military standpoint, you wouldn't necessarily interact with another company (squad) and thus you would not who their leadership was. You would know know by seeing their rank on clothing.

[@bleed706]

I could see low lvl shini mostly only recognizing captains from other divisions by their coats and the symbols on the back/shoulder and them like having to memorize the names of all sitting gotae 13 captains or maybe getting the names and a brief discription in some paperwork or something. they would probably know 4th division for healing and such but i doubt there would be pictures circulating or meet and greets of some kind mixing the divisions often. im not even sure if celebrations or holidays would make sense to have in an afterlife when you learn religions were way off base except a few things right?

[@jagartharn6361]

I think there are indeed some parts that Kubo winged it. As good as he is at foreshadowing (IE cross on Ichigos bed lol) he still wings it now and then probably.