Bleach Speculation (Chapters 300+)

[uc pseudonym]

There was a time skip of 9 years too, but the number was still -104, so whatever...

That was also my first thought. If he can keep up this level of interest for 108 chapters I won't mind, but that seems a bit excessive. However, I think there's some merit to the idea of pausing just before the final conflict - especially if the flashback will reveal something we didn't know. How awesome would it be to have things stop at a cliffhanger and by the time we've returned readers have switched sides?

Umm, hey, I know that this is a completely random topic, but.....what do you guys think about the IchiRuki versus IchiHime pairing, and what evidence do you really have that would support your opinion.

Neither seems likely to me. People of their age are nowhere near mature enough to know what they want. If they dated, their relationships would probably end up exactly the same place as 99% of relationships in high school: dropped along the wayside among countless other crushes and whims.

...that's not helpful at all, I know.

[Mave]

Neither seems likely to me. People of their age are nowhere near mature enough to know what they want. If they dated, their relationships would probably end up exactly the same place as 99% of relationships in high school: dropped along the wayside among countless other crushes and whims.

...that's not helpful at all, I know.

I would also say neither. Or rather, they're too busy trying to stay alive first. He.He.He.

The fangirl in me says she likes IchiXRuki.....ok, RenjiXRuki is good too. I guess she's not a Hime fan.

[Nami]

[quote="uc pseudonym (post: 1220806)"]Neither seems likely to me. People of their age are nowhere near mature enough to know what they want. If they dated, their relationships would probably end up exactly the same place as 99%]

Ahahahha! UC! You are so serious it cracks me up ^_^ By the time Ichigo is fighting Grimm he is about 16 or 17, after all they do show that the school time has passed. And that at least a year has gone by since the beginning of the manga. I understand what you are saying though.. but don't take it so seriously.. they are made up characters and therefore their future is decided by their Author ^_^ If he deems them old enough then I suppose it works I mean no disrespect ^-^

As for my opinion on the matter, I am a IchiRukia fan. I do have evidence to back this pairing.. well Fanon Evidence and defense for it, but I do write about weird pairings all the time if I feel it would be interesting, but I am strongly opinionated about IchiRukia. But like a very wise person said about Avatar pairings; We shouldn't let the pairings destroy the show for us, even if it ends differently than what we thought it would we have no reason to get mad about our pairing not happening, though we all fan different pairings we can understand the sadness of the anime ending and that is something we can all relate to. ^^ (Totally off topic right? XD;; Sorry)

*grins at Mave* Yeah IchiRukia X3

I am a IshidaxOrihime fan too.

[uc pseudonym]

Ahahahha! UC! You are so serious it cracks me up ^_^ By the time Ichigo is fighting Grimm he is about 16 or 17, after all they do show that the school time has passed. And that at least a year has gone by since the beginning of the manga. I understand what you are saying though.. but don't take it so seriously.. they are made up characters and therefore their future is decided by their Author ^_^ If he deems them old enough then I suppose it works I mean no disrespect ^-^

I really don't care. Authors can say or do anything they want, but I don't have to take it seriously. However, I take a certain degree of twisted joy in pointing out this kind of thing.

Pedantic detail: I don't think it has been a year since the beginning of the manga. The opening is an ambiguous period of time, the SS arc was a few weeks, then Ichigo had one month of training.

[Nami]

How right you are ^^; I suppose it just takes so long that is does seem to be a year... o_o Oh well my logic is flawed after all XD

[GeneD]

I had a bit of a Bleach manga marathon this past week and have finally caught up with the latest chapters! I haven’t caught up with all the posts in this thread though, just about half way from the end.

To grave-dig a previous topic (semi-sorry-ness):

My top 5 would be:
#1. Aizen
#2. Rukia
#3. Hitsugaya
#4. Ishida
#5. Ichigo

Close runners up would be Urahara and Yoruichi. Although if Urahara really is the overall bad guy he’ll go straight to the top of my list.

On more current events/topics:

I’m enjoying the History arc. It was interesting to find out about the Vizard, as it gives a bit of perspective on what their power levels are. We haven’t really seen them fight, except for Ichigo’s training.

As for the whole “kidnapping Orihime was a trap. Ha ha.â€

[ich1990]

Umm, hey, I know that this is a completely random topic, but.....what do you guys think about the IchiRuki versus IchiHime pairing, and what evidence do you really have that would support your opinion.

So far, the manga has managed to avoid the topic mostly, for this I am thankful. Nonetheless, the manga has opened Pandora's box, and can not avoid the topic forever; it must be dealt with eventually.

As to my prediction, I believe that Ichigo will end up with Orhime. Otherwise, what is the purpose of Renji? He is not anywere near powerful enough to be Ichigo's rival, so he is relegated to picking up the excess girls. The end will most likely be sickeningly sweet and perfect, like the end of the Harry Potter books.

Unless, the mangaka is cooler than I anticipated (and better than J.K. Rowling). In which case, the heroes and heroines realize how immature they are and decide to grow up before hooking up. Or maybe some of them could die. Anything that would add bitter to the sweet ending would be an improvement.

[uc pseudonym]

[quote="GeneD"]As for the whole “]
I'm still hoping that this battle isn't the end of Bleach - that would subvert expectations in an enjoyable way. But if Kubo Tite honestly just abandoned this aspect of the plot I will be disappointed. It seems very obvious to me that Aizen is interested in making Orihime mess with the Hogyoku (though how this will help him is uncertain). But he showed her its location for no apparent reason and now dramatically walked out (even having one of his Espada drag Orihime very near where it presumably still is).

[Hana Ryuuzaki]

[font="palatino Linotype"]It would be interesting if this was the final battle, and I understand that it would be sad if it was, but what you really think would be the next "bad guy"?[/font]

[GeneD]

I'm still hoping that this battle isn't the end of Bleach - that would subvert expectations in an enjoyable way. But if Kubo Tite honestly just abandoned this aspect of the plot I will be disappointed. It seems very obvious to me that Aizen is interested in making Orihime mess with the Hogyoku (though how this will help him is uncertain). But he showed her its location for no apparent reason and now dramatically walked out (even having one of his Espada drag Orihime very near where it presumably still is).

You're right. I was underestimating Aizen][font="palatino Linotype"]It would be interesting if this was the final battle, and I understand that it would be sad if it was, but what you really think would be the next "bad guy"?[/font][/QUOTE]Maybe Ichigo's inner hollow? He’s definitely not completely down and out. I don’t see him as the world dominating type though, but you never know. He’ll be especially powerful if he can somehow separate himself from Ichigo.

Or he completely takes over Ichigo and becomes the next main villain and the others have to take him (and essentially Ichigo) out. That might be interesting.

[uc pseudonym]

It would be interesting if this was the final battle, and I understand that it would be sad if it was, but what you really think would be the next "bad guy"?

I think we can basically assume that Aizen is the final villain (unless there is an Urahara or Yamamoto twist). Bleach is part of the current generation of shonen, where things are at least sketched out from the beginning instead of in haphazard arcs. Not that this

Or he completely takes over Ichigo and becomes the next main villain and the others have to take him (and essentially Ichigo) out. That might be interesting.

wouldn't be fun too.

[MasterDias]

Regarding couples/romance: I don't honestly expect to see much (if any) of this in Bleach. Despite the amount of (usually bad) romance fanfics on the internet, titles in this genre rarely ever focus on it. The most I suspect anyone will get is implications in a last "epilogue" chapter or something.

Regarding this upcoming battle: My gut instinct is that this probably isn't the last battle, but that we are getting closer to the end. It sort of depends on how this flashback plays out.

[ich1990]

So, who do you guys think to took out the entire 9th division single handedly? It seems that Mayuri and Urahara were to far away to have done it. That leaves Aizen and Gin as the prime suspects.

You can see a shadowy figure in the frame were the captain is stabbed. From that picture, it looks like the figure is up close and personal. In other words he wasn't attacked by Gin's "shooting sword". Also, the figure looks too tall to be Gin. Unless, it is some other, unexpected enemy, I would say that Aizen was the one who attacked.

Finally, even if Mayuri was able to slip away from Urahara and attack the 9th division, pure sword fighting isn't his style. If it were Mayuri, it would probably have been some sort of chemical attack.

[MasterDias]

And the plot thickens...

Looks like what I've suspected ever since the flashback started will probably take place. Hiyori and company will be turned into vaizards against their will.
I can't really figure out much Urahara is involved however. He didn't give much of a reaction when the 9th division guy asked his help, but it looked like he realized something in the last page there. Despite the fact that he was apparantly killed, I also thought that Todo guy was acting a little odd...

I think I've also found my favorite random irrelevant shinigami. The guy in the 9th who looks like he was wearing a mask and goggles.

[Doubleshadow]

Aside from the plot moving along, my big take-away from the last chapter was the following: What the heck does the 69 mean anyway?

[GeneD]

What the heck does the 69 mean anyway?

I was wondering about that as well.

Then I have a question for you: How much do you think the events of this History arc are related to the events of the present? I mean, it would be easy to assume Aizen, Gin, Mayuri or even Urahara is behind the mysterious attacks, but it might be someone/something unrelated to the present. Or would this be too much like a filler? Though, I also think that we're going to see how the vizard became the vizard.

Also, if Aizen, Gin or Mayuri is behind it, they were either not found out or forgiven (what are the chances), since they all eventually became captains. Urahara, on the other hand, was exiled, so I'm inclined to think he might have been more involved than the others.

[uc pseudonym]

This is the first chapter in a while in which my interest has slackened. Hopefully the revelations about this mystery will be more involving.

Aside from the plot moving along, my big take-away from the last chapter was the following: What the heck does the 69 mean anyway?

I've never really cared about this guy, but yeah: why couldn't he have chosen a set of numbers without a connotation?

Also, if Aizen, Gin or Mayuri is behind it, they were either not found out or forgiven (what are the chances), since they all eventually became captains. Urahara, on the other hand, was exiled, so I'm inclined to think he might have been more involved than the others.

Alternatively, Aizen and company could have gotten Urahara's group blamed for everything. That or he arranged for those who knew something of the truth to be exiled, which wouldn't be difficult given how strict Soul Society seems to be about rules.

[uc pseudonym]

So the plot has arranged things so that most of our present day Vaizards are going on this mission, rather intentionally from a narrative perspective. All the Viazards... and Nanao. Finding out she is a Vaizard would be a great, if random, plot twist.

We also have Tessai's origins - good to know he's captain of the Kido Corp. Does anyone remember exactly what relationship this has to the SS military overall?

[Doubleshadow]

So the plot has arranged things so that most of our present day Vaizards are going on this mission, rather intentionally from a narrative perspective. All the Viazards... and Nanao. Finding out she is a Vaizard would be a great, if random, plot twist.

That isn't Nanao, that is Lisa Yadomaru. She's the Vizard in the Japanese school girl uniform. We haven't seen Nanao at all is the flashbacks.

We also have Tessai's origins - good to know he's captain of the Kido Corp. Does anyone remember exactly what relationship this has to the SS military overall?

I was wondering when Urahara's shop assistant would make an appearance since he has such skill with Kido as portrayed by his restraining Ichigo during his early training. And no, I have no idea what the answer to your question is.

[uc pseudonym]

That isn't Nanao, that is Lisa Yadomaru. She's the Vizard in the Japanese school girl uniform. We haven't seen Nanao at all is the flashbacks.

The terrible thing is that I knew this. They used her name multiple times and everything.

...well, that makes more sense but isn't nearly as intriguing. It also suggests that Shunsui got Nanao because she reminded him of Lisa, which doesn't say much for his character. She does seem a more similar character, though.

[GeneD]

Alternatively, Aizen and company could have gotten Urahara's group blamed for everything. That or he arranged for those who knew something of the truth to be exiled, which wouldn't be difficult given how strict Soul Society seems to be about rules.

From the latest events it seems that this is a very likely scenario for what happens. At least we know [spoiler]Aizen and friends are behind the whole thing. And they obviously weren't found out, on account of them still being at Soul Society in the later/current arcs.It was nice to see a little evil Aizen again.[/spoiler]And chibi-Gin is cool.

[uc pseudonym]

Another possibility entirely is that SS is actually aware the Vaizards and Urahara aren't evil (after all, they contacted him concerning the gate to Hueco Mundo and they haven't really gone after the Vaizards). But Shinji says he hates shinigami at a private moment, so that seems less likely.

Since someone posted, I have to say that I thought cloak!Urahara was cool (if with a bit of a strange expression). This is the first time anyone has even touched Aizen.

[LadyRushia]

**pops in** Marathoning this manga has been. . .wow, XD.

I've always been a IchigoxRukia and IshidaxOrihime shipper, but I really don't expect any pairing to be developed that much.

I like this history arc and I don't really care if it's going to last a for awhile. The Soul Society arc is probably my favorite, though.

Orihime has this whole "specialness" attached to her that I think we're going to see more of, especially once we return to the present. If this is the last arc of Bleach I think it's okay. I mean, once the countdown is over the chapter count will be 400 something and then whatever's going to happen in the present needs to happen.

[GeneD]

Cloak!Urahara is indeed cool. (:lol: for the expression)

As for Shinji hating shinigami, it was obviously not the vizards' fault about what happened to them, but it's possible SS blamed them anyway. It strikes me that you don't have to necessarily be evil for SS to not like you, you could just be inconvenient. I imagine shinigami turned hollow would be a tad problematic.

Maybe I'm the only one thinking of/figuring this only now, but Aizen probably tried to assemble a shinigami turned hollow army first, which didn't work and he had to try it the other way around.

[Mave]

It strikes me that you don't have to necessarily be evil for SS to not like you, you could just be inconvenient.

SS's judgement of others is as arbitrary as it gets. I mean, Ichigo isn't "evil" technically but SS sure didn't like him. That was more a pride issue then, wasn't it? I'm just glad that SS aren't the one judging us in the last days.

Also, judging by how everyone got whipped by Aizen, they're doing a poor job detecting evil.

*hand evil detector hat to SS, starts beeping at Aizen's direction "Evil....Evil....Evil*

XD

[GeneD]

I mean, Ichigo isn't "evil" technically but SS sure didn't like him. That was more a pride issue then, wasn't it?

We do need to remember though, that since the time Rukia was found in the real world, Aizen was the one giving the orders as the central 46, if I remember correctly. So technically we haven't seen much of how they work.

The fact that no one suspected that the central 46 were acting abnormally is a bit worrying though. It suggests that it's not unusual for them to push executions forward for no reason etc.

I'm not a big fan of General Yamamoto as the current person in charge though.

*hand evil detector hat to SS, starts beeping at Aizen's direction "Evil....Evil....Evil*

:lol:

[Kawaiikneko]

Gonna hop into this..

Am I the only one who thinks Aizen probably has some sort of good ulterior motive for going after the King of soul society? (Having just caught up on Bleach, I'm pretty sure that's what he's doing, right?) ... I mean, SS doesn't have the best track record (as you've been discussing), and part of me thinks that what Aizen is doing is going to end up being good, even though his means to the end are not the right way to go about it. Just his reactions to any mention of the SS king make me a little suspicious, as well as the presence of Tousen in his group.

But I dunno. It's just a feeling I have... that the upper echelons of SS will end up being evil-er than Aizen.

[MasterDias]

Well, I guess it's possible that Aizen's initial motivations were semi-noble, but even this far back, he seems quite manipulative and corrupt. Although, Kubo Tite has done some surprising things before.

[uc pseudonym]

Am I the only one who thinks Aizen probably has some sort of good ulterior motive for going after the King of soul society? (Having just caught up on Bleach, I'm pretty sure that's what he's doing, right?) ... I mean, SS doesn't have the best track record (as you've been discussing), and part of me thinks that what Aizen is doing is going to end up being good, even though his means to the end are not the right way to go about it. Just his reactions to any mention of the SS king make me a little suspicious, as well as the presence of Tousen in his group.

But I dunno. It's just a feeling I have... that the upper echelons of SS will end up being evil-er than Aizen.

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, the moral compass of SS seems strangely askew and that shouldn't be accidental. But this may have been because originally SS was the antagonist of the story (remember how much Byakuya was hyped around that time?).

A double plot twist would be cool but I doubt it will happen. However, I'm still holding out for his real goal not being killing the King. After all, they made that assumption based off missing books - not only is that a pretty big assumption, it's very easy evidence to plant. But we'll see.

[GeneD]

I'm sorry but I like evil Aizen. I don't want him to turn out good.

However, I'm still holding out for his real goal not being killing the King.

I'm curious as to why you think that. Of course killing the King doesn't sound particularly ominous to me, but I'm not the super villain here.