Bleach Speculation (Chapters 300+)

[uc pseudonym]

The rational part of me says they should get obliterated. There are exactly enough Espada to double team each person, and that would almost certainly be fatal (especially seeing how much good Rukia did against Grimmjow earlier). Of course, if all villains did what I thought was smart, they'd probably win.

I actually suspect that everyone but Rukia is at captain level. Ichigo obviously is and Renji actually has the rank. Even if Ishida doesn't have a handle on the amount of power he used in the Soul Society arc, he could still be at that level. As for Chad, the captain he fought actually said that one of his blasts would be dangerous to him, so if he has more speed (and more likely greater power) he could be a high level opponent.

Still, they should only be good for one Espada-level opponent each. Unless this recent business with good Hollows results in someone like Hanataro and an incident like Aizen's "death" to distract all the Espada. My hope is that they will all fight, with a mixture of wins and losses, the Orihime issue will be resolved one way or another, and things will move back into training mode.

I'm also assuming that this will be a way for Ichigo's 10 second limit for releasing his hollow will be increased.

With what has recently been said about Hollow powers being stronger in Hueco Mundo, I wonder if he won't be able to extend that time here (and I suspect the entire incident will lengthen his normal limit).

[samuraidragon]

Who read the latest chapter? I was a bit suprised, as I thought it would be fights or at least pre-battle dialogue. I have to go to bed, but I'll elaborate tommorow.

[samuraidragon]

So I wonder where this is going? It seems that Orihime isn't under the psychological control Ulquiorra thinks she is. I wonder if with her ability, she can really cancel out the hōgyoku? I look forward to the next chapter, though I believe it will be fights instead of more plot development.

[uc pseudonym]

I think that it is obvious that Aizen is manipulating Orihime, both from logical clues (why would he explain her own power to her and then show her his most important possession?) and from the chapter setup (she vows to destroy it and the next panel is him smiling evilly). Perhaps she will attempt to make it cease to exist, but only end up reverting it to a time when it was in its fully awakened state.

Some people I know think Aizen is taking a risk, but I think they're ignoring the fact that he's controlling basically all the elements. We have only his word about Orihime's power (I would love it if he flat-out lied about that) and that what he showed her is the real Hogyoku. I suspect his plan will either succeed or be interrupted by the rescuers.

With the foot stomping behind Ichigo, it seems like there will indeed be fights. I wonder how long the ones in this arc will be. The previous "arc" was mostly battles that were cut short, so I wonder if Kubto Tite feels obligated to have some massive battles that actually end.

[samuraidragon]

Hmm, I hadn't thought about Aizen lying to Orihime. I wouldn't be surprised if he was manipulating her into fully awakening the hōgyoku, but I can't see why he would lie to her about her power, unless it's because her true power would activate it, instead of destroying it like she thinks. Aizen does indeed hold all the cards, and like Ulquiorra said, it doesn't matter if it works or not, it's just a game to him.

[Bap]

Ooo, I like the thing about the Espadas that 250 said. o: That's pretty interesting in my opinion. xD;;;

Aw, and Nell is cute. :>;;; <3

[uc pseudonym]

...and the foot was just Nell. Great. At least someone else shows up soon after.

However, the introduction of our friends the Ex-Espada annoys me. Kubo Tait needs to stop introducing new characters. Not just for Espada, as a whole. Bleach has the worst case of character overload I have ever seen... but that might be calculated, because I have seen people argue persuasively that the series runs mostly on characters, not on other elements of good storytelling. As much as I would hate to think this, it may be correct.

In any case, the number of living opponents (always a good guage of how close a series is to completion) is such:
3 Ex-Captains
10 Espada
7 Arrancar
3 Ex-Espada (?)
? Random Arrancar

[Bap]

xD; That might be it. With the character thing. D: I dunno, but I really do like all the characters in Bleach. 8D; I just think they're all really cool. <3

Or well, actually, it still has good plot things as well, so I don't think that's just it. @o@

Three Ex-Espada have been introduced? o: I think of Luppi and that guy that was just introduced, but wasn't Luppi like, killed? xD;;;

[uc pseudonym]

The Spanish name of the area they have entered indicates there may be three Ex-Espada, but that isn't actually confirmed. We've only seen one (the one that ran into Ichigo). There had better not be too many.

Or well, actually, it still has good plot things as well, so I don't think that's just it. @o@

I do agree in this respect. The plot of Bleach so far is solid and I believe that it shows promise for more development.

[samuraidragon]

Ju-ni had a side note that said the Spanish meant something along the lines of "the den of the three digits." Though I doubt there would only be one ex-espada if it's a "den". Especially since all of them split up. There might be one for each of the group.

[uc pseudonym]

Right. The spanish has several interpretations, made even more complicated by the fact that Kubo might not be using it correctly. It is probably very likely that all we know is that it contains a number of Ex-Espada with three-digit ranks.

There might be one for each of the group.

That's what I'm hoping against most strongly. If everyone kills some random new character, they rescue Orihime, and then they escape, the arc has barely advanced the plot at all. Of course, if this becomes a second Soul Society I suppose Ichigo will fight more than one opponent.

[Bap]

Ah. o:

Well, if there's one for each group, that doesn't necessarily mean it's only one fight per person, does it? D: Maybe they could fight more than one person each? @o@a

[uc pseudonym]

That's a possibility, yes. But think about the Soul Society arc. Other than unimportant characters (and we already had those two Arrancar) the protagonists other than Ichigo only had one serious battle apiece. Chad and Ishida both fought one Captain, Renji only fought Byakuya after switching sides, and Orihime and Rukia both didn't do much of anything.

Ichigo, on the other hand, fought Ikkaku, Renji, Zaraki, and Byakuya. Pretty much in a row.

[samuraidragon]

I wish I knew what each person's level of reitsu was. I can't help but wonder how Rukia and Chad, and maybe even Ishida are not going to die.

And I'm STILL waiting for Chad's armor to spread to the rest of his body. I just can't see how he's going to keep fighting with one hand. But whatever.

[Bap]

Yar... @o@ But hopefully this'll change in the current arc? 8D~

[uc pseudonym]

I wish I knew what each person's level of reitsu was. I can't help but wonder how Rukia and Chad, and maybe even Ishida are not going to die.

We really can't be certain. I'll maintain Rukia is weak as long as I can because I don't want to believe Kubo Tite has to retcon. Right now I think she's around Seated Officer level, which is strong but not compared to the average opponent in this arc.

I think we've seen Renji is pretty much at Captain level. It is also likely that Chad has obtained a similar level of ability. Consider that characters have already commented about how much power he has, so if he improved his defenses and got faster he could be rather dangerous without a need for a ridiculous powerup.

As for Ishida, I think he's probably on par with Ichigo right now (though I don't have a lot of evidence). It's possible that he has the amount of power he used to defeat Mayuri now that his Quincy abilities are regained (presuming that he got the ability to handle that kind of power, sort of reversing the burnout) or that he has a similar level of power. Of course he'll be left behind by Ichigo in the end, but shonen almost always has characters on par with the protagonist for a while.

[Bap]

I think for Rukia, didn't they say that she always had enough ability and etc. to become a Seated Officer, but Byakuya just didn't want her to to protect her or somefin'? o:?

[samuraidragon]

I do remember Rukia saying that she wasn't a seated officer because Byakuya didn't want to risk her safety. She did defeat that one arrancar, though he was rather weak compared to the espada, as shown when she tried to stop Grimmjow. But since there are only ten espada (I think?), I believe she will be a viable fighter for a while. I wouldn't be all that suprised if she turns out to be able to release bankai. Don't forget that Rukia entered the academy at the same time as Renji did, it's feasible that Rukia could have a bankai if Renji does. I think hers would still be premature, though.

[samuraidragon]

I think for Rukia, didn't they say that she always had enough ability and etc. to become a Seated Officer, but Byakuya just didn't want her to to protect her or somefin'? o:?

Haha, we think alike. Your post wasn't there when I started mine. (I was Bumping, so you finished first)

[uc pseudonym]

As of the recent chapter, it seems that Ichigo is being an idiot. It seems like he has to spend basically all of every battle with a fair amount of blood on his face. However, I'll be very pleased if he wins with Shikai alone... I think it is a shame that with Bankai his other abilities are pretty much ignored.

I think for Rukia, didn't they say that she always had enough ability and etc. to become a Seated Officer, but Byakuya just didn't want her to to protect her or somefin'? o:?

Sure, he said that. And it isn't bad as far as excuses go. But I'm basically certain that this wasn't planned from the beginning. If Rukia had a shikai, why didn't she use it in the first chapter? Also, if she has Seated Officer level reiatsu, an average Hollow shouldn't have been able to do much damage to her. I doubt Kubo Tite had Shikai/Bankai figured out at this time (consider also the bit with Ichigo's sword being so large and Rukia being astonished).

I'm willing to accept this to a certain degree, though I don't like it. However, I don't think it is reasonable for Rukia to have very high levels of power.

Don't forget that Rukia entered the academy at the same time as Renji did, it's feasible that Rukia could have a bankai if Renji does.

This is one argument that does make sense to me. However, it still seems as though Renji has fairly thoroughly surpassed her, except perhaps in kidou.

[samuraidragon]

Like I thought, one ex-espada for Ishida and Chad. I would rather see them fighting right now then Ichigo, though I think they might be more powerful then Ichigo before he releases his bankai, seeing as though they only have one stage of power (not considering the boost in power they always get when they're about to die).

[Bap]

Plot device? 8D;;; xD;;; But yar, I see what you mean. @o@

I think for the Renji and Rukia Bankai thing, with Renji getting Bankai before Rukia, wouldn't it be because he was like... already in an advanced class? D: Like, in that one extra chapter where it shows them in their academy days?

And if they both did have Bankai because of when they entered the Academy, wouldn't Kira and Hinamori have Bankai too? o:

[MasterDias]

I have this gut feeling that Rukia will wind up the Vice-Captain of the 13th before this series is finished. If Byakuya is letting her take part in an extremely dangerous(and nearly suicidal, in my mind) rescue attempt like this, I somewhat doubt he any longer has any inhibitions about letting her take a seat...
And, Kubo Tite seems to want all of his main characters to be at least decently powerful.
Whether one likes it or not, this is probably why he powered up Rukia suddenly.

But, anyway, this last chapter wasn't as interesting to me but this thing is paralleling the Soul Society arc to an extent. In Soul Society, they were fighting the Vice-Captains and seated officers first, and then the Captains. Here, they are evidently fighting the Ex-Espada before taking on the real thing.

[uc pseudonym]

Though they don't have anything to match Hanatarou or Yoruichi, which at least sustained the suspension of disbelief a bit longer. Unless we find out that Nell has healing powers. That was the thing that interested me most in this chapter - what is happening at the end with her mask?

I have this gut feeling that Rukia will wind up the Vice-Captain of the 13th before this series is finished. If Byakuya is letting her take part in an extremely dangerous(and nearly suicidal, in my mind) rescue attempt like this, I somewhat doubt he any longer has any inhibitions about letting her take a seat...

That would certainly be logical (though logic does not always prevail in shonen).

But, anyway, this last chapter wasn't as interesting to me but this thing is paralleling the Soul Society arc to an extent. In Soul Society, they were fighting the Vice-Captains and seated officers first, and then the Captains. Here, they are evidently fighting the Ex-Espada before taking on the real thing.

Perhaps this is just the fact that I don't want the two arcs to be the same, but I'm hoping that the Ex-Espada won't necessarily be subpar versions of the others. For example, they might have lost their rank for not obeying orders or some flaw that makes them undesirable for an important position. In a way, I hope that they don't fight the Espada much in this arc.

Someone on another forum made a point I thought was funny: a few chapters ago, Tousen was watching Ichigo and company through the palace's security... how does he do that if he's blind?

[MasterDias]

Though they don't have anything to match Hanatarou or Yoruichi, which at least sustained the suspension of disbelief a bit longer. Unless we find out that Nell has healing powers. That was the thing that interested me most in this chapter - what is happening at the end with her mask?

Well, healing powers aside, I was sort of considering Nell and the other two the equivalent of the Hanatorou and Ganjyu for this arc somewhat in that they are the "pretty weak in fighting-terms characters" that tagalong with Ichigo and the others.
However, I think it would sort of be amusing if we find out that Nell is actually really powerful...

Perhaps this is just the fact that I don't want the two arcs to be the same, but I'm hoping that the Ex-Espada won't necessarily be subpar versions of the others. For example, they might have lost their rank for not obeying orders or some flaw that makes them undesirable for an important position. In a way, I hope that they don't fight the Espada much in this arc.

Hmmmm. I hadn't thought of that. I had initially assumed that they lost their positions because later arrancar that were created happened to be more powerful. Although, if Aizen allows a borderline insubordinate and unpredictably violent arrancar like Grimmjaw to be an Espada, I wonder how much he will tolerate.

[uc pseudonym]

Hmmmm. I hadn't thought of that. I had initially assumed that they lost their positions because later arrancar that were created happened to be more powerful. Although, if Aizen allows a borderline insubordinate and unpredictably violent arrancar like Grimmjaw to be an Espada, I wonder how much he will tolerate.

He did punish him for his unauthorized mission, however. I think that it's possible that he could have demoted some Espada for reasons other than power, though he does seem to run a pretty casual operation (which is slightly ironic, given how Soul Society seems somewhat uptight).

[uc pseudonym]

Well, it appears that the Ex-Espada were indeed demoted for the sake of power, if the end of that battle was any indication. I'm glad only a bit of time was spent on this, though I'm curious to see how things will develop with the inclusion of it.

One thing I want to note is that Ichigo's mask adds a significant strategic element to Bleach that is slightly above the usual shonen. Instead of having a constant level of power (or an increasing one) he is actually strongest at one moment. Presumably he'll significantly increase his time eventually, but for now I'm enjoying this. I wonder... does the transformation have a cool-down time? That is, could he use it at the beginning of a battle, then later on?

An interesting observation: this arc might parallel Soul Society in terms of major opponents as well. Consider the fights so far - Ishida and Chad have both fought insignificant opponents. Ichgio has fought an opponent that gave him some trouble but wasn't a problem once he got serious (like Ikkaku). From that, we could say that Grimmjow parallels Byakuya or Renji, in that he's already appeared and fought Ichigo and is the major antagonist on an emotional level. I'm not sure if you can fit a Zaraki parallel in or not, but one of the Espada could easily fit that role.

If this pattern holds (and really, it'd just be beginning) Chad and Ishida will both fight an Espada (though Chad would probably win this time), Ichigo will fight at least two more opponents, and they'll eventually come up short against Aizen. I'll be disappointed if Bleach goes this route, but for now it's interesting.

[Bap]

Somefin' I'm wondering is like. o: Will we get any backstories or stuff like that for this arc? Like... in the SS arc, it was probably a bit easier since the captains were like. Good, I guess? And... I'm guessing they probably had a bit more history and stuff? D: Durh. It's hard to get out what I'm saying. xD; But like, the Espadas and stuff were just like... made? @o@a

butyay. Espada color spread. Grimmjow has color changing hair. xD;

Edit: Oratleast. I'm guessing it's the Espadas. D: I can't seem to find the pink haired guy's mask though. xD; [Editagainluls u_u: Duuurh. *just remembered that one other picchur with all the Espada* xD;]

oyes. and I wonder if they're in any numerical order for this. xD

[uc pseudonym]

At least he died and thus isn't a complete Ikkaku parallel.

Somefin' I'm wondering is like. o: Will we get any backstories or stuff like that for this arc? Like... in the SS arc, it was probably a bit easier since the captains were like. Good, I guess? And... I'm guessing they probably had a bit more history and stuff? D: Durh. It's hard to get out what I'm saying. xD]
That's possible, especially if they have memories of their lives before becoming Hollows or even just their histories as Hollows. At least so far they appear to have some diversity in personality and goals (quite a few of them seem to have their own objectives in addition to Aizen's).

oyes. and I wonder if they're in any numerical order for this. xD

Heh, I didn't even think about that. I'm sure there are conspiracy theorists going wild over it already, though.

Regarding the most recent chapter: I've always liked Aizen, but he is remaining interesting more than some other characters. I like how discerning he seems (in that he's cut through most of what the Espada have said to the heart of whatever the issue at hand may be).

[Bap]

Aw. Dordonh (or however it's spelled. xD;) died? D:

That would be cool. 8D Learning histories is always interesting. xD Character development and all that. 8D

Yar, I think so too. o: