#his zanpakutou
Note
oh i haven’t either dw !! i’m only on ep 100 or something, i think, so i have tons of catching up to do. but i love Renji !! i didn’t think too much about him at first, but at this very moment in time, i adore him
JSBFBDNBDN I SAW THIS WHEN YOU SENT IT LAST NIGHT AND FORGOT TO CIRCLE BACK TO IT 🥺🥺
Saaame omg I simply ADORE RENJI ABARAI 🥰 he was my first ever anime himbo crush 🥲 i can't with his silly ass sometimes but i just love him to death (what a fortunate pun). BREATHING IN HIS LUXURIOUS HAIR THO 😌 i just know his pretty red hair is so SOFFFT i wanna braid his shit and give him pigtails and princess leia buns 🥰🥰🥰
i DID NOT LIKE HIM AT ALL AT FIRST 😡😡😤 I WAS READY TO JUMP ON HIS BACK LIKE RUKIA DID AND FIGHT HIM!! but he redeemed himself and drinks his respect women juice every morning so he good. 💅🏼 UGGHHHH HE'S SO GORGEOUS! 🤒🤒
⚠️warning: epic hotness utc⚠️
SIR
#precious.moots: madi 🫶🏻#renji love ❤️#i've written for him too but not in a minute#whew THROW SOME WATER ON A BITCH 🥵#his tattoos#his haiiiiiir#his zanpakutou#shout out to zabimaru#AND HE'S A VIRGO??#SAY NO MORE#renji#abarai#renji abarai#bleach#bleach renji
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
shinigami using their zanpakutou as keys to open doors in the fabric of reality fucks severely and it's a shame that, as far as I can remember, this is the only time we ever got to see it
#i am sure that it happened at least once in a filler or movie and that someone will remind me exactly where#my encyclopedic knowledge of bleach filler is letting me down this tuesday evening#i thought it might happen at the end of sealed sword frenzy but i checked and it did not#altho there was a scene where hanatarou had to drag renji thru a senkaimon while he and ichigo scream at each other about his eyebrows#so at least i got to enjoy that#anyway one of the top things about being a renji-enjoyer is that kubo is constantly having him do things that no one does ever again#literally THE textbook-ass shinigami#this. manifesting his zanpakutou. those cool hoods he and b had. i guess 3 people got to have gentai reiin tit tatts but he was one of 'em#tbf as swords go zabimaru is particularly key-shaped
82 notes
·
View notes
Text
the captain and his sword
#BACK WITH INUOKKO BLEACH AU!!!#havent drawn them in awhile god ive missed them sm.....#inuokko#ottoge#inumaki#yuuta#inumaki toge#okkotsu yuta#jjk#jujutsu kaisen#art#yuta is known as the captain who loves his zanpakutou with all his heart#they would do anything for each other#more to come frm this au bc i can feel an obsession sprouting again
371 notes
·
View notes
Text
Something I find mildly amusing (absolutely hysterical and not nearly talked about enough) is Zangetsu's likely reception if they ever appeared in soul society (ala the way most of them were hanging out during the Muramasa arc).
(Spoilers) Because not only have we 2 (2!) spirits, which previously ONLY kyoraku and shunsui had, we've got a) a very obvious hollow and b) literally soul society's biggest mortal enemy and the reason for the gotei's formation.
If either of them were spotted on their own without context, it would be ON SIGHT for both of them.
Granted, probably no one but like, four people absolute max would even recognise ossan, but they're all the oldest, most powerful, most influential captains and it might take a hot second to remember where they'd seen his face but honestly then they'd probably speed run bankai and try and take his head off screaming, and that would get people's attention if the yells to mobilise the whole seireitei didn't.
Shiro? Hollow. Obvious, blatant, hollow. Way more blatant than even the arrancar. With his mask on, no one would see the resemblance to Ichigo, and he would almost certainly be engaging in 'hollow' activities (ie antagonising someone). Any soul reaper not wondering what a humanoid hollow was doing wandering around in fully warded shinigami central in broad daylight would immediately try and kill him.
Ichigo?? Exhausted. Fed up. He let these guys out of his sight for two seconds. For crying out loud, there was a giant ancient ice dragon storming around a few days ago and people barely reacted to that.
#bleach#zangetsu#ichigo kurosaki#zanpakuto#zanpakutou#I just think there's a reason they didn't stick around once they got ossan back#Unlike literally every other zanpakuto bar ryuujin jakka#Obviously we hadn't had the reveal yet but it' provides such good theories#Because now we can't say for certain that people wouldn't have reacted#AND THEY REALLY WOULD#Ichigo kurosaki is a walking biohazard and it's not because of anything he's done for once XD#But because of his zanpakuto's PREVIOUS AFFILATIONS#Who has to factor in identity politics for their SWORDS?#Poor Ichigo that's who
191 notes
·
View notes
Note
Apparently Shino Madarame is ikkaku's younger sister according to one of the novels. Kinda makes me wonder where she's been all this time?
I've never read any of the novels, so bear with me in that I have no idea what details have been offered about her in truth. But man, I'd have difficulty buying into them being related by blood. Not that Kubo didn't leave Rukongai wide open for us to do with as we please! But given what we hear of it, it seems like usually kinship in Rukongai is made there, rather than brought over from other lives your soulstuff might have previously lived. Hisana and Rukia seem more anomaly than norm.
I guess we could make up a tragic backstory for Ikkaku where he too abandons or loses track of his baby sister in the hard-scrabble streets of Rukongai, which is probably a fairly regular occurrence there. But from the perspective of narrative I'm not sure that inherently adds interest--at least, it doesn't for me.
What we do know of Ikkaku, however, is that he's a teacher at heart. He's been a valuable mentor to Renji, and even fighting Ichigo during the Soul Society Arc--Ichigo being a target he was supposed to just obliterate, not train--he seems like he's enjoying helping Ichigo figure his shit out so that they can have an even better fight. And of course we have Ikkaku and Ichika, later on.
So, purely within the realm of headcanon:
It wouldn't surprise me if Soul Society didn't have some kind of system of wardship/patronage. Probably not for people in Rukongai (yet!! I'll take my 'Hinamori community outreach program' headcanon to my grave) because let's be real, despite the demographics of their current slate of officers, this hasn't yet occurred to the Gotei. But maybe for the randos who live in the Seireitei, who are "noble" largely by technicality, and don't have a lot of real social standing to their name. Why having "Madarame" as one's family name would be useful in this case, idk, but I 100% believe in the possibility of Soul Society having some arcane cultural presumption where it does.
Another option might be being noble noble but still needing to take a different name when you join the Gotei because your fam does not actually have super high regard for military service for XYZ reasons, and they don't want their name associated with it. So you need a new name.
You can make one up, like the Rukongai folk likely do when they enroll in the Academy, but I'll bet you that's easier in Rukongai than it is in the Seireitei. In the Seireitei they have koseki; there are histories; it is complicated-- So maybe it's easier (or has become a conventional loophole) to have someone volunteer their name to you.
Imagine Ikkaku, absolutely high on power, Oprah-ing it up for all comers and stamping documents with abandon. "YOU get a Madarame! And YOU get a Madarame!"*
*Nah, he'd make sure they were "worthy of the name" and he'd enjoy it. You can't tell me his prowess over the Karakura High Kendou Team doesn't have antecedents! Does he understand all the bureaucratic history that has led to the need for this? Absolutely not and he doesn't care to. But he knows what it means to take pride in something, and if a name is someone's magic feather, then feather up.
#imagine ikkaku yelling about soul society naming bullshit while yumichika is trying to balance the division's books for the first time in#2425 years but then ikkaku's yelling about the power of names and yumichika has. an inspiration.#about how to keep his zanpakutou in check; how to turn it into something else#madarame shino#madarame ikkaku#ayasegawa yumichika#bleach headcanons#shinigamiology#no brain just bleach
36 notes
·
View notes
Text
/rattles/ can u let me write about u plz, osamu-yaaaaaa
#» ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴍᴇ#i started writing his zanpakutou and whatnot back in the day#then i lost it all and my motivation died for him lmao#but i got into bleach amvs and asmvs again and plan on watching the new seasons again#to get him back cuz he's there at the back of my mind#but he's a lazy type and won't step forward#the bitchhh
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
Actually the anime studio replacing or just straight up removing ichihime scenes that were in the manga makes me mad
#thats why so many people hate Orihime. shes a totally different character in the manga as opposed to the anime#on an ih kick right now#and SUPPOSEDLY#(source: random tweet) Kubo wanted to do MORE with Tatsuki and the other human friends but his editor rejected it#he had Tatsuki's zanpakutou and everything (the weird dog sword thing)
2 notes
·
View notes
Note
Are there any bankais in AEIWAM that you are going to change, and if it doesn't spoil anything, what are they?
Short answering this right now so I can Elaborate in the morning:
Ichigo: Bankai Now 300% Stupider (this is good)
(While not strictly Zanpakutou abilities, most of the Karakura Gang has new or more thoroughly explained abilities, Like What's Going On With Chad's Arms and Mizuiro's "Gun" ability)
Gin: The effect does not change, but WHY does.
Unohana: Effects do not change but it's important that she does not have individual Bankai and Shikai- they're two sides of the same thing.
Hanataro: Just because it's funny
Aizen: Technique and Reasoning do not actually change, but Suigetsu does get elaborated on more clearly
Byakuya: Shikai is the same, Bankai is MUCH WORSE
Komamura: Tenken is Komamura's Zanpakutou in the sense that Tenken is a spirit bonded to a spiritually attuned tool that fights with him. In another sense, it's not a Zanpakutou at all. It is also about seven.
Tousen: Watch How Much Tragic Backstory I Can Fit Into One Sword. Now Watch How Much Character Development I Can Fit Into a Second Theing That Is Not A Sword!
Matsumoto: Now a Captain, Now with Bankai! Haineko Asama!
Zaraki: The Bankai, shikai and the entire premise by which "His" "Sword" operates is new. the Shikai reveal is one of my favorite scenes so far, but an excerpt won't do without the build.
Ikkaku: it needed help :/
Mayuri: It doesn't *actually* change but gets *elaborated on* and then backfires on him
Ukitake: Also doesn't technically change in terms of effects, but WHY the twins are Like That gets elaborated on :) (
Also, the Entire Royal Guard is getting revamped:
Oetsu: Abilities do not change but WHY his sword is Like That does, and he learns an important lesson about self-respect (TM).
Ichibei: It's changing because I legit could not make sense of half that shit so I'm just starting over.
Shutara: As much ass as she kicks now, I know too much about fibercraft, and She needs to be an even badder baddie.
Hikifune: What if Hannbal Lecter was a Chaotic Neutral-but-trying MILF?
Kirinji: *shrek meme voice*: He doesn't even have canon abilities.
While also not technically Zanpakutou abilities, some of the Arrancar are getting change-ups as well
Coyote Starrk: Now With Backstory!
Hallibel: now with a much, much, MUCH older backstory!
Nel Tu: Not that much changes, but I have Opinions About Ungulates that you all get to hear
Wonderweiss: Sometimes you look at a fucked up little man and go: You know what? That could be an Angel. Eventually gets the COOLEST Release Command of all time :)
Charlotte: no change, but I want to state she gets a fair shake/to live this time around.
#AEIWAM#An Elephant Is Warm And Mushy#Bleach#Bleach Fanfic#When I AU I don't fuck around. Or I fuck around severely#ask me about specific people for tomorrow
169 notes
·
View notes
Text
It’s 2022 and i’m having Bleach meta thoughts. Ok. So. Bankai, in Bleach, ostensibly requires you to understand and connect with your sword on a profoundly deep level. Your sword is a manifestation of a part your soul, and especially your will, which we see stated explicitly during Urahara’s first little training montage, where he tells Ichigo that his blade is his will to cut, and if Ichigo’s will to cut can’t overcome and match his, his sword and his ass are gonna be toast every time. This is why things like intent and resolve matter more than technical skill when they’re whacking each other with their swords, and why Ichigo’s arc works at all - because it’s not JUST swords, it’s manifestations of their souls!
Furthermore, it actually makes sense that a qualification for Seireitei captaincy is achieving bankai - not just bc of the Wooo Big Powerssss thing, but bc it demonstrates that you’ve aligned yourself with your purpose and will. You have the drive to master yourself and the control to then aim that drive. So the sword becomes a physical representation of the concept of these qualities of leadership - someone who is dedicated in one direction and disciplined in themselves is generally gonna achieve what they go after much better than someone who isn't. We see exactly this play out in Renji’s arc, with his dead on the nose two-ended CatDog zanpakutou - only when he loses his internal conflicts and indecision and aligns himself to one goal can he achieve bankai! So it’s a valid metric of qualification for leadership in bleach! This stupid fucking anime makes sense! God fucking damn it!
783 notes
·
View notes
Text
In the inevitable, logical extreme of my compulsive fixation on Bleach and on cropping images into little squares all the damn time, I've finally put together what is, to the best of my knowledge, the most complete waifu tier list for Kubo characters, plus a few that he technically didn't design himself but felt in-line enough with the franchise lore and/or aesthetic that I included them.
So, go ahead and have at it, y'all...
Random notes:
I struggled to keep the list manageable, and ultimately cut a pretty sizable number of basically non-characters. (it was legitimately difficult for me to convince my brain to let me remove Hitugaya and Momo's unnamed grandma from the list...)
It also really fukin killed me to make the arbitrary call to use the most aged/recent versions of most characters because a handful definitely got bad new outfits in Kubo's post-epilogue art. (Hiyori and Unagiya really lost their charm points in his Klub Outside calendar set)
I was so tempted to include different forms for some characters, but deciding who got their forms in and others not felt too inconsistent, so i just opted out of them entirely
But more to the point I also included in this list characters from Kubo's early one-shots, Zombie Powder, Burn the Witch, Sakura Wars(2019), Aoi Bungaku, Dragon Quest X, and that one time he did Gorillaz fanart...
Oh and if it wasn't clear the Arrancar I included and labeled by Resurreccion rather than name, were done as such because their swords are specifically gendered feminine in how they were named. And considering the nature of both zanpakutou and the hollow mask themselves as reflections of inner/true self, I considered that valid Waifu material
And no I will not be making one for Bleach husbandos because there's just too damn many male characters by comparison, and because my compulsivity crossed with Kubo's lopsided art preferences would mean, unlike the fairly scant number of background women, a huge chunk of the men that I'd be obligated to include would just be decidedly unattractive goons by, like, the dozens...
47 notes
·
View notes
Text
My Top 5 Bleach Filler Characters, Appropos of Nothing
5. Inaba Kagerouza, Reigai Arc
Inaba is, simply put, the pinnacle of Soul Society worldbuilding. He's got this long dramatic backstory and a bunch of rage bottled up in his chest, but also a guy needs a paycheck, so he's just been doing the R&D grind for a hundred years. He knows a shit-ton about the Dangai, which is relevant to his evil scheme, but it's also just his day job (also the Dangai owns, I want a PhD in "the Dangai"). No one else in Squad 12 seems to have the least bit of beef with him, even after he builds an evil duplicate of every person in the Gotei. Unlike a lot of mad scientist characters, he's good with his weapon. Maybe he's weirdly jacked under his villainous smock?? Also, his evil scheme was generally well thought out, and took into account the fact that the Gotei is a bunch of buffoons. ngl, I kinda wish his plan had succeeded, if only for the fact that it would probably really piss Aizen off.
4. Ran'Tao, Bount Arc
Everything about Ran'Tao owns, including:
Sexy glasses
Condemned so hard by the Central 46 that they gave her a kidou seal back tattoo
KIDOU. SHOTGUN.
Stabbed Kariya in the gut
Noped out at the end of the arc because Who Needs the Gotei's Shit?
3. Kuchiki Kouga, Zanpakutou Rebellion Arc
I think that when you hear the story about how Byakuya was forbidden from marrying Hisana because she was a commoner, you're supposed to feel this great sense of injustice, like wow! Byakuya actually showed character by standing up for his love! And that's great and all, and then you get the Zanpakutou Rebellion Vintage Kuchiki Bullshit Flashbacks and it's like, oh, the last guy they married into the clan mass murdered a bunch of people and then they had to seal him up in a cave and I feel like that's an important piece of context in the entire Kuchiki Family-Being-a-Bitch-About-Who-Byakuya-Marries debacle.
Which isn't to exonerate the Kuchiki, here! It's very clear that Kouga wasn't that bad before he got pushed over the brink by Kuchiki family machinations. I mean, this is very much an Everyone's The Asshole situation.
I love the fact that they never come out and say that Kouga is Byakuya's uncle, but he's very obviously Byakuya's uncle.
I love the fact that he dramatically cut his kenseikan off with his sword and threw them at Ginrei and they made a gree card of it.
I love that he appears to be exactly Renji's height and has one chunk of hair that is the same color as Renji's and he over-accessorizes horrifically, and at best the Squad Six old-timer's had to be like "Byakuya don't do this to us again" when he hired Renji, and at worst there's a chance that Renji the secret baby that was born after Kouga was banished and he was hidden away in the Rukon so he didn't screw up the succession line but he's actually the true Heir to the Kuchiki.
2. Harugasaki Seizo, standalone episode 313
This dude had a homoerotic rivalry with Ikkaku (doomed, of course, because who could compete with Yumichika?), lost his shinigami powers when he took a blow meant for Ikkaku, and then spent the next hundred years putting his entire pussy into doing laundry for Squad 11. This man invented yearning, even if he did choose the worst possible person in the history of ever as the target of his affection.
1. Amagai Shuusuke, New Captain Shuusuke Amagai Arc
He looks like Ross Poldark. He can't hold his liquor. No one knows who witnessed his Captain's Exam. Ukitake and Kyouraku tried to talk him into a threesome. He was nice to Kira. His bankai was a tuba that made a foghorn noise when it belched out fire. His dad was the shinigami equivalent of a narc, who got done dirty by the Captain-Commander. He fought the Dangai Cleaner and won. I love him more than anything.
Honorable Mention: Kenryuu and Enryuu, New Captain Shuusuke Amagai Arc
Because they are an important reminder that for all the shinigami buffoonery I am forced to witness, day in and day out, some people graduate from Shin'ou, get shikai even, and still can't get hired by the Gotei.
#bleach filler#these are just my own cursed opinions you're under no obligation to share them#kenryuu and enryuu are also here because my husband loves them for absolutely no reason#i was trying to do this post out loud for him and i got to about no 3 and he was like 'kenryuu and enryuu right???' and i was like 'no dear#he also says they are married and will not hear arguments on this topic#i found (1) person on tumblr drawing seizo fanart and i respect that person to the bottom of my heart#i knew renji barely remembered seizo but imma write him into my squad 11 fanfic that i'm never going to finish see if i don't#procrastinating from my fanfic in some really epic ways today lads
67 notes
·
View notes
Text
Obligatory 2am ramble post warning.
The Blade is Me is Ichigo supposedly accepting himself in totality. Warts and all, right?
That includes the fact his true zanpakutou, the purest manifestation of his soul, is a sadistic battle-hungry psychopath and a killer. One hell bent on protecting Ichigo, yes, but a psychopath all the time. (Who, for some reason, don't kick Ichigo's ass for forcing a compromise between him and that backstabbing Quincy parasite who is most DEFINITELY the Auswhalen mechanism, but hey. Fucking details.).
For all the farcical pomp and drama of the reforging sequence, and blah blah blah, Ichigo never actually embraces that lust for battle that's always been intrinsic to his character. Not in any meaningful way.
And contractual/plot-mandated dumbassery aside, Ichigo never takes a minute to consider the ramifications of Zangetsu being a psychopath either? Nor that his soul is a violent force that will destroy anything that hurts him, up to and including members of his immediate circle, if pressed.
Sure, Ichigo intellectually knows its the hollow he's inherited from his mum, but on a personal level, it's his perspective, his life experiences that molded the form and persona Zangetsu would take.
Nor does it ever occur to Ichigo that, external influences aside, his zanpakutou spirit's behaviour could/likely does indicate massively repressed rage issues and resentment of his own towards any countless number of things. Everything from his life circumstance; being forced into rearing Yuzu and Karin; towards Kisuke using him as a guinea pig and a tool; even towards his parents to varying degrees especially his father. Like it or not, they neglected this part of Ichigo's life - his history and heritage, both fundamental and vital to his identity - until a reality-threatening war came to their doorstep and literally forced that revelation. TWICE.
(I say Parents plural since it takes two to tango. Isshin might've been powerless, Masaki was not. She could've taught Ichigo any number of basic safety measures to control his powers, or to help him distinguish the good from the bad. But she didn't. No matter how esteemed her memory, that would breed a level of resentment. Because do you think Ichigo would've gone after Grand Fisher's lure if Masaki taught him to recognise it for what it was? And how many other life decisions would Ichigo have made differently if he only knew what he was?)
I know conceptually the Blade is Me is Ichigo finally coming to terms with himself. But in execution and reality? There's so many issues with it, I'd need a whole essay to quantify them. If anything, it's a culmination of how neglected, damaged and abused he truly was. My boy deserved so much better than this.
#ichigo#ichigo kurosaki#the blade is me#is and forever will be bullshit#character rant#bleach#salt#zangetsu
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
Sometimes I feel like Phil's fixation toward his partner being a giant has something to do with Urahara's bankai being a giant lady
Because we can say that zanpakutou are partners for shinigami who help them in battles. Benihime, Urahara's zanpakutou, is a sword hidden inside a cane. Her shikai form is still a sword but slightly altered, but her bankai looks something like this
Kinda reminded me of Phil's sword in dsmp where he put fire aspect there and named it hiasobi benihime. It's one of Benihime's ability where she creates various orbs of fire that explode on contact
It could be a pretty cool easter egg if that's the case
#philza#ph1lza#qsmp philza#not sure if i should tag that one because it isn't specific to a server#but lately phil kept mentioning giant missa#so i cant stop thinking about this either
53 notes
·
View notes
Text
In addition to zanpakutou are cool, I will also add that Ichimaru, individually, is also very cool. He just like, saunters his way into the story, speaking Kansai, dismembering people, and demonstrating very specific knowledge of Ichigo's hair color:
I think this sounds less bananas in Japanese than it does in English, because that's just what that color is called in Japanese, but the phrase has roots in Genji and to me it still feels like the equivalent of someone using Crayola colors to reference things ("burnt umber" instead of "reddish brown"). Amazing, for multiple reasons: That Ichimaru would describe Ichigo thusly, in this moment; that he's referencing official Gotei intel that likely also called Ichigo daylily-colored.
I say official Gotei intel and not just secret Aizen intel, because I think Ichimaru might be referencing the same Onmitsukidou report that Byakuya talks about in Chapter 54:
[Bleach 054]
(Did Byakuya need to be that specific about this information? Did he need to bring it up at all? No he did not, but Byakuya be Byakuya-ing. Anyway--)
After Byakuya and Renji's encounter with Ichigo, the Gotei is able to put a name to a face, and maybe even gain additional insight into the nature of Rukia's crimes. I'd never really thought about it before, but if Rukia's High Crimes (overstaying her welcome in gigai/in the Living World and sharing her powers with a human) have the real, tangible impact of some weird daylily-colored guy showing up to invade the Seireitei, I could see an argument being made for her execution/her accelerated execution. I don't think most of the people who go off to meet the Ryoka Invasion have put all of these things together or really care to (but maybe I'll be proven wrong on re-read; guess I'll sit tight until Chapter 81 to see what our very first CAPTAINS' MEETING, MY BELOVED has to say), but that actually does make some sense to me. I'm not saying I agree with the justification for Rukia's execution, lol, but like, yeah, that could track?? I see it??
It also makes me think about why Ichimaru shows up in Chapter 65 to poke Byakuya. I've always figured it was just to poke him, because "I just wanted to poke Byakuya" is very relatable and convincing in itself. But in addition to the whole Rukia Thing, and Aizen et al being involved in the Rukia Thing, Ichimaru's comments make me also feel like he was looking for more information about Ichigo, specifically, seeing as Byakuya recently experienced him first-hand. Presumably, Byakuya just finished writing his report. Did Ichimaru want that info before it even went to press, fresh from the horse's mouth? Or maybe he wanted to intercept the mail so he could be the first to read it.
#i think ichimaru knows his colors because he's been looking at paint swatches for the office remodel#he wants to choose something that really clashes with their ugly couches#i actually meant to use this post to talk about why ichimaru is cool but i got distracted by crayons and the potential for postal mayhem#which honestly of course i did#i guess i'll have to make another ichimaru post oh WOE is me#ichimaru gin#bleach manga#bleach カラー#bleach reread 2021#no brain just bleach
72 notes
·
View notes
Text
Starter for Mara ( @bleachshopkeep )
Kisuke would find himself ( and additionally his shop, ) surrounded by a black and red viscous liquid that seemed to create a dome. The liquid rushed back and forth, as if creating a tornado, before suddenly halting and dripping to the floor, splashing and gathering into a humanoid figure in front of the shop. The humanoid figure soon started to become more refined, into a large, muscular man with shining gold eyes, and dark fluffy hair.
The expression of the man was serious, dark, and grim. His lips were formed in a straight line, ghosting over a slight frown. He approached Kisuke, holding out his palm as he looked down at the shady shopkeeper. "Are you Urahara?" The right hand rested on his zanpakutou's hilt, fingers adorned with rings and chains connected to a golden and bronze bracelet that was worn down through the years.
As he waited for the other man to answer, his free hand, outstretched to the exiled captain, was holding a small, black envelope with a red, shiny seal. The colors were the same as the liquid that the man seemed to form from. He did not speak any further, but his voice was low, quiet, yet stern and almost angry. His eyes pierced with barely contained anger, seemingly only grounded by the silver and golden rings on his fingers.
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
In a recent interview, Eiichiro Oda said that he probably won't do any more manga after One Piece (or at least nothing huge) because the world he constructed for One Piece inadvertently allowed him to explore pretty much every type of story he wanted to: Mock Town was a Western, Egghead is both a sci-fi and a murder mystery, Thriller Bark was a horror, etc. He never did it, but Oda probably could have found a way to work in a high school drama or romantic comedy if he'd really wanted to. I would argue that's how the Hungry Days promotion came about, he probably wanted to see it explored at least a little bit but couldn't quite find a good excuse for it
Undead Unluck, as I think at least one of us has mentioned before, is very similar: it can be whatever it wants to be whenever it wants to be. A sci-fi horror against the emotion-eating aliens on the space station, a zombie apocalypse Western against Spoil, a wuxia against Feng, competitive gaming against Spring, sports against Void, and now of course the high school AU centered around Chikara; Undead Unluck can do it all! If we end up going into Lucy's mind and it becomes a swords and sorcery fantasy with Lucy captive in a castle by a dragonified Ruin, would any of you really be surprised? Would any of you even complain? I wouldn't, and in fact I hope it happens now. That'd be such a funny way to get both Ruin and Lucy back into the main story
I don't know if I've ever really talked about it before, but there are certain niches that Jump manga fill. I don't mean in the sense of genre like sports or gag manga, I mean more thematically. When My Hero Academia started, the consensus was that it was the "new Naruto," with its plucky underdog protagonist competing with a cruel and prodigious rival and a society that discredits him for the circumstances of his birth. Black Clover draws inspiration from a ton of big name manga, but Bleach is probably the one that it best resembles in the structure of its world (the Clover Kingdom resembles Soul Society, the Magic Knight squads resemble the Thirteen Court Squads, and the Grimoires are basically simplified Zanpakutou)
Over the years, I've seen many things take major inspiration from Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, etc., but shockingly, there was a long stretch where I never saw anything try to emulate One Piece, at least not in a way that was particularly obvious. The closest was Toriko, creating wild and imaginative animals, plants, etc. the same way that One Piece creates its islands, but nothing had a cast that felt reminiscent to me
Interestingly, the first one that I noticed that felt like what I was looking for was Dr. Stone, and that only sunk in for me when Senku had his group build a boat and put up a sail with their own unique symbol. I realized in that moment that where Toriko had covered the spirit of adventure that One Piece had, Dr. Stone covered the spirit of friendship and togetherness: every time a dilemma came up, the solution was almost always finding a new ally and awakening their talents, applying them in a way that they'd never thought to before, or reconciling with an old enemy for the sake of progress. "My friends are here to do the things I can't, and I'm here to do what they can't." This is one of the core tenets of One Piece, and while it took me a while to notice, it was equally a part of Dr. Stone's core as well
Undead Unluck does something pretty similar, though not as overtly, since the cast don't really have neat roles like "navigator" or "doctor" or "chef;" instead, everyone has their areas of expertise that can be used in multiple situations, so the individuals best suited for each situation are carefully selected, and if none are available, the hunt begins for someone who is. I think this didn't sink in because it didn't become nearly as prevalent until after the timeloop, but in retrospect, the first half of the story was like the pre-timeskip Straw Hats', unprepared and unable to reach the world's ceiling when finally faced with it, only to come back stronger and wiser in their journey to come back together
Coupled with its ability to be (Chucky voice) genre-fluid, Undead Unluck has unexpectedly become in my opinion a more than worthy successor to One Piece's particular niche in Jump. I've had this thought for a while now, but I think that Undead Unluck might actually be a good glimpse into what One Piece would have been like if Oda had been able to stick to his original five-year plan. It isn't able to take nearly as much time to flesh out its world, but its streamlined approach elegantly allows us to get to know enough about the cast to be invested while still allowing attentive viewers to pick up on fine details. Where One Piece ballooned to be a 30-year venture because Oda kept having more ideas he wanted to share and angles he wanted to analyze, Undead Unluck seems to have a stronger clarity to its vision and commitment to ensuring that vision is realized ASAP without sacrificing any of the essentials. Neither approach is wrong, it's just good to see that there is in fact a world that exists where One Piece would have been able to be just as solidly executed even without entertaining every whim and flight of fancy that its author could dream of
Of course, One Piece is still going, and likely will be when Undead Unluck naturally concludes, so calling UU its successor is definitely a bit of an overstatement, but my main point is that I'm glad that we're starting to see authors who aren't afraid of sharing One Piece's niche, and more importantly are doing it in a way that's fairly subtle, but identifiable. It's an extremely comforting sign for the rapidly approaching post-One Piece world, and I can't wait to see what fills the coming power vacuum
59 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
ayush-choudhary-blog
Untitled
tuna-sub
tuna’s sandwiches
wtrsky420
sky
anotherwhimsy
The Impossible Girl
your-blorbos-are-queer
turning your favorite characters queer since 2022