𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

The story of bleach is one that I would classify as being very conceptual. That is, a lot of the things introduced in the series have multiple meanings, but are layered in such a way that it could appeal to multiple audiences, and also fit into its demographic. That being said...

Today’s thread will be my final bleach thread for a while, and will center around our one and only strawberry haired protagonist: Kurosaki Ichigo.

He was 15 years of age at the start of this tale, and in all truthfulness, he’s been through a lot. Lets take a closer look..

As I’ve mentioned before in one of my tweets, Ichigo’s character represents a lot of the central themes that support the Bleach universe. Today however I’ll only cover four which I believe are most notable: Sacrifice, Fear, Corruption, and Balance.

Jumping straight into the first major point; Sacrifice. At the start of the story we’re introduced to Ichigo as a delinquent with a soft heart and a strong sense of responsibility.

Even before he acquired his powers he was constantly bullied for his hair colour and demeanour.

As we learn more about him, we find out that Ichigo was once a very timid child and adopted his vulgar attitude after the death of his mother. He quite literally sacrificed his former personality in place of one that suited his new motivation in life: protecting those he loved.

Oddly enough, after his first confrontation with the Grand Fisher, Ichigo has a conversation with his father that sparks the signs of development within his character, as he’s able to move on from the guilt he felt at being the cause of his mother’s death. But that isn’t all..

Before his encounter with his mothers killer, Ichigo’s character has been shown to sacrifice mundane things due to his sense of justice. While initially declining the position of being a substitute soul reaper, he almost readily sacrificed his normal life to save one little boy.

Diving forward into the story, we reach the climax of Ichigo’s battle against Aizen. The Final Getsuga Tenshou and the moonless sky(Mugetsu). This final confrontation is layered behind many meanings, one of which is found in the thread of a mutual of mine, but my viewpoint.. https://twitter.com/Butou_Renjin/status/1225542016345481217

On this somewhat conflicting climax to the first half of the series, is slightly different.

At this point in time, we see Kubo intertwining two of these four major themes. Sacrifice and Fear. Leading up to this fight, Ichigo begins learning how to control..

His inner hollow. Unbeknownst to him at this stage, that hollow is actually Zangetsu and his constant refusal of this fact is actually the major factor behind his close encounters with death in many of his fights. But why did he never accept Zangetsu ? Simple. He was afraid.

And who can blame him ? Zangetsu’s very presence directly conflicted with Ichigo’s nature, as his hollow persona finds thrill in battle, while Ichigo as a person resorts to fighting simply as a tool to protecting his loved ones. Unfortunately though, this fear impedes his growth

Zangetsu constantly tries to get through to Ichigo every time, claiming that he does not understand him, and that his reluctance to accept him blinds him, stopping him from becoming stronger.

Have you ever wondered why Ichigo only has one technique? Well now you know.

“Can’t fear your own sword”. Nuance is a big part of Kubo’s writing.

As a shinigami, one most constantly grow closer to your Zanpakuto to train and become stronger. It is impossible for every shinigami to fight the same way, considering how their swords are all different.

Therefore, the only way one can learn how to become stronger, is through self reflection, in the form of getting closer to your spirit (in the case of Bleach, this is their weapons).

Zangetsu basically tells Ichigo word for word that he won’t get stronger without accepting him

This repeated intimidation makes him stronger, and also sheds light on Ichigo’s biggest flaw as a fighter leading up to this point. Killer instinct. Ichigo always needed a reason to fight each opponent he encountered. Zangetsu aids Ichigo’s development with the instinct speech

And Ichigo is able to finally reduce his fear of Zangetsu, allowing him to finally tap into a fraction of the hollow aspect of his powers, and still gain a sizeable power boost. As we even note here, for the first time after a battle, Ichigo is able to don a triumphant smile.

Now, why is this important ?
Simple. All of these fights and encounters with his spirit were necessary towards achieving the final getsuga tenshou.

While training to attain the technique, “Tensa Zangetsu” tells Ichigo that his inner world has transitioned due to his emotions..

The skyscrapers in Ichigo’s inner world are hope that reaches high and proud, while the rain that occasionally beat down on them represented his unsettled heart. With the new scape of his mind drowned in water, it reflects the fear in his heart covering all the aforementioned..

And we learn that Ichigo never truly got over his fear of his inner hollow, and thus he was unable to tap into the full extents of the power of his blade. Though he learned killer instinct, he still didn’t recognise Zangetsu as himself, and he even said so himself.

Using more nuance here, Kubo finally shows us Tensa Zangetsu’s true form, in the shape of a blade that is both hollow and shinigami, and as Ichigo quite literally “accepts” his blade, he instantly learns what must be done to achieve that transcendent form we all know.

The final getsuga tenshou is symbolic. It represents sacrifice, and Ichigo conquering his fear. It’s an amazing way to end off the first stage of his journey, and is in no way forced or an “asspull”. In reality, it is just a getsuga tenshou with all his power imbued in it, but...

For the first time, he does it with no boundaries between himself and the blade. He fused with his very soul and emits the energy outwards in one final triumphant swing, to cut across the moonless sky, while abandoning all that power.(read Lala’s thread for an in depth reasoning)

With Fear and Sacrifice complete, we have only two themes left to touch on, Corruption and Balance.

Just like the other two, these two themes are intertwined with one another. And to explain this, we must jump even further forward into the story, to the Blood War.

At the turning point of the blood war, after going through training with Nimaiya, Ichigo learns that his zanpakuto was merely a fake one. That is, the original being he believed to be “zangetsu” was just a manifestation of his Quincy powers within his inner world.

As we now know with the story being complete, Ichigo never knew the true story behind the circumstances surrounding his birth, and this had impeded his growth as a person, and as a shinigami even further. Note his inner world before and after he hears the news from the spirit.

Just as in the past, it transitioned from the skyscraper scene;hope and strength. To being drenched with rain;a wavering heart. To being completely drowned underneath an ocean and crumbling apart;complete despair.

His Quincy powers reflect the corruption in the bleach verse.

To go off topic for a bit, the Quincy’s in bleach have always been a symbol of corruption to the story. When Ichigo first met Ishida, though they sought the same goal of destroying hollows, Ishida’s method vanquished them completely, as opposed to cleansing them. This is..

In opposition to the system of “Balance” that the laws of Bleach follow. The Quincy believed that the hollows that had murdered their loved ones didn’t deserve the peace of the afterlife that was the soul society after being cleansed.

But I digress. Back on topic, we discover that “Old man Zangetsu” was indeed just a version of Yhwach from 1000 years prior, and this was implanted as a psychological attack by Yhwach upon Ichigo before he was even born. Another road block towards his development. And one that..

Our MC had to surely overcome. Though struggling to accept his tainted past at first, Ichigo soon learns that even his corrupted spirit had wavered over the course of his journey.

Without even knowing it, Ichigo had overcome this corruption, over and over, and came out on top.

Incidentally, this brings us back to the sacrifice and fear aspect of Bleach once more.

Just as with the final getsuga tenshou where Ichigo accepted a mere fragment of his power, now that he knows the truth of himself, he is able to shoulder the burden of it all in confidence.

The former zangetsu that we all thought we knew is sacrificed to forge the original blade he was deemed to have, and this moment gave us one of the most iconic panels within the series.

Having conquered his corrupted spirit, now we reach the final part of this thread..

Balance. The central theme within Bleach, that can be observed within almost every aspect introduced. The concept of shinigami maintaining order. Hollows causing chaos. Quincy being a counter force to these two. The soul king binding the universe together. It’s all there.

And just as it is present within the story, Ichigo’s very being represents balance itself. All these factors, whether Fear, Sacrifice, or Corruption, were all tightly knit together and held in place in a sort of equilibrium, that allowed Ichigo to get back on his feet every time.

Though he faced despair and often even threw in the towel sometimes, due to the nature of the story, balance will always be restored. This is reflected in Ichigo’s powers. If he ever leaned too much towards one side, it would tip the balance. His final form funny enough..

Resembles the former Tensa Zangetsu. His Hollow and Shinigami powers, bound together and maintaining balance through his Quincy force. And to show further proof of his new connection, the former TZ had a broken chain, while the new one is completely linked.

To wrap up this colossal thread, Kurosaki Ichigo’s character is one that has had his ups and downs, and progressed not just as a person, but as a warrior, through an unlikely form of enlightenment, bolstered by the burning desire to protect.

As always, thanks for reading .

For those of y’all that are new here, here’s a link to the rest of my bleach threads https://twitter.com/slayerviole/status/1243135248919072768?s=21 https://twitter.com/SlayerViole/status/1243135248919072768