Bleach

I mean, that last chapter screamed "kids spin-off". Maybe not by Kubo himself, but by someone eventually. Hopefully not by someone who is burnt out and plagued by illness, like the man himself apparently was.

edited 23rd Apr '17 7:08:56 PM by LSBK

Kubo deserves a nice long rest without people telling him what to do. Maybe he can become a fashion designer, which he's expressed interest in before. If he wants to stay a mangaka, he should move to that relatively new monthly creator-owned mag whose name I can't recall right now.

First part of the first chapter is out in the Bleach app. The bits and peices that have been translated so far reveal:

- The first part happens immediately after Yhwach's death

- Grimmjow and Nel are alive. No word on either Askin or Yuushiro though. Harribel was transported alongside the castle to Wahrwelt, where Nel rescued her. She wonders briefly why Yhwach kept her alive. Grimmjow immediately wanted to fight Ichigo, but Nel dragged him back.

- Nimaya is alive.

- Ichigo got his powers back apparently.

- There is a confrontation between Hisagi and Aizen

- Aizen was sealed and did not chose to go willingly back

- Kyoraku and Ichibe were planning to use Ichigo as a spirit king replacement in the worst case scenario. It's implied that Aizen had visited the king's palace in the past and he saw something referred to as "soul society's original sin" on the grand altar of the king's palace. Most likely reffering to the sealed Soul King. Ichibee did genuiely not expect Ichigo to win.

- one excerpt: "Once there was a battle between those who govern death and refer to themselves as God and evil souls which destroyed people in this Great War. A thousand years passed and both sides have lost their kings and the riots have been resolved."

- Orihime did a lot of healing, once Yhwach was defeated.

Edit new infos, mostly done with google translate, so be wary of mistakes:

- Shunsui looks at the "lynchpin" and asks Ichibe whether what he's doing is obeying to the will of the Soul King or the will of the first Heads of the Five Noble Houses

- (unsure about this part) Ichibe asks Shunsui if he has the same hostility towards the current Heads, but Shunsui replies he considers them to be his friends and comrades in the Gotei 13, and that they shouldn't hold the burden of their ancestors' sins.

- Harribel begins to understand why Aizen was disgusted, when she sees the preperation for the new lynchpin (aka Yhwach).

- Ichibe leaves the Throne Room to wake up the other Royal Guards - Shunsui questions what he meant by "wake up", as he thought they had been killed by the Schutzstaffel - (really unsure about this part) Ichibe explains that the Royal Guards have had their reiatsu fused with the Soul King Palace, so as long as something remains of the Palace, they'll get revived after hearing their names - Shunsui comments they narrowly escaped death this time, because if Yhwach had survived the battle, the last remnants of the Palace would have been replaced by Wahrwelt

- Oetsu got revived by Ichibe, he is deep under his Phoenix Palace with Mera - A special zanpakuto was sealed in the ocean Ichigo evaporated, but its seal was destroyed and the sword stolen while Oetsu was away - The zanpakuto soldiers who were left to guard it were all defeated, they're being healed by Tokie and Nonomi (Oetsu's zanpakuto assistants)

The wounds on the zanpakuto guards are strange, some have burns, some have parts of their body frozen, some are paralyzed, poisoned, have holes in their body, or had their limbs crushed - Mera suspects the enemy attacked with large numbers, but one of the guards regains consciousness and corrects her, explaining there was only one attacker - Mera doesn't believe a single person could have so many different abilities, but Oetsu seems to have an idea who the thief could have been - The stolen zanpakuto is named "Ikomiki Domoe" (已己巳己巴) - Oetsu suspects the thief is from one of the Four Noble Houses

- Lille was neither killed by the Auswahlen nor by Kira. It took several days until all irregularities like the appearance of mysterious birds were eliminated. That interestingly leaves it ambiguous whether all the birds are dead or if a few escaped.

- Kensei was actually. Science didn't care.

- Aizen and Shunsui have a discussion about Soul Society's original sin and that Aizen will never be an ally or so.

- Hisagi and Aizen have a discussion about Tosen and that Aizen killed him.

- Before Aizen is taken away, his last words to the Shinigami are "If you want to see the truth, you will have to sacrifice your own blood and soul."

edited 27th Apr '17 5:23:27 PM by bandersnitch

That part about Ichibe's interesting. That must've been what that mysterious creepy line he said right before the final battle was about.

This only reinforces my head-canon day dream regarding the fact that Soul Society - and the Gotei 13 - should've been overthrown. By Ichigo himself too. It's most likely an unpopular opinion, but I think Kubo missed a huge opportunity in not fulfilling this potential idea.

He could've portrayed it as a slow burn; the first embers being Ichigo discovering just how ruthless SS can be when they're faced with (relatively large) predicaments: like exterminating the Quincy to restore balance, or in dealing with mere nuisances: their swift decision to destroy the Mod souls and the Bounts in result of being failed experiments (I know the Bounts are filler, but still). This all could've been showcased within the first arc, too.

Kubo could've stoked the flames even more in the next by (1) revealing the Gotei 13's impetuous resolution to execute Rukia (I know Central 46 was, at this point, essentially Aizen, but Yamamoto was all too willing in following through those orders without adhering to proper context - she was trying to save Ichigo's family) and (2) illustrating how they are poor people in heaven.

Eventually, the stoked flames could've culminated into a raging inferno by the series last arc in Ichigo trying to overthrow SS. Plus, it wouldn't be him against the world either, as I'm sure some members of the Gotei 13 would've defected to Ichigo's side; creating further strife within their ranks.

But I'm just spit-balling here; I know this would've drastically altered the series as a whole.

At least before he died it's noted that Yamamoto also grew softer and was more willing to bend the rules, in part thank to Ichigo's influence. As a showcase of that he refused to heal his arm which his younger and more ruthless self would have done.

Shame that the rest of SS Government is still just as corrupt.

The Yhwach having a motive for keeping Harribel alive seems interesting to me. Exactly what did he plan?

Nothing for Harribel apparently. She was the Rukia Orihime wating to be saved except no one gave a shit.

This novel is supposedly going to reveal the secret behind the Arrancar and somehow it will be connected to the Soul King. And Yhwach knows the whole ugly truth behind everything (except possibly the true intentions of his father), so I think we will find out something.

What is this BLEACH ap?

The first part has been fully translated now. http://missstormcaller.tumblr.com/post/160279800132/cant-fear-your-own-world-part-1-full-translation

Things that have not been mentioned yet:

It seems Kyoraku only found out the complete truth after the war.

He really hates Ichibee and the ancestors of the great noble families. Not that surprising, since they most likely are responsible for the tragedies in his life. Though of course, this being Shunsui, he won't show it openly.

He really did not want Ichigo to become the Soul King. Ichibee didn't give AF. Ichigo would be renamed Soul King, lose his ability to speak and be cut down among probably other things. This also may mean that Yhwach's body parts are somewhere

Apparently ten or 100 years after the war, Squad Zero's propaganda may be judged. Potential Sequel Hook, who knows?

The Soul King, aka Yhwach, still has an influence over Soul Society. Funny how none of the main antagonists are completely gone, but many of their underlings are.

Harribel's imprisonment may play a role in the future of the novel

It is said that with the loss of both their kings (and now having the same king), the 1000 year long animosity between Quincy and Shinigami will end and their relationship will improve.

The Lille birds were not eliminated, but rather removed from Soul Society. That can either mean they were all killed, or considering how the Quincy are now living in Hueco Mundo, they were deported or shooed of there.

Orihime's limits were revealed:

If your Reiatsu is gone, you are done.

If your body is gone, you are done.

If you are dead for too long, you are done.

And of course the limit of her willpower.

Though no time limit has been stated, but given how long it was since the last Shinigami grunts were killed, I wouldn't be surprised if 24 hours is still within an acceptable range. At the very least a night is no problem for her as seen with Hisagi. She revived and healed many people. I wonder if that includes Quincy and Sternritter, but I wouldn't be surprised since this is Orihime and some did change sides.

Shunsui (and Urahara too an extent) really doesn't want Aizen to spill the beans.

Tosen found out the truth. Tosen couldn't handle the truth .

Honestly, I was idly wondering about sequels on and off for years until the Ichibee/Yhwach fight. During that fight, Ichibee stole ten nights from a century into the future. I thought to myself, what's the point in doing that, unless there is a plan to show that future and consequences of stealing that darkness to create a period of time without night. That's where I went from idle speculation to actively suspicious.

Really, the main question mark is Kubo's health and whether or not he'll continue as a manga artist. It's always possible that a monthly format might suit his health better, or perhaps his collaboration with novelists is him stepping towards novel-writing instead of manga. Anyway, he does have interests other than manga, so I guess we'll find out eventually what he intends to do in the future.

edited 4th May '17 3:51:48 PM by Wyldchyld

Unironically asking, what is the truth that Tosen found out and Aizen was thinking of revealing?

Pretty obvious the Four Nobles betrayed the Soul King and probably fucked up the world byaking a lynchpin.

The truth behind the Soul King most likely.

While it has yet to be said in the novel, it probably all boils down to the Soul King being a prisoner and possibly even just a corpse, who was deprived of everything when he was made into the lynchpin in order to hold an artificial world that was created by the ancestors of the noble families (there is a big possibility that the murderer of his friend is one of the current heads), a world that led to the birth of death, fear and Hollows. Also that the Soul King may possibly be a Quincy and sees the Shinigami as his enemy.

So basically that everything is a big farce, that is continued with Yhwach being the Soul King. That was probably the reason why Yhwach decided to call the reforged Royal Realm, Wahrwelt.

edited 4th May '17 5:18:22 PM by bandersnitch

And even people who don't know the truth about what happen like Harribel, Shunsui, etc. think this is fucked up. Especially when to preserve their twisted system they planned to use Ichigo and he got lucky by beating Yhwach.

He actually would still have become the Soul King even then. The only reason he did not become the Soul King was because Yhwach changed his plans and decided to absorb the Soul King. That only happened because Yhwach realized that the Soul King was beyond the Almighty and thus feared a possible interference from his father. And that only happened because Mimihagi was able to surprise Yhwach. Yeah, that Ichigo did not become the Soul King was truly a miracle.

Ukitake - the true hero of Bleach.

I read the translation and lulz at Aizen being Aizen. Tosen was one of my favorite characters when I started so it's kinda cool he's not entirely forgotten.

Wonder if they'll tie in Byakuya's mysterious first use of his Senkei to the Soul King back story, given that it seems to involve the Four Nobles... and I wonder if the Shiba fall from grace is connected, too.

Ichibei's power was connected to darkness, he stole the night from a hundred years in the future, and Byakuya's named after the midnight sun. There is a theme there, even if Byakuya's name is connected to Ichigo's 'black sun' theme. I mean, Kubo did say that he knew what the epilogue would be from the very beginning of the story, and he also said several years ago that he knew what the final arc would be even while still writing the Soul Society arc. So he had the final arc unfolding in his head before he ever came up with the middle of the story (the maskless Arrancar).

The next part has been roughly translated: http://imgur.com/oYIfyHa

- The big bad is the murderer of Tosen's friend.

- He is part of the great noble families. His and Tosen's friend's name have been revealed.

- He is a truly depraved individual on a similar level to Szayel.

- He ordered the assassination of his own family to make him the next head.

- He wants to make a little child the next Soul King.

Ah, Narita.

yeah this dude is far past mustache twirling dickishness. I didn't read/skim and see the intention to turn the kid into the soul king.

Part three and four have been out of the novel. A few things have been revealed. There will be a physical copy of the book in August. What we saw so far are just previews. Someone made a master post with all the information of the novel revealed so far.

In other news, some parts of Kubo's interview with the author of Ass Class has been translated

http://missstormcaller.tumblr.com/post/161160073942/jump-giga-tite-kubo-and-matsui-yABsei-interview

Turns out, he really was ill.

Didn't the Shiba clan already fall before either Kaien and Isshin did anything?

No. Rangiku mentioned in EBTR that Isshin had to make sure that his behavior would not drag the honor of the Shiba family into the mud. That implies that they fell some time after EBTR.

It's a plot hole - one of the genuine ones (a lot of this fandom cry plot hole when there isn't one).

TBTP makes it clear that the noble families are already called the Four Noble Families during the TBTP flashbacks. So the set up of TBTP is that the fifth family (Shiba) has already been removed from the Noble Family title by then.

Also, backing this up is the fact that Kaien had to sit exams (Ganju states in the Soul Society Arc that Kaien had to sit the academy entrance exam to get into it but then went through the system extremely fast), something we know the Great Noble Families don't do (Rukia and Renji did the extrance exam to get into the academy from the Rukongai, like Kaien did, but then Rukia was adopted by Byakuya and she never sat another exam, automatically graduating into the 13th Division).

However, during the EBTR flashback, it's clear that the Shiba family still have standing, implying that Isshin going AWOL contributed to the fall of the Shiba clan.

So, yes, the manga is unfortunately contradictory regarding the fall of the Shiba clan.

One of the other main plot holes in the manga is when Rukia and Renji went through the academy: most of the Soul Society Arc states that Rukia entered the Kuchiki family 40 years ago. However, Byakuya's revelation about Hisana at the end of the arc states that Hisana died 50 years ago and Byakuya adopted Rukia as soon as he found her a year later (i.e., 49 years ago).