Recap / Bleach Soul Society Arc

Short Summary

After Rukia is forced to go back to Soul Society to await trial and execution for giving Ichigo her powers, Ichigo trains to regain the powers lost after being defeated by Byakuya. Once done, he, along with Chad, Orihime and Ishida head to Soul Society, the afterlife, to save her. But standing in their way is the Thirteen Court Guard Squad (Gotei 13 in Japanese) who won't let them pass without a fight. As all this goes on, a dark conspiracy is going on in the background.

Divided into two sections

• Soul Society: The Sneak Entry Arc

Rukia realizes she is being hunted for treason by Byakuya and Renji and tries to leave Ichigo to protect him. Ichigo tries to help but is defeated and loses his power, watching helplessly as Rukia is taken back to Soul Society. He's saved by Kisuke and offered training to get his powers back while Chad and Orihime do the same via Yoruichi. Once ready, they regroup with Ishida and invade Soul Society to begin their mission in saving their friend. But run into many complications along with way, including gaining two more allies and begin separated. Forcing our protagonists to try and survive on their own once the Gotei 13 detect them.

• Soul Society: The Rescue Arc

After defeating two captains, Ichigo is taken by Yoruichi to train him in the ultimate form of a Soul Reaper's power, the Bankai, in order to stand a chance against the remaining Gotei 13, particularly Byakuya. But in the midst of training, Rukia's execution order is suddenly sped up out of the blue by the higher powers. This decision, coinciding with the death of one of the captains, throws the whole Gotei 13 into disarray, splitting those who find something odd about the order and those steadfast in carrying it out. This eventually leads to chaos across the Soul Society as Ichigo races to gain his Bankai and rescue Rukia before it's too late.

Main Summary

The shenanigans in Karakura town have been fun, but sadly, the plot has to get in the way. Turns out, Rukia giving her powers to Ichigo is a crime for some reason, and two of her fellow Shinigami are sent to bring her back; her adopted older brother Byakuya Kuchiki, and her childhood friend Renji. And while Ichigo and Uryu put up a pretty good fight for two teenagers who really don't know what the hell they're doing, they're no match for Byakuya and Renji, and Rukia gets taken to Soul Society to be executed.

Of course, Ichigo isn't going to let that stand. She was just trying to help him save his family from being eaten; she shouldn't be punished for doing a good deed. So he enlists his spiritually empowered friends, the shady magic shopkeep Urahara, and the talking cat Yoruichi to go break into Seireitei and save Rukia. Urahara (a former Shinigami himself) helps awaken Ichigo's own inherent Shinigami powers (separate from the ones he stole from Rukia), and provides some quick training to the others before sending them through a portal to Soul Society (with Yoruichi as escort).

Once in Soul Society, the next problem is figuring out how to break into Seireitei, the Shinigami's base of operations. Getting in by the gates doesn't work thanks to Gin Ichimaru's intervention, so they enlist the help of the Shiba family, who have a thing for fireworks and explosives in general. The Shiba solution? Shooting Ichigo and his friends out of a cannon and getting into Seireitei from above, although the group is separated during the landing; Ichigo lands with Ganju Shiba (sent along as an assistant), Orihime is with Uryu, and Chad is on his own.

While the canon works, it isn't especially subtle, and the Shinigami are alerted to invaders in their midst, resulting in the group being introduced to a few new major characters... violently. Ichigo barely defeats the brutal Blood Knight captain Kenpachi Zaraki, and would have probably died had Yoruichi not saved him. Oh yeah, and turns out Yoruichi is a woman shapeshifted into a cat. He also manages to find Rukia, although he is unable to save her as Yoruichi yanks him away from the fight to train properly for the next level of Shinigami power- Bankai.

Orihime and Uryu fight Kurotsuchi Mayuri, a Mad Scientist captain who participated in the genocide against the Quincies and Uryu wins, at the cost of his own Quincy powers. Chad winds up getting his ass kicked by Captain Kyoraku, and just to add to the confusion, Captain Aizen Sosuke is found dead... despite having never interacted with Ichigo or any of his friends.

Soul Society ends up dissolving into chaos as Kenpachi, Kyorako, and Ukitake turn on their fellows in order to save Rukia, and Ichigo fights Byakuya with his brand-new Bankai- along with his brand-new Superpowered Evil Side. Then Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, amateur detective, finds the real mastermind: the not-actually-dead Aizen Sosuke, with the aid of Captains Tosen and Gin. Aizen killed all the Central 46 (Soul Society's government), and impersonated them with illusions to order Rukia's execution- which he wanted to happen, because Rukia has a MacGuffin called the Hogyoku hidden inside her (courtesy of Urahara). Aizen escapes with his co-conspirators while Ichigo and the Shinigami make a truce and prepare for the war that Aizen will inevitably set up.

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Soul Society Arc has the following tropes

• Big Brother Instinct: The main factor fueling the Ichigo vs. Byakuya conflict. Ichigo being a very loving big brother himself, he takes personal offense to the abhorrent aversion if this instinct in Rukia's own brother.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Ichigo arrives just in time to prevent Rukia's execution before it kills her.
  • The Gotei 13 when Aizen's reveals his treachery. Arriving to try and arrest him after he nearly kills Rukia, with Byakuya saving her before Aizen can land the killing blow, after extracting the Hōgyoku from her body. However it's subverted when he manages to call a teleportation spell, allowing him and his subordinates to get away.
• Break the Cutie: Hinamori due to Aizen's manipulation. He made sure to make her so attached to him that she'd attack her own allies to protect him, then brutally broke both her body and spirit. The pieces don't fully come back together for quite a while.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Aizen against Hitsugaya, Ichigo, Renji and Komamura in each of their individual confrontations. He manages to defeat them all without any of them landing a blow.
• Disappointed by the Motive: When Ichigo finally hears the reason for Byakuya's ruthless determination to see Rukia executed—that he is under too much pressure by the law to do otherwise—he can't believe his ears and doesn't hesitate to tell him what a bunch of crap that is, and that he'd fight it with everything he had.
• Guest-Star Party Member: Ganju and Hanataro, two Soul Society residents who join Ichigo's group on their quest.
• Honor Before Reason: Or rather Honor vs Reason which is a recurring theme of the arc. Ichigo feels that death is way too extreme a punishment for Rukia just for transferring her powers to him especially when she did it to try and save his family. A few of the Gotei 13 likewise feel the same and start to question the orders of the council. However there are those are very steeped in their duty and will do all the can to uphold it regardless how odd the orders are. This winds up leading to in-fighting of the Gotei 13 near the climax of the story.
• Hope Spot:
  • Ichigo beats one of the gate guards and is about to be let into to Soul Society. But Gin shows up and prevents their entry.
  • Gin offers a rather cruel one to Rukia when offering to help her only to reveal he was just kidding.
  • Ichigo and Renji team up to fight Aizen to protect Rukia but are felled quickly. Then Komamura appears out of nowhere with his bankai for a sneak attack...which likewise is overcome.
• Let's Split Up, Gang!: Not by choice when Ichigo and his friends try to cannonball their way into Soul Society, only to be separate once they pass through due to the cannonball growing unstable.
• Race Against the Clock: Ichigo wants to save Rukia before she's executed. Initially he had some time before this was suppose to happen but then the timetable was suddenly sped up out of the blue during his Bankai training. He just barely makes it in time before Rukia is killed.
• Red Herring: Gin is set up to be the main culprit behind Rukia's execution and disarry in Soul Society due to his shady attitude, especially when it seems he had killed Aizen. It's later revealed he was just a subordinate to Aizen himself who had faked his death to keep suspicion off of him while he carried out his plans.
• Rescue Arc: The basis of the arc as Ichigo and his friends invade Soul Society to keep Rukia from being executed.