Kubo: I don’t want the audience to sympathize with Aizen. Also Kubo:”Urahara how are ok with that thing on the throne” and Ichiho: “His sword was full of loneliness.”
My favorite part of Aizen was that he never once says he wants to destroy the world. He doesn't say he hates soul reapers or hollows, He just hated that the world was built on what he seen as an unjust act. The soul king was no king but just an object to facilitate the souls reapers order. At no point did aizen say he would even change the way the world was, he just didn't view the soul king as a legitimate means to get the world the way it is.
Aizen unironically reminds me of an evil Superman: both were aware of how much more powerful they were at a young age, and both felt isolated because of it. But where Clark's upbringing led him to understand how much he could learn from those weaker than him, Sosuke decided he wasn't meant to find equals and embraced holding power over everyone else. Plus, there's the little aesthetic choices like Aizen's mild-mannered glasses-wearing persona and his hairstyle when he fully reveals himself.
Definitely, but Why Aizen felt so.. was Also because unlike Clark, he was a genius at basically everything. Plus his IQ and EQ was soo high that it completely Transcended his Social Quotient(SQ) leading him towards the path of a sociopath. He understood world & people soo well that it he was in a permanent disdain, and always found fools amusing
The ending of Bleach and CFYOW kinda make you feel some sympathy towards him.. and I also felt the same when Ichigo talks about how he could feel Aizens feeling trough each clash of swords and how he felt loneliness.
It's telling how Kisuke specifically mentioned fearing becoming like Aizen due to his drive for knowledge. In their reaction to the truth, Kisuke believes the system should stay as it is while Aizen believes he should make it his own kingdom. Ironically in keeping it that way Kisuke and Yoruichi have killed far more than Aizen.
that's true, the ending of Bleach and CFYOW can evoke sympathy towards Aizen, especially when Ichigo talks about feeling Aizen's emotions and loneliness through their clashes.
@@manuelacosta9463Thst leads me to believe that Aizen and Kisuke were on the same path, but Kisuke knew when to stop. I believe they both have the same information, but Kisuke had to know that someone would try and do exactly what Aizen did so he took his knowledge and created things to counter it.
He was tired of obeying the Soul King and considered himself a higher being capable of making decisions and creating a world out of his own vision. His hate for the Soul King was evident from his argument with Kisuke Urahara during his fight against Ichigo as he was seen shouting at the former Squad 12 captain.
@@ningamer5 that'd be nice. Personally I would have liked him and Ichigo to face off before the final battle because how they took down Yhwach together in perfect tag team, was kinda out of nowhere
I dont think Aizen is evil for his objectives, but for his methods. Also i really like the concept of his Bankai showing the truth, but Urahara also saw the body of the soul king, this is something that i really hopes they explain in the anime.
When you understand who he is as a person, all the dots connect. He was a prodigy who couldn't foster relationships with others, so he was alone. When someone who's very intelligent becomes lonely and stays that way, they become angry, arrogant, and forgo real relationships as a whole. He comes to find there is a being in this world who has the power to and ability to stop all hardship but just chooses not to. And so aizen acts, for he believes only he has the ability to become a God to those who don't have one. Be a friend to others, one he desperately needed. And though it may have been a "fascade" in his eyes. The way he acted during his tenure as captain was what he really needed all along to be happy, but of course he gets in his own way. Pretends as if it's all a lie, when subconsciously we know there's more.
I find it great that in the light novels Aizen's and Ichigo's action are always present. Even though neither of them is present. But truth is we really don't need a sad backstory to him. Aizen is someone who values bravery and to step out of a system. That's why he despises Urahara who is such a genuines and was treated unjustified by Soul society still wants to live by the status quo. Aizen is the Gellert Grinderwald of Bleach.
Unpopular opinion: we don't really need Aizen's backstory given he has already told and shown us who he is and what he's capable of. Him discovering the truth about the Spirit King, and how such an omnipotent being was subjugated by comparable greedy weaklings with the ancestors drove his god tier ego mad and set him on the path to godhood regardless. Ironically his prediction of Soul Society's downfall due to it's corruption, hubris and secrecy will likely occur.
@@akramtulla28 It can be seen as that. And according to the 'We do knot always love you' light novel, there's open discontent among the inhabitants of the Rukon with many questioning the status quo. Omaeda and Yoruichi are the only popular nobles, the others not so much for obvious reasons. Soul Society could be heading to internal strife even with Shunsui's reforms and that's if hell doesn't get them first.
true, Aizen's character and motivations have been well-established through his actions and revelations. While a backstory could provide additional context, it's not necessary to understand his journey and the impact he has on the story. His discovery of the truth about the Spirit King and his desire for godhood, driven by his ego and disillusionment with Soul Society, make for a compelling narrative.
@@Suto_Ko Truth. Take notice of how different yet similar reactions to the truth are, at worst destructive and deadly at best moral repugnance. Ironically keeping that system as it is also results in bloodshed be the truth being kept secret or the nobles conspiring among and against each other.
@@manuelacosta9463Isn't Byakuya also a popular noble? I haven't read WDKALY in a while but I remember it being said somewhere that Byakuya was a very popular noble.
Being highly gifted from a young age could have potentially made it difficult for him to connect with those around him, leaving him isolated despite being surrounded by people. Unlike the others that you compared him to, he never had a place where he truly belonged--he merely transitioned from one mask to the next as he attempted to push forward. Despite all his gifts he apparently never found anybody with whom he could share them. That is loneliness. He wanted to take over the soul king because he knows something about it and that is what makes him stand alone.throughout his life noone has been on the same perspective as him, in a combination of power and intellect. hes perfectly alone.
Aizen’s strength comes from two places, his birth and his mind. He has incredible reiatsu, so much so that even Yhwach acknowledges it and places a caution out for it, making him one of the five Special War Potentials based on his Reiatsu. He is also born incredibly smart. Too smart for his own good. This made him unsatisfied with himself and the world, seeking greater heights leading him to greater power. Another part of his birth would be his personality, characteristic leanings and his resultant Zanpakuto. It’s abilities are still one of the most powerful powers in anime and able to even effect beings who have the ability to see the future and have greater Reiatsu than him, which almost breaks the rules of Bleach by how hax it is. Then he has an incredible mind. This makes him strong by giving him great mastery at Kido. He also has conceptualized and created the Hogyoku. This is a part of his power as he created it, like how Iron Man’s armor is a part of his power. The Hogyoku’s “true power lies in its ability to sense the hearts of those around it and materialize their deepest desire”. And he made something that did that. I actually think this is what enabled him to become so strong while keeping it a secret from the everyone else. On top of all of this he is great strategist, making so many bold moves in complete secrecy, flying under the radar of Yamamoto and all the other Captains until his preparations to invade the Soul King’s Palace where complete. Finally Aizen has a very calm and charismatic demeanor. This enabled him to get the fear and respect of his followers, both in the Soul Society and in Hueco Mundo. It enabled him to make people who would be obstacles for him his allies, like Gin and Tosen while knowing their true intentions (Gin). This gives him an edge in battle by giving him the ability to calmly take in his surroundings and instantly make decisions. As well as giving him an actual army that is very powerful
I think Aizen has connections to five families as he simply too strong compared to base level shingami as he a head taller than his generation (200-300 years old captain) in power discounting Kenpachi and only Ichigo that could match him in reisatsu.
@@jalpat2272 Aizen is a literal prodigy like Gin and Toshiro. I wouldn't like him to be a noble because it would just make him another version of Tokinada. Aizen and Urahara are the only ones aware the way of the worlds beyond status quo. They don't need any real connection to nobility to find out. As Aizen was well aware that the Quincies would return one day. Aizen wanted to be the next Soul king and naturally needed to collect all sorts of information from all corners of SS. Urahara warned Hisagi that if he prys too deep into history he wouldn't be a a normal Soul reaper in service of the Gotei 13 anymore.
Aizen's strength comes from his incredible reiatsu, his intelligence, and his Zanpakuto's powerful abilities. His mastery of Kido and creation of the Hogyoku showcase his exceptional mind. His calm and charismatic demeanor allows him to manipulate others and build a powerful army. Overall, Aizen's combination of power, intellect, and strategy make him a formidable opponent in battle.
Aizen’s bankai: The all knowing Mirror similar to the Magic Mirror from Snow White. It would explain how he knew everything all the time, how he predicted future events, how he knows about seemingly everything about the world even knew about the Quincies and Ywach.
It always surprised me that Kubo couldn’t think of a back story for Aizen that couldn’t make him sympathetic and then we eventually got Tokinada in the light novels. It seems like nowadays there are numerous well written villains that aren’t motivated by dead loved ones. P.S. Aizen having a Bankai that dispels lies and illusions is probably the best theory I’ve heard yet. Not only is thematically on point for Aizen but it could also explain both why he’s never needed it against the Gotei 13 (he knows more about the hypocrisy of the Royal Guard than they do) but it gives way to the Zero Squad, particularly Ichibe, as the time he’d mostly likely use it to dispel the biggest lies and secrets. Make Ichibe a situational antagonist in the Hell Arc and you’ve got a climatic battle with him and Aizen, bankais included.
I think a key element of Aizen, is his reluctance to confront himself. He is so great in many ways, but never truly manages to be the one at the top. Be it Kisuke being smarter, Yamamoto being stronger or Ichigo being a true transcended being, while Aizen only become one due to artificial means (the Hogyoku). That is why Ichigo feeling loneliness from the manifestation of Aizen’s soul, is such a important fact. In the end, Aizen’s quest of trying to become God, only leads to him being further isolated and alone, which he himself acknowledges with his speech about courage in the TYBW. I do think leaving his past as something ambiguous is for the better, I think the air of mystery really adds to the appeal of Aizen.
Truth. We know who his and what makes him tick. If he did ascend to godhood all he'd do is occasionally attack those he sees as beneath him or cultivate some pawn to slightly challenge him. It all ends with isolation with him. Be it free, as a god or imprisoned. He's a slave to his own ambitions that lead to the same result.
@@manuelacosta9463 Indeed. I think that is part of the reason Kubo felt there was no need to give Aizen a tragic backstory. There already is a tragic element to his character and it is conveyed in a rather subtle way, which is very in line with Kubo's style of writing. The fact that the closest thing he had to a genuine bond was with Tosen, who was immune to the abilty of his sword, is another hint that Aizen's loneliness was a mix of his own loneliness that he turned into his grand ambitions and him learning the dark truth of the Original Sin, which just further added to his own God-complex.
@@jrgenvellesen7800 True. With Tosen the bond was certainly the fact that he could not hypnotize and therefore 'control' the situation with him. With people like Aizen you'll notice they sometimes develop legitimate bonds with those whom they can't control or are of a far lesser standing than them. With the others it's fair game.
@@manuelacosta9463 Very true. It makes his relationship with Gin very interesting, in a rather twisted way. The fact that he kept someone whose whole goal was to kill him around, makes you wonder. Was it simply to ensure that he never let his guard down, like Kisuke did in TBTP, or was it that he could see himself in Gin? Being a very young prodigy that was corrupted by being exposed to the twisted nature of the world.
true, Aizen's reluctance to confront himself and his quest for power ultimately lead to his isolation and loneliness. The ambiguity surrounding his past adds to the allure of his character.
I think Aizen and Uhahara are two in the same coin. Very promising soul reapers who learned the same information, but had drastically different reactions to it.
Aizen has has slowly become one of my favorite characters of all anime. He is right on what he told Urahara, Urahara should try to change the world. Aizen shows the limitations of stoicism, we must use our will to power. How Aizen vs Yhwach is animated will be so important for power scaling purposes. I cannot wait.
@@itachi-kun7736 but it needs to be something, considering how they work. Or perhaps Aizen doesn't talk to his Zanpakuto beyond when is convenient for him.
It probably is a woman. The other characters with alt. gender spirits (Shunsui and Kisuke) are pretty two faced, manipulative, and sneaky characters. Only counter to this would be Kenpachi but that could be explained by his sword being influenced by the previous wielder.
I imagine his inner world being a literal void, and his Zanpakutou resembling him but more divine and authoritative - setting him on his Megalomaniac path
"Yhwach, the world that you desired to create may indeed have been devoid of fear. However, in a world without the fear of death, men could not face that fear and seek out hope. Certainly, they could keep walking onward by merely living, but that would be very different from walking onward while conquering their own fears. That is why we give the act of walking onward a special name. We call it 'courage'."
I think a better idea is that both Kisuke and Aizen glimpsed the true nature of existence during the creation of the Hokyoku, it being a fragment of the soul king.
They say the only difference between heroes and villains are that if we the readers/watchers get to know their backstories. Let's keep him the way he is, as I don't want another anti-hero.
I truly think he's a member of the unnamed noble clan. Which can explain his strong spiritual pressure and also why he knows so much about the Soul King, and the original sin
My theory has always been that he followed the soul society rules for a time but then he somehow came across soul king's truth and was disgusted I think that'd make sense cuz he was always stating that everyone is always looking for ppl stronger and superior then them, so the soul king being abused as an object basically, which lead to him getting obsessed with getting rid of the current soul king so he can set his ideals as actually correct I think he went with making ichigo a soul king candidate cuz he wanted another plan in case he himself couldn't replace the soul king... showing just how great Aizen's hatred towards the current state of the soul king and soul society was
Considering that Aizen, despite not having a detailed backstory, is already seen as a bit sympathetic and seen as a anti-hero, I have two takes: 1) Kubo might as well show his backstory since the whole idea of having a purely evil villain without sympathy kind of failed, and it would explain a few things. 2) A backstory is not necessary as he is already being seen as sympathetic, and retain the mystery of the character. However, I do like to know more of the details just before he joined the Gotei 13 to the Turn Back the Pendulum arc.
Given what Shunsui said to Aizen in CFYOW and also Aizen's progression up to this point, he may be an "ally of Ichigo Kurosaki." like the Vizards did in the FKT Arc. It will probably be in the later half of the eventual Hell Arc. He also forgave Ichigo for getting to the Royal Realm before him. Lol. xd
a few other things we can speculate: 1.from the people Aizen associated himself with, he is likely from Ryokongai background, since the Renji, Kira, Hinamori, Gin, and Tosen are all from Ryukongai, and Tosen especially was wronged by a noble. 2.that most likely makes him despite, or at least have a low opinion of the noble families, the only time he loses his composure is at his defeat by Urahara and Ichigo, both closely associated with noble families(one being a "retainer" and most likely related to the Shihoin clan, the other being Shiba clan) which would make sense for a "lone genius going against the organized elite" theme
Next you should do a "what if he never went evil?" If he was upfront he'd probably been cap commander allowing Yama to focus on the academy which would in turn churn out better Shinigami. Urahara would have stayed in the SS, Vaizards aren't made, white doesn't get made, Gin doesn't go badz maybe doesn't join Shinigami at all, Rangiku retains the Soul King nail, Ichigo doesn't get born (lol) Masaki marries Ryuken, so Ishida doesn't get born (lol). Orihime is probably killed by her brother (Ichigo not there to stop him, but maybe Rukia is there instead?) Tousen probably goes to jail for murder, the Quincy 2nd rebellion probably gets squashed before it happens, they'd probably be discovered (can't imagine them being to stay hidden with Urahara, Aizen, AND Mayuri working together). Kaien doesn't die, Hitsugaya is probably a Lt. or 3rd seat under Isshin, or Rangiku (who is probably stronger having not lost the nail) by the start of the shows timeline. No artificial arrancar... so much would be different.
I think Aizen has become a sympathetic and complex character on his own especially when Ichigo described him that he was lonely his fight against Ywach I would love to see his origin more closely
Kubo is 1000% correct on his reasoning for serving up a backstory for Aizen, and I hope he never does; it's not needed, we don't need to sympathize with him as is and it would undermine the hell out of his character like that of Jiren in DBS and Wolverine in the X-Men.
I think he doesn't need a backstory because it will contain a mountain of backwards writing, it could turn out well, like a real personality of Zangetsu, however his past can be expanded upon without flashbacks, through his actions in the Anime, if they want to add something!
He finds the idea of someone being superior to him disgusting and just unacceptable because they don’t plan to better themselfs but just sit with their power doing nothing but look down on everyone
Aizen asked a really good question: Why doesn't Urahara take action about it? As they both know the truth to a comparable degree, why is Urahara okay with things? Urahara is not a bad person. Just someone that understand the world and prefers the status qou to the alternatives. What could that alternative be?
Honestly the very fact that Aizen doesn't really have a in depth backstory is what makes him great I think leaving it up to peoples interpretation on what led eyes into the path that he went on is what makes him in an interesting character. If you really pay attention everything about Aizen's dialogue says a lot more about his character than some subpar backstory ever could.
When it comes to giving a backstory or leaving it a mystery, either way can work as long as it is done right. More often than not in my opinion, it is not what you do, but how you do it that counts. I have my issues with quite a few of Kubo's writing choices he made over the run of Bleach but I think the way he chose to approach leaving Aizen's backstory a mystery worked quite well. One thing I wished you had talked about was when Ichigo mentioned after their final clash in the Deicide arc he sensed an overwhelming sense of "loneliness" from Aizen. Ichigo theorized that his entire life, Aizen was always so much stronger than anyone else around him and that it ultimately left him completely and utterly unable to connect with anyone. Take Aizen's truly immense power even before he fused with the Hogyoku, add in his undeniably brilliant mind, and mix in complete and total social isolation...I do not have a degree in psychology but that sounds like a recipe for someone to develop a god complex and sociopathic tendencies if ever there was one, especially if it goes all the way back to their child hood. Throw in learning about the Soul King and that would believably only make things worse. If Ichigo's observation is accurate which I tend to believe it is. I think it offers some real interesting potential insight into his relationships with Shinji and Hitsugaya. Shinji, like Aizen I feel has a rather twisted soul at the end of the day given the way he grins, the way he conducts himself, and of course there is his Zanpaktou. Think about Shinji's shikai and bankai and ask "what kind of soul births a zanpakatou like that?". I suspect that it was this similarity that allowed Shinji to realize that something about Aizen was not right even before other characters of similar or even greater intellect like Kyouraku and Kisuke realized something was wrong. Granted this perhaps a bit speculative on my part. Hitsugaya like Aizen, from an early age had an immense amount of power far beyond what most people could even dream of and it created problems with their ability to form connections with others. Though it got undermined a lot by some of the writing choices Kubo made, it is worth noting that even by Captain standards, Hitsugaya is incredibly powerful. In terms of raw stats I would say by the end of the series his only competition in the Gotei 13 would be Byakuya, Kenpachi, and Kyoraku. Granted I still think Mayuri would have a very real chance of winning a one on one fight, keep mind I am talking about raw stats here. Honestly, if Kubo came out and said that one of the end of series Captains would eventually surpass Yamamoto and/or Aizen, Hitsugaya is the one I would put my money on. And this for a character who is still ridiculously young by shinigami standards. The key difference between these two men and Aizen, appears to be that they were able to form some meaningful connections with other people which helped to ground them emotionally. This to me seems to suggest that Aizen resents them both which is why he always went the extra mile to hurt them emotionally. If you look at Aizen's actions against Shinji and Hitsugaya from a purely strategic standpoint, a lot of his actions do not make any sense in my opinion. For example rubbing in Shinji's face how his suspicion of Aizen actually worked perfectly in furthering Aizen's plans and manipulating Hitsguya into stabbing Hinamori among other actions were completely unnecessary. In the Soul Society arc he also pointed Hitsugaya's to be suspicions towards Gin and gave him a reason to try to stop Rukia's execution which would undermine his plans had he succeed. None of these actions were necessary given his sheer power and abilities, and in the case of his manipulations of Hitsugaya during the Soul Sociey arc, it could have very easily have backfired on him. I know some people would argue that the reason he tricked Hitsugaya into stabbing HInamori was to make the former lose control of his emotions and create an opening, to which I would argue he could have won that fight a lot quicker by simply having them go after an illusion of himself and cutting them down from behind given just how ridiculously powerful he is and how broken his shikai is. His actions against them reek of a level of sadism he just never seemed to demonstrate against any other characters including ones who were objectively more of a threat to his plans like Kyoraku and Yamamoto. But if it was motivated by jealousy of them for being able to connect to others which Aizen was never able to do, it suddenly starts making a lot more sense. In short my suspicion is that with, or without learning about the Soul King and the Soul Society's original sin, Aizen still would have had his god complex and his sociopathic tendencies. I think learning of it simply made the problems worse and gave him a goal to focus his efforts towards.
Aizen is born with great Spiritual Pressure from a young age and intellect that is only inferior to Urohara. My take is Aizen despite his impressive talent and intelligence he couldn't find anyone that can rival his immense power and after finding out the Original Sin done by the five Nobel families and the annihilation of the Quincies done by the Original 13 Court Guards, he decided to overthrow the Soul Society and be against the authority of Central 46 hence Yhwach deems Aizen a threat to his plans to destroy reality. Aizen has mastered high level Kido without incantations and his zanpakuto creates illusions and hypnosis on his victims that affects them permanently. He's a master strategist and creates contingency plans should plan A fails. He is one of two Soul Reapers to create the Hogyoku to create a Soul Reaper Hollow hybrid though it was deemed a failure a century ago but once he got Urahara's Hogyoku he managed to create the Espadas and fused with it in his body. His plan was to destroy Karakura Town to create the Ouken to overthrow the Soul King and rid the Soul Reapers once and for all but he miscalculated about Ichigo and his power that even surpasses his own that Ichigo became a god. Though after surviving Ichigo's attack and was about to get sealed, Aizen lost it after Urahara knew about the Original Sin and opted to accept reality as it is claiming he didn't want to be ruled by the Soul King and those who accepts reality are losers. I'm glad Aizen isn't much of a sympathetic villain as Kubo intended but he isn't the true villain of Bleach unlike Ichibe and the Nobel families and the Original 13 Court Guards who are actual criminals. Aizen is one charismatic villain in fiction alongside Madara Uchiha, Dio Brando, Ozai, Frieza, Bakura and Thanos.
Aizen's shikai power is so insanely high that he doesn't need a bankai, so I think he either doesn't have a bankai at all or has a bankai so freaking powerful that he's afraid to use it himself.
Could also be that his shikai just had the more convenient ability to suit his needs. Like how shinjs shikai is more effective 1v1. I’m sure there’s likely a power boost as it’s still a bankai, but maybe it’s more power and less ability?
anyone would be a great strategist if they have that god awful cheat code of a power. Hes practically a walking plot device cause he can manipulate reality and people still give him credit for being smart.
I mean I don't think it would be bad to have Aizen's background revealed even if it makes us side with him, especially if the Soul Society is evil behind the scenes as it has suggested, I mean this would be a greater twist, especially for Ichigo has he has lived a good amount of his life now protecting the Soul Society and it's interests and maybe this changes Ichigo in some way, not that I would necessarily like that aspect but it would be a good twist in the story if this happens to be the result of Aizen's background being revealed.
I think it's better to give just enough information to drive fan theories than to spoon feed Aizen's backstory. It's one of the reasons his character in particular is so interesting. Just my take. Thanks for the analysis, as always!
Considering his power, intellect, and knowledge of the soul king, what if Aizen is a noble? Of the lesser houses, or maybe his family served one of the main clans, such as the missing 5th one?
Hey DBZimran!I just watched your video about the soul king, I thought to myself "Ok,in bleach,there are five members of the zero division and there used to be five great noble families who mutilated the soul king,right?So,could it be possible the zero division members are the descendants of the five families that captured and made the soul king suffer a life of eternal slavery and humiliation "? It's quite sad and tragic when you think about it.😭😭😭
If Aizen were to have a character arc and were to acquire his "wants", then he would also have to learn the bitter tragedy that "what he wants" is not "what he needs". And if he has a grotesque desire to become godlike, then we need to look at "what happened to him", not "his world view" to understand it. So, how do we break this down? In the Bleach universe, if you were to become godlike, you would become isolated in a dimension or state where none could interact with you anymore or realize your existence. In other words, your tragedy would be loneliness and a complete lack of recognition. The opposite of this is then typically what he would "need". What makes Aizen, the antagonist, different from Ichigo is that Ichigo has been surrounded by friends and caretakers since he was a child, and has always been naturally stronger than his peers since he was a teenager. Then we have hints from the earliest chapters, of what happens when a soul carries over to Soul Society. Namely, that a soul that has carried over cannot find family members or friends, and must wander the Rukongai alone. Furthermore, we learn from the earliest chapters that you become hungry if you have reiatsu, and can possibly even die if you can't find anything to eat. We have also learned that none of the five (four) royal families tried to help, and that few if anyone from the Seiretei tried to help (Matsumoto is perhaps one of very few). Then there's the additional content that we know nothing about, such as the possibility of Aizen perhaps getting to know someone, and possibly losing them. Was it to hunger? Was it to a shinigami or royal? During this period of unknown events, did Aizen learn how to manipulate people to get what he wants, yet ultimately fail in his pursuit to help his dying friend (or something else in this regard perhaps), because he believe that he didn't do enough? Did Aizen manipulate his way into the Seiretei so that he didn't have to go hungry in the end? And then finally, did he eventually stumble upon the dreadful secrets of Soul Society that only carved his cynical understanding of the world in stone?
When we think out of border, then it seems pretty clear why he doesn't want to reveal the past of Aizen. He doesn't want it to affect himself. It's a clever decision from Kubo sensei =P
I doubt Urahara learned from the Shihouin clan since Yoruichi herself said she didn't knew much about Reio maybe it's because of how carefree she is but in the past she was a bit more responsible and should have been taught these things if not when she was being raised then after she became head of her clan
Honestly i think knowing very little of aizen helps keep the alure of his character and whatever backstory we due get could just be a deception by him to manipulate the situation to his benefit. Its a joker scenario the less we know the more we get imagine what it could be. This said the idea that his bankai cant reveal hidden truths fits the theming of deception for itself is the tangible manipulation to facts and truths into lies and vice versa.
I always thought and believed that it was probably Tokinada that told Aizen about the soul king, probably just to see his reaction and probably didn't intend for all the madness that follows, though I doubt he didn't enjoy all the chaos and mayhem that Aizen eventually caused.
Given Tokinada was absolutely giddy about seeing humans and Spirits clash in chaotic warfare and was especially eager to see human military technology in action in that context, he would've certainly told Aizen with that intent.
Revisiting Aizen's motivations his beef seems to be a lot more with Ichibe than the Soul King. Ichibe is the one calling the shots and uses The Soul King to justify his power in the same way religion has been used as justification to conquer and rule over history. If Aizen overthrew the Soul King he would have to become the lynchpin of reality, which doesn't suit him. It would be interesting to see Ichibe and Aizen interact with each other. If they end up clashing in the Hell Arc that would be epic.
The nobles basically made the soul king who once lived into idol corpse to be praised and worshiped by the ignorant masses who never knew the truth. Good reference to niezsche kubo! Is it any wonder why Aizen became this way? Honestly you can have a sympathetic backstory for a villain or antagonistic character just don’t make it overshadow their evilness. Also it’s better that kubo didn’t give us a backstory for aizen since it’s better if we just guess with the limited amount of information we have. Just like the joker.
I'm already on Aizen's side, because even though he admits himself that he needed Tosen to be his beacon of justice that would distinguish right and wrong (because those things are below him LOL) Aizen never actually killed anyone other than the corrupt Central 46. If he could have done it I bet he would have taken the throne through negotiation rather than treason. He had ample opportunity to kill captains and lieutenants alike (he grievously wounded Momo twice, but as some have pointed out that's likely him forcing her to stop being reliant on him in a very hyperbolic way because he values free spirits) and yet he never did, moreover CONVEINENTLY they always escaped with harsh injuries, but never dead. Kubo's no stranger to killing characters, and Aizen even says its harder to not kill them than it is to leave them alive, likening soul society to ants. Imagine the secrets he knew about the people of the soul society that he never relented. His information networks ran deep, he certainly used an individual weakness to help in battle, but after his reveal even he never revealed secrets out of malice. His words to Toshiro about what it means to have a birthday, while he was a deceptive captain, seem to ring true about himself or rather something he longed for after we learn of his crushing loneliness. I don't think Aizen is a villain at all. There's evidence enough that he was doing what he had to. Though, he does have a sadistic streak its nowhere near as bad as Tokinada or even some of the other captains.
Honestly i dont think making a backstory for him would make much of a difference in terms of community sympathy. I dont think Aizen is the kind of person to have some cheesy victim backstory, he seems to be naturally gifted and powerful. I would love to see a backstory for him, especially about when, where and how exactly he figured out about the Original Sin and Soul King. I dont think that we need the backstory on every twig, and over explanation can really kill a series and its mystery, but explaining more about Aizen a little more wouldnt really kill anything for me, and shouldnt make anyone feel more sympathetic for Aizen, barring some curveball out of left field like "Aizen was a slave to the 5th, unrevealed noble house, and figured out bits and pieces about the Original Sin by sneaking into the library" or something.
What we seem to know is that Aizen was a lot like Hitsugaya, except he had no Granny nor Momo to truly connect with him and humanize him. Hence, he developed a god complex and a deep loneliness, which was only intensified when he somehow learned the truth about the Soul King and about the existence of transcendent beings. EDIT: I am against a detailed backstory for Aizen specifically because his past is part of the mystery and deceptiveness inherent to the character.
Aizen is my favorite anime villain of all time, so while I want to know his back story, (much like George Lucas with the name of Yoda's species) I'm glad Kubo is keeping it a mystery. I freakin love Aizen videos.
Well considering how messed up soul society is and especially how evil ichibei looks (for a moment I was almost rooting for yuha to kill the bastard) I do think that maybe to much backstory for Aizen could make more difficult for us to side with the SS
Now that we know that the zero division each can shake reality with the release of their full power I want to know just how Aizen stacks up considering he would have had to take them all on by himself if Ichigo didn't stop him. I don't expect us to get an Aizen bankai reveal because canonically he transcended the use of a Zanpakuto and merged with it but I do want to see him actually get flushed out what his full power looks like in the Anime.
i already felt sympathy when he lost to ichigo and started yelling at urahara. both aizen and yhwach we're right for wanting to free the soul king of his torture. aizen wanted to be ruler and yhwach wanted the orginal choas that was meant to be. neither are wrong for it. so yah too late for not feeling sympathy...
His goals were justified, and to some degree, even noble, because he despised lies and hypocrisy and wanted to do something about them. But at the end of the day, it is still driven by selfish ambition. Personally, I would feel and think the same way as he does if I learned that the people I pledged my life to were nothing more than puppets themselves that lowered themselves to the level of their subjucators given their potential. But the means doesn't always justify the ends. But I can see why he did what he did, because looking at the Soul Society as an organization, there was simply no other way this would've been done and somebody had to do it if someone had strongly felt the need to send a message.
Aizen is an incredible character. Cool video. I used to hate him as a kid, but now he just seems really nuanced to me. A mystery behind his glasses and even during his time ruling in Hueco Mundo. But there are some really interesting truths behind his goals.
I like to think his Bankai would let him change the present, the same way The Almighty can choose the future and Book of the End can edit/retcon the past. It might also be interesting if he spent some time as a living Fullbringer. I've also been wondering if Quincies and Fullbringers might be related (both have ties to the Soul King; Fullbringers are born when their mom gets attacked by a Hollow and survives, which would be more likely if they were part of a Quincy team sent to fight the Hollow; Quincies seem to have a treatment for Hollow wounds, but it's still a big deal if an Echt Quincy were to be hurt by a Hollow, and their children all being Fullbringers might explain that). Depending on how old he is, he might've been around 1,000 years ago & survived the first Quincy invasion. I'm also thinking he (and others) might've been brought to the Royal Palace to seek out potential Soul King candidates, though his comment about not being able to get there seems to put that one out. Who knows, maybe he's secretly an ancient being from the era before the Soul King & he knows the truth because he was there?
Do any of U think that the release of Aizen apart from being Shunsui's decision was slightly influenced by hogyoku which granted the will of Aizen to get released????
@@Aizy15 offended ? What ? I'm just baffled by your stupid Aizen dickriding, we get it Aizen cool but not everything is his plan (or Hogyoku's for that matter)
Then kubo failed if he didn't want us to feel bad for the villain because he told us why yha is attacking the soul reapers. It makes the soul reapers look like the true villains, and it makes you understand why aizen was against them aswell.
Let's imagine, Aizen won against Ichigo and could travel to the Soul Palace. We saw a proper fight of the Zero Squad now, how could it possible for him to beat even one of the Zero Squad guys?! I mean what was his plan up there to get rid of the Zero Squad?! I still secretly hope that Aizen will stand next to Yhwach revealing that he is his Bankai. Every single Quincy was his Bankai and he can manipulate the past.
i think aizen was origanally in the soul palace due to his immersive reatsu and talen which had ichibe intrested in him and knew his plan to replace himself with the soul king ichibe used ichomonji to make him forgot the he was in the royal palace then ichibe cast him out to the soul society and maybe there is a small potenial the aizen was ichibe student due his intellgence and his reatsu
When did you first believe you weren't already seeing Aizen's bankai? Bleach IS Aizen's bankai. Everyone here has seen it, and we're still under it's effect.
Basically, Aizen found out the Soul king was a glorified, multi-realm binding paperweight of a being and thought he could do better, unbound. Legit not how things work anymore sadly.
I like how he talked about the backstory and the backstory and the backstory may be connected with the novels and the backstory without really explaining anything indepth for like 15 mins lmao
Kubo: I don’t want the audience to sympathize with Aizen.
Also Kubo:”Urahara how are ok with that thing on the throne” and Ichiho: “His sword was full of loneliness.”
Fr
His reasoning for Linkin is not to be sympathetic unless you're elite like him you will not understand him
Yes kubo said he doesn't want to make aizen sympathetic but he does in his fight against ichigo it doesn't make sense
My favorite part of Aizen was that he never once says he wants to destroy the world. He doesn't say he hates soul reapers or hollows, He just hated that the world was built on what he seen as an unjust act. The soul king was no king but just an object to facilitate the souls reapers order. At no point did aizen say he would even change the way the world was, he just didn't view the soul king as a legitimate means to get the world the way it is.
"An imprisoned quadruple amputee is no basis for a government form."
I agree with this one, considering that Aizen's a word-for-word grammarian. 😁
He may have been a manipulator, but he's no liar.
@@christopherg2347not far off from Biden
@@cautioncrazy Okay, Putin Parrot.
@@christopherg2347 someone's salty lol
Aizen unironically reminds me of an evil Superman: both were aware of how much more powerful they were at a young age, and both felt isolated because of it. But where Clark's upbringing led him to understand how much he could learn from those weaker than him, Sosuke decided he wasn't meant to find equals and embraced holding power over everyone else. Plus, there's the little aesthetic choices like Aizen's mild-mannered glasses-wearing persona and his hairstyle when he fully reveals himself.
That's so true damn
Aizen and Superman are both based on the Ubermensch. Research it. They all have a similar origin.
Definitely, but Why Aizen felt so.. was Also because unlike Clark, he was a genius at basically everything.
Plus his IQ and EQ was soo high that it completely Transcended his Social Quotient(SQ) leading him towards the path of a sociopath.
He understood world & people soo well that it he was in a permanent disdain, and always found fools amusing
The ending of Bleach and CFYOW kinda make you feel some sympathy towards him.. and I also felt the same when Ichigo talks about how he could feel Aizens feeling trough each clash of swords and how he felt loneliness.
It's telling how Kisuke specifically mentioned fearing becoming like Aizen due to his drive for knowledge. In their reaction to the truth, Kisuke believes the system should stay as it is while Aizen believes he should make it his own kingdom. Ironically in keeping it that way Kisuke and Yoruichi have killed far more than Aizen.
that's true, the ending of Bleach and CFYOW can evoke sympathy towards Aizen, especially when Ichigo talks about feeling Aizen's emotions and loneliness through their clashes.
@@manuelacosta9463Thst leads me to believe that Aizen and Kisuke were on the same path, but Kisuke knew when to stop. I believe they both have the same information, but Kisuke had to know that someone would try and do exactly what Aizen did so he took his knowledge and created things to counter it.
I just dont know how its possible to win against zero squad without yhwach...
For example if aizen got black on him, he doesnt even exist basically...
@ILoveBluePeople Aizen isn't a Shinigami anymore, ...he doesn't have a Zanpakuto now, ....so ichibe might have to cook up counter measures for aizen.
He was tired of obeying the Soul King and considered himself a higher being capable of making decisions and creating a world out of his own vision. His hate for the Soul King was evident from his argument with Kisuke Urahara during his fight against Ichigo as he was seen shouting at the former Squad 12 captain.
He is brave
@@Atticus-Catnippwhat a Brave Soul
@@yohiblast7871 it turned out to be he was a rather lonely soul
Do you all think we will get a anime only scene of aizen and urahara meeting again talking about all of this
I hope we get it
@@ningamer5 that'd be nice.
Personally I would have liked him and Ichigo to face off before the final battle because how they took down Yhwach together in perfect tag team, was kinda out of nowhere
I dont think Aizen is evil for his objectives, but for his methods. Also i really like the concept of his Bankai showing the truth, but Urahara also saw the body of the soul king, this is something that i really hopes they explain in the anime.
When you understand who he is as a person, all the dots connect. He was a prodigy who couldn't foster relationships with others, so he was alone. When someone who's very intelligent becomes lonely and stays that way, they become angry, arrogant, and forgo real relationships as a whole. He comes to find there is a being in this world who has the power to and ability to stop all hardship but just chooses not to. And so aizen acts, for he believes only he has the ability to become a God to those who don't have one. Be a friend to others, one he desperately needed. And though it may have been a "fascade" in his eyes. The way he acted during his tenure as captain was what he really needed all along to be happy, but of course he gets in his own way. Pretends as if it's all a lie, when subconsciously we know there's more.
I find it great that in the light novels Aizen's and Ichigo's action are always present. Even though neither of them is present. But truth is we really don't need a sad backstory to him. Aizen is someone who values bravery and to step out of a system. That's why he despises Urahara who is such a genuines and was treated unjustified by Soul society still wants to live by the status quo. Aizen is the Gellert Grinderwald of Bleach.
He can have a backstory without it being a sad one yk that right
he can't, kubo said people will sympathies with him@@r..e7045
Unpopular opinion: we don't really need Aizen's backstory given he has already told and shown us who he is and what he's capable of. Him discovering the truth about the Spirit King, and how such an omnipotent being was subjugated by comparable greedy weaklings with the ancestors drove his god tier ego mad and set him on the path to godhood regardless. Ironically his prediction of Soul Society's downfall due to it's corruption, hubris and secrecy will likely occur.
Isn't the thousand year blood war exactly that the downfall if soul society for its sins
@@akramtulla28 It can be seen as that. And according to the 'We do knot always love you' light novel, there's open discontent among the inhabitants of the Rukon with many questioning the status quo. Omaeda and Yoruichi are the only popular nobles, the others not so much for obvious reasons. Soul Society could be heading to internal strife even with Shunsui's reforms and that's if hell doesn't get them first.
true, Aizen's character and motivations have been well-established through his actions and revelations. While a backstory could provide additional context, it's not necessary to understand his journey and the impact he has on the story. His discovery of the truth about the Spirit King and his desire for godhood, driven by his ego and disillusionment with Soul Society, make for a compelling narrative.
@@Suto_Ko Truth. Take notice of how different yet similar reactions to the truth are, at worst destructive and deadly at best moral repugnance. Ironically keeping that system as it is also results in bloodshed be the truth being kept secret or the nobles conspiring among and against each other.
@@manuelacosta9463Isn't Byakuya also a popular noble? I haven't read WDKALY in a while but I remember it being said somewhere that Byakuya was a very popular noble.
Being highly gifted from a young age could have potentially made it difficult for him to connect with those around him, leaving him isolated despite being surrounded by people. Unlike the others that you compared him to, he never had a place where he truly belonged--he merely transitioned from one mask to the next as he attempted to push forward. Despite all his gifts he apparently never found anybody with whom he could share them. That is loneliness.
He wanted to take over the soul king because he knows something about it and that is what makes him stand alone.throughout his life noone has been on the same perspective as him, in a combination of power and intellect. hes perfectly alone.
Aizen’s strength comes from two places, his birth and his mind. He has incredible reiatsu, so much so that even Yhwach acknowledges it and places a caution out for it, making him one of the five Special War Potentials based on his Reiatsu. He is also born incredibly smart. Too smart for his own good. This made him unsatisfied with himself and the world, seeking greater heights leading him to greater power.
Another part of his birth would be his personality, characteristic leanings and his resultant Zanpakuto. It’s abilities are still one of the most powerful powers in anime and able to even effect beings who have the ability to see the future and have greater Reiatsu than him, which almost breaks the rules of Bleach by how hax it is.
Then he has an incredible mind. This makes him strong by giving him great mastery at Kido. He also has conceptualized and created the Hogyoku. This is a part of his power as he created it, like how Iron Man’s armor is a part of his power. The Hogyoku’s “true power lies in its ability to sense the hearts of those around it and materialize their deepest desire”. And he made something that did that. I actually think this is what enabled him to become so strong while keeping it a secret from the everyone else. On top of all of this he is great strategist, making so many bold moves in complete secrecy, flying under the radar of Yamamoto and all the other Captains until his preparations to invade the Soul King’s Palace where complete.
Finally Aizen has a very calm and charismatic demeanor. This enabled him to get the fear and respect of his followers, both in the Soul Society and in Hueco Mundo. It enabled him to make people who would be obstacles for him his allies, like Gin and Tosen while knowing their true intentions (Gin). This gives him an edge in battle by giving him the ability to calmly take in his surroundings and instantly make decisions. As well as giving him an actual army that is very powerful
I think Aizen hated that Momo made herself emotionally dependent from him. Because that is something that tiers one down. Aizen values free spirits.
I think Aizen has connections to five families as he simply too strong compared to base level shingami as he a head taller than his generation (200-300 years old captain) in power discounting Kenpachi and only Ichigo that could match him in reisatsu.
@@jalpat2272 Aizen is a literal prodigy like Gin and Toshiro. I wouldn't like him to be a noble because it would just make him another version of Tokinada.
Aizen and Urahara are the only ones aware the way of the worlds beyond status quo. They don't need any real connection to nobility to find out. As Aizen was well aware that the Quincies would return one day. Aizen wanted to be the next Soul king and naturally needed to collect all sorts of information from all corners of SS.
Urahara warned Hisagi that if he prys too deep into history he wouldn't be a a normal Soul reaper in service of the Gotei 13 anymore.
Aizen's strength comes from his incredible reiatsu, his intelligence, and his Zanpakuto's powerful abilities. His mastery of Kido and creation of the Hogyoku showcase his exceptional mind. His calm and charismatic demeanor allows him to manipulate others and build a powerful army. Overall, Aizen's combination of power, intellect, and strategy make him a formidable opponent in battle.
aizen values free spirits, so it's possible he didn't appreciate momo's emotional dependence on him.@@Atticus-Catnipp
Aizen’s bankai: The all knowing Mirror
similar to the Magic Mirror from Snow White. It would explain how he knew everything all the time, how he predicted future events, how he knows about seemingly everything about the world even knew about the Quincies and Ywach.
It always surprised me that Kubo couldn’t think of a back story for Aizen that couldn’t make him sympathetic and then we eventually got Tokinada in the light novels. It seems like nowadays there are numerous well written villains that aren’t motivated by dead loved ones.
P.S. Aizen having a Bankai that dispels lies and illusions is probably the best theory I’ve heard yet. Not only is thematically on point for Aizen but it could also explain both why he’s never needed it against the Gotei 13 (he knows more about the hypocrisy of the Royal Guard than they do) but it gives way to the Zero Squad, particularly Ichibe, as the time he’d mostly likely use it to dispel the biggest lies and secrets. Make Ichibe a situational antagonist in the Hell Arc and you’ve got a climatic battle with him and Aizen, bankais included.
I think a key element of Aizen, is his reluctance to confront himself. He is so great in many ways, but never truly manages to be the one at the top.
Be it Kisuke being smarter, Yamamoto being stronger or Ichigo being a true transcended being, while Aizen only become one due to artificial means (the Hogyoku).
That is why Ichigo feeling loneliness from the manifestation of Aizen’s soul, is such a important fact. In the end, Aizen’s quest of trying to become God, only leads to him being further isolated and alone, which he himself acknowledges with his speech about courage in the TYBW.
I do think leaving his past as something ambiguous is for the better, I think the air of mystery really adds to the appeal of Aizen.
Truth. We know who his and what makes him tick. If he did ascend to godhood all he'd do is occasionally attack those he sees as beneath him or cultivate some pawn to slightly challenge him. It all ends with isolation with him. Be it free, as a god or imprisoned. He's a slave to his own ambitions that lead to the same result.
@@manuelacosta9463 Indeed. I think that is part of the reason Kubo felt there was no need to give Aizen a tragic backstory. There already is a tragic element to his character and it is conveyed in a rather subtle way, which is very in line with Kubo's style of writing.
The fact that the closest thing he had to a genuine bond was with Tosen, who was immune to the abilty of his sword, is another hint that Aizen's loneliness was a mix of his own loneliness that he turned into his grand ambitions and him learning the dark truth of the Original Sin, which just further added to his own God-complex.
@@jrgenvellesen7800 True. With Tosen the bond was certainly the fact that he could not hypnotize and therefore 'control' the situation with him. With people like Aizen you'll notice they sometimes develop legitimate bonds with those whom they can't control or are of a far lesser standing than them. With the others it's fair game.
@@manuelacosta9463 Very true. It makes his relationship with Gin very interesting, in a rather twisted way. The fact that he kept someone whose whole goal was to kill him around, makes you wonder. Was it simply to ensure that he never let his guard down, like Kisuke did in TBTP, or was it that he could see himself in Gin? Being a very young prodigy that was corrupted by being exposed to the twisted nature of the world.
true, Aizen's reluctance to confront himself and his quest for power ultimately lead to his isolation and loneliness. The ambiguity surrounding his past adds to the allure of his character.
I think Aizen and Uhahara are two in the same coin. Very promising soul reapers who learned the same information, but had drastically different reactions to it.
Well said
Aizen has has slowly become one of my favorite characters of all anime. He is right on what he told Urahara, Urahara should try to change the world. Aizen shows the limitations of stoicism, we must use our will to power.
How Aizen vs Yhwach is animated will be so important for power scaling purposes. I cannot wait.
The way Kubo went with Aizen was right. Don't make a villain an anti-hero until near the end of the story if you're going to do that at all.
Ngl, I like him better as an ally than being an enemy 😂
@@xenoemblem7 When they actually implemented him as an ally works perfectly.
@@Obi482Hr would also body Ichigo
@@Obi482Aizen was even able to use hypnotize Yhwach he definitely could do it to Ichigo
@@Obi482 Thats only bc Aizen chose for him not to be since he fused w his Zanpakto now he can put him under illusions as well
I have a theory where aizen saw the same vision ichigo and yhwach saw.
"So you've seen it" from urahara made me recall the soul king visions.
"Bankai is the opposite of shikai"
Meanwhile senbonzakura in the corner:
I have always been curious about how Aizen's Zanpakuto spirit looks like and how his inner world is.
I think he has a woman zanpakuto spirit
according to ichigo his zanpakuto was "empty"
@@itachi-kun7736 but it needs to be something, considering how they work. Or perhaps Aizen doesn't talk to his Zanpakuto beyond when is convenient for him.
It probably is a woman. The other characters with alt. gender spirits (Shunsui and Kisuke) are pretty two faced, manipulative, and sneaky characters. Only counter to this would be Kenpachi but that could be explained by his sword being influenced by the previous wielder.
I imagine his inner world being a literal void, and his Zanpakutou resembling him but more divine and authoritative - setting him on his Megalomaniac path
"Yhwach, the world that you desired to create may indeed have been devoid of fear. However, in a world without the fear of death, men could not face that fear and seek out hope. Certainly, they could keep walking onward by merely living, but that would be very different from walking onward while conquering their own fears. That is why we give the act of walking onward a special name. We call it 'courage'."
Aizen is a ionic character and antagonist. Man literally planned Bleach and told Kubo the story
10:48 Technically it was a young Kenpachi who was responsible for the pile of corpses. Unohana was in denial.
I would love to see Aizen's full backstory
His Bankai
Ukitake's Bankai
Something to do with Unohana's past.
Maybe Isshin's bankai too, and possibly the fall of his clan.
I see Aizen to be exactly like lucifer.
What about Griffith of Beserk
I'd like Aizen's backstory to have a mini arc like turn back the pendulum.
I think a better idea is that both Kisuke and Aizen glimpsed the true nature of existence during the creation of the Hokyoku, it being a fragment of the soul king.
They say the only difference between heroes and villains are that if we the readers/watchers get to know their backstories. Let's keep him the way he is, as I don't want another anti-hero.
I truly think he's a member of the unnamed noble clan. Which can explain his strong spiritual pressure and also why he knows so much about the Soul King, and the original sin
My theory has always been that he followed the soul society rules for a time but then he somehow came across soul king's truth and was disgusted
I think that'd make sense cuz he was always stating that everyone is always looking for ppl stronger and superior then them, so the soul king being abused as an object basically, which lead to him getting obsessed with getting rid of the current soul king so he can set his ideals as actually correct
I think he went with making ichigo a soul king candidate cuz he wanted another plan in case he himself couldn't replace the soul king... showing just how great Aizen's hatred towards the current state of the soul king and soul society was
Aizen has victor mentality he can't be a slave to anything
Considering that Aizen, despite not having a detailed backstory, is already seen as a bit sympathetic and seen as a anti-hero, I have two takes: 1) Kubo might as well show his backstory since the whole idea of having a purely evil villain without sympathy kind of failed, and it would explain a few things. 2) A backstory is not necessary as he is already being seen as sympathetic, and retain the mystery of the character.
However, I do like to know more of the details just before he joined the Gotei 13 to the Turn Back the Pendulum arc.
Given what Shunsui said to Aizen in CFYOW and also Aizen's progression up to this point, he may be an "ally of Ichigo Kurosaki." like the Vizards did in the FKT Arc. It will probably be in the later half of the eventual Hell Arc. He also forgave Ichigo for getting to the Royal Realm before him. Lol. xd
a few other things we can speculate:
1.from the people Aizen associated himself with, he is likely from Ryokongai background, since the Renji, Kira, Hinamori, Gin, and Tosen are all from Ryukongai, and Tosen especially was wronged by a noble.
2.that most likely makes him despite, or at least have a low opinion of the noble families, the only time he loses his composure is at his defeat by Urahara and Ichigo, both closely associated with noble families(one being a "retainer" and most likely related to the Shihoin clan, the other being Shiba clan)
which would make sense for a "lone genius going against the organized elite" theme
Mandatory This video is all part of Aizens Plan Joke
Such a great video. Tysm
Next you should do a "what if he never went evil?" If he was upfront he'd probably been cap commander allowing Yama to focus on the academy which would in turn churn out better Shinigami. Urahara would have stayed in the SS, Vaizards aren't made, white doesn't get made, Gin doesn't go badz maybe doesn't join Shinigami at all, Rangiku retains the Soul King nail, Ichigo doesn't get born (lol) Masaki marries Ryuken, so Ishida doesn't get born (lol). Orihime is probably killed by her brother (Ichigo not there to stop him, but maybe Rukia is there instead?) Tousen probably goes to jail for murder, the Quincy 2nd rebellion probably gets squashed before it happens, they'd probably be discovered (can't imagine them being to stay hidden with Urahara, Aizen, AND Mayuri working together). Kaien doesn't die, Hitsugaya is probably a Lt. or 3rd seat under Isshin, or Rangiku (who is probably stronger having not lost the nail) by the start of the shows timeline. No artificial arrancar... so much would be different.
Aizen literally made Bleach. LMAO.
I think Aizen has become a sympathetic and complex character on his own especially when Ichigo described him that he was lonely his fight against Ywach I would love to see his origin more closely
Kubo is 1000% correct on his reasoning for serving up a backstory for Aizen, and I hope he never does; it's not needed, we don't need to sympathize with him as is and it would undermine the hell out of his character like that of Jiren in DBS and Wolverine in the X-Men.
I think he doesn't need a backstory because it will contain a mountain of backwards writing, it could turn out well, like a real personality of Zangetsu, however his past can be expanded upon without flashbacks, through his actions in the Anime, if they want to add something!
He finds the idea of someone being superior to him disgusting and just unacceptable because they don’t plan to better themselfs but just sit with their power doing nothing but look down on everyone
Aizen asked a really good question: Why doesn't Urahara take action about it?
As they both know the truth to a comparable degree, why is Urahara okay with things?
Urahara is not a bad person. Just someone that understand the world and prefers the status qou to the alternatives. What could that alternative be?
Honestly the very fact that Aizen doesn't really have a in depth backstory is what makes him great I think leaving it up to peoples interpretation on what led eyes into the path that he went on is what makes him in an interesting character. If you really pay attention everything about Aizen's dialogue says a lot more about his character than some subpar backstory ever could.
When it comes to giving a backstory or leaving it a mystery, either way can work as long as it is done right. More often than not in my opinion, it is not what you do, but how you do it that counts. I have my issues with quite a few of Kubo's writing choices he made over the run of Bleach but I think the way he chose to approach leaving Aizen's backstory a mystery worked quite well.
One thing I wished you had talked about was when Ichigo mentioned after their final clash in the Deicide arc he sensed an overwhelming sense of "loneliness" from Aizen. Ichigo theorized that his entire life, Aizen was always so much stronger than anyone else around him and that it ultimately left him completely and utterly unable to connect with anyone. Take Aizen's truly immense power even before he fused with the Hogyoku, add in his undeniably brilliant mind, and mix in complete and total social isolation...I do not have a degree in psychology but that sounds like a recipe for someone to develop a god complex and sociopathic tendencies if ever there was one, especially if it goes all the way back to their child hood. Throw in learning about the Soul King and that would believably only make things worse.
If Ichigo's observation is accurate which I tend to believe it is. I think it offers some real interesting potential insight into his relationships with Shinji and Hitsugaya. Shinji, like Aizen I feel has a rather twisted soul at the end of the day given the way he grins, the way he conducts himself, and of course there is his Zanpaktou. Think about Shinji's shikai and bankai and ask "what kind of soul births a zanpakatou like that?". I suspect that it was this similarity that allowed Shinji to realize that something about Aizen was not right even before other characters of similar or even greater intellect like Kyouraku and Kisuke realized something was wrong. Granted this perhaps a bit speculative on my part.
Hitsugaya like Aizen, from an early age had an immense amount of power far beyond what most people could even dream of and it created problems with their ability to form connections with others. Though it got undermined a lot by some of the writing choices Kubo made, it is worth noting that even by Captain standards, Hitsugaya is incredibly powerful. In terms of raw stats I would say by the end of the series his only competition in the Gotei 13 would be Byakuya, Kenpachi, and Kyoraku. Granted I still think Mayuri would have a very real chance of winning a one on one fight, keep mind I am talking about raw stats here. Honestly, if Kubo came out and said that one of the end of series Captains would eventually surpass Yamamoto and/or Aizen, Hitsugaya is the one I would put my money on. And this for a character who is still ridiculously young by shinigami standards.
The key difference between these two men and Aizen, appears to be that they were able to form some meaningful connections with other people which helped to ground them emotionally. This to me seems to suggest that Aizen resents them both which is why he always went the extra mile to hurt them emotionally. If you look at Aizen's actions against Shinji and Hitsugaya from a purely strategic standpoint, a lot of his actions do not make any sense in my opinion. For example rubbing in Shinji's face how his suspicion of Aizen actually worked perfectly in furthering Aizen's plans and manipulating Hitsguya into stabbing Hinamori among other actions were completely unnecessary. In the Soul Society arc he also pointed Hitsugaya's to be suspicions towards Gin and gave him a reason to try to stop Rukia's execution which would undermine his plans had he succeed.
None of these actions were necessary given his sheer power and abilities, and in the case of his manipulations of Hitsugaya during the Soul Sociey arc, it could have very easily have backfired on him. I know some people would argue that the reason he tricked Hitsugaya into stabbing HInamori was to make the former lose control of his emotions and create an opening, to which I would argue he could have won that fight a lot quicker by simply having them go after an illusion of himself and cutting them down from behind given just how ridiculously powerful he is and how broken his shikai is. His actions against them reek of a level of sadism he just never seemed to demonstrate against any other characters including ones who were objectively more of a threat to his plans like Kyoraku and Yamamoto. But if it was motivated by jealousy of them for being able to connect to others which Aizen was never able to do, it suddenly starts making a lot more sense.
In short my suspicion is that with, or without learning about the Soul King and the Soul Society's original sin, Aizen still would have had his god complex and his sociopathic tendencies. I think learning of it simply made the problems worse and gave him a goal to focus his efforts towards.
Aizen is born with great Spiritual Pressure from a young age and intellect that is only inferior to Urohara. My take is Aizen despite his impressive talent and intelligence he couldn't find anyone that can rival his immense power and after finding out the Original Sin done by the five Nobel families and the annihilation of the Quincies done by the Original 13 Court Guards, he decided to overthrow the Soul Society and be against the authority of Central 46 hence Yhwach deems Aizen a threat to his plans to destroy reality.
Aizen has mastered high level Kido without incantations and his zanpakuto creates illusions and hypnosis on his victims that affects them permanently. He's a master strategist and creates contingency plans should plan A fails. He is one of two Soul Reapers to create the Hogyoku to create a Soul Reaper Hollow hybrid though it was deemed a failure a century ago but once he got Urahara's Hogyoku he managed to create the Espadas and fused with it in his body. His plan was to destroy Karakura Town to create the Ouken to overthrow the Soul King and rid the Soul Reapers once and for all but he miscalculated about Ichigo and his power that even surpasses his own that Ichigo became a god. Though after surviving Ichigo's attack and was about to get sealed, Aizen lost it after Urahara knew about the Original Sin and opted to accept reality as it is claiming he didn't want to be ruled by the Soul King and those who accepts reality are losers.
I'm glad Aizen isn't much of a sympathetic villain as Kubo intended but he isn't the true villain of Bleach unlike Ichibe and the Nobel families and the Original 13 Court Guards who are actual criminals. Aizen is one charismatic villain in fiction alongside Madara Uchiha, Dio Brando, Ozai, Frieza, Bakura and Thanos.
Aizen's shikai power is so insanely high that he doesn't need a bankai, so I think he either doesn't have a bankai at all or has a bankai so freaking powerful that he's afraid to use it himself.
Could also be that his shikai just had the more convenient ability to suit his needs. Like how shinjs shikai is more effective 1v1. I’m sure there’s likely a power boost as it’s still a bankai, but maybe it’s more power and less ability?
Aizen's bankai is to litterally reveal to all of the bleach character that they are infact, not real
@@kazukimisaki2312 honestly if anyone were to have some fourth wall breaking bullshit it would be aizen lol
@@epiphanyrun5865 Technically Ichibe kind of already breaks the fourth wall, he can blot out speech bubbles.
@@Nekogami04 that’s a good point. I guess he’s already close.
anyone would be a great strategist if they have that god awful cheat code of a power. Hes practically a walking plot device cause he can manipulate reality and people still give him credit for being smart.
I mean I don't think it would be bad to have Aizen's background revealed even if it makes us side with him, especially if the Soul Society is evil behind the scenes as it has suggested, I mean this would be a greater twist, especially for Ichigo has he has lived a good amount of his life now protecting the Soul Society and it's interests and maybe this changes Ichigo in some way, not that I would necessarily like that aspect but it would be a good twist in the story if this happens to be the result of Aizen's background being revealed.
I think it's better to give just enough information to drive fan theories than to spoon feed Aizen's backstory. It's one of the reasons his character in particular is so interesting. Just my take. Thanks for the analysis, as always!
Considering his power, intellect, and knowledge of the soul king, what if Aizen is a noble? Of the lesser houses, or maybe his family served one of the main clans, such as the missing 5th one?
Hey DBZimran!I just watched your video about the soul king, I thought to myself "Ok,in bleach,there are five members of the zero division and there used to be five great noble families who mutilated the soul king,right?So,could it be possible the zero division members are the descendants of the five families that captured and made the soul king suffer a life of eternal slavery and humiliation "? It's quite sad and tragic when you think about it.😭😭😭
If Aizen were to have a character arc and were to acquire his "wants", then he would also have to learn the bitter tragedy that "what he wants" is not "what he needs". And if he has a grotesque desire to become godlike, then we need to look at "what happened to him", not "his world view" to understand it.
So, how do we break this down?
In the Bleach universe, if you were to become godlike, you would become isolated in a dimension or state where none could interact with you anymore or realize your existence. In other words, your tragedy would be loneliness and a complete lack of recognition. The opposite of this is then typically what he would "need".
What makes Aizen, the antagonist, different from Ichigo is that Ichigo has been surrounded by friends and caretakers since he was a child, and has always been naturally stronger than his peers since he was a teenager.
Then we have hints from the earliest chapters, of what happens when a soul carries over to Soul Society. Namely, that a soul that has carried over cannot find family members or friends, and must wander the Rukongai alone. Furthermore, we learn from the earliest chapters that you become hungry if you have reiatsu, and can possibly even die if you can't find anything to eat. We have also learned that none of the five (four) royal families tried to help, and that few if anyone from the Seiretei tried to help (Matsumoto is perhaps one of very few).
Then there's the additional content that we know nothing about, such as the possibility of Aizen perhaps getting to know someone, and possibly losing them. Was it to hunger? Was it to a shinigami or royal? During this period of unknown events, did Aizen learn how to manipulate people to get what he wants, yet ultimately fail in his pursuit to help his dying friend (or something else in this regard perhaps), because he believe that he didn't do enough? Did Aizen manipulate his way into the Seiretei so that he didn't have to go hungry in the end? And then finally, did he eventually stumble upon the dreadful secrets of Soul Society that only carved his cynical understanding of the world in stone?
Aizen stated he knew about Uraharas Hogyoku from the start as he had reached the same conclussion, or something close to it.
When we think out of border, then it seems pretty clear why he doesn't want to reveal the past of Aizen. He doesn't want it to affect himself. It's a clever decision from Kubo sensei =P
I doubt Urahara learned from the Shihouin clan since Yoruichi herself said she didn't knew much about Reio
maybe it's because of how carefree she is but in the past she was a bit more responsible and should have been taught these things if not when she was being raised then after she became head of her clan
Honestly i think knowing very little of aizen helps keep the alure of his character and whatever backstory we due get could just be a deception by him to manipulate the situation to his benefit. Its a joker scenario the less we know the more we get imagine what it could be. This said the idea that his bankai cant reveal hidden truths fits the theming of deception for itself is the tangible manipulation to facts and truths into lies and vice versa.
Excellent video recap
I always thought and believed that it was probably Tokinada that told Aizen about the soul king, probably just to see his reaction and probably didn't intend for all the madness that follows, though I doubt he didn't enjoy all the chaos and mayhem that Aizen eventually caused.
Given Tokinada was absolutely giddy about seeing humans and Spirits clash in chaotic warfare and was especially eager to see human military technology in action in that context, he would've certainly told Aizen with that intent.
@@manuelacosta9463 Probably did, that bastard is considered pure evil for a reason, not the fun or hammy kind, a genuine vile person.
Revisiting Aizen's motivations his beef seems to be a lot more with Ichibe than the Soul King. Ichibe is the one calling the shots and uses The Soul King to justify his power in the same way religion has been used as justification to conquer and rule over history. If Aizen overthrew the Soul King he would have to become the lynchpin of reality, which doesn't suit him. It would be interesting to see Ichibe and Aizen interact with each other. If they end up clashing in the Hell Arc that would be epic.
The nobles basically made the soul king who once lived into idol corpse to be praised and worshiped by the ignorant masses who never knew the truth.
Good reference to niezsche kubo!
Is it any wonder why Aizen became this way?
Honestly you can have a sympathetic backstory for a villain or antagonistic character just don’t make it overshadow their evilness. Also it’s better that kubo didn’t give us a backstory for aizen since it’s better if we just guess with the limited amount of information we have.
Just like the joker.
I love this man
You pumping out aizen stuff is pure ecstasy ❤
So basically Kubo didn't want to do a pre version Demon Slayer with the sympathy background
I'm already on Aizen's side, because even though he admits himself that he needed Tosen to be his beacon of justice that would distinguish right and wrong (because those things are below him LOL) Aizen never actually killed anyone other than the corrupt Central 46. If he could have done it I bet he would have taken the throne through negotiation rather than treason. He had ample opportunity to kill captains and lieutenants alike (he grievously wounded Momo twice, but as some have pointed out that's likely him forcing her to stop being reliant on him in a very hyperbolic way because he values free spirits) and yet he never did, moreover CONVEINENTLY they always escaped with harsh injuries, but never dead. Kubo's no stranger to killing characters, and Aizen even says its harder to not kill them than it is to leave them alive, likening soul society to ants. Imagine the secrets he knew about the people of the soul society that he never relented. His information networks ran deep, he certainly used an individual weakness to help in battle, but after his reveal even he never revealed secrets out of malice. His words to Toshiro about what it means to have a birthday, while he was a deceptive captain, seem to ring true about himself or rather something he longed for after we learn of his crushing loneliness. I don't think Aizen is a villain at all. There's evidence enough that he was doing what he had to. Though, he does have a sadistic streak its nowhere near as bad as Tokinada or even some of the other captains.
Honestly i dont think making a backstory for him would make much of a difference in terms of community sympathy. I dont think Aizen is the kind of person to have some cheesy victim backstory, he seems to be naturally gifted and powerful. I would love to see a backstory for him, especially about when, where and how exactly he figured out about the Original Sin and Soul King.
I dont think that we need the backstory on every twig, and over explanation can really kill a series and its mystery, but explaining more about Aizen a little more wouldnt really kill anything for me, and shouldnt make anyone feel more sympathetic for Aizen, barring some curveball out of left field like "Aizen was a slave to the 5th, unrevealed noble house, and figured out bits and pieces about the Original Sin by sneaking into the library" or something.
Exactly what I was thinking too
Ugh, he's my favorite. Great work, DBZImran🎉❤😊
What we seem to know is that Aizen was a lot like Hitsugaya, except he had no Granny nor Momo to truly connect with him and humanize him. Hence, he developed a god complex and a deep loneliness, which was only intensified when he somehow learned the truth about the Soul King and about the existence of transcendent beings.
EDIT: I am against a detailed backstory for Aizen specifically because his past is part of the mystery and deceptiveness inherent to the character.
Aizen is my favorite anime villain of all time, so while I want to know his back story, (much like George Lucas with the name of Yoda's species) I'm glad Kubo is keeping it a mystery.
I freakin love Aizen videos.
Well considering how messed up soul society is and especially how evil ichibei looks (for a moment I was almost rooting for yuha to kill the bastard) I do think that maybe to much backstory for Aizen could make more difficult for us to side with the SS
Aizen reminds me as a Lucifer type figure
I think in case with Aizen not knowing details of his backstory makes him more interesting.
Villains aren’t born, they’re made - we need more of a background insight into Aizen
If it wasn’t for Aizen I honestly wouldn’t have even finished Bleach bro so damm cold 🥶.
Now that we know that the zero division each can shake reality with the release of their full power I want to know just how Aizen stacks up considering he would have had to take them all on by himself if Ichigo didn't stop him. I don't expect us to get an Aizen bankai reveal because canonically he transcended the use of a Zanpakuto and merged with it but I do want to see him actually get flushed out what his full power looks like in the Anime.
Aizen literally saw the face of god and wept!
I think we are gonna see more of Aizen motivation in cour 3 or 4. Not only about Soul King
The pile of body's was not from Unahana but from Kenpachi
i already felt sympathy when he lost to ichigo and started yelling at urahara. both aizen and yhwach we're right for wanting to free the soul king of his torture. aizen wanted to be ruler and yhwach wanted the orginal choas that was meant to be. neither are wrong for it. so yah too late for not feeling sympathy...
His goals were justified, and to some degree, even noble, because he despised lies and hypocrisy and wanted to do something about them. But at the end of the day, it is still driven by selfish ambition. Personally, I would feel and think the same way as he does if I learned that the people I pledged my life to were nothing more than puppets themselves that lowered themselves to the level of their subjucators given their potential. But the means doesn't always justify the ends. But I can see why he did what he did, because looking at the Soul Society as an organization, there was simply no other way this would've been done and somebody had to do it if someone had strongly felt the need to send a message.
I don't think Kubo will ever reveal Aizen's past, or confirm his real motives, unless he decides to kill his immortal character.
Aizen is an incredible character. Cool video. I used to hate him as a kid, but now he just seems really nuanced to me. A mystery behind his glasses and even during his time ruling in Hueco Mundo. But there are some really interesting truths behind his goals.
I like how both aizen and yhwach both were saving the soul king somewhat but also at the same time they're not
I like to think his Bankai would let him change the present, the same way The Almighty can choose the future and Book of the End can edit/retcon the past. It might also be interesting if he spent some time as a living Fullbringer. I've also been wondering if Quincies and Fullbringers might be related (both have ties to the Soul King; Fullbringers are born when their mom gets attacked by a Hollow and survives, which would be more likely if they were part of a Quincy team sent to fight the Hollow; Quincies seem to have a treatment for Hollow wounds, but it's still a big deal if an Echt Quincy were to be hurt by a Hollow, and their children all being Fullbringers might explain that).
Depending on how old he is, he might've been around 1,000 years ago & survived the first Quincy invasion. I'm also thinking he (and others) might've been brought to the Royal Palace to seek out potential Soul King candidates, though his comment about not being able to get there seems to put that one out. Who knows, maybe he's secretly an ancient being from the era before the Soul King & he knows the truth because he was there?
Do any of U think that the release of Aizen apart from being Shunsui's decision was slightly influenced by hogyoku which granted the will of Aizen to get released????
Nah it wasn't hogyoku
Dude do you know this thing called "emergency state" and "lack of army" ?
@@That_One_Guy... Why are u getting offended??
I wrote apart from shunsui's decision
@@Aizy15 offended ? What ? I'm just baffled by your stupid Aizen dickriding, we get it Aizen cool but not everything is his plan (or Hogyoku's for that matter)
@@Aizy15 if u legit in your small mind though it's Aizen's plan, why would he voluntarily go back to Muken after the battle with Yhwach.
Then kubo failed if he didn't want us to feel bad for the villain because he told us why yha is attacking the soul reapers. It makes the soul reapers look like the true villains, and it makes you understand why aizen was against them aswell.
Aizen had to have met Squad 0 to have known about the Ouhken, and even begin preparations.
When I watched the first appearance of Aizen, I called him "Captain Hunkcicle," which is silly. He even had me fooled.
Let's imagine, Aizen won against Ichigo and could travel to the Soul Palace. We saw a proper fight of the Zero Squad now, how could it possible for him to beat even one of the Zero Squad guys?! I mean what was his plan up there to get rid of the Zero Squad?!
I still secretly hope that Aizen will stand next to Yhwach revealing that he is his Bankai. Every single Quincy was his Bankai and he can manipulate the past.
Aizen read Superman comics so he got glasses like Clark Kent.
After getting to know Ichibe, Aizen isn't looking to bad tbh, ngl
In the flash back a squad member under Unohana assumed it was her doing, but the pile of corpses was actually the doing of a young Zaraki*
Saying Aizen knew and Urahara knew... Do you want us to assume that the members of the great families didn't know? Yoruichi didn't know?
i think aizen was origanally in the soul palace due to his immersive reatsu and talen which had ichibe intrested in him and knew his plan to replace himself with the soul king ichibe used ichomonji to make him forgot the he was in the royal palace then ichibe cast him out to the soul society and maybe there is a small potenial the aizen was ichibe student due his intellgence and his reatsu
Imagine if they show Aizen’s bankai in the anime.
LAWD HAMMERCY 😩😩😩🔥🔥🔥
When did you first believe you weren't already seeing Aizen's bankai?
Bleach IS Aizen's bankai.
Everyone here has seen it, and we're still under it's effect.
More than future arcs, Bleach urgently needs more story revealing the past of SS including those events happening behind the curtain.
Basically, Aizen found out the Soul king was a glorified, multi-realm binding paperweight of a being and thought he could do better, unbound. Legit not how things work anymore sadly.
your art is nice the ichigo shoukkaku fits well
Aizan Sama Deserve Solo Series or Movies anime ......
Just imagine if Aizen's Bankai being Tsukuyomi and affects everyone within a certain radius. 😶
Kubo was planning the Soul King to be last baddy but something happened
I like how he talked about the backstory and the backstory and the backstory may be connected with the novels and the backstory without really explaining anything indepth for like 15 mins lmao