While not Earth-shattering, I think Aizen pulling Kyoka Suigetsu on Yhwach Bach during the TYBW was a great twist. It was a really great moment for Aizen and perfectly showcases how powerful he is that he can deceive even Yhwach.
I was actually very disappointed by this twist, because it felt to me that Yhwach acted frivolous. You know - or at least you should assume -h that Kyouka Suigetsu's illusion is absolute, there's no way to not fall for it. The first thing you do after invading Soul Society is rush to Aizen and either get him on your side or seal his powers to the max. Kyouka Suigetsu is literally the only thing that can stop you, so you should minimize the risk of Aizen using it. This twist felt like a bad magic trick - if you can only find one way to do the trick, that's how it's done and whole mystery's gone. The only thing that could stop Yhwach was Kyouka Suigetsu, the thing that stopped him was Kyouka Suigetsu, the whole tension and anticipation is gone now. It was a great moment for Aizen, though.
@@patrykkarcz7859 it is not absolute, yhwach did try to get aizen on his side, he managed to injure aizen anyway when they fought, and aizen couldn't defeat him by himself. also, by the end the only thing that could stop yhwach was the arrow and technically himself, not kyuoka suigetsu.
@@patrykkarcz7859I wasn't disappointed but I do agree it was frivolous. Another example of yhwach underestimating his opponents jus like the 1st time he invDed the soul society. He obvious considered that Aizen would be a problem whether it was by teaming with soul society or by himself. He labeled him a 5 war power and so the moment he realized he couldn't recruit him he should of killed him on the spot. Like why leave him alive if u thought he was strong enough that he'd eventually become a major enemy? Major oversight that played a huge role in his defeAt
Yeah man, that was really one transcended manga and challenges some of the best literature. I could easily see reading this more detailed in a 900 page novel.
Honestly I agree with Tom’s #1 choice. I went into Bleach completely blind so when Aizen was revealed to be alive and the bad guy completely blew me away. Ever since then I’ve never had a plot twist blow me away like that did
I am same as you😂 I also went into Bleach completely blind without searching anything on internet or reviews or spoilers nothing!! And man that plot twist was like: Tf😳💀
Sasakibe and Ikkaku having Bankai was nice. Yoruichi being female. Visored being former Captains and VCs Urahara being a former Captain Ichigo turning full Hollow vs Ulquiorra Juha being SK son Truth about SK in general Lilynette being Starrks Zanpaktou Yachiru being Zaraki's Zanpaktou
The manga is what people should be looking into when going into Bleach because it handles the series better than the anime is just writing in general. Excluding most of TYBW like some things in the second invasion. Hopefully the anime fixes a lot of things bc Kubo was rushed in the manga
Gin largley took me by surprise. It wasn't because he betrayed Aizen, but his motives did surprise me. Kubo did a great job with making Gin seem like a very snakey character. Someone you could never trust, not for either side. Sort of like Orochimaru from Naruto. So his true motives did surprise me. I also saw a lot of paralels to Snape from Harry Potter.
Agreed. While the actual act of betrayal wasn't a big shock, the means (a shonen character lying about their abilities?!) and the motives (because of the woman he loved) were definitely unexpected.
I liked the Isshin reveal. It does open to the concept of how many Shinigami exiles there are in the Bleach universe and how they adjusted in the human world after leaving a life of rigid service until 'death'. The culture shock must be something before acceptance and settling in occurs.
I thought Ulquiorra being revealed as the fourth Espada was one of the biggest gut punches of the series. The fact that he was held in higher regard than most of the other Espada by Aizen and his enormous power made me assume he was at least the Segunda. My stomach dropped when he pulled Zangetsu away to reveal that "4" on his chest.
I thought he was 2nd. But yeah, to have 3 others more powerful then himself was an awesome reveal. Oddly enough, having the 10th guy change it to 0 I thought was a stupid reveal. Especially since he didn’t really do anything after the reveal.
@@chrisblanc663 Yammy was a joke from the very beginning. I almost wonder of Aizen only told him that the Espada were ranked 0 to 9 just to troll him. Seems like an Aizen thing to do.
@@Joe1887 that is now part of my head cannon. His power up makes him more powerful, but like, 9th or so. I can imagine uqiuora slapping his forehead as Aizen tells Yammy he’s a 0.
I know it's not a plot twist because Aizen has literally told Ichigo he knew about him since he was born but that backstory to him actually knowing about Ichigo since he was born was sooo insane to me, like when he was saying all that to Ichigo during their fight I thought he was just playing mind games, not that he actually had eyes on Ichigo since day one, that was such a huge revelation to me becase I wasn't taking him seriously enough lol Also finding out Ichigo's zanpakuto was incomplete since it didn't have a sheath was also shocking to me becase I always wondered why the hell he was the only one wrapping his sword in bandages lmao. Amazing video btw, loved it!
Aizen was 100% truthful if dickish to Ichigo kind of like how White aka mr I am Zangetsu and this is what you need to beat me and it is great that is kinda a constant thing that Ichigo enemies are more truthful than his allies even more so the you are the son of a Shinigami and a... from Azien and Ichigo goes Human and Shinigami
My biggest wtf moment was the yhwach/zangetsu reveal,the thought that one of the most beloved characters was the most ruthless villian was mind blowing
Personally I think the reveal of Ulquiorra as the 4th Espada was one of the most shocking plot twists in Bleach for me. I had seen him as the sort of end boss of Hueco Mundo, the last step before Aizen, and then when he revealed that there were 3 Espada above him I was entirely shocked. Definitely top 5 for me
Funny thing is, Ulquiorra 2nd form is probably more powerful than Halibel because she was literally having trouble against Toshiro. I honestly think if Ulquiorra wanted, he could be top 2
@@micah459 You are underestamating Yoshiro. He is a literal Genious to have the Potential to Reach Yamamoto in Power. And he did not really defeat Halibel, Aizen finished her off.
I think you're right about the Aizen twist. I remember talking to someone and mentioned I was watching Bleach as it just started airing on Toonami. They said something about Aizen and I said I didn't remember but in the back of my mind I was thinking, didn't he die early on? I just thought I didn't remember his name right so when I finally got to the reveal, I was surprised.
Something similar happened to me; a friend of mine was into Bleach before I was, and mentioned in passing one time that Aizen was a jerk. After I started watching Bleach and meeting Aizen, I was suspicious of him, but it was hard when he seemed so nice; I started thinking that maybe he just had a rougher side to him. Then came his brutal "murder," and I thought to myself, "...Okay, maybe he'll be revealed to be a jerk in a flashback or something." Then came the plot twist... I later told my friend that her calling Aizen a "jerk" was the understatement of the century.
The first time I read Bleach way back in High School I was absolutely floored when Byakuya revealed that he was married to Rukia's sister. That whole scene completely re-contextualized his character and sets the stage for so much development moving forward. It's still one of my favorite moments.
Truth. Him marrying a commoner out of true love caused him plenty of negative grief from the rest of his family, no wonder he became cold and harsh after her death. Good on Ichigo helping him see the light again in a way.
I was almost shocked that you didn't include my number 1, only to moments later find out, it was your number 1 as well. Man, I still remember the days when we were convinced Gin was the main antagonist. The ridiculous twist-train from "Wait, Aizen's alive?" to "Holy crap, Aizen is the scariest mofo on the planet." was unforgettable.
Not a big plot twist, more of a moment, but I will always be absolutely in love with the scene when Juha appears in the middle of the sky, right above some gotei red shirts, as they were talking about how they are safe because it's impossible for the Quincy to enter Soul Society, and the very next panel has Juha floating so nonchalant, as he says "oh, I see, that is a good point!" MY MAN BROKE THEIR SPIRIT WITH WORDS ALONE!
Regarding Ichigo's parentage: when reading the manga, I remember figuring that something was up in the chapters where Ichigo found out his dad was a Shinigami. At the end of one chapter, Aizen was telling Ichigo that "you've always been part shinigami and part..." when Isshin appeared, interrupting the explanation. The beginning of the next chapter had Ichigo thinking about Aizen's words, but he remembered/heard them as "you've always been part human and part..." It may have been a translation error, but the way it seemed to me at the time was that it was a deliberate hint that there was even more at play regarding Ichigo. Also, am I the only one who took the inner hollow's repeated "I am Zangetsu" literally? The old man being Yhwach was a huge twist, definitely shocked me, but the second the inner hollow started being an expert with the Zanpakuto and screaming "I'm you, I'm Zangetsu, I'm your power" I went "yep, makes sense." I just always figured that, as Ichigo eventually decided, ultimately both were Zangetsu
I was in denial with aizen. I though he was being controlled. It felt so surreal because he had no malice. The Ulquiorra was a gut punch because Ulquiorra was so strong.
With Bleach being such a long running series, I think a lot of things that are plot twists during your first read or watch are taken for granted afterwards. We always knew that the Visored were some sort of rogue shinigami, but seeing that they were captains and lieutenants blew my mind on the first watch. And today it is just kind of common knowledge
Think you forgot a very important one: the plot twist in soul society that Yoruichi was not only a male cat, but a human woman who used to be captain of the 2nd division
I started Bleach about a year ago, knowing basically nothing. I knew bankai was a thing, certain character names and some of their looks. I knew about Sosuke Aizen being the main villain but knowing nothing of his powers, how he became a villain, and I've only seen him with his swooped hair. That reveal of him being a villain still hit me, especially when I knew nothing about Gin and I thought he was kind of the big mastermind guy. I was still so blown away by this reveal. Another reveal that wasn't mentioned that I LOVED was the truth about the visoreds. Basically that whole turn back the pendulum section. It honestly was perfect
I loved Unohana twist, it was mind blowing. I remember laughing and gasping at the same time! But of course Aizen was just on another level. That twist and Aizen as a character set my standards so high that I'm rarely satisfied with villains or plot twists!!
Ya that Aizen reveal is what made many of us OG bleach fans, hard core bleach fans. When you think about plot twist, that's the twist of twist. its the Darth Vader father movement of anime. Sad part is new fans will totally miss that experience. As every one and their grandma knows Aizen is a bad guy.
I'm so glad I never had the Aizen villain twist Spoiled for me when I got into Bleach - that what such a huge part of what elevated the Soul Society arc from awesome to being my favorite Shonen arc ever.
I was convinced, when TYBW was coming out weekly, that Aizen was going to turn around and be the final final final antagonist again. Had a theory that Yhwach was Aizen's bankai lol
I read all of bleach a bit before March break of this year and the only twist I was really aware of was the Aizen one. Your channel has really helped explain this series for me once I finished it. Thanks for the great content.
Can I just say, because I haven't seen it mentioned, the editing quality on these videos has increased substantially! I noticed a potential new camera, new mic, cuts?? You're by far eloquent enough to do an entire video uncut for the most part as you have in the past but I was shocked when I started this video! Phenomenal job as always.
For me, one of the most shocking thing was finding out "what" the soul king actually was. I already thought it wasn't a regular "person" when Aizen referred to it as "that thing", but finding out it was just a seemingly inert man locked up in a crystal with his members stripped off, I was like "Ohhh so that's what Aizen was talking about" Not really a twist per se, but shocking nonetheless.
I think the main reason people thought the Unohana thing came out of nowhere is purely because of the anime fillers. The fillers didn't get the hint that Unohana was supposed to be scary until he 2nd filler arc and even then they only played on it as a gag, and other scenes of her portray her as the typical overly compassionate medic. But if you cut the filler out then the series is consistent about her being an intimidating person so the twist shouldn't feel so out of place for her.
The whole video I'm like HE HAS TO MENTION YORUICHI'S TRUE FORM as a major surprise...And u squeezed it in at the very end so I didn't have to complain lmaoooo. Great video
See my feeling with the Unohana reveal was less surprising for me and more vindication. I had always felt there was some secret to Unohana. Lije why was everyone scared of her when she got serious. So I eventually came to the conclusion she was a previous Kenoachi. That she was the first was insane though.
While the Aizen twist is so iconic and the time I experienced it I had no idea of it, I'd still put it in second place. Old man Zangetsu not actually being Ichigo's zanpakuto spirit had way more emotional impact for me. It was all there but you only get all the piece until the final arc, I felt shocked and betrayed. But then you see the old man never lied about caring and wanting to protect Ichigo so I get sad when I see him step down so Ichigp can become more powerful. I even love the resolution of Ichigo accepting him as a second Zangetsu, it's very in character for him to let this be water under the bridge want him to still be accompanying him in his battles. I just love Ichigo's bond with both of his swords in different ways.
I think a great plot twist for me was that Yachiru was Kenpachi's zanpakuto. Where we all thought that he just simply had a nameless sword only to find out that it was his own lieutenant.
Have to be honest... I often wonder how you're gonna keep making interesting videos. But it doesn't seem like you're gonna be running out of fun ideas anytime soon. Never would've predicted I would enjoy this video as much as I did. Keep up the good work man 👏🏽😎
I have to agree with no.1. Even though I was reading Bleach back then watching this arc animated made it even better. It also helped differentiate between the Shonen's big three and probably the reason why it was soo popular at the time.
I know your channel is focused on bleach and i love it so much bc it was the first anime i ever saw as a kid. Seeing you go into this level of detail is so refreshing, educating and entertaining. Have you read Jujutsu Kaisen? I think that w your analytical skills you would thoroughly enjoy Gege’s stories
The captains arriving in HM was also great even if a bit predictable in hindsight.. I never was more hyped by a surprise last minute save in anime then when Kenpachi blocked Tesla's finishing blow to Ichigo.
With your third honourable mention, it did give a good expectation of the Espada's strength especially when you remember Toshiro's explanations of the Meno Grande. He states how powerful Vasto Lorde levels are and how dangerous it could be if Aizen had ten of them as his Espadas. I think only Ulquiorra really lived up to that expectation. Barragan felt weak as he relied almost exclusively on his Respira move, Stark held his own for a good while but his defeat felt a little Deus ex machine. Only Halibel held her own until she got Aizen'd.
We have to remember Barragan didn't care for Aizen or his motives & he was basically trying to pull a "Gin move" but he failed since he was defeated be his own powers. Starrk seemed loyal to Aizen but he wasn't really a serious fighter which was his downfall but at least he held his own against 4 Captains. Halibel seemed like she was also holding back but at the same time she was facing someone who can basically negate her attacks so she pretty much had to "stall" Toshiro out so she can win against him, Hiyori & Lisa. That being said I think the fights were fair. Yeah maybe Segunda Etapa Ulquiorra was stronger than everyone else but at the same time Ulquiorra was only fighting (destroying) Ichigo while the Espada were going against the rest of the Gotei 13.
@@JxFTW It does show how writing can affect things. In the Spirit are forever with you novel, Shunsui stated that he possibly could defeat a Vasto Lorde but lose to a Gillian. It all depends on the day.
Personally, I do like the whole Espada going from 0-9 cuz it just makes more sense. Doesn't mean I like that Yammy was supposed to be Espada nr. 0 when it's clear that Ulquiorra, Starkk and Barragan is way stronger then him. It also creates a bit of an inconsistency when it comes to how the Arrancar with two digit numbers are ranked after their order of birth/creation. We are led to believe that Showlong, who is Arrancar nr. 11, is the first one created by Aizen, but if Yammy is nr. 10, doesn't that mean he is actually the first? This is really confusing. I personally think Kudo should have waited with revealing some of the Espada numbers until later and not made Yammy nr. 10, but maybe 8 or 5, and maybe had someone who makes more sense be Espada nr. 0.
Of course Starrk lived up to Ulquiorra’s plot twist, he took on 4 Captain Level fighters with just Lilynette on his side. Halibel took on the ladies and Toshiro which was also more than 2 people one being a Captain and Barragan couldn’t be beat without turning his power against him so yes all 3 lived up to the hype.
@@diamonshade7484 Yammy had a pretty terrible personality but the fact that Zaraki and Byakuya, Who are known to have a lot of wins in battles, needed to work together was pretty telling of how powerful he is
Very nice list, Aizen as the villain was absolutely insane compared to who he was built up as. Although Isshins reveal as a captain was the most insane thing to me ever. What an absolute bombshell, and for him to be strong enough still after all that time to compare to Aizen for he was upgraded. Plus I'm not sure if it was in the manga but the anime has a line when Isshin is talking to Kon and he tells him I've always known when it was you and not ichigo because he sensed his pressure, such a nice little piece showing this guy we thought was a idiot was one of the biggest badasses of the series.
I think for me it was ichigo in the manga being utterly crushed emotionally when zangetsu told him he wasn't zangetsu and that it was ichigos hollow that protected him all that time
With Ichigos zanpakto situation, when think about it there were some hints during the soul society arc when Hollow Ichigo said train him well and I also have an theory about Aizen which essentially goes that he might’ve foresaw that the Quincey’s will invade Soul Society but no one listened to him so he done what he did in order to try and be the necessary evil to try and prevent it from happening
As to Yammy - the fanbase absolutely saw it coming during serialization. Yammy being Espada 0 was a longstanding meme on a number of anime forums throughout the entirety of the arc up to that point, and when it turned out to be true, it was hilarious.
#1 is the reason why I enjoyed him losing his cool at the end of series (anime). Throughout all the arcs starting from the Soul Society arc, Aizen was alway portrayed as calm, collected, and cold with, course, some form of god complex. It was so satisfying to final see him lose it and lose at very end.
I think this is one of your best videos, highlights how Bleach is one of the, if not, the best manga/anime of all time. Also, as a massive 40k and Bleach fan, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the 8th ed AdMech codex and 9th ed Necrons codex. Any chance we can see some of those minis?
I think there was a panel during the time when Urahara was training Ichigo to get his powers back after Byakuya almost killed him, where Zangetsu appears before Ichigo and said my name is ______. The name was covered in black ink, but we wouldn’t have known at the time that it was Ichibe preventing Ichigo from knowing that his “zanpakuto spirit” is Yhwach.
I remember watching bleach for the first time in 2012. My first thought about isshin after the reveal of kenpachi was “yep, definitely a former captain, I’m 100% sure that’s how he could survive falling out of a window daily”.
Aizen's betrayal was gold af. But one that I liked was wonderweis purpose since one of the earlier chapters in bleach when he was born was to block yamamoto genryusais zanpakuto.
I laughed when I found out Ichigo was a quincy because it was so true to being a Shonen. Kubo should have leaned into it and made him a Bount just for that arc lol
A plot twist that most people seem to disregard or just forget/not pay much attention to is when Starrk reveals that he is the Primera, really surprised me and i loved it
I'm glad that i knew nothing about bleach when i started binging it because the Ishin reveal was mind blowing for me. I literally screamed "WHAT" out loud.
What made Gin's betrayal so shocking to me was that Kubo had completely succeeded at convincing me that Gin was evil. Of course you know that he cares about Rangiku and he didn't really kill her but Kubo had done such a good job at making me believe that Gin was following Aizen's plan, and he just wanted Rangiku to stop interfering. So when he stabbed Aizen and then explained his plan and his bankai and everything... I felt like my mind had just exploded. And I suddenly remembered so many moments where Gin did things that hinted to this and felt simultaneously dumb and in awe of what had been done
Another very good video. And for what you said during the opening of the video about it being a challenge to narrow down the list. At least it's not an easy list to make because it would be a boring story if you could just pick out plot twists all willy nilly so to speak
A reveal within a reveal that I found effective is when Captain Tosen is revealed to be on Aizen’s side. Those full color panels in volume 20 are beautiful.
There are sooo many good twists. I think the Zangetsu reveal is my favorite though. I really love Ichigo, Zangetsu, and the Old Man. It was foreshadowed quite a bit, but I didn’t realize how much it had been foreshadowed until it was revealed. It was such a satisfying, cathartic moment when Ichigo accepted both of them as Zangetsu.
I'd put Starrk being the #1 Espada up there. It was suggested at first Barragan was the #1 given how he immediately took charge once Aizen was trapped in the flame by Yamamoto, all while sitting on a throne as his loyal fracción praised his name. Then Shunsui assumes he is #1 until Starrk reveals it is actually he who is #1.
Oh yeah I think ichigo's Dad being a Shinigami was mind-blowing when I first seen it and my other favorite one was finding out that a male cat was actually a female Shinigami
I only got into manga / anime in the past couple of years, but I've basically head dived into it and became far more obsessed than any normal person, having reach over 6552 chapters total of manga in the last two years alone... Having read over 121 different series as well... I'm super glad that I knew NOTHING about bleach except Ichigo's name was Ichigo, so the aizen plot twist completely shocked me. Super glad it was ever spoiled for me. Now that I've read basically every popular manga, I can be the one to spoil manga for others 💀
Been a long minute since I’ve check out this channel but glad I saw this video on recommended. Always with the good video ideas on a story that ended awhile ago 👍
I think Aizen designing Ichigo's conception should take the place of Nel's reveal. P.S. I loved the moments when Ishin would drop his guard and come off as cool and laid back. Like when the Kurosaki family goes to Masaki's grave and he delivers those powerful lines to Ichigo.
The crazier part is as someone whose read the manga and watched the anime in sub and dub. The anime just doesn't capture the betrayal of Aizen as good as the manga does. The way it's shown to us was very chilling and beautifully animated in the manga.
Bleach was my second anime, so aizen's betrayal was so shocking to me. I hadn't even heard of aizen before soul society, and his betrayal left my jaw on the floor. I could not believe kindly old captain aizen was infact the completely evil leader of the arrancar Lord aizen.
Bleach has some absolutely crazy plot twists - which is your favourite? Which was the most shocking and unexpected? Let me know!
Hey yo
the unohana and the ulquiorra are my favs
Zangetsu and Unohana plot-twist>Aizen plot twist IMO
bro I love your vids but Byakuya not being dead is one of the best plot twists. Not even a honorable mention?
I am zangetsu
Biggest twist for me was when Ichigo convinced everyone that his own uncle, Tsukishima, was a villain.
Yeah I always wondered how that conversation went
What are you on about? He's not their uncle. Karin and Yuzu specifically call him their cousin.
@@et.anthem Trust me, I know what I'm talking about--Tsukishima is my best friend.
Not cool. My doctor isn’t a villain
@@varsoonhks3211 really cuz he is my best too
While not Earth-shattering, I think Aizen pulling Kyoka Suigetsu on Yhwach Bach during the TYBW was a great twist. It was a really great moment for Aizen and perfectly showcases how powerful he is that he can deceive even Yhwach.
@Mr. And I Quote i mean, he did thot? thought it was after some time. unless my memory deceives me.
I was actually very disappointed by this twist, because it felt to me that Yhwach acted frivolous. You know - or at least you should assume -h that Kyouka Suigetsu's illusion is absolute, there's no way to not fall for it. The first thing you do after invading Soul Society is rush to Aizen and either get him on your side or seal his powers to the max. Kyouka Suigetsu is literally the only thing that can stop you, so you should minimize the risk of Aizen using it.
This twist felt like a bad magic trick - if you can only find one way to do the trick, that's how it's done and whole mystery's gone. The only thing that could stop Yhwach was Kyouka Suigetsu, the thing that stopped him was Kyouka Suigetsu, the whole tension and anticipation is gone now. It was a great moment for Aizen, though.
@@patrykkarcz7859 it is not absolute, yhwach did try to get aizen on his side, he managed to injure aizen anyway when they fought, and aizen couldn't defeat him by himself. also, by the end the only thing that could stop yhwach was the arrow and technically himself, not kyuoka suigetsu.
"How long have you been under the assumption you were fighting Ichigo?"
@@patrykkarcz7859I wasn't disappointed but I do agree it was frivolous. Another example of yhwach underestimating his opponents jus like the 1st time he invDed the soul society. He obvious considered that Aizen would be a problem whether it was by teaming with soul society or by himself. He labeled him a 5 war power and so the moment he realized he couldn't recruit him he should of killed him on the spot. Like why leave him alive if u thought he was strong enough that he'd eventually become a major enemy? Major oversight that played a huge role in his defeAt
Aizen's betrayal set a new standard in shonen plot twists. It was amazing.
My absolute favorite. I was so invested into finding out who killed him and when his betrayal was uncovered, I was flabbergasted
Yeah man, that was really one transcended manga and challenges some of the best literature. I could easily see reading this more detailed in a 900 page novel.
I've seen some people use the reference 'pull an Aizen'. That legit says it all.
There was no way one could have guessed. He was dead beyond any shadow of a doubt. When he appeared alive my mind exploded
This created a whole word Aizened in anime community
Honestly I agree with Tom’s #1 choice. I went into Bleach completely blind so when Aizen was revealed to be alive and the bad guy completely blew me away. Ever since then I’ve never had a plot twist blow me away like that did
*spoiler for Black Clover manga*
Only one to have a similar impact for me is Lucius Zogratis reveal which was basically the same as the Aizen reveal
Especially compared to the Kaguya reveal in Naruto which felt so forced and pointless.
I am same as you😂 I also went into Bleach completely blind without searching anything on internet or reviews or spoilers nothing!!
And man that plot twist was like: Tf😳💀
@@nell8821 frrr
@@et.anthem us
Sasakibe and Ikkaku having Bankai was nice.
Yoruichi being female.
Visored being former Captains and VCs
Urahara being a former Captain
Ichigo turning full Hollow vs Ulquiorra
Juha being SK son
Truth about SK in general
Lilynette being Starrks Zanpaktou
Yachiru being Zaraki's Zanpaktou
Honestly these plot twists really just show how good bleach as a series was.
And will be again since it's coming back with the last arc animated. Hopefully they continue the hell arc too
@@rukiastopfan Kubo also said there's a good chance the light novels will be adapted too
@@Edmitsu that would be so awesome, honestly can't wait
It's the opposite for me. Some of these twists make me regret watching ANYTHING past the defeat of Aizen.
The manga is what people should be looking into when going into Bleach because it handles the series better than the anime is just writing in general. Excluding most of TYBW like some things in the second invasion. Hopefully the anime fixes a lot of things bc Kubo was rushed in the manga
Gin largley took me by surprise. It wasn't because he betrayed Aizen, but his motives did surprise me. Kubo did a great job with making Gin seem like a very snakey character. Someone you could never trust, not for either side. Sort of like Orochimaru from Naruto. So his true motives did surprise me.
I also saw a lot of paralels to Snape from Harry Potter.
Indeed. Even if Aizen ultimately mortally wounded him in it was quite a moment. Gin's shiftiness sure was stronger than we thought.
Agreed. While the actual act of betrayal wasn't a big shock, the means (a shonen character lying about their abilities?!) and the motives (because of the woman he loved) were definitely unexpected.
I liked the Isshin reveal. It does open to the concept of how many Shinigami exiles there are in the Bleach universe and how they adjusted in the human world after leaving a life of rigid service until 'death'. The culture shock must be something before acceptance and settling in occurs.
I thought Ulquiorra being revealed as the fourth Espada was one of the biggest gut punches of the series. The fact that he was held in higher regard than most of the other Espada by Aizen and his enormous power made me assume he was at least the Segunda. My stomach dropped when he pulled Zangetsu away to reveal that "4" on his chest.
Same here. I think it deserves to be higher
I thought he was 2nd. But yeah, to have 3 others more powerful then himself was an awesome reveal. Oddly enough, having the 10th guy change it to 0 I thought was a stupid reveal. Especially since he didn’t really do anything after the reveal.
@@chrisblanc663 Yammy was a joke from the very beginning. I almost wonder of Aizen only told him that the Espada were ranked 0 to 9 just to troll him. Seems like an Aizen thing to do.
@@Joe1887 that is now part of my head cannon. His power up makes him more powerful, but like, 9th or so. I can imagine uqiuora slapping his forehead as Aizen tells Yammy he’s a 0.
ZANGETSU is YHWACH>>>>
I know it's not a plot twist because Aizen has literally told Ichigo he knew about him since he was born but that backstory to him actually knowing about Ichigo since he was born was sooo insane to me, like when he was saying all that to Ichigo during their fight I thought he was just playing mind games, not that he actually had eyes on Ichigo since day one, that was such a huge revelation to me becase I wasn't taking him seriously enough lol Also finding out Ichigo's zanpakuto was incomplete since it didn't have a sheath was also shocking to me becase I always wondered why the hell he was the only one wrapping his sword in bandages lmao. Amazing video btw, loved it!
Aizen was 100% truthful if dickish to Ichigo kind of like how White aka mr I am Zangetsu and this is what you need to beat me and it is great that is kinda a constant thing that Ichigo enemies are more truthful than his allies
even more so the you are the son of a Shinigami and a... from Azien and Ichigo goes Human and Shinigami
My biggest wtf moment was the yhwach/zangetsu reveal,the thought that one of the most beloved characters was the most ruthless villian was mind blowing
Personally I think the reveal of Ulquiorra as the 4th Espada was one of the most shocking plot twists in Bleach for me. I had seen him as the sort of end boss of Hueco Mundo, the last step before Aizen, and then when he revealed that there were 3 Espada above him I was entirely shocked. Definitely top 5 for me
The thing about that is was shown latter on with his second release that he is 2
@@Youngjayy4k yeah.
I remembered when he take off the gloves and it had 4. I remembered thinking we are all fucked. There’s 3 more stronger than him!!!!!!!!
Funny thing is, Ulquiorra 2nd form is probably more powerful than Halibel because she was literally having trouble against Toshiro. I honestly think if Ulquiorra wanted, he could be top 2
@@micah459 You are underestamating Yoshiro. He is a literal Genious to have the Potential to Reach Yamamoto in Power. And he did not really defeat Halibel, Aizen finished her off.
I think you're right about the Aizen twist. I remember talking to someone and mentioned I was watching Bleach as it just started airing on Toonami. They said something about Aizen and I said I didn't remember but in the back of my mind I was thinking, didn't he die early on? I just thought I didn't remember his name right so when I finally got to the reveal, I was surprised.
Something similar happened to me; a friend of mine was into Bleach before I was, and mentioned in passing one time that Aizen was a jerk. After I started watching Bleach and meeting Aizen, I was suspicious of him, but it was hard when he seemed so nice; I started thinking that maybe he just had a rougher side to him. Then came his brutal "murder," and I thought to myself, "...Okay, maybe he'll be revealed to be a jerk in a flashback or something." Then came the plot twist...
I later told my friend that her calling Aizen a "jerk" was the understatement of the century.
The first time I read Bleach way back in High School I was absolutely floored when Byakuya revealed that he was married to Rukia's sister. That whole scene completely re-contextualized his character and sets the stage for so much development moving forward. It's still one of my favorite moments.
Truth. Him marrying a commoner out of true love caused him plenty of negative grief from the rest of his family, no wonder he became cold and harsh after her death. Good on Ichigo helping him see the light again in a way.
I just realized unohana is perfect for being a member of squad zero! She made the title of Kenpachi, a staple of shinigami history.
I never thought of this but that's a good point.
The translation i read said she invented the art of killing, so thats an automatic squad zero membership
She wouldn't have taken the job. She "lived" for fighting.
@@BWinced i know im just saying that i wonder if they did ask her
I was almost shocked that you didn't include my number 1, only to moments later find out, it was your number 1 as well.
Man, I still remember the days when we were convinced Gin was the main antagonist. The ridiculous twist-train from "Wait, Aizen's alive?" to "Holy crap, Aizen is the scariest mofo on the planet." was unforgettable.
Not a big plot twist, more of a moment, but I will always be absolutely in love with the scene when Juha appears in the middle of the sky, right above some gotei red shirts, as they were talking about how they are safe because it's impossible for the Quincy to enter Soul Society, and the very next panel has Juha floating so nonchalant, as he says "oh, I see, that is a good point!" MY MAN BROKE THEIR SPIRIT WITH WORDS ALONE!
Cant wait for the anime
Regarding Ichigo's parentage: when reading the manga, I remember figuring that something was up in the chapters where Ichigo found out his dad was a Shinigami. At the end of one chapter, Aizen was telling Ichigo that "you've always been part shinigami and part..." when Isshin appeared, interrupting the explanation. The beginning of the next chapter had Ichigo thinking about Aizen's words, but he remembered/heard them as "you've always been part human and part..." It may have been a translation error, but the way it seemed to me at the time was that it was a deliberate hint that there was even more at play regarding Ichigo.
Also, am I the only one who took the inner hollow's repeated "I am Zangetsu" literally? The old man being Yhwach was a huge twist, definitely shocked me, but the second the inner hollow started being an expert with the Zanpakuto and screaming "I'm you, I'm Zangetsu, I'm your power" I went "yep, makes sense." I just always figured that, as Ichigo eventually decided, ultimately both were Zangetsu
I was in denial with aizen. I though he was being controlled. It felt so surreal because he had no malice.
The Ulquiorra was a gut punch because Ulquiorra was so strong.
I think the Soul King being sealed in a crystal and not really being a character and the existence of the Vadenreich so have been mentioned.
I'm surprised that the Yachiru reveal as Kenpachi's bankai wasn't on this list, but overall this list is very excellent🥵
Youre right.Though i think a lot of people theorised this for a long time
With Bleach being such a long running series, I think a lot of things that are plot twists during your first read or watch are taken for granted afterwards. We always knew that the Visored were some sort of rogue shinigami, but seeing that they were captains and lieutenants blew my mind on the first watch. And today it is just kind of common knowledge
Think you forgot a very important one: the plot twist in soul society that Yoruichi was not only a male cat, but a human woman who used to be captain of the 2nd division
The twist goes even deeper, she was the head of the Yoruichi Clan (one of the 5, now 4, great noble houses)
I started Bleach about a year ago, knowing basically nothing. I knew bankai was a thing, certain character names and some of their looks. I knew about Sosuke Aizen being the main villain but knowing nothing of his powers, how he became a villain, and I've only seen him with his swooped hair. That reveal of him being a villain still hit me, especially when I knew nothing about Gin and I thought he was kind of the big mastermind guy. I was still so blown away by this reveal.
Another reveal that wasn't mentioned that I LOVED was the truth about the visoreds. Basically that whole turn back the pendulum section. It honestly was perfect
Perhaps storytelling isnt bleach's strongest asset, but I'll be damned to say bleach is the BEST at plot twists! And I LOVE it!
I loved Unohana twist, it was mind blowing. I remember laughing and gasping at the same time! But of course Aizen was just on another level. That twist and Aizen as a character set my standards so high that I'm rarely satisfied with villains or plot twists!!
Ya that Aizen reveal is what made many of us OG bleach fans, hard core bleach fans. When you think about plot twist, that's the twist of twist.
its the Darth Vader father movement of anime.
Sad part is new fans will totally miss that experience. As every one and their grandma knows Aizen is a bad guy.
Ichigo's transformation into white in his fight against byakuya deserved to be on this list in my personal opinion
I KNEW you were gonna put Aizen at the top, and I agree, it was also the thing that hooked me on the series.
Aizen did say he alone would sit at the top... 🤣
My personal favorite was Isshin being a soul reaper. That was one of the few plot twists that actually surprised me. And it did it so well too
Im expecting the zangetsu plot twist in the top 5
That was such a good payoff to the early arrancar arc
I'm so glad I never had the Aizen villain twist Spoiled for me when I got into Bleach - that what such a huge part of what elevated the Soul Society arc from awesome to being my favorite Shonen arc ever.
I was convinced, when TYBW was coming out weekly, that Aizen was going to turn around and be the final final final antagonist again. Had a theory that Yhwach was Aizen's bankai lol
I read all of bleach a bit before March break of this year and the only twist I was really aware of was the Aizen one. Your channel has really helped explain this series for me once I finished it. Thanks for the great content.
Can I just say, because I haven't seen it mentioned, the editing quality on these videos has increased substantially! I noticed a potential new camera, new mic, cuts?? You're by far eloquent enough to do an entire video uncut for the most part as you have in the past but I was shocked when I started this video! Phenomenal job as always.
Retsu being the first Kenpachi is my favorite twist, but then she gets schwacked immediately 😢
For me, one of the most shocking thing was finding out "what" the soul king actually was.
I already thought it wasn't a regular "person" when Aizen referred to it as "that thing", but finding out it was just a seemingly inert man locked up in a crystal with his members stripped off, I was like "Ohhh so that's what Aizen was talking about"
Not really a twist per se, but shocking nonetheless.
I think the main reason people thought the Unohana thing came out of nowhere is purely because of the anime fillers. The fillers didn't get the hint that Unohana was supposed to be scary until he 2nd filler arc and even then they only played on it as a gag, and other scenes of her portray her as the typical overly compassionate medic. But if you cut the filler out then the series is consistent about her being an intimidating person so the twist shouldn't feel so out of place for her.
The whole video I'm like HE HAS TO MENTION YORUICHI'S TRUE FORM as a major surprise...And u squeezed it in at the very end so I didn't have to complain lmaoooo. Great video
This video just shows how good of a writer Kubo is. I always praised his art, but his story, especially the plot twists, are amazing
See my feeling with the Unohana reveal was less surprising for me and more vindication. I had always felt there was some secret to Unohana. Lije why was everyone scared of her when she got serious. So I eventually came to the conclusion she was a previous Kenoachi. That she was the first was insane though.
I'll always hold the old man Zangetsu twist dear
Its between that for me and the Aizen twist. I love both very much!
My favourite plot twist is that Aisen has the power to stop the main character’s theme song.
While the Aizen twist is so iconic and the time I experienced it I had no idea of it, I'd still put it in second place. Old man Zangetsu not actually being Ichigo's zanpakuto spirit had way more emotional impact for me. It was all there but you only get all the piece until the final arc, I felt shocked and betrayed. But then you see the old man never lied about caring and wanting to protect Ichigo so I get sad when I see him step down so Ichigp can become more powerful. I even love the resolution of Ichigo accepting him as a second Zangetsu, it's very in character for him to let this be water under the bridge want him to still be accompanying him in his battles. I just love Ichigo's bond with both of his swords in different ways.
For the the most shocking moment is seeing the soul king is actual a quincy
I think a great plot twist for me was that Yachiru was Kenpachi's zanpakuto. Where we all thought that he just simply had a nameless sword only to find out that it was his own lieutenant.
i'm glad i wasn't spoiled on aizen because that's probably why I like bleach so much
exactly 😭
Definitely the Aizen reveal was my favorite. I was already loving the series and that just took it to a whole different lvl lol
Have to be honest... I often wonder how you're gonna keep making interesting videos. But it doesn't seem like you're gonna be running out of fun ideas anytime soon. Never would've predicted I would enjoy this video as much as I did. Keep up the good work man 👏🏽😎
I have to agree with no.1. Even though I was reading Bleach back then watching this arc animated made it even better. It also helped differentiate between the Shonen's big three and probably the reason why it was soo popular at the time.
The Unohana one was my favorite. I think reading that part during the manga got the most reaction out of me. It was sooo good
I know your channel is focused on bleach and i love it so much bc it was the first anime i ever saw as a kid. Seeing you go into this level of detail is so refreshing, educating and entertaining.
Have you read Jujutsu Kaisen? I think that w your analytical skills you would thoroughly enjoy Gege’s stories
The captains arriving in HM was also great even if a bit predictable in hindsight.. I never was more hyped by a surprise last minute save in anime then when Kenpachi blocked Tesla's finishing blow to Ichigo.
With your third honourable mention, it did give a good expectation of the Espada's strength especially when you remember Toshiro's explanations of the Meno Grande. He states how powerful Vasto Lorde levels are and how dangerous it could be if Aizen had ten of them as his Espadas. I think only Ulquiorra really lived up to that expectation. Barragan felt weak as he relied almost exclusively on his Respira move, Stark held his own for a good while but his defeat felt a little Deus ex machine. Only Halibel held her own until she got Aizen'd.
We have to remember Barragan didn't care for Aizen or his motives & he was basically trying to pull a "Gin move" but he failed since he was defeated be his own powers. Starrk seemed loyal to Aizen but he wasn't really a serious fighter which was his downfall but at least he held his own against 4 Captains. Halibel seemed like she was also holding back but at the same time she was facing someone who can basically negate her attacks so she pretty much had to "stall" Toshiro out so she can win against him, Hiyori & Lisa. That being said I think the fights were fair. Yeah maybe Segunda Etapa Ulquiorra was stronger than everyone else but at the same time Ulquiorra was only fighting (destroying) Ichigo while the Espada were going against the rest of the Gotei 13.
@@JxFTW It does show how writing can affect things. In the Spirit are forever with you novel, Shunsui stated that he possibly could defeat a Vasto Lorde but lose to a Gillian. It all depends on the day.
Personally, I do like the whole Espada going from 0-9 cuz it just makes more sense. Doesn't mean I like that Yammy was supposed to be Espada nr. 0 when it's clear that Ulquiorra, Starkk and Barragan is way stronger then him. It also creates a bit of an inconsistency when it comes to how the Arrancar with two digit numbers are ranked after their order of birth/creation. We are led to believe that Showlong, who is Arrancar nr. 11, is the first one created by Aizen, but if Yammy is nr. 10, doesn't that mean he is actually the first? This is really confusing.
I personally think Kudo should have waited with revealing some of the Espada numbers until later and not made Yammy nr. 10, but maybe 8 or 5, and maybe had someone who makes more sense be Espada nr. 0.
Hey Tommo idk if you got a new camera but the quality is looking a lot better. Keep it up my friend :]
I am so happy that I went into this series blind as well. I remember being very shocked about Aizen in the Soul Society Arc. Very good writing.
Of course Starrk lived up to Ulquiorra’s plot twist, he took on 4 Captain Level fighters with just Lilynette on his side. Halibel took on the ladies and Toshiro which was also more than 2 people one being a Captain and Barragan couldn’t be beat without turning his power against him so yes all 3 lived up to the hype.
Except Yami
Agreed. Ulquiorra had enough power in secret with segunda etapa to maybe be number 1, but in no way we're the actual top 3 in any way disappointed.
@@andrellnogueira aizen probably knew
@@diamonshade7484 Yammy had a pretty terrible personality but the fact that Zaraki and Byakuya, Who are known to have a lot of wins in battles, needed to work together was pretty telling of how powerful he is
A new Bleach ranking from my fav youtuber i'm hyped^^ Bleach has alot of plot twist excited to hear which one you 🔝choose 😊
Very nice list, Aizen as the villain was absolutely insane compared to who he was built up as. Although Isshins reveal as a captain was the most insane thing to me ever. What an absolute bombshell, and for him to be strong enough still after all that time to compare to Aizen for he was upgraded. Plus I'm not sure if it was in the manga but the anime has a line when Isshin is talking to Kon and he tells him I've always known when it was you and not ichigo because he sensed his pressure, such a nice little piece showing this guy we thought was a idiot was one of the biggest badasses of the series.
I think for me it was ichigo in the manga being utterly crushed emotionally when zangetsu told him he wasn't zangetsu and that it was ichigos hollow that protected him all that time
i won't lie, i might have cried a bit. like awwww White you do care lol
Great video as always. I would of put the vizards somewhere in there, but its just my opinion. Can you do a video on the central 46?
With Ichigos zanpakto situation, when think about it there were some hints during the soul society arc when Hollow Ichigo said train him well and I also have an theory about Aizen which essentially goes that he might’ve foresaw that the Quincey’s will invade Soul Society but no one listened to him so he done what he did in order to try and be the necessary evil to try and prevent it from happening
As to Yammy - the fanbase absolutely saw it coming during serialization. Yammy being Espada 0 was a longstanding meme on a number of anime forums throughout the entirety of the arc up to that point, and when it turned out to be true, it was hilarious.
#1 is the reason why I enjoyed him losing his cool at the end of series (anime). Throughout all the arcs starting from the Soul Society arc, Aizen was alway portrayed as calm, collected, and cold with, course, some form of god complex. It was so satisfying to final see him lose it and lose at very end.
I think this is one of your best videos, highlights how Bleach is one of the, if not, the best manga/anime of all time.
Also, as a massive 40k and Bleach fan, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the 8th ed AdMech codex and 9th ed Necrons codex. Any chance we can see some of those minis?
I think there was a panel during the time when Urahara was training Ichigo to get his powers back after Byakuya almost killed him, where Zangetsu appears before Ichigo and said my name is ______. The name was covered in black ink, but we wouldn’t have known at the time that it was Ichibe preventing Ichigo from knowing that his “zanpakuto spirit” is Yhwach.
YOOOOOO, THAT'S INSANE!! 😱😱😱
Is this proven or is it just a theory?
@@SecretNinja1216 its true
Im so happy that when i started reading bleach in 2021 i had no idea about any of these and was shocked each time
I remember watching bleach for the first time in 2012.
My first thought about isshin after the reveal of kenpachi was “yep, definitely a former captain, I’m 100% sure that’s how he could survive falling out of a window daily”.
While aizens betrayal is the better twist I still love the twist of when aizen puts yuha bach under kyoka tsuigetsu
Aizen's betrayal was gold af. But one that I liked was wonderweis purpose since one of the earlier chapters in bleach when he was born was to block yamamoto genryusais zanpakuto.
I agree with the number 1 pick. That plot twist was absolutely amazing and shocking. It really made me reconsider some plot twists in Attack On Titan.
Hey Tom love your videos , please do a character analysis of Hollow Ichigo next.
People can talk shit about Bleach as much as they want but Bleach has the BEST twists and shocking moments. No one does it like Kubo.
Seriously, the amount of plot twists is insane, and is personally one of the many reasons that Bleach is one of my favourite manga and anime ever
I laughed when I found out Ichigo was a quincy because it was so true to being a Shonen. Kubo should have leaned into it and made him a Bount just for that arc lol
A plot twist that most people seem to disregard or just forget/not pay much attention to is when Starrk reveals that he is the Primera, really surprised me and i loved it
I'm glad that i knew nothing about bleach when i started binging it because the Ishin reveal was mind blowing for me. I literally screamed "WHAT" out loud.
Hey, I know this might be random but what about a video about your top 10 Bleach OSTs? I think it would be a very interesting topic to talk.
What made Gin's betrayal so shocking to me was that Kubo had completely succeeded at convincing me that Gin was evil. Of course you know that he cares about Rangiku and he didn't really kill her but Kubo had done such a good job at making me believe that Gin was following Aizen's plan, and he just wanted Rangiku to stop interfering. So when he stabbed Aizen and then explained his plan and his bankai and everything... I felt like my mind had just exploded. And I suddenly remembered so many moments where Gin did things that hinted to this and felt simultaneously dumb and in awe of what had been done
Another very good video. And for what you said during the opening of the video about it being a challenge to narrow down the list. At least it's not an easy list to make because it would be a boring story if you could just pick out plot twists all willy nilly so to speak
A reveal within a reveal that I found effective is when Captain Tosen is revealed to be on Aizen’s side. Those full color panels in volume 20 are beautiful.
There are sooo many good twists. I think the Zangetsu reveal is my favorite though. I really love Ichigo, Zangetsu, and the Old Man. It was foreshadowed quite a bit, but I didn’t realize how much it had been foreshadowed until it was revealed. It was such a satisfying, cathartic moment when Ichigo accepted both of them as Zangetsu.
I'd put Starrk being the #1 Espada up there. It was suggested at first Barragan was the #1 given how he immediately took charge once Aizen was trapped in the flame by Yamamoto, all while sitting on a throne as his loyal fracción praised his name. Then Shunsui assumes he is #1 until Starrk reveals it is actually he who is #1.
Oh yeah I think ichigo's Dad being a Shinigami was mind-blowing when I first seen it and my other favorite one was finding out that a male cat was actually a female Shinigami
I overall agree, only think Yachiru being a Bankai is missing. Great work!
Thankfully I somehow never got bleach spoiled for me and that aizen twist absolutely blew my mind. I never saw that coming
I'm just amped we getting the TYBW
I only got into manga / anime in the past couple of years, but I've basically head dived into it and became far more obsessed than any normal person, having reach over 6552 chapters total of manga in the last two years alone... Having read over 121 different series as well... I'm super glad that I knew NOTHING about bleach except Ichigo's name was Ichigo, so the aizen plot twist completely shocked me. Super glad it was ever spoiled for me. Now that I've read basically every popular manga, I can be the one to spoil manga for others 💀
I’m so glad I went into Bleach completely blind. God I loved every twist.
bro. cmon the Yoroichi revelation was the most shocking... probably the first "cat" Ichigo ever seen 😂😂😂
12:54 "however Kubo being the devil that he is" made me spill my food fr😭😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Been a long minute since I’ve check out this channel but glad I saw this video on recommended. Always with the good video ideas on a story that ended awhile ago 👍
Watching the vastò lorde ichigo scene is the main thing that got me into bleach
I think Aizen designing Ichigo's conception should take the place of Nel's reveal.
P.S. I loved the moments when Ishin would drop his guard and come off as cool and laid back. Like when the Kurosaki family goes to Masaki's grave and he delivers those powerful lines to Ichigo.
The crazier part is as someone whose read the manga and watched the anime in sub and dub. The anime just doesn't capture the betrayal of Aizen as good as the manga does. The way it's shown to us was very chilling and beautifully animated in the manga.
A big one for me was finding out Ikkaku had a bankai. It was pretty shocking, I legit didn't see that coming. And then it was cool too
I love Ryumon Hozukimaru as ridiculous as it comes across in battle but its my fave Bankai
Also shinji and uhahara being captains was really cool
Number 2: "How long were you under the illusion i wasnt using Kyoka Suigetsu?" Cant believe that wasnt in there
Bleach was my second anime, so aizen's betrayal was so shocking to me. I hadn't even heard of aizen before soul society, and his betrayal left my jaw on the floor. I could not believe kindly old captain aizen was infact the completely evil leader of the arrancar Lord aizen.