@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt Completely understand lol. I grew up reading and watching Bleach but it really ended up disappointing me. I still have an overall fondness of it so I'm watching the last arc; I don't love the story but it feels good seeing it animated after all these years. Btw I also watched your video about how the Espada were wasted and I completely agree with your opinions there too. I really had higher hopes for Stark and Harribel especially ;__; It's definitely important to be able to criticize the things you love (imo)!
You finally put into words what i've disliked about aizen and bleach's writing in general. So many of these apply to modern series like jujutsu kaisen.
I somehow fell into the trap again and was really into Jujutsu Kaisen and enjoying it. Sad to see how all these series end up repeating the same mistakes.
Agree with most of what you said. However, I think the loneliness bit actually is there but very subtly in the background (at least I think so). In turn back the pendulum he notes he chose Shinji because of his lack of trust in him. Shinji never got to know him, but neither did anyone else except Gin and Kaname. But even so, Kaname was just a loyal goon, and Gin who was closer to him than anyone else was planning to kill him. Then there was his explanation of trust, which was really something else. I mean it was clear his explanation that he has no idea what genuine trust is. No well adjusted person would explain trust like that. Especially since he has only a history of using people. He has been super strong and smart from a young age he clearly has a superiority/ God complex. He believes that he needs no one but still has the human need for connection. One of Aizen’s biggest traits is overly explaining things. This is probably one of bleach’s narrative problems coming out, but I like to think of it as something Aizen does is because he has a desire to be understood. That’s just my thought. Good video
Thank you! Yeah I see what you mean I do agree with everything you said. But it's a real shame it wasn't explored further and didn't have much impact on his actual character. Especially after he was defeated and ended up truly alone.
Here's my problem with most of the Gotei 13. Who were they before they died, if they died at all? Most of the current Shinigami and Captains are people who have replaced the older generation who never died, so they had to have died at some point. Who were they? What caused their death originally? I'd get it if they were so old that they couldn't remember, but they don't even mention having a life prior to becoming shinigami, for most of them. Tite Kubo creates designs first and characters second. That's just the sense im getting for the world he's built and how these characters interact with their world. He layers all of these ideas into his story and, don't get me wrong, he writes really subtly and purposefully. It just feels like all of that subtlety is wasted because you don't get that through your first sitting with the story. You get that on your second and third sitting. It's like realizing you had food in the floorboards of your house but dying of starvation. It's pointless if it doesn't get delivered correctly and concisely.
@@xavierthomas5835 I think it was said in the 1st movie shinigami do not remember their humans lives assuming they had one, some are born the sereitei and let's be fair if any one of us spend a month in a farm doing menial thing would we even remember it decades in the future that much or would it matter to us?
@Raximus3000 thing is though that shinigami are no different from those outside the Seireitei. Except for the spiritual pressure, of course. Many of those remember where they come from and that they had family. Now, of course, it could simply be that they've lived for several hundred years and have forgotten most of it. However, I don't think you could convince me that they absolutely don't remember anything at all about their past lives. Even if it is menial, if at least remember being there. I don't necessarily remember EVERYTHING, neither perfectly nor at all sometimes. I don't just never mention or remember a WHOLE LIFE I lived before dying and being reborn.
@Raximus3000 secondly, humans are strange by nature. I remember vividly the apartment complex I lived in when I was like 8 or 9. I don't remember even going to school at that age, though. I remember a teacher's name, but I don't remember the face of my first best friend around the same time.
Totally agree. Kubo did not understand how to write a genius level character when it comes to Aizen. I think a lot of comments defending the "it was all according to my plan" moment are trying really hard to cope with how absurd it was. If you think Aizen is an interesting and well written villain, then I really think you need to explore other fictional stories. Just to be clear, I love bleach and recognizing Aizen's flaws has not ruined it for me. Kubo is good at writing villains. Ulquiorra is a very compelling villain that left a lasting impression on us all.
True the whole, “it’s all according to my plan…” shtick is lazy. For everything to go to his plan he would need Ywach’s Almighty for that, because it’s nothing short of nigh omniscience. That’s why his greatest stroke of genius was in the Soul Society where he caught the reader off guard. That being said I love Aizen and he’s one of my favorite villains.
My thoughts are similar to yours. I love Bleach, and Kubo created a great world with some really great characters. But he definitely dropped the ball in places, and even though I like Aizen for the cool factor, overall I think he was sadly disappointing.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt I loved Bleach, but Kubo is no Oda, he isn't a writer, he is an artist, he made Bleach to showcase cool fight scenes, and it happened into something engaging enough to become too popular for what he could write. That is why the arrancar arc is a reskin of the soul society arc. Go save Rukia becomes go save Orihime. It was filled with Tropes, but it fulfilled its purpose of being great to watch and enjoy, but it should have ended before Bounto.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2ptPraisd be to Yahweh, I've found someone willing to critically think about the plot of Bleach. The wave of people who all want to praise it as having nearly no flaws has been exhausting to say the least. I liked Bleach when I was younger, until I got to the ending of the manga. At which point I became disillusioned with the story. I started to see it's flaws and how so much of it seems... empty. Not empty of emotion but of soul. Characters seem like they say things that anyone could say, you know? So many Bleach characters seem like they are themes rather than characters. And that could be well done, but not for the format Tite Kubo wrote them in. Many thinks for critical thinking.
@@stephenstringer707This. Tite Kubo is a great artist, and he can certainly write well in certain instances, but people act like his writing has no flaws.
One thing about Bleach is that there is literally no exposition purely for the sake of audience and omniscient. Even the characters directly explaining things in Bleach are often wrong, offer limited information or are not entirely truthful The thing about the whole of Ichigo's life being Aizen's plan is said by Aizen to break Ichigo's resolve. I personally take it as convenient lie to open Ichigo for attack in similar way he broke captains composure before cutting them down by using Hinamori. Yes he was in theory reason Ichigo was even born and he knew about his origins, but he was not directly micromanaging Ichigo's life and struggles until after Soul Society arc ended. However had Isshin not stepped in and shut him up he would have little trouble convincing Ichigo that he did so, which would break Ichigo even further than he was after beating Uluquiorra.
It's an interesting take, and I do like the idea that Aizen was playing mind games with Ichigo to break him. But it's hard to say 100% because I feel like Bleach characters do often explicitly spell out their plans or abilities. And unlike with other misdirection where we usually get a reveal or pay-off confirming it, we don't see that with Aizen and Ichigo.
That problem with the "black hole" stemming from Aizen's Shikai is similar to the problem with Ywhach, in my opinion. I mean, Kubo did it TWICE in a row. It's baffling. At some point, he just attained unlimited power, he was basically an omniscient god, so how could he lose? Thenceforth the plot becomes absolutely contrived
Ah man I really think Yhwach is a truly awful villain. I firmly believe TYBW was a total train wreck, like you said what are you meant to do when the main villain is an unstoppable god? And even his underlings are basically gods.
@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt btw, thanks for answering to the comments on your videos, it's very nice being able to engage with the creator apart from the unilateral video->watcher dynamic
@@gabrielgoes0 No problem at all! Yeah I really like engaging with you guys, part of the reason I like making these videos is to start a discussion and see what other people think.
great video , kubo likes making his main villains ridiculous broken at least if ichigo faced KS and figured out a way to break it then it would be a great fight but ichigo just bitched him the entire fight and aizen started crying afterwards. looking forward to your quincy videos or tybw since it really went downhill then.
Thanks! Yeah it's Kubo's biggest weakness as a writer I don't understand why he doesn't give characters more reasonable abilities lol. I'll definitely do a video on TYBW at some point!
I can see your points but I actually love Aizen! I would have liked to see more on his backstory and thoughts on character though in the anime as i feel like we don't get to know him as much compared to other villains like Doffy from one piece and madara from Naruto etc
Funnily enough I do like him I just wish we got more! The main thing that bugs me really is Kyoka Suigetsu, he only loses because he decides to stop using it for some reason! I feel like a villain like Doffy is far more memorable and impactful because we saw his backstory and he feels much more reasonably balanced in the world of OP.
Reallly love the video format, literally explained the 2 main points that had me feel weird to want to no like Aizen. Starks Lonliness really is so much more captivating like kinda wish stark was the main villain specially since he is technically or not cause yea when my friend told me it affects ALL 5 sense it kinda irked me like “you can’t lose” so like when these villains just play around or somehow get caught of guard FOR ANY REASON is stup frustrating cause if they weren’t OP ASF this would be working so cool as like an underdog villain(do those exist?). Good ass video n channel🤙
Thanks very much glad you liked it. Yeah Aizen is someone who's bugged me for a long time. And out of all the hollow Kubo decided to bring back, I can't believe Stark wasn't one of them. Such a cool character that was wasted.
I still think that azien was over all good. The loneliness thing has credance too. He keeps people around him, can't connect with them, because he sees them as his lessers du to being to strong. His plan isn't that convoluted. The issue is the powerlevel, but overall I feel like he works. He just needed a small nerf. Something like having to activate it infront of people for it to work and taking time to activate, so we could know if it was. He also didn't refuse to use it at the end. The sword didn't want to if I remember correctly.
Overall same as you I do like Aizen. But as you said, a small nerf would have made him much more interesting. I'm also still not convinced by the loneliness stuff, even in his later appearances it's not a factor at all. In fact he seems to enjoy being alone (in muken).
The reason why Aizen’s defection from Gotei 13 weights so heavy as it did. Was because he was one of the most promising soul reapers to have ever worn the mantle. Perfectly illustrated at the end of the arc where he abandons soul society and left them with Ichigo. Aizen is intelligent, polite, ambitious , patient, calm, professional, talented and teaching Ichigo is loud, compassionate, impatient, funny, headstrong, rowdiness, sarcastic and observant Ichigo became what Aizen didn’t want to be for his peers. He was able to somewhat fill the void after a declaration of war when everything settled down. Ichigo is already regarded as a legendary hero that will go down in history. As Aizen will forever be the eyesore of soul society.
Imagine if Aizen had never defected and instead chose to be a force for good. He could have accomplished so much. And I always got the feeling Soul Society itself was very corrupt and sketchy, maybe he could have improved it.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt Aizen could have definitely become a model soul reaper for his peers. He was already really popular. There were I think already reformations regarding division 5. The thing though is his mindset. Aizen was born with enormous spiritual pressure and he decided to use it in a way others don’t. Yamamoto, Zaraki and Unohana were fine by restraining themselves to a outdated regime. While Aizen wanted to go above and beyond.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2ptTbf if Aizen never betrayed Soul Society then Rukia would never be deemed a traitor because Central 46 won't be controlled by Aizen therefore it's possible Aizen would have trained Ichigo instead of Urahara it's most likely Yamamoto wouldn't have died in TYBW because Aizen would be able to handle any of the Quincies besides Yhwach meaning he would have definitely made it to help Yamamoto. Also it means the Vizards and Kisuke won't be outcasted however we should just say White was just an accident gone wrong. It's highly likely he'll be promoted to Squad Zero because of him creating the hogyoku before TYBW.
My theory is that Aizen did not use Kyoka Suigetsu as his fight against Ichigo was supposed to be a test of Aizen's abilities as transcendent being facing off against the equal. It was necessary for his evolution and reign as future Soul King to fight against someone who had the same qualities as current Soul King. His efforts, however were thwarted by Ichigo's overwhelming power while he "failed" to evolve in Aizen's eyes, mostly running on overclocked Zangetsu's fumes. Yet Aizen was unable to even comprehend how powerful Ichigo was, no matter how far he evolved which contributed to his ultimate defeat. Hogyoku was not responding to his "loneliness" but rather to his desperation, as his ambitions were crushed by someone who denied every principle that existed in the established world.
I like this interpretation. It makes sense that if Aizen had a contingency the hogyoku would recognise he couldn't truly be challenged and so his evolution would be stunted. And I like your idea that it responded to his desperation at the end. I wish this was the official version it's very good.
Awesome video! Lots of good points. Kubo did a lot right with Aizen which is why its so frustrating that it feels like he couldnt follow through. All that needed to happen was one solid hole in the armor and you could go real far. Even something like his ability doesnt work on the living etc. When you have an ability that is so centralizing being weidled by an antagonist, you can do really interesting things with your cast to overcome it. But Kubo just never delivered in that regard.
Thank you! Completely agree with what you said as well, yeah it's just so frustrating isn't it. It'd have been really cool to see the shinigami trying to discover and exploit a weakness that would have led to a proper high stakes fight. Unfortunately Kubo got even worse in TYBW arc lol, I might do a separate video on it one day.
Kyōka Suigetsu's effects are so overwhelmingly more power because of Aizen himself. If be had the reiatsu levels of a lieutenant the the illusions it produced would not be nearly as potent. All abilities in Bleach are based on the individuals Reiryoku levels. KS is busted because Aizen is strong.
I think this was stated in CFOW right? For me something like this should have really been presented in the main story, and even if it was, it being weaker without Aizen is kind of irrelevant since the main story features Aizen using it without any drawbacks.
yes if you are weak people can see a break through it its also explained that the ability itself depending who and what you are doing with it DRAINS your power like crazy
Great video! I just found you channel from the "how to write smart characters" video. Speaking of which, have you ever watched/read Hunter x Hunter? Particulaly the Succession Contest Arc from the manga? I feel like it is a very unique and grounded approach where every key character is realistically intelligent in there own way and logically work off the information available to them. It's likely one of my favorite portrayals of character intelligence in manga.
Thank you glad you liked the video! Hunter x Hunter is awesome I love it, completely agree with you it's got some great examples of smart characters and smart writing. It's one of those rare series where I realised I would get destroyed by the top tiers purely because I'm not smart enough to keep up with them lol. I've watched the anime and read a bit of the manga, but I haven't read the succession arc yet, I've heard it's amazing though so it's on my to do list!
15:35 i think u should watch tybw too there he lets masaki engage with hollow which was created by him also making hogyoku going to small town to gather souls etc removing kiskue from soul Society who was more intelligent than him ( most likely i think ) also do u realise aizen has no back story 😂😂 and maybe we'll get his motives in hell arc (if kubo decides to continue)
True he's never explained. Even though it probably won't make much sense I'm still hoping they do the hell arc purely because I'm sure it'll be really cool lol.
You don't like the "I planned everything" moment, but try looking at it from a different perspective: Aizen often uses different words and actions to mock his enemies and make them do foolish things. For example, Hitsugaya falls for it every time he faces Aizen. When you say that "I planned everything" destroys Ichigo's agency, you’re simply feeling what Ichigo was meant to feel. Aizen uses it to make Ichigo feel despair. From this point of view, it actually makes him look smarter. He didn’t say it to you; he said it to Ichigo.
I do like this idea that Aizen said it simply to make Ichigo despair or as part of a wider manipulation! I'm not sure if we're meant to take this at face value or not, but I like your take.
The problem is firstly, why does this affect Ichigo so much? How does Aizen actually know this will affect Ichigo so much as a character? Ichigo's main problems up to this moment have been problems with agency, yes, but agency in reference to being able to protect people. He deals with powerlessness, not having control over every aspect of his life or even most of it. He actually deals very well with being pushed into situations. Most people would chaff at always being pushed to do this or that. Ichigo never has this problem anywhere else, except when dealing with Aizen. Suddenly, he almost falls to pieces because Aizen says, with very little evidence, that Ichigo is his pet experiment. It felt really contrived as a mental ploy.
I wanted to say this lastly but it’s clear that Ichigo is falling into the trap of ‘The Antithesis’ that counters/opposes the literal concepts that are undefeatedable, ALL at the flip of the moment because he’s combating a literal god/is the protagonist. It kills me when the protagonist…is THE PROTAGONIST,they HAVE to counter or birth a counter whether cause they are the one or wtv point is it’s like they don’t have a true personality cause they’re meant to be a literal opposition. But ichigo CAN DIE(well not but if) from Ywach,Ging(hell prolly shouldve) with aizen being an exception but is it?. I don’t want ichigos ultimate Zanpakuto to be held off just to completey oppose the ultimate force.
A name I haven't heard in a long time! I have watched Psycho Pass but it was a long time ago and I've mostly forgotten it. I'll try and rewatch it and make a video!
So many Bleach fans overlook these problems with Aizen. In my opinion Ulquiorra is easily a better antagonist than Aizen and the best Bleach has to offer.
That’s upsetting. If we have to read a light novel that was released after the series ended to understand his motivations, then that means Kubo didn’t do a good enough job explaining them in the main series.
@someguyjohn6599 tbf to Kubo, his series was rushed and he was in bad health. Aizen is a deeply mysterious character and I can understand people wanting more from him but I think Kuno does more show then tell. I think the criticism of Aizen's loneliness never being brought up again is fair
@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt cfyow vol 1-3. Kubo became sick. But I think the reason why kubo didn't want to reveal that part in the manga is bc it portrays Soul Society negatively. It's about SS "original sin". Since ichigo wants to protect SS, he, too, would appear to be supporting a corrupt regime
@@christiancsq Thanks I'll look it up. Very possibly, but it's a shame he didn't want to go there because I think it would have been a really interesting plot point in the main series.
nah man idk this video just misses the mark so many times, you would state a reason for aizen thinking a specific way or doing something but then disregarding that completely because it just doesnt fit your narrative. I'm not going to sit here and say that he is the perfect villain, I certainly think he is overrated by the vast majority (this is with bleach being in my top 3 animanga oat) but i dont know whether its because you may have missed some things or misinterpret some things but i feel like you portray aizen as so poorly written here its insane
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt yeah I’m sorry hit piece was too harsh, I actually went to watch the joker video you mentioned and it was a really well made video and to me a much more enjoyable experience I feel because you really worked on the positive side on things to praise how well the joker is done. I guess at the end of the day we just have different opinions about Aizen and that’s fine
@@hallifax8457 Thanks man, I really appreciate that you took the time out to check out some of the other videos. I definitely take your point that sometimes I might be too critical - I'll try and work on it in the future! I'm still finding my footing with the channel as it's fairly new, so I definitely appreciate the feedback.
I disagree 1 aizen planning everything This is shown multiple times before it’s told to you, when eh controlled central 46 and their actions against ichigo when they first came, his fake order to kill rukia just to get the hogyoku, his mother reviving white, putting areancar such as ulqiorra and grimmjow infront of ichigo etc it’s told once and shown dozens of times 2 his character motivations The soul king is literally a puppet for puppet masters, that being squad zero, central 46 and the royal families, they controlled everything down to the last detail and aizen didn’t like that his world is decided by a puppet and their greedy masters. That’s why he went to katakura town his whole plane was to kill enough souls to get oken to reach the soul palace. The ichigo saying he’s lonely makes sense since him and tosen were actually friends and to send one wish eh asked for is that if he gave up on his beliefs to be killed, because he believes killing with a just purpose is justice but if he lost that purpose he would be a murderer 3 “being too strong” This is extremely warranted he’s been planning everything since before Ichigo is born do you expect someone like that to be weak? When he has access to the strongest device known to anyone? Also there’s no indication he does have a bankai as much as we would like to say and this adds on to the fact that he’s lonely because there’s no meaningful connection to his zanpakto outside of shikai 3 character progression His entire character progression is displayed by the hogyoku it’s literally the ultimate show don’t tell. He wants power not to just be powerful but to take on the entire soul society and cut down the puppet king and remake the world. It makes sense why he’s so powerful when this is the case
You've already declared the problem yourself. He thinks through all of thse situations, he even plans out Ichigo's fights and development, only to not foresee himself losing to his own creation? He didn't think that Urahara, his greatest mental rival, would get involved. Even if he thought he was dead, he didn't think about any counters after realizing he was alive? He's so smart, so egregiously powerful with just a shikai, that him failing makes no sense.
Aizen is just a trash Deus Ex Machina. Kubo really dropped the ball with him. Everything around him is fine. Aizen feels like a 5 year old's overpowered OC, an afterthought
@spaceman6693 Imma be honest. Every time someone tells me that I have to go read a whole separate novel to understand the deep, emotional motivations of a character in bleach, I completely shut down. I understand where you're coming from, but, from a writing standpoint, that seems like a narrative cop out. "Hey, you didn't understand what this character was thinking or feeling in the main story? Don't worry, these light novels, that came out a year later, by another author, explain all of those things." I ain't trying to mock anyone, but it's an argument that doesn't really make sense to me. The problem isn't that I didn't read the novels. The problem is that the author didn't write the story as well as he wanted to. Which is okay, as long as people are willing to admit that. Many people nowadays are not. "Bleach has perfect foreshadowing, and everything is well thought out," is most of what I'm hearing nowadays.
100% agree with this. The lack of follow-up re: the soul king felt especially bad to me.
Thanks! I want to love Bleach and I have a bit of a soft spot for it, but yeah it's frustrating to see the issues.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt Completely understand lol. I grew up reading and watching Bleach but it really ended up disappointing me.
I still have an overall fondness of it so I'm watching the last arc; I don't love the story but it feels good seeing it animated after all these years.
Btw I also watched your video about how the Espada were wasted and I completely agree with your opinions there too. I really had higher hopes for Stark and Harribel especially ;__; It's definitely important to be able to criticize the things you love (imo)!
You finally put into words what i've disliked about aizen and bleach's writing in general. So many of these apply to modern series like jujutsu kaisen.
I somehow fell into the trap again and was really into Jujutsu Kaisen and enjoying it. Sad to see how all these series end up repeating the same mistakes.
That's why HxH is just on another level
Agree with most of what you said. However, I think the loneliness bit actually is there but very subtly in the background (at least I think so).
In turn back the pendulum he notes he chose Shinji because of his lack of trust in him. Shinji never got to know him, but neither did anyone else except Gin and Kaname. But even so, Kaname was just a loyal goon, and Gin who was closer to him than anyone else was planning to kill him.
Then there was his explanation of trust, which was really something else. I mean it was clear his explanation that he has no idea what genuine trust is. No well adjusted person would explain trust like that. Especially since he has only a history of using people.
He has been super strong and smart from a young age he clearly has a superiority/ God complex. He believes that he needs no one but still has the human need for connection. One of Aizen’s biggest traits is overly explaining things. This is probably one of bleach’s narrative problems coming out, but I like to think of it as something Aizen does is because he has a desire to be understood. That’s just my thought. Good video
Thank you! Yeah I see what you mean I do agree with everything you said. But it's a real shame it wasn't explored further and didn't have much impact on his actual character. Especially after he was defeated and ended up truly alone.
Here's my problem with most of the Gotei 13. Who were they before they died, if they died at all? Most of the current Shinigami and Captains are people who have replaced the older generation who never died, so they had to have died at some point. Who were they? What caused their death originally? I'd get it if they were so old that they couldn't remember, but they don't even mention having a life prior to becoming shinigami, for most of them. Tite Kubo creates designs first and characters second. That's just the sense im getting for the world he's built and how these characters interact with their world. He layers all of these ideas into his story and, don't get me wrong, he writes really subtly and purposefully. It just feels like all of that subtlety is wasted because you don't get that through your first sitting with the story. You get that on your second and third sitting. It's like realizing you had food in the floorboards of your house but dying of starvation. It's pointless if it doesn't get delivered correctly and concisely.
@@xavierthomas5835
I think it was said in the 1st movie shinigami do not remember their humans lives assuming they had one, some are born the sereitei and let's be fair if any one of us spend a month in a farm doing menial thing would we even remember it decades in the future that much or would it matter to us?
@Raximus3000 thing is though that shinigami are no different from those outside the Seireitei. Except for the spiritual pressure, of course. Many of those remember where they come from and that they had family. Now, of course, it could simply be that they've lived for several hundred years and have forgotten most of it. However, I don't think you could convince me that they absolutely don't remember anything at all about their past lives. Even if it is menial, if at least remember being there. I don't necessarily remember EVERYTHING, neither perfectly nor at all sometimes. I don't just never mention or remember a WHOLE LIFE I lived before dying and being reborn.
@Raximus3000 secondly, humans are strange by nature. I remember vividly the apartment complex I lived in when I was like 8 or 9. I don't remember even going to school at that age, though. I remember a teacher's name, but I don't remember the face of my first best friend around the same time.
Totally agree. Kubo did not understand how to write a genius level character when it comes to Aizen. I think a lot of comments defending the "it was all according to my plan" moment are trying really hard to cope with how absurd it was. If you think Aizen is an interesting and well written villain, then I really think you need to explore other fictional stories. Just to be clear, I love bleach and recognizing Aizen's flaws has not ruined it for me. Kubo is good at writing villains. Ulquiorra is a very compelling villain that left a lasting impression on us all.
True the whole, “it’s all according to my plan…” shtick is lazy. For everything to go to his plan he would need Ywach’s Almighty for that, because it’s nothing short of nigh omniscience. That’s why his greatest stroke of genius was in the Soul Society where he caught the reader off guard. That being said I love Aizen and he’s one of my favorite villains.
My thoughts are similar to yours. I love Bleach, and Kubo created a great world with some really great characters. But he definitely dropped the ball in places, and even though I like Aizen for the cool factor, overall I think he was sadly disappointing.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt I loved Bleach, but Kubo is no Oda, he isn't a writer, he is an artist, he made Bleach to showcase cool fight scenes, and it happened into something engaging enough to become too popular for what he could write. That is why the arrancar arc is a reskin of the soul society arc. Go save Rukia becomes go save Orihime. It was filled with Tropes, but it fulfilled its purpose of being great to watch and enjoy, but it should have ended before Bounto.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2ptPraisd be to Yahweh, I've found someone willing to critically think about the plot of Bleach. The wave of people who all want to praise it as having nearly no flaws has been exhausting to say the least. I liked Bleach when I was younger, until I got to the ending of the manga. At which point I became disillusioned with the story. I started to see it's flaws and how so much of it seems... empty. Not empty of emotion but of soul. Characters seem like they say things that anyone could say, you know? So many Bleach characters seem like they are themes rather than characters. And that could be well done, but not for the format Tite Kubo wrote them in. Many thinks for critical thinking.
@@stephenstringer707This. Tite Kubo is a great artist, and he can certainly write well in certain instances, but people act like his writing has no flaws.
One thing about Bleach is that there is literally no exposition purely for the sake of audience and omniscient.
Even the characters directly explaining things in Bleach are often wrong, offer limited information or are not entirely truthful
The thing about the whole of Ichigo's life being Aizen's plan is said by Aizen to break Ichigo's resolve. I personally take it as convenient lie to open Ichigo for attack in similar way he broke captains composure before cutting them down by using Hinamori.
Yes he was in theory reason Ichigo was even born and he knew about his origins, but he was not directly micromanaging Ichigo's life and struggles until after Soul Society arc ended.
However had Isshin not stepped in and shut him up he would have little trouble convincing Ichigo that he did so, which would break Ichigo even further than he was after beating Uluquiorra.
It's an interesting take, and I do like the idea that Aizen was playing mind games with Ichigo to break him. But it's hard to say 100% because I feel like Bleach characters do often explicitly spell out their plans or abilities. And unlike with other misdirection where we usually get a reveal or pay-off confirming it, we don't see that with Aizen and Ichigo.
That problem with the "black hole" stemming from Aizen's Shikai is similar to the problem with Ywhach, in my opinion. I mean, Kubo did it TWICE in a row. It's baffling. At some point, he just attained unlimited power, he was basically an omniscient god, so how could he lose? Thenceforth the plot becomes absolutely contrived
Ah man I really think Yhwach is a truly awful villain. I firmly believe TYBW was a total train wreck, like you said what are you meant to do when the main villain is an unstoppable god? And even his underlings are basically gods.
@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt btw, thanks for answering to the comments on your videos, it's very nice being able to engage with the creator apart from the unilateral video->watcher dynamic
@@gabrielgoes0 No problem at all! Yeah I really like engaging with you guys, part of the reason I like making these videos is to start a discussion and see what other people think.
Aizen suffers from to problems.
Cubo never intended for him to win.
Cubo kinda, intended him to be a final boss, and not what happend in bleach after.
Aizen definitely feels like the natural final boss of the series. I'm really not a fan of Yhwach and TYBW arc.
great video , kubo likes making his main villains ridiculous broken at least if ichigo faced KS and figured out a way to break it then it would be a great fight but ichigo just bitched him the entire fight and aizen started crying afterwards. looking forward to your quincy videos or tybw since it really went downhill then.
Thanks! Yeah it's Kubo's biggest weakness as a writer I don't understand why he doesn't give characters more reasonable abilities lol. I'll definitely do a video on TYBW at some point!
I can see your points but I actually love Aizen! I would have liked to see more on his backstory and thoughts on character though in the anime as i feel like we don't get to know him as much compared to other villains like Doffy from one piece and madara from Naruto etc
Funnily enough I do like him I just wish we got more! The main thing that bugs me really is Kyoka Suigetsu, he only loses because he decides to stop using it for some reason!
I feel like a villain like Doffy is far more memorable and impactful because we saw his backstory and he feels much more reasonably balanced in the world of OP.
Reallly love the video format, literally explained the 2 main points that had me feel weird to want to no like Aizen. Starks Lonliness really is so much more captivating like kinda wish stark was the main villain specially since he is technically or not cause yea when my friend told me it affects ALL 5 sense it kinda irked me like “you can’t lose” so like when these villains just play around or somehow get caught of guard FOR ANY REASON is stup frustrating cause if they weren’t OP ASF this would be working so cool as like an underdog villain(do those exist?). Good ass video n channel🤙
Thanks very much glad you liked it. Yeah Aizen is someone who's bugged me for a long time. And out of all the hollow Kubo decided to bring back, I can't believe Stark wasn't one of them. Such a cool character that was wasted.
I still think that azien was over all good. The loneliness thing has credance too. He keeps people around him, can't connect with them, because he sees them as his lessers du to being to strong. His plan isn't that convoluted. The issue is the powerlevel, but overall I feel like he works. He just needed a small nerf. Something like having to activate it infront of people for it to work and taking time to activate, so we could know if it was. He also didn't refuse to use it at the end. The sword didn't want to if I remember correctly.
Overall same as you I do like Aizen. But as you said, a small nerf would have made him much more interesting. I'm also still not convinced by the loneliness stuff, even in his later appearances it's not a factor at all. In fact he seems to enjoy being alone (in muken).
The reason why Aizen’s defection from Gotei 13 weights so heavy as it did. Was because he was one of the most promising soul reapers to have ever worn the mantle.
Perfectly illustrated at the end of the arc where he abandons soul society and left them with Ichigo.
Aizen is intelligent, polite, ambitious , patient, calm, professional, talented and teaching
Ichigo is loud, compassionate, impatient, funny, headstrong, rowdiness, sarcastic and observant
Ichigo became what Aizen didn’t want to be for his peers.
He was able to somewhat fill the void after a declaration of war when everything settled down.
Ichigo is already regarded as a legendary hero that will go down in history. As Aizen will forever be the eyesore of soul society.
Imagine if Aizen had never defected and instead chose to be a force for good. He could have accomplished so much. And I always got the feeling Soul Society itself was very corrupt and sketchy, maybe he could have improved it.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt Aizen could have definitely become a model soul reaper for his peers. He was already really popular.
There were I think already reformations regarding division 5.
The thing though is his mindset.
Aizen was born with enormous spiritual pressure and he decided to use it in a way others don’t.
Yamamoto, Zaraki and Unohana were fine by restraining themselves to a outdated regime. While Aizen wanted to go above and beyond.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2ptTbf if Aizen never betrayed Soul Society then Rukia would never be deemed a traitor because Central 46 won't be controlled by Aizen therefore it's possible Aizen would have trained Ichigo instead of Urahara it's most likely Yamamoto wouldn't have died in TYBW because Aizen would be able to handle any of the Quincies besides Yhwach meaning he would have definitely made it to help Yamamoto. Also it means the Vizards and Kisuke won't be outcasted however we should just say White was just an accident gone wrong. It's highly likely he'll be promoted to Squad Zero because of him creating the hogyoku before TYBW.
My theory is that Aizen did not use Kyoka Suigetsu as his fight against Ichigo was supposed to be a test of Aizen's abilities as transcendent being facing off against the equal. It was necessary for his evolution and reign as future Soul King to fight against someone who had the same qualities as current Soul King. His efforts, however were thwarted by Ichigo's overwhelming power while he "failed" to evolve in Aizen's eyes, mostly running on overclocked Zangetsu's fumes. Yet Aizen was unable to even comprehend how powerful Ichigo was, no matter how far he evolved which contributed to his ultimate defeat. Hogyoku was not responding to his "loneliness" but rather to his desperation, as his ambitions were crushed by someone who denied every principle that existed in the established world.
I like this interpretation. It makes sense that if Aizen had a contingency the hogyoku would recognise he couldn't truly be challenged and so his evolution would be stunted. And I like your idea that it responded to his desperation at the end. I wish this was the official version it's very good.
I mean i was about to swear at you bro but i decided to watch the video and NGL..... Even though i like him a lot, you're actually right
Haha thanks man appreciate it!
I have no idea who you're talking about but I am still watching the video because I like the way you analyse and break things down 😂😂
Haha thanks I appreciate it!
Awesome video! Lots of good points.
Kubo did a lot right with Aizen which is why its so frustrating that it feels like he couldnt follow through. All that needed to happen was one solid hole in the armor and you could go real far. Even something like his ability doesnt work on the living etc. When you have an ability that is so centralizing being weidled by an antagonist, you can do really interesting things with your cast to overcome it. But Kubo just never delivered in that regard.
Thank you! Completely agree with what you said as well, yeah it's just so frustrating isn't it. It'd have been really cool to see the shinigami trying to discover and exploit a weakness that would have led to a proper high stakes fight. Unfortunately Kubo got even worse in TYBW arc lol, I might do a separate video on it one day.
still top, also the moment when he sabotaged his death, kinda explained his masterminds abilities
but in video was a lot of thruth, so yeah, it is what it is
Fair enough thanks for checking it out anyway!
Kyōka Suigetsu's effects are so overwhelmingly more power because of Aizen himself. If be had the reiatsu levels of a lieutenant the the illusions it produced would not be nearly as potent. All abilities in Bleach are based on the individuals Reiryoku levels. KS is busted because Aizen is strong.
I think this was stated in CFOW right? For me something like this should have really been presented in the main story, and even if it was, it being weaker without Aizen is kind of irrelevant since the main story features Aizen using it without any drawbacks.
yes if you are weak people can see a break through it its also explained that the ability itself depending who and what you are doing with it DRAINS your power like crazy
Great video! I just found you channel from the "how to write smart characters" video. Speaking of which, have you ever watched/read Hunter x Hunter? Particulaly the Succession Contest Arc from the manga? I feel like it is a very unique and grounded approach where every key character is realistically intelligent in there own way and logically work off the information available to them. It's likely one of my favorite portrayals of character intelligence in manga.
Thank you glad you liked the video! Hunter x Hunter is awesome I love it, completely agree with you it's got some great examples of smart characters and smart writing. It's one of those rare series where I realised I would get destroyed by the top tiers purely because I'm not smart enough to keep up with them lol. I've watched the anime and read a bit of the manga, but I haven't read the succession arc yet, I've heard it's amazing though so it's on my to do list!
15:35 i think u should watch tybw too there he lets masaki engage with hollow which was created by him also making hogyoku going to small town to gather souls etc removing kiskue from soul Society who was more intelligent than him ( most likely i think ) also do u realise aizen has no back story 😂😂 and maybe we'll get his motives in hell arc (if kubo decides to continue)
True he's never explained. Even though it probably won't make much sense I'm still hoping they do the hell arc purely because I'm sure it'll be really cool lol.
You don't like the "I planned everything" moment, but try looking at it from a different perspective: Aizen often uses different words and actions to mock his enemies and make them do foolish things. For example, Hitsugaya falls for it every time he faces Aizen. When you say that "I planned everything" destroys Ichigo's agency, you’re simply feeling what Ichigo was meant to feel. Aizen uses it to make Ichigo feel despair. From this point of view, it actually makes him look smarter. He didn’t say it to you; he said it to Ichigo.
I do like this idea that Aizen said it simply to make Ichigo despair or as part of a wider manipulation! I'm not sure if we're meant to take this at face value or not, but I like your take.
The problem is firstly, why does this affect Ichigo so much? How does Aizen actually know this will affect Ichigo so much as a character? Ichigo's main problems up to this moment have been problems with agency, yes, but agency in reference to being able to protect people. He deals with powerlessness, not having control over every aspect of his life or even most of it. He actually deals very well with being pushed into situations. Most people would chaff at always being pushed to do this or that. Ichigo never has this problem anywhere else, except when dealing with Aizen. Suddenly, he almost falls to pieces because Aizen says, with very little evidence, that Ichigo is his pet experiment. It felt really contrived as a mental ploy.
Style over substance might as well be the summary of the entire series of bleach
Nailed it lol. This should be the tag line of the series.
I wanted to say this lastly but it’s clear that Ichigo is falling into the trap of ‘The Antithesis’ that counters/opposes the literal concepts that are undefeatedable, ALL at the flip of the moment because he’s combating a literal god/is the protagonist. It kills me when the protagonist…is THE PROTAGONIST,they HAVE to counter or birth a counter whether cause they are the one or wtv point is it’s like they don’t have a true personality cause they’re meant to be a literal opposition. But ichigo CAN DIE(well not but if) from Ywach,Ging(hell prolly shouldve) with aizen being an exception but is it?. I don’t want ichigos ultimate Zanpakuto to be held off just to completey oppose the ultimate force.
Couldn't agree more I think you summed it up perfectly.
A lot of shonen seem to have the same problems. I prefer the new gen shonen, but they still aren't perfect.
love aizen but still think the could have been some changes………..
At least he's much better than Yhwach!
can you make a video about shogo makishima
A name I haven't heard in a long time! I have watched Psycho Pass but it was a long time ago and I've mostly forgotten it. I'll try and rewatch it and make a video!
So many Bleach fans overlook these problems with Aizen. In my opinion Ulquiorra is easily a better antagonist than Aizen and the best Bleach has to offer.
Can't believe out of all the espada Kubo could have saved, he picked Tia lol. The most boring espada.
@ We can only hope that we get Starrk and possibly Ulq whenever the Hell Arc drops
The majority of the motivation of aizen was revealed in the light novels. Aizen had the same grip against SS as the other villains.
Is that CFOW? I see the manga / anime as the original source material though so it really should have been properly explained there first.
That’s upsetting. If we have to read a light novel that was released after the series ended to understand his motivations, then that means Kubo didn’t do a good enough job explaining them in the main series.
@someguyjohn6599 tbf to Kubo, his series was rushed and he was in bad health. Aizen is a deeply mysterious character and I can understand people wanting more from him but I think Kuno does more show then tell. I think the criticism of Aizen's loneliness never being brought up again is fair
@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt cfyow vol 1-3. Kubo became sick.
But I think the reason why kubo didn't want to reveal that part in the manga is bc it portrays Soul Society negatively. It's about SS "original sin". Since ichigo wants to protect SS, he, too, would appear to be supporting a corrupt regime
@@christiancsq Thanks I'll look it up. Very possibly, but it's a shame he didn't want to go there because I think it would have been a really interesting plot point in the main series.
nah man idk this video just misses the mark so many times, you would state a reason for aizen thinking a specific way or doing something but then disregarding that completely because it just doesnt fit your narrative. I'm not going to sit here and say that he is the perfect villain, I certainly think he is overrated by the vast majority (this is with bleach being in my top 3 animanga oat) but i dont know whether its because you may have missed some things or misinterpret some things but i feel like you portray aizen as so poorly written here its insane
ok upon looking at your channel its just hit piece after hit piece so fair enough thats your whole brand i guess
Hey man. It's a shame you feel that way, because I don't consider the videos to be "hit pieces". More just me sharing and voicing my opinions.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt yeah I’m sorry hit piece was too harsh, I actually went to watch the joker video you mentioned and it was a really well made video and to me a much more enjoyable experience I feel because you really worked on the positive side on things to praise how well the joker is done. I guess at the end of the day we just have different opinions about Aizen and that’s fine
@@hallifax8457 Thanks man, I really appreciate that you took the time out to check out some of the other videos. I definitely take your point that sometimes I might be too critical - I'll try and work on it in the future! I'm still finding my footing with the channel as it's fairly new, so I definitely appreciate the feedback.
I disagree
1 aizen planning everything
This is shown multiple times before it’s told to you, when eh controlled central 46 and their actions against ichigo when they first came, his fake order to kill rukia just to get the hogyoku, his mother reviving white, putting areancar such as ulqiorra and grimmjow infront of ichigo etc it’s told once and shown dozens of times
2 his character motivations
The soul king is literally a puppet for puppet masters, that being squad zero, central 46 and the royal families, they controlled everything down to the last detail and aizen didn’t like that his world is decided by a puppet and their greedy masters. That’s why he went to katakura town his whole plane was to kill enough souls to get oken to reach the soul palace.
The ichigo saying he’s lonely makes sense since him and tosen were actually friends and to send one wish eh asked for is that if he gave up on his beliefs to be killed, because he believes killing with a just purpose is justice but if he lost that purpose he would be a murderer
3 “being too strong”
This is extremely warranted he’s been planning everything since before Ichigo is born do you expect someone like that to be weak? When he has access to the strongest device known to anyone? Also there’s no indication he does have a bankai as much as we would like to say and this adds on to the fact that he’s lonely because there’s no meaningful connection to his zanpakto outside of shikai
3 character progression
His entire character progression is displayed by the hogyoku it’s literally the ultimate show don’t tell. He wants power not to just be powerful but to take on the entire soul society and cut down the puppet king and remake the world. It makes sense why he’s so powerful when this is the case
You've already declared the problem yourself. He thinks through all of thse situations, he even plans out Ichigo's fights and development, only to not foresee himself losing to his own creation? He didn't think that Urahara, his greatest mental rival, would get involved. Even if he thought he was dead, he didn't think about any counters after realizing he was alive? He's so smart, so egregiously powerful with just a shikai, that him failing makes no sense.
Aizen is just a trash Deus Ex Machina. Kubo really dropped the ball with him. Everything around him is fine. Aizen feels like a 5 year old's overpowered OC, an afterthought
He had such potential from his introduction, I think it's a shame how it played out.
What part of aizen gives you this impression? We learn so much about him through the story (especially in cfyow)
@spaceman6693 Imma be honest. Every time someone tells me that I have to go read a whole separate novel to understand the deep, emotional motivations of a character in bleach, I completely shut down. I understand where you're coming from, but, from a writing standpoint, that seems like a narrative cop out. "Hey, you didn't understand what this character was thinking or feeling in the main story? Don't worry, these light novels, that came out a year later, by another author, explain all of those things." I ain't trying to mock anyone, but it's an argument that doesn't really make sense to me. The problem isn't that I didn't read the novels. The problem is that the author didn't write the story as well as he wanted to. Which is okay, as long as people are willing to admit that. Many people nowadays are not. "Bleach has perfect foreshadowing, and everything is well thought out," is most of what I'm hearing nowadays.