BLEACH: The Shinigami Version of Peace, Explained

Key Takeaways

Shinigami’s moral alignment questioned via warped view of peace and false protection.
Universe and peace built on innocent sacrifice, preventing change or progress.
Shinigami genocidal methods justified through balance maintenance and hidden motives.

As a longtime fan of the BLEACH series, I must say that the latest revelations have certainly shaken the foundation of my beloved world. The once noble and honorable Shinigami have shown themselves to be not just guardians of peace, but perpetrators of a heinous crime against an innocent being. It’s like discovering that your favorite hero has a dark secret, or finding out that Santa Claus isn’t real – it’s a hard pill to swallow.

The narrative of BLEACH has raised doubts about the true moral stance of the main race, the Shinigami, since the Substitute Shinigami arc. Initially depicted as guardians who ensure the balance between life and death, maintaining a three-realm cosmic order, the Shinigami appear to be the good guys due to their declared goal of preserving peace. However, the series subtly challenges this perception.

As Ichigo’s adventure unfolded, we uncovered numerous problematic aspects of the Shinigami’s structure, perspective, and history, not just within the BLEACH universe, but across its entire expanse. What is the Shinigami’s understanding of peace, and what about it appears so distorted?

“Balancers”

Understanding the Origins of the Main Role of the Shinigami

BLEACH: The Shinigami Version of Peace, Explained

In the initial meeting between Ichigo and Rukia in the story of BLEACH, Rukia educates both Ichigo and readers about the fundamental aspects of the series’ cosmology and the cycle of soul reincarnation. She describes that there are multiple realms: one where souls (commonly referred to as “Pluses”) experience human lives, and another afterlife realm called Soul Society. Rukia also clarifies that the path taken by Pluses is perilous since they can be devoured by malevolent spirits known as Hollows. These beings are recognizable by a hole somewhere on their bodies, symbolizing the void within them – a reflection of the emptiness of their souls after losing hope and their hearts to despair.

The Shinigami‘s task is to escort the spirits of the departed to their final destination, the afterlife, and cleanse the Hollows, allowing their tainted souls to resume the cycle of reincarnation. This ensures equilibrium, as the number of souls moving into our world equals the number of souls returning from a human life or being purified as Hollows.

I regret to inform you, my friends, but it seems impossible for humanity to overcome Yhwach. However, let’s not fret over this, as tranquility often comes from accepting our limitations. Agree, Yhwach?

– Ichibe Hyosube

In contrast to most Hollows, those who were once notorious criminals like Shrieker, a potent and astute Hollow, retained fond memories of their lives as murderers and found pleasure in tormenting Yuichi Shibata, the son of one of his victims, even posthumously. This cycle of life and death, maintained in such a manner, is what earned the Shinigami the title “Balancers” in ancient times, and it’s made clear from the start that neglecting this crucial task or disrupting the balance could lead to the realms merging and the destruction of the universe. The foundation for this structure is revealed to be the enigmatic entity governing the realms, known as the Soul King, a mysterious being whose existence serves as the “keystone” upholding the current order.

The Original Sin

How the Three Realms Are Maintained

Initially, the universe was a vast void where existence and non-existence coexisted, under the rule of chaos. A multifaceted entity known as Adnyeus, embodying aspects of Shinigami, Hollow, Quincy, and Fullbringer, emerged to shape the realms: the World of the Living or Human World, the realm of Hollows called Hueco Mundo, and Soul Society, a spiritual afterlife. From the primordial ocean, Adnyeus formed these dimensions and established the distinction between life and death, initiating the cycle we encounter at the onset of BLEACH. In the novels titled Can’t Fear Your Own World, it is disclosed that the Soul King created the realms to seal off Hell. Consequently, Adnyeus became recognized as the Soul King, and was believed to possess foresight, along with omniscience, suggesting he should have been aware of the plans of the five (now four) powerful families in Soul Society.

In order to maintain the current stable state of the universe, which naturally tends towards its original, mixed-up and chaotic form, a crucial element was required. The forerunners of the Shihōin, Shiba, Kuchiki, Tsunayashiro, and an unnamed fifth family concocted a cruel plan. They assaulted and disfigured the Soul King, utilizing his torso as the vital component holding the universe together in its present form. The remaining parts – his left and right arms, along with his heart – gained consciousness. His left arm transformed into the Quincy character Pernida Parnkgjas, while his heart became Gerard Valkyrie. Meanwhile, his right arm was worshipped as the Rukongai’s local deity, Mimihagi.

The Shinigami’s Protection of a False Peace

Victors Rewrite History

The ugly truth behind the universe protected by the Shinigami is that the very world and conception of peace they claim to protect and represent is one built on a vicious murder and perpetual sacrifice of an innocent. The sacrifice is perpetual because the removal of the Soul King’s arms, which govern stillness and progression, means the removal of the ability for his situation to change, essentially placing him in a kind of suspended animation within a special crystal that can only be broken by an entity of similar composition as the Soul King. To protect this universe and order that their ancestors “created”, the Shinigami became “balancers”, and in the process, made the decision that Quincies should not be allowed to exist for the threat they pose to the balance. The Shinigami have justified full-blown genocide; which also involved the desecration of corpses and the creation of synthetic/modified souls for the purposes of war (souls which they then scrapped regardless of their sentience) because of concerns with the ethics of their creation and use.

In the animated series BLEACH, the safeguard of Shinigami concerns is consistently present, even though they initially aimed to eliminate Ichigo and his companions. Over time, the Shinigami grow accustomed to depending on them for resolving their issues and preserving their existing system. The Substitute Shinigami badge serves as an illustration of the twisted sense of justice among the Shinigami, who bestowed it upon Ichigo under false pretenses, claiming it symbolized their trust in him, but it secretly functioned as a surveillance tool. The most disconcerting action being undertaken by the Shinigami is the training Ichigo underwent during BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2, which was presented as a means to strengthen him for confronting Yhwach. However, Ichibē Hyōsube revealed that this training was actually designed by the Soul Society as a backup plan should the Soul King ever perish; they intended Ichigo Kurosaki to be a replacement linchpin. Ichibē Hyōsube aims to sacrifice Ichigo and make him the new Soul King, while Captain-Commander Shunsui Kyōraku is aware of this plan.

2024-10-20 22:05