Bleach/Headscratchers/Gotei 13


 * Yamamoto's zanpakutou is able to erect a wall of flames that is apparently so powerful not even Aizen can penetrate it. So why doesn't he cast it somewhere else, like, right through Aizen's head?
 * I think the way it works is that it's strong enough for Aizen to be unable to penetrate it, but not strong enough to defeat him.
 * Yamato probably wanted to play it somewhat safe at first. Kill or badly harm Aizen, and it may turn out into an outright brawl all over the place. Sealing Aizen off has the Espada and fraccion playing it even more defensively, and are losing because of it.
 * This Troper thinks it's just a convenient way to seal off Aizen during the battle. Story-wise, that technique could be a combination of his zanpactou and a bakutou to seal off an area, not cause damage. It would have to be dimensional and physical, though, because Aizen can warp to Hueco Mundo at will.
 * We should consider that this move could be so strong because it was specifically created for restraining and just wouldn't work if used for anything else, also plotwise Tite needed some technique to "delay" the final confrontation between the soul society and the ex-shinigami or the battle would have either ended too suddenly (with Aizen Victory) or needed too much AssPulling to explain how the soul society is able to overcome his enemies.
 * Also, in order to cast it through Aizen's head, he has to know where Aizen actually is, not just where he appears to be. I bet Old man Yami figured the safest way was to just to close off as large an area as possible, since he couldn't be sure that the Aizen he could see was actually the real one.
 * How is Captain Yamamoto Japanese? He founded the Academy 2000 years ago, implying to have trained for hundreds of years before that, and died before even that. However, Japan wasn't anything like the way he reflects until around 700 or so. It wasn't even ethnically similar to now, yet he looks just like everyone else!
 * Presumably because in Bleach's verse, Japan's mythological origin is real history
 * One could also theorize that Japan's culture came from some Shinigami who were exiled or fell in love in the real world. Thus, Japan copied off Soul Society, not the other way around.
 * What the hell is up with aging? Hiyori's been 12 or so for 100 years now. Rukia aged from baby to teen in a presumably short time- just long enough for Hisana to meet Byakuya- and hasn't aged any further in the past 49 years. From 100 years ago to 55 years ago Byakuya aged about 15 years, then hasn't aged since. Yachiru is just all kinds of odd, as she acts three, but is experienced enough to be at least 20. There is no consistency at all.
 * This troper guesses that it is a matter of preference using willpower and Reiastsu, some prefering to stay in younger bodies while others will themselves to mature.
 * But im pretty sure people still die from old age, and that the head captain doesn't WANT to be old
 * The Head Captain is the exact same as he was 100 years ago, head scars and everything. Aging appears to be at Tite's convenience.
 * Read a bit about the Allan Kardec's works and you'll understand a bit more the concept of the Soul Society, since Kubo probably took a good chunk of Bleach's afterlife concept from there. Most people that are born and grow up in Soul Society might not have died necessarily as babies, but in their spiritual state, they don't feel matured enough, growing up slowly. Some other people, due to their beliefs, might forget their earthly life on purpose, and most people keep the spiritual age they prefer the most. That's why some spirits keep up their young age for centuries, while others get old in a few years. Also, the Shinigamis are like the spiritual mediums of that world, taking the disturbed spirits (Hollows, obssessors, eartbound, wandering) to their towns. Hell, in the Kardecist concept (or Umbral, as they call), is reserved to the ones that sinned so much and don't have an ounce of repentance, to live. It's more of a Crapsack World than Hueco Mundo and Zaraki together. Hueco Mundo is the world where obssessors and wicked spirits in general reunite to decide their bad jobs (although in the original, such place was part of the Umbral as well, but Tite Kubo got a lot of artistic liberty even in Soul Society itself, since the mediums aren't that cruel, and reincarnation was supposed to be a process that people would willingly want to do).
 * This troper always just assumed that the regular denizens of Soul Society (those in the rukongai, not sure if I spelt it right) aged normally, but the Shinigami's aging is slowed down greatly. Therefore the regular souls living in Soul Society live, age and die and are reincarnated, while the Shinigami live, age, age more and more, then eventually die of REALLY old age (if Yamamato is a reference point to how old one could get)
 * That sounds a bit like the system used in the game Aion. Powerful individuals (Daeva's in the game, soulreapers in bleach) are relatively immortal, generally dying only in battle and not of old age while regular individuals live and die normally.
 * So...Sajin Komamura is a anthropomorphic canine of some kind. What's the deal with that exactly? Was he some kind of canine when he was alive? If so, where are all the other animal souls?
 * Maybe he was a canine with particularly high Reiatsu, which manifested after he died. Or maybe his real Backstory will eventually expand.
 * If Kubo ever gives him one.
 * perhapse he could become a wolf like yoruichis cat power and something went realy wrong?


 * What the hell is Ukitake doing in this latest battle. He's just sitting there and unintentionally antagonizing Lilinette, not bothering to help Kyoraku in his fight against the strongest of the Espada. Ukitake claims that he's letting Kyoraku fight alone since "two-on-one wouldn't be fair." Is he forgetting what happened the last time he let a friend of his fight alone? And why isn't he at least showing some support for the other Shinigami who are fighting? Just sitting there while four Vice-Captains are getting bludgeoned to death (one almost literally ripped in half) by a chimera doesn't exactly seem becoming of someone as respected as Ukitake.
 * Ukitake has shown that he generally is not to great at helping people due to some concept of pride. Honestly, while he is nice, I have no idea why he was not reprimanded for letting one of his squad members get killed while he watched and did nothing, even though he could have helped. Then again, the Soul Reapers let someone like Mayuri operate freely, so really the whole organization is messed up.
 * Consider also that Kyoraku is up against the top Hollow in business. Ukitate could be keeping it a one-on-one fight to prevent any potentially-fatal distractions from himself or Lilinette causing Kyoraku to lose. Cause he already has enough of a task before him. Admittedly, this doesn't clear him from not helping his subordinates AGAIN.
 * Come on, he's Captain Tuberculosis. I think it's stated somewhere that although he's pretty strong he can't fight for very long, so he'd most likely end up as a liability.
 * Agreed. Honestly people, I'm surprised he can actually do that much against Lilinette without having a coughing fit. Also, he did warn her.
 * The extent his illness hinders him is greatly exaggerated by fans. The only time we've ever seen Ukitake become sick in battle was when he fought Kaien. Even then it's not implied that fighting causes him to suddenly have a caughing fit. He caughs up blood and says "Dammit, not now", implying that the side-effects of his illness appear at unpredictable moments. To support this, he was able to stand perfectly when Yamamoto suddenly released his spirit pressure at full force (Nanao stops breathing and nearly fainted, and Kyoraku had to carry her away). There's also the fact that Yamamoto describes Ukitake and Kyoraku as "glorious in battle", and says that the two of them were unmatched during their time in the academy. That description does not at all sound like someone that can't fight Lilinette without getting sick. On another note, Ukitake is Japanese, as well as very old. The concept of Honor is probably etched into his very being. When Kaien went after that hollow, he was upholding his Honor. Kaien made the fight a personal matter; he wasn't fighting as a Lieutenant, but as a husband and friend. Joining the battle would have shamed both of them, so Ukitake didn't. And even though Kaien died, he did so to avenge his wife and men; it's arguably his greatest accomplishment.
 * Ukitake and Kyoraku are two of the oldest shinigami in business except only for Yamamoto and Unohana - This Troper would except them to be confident in their skills, after all they have survived at least 200 years as captains (most probably it's little under 1000 years - they're the first captains who graduated the Academy). Ukitake probably trusts Kyoraku to deal with #1 Espada on his own and would rather stand(sit?) guard so nobody tries to help Starrk.


 * How come everyone isn't carrying a bottle of 'Trembling Point'? When Hanataro first used it it was just some stuff that only knocked out people with low spirit power, but come the fight for Karakura it's strong enough to knock out Yumichika, whose spirit power is at least liutenant-level. So there's this stuff that only requires a single drop to hit the skin in order to cause almost instant unconsciousness in targets up to liutenant-level... someone should really start using this shizzle in combat.
 * Query: Is an Arrancar's iron skin permeable by liquids? Well, considering it's not with the average sword, or many other things, I'd go for a no. As for why they didn't use that stuff in the SS arc, I think it's probably not standard issue gear (In fact, the only standard issue gear readily seen is the outfit and those mass-produced Zanpakuto until you get your own.) and most of the Shinigami who were willing to respond non-lethally are skillful enough to do it other ways. But if somebody had crashed through a 4th Squad barracks, you can be sure someone would have thought to use the stuff.
 * Outside of his hax Shikai, Yumichika isn't really vice captain-level, Hisagi beat him while unreleased. It's also plausible that exhaustion made him more vulnerable to the liquid.
 * But then again, he should have been restored by receiving Cuulhorne's spiritual pressure, as he's surprisingly energetic when he catches up to Kenpachi after defeating Hisagi. I suspect that it was easy for Hanataro to put a drop on the guards because he had the element of surprise, and in Yumichika's case, Hisagi was restraining him (and Izuru may have used more of it on Yumichika, since the drop seems a little larger).
 * It's a translation error. Hanataro used shinten ('trembling point' or 'shock point' depending on translation) but Kira used gaten ('drill point' or 'penetrating point' depending on translation) on Yumichika. The anime also says Kira used gaten on Yumichika. When Yoruichi drugged Ichigo, Ukitake said it was probably gaten she used; gaten can be used on strong shinigami unlike shinten. Even the erroneous scanlations translate the drug used on Yumichika as 'drill point' or 'penetrating point' (ie, the gaten translation), meaning it looks odd even in English.
 * Revisiting this. Both the Viz dub of the Bleach anime and the Viz translation of Volume 38 state that what Kira threw at Yumichika was "gaten" rather than "shinten".
 * How come almost all the soul reapers and residents of the Soul Society are japanese? Are there numerous soul societies around the world or does only the country of Japan and Mexico at all matter in the universe of Bleach?
 * Okay most of the arrancars are obviously spanish and the Bounts in the anime were actually european.
 * They're not "obviously" Spanish. Kubo's only using the language for aesthetics, not to indicate nationality. But the only real answer that can be given is that Kubo hasn't delved into it that deeply.
 * And knowing Kubo, Tosen's really Mexican. I thought he looked Indian to me.
 * So no one is going to comment on Ukitake as of chapter 362? So what do you think about this latest development?
 * I think that - while it looks incredibly badass - Stark's resurrecion didn't leave a hugely impressive first impression. Still, it's only the first chapter of the actual fight, so hopefully he'll turn out to act as awesome as he looks by the end of it.
 * Pre-emptive strike on this theory: Ukitake is a Visored.
 * ... Actually, that could make a certain sort of sense. Maybe Ukitake does have an inner Hollow like the Visoreds, but he can't completely control it, so it's been eating away at his body for centuries and he's just been using 'tuberculosis' as a convenient excuse.
 * He never actually said that he has TB. That was pure fan assumption based on the symptoms. All he has ever said is that he has an "illness".
 * Looking back, his mysterious illness being an internal Hollow kicking the crap out of his soul on a daily basis actually does make a lot of sense. Why else would godlike healers like Unohana not be able to cure him if he had any sort of mundane illness? He's got an inner Hollow and doesn't know the visored-approved method of bringing it under total control, but he's enough of a Badass that he can keep it from eating him completely and draw on its powers without it taking him over, unlike Ichigo. You know, I'm starting to actually hope this is what's really happening.
 * How do we know that the 4th squad can use kido to heal diseases? We've only seen them use it to heal injuries. Maybe they need to use medicine to combat diseases the same way we do and they havn't come up with a cure for TB yet.
 * ... Oooor, maybe he just has the power to reflect attacks, and he was shooting Starrk's cero back at him.
 * When did Byakuya learn the cicada trick from Yoruichi ? Because I see 2 possibilities and neither of them make sense. Possibility 1) He learnt it when he was young. Problem 1) Why the heck would he have been surprised by it on their encounter on the bridge if he already knew it? Given how few people seem to know the move its not the kind of thing you'd forget someone could do, if they taught you to do it. Possibility 2) He learnt it from her at some stage after the Soul Sociery Arc. Problem 2) The way he speaks of her after using the move is insulting and doesn't seem consistant with the way you'd speak of someone you'd be willing to learn from (and certainly not the way you'd speak about someone who just taught you a highly advanced technique).
 * Well for possibility 1 it should be noted that at the time of the bridge race Byakuya was basically of the opinion that Yoroichi had spent so long in the human world/cat form/untraceable gigai(?) that she couldn't keep up with him despite knowing that she was always much faster than him. So he could have learned it from her, then just assumed she couldn't do it anymore because she'd slowed down while out of Soul Society, or just been surprised that she was still fast (and unfazed by the cicada trick).
 * That just brings up another problem with possibility 1) though, why would you bother using that trick on someone who's aware of it and you know they are aware of it ?
 * Perhaps he didn't mean "taught" literally. Maybe he meant that he copied it; kind of like "teaching by example."
 * I didn't think of this, it doesn't seem improbable, but it still bugs me because if he learnt it by copying, he owes her nothing for it, so why would he be reluctant to use it ?
 * Maybe he just doesn't want to be like her in any way. He pretty much despises her.
 * Back during the Soul Society arc, Byakuya mentioned that he'd only shown the penultimate form of his Bankai (the one with the huge wall of swords) to two people, one of whom was Ichigo. Was the other meant to be Renji, or is it somebody else entirely?
 * Someone else entirely I think. Since he only shows it to people he wishes to destroy personally, and the Renjii vs Byakuya fight pretty much demonstrated that if Byakuya wanted Renji dead, Renji would be dead.
 * Now I'm curious about who it might be. Of course, since it's hardly an important plot point, it's not likely to be resolved. I think it's more the type of thing we'd see in a movie.
 * If we're lucky, even if he wraps the main story, Kubo will fill in those "-" chapters of his, which will extensively cover all the backstory we want to know, but will never find out through the course of the regular storyline. Byakuya's a kind of popular character too, isn't he? So that beefs up the chance for a handful of him related chapters in the however many are left between Turn Back The Pendulum and now. Byakuya learned his Bankai and all it's techniques sometime, right?
 * The exact wording is "the second person" meaning the answer is obvious. Byakuya has seen his own Bankai before, right?
 * The SOULS character book adds to the mystery by pointing out Byakuya said this and it's a question we should be wondering about the answer to. So, no, the answer isn't obvious - but it seems Kubo does want us to wonder who this second person might be.
 * Ukitake leaps into the fight between Starrk and Kyoraku, because  Didn't think of that, didja? Didja? So NYER, Ukitake. NYER.
 * LOL. Ukitake's been really out-of-character these few chapters, hasn't he? First he makes fun of Lilinette, then he double-teams Stark... Looks like the nice captain isn't so nice anymore...
 * Great, so what would you have him do instead -- waste his time fighting Lilinette at full power so that when Stark (Yes I'm spelling it with one R) essentially fuses with his sword, Ukitake starts coughing blood all over the place from overexertion and basically being a liability to Kyoraku? And come on, he still thinks of Lilinette as a separate entity despite what just happened. Makes more sense than dehumanizing her, if we can call it that. Honestly, you are just tacking incorrect terms on to stuff you don't like.
 * Oh, I never said I had a problem with it - just that Ukitake's mistaken, not that he's in the wrong. Having said that: there's a marked difference between "I think Ukitake mistakenly broke his moral code without realizing it" and "I think Ukitake should go full-power on what is essentially a child"; I doubt getting serious against Lilinette is going to wear him out when he can block her most powerful attacks barehanded; he wouldn't really have been a liability since Starrk made no move towards him - even coughing blood, I doubt he'd be helpless enough to be a passive hostage; and the thrust of my comment was that, although Lilinette IS a separate entity, a Shinigami's sword basically is as well. And if I have tacked incorrect terms onto stuff I don't like (note: since questions for some reason always come across as sarcastic on message boards, I'd like to clarify that the following one is a genuine query, because if my argument has holes in it I do want to have them clarified), in what way have I done so?
 * If we're going by the Zanpakuto filler arc, Ukitake made it six on two . Kyoraku and Katen Kyokotsu plus Ukitake and Sogyo no Kotowari would make six. Here's another thing: using Ukitake's logic of 'children shouldn't fight even if they only look like children', he probably shouldn't be using his Zanpakuto--Sogyo and Koto look like they're nine years old.


 * Where the hell is Sasakibe? It was shown twice that he came with everyone else to the Fake Karakura Town, and there where times when he could've fought against a fraccion or helped somebody with an Espada, but that hasn't happened either! Hell, he hasn't even shown up since chapter 315! Personally, I think he's either he's doing something offscreen that'll become useful later on, or Kubo simply forgot about him (Lately, I'm starting to think that the latter is true).
 * Well, we are talking about the guy whose name was revealed AFTER the name of his sword. I think Kubo just forgot he existed. Or maybe his zanpaktou's ability allows him to become invisible.
 * Given that the only people remaining to fight are the top three Espada, Wonderweiss and "Superchunky," and three former captains, one of whom is as powerful as, if not more powerful than, the Head Captain himself, there's not much he can do at this point. The lieutenants haven't exactly fared well with the Sorting Algorithm of Evil.
 * You realize that since you mentioned it here, Kubo is probably going to show us what he's doing in the next chapter.
 * He bloody has as well! Turns out he was . DAMN YOU KUBO STOP READING THIS PAGE. Actually don't stop reading this page.
 * So, Yama's vice captain was at the battle after all... He was wandering around outside the barrier while all the other shinigami were being slaughtered. How was that supposed to help?
 * Because getting stomped into vice captain paste would help the fight so much? If he's even been named, it is still hard to expect anything from him. He's just a nameless butler to Yamamoto who has had all of two lines the entire series. Probably not even a combat butler.
 * His name is Chōjirō Sasakibe and he obviously has at least some combat abilities if he was chosen to be the Captain Commander's Vice Captain. Sure, he got his ass handed to him by Ichigo, but so did Omeada, and even he managed to do something in the battle. It just seems that this guy could have been doing something other than aimlessly wandering around outside the battlefield. Otherwise, why did he even come in the first place? Oh, well. I guess Chojiro is to Bleach as Tenten is to Naruto (manga version at least).
 * Maybe he was the one keeping the barrier up? The only time we've seen him fight, he was knocked out in seconds, so it could be he's a kido specialist instead of a front-line fighter. It's not as though Yamamoto really needs someone fighting with him, so it kind of makes sense he'd pick someone who could work in a support capacity as his second-in-command.
 * Why does everyone assume he was just chillin' outside the barrier? He was clearly with the group at the start, so it's not like he was just sitting around out there. He probably sensed the Vaizards and went over to see what was up.
 * Why was Kyoraku playing dead? I wouldn't hazard to guess that he isn't hurt, and that he might not wish to draw attention to himself, but his best friend has a gaping hole in his chest. You figure that might be a priority.
 * Doing the same thing Kenpachi did when he was playing dead? Coming up with a plan perhaps.
 * Unless, of course, Ukitake isn't really hurt at all, which probably would make the most sense. I mean, it's not like characters usually die just because of a hole in their chest.
 * Ichigo's died twice from having a hole in his chest.
 * Not like it's lasted more than half a minute, though.
 * It's entirely possible he didn't die the first time Ulquiorra stabbed him, since Byakuya notes that the Bankai disappears when a Soul Reaper is near death, not necessarily when he or she is dead (Renji, Tousen and Hitsugaya's Bankai is disappear after they are severely wounded by Byakuya, Kenpachi and Aizen).
 * Still, it seems as though Kyoraku may be incapacitated, since he's not getting up, and there are enough former Captain Visoreds to take on the Espada.
 * In the first episode Rukia said "I have lived for 10 of your lifetimes" (which in Japan is about 80 years on average) so that would make her 800 years old. However in the flashback to the past they said it was 100 years ago and Rukia was nowehere to be seen. Hisana abandoned her as a baby so it is presumed she wasn't born yet during the events of that arc. It means Rukia lied to Ichigo about her age -_- (If this doesn't make sense it's because I am horrible at explaining things. If you can't tell what I'm talking about just ignore it and don't give yourself a headache trying to figure it out.)
 * I think she meant that she's 10 times Ichigo's age, or around 150.
 * Again: "After his fight with Ichigo, Renji flashbacked to his childhood with Rukia. Both of them seem to age normally for the ten years after they meet, and it seems as though they only stopped once they became shinigami. Rukia was probably just over-exaggerating her age in the first chapter." I doubt that they'd randomly start aging normally ten years before going off to the seireitei academy when they hadn't been before. And when Rukia meets Byakuya, he's definitely older than he was when we saw him in the Pendulum Arc.
 * How exactly did Izuru escape after being frozen to the ground in Hitsugaya's fight with Gin in Episode 48? He presumably leaves with Gin, but he's never shown exiting the scene, and it's unclear how he could move.
 * What is Komamura? Is he part of a species of humanoid foxes? is he a human that just happens to be really hairy? Is he a fox who somehow gained human traits? Is he the result of some weird experiment?
 * Yes.


 * This Troper had a major fridge logic moment when he read a comment about Ikkaku showing up in school and carrying a bokken because he couldn't carry his regular sword. Shinigami are invisible to normals....this obviously extends to their swords or people would've commented about the swords floating in midair. The gigai is body-only....it doesn't seem to make their sword physical/visible to normals. Is there any reason gigai-Ikkaku couldn't/didn't just carry around his (invisible to normals) sword, considering that nobody would notice unless they bumped into him?
 * This is a tough one to tackle on multiple fronts. Firstly I'm frankly not sure why or HOW they are able to pull their swords out of the gigai, just that somehow they did just prior to the second arrancar attack when training some distance away from the town. Further I'm also not sure if this in itself makes it visible or not, nore if they allow the usage of their powers. Nor further whether or not Ichigo is capable of something similar. Kubo really hasn't bothered to tackle all the issues that come up with this one. >>
 * Maybe the metaphysical sword doesn't carry any weight because he's in a Gigai, and he would feel like it's not there after awhile?
 * I think Ikkaku, the lover of fighting that he is, just wanted to be able to carry a weapon around, as he says "You should have let me carry a real sword," rather than "my zanpakuto".
 * Furthermore, it's probably not enough for Ikkaku to just be armed -- he wants people to see that he's armed.
 * A Zanpakuto is made from your 'soul'(somewhat literally), and a gigai is basically an empty shell that's capable of holding a Soul (Soul: a person that has died and moved on to the afterlife) within it. Therefor, the Zanpakuto is 'in' the gigai along with the Soul. A Soul within a gigai can allow their Zanpakuto to manifest itself so that their gigai can hold it (being in a gigai doesn't hinder the use of their Zanpakuto, because the Zanpakuto is a piece of their 'soul'). At least, that's what I assume.
 * So what are Retsu & Kotetsu and Mayuri & Nemu doing right now? Are they still trying to recover everyone (Especially Nemu since she gets beat up just about every time Mayuri's in a fight) before they can catch up to Byakuya and Kenpachi? (They were the least beat-up out of everyone in Hueco Mundo...who didn't have Orihime)
 * Unohana's going to Karakura with Ichigo. Isane's staying behind to help everyone in Hueco Mundo.
 * I feel like I should be bugged by Captain Batman showing up with the magic way out for Ichigo. But at the same time, it's nothing he hasn't done before and has foreshadowing from the research vault to explain it. So I guess it bugs me that I'm bugged by something that shouldn't bug me. Plus every other captain paving the way for him to go save the day.
 * Why's everyone so afraid of angering Retsu Unohana?
 * Beware the Nice Ones. That's why.
 * Because, and I checked, she's the third most powerful Shinigami. EVER. Topped only by Yamamoto and Aizen, and not by a lot (her power index is 540/600, while Aizen and Yamamoto are both at 560/600).
 * In the latest chapter we find out that "There is none amongst the captains of Gotei 13 to whom the aid of one such as yourself would be considered significant". Hellooooo Byakuya? The person you're speaking to kicked your ass. AND Kenpachi's ass(in Shikai, no less). AND has only grown stronger since then. AND why is he being sent to Karakura if his aid is oh-so-insignificant?
 * I think it was just Byakuya trying to act cool and shun Ichigo off so that he could go to Karakura Town and protect it. You know how it is when people act like assholes towards each other when they really mean something else because they want to look tough (Like way back in chapter 81 when Ganju helped out Ichigo with that orb thing by indirectly showing Ichigo a shortcut on how to control his spiritual energy by practicing on it and saying that "Even an idiot can do this! There's no need for a genius like me to practice!").
 * If we really get technical, Ichigo technically lost both fights, being the first one to fall against Kenpachi, and against Byakuya he could barely stand when Byakuya was able to leave with no trouble. Further even if he's gotten 'stronger' since... his current track record is pretty horrible when compared with how the captains have been doing of late. For crying out loud, Hitsugaya kicked Harribel's ass taking no damage himself (Granted, Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors, but STILL), and she is unquestionably stronger than at the very least Ulquiorra's first stage, which destroyed Ichigo's Vizard form with no effort. To say nothing of his latest mask upgrade barely scratching Yammi when Kenpachi, with his eyepatch on, took a leg off effortlessly. It WOULD be pretty annoying though given the scale continuity, but frankly Ichigo's broken the scale already too many times as is...
 * As I understand it, Ichigo fought Kenpachi to a draw (double KO) and he would have lost to Byakuya had his fight with him had gone any longer.
 * Kenpachi, while he did fall a little after, had enough conciousness and mobility that frankly he could have grabbed his broken yet not in pieces yet blade, and run it through Ichigo's head if he were so inclined. Instead he lifted it, looked at it, watched it break, said a few lines, and THEN fell. Draw possibly, but that's really a best case scenario no matter how you look at it. Ichigo was clearly the worse one off after that though.
 * When you consider how the first fight with Kenpachi went, it was like Ichigo was using Bankai. All of that spiritual energy that was used by Ichigo to "win" the fight was his combined with Zangetsu. It's in essence the same thing as his Bankai, which increases his speed due to the energy of Zangetsu being compressed onto him. How this works exactly I don't know. As for the fight with Byakuya, Ichigo was lucky. Had Byakuya actually fought seriously instead of trying to act all superior and half-assing it in the beginning, things would be completely different. Byakuya could had easily went all out with his various abilities in Bankai, including attacking Ichigo with all of those swords during senkei or better yet just use gokei to defeat him right then and there. Byakuya's fighting style can best be shown using his fight against Renji. During that fight, Renji had an upper hand most of the fight due to the fact that Byakuya keeps half-assing and not taking it seriously. Furthermore, how Ichigo manages to block Senbonzakura by merely blocking it like it was a wave of energy is beyond me. It would be like him blocking a torrent of water just by putting fourth his blade. It doesn't work like that.
 * Probably because Byakuya controls it like a wave of energy. I doubt he controls each blade individually.
 * Ichigo didn't have his Bankai or hollow mask when he faced Kenpachi (although Kenpachi wasn't using "kendo," either), and Zangetsu had little energy left for keeping the near-fatal wound he got from relaxing his guard closed. In Byakuya's case, he had a clear advantage while using the hollow mask, so he probably would be able to defeat each of them if he were using his bankai and hollow mask. The two also happen to be well-suited to facing their enemies; Byakuya was able to figure out Zommari's ability, and Kenpachi has enough raw power to damage Nnoitra when he manages to hit him; it's possible Ichigo could have defeated Nnoitra if he'd come in at full strength, but he's less likely to have defeated Zommari due to not being well equipped to handle his ability.
 * I always assumed Kenpachi got a power up by aligning himself with his Zanpakuto, I means he hasn't learned its name yet, but he actually trying now. Instead of not caring like he did during his fight with Ichigo.
 * How on earth does Mayuri get away with things like blowing up his own troops and experimenting on anyone in the interests of science without the Commander-General or Central 46 Chambers arresting him for commiting heinous crimes against humanity anyway?
 * I think Kubo said that Mayuri was one of his favorite characters. So, he is not getting punished cause the creator likes him.
 * The fact that he's so shamelessly over the top in his Jerkass actions probably helps too.
 * I don't think the allowance of Mayuri's actions are as far-fetched as we assume. The Imperial Japanese Army actually had something shockingly similar to (and arguably worse than) the 12th Divisions "Shinigami Research and Development Institute": Unit 731, officially known as the "Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army". According to the other wiki, it was responsible for some of the most notorious war crimes carried out by Japanese personnel. The scope of what was carried out is disturbing, but here's a small overview form wikipedia. Serious Warning:


 * Am I the only one bugged by how the Captains so readily accept help from three traitors? (Urahara, Tessei and Yoruichi, to be precise)
 * The Captains are now aware Aizen is the real traitor, and likely figured out that Aizen framed Urahara, and that Yoruichi was only saving them from unjust punishment.


 * What is the Head Captain doing while everyone is fighting Aizen?
 * My guess? Absolutely nothing. The likely handwave? "Setting up" his.


 * So it's been revealed that Aizen knows something about the circumstances of Ichigo's birth. Is he really the only one who's been keeping tabs on ? I mean, he was interrupted right before revealing something by   stating that he's said too much already.
 * Tousen's Friend's death. Seriously did her husband even get punished for it?, as Tousen seemed to act like the guy was still alive and going about his business. And why after joining with Aizen didn't Tosuen just kill the bastard off himself?.
 * The whereabouts of Ise Nanao (8th Division Lieutenant) during the Fake Karakura Town Arc. This Troper has been thinking about this for months. Seriously... practically every (significant) seated member of the Gotei 13 is accounted for. The battle for existence as they know it is occurring, and... she's M.I.A. the whole time! What could possibly be so important that would require her to not directly participate in the battles(s) to preserve the balanced order of the universe??
 * Likely Kyoraku's fault, at least when it comes to the major battles. He's protective of her, his shikai is potentially crazy dangerous to allies, and from Nanao's opinion of her captain she may or may not see past his 'drunken lecher' image. Ukitake, on the other hand, clearly does and knows how to handle his slightly disturbing combat pragmatist mate. As for why Nanao didn't turn up with the other lieutenants either...we have no idea what she can do. Perhaps she genuinely isn't suited for direct combat, and it was too risky for her to be involved unless absolutely necessary. And from how he acted in said battle for existence, Kyoraku's definition of 'necessary' is very broad... When it comes to protecting his subordinates, he doesn't much care about the methods. If he could get away with Nanao being entirely absent from the Not-Final Battle, he would have. There were other junior officers around with more established skills, and he and Ukitake have clearly tag-teamed baddies since forever.
 * Rukia is clearly a competent soul reaper far more so than the current third seats of the 13th seem to be, yet Rukia herself is not a seated officer. Apparently this is because Byakuya decided he could keep her out of harms way by forcing Ukitake into not assigning a high rank. Why was Byakuya allowed to meddle in the affairs of a division not his own, that clearly works very differently under the leadership of a captain with much more experience than he is? Only reason I can think of is that Ukitake agreed to begin with because he sympathised (he is a big brother himself, after all) and thought disagreeing would be problematic for Rukia. Rukia's reaction and involvement in Kaien's death could be a reason why Ukitake didn't promote her when there was such a gap left in the ranks. Possibly the timeskip will have her as the 13th's lieutenant.
 * I think the decision was reached when Rukia was forced to kill Kaien. Byakuya is pretty persuasive, and Ukitake is the paternal type, who would probably listen. Byakuya doesn't want his wife's younger sister to die, or get further physically or mentally traumatized, so he was able to pull some strings.
 * Speaking of time skips...
 * We do know which squad.
 * I'm starting to suspect that soul society's government is secretly run by Vogons. Why does Rukia's "transgression" at the beginning of the plot warrant an extremely elaborate death penalty, but Aizen basically being the soul society criminal equivalent of Hitler only nets him imprisonment? Also, why the hell does Rukia (and basically every other SR that comes to town) actively fraternize with Uraharra, who is a known fugitive? In fact, for a criminal in hiding, he seems to have a pretty lucrative business going on there. Or if he is no longer considered a criminal, why does he continue to stay in hiding? Is gotei 13 just that indecisive?
 * Rukia's crime doesn't warrent death. Renji pointed out he was joking to her about it. He was floored when Byakuya told him the sentence was genuine. Later on, Aizen was trying to manipulate Renji by focusing on the fact that the death penalty for Rukia's crime is unheard of as well as the method of execution not being for someone of her rank. We eventually learn that the Central 46 didn't issue this order. Aizen had already killed them by then. Aizen issued the order purely to gain access to one of only two methods known for extracting an object from inside a soul.
 * And as for Aizen, it's possible it's not a question of whether Soul Society should execute him but whether they can execute him. Imprisonment might be the worst punishment they think will stick.
 * A long, long time ago, during the Soul Society arc, Ishida fights with Mayuri. Who gets a hole blown in his chest so massive that he winds up missing almost everything from lower lungs to hips. Including his spine. In fact, it appears that the only thing holding his head above his feet is what remains of his uniform. What. The. Hell. To illustrate how WTF-y this is, have a picture of his injuries: http://www.mangafox.com/manga/bleach/v15/c126/3.html
 * Er, Gotei 13, you forgot about the number two threat there along with Ginjo. Speaking of which, would Bookman's power work on the shinigamis?
 * On the back of the entry about Nanao Ise; by now most of the lieutenants have had some moment establishing why they're any good, or at least don't seem totally unlikely candidates for their positions (even Sasakibe is part of whatever ancient history Yamamoto and his students are). Nanao is a curious case because she was a child when she joined the eighth division. While Kyoraku's protectiveness of her (somewhat justified given what happened to Lisa) explains a little about why Nanao's not been in any major battles, we still have no Informed Ability about the woman or any nod to her being, say, a Teen Genius like Ichimaru and Hitsugaya were. Loads and Loads of Characters mean the series will hardly cater for all the cast, but it seems like a strange gap to leave when all her contemporaries - same rank and (apparently) age - get their moments in the spotlight. And I'm not seeing Kyoraku as the sort to recruit even a promising kid without a damn good reason to do so. Maybe she was in a similar situation as Hitsugaya?
 * This may have been adressed, but the members of the Gotei 13 seemed extremely out of touch with each other during Ichi-crew's invasion of Soul Society. The way the captains interacted with each other was terrible, and the actions of some of the members were just bad (Mayuri and the Science Co. aside). For example, the blatant bashing of 4th division members by another division. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but to openly state how worthless you think another division is while on duty is ostounding, especially when it's Captain is one of the most powerful and respected. It also seemed odd that some division members didn't recognize the seated officers of other divisions (ex: Renji didn't recognize Hanataro, a 7th seat). I assumed that simple information about the ranks in other divisions would be known to all of the Captains and Lieutenants. Not to mention we also see several soul reapers shamelessly drunk while on duty, and one even makes some extremely innapropriate comments to Orihime. Do they not have basic conduct standards? And what's up with the divisions being so hostile/ignorant with each other?
 * Soul Society overall is a pretty terrible military organization. When Ichigo and Co. invaded, they had few tactics and almost no coperation. It didn't even seem like they had a plan in the event someone did invade other than run at them and fight. Also it is very weird how little respect the fourth division get considering they might be the most useful of all the squards. It was shown in Kenpachi's fight with Ichigo that unless a soul reaper is powerful enough they cannot even hurt a captain. This mean that even if an entire squard, excluding captains and those hiding their captain class power, tried to attack someone near captain level they would be useless, but if a few good forth division members and an average lieutenant teamed up they might actually do some damage (assuming the opponent did not immediantly go for the medics).
 * Going for the medics is arguably a great tactic. If you wipe them out first, you don't have to worry about the non-medics getting healed. And after you wipe out the medics, you wipe out the other opponents and then jack the medics healing supplise (assuming they don't just use spells) for yourself. With that said, the medics are extremely valuable. Honestly, Eleventh Division's hatred of them is looking more ridiculous the more I think about it. I understand that they have this dream of dying gloriously in battle, but if they can't grasp the point of what it means to be a Soul Reaper, they shouldn't even be in the Gotei 13. Ikkaku was probably the most egregious example of what's wrong with the Eleventh Division. The fact that he couldn't swallow his pride and use Bankai when the survival of thousands of people literally counted on him to gaurd that pillar was outrageous. Thankfully someone called him out on it.
 * Why are they required to like Squad 4, or even respect them? Remember, Squad 4's made up of people who are more or less useless in any kind of fight. That's WHY they're the medics and support staff. It's pretty much all they're good at. And yes, Squad 11 is pretty much insane for their love of battle. And? Look at their captain. Far as they Soul Society is concerned, they're perfect infantry. Always ready to fight, completely loyal, and willing to fight to the end. Perfect ground troops. To answer the original question, it boils down to this. The captains have pretty much free reign in their squads, and each operates totally differently depending on their training, expertise, and what the situation is. As such, each is more focused on their small section rather than the Soul Society as a whole. And due to the whole organization being so huge, there really isn't any opportunity to watch over every soldier, just for plain logistical reasons. Basically, each squad is it's own contained unit, that doesn't have much interaction with the others other than what's required. It's a far from perfect system, but when you have a huge massive world to cover, and not that many men to do it, you have to get creative.
 * Actual, did we ever get a conformation on if the Gotei thirteen handle the whole world or just Japan? If they handle the entire world then the organization is ludicrously small and inefficient for the task; if soul society only has jurisdiction over Japan than it is needlessly big and uncoordinated. The problem with the eleventh division not respecting squad 4 is that it hurts moral and makes the entire operation less inefficient. The problem with using squad eleven solely for infantry is that it makes them too limited. As you said each squad is trained based on their captain and ideals. This means that a squad likes Byakuya's would most likely have its member know sword fighting, kido, and maybe basic medical techniques, while a squad eleven members would only know sword fighting techniques and their shiki. Also it doesn’t matter how loyal a squad eleven member is if they choose to die in battle before completing their mission. Kira, during the winter war, showed just how valuable someone who can fight and heal is during a battle even if it to the point of keeping a wounded solider stable until a more experienced healer could handle it.
 * Since someone beat me to it, I'll elaborate a bit. The problem I had with Squad 11 isn't that they don't like Squad 4, it's that they don't seem to have any respect whatsoever. If you join a military organization, there's a code of conduct that you're supposed to follow to help everything operate smoothly. When Ichigo and Ganju ran into a group of Squad 11 members they took Hanataro "hostage", believing that they wouldn't attack if they had him. The members start laughing and Hanataro reveals that Squad 11 hates Squad 4. The Squad 11 members appear even happier than they did before at getting to fight. Later on after everything regarding Aizen is revealed and everyone is recovering, we see Squad 11 in the Squad 4 healing barracks; they're complaining about their food and threatening squad 4 members. Like I said before, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but actively looking for a reason to beat up on Squad 4 is ridiculous. Despite his love of battle, Kenpchi isn't that immature and he actually has a code of honor; it wouldn't hurt for them to try being a bit more like their captain. Kenpachi looks for a strong opponent and a fair fight, not a chance to beat and bully someone that can't/won't fight back. Like the above troper said, it doesn't matter how loyal someone is if they choose to die before they complete their mission. Soul Reapers exist to perform Konso, guard Soul Society, and purify Hollows; sometimes carrying out those tasks requires a Soul Reaper to heal themselves or be healed by Squad 4. This is where Squad 11 logic fails.
 * It seems that there may be evedince to support the theory that the Gotei 13 operate world wide, or at least outside of Japan. Squad 1 Lieutenant Chojiro Sasakibe picked up his love of English society while on a mission in the Human World. However it's not specified where this mission actualy was.
 * So if we go by the idea that the gotei 13 patrol the entire world, than their current system of operation really doesn't make sense. If soul society covers the entire world than that means hollows appear all over the world too. A more efficient thing to do would be to send decent sized squads of soul reapers (made up of some medics, sword specialist,kido specialist) to different parts of the world to patrol for hollows in specified areas. The captain and off duty soliders should logically be the only ones who remain in soul society. The captains together could handle almost any threat against soul society and anything capable of stopping them would easily overwhelm a zerg rush of weaker shinigami.
 * From what we saw in the manga Soul Society is quite consistent, when it comes to punishing their members. They sent captain and his vice after an unseated rouge shinigami (through this may be because of their connection to Rukia), but they let Urahara and his company go away and even make business with them, even through his dangerous wanted criminal. For what they believe him to be, he was able to successfully beat and experiment on 8 captain and vices. He seems to pose much greater thread to the Soul Society with his skills and scientific knowledge and yet they let him go. It can be accepted that they tolerated him because he was useful and didn’t do anything suspicious for next 100 years, but surely they could connect him to a group of intruders. Especially if Yoruichi was with them. Wouldn’t it be wise to get rid of Urahara, when he proved himself to be a thread and had heavy criminal record?
 * If Ichigo and Rukia do become a loving couple... would it count as Necrophilia since Rukia is technically dead?
 * During the war with Aizen and Hueco Mundo, why is the Gotei 13 so relatively passive? No reconnaisance by fire from Squad 2 or 11, no attacks on the Hollow armies that Aizen was building, etc. The shinigami do have the ability to travel to Hueco Mundo so since you have at least two captains with WMDs for bankai, why not have Mayuri or Yamamoto just use them on Aizen's HQ? It seems to be the only man-made structure of its size, so large that its visible on the horizon. Even if they don't get Aizen (realistically, wide-area attacks are the best way to counter illusionists), putting a dent in his ranks and possibly killing some of the Espada surely would have been worth it. Considering the hype surrounding Ryuujin Jaka, Yamamoto's bankai could possibly even kill the majority of the Espada and the defector Captains with a quick, surgical strike.

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