Bleach/Tropes S-Z: Difference between revisions

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{{tropelist|page=Bleach}}

* [[Samurai]]: There's a very strong theme running through this entire manga, especially with the shinigami who exemplify this trope to varying degrees depending on the character. The most obvious example is Komamura, who lives to serve his captain-commander and whose zanpakutou reflects this honour-bound personality.

** In the zanpakutou arc filler, Senbonzakura is depicted as a samurai and Komamura's zanpakutou actually is not.

** Momo seems to ship Renji and Rukia,as she urged him to go after her in the human world.

* [[Ship Tease]]: [[Anime|Studio Pierrot]] ''loves'' IchiRuki to the point where they created a lot of [[Filler|material]] focused on it and removed/toned down a lot of IchiHime and RenRuki [[Canon|material]] in the process. They did put in one major IchiHime moment in [[Overtook the Manga|Episode 167]] that caused some [[Shipping Wars|backlash]] and also cranked up the UlquiHime [[Ship Tease]] in his dying moments. They also [[Up to Eleven|cranked up]] the [[Ship Tease]] between [[Luminescent Blush|Renji]] and [[Single Tear|Rukia]] in a [[Whole-Episode Flashback|flashback]]. There are also indications they like the idea of HitsuMatsu, they love YoruSoi and [[Whole-Episode Flashback|Ikkaku/Yumichika]] and they've even played with [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Kenpachi/Byakuya]] [[Ship Tease]].

* [[Shrine to the Fallen]]: Isshin Kurosaki keeps a wall-sized poster of his deceased wife and often makes a show of crying to her over his children.

* [[Shoo Out the Clowns]]: Kon and the other Modsouls haven't been seen since the Lost Agent arc.

** In Episode 354, {{spoiler|Yukio sends Ginjo and Ichigo to do fullbring training in a Videogame stage. The Stage}} bears a striking resemblance to Chun-Li's Stage in [[[[Street Fighter II]] Street Fighter II

** Now we got Vandenreich. Has division named Stern Ritter (Star Knight), taking subjugated enemies into their rank, one of their warrior basically using technique that [[Sucking-In Lines|compress all reiatsu around him]] into single powerful attack, eiither Tite Kubo is friends with [[Lyrical Nanoha|Masaki Tsuzuki]], or [[Take That|really, really hate him]].

{{quote|'''Aizen''': "'How long?' What a funny thing to ask. My Kyouka Suigetsu is 'complete hypnosis'. At any given time, I can control all five senses and cause you to see anything I desire."

'''Shinji''': "That's exactly what I'm asking you... how long you've been using it!"

* [[Sidekick]] / [[Foil]]: Each lieutenant is one or the other to their captain, and some are a little of both.

* [[Sidekick Glass Ceiling]]

* [[Single-Stroke Battle]]

* [[Single-Target Sexuality]]: Soifon is the embodiment of this trope. She only has eyes for Yoruichi.

* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: Lots of it. You've have a scene like Gin and Hitsugaya about to go at each other with swords, and then roll credits to "Happypeople".

* [[Spanner in the Works]]: {{spoiler|Wonderweiss}} showing up in the middle of the Soul Reapers' fight in Karakura Town, with {{spoiler|a ''gigantic'' ball of horror}} in tow. Two captains promptly get pounded.

* [[Sparkling Stream of Tears]]: Rukia and Orihime once. Dondochakka Bilstin and Keigo Asano on a regular basis.

* [[Spell My Name with an "S"]]: Too much. Is it Schiffer or Cifer (turns out it's the latter)? Wonderwyce or Wonderweiss? Et cetera... Meanwhile, Grimmjow's last name is correctly spelled {{spoiler|Jaegerjaquez}}. It doesn't help that Kubo seems to enjoy changing the spelling of the Arrancar's names.

* [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad]]: The original focus on humans and a single shinigami quickly gave way to a focus on the shinigami and their society. This has been an even bigger problem in the anime where the human characters are often discarded in favor of shinigami and even the main character can struggle for screentime.

* [[Standard Evil Organization Squad]]: The Espada.

* [[The Starscream]]: Ryou Udagawa during the Bount arc. Another Bount, Sawatari, reveals similar ambitions just before Mayuri kills him. Also, in the manga, {{spoiler|Baraggan}}, though he never gets the chance to even try.

** [[Dying Moment of Awesome|Yes he does.]]

* [[Sword Pointing]]

* [[Sword Sparks]]: Unavoidable, really.

* [[Take My Hand]]: Ichigo to the Arrancar Nel in Hueco Mundo in anime episode 146.

* [[Talking Is a Free Action]]: Oh my goodness, the Kido incantations. Sufficiently skilled practitioners can skip them, but doing so significantly reduces their power. Subverted in the anime-only Bount filler arc, in which Rukia complains that her enemy is too fast and gives her no time to finish her chants.

** Subverted and Lampshaded in Chapter {{spoiler|389. Kyoraku attacks Aizen while Aizen is having a conversation with Hitsugaya. Aizen dodges it then criticizes Kyoraku for attacking him.}}

{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Aizen''': How uncouth. We are in the middle of a conversation, Captain Kyoraku.}}}}

** Ichigo averts this in his first encounter with Renji. See [[Tempting Fate]] below.

* [[Talking to Himself]]: In the dub, Brianne Siddall voices both Rurichiyo Kasumiohji and her fiancee, Shu Kannogi. Kinky.

* [[Talking Weapon]]: The only one we see in detail is Zangetsu when communicating with Ichigo in Ichigo's inner world. However, it's considered standard that shinigami must learn how to communicate with their zanpakutou and that zanpakutou have thoughts and feelings of their own that they do communicate with their shinigami even though the manga doesn't detail the conversations that occur (only suggesting them and hinting at them). We also see Zabimaru manifest and talk to Renji at one point and Zangetsu once asks if Ichigo can hear Kenpachi's zanpakutou screaming in pain because of how Kenpachi ignores it (Ichigo can). When Lilinette transforms into Stark's weapon, she continues to talk to him, making her an example of this trope as well, at least for a while.

* [[Talk to the Fist]]: {{spoiler|Ichigo does that to Aizen after asking once to move their fight elsewhere.}} And then the fight IS moved elsewhere.

* [[Technicolor Toxin]]: Let's see...

** Mayuri Kurotsuchi has Ashisogi Jizo, whose poison is purple in color.

** Soifon's Suzumebachi leaves dark red spots on the victim, and it's a poison-based weapon.

** In the anime, when Loly uses her Resurrecion Escolopendra it has a purple aura.

* [[Teen Genius]]: In the manga, the following teen characters have been cited (in-universe) as 'genius': [[The Captain|Hitsugaya]] (who's probably only just old enough to slip over the edge from [[Child Prodigy]] to this trope), [[Lovable Traitor|Gin]] and [[The Archer|Uryuu Ishida]]. [[I Reject Your Reality|Orihime]] has been cited (in not so many words) as a [[Ditzy Genius]].

* [[Teeth-Clenched Teamwork]]: Ichigo and Uryuu's initial rivalry ends when a [[Giant Mook|Menos Grande]] appears. This leads to Teeth-Clenched Teamwork against the mountain of hollows they're surrounded by and is the beginning of them becoming [[Fire-Forged Friends]].

* [[Ten Little Murder Victims]]: In the Bount filler arc in the anime, one of the "games" involves one of the [[Nakama]] being replaced with a shapeshifter. The heroes have to [[Race Against the Clock|figure out who it is before an elapsed time runs out]] or the modsouls will start playing [[Kill'Em All]] with the [[Muggles]].

* [[Testosterone Poisoning]]: Kenpachi...just Kenpachi.

* [[Theme Music Power-Up]]: "Number One" plays whenever Ichigo is about to kick some serious ass. Hilariously subverted when Ichigo charges at Aizen at the end of the Soul Society arc: the music starts up, Ichigo makes his move... Then his sword is blocked by a single finger, the song abruptly stops, and Ichigo nearly gets cut in half. This is lampshaded in the Karakura Super Heroes episode, in which Don Kanonji declares that the role of Karakura Red (the protagonist) will go to the contestant who is worthy to be the Number One. Naturally, the song starts up when the real hero (the cat spirit) starts fighting.

** The newest episode has a ''metal'' remix of the aforementioned Number One. {{spoiler|And this time it's Ichigo who does the asskicking without an interruption. Even better, he returns the favor from before by stopping ''Aizen's'' music.}}

* [[Those Two Guys]]: Keigo and Mizuiro. Orihime and Tatsuki seem like this at first.

* [[Throat Light]]: During "The New Captain Shūsuke Amagai" anime arc, several people have this while wielding bakoto blades.

* [[Title Drop]]: The last chapter before {{spoiler|the [[Time Skip]]}} is called "Bleach My Soul."

* [[To Be Lawful or Good]]: Byakuya Kuchiki is hit with this when he must choose between upholding a vow to his parents to protect the law and upholding a vow to his wife to protect her sister (before Rukia became his legally adopted sister she was actually his sister-in-law) as a result of the vows coming into conflict when Rukia is sentenced to execution. In accordance with Confucian values, which place parents higher in status than a wife, he chooses to uphold the vow to his parents and therefore (reluctantly) defends the execution of Rukia.

* [[Token Yuri Girls]]: Chizuru's very open infatuation with Orihime.

* [[Too Powerful to Live]]: Aizen is a type 1 {{spoiler|and Ginjou believes Shishigawara has the potential to be a Type II.}}

* [[Torso with a View]]: Almost every single Arrancar possesses such a hole, but it tends to vary - Grimmjow has it on his stomach, Harribel has it in her ''womb'', Szayelaporro has it in his ''crotch''...

* [[Total Party Kill]]: Happens when {{spoiler|Soul Society and the Vizards}} faces {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Aizen]]}}.

** Aizen uses the Hougyoku to create artificially-boosted Arrancar at levels mock-Arrancar in the past haven't naturally been able to reach. {{spoiler|He also uses it to, in his personal belief, break the boundary between the shinigami and divine (although Urahara and Ichigo between them suggest he might have mistinterpreted what happened to him). The small print behind the Hougyoku does actually say that it's only capable of manifesting desires that already have the potential to be achieved without the Hougyoku's involvement.}}

* [[Trailers Always Lie]]: {{spoiler|Nel's adult form}} barely appears in the actual storyline, yet appears extensively in a few of the openings and other media, giving the reader/viewer the impression that it will be a huge and key part of the continuity.

* [[Tranquil Fury]]:

** Ishida personifies this trope as even when he's really pissed, he's still quite calm.

* [[Two Guys and a Girl]]: Renji, Kira and Momo.

* [[Tyke Bomb]]: Wonderweiss Margera...sort of. {{spoiler|He looks like a tyke anyway, and ends up literally being a bomb.}}

* [[Ultimate Job Security]]: Even when Mayuri blows up his own squad, it doesn't damage his position as captain and in the Turn Back The Pendulum arc, the 10th Kenpachi never bothered turning up to captain's meetings - it was such a contentious point that other captains commented on it with disapproval. It didn't get him fired, however (he was later killed by Zaraki, but that was just because Zaraki wanted to prove his right to wear the 'kenpachi' title). Zaraki spends most of his time sleeping and Shunsui tries to avoid work to chase girls. Ukitake spends most of his time in bed sick.

* [[Underboobs]]: Harribel, adult Nell

* [[Used to Be a Sweet Kid]]: Karin Kurosaki

** Also, Ichigo and Ishida. Both were ''adorable'' as little kids but [[It Got Worse|it got considerably worse]] for both of them after their [[Break the Cutie]] events (Granted, Ishida was already pretty unhappy before his [[Break the Cutie]] event, but still).

* [[Vampiric Draining]]: Hollows feed on spiritual energy as a secondary source of nourishment (the primary being the "hearts" of both living and dead Humans). Sources include humans, Soul Reapers and other hollows.

** Another example would be [[Almighty Janitor|Ayasegawa Yumichika]]. This [[More Than Meets the Eye|ordinary]] [[Bishonen]] [[Blood Knight]] is [[Obfuscating Stupidity|hiding]] his [[Cover-Blowing Superpower|true power]], which [[Vampiric Draining|drains the spiritual energy]] of his target. When he does [[Let's Get Dangerous|decide]] to use it, his battles end with a [[Curb Stomp Battle|single strike]]. He can then use the drained energy to [[Our Vampires Are Different|heal his wounds]].

* [[Visible Sigh]]: During comedic moments.

* [[Vocal Evolution]]: Subverted, while the earlier episodes seemed to be have good voice acting, currently it ranges from mediocre to bad.

* [[Wacky Parent, Serious Child]]: Ichigo and his father.

* [[Walking Shirtless Scene]]: Grimmjow, Yammy, Avirama Redder, Kenpachi, Yamamoto (on a few occasions).

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: Ishida makes sewing and SCA-style costume design cool.

** And Yumichika makes the phrase "thank you" so epic in the manga that the anime decided to give him [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]] and a [[Dramatic Pause|dramatic music pause]] just to reinforce the point.

* [["What the Hell?" Dad]]: Isshin and Ryuuken in two different ways (Isshin's lack of parenting is done via [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] and Ryuuken's through [[The Snark Knight]] routine). They even debate who is the ''worst'' father.

{{quote|'''Ryuuken:''' "I returned his Quincy powers to him. Whether he uses them or kills them is up to him... as well as whether he lives or dies."

** When she first used Resurrección, Harribel displayed the necessary speed and power necessary to get around Hitsugaya's defenses with her sword, and could have ended the fight at literally any point. Instead, she spent the entire rest of the fight playing tug of war with her [[Making a Splash|water powers]] and his [[An Ice Person|ice powers]], evidently attempting to set up some sort of [[Limit Break|super attack]]. Possibly justified by him claiming he was taken by surprise, but given the fact that he had the time to set up an ice clone, that he was staring right at her and that he had immediately prior claimed that he shouldn't underestimate her, this claim loses some credibility.

** Additionally, ''every'' Espada can supposedly use the uber-powerful Gran Rey Cero (which is basically "[[Wave Motion Gun]] [[Up to Eleven]]", the [[Wave Motion Gun]] in question being the regular Cero). Aside from Grimmjow, not a single one seems to remember this. Only three of them were fighting within Las Noches, and only ''two'' of the three can be excused by the "no Gran Rey Cero under Las Noches' dome" rule; the third has already demonstrated several times his willingness to flaunt and/or [[Loophole Abuse|circumvent]] Aizen's orders whenever he felt like it, so he still falls for the trope.

** Zommari is fast enough to catch Byakuya by surprise, and his Amor gives him the ability to control anything he looks at. He foolishly wasted every opportunity he had to cut Byakuya down by pausing to give extremely long-winded speeches. This give Byakuya plenty of time to figure out a counter and defeat him.

** After spending several chapters swinging his usual, very elegant {{spoiler|storm of blade petals}} at {{spoiler|Tsukishima}} and missing, {{spoiler|Byakuya}} finally beats him by grabbing a fistful of his {{spoiler|petal-blades}} and thrusting them through {{spoiler|Tsukishima}}'s chest with a blast of kido.

* [[Willfully Weak]]: Half of the cast is this, and seems to be the overall theme of the story.

* [[A Wizard Did It]]: How did Ichigo, Chad and Orihime get such kick ass powers? The {{spoiler|Hogyokou}} did it! How does {{spoiler|Aizen}} become [[Beyond the Impossible|stronger]]? [[Memetic Mutation|Lol, Hogyoku.]]

** In Ichigo's case, it was explained that he had latent abilities and could already see spirits even as a kid. It is also explained that the Hogyoku can only grant a wish that is within the realm of reality, so Ichigo always had the potential to gain his current power. This is more a case of poorly executed [[Arc Welding]] and some [[Retcon|Retconning]].

* [[Woman in White]]: Rukia in the Soul Society arc, Orihime in the Hueco mundo arc, and practically every single female Arrancar.

* [[Words Do Not Make the Magic]]: Kido spells even with a incantation require skill to use and can sometimes be used without the incantation.

* [[Worf Had the Flu]]: Have a broken as hell shikai and can't think of a way to let the enemy invoke [[The Worf Effect]]? Do like {{spoiler|Shinji}} did and give them a detailed description of its abilities.

* [[The Worf Effect]]: It's almost as if Chad exists to fulfill this trope. And, as of lately, Komamura as well. {{spoiler|As if being defeated and almost killed by Tousen wasn't enough, he latter gets his left arm cut off, bankai/zanpaktou broken, and almost cut in half by Aizen. [[Unexplained Recovery|He gets better though]]}}.

* [[World Half Full]]: According to Hitsugaya in Chapter 461, Ichigo's influence is slowly making Soul Society a better place.

* '''[[World of Badass]]'''

* [[World's Most Beautiful Woman]]: [[Tite Kubo|Word of God]] states that [[Team Mom|Retsu]] [[Yamato Nadeshiko|Unohana]] is the most beautiful woman in all of [[Spirit World|Soul Society]]. That doesn't stop [[Camp Gay|Charlotte]] [[Macho Camp|Cuulhorne]] and [[Bishonen|Yumichika]] [[Bishie Sparkle|Ayasegawa]] engaging in a [[Serious Business|fight to the death]] to [[Silly Reason for War|find out]] who the most beautiful ''person'' in the world is... of course, they're actually both [[The Dandy|men]], but neither of them let that fact get in the way of [[Crowning Moment of Funny|taking this trope's intent seriously]].

* [[Wretched Hive]]: Districts 78-80 of Soul Society.

* [[Writing for the Trade]]: Definitely a series that reads better in [[Archive Binge]] form.

* [[Wrongful Accusation Insurance]]: As unforgiving as the Soul Society's laws seem to be, surprisingly little is said of Ichigo's invasion once Aizen tips his hand.

* [[X Makes Anything Cool]]: Certainly the only reason the Fullbringer organization is called "Xcution", even if it's still pronounced "execution".

* [[Xtreme Kool Letterz]]: The latest [[Cast Herd]] are all part of a new organization called Xcution (pronounced 'execution).

* [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]: To some degree, Momo Hinamori. Captain Unohana and Rukia's former idol Miyako Shiba embody this trope better, though.

* [[Yank the Dog's Chain]]: Orihime and Ishida, so, ''so'' much. Just see the page example.

** In a meta example: Tite Kubo keeps doing it to the readers.

* [[Years Too Early]]: Anime examples: Byakuya Kuchiki to Ichigo in episode 55, and Bount Sawatari to Chad, Noba and Rangiku Matsumoto in episode 86.

* [[You Are Already Dead]]: Happens pretty often, but a good example is when {{spoiler|Aizen attacks Hitsugaya in the council chamber}}

* [[You Shall Not Pass]]: Anime episodes 54 and 154

* [[Your Head Asplode]]: {{spoiler|Kensei}} does this to several Menos Grande during the {{spoiler|Visoreds}} [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment. With his ''bare fists''.

* [[Zettai Ryouiki]]: Several examples.

** The Arrancar Loly uses the boots plus miniskirt version — Grade A, more exactly. Since she has [[Girlish Pigtails]], the only thing keeping her away from Grade S is being a [[Yandere]] instead of a [[Tsundere]].