Bleach is finally set to make its anime return in 2021. I will express my thoughts on this later but today we are talking about the Fake Karakura Town Arc.

Heres the thing there are two arcs that I am going to talk about today. They are the Arrancar: Decisive Battle of Karakura arc and Arrancar: Downfall arc. But the only the parts that take place in the Fake Karakura Town.

I am not sure if there is even an arc called The Fake Karakura Town Arc. Feel free to correct me is there is. Despite what the title might suggest I love this arc and the battles that take place in it.

Related:

The Bleach Anime and Its Impact On My Life

To give some perspective I suffered like the majority of the fanbase by having to sit through the Zanpakuto Rebellion and Beast Swords arcs.
But I was so excited when the Fake Karakura Town Arc resumed. Everything from the opening to seeing each Epsada’s Resurrección was awesome.

Despite this there are parts that really annoyed me thus I have put them in a list form.

So, here are 8 Astonishing Reasons Why Fake Karakura Town Arc Is Really Odd.

Reason Number 8: The Bad Dialogue

Ōmaeda making a stupid observation

Ōmaeda making a stupid observation this is one of the many times in this arc where characters say some of the most idiotic statements. Bleach Episode 226 At 6m 42s

BLEACH © 2001 by Tite Kubo/SHUEISHA Inc. TV Tokyo dentsu, Pierrot
Let’s start with the bad dialogue.
Now Bleach is not known for having thought-provoking conversations among its characters.
It does have some and even in this arc, they are much quality back and forth between the characters.
Despite this much of the dialogue is not good even for Bleach standards. So, obviously you want examples so here are some.
When Head Captain Yamamoto jumped in to save Momo, Hisagi, Kira, and Rangiku, Ōmaeda commented that even the Yamamoto would enter the front line.
Thankfully Sui Feng corrected him but pointing out that everyone came here to fight even Yamamoto.
What makes this even more mind-numbing is that earlier in this conflict Yamamoto made the first move putting Aizen, Gin, and Tosen in a fire cage.

The camera even ZOOMS on Omaeda watching this. So if he just saw Yamamoto get involved why even make this statement?

Omaeda made another dumb comment by the suggestion that Gentei Kaijo should be lifted when it already was.

I don’t even need to comment on how dumb that statement was. Omaeda could easily fill the list on his own but here are two different examples from other characters.
When Hisagi and Kira come to save Momo and Rangiku, Emilou one of Harribel’s Fraccion makes two dumb statements. She first asks who are these guys and then states later they must have come to help their friends.
Obviously she does not know these people are by name but I almost got the impression she did not even know they were Shinigami.
The other statement is so obvious. Of course, they came to help their friends and fight! What else or what other purposes would they have to come over?
The last example was when the captains were discussing who would fight Aizen.
I understand that tactics are important but the level of dialogue here was bad.
Saying things like I want to fight Aizen or can I join in this fight. Even Toshiro asked Lisa and Hiyori if they could handle Harribel so he could take on Aizen.
I could not understand why these questions/ comments were being made when everyone came to fight Aizen. That is why everyone is here.
It’s the equivalent of someone in batting lineup asking the manager if he can face the pitcher. Obviously you can face the pitcher that’s the point of you being in the lineup.
There other examples of this poor dialogue and I will point them out as they are relevant.

Reason Number 7: No One Knows Who Yamamoto Is

Harribel Commenting on how Captains could have defeated her fraccion

This is important because Harribel asks how could a captain level soul reapers defeat her fraction. But she compares Yamamoto to Toshiro which is ridiculous. How does she not understand who Yamamoto is? Bleach Episode 273 at 16m 29s

BLEACH © 2001 by Tite Kubo/SHUEISHA Inc. TV Tokyo dentsu, Pierrot
It still baffles me how none of the Arrancars knew who Yamamoto was.
I came to this conclusion since no one acted or stated that they knew who Yamamoto was.
Here are some examples to prove my point.
1. While Yamamoto puts Aizen, Gin, and Tosen in the first prison, you can see the terrified/ surprised expression on Stark’s face. If Stark knew who Yamamoto really was would that expression have occurred?
2. No one ever refers to Yamamoto by name. Baraggan is over thousands of years old and Yamamoto is a thousand years old. Are you telling me that in all of those years they never ran into each other? Even if not directly how about indirectly through Yamamoto killing one of Baraggan’s minions. If not that’s really hard to believe.
3. Harribel states that she is not impressed with the level of a captain. She states this because she is not sure how her Fraccion could have lost to Yamamoto. There is a lot to unpack with one. Harribel is comparing Yamamoto the head captain to Toshiro a normal captain.
While not relevant to this point she witnessed Yamamoto caged Aizen, Gin, and Tosen in fire. Yet She still thinks that after that her Fraccion stood a chance.
Also, if Harribel knew who Yamamoto was and the power he possessed she would not have made that statement in the first place.
4. Emilou asked who Yamamoto was after he attacked Ayon.
Who cares if anyone knows if Yamamoto is unknown to the Arrancar right?
Why is this significant?
It’s quite simple really why did Aizen not inform the Arrancar or at least the Espada on who each Shinigami are and what their powers are?

The one advantage besides his Zanpakuto is his knowledge. Aizen knows basically everything about all the Shinigamis since he has been in the Gotei 13 for over 100 years prior to his betrayal.

All the Arrancar should have come to battle with knowledge of all the Shinigami. This goes double for Yamamoto.

It’s almost like Aizen did not want to win this thing. He had plenty of time even a slide show might have sufficed.
This is always going to be something that bothers me about this arc.

Reason Number 6: No Members of Squad 4 Joined The Shinigami to Battle

Kira Healing Rangiku's wounds

Kira used to be in Squad 4 but he is not qualified to be healing the injured. A huge oversite to not bring any members of Squad 4 by Head Captain Yamamoto. Bleach Episode 273 at 13 mins 10 secs

BLEACH © 2001 by Tite Kubo/SHUEISHA Inc. TV Tokyo dentsu, Pierrot
There is not much to say on this one. You would think that in a battle involving Aizen with the world at stake bring medical personal would be obvious.

Well, obviously not because Yamamoto does instruct any members of Squad 4 to join the battlefield.
This is one of many examples of Yamamoto’s poor decisions in this conflict. There will be more on this list.
Yamamoto should have split up Isane and Unohana between Hueco Mundo and Fake Karakura Town. This way you have an elite medic on standby when things go wrong.

Instead, Kira and former Squad 4 member has to jump in save Momo, and Rangiku. He was not even aware that he might have to do this. Hisagi just asked him to do it. At the very least any of the captains could have asked Kira to go over his medial training so he could fight and heal people.

There was so much time to plan this whole operation but it seems like the most obvious of things were not even considered.
Eventually, Unohana comes to Fake Karakura Town but the timing was too late.

Reason Number 5: No Shinigami Die During This Conflict

Toshiro stabs Momo by mistake

Momo somehow does not die from being stabbed directly in the chest by Toshiro.Bleach Episode 293 at 20 mins 37 secs

BLEACH © 2001 by Tite Kubo/SHUEISHA Inc. TV Tokyo dentsu, Pierrot
To be clear I did not want any Shinigami to die during this conflict. But the fact that none do ruins the story.
Because it lessens the power of the Arrancar. Toshiro stated at if Aizen gathers enough Vasto Lorde everyone would be in trouble. We are talking about life and death here.

So you would think in a battle that had several Vasto Lorde and Aizen would have casualties on both sides. Of course, the Arrancar die but not the Shinigami.

Having deaths on both sides would have added to the seriousness of this conflict. As it stands the Arrancar turned out to be a minor nuisance. Aizen despite having the desire to wipe out Karakura Town to make the Oken could not kill one Shinigami.
Here are some Shinigami that should have died.

Momo should have died since Toshiro stabbed her as if she was Aizen. Before that, she took a blow from Ayon which damage some of her internal organs. Since Unohana does not arrive until much later I am still not sure how Momo lived through all of that.

Gin stabbed Hiyori with his Shinso and given the power difference I am not sure how Hiyori survives this.
Aizen sliced Toshiro like an onion Toshiro should have died from that.

Reason Number 4: Aizen’s Reason for Betraying Harribel

Aizen explaining why he betrays Harribel

Aizen explains why he gathered the Espada but it makes no sense when you pick it apart. Bleach Episode 284 at 19 m 1 sec

BLEACH © 2001 by Tite Kubo/SHUEISHA Inc. TV Tokyo dentsu, Pierrot

This isn’t what I expected I went through a considerable amount of effort to gather all of you Espadas I never expected your strengths to be inferior to my own.” – Sōsuke Aizen

This is what Aizen says after betraying Harribel. There are so many questions that this brings up.
1. Did Aizen really at any point though the Espada were ever going to match his strength?

Aizen was stronger than all of the Espada individually since he was able to force them to join him.

Also, Aizen can gauge the power of the Hollows like any other Shinigami. So he should have known way before then that the combined powers of the Espada were not even close to his.

2. What was the point of even gathering the Espada in the first place?

Aizen was hoping that combining them would amass a power greater than his. Exactly how would this happen?

In Naruto Shippuden Madara was gathering all the Jinchuriki so he could combine all of them into the Ten tails. I mention this to point out that Madara was not just collecting them on a whim that it could benefit him. Madara had this planned out purpose for all the Jinchuriki.

By contrast, it seems like Aizen had no real purpose for gathering the Espada. The only purpose that I could think of was to create his own Soul Society and test the Hōgyoku. This whole side plot was never explained.

3. Why did Aizen interfere and kill Harribel but not Stark or Baraggan?

As I stated before Aizen already knew going in that he was stronger than all the Espada he brought combined.
So why even bother letting Stark or Baraggan even fight once he became free of the fire cage. Now Aizen does state while in the cage that the fighting will end without them getting involved.

But deep down that seemed like a bunch of garbage to me. Nothing can suggest otherwise that Aizen did not think that Harribel, Stark, and Baraggan combined were stronger than him.

Also, let’s say that Aizen wanted to wait and see how the Espade perform. If that’s the case why did he not finish off Stark when it was becoming obvious that he was losing the battle.

4. Why did Aizen just let Harribel finish her fight instead of “killing” her?

There is no difference between letting Harribel finish the fight and die and Aizen killing her except that Harribel might take out some Shinigami on the way out.

Gin even mentions how Harribel was going all out in her fight against Toshiro, Hiyori, and Lisa.

I think she would have beaten all three had Aizen allowed her to continue fighting.
This was a moment in this arc that broke many parts of this story for me.

Reason Number 3: Yamamoto’s Plan

Yamamoto putting Gin, Tosen, and Aizen in a flame cage

I am not sure why Yamamoto did not kill Gin, Aizen, or Tosen while in the fire cage. Bleach Episode 215 at 8 min 3 sec

BLEACH © 2001 by Tite Kubo/SHUEISHA Inc. TV Tokyo dentsu, Pierrot
Yamamoto is far from perfect and really messed up big time in planning this whole operation.
Let’s talk about his plan.
  1. He set up a fake version of Karakura Town to protect the real one.
  2. Yamamoto trapped Aizen, Tosen, and Gin in a flame cage so everyone could focus on the Espada and Arrancars instead.
  3. He created a flame explosion trap while his subordinates got mauled by Aizen which he allowed.
  4. Then he tried to sacrifice himself and his subordinates in the flame trap.
So Yamamoto basically used his subordinates as cannon fire so he could attempt to sacrifice them with Aizen. I sure glad he told them about this plan.

I am not going to try to understand the wisdom of someone who has lived for a thousand years. But, I do have some questions.

Let’s assume that when Yamamoto actually put Aizen, Tosen, and Gin in a fire cage and it was not some trick from Kyōka Suigetsu.

If Yamamoto could put a flame cage around them why didn’t he just have the flames consume them?

When Yamamoto held Aizen in place so he could destroy both of them in a fiery explosion why did he not proceed to damage Aizen either with his firsts or his Zanpakuto?

The best kind of kill is overkill and with Aizen, you can’t take any chances.
If Yamamoto’s big plan was to create a giant fiery explosion to kill Aizen why did not set that up before Aizen arrived?
He would not have to bring any of his subordinates and Aizen would have died because Wonder Weiss would not have been there.

Reason Number 2: The Fight Between Yamamoto Vs Aizen

Aizen gloating to Yamamoto

This battle was one of the biggest letdowns in Bleach. Bleach Episode 294 at 6 mins

BLEACH © 2001 by Tite Kubo/SHUEISHA Inc. TV Tokyo dentsu, Pierrot
Once Aizen became the main Antagonist in Bleach and escaped to Hueco Mundo I always wanted to see him battle with Yamamoto.

In this arc, we get our chance but it was disappointing.
Basically, because nothing happens.

Here I will summarize the entire conflict between them.
Yamamoto grabbed Aizen after being stabbed by him. He then failed to kill both Aizen and Himself. After tanking his own flames from a dead Wonder Weiss he uses what strength he has left to fire a Bakudō spell on Aizen. A Bakudō spell which did no damage to Aizen.

That’s it. Hundreds of episodes and this was the fight we got. If you want a good example of what the fight could have been see Hunter x Hunter Meruem vs Netero.

I understand that the point of the fight was that Aizen planned ahead to avoid fighting Yamamoto because it was suicidal.
But is that really an excuse to not have any form of Kido battle of sword fighting. Any other kind of battle would have been better than this.

Reason Number 1: The Entire Conflict was Pointless

Everyone Falling to Aizen's Power

No matter how much training was done everyone still lost to Aizen. To be honest a predictable outcome. Bleach Episode 29 at 20 mins 57 secs

BLEACH © 2001 by Tite Kubo/SHUEISHA Inc. TV Tokyo dentsu, Pierrot
This is not just a nihilistic point of view about life I have facts to back up my claims here.
See in retrospect this whole conflict that involved all the Arrancars and all the Shinigami was pointless.

Because everyone knew it was going to end up with Yamamoto fighting Aizen in the end.
Maybe everyone involved was in denial but if you look at this objectively this is the most logical conclusion.
Here is what I mean.

Sajin was defeated by Aizen with a weakened version of Bakudo Number 90 spell. Toshiro used his Bankai against Aizen was defeated in one blow.

Did either one really think that all of sudden the next outcome would be different?
Remember they may have gotten strong but so did Aizen.

Let’s go even further with this if everyone has already seen Aizen’s Zanpakuto how we’re even going to be able to fight him in the first place?

Even if they somehow overpowered Aizen he could still fall back on this Zanpakuto. They had no means to counter his Zanpakuto only the hope that Aizen would not use it.
Ichigo is not a viable strategy because even though he did not see the Zanpakuto that does not help anyone else who has seen it.

If Yamamoto was the only member who could see through the hypnosis then he should have been the only one to go.

They did explain why the entire Gotei 13 had to be there to fight Aizen when they clearly could not.
But looks at it from Aizen’s point of view.

Aizen is stronger than everyone in the Gotei 13 except for Yamamoto.

He knew this before betraying everyone and demonstrated in this ARc by defeated everyone single handily.
This means all Aizen had to do was take Wonder Weiss, Gin and Tosen only. His only obstacle was Yamamoto and he knows Yamamoto is stronger than his Espada.

So why even bother with bringing anyone else other than Gin, Wonder Weiss, and Tosen?

Especially considering he had a short lease on his Espada which led to prematurely killing Harribel.
Basically it comes down to this Yamamoto could kill all the Arrancar on his own and fight Aizen.

Aizen could defeated the Gotei 13 except Yamamoto.

This really should have just been a fight between these two since no one else is consequential in this conflict.

The only reason why Ichigo was important is that he is the main protagonist and Aizen experiment.

I know that if the story followed this logic then it would not have been as exciting. But you have to justify why the stronger characters need the weaker ones around when they can just do it themselves.
They do not do that here.

Final thoughts

You might think that I hated this arc and possibly this series. This is further from the truth.
This was a criticism of love not hate.
I only wish the anime could have been better in this regard.
I admit I still go back and watch the battles from this arc.
The lesson here is that awesome fights are well awesome but if they lack substance then the whole thing fails.
Do you think I am wrong and my points are invalid?
Let me know in the comments.

 

Also, what part of this Arc was odd to you?
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Thanks so much for reading and have a great day

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