Sosuke Aizen from the Manga “Bleach” was the former 5th captain of the Gotei 13 in the Soul Society. The introduction as the manga villain, however, was unanticipated and shocked many anime/manga fans during the manga’s titled “Soul Society” arc which revolved around the capturing of one of the series most beloved characters Rukia Kuchiki.
What Aizen looked like as a captain of the 5th squad in the Gotei 13
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Soul Society Arc
At around volume 20 in the manga series, (SPOILER ALERT) Aizen’s betrayal pretty much puts Bleach on another stage after he steals the hogyoku, a device made by former captain Kisuke Urahara that can give hollows soul reaper powers, thus, transforming them into powerful characters known as the arrancar.
Essentially following volume 20, it is anticipated by all the Bleach fans that Aizen is the most mysterious character in possibly revealing more plot twists as the series progresses since both his knowledge and power as an antagonist seems to outweigh everyone else’s in the series.
Arrancar Arc
Following the Soul Society Arc—- as Aizen is seen at the helm of Hueco Mundo, he sort of is hinting at ideas that he knows even more about main protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki than he previously revealed when he betrayed Soul Society and stole the Hogyoku.
Bleach as a series was in it’s most popular phase in America during the Soul Society Arc but, things went downhill soon after when it took too long to first, get to Aizen in Hueco Mundo and then, defeat Aizen with all of the Soul Society fighting him and the espada (elite arrancar Aizen creates with the aforementioned hogyoku). Aizen who, at first, was the most mysterious manga villain of all time, became quite possibly one of the worst villains and the most annoying one for that matter.
- The Evolution of Aizen in Bleach
As we can see above here, Aizen changes quite a bit in the series. He begins as a dorky captain/lieutenant, (first image) then, takes off the Harry Potter glasses and reveals to be a powerhouse evolving into a lame butterfly (myriad of phases), a hollow-guy, and lastly, a prisoner.
Yes, with the hogyoku, Aizen transforms into a massive butterfly. Fans titled it “butterflaizen” on forums because well, that’s what he sort of was back in the day. But, the thing with the phases of Aizen’s Butterfly transformation is that at first, the artist attempted to draw his first stage as in being in this cocoon… shape… suit… thing, even though fans saw it as being sort of this giant condom draped over his head. And well, the pun here is that Marilyn Manson promotes unsafe sex in a way cooler butterfly costume.
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Aizen’s second to last butterfly stage with the hogyoku in the arrancer arc
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And to top things off, Bleach didn’t really end after Aizen’s “death” at the end of the Arrancar Arc. (the arc after Soul Society Arc) The writer Tite Kubo wanted to continue and drag this thing out for one last big war with the quincies (humans with supernatural powers)
Thousand Year Blood War Arc
In the manga’s last arc “Thousand Year Blood War”, Aizen is still seen living though, doesn’t have a huge role since he is mostly just a whiny prisoner since his fight with Ichigo. But, what is so disappointing is not just the fact that Aizen never dies, but, the manga creator never cared reveals his own bankai or why he may have perhaps not developed the skill to achieve one. This was, afterall, an attribute that most captains had. Aizen’s shikai Kyoka Suigetsu was what made Aizen’s mystique even more unusual because it gave him the ability to do the things he wanted to do in betraying Soul Society in the first place and getting significant ideas from powerful characters in the book such as, former captains Shinji Hirako and Kisuke Urahara.
Aizen as a prisoner at the end of the arrancar arc
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Internet Sensation?
So, fans got so ticked off that they made jokes on the internet that Tite Kubo, the series creator was essentially Sosuke Aizen himself, the troll behind the manga always saying things like “just as planned” (the villain’s popular line) to the readers and killing off characters without a problem when we never got a clear explanation of why this character was so strong and just…. never died.
*slams head on table*
As we can see above, Captain Hitsuguya along with all the other captains in the series, surround this guy, try stabbing him, blowing him up in flames, but obviously all fail to do so because he’s Sosuke freakin’ Aizen.
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Fans were super ticked off with the writer/artist Tite Kubo when chapters were released online through scans, fans just made fun of Bleach as a whole on a ton of forums. Bleach became widely known as the least popular of the three big shonen manga in America. (Naruto and One Piece being the others)
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The idea that Aizen hardly had a backstory was frustrating enough too. If an antagonist knows so much about any character in a series, it essentially starts feeling like he is the writer of the book even though he’s fictional and making all of the decisions on who dies and who doesn’t.
“Vegeta, what does it say on this guy’s power level?”
“It’s ov—fuck! it’s Akira Toriyama!”
Read the full answer on Quora:
https://www.quora.com/What-major-villain-in-any-media-failed-to-live-up-to-the-hype
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