Episodes 20 of the Bleach Thousand Year Blood War anime has just aired, and it sure is phenomenal. We received quite the visual feast, the exploration of an interesting theme, and even a telling moment as to what Yachiru actually is. Now, there is a shot in that episode that I’d like to briefly mention here, so let’s get to it!
Childlike Euphoria
As Kenpachi slashes through Gremmy’s
meteor using his shikai, Nozarashi, we get a sequence where Kenpachi
metaphorically reverts to his younger self. MrTommo2304 (in his live reaction)
mentions that it symbolizes how Zaraki is now able to access that same level of
power he had back then when he first battled Unohana. His last battle with Unohana
allowed him to undo the limit he had subconsciously put on himself. And it is
only after the first watch did I realize that Kenpachi’s eyepatch (and scar) disappeared
as he got younger, reinforcing MrTommo’s interpretation. Nice!
When I first saw that scene, my
mind immediately went to Yachiru. I thought, “so THAT’S why Yachiru is a child!”
Yachiru is a part of Zaraki’s zanpakuto, meaning that she is a part of him. Don’t
you think it’s a bit weird that this tiny pink-haired little girl is a
reflection of a strong, battle-hardened, skeleton-like shinigami? The sequence above
provides the answer. The euphoria Zaraki experiences from fighting is a
childlike one, hence why Yachiru appears as a child! She reflects that
childlike part of him. He is like a child who doesn’t care about anything else
in the world except for fighting. Also, Unohana calls him childish in the
aftermath of their battle in Muken when Zaraki begs for her not to die.
Another thing I want to comment on
is Kubo’s memorial drawing of Yachiru. It confirms that Yachiru is one and the
same with her beloved Kenny, really. She has his eyepatch and the scar that
runs on one side of his face. I think it’s interesting that she gets a memorial
drawing typically reserved for those who are dead or are in between life and
death. After this, Yachiru does only appear once in the fight against Gerard (and
she appears to Kenpachi only), but Yachiru doesn’t really die per se. I’ve
always thought that she returned to her original “state”, and that is as his
zanpakuto. Maybe Kubo made the drawing just to hammer home the fact that
Yachiru is Kenny’s zanpakuto, or that Yachiru now doesn’t really exist “physically”
akin to a normal shinigami like how she used to.
Quick Bonus: Unohana and the Number Four
This is a realization I had recently. Unohana, the first Kenpachi, was initially the captain of the eleventh division, but then became the captain of the fourth division. In Japanese culture, the number four is considered unlucky because it sounds exactly like the word “death”. Isn’t that very fitting for Unohana? Under the warm, caring personality, lies a more sinister nature – one closely linked with death. I think you can also interpret it in relation to the fourth division's main task. They deal with the injured, so they will, of course, deal with deaths. But anyway. Looks like we have one more thing to add to the list of foreshadowing that there’s something off with Unohana!
No comments:
Post a Comment