Bleach TYBW: Why Didn’t Anyone Recognize Isshin as a Former Captain?
Isshin Kurosaki’s journey from being the Captain of the 10th Division to becoming a modest clinic owner in Karakura Town was highlighted in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. It was made clear to the audience how Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki first connected, how their relationship developed through time, how Isshin lost his Soul Reaper abilities, and how White was created within Ichigo Kurosaki’s soul. According to this chronology, Isshin would have left the Soul Society some 40 years before the narrative started. 40 years is a mere blink in a Soul Reaper’s lifetime.
It begs the issue of why Isshin was never acknowledged by the Soul Society throughout the series. Many of the current captains of the Gotei 13 held such positions with Isshin, including Tshir Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto, who were both on his team and held the third seat and vice-captaincy positions respectively. Being a captain in the Gotei 13 is almost equivalent to being a superstar in the Soul Society since even the lowest-ranking Soul Reapers can recognise their names, faces, and spiritual pressure. Isshin’s concealment in the Human World may have been ensured by a number of causes, even if they weren’t all explicitly explained.
The Method and Effects of Isshin Losing His Soul Reaper Powers
It is told that Isshin must utilise his abilities to stop White’s infection in order to rescue Masaki from the Hollow that resides within her soul. More than just making him weaker, the way Masaki would be saved would drain him completely of his spirit strength. He would no longer be able to employ any Soul Reaper abilities, recognise those who are spiritually present, or even see ghosts. Isshin would fully humanise without having the slightest idea of the spiritual realm. It seems obvious that once he loses his ability, he will become invisible to people under spiritual strain.
Isshin, who had committed a crime by giving Masaki his abilities, was entirely hidden from the Soul Society by the gigai Kisuke Urahara built. However, the change had a side effect as well. Isshin was human in terms of both his might and mortality. For a Soul Reaper, 40 years is a short period of time, which is crucial to how old they feel.
They would see no difference in a Soul Reaper’s look after 40 years, but a person’s appearance may alter drastically over time, from that of an adolescent to that of a middle-aged man. Although it may seem absurd to argue that his advancing years made it impossible for anyone to identify him, Soul Reapers from Bleach are able to believe this argument.
Not Many Soul Reapers Crossed Isshin Kurosaki’s Path
There weren’t many Soul Reapers that really came into touch with Isshin. There weren’t many people around him when he first began to recover his strength, much alone those that interacted with him in person. Ever though Rukia Kuchiki was close with Kaien Shiba before entering the human world, it was improbable that she would have even seen Isshin before he left the Soul Society since she was a low-ranked, freshly graduated Soul Reaper in the 13th Division.
There were no instances where Isshin was present at the same time as Hitsugaya and Matsumoto at the Kurosaki Clinic. There were no chances for a reunion even if they were able to identify him. They crept inside the clinic, went right into Ichigo’s room, and then left, but Isshin stayed away from those exchanges, which was probably on purpose. He was probably still entirely veiled from being noticed because of his gigai and just recovered abilities. Isshin would soon be exercising his talents in the company of several Soul Reapers, but even then, the Soul Society made no mention of who he really was.
Why Isshin’s Spiritual Pressure Was Not Flagged Up in the Soul Society
The Soul Society was unaware of the actions of several Bleach characters in Karakura Town, including Urahara and the Visored. This might be because the Soul Society lacks “current time” tracking of spiritual energies in the Human World, Karakura Town is a hub of spiritual activity making it difficult to pinpoint precise spiritual energies that haven’t already been sent by the Soul Society, or Urahara is using another tactic to hide those in Karakura from the Society’s prying eyes.
The employment of Getsuga Tensh by both Ichigo and Isshin suggests that their powers are extremely similar. All of Ichigo’s strength came from Masaki, thanks to her Quincy abilities, White’s Hollow abilities, and Isshin’s Soul Reaper abilities suppressing Masaki’s hollow. This suggests that if the Soul Society could detect anything at all when Isshin’s abilities came back and he killed Grand Fischer, it is conceivable that they mistook the spiritual pressure for Ichigo.
The conflict in Fake Karakura Town is no different. Despite the fact that there were numerous Soul Reapers there, they were all seriously injured or otherwise oblivious of the details of Isshin and Ssuke Aizen’s struggle.
Isshin Kurosaki’s Relationships With the Rest of the Gotei 13
Isshin’s lack of engagement with his colleagues throughout his tenure as a captain was a minor but significant characteristic. The “Turn Back the Pendulum” arc of Bleach makes reference to the 10th Division Captain’s infrequent attendance at meetings and lack of regard for his job. Isshin didn’t seem to be the friendliest with the other captains, based on his few interactions with the other Gotei 13 and his distant demeanour. This would not only explain how many people who only knew him briefly or in passing would not recognise his 40-year-old features, but it would also explain how many people who were completely unaware of him or his spiritual energy.
It’s not improbable that the Gotei 13 were aware of Isshin after the Fake Karakura Town combat but decided to take no action. In order to help Ichigo and let certain Visored back into their ranks, the Soul Society twisted many of the traditions that were expected of them. It made little sense to pursue Isshin when Ichigo was such a good ally. This theory is difficult to accept because of how Isshin is portrayed in relation to his subordinates, and the fact that there is no mention of any interactions raises doubts about the situation.
It’s probable that Tite Kubo, the author of Bleach, violated his own narrative by failing to include this element sooner and ignoring potential plot holes. But given the in-universe information provided, it is undoubtedly feasible that Isshin was able to conceal his identity up to the very end.
Bleach TYBW: Why Didn’t Anyone Recognize Isshin as a Former Captain?
Reference Sites:
- https://animesee.com/
- https://www.crunchyroll.com/
- https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/
- https://www.cbr.com/
