Sōsuke Aizen
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He along with Gin and Kaname then secretly travelled to Hueco Mundo where they arranged an audience with the self-proclaimed god king of the realm which was Barragan Luisenbarn. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss an alliance between them but Luisenbarn refused where he attacked Aizen but quickly was outmatched by the rogue shinigami. Thus, they were able to force Barragan into servitude whereupon Aizen appropriated his palace '''Las Noches''' that he reconstructed in his own image. During this time, he sought out others that could be transformed into [[Arrancar]] where he intended for the most powerful to join the ranks of his [[Espada (Bleach)|Espada]]. He was responsible for evolving powerful Hollows into Arrancar by partly shattering their masks. One of their number came to seek revenge against '''Tier Harribel''' though Aizen intervened and killed the Arrancar. This allowed him to recruit Harribel into the Espada and later was responsible for recruiting '''Coyote Stark'''. | He along with Gin and Kaname then secretly travelled to Hueco Mundo where they arranged an audience with the self-proclaimed god king of the realm which was Barragan Luisenbarn. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss an alliance between them but Luisenbarn refused where he attacked Aizen but quickly was outmatched by the rogue shinigami. Thus, they were able to force Barragan into servitude whereupon Aizen appropriated his palace '''Las Noches''' that he reconstructed in his own image. During this time, he sought out others that could be transformed into [[Arrancar]] where he intended for the most powerful to join the ranks of his [[Espada (Bleach)|Espada]]. He was responsible for evolving powerful Hollows into Arrancar by partly shattering their masks. One of their number came to seek revenge against '''Tier Harribel''' though Aizen intervened and killed the Arrancar. This allowed him to recruit Harribel into the Espada and later was responsible for recruiting '''Coyote Stark'''. | ||
| − | ===Soul Society | + | ===Soul Society=== |
| − | + | From the shadows, Aizen arranged for [[Rukia Kuchiki]] to meet with [[Ichigo Kurosaki]] thus manipulating events so that the human could become a Shinigami. From there, by began sending [[Hollow (Bleach)|Hollows]] in Karakura Town to alert the Soul Society for the location to get the Hōgyoku that was concealed within her body. Around this time, Rukia Kuchiki was forcibly brought back to the Soul Society to answer for her recent actions. This meant that the Hōgyoku concealed within her had returned with Aizen then forming an elaborate conspiracy to acquire it. This involved killing all the members of Central 46 where he used his abilities to masquerade as them where he an order made for Rukia to be executed as soon as possible. He also looked to instil further chaos among the Gotei 13 by telling Lieutenant [[Renji Abarai]] of a possible conspiracy within the Soul Society. It was then that Gin faked Aizen's dath in order to cause the captains and lieutenants to fight amongst themselves. | |
| − | ===Heuco Mundo | + | ===Heuco Mundo=== |
He then dispatched two of his Espada namely Ulquiorra Cifer and Yammy Llargo to the world of the living with the purpose of finding Ichigo Kurosaki to test his potential in resisting them. The two later returned where they stood before Aizen and the Espada as Ulquiorra shared his visual experiences with them all. During this time, Aizen noticed the potential in the human [[Orihime Inoue]] who had a power that was seemingly to heal. By this point, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez decided to take a number of Numeros without permission into the world of the living in order to eliminate anyone with spiritual pressure in karakura Town. Kaname Tōsen was responsible for bringing Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo though the other Arrancar that accompanied him were all killed by their enemies. Brought before Aizen, Kaname suggested that Grimmjow be killed for his disobedience and acting on his own. However, Aizen claimed that Grimmjow was acting simply according to his wishes and had decided to spare his life. Despite that, Kaname cut off Grimmjow's arm as his punishment leading to his demotion from the ranks of the Espada. In this time, he became aware of a low-ranking Arrancar named '''Patros''' looking to depose him by taking the Hōgyoku and attempting to unlock it in Karakura Town. Aizen used his illusions to make Patros and his co-conspirators believe they succeeded in their mission but they were ultimately killed by Ichigo Kurosaki's allies. It was then that he decided to enact the next stage of his plans which involved the capture of Orihime Inoe. This saw him dispatch a number of Espada to attack Karakura Town in order to engage the Soul Society and their allies there. In this moment, Orihime Inoe was returning to the world of the living from the Soul Society where whilst travelling between dimensions she was intercepted by Ulquiorra who dispatched her shinigami guards. He then forced her to willingly travel with him to Hueco Mundo leading to the Arrancar attack on Karakura Town being called off as the plan had been achieved. Ulquiorra presented her before Aizen who wanted a demonstration of her power which saw her healing Grimmjow's lost arm thus restoring his position among the Espada. Aizen then commented that Inoe's power was not healing but rather rejecting reality and undoing events which made her useful in his plans in unlocking the Hōgyoku. He then orchestrated events so that Orihime would willingly stay in Hueco Mundo leading to her being declared a traitor by the Soul Society. | He then dispatched two of his Espada namely Ulquiorra Cifer and Yammy Llargo to the world of the living with the purpose of finding Ichigo Kurosaki to test his potential in resisting them. The two later returned where they stood before Aizen and the Espada as Ulquiorra shared his visual experiences with them all. During this time, Aizen noticed the potential in the human [[Orihime Inoue]] who had a power that was seemingly to heal. By this point, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez decided to take a number of Numeros without permission into the world of the living in order to eliminate anyone with spiritual pressure in karakura Town. Kaname Tōsen was responsible for bringing Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo though the other Arrancar that accompanied him were all killed by their enemies. Brought before Aizen, Kaname suggested that Grimmjow be killed for his disobedience and acting on his own. However, Aizen claimed that Grimmjow was acting simply according to his wishes and had decided to spare his life. Despite that, Kaname cut off Grimmjow's arm as his punishment leading to his demotion from the ranks of the Espada. In this time, he became aware of a low-ranking Arrancar named '''Patros''' looking to depose him by taking the Hōgyoku and attempting to unlock it in Karakura Town. Aizen used his illusions to make Patros and his co-conspirators believe they succeeded in their mission but they were ultimately killed by Ichigo Kurosaki's allies. It was then that he decided to enact the next stage of his plans which involved the capture of Orihime Inoe. This saw him dispatch a number of Espada to attack Karakura Town in order to engage the Soul Society and their allies there. In this moment, Orihime Inoe was returning to the world of the living from the Soul Society where whilst travelling between dimensions she was intercepted by Ulquiorra who dispatched her shinigami guards. He then forced her to willingly travel with him to Hueco Mundo leading to the Arrancar attack on Karakura Town being called off as the plan had been achieved. Ulquiorra presented her before Aizen who wanted a demonstration of her power which saw her healing Grimmjow's lost arm thus restoring his position among the Espada. Aizen then commented that Inoe's power was not healing but rather rejecting reality and undoing events which made her useful in his plans in unlocking the Hōgyoku. He then orchestrated events so that Orihime would willingly stay in Hueco Mundo leading to her being declared a traitor by the Soul Society. | ||
| + | ===Fake Karakura Town=== | ||
In response, the Soul Society staged their next move where they dispatched four Shinigami Captains to Hueco Mundo who battled their Espada counterparts. However, this fell into Aizen's plans who then closed the Garganta thus trapping them in Hueco Mundo. This meant that the Gotei 13's fighting strength had been reduced by half allowing for Aizen to launch his attack against Karakura Town in order to sacrifice it to create the Ōken key. Arriving to the world of the living, he was confronted by the Gotei 13 headed by Captain-Commander Yamamoto who had prepared for this confrontation with the Soul Society having substituted Karakura Town so that they could battle in a fake version of the settlement without any threat to its inhabitants. Despite this plan, Aizen had already seen through this deception but decided to use this as an opportunity to eliminate the Gotei 13 thus allowing him to attack the Soul Society itself. Captain Yamamoto then unleashed an attack that trapped Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen behind a wall of flame leaving the battle to be waged by his Espada lieutenants. In the battle, many of the Hollows were killed where by this point the flames trapping Aizen were dispelled. The Gotei 13 then received aid from Shinji Hirako and the Visored who had arrived on the scene to lend their might against the Arrancar. Despite events, everything proceeded according to his plans though by this point he came to be disappointed in the Espada. This saw him turning against them where he badly injured Tier Harribel despite her loyalty to him. After dealing with her, he was confronted by the Gotei 13 along with the Visored who had arrived at the scene. In this time, he witnessed Kaname Tōsen's defeat at the hands of Sajin Komamura and Shūhei Hisagi leading to Aizen killing his subordinate. This caused Komamura to go into a rage and he charged Sōsuke where he was nearly killed if not for Ichigo's sudden arrival. | In response, the Soul Society staged their next move where they dispatched four Shinigami Captains to Hueco Mundo who battled their Espada counterparts. However, this fell into Aizen's plans who then closed the Garganta thus trapping them in Hueco Mundo. This meant that the Gotei 13's fighting strength had been reduced by half allowing for Aizen to launch his attack against Karakura Town in order to sacrifice it to create the Ōken key. Arriving to the world of the living, he was confronted by the Gotei 13 headed by Captain-Commander Yamamoto who had prepared for this confrontation with the Soul Society having substituted Karakura Town so that they could battle in a fake version of the settlement without any threat to its inhabitants. Despite this plan, Aizen had already seen through this deception but decided to use this as an opportunity to eliminate the Gotei 13 thus allowing him to attack the Soul Society itself. Captain Yamamoto then unleashed an attack that trapped Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen behind a wall of flame leaving the battle to be waged by his Espada lieutenants. In the battle, many of the Hollows were killed where by this point the flames trapping Aizen were dispelled. The Gotei 13 then received aid from Shinji Hirako and the Visored who had arrived on the scene to lend their might against the Arrancar. Despite events, everything proceeded according to his plans though by this point he came to be disappointed in the Espada. This saw him turning against them where he badly injured Tier Harribel despite her loyalty to him. After dealing with her, he was confronted by the Gotei 13 along with the Visored who had arrived at the scene. In this time, he witnessed Kaname Tōsen's defeat at the hands of Sajin Komamura and Shūhei Hisagi leading to Aizen killing his subordinate. This caused Komamura to go into a rage and he charged Sōsuke where he was nearly killed if not for Ichigo's sudden arrival. | ||
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Aizen had said that the laws of nature were for beings who must live their lives bound by them. | Aizen had said that the laws of nature were for beings who must live their lives bound by them. | ||
| − | + | Sōsuke believed that trust in another person was the same as reliance which was a weakness that was of no use to a person. As such, he showed no trust in anyone not even his closest allies. He had said that admiration was the emotion furthest from understanding. In fact, he long suspected that Gin would betray him and kept a close watch over him. In fact, Azen often toyed with his subordinates and controlled his forces through a mixture of respect, intimidation, fear, and mind games. | |
| − | It was shown that he planned for future encounters and set up counters to particular enemies. Such was the case wit head captain Yamamoto where he commented that he would struggle in a one-on-one confrontation with his opponent. Thus, he created a particular Arrancar named Wonderweiss Margela with the particular purpose of fighting the head of Squad 1. Wonderweiss's entire development was fixated on this goal where he sacrificed even the ability to speak in order to develop the necessary abilities for Aizen. In particular, this was the power to put out the flames that could be generated by Yamamoto' zanpakto. | + | He had proven himself to be a flawless and flexible tactician who adjusted seamlessly to any given situation. It was shown that he planned for future encounters and set up counters to particular enemies. Such was the case wit head captain Yamamoto where he commented that he would struggle in a one-on-one confrontation with his opponent. Thus, he created a particular Arrancar named Wonderweiss Margela with the particular purpose of fighting the head of Squad 1. Wonderweiss's entire development was fixated on this goal where he sacrificed even the ability to speak in order to develop the necessary abilities for Aizen. In particular, this was the power to put out the flames that could be generated by Yamamoto' zanpakto. |
| + | |||
| + | It was shown that he could leave his foes alive in order to make them feel helpless and defeated with them forced to observe carefully as the battle reached its conclusion. | ||
Aizen had said that there was no such thing as truth or lies in the world with their only being plain hard facts. He stated though that despite these objective views that all beings simply chose the facts convenient to them and take them as the truth. Sōsuke had said that such things were done because people knew no other way to live. Such beings made up he majority of the world but Aizen said that those facts were inconvenient for their own self-affirmation that make up the real truth. He believed that victors must always speak of the way the world should be rather than the way it was and it was for this reason he rebelled. In fact, he believed that someone of considerable intellect such as himself should not allow themselves to be controlled by the likes of the Soul King who Sōsuke referred to as a 'thing'. Despite its rule in the Soul Society, Aizen refused to acknowledge it and instead wanted to depose the Soul King. | Aizen had said that there was no such thing as truth or lies in the world with their only being plain hard facts. He stated though that despite these objective views that all beings simply chose the facts convenient to them and take them as the truth. Sōsuke had said that such things were done because people knew no other way to live. Such beings made up he majority of the world but Aizen said that those facts were inconvenient for their own self-affirmation that make up the real truth. He believed that victors must always speak of the way the world should be rather than the way it was and it was for this reason he rebelled. In fact, he believed that someone of considerable intellect such as himself should not allow themselves to be controlled by the likes of the Soul King who Sōsuke referred to as a 'thing'. Despite its rule in the Soul Society, Aizen refused to acknowledge it and instead wanted to depose the Soul King. | ||
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As the head of the Espada, he came to rule the Arrancars through respect and fear. They claimed that they all followed him in order to further their master's ambitions. Aizen kept the more unruly members in line through a mixture of intimidation and mind games. It was said that the Arrancar followed him because he showed no fear which they found inspiring as they were creatures born from fear and despair. | As the head of the Espada, he came to rule the Arrancars through respect and fear. They claimed that they all followed him in order to further their master's ambitions. Aizen kept the more unruly members in line through a mixture of intimidation and mind games. It was said that the Arrancar followed him because he showed no fear which they found inspiring as they were creatures born from fear and despair. | ||
| − | Ultimately, Aizen looked to evolve himself into something greater than a shinigami or a Hollow. He believed that such evolution was driven by fear allowing one to attain greater power as a result. In fact it was this fear that one in their current state could be destroyed at any time leading to hem seeking to become stronger. | + | Ultimately, Aizen looked to evolve himself into something greater than a shinigami or a Hollow. He believed that such evolution was driven by fear allowing one to attain greater power as a result. In fact it was this fear that one in their current state could be destroyed at any time leading to hem seeking to become stronger. After merging with the Hōgyoku, he no longer was cautious as he became effectively immortal. This saw him no longer having a need to take care in battle nor evade any attack as he simply healed within moments. |
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Aizen had said that he actually hated Kisuke Urahara as he could not comprehend how someone of his intellect would allow himself to be controlled by the Soul King. | Aizen had said that he actually hated Kisuke Urahara as he could not comprehend how someone of his intellect would allow himself to be controlled by the Soul King. | ||
===Powers and abilities=== | ===Powers and abilities=== | ||
| − | It was remarked that his mere presence was monstrously overwhelming where the force of his Reiatsu was great enough to bring powerful Arrancar to their knees without much effort. | + | As a soul, Sōsuke Aizen was a being that came to reside in the Soul Society where he had the ability to manipulate his spiritual pressure. It was remarked that his mere presence was monstrously overwhelming where the force of his Reiatsu was great enough to bring powerful Arrancar to their knees without much effort. |
Secretly, he conducted experiments involving unique and highly dangerous manipulations of Reiryoku and Reishi with this including work on Hollowfication of Shinigami. He also had a considerable amount of knowledge about the Soul Society with this covering matters only known to the Captain-Commander. This included being aware of the existence of the Ōken and its method of creation. | Secretly, he conducted experiments involving unique and highly dangerous manipulations of Reiryoku and Reishi with this including work on Hollowfication of Shinigami. He also had a considerable amount of knowledge about the Soul Society with this covering matters only known to the Captain-Commander. This included being aware of the existence of the Ōken and its method of creation. | ||
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Through words alone, he was able to shatter the will of others and undermine their confidence. He also engaged in acts to cause a person to fall into a rage and attack him recklessly. | Through words alone, he was able to shatter the will of others and undermine their confidence. He also engaged in acts to cause a person to fall into a rage and attack him recklessly. | ||
| − | According to himself, he was stronger than all the Espada put together. | + | He was shown to be an extremely powerful combatant who was well above many captain-level Shinigami. According to himself, he was stronger than all the Espada put together. |
| − | It was shown that he was a '''Shunpo''' (瞬歩, Flash Steps) master allowing him to move at incredible speeds. | + | It was shown that he was a '''Shunpo''' (瞬歩, Flash Steps) master allowing him to move at incredible speeds. Such was his skill that he could dodge simultaneous attacks at close-range and even when being attacked from behind. |
Aizen was shown to have an immense proficiency in the use of '''Kidō''' (鬼道, Demon/Spirit Way; Viz "Demon Arts") techniques. Among the spells he knew included: | Aizen was shown to have an immense proficiency in the use of '''Kidō''' (鬼道, Demon/Spirit Way; Viz "Demon Arts") techniques. Among the spells he knew included: | ||
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Using Kido, he was shown to had created a small barrier around his neck to prevent him from dying through a sneak attack from his blindspot. | Using Kido, he was shown to had created a small barrier around his neck to prevent him from dying through a sneak attack from his blindspot. | ||
| − | His Zanpakutō was known as '''Kyōka Suigetsu''' (Japanese: 鏡花水月, Translation: Mirror Flower, Water Moon) where in its sealed form and resembled a normal katana. Its '''shikai''' (始解, Initial Release) release command was 'Shatter' (砕けろ, kudakero) that could be used to activate or deactivate the blade. This allowed him to use his sword's special ability which was '''Kanzen Saimin''' (完全催眠, Complete Hypnosis). It possessed the ability to control the five senses to the point of making a target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel and even smell with them being mistaken for an enemy. The initial condition for this hypnosis was that the enemy had to see Kyōka Suigetsu at the exact moment it was released. Once seen, the person came to be completely susceptible to the hypnosis every time it was released regardless of how long ago they saw it. | + | His '''Zanpakutō''' (斬魄刀, Soul-Cutter Sword; Viz "Soul Slayer") was known as '''Kyōka Suigetsu''' (Japanese: 鏡花水月, Translation: Mirror Flower, Water Moon) where in its sealed form and resembled a normal katana. Its '''shikai''' (始解, Initial Release) release command was 'Shatter' (砕けろ, kudakero) that could be used to activate or deactivate the blade. This allowed him to use his sword's special ability which was '''Kanzen Saimin''' (完全催眠, Complete Hypnosis). It possessed the ability to control the five senses to the point of making a target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel and even smell with them being mistaken for an enemy. The initial condition for this hypnosis was that the enemy had to see Kyōka Suigetsu at the exact moment it was released. Once seen, the person came to be completely susceptible to the hypnosis every time it was released regardless of how long ago they saw it. |
At one point, he came to place the '''Hōgyoku''' in his chest where it provided him potent healing ability by undoing any damage done to him. According to him, he came to subjugate it to his will and it became a part of him as it was embedded in his chest. He was able to cause it manifest his desires to be beyond a shinigami or Hollow where at first his evolution caused him to form a featureless form. In this state, he was powerful enough to defeat multiple high-ranking shinigami without issue. Once this chrysalis had broken, he manifested in his first evolved form where his face was shown whilst his eyes turned purple. In this state, his sheer presence was enough to nullify the existence of ordinary humans whilst those with some measure of spiritual presence being overwhelmed by his power to the point that they collapsed unconscious. Later, Gin Ichimaru revealed his true intentions and seemingly nearly killed Aizen whilst taking the Hōgyoku but the relic was a part of Sōsuke and he reformed around it even when it was taken from him. By his point, the fear of death allowed his evolution to continue and his physical form had changed once again wit him gaining butterfly-like wings. After his defeat, he lost access to these powers though retained his immortality and tremendous Reiryoku reserves. | At one point, he came to place the '''Hōgyoku''' in his chest where it provided him potent healing ability by undoing any damage done to him. According to him, he came to subjugate it to his will and it became a part of him as it was embedded in his chest. He was able to cause it manifest his desires to be beyond a shinigami or Hollow where at first his evolution caused him to form a featureless form. In this state, he was powerful enough to defeat multiple high-ranking shinigami without issue. Once this chrysalis had broken, he manifested in his first evolved form where his face was shown whilst his eyes turned purple. In this state, his sheer presence was enough to nullify the existence of ordinary humans whilst those with some measure of spiritual presence being overwhelmed by his power to the point that they collapsed unconscious. Later, Gin Ichimaru revealed his true intentions and seemingly nearly killed Aizen whilst taking the Hōgyoku but the relic was a part of Sōsuke and he reformed around it even when it was taken from him. By his point, the fear of death allowed his evolution to continue and his physical form had changed once again wit him gaining butterfly-like wings. After his defeat, he lost access to these powers though retained his immortality and tremendous Reiryoku reserves. | ||
Revision as of 08:49, 1 January 2022
Sōsuke Aizen is a male anime and manga character who features in Bleach.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Sōsuke Aizen (Japanese: 藍染 惣右介, Hepburn: Aizen Sōsuke) was a male Shinigami who came to be an inhabitant of the Soul Society. At some point, he began to conduct research into the Hōgyoku in secret. This saw him begin to sacrifice hundreds of Shinigami and Rukongai citizens as part of his experiments with the Hōgyoku. Around this time, he came to encounter a young Gin Ichimaru and noticed his talent as a warrior. Aizen later gained the attention of Captain Shinji Hirako and inducted into his squad the 5th Division. Eventually, he came to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant but this was because Captain Hirako wanted to keep a close eye on Sōsuke as he found him to be a dangerous individual. Despite this, Aizen was aware of this and kept himself one step ahead of the Shinigami Captain. This allowed him to continue his experiments and research on the Hōgyoku where he looked to study the process of Hollowfication.
Around 110 years ago, he was present when the Gotei 13 had gathered including Aizen where they were informed that Kirio Hikifune had joined the ranks of the Royal Guard. Thus, the 12th Division was now leaderless and a decision was made to find a new captain to head them. Ultimately, the position was given to Kisuke Urahara who had been promoted to the rank with Aizen believing that the man was too carefree and relaxed to be a captain.
He along with Gin and Kaname then secretly travelled to Hueco Mundo where they arranged an audience with the self-proclaimed god king of the realm which was Barragan Luisenbarn. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss an alliance between them but Luisenbarn refused where he attacked Aizen but quickly was outmatched by the rogue shinigami. Thus, they were able to force Barragan into servitude whereupon Aizen appropriated his palace Las Noches that he reconstructed in his own image. During this time, he sought out others that could be transformed into Arrancar where he intended for the most powerful to join the ranks of his Espada. He was responsible for evolving powerful Hollows into Arrancar by partly shattering their masks. One of their number came to seek revenge against Tier Harribel though Aizen intervened and killed the Arrancar. This allowed him to recruit Harribel into the Espada and later was responsible for recruiting Coyote Stark.
Soul Society
From the shadows, Aizen arranged for Rukia Kuchiki to meet with Ichigo Kurosaki thus manipulating events so that the human could become a Shinigami. From there, by began sending Hollows in Karakura Town to alert the Soul Society for the location to get the Hōgyoku that was concealed within her body. Around this time, Rukia Kuchiki was forcibly brought back to the Soul Society to answer for her recent actions. This meant that the Hōgyoku concealed within her had returned with Aizen then forming an elaborate conspiracy to acquire it. This involved killing all the members of Central 46 where he used his abilities to masquerade as them where he an order made for Rukia to be executed as soon as possible. He also looked to instil further chaos among the Gotei 13 by telling Lieutenant Renji Abarai of a possible conspiracy within the Soul Society. It was then that Gin faked Aizen's dath in order to cause the captains and lieutenants to fight amongst themselves.
Heuco Mundo
He then dispatched two of his Espada namely Ulquiorra Cifer and Yammy Llargo to the world of the living with the purpose of finding Ichigo Kurosaki to test his potential in resisting them. The two later returned where they stood before Aizen and the Espada as Ulquiorra shared his visual experiences with them all. During this time, Aizen noticed the potential in the human Orihime Inoue who had a power that was seemingly to heal. By this point, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez decided to take a number of Numeros without permission into the world of the living in order to eliminate anyone with spiritual pressure in karakura Town. Kaname Tōsen was responsible for bringing Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo though the other Arrancar that accompanied him were all killed by their enemies. Brought before Aizen, Kaname suggested that Grimmjow be killed for his disobedience and acting on his own. However, Aizen claimed that Grimmjow was acting simply according to his wishes and had decided to spare his life. Despite that, Kaname cut off Grimmjow's arm as his punishment leading to his demotion from the ranks of the Espada. In this time, he became aware of a low-ranking Arrancar named Patros looking to depose him by taking the Hōgyoku and attempting to unlock it in Karakura Town. Aizen used his illusions to make Patros and his co-conspirators believe they succeeded in their mission but they were ultimately killed by Ichigo Kurosaki's allies. It was then that he decided to enact the next stage of his plans which involved the capture of Orihime Inoe. This saw him dispatch a number of Espada to attack Karakura Town in order to engage the Soul Society and their allies there. In this moment, Orihime Inoe was returning to the world of the living from the Soul Society where whilst travelling between dimensions she was intercepted by Ulquiorra who dispatched her shinigami guards. He then forced her to willingly travel with him to Hueco Mundo leading to the Arrancar attack on Karakura Town being called off as the plan had been achieved. Ulquiorra presented her before Aizen who wanted a demonstration of her power which saw her healing Grimmjow's lost arm thus restoring his position among the Espada. Aizen then commented that Inoe's power was not healing but rather rejecting reality and undoing events which made her useful in his plans in unlocking the Hōgyoku. He then orchestrated events so that Orihime would willingly stay in Hueco Mundo leading to her being declared a traitor by the Soul Society.
Fake Karakura Town
In response, the Soul Society staged their next move where they dispatched four Shinigami Captains to Hueco Mundo who battled their Espada counterparts. However, this fell into Aizen's plans who then closed the Garganta thus trapping them in Hueco Mundo. This meant that the Gotei 13's fighting strength had been reduced by half allowing for Aizen to launch his attack against Karakura Town in order to sacrifice it to create the Ōken key. Arriving to the world of the living, he was confronted by the Gotei 13 headed by Captain-Commander Yamamoto who had prepared for this confrontation with the Soul Society having substituted Karakura Town so that they could battle in a fake version of the settlement without any threat to its inhabitants. Despite this plan, Aizen had already seen through this deception but decided to use this as an opportunity to eliminate the Gotei 13 thus allowing him to attack the Soul Society itself. Captain Yamamoto then unleashed an attack that trapped Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen behind a wall of flame leaving the battle to be waged by his Espada lieutenants. In the battle, many of the Hollows were killed where by this point the flames trapping Aizen were dispelled. The Gotei 13 then received aid from Shinji Hirako and the Visored who had arrived on the scene to lend their might against the Arrancar. Despite events, everything proceeded according to his plans though by this point he came to be disappointed in the Espada. This saw him turning against them where he badly injured Tier Harribel despite her loyalty to him. After dealing with her, he was confronted by the Gotei 13 along with the Visored who had arrived at the scene. In this time, he witnessed Kaname Tōsen's defeat at the hands of Sajin Komamura and Shūhei Hisagi leading to Aizen killing his subordinate. This caused Komamura to go into a rage and he charged Sōsuke where he was nearly killed if not for Ichigo's sudden arrival.
With his spiritual pressure alone, he caused Ichigo's friends to collapse unconscious and was ready to kill them now that nothing stood in his way. It was then that Ichigo Kurosaki had arrived where at first Aizen felt no spiritual pressure. Thus, he came to be disappointed as he felt that his opponent had squandered his chance of becoming strong enough to be a challenge. Ichigo though surprised him as he proved strong enough to grab him and fast enough to prevent Aizen from reacting. The substitute shinigami forced Aizen to a more barren landscape to prevent any innocent bystanders from getting hurt. Though shocked at first, Aizen regained his composure and determined that Ichigo had no lost his spiritual pressure but had simply converted it into physical power. However, though strong, Aizen believed that he was in a superior position and would win their struggle whilst being amuse at Ichigo who seemed sure that he would win instead.
Ten days later, he was brought bound in a chair to stand trial before the judges of Central 46 for high treason alongside a multitude of other crimes. They decided to sentence him to 18,800 years in Muken that was the 8th and lowest level in the underground prison. However, Aizen fond it comical to receive judgement from the likes of the authorities of the Soul Society. This led to him being silenced and declared a traitor with his eyes and mouth bound as the judges raised his sentence to 20,000 years.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Sōsuke Aizen was a shinigami from the Soul Society where originally he was a member of the Gotei 12. During that time, he appeared as a mild featured man who had brown scholarly hair and wore square glasses as well as soft brown eyes.
Within the Soul Society, he was seen as being a very kind and well-respected Shinigami who was looked up by many of his comrades. Though as stated by himself, the Sōsuke known by everyone else was a person who never really existed.
Aizen had said that the laws of nature were for beings who must live their lives bound by them.
Sōsuke believed that trust in another person was the same as reliance which was a weakness that was of no use to a person. As such, he showed no trust in anyone not even his closest allies. He had said that admiration was the emotion furthest from understanding. In fact, he long suspected that Gin would betray him and kept a close watch over him. In fact, Azen often toyed with his subordinates and controlled his forces through a mixture of respect, intimidation, fear, and mind games.
He had proven himself to be a flawless and flexible tactician who adjusted seamlessly to any given situation. It was shown that he planned for future encounters and set up counters to particular enemies. Such was the case wit head captain Yamamoto where he commented that he would struggle in a one-on-one confrontation with his opponent. Thus, he created a particular Arrancar named Wonderweiss Margela with the particular purpose of fighting the head of Squad 1. Wonderweiss's entire development was fixated on this goal where he sacrificed even the ability to speak in order to develop the necessary abilities for Aizen. In particular, this was the power to put out the flames that could be generated by Yamamoto' zanpakto.
It was shown that he could leave his foes alive in order to make them feel helpless and defeated with them forced to observe carefully as the battle reached its conclusion.
Aizen had said that there was no such thing as truth or lies in the world with their only being plain hard facts. He stated though that despite these objective views that all beings simply chose the facts convenient to them and take them as the truth. Sōsuke had said that such things were done because people knew no other way to live. Such beings made up he majority of the world but Aizen said that those facts were inconvenient for their own self-affirmation that make up the real truth. He believed that victors must always speak of the way the world should be rather than the way it was and it was for this reason he rebelled. In fact, he believed that someone of considerable intellect such as himself should not allow themselves to be controlled by the likes of the Soul King who Sōsuke referred to as a 'thing'. Despite its rule in the Soul Society, Aizen refused to acknowledge it and instead wanted to depose the Soul King.
According to Ichigo Kurosaki, Aizen was believed to feel cursed for being strong and had a desire to fight a powerful opponent. However, it was thought that he never came to find someone to match him making him feel alone as a result. It was said that a deep desire for Aizen was a wish that he was not so powerful and rather been born an ordinary person.
As the head of the Espada, he came to rule the Arrancars through respect and fear. They claimed that they all followed him in order to further their master's ambitions. Aizen kept the more unruly members in line through a mixture of intimidation and mind games. It was said that the Arrancar followed him because he showed no fear which they found inspiring as they were creatures born from fear and despair.
Ultimately, Aizen looked to evolve himself into something greater than a shinigami or a Hollow. He believed that such evolution was driven by fear allowing one to attain greater power as a result. In fact it was this fear that one in their current state could be destroyed at any time leading to hem seeking to become stronger. After merging with the Hōgyoku, he no longer was cautious as he became effectively immortal. This saw him no longer having a need to take care in battle nor evade any attack as he simply healed within moments.
Aizen had said that he actually hated Kisuke Urahara as he could not comprehend how someone of his intellect would allow himself to be controlled by the Soul King.
Powers and abilities
As a soul, Sōsuke Aizen was a being that came to reside in the Soul Society where he had the ability to manipulate his spiritual pressure. It was remarked that his mere presence was monstrously overwhelming where the force of his Reiatsu was great enough to bring powerful Arrancar to their knees without much effort.
Secretly, he conducted experiments involving unique and highly dangerous manipulations of Reiryoku and Reishi with this including work on Hollowfication of Shinigami. He also had a considerable amount of knowledge about the Soul Society with this covering matters only known to the Captain-Commander. This included being aware of the existence of the Ōken and its method of creation.
Through words alone, he was able to shatter the will of others and undermine their confidence. He also engaged in acts to cause a person to fall into a rage and attack him recklessly.
He was shown to be an extremely powerful combatant who was well above many captain-level Shinigami. According to himself, he was stronger than all the Espada put together.
It was shown that he was a Shunpo (瞬歩, Flash Steps) master allowing him to move at incredible speeds. Such was his skill that he could dodge simultaneous attacks at close-range and even when being attacked from behind.
Aizen was shown to have an immense proficiency in the use of Kidō (鬼道, Demon/Spirit Way; Viz "Demon Arts") techniques. Among the spells he knew included:
- Bakudō #81: Dankū (斷空, Splitting Void; Viz "Airtight") : a defensive spell whereby a translucent barrier formed in the shape of a large rectangular wall that was capable of stopping Kido-based attacks going as strong as a level 89.
- Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi (黒棺, Black Coffin) : a Kidō spell whereby he engulfed a target within a black spiritual spear where they were beset upon by intense gravity and lacerated by spikes thus injuring them.
- Hadō #99: Goryūtenmetsu (五龍転滅, Five Swirling Dragons of Destruction; Viz "Five Dragon Destruction") : upon activation, energy erupted over a large area around the user that caused the ground to rise up into pillars whereupon five enormous light purple dragons rose into the air above the user.
Using Kido, he was shown to had created a small barrier around his neck to prevent him from dying through a sneak attack from his blindspot.
His Zanpakutō (斬魄刀, Soul-Cutter Sword; Viz "Soul Slayer") was known as Kyōka Suigetsu (Japanese: 鏡花水月, Translation: Mirror Flower, Water Moon) where in its sealed form and resembled a normal katana. Its shikai (始解, Initial Release) release command was 'Shatter' (砕けろ, kudakero) that could be used to activate or deactivate the blade. This allowed him to use his sword's special ability which was Kanzen Saimin (完全催眠, Complete Hypnosis). It possessed the ability to control the five senses to the point of making a target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel and even smell with them being mistaken for an enemy. The initial condition for this hypnosis was that the enemy had to see Kyōka Suigetsu at the exact moment it was released. Once seen, the person came to be completely susceptible to the hypnosis every time it was released regardless of how long ago they saw it.
At one point, he came to place the Hōgyoku in his chest where it provided him potent healing ability by undoing any damage done to him. According to him, he came to subjugate it to his will and it became a part of him as it was embedded in his chest. He was able to cause it manifest his desires to be beyond a shinigami or Hollow where at first his evolution caused him to form a featureless form. In this state, he was powerful enough to defeat multiple high-ranking shinigami without issue. Once this chrysalis had broken, he manifested in his first evolved form where his face was shown whilst his eyes turned purple. In this state, his sheer presence was enough to nullify the existence of ordinary humans whilst those with some measure of spiritual presence being overwhelmed by his power to the point that they collapsed unconscious. Later, Gin Ichimaru revealed his true intentions and seemingly nearly killed Aizen whilst taking the Hōgyoku but the relic was a part of Sōsuke and he reformed around it even when it was taken from him. By his point, the fear of death allowed his evolution to continue and his physical form had changed once again wit him gaining butterfly-like wings. After his defeat, he lost access to these powers though retained his immortality and tremendous Reiryoku reserves.
Originally, he was a member of the Soul Society and had been a part of the Gotei 13. This saw him rising from a lieutenant and become a captain of his own division.
Aizen came to be the leader of the Espada (十刃, (エスパーダ), Esupāda; Spanish for "Sword", Japanese for "Ten Blades") that consisted of the strongest Arrancar.
Notes
- Sōsuke Aizen was created by Tite Kubo where he featured in the setting of Bleach.
In other media
Television
- In Bleach, Sōsuke Aizen appeared in the setting of the anime television series adaptation were he was voiced by Japanese actor Shō Hayami and by English actor Kyle Hebert in the dub.
Video games
- In Jump Force, Sōsuke Aizen appeared as a playable character in the setting of the crossover fighting video game where he was voiced once again by Japanese actor Shō Hayami.
Appearances
- Bleach:
External Links
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