Spoiler Alert !!!
Contains Spoilers from Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 10 and 11
The long-awaited exploration of Ichigo’s family history has finally arrived in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, causing shock waves of excitement throughout the fandom. The series finally looks into the mysterious past of Isshin, Ichigo’s father, and a decades-old question rises to the surface: why did some Soul Reapers seemingly fail to recognize him?
The latest episodes have enlightened some unexplained facts about Isshin’s past, who was once the captain of Squad 10. But such revelations have still left further questions about his past encounters with certain characters. On the brighter side though, fans can feel at ease, as creator Tite Kubo was kind enough to explain those inconsistencies and covered apparent plot holes with his incredible foresight in storytelling.
Ichigo’s Dad, Isshin, Was Not Recognised as a Member of Soul Reapers!
Bleach has long left fans wondering why Rukia never recognized her former captain, Isshin, as a Soul Reaper. They had crossed paths many times, and still, there was no sign of them knowing each other. That makes this mystery even deeper, thinking about the family ties that Isshin had to Kaien.
The other mystery is why Toshiro and Rangiku, former juniors of Isshin, never recognized him as a Soul Reaper captain. Unlike Rukia, both of them were working directly under Isshin, thereby their silence in this scenario is even more weird. The fact that they have been sharing so many spaces with Isshin and even visited Ichigo’s home raises many eyebrows.
On the surface, these seem to be plot holes but creator Tite Kubo has explained these issues in order to dissipate the chaos. And with each episode in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, fans are at the edge of their seat, looking forward to getting more insight into the intricate connections between the Soul Reapers and the background of the Kurosaki family.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Finally Addresses Isshin Kurosaki’s Mysterious Past
In a Q&A on Kubo’s official blog, Klub Outside, he addressed the confusion regarding the Rukia and Isshin relationship. He explained that Rukia and Isshin were originally from different squads, which greatly reduced the opportunity to know each other. Moreover, Soul Reapers do not usually have children with humans, so Rukia just thought that Ichigo’s similarity with Kaien must be a coincidence.
Kubo also explained why Toshiro and Rangiku did not recognize Isshin at all. In the JET art book, Kubo said that the two did recognize Isshin during their visit to Karakura Town but chose not to talk to him, as they didn’t feel it was any of their business.
When Hitsugaya and Rangiku realised that Isshin’s hiding his real identity, they were the sort to think, “Well, we shouldn’t touch on the issue then.” As for Isshin, he was no longer a captain, so he thought there was no point going up to them and saying, “Hey! This is your former captain!”
This explains how much Kubo takes care in telling his story, anticipating any future plot holes or inconsistencies. It seems he pays enough attention to potential gaps in the story so that the viewers can experience a single cohesive narrative without any worry. As such, one should appreciate the efforts and thoughts put into the Bleach universe and keep this series popular and loyal to its fan base.
The Bleach series is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
