Board Thread:New on Bleach Wiki/@comment-17226400-20150106192908/@comment-44061-20160412172901

Is it at all possible to point out that this is reminiscent of the typical arrogance of our western society. We cant fathom a concept that is not all about our common culture and world view. I dont recall a point where Kubo stated what his religious beliefs are but given that the bases of Bleach was him wanting to "draw a shinigami in a kimono" and thus his creation of Rukia. There is a huge possibility that like most Japanese he is Shinto and Buddhist. This is seen throughout all of Bleach and not just simply in the last 2 arcs like the Fullbrings are the Quincy. Having a reigning god is not unheard of nor is the concept of Shinigami. Angels are about as old as the various abrahamic religions that believe in them and just as different as the religions. Shinigami have existed as a concept far before Christianity or Judism. Also point of fact Yhwach or (YHVH) is a jewish concept of god.

So to say anything of Kubo's beliefs if anything he adheres to what he knows from his culture as he heavily uses from the Eastern Thought to create many of the concepts we see in Bleach. Besides Yhwach and the Sternritter motiff of angelic concepts. If we were to look that deep into it one could say that Kubo is pitting Eastern religious philosophies vs the western religious philosophies but even then thats only in this most recent arc, you would also have to overlook the lack of actual god or gods as one may assume they would exists (omnipotent, omniscience, omnipresent), lack of any religious dogma.

If anything according to Hachi, Shinigami dont worship any gods. The entire concept is based on a practical viewpoint of reincarnation given form by a scientific/spiritualist model. Shinigami exist to keep balance of souls, the soul king ultimately regulates the balance of existence. Hollows exist simply as a negative opposite to a conventional soul. The unnatural enigma apparently would be Fullbring in certain humans and possibly Quincy that serve no purpose in reincarnation and seek to subvert it entirely bringing upon devastation to the balance of existence. With heavy reference on the eastern philosophical concepts and entities that basically shape the japanese history, culture and worldview as well as that of Tite Kubo himself. Anything else is reaching. Yhwach as a concept of Jesus is ridiculous, last i checked he wasnt a genocidal megalomaniac. Shinigami are far more aggressive and possess a more practical role in existence then the Abrahamic Angels that rarely interact in Human life if ever. Unless we see homicidal zealots as jesus's children the Quincy dont match up. In religion the holy spirit acts as a guide to god. Ichigo is if nothing else a typical shonen jump protagonist. Overpowered out of nowhere and covered in plot armor. How he got there is described in his parentage. The son of a shinigami and a quincy who had been infected by a hollow like creature. It serves to empower him but little more. The Holy Spirit is commonly seen as part of the trinity of God (father, son, holy spirit) but Ichigo fulfills no Abrahamic dogma. Yhwach is no more connection to him then the fact that he created Quincy and can command the blood inherent in them. The Soul King doesnt fulfill any direct purpose as a god. Ichigo is on the side of his friends and existence as ever. He guides nobody to anything but the defeat of Yhwach. Also the Soul King while likely the "god" of the Bleach Universe cant truly be a god being as vulnerable as he was. He as established as a concept that must exist for existence to continue, thus given a certain authority and logical purpose.