Forum:The new arc (the lost substitute shinigami arc)

Hey everyone...so i just finished reading the latest chapter (432) i wont put anything abt tht cuz im not one to spoil things...but im sure most of you are pretty much caught up with these xcution dudes. i feel really suspicious abt this group, simply because, when you come across random people who say they're gonna restore ur powers nd say stuff like they're "humans with special power" u just have to get that weird feeling. i mean im not completely relying on them, as in if they somehow automatically just out of nowhere reveal they're enemies i won't be surprised...but then again they may not be lying, maybe they really are trying to help Ichigo restore his shinigami powers, but i dont trust them. i just think that there could be a really big catch, like how when Rukia met Kaien in Hueco Mundo and he said to pay off his murder, she had to bring her friends' heads, that right there caught her off guard and she knew that wasnt the real Kaien. even i couldnt believe it when that happened...anyways, so what do you guys think? do u think we can trust Xcution? Bleachfreak817 (talk) 01:54, January 2, 2011 (UTC)

First, you made a small mistake in the name of the arc. As far as I recall, it´s called "the lost shinigami representative BADGE arc" in the manga, and my interpretation of the last pages in chapter 424 is that this fullbringer actually stole the badge using a faked robbery as decoy. So its quite obvious that this badge will play a significant role sooner or later, we should remind that Ichigo needs it to transform into his soul/shinigami form. Hmm, he could also use Kon´s pill, but thinking about that - have you noticed that since the new arc started there was no sign of Kon anywhere? Makes me wonder where he is, maybe he is slacking off at Urahara´s shop with the other modified souls...

Well, these Xcution guys sure are suspicious. They stole the badge. They need a hideout (think about the complicated way of contacting them via phone). Ginjou gives some hints that there are some secrets concerning Ichigo´s father as well as Urahara Kisuke - well anyone could have guessed that, but I think we are going to learn some unexpected things soon. Ever since it was revealed that Ichigo´s father is a shinigami, and even a former captain, I was wondering how Tite Kubo would explain how he ended up with a human family. And I hope this arc will present some background knowledge on this. Simply falling in love with a human and deciding to stay in the real world would be a ridiculous explanation - Yamamoto would never have tolerated this. So there must be some hidden agenda, and I am eager to learn about it.

The purpose of the current arc is quite clear for me. At the end of the Deicide chapters Ichigo had to gain godlike power to be able to defeat Aizen - and of course he had to lose it afterwards, or else he would have been to overpowered to fit into any future plot. And now, in order to maintain him as the main character for Bleach, he needs a power-up again. Personally I find this a bit disappointing, because it is repetitive. Uryu Ishida lost his Quincy powers in the soul society arc, then shortly after regained them with help from his father. For Ichigo it is even the second time that he is offered an opportunity to recover his lost powers.

But I guess this is a constant factor in shounen - train, fight, get stronger, recover after failing, ... we should be thankful that the main characters get dragged down to zero level every now and then, instead of becoming superheros who are capable of destroying whole planets during their fights like in some other mangas/animes.

Coming back to this Xcution group: I don´t think they are really the bad guys. I rather suspect that they are planning to use Ichigo to protect them from another group of fullbringers or something like that. The guy who attacked Uryu was most probably a fullbringer, I doubt that Tite Kubo will introduce more than one new race in one arc, especially if it is supposed to be a short one.

And, to make another guess, I dare to assume that Ichigo´s father has a good reason for living in the real world. I think he was ordered to protect and raise Ichigo and his sisters, since they are not ordinary humans. This is not mere speculation; from the very first moment when Ichigo´s father was introduced, he was overacting in a weird way. Well, we can assume that his constant attacks were supposed to be some kind of training for Ichigo. It would not surprise me if it turns out that he is not even their real father, since it was implied, but never specifically said that Ichigo is the child of a shinigami - remember this "a human and a ..." discussion?

I doubt that Tite Kubo had all this planned out from the very beginning, but at some point he decided that Ichigo´s father is a shinigami, and now he must give an explanation which fits into the bleach universe, especially given the military organisation in the world of soul society.

Well, lets see which way the story goes... I am curious about this latest promise "we will give you back your shinigami powers, and on top of it our own powers". Hope Ichigo doesn´t turn into a god again too soon :)

Rh73 (talk) 15:57, January 15, 2011 (UTC)

1. No the name of the arc is the Lost Substitute Shinigami arc. The badge part was a mistake and the translator put out a note shortly after that it was a mistake.

2. Kugo did not steal Ichigo's badge. Take a look at the page again. His badge has a chain on it where Ichigo's did not.--God (Pray)  19:43, January 15, 2011 (UTC)

Thanks a lot for clarification on the badge part, I honestly didn´t notice they had a different look (and was not aware of the translation error). Hmm, this makes at least Kugo even more suspicous... if the group already has a human/shinigami hybrid among them, what would they need Ichigo for?

Oh, and apart from that, I really hope (but sadly fear) that the explanation how humans get fullbringer power is not really true, because it is ultra lame. Rh73 (talk) 20:24, January 15, 2011 (UTC)