User blog comment:Xilinoc/Ch. 674 - Father 2/@comment-1351982-20160519121839/@comment-29183117-20160521013304

Saying that Aizen was no better than Inaba isn't all that valid since Aizen had a lot more build-up and legitimacy, given how Aizen was a captain while Inaba was literally half of a seated officer. Aizen being capable of the feats he performed is more believable given his status and development. He got ridiculous towards the end, yes, but before that he was a believable villain. There really is little to no reason for why Inaba could battle equally with the captains given his status and origins.

And say what you will about Orihime, she had a reason for not fighting back since she was surrounded by Aizen and his legion of captain-class underlings. Her abilities aren't exactly combat-focused, so while the typical "damsel-in-distress" scenario was meh, it would have been ridiculous to have her tear through these powerful opponents on her own. Nozomi was generic and annoying as all get out and was pretty much your prototypical Mary Sue. And lastly the Reigai characters don't mean a thing to the overall story since they were anime-only characters who all died by the end.