User blog comment:Salubri/Final Fight: Reflections of an Unrealistic and Ridiculous Battle/@comment-1454424-20100129083512

I am not discounting the skill of others. I am simply remembering the time Aizen proclaimed that he had "higher then captain level reiatsu". He made that comment back in Chapter 229 and that statement has been largely forgotten or dismissed as idle boasting. What the latest chapter has shown is that, that wasn't idle boasting. Whatever miscalculation Aizen made with the Espada, he did not overestimate himself. He really is THAT strong.

Now we both know that not all captains are the same and "higher then captain level reiatsu" can mean anything. But if Kyoraku can defeat the released Primera with just his shikai and Hisagi drive his zanpakuto through a resurrected Tosen, I don't see why Aizen cannot defeat an injured Rose in shikai or take out an injured and weakened Komamura's bankai.

I agree, that Ichimaru's narration makes it clear that SS underestimated Aizen and that they simply had no comprehension he had that much brute strength. But while that has upped the tension of the situation, it has no more put victory out of SS's grasp then when the fighting started.

I mean, Ichigo at full strenght also has higher then captain level reiatsu and if Nanao is to be believed from back in SS, Yama-jii vs Kyoraku and Ukitake was still mostly a guaranteed victory for Yama-jii.

So no, I don't think there has been anything in this chapter that is beyond the realms of possiblity. The captains and the vizards are special, but so is Aizen.

As for Ichigo's motivation. What about his sisters? Tatsuki? His father? His other human friends? Let's not forget that his entire town is in danger. The moment the pillars come down, his family's lives will be in-danger. He has plenty of reason to fight for and he just needs to remember it.