User blog comment:Xilinoc/Ch. 573 (Let Unohana return plz)/@comment-1659214-20140320180554/@comment-1268838-20140321133202

I agree that the death of "fodder" characters is hardly impactful, but it does serve to exhibit the sheer scope of this conflict. Consider that all throughout the entire Arrancar arc, zero Shinigami died. Despite Aizen being an insane, god-like threat.

People can call Yama's death BS all they want, but frankly, I'd take his cheap death over a legitimate loss any day. After how powerful Kubo made him out to be, for him to be to taken out in a fair fight would have insanity-inducing implications about the bad guy. Not even Aizen could defeat Yama fair and square, so to just have Yhwach swat him down like a fly in a straight up fight would have been the most unbelievable thing ever. Honestly, keeping him alive would have made this arc very, very difficult to progress logically. Hell, even in the Arrancar arc he could have just toasted every Arrancar at the drop of a hat.

Chojiro's death was kind of random and not nearly as significant as it could have been if his relationship with Yama was already established (outside of databooks and whatnot I mean), but I do think that Kubo did a good job with characterizing him post mortem.

Unohana had a lot of wasted potential as a character and my belief that she is still alive aside, her death was hardly "meaningless," anticlimactic battles aside. Zaraki is apparently greater than the sum of the two of them, but I'll believe it when I see it.