Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26912075-20160115194709/@comment-44061-20160115205206

To your first point of whether Aizen is really the villain, the answer is yes. Ichigo's is an outsider looking in, he doesn't know the mindset of a shinigami, or someone with power raised in that environment. His entire outlook is that of a human and an inexperienced teenager who has not the wisdom or knowledge to see the big picture. Ichigo's own sentiments is to protect those personally connected to him. So his assertions of Aizen's reasonings are pointless and naive at best. What really does Ichigo know about Aizen's situation. More to the point in what way does Ichigo's assertion that is truly nothing more then a opinion somehow absolve Aizen of anything he did, Simply as a point of fact that it doesn't.

1.) Why didnt Aizen destroy Karakura Town when he first arrived. Despite never really spelling out how he was gonna accomplish such a thing seeing as Aizen doesnt possess the attack power to destroy a entire city in one go (like Ryujin Jakka in just shikai can). The big point is which one the fake one or the real one. In both he was on the way to do so and in both he was sidetracked. There would have to have been some method he was gonna employ to make it happen. The fact that somehow he didnt call down a nuclear strike from orbit isn't in any way saying that it wasnt his intention.

2.) Why did he allow Ichigo to surpass him. Well its quite clear he didnt really expect that Ichigo could do so. Ichigo was never a guarentee he was a wild card at best. Certain circumstances took place that allowed him to get where he was. Ichigo never became a real threat until after his Dangai training and based on Aizen's reactions from that point on he was more surprised then anyone that Ichigo was a threat. Whether he surpassed him was debatable as both seemed to be working with limited high levels of power at the time.

3.) He declared a whole war just so someone could defeat him? So that would make sense if not for the fact that on at least 3 occasions before his hogyoku transformations he readily admitted that he would have gotten his ass handed to him (oh but wait, wasnt he all powerful and looking for someone who was an equal, except the story doesnt support the viewpoint of Ichigo's). Against Yamamoto he created Wonderweiss for the specific reason to contain his power cause Aizen knew he couldnt go against it. In his fight against Isshin he readily admitted Isshin had backed him to the corner, which was the limit of what he was capable of as a shinigami. In the fight against Urahara he points out that with the level of Kido Urahara had used, had he not had "mastery" of the hogyoku then the battle would have been over. So in three points at least he admits to going down in a normal circumstance so looking for equality doesnt seem to be the case. Seeing as he would have been defeated as he was if not for the hogyoku. Unless the argument is he was looking for an equal that was powerful enough to surpass an artificially augmented version of himself that only existed at the very last 20min of his 110 yr planned betrayal.

4.) The problem with your last part is that there is virtually nothing to suggest that, either in his plan, attitude, actions or otherwise. He wanted Soul Society to change but offered no practical way for that to happen but through betrayal, murder and treason. To say that he wanted it to change via Ichigo is likely saying the only reason Batman's rouge gallery exists is so batman can make Gotham change for the better, except Gotham hasnt been any better because of batman if anything its worse because even more enemies exist since his inception and there is just as much crime if not more. I cant really discern anywhere in fiction or real world where what Aizen has done resulted in change for the better for anyone or anything.

Also Aizen did nothing to prevent people more powerful then he was as we know there were. The most telling part of Aizen's personality was his conversation with Urahara. He knew about the Soul King, he held hatred or animosity of the being as something unnatural or as he stated previously ineffective. He was clear on his intentions and has focus never strayed. The problem is that you look at Ichigo's argument as though it carried weight but for it to do so you would have to overlook many points in the story. The biggest being that Ichigo totally ignored Aizen's stated reason by intent and action which was clear to everyone else. But most importantly that unlike the most of the Gotei 13 who knew certain aspects of him but not who he really was, save for Urahara and etc. Ichigo was fighting against someone that had a direct barring on his life but whom he himself didnt know at all to make any discernible opinions on what his motivations were.