User blog:Killbethy/Is Ichigo more than human? Defining Species.

Because I still think this is a relevant argument and very much up for debate, I've decided to post a blog about it. If you haven't read past Chapter 424 of the manga, this will contain spoilers.

Basically the idea behind this is what really defines the "species" of a character and how the term is really mis-used in some cases (particularly the Ichigo and the Kurosaki family), which can give off the wrong impression.

Since I still think defining Ichigo's species accurately is a relevant point and new additions to the debate can't be posted on the Talk page, blogging it or putting it up on my Talk page seems the only way to present this and not lose the work in explaining it.

Classifying Ichigo's species after losing his powers seems to be a tricky topic for many people. Questions are asked along the lines of: what if Ichigo gets his powers back; did he just lose his Shinigami powers or does he still have Hollow powers; etc. All of these questions are completely irrelevant when you think about it. Species is something that cannot change. Ichigo's species is no different than it was before he met Rukia or while he was a Substitue Shinigami or demonstrating his masked Hollow powers.

Why?

The basic argument is the difference between SPECIES, a biological classification, and POWERS, current "spiritual" abilities in the Bleach universe. Ichigo was BORN half-Shinigami, half-human, so biologically that would make his SPECIES a Shinigami-Human hybrid. Nothing can change that. Although currently his spiritual powers are that of an ordinary human (ie. non-existent), that doesn't change the fact that he is. was. and will always be part-Shinigami. It's this part of Ichigo that makes him unique: he is/was a Shinigami that can exist in the real world and be seen without a gigai, as well as exist in just a spiritual form. You don't call a creature that is an amphibious species aquatic when it is in the water and, say, a reptile when it is on land; it's always amphibious. When Rukia lost her Shinigami powers, was she ever at any point considered human? When Ishida lost his powers was he ever NOT a Quincy? No. Rukia and Ishida were simply a Shinigami and Quincy, respectively, that had lost their powers.

The idea that Ichigo is "more than human" is evident in both the manga and the anime. Below are some examples that show this...

First, examine what Aizen told Ichigo during their inital battle over the fake Karakura town about why Ichigo was such a great "experiment." From Chapter 410, page 18 (http://manga.bleachexile.com/bleach-chapter-410-page-18.html) of the manga, Aizen says he has always watched Ichigo, because he was "special the beginning" due the fact that he is part Shinigami and part something else (Aizen is interrupted, but presumably human since Ichigo's mother has never been stated to be anything other than human). Note: later the dialogue is changed in the Tankobon and anime so that Aizen says part-human, and before he can finish naming the second part, Isshin appears, implying part-Shinigami.

We also know that Isshin Kurosaki gave up his Shinigami powers for 20 years in order to live a human life so that he could be with his future wife and Ichigo's mother, Masaki (note: Isshin later regains his powers to fight Aizen, using them for the first time in two decades to kill the Grand Fisher Hollow). This period of Isshin "losing his powers" would be during the time that Ichigo was born, but even though Isshin assumed a human life and was considered powerless, Ichigo still inherited his Shinigami half from Isshin. Powers or not, a Shinigami is a Shinigami. These facts imply that Ichigo, from birth, was and always will be part Shinigami, regardless of whether he can use or access the powers or not. Just because he currently only has the powers of an ordinary human does not change the fact that he is biologically half-Shinigami due to his heritage from Isshin.

From all of this, it is my opinion that the most accurate classification for Ichigo's species (and perhaps Karin and Yuzu's as well) is "Shinigami-Human Hybrid" or "Part-Shinigami, Part-Human." Were Ichigo's spiritual powers taken away? Yes. Can he no longer perform his JOB as a Substitute Shinigami? Yes. But the biological part of him that once allowed for his abilities as a Shinigami will always remain as part of his genetic make-up, dormant or not.

Killbethy (talk) 10:33, December 8, 2010 (UTC)