Is curious too! The ice palace has appeared and that's where the Vandenreich are based... My guess is that they're quincy with shinigami powers or quincy with the ability to steal shinigami powers... which might explain why Ichigo's bankai can't be stolen and why they have bankai. I'd want to suspect hollow blood mixed somewhere in the equation as well, but they don't seem like Arrancar.
New Vandenreich leader does look a little like Zangetsu. He's probably the Buckbeard referred to, which might actually be an allusion to Bluebeard in some form.
That's my assumption, too. Which also makes me wonder, weirdly, if Aizen doesn't have a finger in this pie somewhere, too. I don't think they have hollow abilities...maybe. Although that does look like an arrancar mask. I'm sure this ties in somehow to Mayuri losing all his specimens early on, too.
Well. ...so long as he doesn't end up being Bluebeard from Fate/Zero, I guess we're okay... :D
There is a definite sense of a European ethnicity here; just look at the boots and all the buttons on his cuffs. That addresses a question I've had for a while: what happens to souls in other cultures? The Shinigami handle only Japan - I assume they are specific to that culture and belief system. So what are these European types doing here? If an analogous system exists in other parts of the world, I'd expect it to follow the local belief systems, religions, pantheons, or legends. In this way, bringing in other ethnic elements (Spanish for the Arrancars, German for these guys) wasn't really well thought out on Kubo's part, I am afraid. I hope he has some kind of an overarching back-story that justifies all that.
Bleach is meant to be a Japanese story, permeated with Japanese culture, and focuses on the shinigami and the (Japanese) Living World. Kubo's borrowing of European motifs - Spanish for the Arrancar, German for the Quincy, etc. - is simply that: a borrowing of motifs. A stylistic flourish, if you will. This happens a lot of the time in Japanese culture generally, the adoption of rituals/habits/dress/words associated with European cultures. That doesn't necessarily mean Kubo intends to address or incorporate other belief systems. Really, I don't think Bleach desires nor intends to address the way other cultures might approach such issues...it's just embracing stylistic changes as a way to create some variety within its own universe.
If Starrk and Zangetsu had a baby, and Aizen and Gin were it's foster parents, it would be the leader of the Vandenreich.
No lie, I thought the minion was Byakuya at first, and then realized that white in his hair are bleached dreadlocks. I'll chuckle if he's a distant Kuchiki relative.
Quincies on steroids. Hahaha. It seems like, with the mask fragements, these Quincies have been mingling identities too.
So far I like these new baddies. Their attitudes remind me of the power struggles amongst the Arrancar, and my first impression of their leader is WOW. This guy is intriguing. Definitely has a pirate vibe to him, and his presence is reminiscent of Zaraki, with some of Starrk's "I'm too lazy so I'm just gonna sit here."
I just had a crazy thought! What if Ichigo, being the ultimate hybrid that he is, was also part Quincy somehow. OMG like Masaki could be of Quincy blood, and that would also explain Isshin's relationship with Ishida's dad! On an unrelated note, I recently learned that Tite Kubo revealed in an interview that Grimmjow and Nel would probably make an appearance and be on Ichigo's side :) Also, Renji's Bankai has changed and Hitsugaya's is now completed.
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New Vandenreich leader does look a little like Zangetsu. He's probably the Buckbeard referred to, which might actually be an allusion to Bluebeard in some form.
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Well. ...so long as he doesn't end up being Bluebeard from Fate/Zero, I guess we're okay... :D
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Bleach is meant to be a Japanese story, permeated with Japanese culture, and focuses on the shinigami and the (Japanese) Living World. Kubo's borrowing of European motifs - Spanish for the Arrancar, German for the Quincy, etc. - is simply that: a borrowing of motifs. A stylistic flourish, if you will. This happens a lot of the time in Japanese culture generally, the adoption of rituals/habits/dress/words associated with European cultures. That doesn't necessarily mean Kubo intends to address or incorporate other belief systems. Really, I don't think Bleach desires nor intends to address the way other cultures might approach such issues...it's just embracing stylistic changes as a way to create some variety within its own universe.
Reply
No lie, I thought the minion was Byakuya at first, and then realized that white in his hair are bleached dreadlocks. I'll chuckle if he's a distant Kuchiki relative.
Quincies on steroids. Hahaha. It seems like, with the mask fragements, these Quincies have been mingling identities too.
Reply
I thought he looked a lot like Zangetsu too.
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On an unrelated note, I recently learned that Tite Kubo revealed in an interview that Grimmjow and Nel would probably make an appearance and be on Ichigo's side :)
Also, Renji's Bankai has changed and Hitsugaya's is now completed.
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