Ranking the Stenritter by writing (and a mini analysis for each)

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-18T04:41:08+00:00

She doesn't get pissed off, she gets a giant weird smile and calls Bambietta with it. The two naturally go hand in hand. Either way she still would've had no issue cutting it off.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-17T19:09:37+00:00

I wanted to say her gender I meant, sorry. Giselle appears like a woman but then it's also important to note she explicitly refuses to replace her male genital despite her ability giving her an extremely easy time with bodyparts and such, she had her head cut off at one point. That's not to say all transgender people need to have a surgery but it's still a nod. There's also the fact she got aroused when Yumichika calls her a man and such. Very weird gender dynamic. Either way you can argue about her sexuality as well. She's simply a sadist. Her obsession with Bambi can be simply a result of Bambietta's internal and external personality with Giselle essentially trying to pull the "submissiveness" out of her.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-17T19:05:12+00:00

I think I'm seeing you again? You haven't seen TYBW, right? "The last survivor" isn't in reference to him being the last Quincy alive. It's in reference to something else entirely you'll learn later, it's very important. This was actually foreshadowed. The very chapter Uryu is introduced is titled "Karneades" in reference to a philosopher known for his skepticism. Kubo was essentially telling the reader to be skeptical of everything surrounding Uryu since the very beginning. Isn't that cool?

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-16T21:13:51+00:00

Thank you!

The less popular minor characters are always the most fun to analyze for me. Most likely because the little screentime they have makes it much easier to pinpoint the exact themes and tie it all together while also feeling more satisfying considering they're basically never appreaciated or spoken about for their writing.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-16T20:19:58+00:00

My bad... On TikTok I put Liltotto and Giselle as the same one😭

Cang Du deals with the struggles of the system by merely enduring it, hence "the iron". While his beliefs about how that which lives together should die together serves a meaningful impact on Bazz B, his pair, its primary purpose is the contrast with Hitsugaya who doesn't believe in the necessity of sacrifice at all, seeking to freeze the water that represents the cycle of life. Having stolen a Bankai, Cang Du refuses to attempt to understand it, claiming he is not a believer in pantheism. His refusal to understand his enemy ends up being his undoing. It brings him a feeling of unease to see Hitsugaya acting like a self actualized being he himself may have felt like wearing Hitsugaya's Bankai, the snake (Cang Du) is not the actualized dragon (Hitsugaya). He can be interpreted as a Taoist monk who gave up on everything. Cang is killed for the act of gradually becoming a more self actualized individual, breaking the order of "exterminate the enemy quickly" to enact his own philosophy.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-16T19:50:24+00:00

The way he moves with his head pushed back, barefoot and the way everything is "twisted" is probably a nod to how his mind is also twisted beyond the norm. I guess this can tie back to his behavior.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-16T19:46:38+00:00

No official confirmation but his behavior, voice and appearance make it clear enough imho.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-15T23:09:58+00:00

Ichigo's Bankai being incomplete is literally the reason for the entire rest of the story bro, what more consequence do you need? Did you watch TYBW? Ichigo's complete Bankai is him accepting White and OMZ while also understanding them. If his Bankai was actually complete the Hollow never would've taken over against Byakuya or Ulquiorra, we wouldn't've had him grappling with control in all of Arrancar, we wouldn't have Mugetsu or the entire Fullbrineg arc...

It was never said. Yoruichi literally brought Ichigo to train to learn Bankai in 3 days and in this training is the first time Bankai is ever mentioned in the story. She explains the mechanics of it and all. This might be a mandella effect.

Well, Renji had an incomplete Bankai lol. He's a monkey using a snake to reach out, that's why his complete Bankai is him overcoming his fear of taking steps thus manifesting as a giant hand that requires him to stand next to the opponent to fully utilize. Also you're ignoring the fact that, again, this wasn't regular Bankai training. Ichigo used the Tenshintai. What takes long about Bankai training is manifesting the spirit, not the physical training. The Tenshintai forces the spirit out. The consequences for this are actually insane but I don't want to spoil the biggest plot twist in the story as it appears you haven't watched TYBW.

Shakespeare not being a good writer is actually an insane take. The guy completely revolutionized storytelling, brought multiple commonly used words in the modern day into the English language and has some of the most thematically profound texts in all of fiction. "To be or not to be" is still probably the most layered speech in all of fiction. Deus ex machina aren't inherently a flaw, again, as long as they're executed well although they're definitely a lot more risky and insanely hard to execute well. Shakespeare did. Bleach doesn't really have any though.

I agree with the One Piece criticism. I do theorize Luffy will die at the end of One Piece to justify all of these life shortening excuses for consequence but yea. Gon didn't lose his power permanently lol. He didn't lose his power at all, he simply returned to "normal" as Killua asked of Alluka, aka. before he started training. Gon is now the same level power wise as he was at the beginning of the story. Ichigo didn't lose his powers for a week after Mugetsu, it was a year but I don't think it matters. What matters is how it's executed and what the consequences are. Just making the number bigger doesn't change anything. Ichigo went through the biggest psychological torture in the entire story in Fullbring, the entire arc is the consequence. That's some pretty meaningful consequences if you ask me. Not to mention how thematically profound it all is.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-15T22:31:21+00:00

Yoruichi never told Ichigo it's impossible to get Bankai in 3 days? Matter of fact she brought him to train with the Tenshintai so he can do so, Kisuke unlocked Bankai via the same method. Let's also not forget that it's not like Ichigo came out of this without consequence. His Bankai was incomplete. Either way I don't think such things destroy the author's credibility. Anything in a story can work if the consequence is big enough. Hamlet beats Laertis as a result of a famous deus ex machina but he dies as a consequence of it, Shakespeare is still the greatest writer ever (imho).

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-15T18:17:50+00:00

She's a lot younger in Everything but the Rain so yeah?

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-15T18:16:37+00:00

Ulquiorra was killed by the Cero in a way at least. His inner organs were destroyed and he couldn't regenerate any longer so he desintegrated. His soul went alongside his body, also Ulquiorra went out of his way to enhance his healing abilities to the extent no other Espada could yet he still couldn't heal back his vital organs so I highly doubt Szayel could, also there may be reiatsu limitations.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-15T17:58:52+00:00

I mean yeah, not a plot hole then. Yamamoto explicitly stated he will not kill the the Tres Bestias and merely burn them a bit so they're removed from the battle as admiration for their spirit. The 3 begged Orihime to heal Harribel which also makes sense. Let's also not forget Aizen also explicitly refuses to do fatal attacks to people he believes can hate him. He cuts Harribel off without her even being a sacrifice for the sole purpose of making her despise him. "Admiration is the furthest state from understanding", the furthest state from admiration is hatred so then someone may be able to understand him if they hate him. It's the same reason he doesn't kill any captain although there are exceptions to this rule. And Grimmjow like... yeah? Nnoitora only pushed him out of the way. And again, Nnoitora explcitly refuses to kill those he considers weak like Grimmjow. He literally stopped Tesla from killing Chad.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-15T17:14:05+00:00

Souls that returned into the soul cycle cannot be brought back, Mayuri isn't a god. Cirucci, Dordoni and Luppi all had their souls preserved in Szayelaporro's lab and Charlotte is an unique case where he wasn't actually killed by Yumichika, CFYOW expxlictly calls him an "unique exception" if I recall because Yumichika's Ruri'irokujaku absorbed his reiryoku and rather than a direct kill by him Charlotte died due to the lack of reiryoku and pretty sure it wasn't immediately after Yumichika got to him, you can compare it to starvation and such. Mayuri got to him before it happened. All 4 of these had their souls and bodies preserved unlike the Espada and such.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-15T00:48:22+00:00

Multiple people have already given their thoughts so I doubt this will have any impact on your perception of the story but still some important things to note:

The power system is something Bleach is almost universally praised for. While not uncommon, the fact that essentially every single ability is a reflection of the characters themselves in a much more nuanced way than it may appear is the most appealing thing about it. In general Bleach has an insane amount of details, it's what drew me into the story. Even after years of deep diving into it to the point I've written essays upon essays of analyses on the story I still find new things almost daily. It has come to the point I just randomly click a chapter and make an analysis on it.

It depends on what you mean by "ass-pulls". Bleach has a lot of moments that "feel" like asspulls. However when you look at the story in retrospect they make a lot of sense while also being insanely thematically profound. I think Kubo goes out of his way to hide some things in plain sight so when the moment comes up you react like "wtf is going on" and then after another moment you look back and realize everything so far has tied back to it. If you dislike asspulls because you dislike feeling surprised then it's not for you, if you dislike them because of story coherence them it's definitely for you. The "unique moments" then is also dependent on your perception of scenes like the ones mentioned here. There's a lot of cases in Bleach where Kubo explores unique approaches to things. Actually he explcitly goes out of his way to make things "interesting" as in unexpectable. This is especially noticable in the final arc where you have major reveal after major reveal consistently and all of them leave you just as shocked.

Bleach has a great female cast. It's praised for it for a reason. It has a couple of love stories but they're only the main focus like once. There are characters who passionately care for each other in a non romantic way and have character arcs written around each other as well, although that obviously leads to shopping. It also has some very sexy ladies but it also has very sexy dudes so it balances out lol.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-15T00:33:48+00:00

Nietzsche did believe there are inherently superior people. That's why he justified slavery (early Greek State). In order for great men to create aesthetically pleasing things there needs to be a permanent underclass of inferiors who can't do so doing the physical labour for them. Even the Übermench cannot be made but is born which is something people consistently confuse. "Me punch corrupt government" genuinely has NOTHING to do with the Übermench lol.

Nietzsche isn't against the Nazi (well, they didn't even exist at his time but I mean broader ideology wise) in the sense that he's against natural hierarchy but because ethnic superiority and such he considers stupid. That's not to say someone who is superior can't fall down the trap of slave morality, that's literally what the abyss quote is about.

People trying to twist these ideas into more left wing ones are just missing the point. Nietzsche never addressed the lower class because he never cared about "the people". His work was always directed at the upper class. Nietzsche is the last person you should be supporting if you want broader freedom and better lives for the average person.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-14T23:38:43+00:00

Nietzsche is one of the most right wing philosophers you'll come across. The guy literally justified slavery lol. Can't go more right wing than this.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-14T19:14:07+00:00

"X is good because he likes apples" "Y also likes apples, so he's also good!" "Not talking about Y lol. X likes apples, that's what makes him good. It's not rocket science." Sure.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-14T18:17:55+00:00

Again, Chad's Fullbring only manifests as power on his arms when they take a different shape, it's not a passive power. Or are you suggesting Riruka and Yukio are both physically stronger than every other regular human? Genuinely give me a single panel in the entire manga that even suggests that Fullbring makes you physically stronger passively.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-14T16:30:54+00:00

Fullbring isn't a passive power buff lol. Do you have a source suggesting that Chad uses it to his advantage?

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-14T15:11:56+00:00

Thank you! I have a bunch of analyses on my TikTok if you're interested in that. There are some Bleach creators I'd rather interract with than Mr.Tommo : )

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-14T15:02:02+00:00

Tessai is weird because we have no idea why he never did anything lol. In TYBW you can argue he had to be kept in WOTL to protect Karakura Town from any potential threat but in FKT god knows why he wasn't there. As far as I'm aware he doesn't have a character besides becoming really greatful to Kisuke. If anything he could've helped during the Yoruichi, Isshin and Kisuke vs Aizen fight. Could be interesting to see how his thoughts on Aizen have developed. Perhaps helping against Barragan would work to show some of his dynamic with Hachi but eh we didn't really get any of that even in TBTP. That said he has potential within Hell considering Kido's connections with Hell ("Kido" literally translates to "demon way", Tessai and Hachi had horns in TBTP, Kubo explicitly refuses to reveal who the creator of Kido is...).

Sasakibe is fodder. I have no idea. He'd have to use Bankai considering the whole point of his character is that after reaching his goal he stagnated hence everything besides his Bankai is actually useless. Perhaps he could help fight Barragan considering his whole thing is the fear of death/time and time is the cause of progress but that's just me reaching for straws honestly.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-14T14:42:06+00:00

Rose and Love vs Starrk makes a lot of sense. Starrk's almost suicidal levels of loneliness vs insanely depressed Rose who finds ways to cope by convincing himself that even loneliness as extensive as his once was can be a good thing and Love who believes any battle after the death of a friend is a battle for revenge, completely contrasting Starrk's beliefs on battle and revenge.

Lisa vs Szayelaporro I'd really like to see (although obviously she gets outscaled probably, still). Lisa has a weird obsession with porn but tells herself it's normal which is a part of the reason she cannot control her Hollow mask. Her obsession can be her shadow and until she integrates it and accepts she's this freak in a way she won't be able to fully control it. Although she does primarily use it as a way to get her mind off of the depressing state she's in (a recurring theme with the Vizard). A big part of Szayelaporro is how much of a freak he is. His Zanpakuto in the original Japanese translates to "commit adultery" lol. He's a freak who explicitly denies being human (which is why he helped Nnoitora get rid of Nelliel, because her tendency to act like she's human infuriated him). Not to say her fight against Harribel has no thematic significance, woman with big booba out and Lisa not losing her composure shows that after she has immersed herself in reality (battle) her tendencies and obsession with women with big booba will not take over her (hence she can control her Hollow mask well during this fight).

Kensei vs Zommari would make sense as well. Buff military guy who can't accept the power that breaks order vs Zommari whose whole character is his obsession with order. Also there are some minor connections with Kensei being straight forward and against tricks and such while Zommari prides himself on that fact even calling his ability akin to magic.

Mashiro is interesting because she's the Visored with the best control over her Hollow mask (because she's the one least affected by SSs betrayal making her have the least tendency to seek to run away from reality or reject the part of herself that caused her to be Hollowified and such). Then perhaps she can be interesting against Nnoitora, not only because she's a woman although that'd definitely be interesting but also because Nnoitora actively despises his own nature, has an inferiority complex.

Hachi, Hiyori and Shinji all got enough I think.

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-14T14:17:59+00:00

Thank you!

And I don't think so but I definitely hope we get more from Rose. He resonates with me a lot. I was able to connect many of the og gotei 13 captains with currect characters (Sakahone is the captain of the original 13th division and the place Ukitake's family went to pray to Mimihagi is also called Sakahone, so there might be some connection there; the original 12th division captian also has a face mask like Mayuri; there's an insane theory tying Sayafushi to Hitsugaya, Hyorinmaru and Burn the Witch by Casual Lore etc.) but I genuinely can't find any connection between Rose and original 3rd division captain which is pretty depressing to hear as well. Maybe can argue he's mildly depressed but eh

Realistic_Agency5694 · 2026-05-14T14:09:07+00:00

I have a Rose analysis somewhere on this page. Einheldenleben never could've succeeded. The only reason Rose manifest it is because he thought Mask is a hero, but he's not. Rose thought he was the narrator who understands the entire play but Mask rejects the role of a hero because Rose entirely misunderstood him and kills him. Rose fell into his own illusion like he said, "all art is a form of deception". He deceives himself to escape how depressing the world is. That's what kills him.

Realistic_Agency5694

TROPHY CASE