There's Something About Masaki
Mar. 25th, 2006 06:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
retro_eidasSince this topic got lost in a mountainous discussion (::waves at ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mrs_urahara, compatriot in the madness::) in the last post (starting about here, more or less), I'm making an all new shiny post. Rah!
Just a few more random crack specs on Masaki-the-Quincy, but in my last post I included some visuals contrasting/comparing Ichigo's spirit power with (the known Quincy, apart from Ryuuken) Uryuu's. For redundancy, here they are again (and I just love posting pictures of pretty boys in my LJ)...
Now rewatching the eps of the Kurosaki ritual of visiting Masaki's grave and Ichi first fought the Grand Fisher (aka, murderer of his mother). Masaki's memories / spirit come forth (something about the Grand Fisher honoring her last wishes or something like that?)... I noticed something...
Now isn't *that* a lovely shade of blue? Reminds me all too much of Uryuu's furious blue streams of spirit power facing Mayuri.
It could certainly and have solely been a mother's love and steadfast desire to protect her offspring that spurned Masaki to do what she did. There doesn't necessarily have to be anything supernatural about it outside of perhaps keen intuition... but seemingly knowing Ichigo was in danger? So much so she threw herself onto him down a cliff, protecting him? And there is implication enough that Masaki seemed to know exactly why Ichigo was in danger (from a Hollow, aka, the Grand Fisher). If I recall, the Grand Fisher also seemed to target those (mostly women) of particularly high spiritual power... and Masaki was especially delicious. I do think Masaki was indeed all human, but if she were a (non-practicing) Quincy... that would indeed still make her human, just with supernatural abilities and a reiatsu well beyond the average human.
It could have also been a (normal human) mother's last wishes that manifested itself in the above cap to protect her son and give him a final goodbye ... or the fallback of all Quincy that apparently ever were - to the point of pathology, the way Mayuri made it sound - "By the Pride of the Quincy, I will not condone that." A mother's love... and an inherent Quincy Pride.... that kept Masaki (or her spirit) from being used - as so many Quincy were used and subjegated by Mayuri under his Ashisogi Jizou to torture/hurt each other - to hurt her only beloved (half Quincy) son? I'll say again, that is a lovely shade of blue.
Also, as I wondered repeatedly in the last post, I do wonder if 2661 Quincy tortured and mutilated by Mayuri just happened to breeze right under the Central 46 radar for 100 years. This is the same group that apparently took much hard deliberation on the eventual Quincy genocide 200 years prior the start of the events in ep1 ... or they weren't as clueless about it as it's been eluded. One way or another, it doesn't paint Soul Society in a very pleasant light at all. First there's the genocide which (supposedly) there was just *no* other way around and then this prolonged Mayuri Quincy-torturing. Seems pretty outrageous to me.
Is there something here? Maybe... but certainly nothing definitive (I suppose we wouldn't know for certain unless we started getting more hints from Masaki and/or Yuzu suddenly takes an acute interest in Kyudo or spouts long, overly dramatic diatribes facing cowardly enemies while glowing blue in a fab.u.lous becruxed outfit). Of course, maybe this is just me and my insane Ichigo-as-Kubo's-interpretation-of-Nephilim kick. Don't mind me.
All screencaps courtesy of Soul Society.
In addendum, I was just rewatching ep7 and a few more things came to my attention...
The design of Ichigo's duvet which I'm surprised I hadn't noticed before...
Did Ishida break into the Kurosaki clinic we don't know about, Quincyfying Ichigo's room? Allbeit it's not the most accurate portrayal of the Quincy cross (normally, blue cross against a white background), it seems to be the opposite of it actually (white cross against a blue background).
Incidentally, ep7 is also the ep we get the first inklings behind what happened to Ichigo's mother (in Ichi's words, she didn't die, she was "killed"). It's also the very first ep we ever see the (current) one and only Quincy in (anime) canon, Ishida (doing, *sighs*, needlepoint).
So one definitive Quincy connection in Ishida in his first appearance, another possible in Ichigo's duvet and where the speculations are concerned... also the first ep we get some answers about Ichigo's deceased, elusive mama, Masaki (the secret Quincy?). This ep immediately proceeds the miniarc of the Kurosakis visiting Masaki's grave.
mrs_urahara, compatriot in the madness::) in the last post (starting about here, more or less), I'm making an all new shiny post. Rah!i BET the (Quincy genocide) story he gives to RUkia about what happened is not the REAL story.
Or it's not the complete story or it's told in half-truths. It is still possible the Quincy's actions - namely their stubborness - might have brought on the apocalypse as per the "official" explanation seems to dictate. Then again, that's not to say the Soul Society might not have also had other motives for wanting the Quincy exterminated (per our numerous speculations). Unfortunately, with the more I see of Soul Society (and how negligent, incompetent, over-confident and/or corrupt some sectors are), the more likely I think that may be the case.
Hell, we can't be totally sure how much of that "official" explanation (Quincy's obstinance forced the Shinigami into the extermination) is the truth in the first place. All there seems to be is the Shinigami word for it (The Quincy living now may also not have any other version of the story besides the one the Shinigami themselves have been told). It does seem very fishy. Negotiation was *that* impossible? The Shinigami couldn't have lowered the Quincy spiritual powers? I just find it hard to believe there was absolutely no other way besides genocide.
It would not surprise me that Isshin may have had something to do with it.
I kind of see him possibly something like Roy Mustang back then faced with the orders to murder Winry's parents... Isshin, so devastated by his "orders", he could barely deal with it. However, possibly unlike Roy, Isshin may not have been able to go through with his orders, or at least not try to do something to make up for what he did, even if he did go through with them. I do see Isshin as the rebellious type and he may have tried to save some of the Quincy, under the radar of his supervisors.
Also, if Masaki is indeed a Quincy or Quincy-descendant and Isshin likely knew it... he may have married her - apart from being in love with her, I do think he was - to get revenge against Central 46. If he was a Shinigami during the Quincy massacre and strongly opposed that decision... Isshin eventually marrying/procreating with a Quincy, he was doing the very thing his former supervisors feared the most (and they would have no idea at all their worst fear was coming true).
Of course, very hypotethetically speaking here... if there was a prophecy (as Yoshino might be hinting in ep71)... this hypothetical prophecy basically stating that the result of combining Quincy/Shinigami powers would eventually lead to the destruction of either Soul Society or Central 46? That prophecy seems to have come true. Central 46 has been destroyed. Except it wasn't actually Ichigo (aka, in theory, the physical result of a Quincy/Shinigami procreation and likely what Central 46 was most afraid of) who destroyed Central 46.... it was Shinigami, Aizen (aided by Gin and Tousen), who wanted the Hogyoku - and total power - for himself. What is the Hogyoku, per our theories? It's a creation of Urahara's that by combining Shinigami and Quincy powers releases Hollow abilities. Which means Central 46's extermination of the Quincy 200 years ago was apparently for nothing.... they *were* destroyed anyway AND due to a Quincy/Shinigami mixing, but *not* the mixing they were expecting.
However, it's also ironic, Aizen made his move on Central 46 upon the advent of Ichigo - the natural Hogyoku (in theory) - invading Soul Society. So, one could say, Ichigo *and* the Hogyoku announced the prophecied downfall of Central 46. Ichigo's appearance distracted the Shinigami and thus gave Aizen the time he needed to finalize his plans in taking the Hogyoku. Aizen wouldn't have been able to do what he did *without* Ichigo (and Rukia meeting Ichigo, thus Urahara gave her that gigai and the embedded Hogyuko inside it, etc etc). Ichigo and the Hogyoku... both the keys to this (hypothetical) prophecy and downfall of Central 46.
Just a few more random crack specs on Masaki-the-Quincy, but in my last post I included some visuals contrasting/comparing Ichigo's spirit power with (the known Quincy, apart from Ryuuken) Uryuu's. For redundancy, here they are again (and I just love posting pictures of pretty boys in my LJ)...
Now rewatching the eps of the Kurosaki ritual of visiting Masaki's grave and Ichi first fought the Grand Fisher (aka, murderer of his mother). Masaki's memories / spirit come forth (something about the Grand Fisher honoring her last wishes or something like that?)... I noticed something...
Now isn't *that* a lovely shade of blue? Reminds me all too much of Uryuu's furious blue streams of spirit power facing Mayuri.
It could certainly and have solely been a mother's love and steadfast desire to protect her offspring that spurned Masaki to do what she did. There doesn't necessarily have to be anything supernatural about it outside of perhaps keen intuition... but seemingly knowing Ichigo was in danger? So much so she threw herself onto him down a cliff, protecting him? And there is implication enough that Masaki seemed to know exactly why Ichigo was in danger (from a Hollow, aka, the Grand Fisher). If I recall, the Grand Fisher also seemed to target those (mostly women) of particularly high spiritual power... and Masaki was especially delicious. I do think Masaki was indeed all human, but if she were a (non-practicing) Quincy... that would indeed still make her human, just with supernatural abilities and a reiatsu well beyond the average human.
It could have also been a (normal human) mother's last wishes that manifested itself in the above cap to protect her son and give him a final goodbye ... or the fallback of all Quincy that apparently ever were - to the point of pathology, the way Mayuri made it sound - "By the Pride of the Quincy, I will not condone that." A mother's love... and an inherent Quincy Pride.... that kept Masaki (or her spirit) from being used - as so many Quincy were used and subjegated by Mayuri under his Ashisogi Jizou to torture/hurt each other - to hurt her only beloved (half Quincy) son? I'll say again, that is a lovely shade of blue.
Also, as I wondered repeatedly in the last post, I do wonder if 2661 Quincy tortured and mutilated by Mayuri just happened to breeze right under the Central 46 radar for 100 years. This is the same group that apparently took much hard deliberation on the eventual Quincy genocide 200 years prior the start of the events in ep1 ... or they weren't as clueless about it as it's been eluded. One way or another, it doesn't paint Soul Society in a very pleasant light at all. First there's the genocide which (supposedly) there was just *no* other way around and then this prolonged Mayuri Quincy-torturing. Seems pretty outrageous to me.
Is there something here? Maybe... but certainly nothing definitive (I suppose we wouldn't know for certain unless we started getting more hints from Masaki and/or Yuzu suddenly takes an acute interest in Kyudo or spouts long, overly dramatic diatribes facing cowardly enemies while glowing blue in a fab.u.lous becruxed outfit). Of course, maybe this is just me and my insane Ichigo-as-Kubo's-interpretation-of-Nephilim kick. Don't mind me.
All screencaps courtesy of Soul Society.
In addendum, I was just rewatching ep7 and a few more things came to my attention...
The design of Ichigo's duvet which I'm surprised I hadn't noticed before...
Did Ishida break into the Kurosaki clinic we don't know about, Quincyfying Ichigo's room? Allbeit it's not the most accurate portrayal of the Quincy cross (normally, blue cross against a white background), it seems to be the opposite of it actually (white cross against a blue background).
Incidentally, ep7 is also the ep we get the first inklings behind what happened to Ichigo's mother (in Ichi's words, she didn't die, she was "killed"). It's also the very first ep we ever see the (current) one and only Quincy in (anime) canon, Ishida (doing, *sighs*, needlepoint).
So one definitive Quincy connection in Ishida in his first appearance, another possible in Ichigo's duvet and where the speculations are concerned... also the first ep we get some answers about Ichigo's deceased, elusive mama, Masaki (the secret Quincy?). This ep immediately proceeds the miniarc of the Kurosakis visiting Masaki's grave.
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Re: Utikake & SHunsui. the Pretty-boy pacifists.
Date: 2006-03-28 01:08 am (UTC)"Ukitake is arguably one of the most humane of all the Captains...but yet still alive".
*grabs tissue* *sniffles* OMG! now you did it..before Utikake was just a white-haired SMEXY Sweet GOD..now...now...*sniffles* UGH! uGH! i love him even more. I totally feel the same way with what you said! He is a symbol and just *blows nose* the BEST. I, too, hope that someone is able to cure his illness...and it will be someone from the outside..maybe..a new love? c'mon KUBO-SAN! Saitisfy our fangurl fantasies and dreams! *sniffles*
"And he was coughing up blood way back when Kaien got killed. One might even wonder how he's managed to stay alive this long."
--it's the miracle of negligent science. heh-heh.
"DL RAW copies of the book "
--so it's entirely in Japanese. I just started learning Japanese last summer. SO, it's getting pretty good (live near NYC..and my dear friend is Japanese..so we go out to all these japanese places). but, i don't know how long it would take me to translate. is it in Japanese?
My bets are on Isshin or masaki being royalty somehow.
Interesting what you said about Rukia. Though, a part of me feels that the fact Rukia IS in a noble family now, makes me feel like there is not TOO much more to her backstory and more to her life unfolding as now. Example: relationship to BYakuya and Renji, ichigo etc.
neh?
*hugs* can i tell you i have soooo much fun posting with you and Debbie-chan. Especially seeing that we are all "older" fans, too. ^____^
Re: Utikake & SHunsui. the Pretty-boy pacifists.
Date: 2006-03-28 01:43 am (UTC)It's all in Japanese.
My bets are on Isshin or masaki being royalty somehow.
Hell, even if it turns out Isshin is the Shinigami royal... and Masaki is still Quincy, are we certain the Quincy don't have their own kind of royalty? If they did... heee, poor Ishida. Ichigo could outrank him. Then again, I suppose (if he survives) he could come to not mind that so much. Ishida has always struck me as a knight or samurai figure, loyal to a greater power / King, but not the regent himself. Probably thanks to all his Quincy outfits strongly bringing to mind the Knights Templar (Ishida is also apparently a samurai name according to this post (http://community.livejournal.com/soul_society/330097.html?thread=10753905#t10753905) at
Interesting what you said about Rukia. Though, a part of me feels that the fact Rukia IS in a noble family now, makes me feel like there is not TOO much more to her backstory
I don't know, as I've said, it does seem Kubo is being purposefully clandestine regarding Rukia's genetic/spiritual origins. Someone tried to breakdown the etymology of Rukia's name in Kanji and apparently, compared to most of the primary characters of "Bleach", hers is the one least divulging of any kind of hint about her character. It's also a rather odd name in Japanese (best bet is the name isn't even Japanese at all).
In this name etymology (http://community.livejournal.com/soul_society/330097.html) posted at
Kuchiki, as we also know, is not her original surname. Her real surname Kubo has (rather noticably) yet to give the slightest hint. Of course, in that Rukia seemed to be an orphan, that kind of automatically leaves one to question her true origins. A rather prevalent habit with fictional protagonist orphans, especially in fantasy epics. Of course, if Rukia did originate from royalty, that would ironically render Byakuya's struggle with his "parental vow" utterly void. Rukia, in theory, could be even a greater royal rank than him (as Arthur ultimately outranked his adopted guardian Sir Ector).
Rukia's zanpakuto is also intriguing. Seemingly (purposefully as it would seem) put in direct contrast to Ichigo's pure black bankai. Rukia's is pure white. Which isn't really surprising I suppose... Rukia and Ichigo have had that Yin/Yang dynamic from the very beginning.
Re: Utikake & SHunsui. the Pretty-boy pacifists.
Date: 2006-03-28 04:03 pm (UTC)and, interesting about Rukia's name being akin to Lucia. My name also means light. LIght of the people. When you told me that, i could SEE rukia being Lucia. Also, plays up to that fascination Kubo seems to have with spanish words and names. neh?
^___^