The world of Ichigo Kurosaki returned recently with a brand new chapter of its manga from Shonen creator Tite Kubo, which not only hints at the return of Bleach but also answers several questions that many fans had been thinking about since the series came to an end years ago. With the Soul Society attempting to perform a ceremony to honor one of their lost captains who had died in the previous story arc, which took place twelve years before this new special chapter, it seems that a number of the reapers were left in the dark on some major things.
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As Ichigo joins his fellow Reapers who begin the ceremony in the real world, they are joined by a number of new candidates within Soul Society, as well as introducing new characters that are the progeny of some of our favorite characters from Bleach. With many Hollows appearing and the Soul Reapers showing off their skills in order to stop them, a new threat emerges from Hell itself to make his presence known in Szayelaporo, a former member of Soul Society who was unfortunately cast to the underworld who takes the opportunity to explain his predicament.
Almost in unison, both Szayelaporo and Soul Reaper Captain Shunsui Kyoraku explain that when a member of Soul Society dies, their spirit energy is reabsorbed into Soul Society itself. However, there is a caveat in this wherein if a Captain has become too powerful, then the spirit of the deceased cannot be brought back to this afterlife, and must instead be jettisoned into hell itself. Obviously, this revelation is a shocking one to the characters, and fans of the series, alike.
Shunsui lays out the horrifying series of events that sees Captains banished to hell:
“There’s an old wives’ tale I hope you’ll humor me enough to hear. It has been told for a good long while in Soul Society. There is something called Spirit Class. It indicated the density of the spiritual pressure within Reishi. A Soul Reaper’s body is composed of Reishi. When they pass on, their body turns into Reishi and is reclaimed by the soul of the Soul Society. Anyone above third class has spiritual pressure too dense to be reabsorbed without intervention. The Konso Reisai is a ceremony to allow that Reishi to be returned. In actuality, Reishi that is third class and above can never return to the soil of Soul Society. With the ceremony, the deceased captains are cast into hell,”
Needless to say, this spells some foreboding events for the Soul Reapers, as it seems that all Captains that had died needed to be cast into hell, marking a perfect opportunity for Ichigo to pick up his sword and for the series to continue.
What did you think of this startling revelation? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Soul Society.
