A blog that will cure your apathy and inspire your dreams...
Warning: All who watch anime, play video games, like J-music and K-music, and the like... ARE OTAKU!
You (the internet) loved my case study on Ulquiorra (an avoidant psychopath with a heart of gold and a penchence for brain washing) the most popular bad guy of the Aizen saga. So I'm going to keep blogging about Bleach, this time about philosophy and maybe psychology too. Chansu, this is not selling out it's good blogging...
So Ichigo's friend Ishida got shanked by a mysterious bad guy with enormous power. And Ichigo, he's weaker than a wet tissue. It seems like everyone else in the show downgraded Ichigo, like our economy got downgraded by S&P. However, in this case they downgraded Ichigo to something like C. Orihime now feels it's ok to make a move on him (or fail to make a move on him), because he's pathetic.
What kind of hero is Tite Kubo making Ichigo out to be in this arc?
He's Kubo's experiment in the underdog archetype. Kubo went for this vibe during the Soul Society arc and that's why we like Bleach. But for real, in this arc Ichigo experiences being a well endowed person but with no real power at all. A lot like you and me. Ok Chansu, not like you or Luffy but this is about Ichigo and Bleach.
He might as well said "Let's walk away so my now-crappy-son doesn't hear us talking about bad things"
Ichigo for the first time in the series experiences the human dilemma. That we might not be strong enough, that our friends will downgrade us, that our parents and mentors will walk away mysteriously, that strange men will ambush our friends, that the girls that like us don't talk about that stalker guy (Orihime...), that our weaker friends will come to the foreground to flaunt their strength (CHAD...), and the list continues. Ichigo is facing the best human dilemma that shounen anime can offer. And it's the best because it offered too much for a shounen anime. Ichigo is practically that person everyone pretends to be nice to because you don't want to hurt his feelings.
But Ichigo is a shounen hero after all. He is an example of what we should do. Keep trying and keep trying again. Trust strange men... Well not that last part. We should keep trying even when we don't know if we can make it. He never lashed out at his friends for downgrading him, he just kinda stayed chill. We can assume that Kubo instilled such a "theory of mind" to Bleach, I hope. I like to believe Ichigo knows he's been downgraded worse than the S&P though Kubo didn't make this crystal clear (he's got to at least try to tell a story by showing and not by spoonfeeding everything to you).
Ichigo kept trying... Why can't we? Resilience is key...
Never use a calling card given to you by a stranger... Unless you're a shounen hero...
Aww look at that! It's your new little puppy dog. Let's just call him Woofers. He's so adorable, look how sleepy that little doggy is! Don't you just want to pet him? You and Woofers will always be together, no matter what happens! Best friends for life!
But wait, what the heck!? What's wrong with Woofers!? I t ... it looks like he just grew some new "appendages".... poor Woofers!
[Woofers... Before and after.]
That, technically, is Yukari's power. Don't get it? That's the point. Yukari, along with being one of the most mysterious and feared youkai of all existence, is arguably the most powerful being in Gensokyo. And you just upset her shikigami. Are you dumb or what?
Yukari is seen with her favorite parasol, and pinkish-purple dress. She has long blonde hair and purple eyes. A beauty saved for those who forfeit their lives.
You say you want to know more about her power? Fine, you were better off not knowing...
She has the ability to manipulate boundaries.
Huh, you're not impressed? Let's put it this way: what do YOU know of that doesn't have any boundaries or borders? Without boundaries, cups wouldn't be able to hold water, heck, water and air would just mix.
And what would that be? Nothing, that's what.
There would just be NO air and NO water. It would be something new. Something I'd rather not put in my body.
Without boundaries, everything we know would just merge into one gigantic blob of nothingness. And Yukari has flawless control over every boundary imaginable. Without even discussing conceptual boundaries, you should be able to tell how powerful Yukari is.
And along with that, she has ageless wisdom and experience. Her age is AT LEAST 1200 years old. And what does she choose to do with all her time? Sleep. Yes, she's nothing but a lazy youkai. Even though she has the great responsibility of watching over Gensokyo, she just slacks off and has Ran do all the work in her stead.
I know what you're asking. You're still upset about Woofers, aren't you? "Even if she can control boundaries, how could her power do something like THAT?!" you ask. Well, she also has the power to "slip through" gaps in space, going anywhere imaginable. She can move any part of her body to anywhere! She can steal your lunch from right under your nose with one hand while clipping her toenails with another, all while enjoying the view from Mt. Everest in the comfort of her home. And although she can take anything through a gap, no living thing can pass through her gaps unless she herself wills it.
[Gaps usually appear as holes in space, pinned on either side by ribbons.]
I could bore you with the history of Gensokyo, but by now you're probably dying with interest and will find it on your own. And yet you still complain that you don't know what gives Yukari the right to mutate your puppy!? Let's just say this: the power to manipulate boundaries, in essence, creates and/or denies existence. In fact, Gensokyo itself is speculated to be nothing but a plaything to her, created when she messed with the boundary between "real" and "imaginary" (note: "Gensokyo" literally means Land of Illusions). Since Gensokyo was created by placing a boundary between reality and fantasy, Yukari could do away with such a place as "Gensokyo" with the wave of a hand.
[There's a dramatization of the creation of Gensokyo in there! Did you spot it?]
Of course, you have no chance against such a being. She does battle in a relaxed position; always holding back her true power for fun. She hasn't a single weakness for you to take advantage of. And heck, youkai have to kill one or two humans every now and then to keep their reflexes sharp, right? It just turns out that you're one of them.
The only person speculated to have control over the youkai of boundaries is the maiden of the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu. Her abilities have close ties to the border of Gensokyo as well, making her equally as important as Yukari.
As you can imagine, the trio of youkai (Chen, Ran, Yukari) get along very well together...
...But I still wouldn't pick a fight with them!
I hope you enjoyed our Super Touhou Character Profile!
This blog, "The Otaku Reviewers", was started in February of 2010 on this very same platform, Blogger. At first, it was a venture into the informational and informal world of comics, anime, video games, and Japanese culture. In other words, just a random blog.
Over time, the founder of the blog credited with the pseudonym "RPGhero" was joined by two fellow bloggers and friends with the names "Chansu" and "Deretsun". Together the three bloggers looked up interesting Japanese culture facts, recommended new anime, talked about their own "otaku" interests, and traveled across the United States to various anime conventions.
There have been off periods when the blog ceased production of content and there have been times when there would be dozens of blog posts per week. The schedule varies depending on the lives of the people behind the alias'. However the pattern is that we always get back into the game with even newer information about Japanese culture, anime, video games, and other nerdy hobbies.
The motto of our blog is:
"A cure for your apathy and an inspiration for your dreams. ...Applies to Otaku, anime fans, J-pop junkies, and the like"
The purpose is to blog about cool stuff related solely to anime and otaku stuff. There's no other reason we're doing this.
If you like our blog, please support us in however small a way that you would like. We appreciate our readers!
ri's power. Don't get it? That's the point. Yukari, along with being one of the most mysterious and feared youkai of all existence, is arguably the most powerful being in Gensokyo. And you just upset her shikigami. Are you dumb or what?
Yukari is seen with her favorite parasol, and pinkish-purple dress. She has long blonde hair and purple eyes. A beauty saved for those who forfeit their lives.
Huh, you're not impressed? Let's put it this way: what do YOU know of that doesn't have any boundaries or borders? Without boundaries, cups wouldn't be able to hold water, heck, water and air would just mix.
sking. You're still upset about Woofers, aren't you? "Even if she can control boundaries, how could her power do something like THAT?!" you ask. Well, she also has the power to "slip through" gaps in space, going anywhere imaginable. She can move any part of her body to anywhere! She can steal your lunch from right under your nose with one hand while clipping her toenails with another, all while enjoying the view from Mt. Everest in the comfort of her home. And although she can take anything through a gap, no living thing can pass through her gaps unless she herself wills it.
the trio of youkai (Chen, Ran, Yukari) get along very well together...
