Bleach: Rukia
Nov. 3rd, 2005 02:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
branchandrootWhich doesn't actually deserve the name, as it's more a matter of two factions snipping at each other. But they snip very loudly.
The Rukia-is-a-wimp faction has always taken her first entrance and prompt defeat, without even releasing her shikai, as evidence for her lack of strength. Supporting details include the fact that she did not win a seat when she entered the Thirteenth, and the fact that she was in the human world on Hollow patrol in the first place, that being a moderately menial assignment. Another item often pointed to is her performance, or lack thereof, when Kaien is taken over by a Hollow. This faction speculated that Rukia did not have even a shikai, and might not know the name of her zanpaku-tou.
The Rukia-kicks-ass faction has always held that Rukia is quite powerful, and simply hasn't had a chance (narratively speaking) to show it. Evidence for this includes her spending the first arc in a gigai that drained her energy, and most of the Rescue arc in a tower of stone that did the same. In addition, this faction points to Renji's flashback to their childhood, and the fact that Rukia produces larger power-balls than he, who becomes a vice-captain, does. Also to the fact that Rukia's guard is patterned, when we first see it, which indicates she has gotten beyond asauchi.
The argument was finally resolved by authorial revelations in 201-2, where we find that Rukia does have a shikai, and one powerful enough to defeat a low-ranked Arrancar, and that she has the ability to gain a seat but that Byakuya arranged with her captain that she not be promoted so that she would not receive the high risk assignments that come with a seat.
This did not, however, stop the arguments.
And there are, indeed, a number of plot points that may seem odd, in light of Rukia's power. The Rukia-is-a-wimp faction has, therefore, continued to feel that their arguments were correct, and hold that Kubo changed his mind mid-stream.
I find this a doubtful conclusion, given the care and deliberation with which Kubo seems to write Bleach. He introduces characters and plot elements volumes and volumes in advance of when we find out the significance of those things. The story is very tight, and his characters do not make pointless reverses. (Though his visual designs do hiccup every now and then.) Therefore, I shall give Kubo the benefit of the doubt and see whether the odd points can be reconciled.
We are introduced to Rukia when she comes tracking a Hollow that has come after Ichigo and, to a lesser extent, his sisters. If she is powerful, why is she wounded without even releasing her zanpaku-tou? This apparent contradiction has led some to suggest that Rukia only gained shikai after the end of the Rescue arc. I do not, however, think we need to reach that far for an explanation, which the presence of a patterned guard on her sword contradicts in any case.
Her reason for not releasing her sword is speculative, since no character ever addresses it. But the fact that she is powerful might explain it. A strong shinigami could expect to defeat a minor Hollow without needing shikai.
In fact, her assumption of her own strength is an undercurrent in the whole fight, along with her shock at Ichigo's unheard-of spiritual power. She pays far more attention to him than to the Hollow. Even as she cuts the Hollow's arm to make it let Yuzu go, her eyes are on Ichigo. She actually turns her back on the Hollow while talking to Ichigo about how the Hollow's real target is him, and this gives it the chance to swat her across the street. She says herself that she was careless to do so, which suggests that she does know better but didn't think it necessary to attend more closely to this minor opponent.
Then, of course, Ichigo tells the Hollow to fight him one on one. It does so. Rukia throws herself in front of him and into the Hollow's jaws, at the last breath, to prevent them closing on Ichigo.
She was injured because she was careless and perhaps arrogant, yet still unwilling to let Ichigo be killed by his own pig-headedness. This fits with her character, as we first meet her, which is indeed arrogantly self-assured but also deeply dedicated to her duty. Which is, as she points out to Ichigo, to give her life to save endangered spirits, if that's what it takes. (Of course, Ichigo immediately takes issue and insists that such sacrifice is not duty but something more personal. More about the way they counter-balance each other, ethically, on Geometry.)
In fact, the scenes in which Rukia defeats Deiroi suggest to me that, far from forgetting this initial sad loss, Kubo is making a theme of it. We know that Arrancar are, in general, very powerful, yet Deiroi loses to Rukia's shikai--very much the way Rukia lost to a minor Hollow in that very first fight. As in that fight, Deiroi has his sword out but does not use it quickly enough to make any difference, quite probably for the same reasons of arrogant overconfidence. As Illforte says, upon Deiroi's defeat, Deiroi rested too heavily on the assumption of his own power. And, like Rukia, he pays the price for that.
Next, if Rukia knows that her brother arranged for her not to be promoted in order to protect her, what is that flashback scene in 134 about, when she comes home from first reporting in and he asks whether she's seated? She seems very upset to admit that she's not, that her ability was not sufficient to be seated immediately.
This is a classic Kubo scene, and one of the things that most convinces me that Kubo has been writing with a powerful Rukia in mind all along.
This scene both makes sense and gains great poignance if we assume that Byakuya did not tell Rukia at once what he had arranged. Thus, his inquiry as to whether she is seated becomes a question of whether Ukitake has held her back as Byakuya wishes--of whether Byakuya has succeeded in protecting her. His relief that he has, combined with his characteristic reserve, could explain why he seems to take no notice of Rukia's shame at not advancing. Given the extent of his reserve, however, I am inclined to think that he noticed but was still unwilling to explain the details of his rather unorthodox arrangement, and perhaps unwilling to risk her arguing against the arrangement with him or with her captain.
Rukia, not being aware of his arrangements at the time, of course, feels that she has failed the standards of the noble house that took her in. The tension of emotions and silence between them is heartbreaking. Byakuya's unspoken protectiveness and his unwillingness to reveal himself to Rukia pulls against Rukia's desire to make him proud and to gain his acknowledgement. The connection she wishes for is actually already present, Kubo informs us when he reveals Byakuya's arrangements; but Rukia can't see it and Byakuya can't admit it. Indeed, given that it's Rukia's mod-soul standin who tells Ichigo of the arrangement, it's possible that Rukia still doesn't know.
Classic Kubo; a beautiful example of The Twist. Note, too, that it parallels Ishida's father's attempt to keep him from becoming a Quincy very precisely. In neither case was the protectee aware of the protector's motivation.
It is also, perhaps, worth noting that the anime diverges from the manga on this point. The anime episode based on the vol. 15 omake, in particular, explicitly shows Renji demonstrating greater strength and testing into a more advanced class than Rukia, at the academy. The manga shows Rukia in the same class... but late to her first day. That sets the pattern for the plot-point made in that manga chapter: that Renji forms bonds with some of his classmates, particularly Kira and Hinamori, while Rukia does not. The scene in which Renji gloats over going on field-work focuses narrative attention, not on he and Rukia being in separate classes, which does not appear to be the case, but on Rukia being alone while Renji is in company. The animators chose to refocus this section and suggest that Rukia had difficulty with the scholastic, as well as social, aspect of the Academy.
Ironically, one of the moments cited by the Rukia-kicks-ass faction is also anime-only. This is the scene during Renji's flashback when he and Rukia start to develop their spiritual power and she is shown producing a larger ball of power than he does. In the manga there is no indication given, during 98, of their relative strength--only the information that Rukia had it, where only Renji had in their child-family group, previous to Rukia joining them.
A word about strength, in general.
A lot of people on both sides of this debate, and, indeed, in the fandom as a whole, seem to be trying to define strength as if it were some kind of mathematical formula. Arrancar equal or exceed captains, therefore Arrancar + less than captain = defeated shinigami. Higher seated officers can handle Huge Hollows, therefore less than Huge Hollow + defeated shinigami = less than seated officer.
The problem is that Bleach doesn't work like that.
Kubo gives us plenty of general rules so that we can get a picture of how all the parties stand in relation to each other; but he also takes a good deal of trouble to present us with a lot of examples that are not reducible to such straight math. Kaien was a vice-captain. Yet the Hollow that defeated him was not an Arrancar, nor a Menos, nor even a Huge Hollow. Why? Because the Hollow got the drop on him with an unexpected one-shot that, apparently, Aizen had designed into it.
Victory and defeat do not depend on how many spells the combatants can perform, or on who has shikai or bankai. Bleach is not dealing with some kind of sporting competition, with rules and weight classes and handicaps. It deals with a lot of dirty, scrambling fights in which victory and defeat hinge, not only on strength, but on determination and emotional balance and pure luck, too.
And this is why I can't help feeling that the readers calling foul and plot-hole over Rukia's fight with Deiroi haven't been paying a lot of attention to the story Kubo has been telling all this time.
The Positions
The Rukia-is-a-wimp faction has always taken her first entrance and prompt defeat, without even releasing her shikai, as evidence for her lack of strength. Supporting details include the fact that she did not win a seat when she entered the Thirteenth, and the fact that she was in the human world on Hollow patrol in the first place, that being a moderately menial assignment. Another item often pointed to is her performance, or lack thereof, when Kaien is taken over by a Hollow. This faction speculated that Rukia did not have even a shikai, and might not know the name of her zanpaku-tou.
The Rukia-kicks-ass faction has always held that Rukia is quite powerful, and simply hasn't had a chance (narratively speaking) to show it. Evidence for this includes her spending the first arc in a gigai that drained her energy, and most of the Rescue arc in a tower of stone that did the same. In addition, this faction points to Renji's flashback to their childhood, and the fact that Rukia produces larger power-balls than he, who becomes a vice-captain, does. Also to the fact that Rukia's guard is patterned, when we first see it, which indicates she has gotten beyond asauchi.
The argument was finally resolved by authorial revelations in 201-2, where we find that Rukia does have a shikai, and one powerful enough to defeat a low-ranked Arrancar, and that she has the ability to gain a seat but that Byakuya arranged with her captain that she not be promoted so that she would not receive the high risk assignments that come with a seat.
This did not, however, stop the arguments.
And there are, indeed, a number of plot points that may seem odd, in light of Rukia's power. The Rukia-is-a-wimp faction has, therefore, continued to feel that their arguments were correct, and hold that Kubo changed his mind mid-stream.
I find this a doubtful conclusion, given the care and deliberation with which Kubo seems to write Bleach. He introduces characters and plot elements volumes and volumes in advance of when we find out the significance of those things. The story is very tight, and his characters do not make pointless reverses. (Though his visual designs do hiccup every now and then.) Therefore, I shall give Kubo the benefit of the doubt and see whether the odd points can be reconciled.
.
Defeated by zako
We are introduced to Rukia when she comes tracking a Hollow that has come after Ichigo and, to a lesser extent, his sisters. If she is powerful, why is she wounded without even releasing her zanpaku-tou? This apparent contradiction has led some to suggest that Rukia only gained shikai after the end of the Rescue arc. I do not, however, think we need to reach that far for an explanation, which the presence of a patterned guard on her sword contradicts in any case.
Her reason for not releasing her sword is speculative, since no character ever addresses it. But the fact that she is powerful might explain it. A strong shinigami could expect to defeat a minor Hollow without needing shikai.
In fact, her assumption of her own strength is an undercurrent in the whole fight, along with her shock at Ichigo's unheard-of spiritual power. She pays far more attention to him than to the Hollow. Even as she cuts the Hollow's arm to make it let Yuzu go, her eyes are on Ichigo. She actually turns her back on the Hollow while talking to Ichigo about how the Hollow's real target is him, and this gives it the chance to swat her across the street. She says herself that she was careless to do so, which suggests that she does know better but didn't think it necessary to attend more closely to this minor opponent.
Then, of course, Ichigo tells the Hollow to fight him one on one. It does so. Rukia throws herself in front of him and into the Hollow's jaws, at the last breath, to prevent them closing on Ichigo.
She was injured because she was careless and perhaps arrogant, yet still unwilling to let Ichigo be killed by his own pig-headedness. This fits with her character, as we first meet her, which is indeed arrogantly self-assured but also deeply dedicated to her duty. Which is, as she points out to Ichigo, to give her life to save endangered spirits, if that's what it takes. (Of course, Ichigo immediately takes issue and insists that such sacrifice is not duty but something more personal. More about the way they counter-balance each other, ethically, on Geometry.)
In fact, the scenes in which Rukia defeats Deiroi suggest to me that, far from forgetting this initial sad loss, Kubo is making a theme of it. We know that Arrancar are, in general, very powerful, yet Deiroi loses to Rukia's shikai--very much the way Rukia lost to a minor Hollow in that very first fight. As in that fight, Deiroi has his sword out but does not use it quickly enough to make any difference, quite probably for the same reasons of arrogant overconfidence. As Illforte says, upon Deiroi's defeat, Deiroi rested too heavily on the assumption of his own power. And, like Rukia, he pays the price for that.
.
Brotherly love
Next, if Rukia knows that her brother arranged for her not to be promoted in order to protect her, what is that flashback scene in 134 about, when she comes home from first reporting in and he asks whether she's seated? She seems very upset to admit that she's not, that her ability was not sufficient to be seated immediately.
This is a classic Kubo scene, and one of the things that most convinces me that Kubo has been writing with a powerful Rukia in mind all along.
This scene both makes sense and gains great poignance if we assume that Byakuya did not tell Rukia at once what he had arranged. Thus, his inquiry as to whether she is seated becomes a question of whether Ukitake has held her back as Byakuya wishes--of whether Byakuya has succeeded in protecting her. His relief that he has, combined with his characteristic reserve, could explain why he seems to take no notice of Rukia's shame at not advancing. Given the extent of his reserve, however, I am inclined to think that he noticed but was still unwilling to explain the details of his rather unorthodox arrangement, and perhaps unwilling to risk her arguing against the arrangement with him or with her captain.
Rukia, not being aware of his arrangements at the time, of course, feels that she has failed the standards of the noble house that took her in. The tension of emotions and silence between them is heartbreaking. Byakuya's unspoken protectiveness and his unwillingness to reveal himself to Rukia pulls against Rukia's desire to make him proud and to gain his acknowledgement. The connection she wishes for is actually already present, Kubo informs us when he reveals Byakuya's arrangements; but Rukia can't see it and Byakuya can't admit it. Indeed, given that it's Rukia's mod-soul standin who tells Ichigo of the arrangement, it's possible that Rukia still doesn't know.
Classic Kubo; a beautiful example of The Twist. Note, too, that it parallels Ishida's father's attempt to keep him from becoming a Quincy very precisely. In neither case was the protectee aware of the protector's motivation.
.
Anime divergence
It is also, perhaps, worth noting that the anime diverges from the manga on this point. The anime episode based on the vol. 15 omake, in particular, explicitly shows Renji demonstrating greater strength and testing into a more advanced class than Rukia, at the academy. The manga shows Rukia in the same class... but late to her first day. That sets the pattern for the plot-point made in that manga chapter: that Renji forms bonds with some of his classmates, particularly Kira and Hinamori, while Rukia does not. The scene in which Renji gloats over going on field-work focuses narrative attention, not on he and Rukia being in separate classes, which does not appear to be the case, but on Rukia being alone while Renji is in company. The animators chose to refocus this section and suggest that Rukia had difficulty with the scholastic, as well as social, aspect of the Academy.
Ironically, one of the moments cited by the Rukia-kicks-ass faction is also anime-only. This is the scene during Renji's flashback when he and Rukia start to develop their spiritual power and she is shown producing a larger ball of power than he does. In the manga there is no indication given, during 98, of their relative strength--only the information that Rukia had it, where only Renji had in their child-family group, previous to Rukia joining them.
.
Strength
A word about strength, in general.
A lot of people on both sides of this debate, and, indeed, in the fandom as a whole, seem to be trying to define strength as if it were some kind of mathematical formula. Arrancar equal or exceed captains, therefore Arrancar + less than captain = defeated shinigami. Higher seated officers can handle Huge Hollows, therefore less than Huge Hollow + defeated shinigami = less than seated officer.
The problem is that Bleach doesn't work like that.
Kubo gives us plenty of general rules so that we can get a picture of how all the parties stand in relation to each other; but he also takes a good deal of trouble to present us with a lot of examples that are not reducible to such straight math. Kaien was a vice-captain. Yet the Hollow that defeated him was not an Arrancar, nor a Menos, nor even a Huge Hollow. Why? Because the Hollow got the drop on him with an unexpected one-shot that, apparently, Aizen had designed into it.
Victory and defeat do not depend on how many spells the combatants can perform, or on who has shikai or bankai. Bleach is not dealing with some kind of sporting competition, with rules and weight classes and handicaps. It deals with a lot of dirty, scrambling fights in which victory and defeat hinge, not only on strength, but on determination and emotional balance and pure luck, too.
And this is why I can't help feeling that the readers calling foul and plot-hole over Rukia's fight with Deiroi haven't been paying a lot of attention to the story Kubo has been telling all this time.
