User blog:Silver-Haired Seireitou/Sake Time with Sei - Shinigami and Hollows, Thousands of Years of War

Welcome, everybody, to the newest installment of Sake Time with Sei. Get yourselves a drink and get comfortable.



For those of you just joining us recently, as I discussed in my previous blog, this is a discussion blog where I will bring up a controversial topic in the Bleach universe, and you will all discuss it, offering up your insights and thoughts on it. There are no wrong answers here, everybody's opinions should be respected equally, but if you are more than free to counter another user's opinions, even my own. That's the fun of this discussion corner.

Today's Topic
Now, before introducing today's topic, I would like to bring up a couple plot points that have to do with today's question. This is something that, while many fans of the series may not outright think about, it is something incredibly significant to the Bleach universe as it pertains to the most common species within its world: the and the.

Some Plot Points
Grimmjow stated the following to Ichigo during their final battle: "You are a Shinigami and I am a Hollow! Whichever side losses will be annihilated. That's how it's always been for thousands of years." Now, while this can be taken out of context, it is worth noting that it is describing a conflict that spans several thousand years, meaning the Shinigami did not start with Yamamoto and their origins are even before that of the Gotei 13. But I'm sure this was obvious enough to many of you.

Next is that, Soul Society has actually classified Menos by category and power ranking. Despite the fact that the Adjuchas mostly hide away in the Menos Forest and the Vasto Lorde are so few that they can be counted on both hands, the Shinigami have still encountered them enough times to have the data necessary to categorize their species.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that Hitsugaya identified the Gillian as "foot-soldiers" in human terms and also said that the Adjuchas, their superiors, are the ones that lead them into battle. This can imply that the Hollows have always had some kind of organization, even before the Arrancar and Espada; however loose it might have been. It may imply that the Hollows and Shinigami may have had actual wars between one another instead of just the standard confrontations we see all the time between them.

Another quote to consider. Zommari's words to Byakuya before being killed: "You Shinigami cut us down as though it were simply the natural way of things! Do you truly think yourself gods?! Who exactly gave you the right to cut down the Hollows?! Is it because we feed upon the humans?! Why, then who gave you the right to protect those humans?! Nay! Nobody has granted you the right to undertake any of this!! You Shinigami label us as evil, and thoughtlessly slice us down purely because in your arrogance, you fancy yourselves to be the purveyors of some great 'justice' of your own making!"

Topic Question
Therefore, with the above being considered and other canon information, the following topic that I present to you is this, split into three individual questions:

'''Can it be said that the Hollows are capable of organizing themselves into an army that can combat the Shinigami? How have they fought one another for so many years, even before the Gotei 13's founding only a relatively early 1000 some years ago?'''

'''Why do the Shinigami feel as though they are the ones responsible for vanquishing the Hollows? Hollows are not outright stated to be a danger to the balance, so for a group once called the "Balancers", why do they wage war with the Hollows? Do you believe the Shinigami have always thought this way? Or did something happen to make them believe that Hollows are evil?'''

'''In your opinion, are Hollows inherently evil? Or can it be said that they are just like wild animals, just seeking out a means of surviving and satisfying their hunger. Hidetomo stated that war only happens because both sides are just, otherwise it would be called a suppression or a defense. Do Hollows really do the things they do because they are evil?'''

In reference to the second and third questions, I would like to make a statement about Yu Yu Hakusho; a series many might consider to be, "Bleach done the RIGHT way." In the series, demons are naturally considered by Spirit World to be evil. And it is the job of Spirit World to quell them and keep them confined to their world so they can not bring about havoc and mayhem. However, it was later revealed at the end of the series that King Enma, Koenma's father and the King of Spirit World, falsified accounts of demon cruelty towards humans. While demon attacks on humans did occur, much of the violence was done at the behest of humans themselves. Humans would use demons as assassins and murderers, blaming any tragedies fully on the inherent malice of demons. King Enma used this over-exaggeration in order to justify placing the Human World completely within the jurisdiction of the Spirit World, and blocking off the Human World from the Demon World. He would often capture low-class demons and brainwash them into committing acts of evil in Human World, in order to prove that allowing demons into the Human World would cause rampant destruction.

Now, of course, this can't perfectly translate into Bleach, but the concepts are strikingly similar enough to consider when answering the topic questions.

Now then, without further adieu. Discuss. --Silver-Haired Seireitou (talk) 19:05, April 20, 2014 (UTC)