When everybody gets Gommaged after Verso reads the letter from Painted Alicia and Maelle/Alicia brings them back, are they Maelle’s own version of Aline’s characters, so they aren’t even the same people they once were? Or are they just brought back from death like they never left?
I have been loving having Bleach on in the background while colouring the Official Anime Colouring Book in as a side hobby, it has been an absolute blast. I left a reference point for each of my drawings in the slide next to them for what I used to colour-match everything. There are a lot more obviously, but I wanted to share some of my finished products before I continued because i’m very happy with how they have turned out so far :)
Now from what I understand, in the coloured version of the manga, both Hihiō and So-Oh Zabimaru both have green coats, which I don’t mind as an aesthetic for Renji’s Bankai overall, but please hear me out for a moment.
In the anime, Renji’s Hihiō Zabimaru’s coat is coloured **pink** and NOT green. Now i’m going to go out on a limb here and say this isn’t merely a coincidence, from a visual storytelling point.
In the anime’s Zanpakutō Rebellion Filler Arc (non-Canon, doesn’t count, boo-hoo 😢), you get to see the Zanpakutō Spirits of a decent chunk of the main cast’s Zanpakutō. This includes Renji’s Zanpakutō Spirit, namely: Snake and Monkey. Snake is a younger character, with **pink** hair and a cocky attitude, while Monkey is an older character with **green** fur and a more mature attitude. This is where I think the similarities lie the most with the colour aesthetic of the anime compared to the manga.
Early in the series, Renji is way too cocky and sure he can’t be beaten, that when he gets defeated by Ichigo and Byakuya, he realises that he is nowhere near the level he thought he was, thus beginning the journey to mastering himself. Even against Szayelaporro Granz and Yammy in Hueco Mundo, he realises that no matter what he does, it won’t make any difference. Hence the Snake correlation. His Hihio Zabimaru is a juvenile version of his power: wild and unruly, easily breakable, big and boastful. Snake has **pink** hair, Hihiō Zabimaru has **pink** fur.
In TYBW, Renji finally begins to understand certain things, completing his self-transformation. This starts back in The Lost Agent/Fullbringer Arc in his battle with Jackie Tristan. His ability sense is way more competent than before, so much so, that he defeats Jackie without even fully drawing out his Zanpakutō. During the invasion of the Seireitei, Byakuya’s Bankai is stolen by Äs Nödt, and Renji is easily defeated by Mask De Masculine, another testament to how much the difference in power truly is, and how weak he still is compared to his enemy. In a flashback at the start of the Royal Guard Training Arc in TYBW, Ichibei explains to Renji that his Zanpakutō has been hiding its true potential from him, as it still finds that he is unworthy to know it’s true, full name, and that he must prove himself to Zabimaru to unlock it’s true form. After the training, he arrives in the battle against Mask De Masculine, activating his new Bankai: So-Oh Zabimaru; his Bankai’s true form, indicating his growth as a person and as a warrior, and his Zanpakutō’s acceptance of his worth. Hence the Monkey correlation. His power has fully matured and is a more condensed and powerful form, fully manifesting itself to suit his newfound self-worth and confidence in his abilities. Monkey has **green** fur, So-Oh Zabimaru has **green** fur.
I think that the colour difference makes an amazing storytelling aspect and was definitely done on purpose to signify his character growth.
I would love to hear others’ thoughts on this as well because I love when things just click into place sometimes.
Outside of: Tatsuki not becoming a Fullbringer, Keigo not becoming a Substitute Soul Reaper, and Chad not reaching his full potential (not being a jobber and landing one of the final blows on Yammy); one of the other gripes I have with Bleach, is how under-utilised Kon is after he gets introduced.
He starts off so strong in his introduction, it’s a wonder why Kisuke didn’t make him a Gigai of his own so he could assist Ichigo somewhat. Even if it involved moving people out of harm’s way so they don’t get hurt when Ichigo is fighting Hollows, which wouldn’t even put Kon in the spotlight as long as Rukia had a decent amount of the ‘Men-in-Black memory-replacer’ PEZ dispensers, anything would have been better than what we got.
I would love to see whatever everyone else thinks about it.