Anime Bleach: Are the Soul Reapers Really Good Guys?

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The Soul Reapers are the main group of Bleach. They protect the souls of the deceased and guide them into Soul Society where they will live in peace. However, Soul Society is far from the utopic afterlife fans think it is. And Soul Reapers are not the stereotypical good, heroic warriors you'd see in other shows. The Soul Reapers and all the Gotei 13 have a dark history not often talked about, as it deeply shames Captain Commander Shigekuni Genryuusai Yamamoto.

In Bleach, fans are exposed to several moral dilemmas, many different shades of good and evil, justice and villainy. Soul Reapers against Hollows and Quincies, and all the unique characters presented in each faction showcase Tite Kubo's eloquent writing when it comes to the different shades of gray people come in. There's no pure good or pure evil. Therefore, it is unrealistic to portray such characters when you want a deep story. But the Soul Reapers are a good look at how dark the supposed heroes of the story can be.

The Dark Beginnings of The Gotei 13

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The Gotei 13 was founded by a powerful Soul Reaper called Shigekuni Genryuusai Yamamoto. Captain Yamamoto recruited twelve other swordsmen and created a force that would in theory protect humans from Hollows, the supernatural monsters that prey on human lives. However, the members of the Gotei 13 were far from good, heroic warriors. The captains were violent thugs who were indifferent to innocent lives, they were a squad of powerful, bloodthirsty killers.

In the ranks of the Gotei was a woman who took the name Yachiru Unohana. Unohana was an extremely skilled swordsman, but she was also cold and detached from the value of life and lived for an unusual purpose, the thrill of battle. Unohana lived to kill any worthy warrior in her path, and she wasn't the only one in the Gotei who would just trample over lives.

A race of supernaturally gifted humans called the Quincy emerged and started a war on the Hollows. The Quincy erased the Hollows from existence, completely throwing the balance of souls out of orbit. And so, the Gotei 13 declared war on them, and with the full might of thirteen powerful killers, they massacred the Quincy and their king, Yhwach, driving them almost to extinction.

Gotei 13 and Central 46, Corrupted Justice

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Central 46 is the secretive group that dictates the laws in Soul Society. They're the ones the captains of the Gotei 13 respond to. In Bleach, fans know Central 46 as the faceless committee that, more often than not, makes very questionable decisions regarding legal justice in Soul Society. One of the most well-known examples is the dictated execution of Rukia Kuchiki after she gave Ichigo Kurosaki Soul Reaper powers. Resorting to a death sentence is extreme in itself, but this wasn't the first instance of Central 46 causing waves in the Gotei, as many years before, this would change the life of Kaname Tosen.

Kaname had a very close friend he cherished with all his heart, a kind woman married to a member of the Gotei 13. This Soul Reaper belonged to one of the noble families. One day, Kaname's friend was killed by her husband, and he begged for justice. He begged for the arrest of this Soul Reaper, but the man walked away without any punishment, as his status as a noble protected him from harm. This event would send Kaname onto a path of vengeance that would lead him to join Sosuke Aizen, betraying the Soul Society.

(The following contains spoilers for the Thousand Year Blood War)

The Soul King

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In the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, fans are introduced to the Soul King, the supposed ruler of all the universe. Living high up in the Royal Palace, the Soul King is an entity on a completely different level than that of ordinary Soul Reapers, Humans, or Hollows. But the truth behind his existence is the greatest crime committed by the Soul Reapers.

The Soul King was mutilated and dismembered, and his body was used to separate the four realms and hold them together in harmony. The Human World, Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and Hell, are all held together by the imprisoned Soul King, a crystallized corpse at the height of the Soul Society.

The Soul King has no real agency over the world and only exists merely to maintain the balance of lives. He's far from a ruler, he's the Soul Reaper's ultimate sin, as they turned the creator of the universe into a living lynchpin for all existence.

Whether the Soul Reapers are truly the good guys of the story is all up for debate, but what is undeniable is that besides all the darkness that envelops the Soul Society, there is also great kindness and heroism; captains like Sajin Komamura, Juushirou Ukitake, Toushirou Hitsugaya and the lieutenants Rukia Kuchiki, Renji Abarai and Rangiku Matsumoto. The Gotei 13 are a very morally gray group as the protagonists of Bleach.