'Call me Captain Hitsugaya' A mega breakdown on Squad 10 captain,...

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'Call me Captain Hitsugaya'

A mega breakdown on Squad 10 captain, Toshiro hitsugaya, going into his themes, ideologies, symbolism, dynamics and everything intertwined into his character, leading to his conclusion
#Bleach

PART 1

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Given how long this thread is going to be, I'd like to break this thread into several parts, where I'll be addressing various parts of toshiros character. So the first aspect I'll address is his Character background, addressing his ideologies and themes.

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First and foremost, I think the main thing that people miss with toshiro is the existence of an existential crisis. We can perfectly see this displayed in the birthday chapter, were he compares the life of people to flickering fireworks that spark and burn away quickly

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When asked about birthdays, he saw them as meaningless, as they are not defined and have no grounding. Birthdays in this sense, are used as an allegory for life, as it reflects how toshiro himself is in a constant struggle to find out where his place in the world is

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This is as a result of toshiros background. As a child, he provoked absolute terror from everyone he was around. His spiritual pressure and his appearance,always made those around him to treat him like a monster

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As a result, Toshiro lived his life wondering why he deserved to live and what exactly to find his identity in. He grew up only knowing himself as what he was told he was.We see traces of his lack of self worth, when he knowingly let's himself get done In by a store owner

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Those who treated him as normal, seemed to be drawing further from him. Here, we see the curious symbolism of the cold being displayed. Even from toshiros hair being white , we see traits that symbolise the cold, which represents not just loneliness but also detachment

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Every night, Toshiro would sleep and wake up to his room covered in cold steam. His 'grandma' shivering. It was a sign of his detachment from himself but he misinterprets this as a result of him being a monster as everyone says, and his cycle of self loathing is reinforced

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As toshiro has almost explicitly pointed out, what his hair symbolises is a detachment from society. We see a lot of the moon symbolism present in toshiros character. And in fact, he is explicitly said to be a possible reincarnation of a moon deity

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gods in history are known to be detached from humans. The story of the moon spirit, yue, is that of a being reincarnated in a human, which would eventually need to be detached to live independently from humans and enforce action, while furthering a cycle with the ocean spirit

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The point for me mentioning this is that, this idea of being so different, being this being who is the 'reincarnation of so and so', 'the genius', has caused people not just fear, but silent envy, causing detachment and making Toshiro to define himself through this detachment

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The cold haze comes into place again. It prevents him from seeing or understanding himself and causes him to unconsciously detach himself from others. The cold as I said symbolises detachment, something he perceives as detachment by those he loves, but is actually from himself

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However, with the help of Rangiku, he is able to begin a journey of self discovery. I won't talk about it much at the moment, because I'll go into it later in detail. Anyway, it is at this point, that at last, Toshiro finally starts to hear his Zanpakuto spirit.

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From Ichigos the blade is me chapter, we realise that the Shinigami and the spirit are not mutually exclusive. Toshiro starts his journey to understanding this concept and finding himself from here, and becomes a Shinigami.

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However, he has not completely found himself yet. Toshiro develops a habit of subconsciously assimilating the people who loved him or accepted him, to form part of who he was. He calls the old woman that took care of him, grandma, despite having no actual attachment to her

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This is to compensate for the lack of attachment, affection and validation he has experienced in his life. Just like Rangiku said, as a Shinigami, Toshiro finally sees an outlet where to an extent, his strength is not attributed to absolute monstrosity.

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As a result, he builds his identity as a Shinigami. In essence, he identifies solely as a Shinigami. The man, Toshiro hitsugaya does not exist outside the precept of what being a Shinigami is. It is for this reason, he overcompensates for work.

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He does work he should not, and insists in being called 'Captain', as he completely ties his identity to this idea of being a Shinigami. He's the youngest even to achieve his Bankai. However, this does not mean that he's fully in tune with himself.

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Before I delve into the next aspect, which would touch on some of the symbolism related to his Zanpakuto,I'll like to add something about toshiros appearance.For all we know, he's actually only a few years younger than momo,if even. However, his stunted growth betrays this notion

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However this actually serves to subtly characterise that aspect of lack of self understanding, which will help explain something later. Anyway, I'll move on to the symbolism aspect. If you look closely at toshiros sword, there is a crescent moon attached.

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In fact, the moon is always strategically positioned in panels with him and even directly above his nam3. In Buddhism, the moon symbolises enlightenment. However, there is great Irony, as Toshiro himself is plagued by a lack of self understanding.

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This extends to even Toshiros bankai. The name Daiguren hyorinmmaru, directly translates to grand crimson lotus ice ring. This is curious because this is directly drawn on from the Buddhist hells, as the crimson lotus stage is the 6th stage of Buddhist hell.

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It is said that this region burns so cold that the people here contort their bodies in ways that almost resemble the blooming of a flower. Interestingly enough, the main reason why a person is sent to this hell area is due to a lack of enlightenment and insight into the world

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We can apply what we know of this into Toshiro. Even though he has this moon symbolism, which should symbolise enlightenment, he has this other thing present which would suggest that he has not achieved it yet, as the hells are for those without it.

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We can see it almost explicitly shown too. Toshiro talks about how his Bankai isn't fully matured yet and immediately the last flower blooms, he contorts and bleeds, paralleling those in the story of the crimson hell and the flower bloom,and showing the lack of self understanding

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This great Irony exists and defines a lot of toshiros life. He's a genius, but he gets outsmarted. He has a bankai, but he understands himself the least of any captain. It begs the question, is he the Shinigami named toshiro or is he toshiro hitsugaya because he's a Shinigami.

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What I mean by this is that, with all the Irony or seeming contradiction that existed within the context of his character, who then really is he? This confusion ties into the overarching theme of toshiros character and ties into the journey that he has set out on

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Well, that's it for now. I think I'll continue with the rest later, talking about his dynamics and how they lead up to his conclusion. If you reached here, you're a GOAT. Hope you enjoyed this first part. Peace

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@YinkaDrip2Hard @Boondocks4YO @rkid_fry
I dropped the first part yo

'Call me Captain Hitsugaya' A mega breakdown on Squad 10 captain,...

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