'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Bleach fans know Rangiku Matsumoto as the cheerful lieutenant of the Gotei 13’s Tenth Division, whose easygoing personality is a perfect contrast to that of her superior, Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. Before becoming a Shinigami, Rangiku was a child in the Soul Society’s Rukongai. It was there that she met Gin Ichimaru, who saved her from starvation.
Fond of Rangiku, Gin vowed to kill Sosuke Aizen when he noted that the latter had stolen some of Rangiku’s Spiritual Energy to give it to the Hogyoku. While this event is already known for resulting in one of Bleach’s most important storylines, it may also be linked to an anime-original scene featured in Bleach TYBW part 3’s finale for even more amazing developments.
The episode showed the elite Sternritter Gerard standing in front of Renji, Byakuya, Shinji, and many other Shinigami, blocking their path to Yhwach’s castle. As Gerard used his ability, “The Miracle,” to enlarge his body, everyone’s mouths dropped open, yet Rangiku was shown looking at Gerard with an unconcerned expression, as if she wasn’t particularly surprised. Read on to find out how this scene may hint at Rangiku playing an unexpectedly crucial role in Gerard’s defeat.
Trending
Bleach TYBW part 4 may see Rangiku play a role in Gerard’s defeat due to their Soul King connection
The fragments of the Soul King
Rangiku Matsumoto’s character is allegedly connected to the lore of the Soul King, the godlike entity who served as the lynchpin of the Bleach world’s three realms. The Soul King (true name: Adnyeus) separated the primordial universe into three different realms—the Soul Society, the Hueco Mundo, and the Human World—thus giving rise to the current system of life and death.
However, Adnyeus was mutilated of his limbs and organs, with his upper body being left in a catatonic state, sealed inside a crystal in the Royal Palace. The fragments of the Soul King were scattered everywhere, leading some of them to become part of other beings. For example, Gerard Valkyrie possesses the ability “The Miracle” as he is the heart of the Soul King.
This power allows Gerard to make impossible or near-impossible events happen at just the right time, enabling him to convert fatal damage into energy that he uses to enlarge his body and increase his brute force. With “The Miracle,” Gerard can overcome even the most difficult predicaments, as he is virtually impossible to defeat.
He can regenerate from mortal injuries, including having his head crushed or his body cut in half, while also gaining power boosts that allow him to destroy those who have previously outclassed him. That said, it’s possible to defeat and kill Gerard as long as one manages to destroy the Quincy cross that acts as his core.
While Rangiku’s power is nowhere near that of the formidable Gerard, as she lacks the fighting skills to compete with even an average Sternritter, let alone an elite one, it’s interesting to note how she does have a connection to the Soul King. The energy that Aizen extracted from Rangiku and put into the Hogyoku to foster its development actually came from a fragment of Adnyeus’ body.
Inside her, Rangiku had in fact one of the nails of the Soul King. Aizen noted that the power of the nail allowed Rangiku to survive and even become a Shinigami, even though he had taken a good part of her soul. It is unknown how Rangiku acquired the nail in the first place, but perhaps she inherited it from one of her parents.
The fragments of the Soul King can be absorbed into the soul of whoever touches them, and those who absorb them can pass them on to their descendants, making this the most likely hypothesis.
A controversial source of information
The information about Rangiku having a fragment of the Soul King wasn’t revealed in the manga or in the Bleach TYBW anime, but in the novel Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World. Although it is based on Tite Kubo’s shonen series, this novel was written by Ryogo Narita, which makes its canon value often the subject of debate.
Bleach author Tite Kubo never explicitly confirmed or denied that Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World is part of the franchise’s established canon, only stating that he set the guidelines of the story while leaving it up to the writer to develop the tale based on that general input. Kubo’s statement was quite vague, which inevitably led to endless debates on the topic.
The safest way is probably to take the major plot points and lore revelations featured in Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World as canon while not giving too much importance to the specific events that happened in the novel. After all, Narita talked directly with Kubo about the lore details and the story’s general outline, and some elements of the novel—such as Shinji’s Bankai and Hisagi’s Bankai—were either shown in Bleach TYBW or referenced in the manga.
That said, there are instances where the main story openly contradicts the lore elements presented in Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World. For example, in Bleach TYBW, the fate of some of the Bambies was shown to be different from what was told in the novel.
The anime also revealed that the Soul King separated the three worlds by himself and was then mutilated in the sole presence of Ichibei Hyosuke, while in the novel the ancestors of the Soul Society’s noble houses sealed and mutilated the Soul King before using his powers to separate the worlds.
A revamp of the fight against Gerard is entirely possible
Leaving aside the doubts about the canonicity of Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World and taking the information about Rangiku Matsumoto at face value, the interesting thing is that her soul was infused with a fragment of the Soul King, which means that it may resonate with the same type of energy.
As it’s well known, Gerard Valkyrie’s power stems from being the heart of the Soul King, and that may be why Rangiku could potentially be the key to defeating Gerard. With Zaraki Kenpachi, Byakuya Kuchiki, and Toshiro Hitsugaya being the core fighters to face Gerard, it’s possible that Rangiku will sense something from Gerard’s Quincy cross and realize that destroying it is the key to killing Gerard for good.
Granted, none of this happened in the manga. After Giselle Gewelle turned them into zombies, Rangiku and Toshiro were placed into special capsules by Mayuri Kurotsuchi to reverse the zombification. When the two recovered, Hitsugaya went on to fight Gerard, while Rangiku did essentially nothing in the meantime.
However, Bleach TYBW has established a trend of expanding and modifying the original source’s version of the events to improve the storytelling of certain parts of the plot. It must be noted that the anime-original scenes are fully canon, as they were developed by Studio Pierrot and Pierrot Films in cooperation with Tite Kubo, who worked closely with them.
In fact, the anime adaptation has already made some changes to the fight against Gerard by adding some scenes with Shinji as well as the participation of all the Visored, both things that weren’t present in the original manga.
Further changes to the battle are far from impossible, considering that it has always been criticized for its unsatisfying outcome. Byakuya, Toshiro, and Zaraki went all out and did their best to defeat Gerard, but he kept surviving their combined attacks and coming back stronger until he was suddenly killed by Yhwach’s Auswahlen, which drained him of all his energy and lifeforce.
The unexpected and yet decisive involvement of a lieutenant in a fight against a Schutzstaffel member wouldn’t be unprecedented, as that already happened with Nanao Ise in the fight against Lille Barro and Nemu in the fight against Pernida Parnkgjas. Nanao’s god-reflecting sword served as a deus ex machina to defeat Lille, while Nemu’s artificial body was instrumental in Pernida’s death.
With this in mind, it’s possible that Rangiku will play a role in Gerard’s defeat, especially as her potential contribution would help her captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya. Isshin may also be involved in the same fight, as he has come to the Soul Society along with Ryuken Ishida.
This may lead to Isshin teaming up with Toshiro and Rangiku to fight Gerard, which would be an amazing reunion as the former three were all comrades in the 10th Division at one point in the past, with Isshin being Toshiro and Rangiku’s old captain.
That said, it would be admittedly more fitting to see Isshin and Ryuken personally participate in the final battle against Yhwach to avenge their beloved wives, whose deaths were caused by the Quincy Emperor’s Auswahlen.
In any case, the sequence added to the finale of Bleach TYBW part 3 strongly suggests that Rangiku senses or knows something about Gerard, as her reaction to the Quincy’s transformation is completely different from that of the other Shinigami. So, it’s left to part 4 of the Thousand-Year Blood War to show what’s the reason for this intriguing scene.
Related Links
- Top 50 strongest Bleach TYBW characters, ranked
- Shunsui's character development is the hidden gem of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
- How many manga chapters does Bleach TYBW part 4 need to cover? explained
- Bleach TYBW part 3 finale review: Pierrot Films saves the best for the last
- Every hidden spoiler and Easter Egg in the Bleach TYBW part 3 opening
