InBleach, every Soul Reaper captain is expected to be able to perform Bankai, the ultimate ability of a Soul Reaper and their Zanpakuto. Bankai are different from person to person, and can vary wildly in their capabilities and strengths. That fact leads many to wonder what Bankai the series' most iconic villain, rogue captain Sosuke Aizen, would have.
Aizen never uses his Bankai ability at any point in the series.He does use the lower form, Shikai,and his Shikai, Kyoka Suigetsu, is absurdly powerful, allowing him complete domination of the senses of anyone who lays eyes on his blade–or who has ever laid eyes on it. With a Shikai like that, one must imagine that Aizen’s Bankai is equally extraordinary, so why did he never use it? While the only one who can answer that question is Tite Kubo, some fans have been speculating about just what Aizen’s Bankai might be capable of, and their answer feels like it could be shockingly accurate.
Aizen’s Bankai Could Be His Shikai’s Opposite
Opposing Abilities Could Explain Why Aizen Never Used It
One fan on Reddit, /u/Yaber85, speculated that perhaps Aizen’s Bankai performs the inverse effect of Kyoka Suigetsu. If Kyoka Suigetsu allows Aizen to fabricate what an opponent’s senses perceive, then maybe his Bankai is capable of doing the opposite, and eliminating any and all illusions. More than that, Aizen’s Bankai could lay bare the truth of all things, forcing both him and his opponent to see reality as it truly is.As a result of his Bankai undoing his Shikai, Aizen never uses it… but this theory hinges on the fact that he’s used it himself at least once.
Further comments in the thread speculate that if this is indeed similar to his Bankai, this might be what turned Aizen into a villain in the first place. The Bankai not only broke through illusions, but also his preconceived notions, showing him the truth of reality: how the world is built onthe literal remains of the Soul King, and how the Soul Reapers have gone to such radical extremes to attempt to keep it stable. The inherent injustice of the world, and the fact that only Aizen could see it, isolated him, and drove him to his own extremes, as he attempted to take over and become the new god.
While the theory has little textual evidence to support it, since Aizen never even so much as talks about his Bankai, it certainly rings true to his character. Aizen is a master of manipulation and creating things that aren’t as they appear, so an ability like that for his Shikai makes perfect sense. Many characters have Bankai which are quite different from their Shikai, such as Sui Feng, so it’s not too outlandish to believe that his Bankai might well be the exact opposite of his Shikai.
Will Aizen’s Bankai Ever Be Revealed?
Fans Have Wondered for Over 20 Years What Aizen’s Bankai Is
There are some limited opportunities forBleachto reveal Aizen’s Bankai, should the story call for it. There’s always a chance, no matter how slim, that Aizen’s Bankai could play a role in the ending of theThousand-Year Blood Waranime, since it has already diverged quite a lot from the manga. It does seem unlikely, though, as there’s no real good moment for Aizen to do such a thing without massive rewrites to the course of manga events, which the anime has tried not to diverge too far from.
The other possibility is the so-called “Hell arc.“TheBleachanniversary one-shotfrom a few years back hinted at the start of a new arc, and as a semi-immortal being, Aizen is definitely around to take part in any suchBleachcontinuation. The story has already made a big deal about the removal of hugely powerful figures like Yhwach causing problems, so Aizen, as another hugely powerful figure, would naturally be relevant as well. Aizen is, however, locked up in the Muken, a prison facility under the Seireitei, so there would need to be a very good reason to break him out.
Fans may never truly know what Aizen’s Bankai is; there’s even a possibility that he doesn’t have one at all, and instead used his illusions to create a fake Bankai. Hopefully, ifBleachever does get a continuation, be it in manga or anime form, these long-time fans will finally have their Aizen Bankai questions answered, and the theories and debates can at last be put to rest.
