Nihilism and Kindness in Bleach

     I consider Bleach to be one of the best animes ever created. Not just for the amazing fighting sequences and amazing character arcs, but because of how themes are portrayed in the show. It's just so poetic it's peak oh my gosh! The two characters I'd like to talk about today are Ulquiorra and Orihime Inoue. 

    Ulquiorra's name is derived from the spanish words "el que llora", or "the one who cries", and this is shown on his character design with two lines drawn down from his eyes, representing tears. He is the 4th espada although he technically places 4th in strength, many regard his second ressurection, or his second form when fighting, as the strongest. In fact, it is so strong that he cannot use it when under Aizen's watch in Hueco Mundo. Ulquiorra is the representation of Nihilism in bleach, he believes that life is meaningless, that things such kindness, having a heart, are human constructs that are not real. This is clearly shown when he is first introduced, as well as when he kidnaps Orihime and takes her to Hueco Mundo. Orihime is, in this regard, the complete opposite. 

    Orihime is often mischaracterized by the fans of Bleach because they aren't literate enough to comprehend her character as well as the meaning behind her actions. Orihime's power is to reject reality from occuring. This is what allows her to heal people fast and with amazing accuracy, because she isn't actually healing them, she is rejecting the notion that they were ever hurt. The same goes for her shield, it is rejecting the possibility of damage occurring to her friends as well as herself. People who watch the show often regard Orihime as the weakest link, because she is unable to inflict damage to enemies, and that since all she can do is heal, her job can easily be taken by those in squad 4. However, what people fail to realize is that squad 4 is still apart of Soul Society. This means despite being healers, they are still skilled fighters. A great example of this is Unohana, despite being the captain of what is considered the healing squad, she was also the first Kenpachi, meaning she was the most powerful fighter at a certain point in time. 

    All this is to say that Orihime's place cannot be taken away by squad 4. The purpose of Orihime's character is to ground her friends. Her kindness and ability to avoid violence is what her friends see after a fight. This allows her friends to keep their humanity despite all the violence and death they must endure, and it's what makes her character so lovable. 

    When Ulquiorra kidnaps Orihime it is both of their firsts times meeting someone with such an opposing world view. It is the perfect juxtaposition of philosophies. Ulquiorra struggles to understand Orihime's compliance for the sake of saving her friends, and Orihime doesn't understand why Ulquiorra wouldn't have people he wants to save too. 

    Ulquiorra's most popular monologue is the one where he speaks to Orihime, who knows her friends will save her. He says, "Hearts, you say? You Humans are always so quick to speak of such things. As though you carry your hearts in the very palms of your hands. But this eye of mine perceives all. There is nothing that it overlooks. If this eye cannot see a thing, then it does not exist. That is the assumption under which I have always fought. What is this "heart"? If I tear open that chest of yours, will I see it there? If I smash open that skull of yours, will I see it there?". The concept of having a heart, maybe not the type that beats in your chest and pumps blood to your body, but the type that gives humans courage, the ability to love, and hope, that is what Ulquiorra cannot comprehend. Ulquiorra seeks tangible information, yet, the act of loving, caring, and hoping, these are not tangible, and he struggles to grasp the true meaning of these human emotions. (wow guys as i'm typing this i genuinely am feeling emotions in my heart about how much i love both these characters and bleach and wow i really feel it). 

    For Orihime, these emotions and actions are things that are ever-present. Regardless of if she can see them, or even feel them, she knows it is there. Some may argue it is a fundamental difference in character; Ulquiorra isn't even a human, how should he be expected to understand human emotion? Though this argument is weak, if the other espada, who are also not human, can understand emotion, it means that Ulquiorra can as well, he just chooses not to. This is because he is a follower of Nihilism, whether he realizes it or not. 

    In his final battle with Ichigo, he says, "Just when I was becoming a little big intruiged by the way you people behave, I see now, in the palm of my hand is a heart,". By the end of his fight with Ichigo, and his last moments with Orihime, he realizes that the heart was never about being tangible, it was about the connections you had with people. 

ok guys sorry very rushed ending ik its ahh pls

a love letter to nostalgia, but not really

 My friend Ash just wrote a really nice blog about nostalgia, and it made me wonder what I think of it. Nostalgia is more apart of my life than I have ever realized, and more so now than ever before. I find myself thinking of old friends who I haven't met, or even talked to, in years. Why do I spend time looking through old playlists from middle school, reminiscing on what once was, what could have been? My opinion is that it's an escape from my current world. High school isn't an easy world to navigate, with all the pressure that's placed on teenagers shoulders, it's not crazy to think they'd want somewhere in their mind that they consider safe. For a lot of people, this can be found in the past, when life was simpler. In reality, though, we all had our own struggles back then too, and at the time, it felt very hard. In fact, if you asked me 3 years ago, I'd say that I would never feel nostalgic about this time in my life. My friend Ash used an article in her blog, so I'll do the same. I found a National Geographic article that helped explain the idea of nostalgia and the human mind, it says, "But nostalgia doesn’t just scratch our itch to feel cozy and comforted, it also helps us to process our current situation,". This was something I hadn't thought about earlier, but it does make sense when you think about it. Going back in time and re-living past experiences helps you understand who you are, who you used to be, and what actions you should take going forward. Do I think it's healthy to be nostalgic 24/7? Most definitely not. Although National Geographic says, "Yang and her research colleagues have recently found that nostalgia can reduce our perception of pain and enhance our ability to detect threats. They found that compared to control subjects, subjects thinking about something nostalgic had more brain activity when reading threatening words,". Regardless of what national geographic says, living in the past is not healthy, though I'm really not one to talk. I think it's a great tool, whether it's for escaping reality, or to learn from mistakes and move forward, it really can help. It is not, however, something someone should bask in daily. Learning to accept the past is the past and you must move forward is what also makes life beautiful.