The True Enemy

[Shishio17]

Okay, time for me to crawl out of my hole and compose another giant, ridiculous rant/theory about the future of Bleach. This one's been on my mind for a while, since these are the things that pop into my head when I should be doing productive things. In my opinion, the next set of villains will be the Royal Guard, also known as the Zero Division. Why, you ask? It's because of the amount of powerful characters Kubo has built up in the manga. Let's look at the teams:

( X-level denotes captain class power, split into several different sublevels.)

Soul Society
Yamamoto (Ridiculous level)
Shunsui (Very strong, high level)
Ukitake (Very strong, high level)
Unohana (Probably very strong, assumed high level)
Byakuya (Mid level)
Kenpachi (Mid level)
Toshiro (Mid level)
Soi Fon (Mid level)
Mayuri (Mid Level, thanks to intelligence and craftiness, rather than raw power)
Komamura (Mid level)
Renji (Low level)
Ikkaku (Low Level)
Other Vice Captains

Team Urahara
Urahara (Mid level, possibly higher. Conceivably has Hollow powers.)
Yoruichi (Mid level, more if she actually does have a Zanpaku-to)
Tessai (Former Kido captain, though I don't know how to gauge his strength)
Ururu (Vice Captain level in her Genocide mode)
Jinta (Not really relevant)

Team Ichigo
Ichigo (Mid to high level in his normal state. In my opinion, his raw power against Ulquiorra was Yamamoto/Aizen tier, but we really don't know much about it.)
Ishida (Low level at most. Personally I thought he was much stronger in Soul Society due to his Michael Jackson glove.)
Chad (Vice Captain level, though probably more. Perhaps low captain level.)
Orihime (Not a combat type)

The Vaizards
Shinji (Mid to high level)
Love (Mid Level)
Kensei (Mid level)
Rose (Mid level)
The others (Vice Captain level, though their hollow powers could make them low captain level.)
The Vaizards' relative strengths are tentative, since we haven't really seen what they can do. Shinji could probably be high level with his hollow mask, since he seems to be the commander.

Already, we have a minimum of 20 captain class fighters, not counting Chad and Uryu. Now, since we all know Kubo likes to keep his characters, even villains, alive, it's possible that some of the Espada haven't quite bit the dust, and could be enlisted. With that in mind...

Team Hueco Mundo
Starrk (I'd put him around Shunsui's level in a one-on-one, personally, but at the very least he's Mid Captain level.)
Harribel (Since Hitsugaya's power seems to jump all over the place, we never really knew what she could do. However, she was definitively ranked above Ulquiorra's first release, in which he beat Vizard Ichigo like he owed him money, so I'll put Harribel around Mid level, minimum.)
Grimmjow (Mid level)
Nel (Probably mid level, maybe a little less than Grimmjow)
Gantebein (Not really relevant, Vice Captain level)

So, if these characters survived (We haven't seen them dissolve, like Hollows normally do), there are another 4 Captain level fighters. In addition, these characters (well, except Grimmjow) seem the most likely to defect from Aizen's service.

And, lest we forget...
Team Dad
Isshin (Unknown, possibly high level, considering his son's abilities.)
Ryuken (Unknown, but has access to all of the Quincy techniques, and called the "genius" Uryu a dunce with no talent. Possibly high level.)

I know Aizen is ridiculous, I know Tousen has a hax Bankai, and I know that even if Gin left the manga and soloed the Marvel Universe, he still wouldn't live up to his hype, but this is simply too much for Aizen to handle. 26 Captain class fighters? It's ludicrous to suggest that Aizen could win this battle.

Now, Aizen never specifically stated that he wanted to kill the King of Soul Society. Perhaps he is actually working under him. As we know, the Royal Guard is the only division to which Captains can "graduate", so the only place to find enough Captain class fighters to even out this battle is in the Royal Guard. It seems unlikely, and perhaps Aizen is not completely loyal to the King, but he may have established a temporary alliance with him. He merely needs to get the Ouken, and Shazam, a full army of former Captains to work with.

The King is a very shadowy figure, and it was state that he was really more of a figurehead than anything else. Perhaps he'd like to change that. After all, Aizen already killed the Central 46, so perhaps the King thinks that if he gets rid of the Gotei 13, he can become the sole ruler of Soul Society. I have a hunch that the King may also bear some relation to Ichigo's family, though that is pure speculation.

In conclusion, the only force that could possibly stand up to the "good guys" now is a team of elite Captain class fighters, and the most logical place to look is the Royal Guard. The shadowy nature of the King, and Aizen's absolute confidence, despite the fact that he is essentially in the same situation as when he fled Soul Society, have set up the King as a perfectly logical villain. This also plays into the theme of battling against the archaic rules of Soul Society that was established during the Ichigo/Byakuya fight. Perhaps the King needs Aizen to open the realm for him, perhaps he is just waiting for the right moment, but I feel certain that the Royal Guard is not as benevolent a force as many seem to believe.

[RedRibbon]

you forgot ww who seems to be doing just fine just by himself...

the man in the iron mask scenario? its possible either way. new bad guys are always fun to anticipate.

edit: ichigo joins aizens three musketeers; that should be a good balance :sman:

[Wrasvan]

Given what we've seen of the first two arcs, why can't we believe both are true?

The Royal Guard, as a Division "above" the Gotei 13, will be comprised of Shinigami. Maybe some of them will be traitors, or plotting against one another, or the King himself. We know Aizen is interested in them, so if/when he infiltrate(d)s them he'll start to find a way to play puppeteer and either get the King unprotected or use it to further his hollowfication experiments; which leads me to believe the Royal Guard know something or are involved with whatever the next plot device is re: hollows vs shinigami.

[mirandaadria]

I thought of this, too, a while back... but my theory is that the real and true villain is actually the King of Soul Society, and hence with him, the Royal Guard.

[MicroHustler]

Just like mentioned earlier WonderW seems to be doing fine. With reasonably speculation we can assume he is probably the first Vasto we will encounter and since they are suppose to be the most badass thing in the bleach universe I am sure he will own some Vaizards himself (which I rank very highly.)

Still I do think WonderW is going to turn out to be a young rather weak vasto (always keeping in mind that every vasto is uber strong of course) and I still am hopeful of a band of Vastos to appear somehow related to that Giant Eye thing.

The speculation about the Soul Society King is interesting but I feel it to be somewhat to predictable for KT to make the King or old man Yamajii a bad guy.

The thing that I dislike most about bleach is pretty much exactly your point, there are way too many ridiculously strong good guys, even though I rank Aizen above any of them in a one on one. Aizen could probably take around 5 to 7 of the strongest people himself but that would still leave around 20 other characters for Gin and Tousen which seems to be just way too many.

This is why, while bleach can be rather annoying with the powerful good guys, there must be a crazy super twist coming that will put everyone in peril and that is pretty much what I am waiting for.

[Ichimaru-Gin]

i dont think the royal gaurds are anything special, they are just like the SS captains or the 4 families...its just a title rank, nothing special about it, if they are strong then they could just go into HM and destroy everything if they choose too. IMO they are just ppl like yurichi/soifon special ops who get promoted into a position in the royal guards if they wish....you cant have royal guards stronger than ryujin, unohana, shunshui, ukitake

[shinji]

I've always thought that the things that mayuri found in apollo's lab could be a new set of villians. It's nice to hear that kubo has hinted at his discovery being something interesting.

[RagnarokBlayde]

I have been thinking that an interesting twist would be to find out Aizen has been the good guy and someone like Urahara has been the bad guy all along.

Urahara could be the brother of the Soul King and be bitter about the succession so he sets into motion a MASSIVE plan to gain the throne, using and mindfucking EVERYONE in the process incuding Aizen.
I would actually find it cool to see Isshin working for Urahara which could set up them inviting Ichigo into the fold.
He of course would say no and we would get to see an epic battle of Father against Son. Would be insanely ironic considering how they used to fight all the time.....
Ichigo could pull out Scarmask or something beyond it to win but in the end Isshin would tell Ichigo that his Mother's death was the Kings fault.

Convoluted I know but throwing some twists like this in could refresh the series decently. Then again I am liking it just the way it is unlike quite a few others....

[kagehisa]

Too many good guys, as said above. And there's no friggin way Aizen can 1) pull 20 VL's out of nowhere, and 2) Control them all

Therefore Aizen cannot be the primary Villain. Would be interesting the see Royal Guard vs Gotei 13. Byakuya would hafto fight his gramps, for instance :D Kenpach would fight a long-ago previous kenpachi maybe? I can see Kubo pulling out the Royal Guard 13 or something, each with a matching personality to one of the captains of the Gotei for interesting matchups.

[xrawrx]

I didn't read the whole post becuase that is way to long, but i did read the opening post so ill tell you what i think about it.

Aizen is the main antagonist, the only reason that he wasn't in the first arc was becuase that was kubo's way of unveiling things. The main antagonist should never change, enless this is dbz. It's not as though each arc is an entire differant plot, they carry over into each other. In the manga. You can't count espada as antagonist's, more as henchmen working under aizen, grimmjow and ulquiorra are rivals of ichigo, not antagonist's. So if the royal guard were to be the "new set of villans" they wouldnt be the main one's just another set. Which in my opinion bleach has plenty.

[nasandre]

Interesting. It might even turn out that Aizen is the good guy. Just trying to do things his own bad ass evil way.

[Celeborn006]

as long as we are throwing out random possibilities for a main bad guy. I vote for shunsui.

[gunfire01]

Team Urahara
Urahara (Mid level, possibly higher. Conceivably has Hollow powers.)
Yoruichi (Mid level, more if she actually does have a Zanpaku-to)
Tessai (Former Kido captain, though I don't know how to gauge his strength)
Ururu (Vice Captain level in her Genocide mode)
Jinta (Not really relevant)

I'm sorry, but are you calling Urahara weak? He has massive strength, reiatsu, and is smart as hell. He could seriously be at Aizen's level or close to. He's high tier, even though I hate judging characters by tiers.

[Captain Abarai]

CRACK THEORY


I'd pay to see the scenario where the Royal Guard are a hybrid of Vizard and Arrancar'd Vasto Lorde with an *unknown* agenda for Human, Shinigami and Hollow, just know it ain't good.

A world where Isshin and Masaki are both former RG members that give up the RG for their *reasons* renounce their powers through Urahara Kisuke's gigai, and flee to the real world this prompting a *need* for Hikifune (cue TBTP timeline for her removal from the Gotei 13)

Yea, I'd pay to see that. Tons of plot holes, and probably sounds damn stupid to most of the forum, but hey.

Need a main villain?

Our buddy Captain Aizen is the main villain. Who is he? King of Soul Society incarnate as a Shinigami (assuming he's not a physical king). Why is he interested in Hollowfication? Because he knows that's how he can claim that *unbearable vacancy in the heavens* And it's not the *shoddy Arrancars* that the Vizard are. It's whatever the fuck Ichigo will be and turned into vs Ulquiorra.

Why is there a need for Aizen to be Hollowfied to get *BACK* to the RG and reclaim the throne as God? Shit, I dunno, how bout somethin like he can't be at full power when Royal Guard aren't all together *in this crackpot theory Isshin and Masaki left and did away with their powers* He needs Vasto Lorde in order to complete the Guard and his true power or some stuff like that.

How bout them apples. :sman:

[metalsoup111]

Urahara is the true bad guy...

[GodsGift88]

Urahara is the true bad guy...

That's what I've been saying...

[kagehisa]

as long as we are throwing out random possibilities for a main bad guy. I vote for shunsui.

I vote for Renji -.- Really, he's evil. We just don't know it yet.

[TheLegend/MVP]

ichigo is the bad guy ICHIGO ~!!

[Dsync]

So, if these characters survived (We haven't seen them dissolve, like Hollows normally do), there are another 4 Captain level fighters. In addition, these characters (well, except Grimmjow) seem the most likely to defect from Aizen's service.

I think at this point in the manga there would be absolutely no reason to continue working under Aizen, unless of course you're Gin and Tousen.

It'll be interesting to see what Espada #1, #3, and #6 end up doing if they're still alive.

[metalsoup111]

@GG88: Yep. Think about the unique position he's been in...

He's intelligent and crafty in his own right and reasonably powerful. By his and Yoruichi's admissions, he tests certain inventions on himself, thus, possibly alluding to hollow powers. For the past 100+ he's had Tessia to learn and master advanced kidou. He's also had Yoruichi to learn and master advanced shunpo and hand-to-hand combat skills with. He's been shown to manipulate people to meet his own needs. He allowed the captains a way to enter HM, but provided them no means of escape.

He's a/the bad guy...

[TheLegend/MVP]

@GG88: Yep. Think about the unique position he's been in...

He's intelligent and crafty in his own right and reasonably powerful. By his and Yoruichi's admissions, he tests certain inventions on himself, thus, possibly alluding to hollow powers. For the past 100+ he's had Tessia to learn and master advanced kidou. He's also had Yoruichi to learn and master advanced shunpo and hand-to-hand combat skills with. He's been shown to manipulate people to meet his own needs. He allowed the captains a way to enter HM, but provided them no means of escape.

He's a/the bad guy...

oooo.... and Ichigo is his surbodinate yeah yeah ~!! hahahahaha

[IchiGin]

I'm sorry, but are you calling Urahara weak? He has massive strength, reiatsu, and is smart as hell. He could seriously be at Aizen's level or close to. He's high tier, even though I hate judging characters by tiers.

Thought I was the only one who had this thought!! This makes two of us... I strongly believe this dude has devil like strength in the current bleach time but only shows what he wants... what we know of him gives this hint, come to think of it :suspicious:!

[xPyrox]

Ichigo see's Urahara as a mentor, if Urahara said to ichigo "Look buddy. I need you to wtfpwn >insert Royal Guard< He'd be like "Lol k"

[TheLegend/MVP]

yeah Ichigo and Urahara working together how can i not see that ...

[nasandre]

Ichigo see's Urahara as a mentor, if Urahara said to ichigo "Look buddy. I need you to wtfpwn >insert Royal Guard< He'd be like "Lol k"

Ichigo was very reluctant to get his training from Urahara. So he won't just kill anyone for UK even though he should.

[pumpkin13]

Urahara wouldn't put it like "listen mate, i need you to wtfpwn so and so" though, he'd be far more cunning and devious. He'd arrange it so Ichigo would have to go after and rescue someone and basically put ichigo in a situation where he couldnt say no.

[Wrasvan]

"Ichigo if you kill this Royal Guard member Chad won't become completely obsolete in the next arc."

/plot

[nasandre]

Urahara wouldn't put it like "listen mate, i need you to wtfpwn so and so" though, he'd be far more cunning and devious. He'd arrange it so Ichigo would have to go after and rescue someone and basically put ichigo in a situation where he couldnt say no.

Like he did when he helped him to rescue Rukia... Urahara is God!

[kagehisa]

"Ichigo if you kill this Royal Guard member Chad won't become completely obsolete in the next arc."

/plot

wait, ISN'T Chad completely obsolete already?

[Wrasvan]

Yeah, that was the joke.

[xrawrx]

Urahara is the true bad guy...

It's so simple, yet makes so much sense.

[arishkegal]

I don't trust Urahara as far as I can throw him, he is shifty and used Ichigo to retrieve the Orb in the SS arc without him knowing. He knew that Byakuya and Renji were going to take Rukia, and he knew that Ichigo would go after her because he became close to her. He seems to know more than what he lets on, and Aizen showed more of his cards than Urahara.

I would trust Aizen more than Urahara, at least we know what Aizen's zan does. We don't know anything about Benihime's abilities, except what he told Renji. That you can't use its bankai to train. Even in the TBTP arc, he seems to know more than he lets on, he didn't let anybody see his attacks, and we still don't know what he did to defeat the deserters.

He is truly a mystery, and I think he may be the/a major antagonist.

[Afrojack]

People think Mayuri is messed up...who trained Mayuri? Urahara.

Oh. Shit.

[xrawrx]

People think Mayuri is messed up...who trained Mayuri? Urahara.



And where's mayuri? in szayels lab with the bodies that are supposed to be o so important.

[bob23]

wait, ISN'T Chad completely obsolete already?

Stop picking on the next great hero! Chad is clearly a VL arrancar! That is my great theory!
...
...
...
OK, seriously what is he?
1.He got hollow powers before Ichigo got his.
2.His power is not "growing" bit "awakening".
3.He is the fastest growing after Ichigo, moving from regular human to Espada lvl (assuming he gets another powerup from his NDE, he will be useful in the next arc or even show of his skills in the combined effort to take down Yammy)

[arishkegal]

And where's mayuri? in szayels lab with the bodies that are supposed to be o so important.

Guys, if we keep this up people will think that Aizen is the good guy, LOL.

[theseraph]

i think it would be the single greatest plot twist this manga could offer if urahara, the man with a plan and a hat, was behind everything. him and aizen have a combined brainpower of over 9000, they'd be unstoppable. urahara's a good guy, shade salesmen, but a protagonist nonetheless. mayuri? not touching that one with a 5 foot pole.

[Raphamaster]

That would surely be The Mother of All Plot Holes. Yet it could end up like

The Gotei long ago, trapped the King on his realm, and the Zero Squad would be his "Jailors", Yama knows it, everybody else dosen't, Aizen discovers the truth and makes contact with the King, plots with him and is now trying to "kill" him, but in reality he is going to free him, so he can take over the Soul Society.

OR

It would be something like on Supernatural Angel Hierarchy. They(the gotei) don't know if there is a King, but if they don't belive on it, they are killed. Aizen is just trying to find if he exists or not.

[Soulsbane]

At this point, it might be worth considering if the thread should be about good/bad or protagonist/antagonist. It's a pretty important distinction, especially considering how many right bastards happen to be on the protagonist side.

Bleach is one of the few manga so far where the antagonist can win a complete victory, and it can still be a "happy ending." I believe Aizen alluded to the idea that "God" was absent on this page. (http://manga.bleachexile.com/bleach-chapter-178-page-14.html) If that is the case, then Aizen's goal might to simply enhance order by filling a power vacuum -- a goal that historically is noble but oft' pursued through ignoble means. It has been observed that Aizen has been in positions to kill and has refrained or "failed" to do so. Hinamori, Ichigo and Komamura all in the space of 15 chapters or so. Tousen's statements while in the negacion in chapter 178 would also indicate that he thinks Aizen's path is the most peaceful one, and there is the possibility that he might actually be correct.

It is possible that, in the end, the series has no true "evil" antagonist. Japan has a sordid love affair with stories that pit two factions together who are both "right" from differing perspectives or are in conflict only because of miscommunications or irreconcilable differences of opinion. Even Hollows are only souls that died with too much worldly attachments, emotions, or pain. They aren't inherently evil, they simply occupy an unusual niche in a spiritual food chain that doesn't have a net loss, as a Hollow "released" by a zanpakutou also releases the souls it consumed.

[Slixtrix]

People think Mayuri is messed up...who trained Mayuri? Urahara.

Oh. Shit.

who was also in the highest security prison in SS in a secluded cell in the depths of the prison. I think he was fucking crazy before Urahara got him out.

Stop picking on the next great hero! Chad is clearly a VL arrancar! That is my great theory!
...
...
...
OK, seriously what is he?
1.He got hollow powers before Ichigo got his.
2.His power is not "growing" bit "awakening".
3.He is the fastest growing after Ichigo, moving from regular human to Espada lvl (assuming he gets another powerup from his NDE, he will be useful in the next arc or even show of his skills in the combined effort to take down Yammy)

VL arrancar???? noooooo

Spoilers came out, chads on his knees after getting whoooooped by yammy

[Dumbledore]

Obviously kon is the true enemy.

[arishkegal]

Obviously kon is the true enemy.

And who activated Kon? Urahara!

Everything points to the same dude.:amazed:

[skycrapper]

^True. Aizen confessed that his experiments were only focused on HOLLOWS, while we've seen that the process was conducted on HUMANS / SHINIGAMI in the TBtP arc.

The three guys in the scene were Mayuri, Urahara (with the umbrella) and another mysterious guy.

LOL

[btill9000]

Yeh I am pretty impressed with Urahara as well. He's the only person that has been able to stand in front of WW and walk away from it.

[Wrasvan]

Yeh I am pretty impressed with Urahara as well. He's the only person that has been able to stand in front of WW and walk away from it.

Not just him, but his hat too! Ichigo shikai Getsuga > Urahara's hat, Urahara's hat > WW = Ichigo > WW and Ukitake?!

Amazing.

[Danny_McEmo]

Not just him, but his hat too! Ichigo shikai Getsuga > Urahara's hat, Urahara's hat > WW = Ichigo > WW and Ukitake?!

Amazing.

I cannot fault your logic.

[CakeSpoon]

Not just him, but his hat too! Ichigo shikai Getsuga > Urahara's hat, Urahara's hat > WW = Ichigo > WW and Ukitake?!

Amazing.

I cannot fault your logic.

I agree, flawless victory.

[Bankai - Ichigo]

True Urahara is shady, but I think he had his reasons, so I don't think he's a bad guy. Aizen is the main villain. Though, I do agree with the guy who, on the previous page, said that the Hollows aren't exactly evil. They aren't really evil, it's true. The "good guys' side" in Bleach isn't exactly completely right and Good. On the same token, the "bad-guys' side" also isn't completely wrong and Evil. Think about what Zommari said to Byakuya on this, too. Hollows and Arrancar aren't exactly evil.

[Siindre]

I would say that this theory is unlikely since the gotei 13 is controled by Central 46, and central 46 is controled by the King, as stated by someone, somewhere, or am I wrong?

Aizen killed Central 46 meybe to sever the contact betweek SS and the King, thus buying him time to rage war without the king knowing, and when he has the Key, pew to the king and the king who sences no harm gets suddanly pwnd.. Aizen taking control and creates Caos in SS. no?

[CakeSpoon]

I would say that this theory is unlikely since the gotei 13 is controled by Central 46, and central 46 is controled by the King, as stated by someone, somewhere, or am I wrong?

Aizen killed Central 46 meybe to sever the contact betweek SS and the King, thus buying him time to rage war without the king knowing, and when he has the Key, pew to the king and the king who sences no harm gets suddanly pwnd.. Aizen taking control and creates Caos in SS. no?

As far as I'm aware it was said that the king was most a figurehead, he has no real power. And the king does have a squad of ex-captains to protect him, so pwning them would be pretty difficult, even for Aizen. And knowing the story the king may be quite strong himself.

[Bankai - Ichigo]

As far as I'm aware it was said that the king was most a figurehead, he has no real power. And the king does have a squad of ex-captains to protect him, so pwning them would be pretty difficult, even for Aizen. And knowing the story the king may be quite strong himself.

Agreed. Also, I do think the Zero Division is full of promoted Captains. The King himself, as you said, should also be in no way a pushover. But yeah, they did say he's a figurehead.

As for the theory itself, I did say I think Aizen is the main villain, so I doubt the King is a bad guy. The Zero Division itself is also mostly Good, but it probably has some degree of corruption. Most organizations or groups do.

[btill9000]

I got it. Yama-ji is mad at the King for stealing all of the good captains and leaving him with a bunch of pushovers.

[manymanymomok]

somebody mentioned this in the first few posts, but I kinda think it makes for hell of a story plus tonnes of character development if Ichigo joins team Aizen in a bizarre twist, even if just temporarily.

[Bankai - Ichigo]

That's not happening. The main character can't join the bad guys' side. It might for a little while like you say, but other than that, no freaking way.

[Shiraizuke]

That's not happening. The main character can't join the bad guys' side. It might for a little while like you say, but other than that, no freaking way.

in the long run Aizen's team will be Good anyway like other villains do but they will be beaten easily by new weak enemy lol.

[Bankai7]

Long run? Bleach will finish the time Aizen dies, because the gap between Ichigo and Aizen is huge...so long way to go till Ichigo could handle Aizen. Aizen is the main villain, anything that will turn him into a good guy is too cliche and gay. Not to mention that there is absolutely no logical explanation if he ever turns out to be a good guy.

[skycrapper]

Maybe not going to turn good, but there might be someone even MORE evil than him, that he tries to beat all this time.

Urahara, perhaps? :D Or the King himself?

[skycrapper]

Maybe not going to turn good, but there might be someone even MORE evil than him, that he tries to beat all this time.

Urahara, perhaps? :D Or the King himself?

[theseraph]

i think it's important to note that aizen isn't evil per say, he just wants to be the best at all costs. he's done evil/bad deeds, but when he speaks he's just taunting, not really "evil". the only character who even remotely approached that term was szayel in my opinion. ultimately if there's going to be another villian he'll likely be drafted by aizen or he'll be some uber hollow that just wants to annihilate everyone. i think so.

[Wrasvan]

i think it's important to note that aizen isn't evil per say, he just wants to be the best at all costs. he's done evil/bad deeds, but when he speaks he's just taunting, not really "evil". the only character who even remotely approached that term was szayel in my opinion. ultimately if there's going to be another villian he'll likely be drafted by aizen or he'll be some uber hollow that just wants to annihilate everyone. i think so.

I dunno man, he seems pretty evil. Kubo even said in his interview he's going to try and make him "more evil." Szayel wasn't all that crazy/twisted imo, he was just another tosser trying to achieve perfection, Mayuri's crazier than he is. Though in terms of being sadistic and shit, Gin has them all beat.

[pumpkin13]

Mayuri's shikai hints that he's waaaaay more evil than Szayal, that his private hobbies include prolonged torture, and the only way he thinks he can get information from something is by dissecting it whilst its alive.

[Wrasvan]

Yeah, but as long as he's on the Gotei's side I think he's fine. He has that twisted interest but he seems to just move on to what's most interesting at the time, to me it doesn't feel like he would ever sit down and plot or be a hindrance to the Gotei. Then again, anyone who was under Urahara...

[pumpkin13]

yeah but just because they're on the G13 side doesnt mean they're not evil.... Aizen was on the G13 side... for an entire arc G13 were the bad guys...

[Wrasvan]

Good point; enemy is just a point of view. Which makes you wonder considering the nakama are:
A vizard/more complete hybrid with "own-your-face-hollow" tendencies
A human girl with powers very similar to a vizard
A human dude with hollow powers
A quincy who by nature hates shinigami

..Doesn't seem like the Gotei would be interested in them beyond being interested in whatever Aizen is interested in them for, friendships aside. Like if Rukia/Renji wanted to continue helping out the K-Town kids beyond this conflict Yamamoto would probably just be like 'I don't giveafuck, get back to the Seireitei.'

[pumpkin13]

by nature hates shinigami i think that should be no?

Addition:

Renji: a shinigami who has slightly too much of a tendancy to disobay his captains orders and somewhat of a bloodlust to prove himself better than him, even if it means going against the rules.

[Wrasvan]

Yeah, hates shinigami, my bad :P

Meant to add that the vizards claim to hate humans (or at least Hiyori does)

Renji should definitely be reprimanded a bit but I don't think he's as bad as Rukia, who if anything (the both of them) probably cause Byakuya more trouble anyway. Though I guess the Gotei's been in disarray for a while, makes you wonder what great things 13+ Captain level shinigami could really accomplish if they all knew their shit.

[theseraph]

renji has a lot of pride in himself, he's sorta like the G13's version of aladdin hehe, street rat turned someone important. even in the SS arc he wasn't an antagonist per say, he just did what he thought was right. first with his mind, then with his emotions.
if ichimaru and aizen can really kill with no remorse, that's psychopathy. tousen as we know justifies everything, they don't.
so like i said, evil, not really existing for me here. maybe in time aizen will be "evil".

[Bankai - Ichigo]

Aizen and Gin are evil, and Tousen's just delusional. Like someone already said, Kubo did also say in an interview that he'll make Aizen more evil. But yeah, just being in the Gotei 13 doesn't automatically make you Good. There are some things that they're wrong about.

[Kariya01]

Good and evil are just opinions really...
Some might say the end justifies the means *insert Tousen proverb here*

Aren't Vasto Lorde rare? Or is Aizen gonna use some super reiatsu to forcefully awaken the Hougyoku further? Although we don't know how far along its progressed. Was WW the last Arrancar we saw develop through its power?

But, I agree with whoever said Kon was the bad guy. Anyone that likes Rukia that much must be bad.

[CakeSpoon]

Aizen and Gin are evil, and Tousen's just delusional. Like someone already said, Kubo did also say in an interview that he'll make Aizen more evil. But yeah, just being in the Gotei 13 doesn't automatically make you Good. There are some things that they're wrong about.

Evil is subjective. I would describe Gin more of a person with unusual morals, he doesn't really seem to be a "bad" guy, more like he finds the stuff Aizen's doing amusing.

Aizen seems to just be power hungry & is willing to kill to get to the top, also evil may not apply. Many animals fight & kill for dominance, are they evil? I think it's a grey area.

[IchiGin]

Evil is subjective. I would describe Gin more of a person with unusual morals, he doesn't really seem to be a "bad" guy, more like he finds the stuff Aizen's doing amusing.

Aizen seems to just be power hungry & is willing to kill to get to the top, also evil may not apply. Many animals fight & kill for dominance, are they evil? I think it's a grey area.

These are actually my thoughts too... Superb!

[Shūkei hakuteiken]

Evil is subjective. I would describe Gin more of a person with unusual morals, he doesn't really seem to be a "bad" guy, more like he finds the stuff Aizen's doing amusing.

Aizen seems to just be power hungry & is willing to kill to get to the top, also evil may not apply. Many animals fight & kill for dominance, are they evil? I think it's a grey area.

Pretty good analysis, perhaps Aizen wants to be at the top to improve living conditions of the rukongai, he's just going about it in the wrong manner. Comparison might be a little strong but he might be similiar to Hitler in the fact that his intentions are to better his people but has no problems about killing lots of people to accomplish this.

[kagehisa]

...perhaps Aizen wants to be at the top to improve living conditions of the rukongai...

LOL

[Shūkei hakuteiken]

whats so funny? Hollows are "cleansed" and sent to live in the soul society, but it's far from a paradise. There's poverty, crime, disease, and starvation in rukongai, and there's greedy/fat people (Omaeda), unethical experimenters (mayuri), and a black ops hit squad (Soi Fon) in the Sereitei. I'm saying perhaps he's going on a moral purge, even if he has to kill to accomplish it.