Results 1 to 18 of 18

Thread: Ichigo's special neighborhood?

  1. #1

    Ichigo's special neighborhood?

    Does anyone know why everything is centred around Ichigo's neighbourhood in the story? Like Urahara and Yoruichi, Vizards. Aizen even bases his operations there. Is his neighbourhood some kind of spiritual place unique in all the world?

  2. #2
    Awesome user with default custom title NeoCybercoin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Holland
    Posts
    2,260
    Because its a Shonen Jump. And who the main character is.

  3. #3
    I see it like this..

    At the start of the series Ichigo's neighborhood was nothing special, except for Urahara and Yoruichi residing there, but that may have something to do with the fact Ichigo's father settled down in that particular area. We still know nothing about Urahara and Ichigo's father's past. Yoruichi just seems to be following Urahara.

    Shinigami do their Hollow killing all over the real world it seems, and it's not just limited to Ichigo's area. Once Ichigo began his adventure, his resatsu continued to rise gaining the attention of various dangerous hollows.

    I was under the impression that the Vizards didn't always take residence in the city, but are wanderers and was attracted to Ichigo's power.

    Also, I don't think Aizen has his base of operations there either. It seems that Hecuo Mendo is an alternate dimension, similar to Soul Society and they can gain access to any spot in the real world. The few times we've run into the Arrancar is because they all had interests in Ichigo, thus why they have shown up there.

    Bottom line: Ichigo's Neighborhood was not originally special, but due to the circumstances of events thus far, it has become so.

    And I apologize for any misspellings. I'm still getting used to the words.

  4. #4
    Vampiric Minion Kraco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    :noitacoL
    Age
    45
    Posts
    17,914
    Quote Originally Posted by Vegechan
    Shinigami do their Hollow killing all over the real world it seems, and it's not just limited to Ichigo's area.
    All over the real world meaning all over Japan, of course.

    Sometimes I have thought it would be funny if some foreign "shinigami" (whatever they would happen to be called back where they come from) made a surprise visit and cautioned the SS folks to keep the hollows and Arrancar under control so that they wouldn't ever bother the rest of the world.

    Actually the Quincies are the only people who, if you judge the imagery, could be considered to have international contacts and history.

  5. #5
    @Kraco:
    What you said is quite interesting as I never thought about whether shinigamis are Japanese only or not . Why do you think they are Japanese only? Because Death Gods are a Japanese myth? Some of the Bounto for instance spoke funny sounding German everytime they summoned their dolls ("Zeige dich...!") but were "born" in SS. Why would a Japanese guy summon his doll in a foreign language? I know it is filler material but I had to mention this as I don't see why I shouldn't get my extraordinarily awesome zanpaktou after I die

  6. #6
    Vampiric Minion Kraco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    :noitacoL
    Age
    45
    Posts
    17,914
    I tend to bypass the filler material when judging things like this, because, in the end, the fillers aren't tied to the bigger picture and their only role is to fill some transient space, not be material to refer to later.

    So, forgetting the German elements in the fillers, if you have a look at the SS itself, it's pretty obvious it's through and through Japanese. The architecture, the society, the clothing styles, social rules. It's a kind of simplified version of some vague Japanese period. I can't very well imagine those shinigami would visit places like Europe or America to collect souls to that Japanese styled place. That leads me to believe the SS is actually a much larger dimension, and we only saw one city around there - the one responsible for the culture of Japan. There must be other places there collecting souls from other cultures, and those places would remind of simplified versions of those respective cultures.

    Quote Originally Posted by StillAlive
    Because Death Gods are a Japanese myth?
    I'm not an expert of the Japanese culture, but I wonder if that's true. Well, even if it is, these shinigami aren't any different from the Grim Reaper (or maybe they look more healthy, but otherwise).

  7. #7
    Even if you forget about the German elements in the filler, in the current arc the Arrancar have been using spanish for their names/skills/releases i believe. Also, i'm no expert but Hueco Mundo sounds spanish to me. I'd say the fact that SS has such a Japanese theme is more likely the result of the story being created by a Japanese person rather than it being an indicator of having several SS type places for each culture around the world.

  8. #8
    Vampiric Minion Kraco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    :noitacoL
    Age
    45
    Posts
    17,914
    Quote Originally Posted by Crash
    the Arrancar have been using spanish for their names/skills/releases i believe. Also, i'm no expert but Hueco Mundo sounds spanish to me.
    Yeah, but that's it. They don't otherwise seem so Spanish to me. And besides, that's essentially why I said some foreign God of Death should pay a visit: Aizen, Gin and Tousen are, after all, Japanese shinigami, and leaders of those Arrancar.

    I'd say the fact that SS has such a Japanese theme is more likely the result of the story being created by a Japanese person rather than it being an indicator of having several SS type places for each culture around the world.
    O rly?

    That's of course the real reason. And the fact the whole show is solely made for the Japanese audience. However, writing this doesn't require very much creativity... Nor is it very interesting.

  9. #9
    AdmiralKage DarthEnderX's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    NinjaPirate HQ
    Posts
    10,168
    Quote Originally Posted by Kraco
    Sometimes I have thought it would be funny if some foreign "shinigami" (whatever they would happen to be called back where they come from) made a surprise visit and cautioned the SS folks to keep the hollows and Arrancar under control so that they wouldn't ever bother the rest of the world.
    That's an interesting notion. I could see Shinigami's in America looking like the MIB or Matrix agents. Running around in black suits using zanpaktous that look like guns.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Kraco
    Yeah, but that's it. They don't otherwise seem so Spanish to me. And besides, that's essentially why I said some foreign God of Death should pay a visit: Aizen, Gin and Tousen are, after all, Japanese shinigami, and leaders of those Arrancar.
    Why do you think Tousen is a Japanese Shinigami? He's black.

  11. #11
    Vampiric Minion Kraco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    :noitacoL
    Age
    45
    Posts
    17,914
    There are quite a few black people even in Finland, and this must be one of the most homogenous countries in the world (because this is so bloody cold and remote that few people want to come here), so I imagine Japan, with a population 25 times that of Finland, simply has to have some as well.

    And while I'm no preacher, it's pretty risky to say somebody can't be of some nationality because of his outward appearance. You think Ichigo is some Irish dude, then?

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Kraco
    There are quite a few black people even in Finland, and this must be one of the most homogenous countries in the world (because this is so bloody cold and remote that few people want to come here), so I imagine Japan, with a population 25 times that of Finland, simply has to have some as well.
    Black people generally have to come from somewhere to get a foothold in a country. Black people in the US came from slave plantations in the south and then spread. Black people in Europe (I think) came from similar circumstances, but then spread all over Europe. But where would black people have come from to get to Japan? China? Russia? Vietnam???? Most of these places don't have a history of large non indigenous populations living among them for a long time. India does come to mind, as blacks could theoretically have been brought in decent numbers by the British, but why would they import slaves when they could just force Indians to do work. (There was a reason for this in the US with Native American's but I don't know if it applies to Indians).

    Also it's my understanding that Japanese people don't particularly like foreigners. Now this is based on a lot of conjecture, but I've never gotten the impression that the Japanese were a people very open to large numbers of non Japanese people living among them long term. This atmosphere wouldn't be very hospitable and large populations of non-indigenous peoples would not be likely to grow without assimilating fully into Japanese culture. I don't really know for sure, but if I was chilling on a train in Tokyo I wouldn't be surprised by a colder then average welcome.

  13. #13
    Yondaime Hokage Psyke's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Sunny Singapore
    Age
    44
    Posts
    3,237
    Yeah it's true that the Japanese don't like foreigners. It's because of their culture, and that they do not even learn a second language because they think there is no need to. But that is slowly changing, with the younger generation being more westernised and open in thinking.

    As for the Black people in Japan, I'm quite sure there are a few, as I'm seen some of them on other Japanese variety programmes. Some of them speak really good Japanese as well.
    "Our hearts are full of memories but not all of them reflect the truth. The heart isn't a recording device. Even important memories change with time. They warp or fade, leaving us with but a shadow of what we hoped to remember." 天の道を行き、全てを司る。これは僕の世界。

  14. #14
    Vampiric Minion Kraco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    :noitacoL
    Age
    45
    Posts
    17,914
    Quote Originally Posted by Yukimura
    Black people in Europe (I think) came from similar circumstances, but then spread all over Europe.
    Those living in Finland are either, practically speaking, refugees and assimilated refugees (these two forming the majority) or foreign workers. Practically speaking, again, you could say before 80's or so you rarely saw anything but whites here, and when the first dark skinned people came, they probably got the kind of "welcome" people think foreigners in Japan get.

    Well, I have no idea if Japan accepts refugees at all. If they don't, then their land certainly would remain more homogenous.

  15. #15
    Awesome user with default custom title itadakimasu's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Ebay
    Age
    40
    Posts
    1,612
    apparantly it is possible for ichigos father to go from being a shinigami to a gigai that includes sexual reproduction abilities ^^

    i never thought about that until i read the first few posts of this thread... maybe urahara and yuroichi should use the same type of gigai and have some kids.

  16. #16
    I just like to believe that this is because Ichigo lives there. His ability siphoning off allows other characters to get abilities.



    ____________________
    Dante
    Catalog for Suzuki Motorcycle Parts

  17. #17
    Genin 12345p's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Planet Earth
    Posts
    84
    Quote Originally Posted by miyama_ryu
    Does anyone know why everything is centred around Ichigo's neighbourhood in the story?
    Watch Episode 125. It'll tell ya.

    Cheers!

  18. #18
    Hehe, whe nI saw this thread I thought it was pretty funny, since it popped up the week before I knew the epiosde that would prove it correct would air. If you aren't a manga prophet in disguise then good call 12345p.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •