Unohana, Motherhood and Femininity in Bleach

Now that I think about it, I did subconsciously get a motherly feel from Unohana but I didn’t actively notice it until this video. Peak analysis.

She is one of the greatest shonen women.

The FFVIII music was PERFECT for this. Always loved that mystical track from Nobuo Uematsu, usually plays in dungeons or secret areas in the game.

The giveaway (to me, during the original run of BLEACH) to her power, aside from character reactions, was the fact her zanpakuto was a nodachi, or an extended length version of the katana. It takes extreme strength and control to duel with a weapon that size. In Japanese history, Sasaki Kojiro, weilded a nodachi against Musashi Miyamoto at Ganryu Island. In Final Fantasy VII, "Sephiroth" uses a nodachi (Masamuné) as his primary weapon; the weapon can be obtained in-game, but no playable character can equip it.

So, that was a big giveaway for me, that she was extremely dangerous, despite primarily being a healer.

Wait is that trails through daybreak ost?

Was just talking about this stuff with my friend the other day. Kenpachi and Unohana are truly beautiful characters. Great video

The Masaki-Unohana parallels you described were great.

Have to say I never really thought of it that way in their fight they seemed more like lovers but you’re right.

She gave him her name.

Unohana was killing and reviving Kenpachi again and again to make him stronger. Literally brining his trueself into the world.

This is an amazing analysis that's helped me understood Unohana's depth WAYY more. Her character has always been fascinating for me, and now i like her even more

Great Video.

At best she's sort of a mentor for Kenpachi.

She left him for dead bleeding out while she went back to Soul Society. Kenpachi manages to survive spent his days through the poorest parts of the rukongai fight until he eventually joins the Gotei 13 & becomes a captain.

If she really wanted him to succeed she would've taken him in & adopted him.

I just love what they did with her. At first no one would have thought what an monster she is, since she was this friendly, healer type. Bland in design. The type you saw in so many other animes, an typical female background character. But there were hints all over. Hints so many missed probaly and which made sense afterwards. An really nice twist!

Just out of curiosity: where is that last bit from? Sounds astonishing.

You gave away your Sub watching ugliness with the way you pronounced her bankai. I'd normally give you a dislike and move on, But ill just leave without liking as the rest of the video isn't the worst. Blockin tho.

wdym by femininity

That video by Honey Bat is one of my favorite bloodborne videos ever, and it kind of exposed me to how much literary works in history can be an allegory for femininity and archetypes.

Also in terms of jungian archetypes Unohana totally represents the great and terrible mother

she is mother

Okay, that snippet from Black Sails at the end was unexpected and gave me some intense goosebumps. Damn I miss that show so much.

I still remember the reveal of her being the first kenpachi.

What do you think about anime ? Did you watch it ? Did you watch at least TYBW arc which is absolutely fantastic ? Seriously this is a situation when an adaptation is better than source material

This was excellent. I love character analyses like these that are well thought out and well presented. I had already drawn some of the same parallels, but I feel like I am seeing them in a richer, more complete way now. Liked and subscribed! Keep up the amazing work.
Izuru is my favorite character. I wouldn't say no to hearing your take on him if you haven't done an analysis for his character yet!

this video is so beautiful and well written. I genuinely never looked at unohanas character in this very deep and nuanced sense. Thank you, Shes one on my favorite characters and im so happy you made this lovely video for her

I don't remember if you mentioned it, but just as Zaraki was "born" after his first encounter with Unohana, Unohana similarly had a major change. She developed a more nurturing attitude, as well as literally learning kaido, adding to the motherly nature of her relationship with Zaraki.

Her bankai isnt blood. Its a domain type. You know the manta ray whos saliva heals that is her shikai? Her bankai brings her and her opponent inside its stomach, and the acid of the stomach is more powerful healing than the saliva. It can both heal any wound, and dissolve anything. Both offense and defense.

I mean it was pretty obviously she was a mother figure to kempachi. She literally took him in when he was a child.

Can u do a video about ulqiorra and aizen writing

Very interesting analysis, especially with the link to Bloodborne and themes or motherhood and birth !

Another cool point of note is how Kenpachi and Unohana's relationships extend and parallel into their respective squads.

Can you believe people used to say Bleach was bad

unohana is mother

Ya the kenpachi thing is bs as she is still alive when the others claim the title

❤❤❤

Unohana l think was the best foreshadowed character in all of Bleach, mainly through the running gag they gave her. Nobody could have imagined she was the FIRST DAMN KENPACHI.

Love your videos. Can't agree with you more. I'm certain that 70% of the people giving you push back don't know bleach has poems at the end of each chapter, and even fewer know how to interpret poetry. Being a bloodborne fan, I, too, made those comparisons appon rereading those chapters.

Their fight is my favourite part of Bleach. As someone who recently finished MGS3 last year I think the comparison is perfect. Awesome video, your editors did an amazing job as well

Good video, bravo .
Your explanation, analysis and narration combined makes it amazing to listen and to reflect too 👍👏

This is not the point of the video. But I do not understand the Unohana n Kenpachi storyline when Old Man Yama was right there. Was she stronger than Yama? The answer is likely no. Was Kenpachi? Again, likely no. So what are they talking about?

You should do a video on Golden Kamuy... Specifically about Lieutenant Tsurumi...

Honestly, good analysis of Unohana... though adding to the Motherhood thing, there's also how she nurtured Isane, and the 4th Squad as a whole.

And yeah, beyond words is a good descriptor, though if one was to be narrowed, romantic love feels a touch off, at least in terms of describing it in a singular word.

“Retsu Unohana, formally known as Yachiru Unohana”

Fun fact: Retsu is her given name, Yachiru is her chosen name. So it’s more like “Retsu Unohana, formally known as Yachiru Unohana, formally known as Retsu Unohana” haha

Their fight was essentially childbirth to me

I never thought he would make this many bleach videos I’m surprised honestly. I hope there is more in the future.

I had no idea that it was a topic for a debate. Motherhood aspects of Unohana were always obvious.

hajime no ippo character analysis???

Have you considered making a video about Beyond Netero? So little screen time and yet he’s already one of the most fascinating characters alongside Ging and Pariston.

senjumaru vs unohana?

hey bro, can you do chiharu from Jagaaaaaan. i promise he's just as interesting as your analysis choices

I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE COVERING BLEACH LET'S FUCKING GO

As much as i dislike Bleach I enjoy your videos. Thank you for making this.

Kenpachi's taste in women is peak. I can't blame him for mourning.

It was obvious to me right away that kenpachi and unohana was about a mother and child, I wrote a long thing about it