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| “ | I am here. What better security can there be? | „ |
| ~ Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto to Luders Friegen. |
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto is a major character in the Bleach franchise. He is the captain of the 1st Division in the Gotei 13 and also the Captain-Commander, holding the highest authority of the Gotei 13. As the Captain-Commander, he ensures balance is kept and Soul Society is protected from those who threaten it at all costs.
He would eventually meet his end at the hands of his longtime opponent Yhwach, who returned from the shadows and sought out to destroy the Gotei 13 and all of Soul Societ. Upon his death, he was casted into Hell and earned himself the ephitet, "Founder of the Gotei".
He was voiced by the late Masaaki Tsukada in the original Japanese sub of anime and would be later be voiced by Binbin Takaoka. In the English dub, he is voiced by Neil Kaplan.
What Makes Him a Base Breaking Character?[]
What Do People Like About Him?[]
- Many fans praise his design and appearance because, despite his unassuming, aged appearance, in many scenes the character exudes the aura of a serious, strong leader whom all the captains feel great respect for.
- He had at least a few quite "badass" moments showing that both in and out of combat, he is no joke. For example:
- During Ichigo's intervention in Ruka's execution, when Yamamoto, Shunsui, Jushiro, and Nanao had relocated elsewhere, the captain-commander, believing them to be traitors after they helped Ichigo stop the execution, first used his spiritual energy to knock Nanao to the ground, and then drew his zanpakuto, releasing a powerful flame in the process, slightly frightening the two captains as they prepared to fight.
- During his fight with Ayon, he easily punched a hole in his chest with Onibi, then split him in half with Nadegiri, and finally burned both halves of his body to ash with Taimatsu while he was still trying to attack him.
- When the Tres Bestias tried to attack him together after Ayon's death, Yamamoto severely injured them all at once with his flame, but spared their lives out of great respect for their courage in attempting to attack him.
- Despite Aizen managing to defeat him and severely injure him with his own power, Yamamoto still managed to greatly surprise and even injure Aizen by sacrificing his own arm while using Hadō #96. Ittō Kasō. The scene where Aizen broke free from the flames, upset that he had underestimated Yamamoto, was somewhat played for satisfaction.
- When the Quincy broke into his quarters, declaring war and also criticizing how the Captain-Commander's own headquarters was not secured in any way and could be easily broken into, Yamamoto, with a completely cold, confident expression on his face, simply stated that "he's here, so it's hard to get any better security."
- When Driscoll Berci severely injured Shūhei Hisagi and ridiculed the entire Soul Society for how easy it was to conquer after the captain-commander's very own right hand was instantly killed by him and he stole his bankai, Yamamoto arrived on the scene, enraged that not only was his friend murdered, but his most precious power was stolen and misused by its thief, and in one fell swoop, he burned Berci to ashes until nothing was left of him.
- Whenever Yamamoto used his fire powers, it looked impressive and monumental, such as when he was about to fight Shunsui and Jushiro, transforming his wooden staff into his fiery zanpakuto Ryūjin Jakka and revealing his powerful, scarred body, or when he used his bankai during his fight with Yhwach.
- Some fans greatly appreciate Yamamoto's character change after the Arrancar Arc, as just as the captain-commander was previously cold and ruthless enough to sacrifice his captains to stop the enemy for the sake of Soul Society's safety, while also ordering Ichigo, who was not directly involved, to stay out of the way (and during the Soul Society Arc was even willing to kill him when he tried to stop Rukia's execution in order to save her), Yamamoto later gained great respect for Ichigo after he sacrificed his Shinigami power to stop Aizen's evil plans once and for all. His respect for him was so great that when Kisuke Urahara asked Yamamoto to restore Ichigo's powers, the captain-commander immediately agreed, breaking the law he had previously established.
- Some people felt a bit sorry for Yamamoto after the death of his lieutenant, Chōjirō Sasakibe, as he was not only his right-hand man, but also someone very close to him, whom he had viewed as his best friend for years, murdered by an enemy who not only arrogantly declared war between Soul Society and the Wanderreich, but also cowardly fled, so the captain-commander could not avenge his loyal subordinate.
- Many fans consider his death to be very tragic, as he was tricked by Yhwach, who did not fight him himself, but used one of his men, making him his doppelganger, who imitated his appearance, personality and emotions, after which the Quincy King arrived, stole Yamamoto's bankai, and then cut him in half with his Reishi sword, disintegrating half of his helpless body while he was still trying to stop him with the remnants of his consciousness. Yamamoto was eager to avenge his fallen friend Chōjirō, giving the other captains hope for victory after he himself got involved in the defense of Soul Society, but was ultimately robbed of everything by his archenemy.
What Do People Hate About Him?[]
- Many critics of this character dislike him primarily for his shortsightedness. He often made the wrong decisions about the people around him, and also failed to see that something might be wrong. This was most evident during the Soul Society arc when he was completely willing to execute Rukia Kuchiki, who broke the law by giving her Shinigami power to a human, even though it was for a good cause, as Ichigo intended to protect his home and family from the Hollow, and on top of that it was all set up by Sosuke Aizen, who wanted to get closer to the Hogyoku hidden in Rukia's body. It was only when Aizen's betrayal was revealed that Yamamoto was able to realize that it was all his doing, and that Rukia was innocent.
- Many people do not like the fact that he fought two major duels with the two main antagonists of the entire series: Aizen and Yhwach, and in both cases it ended in a terrible defeat for Yamamoto. In addition, he was not defeated in a normal equal fight, in which either of them would be stronger than him, but was defeated with the simplest tricks, because both Aizen and Yhwach were perfectly aware of Yamamoto's enormous power and knew that fighting him directly made no sense, so both resorted to trickery. Aizen used Woderweiss to seal Yamamoto's powers, so he covered his exploding head with his entire body, ending up completely knocked down on the ground, and Yhwach used his doppelganger to distract and lull Yamamoto's vigilance, after which he stole his bankai and killed him without any problems. These two cases further confirm Yamamoto's previously mentioned myopia.
- Many people dislike the fact that one of Yamamoto's bankai abilities is Zanka no Tachi, Minami: Kaka Jūman'okushi Daisōjin, which involves summoning undead skeletons. Many fans found this completely inconsistent and out of character with Ryūjin Jakki, as this zanpakuto's powers are primarily fire-based. Some fans even associated it with what was done with the Sharingan in Naruto.