Gotei 13

[bliz]

This weeks chapter made me think about the gotei structure. Does anyone think the gotei 13 structure work or is it simply outdated?

13 Captain, of which there is 1 CC
13 VC (except where there is two or more)
20 Seated Ranks
Rest....... (Not ranked)

Since start of SS Arc it has become apparent the main fighting force of the gotei 13 is the captains, with the VC running long distant second. But the problem with this structure is balance since a powerful force/group/army can demolish rest of fodders like flies. At times I think to myself should they be even in a fight during an attack since their ability to do anything meaningful is nil.

In the winter war Yamaji didn't take any seated officer (unless they were VC level or more to begin with). Seems to me he realized they would be useless during the fight with Aizen. Yet during the VR attack not once he informed the lower level shinigami's to stand back when the attack happens when in reality they would have been useless. He has seen first hand his VC get taken down and knew an attack was imminent.

My criticism is that there is too much disparity in the gotei 13 structure, heck even within the Captains. There are captains who solely rely on their bankai while some can fight at bankai-level without even using it. And there are captain's who are vastly superior to other captains that its a joke e.g Yamaji, Aizen, Isshin, Unohana and Zaraki (current powered up version).

Hence I can't help but think the structure of gotei 13 needs to be tuned. It works for fighting hollows but during a war or if invaded the structure simply falls apart.

[Skiltron]

Lesser seats are shared by a lot of shinigamis.

There are like for example: twenty 10th seats and like two hundred 20th seats.

[my2kb22]

We can't do anything about the difference in powerlevel by each individual.... its how kubo portrayed the gotei13...... the difference in power between captain and VC is really gigantic.... even the VC compared to some 3rd seat are also far apart.... with the exception of the 11th squad... since 1st we don't know how powerful yachiru kid is.... but according to kubo ikkaku and yumichika are almost on par with each other.... compared to the other division they probably are pound for pound the strongest.... though i wish other division would have seated officers that are close or on par with the VC, with close discrepancy in power down to the 20th.... maybe like in naruto, the difference between the genin and chunin.....we can't do anything about the VC----> to captains though........ its like comparing a chunin from a Kage level hehe

Note: Aizen also mentioned that the captains are the fighting force of the gotei13....without them..... the organization would fall apart so easily against aizen's army or these VR's

[checkmate824]

My criticism is that there is too much disparity in the gotei 13 structure, heck even within the Captains. There are captains who solely rely on their bankai while some can fight at bankai-level without even using it. And there are captain's who are vastly superior to other captains that its a joke e.g Yamaji, Aizen, Isshin, Unohana and Zaraki (current powered up version).


In theory, the Gotei 13 do more than just fight super-powered villains, so the lesser seats and weaker people do have purposes.

But yes, in reality, most of the fighting power of the Gotei 13 lie in the captains. Aizen said that back in Chapter 314 when he gloated that the Gotei 13 would fall because 3 captains defected and 4 were trapped in Hueco Mundo. So this is expected.

Also... Isshin is vastly superior to other captains? That's news to me.

[Liekkii]

It’s true that the series have focused on the disputes that have been going on with Aizen and Yhwach up until now, but you shouldn’t forget that they are incidents unlike any other that has happened in the history of Soul Society. Not to mention that, I also think you’re reading too much into the concept of Bankai.

Remember that Rukia said there are two jobs Shinigami do;
- Send souls to Soul Society via Soul Burial.
- Purify Hollows.

That’s it. There are no requirements of release abilities to be able to perform those acts and become an official Shinigami. Zaraki Kenpachi is the proof of that. Remember that no Shinigami were even able to release their swords until Ouetsu invented the Zanpakutou as we know it today. With Shinigami, it’s not about the releases, but about their spiritual potential. Remember Aizen once said to Soifon that he could counter her attacks because with Shinigami, it’s always Spiritual Pressure versus Spiritual Pressure. One doesn’t grow and become stronger because they have bankai; if one has the potential and the proper training, then one can achieve Bankai. The fact that all those Captain level Shinigami even in Bankai couldn’t do anything against Aizen shows that. Shinigami train to do their two jobs listed above. That’s what the Shinigami school exists for, and that’s what the order of Gotei 13 exist for. Captain level Shinigami are exceptional beings that as Byakuya said, individuals that had their names etched into the history of Soul Society. Which are very important, unique and rare. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of fighting without Bankai. On the contrary, if they train their Spiritual Pressure in correct ways, they can become the best in all sorts of fighting techniques.

In the case of the Quincy invasion and the stolen Bankai, there is much more we haven’t been informed about yet. What does it mean that a Bankai has been stolen? What exactly happens? Is it just the communication with the Zanpakutou spirit being cut off? Or is part of a Shinigami’s soul or Spiritual Pressure stolen as well? You’d think they could at least dodge their own powers at their level; they have profound skills and the ones to know about the ways of countering their own abilities best are again themselves. But that wasn’t the case as we’ve seen with how trashed Byakuya got. He has amazing shunpo and kido abilities. But he still couldn’t do anything. Could that mean that along with having their Bankai stolen, their polished abilities are diminished as well? Hitsugaya wanting to start from scratch in his training could may be the indicator of such results. Can their powers and Spiritual Pressure be restored in time with training? Can they reach Bankai again or is their potential lost forever? There must be a reason why the Captains couldn’t fight back.

My point is that, Bankai or no Bankai, Shinigami are not trained and exist to counter such strong enemies. Captain and Vice Captain level Shinigami are the only ones that can have a chance at countering such enemies, because they’re the only ones that have enough Spiritual Power to have a fighting chance. Even Captains among themselves have enormous difference of power, let alone the different between Captains and Vice Captains, and the difference between Captains and the rest of the Seated and Unseated Officers. It would only be natural to bring along the strongest fighting forces. As Urahara once said to Ichigo; a weakling rushing into enemy territory, in its essence, is no different than suicide.

Well, those are, of course, my thought about the way things have worked so far. After this? With a new Captain Commander to guide them and Ichigo on their side, the possibilities are endless. All we can do about that for now is to wait and see.

[nky0411]

In theory, the Gotei 13 do more than just fight super-powered villains, so the lesser seats and weaker people do have purposes.

But yes, in reality, most of the fighting power of the Gotei 13 lie in the captains. Aizen said that back in Chapter 314 when he gloated that the Gotei 13 would fall because 3 captains defected and 4 were trapped in Hueco Mundo. So this is expected.

Also... Isshin is vastly superior to other captains? That's news to me.

exactly. in any organisation there will be fodders and there will be insanely strong people.
arrancar is one kind of that. Normal arrancar likes loli and menoly are like fodders to captains level, while espada is at captain level.
they are captains for a reason - bankai. bankai is rare, mastering bankai is even more difficult.
vc like renji who gotten bankai is not that far from average captain. they jusy arent experienced enough and mastery over bankai is low compared to the captaind.

i dont get why people think Isshin is way superior than other captains .. at most i think he is around Shinji level or byakuya level ..
he managed to fight aizen longer doesnt mean he is way stronger.. just because other captains are tired against espada .. and isshin fights aizen 3 on 1 teamwork