Sōsuke Aizen

, after which Aizen can make them see, hear, and feel whatever he wants. According to Aizen, the hypnosis is unbreakable, even if the target is aware that they are hypnotized. The only way to avoid the effect is to not see Kyōka Suigetsu's "shikai", making the blind Kaname Tōsen immune to its effects. The effect seems to be permanent, or at the very least long-lasting, as Aizen uses it on nearly all of the lieutenants and captains in the Gotei 13 during a ceremonial release of his "zanpakutō" years before faking his own death. While the illusions Kyōka Suigetsu creates are quite powerful, they are not 100% accurate; Captain Retsu Unohana was able to realize that something was amiss with Aizen's fake corpse, even though she did not realize what until seeing Aizen alive.

Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnotic abilities make it a useful tool in combat as well, as Aizen can quickly create simple illusions to deceive opponents. By creating a decoy of himself, Aizen can hide his own movements and attack with impunity; his opponent, meanwhile, will remain focused on the illusion until it's too late to react. The most prominent example of this is his brief fight against Sajin Komamura, where an illusionary copy of Aizen is seen melting away after the real Aizen has moved close enough to use the devastating Black Coffin spell. ["Bleach" manga; chapter 176, pages 9-11.]

Appearances in other media

Aizen appears in most of the "Bleach" video games, with the most recent ones with him in his post-Soul Society outfit. He also has his own "Bleach Beat Collection", a brief CD of character image songs. The tracks are "Hanabira", "Kyōka Suigetsu" and a "Voice Message" from Aizen's voice actor, Show Hayami.

Reception

IGN commented that the plot twist in the story and the truth about Aizen was "fascinating and interesting" but also criticized it, saying his Zanpakuto's power was "far-fetched" [ [http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/868/868801p1.html IGN: Reality of the Despair, the Assassin's Dagger is Swung Review] ] and overpowered, Aizen didn't have any flaws (something every villain has) and that his betrayal was "too planned out to be believable". [ [http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/870/870784p1.html IGN: Aizen Stands! Horrible Ambitions] ] Despite this, the change in mood accompanying Aizen's revelation as a villain was also praised; IGN praised the animators' job at "giving his face this evil thing about it" without changing anything about the animation itself, citing that "the Aizen that we first knew was the nicest guy ever, he looked it, and now this Aizen actually looks like the most evil jerk we've ever seen." [ [http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/870/870784p1.html IGN: Aizen Stands! Horrible Ambitions] ]

References