My theory on souls with spiritual power

[Sotek]

Here is my theory and i think it quite makes sense (sorry for my english, i'm only a French guy )

First, we can notice that humans (and so dead human souls) and shinigami's are essentially differents. This is shown by the difference between their thread's color (red for shinigamis and white for human souls). So, both are different beings.

Second, how do one become a shinigami? There are two ways. Being born a shinigami (from a shinigami parent) or, having good spiritual energy and enter the training course. It looks like this training course changes the nature of one's soul, certainly during the creation of the Zanpakutou.

As regards the zanpakutous, it is certain they are part of shinigami's soul, that's why if they are broken they can be rebuilt (they are still in the shinigami's soul) and that's why when a shinigami is on the verge of death or faint, the Bankai disappear.

Second, we know that normal people in soul society don't need to eat or to drink. Only souls with spiritual power need to.

In consequence, we can assume that human souls don't need to eat, don't need to drink and certainly don't age. If a old hag dies in the real world, she won't die again in SS. She'll just remain old for ever. (Remember the small boy Chad saved)

On the contrary, people with spiritual power must eat, must drink and, i suppose, age too. They are souls so they can live thousands of years, but still they can die.

Some people pointed out the strange "growing process". Shinsui and Ukitake are more than 1000 years old, while the Toshirou is a little more than 100 and Rukia more than 220. In fact, it's not that strange. It looks like the elf growing process in heroic-fantasy books.

I assume too that only people with spiritual power can breed. They are like super-humans: they must eat, drink, they age and they can breed. Normal souls, with no spiritual power, don't need to drink or eat and they don't age or breed.

This seems logical when one analyses the Byakuya case. This guy never lived in the real world guys, he was born in Soul Society. Remember. He sweared on this parents'grave in SS, because his parents were shinigamis. The 5 or 4 noble families are all people born in the soul world. Sometimes, like the Kuchiki did, they adopt someone BUT, they don't like to do it, because they don't like to mix up with "peasant blood".

Some people, on another forum, said when dead people go to SS, they forget everything and start anew. That's not correct as the boy saved by chad example shows us. This boy remembered everything, his mom, the events on Earth and Chad.

I think that Soi Fong was also born in SS because we were shown her very very young in her ninja clan. I think, in fact, that all captains were born in SS. Zaraki included.

In conclusion: human souls are eternal and don't need to eat or anything else. They can't breed too. But souls with spiritual power pay a price for their power: they must eat and drink, they age (although very slowly) and can breed. Shinigamis and humans are different "races". That's also why Rukia, and many shinigamis, speaks of "only humans". ("How do you dare touch my grand brother filthy human?" - Rukia to Ichigo).

All this reasoning seems "logical" (it we can call a debate on a unexisting thing logical), does not it?

[emmasu]

i really liked what you wrote, that tells me that you are a really smart person and that you like to know and to learn,
i liked the theroy but all you wrote was very clear and obvious, anyone who watch bleach would conclude that, there is no something new, if your theroy would be very good if you give explainations for all of that, like why do shignimes breed but the dead humans do not???

[Wabisuke]

i like your ideas about only souls with spiritual pressure can age and breed

makes sense

[Caesar]

i really liked what you wrote, that tells me that you are a really smart person and that you like to know and to learn,
i liked the theroy but all you wrote was very clear and obvious, anyone who watch bleach would conclude that, there is no something new, if your theroy would be very good if you give explainations for all of that, like why do shignimes breed but the dead humans do not???
in fact what he said was not very obvious..

@Sotek:your theory is pretty logical and well said.. but the only thing that bothered me is that you kept saying that shinigami and humas are different races.. cause this leads to different things as well.. unless it was the only way to put it.

[Sanzora]

This makes perfect sense… You must have thought this out very well… Cool

[Centro]

but the only thing that bothered me is that you kept saying that shinigami and humas are different races.. cause this leads to different things as well.. unless it was the only way to put it.

I don't understand this. What things does it lead to?

I agree with everything you said Sotek.

[Sotek]

@ emmasu: I don't know if I deserve all this compliments but thanks. As regards your question "why do shinigamis breed but the dead humans do not???", i can't answer. It's a fantasy manga after all :winking56 But like aging and eating, it must have to do with spiritual pressure.

@ all: Anyway, i'am happy you people like this "theory". Even when i'm watching mangas, i need to search for a logical process. A bad habit of mine. But this is for the greater good of the bleach fans community :redbiggri

@ kaiser_x: Same than Centro, i don't quite understand what you mean.

[Reinsai]

I think the theory is very nice, though some of it seems to lead to few more questions, though not exactly conflicting. Still nice and its really helpful to make the picture more clear to see.

[Undying]

I'm afraid that theory is wrong. You see, the Bleach officail databook VIBES states that Human souls wihtout Reiatsu die after a certain period of time and reincarnate into the Material World as new humans.

Also, a little mistake, noraml human souls have to drink - it has beem shown that all the people in Rykungai buy drinks from stands (Renji flashback).

Also, Shinigami are immortal, since no Shinigami has yet to die of old age. I've seen many theories about "how do Shinigami age", but it is clear that they need to be killed in order to die. Example - Yamamoto. That guy's at least 3000 years old, and he shows no signs of slowing down.

[Sotek]

Thanks very much for your reply. I guess i have modifications to make but my theory does not look compromised.

So human souls reincarnate. But i don't think they need to drink even if they can. If we examinate the renji flashback, we see Rukia telling a boy she has just beat down that "we don't need to eat but we can feel the taste". She did not know she had enough spiritual power back then. That's also why, when she saw a newly become shinigami, she fainted and the guy offered her some food and said something like "you must have spiritual power". We can also see the fact that normal souls don't need to eat or drink in a Rangiku "s flashback when she was dying on the ground and when Ichimaru saved her, saying something like "you also have spritual power, you need to eat".

As regards ageing, there is a evident proof. Byakuya was born in SS, but he has grown up has not he? They also talk in the manga and the anime about Toshirou growing up (during his fight with an arrancar in the manga). So shinigamis can live SOOOOOO long, but i don't think they are immortal. They are ageing, so they are heading toward death. (the elf exemple again)

So the modification in my theory to be made is the following (for the moment): normal souls don't need to eat or drink, don't age but, eventuallly, their reiatsu will disappear and they will reincarnate. Whereas shinigami, and spiritual powered guys, have to eat, drink, they age and live very long but, eventually they will die (and I think there is no reincarnation for them). Anyway they nearly always die in battle against hollows, so their spirit are eaten up for ever.

Seems ok, doesn't it?

[Undying]

Yes, but I still can't agree with the Shinigami dying of old age. Although it is evident that they grow up, it has not been shown that they die of old age.

[AznPoi]

Yamamoto has back problems if you guys watch carefully. He's an old hag that will die from old-age IMO

[emmasu]

i just want to say that you said is great, but what you said is not a theroy actually, it is kind of a statement, because in a theory you have to state something and then you have to say why is that,

in your theory everthing was very clear in the anime, that the humn in SS don eat or do not eat, but to say that is a theory you have to tell us why

[Winter-war]

i agree with what you said but you can't that a theory that's just stating facts, but it was still a good read though. Also i do think the human souls in soul society live up to 1000 years or so and then just become reincarinated or something like that and i think why the shinigami can do all the thhings do is because of their spirit power which enables them to breed, eat, drink, get exhausted, and other numerous things

[kikori]

So how does a soul obtain spirtual power? Is it naturally with them when they die? or does it start to build up when they're spirits. Because Rukia was once a human and develop enough power to enter shinigami training course.

[OrangePanda]

When it comes to the breeding part. I think only the noble families can breed, since they are the only ones in SS that shows to have a real family like Shiba, Kuchicki, etc. (pls correct me if im wrong)

So the souls of the Nobles are different from the souls of the one with powers, and an ordinary soul.

SS is a really a wierd place. Its a place for souls to rest yet there are murderers and thieves in the place :D Thats why its really hard to say what the rules are in SS

[T_Ichigo]

I like your way of thinking and investigating, I maybe have missed this but, is it proved that humans in SS don't need to eat and drink ? Then I would ask why they are selling food in the streets of SS. Even if food was meant for shinigamis .. I don't think that every human would passing by the foodsellers without buying anything.

What you said about human souls are eternal, it's proved that hollows dont solely appear in the living world, but the SS too, and my question is; what would happen to a human in SS if she was killed by a hollow ? what I can say here is, if humans were eternal, then they wouldn't have feared the hollows. I've never seen it but, it's hard to imagine a human in SS, standing in front of a hollow without fear because they are eternal.
It's not easy to earn the eternity, and if you die as a human in the living world, and become a human with eternal life in SS, that would be to wonderful. An example, Rukia and Renji had a some childhood friends when they used to be kids. Renji and his friends once stole some food. If you assume that those kids who were Renjis friends, were born i SS. Then they wouldn't have died that early as they did in the anime. But .. if they were humans that once died i the living world, then I dont think that they would think about food since they're eternal.

[Sotek]

Sorry have not got much time, i can only make a little answer

@ T_ichigo: they sell food because people can still "taste". It's more a pleasure than a need. We can see that in Renji and Rangiku flashbacks. (again; Rukia when she beat down a big guy when she was young telling him "we don't need to eat but we can still taste")

[Winter-war]

yeah that is a good point about it being pleasure then a need

[Undying]

Hollows can enter Soul Society, but the Shinigami set traps so as to avoid this situation - after all, an eaten soul is still an eaten soul. As for them to sell food... no they don't. They sell water (was shown) but food isn't being sold because everyone feeling hunger might be becoming a Hollow (again stated by Rukia).

In the Gin and Rangiku flahsbacks, Rangiku needed to eat because she had Reiatsu. Any person with even the slightest Reiatsu needs to eat, with no exception. That was also why Rukia collapsed when she saw that newly appointed Shinigami, she was hungry, and he realized it and gave her food. For normal souls, eating is of course more "preserving old habits" (from the human world) and not need.

Also, about breeding, Hisana (Byakuya's late wife) was born in Rukongai, I believe. At any rate, I do remember it being stated that souls can be born within Soul Society (Rukongai and the Seireitei), regardless of the parents Reiatsu (or its lack).

[AznPoi]

Isn't anyone borned in SS have to be connected to a noble family somehow...