One of the Great Three Shonen animes, Bleach, is a mythical series with a captivating plot and many characters. One Piece is an internal rival of Bleach alongside Naruto, and they dominated the manga and anime industries during their time. One Piece and Bleach both share many similarities and often take inspiration from each other.
Among the many similarities, one that stands out the most is the mirror between Blackbeard and Aizen, who deceived the entire cast about their powers. Aizen made the Soul Society believe he had a bankai, Blackbeard, who confused everyone about conquerors’ haki despite never using it in action.
Similarities between Blackbeard and Aizen Sōsuke
Bleach and One Piece are two of the best-selling mangas of all time, and their respective authors, Eiichiro Oda and Tite Kubo, are good friends and often take inspiration from each other’s work.
Both of the franchises have equivalent characters, and one of the most notable is none other than Blackbeard, one of the most hated characters in Oda sensei’s magnum opus, and Aizen Sōsuke, who is often hailed as the greatest anime villain ever created.
Blackbeard, Luffy’s adversary and the leader of the BB pirates, is one of the vilest characters in the story. During his teen years, he put on a facade of being a good son and brother until he located Yami Yami no Mi.
Aizen Sōsuke’s charade of a good and respectful captain was also brewed with perfection, with no one ever doubting him for a second until it was too late. These antagonists also have a similar way of confusing the characters and readers.
Blackbeard doesn’t have conqueror Haki, or at least so far, has yet to show or use its action but still managed to create an aura of actually possessing it. This charade is quite similar to that of Aizen Sōsuke, who managed to fool the entire Soul Society.
Aizen Sōsuke managed to dunk on everyone in the SS as he became the captain without possessing a bankai, according to many fans who believe he just captivated other members using his Kyoga Suigetsu.
Aizen broke the stereotype of having a sad backstory in Bleach
Aizen is deemed the finest anime villain introduced by many, and his popularity among the masses is off the charts, even more than many fan-favorite characters. One of the things that makes Aizen stand out is his backstory, which is nonexistent.
You have heard it right; there is no backstory about him or an explanation of how he changed over the years.
He is just straight-up evil, and as surprising as it may sound, this is what sold it off for Aizen—a villain who didn’t have any emotional reason but was just evil because he wanted to be.
It refreshed the audience from the typical antagonist introduced, who used to have a tragic backstory, which somehow manipulated the audience to feel sympathy for them. However, Aizen was different from others, which sealed his position as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, anime villains of all time.
Bleach is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
