The real life horrors Kurotsuchi represents

The following contains graphic descriptions of untold levels of human cruelty and violence of all kinds that some readers may find disturbing. Proceed at your own risk.

Summary

• Mayuri Kurotsuchi conducts cruel experiments that mirror the real-life atrocities of Unit 731.

• SRDI plays a crucial role in maintaining balance between realms in BLEACH.

• The Shinigami's actions, such as almost executing Rukia, show amoral brutality for “peace”.

In WHITENINGGotei 13's 12th team is introduced as the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, a place where the captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, conducts experiments, research, and releases brilliant technology for the Seireitei. Founded by Kisuke Urahara, who chose Kurotsuchi to follow in his footsteps should he no longer be able to hold office, the SRDI has been instrumental in the continued maintenance of balance between the realms and extremely important to the success of countless important missions. . Kurotsuchi's boundless intelligence and curiosity have helped the Shinigami through difficult circumstances, but his sociopathic and sadistic approach makes his alignment seem more villainous than just that.

His heinous experiments can be considered in the realm of crimes against life itself, and strangely, his character and actions reflect one of the darkest periods in human history, a tradition overshadowed by the success story the country has become: the various periods of war . the crimes of Imperial Japan leading up to and during World War II; more precisely, the infamous Unit 731.

The Mad Scientist's Overwhelming Scientific Curiosity

Who IS Mayuri Kurotsuchi?

At some point, about 110 years before the events of WHITENINGKurotsuchi was a prisoner imprisoned in the special prison known as the Worm's Nest, where potentially dangerous individuals are kept to prevent harm to the Soul Society. While prisoners can generally move freely in the Worm's Lair, they are often driven mad by the horrific surroundings. Kurotsuchi was considered so dangerous that he had to be handcuffed to his room, but was soon released when Urahara recruited him to join the newly formed SRDI.

Urahara had once been the corps commander of the detention facility before being promoted to captain of Team 12, so he was probably making this choice based on intimate knowledge of Kurotsuchi's abilities and inclinations. After Urahara was framed for Aizen's Hollowfication experiments, Kurotsuchi became the captain of Team 12 and, continuing SRDI, continued to conduct countless experiments while also working on his masterwork, the Immortal Project.

The case of Sо̄ken Ishida

One of Kurotsuchi's most heinous acts

During the Soul Society arc, Ichigo and the gang head to Seireitei to put an end to Rukia's execution, a series of events that gives us our first taste of the strange amorality of Shinigami despite their role as “keepers of the balance”. Their willingness to kill a young woman for daring to do something she felt was the only way to protect an innocent man and survive was a showcase of the brutality of Soul Society, which was also accompanied by by accounts of their experimentation with altered souls. , which involved using corpses imbued with artificial souls to fight what can only be assumed to be the Quinci and their subsequent genocide of the Quinci.

Basically, the Shinigami aren't necessarily “good guys”, but they do what they do to “protect the peace”, which we also learn was a construct of the Shinigami themselves done through a heinous method. While there is a lot of brutality, one character that really clarifies the violent perspective of the Shinigami is Kurotsuchi, who meets Uryu Ishida, who unfortunately thought he was the last Quincy and really missed his mentor and grandfather, Soken.

After sacrificing a Gota 13 Captain that I love so much – truly a tragic price to pay – I gained valuable information about the nature of your ability. Do you understand what this means? My weird friend Quincy. I hear no answer, but I will continue. What I mean is this. Right now, I made a shocking sacrifice that brings me close to tears. And it is these poignant sacrifices that give rise to glorious victories. In other words…I feel you should show your respect for this wonderful sacrifice by offering yourself to me as an experimental subject!

– Mayuri Kurotsuchi in “BABY HOLD YOUR HAND”

It appears that Sо̄ken was killed by the Hollows due to a lax response from the Shinigami regarding the Hollow attack, a response that was ordered by Kurotsuchi because he wanted to experiment on the Quincies. His experiments always involve various acts of cruelty such as vivisection, injection with strange chemical agents, body alteration and countless other acts. He scoffed at the old man's hurtful claims and went so far as to show Uryu a picture of his grandfather's autopsied corpse, which drove home just how sociopath Kurotsuchi really is, not to mention his horrible treatment of Nemu's daughter , which she created to grow and evolve, but she is seen more as a tool than a person.

Kurotsuchi's scientific curiosity and lack of respect for life is evident in the way he describes his experiments, his constant desire for “test subjects”, and the fact that he uses his team members as living weapons against their will, throwing away lives to the sake of creating doohickeys for the sake of war reflects a real-life horror in history.

Dark History: What Was Unit 731?

About Imperial Japan's Biochemical Warfare Research Unit during World War II

The Imperial Japanese Army was established after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and was active until its disbandment in 1945. In a relatively short time, the IJA became synonymous with extreme violence as it quickly became the most modernized military in Asia and became increasingly stronger and stronger. in the early 20th century, and unlike Western armies, the IJA was independent of the government, with the Minister of War answerable only to the Emperor. Hirohito himself under the provisions of the Meiji Constitution. Over several decades, the IJA grew in power and in the 1930s engaged in multiple conflicts against China, Russia, and various involvements in international conflicts during World War I. The military became a major tool used to expand the Japanese Empire focus on “Manchuria” following an incident orchestrated by the Japanese used to create an excuse to invade and settle in that northeastern region, leading to some relations irreparable with many other countries, and a denial of a number of war crimes, including the horrific events that took place at the hands of the Kamo Detachment, otherwise known as Manchu Detachment 731 or pure and simply, “Unit 731”.

Established after Zhongma Citadel was closed in 1937, Unit 731 was a secret biological and chemical warfare research unit of the IJA that conducted various unethical experiments on prisoners during the Second Sino-Japanese War. An estimated 300,000 people died as a result of Unit 731's activities, which involved some of the most notorious war crimes committed by the Japanese armed forces. The experiments included various forms of torture, from pathogen injections, controlled dehydration, biological weapons testing, vivisection, organ harvesting and amputation, weapons testing, systemic attack and forced pregnancy of prisoners, and all other types of cruelty. The facility was set up specifically to create biological weapons, weapons with humans as victims, and not even children were spared the kind of horrors the prisoners faced. No survivors of the Unit 731 complex have been reported.

The darkness of Kurotsuchi reflects the darkness of real life

Experimentation on living subjects reflects the sadism of Unit 731

Kurotsuchi's constant search for test subjects reflects how the military was used to collect prisoners who would then be subjected to all sorts of experiments, but it is how he is willing to pursue all his interests, no matter how horrible they may be. be, what really binds. Kurotsuchi to the kind of things that were being done not only by the Japanese military, but by all kinds of military outfits in the world, especially after the signing of the Geneva Convention. Experiments conducted solely to see how long it takes for a human to succumb to their injuries or condition, the injection of various pathogens, the spread of disease, vivisection, and other forms of torture sanctioned by the IJA and by extension the Empire of Japan all reflect Kurotsuchi's idea . approach to science, but coupled with the feudal nature of Soul Society, reflecting a lost time and long list of heinous acts committed. by the Shinigami themselves; a force that was once far more terrifying than it is in its current state. A greater connection to Imperial Japan emerges when considering Soul Society and the narrative WHITENING as a kind of commentary on the horrors of war, the bloody origins of modern society, and the cyclical nature of conflict.

Further reading: NY Times, Pacific Atrocities Non-Profit, WW2 Database

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War is available on Hulu and Disney+.