Bleach's shonen star is Ichigo Kurosaki, who embodies many classic hero traits from his courage and grit to his compassion toward his friends and sense of honor and duty. Ichigo and his friends share an intangible "heart" that unites them, but someone else did this first: Kaien Shiba.
During the main events of Bleach, Kaien Shiba is already dead, survived by a younger brother and sister, Ganju and Kukaku Shiba. Kaien may be gone, but his legacy lives on through his lessons of the heart -- something that his uncle Isshin Shiba as well as Rukia Kuchiki can attest to.
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Kaien Shiba And The Heart
Kaien Shiba made a major appearance in a flashback during the Hueco Mundo story arc, in the middle of Rukia's desperate battle against the 9th Espada, Aaroniero Arurruerie. Rukia recalled a training scene where she and Kaien took a break and Kaien delivered a short lecture on what the "heart" really is. It's not an organ; it's the immortal bond that connects two people who trust and admire one another, and even if one person dies, they live on in the survivor's piece of the heart. Rukia was a bit skeptical at the time, but she later understood while fighting Aaroniero and overcame her guilt of killing Kaien. She was positive that in her heart, Kaien forgave her, and she used that strength to defeat Aaroniero for good.
Kaien's philosophy of the heart is emblematic of his selfless and brave spirit as a former Lieutenant of Squad 13. Not only was Kaien a skilled Soul Reaper, but he was also charismatic and popular, yet deeply humble. Kaien never boasted or showed off; he served only for duty's sake, and actually urged Rukia to kill him when he went on a rampage while possessed by the parasitic Hollow Metastacia. He knew that the heart spoke louder than words or actions, and his humility and grace set a high standard for other Bleach heroes and in fact, any shonen protagonist. Kaien laid down his very life for the cause, living on within other people's hearts to empower them.
How Ichigo Inherited Kaien's Heart
Ichigo never met his cousin Kaien, but as a Shiba through his father, he inherited the idea of the immortal heart, and Orihime Inoue knew it. Ichigo and his friends had unspoken bonds of trust as adventurers, starting in the Soul Society arc, and that bond grew even stronger during the dire Hueco Mundo story arc. When Orihime was captured, Ulquiorra scorned the idea of Ichigo and the rest risking their lives to rescue her. Orihime retorted that their heart bound them together, and through it, Ichigo would find the resolve and strength necessary to rescue her, no matter the odds. This conviction helped protect Orihime from Ulquiorra's persistent psychological warfare.
Ichigo's heart kept him in the fight even when the odds were indeed hopeless, such as when he faced a fully-released Grimmjow Jeagerjaques or Ulquiorra. In fact, fans once mocked Tite Kubo for dedicating an entire page to nothing but the text "the heart" (although in all fairness, Kubo is known for using sparse backgrounds to put more emphasis on his characters, and the heart is a central theme to Bleach). Kaien Shiba was never around to see it, but he would be proud of the invincible bonds that his cousin and friends formed, securing the Shiba legacy for all time -- and like Kaien, Ichigo is ready and willing to lay down his life for his friends and fight to the bitter end.
