Highlights
- Shinji Hirako's bankai, Sakashima Yokoshima Happofusagari, has one of the most interesting abilities compared to other bankai in Bleach.
- His bankai creates an illusion of an inverted world that affects the target's sense of perception, belief, justice, and identity.
- However, the bankai has weaknesses, including its indiscriminate area-of-effect, which affects both allies and enemies, and its vulnerability to attacks that cover a wide range of area.
In a recent Bleach episode, specifically in episode 16 of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc (episode 382 in the overall Bleach series), one of the captains of Gotei 13, Shinji Hirako, finally unleashed his bankai. Shinji is one of the new faces within the captain rank, therefore this is the first time we have ever seen his Bankai. While the appearance is not that exuberant, or even memorable for that matter, it certainly has one of the most interesting abilities compared to the other bankai. It’s called Sakashima Yokoshima Happofusagari, and this is everything that you need to know about it.
Shikai: Sakasema no Sekai
Before we discuss the Bankai, let’s start with the Shikai first. The name of Shinji Hirako’s zanpakuto is Sakanade. When released into its Shikai form, it takes on the name of Sakasema no Sekai (Inverted World).
As the name suggests, Sakasema no Sekai has the ability to create an Inverted World. However, rather than reshaping the real world, this is actually an ability that can affect the perception of living beings around the user. When activated, Sakasema no Sekai will release a colorless and odorless scent that will affect those who are unfortunate enough to breathe-in the scent.
Those affected by the scent will perceive the inverted world where up is down, front is back, right is left, so on and so forth. The enemies that attack from the front are actually coming from the back, while the slash that appears to cut the right arm is actually harming the left arm.
It is practically impossible to get used to this sensory overload while in the middle of an intense fight. To make matters worse, those who are used to combat will have an even tougher time because their body is trained to automatically move as soon as they perceive any incoming threats. Readjusting those fine-tuned senses in the middle of combat is an impossible thing to do. The only person known to be able to break through Shinji’s illusion is the master of illusion himself, Sousuke Aizen.
Bankai: Sakashima Yokoshima Happofusagari
Although Bankais come in different forms and powers, most of them simply grant an amplified and enhanced version of the Shikai’s ability. That is the case for Byakuya’s Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, Hitsugaya’s Daiguren Hyorinmaru, and Komamura’s Kokujo Tengen Myo’o, just to name a few. Sure, there are some Bankai that display an entirely different ability than the Shikai, such as Soifon’s Jakuho Raikoben or Rojuro’s Kinshara Butodan, but they are an exception, rather than the norm.
Just like most of his peers, Shinji Hirako also has a bankai that amplifies and enhances the ability of his shikai. The name of his bankai is Sakashima Yokoshima Happofusagari, and just like the shikai, it also has the ability to create an illusion of an inverted world to the living being in its nearest vicinity. However, rather than simply affecting their sense of perception like the Shikai, the Bankai’s effect penetrates deeper into the targets’ brain and causes a much broader sense of inversion.
Sakashima Yokoshima Happofusagari will invert the target’s sense of belief, sense of justice, and even their sense of identity, just to name a few. All of these inversions will start flooding their brain the minute they get close enough to Sakashima’s affected area and will immediately take root deep into their consciousness. In a recent episode of the Thousand-Year Blood War, Shinji uses this ability to make a group of Quincy’s soldiers use their arrows to kill each other. These fearsome abilities are the reason why it is one of the most dangerous bankai in the series.
Major Flaws and Weaknesses
Although Shinji Hirako’s bankai has interesting and extremely dangerous powers, it is not an all-powerful ability. Because it has two glaring weaknesses that limit its effectiveness in a real-life combat situation. The first one is regarding the nature of Sakashima Yokoshima Happofusagari’s area-of-effect. As mentioned earlier, Shinji’s bankai can affect any living being in a certain area. This is an indiscriminate ability that can affect both allies and enemies. That is why it is not an ability that can be used when there are lots of allies around.
Another glaring weakness of this bankai also has something to do with the area of effect. You see, although Shinji’s Shikai and Bankai can affect individuals ability to accurately launch an attack or mount a defense, there is one kind of attack that negate the effect of this illusion, which is an attack that can cover a wide range of area, such as Soifon’s bankai or Bambietta’s explosion. After all, when an attack can engulf an entire area, then things like front or back, left or right, enemies or allies, becomes practically meaningless.
So there you have it. Based on its unique abilities, Shinji Hirako’s Sakashima Yokoshima Happofusagari is without a doubt one of the most dangerous bankai in Bleach. It still has some glaring flaws and weaknesses that can limit its usage in real combat situations. But in the right circumstances, this bankai can decimate an entire army, along with a few commanders, in a matter of seconds.
Bleach is available to stream on Hulu.