Just wanted to share an entry I wrote on Ulquiorra's "buddy", Yammy. It's about his aspect of death.

http://www.mangatherapy.com/post/6110406296/yammy-llargo-bleach

I'm curious. What did everyone think about him being the "strongest" Espada? Do you think Kubo wanted to point out that rage is one of the roots of all evil?

Manga Therapy - Where Psychology & Manga Meet http://www.mangatherapy.com

Interesting, it does add some more depth to his character. However I doubt Kubo had this in mind when creating Yammy, as for the most part he was just filler. He was brought in purely so that other characters could do some fighting. We don't know anything about his past, ambitions, or even the full exten of his powers. His job was to make quick work of the weak side characters (Chad, Renji, Rukia) and was made cannon fodder by Kenpachi and Byakuya. He was no where near as developed as Grimmjow, Ulquiora, Starrk, Barragan or Nnoitra, where we knew about their past and their desires, even though they were all made redundant in the end.

I think his rage comes from always being regarded as the weakest even though he was the strongest (in his own mind, at least). Imagine that you are Yammy. With all your powers, you know that you can easily become the strongest by transforming, but without probable cause or permission from Aizen, you are forced to remain as the weakest of the Espadas.

Furthermore, you are always ridiculed by not just the other Espadas who may or may not know about your true form, but also the other Fracción and Arrancars who are definitely weaker than you. Remember what the Arrancar girls who were bullying Orihime said to Yammy when he arrived. They were very disrespectful, even though they were far weaker. It was like they knew, somewhere in their heart, that Yammy didn't deserve the position, and that he will always be lower than them, even if it was unrealistic and illogical.

If I should compare, I would say Yammy is exactly the same as Soifon's lieutenant, Omaeda. They are both regarded as weak, perhaps in part due to their size and appearance. Only difference is, Yammy has real power. He does not have to take the constant humiliation, and he knows it. In fact, I believe Yammy knows about Ulquiorra true strength, seeing as how Yammy always seem to listen to him and doesn't dare to disobey him. Perhaps in his mind, he feels that Aizen and Ulquiorra are the only ones stronger than him, and maybe that was what kept him in line. Otherwise, I don't believe that he can keep his rage in check all the way till the last battle.

The worst part, and probably the biggest contributing factor to his rage, is when he revealed himself to be the Cero Espada, Even when he declared himself the strongest in all of Hueco Mundo, he was still not given the respect he felt he deserved. I would further argue that his rage might have been his downfall. He didn't have any control, nor did he embraced his rage. Even in death, he probably still doesn't understand why he was angry, or who he was angry at. But clearly, if rage was the source of his power, then the only reason he was so powerful was because of everyone else who were laughing and looking down at him. He did not earn the power through training or development, and therefore, I would say he doesn't deserve the title of "Cero Espada".

Also, nice website you've got there. The articles are pretty... challenging, I would say. And they are very nicely linked to reference articles.

Quote from prepareyourself

Interesting, it does add some more depth to his character. However I doubt Kubo had this in mind when creating Yammy, as for the most part he was just filler. He was brought in purely so that other characters could do some fighting. We don't know anything about his past, ambitions, or even the full exten of his powers. His job was to make quick work of the weak side characters (Chad, Renji, Rukia) and was made cannon fodder by Kenpachi and Byakuya. He was no where near as developed as Grimmjow, Ulquiora, Starrk, Barragan or Nnoitra, where we knew about their past and their desires, even though they were all made redundant in the end.

That was the sad part. All the Espada were made redundant, sigh. It would have been interesting to see how Yammy & Ulquiorra first met since they had some sort of "friendship"

Quote from DarkDusk

I think his rage comes from always being regarded as the weakest even though he was the strongest (in his own mind, at least). Imagine that you are Yammy. With all your powers, you know that you can easily become the strongest by transforming, but without probable cause or permission from Aizen, you are forced to remain as the weakest of the Espadas.

Furthermore, you are always ridiculed by not just the other Espadas who may or may not know about your true form, but also the other Fracción and Arrancars who are definitely weaker than you. Remember what the Arrancar girls who were bullying Orihime said to Yammy when he arrived. They were very disrespectful, even though they were far weaker. It was like they knew, somewhere in their heart, that Yammy didn't deserve the position, and that he will always be lower than them, even if it was unrealistic and illogical.

If I should compare, I would say Yammy is exactly the same as Soifon's lieutenant, Omaeda. They are both regarded as weak, perhaps in part due to their size and appearance. Only difference is, Yammy has real power. He does not have to take the constant humiliation, and he knows it. In fact, I believe Yammy knows about Ulquiorra true strength, seeing as how Yammy always seem to listen to him and doesn't dare to disobey him. Perhaps in his mind, he feels that Aizen and Ulquiorra are the only ones stronger than him, and maybe that was what kept him in line. Otherwise, I don't believe that he can keep his rage in check all the way till the last battle.

The worst part, and probably the biggest contributing factor to his rage, is when he revealed himself to be the Cero Espada, Even when he declared himself the strongest in all of Hueco Mundo, he was still not given the respect he felt he deserved. I would further argue that his rage might have been his downfall. He didn't have any control, nor did he embraced his rage. Even in death, he probably still doesn't understand why he was angry, or who he was angry at. But clearly, if rage was the source of his power, then the only reason he was so powerful was because of everyone else who were laughing and looking down at him. He did not earn the power through training or development, and therefore, I would say he doesn't deserve the title of "Cero Espada".

Also, nice website you've got there. The articles are pretty... challenging, I would say. And they are very nicely linked to reference articles.

Well-said! That's a good thing you pointed about Yammy's rage being his downfall because EVERYONE looked down on him. Those two Arrancar girls had no fear of taking down Yammy when they were scared of taking on anyone else.

Thanks for your compliments as well!

Manga Therapy - Where Psychology & Manga Meet http://www.mangatherapy.com

On a related note, is anyone else annoyed that Stark was killed so quickly, yet Barragan lasted for quite a while, even though Stark was the Primera Espada and higher in rank than Barragan?

Yes, I was really annoyed by that. Kubo made Stark REALLY weak for someone who's the 1st Espada.

Manga Therapy - Where Psychology & Manga Meet http://www.mangatherapy.com