The FINAL Bleach Fantasy Round ~ Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Cloud Strife (The K!ck--@$$ $world-wielding 8@D@$$E$)

VS.

This is it ladies and gentlemen ~ The Ultimate Confrontation between Bleach & FF has been a long, rough, and fun ride. There was so much drama, controversy, and butting heads when it came to deciding who'd win in a fight between these two franchises. With any great beginning, there's always an end and...it's that time folks. The penultimate BF post was between the 2 Ultimate Evils and NOW ~ our FINAL BF post is the 2 Ultimate K!ck-@$$ $world-wielding 8@D@$$E$ ~ Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach and Cloud Strife from FF VII. As mentioned before, MechG is the one that'll decide who takes the cake between these ~ Bleach or Final Fantasy. Who had the better characters, powers/abilities, potential, as well as having an interesting storyline behind them? Without further ado, let us end with a Bang (BBT reference) and get this show the road. Stated before ~ My portions are in Blue, MechG's in Purple, and the titles in Yellow. The following will be the deciding points ~ Backstory/Role in Story, Powers/Abilities, & Verdict. As of earlier today, Bleach leads 8-7 against FF. After this BF post, Fight Night posts will be hiatus until July. 

Backstory/Role in Story (Ichigo Kurosaki)

Ichigo's character constantly is revolved around his history. He had a loving Quincy mother who died trying to protect her son from a hollow attack, a father who is a member of the Shiba Clan & former 10th division Captain, and two twin sisters who are spiritually aware of Spirits & Hollows. Ichigo was once a happy little boy up until her mother's demise and since then, he constantly is reminded of that day. His father still mourns over her loss, but knows that there's more work to be done in the Kurosaki household. Ichigo is childhood friends with Tatsuki and later makes a promise with Chad to protect him if he does the same for him. Ichigo is a renowned fighter growing up and to this day, is still challenged by various delinquents because of both his strength and his trademark orange hair. Since enrolling in school, Ichigo has made many friends - Keigo, Mizuiro, and the love interest herself, Orihime Inoue. 

In order to protect his family from danger, Ichigo made a pact with Rukia and became the 2nd Substitute Soul Reaper. Rukia's involvement in Karakura had a big influence on Ichigo's life - going from a regular teenager to a Shinigami fighting off Hollows and eventually ~ other Shinigami (Byakuya & Kenpachi), Bounts (filler), Arrancar (Grimmjow & Ulquiorra), Manifested Zanpaktou (filler), Reigai (filler), Fullbringers (Ginjo & Tsukishima), and, currently, Quincy (led by Yhwach). Ichigo, at first, was tasked in fighting off Hollows in Karakura Town, but soon Rukia is taken away and Ichigo has to save her before her execution. Later, it would be explained that Rukia's Gigai body holds the Hogyoku, capable of breaking the boundaries of Shinigami & Hollow. It wouldn't be long before Ichigo meets the Visored, who inform him of the Hollow within him. After conquering his Hollow powers & getting stronger, Ichigo's primary enemy became Aizen up until he defeated him after the Hogyoku rejected him. After Aizen's defeat, Ichigo lost all his Shinigami and Hollow powers and was now back to being a regular human. However, the battle wasn't over as Ichigo met a newfound enemy - The Fullbringers. Ichigo was thought to have lost after receiving his fullbringer powers, but Rukia comes back and saves Ichigo by giving him Shinigami powers. Ichigo would soon come to learn of the history behind his mother's death, who is father is, and who the Gotei 13 are currently facing - The Wandenreich. Ichigo's hidden Shinigami powers have resurfaced and it's up to him to once again save the day before the Human World & the Soul Society collapse. He has twin Zangetsu(s) and is now back in the Soul Society (after training and getting stronger in the Royal Palace) fighting the TGPZ Sisters while also protecting Kenpachi from harm.

Backstory/Role in Story (Cloud Strife)

Born in Nibelheim, Cloud’s father died when he was still young, leaving his mother to raise him until he grew up. He was Tifa’s next door neighbor, but the two were complete polar opposites; Cloud was more antisocial, putting all exclusivity onto himself because to him there was a pecking order with him and the other children and in Cloud’s view, he was on top of everyone else while Tifa went out and made friends, hence why they were not really close. Regardless, Cloud actually fell in love with her, but still hated the friends she made. One day, Tifa was making her way to Mt. Nibel, believing she could see her dead mother again, but when the bridge collapse, Cloud attempted to spring into action to save her from harm’s way, though he was unsuccessful to play hero, leading Tifa’s father to forbid Cloud from seeing her after she sustained injuries. As a teenager, Cloud wanted to join the ranks of SOLDIER for two reasons: 1. To be like Sephiroth (who was still a war hero at that time) 2. To win Tifa’s heart. The two met at the local water tower one last time with Cloud making a promise to save Tifa whenever she’s in trouble. However, in Crisis Core, he only turned out to be a lowly infantryman for Shinra and in his return to Nibelheim, he would hide from her to avoid embarrassment. While in Modeoheim, he meets 1^st class SOLDIER, Zack Fair and the two became like brothers from another mother because they had common interests. Cloud eventually sees his world turned upside down when he sees Sephiroth burn down Nibelheim, being taken away by Hojo and being injected with Mako, and seeing Zack get shot to death by an ambush as they made their way to Midgar (Bad Luck Cloud).

In FF7, after a sequence of unfortunate events, Cloud becomes manifested with a different personality, taking up Zack’s memories/persona and shutting out his own. While in Midgar, Tifa eventually recognizes him and takes him in along with AVALANCHE lead by Barret. After a successful raid in the Sector 1 reactor, Cloud’s reclamation of his memories were put to the test early on as Tifa told him about the promise he made to her. That convinces Cloud not to leave AVALANCHE and wander off. In another mission to attack the Sector 5 reactor, Cloud falls down into the Sector 5 church, meeting Aeris and like what she asked Zack, she asked Cloud to be her bodyguard in exchange for one date, in which Cloud reluctantly agrees to do. The two discover Tifa entering a dating service to infiltrate Don Corneo’s mansion in order to question him about Shinra’s plans. In order for Cloud to fit in, Aeris cross dresses him as a girl. After interrogating Corneo, the three would be too late as Shinra weakens the pillars holding the Sector 7 plate and Shinra kills three AVALANCHE members and in the process, kidnapping Aeris. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret embark on infiltrating Shinra HQ to rescue Aeris. They meet Red XIII inside Hojo’s lab see remains of Jenova, and rescue Aeris, but they were imprisoned by Hojo. While sleeping in the prison area, Sephiroth stealthily sneaks in and kills every Shinra soldier including president Shinra himself, freeing Cloud and his party. Cloud battles the new president, Rufus on top of the HQ and manages to escape Midgar with the rest of the party. While in Kalm, Cloud was recalling the Nibelheim Incident, but he was putting himself in Zack’s shoes, convincing Tifa even more that his memory’s screwed up. For the majority, Cloud and company have been tracing Sephy’s whereabouts, hiding from Shinra, and meeting Tseng and the Turks along the way. While venturing in the Temple of the Ancients to retrieve the Black Materia, Cloud, due to the Jenova cells injected in him during Hojo’s experiment came under the control of Sephiroth in an attempt to kill Aeris. He finds Aeris underground in the Forgotten Capital, but Cloud doesn’t kill her, but Sephiroth does as he impales Aeris from behind after she activated Holy to prevent the Meteor attack on the Planet. After Aeris’ death, two pivotal moments came when Cloud makes his way to North Crater: when Hojo tells him about his Jenova Reunion Theory and how he was a test subject and when he fell into the Lifestream. Falling into the Lifestream the 1^st time caused Cloud to overdose from Mako poisoning, leaving him paralyzed. The 2^nd time Cloud fell, Tifa fell with him and enters his subconscious mind to restore memories of his true self. Tifa is successful and Cloud’s true memories are brought back. Cloud and the party managed to bring Shinra down during the Raid on Midgar and stopped Hojo to give Sephiroth a boost of energy through the Sister Ray Mako Cannon and they make their way down to the Planet’s core. They defeat Sephiroth and his true forms physically and Cloud delivered the final blow against him mentally while Holy pushes the Meteor back, saving the Planet from total destruction. I won’t emphasize Cloud’s role in Advent Children too much, but let’s just say Cloud undergoes depression while trying to prevent the Geostigma plague. He battles Sephiroth and his child manifestations: Loz, Kadaj, and Yazoo once more and defeats him again. While seeing visions of Zack and Aeris in the Sector 7 church, he finds that he is not alone anymore and the ending of AC pretty much asks what’s next for Cloud? Cloud plays a small role in Dirge of Cerberus helping Vincent and the World Regenesis Organization in the battle against Omega.

Powers/Abilities (Ichigo Kurosaki)

Ichigo, being a Shinigami/Quincy hybrid, is easily one of the strongest characters in Bleach and is considered a special war potential to the Quincy. As a Shinigami, he was capable of both Shikai & Bankai, Shunpo, and being an expert swordsman. However, he also is capable of Hollowification ~ amplifying his power to that of a great or equal extent to a Captain-level Shinigami. Probably the most famous of Ichigo's techniques is Getsuga Tensho, a black wave of condensed spirit energy. After defeating Aizen, he temporarily lost his Shinigami powers and completely lost his Hollow powers, later to learn about Fullbring ~ only later to have it taken from him by Ginjo Kugo. Rukia and various other Shinigami gave Ichigo another opportunity, but Ichigo soon would come to realize that his actual Shinigami power was actually his true Quincy power. He had to find his Asauchi and soon, he has a newfound form of his Zangetsu & his newfound Quincy powers (capable of using Blut Vene). At the heart of it all, Ichigo is a Shinigami/Quincy hybird, the son of Shinigami Isshin & Quincy Masaki.

Powers/Abilities (Cloud Strife)

The iconic FF male protagonist out of all the FF male protagonists (arguable), no denying that Cloud is one of the GOAT (greatest of all time). Cloud wields the timeless massive Buster Sword as his weapon, first it was used by Angeal, then Angeal passed the sword down to Zack, and finally Zack passed the sword down to Cloud. In terms of abilities, Cloud has excellent balanced stats in Strength and Magic, but his Speed stat is weak. As the main protagonist, Cloud’s Limit Breaks deal the most damage to an opponent. His Limit Break order is as follows: 1) Braver, jumping downward slash and Cross Slash, performing three slashes, 2) Blade Beam, strikes down on the ground, unleashing a wave of energy and Climhazzard, stabbing an enemy and slashing upwards in the air 3) Meteorain, unleashing six meteors on and Finishing Touch, unleashing a tornado, 4) Omnislash, slicing the opponent 14 times and dealing the 15^th blow absorbing a great wave of energy and dealing one big slash downward (defeated Sephiroth with this limit). In Advent Children, Cloud wields the Fusion Swords, six separate swords that he can use separately and can assemble into one (when the Fusion Swords combine, they resemble the likeness of that of the Buster Sword that Cloud wielded in FF7). When Cloud performs the Limit Break, Omnislash Version 5 with the Fusion Swords, they disassemble and surround the target, Cloud takes one of the swords and slices the opponent with, and repeats the process four times. In the finish to the limit, Cloud flies above, takes that main blade and strikes the target, causing a shockwave.

Verdict (By MechG)

And the winner is of the FINAL BF post and of BF Month is...

I know many of you Bleach/FF fans have expected this last showdown before it was brought up because in all reality, these two spiked up, giant sword wielding, @$$ kicking bad@$$es are the s#!t in both of their respective franchises. Man this was a really hard verdict to judge; if one wins, the showdown ends in a draw, if another wins, it caps off one of the biggest comebacks so far in all of Bleach’s Fight Night posts. Both had horrible pasts, both care about their love interest (and the funny thing is Ichihime is Stillmattic’s all-time favorite Bleach pairing and Cloti is my all-time favorite FF pairing), but one thing is certain, a hero’s journey has come to an end (arguable, depending if Square Enix wants to milk FF7’s story even more) and another hero still has a lot left of story left to stat pad his legacy and so my final BF victory goes to one Ichigo Kurosaki. This was also a battle of proven vs. potential and I see that Ichigo has tremendous upside to have his character grow as long as Bleach’s current story arc is still interesting and does not grow stale (right Stillmattic?). Potential’s good right? Cloud has only dealt with one legit threat, even though it’s arguable that he faced countless threats, but most of those threats revolved around Sephiroth alone, while Ichigo, he’s challenged and won/loss against Hollows, Arrancars, The Espada, some of the Captains of the Gotei 13, Aizen, and now he’s currently dealing with the Father of the Quincy, Yhwach in the manga. In terms of powers/abilities, throw in the towel because Ichigo’s powers/abilities would mop Cloud’s abilities any day of the weak. Cloud’s Omnislash would not do absolute squat against Ichigo’s Getsuga Tensho. FF fans, yeah it’s disappointing that your franchise is a victim of one of the biggest meltdowns in a Fight Night Tournament, but be glad that the characters I single-handedly picked from as much installments as I can fit in, pushed Bleach on the brink, but Bleach had the stronger assets down the stretch. So for a final time, Ichigo is the victor and his victory powers Bleach over Final Fantasy.

So who do you think won this final confrontation of epic proportions ~ Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach or Cloud Strife from FF VII? Comment below and let us know. Thank you so much for following MechG & I's collaborative Bleach Fantasy Month (April-May). It was a long bumpy ride, but I'm glad you all pulled through. As of now, Bleach won against FF 9-7 ~ a comeback that'll go down as one of the greatest comebacks in Fight Night History here on Memoirs of Bleach Zealot. And here is MechG's conclusion on his experience working on the Bleach Fantasy Fight Night posts.

Anyway, thanks to Stillmattic for bringing me in for this special Fight Night tournament. I promise you, we still have a lot of Fight Night collaborations coming along the way. Don’t forget if you guys are into sports, into the NFL and the NBA, into the Oakland Raiders and the Los Angeles Lakers; be sure to check out my blog: http://trueraiderlaker.blogspot.com where I cover Raider and Laker games/topics as well as the Super Bowl and the NBA Finals. The NBA Finals is just around the corner, so be sure to check out my blog for my preview and coverage between the Miami Heat and whoever wins the San Antonio/OKC matchup.

As always here on Memoirs of Bleach Zealot ~ You all stay classy! 

Bleach vs. Final Fantasy ~ 9-7 (Bleach Victory)

Fight Nights posts will return in July!!! 

Bleach Fantasy Round 15: Aizen Sousuke vs. Caius Ballad (The Ultimate Evil Pt. 2)

VS.

This is it ladies and gentlemen. We're nearing the end of Bleach Fantasy Month with our final 2 posts both personally handpicked and judged by MechG. The penultimate battle of the Ultimate Evils (Pt. 2) - Bleach's Aizen Sousuke & FF XIII-2's Caius Ballad. These two immortals defy death - continuously seeking power and posing a true threat to Ichigo & Lightning. With these two standing in the way of our heroes, it's no wonder that they're true antagonists in both Bleach & FF XIII-2. Without further ado, let us end Bleach Fantasy month on a good note - who'll win this fight? Who truly is the better and more antagonizing villain? And more importantly ~ Whose power truly shines? The following will be the deciding factors - Backstory/Role in Story, Powers/Abilities, & Verdict. As said previously before, my portion will be noted in Blue and MechG's in Purple ~ the titles in Yellow. Currently, FF & Bleach are tied 7-7. 

Backstory/Role in Story (Aizen Sousuke)

Aizen, before being the antagonist of Bleach and before even reaching the level of Captain, was Shinji Hirako's lieutenant in the 5th division. However, even at the time of him being a lieutenant Shinji - he was plotting to taker control of the Hogyoku & learn the secrets of transcending the powers of Shinigami & Hollow. He, alongside Gin & Kaname, defected from the Soul Society - striking down Lisa, Love, Rose, Hachigen, Kensei, Mashiro, Hiyori, & his own captain, Shinji. However, Kisuke Urahara & Tessai showed up only to allow Aizen to escape and continue on plotting his ambition for power. Aizen soon became 5th division Captain and eventual Leader of the Espada. His goal was Kisuke's Hogyoku, which was implanted inside Rukia's Gigai body. From the get-go, Aizen was up to no good as he wanted to transcend the boundaries of God itself. His involvement with this led to the creation of the Visored, his allying with Hueco Mundo, & Isshin's fated meeting with Masaki (noted for having known about Ichigo's life since his conception). And to top it off, no one knew of Aizen's deception. 

Aizen has played a pivotal role throughout Bleach, serving as the main antagonist (excluding fillers) in every arc. From the get-go, he was up to no good -  betraying his captain, the Soul society, and overall pretty much wanting to transcend into a higher being. Aizen was the former 5th Division Captain and, alongside Gin & Kaname of the 3rd and 9th division, betrayed the Gotei 13 after retrieving the Hogyoku from within Rukia. However, in order to cover up his defection beforehand, he instigated his own death as well as Central 46's murdeers (eventually found out by Captain Hitsugaya & Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto) so as to put the blame on the Ryoka (Ichigo, Orihime, Uryu, Chad, & Ganju)~ which then caused an outbreak between the Gotei 13, Team Ichigo, & various Shinigami who were siding against the Soul Society. Later, they made a pact with the Arrancar and Aizen's army amassed in numbers - ready to challenge the Gotei 13 w/ his 10 Espada. Aizen and his Espada enter a war against the Gotei 13 & the Visored and one by one, they fell. Aizen, however, used them simply as pawns (cutting down Tier Harribel without a moment's hesitation) as the Hogyoku was implanted within him and his transition into higher power began. He easily defeats various Captains & Lieutenants of the Gotei 13, but his loss against Ichigo AND the Hogyoku's will refusing Aizen's ambitions eventually landed him in prison for a long long time. Despite his imprisonment, Aizen is a special war potential by Yhwach, the current antagonist of Bleach & the Father of the Quincy. 

Backstory/Role in Story (Caius Ballad)

Caius was born in the time before the War of Transgression (massive war between Pulse and Cocoon) into the oldest Gran Pulse tribe called the Farseers. The Farseers were led by the young seeress Yeul who was able to see throughout the timeline and prophesize the future after being bestowed upon with the Eyes of Etro. Not a lot is emphasized on Caius’ early life other that the fact he became Yeul’s next Guardian after defeating the previous one, became a l’Cie and battled a fellow Farseer warrior that had better strength and skill than him. When Caius was about to be defeated by the powerful Farseer warrior, an army invaded in an attempt to find Yeul and Caius was ordered to pull back while his opponent sacrificed his life to save the young seeress. Caius shouldered the blame, thinking it should’ve been him to take one for Yeul; so in honor of the warrior that saved Yeul, Caius took on the last name “Ballad” to pay tribute to what could’ve been his greatest adversary. To protect Yeul, he became one with his Eidolon at the cost of his own life. The goddess Etro saw through Caius’ dedicated deeds and freed him from his l’Cie state and gave him the gift of immortality by infusing her heart, the Heart of Chaos, into his body. However, it gave him some bad luck too because the city of Paddra fell into peril and he had to witness Yeul die and be reborn countless times as he continues to fulfill her prophecies. This drove Caius mad and sent him on a relentless quest across the timeline to free Yeul and himself from a loop of pain, suffering, and death.

So Caius’ role in XIII-2 is on two fronts: in the timeless world of Valhalla and across the timeline. In Valhalla, Caius and Lightning become fated rivals considering both were bestowed upon the blessings of the goddess Etro. However, Caius sought to kill the goddess, doing anything he can to free Yeul’s suffering while Lightning was chosen to protect Etro, thus commencing an all-out war between the two in almost an infinite loop (that loop would be broken later after Lightning sees the vision of Serah’s death). In the timeline, he’s basically spying on Serah and Noel’s adventure across time in hopes to find Lightning (*cue “Every Breath You Take” by The Police*). They would come face to face in Oerba 200 AF and Caius accuses them of disrupting the timeline as he was told by Yeul because with Serah and Noel changing the timeline in order to resolve paradoxes, it causes Yeul to witness it and her lifespan shortens. After a brief battle with Noel and Serah, Caius retreats after Yeul tells him that time changed and he accompanies her into a portal so that Yeul doesn’t see the future. He enacted two attempts to lure Serah and Noel, both centering in Academia. The first attempt failed after Yeul gives them an artefact opening a time gate to the proto Fal’Cie, Adam. With Noel and Serah making changes to the timeline, Yeul witnesses a vision and dies. The explanation of Caius entering Valhalla to battle Lightning was further explained in 700 AF after battling Noel in an attempt to make him become the next guardian, but after defeating Noel, Caius had second thoughts. After the battle, Caius found a way to Valhalla while simultaneously Yeul dies in the Dying World. While laying her to rest in the sea of Chaos, Caius receives her vision of Cocoon and Gran Pulse being saved from total destruction and that’s how Caius’ battle with Lightning came full circle. In his second attempt to lure Noel and Serah, he uses Alyssa, one of Hope’s trustees to give them an artefact that leads them to the Void Beyond. That plan proved successful and Caius, specifically his future self, impales both of them into a dream state. By the time, Serah and Noel find Lightning in the far future, Lightning reveals Caius’ true plans of destroying both Cocoon and Gran Pulse to free the Yeuls. So the plan was to attack him simultaneously in Academia 500 AF and in Valhalla. He was eventually defeated even in his Chaos Bahamut and Jet/Amber/Garnet Bahamut forms. Caius forces Noel to deliver the final blow in the Heart of Chaos. By doing that and resolving the paradoxes, Etro dies, Serah dies, and the human world is consumed by Chaos. In the secret ending, Caius sits on Etro’s throne in the Void Beyond gaining new immortality caused by the many Yeuls. In LR, he is roaming around where Etro’s temple stood, surrounded by Chaos’ aura. For the one last battle between Lightning and Caius, Lightning was told by incarnations of Yeul to free him from his suffering. Caius refuses salvation from Light in the short run. After Bhunivelze’s defeat and in the creation of the new world, Caius insists on being the god who watches over the dead to keep balance between the world and the Unseen Realm. In one final act of redemption, Caius kills Noel (in a good way) to release the last incarnation of Yeul to be with him, Lightning, and the rest of the party as he departs with the other Yeuls to the Unseen Realm to guide the dead.

Powers/Abilities (Aizen Sousuke)

Aizen's primary ability lies in his Zanpaktou, Kyoka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower Water Moon), which was capable of complete hypnosis ~ distorting all senses to the point where it can change matter's shape, form, feel, and smell. However, after retrieving the Hogyoku, the implantation of the Hogyoku successfully (later backfired) in amplifying his form, power, speed, durability, spiritual power, regeneration, and Kido (using a high-level Kido without citing the whole incantation). Aizen is pretty much at God-like status and even before the Hogyoku implantation, he was a strong, old, and charismatic Shinigami Captain. He was able to stop Captain Komamura & Hitsugaya easily without having to resort to unsheathing his Zanpaktou, defeat Ichigo (in the very beginning) with just 1 finger, and thwart Grimmjow's advances just from his spiritual energy. His Kyoka Suigetsu clearly misled everyone & his Hogyoku Implantation amplified his power ten-fold ~ and he still is a threat to the Gotei 13 & the Wandenreich (was able to distort current antagonist, Yhwach, for a little bit). 

Powers/Abilities (Caius Ballad)

As a boss character and the primary antagonist in FFXIII-2, the amount of facing Caius in the game is TOO DAMN HIGH! In addition to wielding the large, dark sword, Ragnarok, Caius possesses quite a handful of powerful magic spells and with the essence of chaos, can transform into Chaos Bahamut and later, Jet Bahamut. He is fought in his human form a total of five times, five times, FIVE TIMES (*Booker T spinaroonie*) plus his Bahamut forms make that a total of nine battles with this guy. In his human form as I said before, he is fought five times in five different locations and time periods: Oerba 200 AF, the Void Beyond, Dying World 700 AF, Academia 500 AF, and finally in Valhalla and he can cast pretty powerful magic abilities and he can deal devastating physical attacks. To top it off he has a total of like 12-13 abilities, he’ll use all of them in at least one out of the many battles and some well he’ll just use some. During the final battle against him in Valhalla, his abilities become more organized into the traditional Paradigm roles of Commando, Ravager, and Healer (Medic). As a Commando, his abilities are Blast Wave (Caius strikes Ragnarok to the ground, unleashing purple-ish flames), Graviton (similar to the Ruin attack, but more powerful), Giga-Graviton, Inferno, Eye of Bahamut, Ultima, and Pulsar Burst (fires an array of Graviton all at once). As a Ravager, his ability is just Graviton, and as a Healer, his abilities are Heart of Chaos (restore HP), Body and Soul (stat buffer), Absolution (stat buffer again), and Dispelga. As Chaos Bahamu, Caius is fought three times: in Valhalla, Academia 500 AF, and Valhalla again and is able to cast Umbral Vise, Whirlwind, Ignis, Pulsar Burst, Obliterating Breath, Inferno, and Megaflare and they can deal very considerable amount of damage. As Jet Bahamut, he has two separate forms of Bahamut protecting it: Amber Bahamut and Garnet Bahamut and his notable devastating attacks include: Judgment Blade, Dying Sun, Gigaflare, and Exaflare (can immediately drain out a party’s HP). In LR, Caius’ abilities is somewhat dumb downed considering he’s not the central focus anymore, but as a boss, he’s still powerful enough to kick your @$$. Caius is well known to patiently exploit his opponent’s weakness and hide his emotions to keep them guessing on his thoughts and motives.

Verdict (By MechG)

And the winner is...

The last two BF posts (this one and the next one) are tough ones for me to judge. These two villains just make us ask the question: “WHY DON’T YOU JUST F*CK OFF AND DIE?” (Disturbed “Down with the Sickness” reference). After really evaluating these two, they’re both immortal, they pose a common threat to their respective worlds, but if you were to ask me who’s more evil, who has superior abilities, and who posed the biggest threat, this victory goes to Aizen. When I look at Caius, he doesn’t seem all that evil, he’s just burdened to see Yeul die in his arms time and time again and he’s doing all he can to free Yeul from her curse of dying as changes are made into the timeline even if it means destroying Cocoon and Gran Pulse as a whole. With Aizen, I see a really sadistic man, a man who basically doesn’t give a sh*t about anything other than himself; he’s seen by many in the Soul Society as this noble man, when in reality, he has no remorse for his fellow captains or lieutenants.  Referring way back to the Sephiroth-Aizen showdown Stillmattic and I did in August of 2013, I said Aizen is on another realm and has proven godlike status and achieved a higher power among the Soul Society; against Caius, it’s no different because before Caius was immortal, he was mortal and almost had his life taken away by a Farseer Warrior stronger than him. With Aizen, no Captain in the Gotei 13, no Espada, no Arrancar, no Shinigami, is able to match wits with him or better him in terms of powers/abilities mano e mano. Speaking of powers/abilities, comparing Aizen’s with Caius’ is like pitting a Peyton Manning-lead offense against a mid to low ranked defense in the NFL. The defense can give Manning different formations, but if they show blitz while Manning scans the field, Manning will call an audible immediately after exploiting a favorable matchup to pick apart the defense. That’s what Aizen would’ve done considering his great intellect; Caius can give him different looks with his powers/abilities to exploit a weakness in Aizen at the opportune time, but Aizen will exploit Caius’ move before he can execute it and use that against him. Aizen is just too difficult to exploit and when he’s in a killing mood, it’s lights out for the man in front of him and that’s why he’s the victor. Also Aizen’s Hogyoku transformations destroy Caius’ transformation into Chaos Bahamut/Jet Bahamut transformations any day of the weak.

So who do you think won? Aizen Sousuke from Bleach or Caius Ballad from Final Fantasy XIII-2? Comment below and let us know. The final BF post will be up sometime later. Thank you so much for following MechG and I's collaboration of Bleach & Final Fantasy Fight Nights. As of now (May 30th), Bleach leads 8-7 against FF. Until then, you all stay classy now. Throwback down below.