VS.
Welcome back to another installment where I pit the worlds of Bleach & Yu Yu Hakusho (YYH abbreviated). So far, YYH leads against Bleach 2-1, but within September, anything can happen. Bleach Hakusho 2 Fight Night posts will be on Mondays & Fridays all throughout September. Without further ado, let's start off the 4th Matchup ~ Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez vs. Younger Toguro: The Battle of the Battle-Hungry Mofos. Take into account that Storyline & Powers/Abilities are the deciding factors in these Fight Night posts. Let's jam!
*Most of the material is copied from previous Fight Night posts.
Storyline (Grimmjow)
Before Grimmjow had any affiliation towards Aizen, he was an Adjuchas-class Menos. Roaming about the land of Hueco Mundo, he attacked and ate just about anything that stood in his path in pursuit of power and wanting to become a Vasto Lorde-class Menos. It wasn't long before he became affiliated with what would become his Fraccion - Shawlong Koufang, Edrad Liones, Yylfordt Granz, Nakeem Grindina, and Di Roy Rinker. These then Adjuchas-class Menos were in awe of Grimmjow's abilities and just like Grimmjow, wanted to become Vasto Lorde-class Menos in pursuit of power. However, it would be awhile for all of them combined to go through such lengths for power and it seemed as if the the 5 Adjuchas-class Menos were about to give up. That is, however, until they asked Grimmjow to devour them so that he could become a Vasto Lorde. Grimmjow called them cowards, but reluctantly ate a portion of the 5 who then would become his Fraccion later on.
Grimmjow is first introduced in his Vasto Lorde form when the 4th and 0 Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer & Yammy Llargo, came back to inform Aizen of the events that took place in Karakura town against Ichigo, Kisuke, Yoruichi, and especially Orihime. Grimmjow and his Fraccion commented that leaving Ichigo & the group alive is a sign of weakness and if it were him, Grimmjow would've mopped the floor with them. However, Ulquiorra states that it was sort of a test to see if Ichigo truly was a threat to Aizen and it seemed like Ichigo wasn't "yet" at the peak of his performance. Grimmjow, angered by this, set out towards Karakura town in hopes to do collateral damage on the enemy side - only to lose his Fraccion and be summoned by Kaname to Aizen for his disobedience and recklessness in losing his Fraccion and attacking Ichigo without permission. Grimmjow was stripped of his title and temporarily replaced by Luppi Antenor. Luppi, Yammy, Wonderweiss, & Grimmjow set out again on order to Karakura Town. Ichigo was beaten badly by Grimmjow, but it wouldn't be long before Grimmjow fights him once more only to lose again because Ichigo's Mask broke and thus he lost the momentum. However, Grimmjow & co were bait for Aizen's true purpose - Orihime. Grimmjow's arm is healed by Orihime (upon Ulquiorra retrieving her) and he kills Luppi and earns back his title as 6th Espada. So far Grimmjow has beaten Ichigo twice and came to a draw with Shinji, but he fights Ichigo once more and this time, it seems as if Ichigo will prevail this time around. But before Grimmjow could fight Ichigo a 3rd time, Ulquiorra interrupted because of Grimmjow's rescuing of Rukia and hurting Loly & Menoly for his amusement. Grimmjow temporarily traps Ulquiorra and in the meantime, he has his final battle with Ichigo ~ finally releasing his Resurrecion. However, Grimmjow was beaten badly and just as Ichigo was telling Grimmjow to not fight anymore, Nnoitra attacks Grimmjow out of nowhere and that is (as of now) the last we see of Grimmjow. BUT - some speculate that Grimmjow was the one who saved Kisuke in the current Arc. He shows up as a supposed ally alongside Nelliel, ready to fight once more against their new enemy ~ the Wandenreich. However, acting recklessly, Grimmjow was poisoned by Askin and his status is unknown.
Storyline (Younger Toguro)
Prior to becoming a demon, Toguro was once a human who, alongside his brother & Genkai, created a dojo and dedicated themselves to martial arts. However, everything changed when the Demon Kairen entered their dojo and killed off all of their pupils. Angered by the loss of his pupils, Toguro challenged Kairen and lost. After this loss, Toguro disappeared for 3 months - detaching himself from everyone so he can become stronger, but at the same time - a part of him died the day Kairen entered his life. Toguro & Genkai eventually challenged Kairen in the Dark Tournament and won, but it wouldn't be long before Toguro wishes for the Committee to turn him into a Demon, greatly upsetting Genkai. Sometime after the Toguro Brothers transformation from human to demon, they enlisted the help of Karasu & Bui and together - formed Team Toguro for the upcoming Dark Tournament and working alongside Sakyo, one of the renowned members of the Black Black Club.
Before the Dark Tournament took place, the Toguro brothers were working under Gonzo Tarukane to lure out Yusuke & Kuwabara + make the ice apparition Yukina cry (her tears morph into gem stones). The Toguro Brothers were head of the Apparition Gang (made up of Miyuki, Inmaki, & Gokumonki). He intentionally lost to Yusuke & Kuwabara to pave way for the Dark Tournament, held by the Black Black Club where various Demons participate in a martial arts tournament. Team Toguro was Team Urameshi's final opponents and are the antagonists in the Dark Tournament Saga. It is unfortunate that Elder Toguro, Karasu, & Bui loss, but it was the anticipated fight between Younger Toguro & Yusuke Urameshi that would decide the victor of the Dark Tournament as well as bargain who'd win/die at the end between Sakyo, sponsoring Team Toguro, and Koenma, sponsoring Team Urameshi. Toguro wanted Yusuke to unlock his true potential as Genkai's true disciple - killing Genkai and "killing" Kuwabara. With this, Yusuke finished off the 100% Toguro and he met his demise at the hands of his fully-charged & enormous Spirit Gun. After his defeat, Toguro is last seen in the Spirit World where he asked to be sentenced to Limbo despite Koenma pleading him otherwise. It can be said that Toguro wanting to go to Limbo is a testament to the Sin of becoming a Demon & becoming corrupted with power and his obsession with the Demon who took his humanity away, Kairen. A painful and harsh lesson that Toguro will have to endure for 10,000 cycles.
Powers/Abilities (Grimmjow)
When first seeing Grimmjow's fight with Ichigo, he is seen being an expert hand-to-hand combat and Sonido as he blocked all of Ichigo's attacks and did a number on his face. As an Espada, he possesses incredible Spiritual energy, enhanced strength, hierro (Steel Skin), and is perceptive in his fight against as Ichigo as he was able to easily discern Ichigo's movements just from observation. With any Espada, he is capable of two things - Cero & Resurrecion. However, Grimmjow showcases an even upgraded version of Cero called Gran Ray Cero - a attack that is forbidden in Hueco Mundo because of the damage it could do to Las Noches. Grimmjow's true power lies in his Resurrecion - Pantera. Taking on the form of a Pantera-like being, Grimmjow's agility, hierro, and strength are greatly amplified. Grimmjow's attacks include firing bomb-like projectiles and his trademark Desgarron (Panther King's Claw) - his claws composed of Reishi representing a blade that can hurled at a maximum of 10 at a time. This attack acts as a ranged claw attack pretty much.
Powers/Abilities )Younger Toguro)
Toguro is one of Yusuke's toughest opponent and as such, he poses a true threat to humans and demons alike. Upon first meeting Yusuke, Toguro only exerted a little bit of his power and it did a number on Yusuke & Kuwabara. However, after unlocking Yusuke's resolve - Toguro was able to fight at 100% full power. His primary ability is called Percentage power, amplifying and manipulating his muscles to the point where he truly does look inhuman. As seen in the picture, he is at 100%. Before, however, at 85%, Toguro was still kicking it as he was able to do considerable damage to Yusuke (seen breaking Yusuke's arm, beating him to a pulp, and throwing him across the stage). It wasn't until Yusuke found his true resolve thanks to Toguro "killing" Kuwabara that Yusuke was able to defeat the fully-powered 100% Toguro with a enormous Spirit Gun. Some of Toguro's other abilities include flicking his finger which can do considerable damage (it almost left a gash on Yusuke's body) and charging his energy into his arm that eliminates anything when in contact. As a demon, Toguro also has the ability to devour souls to amplify his power and durability. Even though Toguro is a powerful demon, he is only at B-class, considerably lower than S-class demons like Raizen, Yomi, or Mukuro.
Verdict
And the winner is....
These two are pretty b@d@$$e$ in their own right. One can turn into a Panther-like being while the other can amplify their muscles to the point where he looks inhuman. So who, in this Round, would potentially offer more in terms of storyline & powers/abilities. Not going to lie, after reevaluating their profiles, the victory was unanimous ~ Younger Toguro. Let's take a step back and picture his life: He was once human, saw his closest friends get killed by a Demon (lost of sanity/humanity at this point), and wanted to turn into the very monster that killed his friends. There was an actual time where Younger Toguro was a respectable martial artist, but after the initial shock of seeing his friends getting murdered by a Demon, a part of him has withered. The very foundation he built upon alongside Genkai is crumbling and it's because of his first loss against the murderer that he's changed...for the worst. He became detached, possessed, and almost puppet-like. After killing his murder in combat, why suddenly did he turn the other cheek and became the very monster he killed? Koema in YYH explicated that perhaps Toguro felt guilty that he was unable to save any of his comrades and that was why he'd gone mad, but there's more to it than just that hypothesis. He was able to do considerable damage to Team Urameshi and, for the most part, up until the very end never backed down. Even though he died, he asked if he could be placed in Limbo ~ atonement for his crimes or perhaps wanting to reevaluate his existence, in the very end ~ I think Younger Toguro gained his humanity back, but at the cost of everything that's happened to him. Then there's Grimmjow who is my favorite Espada. He's cocky, is difficult to work with, and just wants to kill the bastard (Ichigo) for Aizen's sake. However, after Ichigo mopped the floor with him and Nnoitra delivering a fatal blow, we don't see much of Grimmjow. Grimmjow is seen much much later and guess what, he was poisoned by Askin really f*cking easily. Grimmjow's story as well is tragic ~ eating a part of his comrades to climb to the top of the food chain. The impact of today's verdict boiled down to tragedy ~ A man who lost his humanity or a man who lived in a eat or be eaten world? Well, the tragedy for both is there, but I think Younger Toguro's overall character left an impression that has audiences mixed ~ it leaves much more room for interpretation. There wasn't much payoff from Grimmjow ~ he was nothing, became something, and got his @$$ handed to him by Ichigo. In terms of power, again I will give it to Younger Toguro because he amplified his power so hard that it became inhuman. With Grimmjow, he had a Resurrecion sure, but I think Ichigo was able to be on par with him in terms of durability & agility. Yusuke was actually struggling against Younger Toguro ~ that left an even greater impact. This victory goes to YYH.
So who do you think won this matchup? Younger Toguro from YYH or Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez from Bleach? Comment below & let me know. Look forward to BH 2 posts on Mondays & Fridays all throughout September. Until then, you stay classy. YYH still leads 3-1 against Bleach. Monday will be the 2nd Main Event of BH.
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