Bleach Fantasy II Round 10: Tia Harribel vs. Tidus

Welcome back to another installment of Bleach Fantasy II where MechG & I once again collaborate on pitting the world of Bleach & the various installments of the Final Fantasy franchise. On Wednesday, FF managed to steal another win from Bleach (FF still leads 6-3 against Bleach), but many things can happen. Like MechG said, Bleach Fantasy II posts will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. My daily schedule of Affinity, Watch-list, WBCR, & Throwback posts will be the same as always (if delayed, posts will be on weekends). Without further ado, let's get started on Bleach Fantasy II Round 10 ~ Tier Harribel vs. Tidus. Take into account that Storyline and Powers/Abilities are the deciding factors. MechG & I will switch-off ever 3 rounds in giving the verdict. Let's jam!

Storyline (Harribel)

Before Harribel was the 3rd Espada under Aizen's tutelage, Harribel was trying to stay alive in Hueco Mundo as a Vasto Lorde-class Menos. When Apacci (later would be one of Harribel's fraccion) is being attacked by 2 male Adjuchas, Harribel steps in to save her. Afterwards, Apacci introduces Harribel to Mila Rose & Sung-Sun ~ a fated meeting of the 3rd Espada and her underlings. Harribel brought up the idea of working together as a group not only to survive together, but to defend themselves from any threat that may come to them. Harribel's philosophy on power is that she'd rather work in a group than to sacrifice others for her own benefit (this means she's a team-player). It wouldn't be long before Harribel & her new comrades were faced with a new terror - the King of Hueco Mundo, Barragan Louisenbairn. Her refusal to yield to the King only made things worse as Baraggan's underlings, one by one, attacked Harribel & her new comrads. Baraggan personally was tired of Harribel's rebellious attitude and refusal to yield to him. Since then, Harribel & her comrades had to stick close since Baraggan was after them. A henchmen of Baraggan's appeared and tried to do away with Harribel only to have her own life saved....by Aizen Sousuke. Aizen gave Harribel a choice to join his ranks ~ to protect not only herself, but the lives of her own comrades. Hearing Aizen's concept of sacrifice, Harribel & her Fraccion joined him.

Harribel isn't formerly introduced as of yet, but is briefly seen at the birth of Wonderweiss Margela and at the debriefing of Ulquiorra & Yammy's visit to Karakura Town. She is rightfully seen and introduced when Aizen summons the Espada about the intruders in Hueco Mundo (Ichigo, Uryu, & Chad). She is seen bickering with 5th Espada, Nnoitra, about the intruders. Just as Nnoitra asks her if she was scared, Harribel was quick to turn angry, but is stopped when Grimmjow decides to leave the meeting in order to pursue the intruders. When Grimmjow & Ichigo finally have their anticipated match, Harribel & her Fraccion are seen watching from a distance, but Harribel notices something? The opponent Grimmjow was fighting, to her, didn't feel human ~ it felt like it was an Espada vs. Espada fight. She is in shock of how Ichigo's strength was on par with Grimmjow's & that it was, as I said before, inhuman. Tier Harribel shows up later on alongside Starrk & Baraggan to fight the resistance in Fake Karakura Town. She, alongside her Fraccion, fight the 10th division. Hitsugaya, Captain of the 10th Division, is surprised that Harribel is strong and is only the 3rd Espada. An expert iswordsman and being highly perceptive & tactical in battle, she was able to discern all of Hitsugaya's attacks. It wouldn't be long before Harribel releases her Resurreccion - Tiburon (Imperial Shark Empress). However, she didn't ascertain the full extent of one of Hitsugaya's abilities and is frozen-in place temporarily by this attack (Hyoten Hyakkaso). However, it seems that Harribel has yet to face defeat as Wonderweiss appears and breaks Harribel from the ice that imprisoned her ~ ready to face Hitsugaya once more. All seemed to be in Harribel's favor up until the Visored showed up to back the Shinigami in their confrontation against the Espada. Lisa, Hiyori, & Hitsugaya triple-teamed her, but Harribel was able to tactically and carefully maneuver her way out of each and every one of their attacks. As Starrk & Barragan fell, Harribel is seen being the only remaining Espada. Seeing that it was futile and that they served their purpose, Aizen betrays and mercilessly cuts down Harribel. Angered by this sudden betrayal from her savior, she retaliates only to be struck down by Aizen & his Kyoka Suigetsu. After Aizen's imprisonment, she becomes the new ruler of Hueco Mundo. However, a new threat shows up known as the Wandenreich and Yhwach quickly dispatched Harribel. Harribel is last seen being held captive.

Storyline (Tidus)

Born in Zanarkand, Tidus was brought up by an unnamed mother and his father, Jecht, who left him behind to become one of the guardians of the high summoner, Braska on his pilgrimage to defeat Sin and bring forth the Calm in Spira. Growing up, Tidus became a Blitzball star, playing for the Zanarkand Abes. Since his father’s disappearance, the people of Zanarkand still revered Jecht as one of Blitzball’s G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) and that pressured Tidus to follow in his old man's footsteps and either match or surpass him in terms of skills.

During a match for the Jecht Memorial Cup, Sin emerges and terrorizes Zanarkand. Tidus escapes just in time before the Blitzball stadium collapsed and met up with Jecht’s old friend and fellow guardian, Auron. While fighting Sin, Auron drags Tidus into Sin’s depths while claiming that his story is just beginning. Tidus awakens in the world of Spira off the coast of the Baaj Temple area where he was taken in by Al Bhed salvagers and befriends an Al Bhed girl named Rikku. When their boat was attacked by Sin, Tidus wakes up at Besaid Island. There, he meets Wakka, a Blitzball player and captain of the Besaid Aurochs. By impressing Wakka and the Aurochs with his Blitzball skills, Tidus was welcomed with open arms and taken into the Besaid village, where he meets Lulu, Kimahri, and the next high summoner, Yuna, whom he became acquainted with. The group would start their pilgrimages across the temples and acquiring aeons before arriving in Luca for the Blitzball tournament. Before the Aurochs’ matchup with the Al Bhed Psyches, Tidus was informed by Yuna about an Auron sighting in Luca and went with her to look for him. After the Aurochs’ matchup against the Luca Goers, Luca’s stadium was attacked by fiends and Tidus and Wakka encountered Auron and teamed to fight them off. After the fiend attack was quelled by Seymour, Auron revealed to Tidus that Sin is Jecht, but Tidus is in a state of denial. After Sin wreaked havoc over the Crusaders and Al Bhed joint forces during Operation Mi’Hen, Auron reiterated to Tidus that Sin is Jecht and claimed his recent attack was a way to see his son and show him his power, so Tidus would be the one to kill him. Sometime later, Tidus and the party found out Seymour killed his father, Jyscal to be Maester, causing Yuna to rethink her decision in accepting Seymour’s wedding proposal. By killing Seymour, the Guados branded Tidus and the rest of the party as traitors to the teachings of Yevon and had to spent the majority of their journey running away. While searching for Yuna in Al Bhed’s Home after a Sin attack, Tidus learns of the truth about the Final Summoning that the summoner will die. After Home’s destroyed, Tidus and company boarded the Al Bhed’s airship and proceeded to Bevelle to crash the wedding of Yuna and the un-sent Seymour. During the pilgrimage from Mt. Gagazet to the Zanarkand ruins, Tidus finds out that he, along with Jecht, are dreams of the fayth as is the Zanarkand they resided in. In the Zanarkand ruins, the party fought and defeated Yunalesca, putting the Final Summoning tradition to shame. Determined to find another way to defeat Sin without the Final Summoning, Tidus insists that they have to go inside Sin, defeat the Final Aeon (Jecht), and defeat Yu Yevon. After working that to perfection and defeating Sin once and for all, Tidus begins to fade into the Farplane, bidding his friends goodbye and hugging Yuna in spirit after Yuna confessed her love to him. In X-2, Tidus is revived by the Fayth and emerges in Besaid Island, reunited with Yuna. He takes her to Zanarkand and starts to theorize if he’s still a dream of the fayth. Yuna asks if he’s going to disappear again, but Tidus replies that they should just cherish each other.

Powers/Abilities (Harribel)

Being the 3rd Espada, she possesses incredible spiritual power. As said previously above - Harribel is a master swordsman, being able to perceive and tactically maneuver her way from Hitsugaya's attacks. With any Hollow, she is capable of performing Cero, Sonidl, & Descorrer (this allows her to move freely between worlds). However, she is most proficient in her Zanpaktou ~ Tiburon. In her Resurreccion form, not only is her power, agility, and durability enhanced ~ but she has a onslaught of attacks that prove to be devastating on Captain Hitsugaya & her main basis of attacks is based on water manipulation. By garnering her spiritual power onto the tip of her blade, she is able to fire a yellow-colored projectile called Ola Azul (Blue Wave Gun). Harribel is able to fire tridents (infusing her sword with her spiritual power that fires high-force slashes in a series of three shots ~ being able to cut through anyone at ease). Her attack, Hirviendo (Burning Current) ~ she can control and manipulate her boiling water just by pointing her blade in any direction. La Gota (War Drop) allows Harribel to condense large amounts of water around her blade before firing it as a blast that resembles much like a shark tooth (this attack alone was enough to destroy houses). And her last attack, Cascada (Cutting Waterfall) ~ allows Harribel to launch a surge of water at her opponent which is large enough to cover several town blocks.

Powers/Abilities (Tidus)

Due to being a Blitzball athlete and a good swimmer, Tidus possesses high agility, evasion, and accuracy stats, able to match up against swift and speedy enemies in battle. In battle, he is equipped with shields and his signature sword, Brotherhood, given by Wakka previously used by Wakka’s late brother, Chappu. In terms of abilities, it’s safe to say Tidus is also a Time Mage able to cast Haste on himself and his party, cast Slow on his opponent, and delay an opponent’s next move with a Delay Attack or a Delay Buster. He’s also able to strike with his Quick Hit ability before his opponents can even think about making a move on him. His other abilities include Cheer, to raise his own strength and defense as well as his party’s and Provoke, to draw an attack towards him. His Overdrive is called Swordplay and possesses 4 levels: Spiral Cut, showing off his athleticism via cartwheels and slamming his sword down on his enemy for massive damage, Slice & Dice, attacking back and forth with swift speed, Energy Rain, charging and jumping off an enemy, charging his sword mid-air and unleashing a wave of deadly energy beams, and Blitz Ace, slashing an opponent a couple times, putting his sword down, jumping and with an assist from Yuna, kicks a blitzball at the opponent in mid-air, unleashing a massive explosion around it.

Verdict (by Stillmattic)
And the winner is...

Reiterating once again on the concept of full vs half plate, sometimes different characters have more to offer than the other. However, sometimes showing less of a character is more compelling than knowing them from the get-go because it develops a sense of mystery & identity. As we are well aware, Tidus is the protagonist of FF X and we were given more to work with. With Harribel, she played third to Aizen as one of Aizen's Espada. She was rescued by Aizen and to return his kindness, Harribel served under his tutelage. However, things turned sour when Aizen felt like he didn't have a use for Harribel's abilities. Betrayed, Harribel retaliated, but was no match for Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu. It wouldn't be long before Harribel becomes Empress of Hueco Mundo after Aizen's imprisonment, but sometime later she & the remaining Arrancar(s) were attached by Yhwach & the Wandenreich. By explicating Harribel's backstory, it doesn't really offer much. Harribel was saved, betrayed, & now being held hostage. With Tidus, he grew up with parents (Jecht abandoned them earlier), played Blitzball, & everything changed when Sin started causing a ruckus in Zanarkand. Tidus from then on would become a hero whereas with Harribel, her beginning & "end" (it's unsure on whether or not she's fine despite being held hostage) are bittersweet. I felt more empathetic towards her because she sacrificed so much (was being hunted by various others & forced to survive in a eat or be eaten world) and lost a lot (Saved by a "Hero" and then betrayed by said person) in order to get where she was (becoming Empress of Hueco Mundo), but in the end ~ her story could potentially have more to offer and I wonder myself if she'll play more of a role knowing she's being held hostage. Don't get me wrong, Tidus is STRONG as sh*t and has a larger array of attacks compared to Harribel, but I think in terms of story ~ Harribel has much more room for interpretation whereas we already were given on a silver platter Tidus' story from beginning to end. Sorry FF X fans, but the Shark takes this one.

So who do you think won this matchup? Tia Harribel from Bleach or Tidus from Final Fantasy X? Comment below and let us know. Reiterating again, Bleach Fantasy Round II posts will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays w/MechG & I interchanging every 3rd matchups on giving the verdict. Bleach Fantasy Round II standings (6-4):

1) Yoruichi Shihoin vs. Prishe ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by MechG)
2) Uryu Ishida vs. Hope Estheim ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by MechG)
3) As Nodt vs. Vincent Valentine ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by MechG)
4) Kenpachi Zaraki vs. Jecht ~ Bleach (Verdict by Stillmattic)
5) Shunsui Kyoraku vs. Auron ~ Bleach (Verdict by Stillmattic)
6) Sui-Feng vs. Tifa Lockhart ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by Stillmattic) 
7) Mayuri Kurotsuchi vs. Barthandelus ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by MechG)
8) Sajin Komamura vs. Sin ~ Bleach (Verdict by MechG)

9) Toshiro Hitsugaya vs. Kuja ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by MechG)
10) Tia Harribel vs. Tidus ~ Bleach (Verdict by Stillmattic)