Bleach Fantasy II Round 21: Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez vs. Sephiroth

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. Monday, Bleach took another victory against FF (FF still leads 12-8 against Bleach), but many things can happen. Like MechG said, Bleach Fantasy II posts will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. My daily schedule of 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 21 ~ Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez vs. Sephiroth. 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 (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 (Sephiroth)

When Sephiroth was born, he was born in an experiment with the Jenova Project to Professor Hojo and Lucrecia Crescent after Hojo infused cells from the omnipotent alien being, Jenova with Lucrecia's fetus containing the unborn baby. The majority of his lifetime, Sephiroth was raised by scientists of the Shinra Corporation where they used him as a super soldier in which he uses it to his advantage developing inhuman strength, endurance, agility, and combat reflexes (not to mention he developed to be a crafty and skilled swordsman) and became a prestigious 1st class member of Shinra's SOLDIER program. He battled among the greats and the other swordsmen who were close to matching him in terms of skill were Angeal and Genesis and he managed to best them both. He became a well-known and respected war hero due to his efforts in the Wutai War. Everybody wanted to be like Sephy now. In the background story of FFVII and further elaborated in Crisis Core, Sephiroth, upon reaching a Mako Reactor near Nibelheim, the hometown of arch nemesis, Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart, discovers a pod chamber of a monster containing the name, "JENOVA." As a result, Sephiroth goes crazy, mistakenly referring to the monster as his "mother" and proceeds to burn the town of Nibelheim to the ground and killing Tifa's dad in the process with his longsword, the Masamune before recovering the pod containing Jenova.  Prior to recovering the Jenova pod, he was challenged by Zack Fair and later Cloud and as a result, he beats Zack, but Cloud beats him out of shear anger. After the Nibelheim incident, Sephiroth spends his time residing in the Lifestream, the essence and spiritual energy of the Planet and plotted to control it to become a god. His physical body is then encased in the Northern Cave, but he is able to control Jenova’s cells so he can take on multiple forms.

During the time of FF7, Sephiroth has been classified as “deceased.” However, he enacts on a plan to call a reunion to the Sephiroth Clones. When Jenova was transported to the main Shinra HQ, Sephiroth was able to manifest it to break out and kill Shinra soldiers guarding the HQ and President Shinra himself; with that, he also breaks Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aeris, and Red XIII out of imprisonment and he left his Masamune standing on the dead President Shinra, marking that he was present and galvanized Cloud to set out to find him and kill him once and for all. Sephy’s role throughout the majority of FF7 was just to play mind games with Cloud and his party. He encounters them again during Shinra’s voyage to Costa del Sol and leaves behind a Jenova monster, in which Cloud and his party defeated and later back in Nibelheim where he reveals about the reunion. The full extent of his plans was revealed in the Temple of the Ancients where he would use Black Materia to summon Meteor to deal massive damage to the Planet, allowing the Lifestream to appear and heal it. Sephiroth wants to be in the center of that impact zone, so he can merge with the Lifestream, thus achieving his goal to become a god. In one of the most tragic cinematics in FF, his manifestation descended from above and stabbed Aeris behind after she used her White Magic powers as a Cetra to awaken Holy to prevent Meteor. After a battle, he starts messing with Cloud’s mind yet again, forcing him to hand the Black Materia. After Cloud rediscovers his past, he and his party prepare for one final battle with Sephy, at the Planet’s core. They take care of him physically in various forms, but Cloud ultimately seals the deal, defeating him metaphysically. After defeat, Sephy dissolves into the Lifestream and Meteor’s impact towards the Planet was averted due to Holy. In Advent Children, he still makes his presence felt within the Lifestream through the disease of Geostigma, manifested by Jenova’s consciousness, majority affecting children. He takes form in three humans: Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj. After a battle with Cloud, he disappears into the Lifestream again, echoing the words: “I will never be a memory.” 

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 (Sephiroth)

You can’t deny that Sephiroth is one of the most iconic villains in the FF franchise. Aside from being a master swordsman and a great intellect, he has the ability to take on different forms whether it's in the form of a monster or in the form of a human (Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj in Advent Children) and when his physical form is gone he can still get into someone's mind like how he did with Cloud and his deceased best friend, Zack Fair, another 1st class SOLDIER member when Hojo injected both of them with Sephiroth clone cells. He can also summon a meteor through the use of Black Materia and can direct its course to a planet's destruction as he so pleases. In FF7 he is fought three times: in two forms using Jenova’s cells and in the metaphysical mind. His two forms are: Bizarro-Sephiroth and Safer-Sephiroth. The Bizarro form is kinda his dumb down form, but it can cast the highest levels of fire, ice, bolt (lightning), quake, and can weaken a party’s stats. In Sephiroth’s Safer form, that form is his god form and he has an 8 cycle attack sequence. Out of the 8, two of his most powerful attacks include: Super Nova and Heartless Angel, in which both can deal massive damage. In conclusion, Sephiroth is inhumanly powerful, a mastermind in mind games, and he defies death. He's just that damn impossible to kill off for good.

Verdict (By MechG)

And the winner is...

When declaring this matchup, my mind was already up made that there is absolutely, positively no way in H-E-L-L that I could possibly make Sephiroth fall to 0-3 overall in Fight Night posts after facing Bleach’s top-tier villains in Aizen and Yhwach in the past. Yeah Grimmjow may have a sad upbringing in terms of story, but I could care less about that. Sephiroth’s upbringing is a prime example of a tragic hero turned villain. He was well respected by many of his peers in SOLDIER that everybody wanted to be like Sephy. Then JENOVA happened and that drove Sephiroth into madness. “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” The late Heath Ledger once said that in his masterful role as the Joker and Sephiroth’s character development from a hero to a villain fits that criterion. First he was admired and respected and then later everybody wants him dead for the terror he has caused throughout the Planet. Hmmm, that character development reminds me of someone who Grimmjow is serving under or served under considering that arc was way yesterday. I can’t wrap my head around the name Grimmjow served under. Oh yeah, he was mentioned on top, Aizen! Grimmjow was Aizen’s b!tch as Stillmattic said before. This transitions into the powers/abilities section, Grimmjow may have two forms, may be a fast, furious, wild, and free fighter, but Sephiroth’s great intellect and discipline will be too much for Grimmjow aggressive style and not to mention, Sephiroth’s hard to kill off since he possesses the Lifestream. In a sense, it’s like Grimmjow is messing with a poor man’s Aizen. Not only can Sephiroth attack anybody physically with his two forms, but he can attack anybody in their minds. Can Grimmjow do that? I don’t think so. Sorry Bleach fans, but Sephiroth was due for a victory here.

So who do you think won this matchup? Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez from Bleach or Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII? 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 (13-8):

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)
11) Bambietta Basterbine vs. Rinoa Heartilly ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by Stillmattic)
12) Riruka Dokugamine vs. Ultimecia ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by Stillmattic)
13) Baraggan Louisenbairn vs. Exdeath ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by MechG)
14) Ginjo Kugo vs. Caius Ballad ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by MechG)
15) Coyote Starrk vs. Cloud Strife ~ Bleach (Verdict by MechG)
16) Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck vs. Kefka Palazzo ~ Bleach (Verdict by Stillmattic)
17) Shinji Hirako vs. Emperor Mateus ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by Stillmattic)
18) Orihime Inoue vs. Yuna ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by Stillmattic)
19) Kisuke Urahara vs. Seymour Guado ~ Bleach (Verdict by MechG)
20) Renji Abarai vs. Squall Leonhart ~ Bleach  (Verdict by MechG)
21) Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez vs. Sephiroth ~ Final Fantasy (Verdict by MechG)