The thing is, did we ever know that curse seal = sage powers? Did Orochimaru ever tell anyone that Jugo's curse seal abilities derived from sage powers? It was never once hinted at or planned, and suddenly Sasuke knows how to do it. I'm not saying that we the audience had to know, but it still feels like a Kubo move to me.
It was back in Ch.579. It's not so much that curse seal = sage powers, as much as sage powers derives from a refined concentration of nature chakra. That's Juugo's ability- his clan could absorb nature chakra. Orochi's experiments let him "bottle" Juugo's ability and implant it in others, causing the curse mark. What I don't know is if the difference between Sage Mode and plain ol' nature chakra was ever explained. I doubt there was an entire clan of sages running around. Best guess? Sage Mode is a controlled blend of the user's chakra + nature chakra, without turning into a beast/stone. Juugo's clan had the ability to absorb it without turning into stone, but still became beasts.
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." — James D. Nicoll
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." — James D. Nicoll
No, I got that. It's been like 14~ish years since the Deliora incident, and the new guy looks to be in his 30s (lol anime-aging notwithstanding) so he seems too young to be Ur's father. Not knowing anything about him other than his magic type doesn't really help at the moment, of course. For all we know he could be Ultear's mysteriously missing father (again, lol anime-aging), which now that it's brought up is kind of an obvious character progression for that particular family.
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No, I got that. It's been like 14~ish years since the Deliora incident, and the new guy looks to be in his 30s (lol anime-aging notwithstanding) so he seems too young to be Ur's father. Not knowing anything about him other than his magic type doesn't really help at the moment, of course. For all we know he could be Ultear's mysteriously missing father (again, lol anime-aging), which now that it's brought up is kind of an obvious character progression for that particular family.
So if Urtear had a kid he/she would have turned into water?
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." — James D. Nicoll
Hajime no ippo: Well, they're about to begin, although there's no guarantee how many more chapters it will take before the first blow falls. I'm not sure what Ippo is going to do, win or lose. The build-up is that he will lose, as so many have stated that he's lost his edge, but at this point in the story, that would be odd. I do believe that this is going to be a very bloody fight.
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." — James D. Nicoll
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." — James D. Nicoll
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." — James D. Nicoll
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." — James D. Nicoll
If Quincys don't have protective anti-Hollow antibodies (did I just ******* type that?), then it would actually make sense for once for Ichigo to be able to use Hollowpowers. He's only half Shinigami, half Quincy. I imagine it would be similar to Mandellian genetics - the only way to have a complete absence of the antibodies would be for two recessive alleles. With this seeming to be a trait unique to the Quincys, and ubiquitous amongst them, then it stands to reason that they are heterozygous recessive for this mutation, where as all other groups appear to be heterozygous dominant.
So basically, genetics might make this actually valid.
Jugo's power basically giving access to Sage Mode. I remember him using the cursed seal, though.
Juugo's power, which the cursed seal was derived from, is something that utilizes natural energy. It doesn't necessarily have to be a sage mode per say. If you read the older chapters again it'll all click pretty easily. He was always sitting still and nature was attracted to him, or rather he was one with nature; just like Naruto when he was training with natural energy.
Sasuke was compatible with the cursed seal, ala natural energy via Juugo. What Sasuke is currently doing is very similar to what Jiraiya would do with the elder frogs. Juugo is gathering natural energy and Sasuke is using it.
If the Shinigami have Hollow Anti-Bodies wouldn't that mean that they wouldn't be able to Hollowfy at all? Remember Aizen was working on breaking the Reishi? balance between the two, not the biological one. Plus Urahara didn't design the special Gigai that Isshin used to block Hollowfication, just surpress his Spiritual Pressure.
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." — James D. Nicoll
If the Shinigami have Hollow Anti-Bodies wouldn't that mean that they wouldn't be able to Hollowfy at all? Remember Aizen was working on breaking the Reishi? balance between the two, not the biological one. Plus Urahara didn't design the special Gigai that Isshin used to block Hollowfication, just surpress his Spiritual Pressure.
If I recall correctly, it works like this:
The antibodies don't prevent Hollowfication, just prevent death when exposed to anything Hollow. I guess it's more like... a resistance? Shinigami have the antibodies, which means that instead of a total cessation of existence when they get damaged by a Hollow, like a Quincy would, they undergo the Hollowfication process. Aizen was working on a way to better combine Hollow and Shinigami powers - Quincy being completely incompatible to Hollows means he would have no reason to use them, either, while Shinigami would be natural test subjects. Or any group that's not Quincy, really.
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." — James D. Nicoll
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." — James D. Nicoll