Bleach's Answered Questions:

With this new one shot and the new Bleach light novels, a few mysteries have been laid to rest.  Let's go through them in order:

Bleach's Unanswered Questions:

Is Kira really a dead zombie or does he retain his personality and for all intents and purposes is still alive?

Answer:  He's fine.  Not a scratch on him and the same as ever.

What was the eventual result of Kira's fight with all the flamingos?

Answer:  I guess he won considering he's fine.

Why was Ukitake retained as a captain, and why did Byakuya defer to Ukitake's interference when Yoruichi was allowed to run away with Ichigo, if he was incapable of ever producing results in any fight throughout the series?  He never went Bankai, and then he dies without anyone even hurting him for seemingly no reason?  Why was this level of incompetence rewarded with a title equivalent to the likes of Kenpachi and Byakuya?

Answer:  He had high spiritual pressure and was serving an important role as the soul king's arm's seal.  It was like a reward for good behavior.

What happened to the royal guard?

Answer:  They're fine.

How were those two zombie captains revived when Gremmy clearly said he had killed them?

Answer:  I guess everything Gremmy imagined went away when he died.

Wasn't Iba supposed to accompany that dog captain and get revenge?  Why then did he never show up?  And why on Earth would a guy who never showed up to any fight in the whole series be promoted to captain class afterwards?

Unanswered.

What is Hisagi Shuhei's bankai, in the end?

Answer:  Hisagi wraps his body and his opponent's body in chains.  They can do damage to each other but are instantly healed until both sides have run out of spiritual energy.  It's a suicide pact meant to be used as a deterrent.

What is Ichigo's new bankai, in the end?  Does he still even have one?

Unanswered.

Why didn't Ichigo's and Ishida's dads help in the fight against Ywach?

Answer:  Maybe they knew the silver arrow was so powerful that no help was needed?

Why did that captain warn Ichigo's friends that he might not be able to return to Earth when Ichigo seemingly returned without any issue despite his massive powerup?

Answer:  Shunsui thought it might be a problem but it turned out it wasn't so oh well.

Why didn't Ywach use the bankai he stole?

Answer:  Maybe it wasn't as strong as his other abilities?

Why, if Ywach can see the future, did he allow an arrow to hit him from behind as though he couldn't see it coming?

Answer:  Maybe the silver arrow is immune to his future sight?

Why did Ywach absorb Gerard's and Haschwalth's powers, and then not even use them for himself, crippling his own side for no reason?

Answer:  He was tired of the Sternritter after losing so much so he decided to wrap things up and handle the rest himself.

What is Shinji Hirako's bankai and how come he never used it?

Answer:  Shinji's bankai reverses friend-foe identification in a wide area.  He could never use it because 1 on 1 it's useless, and when within a group of allies against a group of enemies it's also useless.  The only time it's useful is when being ganged up on by lots of enemies while all alone.  This event finally happened in the light novels and the bankai worked great.

What is Love Aikawa's bankai and how come he never used it?

Unanswered.

What the hell happened to Mashiro Kuna such that she wasn't even there for the last battle?

Unanswered.

If Ywach can see the future, why did he give the power of antithesis to Ishida, which even Haschwalth said would be a threat to Ywach?  In addition, why on Earth did he name Ishida his heir, when he knew Ishida would betray him?

Answer:  I get the feeling Ywach didn't like his own Sternritter and was happy to cause them trouble and make a mockery of them.  He was also supremely confident in his abilities and viewed nothing as a threat.

What exactly was the soul king?  If the soul king was necessary for the world to exist, why was it fine after Ywach died?  Why did Aizen have such a huge grudge against a soul king which seemingly existed as nothing but an artificial pillar holding up the sky?

Answer:  The soul king was some poor guy sacrificed by soul society to help them out.  Aizen didn't like the injustice of the human sacrifice having to pay the price while everyone else benefitted.  Ywach is now being used as the new soul king sacrificial host.  It appears Ichigo also could have served the role but it turned out to be unnecessary.

Where is Aizen now and in what state?  If he's back in prison why did he willingly submit to that fate after he'd finally gotten free again?

Answer:  Aizen's back in jail.  He didn't resist because he doesn't seem to really mind his situation.

What happened to Tier Harribel?  The last we saw of her she was still imprisoned by the Quincies.  Was she liberated at some future point?

Answer:  Tier is the new ruler of Hueco Mundo, which has become much more peaceful under her.

What about the remaining sternritters?

Answer:  The remaining sternritters have made peace with Soul Society or are serving Soul Society.

Is there a new soul king guarded by a new royal guard now?

Answer:  Ywach is the new soul king, guarded by the same old royal guard.

Why didn't Tessai Tsukabishi help in the last battle?  What about Urara and Jinta?

Answer:  Maybe they knew Soul Society already had everything in the bag since they still had endless all powerful trump cards left to deploy even without them.

How exactly did Byakuya and Kenpachi beat Yammy anyway?

Answer:  Byakuya and Kenpachi were way stronger than Yammy, Yammy's 'number 0' designation was all hype.

Who is Iba's lieutenant?  Does Iba have a bankai or have standards been lowered?  (7th division)

Answer:  Iba's lieutenant is a deaf-mute who uses sign language and can turn his sword into a swarm of piercing hawks.  I assume Iba has a bankai by now, or else he wouldn't be captain while people like Renji who have bankais are still sub-captains.

Who is Lisa's lieutenant?  Does Lisa have a bankai or have standards been lowered?  (8th division)

Answer:  Lisa's lieutenant is a gyaru who enjoys life and has extremely powerful hands.  I assume Lisa has a bankai by now, or else she wouldn't be captain while people like Renji who have bankais are still sub-captains.

Who is Rukia's lieutenant?  (13th division)

Answer:  The baka couple that always followed Ukitake around.

When, how and why did Ichigo reciprocate Orihime's feelings?

Answer:  I guess Orihime was so cute that Ichigo just couldn't resist anymore.

When, how and why did Rukia reciprocate Renji's feelings?

Answer:  Maybe she felt Renji was a respectable partner and it was a good time to move on from Ichigo now that he'd chosen Orihime.

What did Kazui do to Ywach's power at the end, how did he do it?

Answer:  Kazui can open portals to hell.

Isane's a captain, so does she have a bankai or have standards been lowered?  (4th division)

Answer:  Isane must have a bankai by now, or else a sub-captain with a bankai would have surely replaced her.

Where's Kon?

Answer:  Still living with Ichigo, now a playmate of Kazui.

What were the results of Ganju's special training?  He didn't seem any different in the little screen time he had.

Answer:  Ganju's strength wasn't needed because they were already curb stomping the Sternritter.

Does Ichigo even care about his Shiba relatives or is he just going to ignore that link he has with soul society?

Answer:  Ichigo doesn't care.

Does Yoruichi have a bankai?  If she does, what is it?

Unanswered.

Where is Urahara Kisuke now?

Answer:  In soul society, making spiffy inventions to modernize it.

If Aizen has one, what is his bankai, and why hasn't he used it yet?

Unanswered.

Is this still all part of Aizen's plan?

Answer:  I wouldn't be surprised.

Why didn't all the surviving good guys help out Ichigo against Ywach in the final fight?  Why was it just Ichigo, Renji and Aizen in the end?  There were a plethora of characters who hadn't been hurt much yet and and hadn't gone all out yet, and they just abandoned the fate of the world to Ichigo with a whoop-de-doo-da?

Answer:  The silver arrow is so powerful that the moment they got it the fight was essentially over.

Why would Ichigo work as a doctor in a clinic when Inoue can heal anyone from any level of injury with magic?  What's the point of Ichigo working?  Or does he just leave it all to Inoue and loaf around the house all day?

Answer:  It turns out he works as a translator.

Was the manga really canceled right before it would have reached its natural conclusion by a malicious, evil group of editors at Shonen Jump?  Or did the author just get sick of tying up loose ends and decided to spontaneously end it with a deus ex machina silver arrow?  Is there some third reason why the ending was so rushed?

Answer:  The author got sick, and now works at a reduced pace he's more comfortable with.

If the editors did cancel it against Tite's will, why, when it was still one of the best selling manga in the world and has a huge following which would be extremely angered at Jump's betrayal of their desire to see the proper conclusion of a story they've been following for 15 years?

Answer:  Tite's health made ending the series necessary.

Why didn't Bleach get the cover and an all color chapter after being the mainstay of Shonen Jump for 15 years?  Why isn't it shown as much respect as Naruto was?

Answer:  Tite probably wasn't in good enough health to make an especially spiffy ending.

Why was the 'exciting announcement' a live action movie, which no one wanted, instead of the anime adaption of the last arc, which is what everyone wanted?

Answer:  Don't worry the anime is coming.

Was Byakuya really supposed to survive that initial sternritter raid or did the editors simply insist he be spared against Kubo's wishes?

Answer:  I guess authors rarely want to lose popular and cool characters they worked hard to develop, so usually everyone survives despite how ludicrous it is.  Only Akame ga Kill! and Kimetsu no Yaiba are serious enough shows to make the hard decisions.