So basically every plot hook for this arc that was actually interesting gets awkwardly swept aside for a time-skip "babies ever after" ending.
Jesus Christ.
What the fuck was the Soul King? Why did he have special eyes?
What was Aizen so angry about?
I get the feeling Aizen had the same reaction as you when he saw the Soul King. He snuck in specifically to see the strongest person int he universe, and it wasn't a person at all really. It was a thing. Whatever purpose it served was... Not discernible.
For Aizen, someone who had aspired to be the strongest and challenge the king that must've been a brutal disappointment.
Just look at what he shouted at Urahara before he got sealed.
Why can any of the Vizords have a fight without embarrassing themselves?
They were filler.
What was Ichibe "sorry" to Ichigo and company about? Why was he so sure Yhwach couldn't be defeated?
Who were those random two rookie Shinigamis that were literally the first thing we saw when this arc started?
What about Ichigo's "normal" friends back in Karakura town?
Who knows?
What about Ginjo's revelation that Ukitake created the Substitute Shinigami program and possibly had shady motives?
That was his hangup. Ichigo thought it was a good idea. He killed Ginjou for disagreeing.
What was Ichigo's sister doing with Urahara?
Hanging out.
What's the deal with Urahara? (This could be an entire section on its own.)
He is a smart dude who got outmaneuvered by Aizen and forced into exile accordingly. He didn't forget about that thoguh and formed a long term plan to counter Aizen's influence.
Vestigial character.
Why did Shunsui imply that Ichigo would never be able to return home to his friends?
Ichigo was already radiating so much spirit energy that he warped Orihime, Tatsuki, Chad, and his sisters as it was.
Shunsui wasn't completely certain about how Ichigo's training would go so he couldn't say for sure. He felt his pals deserved to know there was a risk in undertaking it however.
Why did Isshin know the Final Getsuga Tensho?
Probably just a Shiba clan technique passed down over the generations.
What are Orihime's powers? We went through the whole Fullbring arc without a confirmation she was a Fullbringer, but she never actually did anything besides her little shields and her plot-convenience-healing. Weren't her powers supposed to have deity-level implications?
They were potentially broken. It all hinged on her ability to will things to happen however. Since she didn't really want to hurt anyone, she lacked the conviction to will people out of existence. Low confidence hindered her healing and being able to believe her shield would actually stop anything proved difficult after watchign Ichigo etc get slapped around.
Seriously, this arc ran for more than 4 years and just about nothing actually happened.
I've talked to one guy this whole time who insisted that all that stuff was great and noteworthy. He'd get mad when I pointed out that the plot hadn't moved an inch.
This series ran for almost exactly 15 years, and we don't even know, like, the motivations or intentions of the two biggest villians, Aizen and Yhwach.
What an absolute joke.
Aizen wanted to supplant the Soul King.
Yhwach wanted to wipe out the SS and create a Quincy world in its place. He also liked to encourage fighting because war in general made him stronger somehow.
