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September 12th, 2009 by admin

Bleach Characters Guide

Do you want to know about each character in the bleach anime series???Then lets have a look at the characteristics of each character and their zanpakuto(sword).

Kurosaki Ichigo

Kurosaki Ichigo is the main character of Bleach, who received Shinigami (Death God) powers from a female Shinigami named Kuchiki Rukia. The power came at a cost, as by making Ichigo a Shinigami, Rukia’s powers were lost.

Ichigo lives with his father, Kurosaki Isshin, and two sisters, Yuzu and Karin. His mother Kurosaki Masaki was killed by a hollow while protecting young Ichigo from being attacked by a Hollow.

Ichigo was born with the ability to see and communicate with ghosts and spirits; as such he was able to see Rukia in her Shinigami form. Ichigo also possess an immense amount of reiatsu (spirit power), which he cannot control well. Due to that, his spirit power is constantly “leaking”, which affects the spiritually-aware people around him. Ichigo’s friends such as Inoue Orihime, Sado Yasutora (Chad) and Ishida Uryuu, are all positively affected by his strong spirit power.

Kurosaki Ichigo’s Zanpakuto

Kurosaki Ichigo’s Zanpakuto is named Zangetsu (Slicing Moon). In his Shikai (Initial release) form, Zangetsu is a giant cleaver with no handguard. He is as tall as Ichigo himself, and its blade is black in color and lined with a silver edge.

When not in use, Zangetsu is kept on Ichigo’s back with an unusual bandage-like sheath. When in battle, the bandage sheath shrinks and wrap itself as the sword’s grip. This bandage cloth can also be used offensively, as first demonstrated by Ichigo’s inner Hollow, where the bandage cloth is used to swing Zangetsu around and attack from far.

Zangetsu’s special attack is named Getsuga Tenshou, which fires a concentrated blast of reiatsu at the enemy from the tip of the blade. Ichigo first learnt this technique from Urahara Kisuke, and later mastered it after discovering its true name.

The Bankai (Final release) form of Zangetsu is considered unique among all Zanpakuto. Named Tensa Zangetsu (Chains of Heave – Slicing Moon), the sword is now an elegant black katana with a square handguard and a short broken chain dangling as the sword’s tassel. In the Bankai form, Ichigo is capable of incredible speed and agility, far superior to Shunpo (Flash step).

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Kuchiki Rukia

Kuchiki Rukia is a Shinigami (Death God) from the Soul Society. During a Hollow attack, she was forced to give up her Shinigami powers to Kurosaki Ichigo, which made it necessary for her to stay in a gigai (faux body) while she recuperates.

Back in Soul Society, Rukia was previously from a lower class. When she was young, she spent much of her time together with Abarai Renji and the rest of their childhood friends. But after she was admitted into the Shinigami Academy, she became adopted into the noble Kuchiki family by Kuchiki Byakuya, and her friendship with Renji became distant. Rukia was then placed under the command of Captain Jushiro Ukitake and Lieutenant Kaien Shiba of the 13th Division.

After spending some time under Kaien, she became close to him. She even had romantic feelings for him, but she tried to suppress them as she knew Kaien was happily married to Miyako, who’s coincidently someone she admired most. Therefore as Byakuya mentioned at one point, the reason why Rukia felt such a close bond to Ichigo was probably due to his strong resemblance to Kaien.

Rukia has a serious personality and is often seen nagging at Ichigo. She is also stubborn at times.

Kuchiki Rukia’s Powers

Although Rukia has a zanpakuto of her own, she has yet to show her usage of its Shikai form, since during her time in her gigai she do not have access to her zanpakuto. But her greatest strength lies in her strong talent in kidou (demon arts), which is possible to perform while in the special gigai that was given by Urahara Kisuke. During her training in the academy, we witnessed how she was more talented than Renji when it comes to kidou.

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Inoue Orihime

Inoue Orihime is the classmate and friend of Kurosaki Ichigo, whom she has a crush on. She is a friendly and sweet girl who quickly developed spiritual powers of her own after Ichigo became a Shinigami.

Orihime’s best friend is Tatsuki Arisawa. She hangs out often with her and Tatsuki has made a promise to protect her. Although at one point of the series, Orihime managed to use her new-found powers to protect Tatsuki from a Hollow. Orihime is very sensitive and emotional. She would blame herself for not being stronger and be of more help to her friends. She is also very clueless at times. Orihime also has a somewhat large bust, which is occasionally made the subject of jokes.

Orihime used to stay with her brother, who brought Orihime and ran away from their drunkard father and cheating mother. After her brother died from a car accident, she began wearing the hairpins that her brother gave her everyday.

Inoue Orihime’s Powers

Orihime’s powers come from her hairpins. With them, she is able to summon six fairies called the Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield, and individually they are named Shun’ou, Ayame, Tsubaki, Hinagiku, Baigon, and Lily. Orihime’s powers are mostly defensive, except for her Koten Zanshun (Single Heavenly Cutting Shield) technique, which involves firing Tsubaki at her enemy with such power that he can split enemies into halves. Her most incredible power is the Soten Kisshun (Double Heavenly Reflecting Shield) technique, which Orihime would summon Ayame and Shun’ou, and they would form a shield around an injured person. The shield reverses time, thus returning the injured person to an earlier state, effectively healing all wounds. The last of Orihime technique is the Santen Kesshun (Triple Heavenly Binding Shield).In this technique, Hinagiku, Lily and Baigon are summoned to form a giant triangular shield which repels any attacks directed at Orihime.

Orihime first realized her powers when she had to protect her best friend Tatsuki from a Hollow attack. And so far, the Hollow has been the only thing that Orihime has ever killed.

Other than her fairies, Orihime knows karate as well. Thanks to Tatsuki, she is able to attain black belt level.

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Sado Yasutora (Chad)

Sado Yasutora, also known as Chad, is the classmate and friend of Kurosaki Ichigo. Chad is a huge and muscular teenager who was brought up in Mexico. He is also extremely tough, protecting Ichigo with his body from punches, recovering from a steel girder falling onto him, and colliding with a motorcycle and still able to carry the motorcyclist to the hospital. Although physically strong, Chad is actually a very quiet and gentle person.

Chad was born in Okinawa, Japan. But during his youth, his parents took him to Mexico. Unfortunately, they died there and Chad was left all alone, until he was adopted by a man named Oscar Joaquin de la Rosa. Chad calls him Abuelo (grandfather in Spanish).

During his youth, Chad was very violent due to his strength and size. Abuelo tried to teach him to be gentle, but was unsuccessful. Until one day, Chad was getting beat badly and Abuelo stepped in to protect him. Abuelo stood there, taking every punch and never fought back. Eventually the enemies left, and Chad vowed that from that day on he’ll never fight, unless it is to protect others.

Chad has a tattoo on his left shoulder that reads “Amore e Morte” (Love and Death). It is made up of a heart, a snake and a pair of angel wings around the heart. Chad is also known to be fairly good with his studies in school.

Sado Yasutora’s Powers

In the beginning, Chad had no powers. Neither can he see Hollows and spirits. But during the encounter where he saved Ichigo’s sister, Karin, from a Hollow, he began to see them. It was also during same encounter where he first realized his powers, which is in the form of an armor on his right arm. The armor is black in color, with white and red stripes and a Y-shaped design near the top.

With the armor on, Chad is capable of firing powerful blasts of energy. And after being trained by Shihouin Yoruichi, he learnt to fire multiple blasts a day and hardly gets tired.

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Ishida Uryuu

Ishida Uryuu is the classmate and friend of Kurosaki Ichigo. Ishida has a quiet personality, and most of the time he shys away from the crowd, prefering to be alone. And sometimes, he tries hard to act cool.

Ishida is a talent when it comes to sewing. He is a member of the school’s fine arts club, and helps fellow members to fix up things like stuffed toys when they asked. At one point of the seires, Ichigo approached him to sew up Kon, which he ended up going the extra mile and adding fancy clothings for Kon.

Ishida also possess great intelligence, as he tops the school in terms of academic achievement. At one point of the series, Ishida also demonstrated his intelligence by solving a puzzle to a game of illusional maze.

In his youth, Ishida spent most of his time with his grandfather, Soken Ishida. It was his grandfather who trained him in the way of the Quincy. Ishida do not have a good relationship with his father, Ryuken. His father was also against the way of the Quincy, mentioning that he would rather care for his own wealth and income than to protect the people from the Hollows.

And later on during his youth, Ishida’s grandfather was killed by Hollows in front of his eyes, and he could do nothing to save him. And the Shinigami (Death Gods) who were responsible at that time for the protection against Hollows, were late to save his grandfather. This is part of the reason why Ishida came to hate the Shinigami.

History of Quincy

Ishida is known to be the last surviving Quincy. The Quincy are a group of spiritually aware humans who sworn to fight the Hollows, using spiritual bows as their means of fighting. But the Quincy are now near extinction due to the extermination by the Shinigami about 200 years before the main Bleach storyline.

The main difference between a Quincy and a Shinigami, is that Shinigami “cleanses” a Hollow’s spirit, sending them back to the Soul Society, whereas the Quincy deals a killing blow to the Hollow, destroying it forever. The Shinigami soon realized that the Quincy’s actions could soon lead to a disruption to the balance of the human and soul worlds. But the Quincy refused to heed their advices, which eventually led to a war started by the Shinigami to exterminate the Quincy.

This tragic past has caused Ishida to hate all Shinigami. Hence, when Ishida first met Ichigo, he had deep hatred for him.

Ishida Uryuu’s Powers

The Quincy’s bow is summoned by drawing spiritual energy from the environment and directed using willpower. In the beginning, Ishida’s bow was that of a normal Quincy’s, named the Koujaku (Yellow Sparrow). But at a later point of the series, he mastered the Sanrei Gloves left for him by his grandfather. This allowed him to create an impressive bow. And if the Quincy of this bow breaks the spike on the gloves, he will receive a surge of extremely powerful energy which even a Shinigami of Captain level could be defeated. But after a certain time limit, the Quincy is left powerless, and no longer able to use any Quincy powers.

After mastering the Sanrei Gloves, Ishida was able to use a technique named Hirenkyaku, which allows him to move at speeds comparable to that of a Shinigami’s Shunpo. Another rare technique, which is known to typically be usable only by high level Quincy, is the Ransotengai . By using this technique, Ishida was able to control his body as one would a puppet. Strands of spiritual energy strings his body together allowing him to fight effectively even when he is physically paralysed.

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Kaizo Konpaku (Kon)

Kaizo Konpaku is the cute lion plush toy that is often addressed as Kon by his friends. Kon is a modified soul (mod soul) whose purpose is to inhabit Kurosaki Ichigo’s body while Ichigo is in his Shinigami form. This is important so Ichigo’s body won’t lie motionless and be exposed to dangers. So while Ichigo is inhabiting his own body, Kon is being kept inside the body of the lion plush toy.

Kon’s purpose in the series is mostly for comedy’s sake, adding a nice humorous touch whenever he appears. He whines and complains a lot, and he always finds himself being treated with no respect, such as being pushed around by Ichigo and getting dolled up by Ishida Uryuu.

Kon’s Powers

While Kon is in Ichigo’s body, he is rather proficient in unarmed combat, although not quite good enough to defeat stronger Hollows. He is known to be capable of running extremely fast as well. And in a recent episode, Kon proved useful for being a plush toy when he, together with Ichigo, Ishida and Abarai Renji are trapped in a maze.

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Urahara Kisuke

Urahara Kisuke is the owner of the Urahara Shoten (Urahara Shop), and it is ran by Urahara himself together with Ururu Tsumugiya, Jinta Hanakari and Tessai Tsukabishi. Most of the time, Urahara is very cheerful and appears to be a very laid-back person, although he can get serious whenever the situation warrants it. He also gives the feeling of mystery and elusiveness.

Throughout the series, he is a very “behind-the-scene” character, popping in only when necessary, and never intervened directly. And hence the series has yet to show him fighting someone for real.

The reason why Urahara seems to be so knowledgeable is due the fact that he was the former captain of the Gotei 13’s 12th Division, and was also creator and head of the Shinigami Research Institute. After being sentenced to exile for creating an untraceable gigai (faux body), his positions were taken over by Mayuri Kurotsuchi. And ever since then, he has stayed in the real world, tending to his Urahara Shoten.

Urahara also seem to enjoy fanning himself a lot with his white-colored paper fan.

Urahara’s Zanpakuto

Urahara’s zanpakuto is named Benihime (Crimson Princess), and is one of the very few female zanpakuto. When sheathed, Benihime appears as a thin cane. She has a seal on the end of the sheath which allows Urahara to forcefully make Kurosaki Ichigo go into his Shinigami form – which is something Ichigo hates because it hurts.

When unsheathed, the round part of the cane becomes the sword’s hilt. And when Benihime goes into Shikai form (Initial release), she no longer resembles a cane. Her hilt becomes elaborately designed with a golden chain and a red tassel.

Benihime’s Bankai (Final release) form has yet to be revealed.

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Shihouin Yoruichi

Shihouin Yoruichi is a very skilled dark-skinned woman who is capable of transforming into a black cat at will. She is intelligent, knowledgeable, and has been playing a role akin to a teacher and instructor for Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends.

Most of the time, Yoruichi is shown to be very serious, although she does enjoy teasing Ichigo by transforming to her naked human form without warning.

Before Yoruichi left Soul Society, she was the Commander of the Covert Ops (also known as Special Ops and Secret Mobile Unit/Corps). And she was also from one of the Four Noble Families, making her a highly respected woman back then. But ever since helping Urahara Kisuke escape from Soul Society, she has lost her noble status and had to leave Soul Society as well.

Shihouin Yoruichi’s Powers

Perhaps the most notable technique that Yoruichi possess is the ability to transform into a black cat. It allows her to disguise herself and move to places where her human form might’ve caused difficulties. Her cat form also changes her voice to one that is deep and sounding like a male’s.

The other technique that Yoruichi was most often seen used is the Shunpo (Flash Step). The technique allows her to teleport short distances with every step she takes, resulting in very fast movements. While many high-level Shinigami such as Kuchiki Byakuya can perform Shunpo as well, Yoruichi is the best at it. Her Shunpo is so good that she is given the title of Shunshin (Goddess of Flash).

Yoruichi is also a master of hakuda (hand-to-hand combat) and kidou (demon arts). And combining the two, she has mastered an extremely powerful technique named Shunko (Flash Release) which she is yet being able to control well. The technique allows the user to concentrate high amount of energy in their body and blast it at opponents. This is also the reason why Soi Fon’s (previously Yoruichi’s) military uniform has no back and sleeves, as they get shredded to bits when kidou pressure builds up on the user’s back and shoulders.

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Shigekuni Yamamoto Genryusai

Shigekuni Yamamoto Genryusai is the general of the Gotei 13 and the captain of the 1st Division. Despite being old, he is one of the strongest shinigami in Soul Society, and is highly-respected among all shinigami.

By merely staring with spiritual pressure, he was able to immobilize the 8th Division Vice-Captain, Nanao Ise. He was also able to take on two captains simultaneously, Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro.

The shinigami academy was founded by Yamamoto himself, about 2,000 years before the main Bleach storyline. He was also a teacher back then, who cultivated his students into great shinigamis such as Shunsui and Uktitake.

Shigekuni Yamamoto Genryusai’s Zanpakuto

Named the Ryujin Jakka, it is the oldest and the most powerful fire-based Zanpakuto ever known. It is an attack-oriented Zanpakuto, probably making it the Zanpakuto with the greatest attack power in all of Soul Society.

In its sealed form, Ryujin Jakka appears to be a harmless walking staff. When released, it turns into a katana with a dark red handle and a circular handguard.

Upon the command of “Bansho issai kaijin to nase” (All things of this world, turn to ashes), Ryujin Jakka goes into Shikai (Initial Release). Yamamoto himself and the surrounding area immediately gets engulfs in strong flames. With a wave of the Zanpakuto, intense fire burns whatever is in its way.

Yamamoto’s Bankai (Final Release) is unknown at this time.

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Soifon

Soifon is the leader of the special forces and the captain of the 2nd Division in the Gotei 13. She is a hard worker and takes a strong moral stand – she particularly believes in following orders.

Underneath her standard shinigami captain uniform, Soifon wears the special forces leader’s uniform, which has no sleeves or covering for the back. Her hair is worn short with two long braids covered in cloth.

Soifon, like most female shinigami, is a member of the Shinigami Women’s Association.

Soifon was born as Fon Shaolin into the Fon house, one of the lower noble houses affiliated with the Shihouin noble house. The Fon house traditionally serves the Shihouin house by joining the special forces. Any member who doesn’t pass the test to get into the special forces is immediately exiled from the family. Because of this, Soifon has felt a lot of pressure to succeed since her youth. Though Soifon and her five older brothers all got into the special forces, her first two brothers died on their first missions, her next two brothers died on their second missions, and her last brother died on his third mission. Upon her joining the special forces, she adopted her grandmother’s codename: Soifon. In the anime, she did not adopt the name voluntarily, a family member gave her the name.

Soifon worked hard and was eventually promoted to become the head of the guard for the leader of the special forces at the time, Shihouin Yoruichi. Yoruichi took the young Soifon under her wing as her protector and they developed a close relationship. When Yoruichi eventually left Soul Society in disgrace to help her exiled friend Urahara Kisuke, she was stripped of all her titles. Soifon felt betrayed by Yoruichi’s abandonment and the circumstances surrounding them. As a result, she trained herself in order to beat Yoruichi and take the titles she lost.

Soifon was promoted to the captaincy roughly 100 years prior to the start of the Bleach storyline, shortly after Yoruichi’s departure from Soul Society.

Soifon’s Zanpakuto

Soifon’s Zanpakuto is named Suzumebachi (Hornet). In its sealed form, it resembles a wakizashi with a yellow hilt reminiscent of a Chinese dao. Unlike most shinigami, she wears it horizontally on her lower back.

Suzumebachi’s Shikai (Initial release) is triggered by the command “Sting all enemies to death!” It shrinks into a stinger that is worn on the middle finger of Soifon’s right hand. When Soifon stabs someone with Suzumebachi, a butterfly symbol called a hornet’s crest spreads from the point of contact, its abdomen acting as the center. If Soifon stabs the same location again, her opponent dies, regardless of how powerful they may be. The crests are maintained by Soifon’s will and are impossible to remove unless she wills it.

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Sosuke Aizen

Sosuke Aizen is a fictional character and major figure in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He is the captain of the 5th Division when first introduced, but then he betrays Soul Society and becomes the main antagonist of the series. His former lieutenant is Momo Hinamori.

Aizen spent much of his career in the 5th Division, eventually becoming its lieutenant under the former captain, Shinji Hirako. Shinji kept Aizen under his view during this time because he felt there was something dangerous about him. 100 years ago, Aizen’s experiments on Soul Reaper/hollow hybrids involved using an unknown method to cause spirits to transform into hollows, eventually culminating in the creation of the Visoreds. He framed Urahara for the hollowfication process and forced him to leave Soul Society.

During that time, Aizen met Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen, and lured them to his side. Aizen became captain of the 5th Division later on, and Ichimaru became his lieutenant and right hand man. Ichimaru and Tosen later became captains of the 3rd and 9th Divisions, respectively, but remained loyal only to Aizen. According to Aizen, even when Hinamori was his lieutenant, he thought of no one but Gin as his subordinate.

At some point, he also saw the potential of Momo Hinamori, Izuru Kira, and Renji Abarai, and took them all into his division. While Kira and Hinamori were obedient and loyal, becoming the lieutenants of the 3rd and 5th Divisions under Ichimaru and Aizen, respectively, Renji proved to be too rebellious and was transferred to the 11th Division (and later to the 6th, where he too became a lieutenant).

Aizen is a soft-spoken intellectual, accented by glasses during his time as a Soul Reaper captain. While he appears to be very kind to his subordinates, he cares very little for them in truth. According to Aizen himself, he is not bound by morals and will therefore stop at nothing to further his ambitions, including manipulating or killing anyone if he deems it necessary. Tite Kubo stated in an interview that “part of Aizen’s appeal is that he’s mysterious,” and for this reason he didn’t think it’s a good idea to go too much in-depth with the character.

Aizen controls his new minions either through acquired respect, as revealed through Ulquiorra Cifer’s conversation with Orihime Inoue where he tells her that they are all here to further Aizen’s ambition, or through fear, such as when he threatened to kill Grimmjow Jeagerjaques if he attacked Kaname Tosen. It was also stated by the arrancar Iceringer that they follow Aizen because he has no fear, which beings born from fear and despair find inspiring. Other arrancar occasionally have reasons for following Aizen unique to themselves, such as Szayel Aporro Granz, who follows Aizen with the hopes that he eradicates the world of all non-hollows.

It has been conjectured that Aizen’s true objective is to overthrow the king of Soul Society. To do this, he needs the royal key (??, oken), a tri-pronged golden key that opens a portal to the dimension that the king resides in. While the location of the key is known only to General Yamamoto, Aizen knows how the original was created and how to manufacture another. In order to create the key, Aizen needs to gather 100,000 souls in Karakura Town, which has an unusually large concentration of spirit particles. Aside from killing the many souls used in its creation, creating the key will also vaporize most of Karakura Town.

During their ascent to Hueco Mundo, Aizen removes his glasses and sweeps a hand through his hair, revealing menacing eyes and a very different hairstyle. As he had previously revealed to Toshiro Hitsugaya that the Aizen they all knew never existed, this would seem to be a visual representation of that claim. Before leaving, he tells Jushiro Ukitake that no one had started out in heaven, not even God. He then says that he will be the one to stand in the heavens and end the unbearable vacancy on the world’s throne. Aizen is later shown in Hueco Mundo wearing clothing similar in style to the arrancar he has been creating; he is also seated on a throne, implying that he has some level of political power.

Aizen is an extremely potent combatant, well above most captain-level Soul Reapers. He goes on to state that the only way for him to advance beyond that would be to gain and master hollow powers. His mastery of the regular skills are such that he is able to stop fully released zanpakuto, including Ichigo Kurosaki’s bankai, with one finger, and he can defeat several captain-level opponents at once. A hint to his actual level of spirit power is given when he turns Wonderweiss Margera into an arrancar. When preparing to activate the Hogyoku, he states that despite its half-awakened state, it can be fully activated when temporarily fusing with someone with twice as much spirit power as a captain-level Soul Reaper, referring to himself. The force of Aizen’s spiritual pressure is also great enough to bring the 6th Espada, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, to his knees without any visible effort from Aizen himself.

Aizen’s zanpakuto is Kyoka Suigetsu (????, literally “mirror flower water moon”). In its sealed form, it looks like a normal katana. Its shikai is both activated and deactivated with the command “shatter” (???, kudakero). The phrase kyoka suigetsu suggests its illusory properties; the moon reflected in water and a flower in a mirror are things that can be seen but not held. It is a Chinese idiom for seeing and desiring something that is a dream that cannot be easily grasped in hand, teaching people about temptations.

Kyoka Suigetsu’s shikai has the ability to place anyone who sees it under a state of “Perfect Hypnosis” (????, kanzen saimin), after which Aizen can make them see, hear, and feel whatever he wants. According to Aizen, the hypnosis is unbreakable, even if the target is aware that they are hypnotized. The only way to avoid the effect is to not see Kyoka Suigetsu’s shikai, making the blind Kaname Tosen immune to its effects. The effect seems to be permanent, or at the very least long-lasting, as Aizen uses it on nearly all of the lieutenants and captains in the Gotei 13 during a ceremonial release of his zanpakuto years before faking his own death. While the illusions Kyoka Suigetsu creates are quite powerful, they are not 100% accurate; Captain Retsu Unohana was able to realize that something was amiss with Aizen’s fake corpse, even though she did not realize what until seeing Aizen alive.

Kyoka Suigetsu’s hypnotic abilities make it a useful tool in combat as well, as Aizen can quickly create simple illusions to deceive opponents. By creating a decoy of himself, Aizen can hide his own movements and attack with impunity; his opponent, meanwhile, will remain focused on the illusion until it’s too late to react. The most prominent example of this is his brief fight against Sajin Komamura, where an illusionary copy of Aizen is seen melting away after the real Aizen has moved close enough to use the devastating Black Coffin kido.

When Aizen hears that Rukia Kuchiki has been spotted in the real world after months of being missing, he kills all the members of the Central 46 Chambers. Aizen quickly manipulates everyone into an elaborate conspiracy. Using the abilities of his zanpakuto, he creates an illusion that Central 46 is still working as usual and controls all the decisions that they are supposedly making. With this, he immediately orders that Rukia be brought back to Soul Society to be executed. She is brought back to Soul Society with the Hogyoku concealed within her body, and Aizen begins moving Rukia’s execution date up, while he does research in the Central 46 Chambers.

He later uses his zanpakuto’s ability to trick everyone into believing that he has been killed and has Gin leading everyone to believe Gin himself is the murderer. He also sets up his lieutenant, Momo Hinamori, to believe that he was likely killed by Captain Hitsugaya, her childhood friend, to get her out of the way. Because of the nature of Rukia’s sentence and execution method, the Gotei 13 splits into factions and the captains begin to fight amongst themselves. During the turmoil, Gin executes the overt aspects of the plan, which begins to be revealed when 4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana begins to suspect that there is something wrong with Aizen’s supposedly dead body. Aizen reveals himself by nearly killing his lieutenant and easily defeating several Soul Reapers. Afterwards, he removes the Hogyoku from Rukia’s body by using information researched by Kisuke Urahara, but does not kill her. Aizen is then brought to Hueco Mundo by several Menos Grande, along with Gin and Tosen.

From there, Aizen begins to make several arrancar, and begins sending them one by one to the material world to gain information on Ichigo and, later, to capture Orihime Inoue, who Aizen takes an interest in due to her healing abilities, which can save the powers of the deteriorating Hogyoku. However, this is revealed to be a ruse on his part. By kidnapping her, he inspires Ichigo and his friends to attempt a rescue, thereby depriving Soul Society of a valuable military asset. Furthermore, when four captains assist in her rescue, adding to the three that have already defected, Soul Society is left at half its regular strength. As he leaves to destroy Karakura Town, he seals the portals the intruders used to access Hueco Mundo, effectively stranding them there until Aizen returns. Though Soul Society is able to substitute the town for an abandoned facsimile, Aizen only muses that he will have to travel to Soul Society to destroy the real town after he and his forces defeat the remaining captains. Aizen is not concerned when he is trapped in Yamamoto’s fire prison following his arrival, for he claims the Espada will suffice to defeat the Soul Reapers.

This material from Wikipedia is licensed under the GFDL.
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Ikkaku Madarame

Ikkaku Madarame is a bald, battle-loving man. His lack of hair is often the source of jokes for other characters, who confuse the sheen of his head with the light of the moon. He fought and was defeated by Zaraki Kenpachi sometime in the past, though was strong enough to survive the battle. Once Zaraki became captain of the 11th Division, Ikkaku and his friend Yumichika Ayasegawa joined the Soul Society so that they could fight and die under Zaraki’s command. He shares a number of similarities with his captain; he feels insecure if he doesn’t have a sword, prolongs battles so that he can get as much enjoyment from them as possible, and smiles near-constantly when fighting for his life. He is purportedly the second strongest person in the division, and although occasionally being offered a position as a captain he insists on serving Zaraki for the rest of his life. Perhaps because of this, Ikkaku is not afraid to question his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, even knowing that doing so earn her wrath.

Ikkaku’s zanpakutou is Houzukimaru. Though ordinary in appearance, he stores a blood-clotting ointment in its hilt. When released with the command “grow”, it transforms into a naginata with a wax wood shaft. While he usually treats it as such, he can also turn it into a three section staff witht he command “split”, surprising the opponent. Ikkaku has achieved bankai, though he keeps this a secret to most characters so that he isn’t pressured to become a captain. Houzukimaru’s bankai, named Ryoumon Houzukimaru, takes the form of three oversized weapons (two Monk’s spade standard Guan dao) that Ikkaku can wield with ease. Aside from the increase in power, his bankai offers no special abilities. As a fight progresses a dragon crest will slowly fill with crimson dye, increasing its power as it does so. Ikkaku states that this is because Houzukimaru is asleep, and must be woken up in battle before it can reach full power.

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Abarai Renji

Abarai Renji is the lieutenant of the Gotei 13’s 6th Division, serving under the command of Captain Kuchiki Byakuya. Renji keeps his light crimson hair tied up in a high ponytail most of the time, and multiple tribal tattoos mark his body.

Personality-wise, Renji is arrogant and cocky most of the time, especially towards Kurosaki Ichigo. However, Renji can be just as emotional and melancholic. And he shows himself to be a very determined fighter and one who would go all out to protect the people important to him.

Renji grew up together with Kuchiki Rukia and the rest of their childhood friends. Throughout the series, Renji appears to be extremely worried about Rukia, and always very excited to see her. This hints that Renji is actually secretly in love with Rukia, probably a feeling that grew during the many years that they spent together.

Before Renji joined the 6th Division, he was under the wings of Aizen Sosuke and Ichimaru Gin. And because of Renji’s rebellious nature, Aizen moved him away to 11th Division under Zaraki Kenpachi, and finally to 6th Division at a later time.

Abarai Renji’s Zanpakuto

Zabimaru is the name of Abarai Renji’s zanpakuto. In its materialized form, Zabimaru appears to be a baboon with a snake tail. With the command “Howl, Zabimaru!”, Zabimaru goes into its Shikai (Initial release) form, which is a mean-looking sword-whip hybrid weapon with multiple segments of blades with pick-like teeth. When using Zabimaru like a whip, Renji is limited to three consecutive attacks before having to bring the segments back together for recovery.

Zabimaru’s Bankai (Final release) form is a giant skeletal snake that is named Hihio Zabimaru (Baboon King Zabimaru). Like its Shikai form, it is made up of multiple segments, and each segment is held together with the next by Renji’s reiatsu (spirit power). Hence, it is possible for Renji to break Zabimaru up into individual segments at will if the situation calls for it, and also making Zabimaru difficult to damage or destroy.

The advantage of Renji’s Bankai lies in its impressive size and power, making it is capable of massive damage. However, this results in difficulty for Renji to control, unless he spends another 14 years of special training as commented by Byakuya.

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Byakuya Kuchiki

Kuchiki Byakuya is the captain of the Gotei 13’s 6th Division. At the same time, he is also the 28th head of the noble Kuchiki family. Holding such a superior position makes him appears stern and unemotional most of the time. And being possibly the strongest person in the Kuchiki family’s history, it makes it even more unsurprising of his apathetic attitude.

Byakuya wears a standard captain uniform except for his unique headgear and his white scarf. His headgear was later shattered by Kurosaki Ichigo’s inner Hollow during their fight in Soul Society.

Byakuya was married to a lady named Hisana, who was a commoner. According to the family rules, this is in fact forbidden. When Hisana died, she requested Byakuya as her last wish to find and adopt her sister, Kuchiki Rukia, as his own. Adopting Rukia became the second time Byakuya broke the family rules since marrying Hisana, and he has since sworn before his parents’ graves that he would never again break the rules. This was also the reason why Byakuya would not do anything to attempt to save Rukia from her execution.

It seems that Byakuya was never forced to follow strictly to the rules, but instead it was his strong sense of responsibility that made him do so. It was during his fight with Ichigo that he mentioned that if even someone like him from one of the Four Great Noble Families did not obey the rules, who else will? He feels strongly that he has to set a proper example to every Shinigami in Soul Society.

Kuchiki Byakuya’s Zanpakuto

Senbonzakura (Thousands of Cherry Blossoms) is the name of Kuchiki Byakuya’s zanpakuto. It looks like a normal sword in its unreleased form. However, by Byakuya’s command of “Chire (Scatter), Senbonzakura”, the blade goes into Shikai (Initial release) form, dissolving and scattering into thousands of tiny cherry blossoms that are actually blades. These petals spin and cut in unpredictable angles, flowing in streams towards the enemy and cutting him from every possible direction.

Senbonzakura’s Bankai (Final release) form is named Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Vibrant Display of Thousands of Cherry Blossoms), where Byakuya would drop the sword vertically, sinking it into the ground, and two rows of giant blades start rising up from the ground, and finally scattering into millions of tiny cherry blossom blades. These petals are much more deadly than the Shikai form, having drastically higher numbers, and able to be used both offensively and defensively. In addition, by using his hands to control the petals, Byakuya could effectively double the speed of them.

With Bankai activated, Byakuya is able to use a powerful technique named Senkei Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Scene of Massacre – Vibrant Display of Thousands of Cherry Blossoms). The technique envelopes Byakuya and his enemy and surrounds them with rows of thousands of pink swords that Byakuya could use individually or even simultaneously. Each blade is a highly condensed form of the previous scattered blades, greatly increasing the ability for them to create fatal blows.

Senbonzakura’s final and most powerful technique is the Shuukei, Hakureiken (Final View, White Imperial Sword). Summoning this technique causes a large pair of white spiritual wings and a halo-like circle to form behind Byakuya. It compresses the power of the thousands of the swords into one single blade, allowing Byakuya to deal a single most powerful blow at his enemy.

Kuchiki Byakuya’s Powers

Other than his talent with his zanpakuto, Byakuya also excels in Shunpo (Flash step) and Kidou (Demon arts). His Shunpo is considered one of the fastest, and there’s probably only one person who is better than him at it, and that is Shihouin Yoruichi.

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Hitsugaya Toushirou

Hitsugaya Toushirou is the captain of the Gotei 13’s 10th Division. Perhaps the most notable aspect of Hitsugaya in the anime is his youth. He is the youngest Shinigami to have become of captain rank since many generations, earning him the nickname of “boy genius” and “child prodigy”. Being very young, he is also much shorter compared to the other captains.

Although young, Hitsugaya is portrayed to be very mature and serious in his tasks. He is also extremely sharp, being able to notice Ichimaru Gin’s evil intentions. This makes Hitsugaya appear to be a wise old man in the body of a boy.

Hitsugaya came from Junrinan, District 1 of Rukongai. Little is known about his past except the fact that he used to live with Hinamori Momo. As a sister to him, Hitsugaya is fiercely loyal to her, always feeling the need to protect her from harm. Especially after Hinamori entered the Shinigami institute and Hitsugaya followed soon after. Despite his age, he has been very successful due to his talent and soon became captain of the 10th Division.

Hitsugaya Toushiro’s Zanpakuto

Hitsugaya’s zanpakuto, named Hyorinmaru (Frozen Ring), is a sword with a hilt that is shaped like a four-point shuriken. In its Shikai (initial release) form, the sword gains a long chain that has a crescent moon blade attached its end. And with the command, “Soten ni Zase” (Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens), Hitsugaya summons forth a giant Chinese dragon that is made of water and ice. Any opponents that happen to come in contact with the dragon will find themselves freezing and trapped in a blocks of ice.

Hyorinmaru’s Bankai (Final release) form, named Daiguren, Hyorinmaru (Giant Crimson Lotus, Frozen Ring), is in the shape of a pair of wings and tail that embraces Hitsugaya. In addition, three purple objects resembling four-point shurikens floats above and behind him, which usages are yet to be known. As witnessed in Hitsugaya’s short fight with Aizen Sousuke, a pierce from Hyorinmaru will coat his enemy in a thick block of frozen ice, effectively trapping him inside.

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Matsumoto Rangiku

Rangiku Matsumoto is a blonde woman renowned for her large breasts. She makes no efforts to hide them, wearing loose-fitting robes that expose much of her cleavage, using them to try to win over other male characters, and using them as a topic in casual conversation. She is very carefree and lazy, usually avoiding the jobs of a lieutenant so that she can sleep or go drinking. Despite her avoiding her responsibilities, Matsumoto can be serious when need be, and often gives important and useful advice. She tends to many equal- or lower-ranking individuals in the familiar, referring to Ichigo, Orihime, and several fellow lieutenants by first name. Matsumoto has known Ichimaru Gin since they were children, and spent much of their childhood living together and looking out for each other. They remain close after joining the Soul Society, though she is surprised when he later betrays Soul Society. She recruited her captain, Hitsugaya Toushirou, into the Soul Society and has grown quite close to him. She has an unwavering loyalty for him and frequently tries to get him to lighten up and have some fun. Matsumoto’s zanpakutou is Haineko. Its guard is in the shape of a cat’s head. When released with the command “growl”, it dissolves into ash, which Matsumoto can then control to cut through objects as easily as a sword would. Because Haineko is just as lazy as herself, Matsumoto has had difficulty achieving bankai.

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Ichimaru Gin

Gin Ichimaru is a fictional character and a major antagonist in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He is the captain of the 3rd Division in the Gotei 13 until he betrays Soul Society, and after that he becomes a commander in Sosuke Aizen’s arrancar army. His lieutenant was Izuru Kira.

Gin’s most distinguishing characteristic is his expression; with his slitted eyes and ever-present grin, his face looks like that of a fox. Ichigo derisively nicknames him “fox-face” in their first meeting because of this (in the English dub, he instead replies with a more generalized insult). He also has unusual silver hair, which has a purple tint to it in the anime; his name refers to his hair color, gin (?, “silver”). Gin rarely removes his smile or opens his eyes; his eyes open when he is significantly annoyed or angry. There are only a few times when he opens his eyes: once in a flashback when he and Aizen rescued Momo Hinamori and other students from hollows, and the other during a battle with 10th Division Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. His eyes are alternately portrayed as light green/blue, blood red, and yellow. In contrast, there are far more moments when he stops smiling, those usually being lesser degrees of annoyance, genuinely apologetic moments, or in deep contemplation over a sudden epiphany.

Gin’s constant happy façade tends to have the opposite effect on those he meets, making them instantly distrust him. His use of sarcasm only further encourages this, especially in those who have known him for a long time. Rukia comments on how she felt like snakes were wrapping around her neck whenever Gin spoke, despite the fact that he was speaking to her brother at the time. Kaname Tosen notes that Gin has a similar effect on just about everyone when explaining Wonderweiss Margera’s frightened reaction to Gin. In the anime, Gin speaks with a distinct Kyoto dialect, which is indirect and polite. His English dubbed voice is also formal and polite, but with a rather mocking and facetious undertone.

After betraying Soul Society, Gin switches his captain’s attire for a similar but unmarked garment. He now wears a long, white robe over his normal Soul Reaper hakama. The hilt of his zanpakuto visible protrudes from under the robe through the opening down to his waist. Later, Ichimaru is seen wearing a white hakama like the arrancar, instead of the black one he first appears in. Gin wears his robe open in a narrow ‘V’ down to his waist, closed to below the hips, then open again to the hem, which falls about mid-calf. His robe has long bell sleeves where he hides his hands as is done with kimono sleeves. The lining of the robe and edges or layers of the under-robe(s) appear black. From other examples, it is likely he is also wearing black tabi with white waraji. His zanpakuto is not visible with this outfit.

Gin saved Rangiku Matsumoto from starvation when they were children, and the two have been good friends since then. Rangiku is the only person Gin seems to truly care about, although he seems to “disappear” often, as Rangiku puts it. He also never tells her where he’s going. Gin was considered a child prodigy since he graduated from the academy within a year and was assigned to a seated position in the 5th Division. Gin killed the 3rd seat of the division with ease, which aroused Aizen’s interest in him. Before he became captain of the 3rd Division, he served under Captain Sosuke Aizen as the lieutenant of 5th Division. A lesser point is his constant talks with Byakuya Kuchiki, which Rukia believes he did specifically to unsettle her since she was afraid of him.

Gin’s first major appearance is at the gates leading into the Seireitei, following Jidanbo’s defeat by Ichigo Kurosaki. He easily repels the two without killing them, simultaneously closing the gate which Jidanbo was holding open (it is later revealed by Aizen that he ordered Gin to do so). The other captains question his failure to kill opponents whom he should have had no trouble killing, but a second intrusion by Ichigo’s group, followed by the supposed death of Aizen, leaves them with bigger concerns. Aizen, having faked his death, has Gin deliberately cast suspicion on himself, thereby drawing attention away from Aizen’s activities. After Aizen’s plot is revealed and they retreat to Hueco Mundo, Gin bids Rangiku Matsumoto farewell and apologizes to her in one of the rare moments in which he doesn’t smile.

In Hueco Mundo, Gin jokingly chides Aizen over his habit of playing around with his subordinates. When Ichigo’s group breaks into Las Noches, he observes them, even altering the position of the halls when no one is around. When Ulquiorra Cifer catches him in the act, Gin denies changing anything, saying that he wouldn’t do that to “those kids” and that he does not like “sad stories”. He later appears alongside Aizen and Tosen in Karakura Town, commenting on Kira’s sudden change in emotion to Tosen and remarks that he is glad Kira is ‘doing well’.

Gin Ichimaru’s zanpakuto is Shinso (??, literally “Divine spear”). It takes the form of a wakizashi when sealed. The guard is shaped like an ‘S’. Shinso’s shikai is triggered by the phrase “shoot to kill” (???, ikorose); in the anime, this was slightly changed to the declarative ikorosu. In the English translation of the series, the phrase is inconsistent between uses, but mostly describes stabbing (slay, impale, pierce). Another trigger phrase, used in the first Soul Society arc, was “Shoot ‘em dead”. Its first rendering in the Viz translation was “skewer that punk”.

In its shikai, Shinso’s blade glows white and extends at high speed to impale Gin’s opponents. In addition to making it a deadly long-range weapon, the extending blade also carries tremendous force without affecting Gin, making it useful for dislodging heavy objects, as seen when Gin pushes both Ichigo Kurosaki and the giant Jidanbo out from under the Seireitei gate, despite Jidanbo being firmly braced under it. Once extended, Gin can maintain the blade’s length and swing Shinso in wide arcs, simultaneously attacking multiple targets with speed and ease.

While it has not been seen in the actual series, various Bleach console games have depicted Shinso as having additional abilities. In Bleach: The Blade of Fate, Bleach: Dark Souls, and Bleach: Shattered Blade, Gin fires Shinso into the sky and swords similar to Shinso’s unreleased state rain all around him. In Bleach: Blade Battlers Gin shoots Shinso into the ground and the blade hits the opponent from underneath, whereas in Bleach: Heat the Soul 5, a wave of blades instead shoots up from the ground to hit the opponent.

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Zaraki Kenpachi

Zaraki Kenpachi is the captain of the Gotei 13’s 11th Division. He is one of the many Bleach characters with a very unique appearance. His hair is spiked with tiny bells at the tip of each spike. His huge size and height (he is taller than Sado Yasutora) together with the deep scar on his face makes him look extremely aggressive and wild. And unlike Sado who is gentle and contrary to his appearance, Zaraki is indeed a violent man who has deep passion for fighting. Zaraki lives for combat. Injury, pain and death are nothing but necessities in order for him to enjoy a good fight.

Although aggressive, Zaraki’s compassion can be seen from his concern for his young lieutenant, Kusajishi Yachiru. Ever since Zaraki found her, they’ve built a strong father-daughter kind of relationship. And Zaraki’s other lieutenant has shown great respect for him, which hints that Zaraki is in no way a monster that knows only bloodsheds.

Before Zaraki became captain, he was a wandering swordsman from Rukongai who is very proficient in sword-fighting. When he found his way to the Court of Pure Souls, he defeated and killed the previous 11th Division captain and took over his position.

Zaraki Kenpachi’s Zanpakuto

Zaraki is the only captain of the Gotei 13 that is unable to perform both his zanpakuto’s Shikai (Initial release) and Bankai (Final release). The reason is due to Zaraki not knowing his zanpakuto’s real name. He has always depended on his own strength, power and sword-fighting skills to defeat his enemies, therefore he has never understood the need to know his zanpakuto’s name.

However, since his fight with Kurosaki Ichigo, Zaraki has begun to realize the pain of not having a name. Being able to relate to his zanpakuto’s pain, he has decided to learn his zanpakuto’s name. This is partly due to his interest in growing even stronger to defeat Ichigo in another fight.

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Ukitake Jushiro

Jushiro Ukitake is a sickly looking man with long white hair. He suffers from tuberculosis, which caused his hair to turn white, and acts as an inhibition for him throughout the series; if he fights for too long, or even becomes too agitated, the illness flares up. He is forced to leave most of his duties as a captain to his subordinates so that he can rest. Despite this, Ukitake is respected by many Shinigamis for his honesty, loyalty, and personal sense of justice. He and his friend Shunsui Kyouraku are two of the oldest captains in the Gotei 13, both having trained under General Yamamoto thousands of years before the current Bleach storyline.

Ukitake’s zanpakutou is Sougyo no Kotowari. His zanpakutu is, along with that of Shunsui Kyouraku’s, one of only two zanpakutu in Soul Society to exist as a pair. Where it differs from Kyouraku’s is that it only becomes a pair after its shikai release, while Kyoraku’s is a daisho sword pair even in its sealed form. It is released with the command “every wave be my shield, every thunder become my blade”. In Sougyo no Kotowari’s released state, it splits into two thin blades resembling fishing javelins with reverse jitte prongs on the dull side of the blade, that are connected by a cord lined with several small charms. While the anime and manga have yet to depict what special abilities it possesses, some Bleach video games portray it as having the ability to manipulate water and electricity.

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Isshin Kurosaki

Isshin Kurosaki is the father of Kurosaki Ichigo. He was a Shinigami up until twenty years before the current Bleach storyline, after which he began residing in the human world. What he did as a Shinigami and why he left remain unknown.

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