Characters in Bleach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

This is a list of characters in the manga and anime series Bleach. For simplicity, the characters are listed by where they reside: on the human plane, Soul Society or Hueco Mundo.

In addition to the information provided by the chapters and episodes of the series, Tite Kubo has included character profiles in the back of several tankōbon, offering insight into traits of the main characters that otherwise might remain hidden; this includes one or two pieces of music that Tite Kubo associates with each character, reflecting a surprisingly eclectic and worldly range of genres and artists. In the anime, the characters are designed by Masashi Kudō.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

[edit] Main characters

[edit] Human world

[edit] The Kurosaki family

Karin Kurosaki as seen in the anime.
Karin Kurosaki as seen in the anime.

Karin is the cynical and sarcastic daughter of Isshin. She is an excellent soccer player with a kick powerful enough to fight weak hollows (this occurs later in the anime). Karin's tough exterior results from her mother's death; because she could not be useful around the house like Yuzu, she resolved never to cry so that she would not burden her family with her personal troubles. Karin is a sensible person and will not hesitate to kick her father in the head when she thinks he's acting unreasonable. She initially claims that she believes spirits do not exist, yet can see them just as well as Ichigo can. In spite of this, she is willing to use her abilities to earn a little cash. Karin actually knows that Ichigo is a shinigami and wants to know why he's suffering out of concern. Karin is a homonym for Japanese quince, a name of a fruit, which matches Ichigo's name being a homonym for strawberry. Compared to her soft-spoken twin, Karin is the more authoritative of the two. She is also Karakura Red of the Karakura superheroes.

Yuzu Kurosaki as seen in the anime.
Yuzu Kurosaki as seen in the anime.
  • Yuzu Kurosaki (黒崎 遊子 Kurosaki Yuzu?) – Voiced by: Tomoe Sakuragawa (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)

Yuzu is Karin's fraternal twin (both were born on May 6) and more soft-spoken in comparison to her authoritative sibling . She is also the more empathetic of the two girls. She takes care of the housework, such as cooking meals, and tidying up the living space on a daily basis. She also regularly cuts Ichigo's hair.[1] She has an ongoing relationship with the mod soul Kon, which most often involves her dressing him in feminine clothes and gluing unwanted accessories, much to the chagrin of said modified soul. Unlike her siblings, she is only able to see faint outlines of spirits. Both girls help out in the family's clinic. She is Karakura Yellow in Don Kanonji's Karakura Superheroes. Yuzu is also the name of a citrus fruit.

  • Masaki Kurosaki (黒崎 真咲 Kurosaki Masaki?) [Deceased] – Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara

Masaki, born on June 9 and died on June 17, is the mother of Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin. She died while Ichigo was still a child, and her death deeply affected her family. Isshin keeps a large poster of her on the wall and occasionally talks to it for comic relief. Though Ichigo initially believed that she had been killed by falling debris, he later discovers that the hollow Grand Fisher was actually responsible for her death. Grand Fisher had intended to kill Ichigo, but killed her instead because of his preference for women victims. Both Isshin and Ichigo blame themselves for her death. Because of her death, her three children changed completely in personality: Ichigo changed from a terrified little boy into his scowling, short-tempered self; Yuzu turned from a crybaby to a reliable housekeeper; and Karin turned from a crybaby into her no nonsense person.

[edit] Karakura High School

Mizuiro Kojima as seen in the anime.
Mizuiro Kojima as seen in the anime.
  • Mizuiro Kojima (小島 水色 Kojima Mizuiro?) - Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (Japanese), Tom Fahn (English)

Though he has a boyish face and gentle manner of speaking, Mizuiro has a marked fondness for older women. A typical character trait of male characters in anime, he is apparently very successful with these women and often excuses himself from Asano's activities because of a date with one or more women, the latter being more likely. In an extra chapter in the twelfth volume of Bleach, it is revealed that Mizuiro had very few friends until junior high. He is very distant towards his mother, who is seldom home. Recently, he's been revealed to have been fully endowed with spiritual awareness like Tatsuki and Keigo, and has watched Ichigo, Chad, and Uryū go into Hueco Mundo.

An open and rather proud lesbian, Chizuru's numerous advances on her school friend Orihime Inoue are usually thwarted by Tatsuki. She has red hair and wears glasses with red frames. She calls Orihime "Hime," which means "Princess," though it could also be a simple shortening of Orihime's name. In Chizuru's opinion, Tatsuki is also very pretty, but too boyish for her to crush on since she prefers more feminine girls; she has also oggled Kunieda, Mahana, and Michiru on occasion. She placed 31st in her class on her exams.[2]

Ryō is a cold and bespectacled girl (though she tends to take her glasses off when she doesn't need them) who does extremely well in her studies (2nd best at school) and can often be seen with her nose in a book. As the school's track star, she can run 100 meters in 12 seconds flat.

Michiru, often seen with Ryō Kunieda, is a member of Ichigo's class who forms a circle of friends with other girls, including Orihime, Tatsuki, and Chizuru. She seems to be more of a follower than a leader, and thinks Ichigo has a scary face.

  • Mahana Natsui (夏井 真花 Natsui Mahana?) – Voiced by: Kayo Noumi (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)

Mahana, often seen with Ryō Kunieda, is a member of Ichigo's class who forms a circle of friends with other girls, including Orihime, Tatsuki, and Chizuru. Though not shown very often, she's outgoing and talkative.

  • Mizuho Asano (浅野 瑞穂 Asano Mizuho?)

Keigo's formidable older sister, Mizuho seems to regularly sends Keigo on errands (like getting juice from a vending machine) with the usual punishment for lateness being a kick to the crotch. She happily welcomes Ikkaku and Yumichika into the Asano home after Keigo brings them back. While she initially claims that she is welcoming them "because that is the kind of sister" she wants to be, in reality she just has a thing for shaved/bald heads. She has a tendency to speak sexily and show off her figure to men she finds attractive, much to Keigo's chagrin.

  • Reiichi Ōshima (大島 麗一 Ōshima Reiichi?)

Reiichi is a boy with dyed orange hair who challenges Ichigo for stealing his style, evidently on a regular basis. He appears once and is swiftly beaten up in one hit by an already-injured Chad, despite proclaiming to be tough.

  • Ichirō Nanbuken (南部 研一郎 Nanbuken Ichirō?)

Ichirō is 4th student in school in terms of academic achievements.

Misato is Ichigo's class teacher. She is very easy going, accepts any excuse (no matter how flimsy and unbelievable, usually involving falling down stairs), and doesn't seem to mind in the slightest when Ichigo and his spiritually-endowed friends suddenly take off from class. She also doesn't seem terribly concerned that her students aren't really learning anything. When Ichigo returned from being absent for several weeks, she punished him very lightly (hitting him on the head with a book a couple times).

  • Tetsuo Momohara

Tetuso is a classmate of Ichigo's who tried to get him to join the Karate club. He gets angry because Ichigo doesn't remember who he is. He sits in Rukia's seat in class, after Renji and Byakuya take her back to Soul Society.

[edit] Urahara Shop

Ururu Tsumugiya
Ururu Tsumugiya

Ururu is a meek black-haired girl who has a lolita-like persona. She does manual labor for the shop, as well as assisting Urahara in training Ichigo. She is Karakura Pink in Don Kanoji's superhero team and uses a multi-barreled cannon as her weapon. She seems to respond robotically when injured or when hollows initially appear. Jinta also mentions that she reacts to strange spiritual presences, such as those of arrancar. During such times, Ururu seems to take on a rather simplistic view of right and wrong. She considers those that cause harm (relative to her) as enemies, and believes that enemies must be eliminated.

Ururu's meek attitude is somewhat at odds with her fighting ability, which is undefined, but quite high (Urahara vaguely mentions that her fighting ability is at an "anti-shinigami" level). Her leg-strength in particular is far greater than it should be, even when compared to Kon while he's in Ichigo's body. Her combat skills are shown when she gives the arrancar Ilfort Grantz a devastating kick to the head while he is fighting with Renji Abarai. In the anime, she also delivers a powerful kick to Sawatari's giant whale doll, Baura.

Jinta Hanakari
Jinta Hanakari

Jinta is a small, red-haired boy who is supposed to do manual labor for the shop, such as cleaning, but usually slacks off and forces Ururu to do all the work. He desires to be a baseball star as well as Karakura Red (fighting for the position with Karin Kurosaki) in the team of Karakura Superheroes led by Don Kanonji. He seems to have a crush on Yuzu Kurosaki, calling her "The Goddess." This is shown in the omake chapters after the anime episodes when he gives her discounts at the shop and treating a good-luck charm she gave him as an extremely important possession (it was really Kon's plushie body tied to a string, which caused a fight between the two over it during a soccer game). Jinta, like the other shop members, appears to be old and wise when he isn't fooling around. While he likes to constantly bully Ururu, he does care for her, shown when he recovered her body after she was wounded by the arrancar Ilfort Grantz. Also like Ururu, he displays powerful fighting abilities comparable to those of shinigami, though not to the same extreme degree that she does. His primary weapon is an oversized tessen.

Tessai Tsukabishi
Tessai Tsukabishi

Tessai is a large, muscular man who always wears an apron. It is unclear what work he does for the shop, but he is Urahara's personal assistant in both business-related and other matters. Tessai is skilled in kidō, shown by his use of a level 99 binding spell, possibly the most difficult of them. He is also shown to have great physical strength, made apparent by his ability to smash a hollow's head to pieces with a single, open-palmed thrust. He is also fiercely proud of the shop; this is shown when Orihime Inoue praises the shop basement, finding it really cool, and Tessai bursts into tears when thanking her. When Soifon refers to the shop as "pokey," his instant reaction is irritation and he has to be subdued by Urahara. He is also among the few who find Orihime's food tasty, the other being Rangiku Matsumoto. Tessai is over 200 years old, as he tells Rukia that the word "Quincy" "brings back memories" from that long ago in Chapter 36 of the manga (volume 5).

[edit] Quincy

Sōken Ishida
Sōken Ishida

The mentor of his son, Ryūken, and grandson, Uryū, Sōken (born March 22) was a kind old man whom Uryū admired. He was killed by hollows purposely sent by Mayuri Kurotsuchi for his research. His death is the primary reason Uryū hates the shinigami.

[edit] Vizard

Main article: Vizard

The vizard are outcast shinigami who have gained hollow powers.

Hiyori Sarugaki
Hiyori Sarugaki
  • Hiyori Sarugaki (猿柿 ひよ里 Sarugaki Hiyori?) Voiced by: Reiko Takagi (Japanese)

Introduced in chapter 189 and episode 112 of the anime, Hiyori is a tiny, blond-haired girl with a fierce temper and violent tendencies. Her hair is worn in pigtails and she wears a red jogging outfit (which is decorated with the first kanji of her name). She often abuses Shinji, usually by slapping him with one of her sandals. Though she appears young, she may have a bit of authority in the vizard. She took the longest to defeat her inner hollow out of all the current vizard, at 69 minutes, 2 seconds. Her general appearance, tomboy-ish personality, and having 'saru' (monkey) in her name make her seem like she was raised in the rural mountains, the Japanese equivalent to the American hill-billy.

  • Hachigen Ushōda (有昭田 鉢玄 Ushōda Hachigen?)

The physically largest vizard, Hachigen wears a tuxedo and has a skull and crossbones design in his pink hair. He is usually referred to as Hacchi (ハッチ, sometimes translated as 'Hutch'), but his actual name is Hachigen. He seems to be a binding spells expert, since he is always the one in charge of making barriers and such for the vizard's use. He seems to also have powers similar to Orihime Inoue's, and he was the one who healed Tsubaki's injuries when Orihime's own powers were insufficient to do so. Hachi does possess a zanpakutō, but it has only been shown once in chapter 216.

  • Lisa Yadōmaru (矢胴丸 リサ Yadōmaru Risa?)

Lisa is a girl with glasses and long, braided, dark hair. She is dressed in a sailor fuku (as opposed to the more Western-style uniforms of Karakura High School students). She seems easily irritated and apparently likes to read erotic manga (specifically, Josei manga). She appears to be ambidextrous, initially wielding her zanpakutō with her left hand (like Ikkaku Madarame) then switching to her right during her fight with Ichigo. Her appearance is very similar to Nanao Ise's.

  • Love (ラヴ[3]/羅武[4] Ravu/Rabu?)

Love is tall man with sunglasses and a spiked afro who wears a jogging suit. He seems to be very laid back. He also likes to read Shōnen Jump and even some of Lisa's erotic manga. He and Rose seem to be close friends. During his fight with Ichigo's Hollow self he was about to use his masked form once Ichigo had fully transformed, but was stopped by Ichigo regaining control. His zanpakutō's hilt is in the shape of a heart, and he carries its sheath on a strap hanging from his shoulder like a messenger bag.

  • Rose (ローズ Rōzu?)

Rose is an effeminate man with long, wavy blond hair and a frilly shirt. He seems to be interested in music, as he spoke to Love about an artist's new single and has been seen playing or tuning a guitar on several occasions. He was one of two vizard (the other being Mashiro) not shown to be doing anything except watching while Ichigo was subduing his inner hollow. Rose seems to be delighted that a person with powers similar to a vizard exists. He also appears to be one of the calmer and perhaps wiser ones amongst the group (though he becomes irritated whenever Love spoils a manga's story for him). His zanpakutō's hilt is in the shape of a diamond with curved edges.

  • Kensei Muguruma (六車 拳西 Muguruma Kensei?)

Kensei appears to be a teenager with short, light grey hair and several piercings who wears a basketball jersey and cargo pants. He switches places with Lisa in chapter 219 to contain Ichigo. His zanpakutō, when first seen in the manga, is shown to have a rectangular-shaped hilt in a sort of 'H' shape. His zanpakutō after initial release is also very short, about the size of a survival knife (though when it was first seen in its unreleased form it was actually a formal katana). He also appears to have some energy based powers that he used to blow Ichigo's hollow form's arm off but failed to slow him down.

  • Mashiro (白?)

Mashiro is a somewhat ditzy girl that wears a white bodysuit and goggles in her green hair. She was able to maintain her hollow mask for fifteen hours on her first attempt to control her hollow, which means she did not need to train like Ichigo. Her outfit and goggles are in a style similar to the costumes of the tokusatsu superheroes that became popular in Japanese television in the late 1950s. This may be a hint at her age, as a way of contrasting Mashiro's childish appearance and behavior.

[edit] Modified souls

Modified souls are artificial souls created by Soul Society researchers some time ago. They have enhanced speed and strength when compared to normal humans, and often special abilities which set them apart from each other. However, the modified souls were considered a failed experiment and most of them were destroyed. Urahara saved at least one of them, Kon. In the anime's Bount arc, three more are introduced.

[edit] The Bount arc modsouls

Ririn, Kuroud, and Noba
Ririn, Kuroud, and Noba

In the anime's Bount arc, three more modified souls are introduced. Created by Urahara, they are designed to track and combat the Bount, as well as help train Ichigo and his companions, although at first they're seen as a threat while doing so. They originally live in gigai created by Kisuke Urahara, and have the ability to sense the spiritual presence of the Bount. However, early in the Bount arc, Kisuke asks the trio to primarily remain in plush doll bodies like Kon to remain inconspicuous.

They also possess special abilites like Kon, but their abilities (with the exception of Kuroud) are energy-based rather than physical. They change from plush animal to their gigais more frequently than Kon borrows Ichigo's body, but while in their plush animal form, their powers remain, albeit in a very limited state, unlike Kon.

Ririn, while in her gigai form, is a small girl with short blonde hair wearing a pink fur coat, a purple bird-shaped cape, and red boots. When not in her gigai, she inhabits an anthropomorphic bird plushie. Her special ability is the creation of illusions. She acts as the leader of the trio, and has a fondness for games. She is partnered with Ichigo Kurosaki. At first she disliked Ichigo due to their conflicting personalities, but now she's rather infatuated with him, becoming extremely jealous of Rukia Kuchiki's close relationship with Ichigo. She can be petty and arrogant at times, but she shows real concern for her friends. She often looks down on Kon as inferior, which causes frequent arguments between the two.

Also known as Claude or Cloud, Kuroud is a bespectacled man with a mustache and two-tone hair color (black to the right, yellow to the left). He wears a gray top hat, multi-colored suit and tie, as well as dark brown boots, giving him an appearance similar to a circus manager. His plushie body is a rabbit-esque purse. He is partnered with Orihime Inoue. He has the ability to shapeshift, and can replicate the abilities of others when he does so (although he can't replicate the power levels of said abilities). He is somewhat cowardly and is terrified of snakes. His longwindedness and actions often provide comic relief. He is also somewhat perverted, like Kon, or at the very least is thankful for the opportunity to be held by attractive women (being a purse helps in this regard). Rukia seems to like him because he resembles Chappy the Rabbit in his stuffed animal form.

More commonly known as Nova, Noba is a handsome young man in a fur coat with a shield on his back and a zippered mask, with a slim build, red hair, and aqua eyes. He inhabits an anthropomorphic turtle plushie when out of his gigai. He's very quiet, rarely speaking more than a few words and also rather shy, zipping up his hood when he blushes. He is partnered with Yasutora Sado, who is equally quiet. He has the power to teleport himself and others to most any location he's been to. He can also use his spiritual sense to teleport to the location of those with spiritual powers. Additionally, he can create wormholes to redirect ranged attacks, both physical and energy based, back at the enemy. He can also absorb fire. When he is in his plushie, his teleportation range is limited to about two meters.

[edit] Bounts

Main article: Bounts in Bleach

The Bounts are a clan of humans with supernatural powers comparable to that of the Quincy. Bounts consume spirits in place of food, which allows them to live longer; theoretically, a Bount could live forever given steady access to spirits. Bounts traditionally don't consume the souls of living humans, as it is an ancient taboo and also causes aging, defeating the purpose of absorbing souls to remain young. According to Urahara, the Bounts are called vampires in certain parts of the world. Like shinigami, Bounts can seal their power in inanimate objects. Unlike shinigami, they do not create zanpakutō, but dolls with various special abilites. Additionally, unlike zanpakutō, the dolls have active personalities and can operate independently.

  • Yoshino Sōma
  • Ryō Udagawa
  • Jin Kariya
  • Hō and Ban
  • Koga Gou
  • Cain
  • Mabashi
  • Sawatari
  • Ugaki
  • Yoshi

[edit] Shun Shun Rikka

Main article: Orihime's powers

The Shun Shun Rikka (盾舜 六花, lit. Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield; Six Princess Shielding Flowers in the English anime) are six spirits which embody Orihime Inoue's power. They are capable of shielding her from attacks, healing allies, and attacking enemies. They made their first appearance when a hollow attacked Orihime and her classmates, and it was because of the desire to help her attacked friend Tatsuki Arisawa that the spirits appeared. The six spirits are manifestations of Orihime's soul, each with its own unique appearance and personality.

Ayame is a shy female spirit covered in a dress larger than her body. She is capable of healing together with Shun'ō.

Baigon is a bald male spirit with a mask that covers the bottom of his face. He is capable of shielding Orihime from attacks along with Hinagiku and Lily.

Hinagiku is a male spirit with a large eyepatch that ends in a horn. He is capable of shielding Orihime from attacks along with Baigon and Lily.

Lily is a female spirit with bright pink hair and transparent goggles. She is capable of shielding Orihime from attacks along with Baigon and Hinagiku.

Shun'ō is a friendly female spirit with a topknot. She and Tsubaki are usually the ones who talk to Orihime. She is capable of healing together with Ayame.

Tsubaki is a fiery male spirit who is the only Shun Shun Rikka capable of direct attack. He often strikes anyone who gets on his nerves (including Orihime). Because he is primarily focused on attacking, he is vulnerable to counter-attacks and has been injured several times. The stronger Orihime's anger and killing intent, the more powerful he becomes.

[edit] Other characters

Don Kanonji
Don Kanonji

Don Kanonji is a popular spirit medium who has a television show called Ghost Bust[5] that, at the time of his introduction, is watched by 25% of Japan's population. He later formed the Karakura Superheroes, which consists of the Kurosaki sisters and the children at the Urahara Shop, to get the show's declining ratings up. The method in which Don Kanonji used to rid ghosts, thinking he was sending spirits to heaven, actually quickly caused those spirits to become hollows. He found this out when he and Ichigo Kurosaki fought a hollow that appeared because of Don Kanonji during a television taping at Karakura Town. His special attack is "Golden Kanonball," a tiny ball of golden light that moves slowly and explodes with surprising power. He speaks in a mixture of Japanese and English.

A supposedly cursed "parakeet" (actually a cockatiel) that found its way into Chad's protection, Yūichi is actually the ghost of a young boy tormented by a vicious hollow. He is guided into Soul Society by Ichigo and eventually meets up with Chad again.

  • Midoriko Tōno (遠野 翠子 Tōno Midoriko?)

Midoriko is Yuzu and Karin's friend and schoolmate who has seen Ichigo while possessed by Kon's spirit. She is frequently threatened by Karin into forcing herself to believe she has seen nothing out of the ordinary whenever something strange happens, especially when it involves Ichigo. According to her diary entries found during the sketches of volume 14, Midoriko is also usually blamed for Karin's carelessness (such as forgetting to water the class' chrysanthemums) and also has a crush on Keigo Asano.

Sora is Orihime Inoue's older brother. He raised her for most of her life, and died from his wounds in a car accident in the Kurosaki Clinic three years before the series begins. He enters the story quickly as a hollow, Acid Wire. In the anime, he is seen dragged to Hueco Mundo to be turned into a hollow at the behest of Grand Fisher. This is not shown or even suggested in the manga; one can assume that his feelings of being forgotten by Orihime were what prompted his transformation in this case. His name is Kakei in the official English-language manga translation, but he is still called Sora in the character popularity polls. Curiously, before being purified by Ichigo, Sora was able to remove his hollow mask and recover his original personality. While such an act has been described as the process which creates an arrancar, Sora remains in hollow form, albeit with a human head. Presumably, this is because of Sora resisting his hollow self, rather than the hollow itself removing the mask.

  • Yama, Mit, and Toshi

Yama, Mit, and Toshi are three skateboarders who briefly appear in the first chapter and are beaten up by Ichigo for breaking a bottle with flowers that he put as a memorial for a ghost. In the English translation, they are referred to by one member as "Li'l Yama," "Li'l Mitch," and "Li'l Toshi" respectively.

Shigeo and Harutoki are two friends of Chad. Shigeo lives on the money he makes from his part time job and is easily upset when he does not get to eat.

  • Raku, a.k.a. Karakura Lion Jet

Raku is the spirit of a cat that Yuzu Kurosaki once fed. In its attempt to follow her home, it was killed by a passing car. It returns sometime later as a spirit of itself with unusually high spiritual power, attracting hollows. When the hollows endanger Yuzu, it transforms into a lion to protect her. This puts its spirit to rest, allowing it to pass on. Nobody other than Yuzu knows that the lion is actually Raku.

Ganryū is the leader of the "Dark Ones" in Bleach: Memories of Nobody. In the film, he tries to use a shinigami named Senna to disrupt the balance between the worlds, collapsing both.

[edit] Soul Society

[edit] Shinigami court divisions

The characters that represent each division are actually numbers in Kanji.

[edit] 1st Division

[edit] 2nd Division

  • Captain: Soifon (砕蜂) (Commander of the special forces and Executive Militia)
  • Lieutenant: Marechiyo Ōmaeda (大前田 希千代 Ōmaeda Marechiyo?)

[edit] 3rd Division

[edit] 4th Division

4th Division's primary function is support and medical duties.

  • Captain: Retsu Unohana (卯ノ花 烈 Unohana Retsu?)
  • Lieutenant: Isane Kotetsu (虎徹 勇音 Kotetsu Isane?)
  • 3rd Seat: Yasochika Iemura (伊江村 八十千和 Iemura Yasochika?) (Squad Leader of Squad 1)

Iemura is very vain, likes to act cool, and thinks he will look better without glasses. He was born on a Leap Day, February 29. His rank is quite high, but since he comes from the weakest division in terms of combat he has to call the other divisions's 3rd seaters with a -sama suffix. He meticulously keeps a diary, which he sometimes defeats the purpose of by narrating what he's writing in it (particularly when lamenting something).

  • 7th Seat: Hanatarō Yamada (山田 花太郎 Yamada Hanatarō?) (Squad Leader of Squad 14, born April 1)
  • 8th Seat: Harunobu Ogidō (荻堂 春信 Ogidō Harunobu?) (Second Leader of Squad 1, Born April 14)

[edit] 5th Division

[edit] 6th Division

  • Captain: Byakuya Kuchiki (朽木 白哉 Kuchiki Byakuya?)
  • Lieutenant: Renji Abarai (阿散井 恋次 Abarai Renji?)
  • 9th Seat: Mihane Shirogane (銀　美羽 Shirogane Mihane?)

Mihane is the co-owner of Silver Tonbo, a very popular eyeglasses store in Soul Society. She wears glasses and has short, dirty blonde hair. She appeared in one of the colorful Bleach extras.

  • Rikichi (理吉?) - Voiced by: Masataka Nakai (Japanese), Liam O'Brien (English)

Rikichi is a young shinigami who idolizes Renji and wants to be like him. To this end, he has similar tattoos to Renji's and will do anything to assist Renji when he is in trouble. His rank, if any, is unknown. He and Hanatarō Yamada are friends.

[edit] 7th Division

  • Captain: Sajin Komamura (狛村 左陣 Komamura Sajin?)
  • Lieutenant: Tetsuzaemon Iba (射場 鉄左衛門 Iba Tetsuzaemon?)
  • 4th Seat: Jirōbō Ikkanzaka (一貫坂 慈楼坊 Ikkanzaka Jirōbō?)

Jidanbō's younger brother, Jirōbō is skilled at ranged weaponry and the self-proclaimed "Kamaitachi" (a title bestowed on the best projectile user). He brags about being best in projectile use among all shinigami. His zanpakutō is Tsunzakigarasu (劈烏, lit. Splitting Crow), activated by the phrase "flap away" (羽搏きなさい habatakinasai?, "spread your wings" in the Viz translation). In its initial release, Tsunzakigarasu transforms into a number of double-edged shuriken that dance through the air around Jirōbō. If they are destroyed, he can sheath the sword and draw it again to summon more. He is easily defeated by Uryū Ishida, who also removed his ability to become a shinigami again after Jirōbō continually tried to harm the weaker Orihime Inoue, who was alongside him during the fight.

[edit] 8th Division

  • Captain: Shunsui Kyōraku (京楽 春水 Kyōraku Shunsui?)
  • Lieutenant: Nanao Ise (伊勢 七緒 Ise Nanao?)
  • 3rd Seat: Tatsufusa Enjōji (円乗寺 辰房 Enjōji Tatsufusa?) - Voiced by: Toshiharu Sakurai Tatsufusa (born July 8) is a large shinigami with an ego to match. When he meets with Chad in battle, he swings his sword in a random, almost idiotic fashion while making ridiculous sounds, believing it to be impenetrable defense (Chad disproves this by punching him in the face). His zanpakutō is Hōzan (崩山, lit. Avalanche) and is activated by the phrase "dance madly" (乱舞せよ ranbuseyo?). Its abilities are unknown. In one of the omake chapters, Tatsufusa appears to have a crush on Soifon.

[edit] 9th Division

  • Former Captain: Kaname Tōsen (東仙要 Tōsen Kaname?)
  • Lieutenant: Shūhei Hisagi (檜佐木修兵 Hisagi Shūhei?)
  • 20th Seat: Toshimori Umesada (梅定敏盛 Umesada Toshimori?) - Voiced by: Hajime Ījima

The lecherous leader of a squadron trying to find the intruders in Soul Society, Toshimori unwittingly allows Orihime and Ishida, disguised as shinigami, to hide within his squadron. He tries to hit on Orihime, but was foiled by Ishida and a timely call from his squad members.

[edit] 10th Division

  • Captain: Tōshirō Hitsugaya (日番谷 冬獅郎 Hitsugaya Tōshirō?)
  • Lieutenant: Rangiku Matsumoto (松本 乱菊 Matsumoto Rangiku?)
  • 7th Seat: Kōkichirō Takezoe (竹添 幸吉郎 Takezoe Kōkichirō?)

Kōkichirō is mentioned in passing as Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were discussing Gin Ichimaru's involvement in Aizen's murder.

[edit] 11th Division

Makizō is a shinigami who has been part of the 11th Division for 10 years. He is instructed by Ishida to take Inoue away from the battle with Kurotsuchi, and subsequently follows Ishida and the other intruders around Soul Society once Kenpachi Zaraki frees them from prison. His nicknames are "Maki Maki" and "sneaky beard," both given to him by Yachiru. He greatly resembles Hong Kong actor Yuen Wah in appearance.

  • Maki Ichinose (一之瀬 真樹 Ichinose Maki?) [Deceased] - Voiced by: Susumu Chiba

Introduced in the anime's Bount arc, Maki belonged to the 11th Division until Kenpachi Zaraki killed the previous captain in a duel. Maki refused to acknowledge the new captain and left Soul Society, although he retains his shinigami abilities. While in Soul Society, he shared many ideals with Kaname Tōsen. He then traveled the human world, but one day, while in a weakened state in a desert, he fell upon a hollow who almost killed him; the hollow was subdued by Jin Kariya, who allowed Maki to kill it. Maki swore his loyalty to Jin after that, breaking the vow only once to fight Kenpachi instead of stopping Ichigo and his friends as he was expected to.

He helped Kariya and the other Bounts by infiltrating Soul Society and provoking Mayuri Kurotsuchi into helping the Bount enter. He is severely wounded by Kenpachi Zaraki during their duel, breaking his sword in the process. When he returns to question Kariya's motives, he is stabbed and tossed away by Kariya. What's left of his sword is destroyed when it inadvertently saves Ichigo from one of Kariya's lightning attacks, acting as a lightning rod.

His zanpakutō is called Nijigasumi (虹霞, lit. Rainbow Haze). It is activated by the command "shine brightly" (光華閃け kōka hirameke?). Nijigasumi's ability is to control light and create illusions. It can also use light offensively, creating blades of light to cut an opponent. It can also compress light and use it to crush an opponent in its Saigyoku Nijigasumi (Swallowing Orb of Rainbow Mist) form.

[edit] 12th Division

(Research / Scientific Institute)

  • Lieutenant: Nemu Kurotsuchi (涅ネム Kurotsuchi Nemu?)
  • Hiyosu (鵯州?) - Voiced by: Kōhei Matsumoto

Hiyosu is a department head in the Research Institute tied to the 12th division. He is a large man with a bulbous head and an extendable eyeball. He was the one that originally discovered Rukia's gigai.

  • Akon (阿近?) - Voiced by: Keiji Okuda

Akon is the second-best gigai scientist in the Research Institute. He is tall and eyebrow-less, with a jagged part. On his forehead are three short horns. He was the first to realize that Rukia's gigai was created by someone working outside the laws of the Soul Society. In a "Colorful Bleach" segment, Akon and his un-named assistant, a girl with pigtails made of chains, are often shown doing various tasks like designing models for the Bleach games and making life-size figures as birthday presents on Ukitake's request.

  • Rin Tsubokura (壷府リン Tsubokura Rin?) - Voiced by: Miho Saiki

Rin is a character originally created by Kubo Tite for the Bleach-Fan Japanese Bleach news site as a mascot. He regularly interacts with Ichigo's seiyuu in brief video segments on the site. Later, he was brought into the manga and anime as one of Hiyosu's assitants.

[edit] 13th Division

Miyako was Kaien's wife and had been killed by a hollow. In the anime, she was first possessed, then killed by the hollow. Her face is never fully seen in the manga. It is also stated that Rukia Kuchiki looked up to her as a strong but gentle woman and as Kaien Shiba's wife.

  • 3rd Seat 1 and 2: Kiyone Kotetsu (虎徹 清音 Kotetsu Kiyone?) and Sentarō Kotsubaki (小椿 仙太郎 Kotsubaki Sentarō?) - Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura and Voiced by: Kōichi Tōchika

Since the death of Lieutenant Shiba, Kiyone and Sentarō have been acting as the division's joint seconds-in-command, overseeing day-to-day operations. They squabble quite often, each believing that they are more competent than the other. They both mean well, but are highly competitive and constantly critical of the other (to further their rivalry, they also happen to share the same birthday, September 9). Kiyone is the younger sister of 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu. Sentarō came from Rukongai.

[edit] Gate watchers

The Gate Watchers are giants (each is over 50 feet tall) that guard the four gates into Sereitei. They are elites of Soul Society, although not as strong as a captain or lieutenant.

Jidanbō, the west Gate Watcher.
Jidanbō, the west Gate Watcher.

The only gate guard to receive any significant attention, Jidanbō (born January 10) has a good heart and believes in honor. He believes all fights must be one on one (much like the 11th Division mindset) and defeat means he must open his gate, even to an enemy. When he attempts to do so for Ichigo, he is repelled by Gin Ichimaru. He is the first person that Ichigo fought in Soul Society, and following his honorable defeat and being healed by Orihime, became friends with Ichigo and company. He has immense physical power and wields two gigantic axes, which Ichigo destroys during their battle. He assists Kūkaku Shiba against Aizen late in the Soul Society arc.

  • Kaiwan (嵬蜿 Kaiwan?) (East Gate - Shōryūmon)
  • Danzōmaru (斷蔵丸 Danzōmaru?) (North Gate - Kokuryōmon)
  • Bikonyūdō (比鉅入道 Bikonyūdō?) (South Gate - Shūwaimon)

These three guards are on Aizen's side, although it is unknown if it is through their own choice, Aizen's manipulation, or if they are under the control of Aizen through some spell. In the anime, their betrayal was not shown, but during the Bounts' infiltration of Seireitei, the south gate guardian can be seen at his post.

[edit] Other Soul Society dwellers

Kūkaku Shiba
Kūkaku Shiba

Kūkaku is an ill-tempered, one-armed fireworks expert who is particularly known for her ridiculously themed houses. Like Orihime Inoue and Rangiku Matsumoto, she has rather large breasts. Her birthday is October 1. She wears a prosthetic arm in the anime, which is at odds with her scenes in the manga, where she is illustrated with just a stump. She assists Ichigo and company by launching them via a special cannon so they can enter Sereitei. Kūkaku is part of the former-noble clan Shiba. A hollow fused with her brother Kaien, which forced Rukia Kuchiki to kill him. She doesn't seem to be a shinigami, but she knows high level kidō, and she carries a short-bladed sword on her back.

  • Hisana Kuchiki (朽木 緋真 Kuchiki Hisana?) [Deceased]

Hisana was Byakuya's wife who died of a disease fifty years before the main storyline. As she was a commoner, Byakuya was prohibited from marrying her, but did so out of love, thus disobeying the rules of the Kuchiki noble house. She was the older sister of Rukia Kuchiki in their past lives, and both were sent to Inuzuri (a poor district of Rukongai) where Hisana abandoned Rukia, unable to support both herself and Rukia. Hisana later greatly regretted this decision, even in her final moments, and as a result Byakuya adopted Rukia as his sister, in accordance with Hisana's dying wish, disobeying the rules a second time. She and Rukia are very similar in appearance.

Zennosuke Kurumadani with his initial release.
Zennosuke Kurumadani with his initial release.
  • Zennosuke Kurumadani (車谷 善之介 Kurumadani Zennosuke?)[7] - Voiced by: Masashi Yabe

Zennosuke (born June 25) is a shinigami assigned to replace Rukia after her arrest. It is not known what division of the Gotei 13 he is a part of. To his chagrin, he has little to do while in Karakura, since either the Karakura Superheroes or Ichigo tend to destroy the few hollows that attack. He is confused by the fact that so many people in the town are capable of seeing him. He has an afro hair style, which results in Keigo Asano nicknaming him "Afro Old Man" (Afro-oji-san).

In one of the omake chapters, he calls Soul Society to complain about his working conditions, but is merely brushed off and told not to interfere with Ichigo (this upsets him, as he believes he is 'elite'). He also complains that he wasn't informed about the happenings in the Soul Society as there was much chaos.

Zennosuke's zanpakutō is Tsuchinamazu (土鯰, lit. Soil Catfish) and is activated by the phrase "good morning" (おはよう O-hayō?), which is revealed by Bleach Advance: Kurenai ni Somaru Soul Society. Its abilities are unknown, but it takes the form of a small, incomplete iron circle with an exterior laminated border. The missing part of the circle is replaced by a wooden handle with a long purple ribbon attached.

  • Eikichirō Saidō (西堂 榮吉郎 Saidō Eikichirō?) – Voiced by: Takuya Kirmoto (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)

Unique to the anime, Eikichirō is two years Rukia's senior and a low- or mid-level shinigami (supported by the fact that he never activates his zanpakutō) in service with the special forces. He finds himself pressed into service assisting Rukia and Ichigo against the hollow Grand Fisher. After being wounded by Grand Fisher, he fell asleep to heal himself. Upon waking up, he abandoned his mission to bring Rukia back to the Soul Society, having come to appreciate her reasons for staying on Earth.

  • Kanisawa (蟹沢) and Aoga (青鹿) - Voiced by: Asami Sanada

Kanisawa and Aoga are two students who were in the same year as Shūhei Hisagi when studying in the Shinigami Academy. They were killed by huge hollows that showed up during a training session which they acted as facilitators. Aoga is a large male and Kanisawa is a female.

Introduced in the anime's Bount arc, Rantao was the leader of the research team that created the Bount race. She looks exactly like Yoshino Sōma with the exception of a pair of glasses and her hair up (similar to Nanao Ise). The two also share the same voice. Rantao has stated that she is much older than she looks and has found a way to stay young in appearance, but needs to take very long naps. Out of guilt for accidentally creating the Bounts, Rantao took pity on them and helped them build a sanctuary for all Bounts to live in, since they were being persecuted by normal people. She convinced the Bounts to allow her to get protection for them from Soul Society. When she returned to Seireitei, she was immediately arrested and put on a trial by Center 46 for her failed soul experiments. When the order was given to exterminate the Bounts because they were considered a threat, Rantao slipped outside to the real world to help them escape, one of which was Jin Kariya. She also gives him his doll, called "Messer." Shortly after, she was caught, had her shinigami powers sealed and exiled outside Seireitei. Rantao went into hiding in an underground shelter in Rukongai, where she remains to this very day. She spends her time engaging in minor experiments to better utilize spiritual energy, one of which is a kidō shotgun which she uses on Jin Kariya during their confrontation.

Unique to the Sword of Frenzy OVA, Baishin was once a member of the Gotei 13, but went mad and killed 63 seated officers before escaping to the human world. Six of the thirteen captains chased him and it took the sacrifice of two of them to seal him away. He eventually broke free and hunted down those with powerful spiritual energy. Baishin found it in Ichigo, sucking out power from him. However, Tōshirō Hitsugaya's interference forced him to flee. At the site where he was once sealed, Baishin once again fought Ichigo, this time with Rukia and Renji at Ichigo's side. However, by sucking out Ichigo's spiritual power, Baishin was able to perform the final release, becoming a living being of swords. He was eventually killed by Ichigo using his own final release, leaving only the zanpakutō Baishin had become one with. His goal was to separate his body, and his zanpakutō, even if he perished.

Unique to Bleach: Memories of Nobody, Senna was an unusual young woman who encountered Ichigo and Rukia in the human world. She wore a standard unseated shinigami uniform, except for a large red ribbon tied around her waist. Her zanpakutō, named Mirokumaru (弥勒丸, lit. Maitreya circle), took the form of a spear during its initial release and could create controllable tornadoes. She held a romantic interest in Ichigo.

[edit] Hueco Mundo

Main article: Hollows in Bleach

[edit] Hollows

  • Fishbone D
  • Hexapodus
  • Acidwire
  • Shrieker
  • Bulbous G
  • Metastacia
  • Numb Chandelier
  • Pesh Gatiishe
  • Dondo Chakker
  • Bawabawa
  • Lunuganga
  • Verona
  • Lumina
  • Menos Grande

[edit] Arrancar

[edit] Zanpakutō

Main article: Zanpakutō

Zanpakutō are the primary weapons of the shinigami and the embodiment of a shinigami's power. They are sentient weapons, each with its own unique spirit, which can take the form of either an animal or a person. Normally, zanpakutō manifest themselves as regular swords (usually katanas). They can transform at the owner's will (provided the owner is skilled enough) into their initial released form or their true and final released form.

Each zanpakutō has its own realm, into which they can call their owners if they wish (although this also depends on the owner's skill). This is where the avatar (human or animal) form resides. If the owner is skilled enough, he can call this form forth to the regular world. It appears that an avatar is reflective of the owner's own nature; in chapter 229, Yumichika Ayasegawa and Rangiku Matsumoto complain about the personality flaws of their zanpakutō, which ironically match their own.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Weekly Shonen Jump interview, year 2004, issue 42.
  2. ^ Bleach manga; chapter 35, page 5.
  3. ^ Bleach manga; chapter 217, page 7.
  4. ^ Bleach manga; chapter 222, page 3.
  5. ^ Bleach manga; chapter 27, page 5.
  6. ^ Bleach Official Character Book SOULs; page 40.
  7. ^ Bleach manga; omake chapter 88.5, page 2.

[edit] External links

Bleach
v • d • e
Franchise: Media and materials • Manga chapters • Anime episodes • Movie • Video games • Musical
Races: Arrancar • Bount • Hollow • Quincy • Shinigami • Vizard
Lists: Bounts • Hollows • Other
Combat: Kidō • Zanpakutō
Locations: Hueco Mundo • Karakura Town • Soul Society
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/h/a/Characters_in_Bleach_8f0f.html"