History Characters / BleachThirteenCourtGuardSquads1To7

[[Characters/BleachIchigoKurosaki Ichigo Kurosaki]] | [[Characters/BleachIchigosCompanions Ichigo's Companions]] ([[Characters/BleachOrihimeInoue Orihime Inoue]]) | '''Thirteen Court Guard Squads 1 - 7''' ([[Characters/BleachGenryusaiShigekuniYamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto]]) | [[Characters/BleachThirteenCourtGuardSquads8To13 Thirteen Court Guard Squads 8 - 13]] | [[Characters/BleachSquadZero Soul King & Squad Zero]] | [[Characters/BleachAizenAndHisCohorts Aizen & His Cohorts]] ([[Characters/BleachSosukeAizen Sōsuke Aizen]]) | [[Characters/BleachVisoredsAndExiledSoulReapers Visoreds & Exiled Soul Reapers]] | [[Characters/BleachHollows Hollows]] | [[Characters/BleachArrancars Arrancars]] ([[Characters/BleachEspadas1To5 Espadas 1 - 5]] [[[Characters/BleachUlquiorraCifer Ulquiorra Cifer]]], [[Characters/BleachEspadas6To10 Espadas 6 - 10]] [[[Characters/BleachGrimmjowJaegerjaquez Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez]]])| [[Characters/BleachKarakuraTownResidents Karakura Town Residents]] | [[Characters/BleachSoulSocietyDwellers Soul Society Dwellers]] | [[Characters/BleachXcution Xcution]] | [[Characters/BleachVandenreich Vandenreich]] ([[Characters/BleachYhwach Yhwach]], [[Characters/BleachSternrittersBM Sternritters B-M]], [[Characters/BleachSternrittersNZ Sternritters N-Z]]) | [[Characters/BleachZanpakuto Zanpakuto]] | [[Characters/{{Bleach Anime}} Anime-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BleachMovieOnly Movie-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BleachVideoGame Video Game-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BleachLightNovels Light Novel-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BurnTheWitch2018 Burn The Witch Characters]]]]-]]]

[[Characters/BleachGenryusaiShigekuniYamamoto Has his own page]].

* ArmCannon: Her [[EmpathicWeapon Zanpakuto]] brings her under this trope for short periods of time. In [[TouchOfDeath Shikai]], her [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon Zanpakuto]] integrates with a finger on her right hand to turn her into the [[LightningBruiser ultimate two-hit kill warrior]]. However, in [[FinishingMove Bankai]], her [[{{BFG}} Zanpakuto]] becomes a stinger missile launcher that is [[ArmCannon integrated with her entire right arm]] to turn her into the [[OneHitKill ultimate one-hit kill warrior]].

* IOweYouMyLife: Renji takes this attitude towards Ichigo for [[RoaringRampageOfRescue saving Rukia from execution]] and [[WeUsedTobeFriends helping mend his relationship with her]], though he doesn't admit it until they're about to march off to fight Yhwach.

* IOweYouMyLife: Renji akes this attitude towards Ichigo for [[RoaringRampageOfRescue saving Rukia from execution]] and [[WeUsedTobeFriends helping mend his relationship with her]], though he doesn't admit it until they're about to march off to fight Yhwach.

[[folder:Sui-Feng]]
!!Sui-Feng

* AmbiguouslyGay: The true nature of Sui-Feng's attachment to her mentor, Yoruichi, and her sexuality in general is treated ambiguously. She's a stern, no-nonsense personality who wilts and fawns in the presence of Yoruichi. Yoruichi used to be her entire world, someone she worshipped; her loyalty was so great that, when her mentor went on the run from Soul Society without warning, Sui-Feng was devastated. When Yoruichi returns after a hundred years, Sui-Feng is so angry she tries to kill her before [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye breaking down in tears]], begging to know why Yoruichi didn't take her into exile with her. In supplemental material, slice-of-life comedy sketches focus on her attempting to sneak photographs of Yoruichi in nude. The anime team played with this, creating filler episodes that create heavy ShipTease between the two women. In the post-manga novels, the villain can insult her subordinates and family and mock the incompetence of her division, but the only thing that makes her angry is his suggestion that he take Yoruichi as his wife. When Yoruichi rejects Tokinada, Sui-Feng is so happy that she forgets her mission.
* AnchoredAttackStance: In order to counter her Bankai's tremendous recoil, she has to anchor herself to a large stationary object by wrapping a heavy metal sash around it, making her largely immobile. The one time we see her doing this is against Baraggan, where she wraps the sash around the building she's standing on, and even then, the force of the Bankai's explosion is so great that it blows the building away and tears the sash apart, sending Sui-Feng flying.
* AnimalMotifs: The Japanese Giant Hornet, a subspecies of Asian Giant Hornet. Highly aggressive, a very capable killer, famous for its sting but far more famous for its physical prowess... is that the hornet being described or Sui-Feng?

* {{BFG}}: Her Bankai is a large bazooka with a golden missile that does incredible damage when fired. The downside is that it's so huge and cumbersome that it's impossible for Sui-Feng to move quickly with it.
* BlowYouAway: When Sui-Feng activates Shunko against Yoruichi, she creates gusts of wind around herself to fight. When she fights [=BG9=] she confirms that her Shunko form is Wind which allows her to create reiatsu tornadoes around her body.

* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: Back when Yoruichi was head of the division, Sui-Feng was the Sergeant Rough to the former's Captain Smooth.

* CloseRangeCombatant: The Stealth Force specializes in unarmed combat and, as their Supreme Commander, Sui-Feng is the most proficient at it. ''The Official Character Book: Souls'' even states that her close combat skills rival, or even surpass, those of Yoruichi's.

* ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy: Like many other characters, Sui-Feng has a habit of explaining how her Shikai works to her enemies. Lampshaded when Ggio Vega notes that her shikai would have a ''much'' higher success rate if she would stop doing this. Then she kills him with it -- turns out she didn't explain everything.

* InformedAbility: Sui-Feng excels at stealth and covert operations and states she has great pride in her ability to do her job as an assassin. However, the story focuses mainly on the Thirteen Court Guard Squads which means she isn't seen operating as an assassin. Her personality is also very flashy which means her tactics tend to make her a HighlyVisibleNinja instead.

* ItsPersonal: Sui-Feng's personal feelings are what drive most of her battle with Yoruichi, as she always resented Yoruichi for running away from Soul Society without taking her along.

* KungFuWizard: Sui-Feng's ultimate technique combines the spell-binding principles of Kido with Hakuda, the Shinigami form of hand-to-hand combat.

* LuminescentBlush: Whenever she is complimented by Yoruichi, Sui-Feng blushes intensely. When she meets Yoruichi's kid brother, Yūshirō Shihōin, she has the exact same reaction.
* MagicEnhancement: [[SupernaturalMartialArts Hakuda]] trains a Soul Reaper's body to the physical limit to become a weapon capable of extremely powerful unarmed combat. Sui-Feng claims to have discovered Shunko, a technique that allows [[FunctionalMagic Kido]] to be driven into the arms and legs to boost the body's Hakuda performance beyond its physical limit. Sui Feng's stunned when she discovers she wasn't the first person to have discovered this technique.

* PerpetualFrowner: Sui-Feng is a very professional and serious minded person who leads the Stealth Force. Therefore, she is almost never seen smiling.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Sui-Feng isn't even 5 feet tall, yet she leads Soul Society's assassin squad, her Shikai can kill her opponent in two hits, and her Bankai is a highly destructive ArmCannon.

* SmallGirlBigGun: The petite Sui-Feng's Bankai is a missile launcher bigger than herself.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: "Suì-Fēng" is the Mandarin Chinese Pinyin transliteration of her name, making her an AnimeChineseGirl. The Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese name is "''Soifon''" which led to a hell of a lot of confusion as to how the name should be translated until "Suì-Fēng" showed up in the ''Bleach: Official Character Book 2 MASKED'' and ''Bleach: Official Character Book 3 UNMASKED'' art books. "Soi Fong" was used at one point by the fandom, as well. "Sui-Feng" is used here just to make things easy to type. VIZ Media's English localizations of ''VideoGame/BleachBraveSouls'' and the subtitles for the ''Thousand Year Blood War'' anime instead spell her name as "Soi Fon".

* TouchOfDeath: Her Shikai's special ability, Nigeki Kessatsu, effectively amounts to this, as Sui-Feng can administer both stings faster than even the well trained eye can follow; making it so the victim only feels one... assuming the victim feels anything ''[[YouAreAlreadyDead at all.]]''

* {{Gonk}}: There's an ArtShift with Ōmaeda to emphasise that he's respected by no-one, little more than comic relief and fodder for enemies. It helps ram home Sui-Feng's frustration in having someone so incompetent as her side-kick. When he does become serious or sympathetic, and more badass, the artwork changes accordingly to give him the appearance of a large, heavyset, but normal-looking man.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He likes to act like a self-centered idiot, but he really cares for his family and helps Sui-Feng against Barragan despite how afraid he is.

* UndyingLoyalty: To Sui-Feng. Despite being a DirtyCoward 95% of the time when push comes to shove he will put himself into danger if she's in trouble and after the Vandenreich invasion he showed disappointment that she didn't bring him along when she went off training.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Despite sharing his son's UpperClassTwit attitude, The post-manga novel 'Spirits Are Forever With You' shows that he's actually considerably more powerful and respected than his son even as a RetiredBadass. Being capable of threatening a former [[WorldsBestWarrior Kenpachi]] with Kido alone and being treated with respect by [[DrillSergeantNasty Sui-Feng]] even if he's been retired for literal centuries makes it clear that during his time as Yoruichi's NumberTwo he was a completely different beast than his son despite the similarities in personalities.

* BigShutUp: Komamura furiously silences the raging Sui-Feng in the aftermath of the Vandenreich invasion and General Yamamoto's death, telling her that she is not the only one who wants to shout.

* ImplacableMan: He's a hulking, nigh-unmovable mass of fur and muscle against most people. This is best demonstrated during his battle with Sui-Feng's clone in the Reigai arc, where he pretty much just overpowers her with brute force (until she activates [[SuperMode Shunko]]). In his human form, though, this goes to ridiculous lengths; he can withstand an explosion ''to the chest'' and barely flinch, and his Bankai is pretty much indestructible.

* WouldntHitAGirl: He loathes fighting women, and will not pick a fight with one. If a woman forces a fight with him, he won't refuse but he ''will'' hold back as much as possible and try to defeat her using the minimum amount of force possible to achieve victory. ''Averted'' in the early chapters, though, where he has no problem attacking Rukia.

Her zanpakuto and Bankai are both named '''''Minazuki''''' (肉雫唼 for Shikai, 皆尽 for Bankai). Her Shikai takes the form of a green manta ray that can hold wounded people in its stomach and heal them over time. Her Bankai produces massive quantities of acidic blood that she can manipulate with her blade.

* BloodKnight: Unohana is eventually revealed to be the founder of Squad 11 who has been repressing this side of herself for centuries until brought out of retirement by the Vandenreich's attack on Soul Society. She is, in fact, the original Kenpachi, Yachiru Unohana, that Zaraki idolised, who sees Zaraki's battle attitude as her greatest mistake that needs to be fixed. She almost never fights, but when she does she certainly enjoys it. Kenpachi enjoys fights by doing his best to fight at his opponent's level, while Unohana keeps herself and her opponent alive whilst her grotesque Bankai dissolves the flesh from their bones to keep enjoying it that much longer.
* BloodyMurder: A colour omake about the squads trying to invent a computer game suggests Unohana views killing via manipulating blood. Her Bankai is a blade of blood that melts the flesh off of her enemies. The anime goes into more detail, showing that the Bankai turns the entire battlefield into a pool of corrosive blood that dissolves both her and her opponent as though they're trapped in a giant stomach.
* BodyHorror: Unohana's command of Kido is so great she can use that power to enable this to happen. Her Bankai appears to melt the flesh right off the bones, including hers. By using her healing Kido, she can keep the fight going for as long as possible without either party dying from the effects.

* BigBrotherInstinct: He'll do anything to protect his little sister Mareyo. He normally a coward, but when [=BG9=] attacks her, he goes absolutely ''berserk''.

* MisBlamed: During his second fight with Ichigo he blames the latter for Rukia's impending execution. Ichigo for his part shares the same sentiment, which drives him to rescue Rukia. After his defeat, he confesses to Ichigo that he has been blaming him only because he is envious of his determination. In reality, he was trying to escape from the truth that he despises himself for not having fought for Rukia when he had the opportunity.

* NotMeThisTime: Her flashback provides a chilling example: when her subordinate notes the pile of corpses as her dissatisfaction in not finding a WorthyOpponent, she merely asks how long the corpses had been there, indicating that while she was not responsible for the recent kills, it is heavily implied that she used to routinely engage in mass slaughter to satisfy her BloodKnight tendencies.

* MisBlamed: During his second fight with Ichigo he blames the latter for Rukia's impending execution. Ichigo for his part shares the same sentiment, which drives him to rescue Rukia. After his defeat, he confesses to Ichigo that he had been blaming him only because he was envious of his determination. In reality, he was trying to escape from the truth that he despises himself for not having fought for Rukia when he had the opportunity.

* MisBlamed: During his second fight with Ichigo he blames the latter for Rukia's impending execution. Ichigo for his part shares the same sentiment, which drives him to rescue Rukia.

* MyGreatestFailure: After his defeat by Ichigo, Renji reflects on growing up in the slums with Rukia, their time at the academy before joining the Gotei 13, and Rukia tearfully parting ways with Renji after she was invited to be adopted the Kuchiki clan. His past along with his defeat makes him realize that he hated himself as well as being envious of Ichigo for doing what he failed to do: fight for Rukia. Before passing out [[AintTooProudToBeg he pleads with Ichigo to rescue Rukia]].
* MyGreatestSecondChance: After recovering for his fight against Ichigo, Renji goes AWOL to train in order to obtain his Bankai in his own bid to save Rukia.

* MisBlamed: During his second fight with Ichio he blames the latter for Rukia's impending execution. Ichigo for his part shares the same sentiment, which drives him to rescue Rukia.

* MyGreatestFailure: After his defeat by Ichigo, Renji reflects on growing up in the slums with Rukia, their time at the academy before joining the Gotei 13, and Rukia tearfully parting ways with Renji after she was invited to be adopted the Kuchiki clan. His past along with his defeat makes him realize that he hated himself as well as being envious of Ichigo for doing what he failed to do: fight for Rukia. Before passing out he pleads with Ichigo to rescue Rukia.
* MyGreatestSecondChance: After recovering for his fight against Ichigo, Renji goes AWOL to train in order to obtain his Bankai in his own bid save Rukia.

* MyGreatestSecondChance: After recovering for his fight against Ichigo, Renji goes AWOL to train in order to obtain his Bankai to in his own bid save Rukia.

* MyGreatestFailure: After his defeat by Ichigo, Renji reflects on growing up in the slums with Rukia, their time at the academy before joining the Gotei 13, and Rukia tearfully parting ways with Renji after she was invited to be adopted the Kuchiki clan. His past along with his defeat makes him realize that he hated himself as well as being envious of Ichigo for doing what he failed to do: fight for Rukia.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: "Suì-Fēng" is the Mandarin Chinese Pinyin transliteration of her name, making her an AnimeChineseGirl. The Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese name is "''Soifon''" which led to a hell of a lot of confusion as to how the name should be translated until "Suì-Fēng" showed up in Japanese art books. "Soi Fong" was used at one point by the fandom, as well. "Sui-Feng" is used here just to make things easy to type. ''VideoGame/BleachBraveSouls'' and the subtitles for the ''Thousand Year Blood War'' anime instead spell her name as "Soi Fon".

* BigFancySword: His unnamed Shikai takes the form of a large falchion with a spike protruding from it.

[[Characters/BleachIchigoKurosaki Ichigo Kurosaki]] | [[Characters/BleachIchigosCompanions Ichigo's Companions]] ([[Characters/BleachOrihimeInoue Orihime Inoue]]) | '''Thirteen Court Guard Squads 1 - 7''' | [[Characters/BleachThirteenCourtGuardSquads8To13 Thirteen Court Guard Squads 8 - 13]] | [[Characters/BleachSquadZero Soul King & Squad Zero]] | [[Characters/BleachAizenAndHisCohorts Aizen & His Cohorts]] ([[Characters/BleachSosukeAizen Sōsuke Aizen]]) | [[Characters/BleachVisoredsAndExiledSoulReapers Visoreds & Exiled Soul Reapers]] | [[Characters/BleachHollows Hollows]] | [[Characters/BleachArrancars Arrancars]] ([[Characters/BleachEspadas1To5 Espadas 1 - 5]], [[Characters/BleachEspadas6To10 Espadas 6 - 10]])| [[Characters/BleachKarakuraTownResidents Karakura Town Residents]] | [[Characters/BleachSoulSocietyDwellers Soul Society Dwellers]] | [[Characters/BleachXcution Xcution]] | [[Characters/BleachVandenreich Vandenreich]] ([[Characters/BleachYhwach Yhwach]], [[Characters/BleachSternrittersBM Sternritters B-M]], [[Characters/BleachSternrittersNZ Sternritters N-Z]]) | [[Characters/BleachZanpakuto Zanpakuto]] | [[Characters/{{Bleach Anime}} Anime-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BleachMovieOnly Movie-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BleachVideoGame Video Game-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BleachLightNovels Light Novel-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BurnTheWitch2018 Burn The Witch Characters]]]]-]]]

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* AdaptedOut: He's absent in the musical theater adaptations.
* AdaptationalJerkass: The movies tend to make him antagonistic towards the heroes. In the first movie, he plans to nuke the enemies even if it would cost Senna's life. In the second movie, he genuinely believes that Hitsugaya became a traitor and sends the Gotei 13 to arrest him, despite the lack of a motive. The third movie justifies this since everyone of the Gotei 13 forgot who Ichigo was. The fourth movie is an exception, where he merely gives Ichigo a little NiceJobBreakingItHero speech. In the filler arcs as well as in the canon story, Genryūsai trusts Ichigo and would support him, even if he has to deceive Ichigo first.
* AnimateDead: The ability of Zanka no Tachi South: Kaka Juuman Okushi Daisoujin. By impaling the tip of his sword into the ground, Yamamoto can summon [[NightOfTheLivingMooks up to ten trillion reanimated corpses to fight on his behalf]]. They're actually the corpses of those that have been killed by Ryūjin Jakka's flames. He can bring forth any of his victims he wishes for the purpose of psychological combat by using the corpse of a person that was close to his enemy in life.
* AnArmAndALeg: Yamamoto sacrifices his arm in battle to blow up Aizen. After Aizen is eventually defeated, Yamamoto never seeks help in having the arm replaced or restored, both of which are possible. When he and Yhwach meet in battle for the first time in a thousand years, Yhwach tells him that he's become weak and is no longer the formidable opponent Yhwach remembers. To Yhwach, Yamamoto's missing arm represents the loss of Yamamoto's ruthless, thuggish nature which is what made him so dangerous in the past. Yamamoto's refusal to ask Orihime to restore his lost arm is what Yhwach cites as the reason why he so easily defeats Yamamoto and steals his Bankai. The defeat of Yamamoto sets off a chain of events that changes the entire direction of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and opens the Royal Realm to being conquered.
* AshesToAshes: A technique of his Bankai, Zanka no Tachi South: Kaka Juuman Okushi Daisoujin, reforms the ashes of those he has killed into an undead army.
* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Yhwach states the reason Yamamoto is in charge of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads is because he set up the original "13 Divisions", a group of powerful, terrible thugs, of which Yamamoto was by far the worst. While Yhwach states how Yamamoto has mellowed since then into "weakness", Yamamoto himself tells Aizen that the reason why he is still Captain-General is because no-one born in the last thousand years has been more powerful than him.
* TheAtoner: He used to lead a far more violent and brutal Thirteen Court Guard Squads when he was younger. Yhwach claims the Quincy massacre forced Yamamoto to re-evaluate himself and his past. However, a flashback to a youthful Kyouraku indicates Yamamoto's remorse goes back far further than Yhwach knows.
* AwesomenessIsAForce:
** Yamamoto's spiritual power is so great that Nanao initially believes Kyoraku and Ukitake would have a hard time facing him together. Then he glares at her, and she [[OhCrap realizes]] just how badly she [[UnderestimatingBadassery miscalculated]] while dropping to her knees and feeling her whole sense of self being crushed.
--->'''Yamamoto:''' Listen well... Be gone from here. I have neither the time nor the patience to teach a mere infant like you how to breathe.
** Aizen himself admits he wouldn't face Yamamoto in direct combat without taking precautions.
** When the Vandenreich attacks, Yamamoto initially incinerates Driscoll, the murderer of his friend Chojirou and stealer of his Bankai, then he launches himself straight towards Yhwach, radiating spiritual pressure so great that everyone in the Seireitei can feel it. The Soul Reapers are [[HellYesMoment promptly energized]] upon sensing their Captain-General taking to the front lines.
--->'''Kyoraku:''' Oh, boy. [[ParentalSubstitute Old Man Yama's]] spiritual pressure's resonating throughout the Seireitei. It's giving me goosebumps. It almost feels like he's admonishing me. [[PreAssKickingOneLiner As if he's saying, "I don't remember raising a coward who'd struggle against an enemy of this level"]]!
* BadBoss: Yhwach claims that Yamamoto used to be just like him, a ruthless demon who led a band of killers, someone who didn't think twice about sacrificing his own men in pursuit of victory. Yamamoto doesn't refute the claim. Yhwach complains that the real Thirteen Court Guard Squads died a thousand years ago because, after destroying the Quincies, they inherited a world of peace which gave them a reason to start caring about life and each other. As a result, Yamamoto isn't the monster he was back then, and Yhwach considers him weaker for it.
* BaldHeadOfToughness: He's the bald leader of the 13 squads because he [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership was the strongest person around]] in a case of MightMakesRight. Outside of his PlayingWithFire Bankai [[note]]which is so destructive that he can only use it for a fraction of a second, without risking ''incinerating the entire world and everyone on it''[[/note]], his robes belie an incredibly muscular physique that indicates his superior strength and durability: he easily fought Espada-level Arrancar Wonderweiss barehanded, shattering him completely with a single double-fisted punch.
* BaldOfAuthority: The late Captain of the First Squad and Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, he is completely bald. Notably, he got the position by [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership being stronger than everyone else]].
* BareFistedMonk: When deprived of his Ryujin Jakka by Wonderweiss Margela, Yamamoto hardly sees it as a problem as he proceeds to use Hakuda against him and proves himself to be just as dangerous with his hands as he is with his sword.
* BerserkButton: At the end of the Winter War, he chews out Byakuya, Kyoraku and Kenpachi for losing their captain's haori during their fights, becoming even more infuriated by how apathetic they are about it.
* BigGood: Genryusai Yamamoto is the Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. While initially put in an antagonistic light for his strict adherence to the Central 46, even turning on his favorite captains Shunsui and Ukitake, he becomes more reasonable once Aizen outs himself as the BigBad. Yamamoto leads the Thirteen Court Guard Squads into war against Aizen and his Arrancar army to stop him from massacring Karakura Town to create a new Soul Key to enter the Royal Realm and usurp the Soul King. This trope is particularly hammered in when he orders all the captains and vice-captains to put their reiatsu into a special blade that revives Ichigo's powers after he's personally BroughtDownToNormal, something that he never would have done in the past. In the final arc, Yamamoto rallies the Thirteen Court Guard Squads against the Sternritter when they invade Sereitei. To show that the stakes have been raised higher then they ever have been before, Yamamoto is killed by the new BigBad, temporarily instilling hopelessness among the Soul Reapers until Kyoraku encourages them.
* BigOlEyebrows: He has massive, thin eyebrow that actually spill out across the side of his head and hang down.
* BlackSwordsAreBetter: The Bankai form of Yamamato's Zanpakutou is a worn out and scorched black sword.
* CaneSword: Ryujin Jakka's sealed form is hidden inside a walking staff. To enter shikai, the staff dissolves into nothing, leaving only the sword behind.
* CassandraDidIt: When Yamamoto confronts Mayuri about the steps Mayuri's taken to counter the Vandenreich's potentially world-unbalancing activities, he briefly tries to pin the blame for the extent of the problem on Mayuri and his division's competence level. Mayuri retaliates by [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech pointing out]] the only one to blame is Yamamoto himself for ignoring Mayuri's CassandraTruth well over two years beforehand as paranoia when it was Yamamoto's own fault for not killing the cause of the problem years ago. Yamamoto's forced to back down.
* CharacterDevelopment: When he met Hirako for the first time in the present events, he actually considers attacking the former Captain for not pledging his support to the Soul Reapers (not that it stopped other Soul Reapers from helping the Visoreds anyway). After Aizen is defeated and everything calms down, Yamamoto switches his position entirely in the novel ''Death Save The Strawberry''. He actually lifts the ban on the Visoreds (and the exiled former Captains), rationalizing that they were not guilty due to their situations being influenced by Aizen's machinations, not their own intentions. Urahara is especially thankful.
* TheCoatsAreOff: When Yamamoto gets serious in battle, he tosses away the haori and even loses the upper half of his kimono to fight bare-chested.
* CreepyGood: In his battle against Yhwach, Yamamoto is technically fighting to protect Soul Society but he enjoys seeing Yhwach suffer a bit too much. Wrapped in the flames of his Bankai, Yamamoto evokes the image of an infernal demon and uses its South ability to summon an armada of charred skeletons to attack his enemy. When Yhwach tries to fight back, Yamamoto attempts to torment him by pointing out that some of the skeletons were his former subordinates. Yamamoto doesn't realize he's fighting a subordinate of Yhwach called Royd who has the ability to mimic Yhwach's appearance, personality and memories. As a result, it's ambiguous as to whether the tears are from Royd's compassion or Royd's memory of Yhwach's feelings.
* DidntSeeThatComing: Yamamoto trashed Yhwach with his Bankai, completely certain he knew everything there was to know about Yhwach's heart, abilities and limitations. He turned out to be wrong about all three. Yamamoto was fighting a decoy which allowed Yhwach time to visit and try to recruit ''Aizen''. Yhwach was then able to steal Yamamoto's Bankai and defeat him.
* DistressedDude: In the Zanpakuto {{filler}} arc, Muramasa held him prisoner behind a barrier that was being maintained by the Zanpakuto spirits of Kyouraku, Ukitake and Unohana's weapons. A significant portion of the arc is spent by the Soul Reapers and Ichigo trying to rescue him. They didn't realise until too late that he had deliberately sealed himself from Muramasa to prevent Muramasa from stealing his memories.
* EntertaininglyWrong: He assumed that Sternritters could only steal Bankais on which they had enough information and/or were mature enough for that information to remain accurate (which would not only make sense, but also would have nicely explained why Ichigo was immune). Since it's implied his own Bankai had changed/matured as well since he showed it to the Quincies some 1000 years ago, he concluded that Yhwach would be unable to steal it. Therefore he alone had no qualms about unleashing his Bankai and going all-out during the first invasion. Then as he fought Rroyd, and the latter indeed did not even try to steal it, he considered his assumption validated. Unfortunately, when the real Yhwach came back, he revealed that the Quincies actually could have taken his Bankai at any time. Yhwach just forbade his underlings to do it because Zanka no Taichi was too powerful for them to handle. This effectively means that Yamamoto's chances of victory were slim to none in the first place, and this error cost him his life.
* EveryoneHasStandards: He's not exactly a nice person, but Aizen deliberately striping Wonderweiss of every facet of his personality and ability to reason was cruel even by his standards.
* EyesAlwaysShut: When he opens his eyes, his mood is usually incredibly dangerous.
* FieryStoic: Yamamoto wields the most powerful fire-type Zanpakuto in the Soul Society but maintains a commanding, stoic demeanor even in battle. His face rarely shifts between one or both eyes widening now and then. But when [[ItsPersonal Sasakibe is murdered]], he tries to keep his cool, but it becomes increasingly obvious that he's barely keeping his rage in check.
* FlamingSword: The essential power of his Zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka. His Shikai engulfs his blade in fire and allows him to create walls and pillars of pure flame. His Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, contains all the fire of his Zanpakuto into the blade, making it even hotter.
* FounderOfTheKingdom: 2,100 years ago, he was the creator and head instructor of the "Genji School", an educational program meant to train prospective Soul Reapers, which operates outside the jurisdiction of Central 46. This would later evolve into the Spiritual Arts Academy, which included training sessions for cadets looking to get into the Stealth Force and the Kido Corps. A millennium later, he founded the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, a military organization for the Soul Reapers and an agency that he has led since its inception.
* FourIsDeath: The "ei" in his previous nickname Eijisai (ノ字斎, referencing the shape of his scar) is the fourth kanji radical in the sequence. It's revealed as part of the lead-in to the fight that ends with his death.
* GodzillaThreshold: Yamamoto used to keep his picture on his wall of a humanoid figure completely bathed in flames. As a young child, Kyouraku once asked Yamamoto whether that was a picture of some kind of fire god. Yamamoto somewhat cryptically explains that the picture is a memory of a time when a monster was needed to save Soul Society... but when that monster appeared, he created more problems than he solved; Yamamoto predicts that if the monster ever needs to appear again, he won't survive it. The west aspect Yamamoto's Bankai bathes Yamamoto in reiatsu that burns as hot as [[ThePowerOfTheSun the core of the Sun]] and which manifests around his body in way that makes him look as though he's wreathed in flames, just like the picture on his wall. Even in the first blood war against the Quincy, he did not use it. 1000 years later the Quincy kill the majority of the first Squad, including his vice-captain Sasakibe. In the following invasion Yamamoto's anger becomes great enough that he activates his Bankai just so he can get rid of the Quincy and especially their leader Yhwach once and for all. When Yamamoto activates his Bankai, it's revealed that he has to end the fight quickly because the Bankai will destroy the world by accident; the side-effect of its great heat is that it will destroy all moisture in existence, even the moisture in the atmosphere and people's bodies.
* GoodIsNotNice: He is such a stern believer in justice that he almost killed his two favourite students for standing up for what was right instead of what was law. Ichigo is responsible for making him mellow out.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: His body is a network of scars. The scars on his forehead have stories that do get revealed in late in the manga.
* GrumpyOldMan: Yamamoto has never smiled nor laughed and he's never cracked a joke in his life. When he is not roaring at the top of his lungs, he has a stern, unimpressed expression that can easily turn to accusatory (e.g. the argument with Mayuri).
* GuileHero:
** At the beginning of the Hueco Mundo arc, he declares Orihime Inoue a traitor and will not send his forces to bring her back. He knows very well that this is not the case and he knows that Ichigo would go to save her anyway, so he sends four Captains to as a secret back-up to aid him. The plan is that Ichigo would try to invade Las Noches with minimal forces, so that the enemies would not expect four Captains amongst the invaders. It also allows Genryūsai to prepare and build Fake Karakura Town in the meantime.
** In the Shūsuke Amagai arc, Genryūsai is aware that Gyoukaku Kumoi is behind the Kasumiouji Conspiracy, but has little evidence to arrest him. When Ichigo and Rukia appear to be related to the conspiracy, he orders the Gotei 13 to arrest them, knowing that the truth would eventually come out during the chaos and that he can change the order to arrest Kumoi and his men afterwards.
* HandicappedBadass: He loses an arm after casting a powerful, sacrificial Kido spell against Aizen. Although Ukitake states that the loss doesn't stop Yamamoto from being the most powerful Soul Reaper in Soul Society, Yhwach later points out that the disability has prevented Yamamoto from being classified as a Special War Potential. Yhwach believes that Yamamoto's refusal to get his arm restored by Orihime has left him too emotionally and physically softened to be a proper threat to Yhwach.
* HonorBeforeReason: Yhwach believed the only reason Orihime didn't restore Yamamoto's missing arm was because he was unwilling to involve a human, since as the head of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, it was normally ''his'' duty to protect ''her''. Similarly, while he showed zero hesitation about burning to death all the members of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads then present in the Fake Karakura Town to defeat Aizen (reasoning that as willing soldiers of the Thirteen Squads, they were prepared), he was concerned enough about Ichigo (ultimately a simple civilian who should never have been brought into this mess in the first place) to order him to fall back so he would not get caught in the blast. Yhwach views his disregarding such powerful assets merely out of a sense of duty foolish and weak, and brags that this mindset is why he did not even considered him as one of the Five Special War Potentials alongside Ichigo, Aizen, Kenpachi, Ichibei and Urahara.
* HopeBringer: The Vandenreich have invaded the Soul Society and are swatting down {{Red Shirt}}s left and right without much to stop them, and even the Captains aren't very effective against them due to the Vandenreich's ability to steal Bankai. Things look completely hopeless until Yamamoto steps in, after which the Thirteen Court Guard Squads gets a ''massive'' morale boost that's even {{Lampshaded}} by one of the Sternritter; when he's killed, morale plummets, and it takes the arrival of Ichigo, the ''other'' HopeBringer of the series, for the situation to regain some semblance of optimism.
--> '''Bambietta Basterbine:''' Hey hey, wait. You were about to die until a moment ago. What happened?
* {{Hypocrite}}: Yhwach (or rather, Royd Lloyd posing as him) calls Yamamoto out on claiming to enforce the balance of souls when Zanka no Tachi has the power to trap its victims to be reanimated whenever its wielder pleases. The man in charge of maintaining reality's equilibrium has a power that runs contrary to that very goal. Yamamoto himself doesn't deny this, as he's too focused on annihilating his sworn enemy to waste time on claiming any semblance of a moral high ground.
* IHatePastMe: Yamamoto founded the Thirteen Court Guard Squads a thousand years ago and they in turn stopped the Quincy uprising, but in present day, Yhwach derides him and the organization as having grown soft in the years since then. Yamamoto himself seems slightly ashamed of how he brought order to the Soul Society; in a flashback, he explains to a young Kyoraku that the painting in his quarters (a person completely WreathedInFlames that looks scarily similar to him with Bankai) depicts a "monster" who appeared long ago when the Soul Society was in turmoil and only caused even more trouble. He adds that the monster will never return, but if he does, Yamamoto will in turn disappear.
* {{Irony}}: As the head of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Yamamoto is responsible for the Shinigami under his rule acting as balancers to make sure that the deceased properly reincarnate. The South aspect of his Bankai allows him to summon the corpses of those who died in his flames and force them to act as his sword. Yhwach points out how ironic this is and claims that Yamamoto is a disgrace to the name of Shinigami.
* ItsPersonal: The enmity between Yamamoto and Yhwach is quite personal. When the Vandenreich ransack Soul Society, Yamamoto takes to the front line, something he rarely does. The death of Choujirou exacerbates the situation, sending him gunning for Yhwach and launching straight into Bankai without much preamble.
* KeepingTheHandicap: Yamamoto uses his own left arm as a catalyst for a Kido spell to injure Aizen. He goes on to continue his duties as Captain-Commander one-handed straight up to his final battle. Sui-Feng however receives a new arm thanks to the Research and Development Department, though, and Yhwach notes just before killing him that Yamamoto would've only needed Orihime's power to regain his. It's implied that he didn't want to involve a human any more in Soul Society affairs than necessary, even for his own sake.
* KnightTemplar: Yamamoto has an utter conviction to the laws. This guy generally means well, but he has a rather high respect for the laws of Soul Society, and will kick anyone's ass for daring to defy them. When Rukia was arrested and slated for execution, Yamamoto does not question the decision, which sets him in opposition to the heroes. He is essentially the main antagonist of the Soul Society Arc until Aizen is revealed as a villain. It's implied that his adherence to the law is his way of making up for his previous life as a warlord presiding over a lawless WretchedHive that was once (and largely still is) the Soul Society.
* LawfulStupid: When the Central 46 makes a ruling, no-one is allowed to oppose that ruling, not even Captains. It's later revealed that this system of justice was either set up by, or helped to be set up by, Yamamoto, who enforces it with an unforgiving rigidity. When his two favorite students Ukitake and Kyouraku rebel, he is willing to kill them for their transgression. Only when it's revealed that everything was Aizen's manipulations does Yamamoto back down and focus on the real problem. After the time skip, Yamamoto has been softened enough by Ichigo's beliefs that he's finally willing to break the law to save Ichigo to repay the debt the captains owe him. This softening took over a thousand years to achieve; Yamamoto was ''that'' rigid.
* LetThemDieHappy: Right before her execution, Rukia's last wish is for Ichigo and friends to be granted safe passage back home, and Yamamoto agrees. Unohana claims that he did it so that Rukia may die peacefully, while Isane believes that it was ''such'' an obvious lie that she found it to be CruelMercy.
* LikeASonToMe: Yamamoto regards Kyoraku and Ukitake as being like his own children, and he is noted as having been especially proud of their graduation into full-fledged Soul Reapers. However, that also means that he's especially unforgiving of their breaking of the rules to rescue Rukia, and is utterly furious when he finally does confront them during the fracas.
* MasterOfAll: Yamamoto is, by far, the most skilled Soul Reaper we see in terms of every manner of the various combat skills. He's shown to be a master of swordplay and his blade's special abilities, enough so that even Aizen and Yhwach take steps to avoid confronting him in a straight fight. If his sword is somehow disabled, he's also built like a brick house underneath his robes, and has the hakuda (hand to hand) ability to match, effortlessly beating the hell out of Wanderweiss with his bare hands. If he needs to, he can cast high level kido (magic) spells without needing an incantation. He also is faster with his shunpo than most of the other Gotei members, easily beating Kyoraku and Ukitake in a chase. On top of all of this, he also has millennia of experience and a keen strategic mind.
* MeaningfulName: Shunsui shortens his name to Yama-jii or grandpa Yama. Yama just happens to be the name of the ruler of Hell in Buddhism. A rather fitting name for the head of the death gods. The fiery and necromantic aspects of his Zanpakuto make the connection more obvious.
* MeaningfulRename: The "Genryusai" name is one that he adopted after getting his last scar from the fight in which Sasakibe showed him his Bankai. From "Eijisai", to "Juujisai" (referring to the cross-shaped scar Sasakibe gave him), and then "Genryusai" (to honor Sasakibe for injuring him). The actual translation of the name gives it even more meaning. Genryuusai (元柳斎) means "original willow sage" to his name because of this. In Chinese folklore, the willow is believed to ward off evil spirits; in Japanese, it's associated with ghosts and the afterlife. It's also a symbol of strength; geisha call their society the "flower and willow world": beautiful and requiring strength to endure.
* MundaneUtility: He uses Ryujin Jakka's flames, the strongest fire Zanpakuto in history, to cook and bake and keep him warm during winter, something that his Zanpakuto does not like.
* NeverMyFault: During the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, he tries to place the blame on the Vandenreich's attack on Mayuri, stating that if he and his division were more competent, the entire mess could have been avoided. Mayuri quickly turns the tables on Yamamoto, pointing out that he had specifically warned him that a Quincy attack on Soul Society was likely to happen after Uryu's infiltration, but Yamamoto dismissed him as paranoid and thus did nothing to prepare, which is exactly what left them vulnerable to Yhwach's invasion in the first place.
-->'''Yamamoto''': If your Research and Development Department had reported and managed it more promptly, this situation may have been avoidable.\\
'''Mayuri''': That is not true. I foresaw and suggested this situation the moment Uryuu Ishida, the Quincy, infiltrated the Soul Society as a Ryoka. It was you who disregarded that as being absurd. Isn't the principal cause of this situation you, Captain-General?
* NoNonsenseNemesis: Yamamoto is brutal and serious. During the battle against Aizen and his Arrancar, he imprisons Kaname, Gin, and Aizen himself in powerful flames. When he actually fights during the war, he makes sure Ayon is completely destroyed. Rather than despair that Ryuujin Jakka is nullified by the Arrancar, he ultimately killed Wonderweiss through other means. During the invasion started by the Vandenreich, as soon as he sees Driscoll Berci using his subordinate's Bankai, he immediately incinerates him. When he faces Yhwach, he immediately uses Bankai, rather than have another sword clash, and makes it clear that he wanted to annihilate him, not looking forward to waste time on other things.
* NoSell: Notably one of the only people that can boast being unaffected by Aizen's Shikai, not because he can not be affected by it, but because his raw power means that even if Aizen does attempt to use it, his flames cannot be tricked by Aizen's powers.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: During the Thousand Year Blood War, Yamamoto expresses disgust with how heartless Yhwach is towards his own subordinates. However, Yhwach observes that Yamamoto used to be every bit as brutal as him. He describes the original version of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads as thugs who were led by a demon and strongly implies that Yamamoto's Bankai possesses the ability to summon Yamamoto's dead subordinates because they were killed by Yamamoto himself. Neither man denies the assessment of the other, and a flashback briefly shows Yamamoto once indicating to a much younger Kyouraku that he used to be a monster. Yhwach believes the only difference now between them is that Yamamoto grew too accustomed to peace, which started him on the road towards caring about others and therefore has made him 'weak'.
* OhCrap: Yamamoto decisively dominates his fight with Yhwach and quickly kills him. However, when the dying Yhwach apologizes, Yamamoto unravels with shock: as the man who led the attack a thousand years ago, Yhwach shouldn't have anyone to apologize to for losing. When he realizes he has defeated a fake and that the real Yhwach is still alive, he's absolutely stunned.
* TheOlderImmortal: By far the oldest Soul Reaper. Yamamoto is at least 2,000 years old, potentially much older. There is an anime omake lampshading the fact that not only is he old-looking, he apparently has not aged since Kyoraku and Ukitake were young... er. In a manga flashback set during that period, though, he does look more middle aged during this time period.
* OldMaster: He's been the Captain-General for a thousand years because no one in that time has been strong enough to challenge his position. He is enormously powerful. His Zanpakuto is the most powerful offensive sword in history but when it's taken away from him, all he does is show case his mastery in all the other Shinigami Arts as well. He founded the training academy and his best students were Kyouraku and Ukitake, whom he regards as being like sons to him.
* OneArmedWarrior: Losing an arm does little to affect his status as one of the most powerful characters in the series. Yhwach however, explicitly refers to Yamamoto's ''refusal'' to restore his lost arm despite having the available means as an expression of his HonorBeforeReason and thus "softening" from the brutal pragmatist he once was, and with it the loss of the edge necessary to achieve victory.
* OneHitKill: How he ends most of his fights. Not even Aizen or Yhwach are foolish enough to take a direct hit from Ryujin Jakka. Wonderweiss was developed just to stop this from happening.
%% * PapaWolf: To all of Soul Society. Yes, he's a GrumpyOldMan and all, but he will '''not''' stand for invaders.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: The sheer magnitude of his power means that he is a walking deathtrap for anyone around him. His Bankai destroys all the moisture that exists for miles around -- not just in the atmosphere and in standing water but even within the human body itself. Unohana indicates Yamamoto's bankai will destroy the world just by being active for too long. Aizen made it clear that Yamamoto was pretty much the ''only'' Soul Reaper he never had any intention of directly confronting in a clash and went through multiple steps to neutralize Yamamoto's firepower.
* PetTheDog: He's a harsh man who used to be little more than a thug. Ichigo's compassion has had enough of an impact on him that he ordered the Thirteen Court Guard Squads to save Ichigo as repayment for the debt they owed him for unmasking Aizen's plot and spared the lives of Apache, Mira-Rose and Sun-Sung out of respect for their determination to fight for what they believe in while badly injured.
* PlayingWithFire: Yamamoto's entire power is centered around this and his Zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka, is the most powerful fire-type weapon in Soul Reaper history. It can generate a phenomenal amount of fire even at its weakest levels. His idea of holding back is to toast an enemy to within an inch of their life and then let them live.
* ThePowerOfTheSun: His Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, is incredibly powerful compared to even his Shikai's flames. The heat he generates is equal to the Sun's core and if active for too long will destroy the world around him.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Averted in the movies, where he makes unreasonable decisions. But in the canon story, he is more willing to give Ichigo a secret back-up team to support him in Hueco Mundo and he's aware that Orihime Inoue didn't betray them. In the Fullbringer arc, Genryuusai even orders all Captains and lieutenants to infuse their Reiatsu into the katana that is meant to bring Ichigo's power back, justifying that the shame of not paying their debt to their saviour would be far greater than standing firm to their rules and traditions.
* RecruitingTheCriminal: Some of the Captains have a history of severe criminal behaviour, such as Kenpachi Zaraki, or engage in criminal behaviour to do their jobs, such as Mayuri. Also, Captain Unohana is the worst criminal in Soul Society history. He himself was little more than a leader of a gang of thugs before he eventually mellowed out over the years.
* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Averted. Yamamoto freely acknowledges to Aizen that if he's caught in his own flames, he'll die, too. It's the reason why he takes so much damage when he's forced to counter Wonderweiss's explosion that releases all of Ryujin Jakka's sealed flames.
** It's unclear if Ryujin Jakka is "solely" a Fire-type Zanpakuto; considering the South aspect of his Bankai and new revelations about how the strongest souls cannot reincarnate in the World of the Living, it's possible Yamamoto's sword allows him some degree of control and connection over those condemnned to Hell. Some of his techniques in both Shikai and Bankai both reference the flames of Hell.
* RingOfFire: He creates one to prevent any intervention during his brief scuffle with Kyoraku and Ukitake. He later uses Jokaku Enjo, a cage of fire, to put Aizen, Gin, and Tousen out of action for much of the Fake Karakura Town arc.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The death of Sasakibe fills him with so much anger that, once he meets the Quincy again, he activates his Bankai at the risk of destroying Soul Society. He proceeds to fight Yhwach, the leader of the Quincy and swears that once he is done with him, he will hunt down each and every Quincy until there are no more left.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Normally obeys the laws and judgements of Central 46 without question. However, even he agrees to repaying Soul Society's debt to Ichigo, regardless of tradition, to the extent of outright '''ordering''' the Thirteen Court Guard Squads to aid in restoring Ichigo's powers.
* ShutUpHannibal: During his fight with Driscoll who uses Sasakibe's Bankai against him. Driscoll goes on and on how powerful he now is. Yamamoto purposely takes the attack and is barely even affected by it. Driscoll doesn't realize this and keeps gloating until Yamamoto declares that his former lieutenant's Bankai wasn't ''that weak'' before flaying Driscoll with his Shikai.
%%* SlasherSmile: When Aizen stabs Yamamoto, Yamamoto's grin is manic. It's precisely what Yamamoto wanted Aizen to do.
* StrongAndSkilled: Yamamoto has so much Reiatsu that only Yhwach can actually steal and control his Zanpaktou. He is also a master of all four main methods of Soul Reaper combat, being able to use techniques of the highest level with great power as proven when his Zanpakuto's power was sealed by Wonderweiss yet Yamamoto was still able to overpower and kill his Espada-level opponent with his bare hands.
* SuperpowerLottery: Not only does he possess Ryujin Jakka, which qualifies as a weapon of mass destruction ''in Shikai'', he's a MasterOfAll, capable of curb-stomping Wonderweiss (who's proven capable of defeating Captains) with Ryujin Jakka sealed. It's quite telling that ''both'' Aizen and Yhwach avoid directly confronting him, instead resorting to specifically-tailored contigencies. Aizen turns Wonderweiss into a LaserGuidedTykebomb combined with DefeatEqualsExplosion just to weaken Yamamoto, and Yhwach uses Royd Lloyd as a decoy to get an opening to steal Yamamoto's Bankai.
* TakingTheBullet: Part of the reason his fight with Aizen goes poorly for him is that Aizen made Wonderweiss to explode with all the flames he absorbed when killed, forcing Yamamoto to use himself as a shield to save everyone else in the vicinity.
* TakingYouWithMe: Attempted on Aizen, via Itto Kaso (a Kido spell that used his arm as a catalyst for an explosion). He tried one earlier by taking Aizen's sword in his gut (thereby dissipating the illusions from Kyouka Suigetsu) and declaring that they'll kill each other in short order, but Wonderweiss stepped in.
* TookALevelInKindness: From the days of the founding of the Academy, he significantly loosened up in comparison to the warlord he once was (and even then, he was still rather harsh). After the Quincy war, the Soul Society fell into the kind of peace that bred a softening of the heart, and once Ichigo appeared on the scene, Yamamoto's descent into kindness was cemented; he ordered the Thirteen Court Guard Squads to restore Ichigo's Soul Reaper power and uses his judicial authority (an emergency power after Central 46 was BoardToDeath) to abolish the exile on Urahara's crew and lift the ban on the Visoreds. Yhwach claims that he could kill Yamamoto precisely because Yamamoto was no longer harsh and pragmatic enough to handle Yhwach.
* TranquilFury: After Sasakibe's death, he simmers with silent fury. He keeps it in check and fights Sasakibe's killer, Driscoll, with cold fury. When he moves to confront Yhwach, his rage burns such hot flames into the air behind him that the whole of the Seireitei feels the heat of his rage. He still speaks calmly to Yhwach, however.
* TheUnfettered: Around the time of the war with the Quincies, it's very easy to presume that his behavior was close to that of a GeneralRipper.
* UnfriendlyFire: Zanka no Tachi South allows Yamamoto to summon the corpses of everyone he killed with the flames of his Zanpakuto; when he fights what he thinks is Yhwach, he summons forth Yhwach's subordinates whom he killed a thousand years ago. When Yhwach takes control of his Bankai, he threatens to use the Bankai to summon forth Yamamoto's own subordinates. Yamamoto is outraged by the suggestion, but Yhwach's offer implies that Yamamoto killed his own men for it to be possible to summon them at all.
* UnstoppableRage: When Driscoll reveals to Yamamoto that he was the one that killed Sasakibe and uses his stolen Bankai against him, Yamamoto incinerates him with Ryujin Jakka, not only furious with having confronted his lieutenant's killer, but at the fact that Driscoll's use of Sasakibe's Bankai is no where near as powerful as Sasakibe's use of it. Yamamoto then charges through Sereitei surrounded in flames, and angrily confronts who he thinks is his old ArchEnemy.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Yamamoto is not above doing some pretty drastic stuff if he believes it will serve the greater good. When he tries to kill Aizen in a suicide attack, Aizen points out it will also kill his fellow Court Squads members, who are scatter around the battlefield unconscious. Yamamoto says that it is justified, as they are prepared to lay down their lives to vanquish evil; though he does tell Ichigo to get out of the vicinity as he is just a human civillian. The reason he allows Kurotsuchi to break the law in the course of doing his job is because he tends to agree that sometimes the ends do justify the means. Yamamoto admitted that he would've ''allowed'' Kurotsuchi to kill those citizens in the Rukongai, had Kurotsuchi told him beforehand and the reason for it.
* WithUsOrAgainstUs: When confronted by Hirako over the Visoreds' intention to oppose Aizen, but not ally with the Soul Reapers, Yamamoto responds by unsheathing his sword, although Hirako leaves before Yamamoto could use it.
* TheWorfEffect: For as absurdly powerful he is, he falls to Yhwach to prove just how deadly he and the Wandenreich are. That being said, Yhwach took steps to ensure that Yamamoto would be put into [[WorfHadTheFlu a very disadvantageous position first]].
* WorldsBestWarrior: He is viewed in-universe as the most powerful combatant in Soul Society and he himself states no-one in a thousand years has been born that's stronger than him. However, as he recruited Yachiru Unohana to the original, founding members of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, it's not clear which of them was supposed to be regarded as the world's best warrior. The manga goes some way to suggesting they both were but in different ways, with his focus being on power and her's on skill.
* WorldsStrongestMan: As the Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Yamamoto is the strongest Soul Reaper in the history of Soul Society. When confronting Aizen, Yamamoto states that he has held that distinction for the past thousand years because, for those thousand years, there hasn't been a single Soul Reaper that has surpassed him. Aizen himself admits that he doesn't feel confident taking him on in a one-on-one fight, and had to create an Arrancar that was specifically designed to seal Yamamoto's Zanpakuto abilities. When said Arrancar does so, Yamamoto effortlessly beats the Arrancar (who also had Reiatsu comparable to an ''Espada'') using just his fists. In the final arc, Yhwach, even though he views Yamaoto as having gone soft and weak, was aware of the fact that even at full power he would likely not win against Yamamoto, and made sure to have Royd Lloyd, who can copy the memories and personality of someone, fight in his place just to weaken Yamamoto.
* WouldHurtAChild: Wonderweiss looks like a child, but is designed to seal the power of Yamamoto's Zanpakuto, the most powerful offensive weapon in Soul Reaper history. When Wonderweiss transforms into something no longer resembling a child, Yamamoto says that he's glad Wonderweiss no longer looks like a child because he can now kill Wonderweiss without feeling any remorse. His speech strongly implies that he would not hesitate to kill a child if necessary, even if he felt regret about it afterwards.
* WreathedInFlames: Ryuujin Jakka allows him to do this. It's a Bankai power and makes him NighInvulnerable.

* ShipperOnDeck: Momo thinks that a relationship between Renji and Rukia would be a good thing.

* AFatherToHisMen: Cares immensely for his subordinates and often puts himself at risk to protect those are lower ranked and weaker than himself.

* GentleGiant: Owns a pet dog named Gorou, takes them out for walk in his free time, and is one of the more amiable Captains when it comes to arranging his squad. He also likes watching pet shows whenever he can. According to Hitsugaya, he personally pays for any collateral damage he or his subordinates cause. Though in the Chapter 328 volume sketch, he's seen commenting that he'll only be able to feed his dog Goro okara (soy pulp) for the month due to all the damage he caused during his fight with Poww, as well as apologizing to him for it.

* HidingBehindYourBangs: His hair covers a large part of his face, usually including one of his eyes.

* LittleBitBeastly: Furry ears, heavy eyebrows, mutton chops and body fur. That's his human form, which displays classic werewolf traits.

* HopeBringer: The Vandenreich have invaded the Soul Society and are swatting down {{Red Shirt}}s left and right without much to stop them, and even the Captains aren't very effective against them due to the Vandenreich's ability to steal Bankai. Things look completely hopeless until Yamamoto steps in, after which the Thirteen Court Guard Squads gets a ''massive'' morale boost that's even {{Lampshaded}} by one of the Sternritter; when he's killed, morale plummets.

* WorldsStrongestMan: As the Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Yamamoto is the strongest Soul Reaper in the history of Soul Society. When confronting Aizen, Yamamoto states that he has held that distinction for the past thousand years because, for those thousand years, there hasn't been a single Soul Reaper that has surpassed him. Aizen himself admits that he doesn't feel confident taking him on in a one-on-one fight, and had to create an Arrancar that was specifically designed to seal Yamamoto's Zanpakuto abilities. When said Arrancar does so, Yamamoto effortlessly beats the Arrancar (who also had Reiatsu comparable to an ''Espada'') using just his fists. In the final arc, Yhwach was aware of the fact that even at full power he would likely not win against Yamamoto, and made sure to have Royd Lloyd, who can copy the memories and personality of someone, fight in his place just to weaken Yamamoto.

* CombatMedic: She's quite the accomplished swordsman but by preference sticks to support roles. When training Kenpachi, she combines the two by inflicting lethal wounds and then healing them with the implication that she's going to keep at it until he measures up.

* WorldsBestWarrior: "Yachiru" is a MeaningfulName given to the master of all known forms of sword-based combat. She was the best warrior of her generation and one of the worst criminals Soul Society had ever seen. She was also a founding captain of the Gotei 13, creating both the 11th Division and the "Kenpachi," the title given to the strongest captain in any given generation of captains. Yachiru is eventually revealed to be the gentle and motherly medic, ''Captain Unohana''. It is also indicated that all the subsequent Kenpachis of Squad 11, up until Zaraki, are nothing but pretenders and she is the true bearer of the title until choosing to hand it to Zaraki.