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%% Explaining a trope is more than just saying "In season two" or "Bob is this for Alice." It means actually going into detail about how the trope is used in the series.
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!!Tropes for ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', C to D:

* CallBack: 'Death & Strawberry', the first chapter of the entire manga, has Ichigo receiving Shinigami powers from Rukia. Cue, ''459 chapters later'', [[spoiler: Rukia doing the same thing to restore Ichigo's powers]]. Appropriately enough, the chapter was titled 'Death & Strawberry 2'.
** Another example is when Ichigo unveils his [[spoiler: second bankai]]. and his pose is exactly the same as the first time.
** 'Dark Side of Universe' follow by 'Black & White' appeared 3 times as chapters titles, helpfully numbered. The 3 'Dark Side of Universe' chapters had Hollow Ichigo appeared, while the following 'Black & White' chapters showed the struggles with him.
** Chapter 80 & 84 involved Ichigo and his companions prepared and got launched through Seireitei's barrier by way of Kuukaku Shiba's cannon. Those 2 chapters is named 'The Shooting Star Project' and 'The Shooting Star Project 2 [Tattoo On The Sky]'. 434 chapters later, [[spoiler: Ichigo once again get launched up by Kuukaku Shiba's cannon, this time with the Zero division to the Royal Palace.]] Cue 'The Shooting Star Project (ZERO MIX)'.
** The significance of "Rain" as a chapter or mini-arc title is a running theme and usually refers to flashbacks involving some kind of past pain. Ichigo's flashback to his mother's death is the "Memories in the Rain" mini-arc. Rukia's flashback to Kaien's death is the "Memories in the Rain 2" mini-arc. The final chapter of the Soul Society arc (which gives both characters some closure over their past pain) is called "And the Rain Let Off". Then, hundreds of chapters later, the flashback to the events that enable both Ichigo and Uryuu to be born is called the "Everything But the Rain" mini-arc.
* CallingYourAttacks: Most magical effects require this, at one point it's explicitly stated by Ichigo's Zanpakuto that knowing and saying his special attack's name will make it much more powerful. Mashiro also does this in GratuitousEnglish no less.
** Activation of advanced ''Zanpakuto'' forms, Orihime's abilities. The full incantations for Kido are often this.
-->'''Rukia:''': Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado 31, Shakkaho!
* {{Calvinball}}: Apparently any time the shinigami try to do something for the New Year, this happens.
** In Episode 303, the shinigami's New Year's karuta game turns into this.
** In Episode 335, the shinigami's New Year's kite-flying game turns into this.
* CarryingACake: [[GotVolunteered Yumichika]], [[TheHeart Hanatarou]] and [[SweetTooth Rin]] [[BizarroEpisode make a cake]] on behalf of the [[OneShotCharacter ghost of a dead baker]] who's [[UnfinishedBusiness unable to pass on]] until his mother has tried his cake recipe. After various [[LethalChef mishaps]] during the making of it, it's finally presented to the grieving mother, who promptly rejects it. And then the distressed ghost accidentally knocks the cake onto the floor and a [[MonsterOfTheWeek Menos Grande]] almost fries it with a [[BreathWeapon cero]].
* CasanovaWannabe: Keigo and Kon love women, especially if they have large breasts. They are never successful in their attempts to attract a single one.
* CatFight: Soi Fon and Yoruichi's fight played straight in the sense there was a lot of fanservice, including ClothingDamage, but subverted in that it was also a [[DesignatedGirlFight very serious, very brutal fight]].
** In a bizarre example that starts off [[SillyReasonForWar comedic]] but ends on a [[WhatYouAreInTheDark very serious note]], when [[MachoCamp Charlotte Cuulhorne]] fights [[TheDandy Yumichika Ayasegawa]], he keeps acting like they're having a CatFight. Yumichika is so far from amused by this that it's not even funny (for him, that is; for the reader, it's [[HilarityEnsued hilarious]]... at least until it [[MoodWhiplash gets serious]]).
---> '''Cuulhorne:''' 'Beautiful Charlotte Cuulhorne's final, holy, wonderful, pretty, super-magnum sexy, sexy, glamorous... cero!'
---> '''Yumichika:''' 'That's just a normal cero!'
* CatapultNightmare: Multiple examples
* CatchPhrase: Lots of characters are known for specific phrases, such as Hitsugaya complaining, "It's '''Captain''' Hitsugaya!" or Don Kanonji's "The spirits are always with you!". Other examples can be found on the trope page.
* TheCavalry: [[spoiler: Isshin in Chapter 397, Urahara in Chapter 401, Yoruichi in 403. Rukia, Isshin, Urahara, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Byakuya, Hitsugaya and Renji in 459-60.]]
* CensorSteam: Yoruichi, Mayuri and Rangiku all have scenes involving this device.
* CerebusSyndrome: A more subtle than usual example, particularly since death and ghosts have been prevalent throughout the series, but the series has gotten steadily DarkerAndEdgier from the opening chapters where Ichigo's family was almost killed, through kidnappings of his friends triggering ever darker rescue arcs. By the time the final arc hits its stride, the story reaches a much darker place than where it started. The anime's openings have also shifted from happy-go-lucky to darker and more pathos-driven to reflect the storyline's direction.
* CharacterMagneticTeam: Ichigo's group functions like this, attracting not only human or shinigami friends and allies, but even hollow friends and allies.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Mayuri, Mayuri, Mayuri. So cartoonishly evil in his first appearance, but in ''every subsequent appearance'', filler included, he's merely been a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} JerkAss. This has made him rather polarizing, as some people hate him and want him to die based on his initial characterization, preferably by Ishida's hand, while his fans think he's CrazyAwesome, mostly based on his current characterization. Some go so far as to say he's the ''only'' good comic relief in the series.
** Kon was introduced as a threatening character that was then revealed to be a TechnicalPacifist (even putting himself in danger to protect some ants). However, once he was made Ichigo's 'substitute' 'soul candy' he was relegated to status of JokeCharacter.
* ChekhovsGun: More often than it's given credit for. The most notable case is Ichigo's Hollow mask in the Soul Society arc.
** Even moreso with his hollow form's mention of "truly controlling my power".
** "Reversing things is a talent of mine." Oh yes it is, Shinji.
** Chapter 27 briefly mentions that Keigo actually lives outside of Karakura and he resides in a place called Naruki City, flash forward roughly 400 chapters and Naruki City becomes the main setting for the [[spoiler: Lost Substitute Shinigami]] Arc.
** Ichigo's character bio at the end of Volume 1 briefly mentions that one of his favourite foods is chocolate, setting up the "You like chocolate? That's cute" joke ''48 volumes'' later.
** Chapter 56, the culmination of the very first appearance of Renji and Byakuya in the storyline sees Byakuya comment on how Ichigo resembles "him" and that he fully understands the kind of situation where a strong resemblence to someone would evoke the desire to protect. Not only does this set up the revelation of Kaien 77 chapters later but also the revelation of Hisana 123 chapters later. The cover page of this chapter, initially viewed as a dead or unconscious Rukia with unusually shaggy hair, [[ChekhovsGunman with hindsight]] better fits the appearance of Hisana who is revealed to have had a much shaggier version of Rukia's hairstyle.
*** In Chapter 530 an explanation is finally given why Ichigo looks like Kaien Shiba along with many of the questions about his father, both of which are linked with each other
** Nel explains Arrancar hierarchy to demonstrate how she's different from the Arrancar that serve Aizen. She says that the Arrancar that Ichigo has fought are Numeros, who have double digit numbers, and that they serve under the command of Espada, who have single-digit numbers. Yammy is allegedly Espada #10, but in fact Espada #0. [[CaptainObvious 10 is not a single-digit number.]]
** Remember Urahara [[spoiler: telling Aizen during their fight that he would never in the past have let himself come into physical contact with him twice, and then proceeds to trap him in the column of light? It appears that this was what he was referring to when he says the aforementioned quote, having touched Aizen for a brief second beforehand, but he is also referring to the second Kidou he planted in Aizen, which ultimately defeats Aizen after he survives Ichigo's Mugetsu.]]
** In 516 while Ichigo is speaking with Mayuri, Kon randomly pops up in a hugely muscular body, only to be deflated back to normal size by Mayuri. Come 521 and Kon's buffed up form makes a reappearance to cushion Ichgio and Renji's landing.
** Ichigos Bankai. Like Byakuya notes, unlike most Bankai, which are Reiatsu centered, Ichigos enhances his speed and raw power. This builds up to [[spoiler: Ichigo using raw physical power, with the exception of the Final Getsuga Tenshou and Mugetsu, to fight Aizen.]]
* ChekhovsGunman:
** Chapter 1 of the manga shows several people in the background. Almost all of them are Ichigo's classmates and most have only a minor role in the manga. Among the group, however, is one other character: Shinji Hirako, a major character who is only introduced almost 200 chapters later.
** At the end of the Soul Society arc, Aizen leaves Seireitei via negaccion and the shinigami left behind observe that there's something in the garganta behind the gillians, the only sign of which is a giant eye. Hundreds of chapters later during the battle for Karakura Town, Wonderweiss appears with his giant pet, Fuura, a misshapen being with one giant eye and the ability to destroy Yamamoto's flames that are trapping Aizen. It's revealed Fuura was the creature that was hovering behind the garganta at the end of the Soul Society arc.
** In the 4th episode of the anime and chapter 7 of the manga, Ichigo's dad Dr. Isshin Kurosaki is on the phone with the local hospital demanding they open up beds for patients he cannot treat in his tiny clinic. Isshin tells the clerk to tell his manager its a personal request from Kurosaki and that will free up the beds he needs. The hospital's chief administrator is [[spoiler:Ryuken Ishida, Uryuu's father, Quincy, and]] an old friend of Isshin's, [[spoiler:which isn't revealed until manga chapter 241 and anime episode 143. Even then, the significance of this is only explored in the final arc of the story.]]
* ChestBurster: Szayel does this to resurrect himself.
* ChristmasCake: Although she's never directly called "ChristmasCake" in the [[{{Filler}} anime]], Rangiku's age is a very sore point for her, with one filler episode going so far as to even create a male version for the sole purpose of having one [[BrattyHalfPint kid]] press two [[BerserkButton berserk buttons]] by referring to Rangiku as "oba-san" and Yumichika as "o-san" in the same conversation. The anime later takes Rangiku's age references [[UpToEleven even further]] by making it such a big issue in the Zanpakutou Arc that it's actually one of the reasons why Rangiku's zanpakutou is angry with her. This is an anime-only trope. Neither character has a problem with their ages in the manga.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Happened to so many important characters, it's not even funny. Some characters got Chucked '''Mid-Arc'''. Justified after the TimeSkip [[spoiler:since Ichigo lost all of his powers, including the power to see apparitions, and so would reasonably lose contact with many of his super powered friends.]] Though this doesn't explain what happened to Kon.
* ChunkyUpdraft: A favourite of the anime to show how powerful shinigami or arrancar can be when they start releasing their powers, especially when they enter bankai or a bankai-equivalent level of power.
* CityOfAdventure: Karakura Town is really a spiritual nexus, where all the weird powers are, where all the baddies show up, and where [[spoiler:Aizen plans to erase in order to create a CosmicKeystone]].
* ClarkKenting: Aizen, of course. The resemblance to Clark Kent is uncanny (thereby earning him a FanNickname of his own) although the reason is much different. Aizen allowed everyone to think of him as gentle and kind to disguise the evil he was perpetrating from the shadows. When he's revealed as the BigBad, he also casts aside the mask: He tosses aside the glasses, slicks back his hair, and from that point on it's goodbye gentle geek, hello EvilIsSexy.
* ClingyMacGuffin: Even the Hougyoku's ''creator'' couldn't destroy that darn orb! Also, Ichigo's Hollow mask earlier on.
* ClothingDamage: Happens all the time to male characters, especially Ichigo who eventually reveals [[spoiler: that his spiritual pressure is connected to his shikakushou, so the amount of shikakushou he has remaining is a reflection of how much spiritual pressure he has left.]] Averted for most female characters except for two: Yoruichi and Soi Fon have a special move that causes ClothingDamage in the process of activating it.
* CloseCallHaircut: Happens in several fights throughout the manga. See trope page for detail.
* CombatPragmatist: Very frequently, but most especially with the Vandenreich.
* CommLinks: How shinigami stay in contact with Seireitei even when they're in the human world. Two types have been seen so far: a single-ear radio-headset style, kept in the uniform and not worn on the ear, as used by Rangiku and Yumichika, and phone style, as used by Rukia.
* ComedicSociopathy: Mayuri's antics are ''meant'' to be this, but [[BaseBreaker about half]] [[SeriousBusiness the fans]] find them to be too [[MoralEventHorizon horrific]] to count.
* ConflictBall: Head Captain Yamamoto has been accused of doing this by some fans. It's been debated if that's really the case in the series. The movies on the other hand are a different story.
* ConspiracyRedemption: Played with in that the Soul Society was being manipulated by the BigBad. They thought they were doing the right thing (even if they didn't like it) and that Ichigo was this terrible invader person.
* ConverseWithTheUnconscious: Rukia does this a little bit with Ichigo, but Orihime definitely takes the cake with her confession. Even so, he's still ObliviousToLove.
* CoolSword: One of the central facets of the series. Almost every character that wields a sword has one that fits this trope. One of the most stand-out examples might be Yhwach's reishi {{BFS}} which comes into life in the sky as a huge bow that shoots a giant arrow to the ground which Yhwach can then pick up and use as a sword.
* CoolVersusAwesome: The [[{{Anime}} premise]] behind the [[{{Filler}} Invasion Arc]] is this [[spoiler: with the shinigami [[TheCaptain captains]] and [[NumberTwo vice-captains]] fighting their own [[EvilTwin doubles]].]]
* CostumePorn: Kubo has expressed interest in becoming a fashion designer. You'd think the series was his portfolio or something.
* CrapsaccharineWorld: Rukia's drawings. She explains hollows and pluses to Ichigo by making drawings where the good souls are happy bunnies and the bad souls are angry bunnies. But Aizen as a crafty-looking bear with glasses and the number 5 on his chest takes the cake.
* CrapsackWorld: When you die you end up as a peasant in a medieval Japanese slum, ruled by a bunch of Soul Reapers who are generally more interested in getting into fights with each other than doing their jobs. And this is the Good Place. Eventually, you die ''again'', and your spiritual body crumbles and becomes part of the reishi that makes up Soul Society, while your actual soul gets reincarnated back on Earth, in an endless cycle. The only known breaks in this cycle occur if you've committed serious sins in life, in which case you go to Hell after you've died, or if your lingering soul corrupts into a hollow - in which case you can be saved by a zanpakutou, but if you're shot by a Quincy arrow instead, your soul is destroyed forever. Some of this may be changing. See WorldHalfFull.
* CrashIntoHello: It's how Hitsugaya and Rangiku first meet.
* CreatorThumbprint: Kubo's a big music geek and has given every character a theme song from a surprisingly large variety of styles and nationalities. If a chapter title isn't an out-and-out song reference, chances are it's probably AGoodNameForARockBand. For instance, the climax of the Fake Karakura Town arc, Kubo lost all imagination and decided to name 23 chapters after Deicide. And only two actually had a sub-title to them. Make of that what you will.
* CripplingTheCompetition:
** Anime episode 28. During the fight between Uryu Ishida and the Soul Reaper Jirobo Ikkanzaka, Uryu fires an arrow into Jirobo in such a way as to prevent him from using spiritual pressure and thus making it impossible to continue as a Soul Reaper.
** Anime episode 156. Uryu Ishida does the same thing to the arrancar Cirucci Sanderwicci, firing an arrow into her chest to seal off her power.
* CueTheSun: Orihime is used as a sun symbol throughout the manga. When Ulquiorra announces "the sun has already set" it's accompanied by a panel of a bowed Orihime standing before her healing shield which is in the perfect image of a setting sun. Later on, Orihime again has this symbolism when she finally begins cheering on Ichigo in his fight inducing a power-up for him. When Aizen re-kidnaps her, he tells her she should smile more to let the sun shine on [[spoiler: and it happens again after Ichigo defeats Aizen and Urahara seals him away.]]
* CurbStompBattle: Most of the fights are this. A few extend into HowMuchMoreCanHeTake, but this is standard. See trope page for examples.
* CursedWithAwesome: The Xcution group hate using their powers because they are similar to a Hollow's.
* DamselInDistress:
** {{Canon}}: Rukia in the Soul Society Arc, Orihime in the Arrancar Arc, [[spoiler: Ichigo]] in the Lost Agent Arc, [[spoiler: Harribel]] in the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc.
** {{Anime}} {{Filler}}: Ishida in the Bount Arc, Rurichiyo in the latter part of the Amagai Arc.
* DangerouslyShortSkirt: It's almost like AuthorAppeal - a good portion of {{Action Girl}}s have worn a knee-high micro skirt at some point.
* DarkerAndEdgier: "The Final Arc, The Thousand-Year Blood War". With the dark overtones and the sheer amount of deaths, expect things to get ''really'' unpleasant henceforth.
* DarkIsNotEvil:
** The shinigami are technically the good guys and they wear black. The hollows are technically the bad guys and [[LightIsNotGood they wear white]], and Ichigo and his inner hollow follow this theme as well. When Aizen, Gin and Tousen are revealed as bad guys they change from wearing black to white. However, because Japanese and American symbolism on the colors black and white are reversed, 'Bleach' is probably an example of playing to the stereotype (i.e., if it was a western comic, the bad guys would be in black and the good guys would be in white).
** Uryuu. Quincy uniforms are white but Uryuu is one of the good guys. On the other hand, 200 years ago, the Quincies were massacred by the shinigami because they were destroying the balance of worlds - so, 200 years ago at least, Quincies were technically the bad guys.
** Nel and her underlings, who want to be left alone to play. Failing that, they'll support Ichigo and his friends to the death.
* DarkestHour:
** For Ichigo, this is reached in chapter 458. [[spoiler: All of Ichigo's friends, his sisters, his boss, and the Fullbringers have all been epically mind screwed by Tsukishima with Chad and Orihime protecting him from Ichigo's wrath. Then Ginjo, his only ally, gets hit too. Then Uryu shows up and is actually on his side, but apparently Ginjo was evil and only made good by getting hit by Tsukishima once before. Cue him somehow taking out Ichigo and Uryu with no effort, then taking Ichigo's Substitute Shinigami Badge and stabbing him in the chest]]. The text at the end wasn't kidding when it said "Zero Hope!".
** For the shinigami, this is reached in Chapter 511. [[spoiler: Four captains lose their ability to use bankai, Byakuya and Kenpachi are not only easily defeated but very nearly killed, Yamamoto ''is'' killed, the Seireitei is destroyed, the casualty list for the 6,000-strong Gotei 13 almost reaches 3,000... and not even Ichigo can save them. The Vandenreich have completely devastated the Gotei 13 and pretty much made them their bitches...]]
* DeadlyHug: When Aizen is revealed to be still alive, Hinamori hugs him in delight and he returns the hug. A moment later, a sword slides right through Hinamori's body, courtesy of Aizen.
* DeadManWriting: Aizen's letter to Momo Hinamori in the Soul Society arc.
* DeadToBeginWith: A lot of the characters are post-death spirits. They can still die, however, since the story is influenced by the Buddhist wheel of samsara theme.
* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler: Harribel]] due to the anime being cancelled [[spoiler: without her revealed as alive.]]
* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler: Tousen.]] He spent much of his adult life [[spoiler: plotting revenge on Soul Society]] as a result [[spoiler: of the death ]]of his [[ImpliedLoveInterest friend]]. One of his deepest fears was [[spoiler: to [[BecomingTheMask die a shinigami,]]]] the thing he hated most. As a result, he hollowfied to escape [[spoiler: being a shinigami]]. At the end, when defeated and dying after his battle [[spoiler: with Komamura and Hisagi]], he returns [[spoiler: to the shinigami form he had once despised, finally understanding the value of the friendships he had forged amongst the shinigami.]] He has just enough time to make his apologies [[spoiler: to Komamura and Hisagi]] absolutely clear before [[BigBad Aizen]] kills him. Of course, he was dying anyway, but Aizen just wanted to prove a point.
* DeathOfAThousandCuts: Both Senbonzakura and Haineko function like this when in shikai. Senbonzakura's weakest bankai forms usually use this method as well.
* DecompressedComic: shifted into a milder form of this midway through the Arrancar Arc, slowing down and stretching many fights. Most fans disapprove.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Several Soul Reapers after they fought Ichigo, and several Arrancars during the fighting in Hueco Mundo.
* DemonicInvaders: Hollows, Arrancar
* DemotedToExtra: The anime tends to leave Orihime, Uryuu and Chad out of most of their filler arcs and films, choosing to focus the plot lines almost completely on the shinigami and non-living worlds. However, sometimes they even demote Ichigo to extra, too. In the Gotei 13 Invasion filler arc, ''all the canon characters'' suffered this in favour of the anime's filler villains and heroine. Even the canon shinigami characters were demoted in favour of the anime's EvilClone versions of them. ''Kon'' was made the hero of the arc as a result of being PromotedToLoveInterest for the filler heroine.
* DeusExMachina: The series has so many examples it's hard to list, but a couple notorious examples:
** Ichigo is [[spoiler: stabbed by Ulquiorra, only to be saved from death by [[AssPull Plotkai]] ]] - [[spoiler: [[CameBackWrong returning in a Hollow form.]] ]]
** [[spoiler: Aizen's final defeat]] is basically this.
* DiabolusExMachina: Many examples, but a couple are of particular note.
** Episode 278 has [[spoiler:Wonderweiss]] coming out of nowhere [[spoiler:unfreezing Halibel from her icy death, putting out the flames that are keeping Aizen out of combat, and stabbing Ukitake making it so he is unable to fight.]]
** The final fight with Aizen. [[spoiler: It's revealed that the Hougyoku has left him immortal so he can't be killed. Instead he's imprisoned, which means he has the potential to return.]]
* DifficultySpike: The Nakama easily take care of the Shinigami they fight in the Soul Society arc, and manage to avoid capture easily enough. [[{{FourStarBadass}} Then they come across the Captains of the Gotei 13]], and the Nakama fall in short order, leaving only Ichigo left.
* DiminishingVillainThreat: Aizen starts out as a cool, composed, BigBad who hands out {{Gambit Roulette}}s like they handed out Kool-Aid at Jonestown. Lately he's been getting DrunkWithPower, his illusions used to aid his thrown-together brute-force solutions, and his constant petty taunting is threatening to get his MagnificentBastard status downgraded to SmugSnake.
* DisappearsIntoLight: How [[FillerVillain the Bounts]] die.
* DiscardAndDraw: Happens with both Uryu and Ichigo after they lose their powers the first time (Uryu after his fight with Mayuri and Ichigo after his first encounter with Byakuya).
** Happened for [[spoiler: Ichigo]] again. [[spoiler: After his fight with Aizen, Ichigo lost his Shinigami powers and has moved on to something called Fullbring.]]
** Yet again, [[spoiler: Ichigo lost his powers.]] Not even 7 pages later, [[spoiler: Rukia stabs him with a Zanpakutō, giving him back his shinigami powers.]] You can just see the [[OhCrap look of fear]] on [[spoiler: Ginjō & Tsukishima's faces]] when it happens.
** Now that [[FanNickname Quincy Hitler]] has [[spoiler: broken Ichigo's bankai, it can never be repaired. Fortuitously Squad Zero has a means to make him a different one.]]
* DistractedByMyOwnSexy: Yumichika in [[{{Anime}} Episode]] [[{{Filler}} 321]].
* DivingKick: In the anime episode #280, the Vizard Mashiro Kuna does one of these to the Arrancar Wonderweiss Margera, knocking him into the ground.
* DivingSave: Ichigo does this to save Don Kanonji from a hollow and Sado does this to save Karin from falling metal beams. Other examples can be found on the trope page.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Yumichika has a "secret power" he very carefully hides out from everyone for fear that, if it got known, he would have to leave or even be expelled from the squad. It can be read as "not having a manly enough shikai". It's so important to him that he's willing to die sooner than have it revealed. Replace "power" with "sexual orientation" and it's easy to see how some of the fanbase interpret his hidden personality. Given that Japanese and American straight/gay stereotypes are often reversed, some of the fanbase regard this as an example of UnfortunateImplications or ValuesDissonance instead.
** During the Soul Society arc, Ichigo's description is "having a sword as big as he is tall" and more experienced Shinigami make much noise about how he's got a ton of power but terrible control; Renji achieves Bankai with a big-flashy Snake, but since he can't control it very well either he gets curbstomped; Gin's Shikai is revealed to be being able to extend his zanpakutou instantly, and at will...there's a reason the FanNickname for zanpakutou is "Soul Penis".
** Not to mention the 69 tatoo on Shuhei Hisagi's face (and as seen in the Turn Back the Pendulum arc, former Ninth Division captain Kensei Muguruma's chest).
* DontFearTheReaper: This trope is in force for the most part. The shinigami are just like humans: they can be friendly, moody, supportive, scary, hostile depending on situation or individual personality type. However, shinigami aren't enemies of humanity even if their focus on the big picture can make them seem aloof at times. Their role is to guide the dead to Soul Society, cleanse hollows of post-death sin so they too can be guided to Soul Society and also to maintain the balance of souls across different worlds. In other words, shinigami are portrayed the same way humans are portrayed: as individuals with their own personalities, worries, fears, foibles, strengths and weaknesses.
* DontLookBack: While Division 3 is fleeing a Restrictive Current in the Precipice World, Lieutenant Izuru Kira tells his men "Don't look back". He doesn't want them to be distracted by the pursuing threat.
* DopeSlap: Rukia and Renji to Ichigo, and Kaien Shiba to Rukia.
* DoubleStandard: Played with in the 14th volume of the manga: Uryuu Ishida and Orihime Inoue acquire two Soul Reaper uniforms to disguise themselves with. To Uryuu's alarm, Orihime suddenly begins changing ''while they're in the same room''. He quickly tells her to stop, to which she replies, "You're right. A boy and a girl shouldn't change in the same room together." She then seems to have constructed a personal change room for Uryu, telling him to go ahead. He asks himself while changing, "Isn't it... supposed to be the other way around?"
* DoubleWeapon: [[spoiler: Hisagi's shikai]] is a kusarigama. Usually a kusarigama is a chain with a blade at one end and a counterbalancing weight at the other. [[spoiler: Hisagi's,]] however, has a blade at either end.
* DramaPreservingHandicap: During the first half of the Bount arc, Ichigo is having trouble activating his bankai in the real world. Note that this is not only contradictory to the manga, but also of the OAV that took place around the same period.
* DramaticChaseOpening: A Hollow pursuing a little ghost girl in anime episode 1 and Shuhei Hisagi being pursued by his zanpakuto spirit Kazeshini in anime episode 260.
* DramaticPause: The anime fight between Charlotte and Yumichika is full of music and dialogue until the moment Charlotte appears to win. He clarifies to Yumichika what his final attack is doing, and suddenly.... ''silence''. Even the music stops. Cue GlowingEyesOfDoom and PreAssKickingOneLiner as [[CoverBlowingSuperPower Yumichika]] proceeds to [[CurbStompBattle curb stomp]] Charlotte.
** Done to powerful effect in the anime with Hitsugaya [[spoiler: when he realises he's stabbed Hinamori instead of Aizen]]. Everything stops: characters, fighting, dialogue, music. ''Everything''. Then the screen itself [[FadeToBlack blacks out]]. And then Hitsugaya ''[[RoaringRampageofRevenge explodes]]''.
* DramaticSlip: In the very first episode, the ghost of a small girl trips while she and Ichigo are being chased by a hollow.
* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: A guy mistakes a warning, and goes for revenge against the wrong people.
* DrippingDisturbance: At the beginning of the Bount arc, this happens to Orihime before an impostor disguised as her brother shows up and kidnaps her; the rest of the cast also notice it when they search her empty house.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: Yammy. He gets a few last words but the vast majority of his fight occurs off-screen.]]
* DrowningMySorrows Kira, Hisagi and Matsumoto take up semi-professional drinking after the Soul Society arc to deal with being abandoned by their captains and old friends.
* DyingForSymbolism: Aizen tries to kill Head Captain Yamamoto (regarded as the history of Soul Society) to symbolise the defeat of the Gotei 13. He fails. [[spoiler: However, later on, Juhabach succeeds where Aizen failed and does indeed kill Yamamoto to symbolise the defeat and destruction of the Gotei 13.]]

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