Yet another page dedicated to characters that appeared in Tite Kubo's Bleach. This page tackles the members of the Royal Guard, otherwise known as the Squad Zero, a group of Captains promoted to protect the Soul King himself.

Contains unmarked spoilers

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The Soul King

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/soul_king.png

Although he is called 'Soul King', he does not rule Soul Society, being described as a figurehead that is isolated away in the Royal Realm while the Central 46 gets on with the business of governing Soul Society. His purpose is to regulate the flow of souls to keep all worlds separate, stable and balanced. He provides the Royal Guard with a special Ōken that allows them to both enter the Royal Realm and to give others permission to enter.

All There in the Manual: The manga’s final arc drops bits and pieces of his past, but mostly just portrays him as an inanimate object. Bleach: We Do Knot Always Love You fully explains what he used to be and why he ended up in such a state in the present story.
Almighty Idiot: Despite being the equivalent of God in the universe of Bleach, the Soul King is an irresponsive Empty Shell without will or personality whose only function is basically being a human lynchpin who keeps the balance and stability of the entire creation going on.
Ambiguous Situation: The last we saw of him, he was effectively absorbed by Yhwach entirely. Upon doing so, Soul Society started falling apart. When Yhwach died, that also means that the King died, yet the Soul Society was in one piece meaning he somehow survived. But how... and where? The novel Bleach: We Do Knot Always Love You reveals that he indeed died and that Yhwach's corpse is his replacement, but questions if he was alive in the first place and what his more and more antagonistic looking relationship with the Shinigami was.
And I Must Scream: The Soul Reapers sealed him away a million years ago to create the current Soul Society. The Soul King was deprived of his body parts and his power and is implied to be nothing more than a living corpse that has been unable to scream for a million years. He remains sentient but his will no longer exists. Only in death is he able to act in a limited manner through his sacrificed limbs. With the sole exception of Ichibē, those who see him are horrified at his state of existence; Aizen even refers to him as a "thing". His fate is so horrible that Soul Reapers who learn the truth are disgusted; some of the most vile and heinous characters in the story, such as Aizen and Yhwach in the manga, or Tokinada in the novels, are partially motivated by the truth of how the Soul King came to be in this state.
Animate Body Parts: Eons ago, his right arm fell into the Rukongai and became an entity called Mimihagi-sama by the people residing in the 76th Eastern Rukongai District. His left arm became a servant of Yhwach, both opposing the Soul King and objecting to being called the "Left Arm of the Soul King".
Barrier Maiden: Rare male version; he is the lynchpin of existence. If he dies, Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, the World of the Living, and everything else, will fade into oblivion. Existence will then revert to what it was before the Soul King was created; a mass of chaotic souls travelling in and out of an unstable Soul Society, but also a place without death where all worlds have become one.
Casting a Shadow: After his seals were broken the powers of the Soul King manifest as torrents of dark shadows that eventually form into shadowy creatures.
Creating Life: The powers of the Soul King are so immense that they create countless cyclope-esque creatures made of darkness. And that is without getting into his body parts being seemingly sentient or that Yhwach refers to him as his father.
Crystal Prison: He is fully contained inside a barrier that looks like crystal. The crystal appears to be bound to walls and ceiling inside the Soul Palace which even the Royal Guard cannot freely visit, and he is attended by servants with bound eyes. The crystal prison serves as a seal both to keep him alive and to keep his powers locked away. Destroying the crystal not only kills him, but also sets him free, the same crystal prison is imprisoning Yhwach once he Ichibē makes him the new Soul King.
Early Installment Character-Design Difference: When he first appeared, everything other than his face is kept in silhouette, but one can clearly make out intact limbs. Later on, all his limbs are gone, with at least his arms known to have been living independent lives.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Who and what he was before he was transformed into the Soul King is unknown, but Yhwach refers to him as his father and is very angry at what was done to him. It is implied that the Soul King is a construct that was created out of dead beings to control the boundaries that keep all the different worlds separated from each other. If he had a name before he became the Soul King, it's never stated. He is simply known as the Soul King and the "lynchpin between worlds", and nothing else. The novel 'Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World' implies that Ichibē took away his name, as the same thing happened with Yhwach after he becomes the Soul King.
Exotic Eye Designs: His eyes are dark with a strange saltire cross-shape in the centre. They are either black with cross-shaped pupils or four pupils arranged to leave a white cross-shape as a side-effect of the diamond-shaped pattern they form.
Giant Hands of Doom: Ichibe can manifest giant representations of his hands and feet.
Half the Man He Used to Be: He is sliced in half in a way that makes it look like he and the barrier are part of some kind of odd crystal formation.
Humanoid Abomination: The Soul King may look human, but is supposed to be an actual god with some connection to the Quincy. Both of his arms split off from the body ages ago and are perfectly capable of functioning independently, and even his heart has gained independence. Yhwach, a Physical God with the ability to see and change the future, claims to be his son, but how literally this claim should be taken is up for debate.
Meaningful Name: His title "Reio" can mean either Soul or Zero King. Fitting for a supposed powerless entity sealed inside a crystal prison and deprived of his body parts.
Minor Major Character: Despite being treated as vitally important to Soul Society within the series itself and Aizen's goal being to usurp him, he does absolutely nothing during his screentime.
My Death Is Only The Beginning: Downplayed but Ichigo killing the Soul King was what released him from his seals and unleashed his powers upon his enemies. Yhwach was concerned enough about a possibile interference from the Soul King that he decided to absorb his corpse.
The Omnipotent: In his prime, the Soul King was an incomparably powerful being said to be all-powerful due to being the original user of 'The Almighty', with power close to genuine omnipotence and omniscience. The only reason he lost most of his powers was because he allowed for it to happen.
Organ Autonomy: The Soul King's body parts can function fully independently from the Soul King. His right arm wandered through Soul Society in ancient times being worshipped as a god. His left arm has served Yhwach for an unspecified amount of time, serving as an elite Quincy and his heart is rumored to have done the same. In battle, when a finger of the left arm is blown off, the finger continues to act as a smaller version of the left arm, including possessing the same abilities. Even his brain and heart gain autonomy.
Physical God: The Soul King is for all intents and purposes the God of the Bleach universe, being the nigh-omnipotent supreme being that sustains all of reality, including Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the Human World. Without its presence, all of the dimensions would crumble. However, it is possible for someone to takes its place as long as they have a comparable amount of Spiritual Power, such as his son Yhwach, who absorbed the Soul King into himself. He couldn't even assimilate all of him.
Sealed Badass in a Can: According to Haschwalth the Soul King was once sealed by the Soul Reapers. Ichigo killing him is what undoes said seals and unleashes his powers upon his enemies.
Seers: Yhwach claims that Quincies with special, inhuman eyes are 'true Quincies', and these Quincies usually have unique abilities. Yhwach himself can split the pupils of his eyes so that he has three pupils in each eye, and he possesses the power to see the future. The Soul King's eyes either have pupils in the shape of a saltire cross or four pupils that create a sclera that is in the shape of a saltire cross. Yhwach states the Soul King is far better at seeing into the future than even he is.
Time Abyss: Soul Society was created through his imprisonment, which happened around a million years, making him even older.
Was Once a Man: Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World implies that he was human at some point — and a primordial Quincy at that — before Soul Society enacted its "original sin" upon him and turned him into what he is now.
Who Needs Their Whole Body?: The entity that Yhwach stabs begins as something that looks human, but ends up looking like a limbless person. The right arm has been travelling around the Rukongai for aeons. The left arm has been serving Yhwach for an unspecified length of time. Both arms are mobile, and possess their own identities and abilities. Additionally, the King appears to have no actual heart since it has taken a life of its own in the form of Gerard Valkyrie for an unknown period of time.
Wild Card: The Soul King is initially introduced as the ceremonial head of Soul Reaper society, a figure-head who plays no role in governance. However, Aizen views the Soul King as an abomination and it's initially revealed to be a humanoid form encased in crystal that has some kind of intense interest in Ichigo. By the time Yhwach reaches the Soul King, it has mysteriously lost its limbs, who are revealed to have their own personalities, powers and desires, said to have been separate from the Soul King for thousands of years. The Soul King is revealed to have been created by the Soul Reapers to control the barriers and soul movements between worlds and Yhwach believes that means the Soul King should hate Soul Reapers. While the Soul King's left arm and heart join the Quincies' side, the Right Arm protects the Soul Reapers and the barriers between worlds. Yhwach is left mystified as to why this would be the case. After his death Haschwalth tells the Schutzstaffel that the enemies of the Soul King are actually the Soul Reapers. Once his powers have been unsealed, he indeed does ignore the Quincy and instead attacks Soul Society.
Winds of Destiny, Change!: Yhwach power is to not simply see the future but to transform it however he wants. He claims that the Soul King's ability is far superior to his own, and that the Soul King can see future events that even Yhwach can't.

Squad Zero

In General

Adaptational Badass: In the original manga, once Yhwach's elites are powered up with Auswählen, Lille Barro himself curb-stomps all of Squad Zero save Ichibē and that's basically the end of them in that particular arc, to the point their supposed billing as "stronger than all of the Gotei 13 combined" came off as Informed Ability at worst and at best not much stronger than the 13 Captains after their most recent power-ups. In the anime, they put up a much better fight and showcased more of their capabilities, but are ultimately defeated in the first round. For the second round, the Zero members agree to have Shutara finish off the Schutzstaffel single-handedly... by killing themselves and unsealing her Bankai, which she ends up doing. They have barely enough time to react.
Awesomeness Is a Force: At their full power, merely unleashing their Bankai is enough to shake the entire Bleach cosmology, demonstrated by Shutara's Bankai sending shockwaves that was felt by multiple characters on Earth, Seireitei, and the Royal Realm.
Badass Crew: While the qualification for joining Squad Zero is making historical contributions to Soul Society, they are no slouches when it comes to combat. In fact, the mere five of them are considered superior to the entire Gotei 13.
Been There, Shaped History: One big requirement for becoming a member of Squad Zero is to create something never before seen in the Soul Society and that it benefits from greatly. From the Zanpakuto that every Soul Reaper wields to things like artificial souls to even the names of each and everything within the Soul Society.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: They're a special squad hyped up as superior to all the other Shinigami put together... then make a festive introduction that clashes with the mood shortly after the Soul Society was first invaded by the Vandenreich.
Uncertain Doom: Following Squad Zero's defeat at the hands of the Schutzstaffel, they are last seen lying on the ground; dead or unconscious is never confirmed in the manga (aside from Ichibē, who was killed by Yhwach but being revived by Ichigo calling his name). The wrap-up novel Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World clarifies that the Zero Division was actually killed by the Schutzstaffel; they are regenerated from the remnants of the Royal Palace as a result of infusing their entire physical being with their respective palaces.
Willfully Weak: With the exception of Ichibē, it is revealed in the anime that the Bankais of the other Zero Squad members are actually sealed by each other's life force as the power of just one of them when primed and ready for activation alone is enough to cause disruptions in the three realms by merely existing. In times of emergency like the invasion of Schutzstaffel, the one who will unleash his/her Bankai will need the other three to break the seal by bringing themselves to death's door. As Ōetsu Nimaiya puts it, the manga Squad Zero that fought the Schutzstaffel isn't even at the level of just one of their members.
The Worf Effect: Is billed as a force even stronger then the entire Gotei 13 combined. Them losing to the Schutzstaffel and Yhwach shows the sheer brokenness that is The Almighty along with their Schrifts which are on a whole other level compared to the other Sternritters.

Ichibē Hyōsube

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_ichibe.png

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Ichimonji (Shikai); Shirafude Ichimonji (Shinuchi)

Voiced by: Naomi Kusumi (JP), Aaron LaPlante (EN)

The Commander of the Royal Guard, known as the "Monk Who Calls The True Name". A large, bald man with bushy eyebrows and black beard. On his neck, he wears large set of red prayer beads. He's a loud and upfront man who nonetheless smiles a lot. He gave everything in Soul Society its name, including the terms "Zanpakuto", "Shikai", and "Bankai". He also automatically knows the true name of all Zanpakuto from the moment they are forged.

His Zanpakuto is Ichimonji, a giant brush with the power to cut words, essentially cutting anything into its base half (cutting an "arm" reduces it into an "ar", leaving it with only half of its strength). When Ichibē activates the Shikai, the tip turns into a blade that scatters black ink, erasing the names of whatever the ink stains. He refers to Bankai as Shinuchi, citing that as the original word before Bankai replaced it, and his is called Shirafude Ichimonji. It is a giant white brush with the power to rename targets that have been affected by the Shikai. Targets renamed as a black ant, for example, will only have the abilities of a black ant. Ichimonji is also able to control black to launch very powerful attacks.

Adaptational Villainy: Ichibē's true colors don't really come into play until the Can't Fear Your Own World novels, while the manga largely kept his atrocities ambiguous. However, the anime adaptation of the Thousand-Year Blood War is far less vague. Right off the bat, during Ichigo's training in the Royal Realm, Ichibē is shown to express nefarious ulterior motives in regards beefing Ichigo up for reasons other than simply defeating the Wandenreich. Later, during a flashback when Ichibē is seen attempting some sort of treaty with the Licht Reich, Yhwach instantly sees through his jovial demeanor and attempt at deception — and then literally through him with the Almighty, revealing not only was Ichibē dishonest with about the treaty, but a series of flashes that seemingly imply that it was Ichibē himself who committed the Original Sin, turning someone into the first Soul King, with Ichibē looking downright gleeful at the act. This causes Yhwach to explode and immediately try to kill him on the spot. It's almost downright impressive that the monk manages to make a Hate Sink like Yhwach look like a tragic figure by comparison.
Ambiguously Evil: It is heavily implied that his jovial demeanor is nothing more than a facade to veil his hidden darkness, and it is strongly implied that he is heavily involved with the 'original sin' of Soul Society. Even years before he met Ichigo, Ichibē prevented the Old Man from revealing himself as a manifestation of Yhwach when Ichigo regained his Soul Reaper powers, and further planned to sacrifice Ichigo to make him the next Soul King despite Ichigo being the only reason Ichibē survived Yhwach's invasion. Even Kyoraku, a man of questionable morality himself, admits he's relieved that they didn't need to proceed with this plan; Ichibē's response is to joke that he would have missed talking to Ichigo, indicating he didn't care either way, and during his fight with Yhwach, all his levity and kindness slips to reveal a very dangerous, vicious persona.
Art Initiates Life: He uses a giant brush to paint kanji, causing the word to manifest in reality. For example, "hidden" cloaks anything it's painted on in a way that makes it extremely difficult to detect anything's been hidden at all. Anything he "cuts" with his brush is also figuratively cut in half; power, speed, reaction, even the name is split into two.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He refers to himself as the leader of all Soul Reapers after tossing Yhwach around with his brush's powers. He is also easily the single strongest Soul Reaper ever, surpassing even Genryusai Yamamoto himself.
Bait the Dog: Initially, he seems to be one of the more helpful and jovial members of the Royal Guard, taking his time to aid Ichigo and his friends in training. Then during his fight with Yhwach, his jolly demeanor gradually reveals a more sadistic and patronizing side to him, and when he asks Ichigo to finish what he couldn't, he internally reveals he's potentially sending him to his death. It gets worse as it's revealed that the entire reason that Ichibe even trained Ichigo was to make him the replacement Soul King, which is essentially a glorified battery stripped of all autonomy and kept in stasis to keep the worlds in check - with Yhwach absorbing the Soul King being a serendipitous backup option and heavily implied to maintain Ichibe and the Royal Guard's longevity.
Bald of Authority: He is the bald leader of Squad 0. He was also the one who gave everything related to shinigami and Soul Society its names. In line with his position as an authority figure, he has the power to manipulate and control people and objects once he learns their true names.
Berserk Button: If you know his name, don't go around calling him that like you know him. He warns Yhwach many times about throwing it around so casually and punishes him half as much.
Beware the Nice Ones: Extremely jovial and affable, Ichibē is still the Royal Guard's commander, and beats Yhwach around with the same serenity. When he stops playing nice with Yhwach and declares he has to kill him, the latter notices that Ichibē's mood is much more sinister. It is heavily implied in post-series material that this is his actual personality and that his jovial demeanor is just a facade.
Blank White Eyes: He’s often drawn with these along with heavy shading during his more imposing scenes, like when he becomes set on killing Yhwach or when he releases his Shikai.
Casting a Shadow: Ichibē's Zanpakuto is Ichimonji. When in Shikai, Ichimonji's blade releases black ink whenever it is swung. Its power is the power of "blackness" - all the darkness of the world is under his control and anything that has even a little blackness within it comes under his power. Anything his ink covers loses both its name and power. The power can be stolen, but can not be used against him as Ichibē controls all things in the universe that are colored black. He is also capable of summoning forth all of the blackness in Soul Society to create a Futen Taisatsuryo, a black mausoleum that will completely obliterate his opponent to the point that not even reincarnation will be possible.
Color Motif: He's especially identified with the color black. He's the leader of the black-clad Soul Reapers, the power of his Zanpakuto allows him to reclaim the blackness of all creation, Ichimonji allows him to cover others with black ink that erases or changes their names (and thus changing their very nature), and the title of the volume cover where he's featured is aptly titled "Black".
Creepy Good: As the leader of the Squad Zero and in charge of protecting the Soul King, he's supposed to be a protagonist. However, he enjoys the prospect of killing Yhwach, clearly loves the violence of battle, and possesses power over all the darkness of the world, including the darkness that lies within all living, and deceased things, to the point where the darkness is subtly equated with the blackness of evil. Later subverted, when it's repeatedly and heavily implied that his benevolence is just a mask he uses.
Desecrating the Dead: He has no problems with parading Yhwach's corpse to the Soul Palace and using it as the new lynchpin that maintains the boundaries between worlds.
Didn't See That Coming: He was completely unprepared for Yhwach's "The Almighty" ability and is destroyed immediately by it, despite being in control for the entire battle. Also, he completely expected Ichigo to lose against Yhwach and was actually surprised that he prevailed.
Exact Words: An unintentional version that he pulled on himself - when he first encountered Yhwach and sealed away his ability to use The Almighty, he said that Yhwach would not get it back until the day he died. And sure enough, Yhwach dies more or less on the same day that he got the Almighty back - the day, as it turns out, that he invaded the Soul King's Palace, defeated Ichibe one-on-one and would have killed him if not for Ichigo, and permanently killed the Soul King.
Explaining Your Power to the Enemy: He stupidly explained his powers to Yhwach in their actual battle, which naturally backfires when the Quincy monarch reveals he is able to completely counter a foe's power once he understands it.
Evil Versus Evil: If one were to take his sinister nature seriously, his fight with Yhwach is this essentially. The only reason why Ichibe is seen as a slightly better person is because he is nothing more then the upholder of the status-quo (and considering Ichibe was partially behind the And I Must Scream situation that the Soul King - Yhwach's father - is in - Yhwach has every reason to hate him).
Giant Hands of Doom: Combined with Giant Foot of Stomping. Ichibē can manifest giant representations of his hands and feet.
I Know Your True Name: He is the one that names everything in Soul Society, including all Zanpakuto and their Shikai and Bankai forms. He loathes having his own name casually used, so everyone calls him "Monk" except for Yhwach. His weapon is his giant calligraphy brush which he wields like a sword. When he strikes something with his brush, he is not cutting the physical target, he's actually cutting its name, instead. The act of cutting the name in half, either breaks what is named or reduces its power by half. When he strikes Yhwach's arm, he cuts the word "arm" in half, breaking Yhwach's arm and reducing Yhwach's spiritual power by half in the process. His Shin'uchi - the precursor to Bankai - gives him the power rewrite a subject's name; by changing Yhwach's name to "black ant", he became as weak as an ant.
In-Series Nickname: Most people call him Osho (meaning "High Priest" or "Monk") rather than his real name. That's because he hates having his name casually used and can cause people who say his name to literally lose their voice. When Yhwach goes Full-Name Basis on Ichibē, he loses the ability to talk (before restoring that ability seconds later by ripping out his own throat).
Karma Houdini Warranty: Ichibē is responsible for a million years of propaganda and other crimes. Despite this, the worst that happens to him in the series is a slight brush to his ego. The post-war novels reveal then that in ten or a hundred years Ichibē will eventually face judgement for what he did regarding the Soul King and Yhwach.
Manipulative Bastard: It is eventually revealed that he only trained Ichigo because he saw in him the perfect candidate as the next Soul King. After his loss against Yhwach, Ichibē tries to appeal to Ichigo's protector instinct and asks him to stop Yhwach, since the Soul King cannot die. The moment Ichigo is out of earshot, Ichibē admits that he had lied. Not only can the Soul King be replaced, he never expected Ichigo to win in the first place. Ichibē had sent Ichigo on a suicide mission, so that he could easily turn him into the new lynchpin if the Soul King was killed.
Manly Facial Hair: He has a massive beard and is the manly man of the group design-wise. He proves that a huge mane of facial hair equals massive power, as he sends Yhwach flying away more than once.
Meaningful Name: Hyosube are hairy, bald and fat Yokai. They are known for their violent and unpleasant behaviour among other things. As well as for their tendency to make things very dirty. Ichibē is certainly a hairy and stout man. The association with the Yokai hints at his true nature. Fittingly, in the chapter, Ichibē revealed his true intentions to betray Ichigo, that he lied to him and the others and in fact banked on Ichigo losing and that his idea of peace is called 'Dirty' and, like the Yokai, Ichibē was dirty.
Name Amnesia: Ichibē Hyosube has the power to literally erase a person or object's name. I Know Your True Name is very important in this universe, because they affect the power something or someone has. Therefore, anyone or anything affected by this ability loses its powers.
No-Sell: Yhwach is capable of stealing Ichibē's power, but it doesn't matter because he can't assimilate it and Ichibē can keep fighting as though nothing happened. When Yhwach finally activates his Almighty ability, Ichibē finds that his Bankai doesn't affect Yhwach at all.
Not Quite Dead: He is blown to pieces by Yhwach but when Ichigo finds his dismembered body, he hears Ichibē telepathically request him to speak his name. When Ichigo does so, Ichibē's body is immediately restored. Ichibē confirms he was truly dead, but speaking his name allowed him to take a portion of Ichigo's power to restore his body, and his power will take much longer to replenish. He strongly implies that there's only a finite amount of time in which this power could have worked when he indicates Ichigo spoke his name just in time to save him.
Oh, Crap!: He openly expresses his incomprehension when Yhwach easily wrestles himself out of Ichibē's Bankai-esque renaming abilities and grievously injures the Zero Squad commander. And again when Yhwach, through the use of his Schrift, copies Ichibe as the latter is reciting his ultimate technique.
The Pen Is Mightier: His Zanpakuto takes the form of a large callilgraphy brush in its unreleased state. Even in this form, it can still fight with its writing powers, for example being able to hide an object if it writes the kanji character for "Hidden" and injuring an opponent by "cutting" the name of their body part.
Old Master: He is even older than Yamamoto and one of the strongest Soul Reapers in existence, if not the strongest. He personally trains Renji and Rukia, boosting them from the skill level of a lieutenant to being far stronger than an average captain. He is also indicated to have also trained Byakuya and Ichigo, the latter of which became so powerful that Yhwach after absorbing all of the Soul King's power feared his full power.
Punched Across the Room: One of his techniques in battle, Senri Tsūtenshō (Heaven-Piercing Palm of a Thousand Ri), is an energy construct hand that can send the target flying 1,000 ri (3,927 kilometres) upon impact. Yhwach has to propel himself back to the palace by shooting himself with Heilig Pfeil when he's hit by Ichibē's punch.
Resurrective Immortality: Ichibei is capable of resurrecting himself should he die. Even after being completely torn apart by Yhwach, Ichigo is able to revive Ichibei simply by saying his name, as Ichibei can "borrow" a tiny bit of power from anyone who says his name, even after his body is destroyed.
Semantic Superpower: Invoked Trope, and taken to an extreme literalism. His power is to know the name, and thus abilities, of anything and everything he encounters, and his brush can create or change that name and the powers that go with it. The true implication of this power is that he can erase and alter the very essence of a being by removing and rewriting their names. Only a truly divine power such as the Almighty can override such authority.
Slasher Smile: As his fight against Yhwach gets more intense, Ichibē starts displaying a lot of manic expressions, including a sinister grin that outlines his murderous intent.
Superpower Lottery: Ichibei has power over names. This makes him one of the deadliest characters in the entire story as it gives him powers like being able to cut a person's power in half by cutting a person's name in half, or change a person's powers by changing their name, and several other powers related to names. He was able to completely dominate Yhwach in battle before Yhwach revealed he had a way to counter Ichibei's powers.
Time Abyss: As the man who named everything and the godfather of Soul Society, Ichibē was there at the birth of Soul Society a million years ago and carries on the will of the fathers of Soul Society to this day. This strongly implies that he was behind the creation of the Soul King.
Ungrateful Bastard: Can't Fear Your Own World insinuates that he didn't care one way or another about what happened to Ichigo, and that if it hadn't been for Yhwach's corpse still possessing the powers of the Soul King, he would have killed Ichigo or given the order to kill him to make him a replacement Soul King without batting an eyelash. And even before that in the manga, it's implied that he knowingly sent Ichigo and company to their deaths against Yhwach (something that Can't Fear Your Own World later confirms). Right after Ichigo had saved him from dying, no less.
Why Won't You Die?: After throwing everything he has at Yhwach to destroy him, he is stunned to find Yhwach standing behind him. He demands to know why Yhwach won't die, leading to the revelation of what Yhwach's true abilities are.
Words Can Break My Bones: When he writes words with his paintbrush, the effect written becomes reality. His own name is also an example of this - speak it one too many times, and it will make you mute.
World's Best Warrior: He is the commander of Squad Zero and one of the most powerful Soul Reapers the series has to offer. His Zanpakuto, Ichimonji does not cut flesh but it does have him cut names, plus he’s the first Soul Reaper to have a Zanpakuto with a release form. Ichibē was the very first character to fight Yhwach himself, who had previously defeated Genryusai Yamamoto with little effort, on even ground. With his Bankai, Shirafude Ichimonji, Ichibē he would've been able to completely destroy Yhwach had the latter not activated his Schrift, The Almighty, to undo the effects.
Written by the Winners: He hides the truth of the Soul King's death and the use of Yhwach's corpse as a replacement from the public, and makes the history books say that the Royal Guard successfully defeated the Quincy and protected the Soul King. Kira and Yoruichi suspect that this also happened to the history they learned and begin to wonder what else is a lie.

Kirio Hikifune

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kirio_1.png

^{Click here to see her slim form}

Species: Soul Reaper

Voiced by: Ayumi Tsunematsu (JP), Tara Sands (EN)

The "Ruler of Grain." Former captain of Squad 12, preceding Kisuke Urahara. Hiyori Sarugaki, her lieutenant at the time, regarded her as a mother figure. She's a cheery lady, but she has no qualms about striking people if they don't recognize her (like Shinji). As the "Ruler of Grain", Hikifune's specialty is making food so souls can beef up their physical and spiritual energy. She's the one who created artificial souls via Reishi transference (hence Soul Candy and Modsouls).

In battle she wields an enormous... spoon. It's deadlier than it sounds, as she can manipulate and condense Reishi into tree-like formations, trapping any said Reishi within it. Those trees will instinctively seek and devour Reishi.

Big Eater: She has a monstrous appetite, being able to eat unnaturally huge portions of food. In Soul Society, the only Souls that eat are Souls that possess Reiatsu; the amount eaten is connected to how much Reiatsu they need to restore. Kirio may look like a massively overweight woman but that's because she needs a huge body to maintain her huge Reiatsu. Whenever she depletes her Reiatsu, her body becomes correspondingly thin. She then has to eat enormous amounts of food to regain her full power.
Big Fun: She's a big and friendly woman. She's appears to be well-liked among her peers — Hiyori in particular was very attached to Hikifune (her former captain) and was angry when she was promoted to the Zero Squad.
Fanservice: While her normal form normally averts this by being a Big Fun, her slim form gives us an ample look at her large cleavage and impressive rack.
Food-Based Superpowers: Kirio can create extraordinarily powerful Power-Up Food from pure spiritual energy. She spends most of her downtime bulking up so the drain on her power won't endanger her life.
"To control food is to control life, you see! I create my dishes to foster life, and I create the ingredients from my own body."
Green Thumb: Her Reishi-manipulation abilities extend to being able to create trees out of reishi to combat Reishi and Reishi-using abilities.
Heroic Suicide: In the anime adaptation she, alongside Kirinji and Nimaiya, voluntarily takes her own life during the fight against the Schutzstaffel to break the Blood Oath Seal and enable Shutara to use her Bankai against them.
Improbable Weapon User: A gigantic spoon is not exactly the form one would expect the Zanpakuto of one of the most powerful Soul Reapers in existence to take.
Morph Weapon: Hikifune's Zanpakuto, concealed within the large spoon she carries with her, is depicted constantly altering its own shape, length and size in the anime adaptation. Most of the time it's small enough to be worn as a hair adornment; while in battle it can grow as wide as a shovel or as thin as a sword.
Navel-Deep Neckline: Downplayed. In her slim form, her cleavage exposes most of her breasts, but only a small triangle at the top of her abdomen.
Nice Girl: She's one of the most straightforward and nicest members of Squad Zero, compared to the abrasive Tenjiro, the cynical Senjumaru, the eccentric Oetsu, and the secretly Machiavellian and sadistic Ichibei. Her ritual of powering up one's Spiritual Pressure with food has absolutely no strings attached or secret lesson Ichigo or Renji must overcome. Her last words to them is also a sincere warning about Ouetsu's eccentricity before they face him.
Parental Substitute: According to Hiyori's acquaintances, the reason why she was so slow to accept Urahara as her new captain is because she treated Hikifune like her mother.
Power-Up Food: The food she makes is filled with her Reiatsu, recharging/empowering those who eat it.
Signature Headgear: She wears a spoon in her hair when it's tied up, which is very appropriate for her cooking skills and power.
Southern Belle: It's faint in the dub, but when she slims down, you could hear a faint southern drawl in Tara Sands' portrayal of her voice.
Supreme Chef: Kirio is a master chef of the highest caliber. She has unrivaled culinary skill which enables her to make truly astonishing food that empowers anyone who who eats it. Both Ichigo and Renji call her food the best thing they've ever tasted. To Kirio, controlling food means controlling life; she cooks to give form to life.
Temporary Bulk Change: Her Reiatsu levels controls her body's size. When her Reiatsu is at full power, she is a massively overweight woman. When her Reiatsu is entirely depleted, she has an extremely slim, curvaceous body. When Shinji sees her for the first time since she joined the Royal Guard, he's astonished by her appearance, suggesting that her slim form used to be the norm, and she's only gained the bulking up ability since becoming a member of Zero Division.

Senjumaru Shutara

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shutara_2.png

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Shigarami (Shikai), Shatatsu Karagara Shigarami no Tsuji (Bankai)

Voiced by: Rina Sato (JP), Jeannie Tirado (EN)

The "Great Weaver". A former captain of unknown background, she's a slender woman with dozens of long arms. A bit playful, she was the one who provided those weird musical instruments during Zero Squad's arrival in the Seireitei. At the same time, she's rather forceful, threatening mutilation to get what she wants. As the "Great Weaver", she is responsible for the Shihakusho that all soul reapers currently wear.

Her Zanpakuto takes the form of a long sewing needle, allowing her to weaponize any article of clothing to her own devices, including the clothes her enemies are wearing. She can also sew into existence her own soldiers of varying sizes. Her Shikai is called Shigarami. Her Bankai, Shatatsu Karagara Shigarami no Tsuji (lit: Crossing of the Old Woman's Gate, Kāla's Corpse and Thorny Entanglements), summons a building-sized loom with varieties of cloths and linen that surround and envelop enemies: The purple cloth reflects all attacks; the golden cloth forms into a trap similar to an iron maiden; the black fractal cloth swallows enemies whole; the snowflake cloth freezes enemies; the burning tree cloth burns enemies alive; the star cloth bearing the Wandenreich symbol mimics the effects of Auswählen; and finally, Shide no Rokushiki Ukimon no Hata (lit: Loom of the Six-Colored Floating Patterns of Death) cuts all the cloths from the loom and seals all enemies within. Like the rest of her squadmates, the true depth of her power—Bankai included—is sealed by the blood-oath seal of the members of Squad Zero due to its overwhelming might. To unseal it, three out of five of them (excluding Shutara) need to consent to removing the seal by committing suicide.

Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Has dark hair and is very aloof and cold.
Antiquated Linguistics: Uses the pronoun "warawa" to refer herself, which is both very feminine and very archaic.
Attack Reflector: In the anime, she weaves an umbrella that is able to reflect Uryu's Licht Regen back at him. The cloth she seals Lille in with her Bankai reflects his bullets when he tries to shoot at her.
Baritone of Strength: Rina Sato gives her a low yet soothing voice, coming handy to her Lady of War characteristics.
Boom, Headshot!: During Yhwach's invasion of the Royal Palace, Lillie Barro shoots her in the head, leaving a giant hole where the crown of her skull should be and shattering her head ornament, making her fall to the ground and lie in a large pool of blood. However, the Senjumaru Lille shot is just an elaborate decoy, and the real one was simply watching as the elite Sternritters were fooled by the illusion.
Clothing Combat: Senjumaru is able to create, shape, and manipulate any sort of cloth for various purposes. She can also manipulate the sewing needles she uses to alter clothing to deal fatal injuries to opponents unfortunate enough to be wearing them.
The Comically Serious: During Squad Zero’s obnoxiously tone-deaf descent into the recently ravaged Soul Society, she plays several instruments with her extra arms, all the while having a completely flat expression.
Creepy Good: She's pretty intimidating, what with her long arms, calm demeanor, and willingness to castrate a man if he kept disobeying her. Even such a figure as Mayuri would prefer not to offer so much as a comeback when she criticizes him.
Curb-Stomp Battle: She ends one-shotting Nianzol Weizol by rewoving his coat using her own fabric while he was distracted dealing with her guards. Nianzol only lasts for a while until being impaled by the giant pins Senjumaru sew on his new uniform. Later she quickly felled Uryuu and later still she brought down all six Sternritters that accompanied Yhwach with her Bankai.
Did Not See That Coming: When Yhwach invades the Royal Palace and has Tenjiro locked in a stalemate, Senjumaru was waiting for him to pass by her and her cohorts. What she did not expect was her underlings' movement being stalled by the powers of Sternritter W, Nianzol Weizol.
Exact Words: She informed Weizol that his power is useless against "enemies he couldn't see", making him believe she meant her subordinates directly behind him. Turns out she meant herself while he was distracted.
Foreshadowing: The cloth technique she uses for each of Yhwach's subordinates hints at what's in store for them:
- Lille: Gets his bullets reflected right back at him. Nanao would later use the reflective powers of Shinken Hakkyoken to defeat Lille.
- Askin: Is crushed by three collapsing walls. He would later die as his Gift Bereich collapses in on itself after facing three powerful opponents who, in tandem, overwhelm him.
- Pernida: Is swallowed whole by black sand. Mayuri and Nemu Kurotsuchi would be the one to defeat Pernida, and "Kurotsuchi" can be read as "black earth" in English.
- Gerard: Is frozen solid. Hitsugaya would do this to him after he grows in size using The Miracle... though at least in the manga, Gerard survives this just fine.
- Haschwalth: Is burned alive. This hints at his climactic battle with Bazz-B later on.
- Uryu: Seemingly gets his reiatsu drained by a Quincy cross. This can be seen as a reference to his fight with Haschwalth, in which the latter is hit with Auswählen.
Freudian Threat: Impatiently threatened this toward Renji if he didn't remove his fundoshi so she could measure him for new clothes.
Master of Threads: Senjumaru can create, shape, and manipulate any sort of cloth for various purposes. She uses this ability to kill the Quincy Nianzol by replacing his outfit with one she made and having it impale him with numerous spikes.
Meaningful Name: "Senjumaru" can be translated into "Thousand hands", and she admits that reputation as a lightning-fast weaver isn't far-fetched, seeing she completely remade Nianzol Weizol's uniform into something that impales him from the inside out during the short time he was busy fighting fighting her subordinates, killing him.
Multi-Armed and Dangerous: She wears an over-cloak that wraps her body in such a way as to hide whether or not she has natural arms. She possesses six supernatural arms which have a skeletal look and are excessively elongated in both arm length and finger length. These arms are implied to be able to obtain her anything, even if it's locked away, and make her extremely talented at using her power, which is the ability to sew and transform any cloth into any purpose, even if means creating a fake city or "sewing" someone to death.
Lady of War: She's graceful, sophisticated, and has weaponized her abilities as a seamstress. She's also much more powerful than the Gotei 13 and is by far, the most powerful woman in all of Bleach. Her Bankai literally shakes the earth of Soul Society, the Living World and Hueco Mundo at the same time.
People Jars: One of her techniques is carrying people in artificially made jars for their safety.
Person of Mass Destruction: While already a member of Squad Zero, making her absolutely and insanely powerful to begin with, her Bankai has such extreme spiritual pressure behind it that it not only causes a Cosmic Flaw in the Soul Society, but in the living world and Hueco Mundo as well. Not even Aizen or Yamamoto could produce enough power to cause all three major realms to rend. Shutara's Bankai is powerful enough that to release it, three other members of Squad Zero have to consent to it by committing suicide.
Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Said to Sternritter W referring to a deadly robe she just made, "Don't even dream about taking it off... until you die." As soon as Nianzol dies, she mutters that she forgot to take out the deadly pins in the redesigned uniform, claiming it's a bad habit of hers.
Sewing Needle Sword: Senjumaru is capable of using both an oversized needle as a weapon and normal needles for weaponized sewing.
Signature Headgear: Wears a strange crown-like object on the back of her head. It matches her iconic gold supernatural arms.
Threads of Fate: Senjumaru's Bankai is not just an elaborate way to perform a seal, but it literally seals the fate of the six Sternritters facing her. For those who have read the manga, how each of the chosen six Sternritters is eventually defeated is eerily mirrored by the techniques she uses against them. Senjumaru is goddamn overpowered and very, very scary.
World's Strongest Woman: Barring maybe Hikifune, Senjumaru is easily the strongest woman in the whole franchise in terms of raw power, dwarfing other powerful female combatants like Unohana, Harribel, and Yoruichi, and is in the running for one of the strongest characters, period - only a few can explicitly beat her (Yhwach and Ichibe being two of them) outright, and only she has shown herself to be able to cause unintentional Cosmic Flaws at her peak of power.
Yamato Nadeshiko: Has the appearance, speech mannerism and behaviour of one.

Tenjirō Kirinji

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tenjiro.png

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Kinpika (Shikai)

Voiced by: Tomoyuki Shimura (JP), Mick Lauer (EN)

The "Hot Spring Demon". A condescending and abrasive man, his patronizing attitude frequently results in him being disciplined by the rest of the Royal Guard, usually through physical force, with a strike to the head. He is responsible for many healing techniques currently used, was the one who taught Unohana her healing skills and inspired Urahara's creation of the hidden Healing Spring in Seireitei.

His Zanpakuto is Kinpika, a rowing paddle with a small blade concealed within the wooden sweep. It can shine brightly and disorient enemies, but its full powers were not explored. He can also summon and control all of the water from his hot springs, either to scald and burn his enemies or to heal his allies.

Blinded by the Light: The anime adaptation shows that his Shikai, Kinpika, creates light around the blade that he can use to effectively create a flashbang type effect.
Chivalrous Pervert: In the manga, he ogles Rukia's butt as she's floating face-down in the White Bone Hell and teasingly asks Ichigo if it puts him in the mood for peaches.
Combat Medic: He's a superior medic to Unohana and more powerful than the Captains. His fight in the anime against Jugram Haschwalth is decisively in his favor, utterly overwhelming the Sternritter and killing him with little problem.
Delinquent Hair: Sports a ridiculously long, hooked pompadour that accentuates his thuggish looks.
Dr. Jerk: Downplayed. His assessment of Unohana's limitations are honest to the point of rudeness and he's unbelievably rough in handling patients, even ones that are on the verge of death. However, he's much friendlier and laid back with his two servants, and even fairly open about the way he uses his behaviour to test his patients' limits and recovery ability (he was more impressed than he had expected to be).
Harmful Healing: Tenjirō's hot-springs can heal even fatal injuries, but sustained exposure to the springs' waters can be lethal. Tenjirō is shocked that Ichigo was able to just sit in the White Bone Hell with no ill effects, while his assistants had to wear protective suits and even then couldn't withstand sustained immersion.
Heroic Suicide: In the anime adaptation he, alongside Hikifune and Nimaiya, voluntarily takes his own life during the fight against the Schutzstaffel to break the Blood Oath Seal and enable Shutara to use her Bankai against them.
Impressed by the Civilian: Tenjirō is amazed by Ichigo's ability to sit naked in the White Bone Hell with no ill effects and instinctively react to his attempted Flash Step sucker-punch by breaking his wrist.
Japanese Delinquents: Played with. Between his thuggish looks, coarse attitude, and hooked pompadour he certainly look the part, but is definitively on the side of good — being the pioneer of healing kido.
Jerkass Has a Point: When Sui-Feng chastises the Royal Guard for not saving the Gotei 13 during the first invasion, Kirinji pins her arm behind her back and abrasively tells her that she has no business complaining about their absence when it's the Gotei 13's job to protect Soul Society, not the Royal Guard's.
Making a Splash: Kirinji is able to manipulate the water from his Healing Spring and use it as a weapon. It drains Reiatsu and is scalding hot.
Oral Fixation: He always has a piece of straw in his mouth.
Walking Shirtless Scene: He wears a loose jacket that leaves his chest exposed most of the time.

Ōetsu Nimaiya

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_nimaiya.png

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakutou: Unknown

Voiced by: Yoji Ueda (JP), Catero Colbert (EN)

The "God of the Sword." A dark-skinned dude with thick, black hair that is shaven and dyed green on the sides of his head. Noted as a lively, energetic and unpredictable individual, he's nonetheless the inventor of the Asauchi, the basic Zanpakuto spirit form handed out to the Soul Society's recruits.

In battle, he wields a sword known as Sayafushi. The sword is by design flawless, capable of cutting through literally anything and is entirely impervious to even minute damage and staining. Due to this, the sword is also impossible to sheathe (as it would cut right through it), and is thus considered a failed creation, too dangerous to be wielded by anyone else and usually stored in a large tank of jelly. His personal Zanpakutou, or if he even has one, has yet to be revealed.

Absurdly Sharp Blade: Sayafushi, the sword he wields against the Schutzstaffel, is so sharp that a scabbard can't be created for it. He laments that because of this it fails to meet the basic standards of a sword and couldn't be given to anyone.
Beware the Silly Ones: For all his jovial eccentricity, he traps Ichigo and Renji in a pit with wrathful Asauchi for three days just to test them. When he does finally fight, he's very no-nonsense and quick to kill. He also follows-through to make sure the enemies he's downed really are mortally wounded. The only reason the Elite Guard manage to survive against him at all is thanks to Yhwach's Auswahlen.
Cloudcuckoolander: Even amongst his colleagues, Ōetsu is pretty bizarre, largely stemming from his hamminess. Hikifune warns Ichigo and Genji beforehand that he's unpredictable, and he proceeds to greet them on a stage with a harem of female Zanpakuto and make them awkwardly handstand to take embarrassing pictures of them.
Crazy-Prepared: As the creator of all Zanpakuto, he has an idea of what an Asauchi will become when they bond with a Soul Reaper and is presumably nearly as old as Ichibē himself. He tends to hang onto "failed" creations (like Sayafushi) in the event they might come in handy and is also the creator of Shinken Hakkyōken, the god-slayer blade, putting it in the position of becoming an ancestral blade to the Ise family.
Curb-Stomp Battle: He challenges four elite Quincies and instantly defeats three before they can mount any serious defense. Askin troubles Ōetsu enough for him to require Kirinji's medical intervention; after that, Askin is very quickly felled. As soon as Yhwach powers-up the elites, Ōetsu is curb-stomped by Lille.
The Glasses Come Off: He only takes his glasses off when he starts to work on a new Zanpakuto. According to him, taking the glasses off is necessary for him to see the right amount and color of flames used. Also notable in that's his serious mode.
Heroic Suicide: In the anime adaptation he, alongside Hikifune and Kirinji, voluntarily takes his own life during the fight against the Schutzstaffel to break the Blood Oath Seal and enable Shutara to use her Bankai against them.
Large Ham: He's loud, zany, flashy, and something of a showboat, greeting Ichigo and Renji with a ridiculous display.
Mr. Exposition: He informs Ichigo that his Inner Hollow is actually his Zanpakuto Spirit merged with White, the artificial Hollow that Aizen had created; and that the Old Man who Ichigo had thought was Zangetsu is an imposter. How he knew any of this is never revealed.
Non-Uniform Uniform: Nimaiya wears a modern bubble vest over his traditional Soul Reaper attire instead of the haori, which creates a strange old-fashioned-meets-modern clash of styles.
Number Two: The way he rallies and gives orders to his teammates implies he may be a kind of second in command to Ichibe.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a brutal talk to Ichigo, accusing him of being a "poser Soul Reaper" when he fails to defeat the Asauchi. The reason he does it, though, is to motivate him to find out more about his roots. Indeed it works.
Secret Secret-Keeper: Nimaya already knew everything about Ichigo's family history and the nature of his Zanpakuto Spirit, but chose not to tell him — turning it into a Secret Test of Character.
Stunned Silence:
- Ichigo's confrontation with the Asauchi doesn't go according to Nimaiya's plan, leaving him momentarily speechless with shock at what he witnesses. After returning to take the test he previously failed, Ichigo doesn't fight again at all. The Asauchi immediately kneel before him in submission.
- It happens again when Yhwach revives the Schutzstaffel members, staring in shock that the Quincies he slaughtered rise as though nothing happened. On the other hand, he takes getting shot twice consecutively on the shoulder by Lille a bit better, cooly noting that it makes sense if he's simply gotten stronger. Yet he goes silent once hit square in the chest for the third and final time after Lille explains the true nature of his power.
Super Prototype: The sword he wields in combat, Sayafushi, is a "failed creation" because its blade never chips, scratches nor dulls from use, and is so sharp that no sheathe can hold it. This gives it nigh-instantaneous killing power, but makes for a poor sword compared to the mass-produced Zanpakutou.
Totally Radical: He talks like a "gangsta", even though he's more than 2,000 years old. Askin refers to him as "that funky guy" to Kirinji.
Torso with a View: During his battle with the Vandenreich, he's shot in the chest, leaving a gaping hole in his torso.
Trickster Mentor: Beneath his exterior of being ridiculously quirky, he spends the entire time testing Ichigo and Renji. Trapping them in a pit of Asauchi out of the blue was to test them as Soul Reapers. It ensured Ichigo would fail, forcing him to learn about his roots and return more able to pass the test.
Nimaiya: "Ya just no damn good to us as you are, Ichigo. There's the fact that no Asauchi chose you, and the fact that you fought for this long without even having an Asauchi. And then there's the fact that you don't even know what that means. Young man, you need to go back, Ichigo. Way, way back. Back to ya roots. You need to find out where you come from, boy. Even if finding out... means that you can never return again."
Ultimate Blacksmith: He and his Escort Squad forge the Asauchi given to Soul Reaper recruits. They will also reforge existing Zanpakuto that have been literally broken beyond more normal means of repair. However, this tends to create a different form of the Zanpakuto than it originally was. He also reveals the Asauchi are forged from the souls of Soul Reapers.

The Sword Five

Five Zanpakuto spirits in the form of young girls serving as the assistants of Ōetsu Nimaiya.

Mera Hiuchigashima

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mera.png

Short and temperamental, Mera has spiky hair, which is tied up in a ponytail at the back. She wears a vest with a large, furred collar, and a short skirt.

Voiced by: Yo Taichi (JP), Anairis Quiñones (EN)

Hot-Blooded: She's short-tempered and aggressive, and has no time for Nimaiya's goofy methods of introducing Soul Reapers to his palace. Even when dealing with serious people, she's impatiently no-nonsense.
Meaningful Name: Her name translates into "Kindling Island" and she has the ability to breathe fire.
Odd Name Out: Unlike the rest of the Sword Five, her name is not alliterative.
Playing with Fire: She can breathe fire out of her mouth, which is what Nimaiya uses to reforge Zangetsu.

Hasuka Hashihara

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hasuka.png

Hasuka is the happiest and bustiest of the bunch, while being around as violent and tomboyish as Mera. She has no shame in referring to herself, and her comrades, as Nimaiya's "private escort" group.

Voiced by: Natsumi Takamori (JP), Jeannie Tirado (EN)

Alliterative Name: Has the same "Ha" sound in both of her names.
Girlish Pigtails: Hers are symbolic of the fact she's the type that's an older woman who is fun-loving, playful and possessed of childlike innocence.
Prehensile Hair: She has the ability to extend and freely control her hair, allowing her to grab and hold objects.
Ms. Fanservice: A couple of scenes seem designed to put her into stances that show off her curves and cleavage. One shot of what her hair can do seems designed to focus on a cleavage shot as much as what her hair is doing.

Tokie Tonokawa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tokie.png

Tokie is the most negative among the Sword Five, complaining about participating in activities with crocodile tears. She wears a long dress with a halter neck and a black sash around her waist.

Voiced by: Sakura Nakamura (JP), Marie Westbrook (EN)

Alliterative Name: Has the same "Toh" sound in both of her names.

Nonomi Nomino

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nonomi.png

The shortest and youngest-looking of the Sword Five, Nonomi enjoys working, to the point where she scolds Tokie for complaining about forging Zanpakuto. She wears a vest with a collar, and a short skirt with a plumped out hemline.

Voiced by: Ari Ozawa (JP), Cherami Leigh (EN)

Alliterative Name: Has the same "Noh" sound in both of her names.
Exotic Eye Designs: The sclera of her eyes are black, and her pupils are shaped almost like crosses. These are similar to the Soul King's eyes.
Repetitive Name: Her surname is simply "Nonomi" switched around, which leads to her name being rather tedious.
Token Mini-Moe: She's the tiniest and most youthful of the bunch.

Tsumiko Tsuchimiya

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tsumiko.png

The final member of the Sword Five, Tsumiko is the quietest and calmest of the group, having yet to say a word while mostly having a disinterested look in her eyes. She has long black hair, which covers one of her eyes. She can take out one of her teeth and turn it into a mallet usable for Zanpakuto forging.

Voiced by: Rui Tanabe (JP), Anairis Quiñones (EN)

Alliterative Name: Has the same "Tsu" sound in both of her names.
The Quiet One: She never speaks even when directly addressed.
The Stoic: Her face, covered as it is, has never deviated from its blank, uninterested expression.

Characters / Bleach: Squad Zero
aka: Bleach Zero Squad

Contains unmarked spoilers

The Soul King

Squad Zero

Ichibē Hyōsube

Kirio Hikifune

Senjumaru Shutara

Tenjirō Kirinji

Ōetsu Nimaiya

Mera Hiuchigashima

Hasuka Hashihara

Tokie Tonokawa

Nonomi Nomino

Tsumiko Tsuchimiya

Alternative Title(s): Bleach Zero Squad

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Characters / Bleach: Squad Zero aka: Bleach Zero Squad

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Contains unmarked spoilers

The Soul King

Squad Zero

Ichibē Hyōsube

Kirio Hikifune

Senjumaru Shutara

Tenjirō Kirinji

Ōetsu Nimaiya

Mera Hiuchigashima

Hasuka Hashihara

Tokie Tonokawa

Nonomi Nomino

Tsumiko Tsuchimiya

Alternative Title(s): Bleach Zero Squad

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Index

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Characters / Bleach: Squad Zero
aka: Bleach Zero Squad