"If I prepare a thousand options, all I need is for one of them to work. So I make a habit of preparing anything and everything that shows any kind of promise. That's just how I work."
— Kisuke Urahara
In a setting full of all sorts of strong and powerful characters ranging from Soul Reapers, Hollows, and the like, some of these individuals prove that power and intellect can be a deadly combination.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Original Manga & Anime
- Kisuke Urahara is a former Soul Reaper Captain that was exiled from Soul Society after being framed by Sosuke Aizen. Knowing that Aizen covets the Hogyoku, Urahara places it inside an artificial body that he gives to Rukia Kuchiki after she transfers her powers to Ichigo Kurosaki; the body was designed to turn Rukia into a human so that the Hogyoku can be hidden. When Rukia is arrested, Urahara has Ichigo go on a training regime that puts Ichigo's life on the line so that he can become a Soul Reaper, and sends Ichigo and his friends to Soul Society to rescue Rukia. Knowing that Aizen intends on slaughtering the citizens of Karakura Town, Urahara helps construct a fake Karakura while transporting the real one in Soul Society, and later joining the fray against Aizen, implanting a sealing spell that would activate when Ichigo forced Aizen into a weakened state. After helping Ichigo regain his lost Soul Reaper powers, Urahara went on to play a pivotal role in the Quincy Blood War, developing inventions and strategies for Soul Society's favor.
- Gin Ichimaru is the enigmatic right-hand of Sosuke Aizen. Having once been a normal street urchin who saw Aizen steal a piece of his friend Rangiku Matsumoto's soul, Gin became a Soul Reaper to kill Aizen, easing his way into Aizen's confidence by fascinating him with his vicious nature. Manipulating those closest to him and Aizen himself when the latter fakes his death, Gin turns them against one another and opens an opportunity for Aizen's conspiracy to massacre the Central 46 who govern Soul Society. At the moment before Aizen's greatest triumph, Gin attacks Aizen himself, only to reveal he never told Aizen the true power of his Bankai, nearly killing Aizen if not for an unforeseen ability of his Hogyoku.
- Retsu Unohana, formerly Yachiru the First Kenpachi, presents as a kindly maternal figure in the Gotei 13. In truth a very dangerous and ruthless woman known and reviled as Soul Society's greatest criminal, Retsu would scour Soul Society to utilize her official missions in order to find worthy opponents. Abandoning the title of Kenpachi after she encountered a young Zaraki who managed to exceed her in power, Unohana later uncovers even Aizen's ruse and finally opts to give her life to empower Zaraki. Embracing her old identity in a "training" match that is in truth a savage fight to the death, Unohana guides Zaraki to his true heights, killing and reviving him over and over again to provoke him to greater heights and to finally claim the title of Kenpachi from her.
- Ulquiorra Cifer is the Cuatro Espada and Sosuke Aizen's de facto right-hand man. Sent to the Human World to gauge Ichigo's strength, Ulquiorra observes Orihime Inoue's ability, and deduces it to be more than it seems. Leading an invasion to serve as a distraction, Ulquiorra forces Orihime to come to Hueco Mundo, holding the lives of her comrades as leverage, and allowing her to say goodbye to one of her friends. Ulquiorra is willing to psychologically manipulate Orihime, yet expresses distaste at Nnoitra's suggestion that he "sexually tame" her. Confronting Ichigo, Ulquiorra goads Ichigo into fighting him and effortlessly defeats him. During their final fight, Ulquiorra reveals his ultimate form to Ichigo to crush his spirit, and comes the closest out of any other antagonist in the series to killing him. Ruthless, yet graceful, Ulquiorra finally understands what the "Heart" means in his final moments, cementing his status as one of Ichigo's most impactful and formidable enemies.
- "Hueco Mundo" Arc: Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, beneath his affable, goofy and seemingly incompetent behavior, is a Privaron Espada who's far deadlier than he looks. Attempting to kill Ichigo Kurosaki in the hopes of regaining his former Espada rank, Dordoni goads Ichigo into using his full power against him, criticizing him for trying to keep it for the current Espada, and deliberately targeting Ichigo's ally Nel Tu upon noticing his first attempt on the latter's life successfully forced Ichigo to reveal his Bankai. Successfully forcing Ichigo to use his full power to take him down, Dordoni is healed by Nel Tu and Ichigo after his defeat. Genuinely thankful to them and especially to Ichigo for fighting him at full power, Dordoni pretends to ungratefully attack them, hoping for Ichigo to become a more ruthless fighter in his future battles to survive and dies covering their escape. Resurrected with other deceased Arrancars by Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Dordoni helps them and Mayuri defeat the Sternritter Z, Giselle Gewelle.
- "Fake Karakura Town" Arc: Coyote Starrk is the Primera Espada, earning the title for being a dangerous combatant. During his fight against Jushiro Ukitake and Shunsui Kyoraku, he quickly learns how the former's zanpakuto functions and holsters his guns to give the false impression that he needs to reload before firing. Throughout the fight with him, he proves to be honorable enough to spare the lives of his opponents, only trying to kill them if they refuse to surrender. Despising loneliness above all else, Starrk greatly values the life of his subordinate, Lilynette. While fighting Shunsui, he adapts to the rules of his zanpakuto's "game", forcing the latter to change the rules during the fight. After a difficult battle, Shunsui mourns his death by saying he didn't want to kill him.
- "The Lost Agent" Arc: Kugo Ginjo is a former Substitute Soul Reaper betrayed by Soul Society. Desiring revenge, Ginjo assembles the Fullbringer group Xcution and manipulates Ichigo Kurosaki into joining. Secretly in league with Xcution's greatest "enemy", Shukuro Tsukishima, Ginjo in fact has Tsukishima erase his own memory to convincingly pull a ruse off so he may lure Ichigo into a trap and steal his Soul Reaper powers before empowering the other members of Xcution to attack Soul Society. Reflected as an Evil Counterpart to Ichigo, Ginjo even returns in the final arc to assist Ichigo one last time to save the world from the monstrous Yhwach.
- "The Thousand Year Blood War" Arc:
- Jugram Haschwalth is Sternritter B, for "The Balance" and Grandmaster of the Sternritter is the second in command to Yhwach who leads the Quincy to attack Soul Society. Once a boy abused by his uncle who joined Yhwach as a child and rose to become his chief subordinate, Haschwalth contains the power of the Almighty when Yhwach sleeps and supports Yhwach implicitly. Outsmarting even the peerless barriers of Nanao Ise, Haschwalth later receives a vision from the Almighty of the future that remains unknown to all but him. To secure the future of the Quincy, Haschwalth sends Yhwach a vision of the future Ichigo cutting down the Emperor, but disguises it as a nightmare so Yhwach will disregard it and fall prey to Ichigo in the end. Facing Uryu Ishida, Haschwalth allows himself to be taken by Yhwach's Auswählen and sends Ishida to help his friends by transferring Ishida's wounds to himself, musing to the end how it must be to live life without regret and reflecting on his lifelong friend Bazz-B.
- Askin Nakk Le Varr is Sternritter D, for "The Deathdealing". A laid-back, affable man who attempts to lure Mayuri Kurotsuchi into his trap, Askin proceeds to enjoy the chaos of the battle with a nice picnic before he is chosen by Yhwach to become one of his elite Schutzstaffel. Using his powers to manipulate lethal doses, Askin almost defeats one of the elite Royal Guard himself and later lures even the talented Arrancar Grimmjow into a poison trap, doing the same to Ichigo Kurosaki himself soon after. Facing Yoruichi Shihoin and Kisuke Urahara, Askin proves himself a skilled match for both of them with his powers and skill, even using his final breaths to reveal a last trap on Urahara while idly wondering how the Soul Reaper might escape it.
- Ichibē Hyōsube is the head of Squad Zero. A jovial, cheerful man who carefully masks a very dangerous side, Ichibē gave everything in Soul Society its name and is a chief perpetrator of the great sin that created the Soul King. Using this propaganda to shape Soul Society many millennia later, Ichibē guides Ichigo Kurosaki to become stronger, even after Ichibe is bested by the Quincy leader Yhwach. Ichibē uses Ichigo to reassemble himself and sends him against Yhwach, with full intent to sacrifice him and use him as a new Soul King to preserve the order, proclaiming that is "What peace is all about".
Anime Filler
- "Bount" Arc: Jin Kariya, born Eugene Currier, is the charismatic leader of the Bounts. Driven to bitterness and nihilism by the suffering he endured from the Soul Reapers, the Quincies, the Hollows and even his fellow Bounts since his childhood, Kariya concocted an elaborate plan to destroy Soul Society. Having his former wife Yoshino Sōma and the Quincy Uryū Ishida abducted, Kariya defeats Ichigo Kurosaki when the latter tries to rescue them but decides to retreat when reinforcements arrive, confident his captives will return. When they do, Kariya kills Yoshino, using her maternal Bount abilities to create the Bitto to absorb human souls at a faster rate to empower himself and his underlings, before tricking Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Uryū into completing the Bount portal to Soul Society by manipulating the former into temporarily restoring the latter's lost Quincy powers and thus motivate him into completing the Bount portal in the hopes of fighting the Bounts with an actually nonexistent field advantage. Reaching the Jōkaishō, Kariya uses it to near-successfully destroy the entire Soul Society, only stopped by Ran'Tao's efforts and himself ultimately choosing to let Ichigo kill him.
- "New Captain" Arc: Shūsuke Amagai, Gin Ichimaru's replacement as Captain of the 3rd Division, proves to be just as cunning as his predecessor. Earning the trust of his division by genuinely helping and supporting them, their teamwork and their reputation, Amagai secretly plots to kill the Head Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, responsible for his father's death. Masterminding the Kasumiōji Clan conspiracy and subsequently throwing the Soul Society into disarray while helping the Gotei 13 discover the Clan's crimes, Amagai takes advantage of the ensuing chaos to get close to and attack his targets, killing his accomplice the Kasumiōji Clan's treacherous steward Gyōkaku Kumoi and using his now empowered Bakkōtō's full power to nullify Yamamoto's Zanpakutō, having both him and the young Kasumiōji princess Rurichiyo Kasumiōji at his mercy before Ichigo barely saves them. Defeated by Ichigo after a fight that forced both to use the full extent of their power and abilities, Amagai shows remorse for his deeds when Yamamoto reveals the true circumstances of his father's death and commits suicide to atone for his crimes, apologizing to his loyal lieutenant Izuru Kira for the trouble he caused.
