History Characters / BleachGotei13Squads8To13

[[WMG:[[center: [- ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Bleach}} Main Character Index]]'''\\
[[Characters/BleachIchigoKurosaki Ichigo Kurosaki]] | [[Characters/BleachIchigosCompanions Ichigo's Companions]] | [[Characters/BleachGotei13Squads1To7 13 Court Guard Squads 1 - 7]] | '''13 Court Guard Squads 8 - 13''' | [[Characters/BleachZeroSquad Soul King and Zero Squad]] | [[Characters/BleachAizenAndHisCohorts Aizen and His Cohorts]] | [[Characters/BleachVisoredsAndExiledSoulReapers Visoreds and Exiled Soul Reapers]] | [[Characters/BleachEspada Espada]] | [[Characters/BleachArrancars Arrancars]] | [[Characters/BleachHollows Hollows]] | [[Characters/BleachKarakuraTownResidents Karakura Town Residents]] | [[Characters/BleachSoulSocietyDwellers Soul Society Dwellers]] | [[Characters/BleachXcution Xcution]] | [[Characters/BleachVandenreich Vandenreich]] | [[Characters/BleachYhwach Yhwach]] | [[Characters/BleachZanpakuto Zanpakuto]] | [[Characters/{{Bleach Anime}} Anime-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BleachMovieOnly Movie-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BleachVideoGame Video Game-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/BleachLightNovels Light Novel-Only Characters]]]]-]]]

Characters that appeared in Tite Kubo's ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. This page is for the present members of the '''eighth to thirteenth squads of 13 Court Guard Squads (''Goteijūsantai'')'''.
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!Contains unmarked spoilers

[[foldercontrol]]

!!Squad 8

[[folder:Shunsui Sozosuke Jiro Kyouraku]]
!!Shunsui Sozosuke Jiro Kyouraku
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_kyouraku.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Thousand-Year Blood War appearance]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_kyouraku_tybw.png]][[/labelnote]]
[-''"Getting caught up in style and throwing away victory is something for the lower ranks to do. Captains can't even think about doing such a carefree thing. Don't try to be a good guy. It doesn't matter who owes whom. From the instant they enter into a war, both sides are evil."''-]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Katen Kyōkotsu (Shikai); Katen Kyōkotsu: Karamatsu Shinjū (Bankai)
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AkioOhtsuka (JP), Creator/SteveKramer (ENG), Jorge Ornelas (Latin American Spanish)
----
The current Captain-General of 13 Court Guard Squads and former Captain of the 8th Division, he is best friends with Ukitake, both of whom were personally trained by Yamamoto himself. Shunsui was one of the first Academy graduates to become a captain, along with Ukitake. Though a pervert, he never goes too far in his attempts to hit on women, as Nanao can attest to on both accounts. He abhors senseless fighting, but he's not above underhanded tactics if it meant winning a fight quickly. Oh, and he [[RealMenWearPink wears a women's kimono]] and likes being showered with cherry blossom petals.

His zanpakuto is '''''Katen Kyokotsu''''', one of the very few dual Zanpakutos. Their power is to make children's games real, which grants him various strange abilities, from "playing word games" with his opponents to seemingly hiding within shadows themselves. His bankai is '''''Katen Kyokotsu: Kuromatsu Shinjuu'''''. It's powers are fairly obscure: Utilizing four tragic stories, it can cast four terrifying curses upon anyone within its range -- ''allies and himself'' included, making his Bankai exceptionally difficult to unleash.
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* AgentPeacock: He likes to enter a fight in a swirl of rose petals and he wears a flowery, pink woman's kimono that once belonged to his sister-in-law. According to the SOULS character book, he is officially Soul Society's biggest dandy. Befitting this trope, he is also a captain and therefore in a position of AuthorityEqualsAsskicking. On one occasion, he tries to make sure his flowery kimono doesn't get damaged in battle, only to deliberately ruin part of his actual uniform.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He's one of the top four captains who has been in post for over 200 years. After Yamamoto's death, he gets a RankUp to captain-general, a threat Yhwach takes seriously enough to send Haschwalth himself out to face him.
* BadassBoast: When Kyouraku clarifies how he fooled Lille's Reikaku, Lille scoffs at the idea he could ever be fooled in such a way. Kyouraku's response is to straighten out of his usual slouch, release his full Reiatsu, and remind Lille in no uncertain terms exactly who it is that Lille is currently fighting.
-->'''Shunsui''': "You'd be wise to remember who it is you're talking to... I am Captain-General of the 13 Court Guard Squads... Kyouraku Shunsui."
%% * BadassCreed: Katen Kyokotsu's release command is very long and very badass as well.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's almost always found sleeping, hitting on women, drinking, and passing off his paperwork to Nanao. Hell, even if you're an opponent, he'll do his best to avoid fighting you, and will even joke around with you and offer you to drink with him. But when he realizes he has to kill you, he WILL take potshots, stab you in the back, and metaphorically throw sand in your eyes if it means getting a free hit on you.
* BrilliantButLazy: One of the most powerful captains in the 13 Court Guard Squads but he would rather just lie down and have his saké. Needless to say, there's a reason why he was Yamamoto's hand-picked successor to be Captain-General in the event of his death, and why it's heavily suggested that this was the plan for YEARS.
* CallingYourAttacks: Like most Soul Reapers, he calls his attacks. However, the nature of his powers means he has to call the attack as part of the "game" his shikai is playing.
* CarpetOfVirility: To go with his ChivalrousPervert persona. Nanao threatened to cut it off if he died fighting Lille, leading Shinsui to joke that he'd be unrecognizable.
* CasanovaWannabe: He's apparently a huge flirt, though the only girl we see him interact with frequently is Nanao.
* CherryBlossoms: Subverted. He likes the aesthetic, so he has his lieutenant, Nanao, dump them out of a basket from overhead.
* ChivalrousPervert: To Nanao. Teases and embarrasses her mercilessly, but if she ''truly'' needs his help, he'll promptly give her a non-grabby hand. He also used to have a similar relationship with Lisa Yadomaru.
* CoatCape: He wears his captain's haori properly, but the woman's kimono he wears on top of that is always slung over his shoulders like a cape.
* TheCoatsAreOff: He always wears two coats. His captain's haori and a woman's kimono. He never takes either one off. And then he fights Starrk. When the fight finally gets serious, he tosses the woman's kimono to Ukitake for safe-keeping. A short while later, just to show the fight has become even more serious than it already was, he discards his captain's haori as well. Yes, his fight was so serious, the coats came off ''twice''.
* CombatPragmatist: For a MartialPacifist, Shunsui certainly isn't above fighting dirty if he needs to and lectures others about the need to not be limited by heroic ideals in battle since war makes both sides evil. During his fight with Starrk, he throws his hat (while Starrk is arguing with Lilinette, at that) and later his captain coat as a distraction, with the latter helping him land the finishing blow on the Espada. As the second Vandenreich assault begins, Kyouraku remarks to Nanao that he expected another sudden assault and prepared dirty tricks accordingly...but he wasn't expecting to get bodily torn out of the Seireitei so his preparations might not be adequate.
* ConfusionFu: Kyouraku's Shikai weaponises children's games, encouraging a child-like mentality that allows him to switch games on a whim. He tells Lille that his opponent has to spot when the games swap and even that multiple games might be playing at the same time. It's how he defeats Starrk; Starrk didn't realise just how many "games" were in play at the same time. When he complains about Kyouraku behaving in an uncharacteristic way for men of their type, Kyouraku lampshades the trope by explaining they're not the kindred spirits Starrk thinks they are.
--> '''Starrk''': "I thought I told you not to do uncharacteristic things, Captain-san!"
--> '''Kyouraku''': "It's not good to keep forcing this characteristic thing, Espada-san. And, if you're going to talk about characteristic, not having a characteristic behaviour is characteristic of me."
* CoolUncle: He's a philandering, lazy dandy who happens to be a member of a high-ranking noble family, one of the first Captain-class Soul Reapers to graduate from the Soul Reaper academy, and is the current Captain-General. He is also Nanao's uncle, her father having been his older brother, and he made a promise to her mother to watch over her and keep her Zanpakuto hidden so she wouldn't fall victim to its curse.
* TheDandy: He really doesn't like to fight and avoids it as much as possible. When he is forced to fight, he prefers to be as lazy as possible and has even been known to only enter a fight after he's been announced with floating flower petals. According to the Souls character book, he's officially Soul Society's biggest dandy.
* DirtyOldMan: He tends to make a pass at Nanao whenever he can. In the Bootleg, which reveals the divisional recruitment letters, Kyouraku states he wants only women to join his division and that he'll have late-night drinking parties with them.
* DualWielding: Katen Kyoukotsu is one of the very few Zanpakuto that take the form of two swords. During the filler Zanpakuto spirits arc, each one manifests as its own spirit. It is also the only Zanpakutou that exists in two forms when sealed.
* EnemyMine: After Yhwach reaches the Royal Realm, Kyouraku visits the Central 46 with the intention of gaining an audience with Aizen.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Kyouraku resisted fighting until forced to fight Chad. However, he refused to allow Chad to be killed and did not accept Chad could be blamed for the death of Aizen. He wanted the matter properly investigated and the invaders kept alive for questioning.
* ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy: He has to explain the rules of the "games" that are in play if he thinks the opponent may not know them to ensure the "game" can be properly played. The amount of information he declares is therefore strategically chosen to ensure his Shikai's power can play out while withholding certain information to retain the advantage. If he has to, he will coax his opponent into explaining their powers, too.
* EyeScream: Gets shot in the right eye by Sternritter Robert Accutrone when the Vandenreich first invades the Soul Society. This doesn't elicit more than a "[[MajorInjuryUnderreaction That's bad, huh?]]" reaction from him.
* EyepatchOfPower: Sports one after being shot in the eye.
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Non-violently. When Soifon is lashing out at everyone after the first invasion of Soul Society due to Yamamoto's death, he is the one who manages to calm her down by reminding her that the 13 Court Guard Squads exists as a military force to protect the Soul Society.
* GoodIsNotSoft: He's laid-back, [[BrilliantButLazy lazy]] and Soul Society's [[AllThereInTheManual biggest dandy]]. However, once he decides to fight, he believes that battle makes both sides evil, so he'll do [[CombatPragmatist what it takes]] to win--even if it means sacrificing honour and stabbing his opponents in the back. He's even willing to send his colleagues to their death if he knows their death will achieve his end-goal. As Captain-General, he bullies the Central 46, sends Unohana to her death to unseal Kenpachi's power, and partially unseals Aizen to fight Yhwach. When the 13 Court Guard Squads object, he tells them to discard their pride and fight evil (Yhwach) with evil (Aizen). If it weren't for the fact that Yhwach's body still contained massive amounts of reiatsu, Kyouraku also would have sacrificed Ichigo to replace the Soul King for the sake protecting all of existence.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: He and Ukitake go a very long way back, having formed their bond while in the academy together. They've been captains for centuries, spend a lot of time together, and are a renowned partnership even on the battlefield.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: He and Starrk pull this on one another--repeatedly--though this is a rare example where they're both well aware their opponent is hiding ''something'', they're just not always sure what. A literal inversion too; he's ''ambidextrous''.
* IHaveTheHighGround: One of his Shikai's games, Takaoni, weaponizes this. The rule is the "highest" combatant wins and gets to live, while the "lowest" combatant loses and dies. When he tries to use it on Starrk, however, Starrk just aims his gun up and shoots him, interrupting him before he can strike.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: His reaction to getting shot in the eye? "[[CaptainObvious That's bad, huh]]"?
* ManChild: His shikai invokes this trope. Like a child, he starts playing "games" with you out of nowhere, and once you've started playing them, you are at the mercy of his whims. He can start playing any game he wants at any time, and combine the rules of games with other games, much like an overly-excited child who can't stay focused.
* MartialPacifist: He hates fighting and would prefer to spend a fight talking or drinking with his opponent instead, play-fighting at worst. However, when he does fight, he's a CombatPragmatist that believes both sides are evil.
* MeaningfulName: Kyouraku is a pun on the Japanese word for "enjoyment."
* NiceHat: He wears a Sugegasa straw hat.
* OddCouple: With his serious and straitlaced lieutenant, "Nanao-chan."
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Kyouraku believes that, in war, both sides are evil. However, he also believes that using evil to defeat evil is not itself an evil act, and he's willing to plan accordingly in the battle against the Vandenreich. When weighing up what the 13 Court Guard Squads need to defeat the threat of Yhwach, he concludes that they can't win without Aizen's help. He takes Aizen out of prison because he believes that even Aizen doesn't want Yhwach to succeed.
* PermaStubble: Like so many badasses. Although in the ''Turn Back the Pendulum'' arc, his stubble disappears in a few panels in the manga, despite being present elsewehere.
* PragmaticHero: Kyouraku does not believe that morals have anything to do with winning a battle. If the enemy he's facing is evil, he is more than willing to become just as evil to defeat them, although unlike an actual UnscrupulousHero, he will do everything in his power to avoid things coming to that point.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: During the Soul Society arc, Kyouraku is one of the few officers not to blindly attack the intruders just because he was ordered to. Instead, when he confronts Sado, Kyouraku questions him about his connection to Rukia and purpose in coming to Seireitei and realizes something doesn't add up. Once Sado has been defeated, Kyouraku makes sure he and other the captured intruders are kept alive and secure, refusing to automatically assume they are responsible for Aizen's "death" without a proper investigation.
* SlasherSmile: When Lille attempts to understand Kyouraku's power, Kyouraku's entire body is encased in shadow except for a gleaming, evil grin. He goes on to explain that Lille's reasoning isn't completely correct; that gleaming grin returns with increasing frequency as he begins to successfully drag his reluctant opponent into the growing madness of his Shikai's power.
* SinisterScimitar: Aversion. Kyouraku is decent enough, but he is a CombatPragmatist who believes all participants in battle are evil.
* SuicidePact: The central theme of his Bankai imitates [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinj%C5%AB Shinjuu]]: a Feudal Japan-style lovers' suicide pact. Like in theatrical representations of Shinjuu, Kyouraku recites a short "michiyuki" (exposition poem) as they go through the ritual.
* TranquilFury: When Wonderweiss stabs his best friend Ukitake straight through the chest, Kyouraku's whole demeanor turns murderous and he doesn't waste a second in trying to [[WouldHurtAChild kill the young Arrancar]]. It's his most violent moment in the whole series.
* WarriorPoet: He likes publishing stories, although he's not aware of how unpopular his works actually are.
* WhatTheHellHero: The lengths Kyouraku is willing to go to in order to defeat Yhwach force the 13 Court Guard Squads to confront him with true anger and betrayal. He tells them that they need to completely discard their pride and accept that evil has to be fought with evil if they are to win. He doesn't mind if they kick his arse over it, but only if they do it after he's finished protecting the Seireitei. His release of Aizen from prison to fight Yhwach insults the ''entire'' 13 Court Guard Squads, not just the majority of 13 Court Guard Squads.
* WouldHurtAChild: In contrast to Ukitake, he was willing to attack (with intent to kill) the childlike Wonderweiss. Even Yamamoto expressed concern about having to fight an enemy that looked like a child. Kyouraku did not.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nanao Ise]]
!!Nanao Ise
[[quoteright:205:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_nanao.png]]
[[caption-width-right:205:[[labelnote:Thousand-Year Blood War appearance]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_nanao_tybw_1.png[[/labelnote]]]]

->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Shinken Hakkyōken (Shikai)
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HitomiNabatame (JP), Creator/KateHiggins (ENG), Alma Juárez (Latin-American Spanish)
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Kyouraku's lieutenant. She is very strict and dutiful, always doing her captain's paperwork. She is the vice-president of the Soul Reaper Women's Association. Her zanpakuto's is '''''Shinken Hakkyōken'''''. It was passed down her family, and is used for rituals where the divine intervenes. As such, it is considered a "godslayer" -- it reflects divine light and deals grievous damage to holy beings.
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* AncestralWeapon: Her Zanpakuto isn't actually her own, but is instead passed down to the heads of the Ise family. It's supposedly powerful enough to scatter the divine, but it comes with a personal curse. Nanao didn't have access to it for a long time because her mother made Kyouraku promise to hide it within his own Zanpakutou.
* BarrierWarrior: Her kido speciality; Kyouraku claims it's why she made Lieutenant but she cryptically states that's not the only reason, which he doesn't want to discuss. Her barriers even impress Haschwalth, who admits breaking it took longer than expected; he also indicates he's been holding back while doing it.
* ByTheBookCop: She's very serious and gets antsy when Kyouraku appears to be operating outside of general procedure during the Soul Society arc, though she sticks with him despite her reservations.
* TheComicallySerious: In some omake chapters.
* TheDreaded: Seeing her without her glasses is nearly as terrifying as Unohana's special smile.
* FashionableAsymmetry: Her hair is arranged in an asymmetrical fringe that is longer on the right than the left.
* GirlFriday: She's more Kyouraku's assistant than an actual combatant or anything of the sort.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: If Mayuri's word in an omake is to be believed, she can kill you with the temples of her glasses.
* LoveConfessor: How she announces her feelings for Kyouraku, pretending to be confessing to him about someone else, but making it pretty clear that he's the subject in question.
* LoveConfession: Nanao, looking at Kyouraku, refers to "the person [I] yearn for". Since Japanese culture has a very strong taboo about actually saying the words "I love you", this is as close to a love confession as it gets.
* {{Miko}}: Nanao comes from a long line of Shinto priestesses, though she wears the black kosode and hakama of the Soul Reaper.
* NothingUpMySleeve: She keeps a short sword in there.
* OnlySaneWoman: Often relegated to this role in the [[{{Omake}} Soul Reaper Cup shorts]].
* SatelliteCharacter: Nanao is Shunsui's no-nonsense lieutenant and little else other than that. She has essentially no notable relationships with anyone in the main storyline.
* SubordinateExcuse: The [[AllThereInTheManual reason]] Nanao can put up with Kyouraku's bad manners and behaviour and the Nanao is never seen on the front lines? The in-universe rumour mill believes it's because their feelings for each other are less than professional and that Kyouraku simply can't bear to have her on the front lines in battle. And when the readers learn what happened to his previous vice-captain, this begins to make sense. When Nanao's kido barriers are all that stands between Kyouraku and Haschwalth, he almost admits it. She's also his niece by his older brother and he feels an inherent need to protect her because of it.
* TryNotToDie: During his fight with Lille, she threatens to shave all the hair on Kyouraku's corpse's chest if he dies while out of her presence.
* YouCantFightFate: Her mother tried very hard to protect her from the family curse despite having found out for herself that it seems to be inescapable. Nanao accepts the inevitability of the curse, but does think the curse itself is ridiculous. She mentions that the person she's chosen to love would probably say the same thing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lisa Yadomaru]]
Current captain of Squad 8. She was previously the division's lieutenant a century ago. She promoted to captain some time after Yhwach's defeat For more information, see [[Characters/BleachVisoredsAndExiledSoulReapers Visoreds and Exiled Soul Reapers]].
[[/folder]]

!!Squad 9

[[folder:Kaname Tosen]]
Debuted as Captain of Squad 9, but had deserted [[TheReveal after revealing]] [[CoDragons his true colors]] in the Soul Society arc's final stage. For more information, see [[Characters/BleachAizenAndHisCohorts Aizen and His Cohorts]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kensei Muguruma]]
Current captain of Squad 9. He was also its previous captain a century ago. He reprises his role after Aizen's defeat. For more information, see [[Characters/BleachVisoredsAndExiledSoulReapers Visoreds and Exiled Soul Reapers]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shuhei Hisagi]]
!!Shuhei Hisagi
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_shuhei.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Thousand-Year Blood War appearance]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_shuhei_tybw.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[-''"He who does not fear the sword he holds is not worthy of holding a sword."''-]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Kazeshini (Shikai); Fushi No Kōjyō (Bankai)
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KatsuyukiKonishi (JP), Creator/YuuKobayashi (JP, As a child), Creator/SteveStaley (ENG), Edson Matus and Nacho Rodríguez (Latin-American Spanish), Claudia Motta (Latin-American Spanish, as a child)
----
Shuhei is the lieutenant of Squad 9, formerly serving under Kaname Tosen, whom he greatly admired and who taught him everything he believes in. His most notable trait is the "69" tattoo he has on his cheek, which he got from his idol, Kensei Muguruma, the current captain of the same squad. He is quite the drinker, and usually drinks with Izuru Kira and Rangiku Matsumoto. He seems to have a crush on Rangiku, but nothing ever comes of it in the series proper, apart from some omakes and a filler episode.

His zanpakuto is '''''Kazeshini''''' (''Death's Wind''), a pair of chained scythes though this is revealed to be only half of Kazeshini's shikai. Once Shuhei unlocks his true power, the full, it's revealed that the scythes represent death, while the chain represents life. While fighting an opponent, more chains from Kazeshini wrap around the opponent; whilst the chains can connect with his opponent, any injury Shuhei sustains, fatal or otherwise, is immediately repaired as chains course through Shuhei's body and repair the injury. The power of his Bankai are unknown, but as revealed in the light novel ''Bleach: You Can't Fear Your Own World'', it's name is '''''Fushi No Kōjyō''''' (''Death's Wind Restriction Rope''). It to takes the form of a large jet black ball of chains in the sky connecting one chain around Hisagi's neck like a noose, extending upward (as if he were actually hanging), with various individual chains extending from Hisagi's person; the scythes themselves remain unchanged.
----
* {{Adorkable}}: The anime especially loves making him hammy, sensitive and shy, all in incredibly awkward, yet endearing ways.
* AnimeHair: Those spikes ''never'' budge.
* BadassBiker: Has a pretty spiffy and nice motorcycle he worked hard to buy. Ginjo notes the irony and impracticality of owning a bike in a world without gasoline (the Soul Society), but Hisagi somehow manages to get by.
* BadassBookworm: Various omake have played his job as a writer for the Seireitei Bulletin for laughs, but the post-manga novels show why he has that job in the first place: He's more than a competent investigative journalist and sleuth as his skills become integral in the story.
%% * {{Bishonen}}: Was one in his academy days.
* BlindWeaponmaster: Played with. In the light novel ''Can't Fear Your Own World'', Hisagi ends up having to fight the main villain with his eyes closed (the main villain has a zanpauktou that allows him to mimic the abilities of other zanpakutou; he had used the ability of Kyoka Suigetsu to cause the good guys to fall into an illusion, but as Hisagi hadn't arrived yet, he was initially unaffected).
* ChainedByFashion: He wears a loop of chain wrapped around each arm and his neck. They are apparently explosives that he can take off and flip at his enemy. Taken UpToEleven by his bankai, which is made almost entirely of numerous chains, some of which form a noose around his neck, while other's simply hang off of his person.
* CharacterDevelopment: The light novel ''Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World'' features him as the protagonist, and focuses heavily on his character development. At the start of the novel Hisagi is indecisive, emotionally triggered by Kaname Tousen's betrayal, and unsure of how to reconcile his zanpakutou's abilities with his own personal philosophy. By the end, he's decisive, confident, able to reconcile and understand Tousen's motivation and actions even while disapproving of his overall betrayal, and comes to terms with the abilities of his zanpakutou. Through understanding Tousen's betrayal, he's even able to hold on to Tousen's overall philosophy regarding justice, even if he doesn't approve of the betrayal itself. He even plays a major role taking down a villain that's considerably more powerful than he is.
* ChivalrousPervert: During a filler episode, he spends most of the time [[ChivalrousPervert trying to reign in pervy thoughts of Rangiku]] to hilarious comedic effect.
* CombatPragmatist: Squad nine's style is based around the idea that battle is terrible and monstrous and thus you should get it over with as quickly as possible and with the most survivors on your side as you can.
* TheDeterminator: In the Fake Karakura arc, after getting slashed down his chest and impaled through the chest, he forces himself up to continue fighting both times.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Near the end of his light novel, Shuhei is fighting Hikone, a being with the abilities of Shinigami, Quincy, Hollows, and Fullbrings. Just as it appears Hikone easily one shots him, he is shocked to find Hisagi still alive... and uninjured. Hikone then begins to panic as he repeatedly gives Hisagi fatal injuries, with each one immediately repairing itself, with Shuhei eventually giving him a short lecture before activating his bankai.
* DrowningMySorrows: When Tosen betrays him.
* EldritchLocation: The realm where his zanpakutou spirit resides is revealed to be one. It's described as having a windmill, under which the grass is perpetually growing healthy and then withering away as the various spokes of the windmill pass above. This turns out to be a major hint to Kazeshini's true nature; while Shuhei initially only sees it as a spirit of death, when he is finally ready to understand, Kazeshini explains that, like the windmill, he is both life and death.
* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Hisagi himself lampshades his power by casually letting his weapon spin at both ends at the same time while lecturing his opponent. And that's before we get to the way he spins the weapon when actually attacking. He also activates his bankai by spinning his scythes upward, which them form a spinning helix.
* FaceOfAThug: Has the appearance of one, contradicting his calm and mature personality.
* FollowingInTheirRescuersFootsteps: Was saved by Kensei when he was just a child. After seeing his rescuer (and the "69" tattoo he sported), Shuuhei later endeavored to not only becoming a shinigami (taking the exam three times before finally succeeding) but join the same division as his savior, even sporting his own "69" tattoo. By the time he'd joined, however, Kensei had been exiled for circumstances beyond his control. After a later TimeSkip, however, Shuuhei finally achieves his goal and serves as Kensei's Lieutenant.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has LOTS of face marks of all kinds, including a 69 tattoo on his cheek. The tattoo honours Kensei who once saved Hisagi's life when Hisagi was a small child.
* HiddenDepths: Hisagi is a gentle person who hates fighting all out and who fears his own sword in battle. Zanpakutou reflect the shinigami's inner self, and Hisagi's is a weapon that is, in his own words, "shaped like something meant to take life". He also loves to play the guitar, and takes lessons from Chad during omakes for the Soul Society Arc. Additionally, he's able to have a polite and intelligent philosophical discussion about that differing views on the nature of justice, even with someone who's own view on the matter runs almost entirely opposite to his.
* InstantChucks: Hisagi's Zanpakutou transforms into a [[EpicFlail kusarigama]] that possesses a blade at either end of the chain instead of a blade at one end and a counterweight at the other. As a chain weapon, he requires two hands to [[ImprobableUseOfAWeapon wield it properly]] and, because it has two blades instead of the normal one, it's a [[SinisterScythe particularly lethal weapon]].
* IOweYouMyLife: To Kensei.
* LastNameBasis: With everybody besides [[AllLoveIsUnRequited Rangiku]].
* MartialPacifist: Prefers to avoid fighting, and even when using his sword, which he hates anyway, makes a habit of not attacking with excessive force.
* NooseNecktie: Played with. When Hisagi activates his Bankai, the scythes of Kazeshini remain; however, a noose appears around his neck. Instead of obeying the laws of gravity though, this noose actually continues to extend upward, making it seem as if Hisagi is actually hanging from a gallows.
* OnlySixFaces: Explicit in the anime. There is a FreezeFrameBonus anime-only segment of his fight with Findor where the latter teleports behind him to avoid a slash. The ''exact same sequence'', including hair and facial expression, is later used during an anime-only segment of Ichigo's fight with Ulquiorra. All they really did was dye the hair orange and change the coat.
* PerpetualFrowner: In a fight, at least.
* PersonalityPowers: Due to Tousen's teachings, Hisagi has, in equal measures, feared death; he feared himself dying, but he also fears his opponent dying. When Hisagi's Bankai is finally shown, he explains that it is an extension of this fear, and that his opponent cannot die anymore than he can.
* PreMortemOneLiner: ''"Finally afraid? You're my equal at last."''
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: After Kaname Tousen's betrayal, but before Mugurama Kensei resumes his duties as captain of the ninth division, Shuhei acts as head of the division, and treats the position fairly seriously. He even has one of the most even handed, professional, and less goofy recruitment ads on the Bleach Bootleg.
* SecretKeeper: He is the only person alive who knows Yumichika's secret.
* SempaiKohai: Sempai to Kira, Abarai, and Hinamori, whom he taught in the Soul Reaper Academy.
* SinisterScythe: ''"I don't like the shape. Look at it. It's shaped like something meant to take life, isn't it?"'' Subverted when we learn that this is only half of his shikai's ability; the scythe does indeed represent death, but the chains that connect the scythes represent life, and grant Shuhei the ability to recover from fatal injuries.
* SleevesAreForWimps: Like his admired Kensei, he wears sleeveless clothing.
* SupremeChef: According to the {{omake}}s. Interestingly, Kensei is apparently one too...
* UnrequitedLove: In the manga omakes he has a crush on Rangiku that is PlayedForLaughs. The anime enjoys playing this up for comedy as a result.
* TookALevelInBadass: Happens literally over the course of a few moments. In his light novel, Hisagi attempts to fight an opponent who is vastly more powerful than himself. When said villain mortally wounds him in a single strike, Shuhei is transported to his zanpakutou's realm. His Zanpakutou, finally ready to lend Shuhei the full extent of his power, allows him to access the full breadth of his shikai. Suddenly, Shuhei is revived without injuries, and has become nigh-impossible to kill.
* TheUnReveal: Played straight for years with the manga material, which never reveals Hisagi's bankai despite the big buildup for it (him being one of the few lieutenants to achieve it and being multiple fights in the last arc); even Matsumoto and Hitsugaya (and his own captain) make jabs at him for never seeing his bankai. Eventually averted in the light novel ''Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World'', where his ability to harness it eventually becomes a major plot point.
* VariableLengthChain: His zanpakutou's shikai form seems to feature this.
* WasItAllALie: When he learns Tousen's a traitor, he asks Tousen if all the beliefs he had preached were a lie. Tousen's response is a sword to the gut.
* YinYangBomb: For the majority of the series, Shuhei is hamstrung by his dislike of the killing nature of his Zanpakutou. However, once Kazeshini finally acknowledges Shuhei's resolve, it reveals the truth: Kazeshini does not represent just death, but governs life ''and'' death. The blades of Kazeshini represent death, while the chains represent life. Finally harnessing this allows Shuhei to become considerably more powerful than he was before.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mashiro Kuna]]
The self proclaimed super lieutenant of Squad 9. She was also its previous lieutenant a century ago. She reprises her role with Kensei after Aizen's defeat. For more information, see [[Characters/BleachVisoredsAndExiledSoulReapers Visoreds and Exiled Soul Reapers]].
[[/folder]]

!!Squad 10

[[folder:Toshiro Hitsugaya]]
!!Toshiro Hitsugaya
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_hitsugaya.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350: [[labelnote:The Lost Agent appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_hitsugaya_lost_agent_9.png[[/labelnote]]\\
[[labelnote:Thousand-Year Blood War appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_hitsugaya_tybw.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[-''"There we go again, old men and their stupid arguments. What a pain."''-]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Hyourinmaru (Shikai); Daiguren Hyourinmaru (Bankai)
-->'''Voiced by:''' [[Creator/RomiPark Romi Paku]] (JP), Creator/SteveStaley (ENG), Luis Fernando Orozco (Latin-American Spanish)
----
The Captain of Squad 10. A child prodigy, he is the youngest Captain in the Soul Society, though still much older than he looks. To prevent people from treating him like a kid, Hitsugaya is always a very serious and focused Captain quite contrary to how he acted before becoming an officer. He likes getting the job done and thus ends up handling a lot of paperwork that most captains leave to their subordinates.

His Zanpakuto is '''''Hyourinmaru''''', the strongest of the ice-based Zanpakuto. His youth means his power is unmastered and immature, placing severe limits on his abilities. His Bankai is '''''Daiguren Hyourinmaru''''', which enhances the volume of ice his weapon and attacks can produce. When fully mastered, his Bankai can prevent opponents from using their powers by freezing reishi.
----
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: In his own words, when he was much younger: "They're scared of me. It's not like I did anything bad to them, but... even then, I could tell they were afraid of me." The databook indicates that he's much more popular now, but making captain and leading his Squad well could be seen as his won't-you-guide-my-sleigh-tonight moment.
* AnimeHair: Funny thing though, his hair hangs down in flashbacks and after the time skip, which seems to imply that he styles it for the majority of the series.
* BladeRun: When he fights Gin, at one point he manages to do this to Gin's blade.
* BlushSticker: Gets these at one point during Episode 230 of the Anime.
* BreakTheCutie: From the moment Aizen and Hitsugaya are introduced into the story, Aizen seems to be plotting to emotionally undermine Hitsugaya. In the Soul Society arc, he ensures Hinamori is brainwashed into believing Hitsugaya killed him, forcing them to turn their blades on each other. It leaves Hitsugaya emotionally unprepared for dealing with the truth. During the Arrancar Arc, Aizen mocks Hitsugaya's hatred of him and then uses his illusion powers to trick Hitsugaya into stabbing Hinamori. Hitsugaya breaking leads to a devastating UnstoppableRage.
* ChildhoodFriend: He and Hinamori were raised by the same woman whom they both call "grandmother".
* ChildProdigy: He's the youngest captain in Soul Society history and one of the youngest Soul Reaper in the story. It's lampshaded in-universe when Captain Kyouraku, who's been around for many centuries admits to an enemy that Captain Hitsugaya is a prodigy who will probably have surpassed him in a century's time.
* TheComicallySerious: He's perpetually serious and aloof despite the antics of both Rangiku and to an extent Momo. He also gets thrown into various situations where nobody takes him as seriously as he'd like. As such, even the usually stoic Byakuya is visibly taken aback when Toshiro attempts to banter and quip during battle against Gerard.
* CurbStompBattle: When Giselle brings out her zombies, Hitsugaya fights ruthlessly to defeat his opponents effortlessly. As a zombie, he cuts down Ikkaku, Yumichika and Charlotte. Mayuri [[AdmiringTheAbomination observes]] that his zombification didn't hinder his movements or abilities at all.
* CrashIntoHello: He meets Rangiku for the first time by [[MarshmallowHell running into her chest]].
* DeadpanSnarker: Apart from the time before he became a Soul Reaper at all, Hitsugaya has always been rather grumpy and snarky, though professional. Before becoming a captain, he was less intent on being absolutely professional.
* DeclarationOfProtection: To his childhood friend Hinamori. Definitely did not work out as planned.
* {{Delinquents}}: He is thought of as being this by one of Karin's friends in a {{Filler}} Episode of the Anime due to his white hair.
* ElementalBaggage: As long as there is water, Hyourinmaru never runs out of power.
* ElementalEyeColours: His piercing, icy blue eyes fit well with his ice powers.
* ElementalHair: He has had white hair throughout his childhood. His powers are based on ice and snow, allowing him to freeze anything that is water-based, even the moisture in the air. His colour scheme fits these powers, being white accented with turquoise (a shade associated with icy, polar waters).
* ExactWords: Hitsugaya states that even after he completes his bankai, he still can't use it to its full power due to his young and immature body. Thus, the ice petals represent a time limit to the moment that his bankai becomes too much for his body to handle. Which means Daiguren Hyourinmaru forces him to get around this limitation by ''aging him to maturity''.
* FlowerMotif: His Zanpakutou can produce ice-flowers in different kinds of attacks. The ice-flowers tend to take the form of the Glory-of-the-Snow, a flower associated with blooming in the snow because it's such an early spring flower.
* GrumpyBear: One nickname for him is even Captain Grumpypants.
* HoldingBackThePhlebotinum: Probably the poster boy for this trope, as he almost never uses Tensho Jurin, the strongest power of his Zanpakuto and the hardest to control. The two times he does use it, he tries it in Shikai against Gin and waits for his Bankai to be half-gone before trying it against Harribel. In both cases, the restrictions on his use were an attempt to keep the power under control.
* HumanPopsicle: He's fond of this move, though in a series with as low a body count as Bleach it doesn't stick very often.
* HypercompetentSidekick: Was this to his former captain Isshin as the Third Seat of Squad 10. As he and Rangiku are very lazy and he tended to the paperwork.
* HypocriticalHumor: Wants to be called "Captain Hitsugaya", despite never addressing his colleagues by their ranks. See the following exchange, shared between him and Momo, keeping in mind that he actually ''liked'' Aizen before his treachery became apparent.
-->'''Toshiro''': What are Momo and Aizen doing here?
-->'''Momo''': Toshiro! That's '''Captain''' Aizen.
-->'''Toshiro''': Then call me '''Captain''' Hitsugaya.
* AnIcePerson: He's said to have the most powerful ice-based Zanpakuto in the Soul Society.
* IcyBlueEyes: Fits with his ice powers, along with his general no-nonsense personality compared to his free-spirited lieutenant.
* ImplausibleHairColour: Hitsugaya has naturally white hair despite being only a child.
* InsistentTerminology: To Momo and Ichigo. "It's '''Captain''' Hitsugaya!" as he tries to correct them, when they call him Shiro.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Several, pretty much by necessity since he's ''much'' younger than anyone else he hangs out with on a daily basis, after all. The most obvious are his lieutenant, Matsumoto, and fellow captain Ukitake, whose constant gifts of candy are not well-received.
* {{Irony}}: Hitsugaya finally completes his Bankai... only to have it stolen the next time he tries to use it. In the Soul Society arc, Hitsugaya vowed to kill anyone who made Hinamori bleed. In the Arrancar Arc, Aizen tricks Hitsugaya into stabbing Hinamori, giving her the worst injury she's ever received which required organ transplant technology from the 12th division to fix.
* ItsPersonal: Hurting Hinamori is a good way to enraged him
* LastNameBasis: Insists on it, but excludes addressing anyone by their ranks, making him appear very formal. His most {{JustForFun/Egregious}} case was when he didn't call Byakuya and Rukia "Captain and Lieutenant Kuchiki"; it was flat-out "''[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Kuchiki and Kuchiki]]''", which Madarame even called him out on.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: His feelings for Hinamori are described as familial. He doesn't give her any special treatment during his usual duties, insisting that she address him by his position instead of "Shiro-chan" and arresting her for lashing out at Gin under the belief that he killed the fake Aizen corpse, but threatens to kill Gin afterward if he makes her lose even a drop of blood.
* MaskOfPower: He briefly dons a partial Hollow mask when Urahara gives him a Shin'eiyaku pill, which temporarily Hollowfies him and enables him to regain his Bankai from the Quincy who stole it.
* MentalTimeTravel: He becomes trapped in a GroundhogDayLoop, forced to repeat the same fight over and over again. Every time he kills his enemy, the loop resets to his original starting point with his memories of previous loops intact. After too many loops, he becomes paralysed. Though the "time travel" is actually just a drug manipulating his memory and spatial awareness, the paralysis it causes is very real.
* NinjaLog: When Harribel steps up the threat level in battle, she takes out Hitsugaya in one swing. However, she quickly discovers that all she cut was an ice clone when the real Hitsugaya attacks her from behind.
* OddCouple: He's the overly serious workaholic to the easy-going laziness of Rangiku.
* OnlySaneMan: He stays grounded even when those around him are spiraling into insanity--particularly noticeable in filler where everyone else shown will gleefully turn, say, a card game into SeriousBusiness while he looks on in dismay and resignation.
* OlderAlterEgo: When Byakuya expresses sincere concern about his Bankai's time limit running out, Toshiro responds that he never stated the ice petals marked a limit to how long it could be active for. When the last petal on the ice flower breaks, the full power of his Bankai is instead unleashed, transforming him into an older-looking teenaged form. Ch.685 shows it to not be a permanent transformation, however.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: His Zanpakuto's spirit looks like a white eastern-style dragon.
* PerpetualFrowner: Even as a kid before becoming a captain he was fairly grumpy, but now he seems to go out of his way to be as grumpy as possible so that people will take him more seriously. After recovering from zombification, he makes an effort to be more humorous that even Byakuya finds out of character.
* PowerIncontinence: Initially it's assumed that the ice petals floating behind his bankai form represent a limit for how long he can keep his incomplete bankai active.
* PowerLimiter: Tenso Juurin is Hyourinmaru's most basic, yet most powerful, ability. However, he also cannot control it perfectly, so he only ever uses it when he's in a position to place a limit on his power. The limit helps him control the ability and prevent it getting out of hand.
* PowerOfTheStorm: His Zanpakutou's most powerful ability Tensou Juurin can control the weather and can be used in both Shikai and Bankai.
* PuttingOnTheReich: During the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, Giselle changes his clothes from his usual shihakusho and haori to a sleek Vandenreich military uniform after she zombifies him, complete with military overcoat. He stays in the uniform for the rest the series, though he does lose the coat in the battle against Gerard Valkyrie.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: According to the [[AllThereInTheManual Bleach Bootleg]], he carefully observes the soldiers in his division and maintains the division meticulously to ensure that everyone does their share of work (though Matsumoto manages to weasel her way out quite often). Nonetheless, the members of the division find both him and their lieutenant very approachable and have a good amount of respect for both.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: He tells Aizen that a Captain should raise their blade in duty, not anger, and that swinging an angry blade is just violence. He then admits that he doesn't care if he loses his seat for doing violence to Aizen, he's just that pissed for what he did to Momo.
%% * SayMyName: Develops a tendency to scream at Aizen doing this, mainly when Hinamori's mistreatment comes up.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Gets one during the timeskip. It's the same colour as his eyes, and fits in with his ice powers.
* SemanticSuperpower: Daiguren Hyourinmaru's true power is the ability to "freeze" things. This includes special abilities and powers. Thus, while in its most powerful and mature form, no other abilities can be used, triggered or activated while everything is "frozen".
* StraightMan: Usually for Rangiku. When he was in the real world, it was for almost everyone, to great comical effect. He's even been stuck as the StraightMan caught between the Men's and Women's Soul Reaper Associations in filler. Flashbacks reveal he was the straight man to his previous captain as well.
* WillfullyWeak: His Zanpakutou's most powerful and most basic ability can be used in either shikai or bankai. However, he traditionally avoids using it in Bankai even when he needs to because his inexpert control over it and wide area of effect would drag in too many bystanders/allies. Against Harribel, he only decides to use it when his Bankai is half-gone, allowing him better control than he would have had when his Bankai was at full power.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: He doesn't behave like a typical child his age due to having been thrust into the role of youngest captain in history. Aizen works out that the truth is obscured and that Hitsugaya does actually have the in-built weaknesses associated with his biological youth (such as lacking both the life expectancy and emotional maturity of a grown adult). When Aizen triggers this weakness, the ignition of Hitsugaya's emotions into an UnstoppableRage (and the other captains' inability to have foreseen this weakness) spells disaster for everyone.
* WorthyOpponent: ''Bleach'' characters, much like ancient samurai, ask for their opponents names and rank to acknowledge that they are facing an equal. Most notably, when he faces Halibel after a long solo duel, Hitsugaya prepares to use his ultimate attack, and the scene quiets as he asks for her name. She obliges, and he returns the favor before bringing (that portion of) their battle to a conclusion.
%% * WouldHitAGirl: He strikes Momo when she begins to attack him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rangiku Matsumoto]]
!!Rangiku Matsumoto
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_rangiku.png]]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Haineko (Shikai)
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KayaMatsutani (JP), Creator/MeganHollingshead (ENG), Creator/WendeeLee (ENG, Bleach: Soul Resurreccion), Irene Jiménez (Latin-American Spanish)
----
Lieutenant of Squad 10. Rangiku is ''Bleach''[='=]s epitome of MsFanservice, with her having the biggest breasts, wearing her uniform in such a way that [[AbsoluteCleavage reveals her ample melons]]. She is a stark contrast to her no-nonsense captain, often sleeping during the day and going out for drinks at night, brushing off all her assigned duties. She has a past with former Captain of Squad 3 Gin Ichimaru.

Her Zanpakuto is '''''Haineko''''', which dissolves into razor-sharp ash which she can control.
----
* AbsoluteCleavage: Her uniform is worn to expose her body just below the breasts as well as the cleavage.
* ActionGirl: Oh yes. She's a surprisingly effective fighter despite her lazy attitude.
* AdaptationDyeJob: Her hair is blond in the manga but strawberry blond in the anime. Oddly, she gets her original hair color back for a filler, Episode 304.
* AshesToAshes: Her zanpakuto Haineko can dissolve into ash, with each particle a tiny blade that she can make take different forms, and move the ash using the sword's hilt to cut targets.
* BeautyMark: Rangiku is considered to be one of the sexiest women in Soul Society and, as one of the signs of her beauty, she has a tiny, perfectly circular mole just to the right of her lower lip.
* BrilliantButLazy: Rangiku's a smart, skilled and loyal officer, that just so happens to love getting drunk, slacking off while on-duty, shopping for tons of stylish clothes, sneaking her way out of work and deviously getting her captain to pay and work for her. In the past she was actually much more active due to the previous captain being the lazy one. Double Subverted as she didn't want to do the work herself
* BuxomIsBetter: She's not above using her appeal to help her get what she wants, such as the time she tried to convince Ichigo to let her sleep at his house by unbuttoning her blouse. Her breasts are used in a comedic way to [[MarshmallowHell embarrass]] the teenaged Captain Hitsugaya but the small-breasted Apacci insults her for being a "cow" when they fight at Karakura Town. The omakes and anime [[UpToEleven takes this much further]] and has a field day using Matsumoto's chest as actual weapons to help her manipulate men, especially Hisagi. There's even one omake where the Soul Reapers are at the beach and she begins training the equally buxom Orihime in the art of carrying water with breasts instead of buckets--much to Ichigo's [[FreakOut horror]] (the anime replaces Ichigo with Nanao for the scene).
* ChildhoodFriend: Gin saved her life when they were younger and they were very close, leaving her somewhat conflicted over his defection, though she never considers going with him.
* CoolBigSis: To Orihime, Haineko (in the anime) and Hinamori.
* DeathByAThousandCuts: Her shikai, in which Haineko turns into a cloud of razor sharp ash she can control.
* EroticEating: Licks a long Popsicle in the BeachEpisode, but makes sure to hold it horizontally to keep it from being too explicit.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: [[AllThereInTheManual According to the Bootleg]], she's the sexiest woman in the 13 Court Guard Squads and apparently not a single man can defy her.
* {{Flanderization}}: The personality of her Gigai in the World of the Living is basically a more sex-crazed version of her usual self.
* FunPersonified: If you wanna have a great party, she's the girl for the job.
* GagBoobs: The anime has a field day using Matsumoto's chest for comedy. There's even one omake (turned into an episode) where the Soul Reapers are at the beach and she begins training Orihime in the art of carrying water with breasts instead of buckets--much to [[FreakOut horror]] of Ichigo (manga) and/or Nanao (anime).
* {{Gainaxing}}: Twice. The first was at the end of the Soul Society arc, when Hitsugaya scares her so much her chest almost flies out of her top. The second instance was in the BeachEpisode, where she yells at Hitsugaya for not partying with everyone else.
* GoodBadGirl: Her gigai, definitely, though she herself is just flirty.
* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Loves her drinks and can handle her alcohol well.
* HotWitch: Wore such a costume in a filler episode and manga spread.
* HypocriticalHumor: When Yumichika complains about his Zanpakuto being stuck-up and vain, she points out that it's an accurate reflection of its owner. She then starts complaining about how lazy and moody her own Zanpakuto is, provoking Yumichika to throw her own words back at her. She also often chastised her previous captain Isshin for lazing around and going out and about without telling anyone in advance because it deprived her of opportunities to slack off.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: Pulls this against Kira in the Soul Society arc. When he uses Wabisuke's GravityMaster powers on her Zanpakuto, Matsumoto simply activates Haineko's special abilities and it turns into ash, freeing herself and enabling her to defeat him offscreen.
* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: When Ichigo tries to turf Hitsugaya's team out of his house, Rangiku retaliates by beginning to unbutton her blouse. Ichigo tries to resist, but peeks through his fingers.
* IntimateMarks: As a high-ranking Shinigami, she must wear a PowerLimiter whenever she enters the Living World, which takes the form of a flower mark on her breasts.
* LaboriousLaziness: While Shiba is 10th Division captain, there is a constant battle between him and his lieutenant, Rangiku, to push work onto the other to avoid doing any themselves. Shiba goes to enormous lengths to find new places around Soul Society to hide, while Rangiku goes to even greater lengths to track him down, drag him back to the office and make him do the work. In the time it takes them to do all this, the work gets completed by Third Seat Hitsugaya, while the effort to avoid it leaves Shiba and Rangiku tired, bruised and sweaty.
* LastNameBasis: Weirdly, Rangiku calls Hinamori by her surname, but Momo herself calls Rangiku by her first name.
* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Dark Feminine to [[NeutralFemale Orihime]] and [[YamatoNadeshiko Hinamori]], due to her being a happy-go-lucky HardDrinkingPartyGirl.
* LovableSexManiac: The anime really enjoys making her look like an unabashed perv. In an omake, she convinces Hisagi and Kira to model for her, with every other snapshot showing them with progressively less clothing (and Rangiku, um, [[EatingTheEyeCandy enthusiastically voicing her support]]). Once they are stripped down to their loincloths, Rangiku asks if they would remove ''those'' as well. When Hisagi and Kira understandably object, Rangiku runs towards Kira, ''grabs his loincloth and pulls it away'', while continuing to take snapshots of Kira's crotch. Nanao is deeply disturbed by the results of Rangiku's pictures and decides to omit them from usage. At one point, another omake (for the BeachEpisode) really makes her seem like an exhibitionist; she considers ''stripping naked'' if no one compliments her on her skimpy swimsuit.
* MarshmallowHell: Hitsugaya stands at the perfect height for having his face smashed into Rangiku's breasts whenever she decides to hug him to her chest. She does it deliberately, which annoys him intensely.
* MsFanservice: This is also lampshaded [[AllThereInTheManual in-universe]] as she has a reputation for being the sexiest woman in Seireitei.
* NiceGirl: She has a reputation for being lazy, but she's also well-known for being loyal, compassionate and friendly.
* OffhandBackhand: Her way of dealing with Kon and Keigo when they try to glomp her.
* OneOfTheBoys: Busty and feminine, and gets along very well with the ladies around her, but she simply prefers hanging out with guys (especially Yumichika and Ikkaku) when she's not on duty. Conversely, most guys of the 13 Court Guard Squads treat her as one of those due to her fun-loving, easygoing personality.
* PiecesOfGod: In ''LightNovel/BleachCannotFearYourOwnWorld'' it's revealed that Rangiku was an incarnation of the Soul King, though Aizen ripped that part of her soul out and fed it to his Hōgyoku when she was young. It's noted that the fact that she survived, let alone was still powerful enough to become a lieutenant, is remarkable.
* PinkIsFeminine: She wears a pink scarf.
* ProudBeauty: Rangiku knows she has a large bust, and she flaunts it pretty shamelessly, usually for comedic purposes due to being TheTease. On at least one occasion, she's even tried getting Ichigo to change his mind by hiking up her skirt and unbuttoning her blouse.
* SadClown: She's actually deeply troubled, at least by Gin's behavior. You wouldn't know about her sad past from her attitude today.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: It's [[PinkIsFeminine pink]]. A {{Filler}} episode has her using it as part of a plan to defeat an evil copy of Kira.
* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: She's not at all ashamed to show off her boobs. She's also not above teasing men by unbuttoning her blouse or hiking up her skirt.
* SignificantBirthDate: She only started counting the days once she met Gin, and Gin even considered the day she met him ''as'' her birthday.
* TheSlacker: When not in action, she tends to laze about and avoid all work. Hitsugaya's predecessor was even lazier and, to her horror, was far better at dumping his responsibilities onto her than she was at dumping hers onto him.
* StatuesqueStunner: She's not quite as tall as Isane, but she's one of the taller ''Bleach'' ladies at 5'7''.
* TheTease: She deliberately arranges her clothing to give her AbsoluteCleavage which is guaranteed to have an impact on men. Any man who tries to take advantage of this, however, will get kicked or elbowed in the face for his trouble. She may encourage "window shopping" but grabbing the goods is not allowed.
* TinyGuyHugeGirl: With Hitsugaya. At 5'7", she's much taller than the Japanese average height for women (5'2").
* VerbalTic: Her gigai always end her sentences with "-beshii", so as to sound hornier and sexier.
[[/folder]]

!!Squad 11

[[folder:Kenpachi Zaraki]]
!!Kenpachi Zaraki
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_kenpachi_4.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350: [[labelnote:The Lost Agent appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_kenpachi_lost_agent_4.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[-''"Everyone who searches for power, without exception, searches for battle! Do you fight in order to become more powerful? Or do you want more power [[BloodKnight so you can fight]]?"''-]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Nozarashi (Shikai); Unnamed Bankai
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/FumihikoTachiki (JP), Creator/{{David Lodge|Actor}} (ENG, Episodes 20-202), Creator/PatrickSeitz (ENG, Episodes 244+), César Arias (Latin American Spanish)
----
The rough and wild captain of Squad 11, Kenpachi's immense spiritual power enabled him to achieve captain rank without unlocking his Zanpakutou's name or power. He's the only captain in history who has achieved captaincy without requiring Bankai to do so. He enjoys fighting and will hold back in various ways to make the fight last as long as possible. Due to his love of fighting, he is a wild card for Soul Society, being willing to turn on them if it gives him the chance to have a great fight.

He is the guardian of his lieutenant Yachiru whom he named after someone from his past that he greatly admired.

His Zanpakutou is '''''Nozarashi''''', and its Shikai turns it into an enormous cleaver that he claims can cut anything, even intangible items. Its Bankai ''(currently unnamed)'' is unique in that while the size of his sword decreases, his skin turns red and he enters an unstoppable berserker state.
----
* AbsurdCuttingPower: Although most Zanpakutou are capable of cutting with unnatural ability even in a sealed state, Nozorashi's entire power is based on cutting. In base state, it can cut things other Zanpakutou can only handle when unsealed. Kenpachi claims there's nothing his Shikai cannot cut and demonstrates by first reducing a falling meteor to rubble with a single strike before going on to cut his way through outer space. His Bankai possesses even more cutting power despite being tiny, especially when compared to his massive Shikai.
* AcheyScars: The scar over his eye aches when Unohana speaks.
* AchievementsInIgnorance: All of them, from his ability to become a captain to his sudden mastery of Bankai. Kenpachi has managed to keep up with Soul Society's best and brightest without going through a single day of formal training.
* AnimeHair: His hair looks spiky beyond all belief, but that is only because he goes through a lot of trouble to style it like that. When left to its own devices it hangs down.
* AntiHero: Of the SociopathicHero variety. Though he is more than capable of empathy, and he clearly cares about his subordinates, if anybody except Yachiru gets in the way of one of his fights he goes right through them at best, or straight up kills them at worst. Even if the people getting in his way are protagonists, he won't hesitate to turn on them if they're in his way.
* AtopAMountainOfCorpses: A flashback of Unohana's past involves her encountering a mountain of corpses. At the top of the pile, a young wild child suddenly appears, brandishing a sword that is longer than he is tall. The child is Zaraki, and it's how he and Unohana first met.
* AttackAttackAttack: His basic strategy is to have no strategy. He doesn't even really bother with defence most of the time. Even when he stalls during a fight to think of a strategy, he usually gives up and just resorts to doing what he does best: cutting things with his sword. His sword's Shikai power is based on this very concept; it's designed to cut absolutely anything that's thrown its way. He doesn't even consider an alternate approach when fighting Pernidas, whose power he has determined to mutilate anyone that gets too close after already losing an arm, or Gerard, who gets bigger and stronger the more he's injured.
* AxCrazy: He lives for fighting and will go to ridiculous lengths to instigate a fight if it means he can let loose. He betrays Soul Society by freeing Ichigo's friends and helping them find Ichigo just for the chance to fight Ichigo again. This means he has to fight other captains along the way. Tousen lampshades it by telling him he's lost his sanity, but Kenpachi retorts he was never sane to begin with.
-->'''Kenpachi:''' Sanity? I never had such a useless thing in the first place.
* BadassAndChildDuo: Kenpachi is so powerful he was capable of achieving the captain rank without learning how to release his zanpakutou's power, and the "Kenpachi" position is one only the strongest captain in a generation can hold. When he releases his PowerLimiter (his EyePatchOfPower), he can cut a building in half with the air pressure of a single swing. Yachiru has been by his side since she was a baby, and yet she's never had trouble handling his immense spiritual pressure. She's barely more than a child, but she's already a lieutenant, in an organisation that gives rank based on merit.
* BadassBaritone: Bleach tends to love this trope, he is no exception.
* BarbarianLonghair: Weirdly [[ZigZaggedTrope zig zagged]]. Zaraki styles his hair into stiff strands with small bells attached at the tips. [[AllThereInTheManual This process is very time consuming.]] Then we get a FlashBack to the time [[http://images.wikia.com/bleach/en/images/9/93/C114_cover_page_Zaraki_&_Yachiru.png before Zaraki became the captain of Squad 11.]] After the TimeSkip, [[ExpositoryHairstyleChange Zaraki has once again started wearing his hair down]]. It would seem that the more Zaraki embraces his naturally [[TheBerserker savage fighting style]], the more unkempt his hair is.
* BarefootPoverty: While living in the poverty-stricken 80th district Zaraki, like other residents of the district, has no access to luxuries such as footwear.
* BattleAura: When he goes all-out against Ichigo his reiatsu flares around him in the shape of a skull.
* TheBerserker: His berserker nature makes him happy in battle, to the point where getting cut makes him laugh and the more he gets cut, the more he laughs. He's an example of someone who is technically on the good guys' side who is unrepentant about his nature. He likes being that way. Allies and opponents alike find him extremely unnerving to be around on the battlefield. This is taken UpToEleven when he unleashes his Bankai.
* {{BFS}}: Nozarashi's sealed form is a nodachi with a chipped blade. When it transforms into shikai, it takes the form of a giant cleaver whose blade dwarfs even Kenpachi's large frame. In contrast, his bankai - which normally expand the sword's size - is a small cleaver.
* BloodKnight: Kenpachi ''lives'' for fighting. As a child, when it turned out he was already stronger than his tougher opponent, Unohana, he subconsciously began putting limiters on his ability so that he would be able to continue to enjoy fighting. The only way to fix this mistake is for Unohana to repetitively [[CameBackStrong kill and revive]] him over and over again, as he only gets stronger when he's at the point of death.
* BoisterousBruiser: He fights and '''''LOVES''''' it with his constant cackling about how much fun he's having.
* BoringButPractical: Most Captains save their Bankai or a technique that their Bankai uses as an ace in the hole for when the fight goes south. Kenpachi's equivalent of this is holding his sword two-handed and using Kendo, rather than swinging one-handed like a madman. The boringness is explicitly the reason he doesn't use it often.
* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: Without formal training in zanjutsu or kendo, Kenpachi functions at the level of a captain despite not having a bankai. Shunsui's first act as captain-general is to overturn the Central 46's secret ban on allowing Kenpachi to receive formal training in the martial techniques every Soul Reaper is supposed to have in a deliberate attempt to invoke this trope.
* CombatPragmatist: He doesn't use any sort of tricks or strategies, but once you're recognized as his opponent he's just going to hack away at you whether you're trying to talk to him or you're looking away or anything.
* CombatSadomasochist: His trill of fighting is so high, he laughs at any injury given to him whether it's fatal or not.
* CoveredWithScars: Due to his love for fighting, his body is absolutely covered in scars. His overall strategy seems to be that dodging is for sissies.
* DeliberateInjuryGambit: Kenpachi [[BloodKnight naturally]] decides this is the best tactic against Tousen's bankai, which cuts him off from all the senses except touch. Hey, if he gets stabbed, he knows where the person wielding the sword is, right? This tactic is also an example of FridgeBrilliance since he actually [[HilarityEnsues contemplates the advice]] his three subordinates might offer him. He imagines [[{{Bishounen}} Yumichika]] telling him to [[TheDandy give up beautifully]]. At first [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments disgusted by his own imagination]], he suddenly realises it's inspired him to come up with his plan. Why? Because a BloodKnight ''would'' think [[FridgeBrilliance quitting fighting just to tank a sword solely to defeat the opponent is indeed "giving up beautifully"]].
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Kenpachi is the title of the top ranked warrior in the Soul Society. Zaraki is the name of the place he's from. In the end, he doesn't really have a name. Not quite.
* ExcaliburInTheRust: His Zanpakuto is dull, rusted, and pitted. It's also one of the most powerful blades in Soul Society.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: In the timeskip he lets his hair down.
* EyepatchOfPower: It's a PowerLimiter, helping him control his reiatsu.
* FangsAreEvil: He's not necessarily evil, but he is an AxCrazy AntiHero who will happily turn on anyone, friend or foe, who will give him a good fight, and his pronounced canines accent his feral nature.
* HeroicComedicSociopath: Kenpachi's BloodKnight tendencies are often PlayedForLaughs in the anime, although sometimes in the manga as well. Most of the time, however, they're used to emphasise there's something deeply unnatural about his fighting style and urges.
* HeroicRROD: When Kenpachi first achieves a Bankai-level of power, his entire body transforms in the process and he's pushed into a berserker frenzy where he fights without conscious thought. He only stops fighting when he attempts to swing his sword-arm in response to his opponent's latest power-up. As his arm swings, it is torn apart by his own power. Yachiru comments that his body isn't yet capable of handling the new level of power output.
* HornedHumanoid: His bankai gives him a strong semblance to an oni, with red skin and horns jutting from his forehead.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Kenpachi (202 cm 6'7.5") is perhaps the most masculine character in the series, being a very strong and physically imposing man who is ridiculously obsessed with the [[BloodKnight adrenaline rush]] of battle. Meanwhile, his constant companion Yachiru (109 cm 3'7") is a [[KillerRabbit (seemingly) sweet little girl]]. As lieutenant of the combat-renowned 11th Division, she's more than earned the right to be second-in-command, but the reason she can ride around on Kenpachi's back is because she's so very tiny compared to his great size.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: He puts bells in his hair so people can hear him coming, wears an eyepatch that eats some his power and just swings his sword around madly with one hand instead of anything resembling proper technique unless he absolutely has to. He even does this ''subconsciously''; after his first fight with Unohana, in which he proved to be the stronger of the duo, he limited his own power so he'd have someone strong to fight against, to the point that she needs to keep landing fatal blows to get him to fight at full strength.
* ImprobableHairstyle: His hair is tied up into spikes with bells at the ends.
* InSeriesNickname: The Soul Reaper that possesses the title "Kenpachi" tends to be nicknamed, "The Man who Cannot Fall". Kenpachi Zaraki itself is an alias, since he never knew his real name.
* ItWasWithYouAllAlong: Most of his goal through the series is to unlock the true power of his Zanpakuto but can never seem to get it to respond or reveal itself to him. In the final arc, he find out it was Yachiru the entire time who was waiting until he was strong and focused enough to finally wield her power, even at the expense of losing her corporal form. In the final chapters, he's shown to accept this, knowing she'll be (literally) right be his side forever.
* KlingonPromotion: He became the Squad 11 captain by killing his predecessor. That's the guy's cloak he wears.
* TheLawOfDiminishingDefensiveEffort: He hardly ever bothers with dodging since he can tank a ''lot'' of damage.
* LargeHam: Kenpachi's idea of a good fight includes hamming up his enjoyment of it--and encouraging his opponent to descend into hamminess as well.
* LeeroyJenkins: He runs straight into battle with a battle cry. He doesn't care about plans.
* LifeOrLimbDecision: When he realises his opponent has taken control of the nerves in his right arm, he rips the arm off to break the control. The characters note that the attack would have spread to his whole body if he hadn't discarded the limb.
* ManlyTears: He sheds a single tear when he realises he's facing the reality of never being able to achieve his dream. When Unohana is about to kill him, he admits he's always admired her and dying before he could ever defeat her really sucks.
* MoeCouplet: His interactions with Yachiru are often very cute and/or funny.
* NoNameGiven: Justified. He is unaware of his true, original name and was [[NeverGivenAName never given one]] in Soul Society.
* NoSell: Gremmy's ImaginationBasedSuperpower cannot overcome Kenpachi even when he imagines crazy attacks such as meteor strikes to the city. Kenpachi explains that there is nothing Gremmy can imagine that Kenpachi cannot cut. Kenpachi fully believes he can cut anything that can ever be imagined.
** Gets a famous one much earlier during his first fight of the series against Ichigo. To provide a handicap for Ichigo, who is nowhere near his level at that point, Kenpachi opens his ''haori'' and offers to let Ichigo strike him anywhere he likes - if he dies in one hit as a result, no hard feelings. With some goading, Ichigo slashes at Kenpachi as hard as he can...only to find that not only has '''Zangetsu''' not even ''scratched'' Kenpachi, ''[[UpToEleven his own hand is bleeding instead!]]'' Kenpachi [[JustifiedTrope explains this]] as being the natural outcome of a clash between two spiritual forces of unequal power - the weaker one always takes the brunt of the impact, and Ichigo's concentrated power at that point is weaker than Kenpachi's own unconscious, unfocused power.
* NoSenseOfDirection: The Seireitei streets are like a labyrinth, making it easy to get lost. Kenpachi has a terrible sense of direction and always gets lost very easily. As a result, he relies heavily on Yachiru to direct him. Unfortunately, she always gets lost herself and her directions lead Kenpachi even further astray.
* OhCrap: The expression he wears when he is defeated by Yachiru, who is the only person he has ever genuinely feared.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: He's willing to turn on Soul Society to save Ichigo's life just because he wants a rematch.
* OpenShirtTaunt: Kenpachi does this for Ichigo in their first encounter.
* PapaWolf: When Nnoitra tried to kill Yachiru, Kenpachi became much more serious in battle. When she disappears in the Final Arc, he's distraught and refuses to listen to his men when they point out that his order to find her is problematic because they don't have a reiatsu trail to follow. He eventually refocuses on his captain duties only when Nanao confronts him about his lack of professionalism.
* ParentalSubstitute: Found baby Yachiru in the streets and took her in, as he was impressed that his bloodshed didn't scare her off.
* PerpetualFrowner: If he's not in the middle of a fight with a challenging opponent, he's generally uninterested in anything that's going on.
* PleaseWakeUp: The one person Kenpachi didn't want to see die illicts this response from him. Upon defeating Unohana, he realises she's dying and screams at her to wake up while cradling her.
* PowerIncontinence: He cannot properly control his reiatsu or fine-tune the amount he's suppressing or releasing, so he wears a special eyepatch that acts as an artificial PowerLimiter, something he only chooses to release when he has to. A traumatic experience as a child caused him to subconsciously shackle his power to protect the first WorthyOpponent he ever met, and it's only many years later that she fixes the problem. Even then, the first time he achieves a Bankai-level of power, his arm gets torn apart by the power he's using. Yachiru observes his body has not yet adapted to the new power levels.
* RealMenWearPink: Despite his generally barbaric behavior, he spends hours doing his hair and he sometimes has tea parties with Yachiru. Aw!
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After he one-shots Giriko, he declares he's bored and wants to go home, but Yachiru stops him.
* SelfImposedChallenge: Fights one-handed with a dulled sword, wears an eyepatch that constantly sucks power out of him, and wears bells in his hair so that people can hear him coming, all for the express purpose of making fights harder (and therefore more fun) for himself.
* SlasherSmile: He never smiles normally, only viciously grinning in anticipation of bloodshed.
* SparingTheAces: Kenpachi spared the original Yachiru's life. It was an unconscious act, a subconscious decision based on the fear of being deprived of a WorthyOpponent who had a unique enough level of fighting talent that he was able to feel the thrill of fear in battle for the very first time.
* SuperMode: His Bankai in a nutshell. It trades his sanity for a no-nonsense, murderous rage and his axe for a smaller cleaver, and immediately demonstrates his new-found strength by [[CurbStompBattle ragdolling a demi-god around]], ripping his arm off with his teeth, and effortlessly cutting him in half.
* TrainingFromHell: During the Vandenreich's first invasion, Kenpachi's defeat results in him going through horrendous training to improve himself. Kyouraku orders Unohana to train him in a fight to the death. This training involves fatally wounding and magically healing Kenpachi over and over again in a duel to the death until he's too strong for her to kill anymore.
* TurnsRed: Activating his Bankai his skin becomes bright red and he becomes an unstoppable berserker.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Goes both ways during his fight against Nnoitra. Nnoitra was completely unprepared for the badass mass of insanity that was Kenpachi, while Kenpachi himself was completely underestimating the damage Nnoitra was inflicting to his body. It took him ''bleeding to death'' to realize that he'd better get serious or he'll really die.
* UnskilledButStrong: Kenpachi has no clue on how to truly fight properly, but his raw power is enough to defeat almost any opponent. Until the final arc, his equivalent to the other Captains' Shikai and Bankai was removing his [[PowerLimiter eyepatch]] and [[BoringButPractical holding his sword two-handed and using what little Kendo]] Yamamoto forced him to learn. It is eventually revealed this is a combination of his dislike of formal martial philosophy and the Central 46 preferring to keep him untrained so he's not too powerful should he ever rebel. Even as a child, he was able to defeat the Eleventh Division Kenpachi, who was considered to be the most skilled swordsman and one of the most powerful captains in Soul Society. When he eventually gains his full power, he transforms into a red-skinned raving beast of a fighter that can literally rip the arms off a giant Quincy with his bare teeth.
* VictoryIsBoring: He holds back in battle because of the fear that there would be nothing for him to enjoy should this ever happen. It's such an unconscious fear that he doesn't even know he's shackled his own power to avoid killing any WorthyOpponent he does meet.
* TheWorfEffect: Even [[InSeriesNickname The Man Who Cannot Fall]] is not immune. He is defeated off-page by Royd Lloyd, who is [[DittoFighter mimicking]] both Yhwach's appearance and memories. It's the first clear clue of Yhwach's power level.
* WorfHadTheFlu: Kenpachi goes into one of his fights having lampshaded that he's sporting damaged internal organs that are making him cough up blood. He's defeated in two blows without ever managing to get in a successful hit. The four female Stern Ritters who defeat him also make it clear that their strategy depends on attacking him while he's worn out from his battle with Gremmy--although the amount of damage they deal to him is incredible on its own right.
* WorthyOpponent: He loves to fight but struggles to find someone strong enough to give him the kind of battle he craves. When he does find one, he latches onto them as someone he can return to time and again for his idea of "fun". His very first, and most idolised, worthy opponent was a woman called Yachiru whom he named his lieutenant after. After his failure to defeat Ichigo in battle when they first met, he has become obsessed with Ichigo's strength as well. He also acknowledges Nnoitra as one due to the 5th Espada actually forcing him to take the fight dead serious, and is completely dismissive of Yammy when he fails to do the same despite being the so-called 0th Espada and Kenpachi going in still wounded from the previous fight. He is so afraid of ending a fight before he's had a chance to enjoy it that he deliberately de-powers himself so that he fights below par. As a result, it takes a very long time for him to achieve his full potential.
* TheXOfY: While living in the Rukongai, Kenpachi, originally nameless, eventually named himself by taking the title of the strongest Soul Reapers (the Kenpachi) and the district he was originally from (Zaraki district). He would therefore introduce himself as Kenpachi of Zaraki. By the time he's 11th division captain, however, the name has contracted into Kenpachi Zaraki.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gosuke Kiganjo]]
!!!'''Gosuke Kiganjo'''
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gosuke_kiganj.png]]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Unknown
----
He's the 10th Kenpachi, the one that Zaraki killed before becoming captain. Although mentioned in the early chapters of ''Turn Back The Pendulum'', he finally made an official, if brief, debut in Bleach #527.
----
* AllThereInTheManual: We learned of his height, name, weight, birthday and design in the ''Masked'' databook.
* KlingonPromotion: He killed the previous Kenpachi to become captain of the 11th division. The other captains weren't very impressed with him.
* LargeAndInCharge: He was 7'3, and weighed 695 pounds back when he was the captain of the eleventh division.
* LazyBum: According to Shinji, he's lazy almost to the point of being apathetic. As a result, he wasn't present during Urahara's promotion, or in the emergency meeting about disappearing souls in the Rukongai. He didn't even bother to pick a lieutenant.
* PosthumousCharacter: The reason Zaraki is the story's current Kenpachi is because he killed Kiganjo many years before the first chapter occurs. The references to him and the single scene that briefly shows him are therefore either posthumous comments or flashbacks to times when he was still alive.
%% * ScaryBlackMan: Looks a little like Yammy, too.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Yachiru Kusajishi]]
!!Yachiru Kusajishi/Nozarashi
[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_yachiru.png]]
[[caption-width-right:180:[[labelnote:Thousand-Year Blood War appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_yachiru_lost_agent.png]][[/labelnote]]
[-''"We'll get stronger, Ken-chan. Together, let's get stronger. I know that Ken-chan is the best. So let's get stronger! You and me together."''-]
->'''Species:''' Zanpakuto Spirit (disguised as a Soul Reaper)
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Sanpo Kenju (Shikai)
-->'''Voiced by:''' Hisayo Mochizuki (JP), Stevie Bloch (ENG), Monserrat Mendoza and Angélica Villa (Latin American Spanish)
----
Kenpachi's pink-haired sidekick and best friend, whom he adopted before becoming a Soul Reaper. She is one of the most hyperactive characters in the series and will stick by Kenpachi no matter what. She can be a little annoying to others, as seen in the {{Omake}}s. She is also President of the Soul Reaper Women's Association.

Kenpachi named her Yachiru after the only person he ever admired and her last name is taken from the district he first encountered her in. She is later revealed to be the manifestation of Nozarashi, Kenpachi's Zanpakuto.

Her Zanpakuto appears to be '''''Sanpo Kenju''''' which she claims summons two sword wielding creatures that mimic her movements.
----
* AnimalBattleAura: When repeatedly annoyed by a messenger, she snaps for him to leave her alone and manifests her reiatsu in the shape of a snarling cat.
* AttackAnimal: Her Zanpakuto is apparently unique in that it summons two living creatures while itself remaining unchanged. These two creatures wield swords of their own and mimic her every movement, "Boney" the tall skeletal one moving slightly after she does, and "Lumpy" the plump furry one moving slightly before.
* BadassAndChildDuo: The child to Kenpachi's badass. She appears to be pretty badass herself though, being a lieutenant and all.
* BadassAdorable: She's small, cute and very dangerous. She has a reputation for speed and is the lieutenant of the strongest combat division. Bankai-capable Ikkaku is terrified of her. In the final arc, she is finally allowed to fight and reveal why her reputation is so formidable.
* BigEater: Her big appetite is shown often enough to the point that it's a RunningGag. One omake shows her indulging in a gigantic bowl of what appears to be ice-cream and fruit whilst surrounded by numerous empty bowls and plates, and a series of omakes show her pestering several captains for snacks.
* TheBlindLeadingTheBlind: This comes into play whenever she gives directions to Kenpachi despite her being just as bad at directions as he is.
* BlushSticker: She sports two permanent pink blush stickers. It goes with her hyperactive, cheerful persona.
* CatchPhrase: Seems to have a fondness for "Aye aye, sir!".
* CheerfulChild: She is constantly upbeat and cheerful, especially when Kenpachi is having fun in a fight, and especially when she has access to sweets.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Yachiru's hair and eyes are pink. This makes her stand out as something cute and unusual creating a dissonance with the hint that there's something really quite dark and wrong to her.
* CuteAndPsycho: She's cute and cheerful, but she's also powerful and violent enough to scare Ikkaku.
* CuteBruiser: She's small enough to easily ride on Kenpachi's shoulder, yet can easily pick him up ''and jump up two stories while holding him'' without breaking a sweat. And when she runs at full speed she digs divots out of ''stone pavement''. She's also as able to cope with captain-class reiatsu as any other vice-captain.
* EffortlessAmazonianLift: Can carry Kenpachi on her shoulder while jumping from building to building, which is quite the indication that she isn't really just cute and harmless.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Cuts her hair shorter and wears a crossbone decoration in her hair after the timeskip.
* HairDecorations: She wears a crossbone decoration in her hair after the timeskip.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Kenpachi (202 cm/6'7.5") is perhaps the most masculine character in the series, being a very strong and physically imposing man who is ridiculously obsessed with the [[BloodKnight adrenaline rush]] of battle. Meanwhile, his constant companion Yachiru (109 cm/3'7") is a [[KillerRabbit (seemingly) sweet little girl]]. As lieutenant of the combat-renowned 11th Division, she's more than earned the right to be second-in-command, but the reason she can ride around on Kenpachi's back is because she's so very tiny compared to his great size.
* InLoveWithYourCarnage: She ''enjoys'' watching violence, whether it is from Kenpachi or his opponent. In fact she was like this ''when she was a baby'', attracted by Kenpachi's sword in the midst of a bloody massacre. Makes sense, since she ''is'' [[BloodKnight Kenpachi's]] zanpakutou spirit.
* LivingWeapon: Reveals herself as the Zanpakuto Spirit of Kenpanchi's zanpakutou near the end of the series. Once she does this, she goes to sword form full time since he can now wield his sword's power.
* MoeCouplet: Pairing her, the cute and hyperactive child, with her guardian Kenpachi, the big rough and tough guy, results in rather adorkable and humorous father/daughter-like interactions. TheReveal that she's his zanpakutou spirit puts another layer onto their interactions, though Kenpachi never realized it until the final arc.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Kenpachi gave her the name "Yachiru" after the only person he ever admired, and it means "someone who has mastered all forms and styles of sword combat". The original Yachiru was the founder of the 11th division and the first, and strongest, Kenpachi to ever lead that division. Her real name is Nozarashi.
* NestedOwnership: During the final arc, Yachiru is forced to draw her sword. Isane is baffled by the weapon as it doesn't behave like any Zanpakutou she's ever heard of. Yachiru is eventually revealed to be the manifestation of Zaraki's own Zanpakutou; while most sword spirits will manifest copies of their master's sword (i.e., themselves in sword-form), Yachiru uses a unique sword of her own that bears no resemblance to the weapon Zaraki himself wields.
* TheNicknamer: Some of her names are harmless enough to be regarded as nothing more than an InSeriesNickname (such as "Yumichee" for Yumichika or Ken-chan/Kenny for Kenpachi). However, most of her names are regarded as an EmbarrassingNickname instead (such as Boobies for Orihime, Pachinko-Head/Baldy for Ikkaku or Maki-Maki for Arimaki).
* NoSenseOfDirection: Is hopeless when it comes to directions. Even so, Kenpachi asks her for help with this.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: While she looks like a small child, she's just as bloodthirsty as Kenpachi and is both strong and fast. The reason she doesn't take part in fights like other lieutenants is because she doesn't want to [[HelpingWouldBeKillstealing interrupt]] Kenpachi's fun and [[InLoveWithYourCarnage likes]] watching him fight.
* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Lieutenants fight and/or administrate. Except for Yachiru, that is. She mostly plays, eats sweets and watches Kenpachi's fights from the side-lines, only very rarely doing anything related to her actual duties. Both the third and fifth seats of her division carry the title "proxy lieutenant", the same as the two third seats of the formerly lieutenant-less 13th Division.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: She looks like she's around 6-8 years old. Considering the fact that Hitsugaya, who looks around 13 years old, has been around for at least 40 years (confirmed, most likely longer, but that's unconfirmed), it's very hard to say how old she is. What ''is'' known is that she was around long before he became a captain. TheReveal that she's Kenpachi's zanpakutou means that she's at most as old as he is.
* TheReveal: After disappearing in mysterious circumstances, Yachiru returns in chapter 668. As Kenpachi is taking a heavy beating from Gerard, despite being in Shikai, Yachiru appears to offer him her hand and tells him it's time to use the power of Bankai. She triggers his Bankai, revealing herself to be his true zanpakutou spirit in the process.
* RoseHairedSweetie: Pink-haired, hyperactive, Yachiru is the cheerful and optimistic version, always smiling, especially when Kenpachi is enjoying his fights.
* SatelliteCharacter: In the distant past, she first appeared in front of Kenpachi under mysterious circumstances, and has remained by his side ever since. She is rarely separated from him, and her main role in the story is to encourage Kenpachi to keep fighting and get stronger. Although she gets a slightly larger role in omakes, the manga eventually reveals the real reason why Kenpachi is her whole world. She is the true spirit of his zanpakutou.
* TrademarkFavouriteFood: Yachiru is [[SweetTooth addicted]] to sweets which is played up in the anime; she will do anything for sweets, even disrupting captain meetings to obtain them. Yamamoto has a secret stash he keeps in his rooms at all time, so whenever Yachiru turns up, he gives her the bag and she leaves with minimal fuss. In the slice of life stories, Byakuya learns to do this, too.
* UndyingLoyalty: Her entire focus is on Kenpachi. She is constantly with him and encourages him to get stronger and keep fighting. In return, he protects her like a father protects a child. She once describes him as being her whole world and is eventually revealed to be the true spirit of his zanpakutou.
* WithCatlikeTread: She continues to be her usual boisterous self while sneaking through the Sternritter's territory for supplies, much to Isane's horror.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Yachiru has pink hair.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ikkaku Madarame]]
!!Ikkaku Madarame
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ikkaku_madarame_6.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:The Lost Agent appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ikkaku_madarame_7.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[-''"No man's life is worth more than another! If you're gonna put your life on the line, you do it as equals! I don't care if you're brothers, or master and apprentice, or whatever! You should only die for a guy who'd die for you! There's nothing honourable about throwing your life away as though it's nothing! That's just showing off like a kid!"''-]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Hōzukimaru (Shikai); Ryūmon Hōzukimaru (Bankai)
--> Voiced by: Creator/NobuyukiHiyama (JP), Creator/VicMignogna (ENG), Richard Cansino (ENG, Episode 105), Creator/SamRiegel (ENG, Episode 204), Óscar Flores (Latin American Spanish)
----
Current vice-captain and former 3rd seat of Squad 11 and one of the most HotBlooded characters here. In the past, Ikkaku fought Kenpachi, but ended up losing. He followed Kenpachi to Seireitei and vowed to someday fight and die under his command. He is the first person Ichigo fights when he gets inside the Seireitei. After their fight, they become minor rivals.

His Zanpakutou is '''''Hōzukimaru''''', a three section staff with a blade on the end. His Bankai is '''''Ryūmon Hōzukimaru''''', a set of three enormous blades which grow in offensive strength the longer he fights.
----
* AlmightyJanitor: Third Seat Ikkaku Madarame is known for being vice-captain-class despite his lower rank. What's less well-known is the fact he's [[HiddenBadass hiding bankai]], only someone who possesses the talent to one day achieve captain-class can achieve. However, although officially still a secret, the news he has bankai has been slowly leaking out.
* AwesomeButImpractical: His bankai drastically increases his power and the longer he uses it the stronger he gets. However, not only is it so brittle that it starts breaking when he actually scores a direct hit, but it actually takes him a fairly significant amount of time before his weapon even finishes waking up. Finally, it doesn't increase his speed.
* BadassBoast: After he fights Shishigawara with his bare fists and defeats him with a massive headbutt, he grins with his face covered in blood and gives a pretty awesome and boastful speech.
-->"You had a bad opponent. You were a lucky man, but I'm the luckiest bastard in the entire 13 Court Guard Squads!"
* BaldOfAwesome: He's a strong bankai-wielding third seat (and later vice-captain), and also bald. Characters acknowledge his strength but his baldness is otherwise used as a RunningGag throughout the series.
* BerserkButton: His baldness is a sensitive subject, to say the least. He will become overly aggressive or even threaten others whenever they mention he's bald, even if there's no malicious intent whatsoever.
* {{BFS}}: Despite all others having one, his bankai definitely stands out as it is a giant weapon about three times his size with three chain-linked blades that seem like huge, modified monk's spades and guandaos.
* BifurcatedWeapon: Ikkaku combines his sword and sheath together to create his shikai.
* BishieSparkle: Parodied. Keigo's sister Mizuho finds him very attractive because she likes men who shave their head. Thus, she sees him more as a regular bishounen than the badass he is. Cue the sparkles!
* BladeOnAStick: Hozukimaru turns to a three sectioned spear in Shikai.
* BloodKnight: Typical of the 11th Division, he loves to fight.
* EverybodyKnewAlready: He is willing to throw fights to avoid revealing his bankai, despite having willingly told [[BestFriend Yumichika]], [[TheApprentice Renji]] and [[ActionSurvivor Keigo]]. When chastising Ikkaku for his attitude, [[BigBrotherMentor Iba]] reveals he's always known. [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Komamura]] accidentally overhears but promises to keep his mouth shut. Later on, Mayuri's comment to Ichigo that he and Akon once patched up Ikkaku's broken bankai reminds Mayuri he wasn't supposed to reveal the secret. He concludes he doesn't care.
* FacialMarkings: His eyes each have a small red marking at the outer corner.
* FashionableAsymmetry: After the time-skip, he wears no sleeve on the right and a full sleeve on the left. He also has his right shoulder and upper arm encased in armour but there's none on his left side.
* FightingWithChucks: Ikkaku's Zanpakutou initially looks like a spear when it's released. However, this simply disguises the fact that it's really a three-sectioned staff. Justified in that Ikkaku's themes are based on Chinese warrior monks, so his weapon (in all its forms) is based on weapons associated with Chinese warrior monks instead of being based on Japanese versions.
* GatheringSteam: Ikkaku's EmpathicWeapon Houzukimaru slowly increases in spiritual power after it's unleashed in combat because, in his words, it's "lazy" and takes time to wake up all the way.
* GlassCannon: His zanpakutou is powerful but also lacks defence. His shikai is a snake of a weapon being unpredictable and dangerous, but it's also made of wood and breaks easily. His bankai is hideously powerful but the sheer force of its own power makes it brittle. It's heavily implied that the only reason his zanpakutou is a GlassCannon in any form is because he's abusing his power and not using it properly. Ikkaku himself, however, is not this trope.
* HandOrObjectUnderwear: Mizuho causes this situation in Episode 229 when she walks in on him getting ready for his bath and a conveniently-placed object hide his private parts from the audience while he freaks out.
* HonorBeforeReason: If he has to choose between dying or using his bankai in a way that it would become public knowledge, he would prefer to do the former because he wants to die under Kenpachi's command and not risk being transferred to another division as its Captain. Not only does this lead to his defeat in the fight against Poww, [[WhatTheHellHero which Iba calls him out on]], it's also been shown there are several Soul Reapers who have Bankai such as Renji and Sasakibe that haven't been pushed into a captaincy position even after Aizen and his cohorts betray Soul Society. Sasakibe in particular has had the same feelings towards Yamamoto as Ikkaku has to Kenpachi for much longer, and his solution was [[DecliningPromotion just to say "no" to any captaincy offers]]. In the face of that evidence, Ikkaku's worries come off as unfounded at best.
* HotBlooded: Incredibly excitable and easily fired up, especially when it comes to fighting. Look at his seiyuu.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: Knows Bankai, but hides it in fear of being told to leave Kenpachi's service. Eventually he nearly gets himself killed for holding back and at about the same time it's made clear that he hasn't done such a great job of protecting his secret anyway.
* InsistentTerminology: He's naturally hairless up top, ''not'' shaved, but he insists repeatedly that he ''isn't'' bald.
* InstantChucks: Ikkaku's bankai transforms his [[FightingWithChucks three-section staff]] into three giant blades [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon loosely based on the monk's spade]] connected by a huge chain. As with Hisagi, his weapon is technically a [[EpicFlail chain weapon]] that requires two hands to use. His three bankai blades have been noticed to be exceptionally powerful but fragile because he chooses not to use his power correctly [[BloodKnight for the sake of fun]].
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite his boisterous, cocky, battle-loving nature, Ikkaku is strangely not that difficult to get along with, especially when off-duty, and will sometimes help strangers, especially if they wish to become better fighters.
* LargeHam: Ikkaku Madarame is not a quiet man.
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: The only true example among the whole cast. Although he's an excellent fighter, he has no capability in kido, no real flash step skill, and never catches up with the rest of the cast after being the first soul reaper Ichigo beats, despite his division's reputation as the strongest. What keeps him from defying this is that he also doesn't have the monstrous spiritual pressure of his captain and Ichigo that allow them to get by with just melee.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: During the Vandenreich's second invasion of Soul Society, the survival stakes become so high that Ikkaku finally breaks the squad's combat rules regarding one-on-one combat and Kidou tolerance. When Yumichika enters his fight to help him, he doesn't object. Even though Yumichika's support is Kidou based, Ikkaku unusually relies heavily on it. The only time he objects to Yumichika using Kidou is in a situation where he doesn't believe Yumichika can win and stopping Yumichika makes him the target instead.
* PerpetualFrowner: Unless he's fighting, he tends to just scowl.
* RankUp: He becomes the vice-captain after the ten year timeskip after Yachiru (aka Nozarashi) disappears.
* ShipperOnDeck: Like Momo, he thinks a relationship between Renji and Rukia would be a good thing.
* SkewedPriorities: He'd rather be killed than reveal he has a bankai, as that would get him removed from Kenpachi's division. Iba calls him on the fact that as a 13 Court Guard Squads member, Ikkaku is failing in his duties whenever he loses thanks to his holding back. Specifically, his loss in the Fake Karakura arc ran the risk of thousands of innocent humans getting dragged onto the battleground, because Ikkaku doesn't want a promotion.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Ikkaku always goes into a fight with a smile, save for his battle against Shishigawara--expecting a quick throwdown against a human. Compared to the rest of the Soul Society reinforcements, he gets bloodied up the most. This was, in part, because he [[BloodKnight wanted to be]], however.
* UndyingLoyalty: Pre-time skip this was his major characteristic given that he's hiding his true power simply so that he can fight and die under Kenpachi's command. After the time-skip, however, it's implied by his WarriorTherapist speech to Shishigawara that he's taken a less delusional approach to this trope.
* UseYourHead: Ikkaku is seen headbutting others to inflict damage twice in the series, and is not affected in either instances.
** Done for comedy when he's made to wear a cutesy shirt from Mizuho, which leaves Yumichika in stitches. Pissed off, Ikkaku headbutts him, knocking him out until Matsumoto sneaks up on them.
** When he breaks his zanpakutou against Shishigawara, he turns to arm-to-arm combat. After delivering and receiving a number of blows, he finally ends the fight by giving his opponent a big headbutt. Shishigawara is promptly defeated as Ikkaku boasts that he's the luckiest man in the 13 Court Guard Squads.
* WarriorTherapist: When Ikkaku learns of Shishigawara's motivation for having UndyingLoyalty towards Tsukishima, he lectures him on everything that is wrong with his thinking.
-->"No man's life is worth more than another! If you're gonna put your life on the line, you do it as equals! I don't care if you're brothers, or master and apprentice, or whatever! You should only die for a guy who'd die for you! There's nothing honorable about throwing your life away as though it's nothing! That's just showing off like a kid!"
* WarriorMonk: His aesthetic. He's bald, and his shikai turns his zanpakutō into a naginata, the preferred weapon of Japanese Sohei monks, which can also be used as a sansetsukan, a weapon trained by the Chinese Shaolin monks. In bankai, parts of his weapon resemble the monk's spade and yanyuedao, which are other Shaolin weapons. The red tassels found on both forms are characteristic of Chinese weapons as well.
* WillfullyWeak: He refuses to publicise his bankai because he's afraid he'll be put under pressure to develop towards being a captain, which would ultimately force him to leave Squad 11. All he wants to do is fight and die under Kenpachi's command. As a result, he'll avoid activating bankai even if it means getting defeated or killed, if there's no way for him to activate bankai without his possession of it becoming public knowledge.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Yumichika Ayasegawa]]
!!Yumichika Ayasegawa
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yumichika_ayesegawa.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Thousand Year Blood War appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yumichika1200.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[-''"I refuse to look upon something so hideous."''-]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Fuji Kujaku (False Shikai); Ruri'iro Kujaku (True Shikai)
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JunFukuyama (JP), Brian Beacock (ENG), Moisés Iván Mora (Latin American Spanish)
----
Yumichika is the [[HiddenDepths apparently]] narcissistic current 3rd and former 5th seat in Squad 11. He isn't the fourth seat because he hates the number four ([[FourIsDeath and who wouldn't]]?) and apparently didn't want to share the 3rd seat with Ikkaku. His most distinguishing feature is his right eye which has two pairs of brightly coloured feathers accentuating it. Yumichika is first seen fighting Ganju Shiba during the Soul Society arc and losing, mainly due to having his [[TheDandy precious hair]] messed up. Despite his vain appearance, he's actually an even match to Ikkaku.

His Zanpakutou is "nicknamed" '''''Fuji Kujaku''''' (just to annoy him), and it takes the form of a multi-bladed falx resembling a fan. It lets him sap his opponents of their energy and stamina. When called upon by its ''real'' name, '''''Ruri'iro Kujaku''''', its powers drastically increase.
----
* AdaptationDyeJob: His feathers are multi-hued in the manga. The anime changes this to one pair of solid red feathers and one pair of solid yellow feathers.
* AlmightyJanitor: He's officially the fifth seat (later promoted to third seat) of the strongest combat division. No one has the fourth seat because he [[FourIsDeath won't take it]] and no one can defeat him to take it, which makes him the fourth strongest member of the division. He's officially expected to take on enemies and responsibilities that only captains and vice-captains are supposed to be assigned to. All this is based on his publicly acknowledged abilities. Now factor in the [[VampiricDraining abilities]] he's [[CoverBlowingSuperPower keeping secret]] that allow him to win fights in a ''single strike'' when he uses them.
* AnimalMotif: The peacock--every aspect of the Asian symbology, which includes not just the beauty, vanity and pride, but also the loyalty, rejuvenation, resurrection, and watchfulness themes, too.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: He correctly deduces that Giselle's blood is dangerous from her attempts to provoke Ikkaku into attacking her. He also figures out Bambietta's ability to turn things into bombs rather than shoot bombs.
* BerserkButton: Yumichika is obsessed with beauty. Anyone who calls him ugly earns his enmity at best and an attempt to kill them at worst. His [[TalkingWeapon zanpakutou]] hates the colour purple. Yumichika [[AlmightyJanitor tries to hide]] his taboo FunctionalMagic abilities from his BloodKnight division; He [[WillfullyWeak constantly insults]] his zanpakutou by giving it a purple-themed nickname; it angrily refuses to unleash its power in battle, allowing him to [[CoverblowingSuperPower keep his power secret]].
* BishieSparkle: Even when his BerserkButton is pressed, he'll sparkle.
* {{Bishonen}}: He's a handsome and slim young man, known for being very dedicated to his beauty. And damn, does he like to remind people.
* BloodKnight: Don't let his obsession with beauty and his bishounen looks fool you. He loves fighting as much as any 11th division member.
* BloodLust: In the [[{{Filler}} anime-only]] Invasion Arc, one of the [[EvilTwin clones]] is revealed to have this. Yumichika can't attack his clone because he [[TheFightingNarcissist thinks]] his clone is far too beautiful. However, his clone has no qualms about tearing Yumichika to shreds precisely because he thinks he'd look even more beautiful covered in blood.
* ColorCodedEyes: Wisteria-coloured eyes, a shade of purple very similar to (and often confused with) lavender. [[EmpathicWeapon Zanpakutou]] represent their wielders' true nature and his hates the colour of wisteria-purple which itself raises questions about Yumichika's true personality. A straight example of this trope, his true strength and nature is a mystery. Superficially [[TheFightingNarcissist narcissistic]], he's hiding the fact he's sacrificing his true strength to adhere to his division's [[BloodKnight martial philosophy]]. The very few times his [[EnergyAbsorption true abilities]] have been used, he's won in a [[CurbStompBattle single strike]], meaning his full strength has never been tested or even [[AlmightyJanitor acknowledged]]. And he's [[WillfullyWeak working hard]] to keep it that way.
* CombatTentacles: Yumichika's true shikai transforms his sword into a mass of vines that capture and restrain the enemy while at the same time draining the enemy to death. As a twist, Yumichika is a protagonist, not a villain.
* CoverBlowingSuperpower: His true abilities could get him kicked out of his division if it became common knowledge. At the very least, it'll disgrace him.
* TheDandy: He will avert the part of the trope that says a dandy doesn't like fighting, but if his clothes get torn in a fight, he ''will'' prioritise getting a fresh set of clothing over an enemy invasion of the city he's trained to protect. And he's been known to lose a fight just because his hair got messed up.
* {{Determinator}}: He'd rather die than let his division find out the truth, so, even though it's not his natural style, he'll keep fighting--hiding his power--for as long as he can to protect his secret... or die. The final arc hints that his attitude may be changing.
* DiagnosisFromDrBadass: After one punch by Charlotte, Yumichika can immediately tell his arm is broken in three separate places. He keeps fighting regardless.
* DramaticPause: When Yumichika [[PreAssKickingOneLiner thanks]] Charlotte, the anime doesn't just emphasise it with GlowingEyesOfDoom. They give the moment a DramaticPause as well.
* EmpathicWeapon: Yumichika's is actually unique: his Zanpakutou's name is based on its favourite colour, Ruri'iro Kujaku (Azure Peacock) but Yumichika has nicknamed it based on its most hated colour, Fuji Kujaku (Wisteria-Purple Peacock). His Zanpakutou retaliates to the nickname by only partially releasing to deny Yumichika its shikai power and appearance. Yumichika takes advantage of this to [[WillfullyWeak disguise]] his kidou-type Zanpakutou as a combat-type Zanpakutou so his squad won't ostracise for him for possessing a [[CoverBlowingSuperpower taboo weapon]]. It means he's fighting with a [[{{Determinator}} fake shikai]] in battle.
* EnergyAbsorption: The basis of how his shikai works is by draining away the life-force of his opponent. After the fight is over, he is free to choose to use the stolen life-force to heal any wounds he may have sustained in the fight, giving his shikai optional VampiricDraining properties, too.
* ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy: Averted. In a manga where almost everyone introduces themselves at the start of a fight and explains their abilities just before launching their described attack, Yumichika stands out as one of the few who doesn't do either. The only time we've ever seen him describe his power, he waited until his opponent was already too badly damaged by the attack to be able to escape, and he finished explaining just in time for his opponent to die.
* FashionableAsymmetry: He accessorises his right eye with feathers and his right arm is clothed in orange, and is attached to his neck ruff on the right side only. After the time-skip, he discarded the orange in favour of white, retaining the asymmetry of a clothed right arm and unclothed left arm. He's also got a cloth running vertically over his right shoulder, giving him a sash look on the right-handed side from the front and the appearance of having an all-white (right) sleeve from the back. On top of that, he's also rearranged his hair to have a long plait on the right-hand side of his hair, and slightly longer strands of hair than his left-hand side.
* TheFightingNarcissist: He loves himself and his beauty and always makes sure he looks his best when kicking ass.
* FluffyFashionFeathers: As a beauty-obsessed man, Yumichika wears feathers around the eyes before the time-skip, and the both around the eyes and ears after the time-skip.
* FlowerMotif: His shikai produces lilies which are, appropriately, symbols of [[VampiricDraining rejuvenation]], [[EnergyAbsorption death]] and [[TheFightingNarcissist beauty]].
* FunnyAfro: As a result of Ganju throwing a firework at his head, Yumichika is mortified to find himself sporting one of these. Ikkaku finds it hilarious.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: The moment Yumichika turns the tables on Charlotte is accompanied by this in the anime.
* HiddenDepths: He's narcissistic on the surface, until it's revealed that he's sacrificing everything that he is for the sake of his division's philosophy. He's also implied to have sacrificed the chance to become third seat simply because Ikkaku wanted it. That's before we get to the subject of his BloodKnight persona hiding a MagicKnight reality.
* HonorBeforeReason: Given the choice between having his division learn the truth or dying, he ''will'' choose death.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: He always fights with an imperfect release of his sword, because he is afraid that his squad mates will shun him for having a ''kido''-based release. The only exception is when he is absolutely ''certain'' that no one from the 11th Squad can see him; Charlotte Cuulhorne unfortunately finds out the hard way after trapping Yumichika with his Rosa Blanca, a technique that hides his opponent and himself.
* LetsGetDangerous: Whenever Yumichika can get away with using his true shikai without being discovered, his fights always transform into this.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Notorious for his beauty and his obsession with beauty, he used to have long hair that was fashionably styled until he joined the Soul Reapers, whereupon he cut his hair to chin-length.
* MagicKnight: In the manga, it's revealed that the kidou abilities he's hiding are his Zanpakutou's true abilities. However, the {{anime}} takes this a stage further in the [[{{Filler}} Zanpakutou Arc]] and makes him a full-blown kidou user. The manga eventually confirms that he really is a full-blown kidou expert when he begins openly using kidou in battle during the final arc.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: What do you mean "[[PreAssKickingOneLiner thank you]]" isn't an awesome phrase? If it wasn't impressive enough in the manga, the anime cranks it UpToEleven by giving Yumichika GlowingEyesOfDoom and a [[DramaticPause dramatic music pause]] as he says it.
* TheNoseKnows:
** He sensed the coming of Grimmjow's group by catching the unusually strange hollow scent they gave off. When he alerted Ikkaku, he was told to ignore it, but he continued to privately think it strange. When Hitsugaya's team is finally attacked, Yumichika is the only one who is not surprised.
** He claims to have uncovered the secret that Giselle is a man because she smells of semen. It drives Giselle into a fury and, for the rest of their fight, Yumichika continues to bait her with the subject.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Knows his way around ''kido'' very well, but hides it to not offend his much more martial arts-geared squad mates.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: During the Vandenreich's second invasion of Soul Society, the survival stakes become so high that Yumichika finally breaks the squad's combat rules regarding one-on-one combat and Kidou use. He enters Ikkaku's battle to support him, and Ikkaku (also unusually) accepts it. His support consists of Kidou and, when they both fall to an unexpected enemy, Yumichika openly calls for his true shikai. However, he is interrupted before he can finish speaking Ruri'iro Kujaku's name.
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Every time Yumichika uses his shikai he gets one, including one of the simplest of any character in Bleach: "Thank you".
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Yumichika Ayasegawa, with his pale skin and raven hair, is well-known, notorious even, for both his beauty and his obsession with beauty. Although he is genuinely one of the best looking and most fashionable male Soul Reaper in Soul Society, his biggest fan is actually... [[TheFightingNarcissist himself]].
* SecretKeeper: Is one of the few people Ikkaku has confided his bankai ability to.
* UndyingLoyalty: On the surface, his defining personality trait appears to be [[TheFightingNarcissist narcissism]]. As a result of his determination to conform to 11th division philosophy, he would rather die than publicly display his true strength. He's content to remain in a subordinate position, sacrificing [[EnergyAbsorption his abilities]] to make sure he doesn't do anything that would harm Kenpachi or Ikkaku's faith in him as an [[BloodKnight 11th division warrior]].
* VampiricDraining: His shikai's true ability is EnergyAbsorption. It absorbs the spiritual energy of its enemy, transferring it to Yumichika. Yumichika can then decide whether or not he wants to use that stolen energy to restore himself back to full health.
* WillfullyWeak: He's deliberately using a crippled version of his shikai in battle. As a result, he struggles against opponents who release their power precisely because he's suppressing his own. When he does choose to stop suppressing his power and release it, IAmNotLeftHanded and LetsGetDangerous moments inevitably occur.
[[/folder]]

!!Squad 12

[[folder:Mayuri Kurotsuchi]]
!!Mayuri Kurotsuchi
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_mayuri.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Hueco Mundo appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_mayuri_hueco_mundo_1.png[[/labelnote]]\\
[[labelnote:Thousand-Year Blood War appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_mayuri_tybw.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[-''"Test subjects shouldn't run their mouths so much. This is an experiment and you are test subject No.1. You don't have the right to refuse or to make any decisions!"''-]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Ashisogi Jizo (Shikai); Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō (Bankai); Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō Matai Fukuin Shōtai (Modified Bankai)
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/RyuseiNakao (JP), Terrence Stone (ENG), Juan Alfonso Carralero (Latin American Spanish)
----
The [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} eccentric]], [[KickTheDog cruel]] and [[TheSociopath outright psychopathic]] Captain of Squad 12, as well as the current [[MadScientist president]] of the Research and Technology Institute. Mayuri is a unique type of character in that, despite aiding the protagonists and thus far entertaining no notions of betrayal, he is ''so'' [[SlasherSmile cold]] and [[ColdBloodedTorture sadistic]] that he could pass as a bad guy. Well, at least he was like that in the Soul Society Arc. Aside from his sadism, he's notable for being CrazyPrepared and AwesomeByAnalysis. In short, Mayuri is a man who does everything ForScience... however he's been more of a SociopathicHero since then and Mayuri's pragmatic genius, coupled with his many technological contributions to Soul Society, make him a valuable ally.

His Zanpakuto is '''''Ashisogi Jizo''''', an oddly shaped weapon that is capable of paralyzing and poisoning his opponents. His Bankai is '''''Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō''''', a huge monster that appears to be a [[OurMonstersAreWeird monstrous hybrid]] of caterpillar and baby; it can instantly kill his opponents with its deadly toxins or simply crush them under its immense size. After extensive modification of his own Zanpakuto, Mayuri is able to used a modified version of his Bankai called '''''Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō Matai Fukuin Shōtai'''''; it transforms into an obese, dark-skinned baby that Mayuri can program with data to give birth to other modified Bankais.
----
* AbusiveParents: Mayuri uses Nemu as a human shield and their tag-team strategy is that he ''cuts through her'' to get at opponents with his poisoned sword. When she asked for the antidote, he ''started kicking her'' and states that he made her too well to die from such petty wounds, so by his logic, she was insulting his intelligence.
* AdaptiveAbility: In the Thousand Year Blood War while on Wahrwelt, he reveals he modified his Bankai to give it this ability. His Bankai is able to spawn a creature most suited to fighting his opponent after analyzing sufficient data on them.
* AdmiringTheAbomination: Pernida easily ruins Kenpachi's arm and horrifies Ikkaku and Yumichika with its alien appearance and nature. Thrilled by the discovery of something he's never before encountered, Mayuri back-stabs Kenpachi so he can confront Pernida alone. Pernida is very seriously fighting to right the wrongs Soul Reapers have committed against Quincies, but all Mayuri cares about is the fact that everything Pernida does is the most amazing research experience he's ever had.
* AndThenWhat: After killing Szayel, he chastises him for declaring himself "perfect", viewing perfection as despair for scientists because there is no longer any point in research.
* AntagonistAbilities: In his first know battle, he's characterized as a ''drastically'' unfair enemy to Uryuu Ishida. As noted below in TheParalyzer, PoisonedWeapons and SinisterSurveillance, he has several abilities which exist to take the fight out of an opponent, torment them, and break their spirit. After that even, however, he's been a NominalHero.
* AntiHero: He starts out as a full-on antagonist, but even after the ConspiracyRedemption he still remains as a TokenEvilTeammate MadScientist.
* AxCrazy: Extremely so during his first fight with Uryu, in which he blows up several subordinates, attacks his own daughter for petty reasons, and describes in vivid detail how he experimented on the Quincies. It’s been slightly toned down since then, but he’s still all too eager to dissect anyone, friend or foe, who he finds interesting. Before Urahara recruited him into the 12th squad, he was imprisoned in the Maggot’s Nest, a jail for Shinigami who have the potential to become dangerous to Soul Society, and he needed to be kept in his own isolated cell.
* BadBoss: In his introduction alone, he blows up three of his subordinates using the excuse 'bombs aren't supposed to come back'. He's extremely [[AbusiveParents abusive]] to his lieutenant, who is also his daughter; he once stabs, then savagely kicks her for letting go of his target instead of sacrificing her arm to keep the target pinned. He'll turn even allies into experiments, only saving Uryuu and Renji for the chance to fill them with experimental drugs.
* BerserkButton: Mayuri harbors a largely one-sided rivalry with Urahara in scientific progress, and responds poorly to anyone comparing him to his former captain. He threatened to subject Ichigo to excruciating pain and terror simply because the latter innocently commented that he and Urahara both sat on high ground while opening a Garganta.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Mayuri will experiment on anyone and everything, even without their permission and even if it ends their life or destroys their personality, even if it turns subordinates into walking bombs and captains into experimental zombies. He has experimented on himself and therefore has artificial attachments, body scars and missing ears, and encourages his subordinates to do the same to themselves. He will dismiss and ignore calls to duty if the duty is less interesting to him than any scientific experiments he's currently focused on. Originally, he was locked up in Maggot's Nest, a place that does not incarcerate law-breakers but instead incarcerates anyone deemed a possible future threat to Soul Society. He was released by Urahara who felt his talents could be extremely useful to Soul Society. Mayuri is therefore recognised by the other captains as a dangerous wild card who [[ForScience always prioritizes science]], but he remains a captain because he's quite simply far too creative, intelligent and useful to remove. He shows up with a new facial paint design each arc, and spends much of the last wearing an extremely luminescent coat to remove any shadows that the Vandenreich could use, with Yumichika noting that even without hearing his voice, only Mayuri would wear something that gaudy.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Mayuri is willing to abusively punish Nemu to within an inch of her life, but he's not willing to kill her. As the seventh, and first successful, attempt to create an artificial life, Akon views Nemu as Mayuri's scientific masterpiece, and Mayuri acknowledges it would be a pain in the ass for him to make another like her. Nemu's understanding is that this is as close to [[PetTheDog petting the dog]] as Mayuri is capable of.
* CassandraTruth: When Ishida first appeared in Soul Society, Mayuri realized that the Soul Society was vulnerable to Quincy attacks, and because Yamamoto had failed to kill an old enemy in the past, a Quincy attack is precisely what was going to happen. Yamamoto dismissed Mayuri's advice as paranoia. A tragically bad choice, elder one.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: His introduction portrays him as an absolute sociopath who turns his unwitting subordinates into bombs, then slashes through his lieutenant/daughter with his poisonous Shikai and berates her for asking for treatment for her punctured lungs because he views it as an insult that his own creation can't handle that level of injury. Later on, he's still a complete psycho to his enemies, but his behavior toward his allies is played more comedically and doesn't usually get any more serious than threats.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Cruelty aside, he seems to have some rather odd thought processes going on when relaxed as well as a rather strange sense of humor.
* ComedicSociopathy: This is what his antics are meant to be seen as.
* CompleteImmortality: When he stabs himself with his Zanpakuto, he turns into an invincible liquid that's purely for escape.
* CoveredWithScars: Underneath his makeup.
* CrazyPrepared: Given enough foreknowledge of his opponent he can create appropriate responses to kill them with minimal difficulty. Even without that, his frequent experimentation on himself and Nemu has led to the defeat of at least one enemy who made the mistake of underestimating Mayuri. Though even he can't prepare for an enemy that is just too powerful for him to reasonably predict, as seen when he got his ass kicked by Uryu using the Quincy: Letzt Stil.
* DomesticAbuse: Mayuri has zero qualms about cutting through his creation/daughter with a sword in order to hit the enemy (in fact, its one of his ''strategies''); savagely kicks her when she starts complaining about being injured and sick. He sees Nemu entirely as his property to do with as he will, and treats her like a slave. He has performed experiments on her too.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: When Ishida calls him out on how he treats his Vice-Captain, Mayuri (after revealing said VC is both his creation, and his ''daughter'') angrily asks him what right he has to tell him how to treat her, accusing the two of them of thinking he's stupid, and warns him not to wave his "creepy sense of justice around here."
* EvilIsHammy: The maddest he is, the louder he talks and the more he overacts.
* ForScience: His defining characteristic over nearly everything he does.
* FriendlyFireproof: Averted. Not only are his subordinates vulnerable to his poison (apart from Nemu's resistance to his Bankai) but he's largely unconcerned with even bothering to try to miss them.
* HairTriggerTemper: His initial introduction to the story included showing him lashing out at anything he interpreted as provocative. He's calmed down a lot since those early days.
* HeroicBSOD: For a given value of "heroic", he is stunned silent when Nemu is blown to bits by Pernida after she had seemingly won the fight. An apparition of Szayelaporro then appears in his mind to mock him for showing despair toward her demise, as he had apparently convinced himself that she was a perfect artificial daughter after berating the Espada for valuing perfection, which Mayuri views as a dead end for a scientist. Mayuri soon regains his composure and simply decides to produce a newer, better Nemu.
* HeroicComedicSociopath: His experimentation of his own allies is toned down considerably from his fight with Uryu, when he'd blow up his subordinates and cut through his daughter. He's still largely apathetic toward others' well-being, such as ignoring Uryu's complaints about having surveillance bacteria put in his body without his knowledge, and throws threats of painful deaths toward anyone who even slightly upsets him, like Ichigo insinuating that he's more similar to Urahara than he'd care to admit.
%% * HypocriticalHumour:
%% --> ''"Silence, reprobate."''
%% --> ''"Everything I do is FAMILY FRIENDLY! Get your minds off the gutter!!"
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Mayuri's response when interrogated by Yamamoto regarding why he exterminated twenty-eight ''thousand'' residents of Soul Society.
* IgnoredExpert: Although Mayuri's knowledge of Quincies was deeply shaken by his encounter with Ishida, he's the closest thing to an expert on the Quincies and their powers that the Soul Reapers have. Yamamoto even briefly tried a CassandraDidIt argument on Mayuri for allowing the situation to happen, but Mayuri gave him a badass TheReasonYouSuckSpeech by way of retaliation.
* IntimateHealing: To his ''daughter''. Played for ''laughs'', even; we never actually got to ''see'' exactly what the hell he did to her, but were treated to a rather amusing shot of Uryu and Renji's shocked/disgusted reactions while Nemu moaned in ecstasy off-screen. When Ishida tries to call him out on that, Mayuri appears confused by the accusation.
--> ''[[BlatantLies "I would never do anything unsuitable for family viewing!]] [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Get your mind out of the gutter!"]]''
* {{Jerkass}}: He's abrasive, treats his subordinates and allies like dirt and in general is one of the worst people in the manga.
* JerkassHasAPoint: During the Thousand Year Blood War, he tells Yamamoto point-blank that the current situation is entirely his fault because he dismissed Mayuri's warnings that the Quincies would eventually attack Soul Society again as paranoia, which left them unprepared when Yhwach attacked. Yamamoto cannot deny it.
* KarmaHoudini: The God of Unpunished Villainy, the manga ends with Mayuri getting away scot-free with all of the terrible things he has done, and even without him ever thinking he has done anything wrong ever, despite being every bit as evil (or even ''more'' evil) in most respects than many outright antagonists who suffered various brutal or unpleasant deaths.
* LackOfEmpathy: He seems honestly surprised when people get angry at him for his cruelty or reject his offers to be research specimens.
* LargeHam: Toyed with. He's very bombastic and hammy, to the point of being an AttentionWhore, and [[HamToHamCombat Especially]] during his battle with Szayel. When the Vandenreich show up, however, he's completely serious and direct... and then he faces Giselle Gewelle, and while still being serious and to the point, his {{Nightmare Face}}s make up for it.
* LaughablyEvil: His audacious, trollish, even sadistic behavior was played often for comedy and comedic sociopathy during the Hueco Mundo arc. He's mostly calmed down on it, though, following his appearances in the final arc.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: When called out on how he... "revived" Nemu after his battle with Szayel. [[BlatantLies "Everything I do is suitable for family viewing."]]
* MadDoctor: He's well-versed in medicine and has made scientific and technological advancements for Soul Society, but he's every bit as horrific about its utilization as he is regarding his usual experiments. The medical specialist Fourth Division rely on him to provide organ replacement surgery when Soul Reapers are very badly injured, and the 13 Court Guard Squads relies heavily on him for medical solutions. When he is the only solution for the Vandenreich making zombies out of defeated Soul Reapers, Mayuri injects his own concoctions that don't simply help the Soul Reapers. They turn the zombified Soul Reapers into a different kind of zombie that is under Mayuri's control, just so he can explore the concept of zombification for his own scientific interest. Even defeated captains Kensei and Rose fall under Mayuri's sway. When Mayuri "rescues" Hitsugaya from Giselle's zombification power, he does so by testing a drug that causes Hitsugaya to experience the same sequence of events over and over again like a mini-groundhog day. Although Hitsugaya is eventually restored to his own self, it comes at the expense of a vastly reduced potential lifespan.
* MadScientist: Mayuri's entire outlook on life is defined between what he can and cannot do ForScience He will torture Quincies just to learn how their powers work. He will experiment on his own body and the bodies of others, just to explore the limits of the human body and technology. As a result, he has no ear lobes, his body is covered in scars, he can use injections to regenerate his arms whenever they're cut off, and can also extend his arms on the end of a technological extension cable for grabbing things that are beyond human reach. He offers Orihime the opportunity to become his lab rat because he's so fascinated by her strange abilities, and says that the offer to permit her limited privacy and permission to wear clothes is the kind of deal he never gives his research subjects. He even turns his own subordinates into human bombs just to trap his opponents. If his human bombs try to avoid their fate, he'll blow them up anyway.
* MasterPoisoner: Able to alter his Bankai's poison to prevent people from creating a antidote and also creates various medicines to use in battle.
* MoralMyopia: He tells Uryu not to whine about the observatory bacteria he put in his body, yet promises a cruel death to Urahara for simply highjacking his communication device.
* NoodleIncident: In Episode 314's Soul Reaper Cup ending his subordinates find something that turns his face [[HighPressureEmotion scarlet]]. Yamamoto cites it as an example of where Bankai should never be used but doesn't explain what happened.
* NominalHero: Mayuri's sole interest is to work for the advancement of scientific discovery and much of his science does prove beneficial to Soul Society. For example, he's the person the [[CombatMedic Fourth Division]] goes to when a patient needs organ transplants. However, he's a sociopath who doesn't care at all for his subordinates and sees everybody as either a tool or a research experiment (which are often cruel and sadistic in nature); he'll go to any lengths for science. WordOfGod states he's an example of necessary evil.
* NotSoDifferent: To Urahara. They both are scientists who side with the heroes despite their dubious morality and whose inventions are critical to the good guy's victories. Ichigo pointing out the similarities is one of the few times Mayuri is genuinely infuriated.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: He has no narrow scientific expertise. Mayuri has created computers, poisons, body modifications, genetic enhancements, and fake organs. He has also performed self-surgery to implant those organs, and modified both his shikai and bankai to be more efficient and adaptive weapons. But nothing makes him more proud than Nemu, whom he considers his scientific masterpiece: a fully artificial lifeform created from a combination of cloning, gigai technology, and genetic modification.
* OrganDodge: The deliberate version shows up in the fight between Mayuri and Szayel Aporro Granz. Szayel had the ability to make dolls of people containing bits labelled with organs, then break them to destroy the corresponding organs in their actual bodies. Mayuri heard about this power in advance and prepared for it by ''replacing all of his organs'', so Szayel would instead just break the old ones.
* TheParalyzer: His zanpakuto's Shikai ability lets him deactivate the brain signals of anyone he cuts, making their limbs immobile, but still able to feel pain.
* PayEvilUntoEvil:
** Mayuri kills Szayel by using him as a test subject for a drug that makes Szayel feel like he's experiencing a slow, agonising death over a century. Despite Szayel's torture of Renji and Uryuu and his forcible impregnation of Nemu, Mayuri feels Szayel's cardinal sin is to seek, and claim to have found, perfection - for which he believes a torturous death via an experimental drug is an acceptable way to die.
** Giselle Gewelle is an abusive, sadistic troll who gleefully transforms people into her zombie slaves. Mayuri, using the blood of his Arrancar zombies, actually reprograms Giselle's zombies into ''his'' zombies, which then turn on her and leave her ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice.
* PoisonedWeapons: His initial release [[AndIMustScream completely paralyses]] opponents upon cutting them, [[ColdBloodedTorture without dulling their sense of pain]]. His Bankai simply releases a toxin that ''slowly'' kills anyone who is caught in its noxious purple cloud with the exception of himself and Nemu.
* PsychoForHire: One of Soul Society's two pet psychos, along with Kenpachi. Which is ironic when you consider that they hate each other.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: This speech of Mayuri's is more of a mixture/hybridization of AnAesop and The Reason You Suck Speech trope itself. Apparently, Mayuri has very specific ideas for what science is and what it is ''not.''
-->''"The 'perfect being' you said? In this secular existence, perfection is an illusion. Regardless of all those who utter contrary, this is the reality. Common man seeks it out... they aspire to achieve it as if it were some tangible thing. But the fact of the matter is, perfection is a hollow shell. It is... devoid... of any substance. '''I spit on perfection!''' Perfection, after all, implies you've reached the summit. No trial and error, no ability to conceptualize. An omniscient being would have no need for such superfluous things. Am I making myself clear? For people who dabble in the sciences, such as ourselves... perfection would render us obsolete. Many magnificent things have been and will continue to come into existence. And yet, every last one of them will fall short of perfection's finish line. Our function as men of science relies on their many shortcomings. Then, and only then, can we apply the fruits of our labor. To put it simply... as soon as you began that nonsense about being an immaculate being, you had already lost! '''....That's assuming you're a scientist...'''''"
%% * RefugeInAudacity: Mayuri ''knows'' he's a gigantic, sociopathic prick. ''He just doesn't care''. And he even uses it to his advantage! He's a serious candidate for MagnificentBastard, even.
* ReminiscingAboutYourVictims: Mayuri reveals to Uryuu that he had studied the Quincies by launching into a long speech about all the things he did to the Quincies he'd captured in order to study responses to mental and physical stimuli. It's a speech that reveals just how far down the road of MadScientist he's willing to go ForScience.
* {{Sadist}}: Many of his attacks are designed to inflict maximum pain even on a helpless opponent - such as his paralysis ability he uses on Ishida (which Mayuri notes does not numb the user from pain - which he demonstrates by ''stabbing'' the defenceless Ishida in the shoulder) or the painfully slow death he uses to finish off Szayel. He is quite fond of taunting and bullying his enemies in battle too (as well as his allies). The manga goes further by detailing the nature of the experiments he performed on the captive Quincy- essentially, he tortured them all in horrifically cruel and senseless ways, or forced them to kill each other in the most violent ways possible.
* SayingTooMuch: PlayedForLaughs. When Byakuya asks why he didn't accompany Ichigo back to Karakura Town during the battle with Aizen, Mayuri said that he didn't need to. The people already there will open a path back once the battle is over and he can then examine the spoils (read: corpses) at his leisure. Byakuya points out this means he must believe in Ichigo, if sending him will win the battle, annoying Mayuri greatly.
* ScarsAreForever: Without his makeup on, you can see that his body has a large number of scars. At least some of those scars are confirmed to be related to alterations he's made to his body; for example, he has no ears because he's placed weapons technology in his masks that are located where his ears would have been.
* SecretKeeper: Comedic aversion. Everyone else who knew about Ikkaku's bankai have kept their mouths shut. Not so Mayuri. We first learn he's known about Ikkaku's bankai since the Edorad fight when he's talking to Ichigo about the durability of bankai. It's only when Ichigo expresses surprise at Ikkaku having a bankai that Mayuri remembers Ikkaku wanted it kept secret. He then dismisses it as something he doesn't care about.
* SelfDestructMechanism: Mayuri has remodelled his zanpakutou to be capable of exploding should his Bankai ever be used against him. In the final arc, he's willing to wear exploding armour just in case it becomes useful in a tight spot.
* SelfMadeSuperpowers: Being a scientist first and foremost but needing combat prowess he used his brilliant mind to upgrade his abilities. He can liquefy and become immune to any attack, has a grappling hook in his arm and a scythe that extends from his ear. He used the prototype for [[spoiler: Nemu]]. Additionally, he installed a censor on his sword that can perfectly block any attack, making up for his lack of swordsmanship skills.
* ShadowArchetype: He's basically Urahara, if Urahara were a truly demented psychopath.
* ShutUpHannibal: When he hits his lowest moment, a hallucination of Szayelaporro starts mocking him, taunting his sorrow over Nemu's sacrifice, turning his tirade against perfection back on him and accusing him of being a hypocrite. Mayuri responds with a FacePalmOfDoom.
* SinisterSurveillance: He is able to prepare in advance for his fight with Szayel because he infected Uryuu with surveillance bacteria at some point during the Soul Society arc. Uryuu is horrified to learn Mayuri has been watching everything he's done since that point.
* SlasherSmile: He tends to have a wide, vicious grin on his face except when bored.
* TechnicolorToxin: Ashisogi Jizo releases the classical purple venomous mist. The infected victims slowly turn purple as well.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Though not part of Ichigo's group, he still fits the bill.
* TombstoneTeeth: Likely as a result of his self-experimentation, Mayuri's teeth are uniformly rectangular in shape and are ''far'' too long -- emphasizing his nature as an unfettered mad scientist.
* UncannyValleyMakeup: The black and white makeup he puts on every morning and takes off before he goes to bed.
* TheUnfettered: So long as his actions further science, anything is acceptable.
* VillainousBSOD: Despite his lecture to Szayel that true scientists should never seek perfection because that will destroy the point of science, he believed that Nemu was his greatest creation. When she dies, he shuts down briefly, overcome by the contradiction that if she had been truly perfect, she could never have failed against Pernida. An hallucination of Szayel mocks his despair, throwing the lecture back in Mayuri's face. This forces Mayuri to confront his own hubris; he is able to separate his feelings for Nemu from his scientific ego, and overcome his momentary despair.
* WeHaveReserves: He turns a number of subordinates into living bombs without them knowing it, and tells them to simply convince two protagonists to come with them. Instead, he detonates them while they're standing around the protagonists, including one who survives his comrades exploding because "a bomb isn't supposed to come back after being used."
* WeakButSkilled: Mayuri observes that, as someone who spends most of his time in a lab, his opponents would probably dismiss his ability to able read an opponent's movements and strategy in battle. He complains that his one use of [[FlashStep Shunpo]] against Uryu was quite taxing, even though many lower-ranked Shinigami can use the technique over and over again, and has relied on Nemu to quickly pull him out of harm's way more than once. Confessing that this is actually the case, he admits he has adapted his zanpakutou to act as a motion sensor to compensate for his lack of battle skills. Hitsugaya can defeat him in physical combat simply by entering Bankai. However, Mayuri's scientific expertise and pre-battle preparations more than compensate for his relatively poor combat skills.
* WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied: Mayuri ends his reminiscing to Uryuu about his Quincy studies with the story of the very last Quincy he ever studied and how he died. He shows Uryuu a graphic photograph of the state of the body was left in by the time his studies were done. That old man was, as Mayuri well knew, Uryuu's grandfather and mentor, Souken. Uryuu's response to this is far more than Mayuri [[CurbStompBattle could handle]].
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: He has blue hair, though it's often covered.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nemu Kurotsuchi]]
!!Nemu Kurotsuchi
[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_nemu.png]]
->'''Species:''' Artificial Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' None
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/RieKugimiya (JP), Creator/MeganHollingshead (ENG), Adriana Núñez (Latin-American Spanish)
----
The Lieutenant of Squad 12 and Mayuri's daughter. She is a reserved woman who is often the first to suffer when her father becomes enraged. Having been artificially created by Mayuri to function as both the perfect lieutenant and daughter, she takes the abuse in stride and rarely acts independently from his orders. She has the ability to shave off and consume portions of her soul in exchange for absurdly powerful physical and Kido attacks.
----
* AbsoluteCleavage: Her outfit from chapter 447 onwards exposes her large bust.
* ArtificialHuman: Mayuri set up the Nemuri Project to experiment with the creation of an artificial lifeform. His seventh attempt produced Nemuri Nanagou (Sleeping Number Seven) which Mayuri regards as his greatest achievement. She becomes his right hand in all matters, successfully functioning as his lieutenant under the name Nemu Kurotsuchi.
* BadassCreed: Mayuri created Nemu with the mission to learn and develop, and to never act outside his orders. When Mayuri struggles in battle against Pernida, she enters the fight without waiting for his orders and saves his life. She dismisses his anger at disobeying his orders and putting his research (her creation and existence) at risk, by stating she's realized what her mission really is: the only way she can truly prove to Mayuri how much she's learned and developed is by using all of her abilities to protect his life. After this declaration, Mayuri reluctantly accepts he has to let her fight Pernida on his behalf.
* BluntMetaphorsTrauma: She says "Butter" when she takes a picture of Byakuya in an omake, even after Isane corrects that.
* CombatStilettos: Not as extreme as other cases, but her sandals do have a noticable heel.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: She can perform a technique that permits her to weaponise part of her soul by cutting it off, but it pushes her existence to a limit she can only sustain for 400 seconds. Mayuri objects when he learns she is capable of this, but she explains that risking her life to protect him is the natural outcome of her mission to grow and evolve.
* DangerouslyShortSkirt: She doesn't wear the hakama part of the Soul Reaper uniform. Her kosode ends at mid thigh, achieving the same effect as a very short skirt. Despite this, nothing is ever revealed even when she's in battle.
* ExtremeDoormat: She puts up with her captain's abuse without a word of complaint and regards her reason for existence to use the full range of her abilities to save ''his'' life at the cost of her own.
* FingerlessGloves: She wears tekkou of a style very similar to Byakuya's.
* HealingFactor: The fatal flaw in the technology used to create Nemu is that the cells only have a lifespan of two years. As a result, Mayuri had to programme the cells to be capable of perpetual, aggressive regeneration, just for Nemu to continue existing beyond the natural lifespan of the gikon technology. To prevent this cell regeneration from becoming uncontrollable, Mayuri designed Nemu's brain to function as a control switch. If any opponent consumes Nemu's body but does not have access to her brain, her constant cell regeneration infects the attacker's entire body like an extremely aggressive cancer, explosively destroying every cell in the attacker's body.
* HyperCompetentSidekick: Nemu, much like famed Kenpachi Zaraki, is perfectly capable of holding her own in battle with strong enemies without the use of kido or a zanpakuto ability, or even any form of weapon at all. She noticeably does better in battle, on the rare occasions she gets involved, than her master does. One wonders why he doesn't augment his own body to be as tough as hers, given he's fairly squishy by captain standards.
* TheImmodestOrgasm: When Mayuri finishes... um, healing her, Nemu ''screams'' with pleasure.
* {{Keigo}}: She always speaks very formally.
* MagicSkirt: Honestly, she wears a frigging ''miniskirt''; she should be making panty shots just by ''standing''!
* MaleGaze: When she muffled Ishida in the Hueco Mundo arc, her largely-shaped rear end wiggles at the camera.
* MarshmallowHell: Mayuri tells her to muffle Ishida with them so he can shut up and get healed. Also done in the Zanpaktou Filler Arc, only this time with Ichigo.
-->'''Mayuri''': If he dies, he dies happy.
* MsFanservice: Her miniskirt really shows off her long, smooth legs, her large butt wiggles at the camera when she holds Ishida down in Hueco Mundo, and she's also worn an outfit that operates under AbsoluteCleavage.
* NiceGirl: One of the most... quirky examples, to say it simply. Nonetheless, she's very kind, helpful, and forgiving - a stark contrast to her captain and creator, Mayuri.
* NotSoStoic: In extreme circumstances, usually when Mayuri's life is threatened or she is in agony, she'll begin to demonstrate some emotion or concern.
* OppositeSexClone: Her body is a gigai that is at least partially constructed out of Mayuri's genetic material. This makes her immune to the effects of his bankai, though his shikai does work on her.
* SatelliteCharacter: She's rarely seen away from Mayuri and her purpose is to carry out his every order; she's actually under orders to not act upon her own desires. As Mayuri's artificial creation, her purpose is officially to grow and evolve. She eventually interprets this purpose as a mission to protect Mayuri, as proof of her ability to grow and evolve. She only disobeys the order to not act upon her own desires when protecting Mayuri is necessary.
* ShesGotLegs: Very much so. The skirt and camera angle tend to show off her features.
* TheStoic: She is usually non-expressive with her emotions, speaking flatly and plainly, and obeying Mayuri's orders with detachment and objectivity.
* SuperStrength: Even by Soul Reaper standards she is very strong.
* SuperToughness: Nemu is unlike other Soul Reapers. Mayuri built her to be very hard to seriously damage or destroy, leaving her able to take all the abuse she goes through. It's still extremely painful, though. The anime tends to downplay the level of damage she takes, such as in the battle with Szayelaporro. In the manga, she gets a hole torn through her. In the anime, she just looks withered and drained.
* TakingTheBullet: When Mayuri is unable to dodge Pernida's arrow, Nemu intervenes to catch it. She immediately cuts off the arm that touched the arrow before Pernida's power can take control of her nerves. Unable to stand on air in the Quincy-controlled environment, her leap to save Mayuri causes her to fall towards ground controlled by Pernida's abilities. Mayuri is forced to save her in return.
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: Twice, Mayuri's opponents suffer greatly from invading her body. Szayelaporro impregnates her with a new body after Mayuri's Bankai consumes him, which exposes the Espada to drugs that Mayuri keeps in her body, notably a superhuman drug that enhances senses but not the body (unless properly diluted). Later, Pernidas blows her to pieces and consumes the remains, which causes him to integrate her cell regeneration factor but not the part of her brain that keeps it under control, leading to him exploding in a cancerous mess.
* YamatoNadeshiko: She's a lot more eccentric than your average example of this trope, but she fits all the requirements outside of that. She not only has the looks (moderate height, long black hair, etc) but is always calm, soft-spoken/quiet, polite, ''very'' [[YesMan submissive]] (to everyone, but primarily to Mayuri who is her father figure) except when it comes to defending Mayuri (because he is her father figure). Even though she's typically an EmotionlessGirl, she has a better moral compass than her father ever will have.
* YouAreNumberSix: Nemu's full name is Nemuri Nanagou, which loosely translates to "sleeping number seven". She is the seventh creation of the Nemuri Project to create a shinigami lifeform. As the first successful creation, her existence surpassed even Mayuri's expectations. Akon calls her Mayuri's masterpiece. In the epilogue she is replaced by (or given that her brain was preserved, possibly reborn as) Nemuri Hachigo ("sleeping number eight").
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Akon]]
!!Akon
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_akon_2.png]]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Unknown
-->'''Voiced by:''' Keiji Okuda (JP), Kaya Miyake (JP, As a child), Creator/TravisWillingham (ENG), Javier Olguín (Latin-American Spanish, as an adult and a child) and Andrés Gutiérrez Coto (Latin-American Spanish, second adult voice)
----
The current vice captain of Squad 12 and former third seat of Squad 12, originally picked up and recruited by Urahara when he was a captain in Turn Back The Pendulum. His colleagues include Hiyosu and Rin Tsubokura. In the Soul Society arc, he was the one that discovered that Rukia's gigai couldn't have been developed by anyone currently in the Soul Society, correctly deducing that an exile is the only other type of person that would've had access to such technology.

He often functions as mission control.
----
* AudienceSurrogate: When Mayuri shows up a glowing sun-themed outfit in chapter 547, Akon ends up lampshading the {{Narm}}.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Has been getting a lot of attention in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc.
* HornedHumanoid: According to the [[AllThereInTheManual databooks]], he's an individual who, just as Mayuri himself has done, will experiment on himself ForScience although the purpose of the experiment that gave him horns isn't revealed.
* MissionControl: He often appears to be responsible for getting critical information to people and relaying orders.
* NonchalantDodge: Does this to Hiyori when she tries to kick him, never losing his poker face for a second.
* NumberTwo: The second-in-command of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, though not of his actual squad. Eventually replaces Nemu as Vice-Captain after her death.
* RedOniBlueOni: The Blue Oni to Hiyori during the Turn Back the Pendulum arc.
* SecretKeeper: He's known about Ikkaku's bankai since the fight with Edorad.
* TheStoic: Usually stays calm and composed ever since he was a kid. Even when he's clearly feeling desperate, he refrains from panicking. Hiyosu comments that there are only two things that can make him lose his composure: [[MadScientist Mayuri]] and [[EccentricMentor Urahara]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rin Tsubokura]]
!!Rin Tsubokura
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_rin.png]]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Unknown
-->'''Voiced by:''' Miho Saiki (JP), Creator/JulieAnnTaylor (ENG), Norma Iturbe and Daniel Lacy (Latin-American Spanish)
----
An unseated officer from the 12th Division, who works mostly with Akon and Hiyosu. Looks very effeminate, making many confuse him for a girl. Doesn't seem to be nearly as morally ambiguous as his squadmates.
-----
* ButtMonkey: The story doesn't take Rin seriously at all.
* CanonImmigrant: He first appears in Episode 68 of the anime, at the start of the Bount arc. In the manga, the kid doesn't show up until the Arrancar arc.
* TheKlutz: Rin is not the most composed of characters.
* NervousWreck: Tends to be very ill at ease in his duties. Considering ''which'' Squad he works in, though, can you blame him?
* MissionControl: Like Akon, he's responsible for relaying orders and communications.
* SweetTooth: He is [[TrademarkFavouriteFood obsessed]] with sweets. In anime filler, he only accepts a mission to the World of the Living because of the opportunity to sample sweets that Soul Society doesn't have. He sabotages a mission because he's too busy chasing after sweets, and he ends up getting himself into a quest to help a deceased baker because he wants to try western-style cakes.
* TearsOfJoy: As he spreads the word that Ichigo is coming to help Soul Society, he cries with relief.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Seems to be the least... morally ambiguous of the whole division (Mayuri is Mayuri, Nemu follows ''every'' order given to her, Hiyosu has creepy molester vibes, and Akon was involved in the Quincy experiments).
[[/folder]]

!!Squad 13

[[folder:Jushiro Ukitake]]
!!Jushiro Ukitake
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_ukitake.png]]
[-''"Friends are a good thing, even if they tread a different path."''-]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Sōgyo no Kotowari (Shikai)
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HideoIshikawa (JP), Creator/LiamOBrien (ENG), Kim Strauss (ENG, Episode 40), Creator/GerardoReyero (Latin America)
----
Ukitake is the late captain of Squad 13 and was one of the oldest in the 13 Court Guard Squads. As a young child, Ukitake was afflicted with a dreadful lung disease which turned his hair white. Although he has managed to become a captain, he coughed up blood frequently and was often too ill to administrate or fight. At the beginning of the story he had no lieutenant following the death of Kaien Shiba, so those duties are fulfilled by his two third seat officers.

His zanpakutou is named '''''Sōgyo no Kotowari''''', one of the very few dual zanpakutou. One sword lets him absorb any energy-based attack, and fire it back with the other sword.
----
* AchillesHeel: He is one of the oldest and most powerful captains, but he was afflicted with an incurable lung disease as a young child. He is unable to function for prolonged periods because of his frequent sickness. He's living on borrowed time as his parents made a deal to prevent his death at the age of three. Even with that pact, he is still frequently unable to attend to administrative duties, let alone reliably fight.
* AdaptationDyeJob: His eyes are brown in both the manga and anime. However, for a colour cover special in chapter 335 that possessed the theme "green on white", Kubo changed his eyes to green to match the theme.
* AttackReflector: His Shikai, which allows him to absorb attacks with one half of the weapon before shooting them back with twice the speed with the other one.
* BadassBaritone: Tends to be voiced by men who either have naturally deep voices or can tone down their pitches well. Creator/HideoIshikawa, Creator/LiamOBrien, Creator/GerardoReyero...
%% * BadassCreed: His Shikai command isn't as long and poetic as Shunsui's, but it's still pretty awesome.
* BargainWithHeaven: He should have died at the age of three due to an incurable lung disease. However, his superstitious parents went to the outskirts of the East Rukongai to pray to a being that they believed was a god. Mimihagi-sama did not cure Ukitake completely, but did give him both life and the opportunity to become a Soul Reaper. Mimihagi-sama is the right arm of the Soul King, which fell from the sky aeons ago, and who agreed to save Ukitake on the understanding that it would ask for that life back one day. When the Soul King dies, Ukitake summons Mimihagi-sama to complete the bargain; his life is consumed to transform him into the Soul King's Right Hand and stop Soul Society from collapsing.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: According to the Starrk fight, for similar reasons as Kyouraku. His participation doesn't last long but leaves the impression that he's far more competent and shrewd than his HonourBeforeReason philosophy and mild-mannered nature would imply. Even back during the Soul Society arc he had absolutely no intention of allowing Rukia to be executed, so he's fortunate that Ichigo and the others helped start what was nearly a civil war in Soul Society.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: According to Ginjou, Ukitake created the Substitutes' badge to allow the Soul Society to communicate with, analyze, monitor, and control the Reiatsu of their Substitutes, hence how Ichigo's Reiatsu came out of the badge itself when he first used Fullbring. Ginjou also claims that Ukitake can use the badge to execute a Substitute, if necessary. Ichigo himself claims that he didn't need Ginjou to tell him any of this as he'd already realized that Ukitake had dropped hints to enable him to work it out for himself.
* BloodFromTheMouth: During the fight with Kaien's killer, Ukitake is forced to stop fighting while he coughs up blood. Despite his lung disease, he made it to captain, but it frequently interferes with his ability to perform his duties.
* CatchAndReturn: In shikai, his Zanpakuto can absorb energy attacks through one blade and shoot it out the other, amplifying their speed and power in the process.
* DiseaseBleach: He was diagnosed with his condition as a child. Over the course of three days, the stress and shock of the diagnosis turned his hair white.
* DualWielding: Sogyo no Kotowari is one of only two sets of twin-blade Zanpakutou at the start of the series.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Want to win at ''Bleach'' trivia? Ask which of the 13 captains we saw first. The obvious answer is Byakuya, but Ukitake makes a very brief appearance earlier (when Rukia flashes back to Kaien's death).
* EnergyAbsorption: His Shikai ability absorbs spirit energy based attacks and [[BeamSpam send them right back]].
* ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy: Averted. Tells Starrk outright to work it out for himself. Unlike Kyouraku, he doesn't drop hints or show any openings before Wonderweiss interferes. Then again, his powers are simple enough that Starrk can work them out easily anyway.
* AFatherToHisMen: Towards his subordinates. Part of the reason why he doesn't kill Hanataro is because he risked his life for one of his subordinates.
* HandicappedBadass: A three-year old Ukitake was afflicted with a fatal lung disease. He struggles daily with the disease, often confined to his bed, requiring a lieutenant who can manage the division for him, and has been debilitated in battle by bloody coughing fits. He has still managed to become one of the longest-serving captains, and other captains have observed that, like Aizen, Ukitake's reiatsu is unusually powerful even by captain standards. However, it's permanently channeled into keeping him alive and functioning. When he was three, his parents made a bargain with Mimihagi, the Right Hand of the Soul King. Mimihagi merged with Ukitake's lungs to keep him alive in return for Ukitake sacrificing his life for Soul Society on the day the Soul King is killed.
* HeroicSacrifice: Ukitake contracts a fatal lung disease when he is three years old. His parents appeal to an ancient holy being called Mimihagi that is rumored to be the Right Hand of the Soul King. Mimihagi enters Ukitake to keep him alive, does not cure the lung disease, and with the expectation that Ukitake will one day have to give up this life. When Yhwach kills the Soul King, Ukitake voluntarily frees Mimihagi to temporarily stabilize the three worlds, knowing that the act will cost him his life.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: He and Kyouraku go a very long way back, having formed their bond while in the academy together. They've been captains for centuries and are a renowned partnership even on the battlefield.
* HonorBeforeReason: Ukitake believes "there are two kinds of fights: fights to defend your life, and fights to defend your pride". A person should never interfere in a fight to protect pride as it will destroy the pride of the combatant even if it saves their life. As a result, he delays entering battle to help Kaien avenge Kaien's murdered wife. Only when Kaien is possessed does he enter battle to try and save Kaien's life. By then, it's too late.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: He has had an incurable lung disease since childhood. Whenever it flares up, he collapses in a fit of coughing. He actually should have died at the age of three but received powerful spiritual intervention to prolong his life... with the understanding that, one day, he would have to give up the life he was borrowing.
* LivingOnBorrowedTime: When he was a toddler, he became terminally ill. His parents bartered with Mimihagi, the deific right arm of the Soul King, to prolong Ukitake's life. As such, he was able to live into adulthood, but still suffered from his illness. During the Thousand-Year Blood War, he sacrificed himself in an ultimately futile attempt to protect the Soul King, admitting that he'd known all along that one day he'd have to give up his life.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: He has waist length white hair and is considered gentle, kind, and attractive. His HeterosexualLifePartner, Kyouraku, keeps referring to him as a ladykiller because female Soul Reapers can be reduced to blushing jelly if he so much as smiles at them. His female third seat, Kiyone, is hopelessly in love with him.
* MassiveNumberedSiblings: He has five younger brothers and two younger sisters, [[PromotionToParent all of whom he essentially supports by himself. ]]
* NiceGuy: He's one of the nicest guys in the series and will even save overpowered enemies from his allies if he agrees with their goals.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He's willing to hear out those who invade Soul Society or who help the invaders to try and understand what is happening. He also questions the reason for Rukia's execution and attempts to find a way to resolve it that won't involve killing her. Even Ukitake's BigBrotherIsWatching surveillance on Ichigo can be seen this way: Ichigo is dangerously powerful and unpredictable, and it's reasonable (if somewhat amoral) to want to be able to keep tabs on him at all times.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Ukitake cooperates with the authorities during the Soul Society arc and even re-imprisons Rukia when Ganju rescues her from her cell. However, he only continues to obey until he hears back regarding his appeal attempt on her behalf. When it is rejected, he reveals that he never had any intention of allowing her to be executed. Unlike captains such as Unohana or Hitsugaya who had suspicions regarding the goings-on but remained silent about them, Ukitake simply goes forward to protect his subordinate and destroy the Sokyoku itself.
%% * ShoutOut: He's based on Souji Okita of UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi, being a capable swordsman hampered by an IncurableCoughOfDeath since his youth. In fact, fans often referred to Ukitake's disease as tuberculosis, which is what did Okita in.
* WorfHadTheFlu: The reason Ukitake cannot save Kaien's life is because his lung disease acts up in the middle of the fight with Kaien's killer. He is forced to order Rukia to kill the possessed Kaien to save her own life because he's too busy coughing up blood to fight any further.
* WouldntHurtAChild: Upon meeting anyone who looks like a child he'll immediately offer them candy or invite them to play a game, even if they are far older than they appear to be. He tries to convince Lilinette to go home because he cannot fight a child; when she points out that she's a Hollow and therefore such concerns are irrelevant, Ukitake admits that he knows that but he cannot help but treat her as a child regardless.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kaien Shiba]]
!!Kaien Shiba
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_kaien.png]]
[-''"Remember that as long as you're in my division, I will stand by you even if I die."''-]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Nejibana (Shikai)
-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ToshihikoSeki (JP), Kim Strauss (ENG, Episode 49), Dave Mallow (ENG, Episode 153+), Creator/KyleHebert (ENG, ''VideoGame/BleachThe3rdPhantom''); Creator/JoseGilbertoVilchis (Latin American Spanish)
----
He was the former lieutenant to Ukitake, as well as Rukia's mentor. His Zanpakuto was Nejibana. His body was then taken over by the hollow that killed his wife Miyako in the same manner, forcing Rukia to kill both him and the hollow. He seems to have survived long enough to thank his killer in front of his family much to their confusion. Multiple characters have noted his similarity to Ichigo, which saved him very early in the manga when Byakuya was unwilling to kill him in front of his already desperate sister.

His zanpakutou was '''''Nejibana''''', a trident which let him launch water-based attacks.
----
* BigBrotherMentor: Was an admirable and caring older brother figure to both to his siblings and his subordinates, especially Rukia.
* DanceBattler: His fighting style is said to resemble traditional Japanese dances.
* DeathByOriginStory: His death is the reason for why Rukia values her life so little and submits so easily to execution.
* DyingAsYourself: When his attempt to avenge his wife Miyako's murder failed, Kaien became possessed by the hollow that murdered her, and Rukia was forced to kill ''him'' to stop its rampage in his body. As he was dying Kaien thanked her for killing him and apologized to her.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: Impaled by a girl who was implied to have a crush on him while possessed and freakish-looking.
* GoOutWithASmile: He dies with a smile and a thank you for Rukia.
* MakingASplash: His Zanpakutou, Nejibana, was water-based.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: One of 4 characters [[labelnote:*]]including Masaki, Souken, and Hisana[[/labelnote]] whose deaths combine to shape the first two arcs of the story. Due to the impact of his death on Rukia, and Ichigo's resemblance to Kaien, Rukia lends Ichigo her power in Chapter 1. Her guilt over killing Kaien leads Rukia to accept her death sentence without argument. Kaien's love for shinigami and the way he died influences Ganjuu's willingness to help Ichigo enter Seireitei and Kuukaku's willingness to forgive Rukia for what happened. It also influences Ukitake's decision to rescue Rukia and the specific method he uses to do so.
* PosthumousCharacter: He died years before the series begins and all scenes with him are flashbacks.
* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Ukitake stopped Rukia from helping Kaien avenging Miyako's murder, explaining to her that letting him fight alone was necessary for him to fight for his pride. Unfortunately this did ''not'' go as planned.
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: If not for his black hair, he could be Ichigo's twin. The likeness is noticed in-universe by characters such as Byakuya, Rukia, Ukitake and Aizen. Byakuya and Ukitake show that their personalities are also similar. It's eventually confirmed that Kaien and Ichigo are cousins.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Miyako Shiba]]
[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miyako001_5723.png]]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Unknown
--> Voiced by: Creator/SumiShimamoto (JP), Creator/CindyRobinson (ENG), Connie Madera (Latin American Spanish)
----
Kaien's beautiful and ladylike wife, Rukia's first idol, and the former 3rd seat. She was sent on a mission to investigate a nearby hollow, but she was killed by it. In the anime, the hollow possessed her, forcing Kaien to kill her. Kaien then went on to fight the hollow who did this to her.
----
* DeathByOriginStory: Her death started a chain that ended up taking out both her and the lieutenant Kaien and saddling Rukia with immense guilt.
* HairDecorations: Used a black hair ribbon to tie her hair up in an elegant way, emphasising her YamatoNadeshiko looks.
* OneeSama: Rukia idolised Miyako (or "Miyako-dono") as the perfect woman, as she was a beautiful and talented seated officer in their division. Miyako was also one of the few who treated Rukia kindly and without discrimination.
* PosthumousCharacter: She died years ago in a hollow attack prior to the series.
* YamatoNadeshiko: The reason Rukia adored Miyako was because Miyako was ladylike, elegant and gentle.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rukia Kuchiki]]
The current captain of the squad and former Liuetenant. For more information, see [[Characters/BleachIchigosCompanions Ichigo's Companions]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentaro Kotsubaki]]
!!!'''Kiyone Kotetsu & Sentaro Kotsubaki'''
[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theidiots001_1820.png]]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Unknown
--> Kiyone voiced by: Creator/ChinamiNishimura (JP), Creator/CindyRobinson (ENG), [[Creator/IsabelMartinon Isabel Martiñón]] (Latin-American Spanish)
--> Sentaro voiced by: Creator/KoichiTochika (JP), Creator/PatrickSeitz (ENG), Creator/MichaelLindsay (ENG, Episode 41), [[Creator/AlfonsoObregonInclan Alfonso Obregón Inclán]] (Latin American Spanish)
----

The two co-3rd seats of the 13th division before Kiyone was promoted. They usually bicker on about who is more loyal to Ukitake, since both want to be the solo lieutenant.
----
* AdaptationDyeJob: In the anime, Kiyone's hair is much more red than the manga, where she is definitely a blonde.
%% * HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Kiyone, to the point of showing up drunk to work.
* NoIndoorVoice: Sentaro is nearly always yelling or speaking a lot louder than necessary, even when indoors. Kiyone can sometimes be seen covering her ears in annoyance behind him.
* SiblingYinYang: Kiyone is very boisterous and prone to arguing with the likes of Sentaro; in contrast, her older sister is meek, more level-headed and tries hard to get along with everyone.
* RankUp: After the timeskip, Kiyone becomes vice captain of the 4th Divison, with her big sister Isane as captain.
%% * SubordinateExcuse: Kiyone's got a HUGE crush on Ukitake.
%% * TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Kiyone is the tomboy to her older sister Isane's girly girl.
* VolleyingInsults: The two co-3rd seats frequently hurl verbal abuse at each other, especially when trying to one-up one another to impress their beloved captain.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hidetomo Kajomaru]]
[[quoteright:238:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/HK_7845.png]]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Unknown
----
The sixth seat of the Thirteenth Squad, killed shortly after his introduction in the manga. His first appearance involves meeting Shino (who has a crush on him) and Yuki, who asks about the war with the Quincies. Kajomaru takes the time to explain the Soul Society's perspective of the Quincy war and clarify the "balance of souls" that the Soul Society kept preaching about, capping it off by saying that, ultimately, ''both'' sides were right.

Not too long later, Kajomaru was killed by Haschwalth.
----
* {{Bishonen}}: Pretty looks, but not to the level of being effeminate.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Haschwald slices him in half vertically with his hand.
* {{Megane}}: The main reason for his similarities to Aizen and Ryuken.
* MrExposition: Explains to Yuki and Shino the major differences between Quincies and Soul Society, the bad blood between them and the "balance of souls" that led to the war.
* OhCrap: When he identifies the location of the Quincies. The moment he realises the Emperor is inside the Seireitei, the Emperor proceeds to [[OneHitKill annihilate]] about half of the 13th Division.
* OnlySixFaces: Looks like a fair haired Aizen.
* SacrificialLamb: Pretty much existed just to show how ruthless the Stern Ritter are and to remind the readers that the Quincies and the Soul Reapers both believe strongly in their world views which is why they're at war with each other.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Introduced and killed in six chapters.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ryunosuke Yuki]]
[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryunosuke1202.png]]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Unknown
One of the two young Soul Reapers who replace Kurumadani as Karakura guards in the manga. He's a rookie from the 13th Squad. According to the ''Bleach: 13 Blades'' fanbook and the ''We Do Knot Always Love You'' novel, he's the younger brother of Renji's friend and subordinate Rikichi.
----
* ButtMonkey: Tends to get abused by Shino for laughs.
* HairDecorations: Three large dots on either side of his head.
* NaiveNewcomer: Especially when it concerns war.
* OhCrap: When he identifies the location of the Quincies. He's the one who spots that Yhwach is in fact ''inside'' the soul barrier around the Seireitei.
* ShrinkingViolet: In contrast to his partner, he's a lot more timid.
* SleepyHead: Kurumadani scolds him for sleeping while explaining what he and Shino have to do.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shino Madarame]]
[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shino1201.png]]
->'''Species:''' Soul Reaper
->'''Zanpakutou:''' Unknown
The other young Soul Reaper who, alongside Yuki, replaced Kurumadani as Karakura guards in the manga. She's a rookie from the 13th Squad who has a crush on Kajomaru. ''We Do Knot Always Love You'' and ''Can't Fear Your Own World'' reveals she's a younger relative of Ikkaku, although neither are sure if they're siblings or cousins.
----
* ACupAngst: Doesn't like it when someone remarks on her flat chest.
* BigNo: Let's out a loud "no" when Kajomaru is killed in front of her and the rest of the Division.
* HotBlooded: She's very aggressive and reckless.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's very hard on Yuki but it's because she cares a lot about him. When he's badly injured, she's worried sick about him.
* NaiveNewcomer: Shows up at the beginning of the Vandenreich arc in order to both get stomped in a fight and then get some exposition.
* NiceHat: Sports a very cute leaf hat.
* {{Tsundere}}: Aggressive and violent towards Yuki, but also cares for his wellbeing. When he wakes up from his injuries, she tears up seeing he's okay and then immediately pummels him.
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: Hits poor Yuki with a Lariat.
[[/folder]]
----

[[quoteright:175:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_nemu.png]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_akon_2.png]]

[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/290px-Rin_8496.jpg]]

[[caption-width-right:350: [[labelnote:The Lost Agent appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_hitsugaya_lost_agent.png[[/labelnote]]\\

[[caption-width-right:350: [[labelnote:The Lost Agent appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_kenpachi_lost_agent.png[[/labelnote]]]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_yachiru.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Thousand-Year Blood War appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_yachiru_tybw.png]][[/labelnote]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Hueco Mundo appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_mayuri_hueco_mundo.png[[/labelnote]]\\

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_nemu_tywd.png]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_akon.png]]

[[quoteright:3000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryunosuke1202.png]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shino1201.png]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_kenpachi.png]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_nemu_tywd.png]]

[[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mayuri1_7.png]]
[[caption-width-right:195:[[labelnote:Hueco Mundo appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mayuri2_6.png[[/labelnote]]\\
[[labelnote:Thousand-Year Blood War appearance]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mayuri3_7.png[[/labelnote]]]]

[[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nemu_0.png]]

[[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/akon_5.png]]

[[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jushiro.png]]

[[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kaien_6.png]]