http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/BleachThirteenCourtGuardSquads1To7

Characters that appeared in Tite Kubo's Bleach. This page is for the present members of the first to seventh squads of Thirteen Court Guard Squads (Goteijūsantai).

Contains unmarked spoilers!

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Squad 1

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_yamamoto_8.png

"Get ready. Put the entirety of your spirit on the line and crush them here! Even if your flesh is torn asunder, be as a steel wall down to your last shard of bone!"

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Ryujin Jakka (Shikai) / Zanka no Tachi (Bankai)

Voiced by: Masaaki Tsukada (JP, 2005-2012), Binbin Takaoka (JP, 2015-present), Neil Kaplan (ENG), Jorge Santos and Alfonso Mellado (Latin-American Spanish dub)

The late Captain of the First Squad and Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, he's one of the most powerful characters in the whole series. A sage-looking old man who doesn't speak a lot, he created the Soul Reaper Academy, founded the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and strongly believes in following the law.

His Zanpakuto is named Ryujin Jakka, rightfully reputed as the most powerful fire-type. His Bankai is Zanka no Tachi, rightfully reputed to be the equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction, capable of instantly drying the air itself, harnessing heat equivalent to that of the Sun, and even re-animating the bones and ashes of fallen enemies.

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

Shunsui Sakuranosuke Jirō Kyōraku

The current Captain-General of Thirteen Court Guard Squads, for more information see his previous position, here

Chojiro Tadaoki Sasakibe

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

"No. If I become your disciple, then I will just be imitating you. As your right arm, I want to make up for whatever you cannot do!"

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Gonryomaru (Shikai) / Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū (Bankai)

Voiced by: Taro Yamaguchi (JP), Ryōta Suzuki (JP, young), Michael McConnohie (ENG, Episodes 54-55), Dan Woren (ENG, Episodes 111-230, Thousand Year Blood War), Herman López (Latin-American Spanish)

The late lieutenant of the 1st squad and... not a whole lot besides that. Virtually everything we know about him comes from the databooks; he's someone who stays in the background and almost never fights in the manga. The first time attention is brought on him is when Ichigo defeats him, Isane, and Ōmaeda shortly after obtaining Bankai. He has the most unusual eyes in the manga: they're solid gold in color and lack both pupils and sclera.

His Zanpakuto is named Gonryomaru, a traditional western rapier with electrical abilities. His Bankai is Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū, capable of calling down thunderstorms and bolts of lightning.

Adaptational Badass: The anime adaptation of the Thousand Year Blood War arc shows that he managed to strike a blow on Yhwach during Yhwach's duel with Yamamoto. This allowed Yamamoto to unleash his Bankai on Yhwach and win the fight.
Adaptation Dye-Job: In the manga, his eyes are solid gold with neither pupils nor sclera. In the anime, he's given normal sclera and pupils, leaving him with golden irises, though these additions are removed in the adaptation for the Thousand Year Blood War arc.
All There in the Manual: He's so much a part of the background in the manga that most of the information comes from the databooks. It's not until the final arc that we see flashbacks explaining his relationship with Yamamoto.
Combat Pragmatist: A flashback in the Thousand Year Blood War anime shows Chojiro hiding underneath a pile of corpses behind Yhwach and then stabbing him In the Back while he was distracted facing Yamamoto. Chojiro then jumped away just before Yamamoto struck the final blow.
Godzilla Threshold: Though he had Bankai for centuries and had trained in order to make it strong enough to be of use to Yamamoto, he never once uses it in battle prior to the final arc. Then Driscoll Berci attacks one of the gates of the Seireitei, where he kills over 100 Shinigami in the span of 3 minutes, forcing Sasakibe to use his Bankai for the first time. It does very little to help him, however, as Driscoll simply steals it before killing him too.
His Name Is...: Attempts to warn Yamamoto of the Wandenreich's ability to do something to a Shinigami's Bankai with his dying breath. While we do not get to see what exactly he tells Yamamoto beyond "Our Bankai...! They can...", and he's later shown to have succumbed to his injuries, the general assumption is that Sasakibe's Bankai was somehow sealed. This turns out to be a critical mistake, as the Quincies do not "seal" Bankai: they steal it.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The first invasion of the Wandenreich ends with Chojiro being impaled by a giant Quincy lance. Yamamoto lets the Quincies go in order to save Chojiro. Chojiro's wounds turn out to be fatal and he dies fairly quickly after being released from the lance.
Informed Ability: He's said to be captain-class, but gets defeated by Ichigo with a single punch. He possesses Bankai but it's only revealed after his death.
Minor Major Character: He is the lieutenant of the prestigious first division, serving as the captain-general's second. However, he almost never takes part in any fighting and has very few lines. He is very much Yamamoto's shadow; a role he worked hard to cultivate.
Odd Couple: The databooks say he and his captain make an unstoppable team, but they have differing tastes in tea, which they argue about all the time. Tea isn't the only thing they argue over. Chojiro is a fan of Western culture (England mainly) and dislikes Japanese culture while Yamamoto prefers Japanese culture and disapproves of Western culture.
Old Soldier: Though he doesn't quite look it compared to Yamamoto, he's been around for a long time. As a young man, he personally fought alongside the original Gotei 13 against the Quincy army. This makes him one of the oldest characters in the series, only beaten by a few characters such as Yamamoto and Unohana.
Royal Rapier: His Shikai is a rapier, and puts on a classy demeanor that's partially influenced by Western culture.
Satellite Character: Very much intentionally on his part. Sasakibe is deeply loyal to Yamamoto and prefers not to stand out, instead quietly supporting his friend from the background. He has Bankai, but has turned down every offer of Captainship that came his way so he could remain Yamamoto's lieutenant.
Shock and Awe: His zanpakutou ability is to control lightning.
Submissive Badass: Though he's been offered the role of Captain many times due to his experience and skill with Bankai to the point that he could scar Yamamoto, he turns it down each time out of loyalty to him.
Supernatural Gold Eyes: His eyes are either solid gold (manga) or have golden irises (anime), and he's a powerful Shinigami regardless of how little he shows it off.
Undying Loyalty: It's mentioned that he could have been promoted to captain, but he turned down the offer whenever there was a vacancy out of loyalty to Yamamoto.
Weather Manipulation: His Zanpakuto can summon storms, though we only get to see it do this when Brainwashed and Crazy by Muramasa in a filler arc, and its powers are canonically revealed post-mortem. His Bankai can summon clouds to pelt the opponent with lightning strikes. Hisagi is surprised to see a Zanpakuto besides Hyorinmaru have such control over the weather.
The Worf Effect: An odd, retroactive case. The Blood War final arc, as well as its animated expansion, establish that he’s a Captain level fighter with access to bankai. Despite this, he goes down in one hit from an unarmed Ichigo during the Soul Society Arc to establish the latter’s growth as a shinigami.
- Played straighter when he’s the first casualty of the Quincies to show just how big a threat they pose.

Nanao Ise

The current lieutenant of the 1st squad, for more information see her previous position

Squad 2

Soi Fon

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

^{The Lost Agent appearance}

"I have no interest in whether it is right or wrong. All I care about is executing orders as a captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. All who get in my way are my enemies. All enemies must be slain. That is all that matters."

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Suzumebachi (Shikai) / Jakuhō Raikōben (Bankai)

Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (JP, Episodes 24-182), Houko Kuwashima (JP, Episode 206+), Karen Strassman (ENG), Karla Falcón (Latin-American Spanish)

Real name Feng Shaoling, is the overly strict captain of the 2nd squad and also a Ninja. Her speciality lies mainly with speed and unarmed combat. She has a history together with Yoruichi and respects her so highly it's used as a Running Gag. She may be super-efficient and cold when it comes to her job, but when alone and subjected to anything Yoruichi (or black cats in general), she gets googly-eyed.

Her zanpakuto is named Suzumebachi, an ornate gauntlet and stinger enveloping her right middle finger. It allows her to instantly kill her enemy if she hits the same spot twice. Her Bankai is Jakuhō Raikōben, an enormous battery housing a missile with enough destructive power to level a city block.

She is able to use a special form of Shunko called Mukyu Shunkō, which recycles the energy she uses to grant her infinite stamina.

Action Girl: She's a Captain for a reason and gets a lot of opportunities to show off in fights. She even helps defeat the former God-King of Hueco Mundo.
Ambiguously Gay: The true nature of Soi Fon's attachment to her mentor, Yoruichi, and her sexuality in general is treated ambiguously. She's a stern, no-nonsense personality who wilts and fawns in the presence of Yoruichi. Yoruichi used to be her entire world, someone she worshipped; her loyalty was so great that, when her mentor went on the run from Soul Society without warning, Soi Fon was devastated. When Yoruichi returns after a hundred years, Soi Fon is so angry she tries to kill her before breaking down in tears, begging to know why Yoruichi didn't take her into exile with her. In supplemental material, slice-of-life comedy sketches focus on her attempting to sneak photographs of Yoruichi in nude. The anime team played with this, creating filler episodes that create heavy Ship Tease between the two women. In the post-manga novels, the villain can insult her subordinates and family and mock the incompetence of her division, but the only thing that makes her angry is his suggestion that he take Yoruichi as his wife. When Yoruichi rejects Tokinada, Soi Fon is so happy that she forgets her mission.
Anchored Attack Stance: In order to counter her Bankai's tremendous recoil, she has to anchor herself to a large stationary object by wrapping a heavy metal sash around it, making her largely immobile. The one time we see her doing this is against Baraggan, where she wraps the sash around the building she's standing on, and even then, the force of the Bankai's explosion is so great that it blows the building away and tears the sash apart, sending Soi Fon flying.
Animal Motifs: The Japanese Giant Hornet, a subspecies of Asian Giant Hornet. Highly aggressive, a very capable killer, famous for its sting but far more famous for its physical prowess... is that the hornet being described or Soi Fon?
Arm Cannon: Her Zanpakuto brings her under this trope for short periods of time. In Shikai, her Zanpakuto integrates with a finger on her right hand to turn her into the ultimate two-hit kill warrior. However, in Bankai, her Zanpakuto becomes a giant missile launcher.
Awesome, but Impractical: This is her general opinion of her Bankai. As she explains to Baraggan, it's entirely unsuited for an assassin: she needs to prepare extensively for its use, its size makes it impossible for her to conceal it, the sheer weight of it makes it difficult for her to move, and the resulting explosion is big enough to be seen by the entire city. Which is why she was hoping she wouldn't have to use it, but was left with no choice.
BFG: Her Bankai is a large bazooka with a golden missile that does incredible damage when fired. The downside is that it's so huge and cumbersome that it's impossible for Soi Fon to move quickly with it.
Blow You Away: When Soi Fon activates Shunko against Yoruichi, she creates gusts of wind around herself to fight. When she fights BG9 she confirms that her Shunko form is Wind which allows her to create reiatsu tornadoes around her body.
Bodyguard Crush: She was one of Yoruichi's personal guards and came to worship her as a goddess.
Braids of Action: Her hair is quite long, but it doesn't show up well because it's kept in very thin braids, presumably so it doesn't get in the way of fighting.
Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Back when Yoruichi was head of the division, Soi Fon was the Sergeant Rough to the former's Captain Smooth.
Clingy Jealous Girl: She holds a petty grudge against Urahara and the Visored because Yoruichi fled Soul Society for their sakes. In We Do Knot Always Love You, she began shooting Death Glares at Izuru over rumors spread after he was caught in a compromising position with Yoruichi. In Can't Fear Your Own World, Tokinada considers marrying Yoruichi just to get under her skin, and she internally expresses envy toward Yoruichi's Zanpakuto for being pampered in compensation for going unused.
Close-Range Combatant: The Stealth Force specializes in unarmed combat and, as their Supreme Commander, Soi Fon is the most proficient at it. The Official Character Book: Souls even states that her close combat skills rival, or even surpass, those of Yoruichi's.
Covert Pervert: Despite her stoic and ruthless nature, omakes show her obsessing over secret pictures of Yoruichi and even trying to take a photo of her bathing.
Defrosting Ice Queen: She begins to dethaw around the time of the White War on. She's still cold, but she's much friendlier to her colleagues, including her bumbling lieutenant.
Discard and Draw: During the Thousand Year Blood War, her Bankai is stolen, forcing her to compensate. She finally masters Shunko and appears to have the advantage at first, though the attack ends up failing.
Drill Sergeant Nasty: She intentionally treats her subordinates coldly to keep them always alert. Ōmaeda gets the worst of it, as she often smacks him around whenever he acts dumb near her.
Explaining Your Power to the Enemy: Like many other characters, Soi Fon has a habit of explaining how her Shikai works to her enemies. Lampshaded when Ggio Vega notes that her shikai would have a much higher success rate if she would stop doing this. Then she kills him with it — turns out she didn't explain everything.
Fat and Skinny: The Skinny to Marechiyo's Fat.
Good is Not Nice: Despite fighting alongside the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Soi Fon is often cold towards others and is mean to her subordinates.
Inconsistent Spelling: While her name is Chinese, the Japanese pronunciation is "Soifon" which led to a hell of a lot of confusion as to how the name should be translated until "Suì-Fēng"—the Mandarin Chinese Pinyin transliteration of her name—showed up in the Bleach: Official Character Book 2 MASKED and Bleach: Official Character Book 3 UNMASKED art books. However, VIZ Media's English localizations of Bleach: Brave Souls and the subtitles for the Thousand Year Blood War anime instead transliterate her name as "Soi Fon".
Informed Ability: Soi Fon excels at stealth and covert operations and states she has great pride in her ability to do her job as an assassin. However, the story focuses mainly on the Thirteen Court Guard Squads which means she isn't seen operating as an assassin. Her personality is also very flashy which means her tactics tend to make her a Highly-Visible Ninja instead.
Inverse Law of Utility and Lethality: Her Shikai has the ability to instantly kill any opponent that it hits in the same spot twice. Its only canon victim was one of Baraggan's Fraccion, Ggio Vega. When she tries to use it on Aizen, he simply No Sells it because of his much higher Reiatsu.
It's Personal: Soi Fon's personal feelings are what drive most of her battle with Yoruichi, as she always resented Yoruichi for running away from Soul Society without taking her along.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Even with her stated policy of acting cold toward her subordinates to keep them sharp, she clearly just doesn't like Ōmaeda, verbally and physically assaulting him even when he's just trying to help her. And while she forgives Yoruichi for leaving her, she still treats Urahara and the Visoreds with disdain because Yoruichi left to save the former from false charges of Hollowfying the latter group. Scenes of both in both the past and present show that she's much more pleasant around Yoruichi, and she occasionally shows a nicer side to others too (such as being considerate to Ōmaeda and his sister in the final arc). Lampshaded when Renji expresses shock over her kindness and Rukia points out she's always been kind.
Kick the Dog: Like Byakuya, she has quite a few ruthless moments in the Soul Society arc, to the point she occasionally borders on sadism. Trying to crush Kiyone's throat with her foot because Ukitake stopped Rukia's execution is a standout example.
Kindhearted Cat Lover: Although cold by default, she's one of the good guys post-Soul Society arc and she's made her barracks cat-friendly and collects cat statues, certainly out of love for Yoruichi's cat form.
The Knights Who Say "Squee!": While she herself is a Captain, she still has great admiration for her mentor Yoruichi in the present (to the point of crushing on her in omakes and anime filler).
Kung-Fu Wizard: Soi Fon's ultimate technique combines the spell-binding principles of Kido with Hakuda, the Shinigami form of hand-to-hand combat.
Life-or-Limb Decision: When Baraggan's power pretty much trashes her arm, she has Ōmaeda cut it off. It's restored after the battle.
Lightning Bruiser: She's fast and tiny and gives her opponents the initial impression that she's a Fragile Speedster. Although her speed is unmatched by nearly everyone, her real strength lies with her body's physical prowess, making her an almost unmatched unarmed fighter. She has been known to allow her body to be used as a punching bag and thrown through buildings just so she can assess her opponent's abilities, knowing that she can take anything that's thrown at her and still come out on top. Her mastery of the physical body has made her only the second known Soul Reaper to achieve "Shunko", the ability to flood the body with Soul Power to dangerously push the body beyond its physical limits.
Luminescent Blush: Whenever she is complimented by Yoruichi, Soi Fon blushes intensely. When she meets Yoruichi's kid brother, Yūshirō Shihōin, she has the exact same reaction.
Magic Enhancement: Hakuda trains a Soul Reaper's body to the physical limit to become a weapon capable of extremely powerful unarmed combat. Soi Fon claims to have discovered Shunko, a technique that allows Kido to be driven into the arms and legs to boost the body's Hakuda performance beyond its physical limit. Sui Feng's stunned when she discovers she wasn't the first person to have discovered this technique.
My Master, Right or Wrong: She dutifully follows orders of the Seretei never seeming to question if there's something off about them. She states that anyone who tries to stand in the way of the law is her enemy, and even warns her lieutenant that he is no exception. She later tries to kill Kiyone merely for being affiliated with one of the Captains that stopped the Sokyoku.
Never Got to Say Goodbye: She never did get to say goodbye to Yoruichi when the latter rescued Urahara and ran away. It's one of the things she furiously berates Yoruichi over when they meet again at Rukia's execution.
Not So Stoic: Despite her often cold-hearted behavior toward her comrades, she is incredibly distraught when she's told that Byakuya and Kenpachi might not survive their injuries from the Wandenreich's first invasion while she's still coming to terms with Yamamoto's demise.
Ninja: She is the leader of the special forces, an organisation made up of ninjas, and takes great pride in being one herself.
Perpetual Frowner: Soi Fon is a very professional and serious minded person who leads the Stealth Force. Therefore, she is almost never seen smiling.
Pintsized Powerhouse: Soi Fon isn't even 5 feet tall, yet she leads Soul Society's assassin squad, her Shikai can kill her opponent in two hits, and her Bankai is a highly destructive Arm Cannon.
Power-Strain Blackout: Using her Bankai drains so much of her Reiatsu, that it usually takes her three days to recover before she can safely use it again. Forcing herself to use it twice in one day, mere moments after the first shot, made her lose consciousness.
Professional Killer: She is the leader of the Stealth Force, an organization made up of ninjas. Their work is separate from that of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads military, and often classified.
Running Gag: The anime loves to play up her Ambiguously Gay obsession with Yoruichi and (as a result) black cats.
Skewed Priorities: She refuses to help Hachi against Barragan until he agrees to stick Urahara in a barrier for a month afterwards. This is the same Barragan who cost her an arm and is trying to kill her and all her coworkers.
Small Girl, Big Gun: The petite Soi Fon's Bankai is a missile launcher bigger than herself.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She's cold and harsh around most people, but melts whenever she's in the presence of either Yoruichi or Yuushirou. She worships Yoruichi as a goddess and gushes over how much Yuushirou has grown, trying to give him pocket money despite being in the middle of a crisis situation.
Touch of Death: Her Shikai's special ability, Nigeki Kessatsu, effectively amounts to this, as Soi Fon can administer both stings faster than even the well trained eye can follow; making it so the victim only feels one... assuming the victim feels anything at all.
Visual Pun: Her Zanpakutou is named after a hornet and its Shikai is stinger-like in shape, while its Bankai is a big missile launcher - in other words, another kind of Stinger.

Marechiyo Yoshiayamenosuke Nikkōtarōemon Ōmaeda

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

"I'm not fat! I'm just plump! It's a symbol of affluence. It's not the same as a poor bastard like you who's just sloppily fat without any reason. That's what you are."

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Gegetsuburi (Shikai)

Voiced by: Shoto Kashii (JP), Lex Lang (ENG), Rubén León (Latin-American Spanish)

The slow and large cocky tough guy counterpart to Sui-Fon and her lieutenant. He comes from a rich family as well.

His Zanpakuto is Gegetsuburi, a large spiked flail.

Acrofatic: You'd expect that him being fat would make him slow. Rather, he wants you to think that. You would be wrong. He's the lieutenant of the Gotei 13's ninja division for a very good reason.
Big Brother Instinct: He'll do anything to protect his little sister Mareyo. He normally a coward, but when BG9 attacks her, he goes absolutely berserk. The animated adaptation of the blood war goes further and has him successfully Taking the Bullet for her during said instance.
Blue Blood: The Ōmaeda family isn't quite on the level of the Kuchikis, but they're still wealthy nobles with a family tradition of serving in the Gotei 13.
Butt-Monkey: Nobody takes him seriously. Ikkaku has openly stated no-one cares about him and during the Thirteen Court Guard Squads Invasion arc, his Reigai imposter took an appearance upgrade because he didn't even want to look like his original. Later on in the story, it's indicated that Ōmaeda does use this to his advantage in battle, but it doesn't change how his allies treat him.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: His turnaround on Parduoc is perhaps the manga's crowning example of this. Downplayed in the anime, which casts him as a bit more of a Butt-Monkey in the battle.
A Day in the Limelight: Episode 312 is an Ōmaeda focus episode where he pretends to be the Squad 2 captain.
Declaration of Protection: A badass, heartfelt one in Chapter 548, to his little sister Mareyo.
"Mareyo. You're smart, you should understand. I'm not just going and leaving you alone. It's to protect Mareyo... and Saburou, and nee-sama, and father and mother... and our neighbor Gondawara-san and Kanemitsu-san and to protect the Seiretei. That's why I must go. I'm sure you understand."
Epic Flail: Gegetsuburi's Shikai takes the form of a massive flail.
Fat and Skinny: The Fat to Sui Feng's skinny.
Gonk: There's an Art Shift with Ōmaeda to emphasise that he's respected by no-one, little more than comic relief and fodder for enemies. It helps ram home Soi Fon's frustration in having someone so incompetent as her side-kick. When he does become serious or sympathetic, and more badass, the artwork changes accordingly to give him the appearance of a large, heavyset, but normal-looking man.
I Am Big Boned: When Nirgge (who's quite heavy himself) calls him fat, he claims that he's merely plump, which is a sign of his affluence as opposed to someone poor like Nirgge being fat for no reason.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He likes to act like a self-centered idiot, but he really cares for his family and helps Soi Fon against Barragan despite how afraid he is.
Let's Get Dangerous!: During the Fake Karakura Town battles, he reveals that he didn't get his position through family influence but rather genuinely earned it. He exaggerates his normal arrogant attitude to catch opponents off guard.
Meaningful Name: "Ōmaeda" is phonetically cognate with a mildly rude way of saying "It's you!" And he receives about that much respect.
Obfuscating Stupidity: He uses an Upper-Class Twit persona to make people think he's in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads due to his noble family. He is actually as fast and deadly as you'd expect from the lieutenant of the 2nd division. He is still genuinely stupid in a lot of ways, it's just that combat isn't one of them.
Overly Long Name: His full name is...* deep breath* ...Marechiyo Yoshiyamenosuke Nikkotaroemon Ōmaeda.
Strong Family Resemblance: Ōmaeda is very nearly the spitting image of both his mother and his father (as are all his siblings, with the sole exception of the youngest daughter).
Trademark Favorite Food: He's introduced in the story, walking behind Soifon while he munches on crackers. He's said to be constantly eating them. During the Karakura Town battle, it's revealed that he's the only lieutenant who didn't know Yamamoto's plan. The others are quick to assume that the reason he had no idea was because he was too busy stuffing his face with rice crackers to listen, a belief Soifon encourages because she doesn't want to admit she actually forgot to tell him the plan. The anime plays this up much more than the manga does, inserting filler scenes of him eating crackers everywhere. Even his zanpakuto spirit gets annoyed by it.
Undying Loyalty: To Soi Fon. Despite being a Dirty Coward 95% of the time when push comes to shove he will put himself into danger if she's in trouble and after the Wandenreich invasion he showed disappointment that she didn't bring him along when she went off training.
Upper-Class Twit: He loves to flaunt his status and gives the impression of being promoted entirely based on family prestige. It's (mostly) an act.

Marenoshin Ōmaeda

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marenoshin001_4149.png

Father to Marechiyo and lieutenant to Yoruichi, Marenoshin retired from his position and fathered four children (two daughters; two sons), living in a luxurious lifestyle typical of aristocrats.

All There in the Manual: Everything we know about him was revealed in the Masked databook and the novel 'Spirits Are Forever With You'.
Always Someone Better: Despite sharing his son's Upper-Class Twit attitude, The post-manga novel 'Spirits Are Forever With You' shows that he's actually considerably more powerful and respected than his son even as a Retired Badass. Being capable of threatening a former Kenpachi with Kido alone and being treated with respect by Soi Fon even if he's been retired for literal centuries makes it clear that during his time as Yoruichi's Number Two he was a completely different beast than his son despite the similarities in personalities.
Early-Bird Cameo: In an after-episode segment and manga omake, we get our first glimpse of Marenoshin when Marechiyo introduced the Ōmaeda family to Ichigo and Rukia. In particular, Marenoshin now has darker and curlier brown hair, along with a pair of sunglasses, extra weight and tons of jewellery.
Fat and Skinny: The Fat to Yoruichi's Skinny.
Generation Xerox: The Ōmaeda clan makes its living out of being members of the Stealth Force. Marenoshin was the lieutenant to the same division as his son. They even share the same birthday, height, weight and fashion sense (right down to the same purple collar in their Shihakusho, but Marenoshin had curly brown as opposed to Marechiyo's black.
Retired Badass: When Yoruichi was in charge of both the Covert Ops and the Second Division, Marenoshin was second-in-command; he was more highly ranked than even Urahara, who was ranked third. In 'Spirits Are Forever With You', he is still capable of threatening even a former Kenpachi just with his Kido alone, and the current captain of the Second Division and Covert Ops shows signs of being intimidated by him.

Squad 3

Gin Ichimaru

Debuted as Captain of Squad 3, but had deserted after revealing his true colors in the Soul Society arc's final stage. For more information go here.

Rojuro "Rose" Otoribashi

Current captain of Squad 3, he was also its previous captain before being exiled a century ago. He later reprises his role after Aizen's defeat. For more information go here.

Izuru Kira

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_kira_9.png

^{Thousand-Year Blood War appearance}

"Battle is not a stage for empty heroics and nor is it something to take pleasure in. Battle is filled with despair. Dark, terrifying. That is the way that it should be. That way, people learn to fear battle and to choose the path of non-violence where possible."

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Wabisuke (Shikai)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (JP), Grant George (ENG), Alan Prieto (Latin-American Spanish)

Squad 3's lieutenant. He graduated the Soul Reaper Academy along with Renji and Hinamori and was later assigned under Gin Ichimaru. After Ichimaru's betrayal, he occasionally joins Matsumoto in drinking sessions.

His Zanpakuto is Wabisuke, a strange L-hook-shaped katana with the sharp edge of the blade on the inside of the hook. It doubles the weight of anything it strikes and its peculiar shape makes it ideal for framing a person's neck to behead them.

Artificial Zombie: Mayuri turns him into one after Bazz-B kills him by blasting a good chunk of his torso away.
The Atoner:
- He blames himself for getting pawned by Aizen and attacking Momo, and tries to make up for it.
- During Izuru and Hisagi's trial following Aizen's defeat, Izuru adamantly refuses to have Gin take the blame for the things that Izuru did of his own volition, such as attacking Momo. Nayura deduces that Izuru has become the kind of man who can only connect with the world by atoning for his sins, which is why he doesn't like being forgiven or having his crimes being blamed on others.
Awesomeness by Analysis: Once the reports come in from the patrols about the mysteriously dying Rukongai people, he quickly deduces the truth. They were killed by Soul Reapers and Mayuri knows why.
Broken Bird: Gin leaving hit Kira hard and left him quite depressed for a while, especially because he blamed himself for siding with Gin, who turned out to be a traitor.
Can't Hold His Liquor: You might see Rangiku and Shuhei casually having a drink...and Izuru collapsed on the floor, foaming at the mouth.
Character Development: Chronologically speaking, Kira started off as a friendly and somewhat cocky cadet in the Spiritual Arts Academy. Come present time, although pragmatic in combat, he's gloomy, introspective, worrisome and indecisive, which leads to several areas of conflict between himself and his friends. Once we see him in the Blood War arc, he's far less moody and a lot more analytical, making him appear generally more leader-like amongst the other lieutenants.
Conflicting Loyalty: He was torn between his friendships and his loyalty to his captain. He ultimately chose to follow his captain, to the point of becoming bait over the Board to Death sequence. Once it turns out that Ichimaru was a traitor, Kira is understandably upset.
Cyborg: When Kira is killed, a hole is blasted through his chest. Mayuri doesn't fix these injuries when he reanimates Kira, instead using cybernetic restructuring to enable Kira to function as a zombie that possesses a half-destroyed body.
A Day in the Limelight: Roughly half of the New Captain filler arc was told from Kira's perspective. The short story 'Beginning of the revive of tomorrow' focuses on the consequences of his actions during Aizen's betrayal, his resurrection after Bazz-B killed him and his fight with Shaz Domino.
Drowning My Sorrows: Following his captain's defection, he is often seen drinking. His main drinking partner is Rangiku, but she's not his only one.
Explaining Your Power to the Enemy: Every single battle, not that he gets that many. He does at least have the sense to only explain to opponents who he's already affected with Wabisuke. It backfired against Rangiku, though, as her released Zanpakuto has no weight.
Fatal Flaw: Loyalty. He's so dedicated to his captain that it led to him turning on such friends as Hinamori and Matsumoto, leaving him so conflicted that he became prone to self-loathing whenever he felt remorse over challenging his friends.
Gravity Master: His Zanpakuto doubles the weight of anything it hits, every time it hits — meaning, if he whacks a ball the weight of 2kg five times it weighs 64kg. This isn't limited to weapons; the gigantic wings of Abirama Redder were affected similarly, though he had to slash them repeatedly for it to kick in full.
Heavier than It Looks: Invoked by Kira's Zanpakuto, Wabisuke. Its Shikai ability causes the weight of anything it strikes to double. This effect can continue indefinitely, allowing him to make his opponent's weapons or bodies exponentially heavier until they're unable to move despite having no visible increase in mass or size. He can also use this ability on himself to crush others under his increased weight.
Hiding Behind Your Bangs: His hair covers a large part of his face, usually including one of his eyes. This emphasizes his gloomy personality.
Logical Weakness: Wabisuke's Gravity Master abilities are useless against something that is actually weightless, like Rangiku's Shikai. The things he weighs down can also be used against him. Rangiku exploited this weakness in the Invading Army filler arc against Kira's Reigai- she tricked him into hitting a steel rod and then let the now thousand-times heavier rod pin down Wabisuke.
Martial Pacifist: He doesn't like fighting even when he has to, but while in a fight, he's cold and ruthless, because he believes that such tactics are necessary to discourage combat.
My God, What Have I Done?: Calls himself a "monster" when he raises his sword against poor Momo.
Oddly Shaped Sword: It has two right angles giving it a square hook shape. Lampshaded by Abirama Redder, who soon learns the hard way that it's the perfect shape for decapitation.
Oh, Crap!: When he had Matsumoto beaten, she used Haineko to bypass Wabisuke's Gravity Master abilities, catching him off-guard (and resulting in his defeat).
Parental Abandonment: Shizuka, his mother, and Kagekiyo, his father, both died when he was young, although it's unknown if they died before or after he joined the academy.
Perpetual Frowner: Though he was more happy as an academy student, by the time he shows up in the story he tends to be pretty humorless and depressed.
Pose of Supplication: The concept is played with in regards to his zanpakuto's special abilities. Anything he hits it with gains weight until the person can no longer stand and are forced into this pose, where he will then use Wabisuke's odd form to behead them.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Sensitive Guy to either Shuhei or Renji, especially when he was a cadet (and much happier than in the present storyline). Subverted, however, when he and Hisagi have to deal with an emotional Yumichika. Hisagi takes the sensitive route of trying to talk down Yumichika. Kira doesn't bother and tranqs Yumichika into unconsciousness instead simply because he disapproves of the way a fifth seat was talking to a lieutenant.
Smug Super: Back in the academy, he noted that Hisagi (his upperclassman) failed the entrance exam twice, and takes the time to brag how he passed at the top of his class and assumed that meant his talent was greater. He has since lost this type of confidence.
Took a Level in Badass: Being turned into a cyborg zombie by Mayuri Kurotsuchi increased Kira's strength.
Torso with a View: Bazz-B shoots a Heilig Pfeil at him, destroying a large portion of the right side of Kira's abdomen and right arm. The next time Kira is seen on the battlefield, he is still missing a large portion of his torso, and he describes himself as a "dead man".
Two Guys and a Girl: As a cadet in the Spiritual Arts Academy, Kira held this relationship between Renji Abarai and Momo Hinamori, although in a much more platonic portrayal than the typical example. Once things head into the Soul Society arc, all three end up into conflict with one another; Izuru tried to keep the peace while dutifully following his captain, who turned out to be a traitor, putting him directly at odds with Hinamori.
The Undead: Kira is killed during the first invasion of the Quincy, blasted through the torso by Bazz-B's fiery heat attack. Mayuri, however, collects Kira's body and reanimates him as a zombie. He doesn't fix the injuries to Kira's body, leaving Kira with a giant hole in his torso. Instead, Mayuri compensates by making Kira a cyborg.
Unwitting Pawn: Kira was sent by Ichimaru to the Central 46 Compound, where Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were trying to figure out the identity of the Central 46's assassin. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto immediately decide to follow him, but he claims that he only just arrived as well. He lets it slip that Hinamori escaped her jail-cell and had been following Hitsugaya the entire time. When Hitsugaya turns tail to find Hinamori, Matsumoto stays to confront Kira, who reveals that Ichimaru sent him there to draw Matsumoto away from Hitsugaya and Hinamori. However, Kira went along with his captain's wish only because Gin promised Hinamori wouldn't be harmed. He is horrified when Aizen attacks both Hinamori and Hitsugaya, leaving them for dead.
War Is Hell: He's developed a strong belief in this, which stems either from his past experiences with Hollows (ala the Academy) and/or the death of both of his parents. This is in stark contrast to his opponent, Abirama Redder, who believes that War Is Glorious. Kira counters this by lecturing him over the realities of war, and demonstrates his point by using Wabisuke to behead Abirama.
Warrior Poet: Likes to write Haiku. Though they aren't very good haiku.

Chikane Iba

An elderly woman who was once Rose's lieutenant, serving her post since before Rose even became her captain. She is the mother of Tetsuzaemon.

All There in the Manual: Everything we know about her was found in the MASKED databook and the Death Save the Strawberry novel.
Generation Xerox: Her son made it his mission to become a lieutenant so he can please his mother, herself a long-serving lieutenant.
Iron Lady: While not without her soft spots, Chikane is described as an abrasive and strict woman with uncompromising high expectations in others and even her own son calls her a "witch".
Old Soldier: Seemingly was one of the longest serving lieutenants among the Gotei 13, having served in her role even before Rose originally became The Captain of Squad 3.
Pet the Dog: As abrasive as she is, she's the one who pushed for Rose to become her captain, according to Rose himself in the Death Save the Strawberry novel.

Squad 4

Retsu Unohana

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

^{Yachiru Unohana}

"The act of saving a comrade in need should require no thanks."

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Minazuki (Shikai) / Minazuki (Bankai)

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (JP), Kate Higgins (ENG), Irina Índigo y Alejandra de la Rosa (Latin-American Spanish)

Unohana is the late gentle and motherly captain of the 4th Squad. She is one of the oldest Captains in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and has been around since the beginning of the formation of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads as well as the most powerful despite leading a squad based entirely on healing. Because of this, she hides an extremely scary Battle Aura that makes even the most badass officers of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads go weak in the knees when imagining her wrath. This is even more evident whenever other squads start bullying her squad, whereas a slight glare is enough to send the bullies pissing their pants.

Being one of the senior captains, Unohana harbors great wisdom and perception, and prefers supporting from behind. In fact, she is the only one to notice that something amiss when Aizen 'died' and was able to catch up with him and correctly identify him as a traitor, which prompts him to reveal his trickery... and run off instead of taking her out.

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

Achey Scars: Her front-braided hair hides a nasty chest scar. Zaraki inflicted it on her when he was a child and it throbs whenever she hears his voice.
Action Girl: The databooks revealed early on that she was a power fighter specialist and expert swordsman, contrasting heavily with her role as the medic usually in the back lines. She's the original Kenpachi and is brought forward by Kyoraku to help train Kenpachi Zaraki, who she proceeds to hand his ass to with minimal effort at the start of the training.
Animal Motifs: The manta ray is both graceful and dangerous, and has been associated with both medicine and destruction in folklore. Unohana, considered the most beautiful woman in Soul Society, was the most dangerous killer of her generation, and the initial reason she mastered the art of healing was so that she could prolong her fights for as long as possible. Initially the founder of both the Kenpachi position and the Eleventh Division, she eventually came to define the role of the Fourth Division as a combat medical unit, becoming the Thirteen Court Guard Squads's pre-eminent doctor.
The Atoner: She once destroyed the potential of a child to develop into the greatest fighter and has regretted that moment ever since. The child was Zaraki who almost defeated her but sealed his power in terror at the thought of losing the first Worthy Opponent he had ever found. That moment was responsible for turning him into a warrior who holds back in battle to enjoy fighting.
Ax-Crazy: This is revealed to be her original personality. When she finally lets her hair down to fight, she looks both creepy and crazy. She was the original Kenpachi and Captain of Squad 11; meaning that she started the squad's love for combat and violence. She views herself as only one step removed from a psychotic criminal. In fact, she was once considered the most diabolical criminal in Soul Society's history, a reputation that not even Aizen acquired.
Beware the Nice Ones: Unohana is usually a warm and caring woman. But, while she may acts nice, even slight annoyance on her eyes is said to scare the whole fight-happy Squad 11. Even people who don't scare easily such as Kenpachi Zaraki. Merely forgetting to mention her brings fear to even Shunsui and Ukitake, two senior captains. After her reveal as Yachiru Unohana, it makes a whole lot of sense. She is the First Kenpachi and creator of the 11th Division. She named herself "Yachiru" to reflect the fact she's a Master Swordsman and was the most diabolical criminal in Soul Society history before she became The Atoner.
Blood Knight: Unohana is eventually revealed to be the founder of Squad 11 who has been repressing this side of herself for centuries until brought out of retirement by the Wandenreich's attack on Soul Society. She is, in fact, the original Kenpachi, Yachiru Unohana, that Zaraki idolised, who sees Zaraki's battle attitude as her greatest mistake that needs to be fixed. She almost never fights, but when she does she certainly enjoys it. Kenpachi enjoys fights by doing his best to fight at his opponent's level, while Unohana keeps herself and her opponent alive whilst her Bankai ensures they keep enjoying it that much longer.
Bloody Murder: A colour omake about the squads trying to invent a computer game suggests Unohana views killing via manipulating blood. Her Bankai is a blade of blood. The anime goes into more detail on what it can do, showing that the Bankai turns the entire battlefield into a pool of blood that she can use in battle to do stuff such as throw blood as projectiles or like whips.
Body Horror: Unohana's command of Kido is so great she can use that power to enable this to happen. By using her healing Kido, she can keep the fight going for as long as possible without either party dying from the effects.
Broken Ace: Retsu Unohana is an eminent warrior even in the setting's World of Badass, a beloved leader, incredibly beautiful, and the Soul Society's best doctor. Unfortunately, she also was a psychotic criminal who greatly enjoyed violence and combat. Along with her raging insanity, she's driven by the desire to atone for sealing Zaraki's powers when he was young, feeling that she ruined his potential.
Combat Medic: She's quite the accomplished swordsman but by preference sticks to support roles. When training Kenpachi, she combines the two by inflicting lethal wounds and then healing them with the implication that she's going to keep at it until he measures up, even going so far as to kill him and then revive him in the blank of an eye from his perspective.
Combat Pragmatist: In a series where everyone typically calls out their flashy attacks and explains their abilities, Unohana immediately and effortlessly defeats Kenpachi with pure, merciless swordsmanship. She even lands a killing blow to his neck, only to revive him to continue his training. She also carries hidden weapons and views Kenpachi's conscious self limitations as extremely foolish.
Combat Sadomasochist: A legendarily bloodthirsty warrior who yearns for someone strong enough to cut her down. Her Bankai reflects this, dissolving her and her opponent to the bone as she uses her healing arts to draw out the fight as long as possible.
Covert Pervert: In the Beach Episode, Isane complains about being offered an extremely skimpy swimsuit. Unohana forces her to wear it, and Unohana's own swimsuit is just as skimpy.
Creepy Good: Usually Played for Laughs, Captain Unohana is The Dreaded to everyone who threatens her ire. A smile from her sends chills down the spines of even the 11th Division. When she fights, she lets down her hair and transforms into Yachiru, a truly eerie, blood-powered Blood Knight who was the original Kenpachi of the 11th division.
Deadly Doctor: She can use her medical knowledge in battle to maim in very effective ways. She's capable of delivering fatal blows to Zaraki and instantly heal them to ensure he keeps training until he reaches a level she's happy with.
Death Glare: Inverted, she only smiles sweetly to anyone who annoys her while speaking in a very calm but firm tone. This actually makes it more unsettling to the people who know her and they quickly fall in line to avoid her wraith. Even Ichigo, during the one of the few times he interacted with her, found out quickly not to get on her bad side.
Dissonant Serenity: When she fights, her tranquility is at odds with her violence. While fighting Kenpachi, she slices him apart without batting an eyelash and only raises her voice once.
Dying Declaration of Love: In her last moments, she admits that Zaraki was the only man who ever made her feel happy. Crosses over with Platonic Declaration of Love, as she doesn't view him as a romantic partner, but in more of a very twisted mother-son way.
The Dreaded: A comedic example. This is the effect that she has on pretty much the whole of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. It has, as such, become somewhat of a Running Gag. Well, you can see her combat potential in the databooks from quite early on and her name does mean "violent." After finding out just what she was like, it's entirely justified. Even Aizen, one of the most diabolical masterminds of the entire series, prefers backing off from her rather than manipulating her like the rest.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Zaraki's idol Yachiru, the very first Kenpachi and founder of the 11th Division, was an Ax-Crazy Blood Knight whose viciousness in battle was something Zaraki aspired to emulate. In battle, her long hair flowed free and her face would take on an eerie expression that would switch from unnaturally detached to psychopathic depending on how the fight was progressing. However, in later years she became the 4th Division Combat Medic Captain Unohana, famed for her beauty in-universe and viewed as the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko, and who always kept her hair neatly bound. Kubo stated Unohana was Soul Society's most beautiful woman and that he wanted there to be a shocking contrast between the two faces of her personality.
Expository Hairstyle Change: Her hair is bound when she's healing and unbound when she's fighting. She plays the role of a Yamato Nadeshiko when not fighting, but becomes an Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette when fighting. It's a deliberate change of persona on her part, she knows what images she portrays.
Face Framed in Shadow: Once the decision is made to put Unohana on the battlefield, everything darkens into shadow, framing her face, making the decision seem very ominous. She was the first Kenpachi and the worst criminal in Soul Society history. Putting her on the battlefield, even for training others, brings that personality back out of her. Her face remains framed in shadow for much of the fight because she's simply that dangerous and that creepy.
Four Is Death: The Fourth Division is the military healing squad giving it a "life and death" motif. As its Captain, she leads the fight against death itself. She was also the original Kenpachi and the most dangerous criminal the Soul Society has ever had, a distinction that not even Sosuke Aizen himself managed to achieve.
Foreshadowing: For a Captain in the healing division, her parameter in Strength is 100 (maximum)- on par with Aizen, Yamamoto and Kenpachi. This hints that she is far more powerful than she seems. It's eventually confirmed that she was the original Kenpachi who master all forms of sword combat, and is the person who Zaraki respects most.
Giant Flyer: Her Shikai makes Minazuki transform into a gigantic, flying manta for transportation. The manta can swallow up to six people and heal them from within. When it is done healing it regurgitates them back out.
Grooming the Enemy: She let Zaraki live so that he'd grow up to become someone who could challenge her. This didn't really work because Zaraki wanted the same thing, and knew that if they fought to their limits, she'd die and he'd be alone. Unfortunately for him, Unohana did not give a fuck.
Healing Hands: A master healer, trained by Kirinji of Squad Zero himself. Unfortunately, it's implied she learned healing to keep her opponents alive in a fight. Meaning they wouldn't be allowed death until she'd had her fill of carving them apart.
Hidden Buxom: Her captain's haori hides her large chest. It's quite apparent in her one-piece swimsuit during the beach filler episode, but her Summer 2021 swimsuit in Bleach Brave Souls has her on full display leaning over in a red bikini.
Hidden Depths: The databooks indicate she's more of a swordfighter than a healer. But they don't say she's an Ax-Crazy sociopathic Kenpachi underneath the polite veneer.
Letting Her Hair Down: Inverted. You do not want to see Unohana with her hair down. Because when she does, very bad things happen. Just ask Zaraki.
Lonely at the Top: She knows the pain of being unrivalled when at the top of her profession and unable to find any equal to compare her skill with. As the original Kenpachi, her swordsmanship was unrivalled among the original Gotei 13. She wandered the Soul Society slaughtering criminals and trying to find a Worthy Opponent. Eventually she met her match in a young Zaraki.
Mama Bear: She treats her Squad like they are her children. If anyone tries to bully them, she will give them a smile and a subtle threat, causing the offender to back off in fright.
Mask of Sanity: The Thousand Year Blood War reveals most of what we see of Retsu Unohana is predominantly a mask. Beneath it is a very dangerous, battle-hungry monster.
Master Swordsman: The databooks state she is one, having fully mastered sword fighting. Also stated in the manga itself when it's explained she gave herself the name Yachiru as a result of having mastered all known sword styles. She's so good that she "kills" her sole competition, Kenpachi Zaraki, multiple times during their final, brutal duel. Unohana even went into the fight with the expectation that she'd be able to do so long enough for him to eventually grow stronger than she is.
Meaningful Name: Retsu means violent in Japanese. Everyone fears her for one reason or another. She renamed herself Yachiru in the past as a symbol of having mastered all known sword fighting styles before returning to the name Retsu.
- Her Zanpakuto also turns out to have one. Even though it reads as "Minazuki" in both forms, in Shikai form the name uses kanji meaning "purifying the flesh", while in Bankai form it means "all things perish". This duality is a perfect mirror to Unohana's very own.
Mellow Mantas: Captain Unohana is the gentle and graceful leader of the Fourth Division, which is devoted to healing, and is famed for her gentle spirit and powerful healing abilities. When she activates her Shikai, it manifests as an enormous ray that can carry multiple people in its stomach, where it heals them from even severe injuries. For most people, that's all they ever really know about her. However, this trope is subverted; a thousand years ago, Unohana was the first Kenpachi of the Eleventh Division, an Ax Craxy murderer whose Bankai can create a blood-soaked arena that uses both blood and healing to create a vicious, never-ending battle. When she turned away from that violent path, she devoted herself solely to healing and using her Shikai in gentle ways to save lives.
The Medic: The Captain of a whole squad of them. It's an ability she picked up in order to prolong fights.
Morality Pet: For all her monstrosity beneath the mask, Unohana seems to care deeply for her squadron, especially Isane. The latter is implied to be one of the very few genuine and human connections Unohana has ever made, with Unohana taking the time to leave her a final note whose contents are never revealed.
My Greatest Failure: She once met a child with great potential, but handled the situation badly and destroyed that child's development. They encountered each other at a time they both desperately wanted a Worthy Opponent. Zaraki was the stronger but was so afraid of losing his first enjoyable opponent that he unconsciously shackled his power. Unohana is deeply ashamed she handicapped him so badly.
Noblewoman's Laugh: Her clone in the Invading Army arc lets one off when fighting the real Capt. Kurotsuchi.
Not Me This Time: Her flashback provides a chilling example: when her subordinate notes the pile of corpses as her dissatisfaction in not finding a Worthy Opponent, she merely asks how long the corpses had been there, indicating that while she was not responsible for the recent kills, it is heavily implied that she used to routinely go on killing sprees to satisfy her Blood Knight tendencies.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: In-universe, Unohana appears to be, and is viewed as, the perfect example of the Yamato Nadeshiko. She has raven black hair that is always neatly bound, pale, flawless skin and carries herself with quiet grace and dignity. Kubo has confirmed she is Soul Society's most beautiful woman. When she lets down her hair to unleash her inner Ax-Crazy Blood Knight personality she transforms into an Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette instead. Kubo indicated she was deliberately designed to display a shocking contrast between the two faces of her personality.
Reformed, but Not Tamed: Unohana obviously turned a page in her life by taking up her new identity and mostly leaving combat behind, given the love and respect the 4th Division holds for her and how seriously she takes her station as a healer. The part of her personality that allowed her to become such a prolific killer, however, is very much not gone, just very carefully suppressed.
Serial Killer: It is heavily implied that Unohana's idea of a good time as Captain of Squad 11 was to saunter off into the less civilized areas of Soul Society and murder everything she found in hopes of finding a strong opponent. When found before a mountain of corpses, her subordinates strongly imply they've seen this from her before.
Scars Are Forever: She hides a scar on her chest behind her front-plaited braid. It's the only scar she's ever received and it cannot be healed.
Ship Tease: The anime has been known to tease her with Kyouraku in some omakes. In the manga, there's very unfunny tease with Zaraki. They're both Ax-Crazy sociopathic Kenpachi-class fighters and she privately admits that this means Zaraki is the only man who ever made her happy. When Zaraki mortally wounds her, she is happy that she finally managed to help him reach his full potential, while Zaraki begs her not to die.
Silk Hiding Steel: She's soft-spoken, kind, motherly, beautiful, and the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko. She's also got most of Soul Society terrified of getting on her bad side — because the "Steel" she's hiding just happens to be the Steel of the First Kenpachi and Soul Society's most brutal criminal in the same time.
Slasher Smile: Once she lets her hair down, she sports a very unsettling and bloodthirsty smile while training Kenpachi.
The Social Darwinist: An unusual example in that she is only this trope around a certain type of person. To fellow predators like Zaraki, she is merciless, exacting, and never holds back. She demands they behave similarly, to the degree that she kills Zaraki because he isn't acting 'properly'.
Stepford Smiler: As someone carrying a great shame from her past, she usually hides this under a sweet, approachable demeanour. It hides a psychotic woman who is the cause of Zaraki shackling his power in battle.
Team Mom: She definitely invokes this trope with her squadron, whom she treats like her own children.
Technically a Smile: She does look very cute, but she generally scares the life out of everyone when she does, especially if she's had to repeat herself.
Warrior Poet: She spends some time monologuing about the philosophical differences that empower some people to survive where others don't, and ultimately dies because doing so is the only way to properly pass on her belief system.
World's Best Warrior: "Yachiru" is a Meaningful Name given to the master of all known forms of sword-based combat. She was the best warrior of her generation and one of the worst criminals Soul Society had ever seen. She was also a founding captain of the Gotei 13, creating both the 11th Division and the "Kenpachi," the title given to the strongest captain in any given generation of captains. Yachiru is eventually revealed to be the gentle and motherly medic, Captain Unohana. It is also indicated that all the subsequent Kenpachis of Squad 11, up until Zaraki, are nothing but pretenders and she is the true bearer of the title until choosing to hand it to Zaraki. She backs this up by killing Zaraki multiple times in their fight, knowing he has to surpass his limits until he can finally take the mantle from her.
World's Most Beautiful Woman: According to Kubo, she's the most gorgeous woman in all Soul Society.
Would Hurt a Child: She was surprised to find she could enjoy fighting a child. The child was Kenpachi Zaraki and he was already captain-class despite his young age.
Yamato Nadeshiko: According to the Bootleg, she epitomizes the ideal Japanese woman. Seems like this trope can be put down as played with, as it is suggested she intentionally evokes it to distance herself from her Blood Knight past.
You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!: People would rather take on Yamamoto's Bankai than anger her. Even AIZEN wouldn't face her, which, considering his Shikai's abilities, really says something. It eventually turns out she was the founder of Squad 11 and a criminal of unprecedented savagery.

Isane Kotetsu

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_isane_3.png

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Itegumo (Shikai)

Voiced by: Yukana (JP), Stephanie Sheh (ENG), Dulce Guerrero (Latin-American Spanish)

Isane was the lieutenant of Squad 4 before being promoted to captain after Unohana's death and the older sister of her lieutenant and former Squad 13 third seat Kiyone Kotetsu. She is very conscious of her height.

Her Zanpakuto is Itegumo, with its current abilities unknown.

Absurd Phobia: For some odd reason, she has nightmares over... fish paste.
Adapted Out: Nowhere to be seen in the musical adaptations.
All There in the Manual: Supplementary material reveals that she was in love with Unohana.
Attack! Attack! Attack!: At one point, she charges the escaping Sosuke Aizen and Gin Ichimaru. That was after she was the first of the three to call out her shikai against Ichigo when he stopped them from chasing Renji and Rukia.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: She looks over her shoulder and comments about Rukia and Byakuya making sand sculptures.
Combat Medic: Has no qualms about fighting despite her profession.
Expository Hairstyle Change: After the last Time Skip, she's ditched the thin braids and has grown the rest to a bob. She's now the fourth division captain but neither looks nor acts the part, being too submissive. Her sister calls her out on it.
Extreme Doormat: After being promoted to Captain, Isane has somehow become even more spineless and submissive than normal (especially to her fellow captains), much to her sister and lieutenant Kiyone's frustration.
Fashionable Asymmetry: She has four long, thin hair braids with associated hair decs on the right side, and the back of her head. At some point after replacing Unohana, she removed the two on the back.
Hidden Buxom: Underneath that shihakusho is a really large bust, which is fully revealed in episode 228 when Unohana and Kiyone team up to force her to wear an extremely revealing swimsuit. It's stated by her sister, Kiyone, in the 2nd Drama CD, set after episode 62, that she wears sarashi in order to hide this fact.
Huge Schoolgirl: Shown to be a little sensitive about her height and cleavage in some of the omake.
Leeroy Jenkins: Demonstrates this by charging Aizen and Gin, knowing full-well that either of them could probably kill her without even trying.
The Medic: Well, Unohana is her mentor and leader, so she's bound to be pretty good herself.
Mission Control: Sorta, since when Unohana confronts Aizen on his betrayal, Isane performs a spell that allows her to relay their talk to the rest of Soul society.
Navel-Deep Neckline: The skimpy one-piece Kiyone and Unohana force her to wear during the Beach Episode exposes her skin right down to her belly button.
Rank Up: When Unohana gives her life to train up Zaraki, the Fourth Division is left without a captain. The epilogue takes place ten years after the defeat of Yhwach, and reveals that Isane has replaced Unohana as Fourth Division Captain.
Shrinking Violet: She's rather low-key, quiet and self-conscious, contrasting greatly with her more motherly, battle-loving captain.
Statuesque Stunner: She's 187 cm tall, which is just under 6'2.
Tender Tears: When Isane is upset, she will make it known via tears running down her cheeks, which stems from how she's more sensitive than either her captain or her sister. It's both endearing and hard to look at, and it's shown to make it clear that things have really turned dark. The first time occurred when she was at Unohana's office, standing by as her fellow Soul Reapers were slaughtered by the Sternritters. The only reason she chose not to take action was because Unohana told her to stay at the medical barracks, to keep Isane from getting herself killed. The second happened when Unohana gave her a letter prior to the fight with Zaraki. The exact contents aren't revealed, but it left Isane in tears as she clutched the letter to her chest.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: The sweet and graceful girly girl to her little boisterous sister Kiyone, and sometimes to the party-loving Rangiku.

Kiyone Kotetsu

The current lieutenant of the 4th squad, for more information see her previous position, here

Seinosuke Yamada

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

Species: Soul Reaper

Voiced by: Shinnosuke Tachibana (JP)

Older brother of Hanataro and the former lieutenant to Unohana. Seinosuke was reputed to have a "bad character", but made up for it through his loyalty to Unohana. He is currently a medical advisor for noble families.

All There in the Manual: His rank, his name, his height, his weight and his birthday, along with his design, were all shown in the Masked databook. His first actual appearance in the series outside a cameo is in the novel Can't Fear Your Own World.
Big Brother Bully: He is Hanataro's older brother and likes to mess around with him. In his debut scene in Can't Fear Your Own World alone, he mocks Hanataro's lifeless looks and ponders if patients would want to kill themselves just from being under his care.
A Day in the Limelight: Appears as cameos at best in the main series or official art, but has a considerable presence in Can't Fear Your Own World. In particular, he tends to Hikone's wounds and has some awareness of Tokinada's plans.
Dr. Jerk: He is a fantastic medic, but his personality is horrible and he apparently has questionable ethics as a doctor. This caused him to often clash with Unohana, and the friction lead to problems with Squad 4. Despite their mutual respect for one another, it's implied Seinosuke's promotion to General Director of the Central Medical Institute was also beneficial for Unohana and her squad, with Urahara noting how nice the next Squad 4 lieutenant (Isane) is.
Early-Bird Cameo: Before we even learn of his existence, he makes a very brief appearance in the Turn Back The Pendulum flashback, standing behind Ginrei and Unohana during Urahara's first meeting as a captain.
Pet the Dog: Is involved with Tokinada (the villain of Can't Fear Your Own World) and is generally a jerk to everyone, including to Hanataro. However, Seinosuke praises his brother's improvement in healing Kido and repeatedly warns him to take some time off while trouble is brewing in Can't Fear Your Own World, hinting he's genuinely worried for his brother's safety.
Sibling Yin-Yang: While his little brother Hanataro is friendly and has a good heart, Seinosuke is unpleasant and finds disturbing joy in healing patients who are begging for death. He even confesses to Hisagi that "the qualities [he] lacks, Hanataro has".
Undying Loyalty: Despite his bad personality, the databook states that the Seinosuke was greatly loyal to Unohana, whom he served for a long time. According to Urahara, the two often clashed due to conflicting views as doctors, but this didn't stop them for having deep respect for each other and sharing a trusting captain-lieutenant relationship. Even years after he stopped serving her, Seinosuke is implied to be quite bitter about Unohana's death when he talks to Kyoraku after the war.
What the Hell, Hero?: Seinosuke has no qualms in criticizing Kyoraku for his decision to make Unohana and Kenpachi fight to the death, thus resulting in a big loss for the Fourth Division.

Hanataro Yamada

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

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Hisagomaru (Shikai)

Voiced by: Kōki Miyata (JP), Spike Spencer (ENG), Ricardo Batista (Latin-American Spanish)

A weak but dutiful 7th Seat, Hanataro met Rukia while she was imprisoned and they soon became friends. He later teamed up with Ichigo and Ganju Shiba as they headed to save her. He later gets promoted to Co-3rd seat.

His Zanpakuto is Hisagomaru, a katana that heals damage instead of dealing it when it cuts. Upon "absorbing" enough wounds, it transforms into a tiny scalpel capable of launching a single disproportionately powerful energy blast.

Awesome, but Impractical: His zanpakuto release produces a massive attack, but he can only use it once and then he's forced to fight with a scalpel.
Butt-Monkey: Squad 4 is typically bullied by other squads, but only Hanataro is also bullied by other Squad 4 members.
Cowardly Lion: Though he is weak physically, when Ganju refused to risk himself for his brother's killer in the Soul Society arc Hanataro began to head out to hold off Byakuya Kuchiki all on his own.
Crippling Overspecialization: He is very competent at healing, but his combat skills are lacking and he can't even use Shunpo. Even his sword is designed to absorb the injuries done to other people, healing them in the process. The energy absorbed by the sword can be fired in a single, powerful attack that reduces the sword to a scalpel until it can absorb more energy.
Crossdresser: In Bleach: The Sealed Sword Frenzy he wears a women's fast food uniform, and in the 23rd closing he wears a maid's uniform. Given his embarrassed expression in both cases, it's likely he was forced to do it.
Extreme Doormat: He's shy and easily folds to anyone who threatens him, like Ichigo and Ganju in the Soul Society arc.
Gender-Blender Name: In the dub, Ichigo and Ganju are not impressed at how the word 'flower' (hana in Japanese) is in his name.
Healing Hands: He's a member of Squad 4, the healers' division, so naturally he's competent at healing others.
Healing Shiv: His zanpakuto heals injuries in its sealed form. In fact, in order to actually release it, he has to do enough healing with it to fill up a gauge on the side of the blade. Upon release, it sends out a massive attack capable of nearly defeating a Gillian by itself.
Heroic Sacrifice: He's willing to risk his life one by holding the line against Byakuya so that Ganju and Rukia can escape. Defied however when Ganju trades places with him.
Human Shield: Ichigo and Ganju attempt to use him as a shield in order to escape Squad 11; subverted when their opponents reveal that they hate Squad 4 and would view his death as a bonus.
Meaningful Name: His name is based on the Japanese version of John Doe and Jane Doe^*Taro and Hanako Yamada, highlighting his status as a Butt-Monkey even within his squad.
The Medic: During the Soul Society arc he follows Ganju and Ichigo around healing their injuries on occasion. Also, as a member of 4th Division this is his designated position.
Non-Action Guy: His combat abilities are almost non-existent. At best, he can make one strong attack once his sword has the injuries of another person (healing them in the process). The only Kido he uses is healing; he never uses Kido in combat.
No-Respect Guy: Despite holding a respectably high officer rank (7th out of a total of 20), absolutely nobody actually treats him with respect, even his own subordinates.
Rank Up: At the beginning of the story, he is the Seventh Seated Officer of the Fourth Division. During the time skip that occurs between the defeat of Aizen and appearance of Yhwach, he is promoted to co-Third Seated Officer.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: His actions throughout the Soul Society arc more or less amount to grand treason. He does it anyway in order to save his friends.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Sensitive Guy to both Ichigo and Ganju. He's a shy non-combatant in contrast to Ganju's over-the-top personality and Ichigo being Ichigo.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Unlike his creepy jerk of an older brother Seinosuke, Hanataro is timid yet kind-hearted.
You Shall Not Pass!: Plans to face Byakuya, whom he knows he has no chance against, to give Ganju and Rukia the chance to escape. Subverted when Ganju trades places with him.

Squad 5

Sosuke Aizen

Debuted as Captain of Squad 5, but had deserted after revealing his true colors in the Soul Society arc's final stage. For more information go here.

Shinji Hirako

Current captain who was initially exiled a century ago. He reprises his role as captain after Aizen's defeat. For more information go Here

Momo Hinamori

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_momo_3.png

^{Thousand-Year Blood War appearance}

"Please save Captain Aizen. What Captain Aizen is doing is bad, but I bet he has a good reason for it. Yeah, that's it... Surely Captain Ichimaru or someone is forcing him..."

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Tobiume (Shikai)

Voiced by: Kumi Sakuma (JP), Karen Strassman (ENG), Jéssica Ángeles (Latin-American Spanish)

Lieutenant of Squad 5, and a childhood friend of Hitsugaya who apparently was raised with him. She's a sweet, determined, hard-working, enthusiastic and very popular girl.

Her zanpakuto Tobiume lets her launch fireballs. However, she mainly fights using complex Kido spells expertly woven together.

Action Girl: In anime filler she tends to be given a much more active role and can be found fighting captains or hunting rebelling zanpakuto spirits.
Ambiguous Situation: During a Q&A session, a curious fan asked if Momo and Aizen had "done it" the night before Aizen's supposed murder. Kubo decided to not answer that, directly invoking the Rule of Fun as the reason.
Badass Bookworm: The data books say she's an accomplished artist and loves to read. She also can hold her own in battle, and is particularly crafty with kido.
Big Damn Heroes: Yes, she of all people pulls one by saving Matsumoto from three Arrancar with her Shikai, then creating a massive explosion using her kido abilities, although still not fully recovered from the deception of her captain.
Break the Cutie: First her captain is murdered after a Friendship Moment with him, and then she attacks her allies in a blind rage convinced that they had something to do with it. Finally, said captain turns out to have been faking his death and stabs her despite having nothing to gain from doing so. After he has fully defected and left for Hueco Mundo, it turns out she has so much faith in him that she refuses to see him as the bad guy. When she finally gets her shit together and recognizes him for what he is, she ends up getting attacked by all her allies and stabbed by her oldest friend.
Childhood Friend: She and Hitsugaya were both raised by the same old woman whom they call "grandmother", and have been close friends ever since.
Combat Pragmatist: Has no problem with laying a Kido net around the battlefield before appearing, then setting it on fire when the enemy gets caught in it.
Death Glare: When she comes to the conclusion that Gin killed Aizen, the usually sweet and timid Momo shoots him a murderous glare and lunges at him while drawing her sword. In a more light-hearted and humorous version, the light novels also have her occasionally scolding Shinji whenever he's messing around by sending him a frightening glare (paired with her usual smile no less), and he immediately obeys her each time.
Demoted to Extra: After Aizen's defeat, her role in the series is pretty much this especially during The Thousand-Year Blood War arc. Given what's happened to her because of Aizen (and that her story is tied to him), as well as when the storyline got Darker and Edgier because of Yhwach and the Wandenreich, it's probably for the best.
Expository Hairstyle Change: She had Girlish Pigtails as a youngster and an Academy student, odango hair as a Lieutenant. After the Time Skip, she's switched to a bob with a cute hairpin. And after the second Time Skip, she's grown her hair longer and arranges it in a very ladylike sort-of bun.
Heroic BSoD: Aizen's betrayal shatters her, especially after he manipulates her into turning her sword on Hitsugaya. Kubo has indicated the time-skip (specifically Shinji resuming his position as fifth squad captain) has been good for her.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Gets grusomely impaled by the sword twice. Once by Aizen, who stated he had preferred to manipulate others into stabbing her for him, but freely did so when he decided that wouldn't happen. In the Arrancar arc, he got his wish when he manipulated Hitsugaya into stabbing her.
Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Light Feminine to Rangiku's Dark Feminine. Hinamori is sweet, girly and polite, while Rangiku is sensual, One of the Boys and can be mouthy.
Like Brother and Sister: She and Hitsugaya were raised by the same elderly woman, and the Souls databook describes her relationship with him as "familial".
More than Mind Control: Aizen boasts to Hitsugaya that he essentially brainwashed her over the years since they met. He saw a top of her class academy cadet, who was determined, brave and hard-working, so he decided to exploit her and use her as an effective underling. However, he merely weaponized her admiration for him, and only used the acting skills that fooled almost all of Soul Society. As a result, even after his betrayal is publicly revealed, Hitsugaya is crushed to see that Hinamori still struggles to acknowledge that Aizen could be a bad guy.
Nice Girl: Spunkier, less willowy and shorter than the standard, but is still gentle and deeply devoted to her people. Unfortunately, this makes her easy to manipulate and causes her to snap during the Soul Society arc.
The Ophelia: When at her lowest point she's an unstable nervous wreck in complete denial of Aizen's betrayal. Thankfully, she gets better.
Shipper on Deck: Momo thinks that a relationship between Renji and Rukia would be a good thing. She gets her wish at the end of the story.
Playing with Fire: Her zanpakuto power is to throw out explosive fireballs at the enemy.
Red Mage: She's decent in swordplay, sure, but her true talent lies in offensive kido, compounded by the fireballs she can sling at the enemy through Tobiume. She also has talent in healing kido. That said, she pales in comparison in all three categories compared to other, more specialized characters in their respective fighting styles.
Two Guys and a Girl: She was a close friend to Renji and Izuru back in their academy days, to the point of becoming squad-mates under the tutelage of Captain Aizen (who recruited them straight out of the academy). This is where things turn more complicated — Momo was the only one who stayed in her original squad, whereas Kira and Abarai became lieutenants in different divisions. When Aizen is assassinated, a grief-stricken Momo immediately pegs Ichimaru as the killer and attacks him, forcing Kira to protect his captain. Both were stopped by Hitsugaya, who ordered them incarcerated.
Unwitting Pawn: Aizen played Momo like a fiddle, and mockingly tells Hitsugaya that her admiration for him is precisely what made her such a good pawn. She never understood him.
Weak, but Skilled: Momo knows she's got no super strength or raw power, but uses what she already has (more exactly, her high efficency with Kido) in rather versatile combinations. Which she's also able to whip out VERY fast in the middle of the battlefield.
What the Hell, Hero?: In both manga and anime, she calls out Byakuya Kuchiki over his treatment of Renji. Too bad he doesn't listen.

Squad 6

Byakuya Kuchiki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_byakuya_4.png

^{The Lost Agent appearance}

"Regardless of who or what they are, anyone who disturbs Soul Society will be cut down."

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Senbonzakura (Shikai) / Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Bankai)

Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (JP), Dan Woren (EN, anime), Yuri Lowenthal (EN, as a child), Greg Chun (EN, live-action movie), Christian Strempler (Latin American Spanish)

Played by: Miyavi (live-action movie)

Captain of the 6th squad and Aloof Big Brother of Rukia. He's an all around stoic Pretty Boy, whose stoicness is matched with his utter dedication to upholding the law and setting up a good example for the Kuchiki clan. Because of this, he rarely lets his true feelings show, which makes him initially appear callous, especially regarding Rukia, who he actually cherishes.

His zanpakuto is Senbonzakura, a sword that scatters into a thousand pieces resembling cherry petals that can instantly skewer his enemies. His Bankai is named Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, a highly flexible form which has many different forms and levels, that can be switched through depending on the situation. The most basic form is a more extensive and powerful version of his Shikai, manifesting as a thousand large swords from the ground which then scatter into millions of "petals"; by using a form called Gōkei, he can organise the petals into a sphere that surrounds and engulfs an opponent from all sides, leaving no escape. The Bankai's true form, which concentrates the petals into thousands of swords that create a massive killing arena of floating swords that he can mentally control in bulk or summon one at a time to his hand. The most powerful form of his Bankai is Shukei: Hakuteiken, which condenses the Bankai into a single white sword and surrounds his body in a pure white aura that creates a halo over his head and flares out from his body like the wings of an angel.

The Ace: Byakuya Kuchiki comes from one of the most esteemed noble clans in Soul Society. He is very proficient in every form of Soul Reaper combat; Zanjutsu; Hoho; Kido; and especially Shunpo. He possesses a versatile and deadly Zanpakuto that allows him to telekinetically manipulate blade fragments that resemble cherry blossoms. Hanataro Yamada states that he is the most famous of the current Captains, and is notable for being one of the first opponents along with Renji that provides a legitmate challenge for Ichigo, serving as a key motivator for Ichigo to get stronger.
Achilles' Heel: He doesn't allow his Shikai or Bankai within an 85-centimeter radius of himself. If push comes to shove, such as it did with Tsukishima, he can and will violate this safety bubble at high risk of self-injury.
Adaptation Dye-Job: Senbonzakura's petal and sword forms are pink in the anime. They're actually white in the manga. Only the Hakuteiken power retains its original white colouring from manga to anime.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: After seeing the destruction the Wandenreich causes to Soul Society, he asks Ichigo, for the first time ever, to help Soul Society. At death's door, having been unable to protect Rukia, Renji or his squad, Byakuya begs Ichigo in tears to help the people he's failed to save.
Aloof Big Brother: He does have deep feelings, but is trapped in so many honor codes that he can't show his love towards others as much as he'd like. When afflicted with mystically induced irrational fear, his breakdown occurs due to his thoughts focusing on a gruesomely dead Rukia.
Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: The Aloof Leader to Renji's Affable Subordinate. While Renji is more openly chummy with Rukia and later Ichigo, Byakuya maintains a professional relationship with both.
Antagonist Abilities: See Flying Weapon. During his brief time as an antagonist, Byakuya's zanpakuto ability was demonstrated as being extremely difficult to circumvent because of its ability to overwhelm an opponent from any angle. Even against Ichigo, the speed and multiple attack directions appeared to give him trouble... until Ichigo knocked them all down with rapid slashes, something Byakuya thought was impossible.
Bad Boss: During the Soul Society Arc, Byakuya was not a pleasant person, not even towards his own lieutenant. After Renji is heavily wounded in battle against Ichigo, he attempts to throw him in jail without medical attention fully aware that he might die of blood loss. He even tries to have him demoted from his lieutenant position. After he is defeated by Ichigo though, he mellows out, treating Renji with much more respect.
Baritone of Strength: In contrast to his slim, almost feminine appearance, his voice is actually quite deep. Fittingly, he's one of the most powerful Captains of Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
Be Careful What You Say: Thanks to his two conflicting vows, Byakuya learned this lesson the hard way when Rukia was given a sentence disproportionate to her crime.
Big Brother Instinct: Once he does allow himself to show his love of his little sister Rukia, he will kill anybody who harms her.
Big Brother Mentor: To Renji. He hid it behind a ruthless mask in the Soul Society arc, but their relationship is now much more relaxed thanks to Character Development.
Big Fancy House: Byakuya's mansion is one of the most impressive residences in Soul Society. It's so impressive, the Society of Female Soul Reapers regularly attends secret meetings there, most of the time without Byakuya's knowledge, and always without his permission. Yachiru has built a series of hidden tunnels throughout the grounds to ensure they can come and go in secret.
Blood Knight: When he is confronted by Shukuro Tsukishima, Byakuya intially dismisses him. However, Tsukishima reveals himself to be a very tricky opponent, forcing Byakuya to resort to reckless tactics to win the fight. Most surprisingly, even to himself, he finds that he quite enjoys fighting recklessly, even referring to Ichigo and Kenpachi, and thanks Tsukishima for the battle.
Bratty Half-Pint: When he was younger, he was mouthy, he was wild, and his temper was incredibly short. As an adult, he's learned to control himself... to an extent.
Came Back Strong: Was near-death when he was taken to the Royal Realm for healing. After soaking in the hot springs for four days and completing the Royal Realm Training, he took down three Sternritter with his Bankai, one of them being the Quincy who shot Kyoraku's eye out.
Cannot Tell a Joke: When he tries to be funny it tends to either fail or scare people.
Cherry Blossoms: Senbonzakura breaks down into thousands or millions of tiny blades that reflect the appearance of cherry blossom petals floating on the wind.
Cloudcuckoolander: He usually projects an unflappably serious demeanor, but he can be just as batty as Rukia sometimes. Seaweed Ambassador just can't be a coincidence.
Color-Coded Eyes: He's the cold, strong willed type associated with grey eyes.
Combat Pragmatist:
- Characterising his early appearances, a favourite opening tactic of his was "Senka", a technique which attacks the target's sources of spiritual power to strip them of their abilities completely and which more than qualified him for this. The last time he was seen using it, he used it as his closing attack against Zommari.
- When a wounded Gerard of the Wandenreich starts monologuing about how he's going to show several Court Guard Squads officers a "true miracle", Byakuya immediately orders Renji to finish him off. It doesn't work, but Byakuya was not interested in letting the enemy reach his full power.
The Comically Serious: His stoic nature makes him an excellent straight man to characters like Yachiru in the omake. His unconsciously silly behavior can also be funny like with his omake obsession with the Seaweed Ambassador and his pride in his artwork... which is exactly like Rukia's. It works to his advantage when he jokes to Renji in a perfect deadpan that he uses Senbonzakura to cut his hair.
Cultured Badass: Byakuya presents the air of a cultured and dignified noble and his clan apparently traditionally holds the Squad 6 captain's role.
Curb-Stomp Battle:
- He easily defeats Ichigo in their first confrontation as Byakuya blitzes him and slices him without him realizing it.
- After his training with the Royal Guard he was able to defeat three Sternritters with no difficulty from a single attack.
Death by a Thousand Cuts: His Zanpakuto, Senbonzakura, has the ability to dissaparate into thousands of blade fragments that resemble cherry blossoms. Byakuya can control the fragments to surround his enemy, and cause them to cut all over the enemy. His Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, multiplies the amount of blade fragments he can manipulate, and can amplify the damage he can cause to an enemy.
Defeat Means Friendship: After he his defeated by Ichigo, Byakuya gains a new found respect for him, and is grateful to him for saving Rukia.
Defrosting Ice King: During the Soul Society Arc, Byakuya presented himself as a callous man who only cared about upholding the law, even if it meant executing his sister. After he is defeated by Ichigo, he reveals to Rukia that the reason was because he made a vow to his parents to always uphold the law no matter what after breaking the law twice by letting commoners join the Kuchiki family. With his internal conflict regarding the vows resolved, Byakuya shows himself to be a more caring and generous person.
Fake Defector: In the Zanpakuto Tales anime arc, he pretended to join sides with Muramasa, but only because he wanted to kill Muramasa's master Kouga Kuchiki who had disgraced the Kuchiki clan's honour.
Famed In-Story: The most famous captain of the current generation is Byakuya, even commoners in the Rukongai know who he is. Ginjo explains it's because his extremely high social rank combines with his extremely high military rank to make him far more well-known than any "normal" Captain or high-ranking aristocrat would be by themselves. Byakuya himself once implies that this creates an enormous pressure on him to be the role-model that all of Soul Society must look to, which drives his actions in the Soul Society Arc.
Fashionable Asymmetry: Before the time-skip, he had a tendency to arrange his kenseikan in a way the ensured his hair was bound asymmetrically, flowing on the left side and held up on the right side.
The Fettered: Deconstructed. Byakuya is a man who is thoroughly dedicated to upholding the law. He broke the traditional laws of his family twice. The first instance was marrying a commoner. The second was when he adopted said commoner's sister Rukia into the family after she died. After that, Byakuya made a vow to his parents' grave to always uphold the law from that moment. When his sister is arrested and set for execution, Byakuya is torn between upholding the vow he made to his parents, and the promise to his wife to protect Rukia. This internal conflict makes him Ichigo's primary antagonist during the Soul Society Arc. After he is defeated, he becomes a more positive example of this trope.
Flechette Storm: When the sword is released, it shatters into many pieces (thousands in Shikai, millions in Bankai). The blades float in the air mirroring the image of cherry blossom petals on the wind. Controlled by either Byakuya's mind or gestures, the blades can be launched through the air to cut the target to ribbons.
Flower Motif: Cherry Blossom symbolism is associated with aristocracy, samurai, and the transience of life. Byakuya is an aristocrat, military captain, and widower who likes to uphold the samurai ideal.
Flying Weapon: What makes his Shikai and Bankai so dangerous is that there are countless tiny blades fluttering around the battlefield with the ability to cut you from any angle and get around any defense. What's more, even if he concentrates all of them into a sword, when in Senkei, he can summon a new sword at any point he chooses.
Good is Not Nice: Even after Byakuya mellows out after the Soul Society Arc, he never drops his proud, haughty personality. When fighting Zommari, he mocks him, saying that no Hollow could ever hope to match him, much to Zommari's chagrin.
Hair-Contrast Duo: The stoic Byakuya has dark, relaxed hair. His lieutenant Renji is a Fiery Redhead.
Hair-Trigger Temper: He suffered from this into his teens before learning control and discipline. He still shows flashes of it underneath all that self-control.
Hidden Heart of Gold: He values Rukia and Renji much more than he reveals. Even after Soul Society, he does tend to be distant, but he is extremely angry at Zommari intending to kill her after she falls unconscious due to injuries from Aaroniero. Even in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, he entrusts Renji to fight alongside him if his own Bankai fails.
High-Pressure Blood: When he took the bullet for Rukia against Gin, his blood splatters everywhere, including across Rukia, before he collapses into Rukia's arms.
Hot-Blooded: As a child, he was much more expressive and energetic. The signs are that it hasn't gone away, he's just learned to hide it better.
Ignored Enemy: While in Hueco Mundo, both he and Kenpachi do this to Yammy because they claim they are more interested in fighting each other.
Indy Ploy: Byakuya is not only surprised to learn he's capable of doing this, but that he even enjoys it. He's forced to use one to defeat Tsukishima since Tsukishima's power allows him to predict any traditional attack he'll make.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Develops into this after he is defeated by Ichigo. He still acts pretty harsh, but actually values his sister, his lieutenant, and Ichigo quite highly.
Kick the Dog: To establish that Byakuya is not a nice person during the Soul Society Arc, he cruelly orders Renji to be imprisoned after he loses to Ichigo. He even refuses to let him get medical treatment. This appalls Hinamori, but Kira forces her to obey. Later, when Ukitake informs him of Rukia's new execution date, Byakuya callously states that he already knew, and that he has no intention of stopping it, much to Ukitake's shock. Ukitake then has a coughing fit and Byakuya mockingly tells him not to overexert himself.
Knight Templar Big Brother: While he may not express it much, Byakuya greatly values his sister. After Rukia graduated from the Shinigami Academy, he pulled strings to prevent her from being selected as a seated officer (despite later showing the ability to one-shot Gillian class Arrancar) because it meant she would receive less dangerous missions. When Byakuya asked Zommari if he was the one responsible for bringing Rukia to the verge of death, Zommari confirmed that he was not, but he was planning on taking her life. That's all Byakuya needed to hear to toss away any pretense of duty and destroy Zommari for even thinking about pointing a blade at his sister.
Logical Weakness: He is not immune to being cut by his own petals, thus there is a "safe radius" which the petals never enter. By manipulating that knowledge, an opponent can either attack from within the safe radius or force Byakuya into leaving it.
Loophole Abuse: What he does to get Renji and Rukia to go to Hueco Mundo, after Yamamoto declared that Ichigo shouldn't.
Marry for Love: His marriage to Hisana was in defiance of his family because they were that in love.
Meaningful Name: Part of his name means "white," and is often contrasted against the "black" Ichigo and the "red" Renji.
Mr. Fanservice: His design is that of the classic black-haired bishounen, but even in-universe the Society of Female Soul Reapers keep voting him the sexiest male Soul Reaper.
Not Quite Dead: He's left comatose by the Wandenreich's first invasion. It's revealed that Unohana won't be able to save him and that he's slowly dying. The Royal Guard, who possess an even more skilled healer than Unohana, intervene.
Not So Above It All:
- Despite his refined nature, Byakuya does show hints of the short-tempered youth he once was. He tends to get into verbal arguments with Kenpachi easily and is actually the first to move for a physical confrontation when Kenpachi questions his abilities in Hueco Mundo (despite the presence of a very angry Yammy). Byakuya also notes in the end of his battle with Tsukishima that he enjoys the more unpredictable side of combat more than he thought. Naturally, there are a few moments in the omakes and anime that show a rather goofy side to him.
- When Hitsugaya makes an offhand comment about size difference while fighting Gerard, Byakuya simply stares at him. Hitsugaya guesses that he was about to say that he's always at a height difference; Byakuya tries to deny it at first, before apologizing while turning his gaze away. Hitsugaya complains that Byakuya should at least look at him, and asks why he's apologizing.
Not So Stoic: It's a rare sight when he emotes, but when he does, it's a sight to behold. The most notable moments were when he briefly got angry at Ichigo during their fight, and when Ichigo was temporarily possessed by his Inner Hollow, which noticeably horrified Byakuya. The manga also indicated that he has a very short temper beneath his stoic mask that he's learned how to hide but has never purged.
Oh, Crap!: When a character as stoic as Byakuya has one of these moments, it's an all-hell-breaks-loose situation. When Ichigo's inner Hollow takes over, watching Ichigo and his Inner Hollow scream at each other while Ichigo fights for control briefly renders Byakuya speechless, panicked and incredibly confused. He also has one when he realizes he's underestimated Tsukishima and when the Wandenreich steal his Bankai.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When the Wandenreich steal his Bankai, he's uncharacteristically aghast, showing how dire the situation actually is for the Seireitei. However, his real freak out comes from As Nodt's ability, causing him to feel irrational and uncontrollable fear. This sends him into a screaming frenzy, which eventually leads to him being disemboweled by his own Bankai.
Petal Power: Byakuya's Zanpakuto, Senbonzakura, releases by shattering the blade into thousands of microscopic blades. When the light reflects on a blade, it creates the illusion that there's a floating Cherry Blossom petal. His Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, summons two thousand giant blades which promptly shatter into billions of these blades. This lowest level of his Bankai has the flexibility to form sword or dagger-shapes as necessary, allowing Byakuya to attack via the microscopic blades, a Flechette Storm or a Storm of Blades. At one point during his fight against Renji, he does all three at the same time.
Pillars of Moral Character: Giri is a driving force behind Byakuya Kuchiki's character. As a very high class nobleman, he's required to follow a very strict duty code, which he has broken twice by marrying a commoner woman for love and by adopting his dead wife's little sister, as he promised to his dying wife. So, by breaking the code yet again in the Soul Society arc by stopping Rukia's execution, Byakuya would disgrace himself and the Kuchiki clan horribly... but if he didn't break the rules, his sister-in-law and pretty much the only living person he truly cares for would be executed...in which case he'd break the promise made to his late wife and be left completely alone. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. There's a theory that he threw his fight against Ichigo to resolve the situation by allowing someone to rescue Rukia without personally breaking the law, and it gets more credence when the Big Bad reveals he set the (unlawful) execution up and orders one of his subordinates to finish off Rukia, prompting the already-injured Byakuya into Taking the Bullet. It's also worth remembering that, when he got married and later adopted Rukia into the family, he was not yet the head of the family, so he wasn't in a position to say Screw the Rules, I Make Them!
Powers Do the Fighting: Byakuya can telekinetically control the blade fragments of Senbonzakura. Until Ichigo starts overwhelming him with his speed, Byakuya never even made an effort to use his blade fragments and allowed them to move independently. He later doubles the speed with his hands, and then concentrates them into actual swords to fight with.
Pretty Boy: Byakuya has a slim and youthful appearance, which gains him many female admirers. The Soul Reaper's Women Association even vote him as the prettiest man in Soul Society.
The Promise: Two of them and they were conflicting each other. Hanging around his neck (and Rukia's) like a noose until the were finally resolved by Ichigo. The vows still hold, it's simply the conflict between them that's been fixed.
The Proud Elite: A noble and a Captain, and he comes across as cold and arrogant. However, he has a deeply engrained sense of honor and cares passionately for those few people who make their way into his heart.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Byakuya Kuchiki is one of the highest ranked noblemen in the story, and has the classic looks to go with it: perfectly groomed raven black hair and pale, flawless skin. The Soul Reaper Woman's Institute regularly votes him as the Mr. Fanservice of Soul Society.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the Blue to Renji's Red.
Riddle for the Ages: Upon unveiling his Bankai's spectacular Senkei form during his fight with Ichigo, he mentions that this is only the second time he's used this against an opponent. Byakuya has since never elaborated about this individual or the circumstances surrounding this.
Scarf of Asskicking: Known as Ginpaku Kazahana no Uzuginu, made from a silver-white, windflower light silk, and a family heirloom. And it's VERY expensive. It's mentioned to be worth ten mansions in the Seireitei, which gives an idea as to how rich he is.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Byakuya and Kenpachi seem to have recurring verbal clashes from the first scene they're shown interacting with each other. Byakuya considers Kenpachi an uncultured brute who should mind his own business, Kenpachi enjoys riling Byakuya up in interest of a good fight (and maybe knocking him off his high horse). In the aforementioned scene, Gin intervenes when it seems like the confrontation is about to shift away from just verbal, and in Hueco Mundo, the two get so fed up with each other they pummel Yammy aside almost as an afterthought while set on fighting each other.
So Proud of You: When Byakuya feels the extent of Rukia's Shikai power after her training in the Royal Realm, Byakuya acknowledges her strength and power and turns his back on her fight to deliberately send a message to the enemy that he has no doubt that Rukia will win. When he witnesses her Bankai for the first time, he calls it "Splendid".
The Stoic: Byakuya behaves in an aristocratic manner. He is almost constantly calm and indifferent towards his surroundings, even during battle. There are occasionaly moments where he will drop the stoic persona, such as when Ichigo's Inner Hollow emerges, but will quickly recompose himself. Surprisingly, it turns out that as a child, he was quite Hot-Blooded, being very easily provoked into anger. As an adult he was able to better control his temper, but was never able to fully get rid of it.
Storm of Blades: In Shikai or its lowest level of Bankai, Byakuya's sword forms a swirling mass of tiny blossom-like blades. Byakuya can create the form of tiny daggers or entire swords out of them, enabling him create a storm of blades whenever he likes. When the Bankai enters Senkei, it creates an arena of thousands of fully-formed swords. Although Byakuya promises not to fight Ichigo with any more than swords than his two hands can hold, when later faced with a Quincy opponent who can take on him, Zaraki and Hitsugaya at the same time, he unleashes the entire lot at Gerard's head.
Strong Family Resemblance: Byakuya very strongly resembles his deceased father Sojun. The only difference between them is in the way they each wore their hair, and that Sojun's face usually had a much gentler expression.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Aloof and stoic on the surface. Underneath, he's Not So Stoic, being very compassionate, having very deep feelings for the people he becomes attached to.
Taking the Bullet: When Gin extends his Shikai to stab Rukia to death, Byakuya steps in front of her to take the hit. He collapses into Rukia's arms and Gin, rarely for him, stops smiling and looks unhappy with the outcome.
Terrible Artist: Just like Rukia. Everybody comments that they must really be siblings for having such similar ideas about art.
To Be Lawful or Good: This is a problem for him in the early arcs. He married Hisana despite the class difference between them and then adopted her sister, Rukia, to honor her last request but part of that deal was swearing to be lawful going forwards. So when Rukia's execution is ordered, he forces himself to comply despite how much he really doesn't want to. After Aizen's conspiracy is revealed he immediately defends Rukia.
Took a Level in Badass: After he recovers from his defeat in the first Wandenreich invasion, he retrains his power. The Quincies he fights in the second invasion cannot believe he's the same guy that was defeated the first time round. As Nodt stole his Bankai and left him so close to death, the Royal Guard intervened to save and train him. He then fights five Quincies alone and thrashes three of them without taking a scratch, leaving the remaining two stunned.
Tranquil Fury: Byakuya never visibly loses his temper, his level of focus simply changes to 'lethal'. When Byakuya arrives in Hueco Mundo, he finds Zommari standing over Rukia's unconscious body. He asks if Zommari's responsible for his sister's condition; Zommari isn't, but informs Byakuya that he was going to finish the job his dead colleague began. Byakuya's eyes narrow in response. In the ensuing fight, Byakuya's mood doesn't so much as twitch and he spends his time lecturing Zommari on every single move the Arrancar attempts and fails. Even when Byakuya disables his own arm and leg to counter Zommari's ability to control his body, he doesn't twitch, much to Zommari's amazement. When Zommari is finally defeated, he rants that Soul Reapers have no divine-mandated right to hunt Hollows. Byakuya calmly replies that he's not killing Zommari because he's a Soul Reaper, he's doing it because Zommari dared to point a sword at his sister.
Zommari: What's that look? Are you telling me you won't show me mercy?! Are you going to cut me?! Are you going to execute me?! Don't you see how arrogant that is?! You Soul Reapers slay us as though we were vermin! Who do you think you are?! A god?! By what right do you slaughter us Hollows?! Is it because we devour humans?! Who made you their protectors?! No! No-one gave you that authority!! You Soul Reapers call us evil and slay us because you think you hold the power of justice in your hands!! But you're just...
Byakuya: What makes you think I'm acting as a Soul Reaper? I'm going to slay you because you aimed your blade at my pride.
Underestimating Badassery: Is surprisingly prone to this when it comes to humans, the first great example naturally being Ichigo when he acquired Bankai. The second example was when he fought Tsukishima, completely unprepared to find someone so dangerous in a mortal human.
Undying Loyalty: Byakuya doesn't openly admit it, but the depth of gratitude he feels towards Ichigo for saving Rukia and helping him to resolve his conflicting vows means he is now completely loyal to Ichigo. When Byakuya is brainwashed into believing the person he is fighting is the beloved mentor that trained him and Senbonzakura how to fight, he still kills his opponent; if the person he confronts is an enemy of Ichigo, Byakuya will kill them - even if he loves them.
Uptown Guy: Hisana was a commoner from one of the worst Rukongai districts while Byakuya was a noble from one of the four most powerful and highly ranked noble houses in Soul Society. The social inequality between them didn't bother Byakuya and Hisana, but the Kuchiki clan was appalled. Byakuya eventually won the fight to have Hisana as his wife, but she fell sick and died five years after they were married.
Warrior Prince: Head of one of Soul Society's most revered noble clans and a textbook example of a Cultured Badass.
"What Do They Fear?" Episode: Gets his own personal one in Chapter 501. Byakuya's greatest fear is seeing Rukia's dead, mouldering face. When confronted by this he breaks down and gets mauled.
The Wise Prince: As head of the Kuchiki family, he's pretty much the closest thing Soul Society has to proper royalty. He's also one of the saner Captains in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
Years Too Early: During his rematch with Ichigo, over whether or not Ichigo could beat him.
You Have Failed Me: When Ichigo invades Soul Society, Renji abandons his position to confront him personally, and then loses. Byakuya commands that he be tossed into prison without first receiving vital medical care for his life-threatening wounds and then (according to Aizen) argues in a captain's meeting for Renji's demotion.

Renji Abarai

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_renji_3.png

^{The Lost Agent appearance}

"Showing concern for a warrior's life on the battlefield is an insult to that warrior."

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Zabimaru (Shikai) / Hihio Zabimaru (Bankai)

Voiced by: Kentarō Itō (JP), Reiko Kiuchi (JP, As a child), Wally Wingert (EN, Anime), Yuri Lowenthal (EN, As a child), Richard Cansino (EN, live-action movie), Gabriel Ortiz (Latin American Spanish)

Played by: Taichi Saotome (live-action movie)

Introduced as a recently-promoted Lieutenant of Squad 6, former member of Squad 5 and former 6th Seat of the 11th Division. He is the childhood friend of Rukia and forms a very close friendship bond with her, also highly respecting the captain Byakuya and views him as an opponent he wishes to surpass. Brash, but dedicated to his beliefs and loyal to his friends. He is also notably the next Soul Reaper, after Rukia, who eventually considers Ichigo among his True Companions. While he poses a very genuine threat in the beginning, he's usually one of the characters used by Tite Kubo to establish enemy threat levels, thus fans often call him a jobber. Soon after his Defeat Means Friendship, Renji becomes more or less part of Ichigo's group of friends and an important main character.

His zanpakuto is Zabimaru, a large sword that can stretch and flail like a whip. When first introduced, his Bankai is called Hihio Zabimaru, a massive skeletal snake that fires energy blasts. Damaged in its very first battle, it is later reforged into Sōō Zabimaru, which manifests as a sword and gives him a mantle that is adorned with bones.

Ain't Too Proud to Beg: In the Soul Society arc, being defeated by Ichigo makes him break down and beg Ichigo to rescue Rukia because he cannot.
Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: Affable Subordinate to Byakuya's Aloof Leader. While Byakuya maintains a professional relationship with Rukia and later Ichigo, Renji is more openly chummy with both.
Anime Hair: For some unfathomable reason, his hair is style in a way that makes it look like a pineapple. This case is lampshaded, as a few of the filler episodes in which Renji is seen out of uniform have him wearing a T-shirt with the phrase "Red Pineapple" on it.
Babies Ever After: The epilogue takes place ten years in the future just as Rukia is being promoted to captain. Straight after the ceremony, she and Renji head to the human world to join their friends in watching Sado fighting for Heavyweight boxing champion... and they bring along their daughter to meet the gang, who promptly gets into an argument with Ichigo's son.
Bad with the Bone: Zabimaru's Bankai takes the form of a giant spine and skulls, and is used to crush and skewer his enemies.
Barbarian Longhair: His long hair is kept in a ponytail, reminiscent of a Samurai Ponytail, but still wild and spiky past that. His behavior is barely controlled by the strict rules of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
Barefoot Poverty: While living in the poverty-stricken 78th district Renji, like other residents of the district, has no access to luxuries such as footwear.
Big Damn Heroes: In the final arc, his timely arrival allows him to save two Soul Reapers from being killed by Mask. He actually saves Kensei and Rose from being killed.
Blood Knight: Look at his character quote. He used to be a part of the 11th division. And it shows.
Card-Carrying Villain: Mask's obsession with heroes versus villains allows Renji to parody this when they fight.
Characterization Marches On: Renji is introduced acting almost gleefully villainous, putting Rukia in a forceful choke-hold and even attacking her with his sword with lethal intent, to the point of drawing blood. This is in stark contrast to his later characterization, especially in regards to his feelings toward Rukia and fighting women.
Childhood Friend Romance: Renji and Rukia grew up in a Street Urchin gang and joined the Soul Reaper academy after all their other friends have died. They are torn apart when Byakuya adopts Rukia as his sister, taking her away from Renji and kicking off Renji's animosity for Byakuya. Renji spends forty years working hard to reach lieutenant rank, which will permit him to move in the same social circles as Rukia, and give him the strength to fight Byakuya. Although he fails to defeat Byakuya, he's eternally grateful to Ichigo for helping bring them back together and resolve his issues with Byakuya. During the final battle, Renji doesn't appreciate having to confess all this to Ichigo, the epilogue reveals that he and Rukia have had a daughter together, and a light novel is dedicated to his and Rukia's Japanese-themed wedding.
Cool Shades: Except they get broken fairly early, and they're so expensive he's yet to be able to afford a new pair. Gets a new pair in the Wandereich arc.
Curb-Stomp Battle: He spends the time-skip using the bar Aizen set as his resolve to get stronger, allowing him to finally begin to curb stomp his opponents in battle. He effortlessly defeats Jackie. Later, although initially thrashed by Mask, training with the Royal Guard allows him to return the favor once he fixes his broken Bankai.
Defeat Means Friendship: He became one of Ichigo's closest Soul Reaper friends after being beaten him.
Early-Installment Weirdness: In his early appearances, Renji behaves toward Rukia in a frankly unusual manner for characters later chapters establish as having known each other since their childhood (such as being more than willing to attack her).
Fashionable Asymmetry: In Bankai, he gains a mantle of fur that extends across his shoulders like a ruff and which extends down his right arm only.
Fiery Red Head: Renji tends to feel a lot of his emotions quite strongly as well as cycle between them easily.
Hair-Contrast Duo: Renji is a Fiery Redhead, while his stoic captain Byakuya has dark, relaxed hair.
Happily Married: With Rukia after the second time skip. They have a daughter named Ichika Abarai.
Hot-Blooded: He's rash, emotional and aggressive, picking up a lot of the worse parts of the trope, though he matures a little as time goes on.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The Huge Guy (standing 188 cm or around 6'2") to Rukia's Tiny Girl (standing 144 cm or 4'9").
I Owe You My Life: Renji takes this attitude towards Ichigo for saving Rukia from execution and helping mend his relationship with her, though he doesn't admit it until they're about to march off to fight Yhwach (which neither is likely to survive).
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He was a jerk in his first appearance, which saw him ordered by Soul Society to capture the AWOL Rukia. He was determined to kill Ichigo for "stealing" Rukia's powers. However, he was in a difficult position given that the law and his feelings were at odd with each other. He eventually concludes that his feelings matter more than the law but discovers he doesn't have the strength required to rescue Rukia. He is grateful to Ichigo for having the strength he lacks and softens considerably after the Soul Society arc has ended.
Luminescent Blush: Whenever he gets to see something a little sexy — such as Matsumoto unbuttoning her shirt. That and whenever Rukia voices just how much she cares for him or how much she appreciates him as a friend.
Magically Inept Fighter: While he can use some Kido skills, Renji is noted to be rather poor at it and a physical fighter, although he can use it when he has to.
Misplaced Retribution: During his second fight with Ichigo he blames the latter for Rukia's impending execution. Ichigo for his part shares the same sentiment, which drives him to rescue Rukia. After his defeat, he confesses to Ichigo that he has been blaming him only because he is envious of his determination. In reality, he was trying to escape from the truth that he despises himself for not having fought for Rukia when he had the opportunity.
Modesty Shorts: Renji's flashback to how he first met Rukia during their poverty-stricken Rukongai days, show that he used to wear a very short kosode. Under that kosode he wears a pair of skin-tight shorts that are so long in the leg they come lower down his body than the kosode does.
Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Downplayed with Sōō Zabimaru, which (among other things) gives Renji a floating third arm that moves along with his left arm.
Mr. Fanservice: Many a shirtless scene features him; one in particular has him with his hair down, with his tattoo-laden musculature revealed in full. Thanks!
My Greatest Failure: After his defeat by Ichigo, Renji reflects on growing up in the slums with Rukia, their time at the academy before joining the Gotei 13, and Rukia tearfully parting ways with Renji after she was invited to be adopted the Kuchiki clan. His past along with his defeat makes him realize that he hated himself as well as being envious of Ichigo for doing what he did not have the courage to do: fight for Rukia. Before passing out he pleads with Ichigo to rescue Rukia.
My Greatest Second Chance: After recovering from his fight against Ichigo, Renji goes AWOL to train in order to obtain his Bankai in his own bid to save Rukia.
No-Sell: Unlike Ichigo, who gets sent flying when Tenjiro punches him, Renji takes a punch to the gut from him without even flinching.
Official Couple: With Rukia.
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: The only one allowed to beat Ichigo or Byakuya, or so he thought.
Papa Wolf: For Ichika, as seen in the Howl from the Jaws of Hell arc.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Tries one on Ichigo when he initially gains the advantage in their first fight, but Ichigo manages to get a slash in while he's talking.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the Red Oni, Byakuya's the Blue Oni.
Reverse Shrapnel: Higa Zekkou, which he can only do when his sword is broken. In the filler, he can do it with his Bankai, too, but it takes its toll on Zabimaru.
Running Gag:
- His love of sunglasses, and inability to actually keep a pair intact.
- He is often called "freeloader" by Jinta during his stay at Urahara's Shop.
Secret-Keeper: He has known Ikkaku had Bankai for quite some time.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Manly Man to Ishida and Kira.
Shipper on Deck: In We Do Knot Always Love You, Renji encourages Ichigo to admit his feelings for Orihime.
Ship Tease: Renji has a lot of these moments with Rukia. The two get married and have a daughter after the second timeskip.
Sixth Ranger: He is counted as one of Ichigo's True Companions after the Soul Society arc, Orihime including him in her speech to Ulquiorra about why she does not fear him because their six hearts beat as one.
Slipknot Ponytail: His long red hair goes loose when seriously injured or beaten.
Snake Whip: His zanpakuto, Zabimaru, normally turns into a whiplike blade. Its advanced form, Hihio Zabimaru, instead turns into a colossal serpent that fires energy blasts from its mouth.
Stock Shōnen Rival: He was introduced as this, as he was the first antagonistic Shinigami Ichigo met and one who had a personal investment in taking Rukia back to Soul Society, but Ichigo outclasses Renji fairly early on and Renji becomes something close to Ichigo's best friend as the series went on, outpacing Chad and Ishida in that department as he had more screen time.
Submissive Badass: He's much like Sasakibe and Ikkaku in this regard: he has achieved Bankai and could easily be a captain on that merit alone, but he (like the aforementioned Sasakibe and Ikkaku) chooses to remain as Byakuya's lieutenant out of loyalty and respect for him.
Tattooed Crook: Goes hand in hand with his Delinquent-like attitude. Tattooed ALL OVER his body — to the point that some fans wonder up to where does the ink spread... Even his eyebrows are tattoos.
Team Hand-Stack: After the heroes infiltrate Las Noches, Renji calls for a hand stack — something he never got the stoic captain of his squad to do.
Took a Level in Badass: During the final arc, he is taken to the Royal Realm to receive training from the Zero Division and to reforge his Bankai. It boosts his power and abilities enormously, evolving his Bankai into a new form. This allows him to defeat Mask de Masculine, a Quincy that had previous defeated two captains (though admittedly, one of them would have won if he hadn't explained his powers to Mask).
Two Guys and a Girl: He befriended Hinamori and Kira in the academy, but things turned sour once the present storyline made it to the Soul Society arc. Renji first attempts to act like a lieutenant should, but later decides to ignore his orders and target Ichigo right off the bat. His defeat actually prompts Yamamoto to order a full-scale pacification of Ichigo's friends, with Byakuya ordering Renji incarcerated for his failure (the conflict between Hinamori and Kira technically started with their disagreement over Byakuya's act here). After everything gets shot to hell for Kira and Hinamori, Renji decides to defect to Ichigo's side.
Unusual Eyebrows: He has rather long, thick eyebrows and they're made to look even stranger with his tattooed forehead.
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: What Renji ultimately tells Rukia as he does a Bridal Carry of her to safety from the Sōkyoku execution stand. Furthermore, he also tells her that she needs to stop blaming herself for everything, and learn to have more faith in those who care about her and are willing to risk everything for her.
Victorious Childhood Friend: To Rukia.
Villainous Widow's Peak: While he's more of a Stock Shōnen Rival than a full on villain, Renji's widow's peak is comically long.
Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Ichigo may still bicker a lot but the two will always have each other's back.
Whip Sword: Zabimaru's Shikai form is a six-sectioned sword that stretches in order to strike its opponents, and is noted to be Difficult, but Awesome to use once mastered.
Wouldn't Hit a Girl: He loathes fighting women, and will not pick a fight with one. If a woman forces a fight with him, he won't refuse but he will hold back as much as possible and try to defeat her using the minimum amount of force possible to achieve victory. Averted in the early chapters, though, where he has no problem attacking Rukia.

Ginrei Kuchiki

Voiced by: Kinryū Arimoto (JP), JB Blanc (EN)

Father of Sojun, grandfather of Byakuya, and former 6th Division captain.

A Day in the Limelight: Flashbacks in the Zanpakuto Rebellion filler arc prominently feature him as Koga's father figure who witnesses (and unwittingly contributes to) Koga's Face–Heel Turn, before sealing him away.
Old Soldier: Was sort of shown to be this in flashback episodes of the filler Muramasa arc, only not nearly as much of one as Yamamoto when the two seal away a renegade member of the former's clan.
Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Played for laughs in one omake where a young Byakuya asks where Ginrei's kenseiken is.
The Stoic: Probably given how little reaction he had to Yoruichi pestering his grandson a century before the series began.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: For the Zanpakuto Rebellion filler arc. His aloof demeanor convinced Koga that Ginrei wasn't going to help him, which prompted him to escape from jail and begin his Start of Darkness.

Sojun Kuchiki

Son of Ginrei, father to Byakuya and the previous lieutenant of the 6th Division. Rumor has it that he was sick, but became a lieutenant out of a sense of duty. He was buried alongside his wife, and Byakuya swore an oath to uphold every one of the Soul Society's laws, in order to please his parents.

All There in the Manual: His appearance, his height, his rank, his weight and his birthday were all found in the Masked databook.
Strong Family Resemblance: Byakuya very strongly resembles his deceased father Sojun. The only difference between them is in the way they each wore their hair, and that Sojun's face usually had a much gentler expression.

Ginjiro Shirogane

He was the previous lieutenant to Byakuya, preceding Renji by an unknown number of years. He started up his own sunglasses shop as a part-time job during his time as a lieutenant, but he resigned from his position to run the store better, supposedly because he gained more of a profit from it. His daughter, Mihane, works as the 9th Seat of the same division, and she co-owns the store with her father. The Mens' Association get their sunglasses from Shirogane, as does Renji himself.

All There in the Manual: The fact that he even exists. We still don't know what he looks like. He does, however, have a minor role in a post-manga novel.
Determinator: Shirogane once sent a pair of sunglasses to Byakuya, but his ex-captain sent them back, saying that he didn't want them. Shirogane doesn't seem to care; he keeps sending sunglasses to Byakuya, anyway.
Nice Guy: Takes his ex-captain's indifference in stride, and even gave a discount to Renji, but it's subverted in the latter case. The prices of sunglasses are so high, that even with the discount, Renji still has problems getting the goggles that he wants.

Squad 7

Sajin Komamura

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbs_komamura_4.png

^{The Lost Agent appearance}
^{Human Transformation Technique}

"Don't worry. I have no doubts. My loyalty lies only in my debt to Genryūsai-sama. He took me in when I was alone because people pushed me away due to my looks. I shall repay this debt, even if it means I will be shattered into pieces. I shall have no doubts. If his greatness says 'yes', then even in death, I say 'yes'!"

Species: Soul Reaper (Werewolf)

Zanpakuto: Tenken (Shikai) / Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō (Bankai)

Voiced by: Tetsu Inada (JP), Kim Strauss (ENG, Episodes 51-63), JB Blanc (ENG, Episodes 99+), Christopher Swindle (ENG, Thousand-Year Blood War), Blas García (Latin-American Spanish)

Komamura is an anthropomorphic wolf and was the former captain of the 7th squad. Komamura is at first overly sensitive about his appearance which causes him to distance himself, until he meets Kaname Tosen, who is blind and doesn't mind his outer appearance. They became fast friends and enrolled and graduated in the Soul Reaper Academy together. Komamura is also indebted with Genryusai Yamamoto and vowed to dedicate his life for him with utmost loyalty. He constantly covers his body with gloves and his head with a mask, just so that his fellow officers do not ridicule his appearance, but eventually he abandons it. When Tosen betrays the Soul Society, Komamura swears to help him open his eyes to the fact that his betrayal is wrong. After using a Dangerous Forbidden Technique, he is relegated to a normal dog and unable to lead his division.

His Zanpakuto is Tenken, a large sword that is duplicated as a phantom-like form. His Bankai is Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō, an enormous armored giant that mimics his every move. When Komamura takes a human-like form, his Bankai removes its armor to become Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō: Dangai Jōe, a giant that is invulnerable to physical harm.

Adapted Out: Has not been included in any of the musical theater adaptations.
All for Nothing: Yamamoto's death drives Komamura to undergo the Human Metamorphosis, temporarily gaining more power and immortality at the cost of losing his humanity. After his fight with Bambietta, the timer runs out and Komamura transforms into a wolf without power or the ability to speak and is therefore unable to continue the quest to defeat Yamamoto's killer, Yhwach. With Yhwach's final fate to become the new Soul King and be protected by the Soul Reapers that had previously been trying to kill him, Komamura's sacrifice achieves none of the goals Komamura set for himself.
All of the Other Reindeer: Why he wore a mask, and why he was so quick to form a friendship with Tosen. His shame in his appearance is the focal point of the friction between him and his great-grandfather, who scolds him for hiding it.
Animal Motifs: Dogs and wolves. Komamura belongs to a clan of werewolves that inhabit Soul Society. Not only does he resemble a dog physically, but he also has extreme loyalty towards Yamamoto, remeniscent of a dog who is loyal to their owner.
Armor Is Useless: Zig-zagged. He's the only Soul Reaper to wear armor and often uses it to block attacks on others. However, because he frequently suffers from The Worf Effect, enemies who are strong enough often easily destroy what armor he wears. He later gets a new set that's much more up to the task, able to defend him from Bambietta's explosions to an extent.
Awesome, but Impractical:
- His Bankai has signs of this. Tosen notes that it's primarily designed to kill in one hit, so issues arise when it doesn't. Particularly, damaging done to it is reflected on him, and while anyone who is powerful enough to damage it could presumably damage him anyway, this basically means Komamura just summoned a giant target for his foe to whale on, especially if they're fast enough to dodge giant's movements and/or read Komamura's own movements in time. It just takes a single attack from Tosen to blast a huge hole in his Bankai to bring Komamura down.
- A Played for Laughs variant in the preview for 340. Iba grows concerned about Komamura's use of Bankai, as it could end up exhausting 7th Division's repair budget. Made worse by the fact that since Komamura's bankai draws the most attention, the other Divisions will blame 7th division for ALL of the damage caused by the battles with the reigai, causing Komamura to grow concerned as well.
Beat Still, My Heart: Komamura will protect others, even if he has to rip out his own heart to do it. Ripping out his heart activates a special technique that brings Komamura to a human form, vastly increasing his power.
The Big Guy: He's over nine feet tall and favors the brute force strategy of "Just smash the little bastard. Moving around is for chumps that can't take a hit." As for putting this strategy in practice, Komamura easily flips Poww, an Arrancar who's around the same height and weight as his own Bankai, over his shoulder.
Big "SHUT UP!": Komamura furiously silences the raging Soi Fon in the aftermath of the Wandenreich invasion and General Yamamoto's death, telling her that she is not the only one who wants to shout.
Blind and the Beast: His friendship with Tosen is based on this. So of course Tosen just has to call him ugly upon gaining sight. And then he apologizes before dying.
Carpet of Virility: Komamura has some pretty amazing chest hair. His human form retains the fur on his chest.
Comically Missing the Point: Prone to this.
- In #298, his response to Ichigo saying that Iba doesn't fit the image of the main character is that he didn't think the suit was designed as well as he thought it could have been.
- In #326, he responds to Zaraki to not worry, and he's tough. The problem here was Zaraki was pissed that he interrupted his fight.
- In the JUMP festival omake, Komamura's response to Iba asking him for advice on how to make the cute cartoony drawing of him look mighty and powerful is to recommend he add "woof"/"ruff" next to it.
Convenient Coma: He stays in one for almost the entire Zanpaktou filler arc after he gets TKOed by Tenken in the arc's first episode.
Curb-Stomp Battle: He defeats Poww, the Fraccion who defeated Ikkaku. He uses a single strike from his Bankai. The fight with Tosen reveals this is the purpose of his Bankai, to defeat enemies with a single strike.
Cursed with Awesome: Tosen claimed the bond between Komamura and Tenken was a curse because damaging the Zanpakuto automatically damages Komamura. Mayuri later confirms that while it's true this is a big weakness, it also allows Komamura's Bankai to heal making him the one true exception to the rule that a Bankai can never be restored to its original form once broken.
Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The secret of his clan is not something he's ever been allowed to know because it's literally both dangerous and forbidden. He has to rip out his heart to transform into human to gain great power and immortality. It's only temporary and the price is to transform him into a full canine animal with no power at all.
Destructive Savior: The Karakura Town fight is supposed to occur in a fake town to avoid damaging the real town but the destruction Komamura causes when defeating Poww causes so much damage to both the fake zone and the real town, the watching Soul Reapers discuss how much this will cost Komamura after the battle is over.
Dramatic Unmask: Loses his helmet saving Tosen's life when he tries blocking Kenpachi's sword with his arm bracers, but due to the force behind the blow, the sword cuts into his helmet and breaks it apart. Later happens again when he shows up for a rematch with Bambietta wearing a new helmet that obscures his face. When it gets destroyed, it's revealed Komamura has become human in appearance.
A Father to His Men: Cares immensely for his subordinates and often puts himself at risk to protect those are lower ranked and weaker than himself. This includes the lieutenants of other Squads, such as Hinamori, Ikkaku, and especially Hisagi.
Faster Than They Look: It's easy to think that something as big as Komamura's Bankai is too slow to be of any use, but due to their link, the giant instantly replicates Komamura's movements. Komamura himself is pretty proficient at Shunpo, allowing him to quickly cross distances and intercept attacks despite his massive frame.
Friend to All Children: During the Soul Reaper golden segment for Episode 83, it seemed he was about to let Yachiru draw on his face even though he just got his fur done.
Furry Confusion: He is an anthropomorphic canine that owns a pet dog.
Gentle Giant: Despite his intimidating stature and appearance, Komamura is actually a good man (well, dog) who's generally soft-spoken and fatherly toward lower-ranked soldiers. He has a pet dog named Gorou, takes them out for walk in his free time, and is one of the more amiable Captains when it comes to arranging his squad. He also likes watching pet shows whenever he can. According to Hitsugaya, he personally pays for any collateral damage he or his subordinates cause. Though in the Chapter 328 volume sketch, he's seen commenting that he'll only be able to feed his dog Goro okara (soy pulp) for the month due to all the damage he caused during his fight with Poww, as well as apologizing to him for it.
Ham and Deadpan Duo: The Deadpan to Iba's Ham.
Hypocrisy Nod: In a Call-Back to Tosen, after Yamamoto dies Komamura becomes absolutely determined to avenge him at all costs and sacrifices himself to do so, gaining a brief powerup and in return becoming a wolf after the power fades, lamenting only that even as he was consumed by the thirst for vengeance that marks his clan, it didn't last him long enough to even get to Yhwach, let alone beat him.
I'll Pretend I Didn't Hear That: When Iba lectures Ikkaku on hiding his Bankai and the pair realise Komamura is standing right there, Komamura's response is to say his ears aren't working well enough to have overheard anything and walks off.
Implacable Man: He's a hulking, nigh-unmovable mass of fur and muscle against most people. This is best demonstrated during his battle with Soi Fon's clone in the Reigai arc, where he pretty much just overpowers her with brute force (until she activates Shunko). In his human form, though, this goes to ridiculous lengths; he can withstand an explosion to the chest and barely flinch, and his Bankai is pretty much indestructible.
I Owe You My Life: His source of devotion with Yamamoto. Ichigo's intervention against Aizen also prevents Komamura going into a suicidal charge to avenge Tosen. He thanks Ichigo for it.
Ironic Echo: He warns Tosen against revenge, and ironically he falls victim to it himself after Yamamoto's death.
Large and in Charge: Komamura is massive and one of the most physically powerful captains, matched perhaps only by the likes of Kenpachi.
Laser-Guided Karma: Komamura's people are forced to live with a curse that locks them into animal form as punishment for their past ignorance. Trapped in a cycle of vengeance, the werewolves cannot throw off their curse and regain their former glory. Komamura spends the story trying to walk an honorable path and mourns his friend Tosen's descent into vengeance and how that vengeance ends up destroying the good man Tosen could have been. During the final arc, The Soul Reapers are faced with a threat that even the captains aren't strong enough to face. Komamura returns to his clan to seek a forbidden technique that temporarily allows him to regain his true humanoid form, and with it his true power. While it allows him to defeat his Quincy opponent, the price of power is to drag him down into the very cycle of vengeance he once tried to save Tosen from. Acknowledging his desire to avenge the fallen Yamamoto has been his undoing is his last intelligent thought before he succumbs forever to the mind of an ordinary wolf.
Lions and Tigers and Humans... Oh, My!: Despite his initial fears, nobody seems to care that he's a giant canine.
Little Bit Beastly: His Human Transformation makes him into a human, just with furry ears, heavy eyebrows, mutton chops and patches of body fur in certain places, like on his forearms.
Meaningful Name: His name translates to "The dog who guards the left flank of the hamlet." The left side is a particular significance to pre-industrial Japan as it would guard the lord's blind side. So when Lords would meet with their two bodyguards, the more trusted of the two would be to the left.
The Men First: He declines medical treatment even after taking a direct hit from Aizen's Kido, stating there are others in more critical condition.
Nice Guy: Despite his intimidating appearance, he's one of the friendlier Captains, possessing a strong sense of morality and loyalty.
Nigh-Invulnerability: His clan's "secret technique", which makes him virtually unkillable as long as he's in human form. His body can still be damaged, and his heart needs to be kept safe, but he's technically an implacable walking corpse. His Bankai is even worse — in its second form, it's pure Reiatsu with no life energy, meaning it can't be damaged at all.
No-Sell: Pulls this on Bambietta by means outlined above: her explosions have no effect on his new Bankai.
"Not So Different" Remark: Komamura based his friendship with Tosen on the belief that their hearts were similar enough for him to be able to guide Tosen back to a better path. Later, he falls victim to his desires for revenge just like Tosen. Instead of dying, Sajin loses his humanity. He acknowledges the irony as he begins to lose his human thoughts.
Our Giants Are Bigger: His Bankai, Kokujo Tengen Myo'o, lets him summon a giant Samurai, without a doubt one of the biggest if not the biggest Bankai in the series.
Our Werewolves Are Different: He's a humanoid wolf and sticks out like a sore thumb among the human members of the cast, so he used to hide his face with armor. Turns out that he and the rest of his clan once possessed a human form but being banished to the Animal Realm trapped them in their animal form. A special technique allows them to temporarily regain human form, as shown in Chapter 556, though the costs of doing so are high; once the technique is used up, the user will revert to being a regular wolf, unable to regain their human sentience ever again.
Puppet Gun: Komamura's Shikai summons disembodied gigantic limbs with the same movements as him, mostly a giant hand wielding a sword. His Bankai brings forth the entire giant, which also follows his movements to devastating effect.
Pyrrhic Victory: Even Komamura can make the mistake of not weighing victory against the price of achieving it. He destroys his humanity to defeat Bambietta, ending up trapped in true wolf form, unable to function as a Soul Reaper, his only future that of a vengeance-driven beast.
Real Men Wear Pink: He likes... watching cute puppy dog shows?!
Revenge Before Reason: The destruction the Wandenreich invasion inflicts causes Komamura to enter this state. After cutting down Bambietta, Komamura prepares to storm Silbern and take on Yhwach by himself to avenge Yamamoto. However, he is transformed into a regular wolf, unable to carry out his revenge. Kubo himself explained that, had Komamura not let revenge cloud his thoughts, he could have maintained his humanoid form and power, but his desire to avenge Yamamoto causes it to run out after his fight with Bambietta.
Rule of Symbolism: Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō is inspired by Fudou Myou-ou, a divine being who brings enlightenment to those lost to hatred, vengeance and ignorance. The Bankai's samurai armor reflects Komamura's samurai code, a form of "invincibility" gained through living as if already dead. The ignorance of Revenge Before Reason banishes his clan to the Animal Realm. When Komamura embraces it, his temporary invincibility leads to permanent transformation into an animal, i.e., the person who most needs Fudō Myō'ō's guidance is Komamura himself.
Running Gag: He's a wolf but characters in-universe always mistake him for a dog. The author and anime therefore associate him with dogs in constantly humorous ways.
Secret-Keeper: Ikkaku doesn't want other people to know about his Bankai, out of fear that he will be forced to take a Captain position, and therefore unable to serve under Kenpachi. When Komamura seemingly overhears Tetsuzaemon and Ikkaku talking about the latter's Bankai but assures them that his "ears haven't been working well."
Speaks Fluent Animal: He can talk to dogs.
Stealthy Colossus: Komamura stands over 280 centimeters tall and weighs 300 kilos, but he was able to throw Tosen for a loop in their first meeting by tricking the blind man's spiritual senses. During the Fake Karakura battle, Iba and Ikkaku have an argument about the latter hiding his Bankai, only noticing Komamura's presence at the end. Given his clan's nature and how others shunned him for his appearance, him knowing a little bit about stealth is understandable.
Supernatural Gold Eyes: Komamura is an anthropomorphic wolf and his golden eyes reflect his supernatural, animalistic nature.
Sword and Fist: He's a good enough swordsman to face Kenpachi, and one of his punches sends an Arrancar even taller than him flying. His Zanpakuto Tenken summons forth gigantic versions of either his sword or his fist for added damage.
Synchronization: Komamura's Bankai summons forth a giant armored samurai linked to him. Its mimics every move he makes, and in turn, any damage inflicted upon the giant is reflected upon Komamura as well. Though this may be a problem given how big it is, it also means that it can heal from the damage when Komamura does, setting it apart from most Bankai. Even Komamura using his human form has an effect on his Bankai: Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō: Dangai Jōe sheds its armor and becomes a colossal being of pure spiritual pressure, allowing it to restore any damage instantly while it smashes Komamura's enemy.
Undying Loyalty: Because Yamamoto saved his life at one point, he has utmost respect and devotion to the man.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: When he first appeared in the story, he had been wearing a mask to conceal his true nature. After it got cut off during the Soul Society arc, he decides to go around without it. According to the databooks, barely anyone gives a damn.
The Worf Effect: When Aizen was first revealed as the enemy, Komamura was used to established that Aizen's threat level was far beyond that of even a Captain's.
You Are Not Alone: When Ichigo's confidence is rattled by Aizen's taunts, Komamura is the first by his side and encourages him not to lose heart even as the remaining Captains and Visoreds assemble around them.

Tetsuzaemon Iba

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

^{Thousand-Year Blood War appearance}

"If yer gonna fight someone, then win, even if it kills you. That is called bein' rational."

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Unknown

Voiced by: Rintarou Nishi (JP), Neil Kaplan (ENG), Óscar Gómez and Dafnis Fernández (Latin-American Spanish)

The former lieutenant to Captain Komamura, the former mentor to Ikkaku, and current captain of squad 7. With the style of a Yakuza member, he joined the 11th Division as the 4th Seat under Zaraki, but transferred to the 7th Division in order to become a lieutenant. After Komamura's forced retirement, he is later promoted to captain. He is the stereotypical macho-man, believing that men have to be strong and courageous. He is president of the Soul Reaper Men's Association. His mother, Chikane Iba, was the lieutenant of the 3rd Division under Otoribashi; he calls her a bitch-hag.

BFS: His unnamed Shikai takes the form of a large falchion with a spike protruding from it.
Blood Knight: He used to be in the eleventh division and still duels Ikkaku from time to time. He only transferred out in order to become a lieutenant. In the manga, Ikkaku remarks that Iba's still an eleventh division member at heart after Iba says it would be fun to fight Ichigo.
Butt-Monkey: The Soul Reaper Men's association frequently gets its budget cut and forced out of the meeting spaces it has.
Combat Pragmatist: Believes that the most important thing when fighting for one's division is winning, even if it involves running away or taking an opponent from behind.
Cool Shades: Wears a pair of big black sunglasses.
Foil: To Ikkaku. Ikkaku would rather die than risk exposing his own Bankai to others (thereby risking being forced to captain another division) and enjoys a good fight above all else. Iba chose to develop his Kido and leave the 11th Division to become a lieutenant and please his mom, and is willing to run away or use underhanded tactics to carry out his orders.
Ham and Deadpan Duo: The Ham to Komamura's Deadpan.
Informed Ability: Is supposedly well-rounded, but the manga hasn't actually properly let us see him fight to judge for ourselves.
Rank Up: Komamura sacrifices his state of being with a secret technique to defeat Bambietta. This reduces him to the form of a wolf, leaving him unable to captain the Seventh Division. The epilogue takes place ten years after the defeat of Yhwach and reveals that Iba has replaced Komamura as captain. Iba doesn't believe he deserves it yet, however.
Secret-Keeper: Has known about Ikkaku's Bankai for some time (much to Ikkaku's shock), but reassures him that he won't tell anyone.
Smoking Is Cool: He's usually seen smoking and is regarded as a well-respected and hardworking lieutenant.
Undying Loyalty: He's very proud to serve as Komamura's second. When Komamura completely loses his powers after fighting and defeating Bambietta, Iba carries his captain on his back and promises to help him keep fighting to avenge Yamamoto.
Unrequited Love: The anime doesn't touch on it but it's All There in the Manual. Hisagi's not the only one with a crush on Rangiku Matsumoto. Iba's carrying a torch as well.
The Unreveal: For the entirety of the manga, and even the light novels afterwards (which serve to answer numerous things that never got revealed during the series proper), the abilities of Iba's zanpakuto are never disclosed.
What the Hell, Hero?: Delivers a rather scathing one to Ikkaku, when his stubborn refusal to use his Bankai results in an important pillar getting destroyed.

Jin'emon Kotsubaki

Father to Sentaro and lieutenant to Love Aikawa, he received a scar sometime after Urahara was promoted, but it's unknown if he was killed in action or retired from service, and we don't know what his current status happens to be. He also has a ponytail, reminiscent of an old-school Samurai.

All There in the Manual: Everything known about him was revealed in the Masked databook.
Cool Old Guy: Appears to be in his late-forties, by the time he was Love's lieutenant.
Cool Shades: Frameless red sunglasses, specifically.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: One runs along the left side of his face, from his forehead, through his eye and to his cheek.

Atau Rindou

Species: Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto: Taka

The new lieutenant to Testuzaemon Iba after the timeskip. He's a mute and quite introverted, which makes him stand out among the otherwise boisterous Squad 7.

Animal Lover: He’s first introduced surrounded by animals, implying he he has a soft side for them.
Animal Motifs: Hawks. His Shikai's special ability summons a whole flock of them.
Pretty Boy: He's very pretty with his androgynous features and thick wavy hair.
The Speechless: He can not speak out loud, which in a world of Calling Your Attacks and By the Power of Grayskull! would be quite a disadvantage, but is able to make up for it by writing the name of his Shikai directly on the blade.

Characters / Bleach: Thirteen Court Guard Squads 1-7
aka: Bleach Gotei 13 Squads 1 To 7

Contains unmarked spoilers!

Squad 1

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto

Chojiro Tadaoki Sasakibe

Squad 2

Soi Fon

Marechiyo Yoshiayamenosuke Nikkōtarōemon Ōmaeda

Squad 3

Izuru Kira

Squad 4

Retsu Unohana

Isane Kotetsu

Seinosuke Yamada

Hanataro Yamada

Squad 5

Momo Hinamori

Squad 6

Byakuya Kuchiki

Renji Abarai

Squad 7

Sajin Komamura

Tetsuzaemon Iba

Atau Rindou

Alternative Title(s): Bleach Gotei 13 Squads 1 To 7, Bleach Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Bleach Squad 1, Bleach Squad 6, Bleach Thirteen Court Guard Squads

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Characters / Bleach: Thirteen Court Guard Squads 1-7 aka: Bleach Gotei 13 Squads 1 To 7

Edit Locked

Contains unmarked spoilers!

Squad 1

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto

Chojiro Tadaoki Sasakibe

Squad 2

Soi Fon

Marechiyo Yoshiayamenosuke Nikkōtarōemon Ōmaeda

Squad 3

Izuru Kira

Squad 4

Retsu Unohana

Isane Kotetsu

Seinosuke Yamada

Hanataro Yamada

Squad 5

Momo Hinamori

Squad 6

Byakuya Kuchiki

Renji Abarai

Squad 7

Sajin Komamura

Tetsuzaemon Iba

Atau Rindou

Alternative Title(s): Bleach Gotei 13 Squads 1 To 7, Bleach Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Bleach Squad 1, Bleach Squad 6, Bleach Thirteen Court Guard Squads

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Index

Next

Characters / Bleach: Thirteen Court Guard Squads 1-7
aka: Bleach Gotei 13 Squads 1 To 7