Ishida Uryuu

CHARACTER HISTORY -
As a child, Ishida was trained in the natural born powers he had inherited from his ancestors. His grandfather, Soken, taught the young boy his hertitage, as Uryu's father, Ryuken, did not practice the ways of the Quincy, finding no profit in such a venture. Ishida developed a natural hatred of Shinigami, when they arrived too late to assist his grandfather against a Hollow attack, causing both distrust and disgust with Soul Society.

Ichigo Kurosaki was originally oblivious to his Uryu's existance, though Ishida could sense the power of Ichigo, and was able to see the spirit thread of a Shinigami once Kurosaki had become one. Within school, he has the highest academic standing, as well as being part of the after school Handicraft's Club allongside Orihime. His skill is considered so great, that the girl's will often bring their stuffed animals for him to repair, and has become the stitcher for the damaged animal body of Kon.

While first seeing each other with animosity, due to their polar opposite views and powers, Ichigo and Ishida eventually come to see one another as a potentially powerful ally, and even depend on the other when in a pinch. Uryu has even become a casual member of Kurosaki's in-school clique on scattered occassions. While their personality and opinions continue to clash from time to time, they are more repsectful of each others view.

During the Soul Society Arc, Uryu displayed great power and ability, even going as far as to lose his Quincy powers for the briefest moment to surpass the strength of a Shinigami's Bankai; that of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who had conducted experiments on Ishida's grandfather and many other Quincy. He would go on through the Bount filler arc without any powers, but his intelligence made him an important part of the team.

As the Arrancar Arc continues on, we know that Ryuken, Uryu's father, has taken it upon himself to help restore his son's Quincy Abilities. They were both training in a life or death struggle, which ended with mentally and physically exhausted Uryu, who was then hit exactly 19 mm right of his heart with a spirit arrow. This formed an X Shaped scar on his chest that would bring his Quincy power's back to full use.

PERSONALITY -
Uryu is a compassionate person, though he doesn't like to be thought of that way, much perferring to be seen as a silent, cool guy. Often in situations where he comes to help, he will make an excuse about simply being nearby, though his rambling often gives him away as he blabs the whole story. He is a convicted young man, willing to die for a cause, but it is unknown if he is willing to do the same for another person. A lack of affection from his father, and the death of a mother early in life would render him much more cold than most, and closing off his heart to others for the most part. Though he appears as a loner, he is willing to be social with others if asked, but is not one to intrude where he is not invited.

ABILITIES -
As a member of the Quincy, Ishida inherited his power's genetically from his father, like his father before him. Quincy are seen as destroyers, who completely eliminate Hollows, unlike the Shinigami who purify them and either send them to Soul Society or to Hell. Because of this, they cause great spiritual imbalances by taking many souls out of the process of death and rebirth.

The signature ability of the Quincy is the formation of a bow made of spiritual energy, and arrows made of the same substance. Rather than obtain this power from within themselves, they draw spirit energy in the atmosphere to form solid objects; the skill of the Quincy means greater result. The use of the Sanrei Glove is also used to increase the ability to gather energy, as well as compress the bow into a more solid form. Removal of this glove after it is master will result in a n overflow of power for a short time, followed by the loss of power completely.

Another of the Quincy powers is called Hirenkyaku, and is roughly the equal of the Shinigami's Shunpo. This ability comncentrates spirit energy beaneath the feet of it's user, and propels them with superspeed to their desired location. The Ransotengai, or Heavenly Wild Puppet Suit, is another rare ability of the Quincy, seen in only one out of 2662 studied cases. This ability allows the user to control their body using strings of spirit power, thus allowing them to move even if their limbs have been paralyzed. Given it's obscurity, Ishida can be considered a very skilled Quincy.

Ginto (Silver Tubes) are small silver tubes used to store spiritual energy. They can be used by a Quincy who has lost his powers to perform abilities similar to the Shinigami's Kido by calling out Incantations. Shown abilities include Haizen, a rectangluar cutting beam made using four Ginto; Gritz, used to envelop an opponent in a large symbol to bind them; and Volcore, which creates large blasts used in cushioning impacts.

NAME -
Both Ishida and his father share the common "Ryu" within their name, which may be used as a tie in to their family. Ryuken and his father, in much the same way, share the common "ken" within their name. It may be a tradaitional system within their family to create this sort of tie within their family unit. The name Ishida, can be broken down to form the phase "One Exorcism" which can refer to the fact that no members of the Ishida clan have fought together at one time against the Hollows that they kill.

Hitsugaya Toushirou


Hitsugaya Toushirou is the 10th Squad Captain with Matsumoto Rangiku, one of the eight major female shinigami, as his Vice Captain. Hitsugaya and Hinamori Momo, Vice Captain of 5th Squad, have a history together, as seen in Episode 46 where Hinamori endearingly refers to him as Whitey-chan. At that moment in time as Hinamori was working to become a shinigami, Hitsugaya thought nothing of it because all he wanted was to eat watermelon and for Hinamori to stop calling him Whitey-chan. She told him that if he could be at the same level as she was then she would stop calling him Whitey-chan. Presently he is now seen as a shinigami prodigy because of his achievement of a high rank at such a young age. He can be characterized as somewhat of a take-charge type of character in BLEACH. Upon overhearing a conversation between Ichimaru Gin and 5th Squad Captain Aizen Sousuke he acts on his suspicions warning certain people about the sketchy 3rd Squad (Ichimaru Gin and Kira Izuru).

Hitsugaya’s suspicions seemingly turn into reality when Hinamori wakes up from a night spent at Aizen’s place to discover that he is not there and rushes off to a Vice Captain meeting. She takes a shortcut only to arrive on time to witness Aizen’s corpse situated on a wall with a sword pierced through his upper abdomen causing a trail of blood to run down the entire wall behind him. The situation goes from bad to worse as Ichimaru arrives and Hinamori attempts to attack him because he appeared to be the most likely suspect in this brutal murder. Kira jumps in to protect his superior from Hinamori’s emotional outburst but Hitsugaya intervenes before the two can shikai each other to death. He cares for Hinamori very much which is why he tries to open her eyes to see that her action is most inappropriate at a moment such as this (discovering your leader’s dead body). Toushirou has them both arrested and makes the threat to Gin that if he makes Hinamori spill one drop of blood, he’ll be breathing his last breath. In Episode 36 while Hinamori is in jail Matsumoto pays her a visit and hands her a letter addressed to her from her beloved Captain. Hitsugaya found the letter in Aizen’s quarters and it turned out to be what he was scribing the night that Hinamori paid him a visit. The letter held a warning of things to come and also reveals the schemes and plots of a certain someone among The Gotei 13.

During the absence of the leaders of 5th Squad, Hitsugaya takes over their business and paperwork with the help of Matsumoto Rangiku, his Vice Captain. As they are settled in the Administrative Office word comes from one of their officers that Hinamori has escaped and they suspect that she is hunting down Ichimaru. He goes off to save her not knowing that what Aizen wrote in the letter was that he, Hitsugaya Toushirou, was the one that murdered Captain Aizen. Episode 47 exposes all this and there is a face off between Hitsugaya, Hinamori, and Ichimaru. Hinamori attacks Toushirou as she whole-heartedly believed everything that Aizen wrote because she idolized the man for most of her Death God career. Hitsugaya strikes his confused friend in order to avoid further turmoil and then seeks to keep to his word of killing Gin if he ever made Hinamori spill blood. Episode 48 displays Hitsugaya’s shikai, Hyourinmaru, or Ice Ring as he fights with Ichimaru. The fight ceases when Rangiku appears after feeling the reiatsu of Toushirou’s shi-kai and stops Gin’s attack on Hinamori’s unconscious body.

The letter, we find out, was completely false as it depicted Hitsugaya as the one plotting to destroy Soul Society with the Soukyoku. At this instance Rukia’s execution had been frequently moved up until it will finally take place within 29 hours. Hitsugaya realizes that he needs to take action and he and Matsumoto quickly move to try and prevent the execution.

If you have been following the manga you know that Aizen is not the good guy he appeared to be and yes he is still alive. All this time he was manipulating everyone so that he could get a very important object out of Rukia. Hitsugaya makes an attempt to stop him only to get beaten and stomped on in the end, even when he used his ban-kai. In Chapter 194 Aizen has birthed a newer stronger breed of bad guys called Arankaru, powerful half ex-shinigami, half hollows. Captain Hitsugaya along with Renji, Rangiku, Yumichika, and Ikkaku arrive in the human world and surprise Ichigo at school in Chapter 195. This chapter also marks the return of Rukia. They are here to help fight the inevitable war that is going to happen and while they are at it they will be attending school with everyone!

kurosaki Ichigo



CHARACTER HISTORY:
As the central character of the series, Ichigo's background and character has recieved the most detail and explanation. He was born on July 7 to Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki, and has twin sisters, four years younger than him, named Yuzu and Karin. By the age of three, he had already begun training in the martial arts, leading him to meet Tatsuki Arisawa for the first time. When he was nine years old, his mother was killed by a Hollow named Grand Fisher, who had drawn Ichigo in using devious tactics; he was capable of seeing spirits as clearly as normal people even at such a young age. The result of his mother's loss took a great toll on him, bringing him as far as to blame himself for the event.

By age 15, he had developed a reputation within his school as trouble; his natural hair color became a source of resentment as an oddity in a place that much perferred conformity, and associated him to gang members and other such people. As a result, he works hard to keep his grades, if for nothing more than to spite those teachers who look upon him with negative views. His tough guy attitude, combined with martial arts training and naturally gifted physique, gives him the power to fight to defend himself and those he deems important to him. The high spiritual powers he possesses also leads him to protect the memory of those spirits who linger on, defending their memorial sites from those who didn't show their respect.

Upon meeting Rukia Kuchiki, his mind was exposed to a world he didn't know; that of the Shinigami. becoming a Shinigami through the transfer of Rukia's powers into him, he learned the basics of Soul Society and the powers he possessed, but was struck down by Byakuya Kuchiki, who removed the powers Ichigo had gained with surgical strikes to his body. Under harsh, life threatening circumstances, he regained these powers under the tutelage of Kisuke Urahara, a former Shinigami Captain.

Soul Society played a key role in his development, forcing him into deadly confrontations with opponent's of increasing power. Where he had entered Soul Society as below the level of a Lieutenant, he left there as a Shinigami of high renown, having defeated four Lieutenants, as well as Captains Kenpachi Zaraki and Byakuya Kuchiki, in his short time there. As proof of his skill, he was awarded with a Medallion by Shinigami Captain, Jushiro Ukitake, signifying Kurosaki as a Substitute Shinigami, recognized by Soul Society as an ally and companion.

PERSONALITY:
On first impression, Ichigo live up to his reputation as an anti-social tough guy; while this is much unlike his true personality, he enjoys keeping that lone wolf attribute as far as the public eye is concerned. Only those who he calls friend truly knows the depths of his character, seeing him as determined, compassionate, and driven by the need to do what is right, no matter the personal loss to himself. As a Shinigami, he possesses more endurance than experience, which has led to him toppling the very same people who would scold him for his lack of skill. It is seen that his determination is his true strength, forcing him to push onward where anyone else would quit, and even to surpass his own limitations when the need arises.

Conversely, there is a darker personality at work within him; the Hollow that developed within his soul at the time he gained his Shinigami powers. This part of Ichigo fights with supreme knowledge, equal or greater to a Captain level Shinigami, and the arrogance to match. It does not fight for just cause, but for it's own enjoyment, and could be easily considered the anti-thesis of Ichigo.

ABILITIES:
As a Shinigami, Ichigo possesses extremely high levels of Reiatsu, or Spiritual Power. This can partly be explained by the Hollow within him, which grants him immense power as a desperation tactic in the Soul Society Arc, and later as a short term boost of power after training with the Vaizard. The other source, shown to us as a Ichigo with glowing blue eyes, comes from a yet unknown source. This is believed to be due to his father, a high level Shinigami Captain, and even possibly his mother, who may yet have origins unknown to us.

In battle, Ichigo carries Zangetsu (Translated as "Cutting Moon") as his Zanpakutou. As can be plainly seen, Zangetsu is in a permanent state of Shikai, thus eliminating the need to unseal his weapon before combat. Rather than a typical sheath, the long silk scarf of the handle wraps itself around the blade when placed on the back, and retracts when in combat. It's chief ability is the Getsuga Tensho (Moon Sky-Piercing Fang) which releases a heavy concentration of spiritual energy as an offensive wave. Rather than employ stronger technique, Ichigo simply concentrates further levels of Reiatsu to match up to his enemy's more powerful attacks.

His Bankai, known as Tensa Zangetsu (Chains of Heaven - Cutting Moon), is often underestimated by the enemy, due to the fact that it actually decreases the size of the blade from a giant cleaver to a mere Katana. The weapon's true power, however, lies in it's ability to enhance Ichigo himself. It possesses the same level of power that the Shikai form does, meaning it is still capable of using the same striking force, but is concentrated into a finer form, which also allows Ichigo to run at a speed beyond even Shunpo (Flash Steps.) This speed was even capable of deflecting thousands of multi-angled attacks from the Bankai of Byakuya Kuchiki, a highly respected and powerful Shinigami Captain.

It is known that Ichigo had no formal training in Kido (Demon Arts) and thus is incapable of casting incantations like even basic Shinigami, but was able to self teach himself in the art of Shunpo while training for his Bankai. Shunpo allows for high speed movements, and is employed by most Captain and Lieutenant level Shinigami as a means of evading attacks and reaching distant locations in less time. Using Flash Steps, Ichigo is skilled enough to match even a Captain level for speed.

Ichigo's latest training has been alongside the Vaizard, a group of former Shinigami, who developed the powers of Hollow, much like Ichigo himself did before the Soul SOciety Arc. There, he was able to suppress his Hollow self by facing it in combat, allowing him to begin changing at will and having access to the powers permitted to him. He is only capable of short lengths of time as of yet, but is likely to improve as the story arc continues.

NAME:
Ichigo's first name has been open to debate, as it can mean several things that relate to his character. Officially, chigo's name means "Ichi" for "One" and "Go" for "Protector", as stated by him in episode 21 of the Anime. Other versions would say that his "Ichigo" can translate to "Strawberry", as a reference to his hair, or that the separation of the name into "Ichi" and "Go" can mean "one" and "five"; this can be seen as both his age, and the number that appear on his room door.

The name Kurosaki can be broken down to mean "Dark Destination" which can apply to several things within the series. This can mean Ichigo's battle of wills with his Hollow Self, as well as the fact that his family has met with much difficulty as a result of the spirit world, which took away Ichigo's mother, and constantly threatens his family.

kuchiki byakuya


Kuchiki Byakuya first arrived in Bleach as the silent yet powerful Shinigami sent to Kuraku town alongside Renji to find and bring Rukia back to Soul-Society. His power is immediately made evident when he steps in to aid Renji in his fight with Ichigo ending things in a matter of seconds leaving Ichigo bladeless and lying face down on the ground with what he thought was little hope for survival; and this proves to be only the beginning of his power. Descending from the Kuchiki clan one of the four noble houses of soul society captain of the 6th division Kuchiki Byakuya is also Rukias older brother though they are not related by blood rather, Rukia was adopted in to the Kuchiki family. Because of his noble roots and his superior level of power Byakuya tends to carry himself with a level of arrogance and an I’m-better-than you attitude, this is clearly seen by the quite rude and often times sarcastic manner in which he talks to most people around him. Byakuya is also a shining example of what a shingami should be as he is extremely law-abiding, this devotion to the law is also heightened by the fact that he is a descendant of a noble family to Byakuya it is the responsibility of the Nobles to lead by example if they do not obey the rules of Soul Society then who will. Byakuya is a nobleman to the core and appears to be unflinching in his devotion to his duty even after Rukia has been sentenced to execution. In his mind regardless of whatever conflicts he may have been feeling on the inside his duty as nobleman and a shingami was to uphold the law and word of the 46 chambers; no feelings he may have would be allowed get in the way of his duty as a result of this his outer shell never cracks or shows anything other than his typically cold exterior.

There have only been two occasions when Byakuya stepped out of the bounds of his Noble responsibilities, firstly when he married his wife Hisana and secondly when he adopted Rukia into the Kuchiki family. His marriage to Hisana was looked down upon as she was not of noble descent and in the Kuchiki family the mixing of blood between somebody of a noble house and someone from Rukongai was forbidden, for this same reason it was also frowned upon when Byakuya adopted Rukia into the Kuchiki family. Rukia was the sister of Byakuyas late wife Hisana whom abandoned Rukia when they lived in Rukongai as the responsibility of raising her was too much, this decision was one that Hisana always regretted and on her death bed she asked Byakuya to find her sister and use his power to protect her. He did this by adopting Rukia into the Kuchiki family at which point he swore to himself on his parent’s grave that he would never again break any laws or overstep the bounds of Nobility. Byakuyas Zanpkautos name is Senbon Zakura (thousand cherry blossoms) in its unreleased form looks just like an ordinary Katana. To release his shikai Byakuya uses the simple phrase Shire·(scatter) at which point the blade of his zanpakuto seems to disappear, in actuality the blade has scattered into one thousand blades so small they can only be seen when they reflect the light and appear to twinkle in a manner extremely similar to scattered and falling cherry petals. His Bankai Senbon Zakura Kageyoshi is fundamentally the same as his shikai just with an increased level of power, after dropping his blade into the ground two rows of swords rise out of the ground next to Byakuya at which point the blades scatter again, however, in his bankai attack the sheer volume of the blades and speed of the attack mean that most people cannot even see it coming never mind actually dodging it. Byakuyas bankai also has a final stage Hakuteiken or white imperial blade where he gathers all the scattered blades of Senbon Zakura Kageyoshi and reforms them into a single white blade.But al last, he fall to Ichigo after the horrible fight with Hollow-Ichigo.Byakuya later risked his life to protect Rukia when Gin striked her.Somehow, he survived and continue his life.