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Jūshirō Ukitake (浮竹 十四郎, Ukitake JūshirÅ�?) is the captain of the 13th Division. He suffers from tuberculosis, and so has a sickly appearance and long hair that has turned white. His illness acts as an inhibition for him throughout the series; if he fights for too long, or even becomes too agitated, the illness flares up. He is forced to leave most of his duties as a captain to his subordinates so that he can rest. Despite this, Ukitake is respected by many Soul Reapers for his honesty, loyalty, and personal sense of justice. He and his friend Shunsui Kyōraku are two of the oldest captains in the Gotei 13, both having trained under General Yamamoto thousands of years before the current Bleach storyline.

Ukitake’s zanpakutō is Sōgyo no Kotowari (双魚の理, Sōgyo no Kotowari? literally “truth of Pisces”; translated in the English manga as “law of the twin fish”). It is released with the command “Waves rise now and become my shield. Lightning strike now and become my blade” (波悉く�ˆ‘ã��盾となれ雷悉く我が刃となれ, nami kotogotoku waga tate to nare, ikazuchi kotogotoku waga yaiba to nare?, more literally “Every wave be my shield, every thunder become my blade”).[20] In Sōgyo no Kotowari’s released state, it splits into two thin blades resembling fishing javelins, making it one of the zanpakutō in Soul Society to exist as a pair. While the anime and manga have yet to depict what special abilities it possesses, some Bleach video games portray it as having the ability to manipulate water and electricity.



Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki (Japanese), Kim Strauss (English)
Kaien Shiba (志波 �·ç‡�, Shiba Kaien?) was the lieutenant of the 13th Division under Jūshirō Ukitake and was considered something of a prodigy. He was reluctant to take the position, feeling that there were others more deserving of the job. He closely resembled Ichigo Kurosaki in both appearance and personality, something that is brought up multiple times in the series. Though he had a good relationship with all of his subordinates, he was particularly close with Rukia Kuchiki; he taught her how to fight and helped her find a place within the 13th Division. Unlike other Soul Reapers, Kaien treated Rukia like any other, not judging her by the name Kuchiki, which in turn helped her to gain some self-confidence. After his wife was killed by a hollow, Kaien went out to kill the hollow to seek revenge. He was possessed by the hollow in the process and attacked Rukia, who killed him in self-defense. Though he thanked her for doing so and apologized for his actions, Rukia forever feels guilty about her role in his death.

The hollow that possessed Kaien was designed to return to Hueco Mundo when killed. Still merged with the hollow at the time, the two were sent back as one entity. The hollow was eventually consumed by Aaroniero Arruruerie, who was able to use Kaien’s appearance and abilities, namely his zanpakutō, Nejibana (捩花, Nejibana? Japanese name for the Spiranthes, translated in the English manga as “twisted flower”). When released with the command “rankle the seas and the skies” (水天逆巻け, suiten sakamake?), Nejibana transforms into a crystalline cross between a trident and a ji. In this form it has the ability to manipulate water and can create shockwaves to split the enemy in two. Rukia is able to defeat Aaroniero despite his taking the appearance of Kaien, freeing her mentor at long last.




Kiyone Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura (Japanese), Jeannie Elias (English)
Sentarō Voiced by: Kōichi Tōchika (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)
Kiyone Kotetsu (虎徹 清�Ÿ³, Kotetsu Kiyone?) and Sentarō Kotsubaki (小�� �»™å��郎, Kotsubaki Sentarō?) are both the 3rd Seat of the 13th Division. They share the duties of the lieutenant, though neither appear suited for the actual position. They squabble quite often, each believing that they are more respectful of their captain than the other is. They both mean well, but are highly competitive and constantly critical of the other (to further their rivalry, they also happen to share the same birthday, September 22). Kiyone is the younger sister of Isane Kotetsu.



Rukia Kuchiki (朽木 ルキア, Kuchiki Rukia?), though talented enough for a position as a seated officer, has been made ineligible by order of her older brother, Byakuya Kuchiki.



Tessai Tsukabishi (握菱 テッサイ, Tsukabishi Tessai?) is the Kidō Corps Chief (鬼道衆総帥, Kidōshū Sōshi?) and Grand Kidō Captain (大鬼道長, Dai Kidōchō?) during the Turn Back the Pendulum gaiden. He has since left Soul Society and now works at the Urahara Shop.



Hachigen Ushōda (有昭田 鉢玄, Ushōda Hachigen?) is the Vice Kidō Captain (副鬼道長, Fuku Kidōchō?) under Tessai Tsukabishi during the Turn Back the Pendulum gaiden. He leaves Soul Society after becoming a visored.

Kirio Hikifune (曳舟 桐生, Hikifune Kirio?) left the 12th Division soon before the start of the Turn Back the Pendulum gaiden under the guise of retirement. In actuality, she was transferred to the Zero Division. Her lieutenant, Hiyori Sarugaki, thought of her as a mother-figure. She was succeeded by Kisuke Urahara.



Hiyori Sarugaki (猿柿 ひよ里, Sarugaki Hiyori?) is the lieutenant of the 12th Division under Kisuke Urahara during the Turn Back the Pendulum gaiden. She was also the lieutenant of Urahara’s predecessor, Kirio Hikifune. She leaves Soul Society after becoming a Visored.



Kisuke Urahara (浦原 喜助, Urahara Kisuke?), once the 3rd Seat of the 2nd Division, replaces Kirio Hikifune as the captain of the 12th Division during the Turn Back the Pendulum gaiden. His hollowfication experiments and a ploy formed by Sōsuke Aizen cause him to be exiled to the human world a century before the start of the series.



Mayuri Kurotsuchi (涅 マユ�ª, Kurotsuchi Mayuri?) was once the 3rd Seat of the 12th Division, having been recruited by then captain Kisuke Urahara to help him with his research. He replaced Urahara as captain sometime after Urahara left Soul Society.



Nemu Kurotsuchi (涅 ネ���, Kurotsuchi Nemu?) is the lieutenant of the 12th Division. She is the artificially created daughter of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, a combination of his research in artificial bodies (ç¾�骸, gigai?) and artificial souls (義魂, gikon?).⎟] This past has driven her to become rather introverted and melancholic, preferring to stay silent in her captain’s presence. Their relationship is far from the average father-daughter one, as Mayuri doesn’t seem to care much for Nemu’s well-being (even using her as bait in combat). The most that can be said in his favor is that he has occasionally implied concern over her life as a point of personal pride in his own skill as her creator. Despite being abused and mistreated in every possible way by her father, Nemu still shows great loyalty to him, and has openly expressed worry at the prospect of his death. Unlike her father, however, she seems to have compassion for others, saving Uryū Ishida’s life as thanks when he does not kill Mayuri.

Nemu’s body was designed to withstand fatal wounds, though she still suffers the pain brought on by her injuries. This extends to being able to survive impregnation by Szayel Aporro Granz, a process meant to bring him back to life while leaving her as an empty husk. Mayuri can repair Nemu very quickly in these situations, allowing her to continue doing her father’s bidding. Nemu is also immune to Mayuri’s many poisons. Despite this, she carries around a variety of antidotes to be used as she sees fit. She also holds various poisons and potions derived from Mayuri’s research in her own body, making her highly dangerous to those that attack her internally. Nemu does not normally carry a zanpakutō, but she is shown to have one in an illustration in the artbook “All Color but the Black”. Her zanpakutō takes the form of what appears to be a thin katana.



Rin Tsubokura (壷府 リン, Tsubokura Rin?) is a character originally created by Tite Kubo as a mascot for the Japanese Bleach-Fan news site. He regularly interacts with Ichigo Kurosaki’s seiyū in brief video segments on the site. Later, he was brought into the manga and anime as scientist of the 12th Division. He has an obsession with candy and any other sort of sweets, jumping at the chance to visit the real world just to buy sweets unavailable in Soul Society. He is just as timid and simple minded as Hanatarō Yamada. He usually runs and hides from any assignment and is surprised at his willingness to go to the real world. Although androgynous, Rin is directly referred to as “he”.

Kenpachi Zaraki (更木 剣八, Zaraki Kenpachi?) is the most recent captain of the 11th Division. Like all of his predecessors, he has earned the title of “Kenpachi”; the best warrior among all of the Soul Reapers.



Yachiru Kusajishi (草鹿 やちã‚‹, Kusajishi Yachiru?) is the lieutenant of the 11th Division. She is child-like in most respects, as she is small, cheerful, and carefree most of the time. She was found as an infant by Kenpachi Zaraki who, despite being drenched in blood, did not frighten her. He named her “Yachiru” in memory of the only person he ever admired. Since that day she has spent much of her time clinging to his back for transport. Like Zaraki, she has no sense of direction, even though he relies on her to find his way. Yachiru resents being criticized in any way and will often attack the perpetrator in comical fashion. Further reflecting her child-like nature, Yachiru likes to give people nicknames; for example, she calls her captain Ken-chan (“Kenny” in the English version). She also tends to give others random placeholder names. Various Bleach omakes show that Yachiru has a love for candy, which is often used by other characters to make her leave them alone.

Despite her child-like appearance, Yachiru is apparently quite strong, being capable of lifting Kenpachi and leaping between buildings while carrying him. She is also very fast for her size. She can emit a large amount of spiritual power when angry, which forms into a large, pink, angry cat face. The name and ability of Yachiru’s zanpakutō are both unknown. She carries her zanpakutō around with a loose cord, rather than at the sash of her uniform. Her zanpakutō’s scabbard is also unusual in that it has a pair of wheels for transport (installed by Ikkaku Madarame after continued pestering). Her guard appears to be in the shape of a flower. [16]



Ikkaku Madarame (斑�® ä��角, Madarame Ikkaku?) is the 3rd Seat of the 11th Division. He is a bald, battle-loving man. He fought and was defeated by Kenpachi Zaraki sometime in the past, though was strong enough to survive the battle. Once Zaraki became captain of the 11th Division, Ikkaku and his friend Yumichika Ayasegawa joined the Soul Reapers so that they could fight and die under Zaraki’s command. He shares a number of similarities with his captain; he feels insecure if he doesn’t have a sword, prolongs battles so that he can get as much enjoyment from them as possible, and smiles near-constantly when fighting for his life. He is purportedly the second strongest man in the division.[17] Though strong enough to take a position as a captain, Ikkaku insists his one mission in life is to die under the command of Zaraki.

Ikkaku’s zanpakutō is Hōzukimaru (é��灯丸, Hōzukimaru? referring to the Japanese name for the winter cherry, which translates to “demon light”). Though ordinary in appearance, he stores a blood-clotting ointment in its hilt. When released with the command “extend” (延びろ, nobiro?), it transforms into a naginata with a wax wood shaft.[18] While he usually treats it as such, he can also turn it into a three section staff to surprise the opponent. Ikkaku has achieved bankai, though he keeps this a secret to most characters so that he isn’t pressured to become a captain. Hōzukimaru’s bankai, named Ryūmon Hōzukimaru (龍紋鬼灯丸, Ryūmon Hōzukimaru? literally “dragon-crest demon light”), takes the form of three oversized weapons connected by a thick chain: two blades in each of his hands and a fan-shaped blade, adorned with a carving of a Chinese dragon, which floats behind him. Aside from the increase in power, his bankai offers no special abilities, and is noted to be unusual for a bankai in this respect. As a fight progresses, the dragon crest will slowly begin to glow crimson, increasing its power as it does so. Ikkaku states that this is because Hōzukimaru, unlike his wielder, is a “lazy bum” and must be woken up in battle before it can reach full power.


Yumichika Ayasegawa (綾瀬川 弓親, Ayasegawa Yumichika?) is a lifelong friend of Ikkaku Madarame. He values Ikkaku’s opinion very highly and tends to follow him everywhere. The two joined the Soul Reapers so that they could serve under Kenpachi Zaraki. Yumichika wanted to become the 3rd Seat, as he thought three (三, san) was the most beautiful kanji. Since Ikkaku took that position, Yumichika settled for 5th Seat, thinking that five (五, go) looks almost like a three and that the kanji for four (四, yon) looks ugly. He has colorful feathers on his eyelashes and eyebrow, and shiny skin and hair, giving him a rather womanly appearance in the early manga. Narcissistic and vain, Yumichika judges everyone and everything by beauty. He goes so far as to try to forget things he deems “ugly” after seeing them, and even tries fighting ugly opponents with his eyes closed.

Yumichika’s zanpakutō is Ruriiro Kujaku (瑠璃色孔雀, Ruriiro Kujaku? literally “azure peacock”), a kidō-type zanpakutō. However, since the 11th Division has an unspoken rule that zanpakutō are only to be used for direct attack, Yumichika keeps this fact secret. According to himself, he would risk dying to conceal his zanpakuto’s true power. To conceal it, he releases it using the command “bloom” (咲け, sake?) and the name Fuji Kujaku (藤孔雀, Fuji Kujaku? literally “wisteria peacock”), which annoys his sword and causes it to take up a weakened form consisting of a sickle-shaped blade which can split into four identical blades. When confident he will be able to keep it a secret, he uses its real name and releases it with the command “split and deviate” (裂き狂え, sakikurue?). Doing so causes the blades to split into vines which bind the opponent and feed on their spiritual pressure, leaving them incapable of fighting. He is trying to learn bankai, but because Ruriiro Kujaku is just as narcissistic as himself, Yumichika has had difficulty getting along with it, making bankai a challenge to achieve.



Maki Ichinose (一�‹ç€� 真��, Ichinose Maki?), introduced during the anime’s Bount arc, left the 11th Division after Kenpachi Zaraki killed the previous captain. He traveled the human world, but one day, while in a weakened state in a desert, he fell upon a hollow that almost killed him; the hollow was subdued by Jin Kariya, who allowed Maki to kill it. Maki swore his loyalty to Jin after that, only breaking the vow once to fight Zaraki. He helps the Bount infiltrate Soul Society, though is killed by Kariya once his purpose is fulfilled. His zanpakutō later helps in Kariya’s defeat, acting as a lightning rod for Kariya’s attacks. Maki’s zanpakutō is called Nijigasumi (虹霞, Nijigasumi? literally “rainbow mist”). When released with the command “flash and burst” (光華閃け, kōka hirameke?), Nijigasumi glows with rainbow colors and has the ability to control light for various purposes. It can make Maki turn invisible or douse the area in light, playing havoc with opponents’ counterattacks. It can also use light offensively, creating blades of light to cut or crush opponents.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya (日番谷 冬獅郎, Hitsugaya Tōshirō?) is the captain of the 10th Division, and the youngest captain in the history of Soul Society.




Rangiku Matsumoto (松本 乱菊, Matsumoto Rangiku?) is the lieutenant of the 10th Division. She has strawberry-blonde hair and large breasts. She makes no effort to conceal the latter, wearing loose-fitting robes that expose much of her cleavage, using them to try to win over male characters, and using them as a topic in casual conversation. She is very carefree and lazy, usually avoiding the jobs of a lieutenant so that she can sleep or go drinking. Despite her avoiding her responsibilities, Matsumoto can be serious when need be, and often gives important and useful advice. Matsumoto has known Gin Ichimaru since they were children, and spent much of their childhood living together and looking out for each other. They remain close after joining the Soul Reapers, though she is surprised when he later betrays Soul Society. She recruited her captain, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, into the Soul Reapers and the two have grown close ever since. She has an unwavering loyalty and devotion for him and frequently tries to get him to lighten up and have some fun. Matsumoto’s zanpakutō is Haineko (灰猫, Haineko? literally “ash cat”). Its guard is in the shape of a cat’s head. When released with the command “growl” (唸れ, unare?), it dissolves into ash, which Matsumoto can then control to cut through objects as easily as a sword would. Because Haineko is just as lazy as herself, Matsumoto has had difficulty achieving bankai.