Rangiku Matsumoto

Rangiku Matsumoto
Lieutenant of Division 10
H: -cm W: -kg Blood type: – Birthday: -
Zanpakutou: Haineko (Ash Cat)
Bankai: none
First Appearance: Manga chapter | Anime episode

Rangiku Matsumoto is the Lieutenant of Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya in the 10th Division of the Gotei 13. She is an attractive woman with blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair. But her most prominent feature is her enormous breasts, which are likely the largest of all female characters in Bleach, outranking even Orihime Inuoe.

Before becoming a Shinigami, Rangiku was an orphan living in the Rukongai slums of Soul Society before she was rescued by Gin Ichimaru. She has a deep friendship with Gin and was shocked when Gin betrayed Soul Society with Aizen and Tousen.

Rangiku has a free spirited personality and not at all reserved about how she dresses. Although she wears the standard Shinigami uniform, Rangiku likes to keep her robes loose revealing her ample bosoms for everyone to see. She has a love for saké, and becomes even more relaxed after a few drinks. She has no reservations about complaining about her large breasts in casual conversation and no qualms about using them to get what she wants. Despite her lazy-like demeanor, Rangiku gets along well with her more serious Captain. This is likely because Hitsugaya had met her before he joined the Gotei 13 and they share an inherent trust in each other.

Haineko is the name of Rangiku’s Zanpakutou. It appears as a normally shaped wakizashi (short sword) in its sealed state with the exception that the guard is in the shape of a cat’s head. Haineko’s Shikai release command is “growl”, upon which the sword dissolves into ash. By controlling the flow of the ash, Rangiku can cut her opponents as easily as she could with a sword.

Toshiro Hitsugaya

Toshiro Hitsugaya
Captain of Division 10
H: 133cm W: 28kg Blood type: – Birthday: December 20
Zanpakutou: Hyourinmaru (Ice Ring)
Bankai: Dai Guren Hyourin Maru (Great Red Ice Ring)
First Appearance: Manga chapter | Anime episode

Hitsugaya is the Captain of the 10th Division and is a distinctively young-looking boy with white hair. He is one of the youngest ever to reach the rank of Captain and is often regarded as a genius. Despite his young age, Hitsugaya has a serious and mature personality. He finds it annoying when others around him act childishly. Although it mean seem his strictness may clash with that of his more easy going lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, the two do actually get along well and respect each other. Hitsugaya’s childhood friend was Momo Hinamori who still often teases him by referring to him with childish names. Hitsugaya has a strong bond with Momo and is very protective of her even if he doesn’t want to admit it.

Before joining the Gotei 13, Hitsugaya lived with Momo and her grandmother in the slums of Rukongai in Soul Society. He had a great deal of spiritual energy inside him which made others around him uneasy, only Momo and her grandmother were kind to him. Hitsugaya stayed behind when Momo entered the Shinigami Academy, but joined as well later on when he met Rangiku Matsumoto for the first time. She advised Hitsugaya that he could better control his reiatsu (spiritual power) if he became a Shinigami.

Hitsugaya’s Zanpakuto is a powerful water-ice based weapon called Hyorinmaru. In its sealed state, Hyorinmaru looks like a normal katana which Hitsugaya carries on his back. The release command for the Shikai state is “sit upon the frosted Heavens” which causes a crescent shaped blade to appear that attaches to the hilt of the Zanpakutou by a chain. Through slashes of his sword, Hitsugaya can release waves of freezing ice and water which takes the form of a dragon. Anything that comes into contact with it has that part of their body frozen, after which the ice quickly spreads to engulf the victim. Hyorinmaru’s Bankai state allows Hitsugaya to fuse himself with the ice dragon and grow large ice wing and tail, as well as partially covering his body in ice armor. Hitsugaya’s water-ice attacks are far more intense in his Bankai form and allow him to freeze enemies to the very core, to the point where they can be shattered to pieces.

Renji Abarai

Renji Abarai
Lieutenant of Division 6
H: 188cm W: 78kg Blood type: A Birthday: August 31
Zanpakutou: Zabimaru (Snake Tail)
Bankai: Hihioō Zabimaru (Baboon King Snake Tail)
First Appearance: Manga  | Anime ep.16

Renji Abarii is a rebellious looking Shinigami with bright red hair and intricate tattoos covering his body. He is also fond of wearing elaborate headwear, commonly expense sunglasses or a white headband. In many aspects, Renji is very similar to Ichigo Kurosaki. They both wear a “tough guy” persona and hate to lose at anything. Although Renji can be driven by pure emotions at times, he will fiercely defend what he believes in and will risk his life to protect those important to him. Like Ichigo, Renji loves a good challenge and will go all out to defeat a strong foe.

Renji and Rukia grew up together with other orphans in the Rukongai slums if Soul Society. They discovered that they had strong spiritual powers and joined the Shinigami Academy. Renji held a strong affection for Rukia, and although he did not say so, he was greatly saddened when Rukia was adopted by the Kuchiki noble family. Renji was separated from Rukia and joined the 5th Division under Sousuke Aizen and Gin Ichimaru. Because of his rebellious nature, Aizen had him transferred to the 6th Division under Byakuya Kuchiki. Although Renji has a deep respect for his Captain, his greatest dream is to surpass Byakuya.

From his Academy days, Renji was not very proficient with even the simplest of kido spells. However, he was second to none when it came to his swordsmanship. Renji’s Zanpakutou is called Zabimaru and has the ability to manifest its spiritual form: a nue – which is a Japanese mythological creature that is a baboon with a snake’s head for a tail. Similar to Renji, Zabimaru is proud and loves a good fight. In its sealed form, Zabimaru resembles a normal katana. The Shikari command is “howl”, after which Zabimaru transforms to a long segmented blade with jagged protrusions on every section. Renji may use his Zanpakutou like a whip, but must recoil it after three consecutive attacks to allow it to recover. Zabimaru’s Bankai state transforms it into a massive skeletal snake with its segments held together by spiritual energy. Renji can regenerate and reattach each segment if it is cut off or otherwise damaged. Although powerful, Zabimaru’s Bankai form is difficult to harness because it can waste much spiritual energy if not controlled fully.

Byakuya Kuchiki

Byakuya Kuchiki
Captain of Division 6
H: 189cm W: 80kg Blood type: O Birthday: January 31
Zanpakutou: Senbonzakura (A Thousand Cherry Blossoms)
Bankai: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Vibrant Display of the Thousand Cherry Blossoms)
First Appearance: Manga chapter | Anime episode

Byakuya Kuchiki comes from the noble clan of the Kuchiki, one of the four great noble houses in Soul Society. The white silk scarf and head pieces Byakuya wears on his head are symbols of his status as the current head of the Kuchiki clan. He is a very collected man who has a aura of aloofness about him and wastes little words with those he believes are lower than himself.

Fifty five years before the start of Bleach, Byakuya married a girl named Hisana in Soul Society. Because Hisana was a commoner, Byakuya broke the rules of the Kuchiki clan by marrying her. He used his authority as the head of the clan to quell any objections. Unfortunately, a few years
later Hisana died from a disease. Her last wish was for Byakuya to find her biological sister, Rukia, whom she abandoned in Rukongai (one of the slums in Soul Society) before marrying into the Kuchiki house. Byakuya found Rukia when she entered the Shinigami Academy, but broke the rules again by adopting her into the Kuchiki house. Byakuya swore on the grave of his parents that he would never break the rules again. This is why he forced himself to enforce the orders for Rukia’s execution during the events of the Soul Society arc even though, on the inside, he wanted to save her.

Byakuya is known for highly efficient and fast fighting styles in combat. Having learned from Yoriuchi at a young age, Byakuya is an expert in using flash steps to close in almost instantly with his opponent. Byakuya also utilizes very high level kido techniques to supplement his sword fighting, some of which require almost no incantations to execute. Senbonzkura is Byakuya’s Zanpakutou which looks like an ordinary katana in its sealed state. The Shikai command is “scatter” upon which the blade of his Zanpakutou will separate into thousands of tiny blades. Each blade can be controlled by Byakuya at will, thus allowing him to attack his opponent from any angle. The effect of lighting shining off the blades makes them resemble sakura blossom petals. Byakuya’s Bankai is called Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and is essentially a larger version of the Shikai form. After Byakuya drops his sword into the ground, two rows of blades rise up around Byakuya and his opponent. Byakuya can use these blades as normal swords or have them scatter, creating millions of tiny blades at his disposal.