Bleach/Characters/Two Point One

Characters that appeared in Tite Kubo's Bleach. This page deals with Aizen's faction.


 * For the main characters, go to Bleach.
 * For Gotei 13 characters, go to Bleach.
 * For Non-Gotei 13 Soul Reapers, Visoreds, and Fullbringers, go to Bleach.
 * For the Arrancars, go to Bleach.
 * For the denizens of Karakura Town and the Soul Society, go to Bleach.
 * For the Vandenreich, go to Bleach.
 * For the anime-only characters, go to Bleach.

Contains spoilers
In case you're wondering, the Sliding Scale of Villain Effectiveness puts them at Infinite, since they won... well, every fight. Likewise, the Sliding Scale of Villain Threat has the group at a section between National and Global Threat.

Sosuke Aizen
Species: Shinigami Affiliation: Soul Society (formerly) / Las Noches Zanpakutou: Kyōka Suigetsu

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At first, Aizen presents himself as the affable and gentle Captain of the 5th squad. During the Soul Society arc, he is apparently murdered for investigating the Government Conspiracy behind Rukia Kuchiki's unusually harsh treatment by Central 46 following her arrest. In truth, he masterminded said conspiracy--and many more--in an elaborate gambit to acquire the Hogyoku (read:MacGuffin) which opposing Chessmaster Urahara Kisuke had hidden in Rukia's gigai in an equally elaborate bid to destroy it. After revealing himself and retreating from Soul Society, he takes up residence in the world of Hollows, Hueco Mundo, and uses the aforementioned MacGuffin to create the Arrancar army, in hopes of eventually finding the King's Key and becoming 'the one to stand atop heavens'. He is noted for his extraordinarily powerful abilities, Kick the Dog tendencies, elaborate schemes, and mysterious aura. His Zanpakuto is Kyoka Suigetsu, where he can trick you with his near-perfect illusions. After five long years, Aizen was finally defeated

"Voiced by: Show Hayami (JP), Kyle Hebert (US)"

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 * Above Good and Evil: While explaining that several people have tried to break the boundaries between Hollows and Shinigami, or otherwise surpass their limits, he says that they failed either because they simply lacked the potential, or they were held back by morality and ethics. Later, he gets angry with Urahara for letting his sense of right and wrong stop him from trying to change the world.
 * The Ace: There are multiple superpower lotteries in Bleach, and Aizen never took home less than the bronze in any of them. That said, he may also be a deconstruction of The Ace: how long can one person be that much better at everything than virtually everyone around him before he develops a god complex and starts crossing the Moral Event Horizon just because no one can stop him?
 * Achilles Heel: His shikai can be countered by
 * Actually a Doombot: Uses his illusions for it, or Gin (to distract Komamura in the Seireitei Hill) and
 * Adaptive Ability:
 * Advancing Boss of Doom:
 * A God Am I: "No one has ever stood in the Heavens. Not you, not me, not even God, but soon, that unbearable vacancy on the throne in the sky will be filled. From now on... I will stand in Heaven!"
 * He built an artificial sky, possibly with spying capabilities.
 * Always Someone Better: While Aizen is said to be one of the most powerful Shinigami, and possesses something of Jack of All Stats status with all the advantages that implies, the following also applies:
 * Aizen acknowledged Urahara as being the only shinigami in Soul Society who had greater intelligence than him.
 * Yamamoto has more raw destructive power and is physically stronger.
 * Ichigo has more reiatsu.
 * And I Must Scream:
 * Anticlimax Boss: Gets inflicted by this from, who even addressed it to some degree.
 * Arch Enemy: He's earned the hatred of a good number of characters throughout the series.
 * Every single Visored wants him dead.
 * Hitsugaya was willing to risk losing his captaincy if it meant avenging Hinamori.
 * Komamura blames Aizen for what happened to Tousen.
 * Baraggan had his formerly prosperous authority overruled and found himself forcibly subjugated under Aizen's wing.
 * , of all people, given that Aizen stole a piece of 's soul for the Hogyoku.
 * Possibly subverted with Rukia; he created the Hollow responsible for killing her mentor, but we've had no indication to date how she feels about that.
 * Another subversion comes from Byakuya; while it's perfectly logical to assume that he's not at all happy with Aizen messing around with Rukia's life and feelings, we never get a chance to see him express that on-screen.
 * Inverted with Urahara; he hates Urahara's willingness to maintain the status quo, but we don't have any idea how Urahara really feels about Aizen. All we know is that the vast majority of this manga so far has been driven by what amounts to a chess game between the two, for what goal is still unknown.
 * Averted with Ichigo. Aizen himself even addressed it.
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Tortured Momo and Orihime repeatedly, killed off several of his own underlings, done everything on the Karma Houdini page besides remaining unscathed, and messed with Arrancar Research Time.
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: As Captain of the 5th Division. And the inversion...
 * Asskicking Equals Authority: The Arrancar follow him partly because of his strength, and partly because of his lack of fear.
 * Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: After Komamura and Hisagi beat Tousen, Aizen (apparently) finishes him off.
 * Be Careful What You Wish For: He wished for Ichigo to become very powerful, so that he would have a Worthy Opponent. Problem is, he got what he asked for...and more.
 * Badass Bookworm: As "Captain" Aizen.
 * Bad Boss: After The Reveal, yes. Very much yes.
 * Barehanded Blade Block: He can block a sword with one finger.
 * Berserk Button: Finally pressed when Ichigo gained the upper hand over him in battle leading to a Villainous Breakdown, but he reserved the full madness of it for Urahara whom he feels is a traitor to their vast intellects to not side with his view of the world and Spirit King.
 * Beware the Superman: Apparently, the reason he turned evil was that he discovered early that he was so much more powerful than everyone around him, even Captains, and just couldn't or wouldn't empathize with them due to the sheer power difference.
 * Beyond the Impossible: He wants the Hogyoku because it can break the physical laws separating shinigami and the divine.
 * Big Bad: Aside from anime-only villains, both in fillers and movies, virtually everything that happened in the series' run has him involved - or personally responsible - in some way.
 * Bigger Bad: Although he definitely played a role in the Hueco Mundo arc (primarily involving Orihime), Aizen was noticeably less involved overall, whereas the majority of the screen time was given to the Espada.
 * Disc One Final Boss: Seems to be shaping up as one. Following the six years (real-time) that it took for him to finally face defeat, Word of God confirmed that point marked the story being half over (cue jokes from the Japanese voice actors that this meant the story would continue for another ten years).
 * Non-Action Big Bad: During the Arrancar Invasion and Hueco Mundo arcs, as well as half of the Fake Karakura arc, but in the last case, it was because he was trapped.
 * Predecessor Villain: Started getting this treatment following the Time Skip.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Maybe one of the BEST examples ever, given that he ended up as the Big Bad for the rest of the series afterward.
 * Bishounen: Compare Captain Aizen, to Aizen after The Reveal.
 * Board to Death: Aizen to the Central 46.
 * Body Horror: The Shapeshifter Swan Song mish-mash his "final" form is, which is turned up to eleven when  It's worse when you realize he has no idea what's happening to him at first. The form prior to that also counts.
 * By the Power of Greyskull: "Shatter - Kyoka Suigetsu."
 * Calling Your Attacks: He hardly if ever does this, but the final Kido he uses really takes the cake for how long it is.
 * By the Power of Greyskull: "Shatter - Kyoka Suigetsu."
 * Calling Your Attacks: He hardly if ever does this, but the final Kido he uses really takes the cake for how long it is.
 * Calling Your Attacks: He hardly if ever does this, but the final Kido he uses really takes the cake for how long it is.

""The Aizen you knew...never even existed.""
 * Combat Pragmatist: His primary method of fighting is either catching his opponents completely by surprise with his Shikai or verbally taunting them into making mistakes, and then striking when their guard is down.
 * Complete Monster: He planned to invoke this against Ichigo, when he said that he'd string the corpses of Ichigo's friends on display for the latter to see. It's the mildest he's ever thought to achieve, with his track record.
 * Complete Immortality: As of Deicide arc.
 * Complexity Addiction: Aizen spent decades experimenting on hollows to produce one that could neutralize Yamamoto's zanpakutou. He spent years experimenting on producing powerful enough Arrancar that it would draw out the Gotei 13 from Soul Society into a position where they could be openly attacked and fought and... in the end, he simply does the job himself. Lampshaded by Aizen himself who does express disappointment that after all this effort and planning, it was amazing to think he could simply do the job by himself, after all. However, there was an indication much, much earlier in the manga from Isshin and Urahara that Aizen might simply be using his new arrancar to experiment with their power levels for some purpose.
 * Covert Pervert: Mentioned once in an Episode preview. To measure Orihime, Aizen used his eyes to get the right measurements for her uniform. Yes, you read it right; he basically undressed Orihime with his eyes.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: What his battles are when anyone else takes him on. Inverted by
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: Explains his evil plan to Ichigo...twice, lying at some point although he's so proud of his habit of mixing truth and lies to create his own reality that it's not certain where he's lied and where he's told the truth, and adjusts his plans to account for the possibility that the heroes might win. Encourages Ichigo to grow stronger only because he needs him to be,, stomps the Gotei 13 by relying consistently on his most broken ability rather than something Awesome Yet Impractical (despite being strong enough to take them all on normally anyway), and calculates exactly what buttons to press for each character that would take them off their game.
 * Diabolical Mastermind: he defected from the law-abiding Soul Society and upgraded the army he had been building (but at a lower power level) as part of a vast scheme he had been developing for decades.
 * Drunk With Power: He went a little crazy with power after his increasingly unnatural power upgrades left him feeling more and more as though his plans were unfolding flawlessly. Turned out to be a case of Hoist By His Own Petard.
 * Drunk On the Dark Side: The stronger Aizen gets, the more visibly unstable he becomes.
 * Eldritch Abomination: Inverted; he views the Spirit King in this light.
 * Evil Counterpart: To Kisuke Urahara, note the similar-sounding given names. They're both super-geniuses who tend to use their allies like pawns and enjoy Trolling allies and enemies alike. Except that Urahara actually cares about his allies in the end.
 * Could also have been an evil counterpart to Toshiro Hitsugaya. As a kid, Aizen was ostracized due to how powerful he was. He decided to become even more powerful as a result, which turned him into the loveable bastard we all know. After Momo went to the Shinigami Academy, Toshiro's spiritual energy began to freeze everything around him, and he could have gone the same way as Aizen had he not met Rangiku. It's notable that of all the available captains, it's always Hitsugaya Aizen targets first.
 * Evil Genius: His entire Xanatos Gambit in the Soul Society arc firmly entrenches him as one.
 * Evil Overlord: Residing within his enormous white-clad fortress of Las Noches, located at the very center of Hueco Mundo, Aizen directly commands an army of powerful warriors called Arrancar, from Numeros to Fraccion and Espada, through added charisma, immense strength and unflappable fearlessness, but has no qualms manipulating, betraying and killing them whenever he's in the mood for it.
 * Evil Sorceror: Can use up to Level 90 Kido spells without the incantation, though apparently he can't get them to full power.
 * Evil Sounds Deep: He's voiced by Show Hayami, so it should be expected.
 * Faking the Dead: And HOW.
 * Faux Affably Evil: "We'll talk about the intruders in a minute. But first, does everyone have their tea?"
 * Flat Character: Unlike several other antagonists, Aizen's primary role as a character is to be Mr. Exposition, The Chessmaster and an Arch Enemy to anyone not named Ichigo, Rukia or Urahara.
 * Forgot About His Powers:
 * For the Evulz: There isn't really a better explanation for half the things he does. He's just that big a dick. Lampshaded once by Gin who tells Aizen to his face that he's only doing certain things to have fun. Aizen doesn't deny it.
 * Fountain of Expies: Studio Pierrot liberally recycles aspects of Aizen's character into their own antagonists for Bleach, in no small part due to the impact he made to the series. It's also inverted; instead of other series taking their cues from Aizen, Studio Pierrot used Aizen as a template for anime-exclusive villains of the same series.
 * Jin Kariya of the Bount arc? A manipulative, backstabbing chessmaster who smirks a lot, frequently betrays his allies, and mopped the floor with The Hero for many of their fights.
 * Shusuke Amagai of the New Captain arc? A captain that portrays himself as a Reasonable Authority Figure with an amicable disposition, who ends up being the mastermind behind a conspiracy.
 * Kouga Kuchiki of the Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arc? A Person of Mass Destruction that gets sealed away for years, mistreats his subordinates, betrays his most loyal ally by stabbing through their chest and possesses a sense-manipulating illusion ability, He faces his defeat at the hands of someone "beneath" him.
 * Kageroza Inaba of the Invading Army arc? A traitorous, overpowered, glasses-wearing Shinigami that pretends to be polite and amicable, possessing an acute expertise with science, who becomes master of his own realm. He single-handedly creates an army of captain-level Evil Counterparts, invades the personal space of males and females alike, expresses interest in (and actively goes after) a much younger girl, and covertly uses the Central 46 to continue his work behind the scenes.
 * Even the manga is getting in on the act. Shukuro Tsukishima is a constantly smiling Manipulative Bastard with a unique special ability that he uses for Mind Rape; he even resembles Aizen by a bit.
 * Even FANON is starting now, one of the better examples is this man, who ventures almost from being an Expy into Copy Cat Sue territory.
 * Freudian Excuse: Suggested by Ichigo that he went crazy due to Lonely At the Top and wanted to create someone on the same level as he was.  It doesn't even begin to justify a single one of the heinous crimes he committed.
 * The Glasses Come Off: At the end of the Soul Society arc.
 * Good Hair, Evil Hair: Slicking his hair back is the first thing he does after revealing his evilness.
 * Hannibal Lecture: Aizen seems prone to these, both right after The Reveal that he's indeed the Big Bad of the series, and to both
 * I Just Want to Have Friends: After Ichigo and Aizen have their great battle, Ichigo is left feeling this was Aizen's deepest reason for way he walked the path he did, along with seeking a Worthy Opponent.
 * I Lied: His excuse to Ichigo when the latter lampshades that he has given a Motive Rant twice - two different ones. Aizen lampshades that if Ichigo thinks he's lying this time, then he shouldn't assume that he wasn't actually lying the first time.
 * Immortality:
 * Implacable Man:
 * Irony: While lieutenant of the 5th Division, Aizen betrayed and nearly killed Captain Hirako. Although Hirako had expected treachery from Aizen, he was caught off-guard by the nature of it. Aizen becomes captain and third-seat Gin Ichimaru becomes lieutenant.
 * Aisslinger mentioned that the reason the Arrancars follow Aizen is because he lacks fear. Later, it was revealed that
 * Every fight involving Aizen has been a Curb Stomp Battle, including the last one, where he's on the receiving end.
 * The Juggernaut:
 * Lack of Empathy: One of his defining traits, really, and by his own admission, he considers morality and empathy as weaknesses which must be expunged in order to reach one's full potential. One can attribute that to his backstory, where he never managed to form any real emotional ties to anyone; he lacks it because he never received it.
 * Lightning Bruiser
 * Mad Scientist: Not as overt about it as Mayuri or Urahara, but he is still a genius that performed highly unethical experiments on shinigami, hollows and ordinary Rukongai souls.
 * The Man Behind the Man: He plays this role in the Soul Society arc until his reveal.
 * Manipulative Bastard: Most especially to Momo Hinamori.
 * Master of Illusion: Kyoka Suigetsu's shikai ability.
 * Moral Event Horizon: The author himself went on record to say that he wanted to make Aizen "more evil" in an interview, so this was every bit as intended as it looked. Aizen made Hinamori extremely loyal to him, using her trust in his word to pit her against her childhood friend (Hitsugaya), in order to keep his cover from getting blown. When he revealed that he faked his death to her, Aizen let Hinamori move in to hug him, before running straight through her chest with his sword and mocking Hitsugaya about it. His psychological tricks were so successful that she still believed he was innocent. Afterward, in the Fake Karakura arc, he used his illusions to
 * Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
 * Nightmare Face: First ever villain in Bleach to have a truly disgusting and deformed face, right
 * Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant:
 * No Saving Throw: There is no resisting his illusions
 * No Sell: At first he seems to be immune to nearly everything the good guys throw at him.
 * Orcus On His Throne: For all of his astonishingly convoluted plans, it was actually possible for him to make his plans go faster and smoother (or skip them altogether, as it turns out), not to mention that since he's hyped up as one of the strongest characters, he hardly uses his full strength when he really should. It's no different from many of the other characters, but still.
 * Justified, though, since it turns out he needed to wait for Ichigo to get stronger (if anything, his plans sped this up) and, later, it turns out
 * Out-Gambitted:
 * Painful Transformation: The final form has his face being split into a black skull and six wings bursting from his back, as well as the pillar of energy revealing this form bursts into blood.
 * The Paragon Always Rebels: He was once the most beloved of the Gotei 13 Captains.
 * Paranoia Fuel: Inflicted this on The Hero. Given the nature of Aizen's abilities, Ichigo briefly experienced this once he confronted Aizen again back at the fake Karakura Town. Aizen played it up for all it was worth.
 * Person of Mass Destruction: Oh. My. God.
 * Physical God: He was determined to become one and at one point firmly believed that's what was happening to him. His opponents... disagreed.
 * Rage Against the Heavens: This is pretty much his modus operandi, with it becoming gradually more evident in the Deicide arc. He wants to remove the Spirit King, and place himself as God. He believed the Hogyouku would help him achieve this aim.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Part of his Xanatos Gambit, where he acted like one to fool everyone else into thinking as such.
 * Sanity Slippage: His Villainous Breakdown is pretty phenomenal, but it's really sealed by the end of his fight with Ichigo; by the time he's utterly defeated, rejected by the Hogyoku as its master, and stripped of all his powers, Aizen's so far gone he doesn't even realize what's going on and thinks he's achieving a higher state. This puts a very different spin on his smug dismissal of the nigh-eternity in solitary confinement he's been sentenced to; rather than being so arrogant because he has a plan, Aizen's arrogance in his final moments might be purely because he literally cannot comprehend that he has lost everything, and there will be no second chance.
 * Satan: If you think about it, there is some elements of an analogy to Lucifer's rise . Once a respected and incredibly gifted Shinigami captain, he sought to challenge the heavens itself, and remove the Spirit King, to make himself God. After
 * And there is his ultimate fate,
 * Say My Name:
 * Scary Shiny Glasses
 * Serial Escalation: How much more powerful can he get and just how many convoluted plans does he have in his brain!?
 * Single-Stroke Battle: Oneshots practically everyone.
 * Smug Snake: Arguably has downgraded from Magnificent Bastard into this once the final battle began.
 * His gradual descent into megalomania was noticeable practically since The Reveal. Similarly, while being able to improvise on the spot and claim bullshit about how anything and everything was a part of his plans, he, for example, failed to deduce the reason for Ichigo's calmer mental state in the real Karakura Town. His previous schemes succeeded in granting him enough mojo to just overwhelm everyone with sheer power, until now, against someone even he's recognized as far more powerful than him, and Aizen is not taking that news very well.
 * The Social Expert: When he bothers to be.
 * The Sociopath: definitely qualifies. Charming facade? Check. Lacks empathy? Check. Violent? Check. Treats people as tools? Check. Manipulative? Check - and how!
 * The Stoic: If Ulquiorra is the prince of this trope, then Aizen is the king. His constant smug smile has remained unbroken for such a long time that any slight alteration in his facade leads to immediate excitement from readers. To give you an idea of how bad it is when and all of fandom went into an uproar because the speech caused Aizen's eyes to widen ever-so-slightly more than normal.
 * Superpower Lottery: There are several lotteries in Bleach, ranging from speed to sheer power to special ability and so on. Aizen basically won them all.
 * Superpower Meltdown: Despite his ever-increasing power, Aizen's claims of shattering the line between Shinigami and Hollow are starting to falter -
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome: While wearing his stylish Las Noches outfit.
 * Talking Is a Free Action: He loves his speeches, and when someone actually tries to subvert this trope, he lampshades it by criticizing them for interrupting him, but considering that his response to someone interrupting one of his speeches normally consists of him promptly cutting down the fool for speaking out of turn, it might as well be.
 * That Man Is Dead: Verbally subverted.
 * Physical God: He was determined to become one and at one point firmly believed that's what was happening to him. His opponents... disagreed.
 * Rage Against the Heavens: This is pretty much his modus operandi, with it becoming gradually more evident in the Deicide arc. He wants to remove the Spirit King, and place himself as God. He believed the Hogyouku would help him achieve this aim.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Part of his Xanatos Gambit, where he acted like one to fool everyone else into thinking as such.
 * Sanity Slippage: His Villainous Breakdown is pretty phenomenal, but it's really sealed by the end of his fight with Ichigo; by the time he's utterly defeated, rejected by the Hogyoku as its master, and stripped of all his powers, Aizen's so far gone he doesn't even realize what's going on and thinks he's achieving a higher state. This puts a very different spin on his smug dismissal of the nigh-eternity in solitary confinement he's been sentenced to; rather than being so arrogant because he has a plan, Aizen's arrogance in his final moments might be purely because he literally cannot comprehend that he has lost everything, and there will be no second chance.
 * Satan: If you think about it, there is some elements of an analogy to Lucifer's rise . Once a respected and incredibly gifted Shinigami captain, he sought to challenge the heavens itself, and remove the Spirit King, to make himself God. After
 * And there is his ultimate fate,
 * Say My Name:
 * Scary Shiny Glasses
 * Serial Escalation: How much more powerful can he get and just how many convoluted plans does he have in his brain!?
 * Single-Stroke Battle: Oneshots practically everyone.
 * Smug Snake: Arguably has downgraded from Magnificent Bastard into this once the final battle began.
 * His gradual descent into megalomania was noticeable practically since The Reveal. Similarly, while being able to improvise on the spot and claim bullshit about how anything and everything was a part of his plans, he, for example, failed to deduce the reason for Ichigo's calmer mental state in the real Karakura Town. His previous schemes succeeded in granting him enough mojo to just overwhelm everyone with sheer power, until now, against someone even he's recognized as far more powerful than him, and Aizen is not taking that news very well.
 * The Social Expert: When he bothers to be.
 * The Sociopath: definitely qualifies. Charming facade? Check. Lacks empathy? Check. Violent? Check. Treats people as tools? Check. Manipulative? Check - and how!
 * The Stoic: If Ulquiorra is the prince of this trope, then Aizen is the king. His constant smug smile has remained unbroken for such a long time that any slight alteration in his facade leads to immediate excitement from readers. To give you an idea of how bad it is when and all of fandom went into an uproar because the speech caused Aizen's eyes to widen ever-so-slightly more than normal.
 * Superpower Lottery: There are several lotteries in Bleach, ranging from speed to sheer power to special ability and so on. Aizen basically won them all.
 * Superpower Meltdown: Despite his ever-increasing power, Aizen's claims of shattering the line between Shinigami and Hollow are starting to falter -
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome: While wearing his stylish Las Noches outfit.
 * Talking Is a Free Action: He loves his speeches, and when someone actually tries to subvert this trope, he lampshades it by criticizing them for interrupting him, but considering that his response to someone interrupting one of his speeches normally consists of him promptly cutting down the fool for speaking out of turn, it might as well be.
 * That Man Is Dead: Verbally subverted.
 * The Stoic: If Ulquiorra is the prince of this trope, then Aizen is the king. His constant smug smile has remained unbroken for such a long time that any slight alteration in his facade leads to immediate excitement from readers. To give you an idea of how bad it is when and all of fandom went into an uproar because the speech caused Aizen's eyes to widen ever-so-slightly more than normal.
 * Superpower Lottery: There are several lotteries in Bleach, ranging from speed to sheer power to special ability and so on. Aizen basically won them all.
 * Superpower Meltdown: Despite his ever-increasing power, Aizen's claims of shattering the line between Shinigami and Hollow are starting to falter -
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome: While wearing his stylish Las Noches outfit.
 * Talking Is a Free Action: He loves his speeches, and when someone actually tries to subvert this trope, he lampshades it by criticizing them for interrupting him, but considering that his response to someone interrupting one of his speeches normally consists of him promptly cutting down the fool for speaking out of turn, it might as well be.
 * That Man Is Dead: Verbally subverted.

"."
 * The Thirty-Six Stratagems: He's used twenty-four of them so far. Go check out the page.
 * Ubermensch: He seems to see himself as one, with Kisuke Urahara as his Last Man, if his is any indication.
 * Ubermensch: He seems to see himself as one, with Kisuke Urahara as his Last Man, if his is any indication.
 * Ubermensch: He seems to see himself as one, with Kisuke Urahara as his Last Man, if his is any indication.


 * Victory Fakeout: Most notably when he.
 * Villainous Breakdown
 * Walking Wasteland: During the Deicide Arc, he's so absurdly powerful that only powerful spirits can survive just being in his presence. Otherwise, humans straight up die (read: explode) and objects literally disintegrate. Best shown in 409, where there's a trail of corpses behind him as a result of this.
 * We Have Reserves: Doesn't care much about losses that his army suffers. He doesn't actually have any reserves, he'd just been waiting for his literal Plot Armor to start growing properly before he got started.
 * Wicked Cultured: During his time as Captain of Squad 5, he taught a popular class in Caligraphy at the Shinigami Academy. When Hueco Mundo is invaded, he is primarily concerned with making sure everybody has their tea before discussing the matter. Also a master swordsman, martial artist and scientist, to the point where the Shinigami Woman’s Association recommended him as a teacher for students who want to become a Badass Bookworm....which suggests he's also a bit of a feminist.
 * Worthy Opponent: After Ichigo and Aizen have their great battle, Ichigo is left feeling this was Aizen's deepest reason for why he walked the path he did, along with I Just Want to Have Friends.
 * Xanatos Wrote This Character
 * The Chessmaster:
 * Crazy Prepared:
 * Manipulative Bastard: What he did to poor Hinamori, mentally and physically, is regarded as his worst act so far. So far. Let's see if he can top it.
 * Xanatos Gambit, Gambit Roulette and Xanatos Speed Chess: Master of these.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:

Gin Ichimaru
Species: Shinigami Affiliation: Soul Society (formerly) / Las Noches Zanpakutou: Shinsō



Gin is the former Captain of the 3rd squad, whose face is forever fixed in Eyes Always Shut and a foxy smile to go along with it. He was also involved in the past with Rangiku, the only person he's shown something resembling more-or-less genuine kindness to. Though suspected as the Big Bad of the Soul Society arc, turns out he's only a subordinate of Aizen, and follows him to Hueco Mundo. He proves to be wildly popular despite his actions -- maybe it's something to do with his playfully good manners, his beautiful voice, and his foxy face. His Zanpakuto is Shinso, where he extends its length to enormous levels, making him appear like a sniper.

As of the Deicide arc, it's revealed that the only reason Gin ever worked with Aizen was to

"Voiced by: Koji Yusa (JP), Doug Erholtz (US)"

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 * Absurdly Sharp Blade: His Bankai definitely counts. Its strength is
 * Actually, That's My Assistant: Non-comedic example; everyone (including the readers) at first thought that he's the Big Bad, but it actually turns out to be the guy above.
 * Affably Evil: Yes, he's Faux Affably Evil too, but he's pretty polite and easygoing despite being one of the scariest men in Bleach. Take a look at his Arrancar Encyclopepia segments.
 * Ambiguous Disorder: Yes. Gin. Is. Not. Normal.
 * Ambiguous Situation: Back when Gin and Aizen were in the Dangai, just after Aizen destroyed the Cleaner, the Senkaimon portal opened up just outside of the real Karakura Town, right on the fields. Was it Gins maneuvering/choosing of the Senkaimon or Aizens mayhem on the Cleaner that changed their trajectory?
 * Animal Motifs: He's snaked themed and his zanpakutou's abilities are centred around the concept of a snake, right down to his ambush strike (a hidden attack from behind his haori) reflects the concept of a striking snake. In-universe, some people compare him to a fox because of his prankster nature. Put the snake and fox together, however, and he becomes the non-animal symbol of Inari.
 * Anti-Villain
 * Ax Crazy: Implied to be this, as evidenced in one of Momo's flashbacks when he killed a hollow.)
 * If he wasn't
 * Badass
 * Badass Back
 * Baddie Flattery
 * : Might have happened to him in in his past. . Things just got worse from there. . The only times he drops the mask and shows signs of his past self are the times he is forced to confront
 * : And HOW! . That's what one calls "patience".
 * BFS: His shikai has his sword extend to the length of 100 regular swords. His bankai
 * . But it's still ridiculously long and fast, and
 * Bishounen: In those rare times when he opens his eyes and stops smiling, it's revealed he is very pretty.
 * Boring but Practical:
 * : It was supposed to be Gin's CMOA--
 * By the Power of Greyskull: "Shoot to Kill - Shinso!", "Bankai - Kamishini no Yari!"
 * Calling Your Attacks: "Buto", "Buto: Renjin",
 * Cheshire Cat Grin: The ever-constant expression on his face.
 * Child Prodigy: Graduated out of the academy in one year.
 * Childhood Friend: with Rangiku.
 * Childhood Friend Romance: Ambiguous/Open-Ended classification. The bond between them was very strong and Gin's volume poem, a partner to Rangiku's pained volume poem, talks about the pain of love, suggesting there might have been more than the supertrope at work but too ambiguous to classify accurately.
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: There have been lots and lots of that up until now, and in the Deicide Arc
 * Co-Dragons: Shared the position with Kaname Tosen.
 * Ironically, Tosen was more of a straight-up lieutenant to Aizen; Ichimaru was more of a tagalong assassin
 * Combat Pragmatist: Among other things, he's quite fond of "shooting" Shinsou from behind his sleeve, throwing dust in his opponent's eyes, and pointing his zanpakuto at his opponent before extending it so they will be impaled.
 * Creepy Child: He is shown to have been this in the Turn Back the Pendulum arc.
 * Cunning Like a Fox: Best way to sum him up.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: He spins a web of lies within lies to ensure his true abilities are kept as secret as possible. This means that Ichigo has to peel away the layers of Gin's misdirections to find the true threat of his bankai. His success at this does impress Gin but it's only later that we learn Ichigo hadn't learned the full truth even if he was in the right ballpark.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy:
 * Devil in Plain Sight: Just about anyone except Izuru and Rangiku, who he's generally nicer to, can tell he's bad news right when they meet him. Even Aizen and the Espada are leery of him.
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: "My 'Shinsou'... do you know how far it stretches?" This also contributes to his Memetic Molester status, along with his infamous RAPEface.
 * Enfant Terrible: He was this kind of kid. Read the rest of the page to find out why.
 * Enigmatic Minion: For the longest time since his debut, nobody really knew what went behind the Cheshire Cat Grin and Eyes Always Shut, so speculation raged for years on end until his motive was finally revealed.
 * Expy: He has one, in the form of Hazama. They both have the same hairstyle, fox eyes, usually, and (in Extend only) the have same English voice actor.
 * Interestingly enough, both are on opposite sides of their Creators loving them; Gin is shown as a Butt Monkey in his "Arrancar Encyclopedia" episodes; Hazama, on the other hand, has been given too much fun, going so far as to make him a Badass Troll canon AND free time.
 * Eyes Always Shut: Usually, but he does  open them several times. In Japan this is indicative of his shifty nature.
 * A lot of the times, Gin’s eyes being open is an indication of anger (or, less often, surprise). Example in Chapter 415, How do we know, might you ask? His eyes are open!
 * Gender Blender Name: He has a girl's name. It means "Silver." Snicker.
 * His surname, Ichimaru, was also the name of a famous geisha.
 * Hidden Agenda Villain: Gin never really expressed much interest in what Aizen was doing; Aizen himself even seemed suspicious of Gin every now and then, causing a lot of fan speculation as to what he was really trying to do.
 * I Am Not Left-Handed: Subverted!
 * Double subversion:
 * Icy Blue Eyes: Gin prides himself on having a cold and calculating personality, at least that's what he keeps telling Aizen. His eyes more than help him convey this imagery.
 * I Lied: Seems to be a frequent trait of his.
 * Irony: His entire motivation was
 * Jack of All Stats: According to his stats.
 * Jerkass Facade: Subverted; he's still an asshole, but to what degree is anyones' guess. Even his Kick the Dog moments seemed to 'help' Aizen's enemies to a degree (i.e. toying with Rukia delayed her execution enough that Ichigo intervened just at the last second; bifurcating Hiyori provoked Shinji into using his Zanpakuto on Aizen; knocking Rangiku out kept her from getting caught in the crossfire with Aizen; and delivering a resolve-breaking speech to Ichigo partly succeeded in giving him 'incentive' to hone his skills with Isshin.
 * Kansai Regional Accent: He talks with this, despite being everything a Kyoto-ben isn't.
 * Kick the Dog: See Manipulative Bastard.
 * Slicing Hiyori in half back at the fake Karakura Town.
 * Also,
 * Kitsune: To the point that Kubo drew him as such for Chapter 414.
 * Lovable Traitor: Betrays everyone in the Soul Society twice: Once during the Soul Society arc, and again during the Pendulum arc. Gin even refers to himself as a Snake, but this only further endears him to the fandom.
 * Manipulative Bastard: He stops by to see Rukia before her execution, and, being a villain, offers her a chance to escape death if she'll join him... only to, seconds later, admit he was just screwin' with her, so there was really no point in answering since he was going to let her die no matter what she said, all while keeping that goddamn smile. What an asshole.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Not Gin himself, but definitely his bankai. You've gotta be super strong or super brave to not shudder at the name
 * Noble Demon: See above and below.
 * No Social Skills: For all of his Manipulative Bastard moments,
 * Obfuscating Stupidity
 * Obviously Evil: The only people surprised when he turned out to be a bad guy were the ones that felt nobody THAT clearly villainous could actually be a villain. Even now, some people wonder...
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Justified. He believes that his bankai is
 * OOC Is Serious Business: Is Gin frowning? With his eyes open? Run away, run now, run fast, RUN FOREVER.
 * Pet the Dog: He's an unrepentant bastard, but seems to have a genuine soft spot for his childhood friend Rangiku.
 * Along with this, he later tells Tousen that he's glad Kira 'is doing well' and wished him luck in the Omake segments during the Captain Amagai arc.
 * Perpetual Smiler
 * Smug Smiler
 * Slasher Smile
 * Person of Mass Destruction: Weeeell, if you can
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: When the anime team had to pick an eye colour for Gin, they played with this trope. Then Kubo revealed Gin's eyes were actually blue. Considering his Magnificent Bastard mentality and fans focus on his ocular pigmentation, the obvious jokes were made by the fandom.
 * Red Herring: Possibly deliberately. Prior to the revelation of Aizen as the series' Big Bad, he was the leading contender for being the primary villain and the one suspected of most of the wrongdoing that had taken place over the course of the Soul Society arc. And of course, partially subverted when he actually turned out to be evil anyway, just not the most evil.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gin calmly picks Ichigo apart during their battle, chiding him for having absolutely no chance against either him or Aizen anymore.
 * Shadow Archetype: Can be seen as one to Hitsugaya.
 * Shout-Out: Got one in Hazama.
 * Smug Snake: He calls himself this. Subverted in the end when his plan is revealed.
 * Trickster Archetype
 * The Unfettered
 * Used to Be A Sweet Kid: Cheerful Child saved Rangiku from starving, is responsible for her even having a birthday, ... Oh, and according to someone he used to and could still be Moe. Others hate Aizen on the basis that he was the reason that Gin seems to have turned out kinda Ax Crazy, Affably Evil, and a Devil in Plain Sight.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: The "pretty" part is debatable-- Tite Kubo didn't exactly design him to be, you know, really attractive... but try telling all his fangirls that.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy:  Dammit.
 * Shout-Out: Got one in Hazama.
 * Smug Snake: He calls himself this. Subverted in the end when his plan is revealed.
 * Trickster Archetype
 * The Unfettered
 * Used to Be A Sweet Kid: Cheerful Child saved Rangiku from starving, is responsible for her even having a birthday, ... Oh, and according to someone he used to and could still be Moe. Others hate Aizen on the basis that he was the reason that Gin seems to have turned out kinda Ax Crazy, Affably Evil, and a Devil in Plain Sight.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: The "pretty" part is debatable-- Tite Kubo didn't exactly design him to be, you know, really attractive... but try telling all his fangirls that.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy:  Dammit.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: The "pretty" part is debatable-- Tite Kubo didn't exactly design him to be, you know, really attractive... but try telling all his fangirls that.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy:  Dammit.

Kaname Tōsen
Species: Visored Affiliation: Soul Society (formerly) / Las Noches Zanpakutou: Suzumushi



Kaname Tosen is the former Captain of the 9th squad. He's a dark-skinned blind man driven to join Soul Society to enforce justice and follow the path of least bloodshed, inspired by the tragic death of his old friend who was murdered by her husband. He forms a good friendship with Captain Komamura, but he was eventually goaded by Aizen to join his schemes (impressed with his ideals, not because he was being hypnotized). His Zanpakuto is Suzumushi, which negates your senses as the environment is enveloped in a black sphere.

He participated in the Fake Karakura arc, fighting Komamura and Hisagi, before ultimately dying in an apparent Superpower Meltdown.

"Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (JP), David Rasner (US)"

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 * Achilles Heel:
 * Alas, Poor Villain: Hisagi and Komamura feel this way about him; they're even willing to forgive him and wish well for his recovery.
 * Badass: Severed Grimmjow's arm and used a Kido spell to destroy it. That's probably his most memorable scene.
 * Bait and Switch: It seemed like Gizaeimon killed Tosen and Eishima, before Gizaeimon himself fell to the ground, dead.
 * Blind Black Guy
 * Blind Justice: He's a blind warrior for justice. However, his pursuit of justice was warped by his desire for revenge, resulting in him siding with the enemy and leaving behind two people who swore to open his eyes to the true path of justice. They did.
 * Broken Pedestal: Shuuhei practically worshipped him before finding out what a bastard he is.
 * By the Power of Greyskull: "Cry - Suzumushi!", "Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikō!", "Bankai - Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Kōrogi!",
 * The Brute: He's far from stupid, but he's usually the first of the three main villains to get involved in the fight.
 * Clipped-Wing Angel:
 * Cool Shades and Sunglasses At Night
 * Co-Dragons: Along with Gin Ichimaru, he was 'Commander' under Aizen.
 * Disability Immunity: Since he's blind Aizen's illusions have no effect on him. Not that they would need to even if he weren't blind but...
 * Dropped a Bridge On Him: After getting his throat stabbed, he suddenly explodes into a pool of blood; Komamura blames Aizen for that.
 * The Faceless: As a 5th Seat. Hell, we didn't even know it was Tosen until he unmasked himself
 * After first releasing Grillar Grillo, he sports another mask. Keeps it until he performs a Ressurreccion.
 * Failure Knight / Love Makes You Evil: His frustration and pain at his best friend's murder is his Start of Darkness.
 * Handicapped Badass: He made captain despite his blindness.
 * Idiot Ball: His bankai is just as, or possibly even more broken than Aizen's shikai, yet he can't stop talking instead of finishing off his opponent.
 * Particularly notable in that, he can't stop talking, even though his Bankai removed Kenpachi's senses, meaning he didn't even know Tousen was talking to him.
 * In the Back: To Kensei Muguruma, 3rd Seat Heizo Kasaki, 4th Seat Shinobu Eishima (off-screen) and 6th Seat Todo Gizaeimom in the Turn back The Pendulum arc. Of the four, only Kensei survived.
 * Justice Will Prevail: Even if you have to pull a Face Heel Turn.
 * Kick the Dog: During the TBTP arc, when Hiyori tried to help Shinji stave off Hollowfication, this was Tosen's response.
 * When Hisagi spent most of his time asking if it was all a lie during their fight, Tosen runs him through the gut.
 * After going One-Winged Angel and gaining sight for the first time, he looks to Komamura and admits that that Komamura is uglier than he thought. Owch.
 * Motive Rant: Over why he hates Zaraki.
 * Munchkin:
 * Nightmare Face:
 * Odd Friendship: With Wonderweiss Margela.
 * One-Winged Angel: His
 * Psycho Supporter
 * Revenge Before Reason:
 * Scary Black Man
 * Superpower Lottery: His shikai generates Gale Force Sound and a Storm of Blades. His bankai covers the field with a dome of darkness that negates the opponent's senses except touch.
 * Twofer Token Minority: He's black and blind.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend. To the lady who became his reason to fight.
 * Villainous Breakdown: It's pretty epic.
 * White Mask of Doom: In Resurrecion. Doubles as The Blank initially as well.
 * Psycho Supporter
 * Revenge Before Reason:
 * Scary Black Man
 * Superpower Lottery: His shikai generates Gale Force Sound and a Storm of Blades. His bankai covers the field with a dome of darkness that negates the opponent's senses except touch.
 * Twofer Token Minority: He's black and blind.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend. To the lady who became his reason to fight.
 * Villainous Breakdown: It's pretty epic.
 * White Mask of Doom: In Resurrecion. Doubles as The Blank initially as well.
 * Villainous Breakdown: It's pretty epic.
 * White Mask of Doom: In Resurrecion. Doubles as The Blank initially as well.