Byakuya Kuchiki

Warning: There WILL be unmarked spoilers. If you do not wish to be spoiled, please do not read this.
Background

Kuchiki Byakuya is the captain of the Gotei 13’s 6th Division. At the same time, he is also the 28th head of the noble Kuchiki family. Holding such a superior position makes him appears stern and unemotional most of the time. And being possibly the strongest person in the Kuchiki family’s history, it makes it even more unsurprising of his apathetic attitude.

Byakuya wears a standard captain uniform except for his unique headgear and his white scarf. His headgear was later shattered by Kurosaki Ichigo’s inner Hollow during their fight in Soul Society.

Byakuya was married to a lady named Hisana, who was a commoner. According to the family rules, this is in fact forbidden. When Hisana died, she requested Byakuya as her last wish to find and adopt her sister, Kuchiki Rukia, as his own. Adopting Rukia became the second time Byakuya broke the family rules since marrying Hisana, and he has since sworn before his parents’ graves that he would never again break the rules. This was also the reason why Byakuya would not do anything to attempt to save Rukia from her execution.

It seems that Byakuya was never forced to follow strictly to the rules, but instead it was his strong sense of responsibility that made him do so. It was during his fight with Ichigo that he mentioned that if even someone like him from one of the Four Great Noble Families did not obey the rules, who else will? He feels strongly that he has to set a proper example to every Shinigami in Soul Society.
Kuchiki Byakuya’s Zanpakuto
Senbonzakura

Senbonzakura (Thousands of Cherry Blossoms) is the name of Kuchiki Byakuya’s zanpakuto. It looks like a normal sword in its unreleased form. However, by Byakuya’s command of “Chire (Scatter), Senbonzakura”, the blade goes into Shikai (Initial release) form, dissolving and scattering into thousands of tiny cherry blossoms that are actually blades. These petals spin and cut in unpredictable angles, flowing in streams towards the enemy and cutting him from every possible direction.

Senbonzakura’s Bankai (Final release) form is named Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Vibrant Display of Thousands of Cherry Blossoms), where Byakuya would drop the sword vertically, sinking it into the ground, and two rows of giant blades start rising up from the ground, and finally scattering into millions of tiny cherry blossom blades. These petals are much more deadly than the Shikai form, having drastically higher numbers, and able to be used both offensively and defensively. In addition, by using his hands to control the petals, Byakuya could effectively double the speed of them.

With Bankai activated, Byakuya is able to use a powerful technique named Senkei Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Scene of Massacre - Vibrant Display of Thousands of Cherry Blossoms). The technique envelopes Byakuya and his enemy and surrounds them with rows of thousands of pink swords that Byakuya could use individually or even simultaneously. Each blade is a highly condensed form of the previous scattered blades, greatly increasing the ability for them to create fatal blows.

Senbonzakura’s final and most powerful technique is the Shuukei, Hakureiken (Final View, White Imperial Sword). Summoning this technique causes a large pair of white spiritual wings and a halo-like circle to form behind Byakuya. It compresses the power of the thousands of the swords into one single blade, allowing Byakuya to deal a single most powerful blow at his enemy.
Kuchiki Byakuya’s Powers

Other than his talent with his zanpakuto, Byakuya also excels in Shunpo (Flash step) and Kidou (Demon arts). His Shunpo is considered one of the fastest, and there’s probably only one person who is better than him at it, and that is Shihouin Yoruichi.

Kuchiki Rukia

Warning: There WILL be unmarked spoilers. If you do not wish to be spoiled, please do not read this.

Background

Kuchiki Rukia is a Shinigami (Death God) from the Soul Society. During a Hollow attack, she was forced to give up her Shinigami powers to Kurosaki Ichigo, which made it necessary for her to stay in a gigai (faux body) while she recuperates.

Back in Soul Society, Rukia was previously from a lower class. When she was young, she spent much of her time together with Abarai Renji and the rest of their childhood friends. But after she was admitted into the Shinigami Academy, she became adopted into the noble Kuchiki family by Kuchiki Byakuya, and her friendship with Renji became distant. Rukia was then placed under the command of Captain Jushiro Ukitake and Lieutenant Kaien Shiba of the 13th Division.

After spending some time under Kaien, she became close to him. She even had romantic feelings for him, but she tried to suppress them as she knew Kaien was happily married to Miyako, who’s coincidently someone she admired most. Therefore as Byakuya mentioned at one point, the reason why Rukia felt such a close bond to Ichigo was probably due to his strong resemblance to Kaien.

Rukia has a serious personality and is often seen nagging at Ichigo. She is also stubborn at times.

Kuchiki Rukia’s Powers

Although Rukia has a zanpakuto of her own, she has yet to show her usage of its Shikai form, since during her time in her gigai she do not have access to her zanpakuto. But her greatest strength lies in her strong talent in kidou (demon arts), which is possible to perform while in the special gigai that was given by Urahara Kisuke. During her training in the academy, we witnessed how she was more talented than Renji when it comes to kidou.

Kurosaki Ichigo

Warning: There WILL be unmarked spoilers. If you do not wish to be spoiled, please do not read this.

Background

Kurosaki Ichigo is the main character of Bleach, who received Shinigami (Death God) powers from a female Shinigami named Kuchiki Rukia. The power came at a cost, as by making Ichigo a Shinigami, Rukia’s powers were lost.

Ichigo lives with his father, Kurosaki Isshin, and two sisters, Yuzu and Karin. His mother Kurosaki Masaki was killed by a hollow while protecting young Ichigo from being attacked by a Hollow.

Ichigo was born with the ability to see and communicate with ghosts and spirits; as such he was able to see Rukia in her Shinigami form. Ichigo also possess an immense amount of reiatsu (spirit power), which he cannot control well. Due to that, his spirit power is constantly “leaking”, which affects the spiritually-aware people around him. Ichigo’s friends such as Inoue Orihime, Sado Yasutora (Chad) and Ishida Uryuu, are all positively affected by his strong spirit power.

Kurosaki Ichigo’s Zanpakuto

Kurosaki Ichigo’s Zanpakuto is named Zangetsu (Slicing Moon). In his Shikai (Initial release) form, Zangetsu is a giant cleaver with no handguard. He is as tall as Ichigo himself, and its blade is black in color and lined with a silver edge.

When not in use, Zangetsu is kept on Ichigo’s back with an unusual bandage-like sheath. When in battle, the bandage sheath shrinks and wrap itself as the sword’s grip. This bandage cloth can also be used offensively, as first demonstrated by Ichigo’s inner Hollow, where the bandage cloth is used to swing Zangetsu around and attack from far.

Zangetsu’s special attack is named Getsuga Tenshou, which fires a concentrated blast of reiatsu at the enemy from the tip of the blade. Ichigo first learnt this technique from Urahara Kisuke, and later mastered it after discovering its true name.

The Bankai (Final release) form of Zangetsu is considered unique among all Zanpakuto. Named Tensa Zangetsu (Chains of Heave - Slicing Moon), the sword is now an elegant black katana with a square handguard and a short broken chain dangling as the sword’s tassel. In the Bankai form, Ichigo is capable of incredible speed and agility, far superior to Shunpo (Flash step).

Hitsugaya Toushirou

Warning: There WILL be unmarked spoilers. If you do not wish to be spoiled, please do not read this.

Background

Hitsugaya Toushirou is the captain of the Gotei 13’s 10th Division. Perhaps the most notable aspect of Hitsugaya in the anime is his youth. He is the youngest Shinigami to have become of captain rank since many generations, earning him the nickname of “boy genius” and “child prodigy”. Being very young, he is also much shorter compared to the other captains.

Although young, Hitsugaya is portrayed to be very mature and serious in his tasks. He is also extremely sharp, being able to notice Ichimaru Gin’s evil intentions. This makes Hitsugaya appear to be a wise old man in the body of a boy.

Hitsugaya came from Junrinan, District 1 of Rukongai. Little is known about his past except the fact that he used to live with Hinamori Momo. As a sister to him, Hitsugaya is fiercely loyal to her, always feeling the need to protect her from harm. Especially after Hinamori entered the Shinigami institute and Hitsugaya followed soon after. Despite his age, he has been very successful due to his talent and soon became captain of the 10th Division.

Hitsugaya Toushiro’s Zanpakuto

Hitsugaya’s zanpakuto, named Hyorinmaru (Frozen Ring), is a sword with a hilt that is shaped like a four-point shuriken. In its Shikai (initial release) form, the sword gains a long chain that has a crescent moon blade attached its end. And with the command, “Soten ni Zase” (Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens), Hitsugaya summons forth a giant Chinese dragon that is made of water and ice. Any opponents that happen to come in contact with the dragon will find themselves freezing and trapped in a blocks of ice.

Hyorinmaru’s Bankai (Final release) form, named Daiguren, Hyorinmaru (Giant Crimson Lotus, Frozen Ring), is in the shape of a pair of wings and tail that embraces Hitsugaya. In addition, three purple objects resembling four-point shurikens floats above and behind him, which usages are yet to be known. As witnessed in Hitsugaya’s short fight with Aizen Sousuke, a pierce from Hyorinmaru will coat his enemy in a thick block of frozen ice, effectively trapping him inside.

Toushirou Hitsugaya

Karakter Bleach
Toushirou Hitsugaya
Pekerjaan	Shinigami, kapten dari Divisi 10 (Bleach)
Ulang tahun	20 Desember

Toushirou hitsugaya (日番谷 冬獅郎, Hitsugaya Toushirou) adalah karakter fiksi dalam seri anime dan manga Bleach karya Tite Kubo. Dia adalah Kapten Divisi 10 dalam Gotei 13. Wakil kaptennya adalah Rangiku Matsumoto. Hitsugaya adalah karakter utama dalam film BLEACH THE MOVIE 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion.

Toushirou terpilih menjadi karakter BLEACH paling populer dalam jajak pendapat Shonen Jump terakhir, menggantikan Ichigo Kurosaki yang sebelumnya menempati peringkat itu. Dia menerima 8273 suara, 383 suara lebih banyak daripada Rukia Kuchiki yang sebelumnya menempati peringkat kedua.

Ciri-ciri

Toushirou adalah kapten paling muda yang ada di Soul Society. Lahir di Rukongai, dia dijuluki "bocah jenius" atau "anak ajaib" oleh shinigami yang lainnya. Toushirou lebih pendek daripada Rukia. Dia memiliki rambut jabrik putih-keperakan (yang mengundang perhatian di dunia manusia), dan mata hijau zamrud. Dia menggunakan shihakushou (pakaian shinigami) khusus Kapten, dan selempang hijau untuk membawa Hyourinmaru, zanpakutou-nya.

Sifat dan Perwatakan

Toushirou memiliki sifat serius dan dewasa, kontras dengan si wakil kapten, Rangiku. Namun terkadang dia dapat berwatak cuek dan pemarah. Meskipun kepribadian mereka berbeda, dia dan Rangiku trelihat sangat akrab.

Dia benci semua yang menganggapnya anak-anak dan benci segala sesuatu yang berbau kekanakan. Ini jelas terlihat pada suatu episode dimana dia bertemu adik Ichigo, Karin Kurosaki yang menepuki kepalanya dan mengatakan bahwa dia adalah anak sekolah dasar, dan itu membuatnya marah.

Seperti sifat zanpakutou-nya, Toushirou tidak menyukai musim panas dan musim-musim hangat pada umumnya.

Toushirou sering membela Momo Hinamori, yang sering dikira sebagai pacarnya, yang sebenarnya adalah teman masa kecil Toushirou. Toushirou berjanji pada Momo jika ada yang melukainya maka dia takkan segan-segan membunuhnya.

Toushirou sering kesal jika ada yang memanggilnya "Toushirou-kun". Toushirou selalu mengoreksinya dengan "Toushirou ja nai, Hitsugaya taichou demo" (bukan Toushirou, tapi Kapten Hitsugaya)

Masa Kecil

Awal kehidupan Toushirou dihabiskan di Junrinan, distrik satu Rukongai. Disana ia tinggal bersama neneknya dan Momo Hinamori. Dia juga berteman dengan Jidanbou, penjaga gerbang barat, yang dijulukinya “Peraturan Kota”.

Saat kecil, Toushirou bersikap dingin dan membuat dirinya dijauhi dari lainnya, kecuali neneknya dan Momo. Karena Momo memanggilnya “Shiro-chan”, Toushirou balas memanggilnya dengan “Si Kasur Basah Momo”. Ketiganya sangat tertutup, namun Toushirou jengkel ketika Momo pergi bergabung ke Akademi Shinigami.

Selama masa kecilnya, dia selalu sadar bahwa nampak suatu kehadiran yang ‘dingin’ pada dirinya, dan ia bermimpi tentang sebuah daratan dingin. Dia percaya dia akan mati di daratan itu.

Lima tahun setelah kepergian Momo, Toushirou bertemu Rangiku Matsumoto. Rangiku memberitahu Toushirou bahwa Toushirou memiliki kekuatan spiritual besar yang terpendam.