Bleach
Welcome to my Bleach Page. Here I will explain what Bleach is, and who some of the main characters are.
Bleach is a show about people called Shinigamis (or Soul Reapers), who find souls who are still chained to a place of importance (Say their love was killed in an accident, and they never gained closure about the incident), and give them a proper burial, so that the souls can peacefully go to Soul Society. But more often, the Soul Reapers have to fight Hollows, souls that were chained too long, and had their chains corroded off their bodies.
The main character of the series is Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenage boy who can see spirits. The show starts with him defending the memorial of a little girl who was killed in a car wreck. There is a bottle of flowers near a telephone pole who some punks trashed, so it shows Ichigo fighting them, beating the heck out of them. Later that night a girl floats in his window, and buries a soul. She doesn't know Ichigo can see her and ignores him, so he attacks her with a chair. During a fight with a Hollow, the girl is injured, so she stabs Ichigo with her zanpakuto (sword). He turns into a Substitute Soul Reaper, and defeats the Hollow. The rest of the series is about his adventures as a Soul Reaper. His sword's name is Zangetsu. A Soul Reaper's job is to kill Hollows and purify them, so that they can either be sent to Soul Society if they were good in real life, or Hell if they were a criminal in real life.
Rukia Kuchiki is a Soul Reaper, who comes to the Real World and meets Ichigo Kurosaki. She is the one who turns Ichigo into a Soul Reaper. Her sword is Sode No Shirayuki, and it is the second-strongest ice shikai. Her big brother is Byakuya Kuchiki, captain of Squad Six. She isn't actually a blood-sister of Byakuya, she was actually adopted into the family when Byakuya's wife-to-be caught ill, and requested for her little sister (Rukia), be brought into the family for shelter.
Uryu Ishida is a Quincy, an archer that kills Hollows. The differences between Soul Reapers and Quincies, is that Soul Reapers use swords, whereas Quincies use energy arrows. The big difference-which caused a war between them (Soul Reapers won), is that when Quincies kill Hollows, they aren't purified, they are wiped from existence. Soul Reapers thought this was horrible and inhumane, so they killed the Quincies.....or most of them anyway. At first when he meets Ichigo he hates him, since he's a Soul Reaper, but through the series, they become friends and fight side by side.
Yasutora Sado (Chad) is a regular human, but prolonged exposure to Ichigo's radiating energy gave him an ability. Chad was known around town as an invincible person. For one thing, he caught a steel girder on his back, and didn't get hurt. Chad started gaining his powers after he became friends with Ichigo, as Ichigo's reishi (spiritual energy) leaks out, as he isn't very trained in keeping it contained. As the reishi leaked out, Chad gained these abilities: His ability was his right arm transformed into an energy gun, that later turns into a shield, then his left arm turns into a superpowered energy puncher.
Orihime Inoue is the last person of the main group in Bleach, being the weakest of them. Orihime gained her powers like Chad, prolonged exposure to Ichigo's leaked reishi. Her abilities come from her hair pins, six petals on each. She has three abilities:
Tsubaki- an attacker that takes up two of her petals. His command is Koten Zanshun.
Shuno & Ayame- These two create a healing oval, anything inside that has been damaged will be healed or replaced. Time is shown to not be a factor, as Grimmjow's arm was cut off and destroyed, only to reappear by this three months later. The command for these two is Soten
Kisshun.
Baigon, Hinagiku, & Lily- These three create a three-pointed shield that can deflect anything. The command is Santen Kesshun.
Renji Abarai isn't really part of the group, but was part of the group to save Orihime in Hueco Mundo. He is the lieutenant of Squad Six, his captain being Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia's brother. In the beginning of the series we see him fight against Ichigo, but during Rukia's rescue, he joins Ichigo's side, also helping in Orihime's rescuse from Hueco Mundo.
Techniques in Bleach:
Kidou- Kidou are spells that Soul Reapers can use to stun, attack, defend, or any other miscellaneous needs they have. The spell can just be said Kidou # 33, or they can recite an incantation to make it stronger. The higher kidous, up to 99 get stronger as they rise in number.
Shikai- Shikai is when a Soul Reaper yells a command then says his zanpakuto's name, such as "Growl, Haineko". This technique can only be achieved after decades of training with their sword. This is known as releasing their zanpakuto. The sword gains an added ability or two and changed shape.
Bankai- Bankai is the next stage of releasing, where the sword and the owner become like one and gain a mass amount of power. Usually only captains are able to achieve bankai, as it takes a very long period of time and arduous training to master. Only few besides the Captains can achieve bankai, one being-of course- Ichigo. Renji is also able to achieve it.
Cero- Cero is a typical attack that Hollows can perform once they reach the level of Menos Grande. It's an energy based attack capable of even damaging a Captain.
Bala- Bala is basically a cero, but weaker. While sacrificing power, it far makes up for in speed. The approximate comparison in speed is Balas are about 20 times as fast as a Cero.
Resureccion- Resureccion is the Arrancar or Espada's form of Bankai. It is their final form where there is power is increased exponentially. Their swords become their armor, providing armor so hard, not even zanpakutos can pierce it. The armor itself is also their weapons, as each Espada or Arrancar have their own fighting style.
Captains of Bleach:
In Bleach, all good souls go to Soul Society. Those who have spiritual pressure (found out if they are hungry, as souls who don't won't need to eat) are sent to Soul Reaper Academy to learn how to use their abilities. Among the Soul Reapers, there are 13 Squads, each with a specific Captain, Lieutenant, 3rd Seat, then the members in it.
Squad 1: Squad 1 is the top squad, headed by the head of Soul Reapers himself, Yamamato. His lieutenant is Chojiro Sasakibe. Yamamato's sword turns into flames, incinerating anything it touches.
Squad 2: Squad Two is the Stealth Squad. The Captain is Soi Fon, and the lieutenant is Omaeda. When Soi Fon releases, she gets a stinger on her right index finger, which when stung by, leaves a butterfly mark on the skin. If the same spot is hit again, the enemy dies.
Squad 3: Before his defect, Gin Ichimaru was captain of Squad 3, with Izuru Kira as his lieutenant. His shikai makes his sword extend very far very fast. He leaves Soul Society with Aizen as Rukia is being rescued. After he leaves, Shusuke Amagai becomes to new captain.
Squad 4: Squad 4 is commonly known as the medic unit. The captain is Retsu Unohana, and her lieutenant is Isane Kotetsu . When Unohana releases her zanpakuto, her sword turns into a giant flying manta ray that can heal people by resting them in its belly.
Squad 5: Before leading the defect, Sosuke Aizen was the captain of Squad five. His lieutenant was Momo Hinamori, who was very upset at his leaving. His sword, when released, can become anyone he chooses to copy them.
Squad 6: Byakuya Kuchiki (Rukia's brother) is the Captain of Squad 6. His lieutenant is Renji Abarai. When he releases his sword, it turns into a thousand tiny sword blades, which look like flower petals in the light, that can travel very fast and cut enemies.
Squad 7: Sajin Komamura is Squad 6's Captain, being the only non-human in Soul Society, a giant fox-like animal. His lieutenant is Tetsuzaemon Iba. When Sajin releases his shikai, he can summon parts of a giant doll to attack people.
Squad 8: Shinsui Kyoraku is the captain of Squad 8, with his lieutenant being Nanao Ise. When he releases he gets two blades instead of one. He and Ukitake are the only two who have this ability.
Squad 9: Before his defect, Kaname Tosen was the Captain of Squad 9, with Shuhei Hisaku as his lieutenant. Kaname's shikai is able to both overload someone's hearing-knocking them unconscious-, and creating a trail of blades to rain down on an opponent.
Squad 10: Toushiro Hitsugaya is the Captain of Squad 10, also being the youngest of all the captains, being so short he has to swear his sword on his back instead of his belt, as otherwise it'd drag on the ground. His lieutenant is Rangiku Matsumoto. Hitsugaya's released form is an ice dragon, and is the strongest ice-based sword in all Soul Society.
Squad 11: Zaraki Kenpachi is the Captain of Squad 11, and is the only Captain that can't perform bankai- or even shikai. His spiritual pressure is so huge, that he can easily take on an Arrancar without needing shikai or bankai. He became Captain by killing the last Captain of Squad 11. His lieutenant is Yachiru Kusajishi, a small girl that Kenpachi found before he came to Soul Society.
Squad 12: Mayuri Kurotsuchi is the Captain of Squad 12, and the most cruel of the Captains. He is the head of the research center, and his lieutenant is Nemu Kurotsuchi, his self-made daughter. His released form spreads poison and paralyzes any body part it cuts.
Squad 13: Squad 13's Captain is Jushiro Ukitake, and his lieutenant was Kaien Shiba until he was killed by a fellow Soul Reaper after Kaien was possessed by a Hollow and asked the friend to kill him. Ukitake is the only Captain with a serious illness, even stopping him from fighting at times. Ukitake is the only other captain besides Shinsui that can releases his sword into two.
Levels of Hollows:
Hollows- Hollows form after a soul's Chain of Fate corrodes, in which they turn evil. They eat other souls and people and are usually very big in size, some having abilities, whereas others are just big monsters. They can be killed by having their mask destroyed.
Menos Grande- Menos Grande are Hollows who had a higher craving for souls, eventually resorting to eating their fellow Hollows. Though they are strong, they are basically just mindless thugs who are ruled by higher levels.
Adjuchas- Adjuchas are when a consciousness appears in the Menos Grande, not having been totally mindless. The Menos Grande continues to eat then evolves into an Adjuchas. Adjuchas rule Menos Grande. Adjuchas have to continue eating other souls or they will revert back to Menos Grande. If they themselves get bitten by another Menos Grande, they will stop evolving and devolving completely.
Vasto Lorde- Vasto Lordes are when an Adjuchas is able to rise over limits and become more powerful. Very few Adjuchas are able to do this. Turning into a Vasto Lorde makes an Adjuchas much more smaller and human-looking, but makes their power increase hugely.
Arrancar- Arrancars are human-like Hollows with their masks ripped off, given the powers of a Soul Reaper. They have their own swords which are able to be released. Where a Soul Reaper's sword is a manifestation of its owner's soul, an Arrancar's sword is a manifestation of their former self, so when they release it, they gain access to their old powers.
Espada- Espada are the top 10 most powerful Arrancars. They each have the number of their rank tattooed on their body somewhere.
The Espada:
Coyote Stark- Coyote is Espada One, and is the laziest of the ten. His fraccion- or henchmen- only consists of Lilinette. She is actually part of Coyote, as when he was in Hollow form he was too powerful to be around other hollows, so he seperated his being to minimize his power. In his released form, he turns into a gun-slinger, with Lillinette's eye-patch, a fur vest, and two pistols that can shoot ceros very quickly.
Baraggan Louisenbairn- Though he is the second Espada, Barragan depicts himself as above everyone else. He used to have a kingdom with many subjects, then Aizen came and offered him more power than he already had. Barragan refused, so Aizen killed all of Barragan's followers. Barragan was forced to follow him. In his released form, he becomes a Lich skeleton with a robe and scepter that can breathe on things to age them to dust.
Tier Halibel- Tiel is the third Espada, and is the only female Espada there is. She doesn't like to fight unless it's to protect her fraccion. In her released form, she gets a sword that looks like a long shark tooth, and armor forms around her shoulders and legs.
Ulquiorra Schiffer- Even though he's Espada Four, Ulquiorra picked his number. He's actually the strongest Espada of the 10. Ulqiorra is the only Espada (or Arrancar for that matter) that has two released states. In his first one, he gets two black wings and his helmet turns complete. When he releases the second time, he becomes demonic and black-furred.
Nnoitra Gilga- Nnoitra is the fifth Espada, and a chauvinistic jerk. He used to be the eighth Espada while Tier used to be the fifth. In his released state, he sprouts two extra arms and gets a sword which has two crescent moons on it.
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez- Grimmjow is Espada Six. Grimmjow is commonly known as Ichigo's rival, as they had more than one single fight, and Grimmjow was constantly trying to prove himself better. When he releases, he becomes a cat like creature with a tail, green cat ears, and claws.
Zommari Leroux- Zommari is the Seventh Espada. Zommari is self-claimed as the fastest, as he can leave up to five after-images that can fight. Released, he gains 48 extra eyes which can each take control of one thing each.
Szayel Aporro Granz- Szayel is the Eighth Espada, as is the scientist of Hueco Mundo. He studies everything and can nullify someone's abilities by studying them. In his released state, he can make copies of his enemies to fight for him, and can make voodoo dolls of his enemies to damage them and their internal organs.
Aaroniero Arruruerie- Aaroniero is the Ninth Espada, and is the only Espada that's not an Espada, but is actually a Gillian. He is only an Espada, as he has an incredibly useful talent- the ability to gain all abilities and memories of souls he eats. When he releases, he turns into a giant purple mass of mouths and tentacles to eat.
Yammy Riyalgo- Yammy is the last Espada, and the biggest of them all. He usually doesn't use his sword, and when he releases, turns into a giant dinosaur like creature. He is accompanied by a little dog, which sees him die and disappears.
