In the Soul Society, there exist many beings who don’t fall into the two broad categories of souls and Soul Reapers. Usually these beings perform specialized tasks, like stopping the wrong souls from going where they aren’t supposed to. That’s the particular job of Jidanbou, one of four gate guardians, who stands before the west gate of Soul Society’s inner circle.

A gigantic, ape-like being armed with two massive axes, Jidanbou makes a pretty formidable bouncer. It’s said that only two opponents have been able to shrug off a single blow from his weapons, and nobody has ever managed to stand up underneath a second.

He will only fight a single opponent at a time, however. One of the rules of Soul Society, he explains, is that duels can only take place one-on-one, and he’s nothing if not a stickler for the rules. (His other two rules state that you should wash your hands before eating, and never eat anything that falls on the ground.) In order to enforce this particular regulation, he can erect a gigantic barrier of stone around himself, limiting a confrontation to only himself and the enemy of his choosing.

For all his enormous size and menacing weaponry, Jidanboy can’t help but look kind of comical. He’s a sort of gigantic caricature of the organ-grinder’s monkey, complete with a goofy little tasseled fez on his head.

Ichigo Kurosaki would have liked to be an ordinary high school kid, but sometimes things don’t quite work out that way. Instead, he gets to enjoy a second life, as a hunter of the “hollows” that haunt the night around him.

He came upon his role as a “shinigami,” or collector of souls, by accident, when he stumbled upon the veteran shinigami Rukia Kuchiki one night. Normally, he shouldn’t have been able to see her, but his innate spiritual powers revealed both her presence and that of the hollow she was fighting inside his house. In the confusion of the ensuing battle, Ichigo acquired a measure of Rukia’s own shinigami abilities, causing him to join their ranks whether he wanted to or not.

With both Rukia’s skills and his own raw abilities, Ichigo is a powerful, if undisciplined force. His “zanpakuto” sword, physically manifested by his powers, is far larger than it should be, a consequence of his considerable raw power. Unfortunately, mastering the sword’s potential is another matter entirely.

In the real world, which does occupy his attention from time to time, Ichigo’s a surprisingly good student at his high school. He deliberately cultivates the role of a dedicated student to counter his naturally delinquent-ey appearance (the orange hair, the permanent scowl). In time, that same dedication will make him a shinigami of remarkable power.

The captain of the Soul Society’s 11th division is not, as they say, a man that you want to aggravate. In terms of raw power, he may be just about the toughest Soul Reaper in the business, with enough spiritual energy to paralyze his opponents by dint of his mere presence, let alone a blow from his blade.

Unlike most of his fellow captains, Kenpachi doesn’t exactly cultivate a very businesslike appearance. His ragged vest, scarred face, and spiky punk-rock hairdo openly announce his attitude before he even opens his mouth. He defines the attitude of the 11th division – to Kenpachi, a good fight is more important than anything else.

He makes for an ironic combination with his lieutenant, Yachiro Kusajishi. She’s often found perched on his shoulder, like some kind of pet, although she’s a forced to be reckoned with in her own right. (She’s also the only one who can get away with mocking Ikkaku Madarame’s baldness.)

Kenpachi’s personal weapon has no name, nor any form except the one it always appears in, a long, single-edged Japanese-style sword with a worn, repeatedly notched blade. He explains that its power is always released to the fullest, and thus needs no more refined form. It’s still more than enough to put paid to most opponents – it initially defeated Ichigo Kurosaki with ease.

His one weakness, or one of his few weaknesses anyway, is a lousy sense of direction. He even has a hard time navigating his home ground in Soul Society from time to time. The only solution to getting on his bad side, perhaps, is to run like hell and hope he gets lost trying to find you.

Soul Reapers tend to have calm, reserved personalities, conscious as they are of the seriousness of their work and the consequences involved. Then there’s Renji Abarai, who runs contrary to the type. He’s loud, rude, crude, profane, arrogant, and other adjectives that generally describe an angry, violent bastard.

In the Soul Society’s hierarchy, he’s the second in command of the 6th Division, serving underneath Byakuya Kuchiki. The division’s commander and lieutenant couldn’t be more polar opposites, Byakuya being the calm, collected soul of probity.

Renji does have something like a softer side, although you’d never get him to come out and admit it. While Rukia Kuchiki is under guard awaiting her execution for treason (after Renji and Byakuya personally visited the human world to arrest her) he can’t help coming by to check up on her often, concealing his concern with his usual torrent of verbal abuse.

His feelings for Rukia go back to when the two were children – they both grew up orphans, without a family or a purpose before joining the Soul Society. Though their work has kept them apart since then, he still cares deeply for her.

Renji’s zanpakuto, a broad-bladed weapon with several long “fangs” along the cutting edge, is named Zabimaru. At his command, it can stretch out into a long, whip-like form, entangling a target and digging in with each of its protruding fangs.

Rangiku tends to be a slacker who dislikes paperwork and loves to drink. She is not the slightest bit modest about her appearance, frequently referring or complaining about her large breasts in normal casual conversation, much to the embarrassment/amusement of anyone around at the time. She is not above using her considerable feminine charms to get her way, as shown when she tries - albeit unsuccessfully - to bribe Ichigo Kurosaki into letting her stay at his house.

Her easy-going and free-spirited personality makes a sharp contrast to the serious Hitsugaya, but the two seem to be quite close regardless. Rangiku met the young boy prior to him utilizing his power and encouraged him to enter the shinigami academy. As a lieutenant, she is almost constantly by his side and has shown deep loyalty to him on several occasions, even though her laziness frequently annoys him.

While she seems somewhat self-centered, she is sensitive to the feelings of others, evident when she sees the concern Hitsugaya has for Momo Hinamori, the guilt Izuru Kira shares with her when Gin Ichimaru is revealed as a traitor, and when Orihime feels depressed about her role in Ichigo Kurosaki's life. Despite her lackadaisical image, she can be extremely serious when needed and is a capable fighter and strategist, best-shown when she uses clever teasing to manipulate the third Espada's Fraccion into squabbling among themselves and dropped their guard, leaving them open for an attack.

Matsumoto's favorite food is dried persimmon, just like that of Ichimaru. She dislikes bamboo shoots because of their sharp flavor. Her favorite pass-time activities are afternoon napping and Japanese dance. It is also known that she collects kimonos, and grabs every opportunity to get herself treated to sake, she can spend her entire free days drinking. Her favorite "drinking buddies" are Shunsui Kyoraku and Shuhei Hisagi.

In terms of attitude, Ikkaku is a stereotypical 11th Division member — violent, fight-loving, and rude; this has been noted by Tetsuzaemon Iba, among others. He loves fighting so much that he is unwilling to travel anywhere without a sword, resorting to carrying a wooden one when posing as a student at Ichigo's school. He does have a sense of loyalty and responsibility, however, unlike many of the lower-ranked 11th Division members. Ikkaku is fiercely loyal to Kenpachi, under whose command he wants to fight and eventually die.

Ikkaku has many personality traits in common with his division's captain Kenpachi Zaraki, which is why they seem to have so much respect for one another. Ikkaku considers fighting fun and tries to get as much "fun" as he can out of his opponents, so much so that he will take deadly risks to drag out the fight for as long as possible. During a fight with a challenging opponent, he is almost constantly smiling, much like Kenpachi does. Like all 11th Division members, he considers the only honorable battles to be those fought one-on-one and even the threat of death is not a reason to ignore this fact, since, as a rule, the winner is only determined when the other is dead. He does consider surviving an otherwise lost battle good luck, however, he's also sensible enough to carry a blood-clotting ointment in the hilt of his Zanpakut?.

Ikkaku is one of the few Shinigami in Soul Society who is referred to by their given name instead of their family name, a rarity amongst them, but seemingly more common between members of the 11th Division. Only Makizo Aramaki and Toshiro Hitsugaya have called him Madarame so far. Ikkaku appears to be one of only two characters who are left-handed, the other being Uryu Ishida. It is equally possible he is ambidextrous, like Lisa Yadomaru, as he switches to his right hand during his battle with the Arrancar Edorad Leones and uses his sword sheath as a secondary weapon in battle.

Eleventh Division Vice-Captain Kusajika Yachiru is very tiny, and very adorable with her bubblegum pink hair. She wears the normal shinigami robes, and thus far we have only seen her with the vice-captain insignia on her arm. She appears to be the youngest, as well as the smallest, among the captains and vice-captains, but she is respected throughout her division. Generally she’s seen hanging on to Zaraki Kenpachi’s shoulder. Yachiru makes up nicknames for the people she knows, including “Ichi” for Ichigo, “Big Boobies” for Orihime, and “Ken-chan” for Kenpachi.

Yachiru first appears in volume ten, hopping from the roof of a building onto Kenpachi’s shoulder as he makes his way to find and fight Ichigo. She has a horrible sense of direction, but despite that Kenpachi listens to her directions, which get him lost every time. Even though she and her captain appear to be polar opposites, she is utterly devoted to Kenpachi, and he to her. When Yachiru’s hyper-activity and Kenpachi’s constantly serious and power hungry demeanor are combined, a comically sweet relationship becomes evident.

She first met Kenpachi in one of the worst districts of Rukongai, the 79th district of the North Alley, Kusajika, as a nameless baby. She crawled over to him after he had killed several other men with his unnamed zanpakutou, and was completely unphased by the violence she had just witnessed or the blood on the sword. Even as Kenpachi warned her that the sword was dangerous, she reached out and touched it, giggling as her hand was covered in the blood of dead men. He adopted her after that, saving her from certain death in Rukongai. He named her Yachiru – “The name of the only person I ever cared about…I’ll give it to you.”

There is some speculation that Yachiru’s post as vice-captain of the eleventh squad is based on nepotism. However, in the brief appearances of Yachiru’s serious side, we have seen that she is extremely fast and strong enough to carry Kenpachi, who is twice her height and more than six times her weight. Also, no one appears to harbor feelings of ill will against her, even though the seated shinigami of the eleventh division seem to be vice-captain or captain level.

In serious situations, Yachiru will take control when Kenpachi is indisposed. For example, she took over leading Orihime, Ishida, Chad, and Ganju to the Soukyoku when Kenpachi was faced with the prospect of fighting Komamura and Tousen. When the execution proceedings began, Yachiru used her super speed to go ahead and try to delay the execution as a favor to Orihime, who she seems to have taken a particular liking to, perhaps because of their similar innocent natures.

Most of Yachiru’s appearances are for comic relief, though her serious side is pretty scary. She is an intimidating figure when she wants to be. She is cute and quirky, and the president of the Shinigami Women’s Association. It seems that Ikkaku takes care of most of the vice-captain paperwork, probably because Yachiru doesn’t think it’s worth her time. From what we’ve seen in the color omake, her weakness is candy and one of her favorite things to do appears to be to run around like crazy and drive Ikkaku crazy.

For all her faults, Yachiru appears to be a competent leader, and the one of the cutest characters in Bleach. When she decides she likes someone she’ll go to any means to help them when they need it.

Izuru is a gloomy and introspective person, not easily given to socializing with others. He generally appears weak and diffident, leading many to believe he lacks ability as a leader. As an officer, he does not tend to inspire confidence or boost morale the way other lieutenants do. However, in combat he shows ruthless determination. Izuru has shown himself remorseless with this, beheading opponents who were pleading for mercy.

His personality flaws are also assets: his introspection coupled with his tendency to worry makes him indecisive, but it also makes him sensitive to unusual behavior. His loyalty to his comrades inspires him to great efforts in their defense, as seen when Momo Hinamori attacks Gin Ichimaru and again in the anime when Makoto Kifune's attacks endanger other members of the 3rd Division.

Izuru is loyal to both his friends and his duties, perhaps to a fault. Despite the close friendship he shares with Momo Hinamori, Izuru shows that his loyalty knows no boundaries when he defends his captain while she is in a grief-induced rage from her own captain's apparent death. Despite this, he calls himself a 'monster' afterwards for raising his sword against her.

During his fight with Avirama Redder, it is revealed that Izuru considers the essence of war to be despair, as exemplified by the symbol of his division, the marigold. He also hates to fight unless prompted or given orders.

It is known that he likes to write haiku, and he was also awarded for one of his pieces by Seireitei Communication, which is as follows:

"The persimmon tree bears fruit. Aaah, the persimmon tree bears fruit again this year."

His dislike for dried persimmon (a huge difference between him and his former captain) sheds some light on the background of the poem. He likes agar-agar instead. He also writes a serial novel titled "I Want to Apologize to You". It runs in Seireitei Communication and every new chapter begins with a haiku piece. He is on good terms with fellow author Sh?hei Hisagi, and in their free time, they participate on gatherings of haiku-lovers. Izuru also gives a special lecture of poetry on the Shinigami Academy. It is also known that he is skilled in playing cat's cradle.

Hisagi Shuuhei served as vice captain to Tousen Kaname in the Ninth Division. Since Tousen’s betrayal with Aizen, the current status of the Ninth Division’s captainship is unknown, so it could be assumed that Shuuhei is acting captain until a new captain is chosen.

Shuuhei has short, dark hair and wears sleeveless shinigami robes, and has the number 69 tattooed to his left cheek and has a set of three scars straight over his eye and down his right cheek. He also has a blue, stripe tattoo running across his left cheek and over the bridge of his nose over the 69. He wears what appears to be a jeweled choker around his throat, and a matching armband on his right arm. He has his vice captain insignia tied to his left arm.

Hisagi Shuuhei was a famous shinigami even before he was officially a shinigami. In the omake chapter directly preceding chapter 173, we learn from Kira Izuru that Shuuhei was already taking missions from the Gotei 13 even though he was still a student of the Shinigami Academy. In that same chapter, Shuuhei is assigned, along with two of his classmates, to lead a field lesson on performing the konso with Freshman Class One, Kira, Renji, and Hinamori’s class. All went well until the end of the lesson, when the class was taken by surprise by a group of giant hollows.

Both of Shuuhei’s classmates are killed, and he orders all the freshmen to run as he tries to hold off the hollows until help arrives. However, he is quickly overpowered, and if Hinamori, Kira, and Renji hadn’t turned back, Shuuhei would have died then and there. Backup arrives in the form of Captain Aizen and his then Vice Captain Ichimaru Gin. The scars on Shuuhei’s face were acquired in that incident.

Before Rukia’s execution, Shuuhei accompanies his captain Tousen and the captain and vice captain of the Seventh Division, Komamura Sajin and Iba Tetsuzaemon, to confront Captain Zaraki Kenpachi of the Eleventh Division because Kenpachi is assisting the ryoka. Though Kenpachi claims that he can take on all four and assumes the others have gone ahead. However, he is surprised to discover his third and fifth seat officers have remained behind to challenge the two vice captains. Kenpachi grants permission for Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika to fight Iba and Shuuhei. They lead their opponents away from the captains in order to avoid getting in the way. Ikkaku takes Iba and Yumichika takes Shuuhei.

In the beginning of the fight, Shuuhei is winning, and chides Yumichika for thinking a fifth seat shinigami could defeat a vice captain. However, Yumichika turns the tables by releasing his zanpakutou, which, until that point, was all but unknown. The next time we see Shuuhei, he’s collapsed in exhaustion and disbelief. To quote him directly: “I didn’t know a zanpakutou like that even existed...” Yumichika rejoins Kenpachi after his captain is done battling, and he looks more full of energy than when he began.

Shuuhei is devastated by the news that Tousen is a traitor to Soul Society. In the aftermath of Aizen’s retreat into Hueco Mundo he visits the grave of Tousen’s friend, and encounters Komamura, one of Tousen’s best friends. They swear to each other that they will save Tousen from himself and his crazed sense of justice.

After that the Tenth Division Vice Captain Matsumoto Rangiku sees him and invites him to drink with her and Kira, who is already passed out. Shuuhei accepts the invitation only to find that Kira needs some serious attention and Rangiku is just ignoring him so she can keep drinking.

From the few other times we’ve seen Shuuhei, he’s generally been in the company of Kira or Renji. He apparently comes from the lower class, but when he’s pressed for cash, he’ll rely on any free food source available, including one provided by someone as obtuse and snotty as the vice captain of the Second Division, Oomaeda Marechiyo. He’s also just as perverted as the other male shinigami, and has a crush on Matsumoto.

Shuuhei is a loyal shinigami whose ideals have been thrown for a minor loop by the betrayal of his captain. He is currently still in Seireitei, and it is yet unknown whether or not he’ll show up on Earth with Renji, Matsumoto, Hitsugaya, Ikkaku, and Yumichika. However, it is a sure thing that we’ll see him again sooner or later, because of his vow to save Tousen.

Uryu Ishida is a black-haired, bespectacled teenager of average height. He is a good student and is sometimes seen as the slightly awkward nerdy type. He has an unusual interest in sewing, as he is in the crafts club at school, and makes excellent grades, coming in first place on exams. Uryu is generally shy and quiet, but tries harder to act cool when other people are around, such as wearing clothes he likes.

Uryu operates on a moral ethic known as the "Pride of the Quincy" and has a strong sense of justice. He has also shown to be very chivalrous, stating that he enacts justice on men who abuse or treat women badly. Uryu also has a tendency to prefer to simply incapacitate his opponent, not using lethal force in battle unless thoroughly provoked, especially if he can win without doing so.

As a child, Uryu mostly interacted and trained with his grandfather, Soken Ishida. At a fairly young age, Uryu's grandfather was killed by hollows right in front of him. This is one of the reasons he hates Soul Reapers, who, despite keeping the old man under near-constant survellance, did not come to rescue Soken in time. He long believed that the Soul Reapers were merely taking advantage of circumstances to be rid of him. It was later revealed that the current captain of the 12th Division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, was behind the delay so that Soken's soul could be collected for study.

Uryu firing arrows from Ginrei Kojaku.As a Quincy, Uryu's main weapon is a bow, but he is also able to use many Quincy techniques and items to augment his abilities, including some high-level techniques such as ransotengai, which are rare enough that even Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who had studied 2661 Quincy, had never seen them in person. When first introduced, Uryu uses a bow named Lone Sparrow (Kojaku), which has a basic (albeit exaggerated) form and a luminescent, translucent blue quality to its appearance. Being made of free-flowing spirit particles, its size can be affected the amount of spirit particles and spiritual pressure available to it.