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Media information

The Bleach manga was first released in August of 2001 in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. New chapters are featured weekly in the same magazine. VIZ Media has released 16 English volumes in North America, and several scanlation groups continue to release unofficial English translations of new chapters. In 2005, Bleach was awarded the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category.[1]

The Bleach animated TV series is broadcast on Wednesdays on TV Tokyo and affiliated stations throughout Japan. Studio Pierrot does the animation work. The first episode aired on October 5, 2004. Two OVAs have been produced in addition to the current episodes. The first 63 episodes are based on the manga, while the following episodes up to 109 are original to the anime and designed to prevent the anime storyline from overtaking that of the manga. The series has no plans to end production. An animated film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006. In a 2006 internet poll by TV Asahi, Bleach was ranked as Japan's seventh-favorite anime program.[2]

On March 15, 2006, VIZ Media obtained foreign television, home video, and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from the TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha Inc. Subsequently, VIZ Media contracted Studiopolis to create the English dub of the anime.[3] The English voice acting is directed by Michael Sorich.

The English version of the Bleach anime premiered on Canada's YTV channel in the Bionix program block on September 8, 2006. Cartoon Network's Adult Swim began airing Bleach the following evening. Adult Swim also created a Bleach website that includes the original opening and ending themes with English credits. A Tagalog dub of the anime will begin to air in the Philippines on the GMA Network in the spring of 2007.

in the anime i thought they are called the bountuo

Setting

There are several planes of existence in the Bleach universe. These broadly correspond to the life and afterlife of human belief systems. The living humans of Bleach reside in a world resembling the present day; buried souls live in a kind of Heaven called Soul Society; neglected spirits passed over by the Shinigami reside in a purgatory called Hueco Mundo; evil souls are sent to Hell. Once in Soul Society, a spirit is able to live much longer than humans in the living world, with many aging into the thousands. Once a spirit dies in Soul Society, its soul is sent back to the living world and reborn as a new human. This provides the two worlds with balance.

Human world: The human world of Bleach is modern Japan, or more specifically, a fictional area of Western Tokyo called Karakura Town. In this world, Ichigo attends school and fights hollows. Places of note are the high school, the Urahara Shop, the river where Ichigo's mother was killed, the cemetery, and Ichigo and Orihime's homes.

Soul Society: Soul Society consists of a giant walled city in the center, known as the Seireitei (Court of Pure Souls), and four regions (north, south, east, and west), each with 80 districts, outside of it. The districts outside of the Seireitei are known as the Rukongai (Town of Wandering Spirits) and are the place where non-shinigami and non-nobles live. The district number of the Rukongai (ranging from 1 to 80) also describes its conditions. District 1 is peaceful and orderly, while District 80 is filled with criminals and has the poorest living conditions. A king resides in another realm within Soul Society, but very few details about him have surfaced.

Hueco Mundo: Hueco Mundo is the area between the human world and Soul Society. Literally meaning "hollow world" (although the Spanish is inaccurate), it is where hollows reside when not hunting in the human world or Soul Society, and where they are nigh undetectable. The entrance to Hueco Mundo is a rip in the fabric of the human world or Soul Society.

Hell: Hell is the destination of those who committed unforgivably evil acts during their lives in the human world. When a hollow whose mortal soul is too wicked to enter Soul Society has its mask split by a zanpakutō, the gates of hell (giant doors held by skeletons) appear and begin to open. A giant, laughing spiritual being with a blade spears the wicked spirit and drags it down into hell.

Bleach characters move from world to world by several means. Human souls usually cross between planes through birth into the human world or soul burial by shinigami. However, living humans can also use special portals to move between worlds. Shinigami open passages between worlds by means of their zanpakutō. Moths created during soul burial, called hell butterflies, make these routes safe. While hollows are portrayed as able to move between planes at will by opening rifts in space, they usually remain in Hueco Mundo due to the risk of discovery in Soul Society or the human world. Encounters between roaming and displaced characters are a driving plot force in Bleach.

Characters

Main Characters

Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎 一護, Kurosaki Ichigo?) is the main character of the manga and anime series Bleach. The series begins with Ichigo receiving shinigami powers as a result of a run-in with Rukia Kuchiki, one of the many shinigami who inhabit the spirit world, Soul Society. These powers come at the cost of Rukia's own, and as a result, Ichigo is forced to work as Rukia's stand-in, fighting to protect people from hollows and sending Pluses to the afterlife. According to the Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Ichigo is consistently the most popular character in Bleach.

Occupation: High School student, substitute shinigami, Vizard
Birthday: July 15
Height: 174 cm (5' 8½")
Weight: 61 kg (134.5 lbs)
Blood type: AO
Zanpakutō: Zangetsu
Theme song: "News From The Front" by Bad Religion
Seiyū: Masakazu Morita
Yuki Matsuoka (child)
Voice actor: Johnny Yong Bosch
Mona Marshall (child)

Character outline

Ichigo is a tough, 15-year-old who always attempts to cultivate a detached image, for which he keeps his eyebrows constantly furrowed and his mouth always in a scowl. However, he is revealed to be kinder and more intelligent under the surface than his appearance and attitude would suggest. Ichigo has natural orange hair, a fact that annoys many upperclassmen in his school, who constantly pick fights with him. Ichigo claims that he does not care what others think (about his hair and other subjects) and seems to enjoy fighting the bullies. Ichigo often teams up with Yasutora Sado to fight these battles.

Ichigo likes chocolate and spicy food. His favorite celebrities are Al Pacino and Mike Ness and the person he admires most is William Shakespeare. He is uncomfortable around nude or immodestly dressed women.

Ichigo is also a capable student, ranked at 23 of 322 in his school. While this freaked out Keigo Asano at first (he feared Ichigo was turning into a nerd), Ichigo notes that he regularly studies and doesn't neglect his schoolwork, most likely due to the fact that he has nothing better to do at home as he states himself. Many people tend to misjudge him based on his unusual (but natural) hair color, so he works hard to overcome their misconceptions.

His name, when separated as ichi (一) and go (五), is 1 and 5 or 15, which may be the reason behind the two numbers' frequent appearances in the series. The word ichigo (イチゴ) actually means "strawberry" in Japanese, and is normally only used as a girl's name; he explains in one episode that the way it is spelled for his name is ichi as in "first prize" and go from "guardian angel." Ichigo's father once told him that his name means "he who protects."

After Ichigo's spiritual power is unlocked, many other characters begin to develop spiritual powers as a consequence. This is because Ichigo produces so much spiritual power that he is unable to contain it in his body, which causes it to constantly spill out. Constant exposure to Ichigo's energy causes several of his classmates to become spiritually aware, and some even develop their own powers as a result.

Family

Ichigo lives with his father, Isshin Kurosaki, and two sisters, Yuzu and Karin. His father runs a small medical clinic in their house and the entire family pitches in to help. Isshin has a competitive rivalry with his son, and randomly attacks Ichigo at inconvenient times, though it is in a light-hearted manner.

On the outside, the Kurosaki's seem to be a fairly normal family, except for one fact. Ichigo, as well as his siblings to a lesser extent, has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. While all the members of his family are able to see ghosts, Ichigo has the highest amount of natural spiritual power, though Karin has a comparable degree of spiritual awareness. Ichigo's father is also revealed to be a captain-level shinigami in exile who gave up his powers twenty years prior to the main storyline, having only recently regained them.

History

Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, began taking him to a dojo to learn karate when he was four years old. There, he met and fought with Tatsuki Arisawa, whom he lost to the first few times. Whenever this happened, he'd start crying, only to stop instantly when comforted by his mother, to whom he was greatly attached.

When Ichigo was nine, Masaki was killed by the hollow Grand Fisher, although Ichigo did not find out the true cause until early in the main Bleach storyline and previously thought she had been cut by debris of some kind falling through the air. Ichigo was distraught and stood on the shore where his mother was killed for days. The entire Kurosaki family transformed at the death of Masaki – Karin became tough and did not cry again, while Yuzu took up the household chores. Prior to learning about the Grand Fisher, Ichigo felt guilty for his mother's death, blaming himself for wandering too close to the water and causing her to put herself in harm's way to save him.

Three years before the main storyline, Orihime Inoue's older brother Sora died in the Kurosaki clinic from injuries acquired in a car accident. Ichigo watched as Orihime cried for her brother, although he did not find out that the crying girl he saw was Orihime until a short time before the main storyline.

While in junior high school, Ichigo met Yasutora Sado, then from Mashiba Junior High, who helped him out of a fight. Ichigo called him Chad because of the nametag he was wearing, which can be read either Sado or Chad, and continued using the name after being corrected. Chad, although extremely strong, was often the target of beatings because he refused to fight for his own sake due to a promise he had made as a child to his grandfather. Upon discovering this, Ichigo made a deal with Chad in which they both agreed to fight for each other in any situation.

Synopsis

Early story

At the beginning of the series, Ichigo sees and confronts Rukia Kuchiki, a shinigami (Soul Reapers in the English dub), when she enters his home while hunting a hollow. Because of his interference with her work, she is wounded and forced to transfer her powers to him in a desperate measure to save the Kurosaki family. During the transfer, Ichigo fully absorbs Rukia's powers rather than taking half as she intended. He displays immense power as a shinigami despite his lack of experience. With his new powers, Ichigo makes quick work of the hollow and Rukia leaves.

The next day, Ichigo discovers Rukia in his classroom as a transfer student. Much to his surprise, she is now apparently a normal human. Rukia informs Ichigo that she is using a gigai – an artificial body that is used by shinigami for various purposes, such as recovering their power when drained –, and that while she recovers her abilities, Ichigo must take over her job, battling hollows and performing soul burials in her stead. At this time, he is only able to transform into a shinigami when a special seal on Rukia's glove is used to "knock out" the shinigami portion of his soul, and is dependent on Rukia to transform; as the series progresses, this is replaced by taking a substitute soul, Kon.

Ichigo's new duties set off a flurry of activity both in the human and spirit worlds. At one point, the hollow Grand Fisher, who has evaded the shinigami for over fifty years, comes to the human world and attempts to consume Ichigo's sisters, Karin and Yuzu. It is at this point that Ichigo finds out that the Grand Fisher killed his mother and seeks revenge. Rukia tries to keep Ichigo from fighting, as she feared the hollow was too strong, and Ichigo orders her to go with Kon and take his sisters home. She is reminded of Kaien Shiba's last fight as a fight for honor, and reluctantly follows his orders. Ichigo greatly wounds Grand Fisher, but the hollow manages to escape. He then tries to follow him, but collapses into Rukia's arms from exhaustion.

During a duel with Uryū Ishida, a Quincy, a massive amount of hollows, including a Menos Grande, are drawn to the human world and defeated in one form or another, mostly by Ichigo and Ishida. Chad and Orihime also have their dormant powers awakened as a result, and each defeat a hollow on their own. Ichigo's victory against the Menos draws the attention of Soul Society, triggering the beginning of the next arc.

Soul Society arc

After drawing the attention of Soul Society, Ichigo loses the shinigami powers he gained from Rukia after fighting Renji Abarai and Rukia's brother, Byakuya Kuchiki – both high ranking shinigami who come to arrest Rukia. During their battle, the two sources of Ichigo's power are destroyed, leaving him an ordinary human soul. It is revealed that it is a felony for a shinigami to transfer their powers to a human, and Rukia is arrested. Desperate to save Rukia, he undergoes intensive training with Kisuke Urahara that nearly costs him his soul, but awakens his own shinigami abilities by doing so. Immediately upon reacquiring his shinigami powers, Ichigo leaves for Soul Society with Orihime, Chad, Yoruichi, and Ishida.

Ichigo battles against many shinigami during his time in Soul Society, managing to tie or defeat numerous lieutenant-level and captain-level shinigami. Much of the time he is seriously wounded, and on several occasions he barely survives, but each time his incredible endurance carries him through until he is able to be healed. A hollow mask, a remnant of his training with Urahara, also consistently appears and reappears on his person to block what would normally be fatal blows. The first fight is with Jidanbō, a Seireitei gatekeeper, which Ichigo wins easily, but he is in turn effortlessly repelled by captain Gin Ichimaru. Ichigo enters Seireitei accompanied by Ganju Shiba after being launched from Kūkaku Shiba's spirit cannon. He then proceeds to fight Ikkaku Madarame. Ichigo beats Ikkaku, even after the man reveals his zanpakutō's initial release, and learns that he is being hunted down by Kenpachi Zaraki.

Ichigo is then met by Renji Abarai, who seeks revenge for his earlier defeat. Renji injures Ichigo, who becomes stronger during the fight and defeats Renji, after which Renji "converts," asking him to rescue Rukia and no longer wishing to fight Ichigo. Renji is taken into detention for trying to fight alone and losing, while Ichigo is healed by Hanatarō Yamada in Seireitei's sewage system. Ichigo finally encounters Kenpachi Zaraki on his way to the Shrine of Penitence, where Rukia is held, and at first can hardly injure the powerful captain, who, according to Hanatarō, is immortal. Ichigo finally calls upon the strength of his zanpakutō to defeat Kenpachi. In the aftermath of the fight, both Ichigo and Kenpachi are left incapacitated, Kenpachi being evacuated by his vice-captain Yachiru Kusajishi, while Ichigo is rescued by Yoruichi Shihouin.

Yoruichi tells Ichigo that he cannot save Rukia with his present power and asks him to train to achieve the final release of the zanpakutō. Ichigo completes the training in three days. He, along with Yoruichi and sympathetic captains Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake, converge upon the Sōkyoku to stop Rukia's execution. At the last possible second, Ichigo stops the execution, and proceeds to dispatch three lieutenants - Marechiyo Ōmaeda, Isane Kotetsu and Chōjirō Sasakibe – barehanded. He is then confronted by Byakuya Kuchiki.

During this battle, Ichigo reveals his final release against Byakuya, and easily outmaneuvers Byakuya's attacks. Despite this, he does not kill him when he has a chance. Byakuya counters using the second form of his final release, and while he is still unable to touch Ichigo, Ichigo's endurance finally runs out, leaving him in critical condition. At this point, Ichigo's inner hollow surfaces and injures Byakuya to the point that both combatants have almost no power left. After regaining control of himself, Ichigo faces off against Byakuya in a final duel, with Byakuya using his final release's most powerful ability, and Ichigo simply forcing the rest of his spiritual pressure into one massive attack. After this final clash, neither has the strength to fight, but Byakuya admits his defeat because his blade was destroyed by Ichigo's, and decides not to kill Rukia. Ichigo then finds out that the events at Soul Society were an elaborate plot masterminded by Sōsuke Aizen and confronts him, but is unable to defeat him or even buy enough time for the scattered captains to return before Aizen departs for Hueco Mundo.

Prior to leaving Soul Society, Ichigo is given a badge by Ukitake that serves as a kind of "license" that allows him to hunt hollows in his area officially. It is a multi-purpose artifact that functions like Rukia's glove and alerts him to the presence of hollows.

Bount arc

In the anime, after his adventures in Soul Society, Ichigo finds himself unable to perform the final release outside of Soul Society and undergoes training with three modified souls, initiated by Urahara. Along the way, Chad, Orihime, Ishida, and Renji become involved as well.

After the training, which ends up unsuccessful, he finds out about the Bount and confronts Yoshino, who uses a powerful fire-type doll. Ichigo is unable to win, even with the help of Rukia Kuchiki, but is unintentionally saved by another Bount, Ryō Udagawa, who says that Yoshino disobeyed orders.

Udagawa appears later to try to eat Ishida's soul, and a battle between him and Ichigo's group ensues. Yoshino then appears and takes Ishida away. While visiting Ishida in the hospital, the group is met by Ban and Hō, Bount twins who use dolls that manipulate water. Ichigo attempts to defeat them, but any damage sustained to the dolls quickly regenerates, making attacking fairly pointless. He discovers that when the twins are separated, their ability to control their dolls is greatly reduced, and with some assistance from Ganju Shiba, the group succeeds in blowing the weakened dolls up with fireworks, killing the Bount twins in the process. Ichigo and company then infiltrate Jin Kariya's mansion in search of Ishida.

Upon entering Kariya's mansion, Ichigo engages Udagawa in battle, during which he obliterates a large portion of the house. His spiritual power surprises both Udagawa and Maki Ichinose, a shinigami deserter from the 11th Division who joined forces with the Bounts. When Udagawa takes Kariya's seal, Ichinose appears and attacks Udagawa, injuring him and causing him to fall into a crevice created during the battle.

Upon Udagawa's apparent death, Ichinose confronts Ichigo. The two fight until Kariya calls for a stop. Kariya then completely overpowers Ichigo. As Ichigo is at the brink of defeat, Kisuke Urahara and his assistants arrive to rescue them, completely demolishing the remainder of the mansion in the process.

Later on, Ichigo fights Koga Gowa and his doll, Dalk, after the bitto nearly kill Keigo Asano. Ichigo is slowly beaten, allowing his hollow form to appear. Ichigo manages to repel his hollow self and take over, only to succumb to his previous injuries. Izuru Kira soon appears to lend a helping hand, disabling the doll. Koga retreats, unwilling to kill such young men due to an incident in his past with a young Bount.

Ichigo then invades the Bount hideout that Ugaki is defending with Chad, Orihime, Rukia, Renji and the modified souls. Four shinigami lieutenants who had entered the cave earlier and fought Ugaki's doll, Gesell, assist them. Finally only Renji and Ichigo continue into the depths of the cave to find Ugaki. Renji decides to take on Gesell one on one with his final release (bankai) so that Ichigo will have the strength to take on the remaining Bount. Renji's attacks send Gesell on a fury that ends when Ugaki is killed by his own doll (possibly due to the doll being influenced by Kariya). The cave begins to crumble and Yumichika convinces Ichigo to leave them behind and go further into the cave.

Ichigo finds the remaining Bount and they open a portal to an unknown destination. Ichigo attacks Kariya and Kariya brutally counterattacks. Kariya picks up Ichigo and explains that the Bounts are actually going to Soul Society to seek revenge on their creators. Kariya picks up Zangetsu and threatens to use the sword to kill Ichigo; however, Ichigo grasps Zangetsu and stabs himself, absorbing the sword and speaking with its spirit, reaffirming his resolve. Ichigo uses his final release and the fight continues, but Kariya and Ichigo are now evenly matched. They are interrupted by Ishida who has temporarily regained his powers through a Quincy artifact. He explains that the Bounts needed a Quincy in order to use the Quincy's ability to manipulate spirit particles to convert living beings into souls, then helps the Bounts to reach Soul Society since his artifact will be more effective there. Unfortunately, the Bount are also much stronger in Soul Society.

In Soul Society, they use Kūkaku Shiba's house as their initial base of operations and separate to search for the Bounts. After the Bount Yoshi almost kills Rukia Kuchiki, she is saved by Byakuya. Ichigo asks Byakuya for assistance, but Byakuya refuses, making it clear that he still dislikes Ichigo.

Later, he comes across Kariya and Byakuya fighting in a forest and joins in, even though Byakuya tells him he is not needed. Despite being outnumbered, Kariya is able to hold his own. Rantao, the shinigami that created the Bounts, steps in during the battle, giving Kariya a chance to escape with Koga while Rantao takes Ichigo and Uryū Ishida, who arrives soon after Rantao, back to her home in Rukongai. Rantao explains to Ishida and Ichigo about how her spirit powers were sealed and she was banished for the creation of the Bount. She also explains the dangers of Ishida's battle accessory.

After departing from Rantao's home, they meet up with Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Renji Abarai, who are in the middle of a battle with former shinigami Maki Ichinose. This does not last long though as Kenpachi Zaraki arrives and challenges Ichinose, allowing the others to pursue the Bounts.

At the Technological Institute, Ichigo and Chad catch up to Kariya, but neither are able to stop him. Their battle inadvertently unearths the Jōkaishō, a massive energy source, which Kariya had been searching for. Kariya absorbs the energy and uses its destructive potential as a threat to keep Ichigo at bay. He then gives the whole of Soul Society a day to think about their impending destruction. With permission from Matsumoto, Ichigo uses the 10th Division as a base of operations during this time.

The next day, he saves both Ishida and Rantao from Kariya, and the two get into a protracted battle across most of Soul Society. They fight for a time, with Kariya being somewhat distracted yet still somewhat superior to Ichigo. He finally announces that he cannot waste any more time on Ichigo and summons his doll, which appears as a metallic hilt shaped like the Bount seal fused to his arm with a wind/electric blade. After much effort on Ichigo's part, the battle ends in a final sword clash, with Ichigo the victor. Before dying, Kariya tells Ichigo before turning into dust that he regrets not being able to watch if Ichigo will walk down the same path (where his friends eventually fear his immense power and desert him) he did because they were both burdened with great powers. This led Ichigo to wonder whether Kariya's actions up to now were to end his own eternal life.

The events of this arc leave Ichigo reminiscing about his life in the days preceding his encounter with Rukia. The group soon returned to the real world, with Rukia remaining behind, and Shinji Hirako awaiting them in Karakura town.

Arrancar arc

After returning from Soul Society with his friends, without Rukia, Ichigo's life briefly returns to the relatively peaceful state at which it was before he left. This serenity is broken with the arrival of new student Shinji Hirako. Shinji reveals himself as a recruiter for the vizard, approaches Ichigo and attempts to convince him to join his organization. Ichigo persistently refuses, even after being warned that his inner hollow will eventually take over and destroy everything in sight. Shortly afterwards, two arrancar, Yammy and Ulquiorra, appear in Karakura town in order to locate and evaluate Ichigo's strength. Ichigo battles Yammy using his final release, and manages to cut off the giant's arm. However, Ichigo's inner hollow soon interferes, paralyzing Ichigo, and Yammy injures both him and Orihime. The arrival of Yoruichi Shihouin and Kisuke Urahara forces Ulquiorra into strategic retreat.

After his failure against the arrancar, Ichigo loses his will as a shinigami since he cannot protect his friends. This mood lasts until the arrival of Gotei 13's expeditionary force: six shinigami sent to the human world under the command of Tōshirō Hitsugaya. Rukia, who is among them, forces Ichigo to defeat a hollow, all the while chastising him. This causes him to regain his spirit and reaffirm his commitment to protect his friends, the first being Orihime Inoue. Later that day, Ichigo discusses the growing arrancar threat with Hitsugaya's force and learns what the arrancar actually are. Rukia is formally accepted into Ichigo's home, sleeping in the same room as his sisters.

That night, six arrancar under the command of Grimmjow Jaggerjack invade Karakura Town, intending to finish what they view as an incomplete mission on Ulquiorra's part. They split up, seeking targets with spiritual power. Ichigo's house is targeted, first by D-Roy, who is quickly dispatched by Rukia, and then by the much mightier Grimmjow, who eliminates Rukia in a single strike. Ichigo uses his final release, but Grimmjow manages to block Ichigo's attacks with his bare hands. Desperate, Ichigo uses his getsuga tenshō to damage Grimmjow. In his final release form, using the move allows his hollow side to become dominant, and Ichigo remarks that two or three more uses of it would allow his hollow to completely take over. Kaname Tōsen interrupts the fight and takes Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo, leaving an unsatisfied Ichigo to sulk in his apparent loss and worry over an injured Rukia.

Ichigo, unable to control his inner hollow, accepts Shinji Hirako's offer and seeks out the vizard in order to gain control. During a sparring match with Hiyori Sarugaki, he loses control to his hollow side once more, and nearly kills her. After reverting back to his shinigami state, Ichigo is informed that he cannot simply keep his hollow in check with his body or mind, but must force it into the very core of his soul. After a brief period of unappreciated training, Ichigo is told to confront his hollow side within his inner world. There, Ichigo squares off against his hollow self. Even after several exchanges, Ichigo is unable to damage the hollow, while badly injured and stabbed himself. Finally, Ichigo is defeated, and his sword shatters. After a brief discourse with his hollow, and then another with an inner manifestation of Kenpachi Zaraki, Ichigo realizes his trouble is that he lacks pure fighting spirit, instead needing reasons to fight his opponents. His spirit rekindled by this revelation, Ichigo is able to make a comeback, seizing the hollow's sword and impaling him on it. His hollow subdued for the moment, Ichigo fades back to reality. When he comes to, he learns that while he was fighting internally, his outer body had transformed into that of a powerful and berserk hollow. The vizard had taken turns battling this monster to keep it in check. Ichigo then trains with Hiyori to increase the amount of time he can stay in masked form.

A month later, the arrancar once again invade Karakura, and Ichigo brashly heads off to fight Grimmjow even though he can only remain in his masked form for eleven seconds. This backfires, as despite using his masked form and Grimmjow's loss of an arm since their last meeting, Ichigo is unable to defeat him within the eleven-second limit. His mask crumbles, and Ichigo is brutally counter-attacked. On the brink of defeat and pinned to the ground, Ichigo is granted a short reprieve by Rukia. As Grimmjow recovers from Rukia's attack, Shinji Hirako appears and fights him until the arrancar retreat by order of Ulquiorra.

When tending to Ichigo's wounds, the vizard Hachigen reveals that Ichigo's spiritual power has been contaminated somewhat by Grimmjow's. As per his instructions, Rukia takes him back to the Kurosaki Clinic to recover. While in a deep sleep, he is visited by Orihime, who has been taken prisoner by the arrancar and given a twelve hour reprieve by Ulquiorra to say good-bye to just one person. Orihime tries to kiss Ichigo while he sleeps, but is unable to. She does, however, confess her love for him.

Later, Ichigo wakes from a bad dream and realizes that the wound from his wrist is healed. Trying to sense by spiritual pressure who has healed him, he is visited by Hitsugaya, who tells him to come immediately for an emergency shinigami meeting. The meeting is held at Orihime's apartment where Hitsugaya and Matsumoto took up residence and done via a live-conference device connecting Soul Society and the human world. Captain Ukitake greets them and informs them Orihime was taken by an arrancar and might have been killed. Ichigo informs them that she visited him to heal him the night before, which leads Yamamoto to believe that Orihime has betrayed them. Renji requests permission to go to Hueco Mundo to rescue her but the request is denied, as Yamamoto believes that the death of one person and the death of the world are weighted on a scale, thus saving Orihime is not important overall. Ichigo asks to go save Orihime by himself, but Yamamoto once again denies the suggestion, stating that Ichigo is a significant asset to Soul Society. The shinigami are ordered to return to Soul Society to fortify their defenses, leaving Ichigo alone.

Despite Yamamoto's decision, Ichigo decides to make preparations with Urahara to single-handedly retrieve Orihime from Hueco Mundo. At school, Tatsuki confronts him about her sightings in which she becomes angry and violent over his reluctantness to explain himself. She reveals to him that she is able to sense his and Orihime's spiritual energy, and can see Ichigo and other shinigami. She is restrained by Keigo and Mizuiro while Ichigo walks away coldly telling his friends not to get involved. At Urahara's shop, Ichigo is joined by Ishida with his Quincy powers restored and Chad with a new more powerful right arm. After some convincing, the trio agree to help each other rescue Orihime and Urahara opens a gate to Hueco Mundo. Ichigo leads Chad and Ishida into Hueco Mundo but unknown to him, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro had followed him and witnessed his departure.

Hueco Mundo arc

As Ichigo, Chad, and Ishida enter Hueco Mundo, they are immediately detected by Aizen and attacked by two arrancar, Demōra and Iceringer. Ichigo is then told to stay back and simply watch as Chad and Ishida engage the two arrancar by themselves. Once they are victorious, the room and passageway collapses around them, forcing the trio to race outside where they see their destination, a castle in the middle of a barren desert.

They see what looks to be a human being chased by three hollows. After Ichigo attacks the three, it is revealed that the 'human' is actually an arrancar named Nell and her brothers with their pet hollow, Bawabawa. Ichigo's group catches a ride on Bawabawa when they are attacked by another hollow, Lunuganga, which is made of sand. Ichigo is unable to hurt the hollow, but the trio is saved by Rukia and Renji when Rukia freezes Lunaganga in a circle of ice.

Ichigo and his group break into Las Noches and split into five directions, leaving Nell and her brothers behind. The siblings decide to follow Ichigo but get lost. Nell is the only one who catches up to Ichigo, arriving just in time to see Dordonii, a fallen Espada with a number of #103.

As Ichigo and Dordonii fight, the difference in power between the two quickly becomes apparent. Dordonii then suggests Ichigo use his final release so at least he would stand a chance. Ichigo refuses and says that he is going to beat all the Espada, but if he needed to use final release in every battle it would only be a sign of weakness. Dordonii then releases his zanpakutō without unsheathing it, thus greatly increasing his power. In his released form and commanding the wind, Dordonii is more than a match for Ichigo. Ichigo is "rescued" by Nell, who manages to absorb and reflect a blast aimed for Ichigo. Enraged, Dordonii attacks Nell, who is then saved by Ichigo, now using his final release.

Dordonii, not satisfied with Ichigo's final release, wishes to see his hollow form. He even resorts to attacking Nell in an attempt to force Ichigo to transform. Ichigo sets Nell aside and tells Dordonii he will show him his hollow form, but for only a second. Dordonii is pleased at first, but Ichigo severely wounds him with one strike in his hollow form. Ichigo then reverts back to his normal state as Dordonii falls in apparent defeat. Nell heals Dordonii and he tries to engage Ichigo again, but is once again defeated. In thanks for Ichigo fighting him at his full, Dordonii battles the Exequias sent after Ichigo so he can get away.

Powers

Shinigami powers

Ichigo, though not possessing any formal shinigami rank, can fight on the level of a shinigami captain and possesses several powerful techniques. According to Aizen and Urahara, Ichigo's most astounding ability is his growth rate: he grasps the basic control of advanced techniques in days where it might take someone else weeks or years. One example is the final release of his zanpakutō, which he learns in three days while a normal shinigami would require hundreds of years of combat experience and at least ten additional years of special training to learn the same thing. It should be noted, however, that he used a special device designed by Urahara to accelerate the process. He also quickly gains mastery of flash steps while training with Yoruichi.

Physically, Ichigo is in top form even when not in his spiritual body. Ichigo has been trained in martial arts since he was a small child, both professionally and by his father's constant assaults and surprise attacks when at home. He regularly fought and defeated bullies and gangsters when in high school, and was a better martial artist than even Tatsuki, the second-strongest high school girl in Japan, before they were in middle school.

When he is in his shinigami body, Ichigo's already impressive strength is greatly enhanced. He can easily wield his giant sword one-handed, leap several stories into the air, and in one case even fought off three lieutenants and their released zanpakutō bare-handed in rapid succession. He even shattered one of their released zanpakutō in a single punch.

In terms of fighting style, Ichigo relies mostly on his zanpakutō and the use of flash steps, and thus would be considered a swordsmanship specialist. Ichigo has never been formally taught kidō (demon arts).

Normally, when going to the human world, captain and vice-captain-ranked shinigami have a limit placed on their power so they will not cause "unnecessary influence." Because he is not a ranked officer, Ichigo possesses no such limit. What exactly this "unnecessary influence" refers to is unclear. It may relate to the way Ichigo's friends developed spiritual powers by proximity to him.

Hollow powers

Ichigo's powers are not limited to just shinigami abilities; he possesses hollow powers as a result of his training with Urahara. Because he had to temporarily become a hollow (at least partially) to awaken his shinigami powers, he possesses a hollow spirit within him.

Ichigo's hollow spirit is a more evil version of Ichigo himself, as is common with humans who become hollows. The spirit is confident in his own superiority, and mocks Ichigo's inability whenever he gets the opportunity. He's also fond of taunting other opponents about their own weaknesses, another trait common amongst hollows. The title page of chapter 220 depicts the inner hollow with the mirror writing of Ichigo's name.

At different points in the series, Ichigo's hollow powers have manifested themselves in different ways. Initially, Ichigo's hollow mask would appear on his body to block fatal blows, which Ichigo never noticed until after the fact. During his battle with Byakuya Kuchiki, the mask appeared on his face when he was near death, allowing his inner hollow to take over until Ichigo suppressed it. The same event is repeated multiple times after that, though Ichigo's ability to suppress it got quicker each time. Eventually, Ichigo's ability to suppress his hollow got quick enough that he could suppress it almost instantly. However, doing so left him effectively paralyzed during such periods, since his concentration was focused on suppressing it rather than fighting.

While his inner hollow is dominant, Ichigo is able to ignore any current injuries and becomes far faster and stronger than normal. The arrancar Ulquiorra has claimed that Ichigo's hollow-enhanced strength is even greater than his own when berserk, but fluctuates widely; Ichigo's fluctuations were the primary reason why he let Ichigo survive their first encounter.

While he was in training with the vizard, Ichigo's physical body was completely overcome by his inner hollow for a short period, causing his body to completely transform into a hollow. As a full hollow, Ichigo demonstrated several high-level abilities, including instantaneous regeneration, enhancement of limbs, and the ability to fire cero blasts from his fingers. However, this form didn't last long as Ichigo emerged from the hollow shell as his standard shinigami self.

After training with the vizard and subjugating his inner hollow, Ichigo can use his hollow mask while retaining his personality, but only for eleven seconds at a time. During this transformation, his hollow powers supplement his shinigami powers, giving him a vast increase in both strength and speed.

Zangetsu

Ichigo's zanpakutō is named Zangetsu (斬月 lit. moon cutter). Unlike those of most shinigami, who can seal their zanpakutō after releasing it, Ichigo's zanpakutō is always in its initial release state like the zanpakutō of Kenpachi Zaraki, likely due to the fact that both men possess unusually large amounts of spiritual energy. Yoruichi Shihouin has stated that his zanpakutō is a full-time released form type, implying that it is simply a type of zanpakutō that, once initially released, remains in said state.

The spirit of Zangetsu resembles a 30 to 40 year-old man, and Ichigo calls him "old man" or "uncle" (おっさん, ossan?) as a result. Zangetsu has also been called the "black-clothed man" (黒衣の男, kokui no otoko?).[6] Zangetsu is portrayed as wise and calm in most matters, and fond of testing Ichigo in unusual ways, many of which have a purpose completely contrary to the stated goal.

When Ichigo first becomes a shinigami, his zanpakutō is simply an oversized version of a regular sealed zanpakutō, complete with an equally oversized sheath on his back. The large size is due to Ichigo's immense spiritual power, which he didn't know how to control. As a result, the sword itself was rather weak, since very little spiritual power was used to create it. Byakuya Kuchiki cuts off most of the blade during his first encounter with Ichigo and Kisuke Urahara subsequently slices it down to the hilt during their training, forcing Ichigo to learn the name of his zanpakutō in order to release its true form.

The released form of Zangetsu resembles an oversized, though more elegant, cleaver blade without a hilt guard. The sword is as tall as Ichigo is, 1.74 meters, and has a black blade with a silver edge. Ichigo carries his zanpakutō on his back by the cloth wrapped around the handle. When not in combat, the cloth extends to cover the rest of the sword and falls away when necessary, shrinking back to a manageable size. The cloth can also be used to swing the weapon like a flail and toss it at opponents, but this is rarely done. Zangetsu's special ability is the getsuga tenshō (月牙天衝, lit. moon sky-piercing fang), which fires concentrated energy blasts from the tip of the blade in the shape of a crescent moon. Ichigo uses this ability without knowing its name several times, but masters the technique later on when he discovers its name. As stated by Zangetsu, knowing and not knowing the name of an attack makes a difference in the amount of power that it releases.

The final release of Zangetsu, named Tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月, lit. heavenly chains moon cutter), is considered completely out of the ordinary for any zanpakutō. Unlike most final releases, which usually create some sort of massive creature or effect, Ichigo's final release actually shrinks his sword down to a nodachi (Japanese long sword) with a black blade, a handguard in the shape of the manji (which is the kanji for "ban," meaning "full"), and a short chain dangling as the blade's tassel, which replaces the cloth from its initial release form. In addition to his sword, Ichigo's robe is replaced with a long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat with red lining that is closed at his chest, much like that of Zangetsu himself.

While Ichigo's final release is usually a fairly short transformation, the initial transformation (as well as a few others for dramatic effect) has an extended sequence. First, Ichigo concentrates his spiritual aura around himself and his sword. The cloth section of his sword then wraps around his arm and Ichigo fires a blast forward or toward where his sword is facing. The transformation leaves a tremendous tornado behind, which when receding reveals Ichigo in his final release. In most cases, Ichigo merely performs a quickened version of the drawn-out transformation, excluding the large forward blast and the cloth wrapping around his arm.

As explained by Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's final release is a compression of his power, rather than a vast expansion as other final releases are. This hugely compressed power enables Ichigo to move at speeds exceeding those of flash steps, and gives him matching agility and reflexes, allowing him to use his natural strength to its limits. This form doesn't gain any additional special abilities, but it does possess an improved, black version of getsuga tenshō. In addition to the change in color, the black getsuga tenshō is much stronger and its path can be willfully controlled by Ichigo. The move was first displayed by Ichigo's inner hollow, and initially carried the risk of causing his inner hollow to surface if used too much. With Ichigo's later control over his inner hollow, this is no longer a problem.

Human world

The Kurosaki family

Isshin Kurosaki (黒崎 一心, Kurosaki Isshin?) is a character in the manga and anime series Bleach. He is the father of Ichigo Kurosaki and as such, head of the Kurosaki family. He runs their private clinic, the Kurosaki Clinic. A skilled doctor, Isshin can perform almost any medical procedure except major surgery. Initially, Kubo wanted to portray Isshin as a mortician, rather than a doctor, because Kubo thought Isshin looked better in a black suit.

Occupation: Doctor, shinigami (former captain-level)
Birthday: December 10
Height: 186 cm (6' 1¼")
Weight: 80 kg (176 lb)
Blood type: AB
Theme song: "Don't Drag Me Down" by Social Distortion
Seiyū: Toshiyuki Morikawa
Voice actor: Patrick Seitz

Character outline

In the beginning of the series, Isshin is portrayed as a silly, fight-loving father who takes a keen interest in what his children are doing, but does it either offensively or with an all-too-happy tone, which illicits comical reactions from his kids, usually in the form of a kick. Isshin also seems to enjoy making fun of Ichigo and has a tendency to talk to the large memorial poster of his late wife Masaki, which he has pinned up in their kitchen, whenever he feels particularly emotional. Isshin is a big fan of Don Kanonji's TV show. His favorite celebrity is John Lee Hooker and his favorite food is potatoes with sweet bean jelly.

Despite his outrageous guise, however, Isshin can be serious and grim at times. On the date of Masaki's death, Isshin smokes a single cigarette in front of her grave, since she thought it made him look cool (she said it when they were dating). He reflects that it was the first and last time she ever complimented his appearance. In addition, during his confrontation with the arrancar Grand Fisher and the subsequent chat with Kisuke Urahara, he remains completely serious (aside from a short argument between him and Kon about his parenting).

Isshin appears to be an associate of Kisuke Urahara and possesses knowledge of Sōsuke Aizen's alliance with the Menos. He mentions in his conversation with Urahara that he encountered arrancar about ten years before the main storyline, though they were nowhere near as complete as Fisher. He also reveals to Kon that he has been aware of Ichigo's shinigami activities and Kon's substitutions since Grand Fisher's first attack. He also notes that he has never called Kon "Ichigo" while Kon is in Ichigo's body and that the travelling charm he gave Ichigo before he went to rescue Rukia was actually for Kon (it's a protection talisman). This shows the sensitivity and propriety that he possesses of his role as Ichigo's father, which is rarely portrayed in the series.

Isshin also shares a relationship with Ryūken Ishida not unlike that of their sons. When Ryūken discovers his son is missing, Isshin pays him a visit and the two chat about their respective styles of parenting. It is then revealed that Ryūken was aware of Isshin's status, and he comments on Isshin's powers. The Bleach Official Animation Book VIBEs states that the two have some prior history together, and that they have been acquaintances for quite some time. It can also be noted they both are doctors and run clinics.

History

Little is known about Isshin's history, except that he was once a captain-level shinigami. Twenty years before the main storyline, he ceased being a shinigami, although it is unclear whether he officially quit his duties at that time or on an earlier date. His current shinigami uniform retains a captain's robe, but it has no visible division insignia and is worn like a sash over his left shoulder.

He later married Masaki Kurosaki and they had three children — Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu. Masaki died at the hands of Grand Fisher, who was a simple hollow at the time, six years before the main storyline. Isshin was unable to prevent Masaki's death; however, he eventually killed Grand Fisher, both protecting Kon (inhabiting Ichigo's body) from attack and finally avenging his wife's death.

Zanpakutō

The name of Isshin's zanpakutō has not yet been revealed. Isshin has only used it once as an example of how every captain-level shinigami must suppress the sizes of their zanpakutō in order to have it at a proper size, as they would otherwise be swinging swords the size of skyscrapers, when he talked to Grand Fisher. It is also worn with the edge down like a tachi, instead of the edge up like a katana. The end of the hilt has a tassel similar to Ichigo's original zanpakutō.

Karakura High School

Orihime Inoue (井上 織姫, Inoue Orihime?) is a major character in the manga and anime series Bleach. She is a classmate and friend of Ichigo Kurosaki, the protagonist of the series. Like many other friends of Ichigo, she quickly develops spiritual powers of her own after Ichigo becomes a shinigami.

Occupation: High School student
Birthday: September 3
Height: 157 cm (5' 1¾")
Weight: 45 kg (99 lb)
Blood type: BO
Theme song: "T'en va pas" by Elsa
Seiyū: Yuki Matsuoka
Voice actor: Stephanie Sheh

Character outline

Orihime Inoue has long orange-brown hair which she wears with the bangs behind her ears and hairpins. She never removes her hairpins, as they are worn in memory of her brother, while her hair is worn long in honor of the promise Tatsuki Arisawa once made to protect her. Her very large breasts are occasionally made the subject of jokes in the series. She also has an amazingly hard head, which has injured Ishida, Chad, and Ichigo. Orihime has brown eyes in color pictures of the manga, but blue-ish gray eyes in the anime.

Orihime is friendly, sensitive, and kind. She comes off as naïve and rather clueless, which is at odds with her consistently high marks in school. Apparently, she is hopeless when it comes to technology. One of the members of the Handicrafts' Club remarks that she is not smart enough to use a cell phone, which is why she does not have one. Additionally, thanks to training from Tatsuki, Orihime can physically fight at the first degree black belt level in karate.

Orihime cooks and eats strange food at home, although she also likes some normal food. Aside from Rangiku Matsumoto and possibly Tessai Tsukabishi, no one shares Orihime's tastes. Her favorite food is cheese and butter, and she likes putting butter on sweet potatoes. She moves houses in the middle of the manga after she is evicted for unrevealed reasons.

Orihime has a tendency to rush into situations without thinking, sometimes leading to embarrassing consequences. At one point, the schoolgirls ask Rukia if she has feelings for Ichigo. When Rukia denies any such thing, Orihime is disappointed that Rukia does not share her sentiments, because if she had, then it would be two girls against one boy, which of course makes no sense. She also tends to have an overactive imagination and gets carried away thinking of implausible scenarios (such as portraying herself as a futuristic and apparently highly destructive robot in an assignment asking "How do you see yourself in the future?", when the question refers to what occupation one wishes or believes they will have).

Orihime has also demonstrated that she is perceptive, mostly when it comes to Ichigo Kurosaki. She is in love with Ichigo, and in both the manga and anime her feelings only become more evident as time goes on. She has revealed these feelings both to Rangiku Matsumoto and to Ichigo himself, though he was asleep at the time. She also has the uncanny ability to detect Ichigo by scent and sense his spiritual pressure, even when masked by the vizard.

Through her expanding role in the manga, Orihime has become a more complex character than her earlier archetype suggested. Where in the beginning of the manga Orihime was more happy and goofy, the current manga arc deals with her feelings of uselessness and inner turmoils that had not been addressed previously. Her character being featured along with female leads from other Weekly Shonen Jump series recently also suggests her possible role as a second female lead.

School

Orihime scores the highest marks in school after Uryū Ishida and Ryō Kunieda (creating a rather laughable remark from one of her classmates: "Its not fair, she's got boobs and brains!"). Despite her intelligence, she appears to lack "street smarts." She is also a member of the Handicrafts' Club with Uryū and apparently likes to invent very ridiculous sports to play with Tatsuki (like "baseccer," a combination of baseball and soccer much like kickball or soccer-baseball except they use a bat to hit the soccer ball instead of their foot). Like Chad and Ishida, she is in the same class as Ichigo. She is frequently in the company of Tatsuki, her best friend and a childhood friend of Ichigo's.

History

Orihime lives by herself in Karakura, where the story takes place, and is supported by relatives living elsewhere. Previously, she had lived with her older brother, Sora, who was fifteen years older than her. She and her brother were raised by a drunk father and a cheating mother, who always argued and beat their children to vent off steam. It is unknown if her parents are still alive.

When Sora turned eighteen, he ran away with Orihime, who was three years old, and raised her since. For six years, Orihime and Sora lived in harmony despite the fact that Orihime was bullied in school because of her hair color. One day, Sora gave Orihime a pair of hairpins. However, Orihime refused to wear them because she said they were childish. On the same day, Sora was killed in a car accident and died in the Kurosaki clinic. Orihime has worn the hairpins ever since. A year after Sora died, Orihime met Tatsuki who defended her from the bullies. They have been best friends ever since.

Synopsis

Early story

Orihime first appears as a high school student who has a crush on Ichigo despite her friend Tatsuki's disapproval. Her first exposure to the spiritual world comes when her deceased brother, Sora Inoue, becomes the hollow Acidwire. Driven by rage, he attacks Orihime and Tatsuki (who Orihime had invited over for dinner), knocking Orihime's soul out of her body. In spirit form, she witnesses the battle between Sora and Ichigo. While Ichigo manages to hold him off, the battle does not end until Orihime's intervention that results in Sora stabbing himself with Ichigo's zanpakutō, purifying himself in the process. She is able to bid Sora a safe trip, something she never had the chance to say on the day of his death.

While both Tatsuki and Orihime's memories are modified by Rukia, this event enables them to start developing spiritual awareness. They are further affected when Ichigo helps Don Kanonji with a hollow on his TV show, an event both of them had attended. She once again encounters a hollow when Uryū lures a massive number to Karakura Town for his challenge to Ichigo. The hollow, Numb Chandelier, uses her ability to control various students and forces them to attack Orihime. When Tatsuki tries to fend off the assaults and protect Orihime, she is controlled as well. Seeing Tatsuki in tears, Orihime decides it is time for her to protect Tatsuki in return for their friendship. This desire transforms her flower-shaped hairpins into six fairy-like spirits. These six spirits, who call themselves "Shun Shun Rikka," briefly explain their powers for Orihime, which she uses to defeat the hollow.

Afterward, Kisuke Urahara takes her and Yasutora Sado to his shop. There, he explains to the two about their powers and takes them to witness Ichigo and Uryū's fight against a Menos Grande. During their spectating, Orihime reveals that although Rukia modified her memory of the earlier incident with Sora, Orihime had never really forgotten it; rather, she refused to remember it because she couldn't bear to see Ichigo and her brother fight each other over her.

Soul Society arc

After Rukia is taken back to Soul Society, Orihime decides to join Ichigo on his rescue mission, along with Chad, Uryū, and Yoruichi Shihouin as their guide. For the majority of their mission, Orihime is grouped with Uryū. Compared to the others, the two are fairly stealthy about their movements, attracting attention a total of three significant times while the others are fighting at basically every turn.

Shortly after arriving, they fight Jirōbō Ikkanzaka of the 7th Division, who continually targets Orihime in favor of the much stronger Uryū. Uryū dispatches him (non-fatally) fairly easily. Orihime then gets the idea to steal a pair of shinigami uniforms to blend in. When two possible candidates from the 12th Division show up, Uryū's hesitation causes him to forget to help subdue them, so he merely watches as Orihime does so single-handedly. She later mentions that Tatsuki trained her to fight at an equivalent level of a black belt in karate. However, when they come face to face with the captain of 12th Division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Uryū forces another shinigami, Makizō Aramaki of 11th Division, to carry Orihime away.

Later, with the help from 11th Division captain Kenpachi Zaraki and lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, she is able to reunite with Chad, Uryū, and Ganju Shiba. While they manage to save Rukia, they are unable to stop Sōsuke Aizen, the mastermind behind the entire scheme, from departing for Hueco Mundo.

After several days of recovering, the group decides to head back for human world. However, Rukia decides to stay in Soul Society. Respecting her wishes, they return without her.

Bount arc

In the anime, Orihime returns to school where she finally starts to talk to Tatsuki Arisawa again. During that morning, Renji Abarai turns up outside in a gigai calling for Ichigo, who runs out of class. Later that evening, Orihime is visited by the spirit of her dead brother, who assures her that he got to Soul Society safely and he will never become a hollow again. Meanwhile, Renji's phone picks up a spiritual anomaly near Orihime's house and he informs Ichigo of this. Chad and Uryū also sense this. Back at Orihime's house, her brother starts to behave strangely and suggests going outside. When Renji, Ichigo, Chad and Ishida arrive, there is a huge door (which somewhat resembles the Gates of Hell) floating outside Orihime's house. She is then sucked in while three shadowy figures stand on the rooftops laughing. The next day, everybody at school, including Tatsuki, seems to have lost their memories of her existence.

The shadowy figures rope Ichigo and the others into playing their "games" to get their friend back, eventually kidnapping Chad instead of returning Orihime. One of the shadowy figures impersonates Orihime beforehand, and turns into a tall thin man with a moustache, glasses, and top hat who reveals himself as Claude. Next, a thin teenager with a zipper hood appears and introduces himself as Nova, and finally comes the girl who was phoning them, named Ririn. Chad is then sucked through the gates leaving the group down to three.

After some more games, the three strangers are revealed to be modified souls in gigai forms. They return both Orihime and Chad, but insist that one of their group has been replaced by an imposter in the process. The next game involves them finding the imposter over the course of the school day as their classmates disappear. The imposter is eventually revealed to be Chad. The final challenge involves rescuing Chad. Ichigo eventually realizes that Urahara is behind the whole thing.

Afterwards, Urahara reveals to the group that Uryū has lost his powers. Yoruichi appears and tells them that Bounts have appeared. Urahara explains to the group about the Bounts and because they have high spirit powers, they might be targeted. He also tells them that the three mod souls have Bount detectors inside them. He then pairs Orihime up with Claude who takes him home in pill form and puts him into a rabbit bag. As she is admiring him, Kon, Chad, and Nova (inside a turtle plushie) turn up. As they are talking, Nova and Claude detect a Bount and the two run off to stop it from absorbing somebody's soul. The find that they are too late and are confronted by Ryō Utagawam who then walks off. They sense Ichigo is in trouble and run to find him just after Ryō Utagawa has carried off Yoshino Sōma. Orihime realises Rukia Kuchiki has come back to the real world and she invites her to come to a restaurant while Ichigo and Chad exchange confused looks.

After the three bring Rukia up to date with the situation, they go back to Ichigo's house and talk, during the middle of which Renji barges in. Orihime then continues to help Ichigo and the group fight the Bounts and help rescue Uryū, who the Bounts have taken a liking to and claim they need. Orihime later has to fight Rukia, who is possessed by the Bount Mabashi's doll, Ritz. Though reluctant to harm either Rukia or the Bount, Rukia's momentary ability to overpower the doll gives Orihime enough motivation to free Rukia from the doll's control.

Orihime later accompanies Ichigo and the group to Soul Society after the Bounts go there to get revenge for their creation. In Soul Society, the group split up to search for the Bounts in Rukongai. While serching, Orihime finds Ichigo. While they are speculating over where the Bounts might be, they sense Rukia is in trouble. The two of them arrive to help Rukia in the aftermath of her fight with Yoshi and accompany Byakuya Kuchiki back to his house, where they are told Rukia's life is not in danger.

Later, the group get information of the Bounts' whereabouts, but they get split up when Ichigo and Uryū sense Jin Kariya, who is fighting Byakuya Kuchiki, and separately go to investigate. Orihime and Chad later reappear when Maki Ichinose tries to stop the group (which now includes Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Renji Abarai and Rangiku Matsumoto). Ichinose tries to kill the group but Kenpachi Zaraki soon shows up and engages Ichinose. The group then return to Seireitei, where they find gatekeeper Jidanbō injured after losing to the Bounts. Orihime then decides to stay behind and heal Jidanbō. Later on, Orihime meets up again with Ichigo and the others, and heals both Chad and Uryū's injuries.

Arrancar arc

The group's return marks the beginning of the school semester. However, the arrival of a new student, Shinji Hirako, brings along many troubling issues. Noticing the change of behavior in Ichigo, Orihime and Chad confront Shinji after overhearing his conversation with Hiyori Sarugaki. Before they can learn anything, Hiyori is carried away by Shinji.

Shortly after, the human world is invaded by two arrancar, Ulquiorra and Yammy. Orihime and Chad manage to save Tatsuki, who was present when the two invaders arrived. Ichigo arrives shortly after, but is then neutralized when his inner hollow interferes with the battle. The three of them sustain massive injuries, with the spirit for Orihime's attack ability, Tsubaki, completely destroyed. They are saved by the arrival of Yoruichi and Urahara.

This event prompts Soul Society to send a group of shinigami to help defend the human world, Rukia among them. While the return of Rukia helps to cheer up a depressed Ichigo, Orihime becomes conflicted with gratefulness and jealousy. After talking with Rangiku Matsumoto, who decides to stay with Orihime, she becomes positive again, with desire to grow stronger.

After the second assault on the human world, this time by Grimmjow Jaggerjack and five arrancar, Soul Society finally figures out the true agenda of Sōsuke Aizen and requests Orihime deliever this information to the human defenders. She is able to track down Ichigo, who is at the vizard base, and manages to pass through the vizards' barrier without much effort. This feat amazes and impresses the vizard Hachigen Ushōda, who created the barrier.

Orihime is then summoned to meet Urahara at his shop. There, she is asked to not participate in the coming battle. Though part of the reason is Orihime's lack of combat ability, Urahara is really trying to prevent her from attracting Aizen's interest. Discouraged briefly, Orihime regains her confidence after talking to Rukia. She is further helped when Hachigen restores Tsubaki for her. She then joins Rukia in her training in Soul Society.

Unfortunately, Orihime's ability does spur Aizen's attention. Upon seeing footage brought back by Ulquiorra, he decides to have her captured. A third invasion of human world is ordered, intending to lure Orihime out. The plan is a success, with Ulquiorra intercepting Orihime as she passes through the tunnel. Threatened with the lives of those she cares the most, she has no choice but to comply.

Orihime is then given a chance to bid farewell to one person, and she uses the chance to make a tearful love confession to Ichigo while he is asleep. Before she leaves the human world, she writes some irrelevant things in a note book, which may be a clue to tell her friends.

Hueco Mundo arc

As she arrives in Las Noches, the fortress of the arrancar, Orihime is ordered by Aizen to demonstrate her power to the rest of the arrancar by restoring Grimmjow's missing arm. He also asks her to restore his number six tattoo, identifying him as one of the Espada. Upon completion of this task, Grimmjow butchers Luppi to get his rank back, much to Orihime's horror.

Orihime is assigned to a modest room as Ichigo, Ishida, and Chad attempt to rescue her. She receives a new wardrobe similar to that of an arrancar and is informed by Ulquiorra that Ichigo and his group (which now includes Rukia, Renji, and a trio of hollows) are attempting a rescue on her behalf. She appears to have converted to Aizen's side and is ordered by him to repair the Orb of Distortion, which was damaged via the excessive transformations of various hollows into arrancar, by reversing time and returning it to the moment before Aizen started using it. However, this proves to be false, as she resolves to destroy the orb with her powers by erasing its existence altogether.

As Ichigo's group separately make their way through Las Noches, she senses Chad's defeat at the hands of Noitora as Ulquoirra walks in to her room. As he tries to convince her to eat, she repeatedly insists that Chad is still alive. Frustrated, Ulquoirra tells her that all her friends are eventually going to be defeated and that only fools come into Hueco Mundo with their powers untested. Orihime responds with a slap across Ulquoirra's face. Ulquiorra leaves as Orihime breaks down and starts crying.

Powers

Orihime's power manifests itself as the Shun Shun Rikka (盾舜六花, lit. Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield; Six Princess Shielding Flowers in the English anime), six fairy-like creatures that reside in her hair-clips (shaped like six-petaled flowers, each fairy is two points on a given clip) when inactive. Through various combinations of the six fairies, Orihime has the power to reject fate by denying or undoing events in various forms. This power can be used for attack, defense, or healing (depending on the combination). Orihime's mood directly influences the effectiveness of her powers. Feelings such as doubt or worry make them weaker, while conviction makes them stronger. At their height, her powers resembles those of a deity in strength.

Orihime's powers initially manifested during the duel between Ichigo and Ishida while trying to protect her friend Tatsuki from Numb Chandelier. She was trained by Yoruichi Shihouin in their usage before attempting to rescue Rukia Kuchiki from being executed in Soul Society. Curiously, Orihime's spiritual energy and powers resemble those of the vizard Hachigen Ushōda. Orihime mainly functions in a healing capacity, due to the nature of her powers. Despite her potential to inflict lethal damage, she is highly pacified and only will harm opponents when her life is in danger.

The fairies are separate manifestations of Orihime's spirit, each with its own unique appearance and personality, and each named after a flower:

Ayame (あやめ, lit. iris)
Baigon (梅巌, lit. solemn ume)
Hinagiku (火無菊, lit. daisy) 1..
Lily (リリィ)
Shun'ō (舜桜, lit. althea + cherry blossom)
Tsubaki (椿鬼, lit. camellia)

Techniques

Orihime's techniques involve incantations manipulating the Shun Shun Rikka into three different groups. Though Orihime initially needed to chant an incantation to use her techniques, further training has rendered this unnecessary. Her incantation consists of voicing the names of the members involved, followed by the technique name and the phrase "I reject" (私は拒絶する, watashi wa kyozetsu suru?), a reference to the nature of her powers.

Santen Kesshun (三天結盾, lit. Sacred Tri-linked Shield) is Orihime's defensive technique. The incantation arranges Hinagiku, Lily, and Baigon into a triangle, forming a barrier capable of repelling anything on either side. Because the barrier rejects negative events, it can also function as an airbag of sorts, allowing Orihime and anyone else nearby to survive a potentially lethal fall unharmed.

Sōten Kisshun (双天帰盾, lit. Sacred Dual Return shield) is Orihime's healing technique, though it goes well beyond simple healing. The incantation summons Ayame and Shun'ō to form a half-oval barrier around whatever or whomever Orihime wishes. While active, the barrier repels all negative events inflicted upon anything within the barrier. No matter how extensive the damage may be (whether used on living beings or inanimate objects), the barrier can restore it to full working order, making it as if the object was never damaged in the first place. This is the aspect of her power that piques Sōsuke Aizen's interest in her since, in Aizen's words, she "violates the realm of gods."

Koten Zanshun (孤天斬盾, lit. Sacred Solitary Cutting Shield)[11] is Orihime's offensive technique. The incantation summons Tsubaki, who forms a thin barrier to either side of himself. By flying at an enemy, the barrier can reject anything to either side of it, thus cutting through enemies like a sword. While Tsubaki can cut through basically anything, he is easy to dodge and equally easy to injure.

Notes

arrow Her given name is taken from an ancient Japanese fairy tale which the festival Tanabata is based on. On a cover in volume one of the manga, Orihime's name is put, in English, as "Vega" which also links in with the Tanabata story. Vega, a star in the northern hemisphere, is the star Orihime (the princess from the Tanabata legend) is identified with.

arrow Orihime has gained minor fame even among non-fans thanks to her starring in the viral Internet Flash cartoon Loituma Girl. The cartoon consists of a short looped animation of Orihime twirling a "leek" (specifically, a negi, or Welsh onion) while Ievan Polkka plays. The four frames of animation come from the anime's second episode.

1.. Hinagiku means daisy phonetically, but the kanji are different. Individually these kanji can mean 'Invisible fire chrysanthemum'.

Yasutora Sado (茶渡 泰虎, Sado Yasutora?) is a major character of the manga and anime series Bleach. He is a teenager who studies in the same class as Ichigo Kurosaki. Because Ichigo first read Yasutora's name off a nametag, he pronounced his family name as Chad, which is what Ichigo continues to call him throughout the story.

Occupation: High School Student
Birthday: April 7
Height: 197 cm (6' 5¾")
Weight: 112 kg (247 lb)
Blood type: AO
Theme song: "No Song Unheard" by The Hellacopters
Seiyū: Hiroki Yasumoto
Voice actor: Jamieson Price

Character outline

Chad is a teenager of Mexican descent. He is extremely tall and appears to be much older than he is. Chad has a tattoo on his left shoulder which reads "Amore e Morte" (love and death in Italian) and consists of a heart, a snake and angel wings around the heart. In the series, he is usually seen wearing either his school uniform or a tee shirt. At one point in the series, he is seen wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt with a rose emblazoned on the left sleeve. The rose may be in honor of his grandfather seeing as how his grandfather's name was Oscar Joaquin de la Rosa, "de la Rosa" being Spanish for "of the Rose".

Chad is a quiet person, which is sometimes the subject of jokes. Nonetheless, he is treated equally within his group of friends in Karakura (Ichigo, Keigo and Mizuiro). Chad also has a weakness for cute things, like small animals and Kon. To match his size, Chad possesses extraordinary toughness, being able to survive the impact of a falling steel girder on his back and a head-on motorcycle collision, and is strong enough to swing telephone poles around with ease.

Chad likes music, but rarely watches TV. The only program he likes is "Carnivore Kingdom," which starts at 8 a.m. on Sundays. He likes it so much that he bought the DVDs for it. Not surprisingly, since Kon is a cheap knock-off plushie of the main character of "Carnivore Kingdom," Chad finds Kon especially cute. Chad also has a bass guitar, but has never been shown playing it. It has been shown in Chad's room in episode 69 and in the 8th anime ending sequence. It's also shown in episode 9 after a "band practice." He is also seen carrying it immediately preceding the appearance of the incomplete arrancar. Chad's favorite food are tomatoes.

History

Chad was born in Okinawa, Japan, but was taken to Mexico by his parents at a young age. After their deaths, Chad was adopted by Oscar Joaquin de la Rosa, a man believed to be his grandfather since Chad calls him "Abuelo" ("Grandfather" in Spanish).

During his early years, Chad was extremely violent; exploiting his advantage in size, he intimidated and hit any other children who annoyed him. Abuelo tried to teach Chad to be gentle, but was initially unsuccessful. One day, the fathers of the children Chad fought, seeking to punish him, attacked Chad. Abuelo stepped in between them, taking Chad's punishment without retaliation. Chad was inspired by this example to become a decent person. Afterwards, Abuelo gave Chad a Mexican coin. Years later, when Abuelo had died, Chad made a vow that he would never fight unless it was to protect others, as instructed — even if his own life was in danger. The coin would come to symbolize this vow, which Chad now claims to hold more value than his own life. Many years later, this was used against him when some thugs captured him and threatened to destroy the coin. Ichigo saved him from them, and made a pact with Chad that they would fight for each other, because Chad wouldn't fight to protect himself.

When Abuelo died, Chad decided to return to Japan, where he entered Mashiba Junior High School. Because of his constant involvement with gangsters, Chad gained a reputation as a ruthless gangster himself. Others were scared of him when he first entered Karakura High, though this later changed. He met Ichigo slightly before the school year started when he saved Ichigo from being injured by local thugs. Eventually, he and Ichigo graduated from Mashiba and entered Karakura High School.

Synopsis

Early story

Chad first appears as a student in Ichigo's class with good grades (ranked 11th in the entire level). Days after Ichigo becomes a shinigami, Chad is offered a cursed cockatiel whose previous owners have all died horrible deaths. He takes possession of the cockatiel and is hit by a steel girder, hit head-on by a motorcycle, and is involved in a large traffic accident all within the a day's time. He is treated at Kurosaki Clinic, where Rukia Kuchiki and Ichigo notice a mark of a hollow's hand burned on to his back. The hollow confronts Rukia and Chad, who find innovative ways to do battle with it as Chad cannot see ghosts and Rukia has lost her powers, until Ichigo arrives. The cockatiel reveals himself as Yūichi Shibata, a boy who accidentally killed a serial killer who had murdered Shibata's mother. As a hollow, the serial killer got his revenge on the boy by imprisoning him in the cockatiel's body, claiming he could bring Shibata's mother back from the dead. Ichigo defeats the hollow, who is sent to Hell for his sins. Ichigo performs a soul burial on Shibata with the hope he can meet his mother in Soul Society. Chad promises that if he ever meets Shibata again, he will carry him around as he did over the last few days.

When Uryū Ishida uses hollow bait to release a multitude of hollows in Karakura Town, Chad leads a hollow that he can barely see away from a small town and towards an empty lot to avoid any casualties. He meets Karin Kurosaki in the lot, who can fully see the hollow chasing Chad. She helps Chad fight the hollow, but Chad is thrown aside. During the battle, Chad's awareness evolves to the point that he can clearly see the hollow. He realizes his strength is to be used to protect people and punches off the hollow's arm. Chad's arm is now armored and uses it to defeat the hollow. Chad falls to the ground from exhaustion and is taken by Kisuke Urahara to his shop, where he finds that Orihime has also been taken there after her hollow encounter. They are taken to a bridge to see Ichigo fighting the Menos Grande and choose whether they will use their newfound powers to help Ichigo.

Soul Society arc

After Rukia is taken back to Soul Society, Chad and Orihime Inoue are trained by Yoruichi Shihouin to consciously call upon their powers when needed. After a week, Chad leaves for Soul Society with Orihime, Uryū, Yoruichi, and Ichigo. In Rukongai, Chad is reunited with Shibata, who has not yet found his mother but is living with a "family" of non-related people.

When the group is separated once entering the Seireitei, Chad ends up alone. Chad narrowly misses reuniting with Ichigo when he blasts a wall, giving Ichigo a chance to escape from the 11th Division. He defeats the remaining 11th Division members with a single blast from his arm. Chad finds his way into 8th Division headquarters and defeats the 3rd Seat, Tatsufusa Enjōji, with another single blast. He continues on his way but is confronted by Shunsui Kyōraku, captain of the 8th Division in the Gotei 13. After both try to convince each other to yield, Chad fires several blasts at Kyōraku but all either miss or are deflected. Chad reaffirms his promise to Ichigo to each fight for what the other protects and puts all his strength into a final blast at Kyōraku, who easily dodges and slashes Chad's chest, defeating and nearly killing him.

Chad is healed by the 4th Division and is put in a holding cellwhere he finds himself with Ganju Shiba and Uryū. They are freed by Kenpachi Zaraki and are reunited with Orihime. Zaraki's lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, leads the group to the Sōkyoku where they wait as Ichigo and Byakuya Kuchiki fight. After Byakuya is defeated, the group tends to Ichigo. They then find out that the events at Soul Society were an elaborate plot masterminded by Sōsuke Aizen and confront him, but Aizen departs for Hueco Mundo. Uryū, Chad, Ichigo, and Orihime depart for the living world.

Bount arc

In the anime, after the Soul Society arc, Chad returns to school and helps Ichigo defeat the modified souls created by Kisuke Urahara. He is taken captive along with Orihime, and the modified soul Kuroud impersonates him in front of Ichigo, who eventually identifies the impostor. Chad is let in on the plan before this point, and thus went along with it until Ichigo figures out what's going on.

When the war against the Bount starts, Chad forms part of the group which aims to defeat them. He is paired with the modified soul Noba to seek out and destroy the Bount. He encounters Sawatari and fights him along with Rangiku Matsumoto, Noba, and Ururu Tsumugiya. The battle ends undecided.

After the Bount invades Soul Society, Chad meets up with Ichigo to fight Jin Kariya. However, the fight doesn't last very long before Kariya absorbs the massive energy stored in the Jōkaishō, using its destructive potential as a threat to keep them at bay.

Arrancar arc

After returning from Soul Society (for a second time in the anime), a new student, Shinji Hirako, arrives at the high school. Chad and Orihime follow Shinji and overhear him talking to Hiyori Sarugaki about convincing Ichigo to join them. Hiyori threatens to kill them but is taken away by Shinji. Orihime begins to chase them, but is stopped by Chad, who realizes that they are no match for the pair.

When the arrancar duo of Ulquiorra and Yammy arrive in the real world, Chad and Orihime fend them off while attempting to retrieve any survivors. Completely outclassed, Chad's right arm is extensively damaged by Yammy, and requires many days of healing by Ayame and Shun'ō.

Immediately after his recovery, Chad attempts to join the fight against Grimmjow Jaggerjack's assault, but is nearly stabbed in the heart by D-roy. Realizing that he could no longer fulfill his promise to fight alongside Ichigo, Chad requested Urahara to train him. As a result, he engages in continuous single combat against Renji Abarai and his final release to improve his battle prowess.

Hueco Mundo arc

When Orihime is captured by Sōsuke Aizen, Chad and Uryū offer their services to help Ichigo rescue her. When Ichigo hesitates, Chad demonstrates the power of his improved arm, quelling any fears he might have had. The trio then departs to Hueco Mundo. Upon their arrival, Uryū and Chad engage two arrancar named Iceringer and Demōra, telling Ichigo to watch them. After initially struggling against Iceringer, Chad switches opponents with Uryū and easily defeats the slower and less intelligent Demōra with his new attack, El Directo.

With the arrancar's defeat, the room they are in begins to collapse and they are forced to escape to outside of Aizen's palace. There they see a barren wasteland with a few small hollows in it. After some wandering, they meet a few "good" hollows and their arrancar companion and head for Aizen's palace. They are joined by Rukia and Renji, and the expanded party breaks through the walls of Las Noches. The group proceeds to Aizen's headquarters and, encountering a room with five exits, split up after vowing that they shall meet again alive after their respective battles.

Chad meets up with Gantenbein Mosqueda, the 107th arrancar, and fights him. He is outmatched at first, but evens the odds when he uncovers the upgraded form of his Right Arm of the Giant, which increases his reaction time to the extent where he can block Gantenbein's attacks. After Gantenbein releases his zanpakutō, Chad reveals that the spirit of his grandfather inhabits his right arm, shielding Chad from harm. The power to attack is actually in his left arm, which also gains armor known as the "Brazo Izquierda del Diablo" (Left Arm of the Devil).

With his powers unlocked, Chad is more than a match for Gantenbein, brushing off one of his attacks with little effort and defeating him with a single attack from his awakened left arm. Chad thanks the greatly injured Gantenbein for helping him awaken his true powers, spares his life, and says that he will pray for his good fortune. Chad notices that instead of another chamber there is a daytime sky, unlike the never-ending night ouside the palace. Gantenbein tells Chad to run, who turns around to see Noitora standing behind him, holding an enormous zanpakutō shaped like two joined crescents. Chad chooses to decide the battle with one blow and punches Noitora. Noitora brushes off Chad's attack and cuts Chad's arm shield in half. Chad's defeat is felt by the other four party members and Inoue, who insists that Chad is still alive.

Powers

When first introduced, Chad had no special powers aside from his unusual strength and endurance. After his encounter with the cockatiel containing the soul of Yūichi Shibata, he started to detect the approximate locations of spirits and hollows, but could not fully see them. Only after saving Karin Kurosaki from a hollow, during the match between Uryū and Ichigo, did Chad begin to fully see spirits.

At the same time that he became able to clearly see spirits, he also awakened his latent spiritual ability, which manifests as armor on his right arm called the "Brazo Derecha de Gigante" (巨人の右腕, lit. Right Arm of the Giant). The armor is colored black with a red stripe going down the center and two white stripes surrounding it (the same colors used on Mexican military dress uniforms). Chad's armor increases his strength beyond its already impressive level and enables him to fire powerful energy blasts from his fist. After receiving training from Yoruichi Shihouin, Chad learns to activate his powers at will and gains enough stamina to fire multiple blasts.

After seeing how helpless he was against the arrancar who invaded Karakura Town, Chad requested Kisuke Urahara train him. Urahara proceeded to pit him in single combat against Renji Abarai's final release. He noted Chad's powers still had room to grow, but they did not resemble Quincy or shinigami powers. After training with Renji, Chad gains an improved form of his armored arm. Compared with its previous form, the pattern on Chad's arm becomes more intricate, and gives him a massive increase in physical might. Chad also gains a new special attack called "El Directo" (巨人の一撃, lit. The Strike of the Giant; Spanish, The Direct). To perform it, the flanges on Chad's arm open up and he punches the enemy.

While in Hueco Mundo, Chad's powers were disturbed by the environment, hindering his abilities. It isn't until being beaten for some time by Gantenbein Mosqueda that Chad's powers settle. With this, Chad realizes that his powers were at home in Hueco Mundo and resemble hollow powers. When Chad was attacked by Mosqueda, the arm felt it like an attack from its own kind and regained its composure, allowing Chad to unleash his full powers. His unleashed power manifests as armor on both arms, instead of just his right.

Chad's full-powered right arm is still called the "Brazo Derecha del Gigante" (Right Arm of the Giant) but is used for defense instead of attack, as it is the manifestation of his grandfather's spirit (which resides in the arm). It becomes a shield that extends from his hand to some distance beyond his forearm with the same intricate pattern as before, surrounding what appears to be hollow-like teeth in the center. He also loses the wing-like protrusion that extends from his shoulder.

Chad's armored left arm, used for attack, is known as the "Brazo Izquierdo del Diablo" (悪魔の左腕, lit. Left Arm of the Devil). It looks similar to his original armored arm, but the color is inverted. A spike protrudes from the shoulder and another over the left side of his chest. Chad's left arm gains a special attack known as "La Muerte" (魔人の一撃, lit. The Strike of the Demon; Spanish, The Death). To perform it, he merely punches his opponent, releasing a huge skull-shaped energy blast on contact.

Notes

arrow The Mexican coin Chad wears as his grandfather's memento was minted sometime between 1823 and 1909, and has the words "Republica Mexicana" engraved on it, as well as the Mexican National Emblem. The monetary reform of 1905 minted Mexican coins with the words, "Estados Unidos Mexicanos’," are seen on the Mexican peso today.