Squads

13 Vice - Captians



13 Captians

Insignia

The thirteen divisions' insignias.Each of the 13 divisions in Gotei 13 have their own symbol that represents the division's primary role, which all seem to be based on flowers. When a power limit is placed on a captain or lieutenant, their symbol appears on a certain part of their body until the limit is lifted. Each symbol also has a specific meaning, but not all of them have been revealed. The 11th Division symbol means 'fight' while the camellia symbol of the 6th Division means 'noble reasoning'.

Uniforms

A captain's uniform. This one in particular is worn by Gin Ichimaru.Most Gotei 13 personnel wear the standard shinigami uniform, called shihakushō (死覇装, lit. garment of dead souls?) - a white kosode, a black kimono and hakama, and a white obi sash. Lieutenants sometimes also wear an armband which carries their division symbol and its number, usually on their left arm. They are required to do this when they are summoned to a meeting but apart from this it seems that it is rarely compulsory; at the time the series takes place, the use of the armbands was noted to have fallen out of fashion.

Captains wear a white haori over the usual black shinigami clothes, with the number of their division on the back, inside the Gotei 13 symbol (a rhombus). The Captain's Haori comes in two styles: sleeve and no sleeve. Gotei 13 officers, particularly captains and lieutenants, often customize their personal appearance or that of their uniform. Some of these modifications include:

Captain Soifon of the 2nd Division wears a sleeveless and backless shinigami outfit (when she's fighting) under her haori, which is standard issue for the head of the special forces. She also wears a yellow sash a layer above, but slightly lower than her white one.

Captain Retsu Unohana of the 4th Division wears an obi sash rather than a standard one.

Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of the 6th Division wears an extremely expensive scarf named ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu and a white ceremonial hairpiece symbolizing his noble lineage.

Captain Sajin Komamura of the 7th Division wears shoulder guards over his haori and large gloves which goes up to his arms. He also wore a helmet to hide his appearance. He later removed the helmet.

Captain Shunsui Kyōraku of the 8th Division is probably the most flamboyantly dressed of the captains, always seen wearing a straw hat and a gaudily-colored haori over his uniform.

Captain Kaname Tōsen formerly of the 9th Division wears an orange scarf with his outfit, a sleeveless keikogi as well as white boots.

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya of the 10th Division wears a green sash pinned with a star around his shoulder to hold his sword.

Captain Kenpachi Zaraki of the 11th Division wears a shredded edged (from combat) haori, which was taken from the previous captain.

Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the 12th Division wears a bloated purple cravat and a hat decorated with two horizontal spikes.

Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe of the 1st Division wears a jinbaori over his shihakushō.

Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi of the 9th Division wears a sleeveless keikogi and black choker.

Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto of the 10th Division wears a top that is deliberately loose and hangs open to reveal her ample bosom. She also wears a pink scarf (or stole), and wears her lieutenant's badge around her waist with her sash, tied in a bow.

Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi of the 12th Division has a very abbreviated outfit: the hakama is absent, leaving her with a mini-skirt version of the kimono that is belted at the waist.

All known members of the 9th Division wear keikogi without sleeves, including the captain.

Ranks

Ranks

As with any army, the Gotei 13 has ranks. There are 20 ranks for officers but no ranks for non-officers. The lower the number is, the more important. The ranks and their descriptions are below, from highest to lowest in terms of strength.


Commander-General

The sōtaichō (総隊長, lit. commander-general, dubbed as head-captain) is the leader of the Gotei 13 and the captain of the 1st Division; the implication is that this is an ex officio or a primus inter pares position. The current holder of this title is Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai.


Unit Commander

A Taichō (隊長, Taichō? lit. Unit Commander), commonly referred to as Captain, are the leaders of the thirteen divisions (with the special case of the Commander-General). While "captain" is not an accurate translation of the rank, it's appropriate considering the size of the unit they lead. A single Gotei 13 'unit' (隊) is estimated at about 200-500 troops. Viz renders the units as 'companies' rather than 'divisions' because captains lead companies in real life. However, given that each Captain in Bleach leads a major part of a military wing or corps, they could be division commanders or Generals. Most literally, the name simply means 'unit commander', which could be practically any officer rank.

Captains are generally the most respected shinigami in Soul Society, with the Central 46 Chambers, Demon Art Corps, and special forces leaders possibly being on equal status. With one exception (Kenpachi Zaraki), all captains are able to perform the bankai of their zanpakutō and are generally much more powerful than even their lieutenants. Knowing the bankai gives captains an average of five to ten times the strength of shinigami who are unable to perform it. They have also extensively trained, if not mastered, their bankai, allowing them to actually use the enormous power effectively in battle. Most captains are also skilled in the use of shunpō, kidō, and generally have excellent knowledge of shinigami history and battle tactics. All of these factors create a huge power-gap between captains and lower-ranked officers.

There are three different ways to become a Gotei 13 captain:

To take the captain proficiency test (隊首, taishu?), which requires the ability to perform the bankai. Presumably, most shinigami become captains using this method. At least three existing captains, including the Commander-General, have to witness the test.
To have personal recommendations from at least six captains and approval from at least three of the remaining seven.
To defeat a captain one-on-one with at least 200 witnesses from the captain's division. Kenpachi Zaraki is the only known captain to have achieved his rank using this method.

Vice-unit commander

Fukutaichō (副隊長, Fukutaichō? lit. Vice-Unit commander), more commonly referred to as Lieutenants, are the 2nd seated officers in each division. Because captain describes the unit commander, vice-captain is the most literally accurate translation some have used. The Viz manga translation renders the rank as the similar but somewhat longer "assistant captain", while the English dub of the anime uses the term "lieutenant". Although this does not apply to modern armies, in historical real-life armies the lieutenant has been the adjutant of the captain, as is the case for fukutaichō and taichō in Bleach. Therefore, lieutenant is a correct real-life equivalent of this rank. Holders of this rank in Gotei 13 have also been called adjutants.

Lieutenants function as executive officers for their division, taking care of or supervising day-to-day operations. They (along with their captains) are not assigned to one specific squad. They generally only know the shikai of their zanpakutō, but are still the second strongest in their division. In the case of a division captain's death, departure, or other circumstances making him unable to perform their duties, the lieutenant acts as the substitute captain until another can be assigned.


Seated officers

Sekikan (席官, Sekikan? lit. Seated officers) are the remainder of the officers in the Gotei 13 who hold ranks at or below 3rd Seat. Captains have the rank of 1st Seat and lieutenants are 2nd Seat. Next to that, there are 18 more seats (3rd to 20th). These ranks are somewhat analogous to junior officers or non-commissioned officers in modern militaries. There seems to be a distinction between senior and junior seated officers, just like in real-life armies. In the Gotei 13, only one person can hold a senior officer rank (such as 3rd or 5th seat), but there are several holders of junior officer ranks (e.g. 20th seat). This may vary from division to division however, as there are two 3rd Seats in the 13th Division. Seated officers often lead subunits within each division (for example, Hanatarō Yamada is leader of 4th Division's 14th Advanced Relief Team).

Gotei 13

The Gotei 13 (護廷十三隊, goteijūsantai, 13 Division Imperial Guards, or 13 Court Guard Squads in the English dubbed version?) is the organization which most shinigami join. It is split into thirteen divisions (hence the name), with several divisions having certain specializations. The 4th Division is the medical/supply division, the 11th Division is the combat division (specialization in swordsmanship), and the 12th Division is the research/scientific division. The 9th Division was shown, in a Shinigami Cup extra, to be in charge of newspaper and magazine-related duties. It's unclear if the other divisions are specialized, as the four above are the only ones who receive any significant attention apart from their members.

Las Noches

Las Noches (虚夜宮（ラス・ノーチェス）, Rasu Nōchesu?, Spanish for "the nights," Japanese for "hollow night palace") is the fortress and base of operations of Sōsuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen after their defection from Soul Society. They reside there with their army of arrancar.

Las Noches consists of a main building with a domed center surrounded by several large towers and smaller buildings. Atop the dome are six smaller towers (or as they appear), which seem to contain areas such as Aizen's throne room and the Espada meeting hall. Also, in the room where Orihime Inoue is kept, there is one large Middle-Eastern rug on the ground that is facing outside, much like those in rooms used for Islamic prayer. Like everything else in Hueco Mundo, every building is colored white.

Las Noches is easily the largest building structure in the Bleach universe, appearing as large as (if not larger than) Seireitei in Soul Society. Due to its immense size, Ichigo Kurosaki once commented that it could be an illusion as he, Chad, and Uryū Ishida did not seem to make any progress getting closer to it, despite running until they were exhausted. Also, according to the arrancar Nel Tu, it takes about three days to move around its width.

The inside of the Las Noches' domes are sky blue, which Aaroniero Arruruerie claims were created by Aizen so that the light of the sky would help him observe anywhere he wishes. However, since Aaroniero must stay out of the sunlight to use his abilities, he may simply have lied as an excuse to stay inside. The position of the halls within the palace can also be adjusted, allowing the one operating them to direct the movements of intruders.

Hueco Mundo

Hueco Mundo is located between the human world and Soul Society, though it is separated from the bordering dimension known as the dangai. It can only be accessed by tearing the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, which allows hollows to travel to any other dimension at will. Depending on the hollow, the effect for this varies. Regular hollows usually appear from a small black vortex or form out of smoke, while menos-class hollows quite literally tear the sky apart to emerge. Arrancar use a more stable variant of the latter technique known as garganta.

The landscape of Hueco Mundo is a seemingly never-ending white desert, with dunes like those of the Sahara. The desert is littered with what appear to be boulders and shriveled trees, but these are actually a form of quartz. In the anime, the seemingly small trees are shown to extend far underground, and support the desert above. Hueco Mundo exists in perpetual night, and the Moon is on the opposite lunar phase of that in the human world. Like Soul Society, the atmosphere is filled with spiritual energy, but it is more concentrated, allowing hollows to gain nourishment despite the lack of human souls.

Like that in real world deserts, active life in Hueco Mundo appears to be few and far between. With the exception of the arrancar, most hollows dwell below the surface or in other areas until something provokes them to leave their shelter, like the intrusion of a foreign entity. This is expanded upon in the anime: underneath the desert of Hueco Mundo is a vast cavern called the Menos Forest, where most hollows take refuge. According to the shinigami, all hollows dwell in Hueco Mundo regardless of their shape, size, or power.

In the anime, hollows have also been shown to be able to drag other spirits into Hueco Mundo, as seen with Orihime Inoue's brother, Sora. In this case, Sora was forcefully made into a hollow by several others and sent against Ichigo Kurosaki.

Seireitei

Seireitei (瀞霊廷, lit. court of pure souls) is in the center of Soul Society, a circular shiro with four main entrances, each guarded by a Gate Guardian. The walls are made of Sekiseki, a material known to sap all spiritual and psychic energy when one portion is faced in a particular direction, similar to magnetic lodestones. The deathstone also forms a spherical barrier around the city, preventing anyone from entering anywhere other than the four gates.

The majority of the residents of Seireitei, nobility and shinigami alike, do not interact with the citizens of Rukongai. However, residents of Rukongai, like Renji and Rukia, are allowed to apply for the shinigami academy, which is often the only escape from the poorest conditions of Rukongai. Some Seireitei residents, such as ex-commander of the special forces, Yoruichi Shihouin, and the Shiba clan, do maintain residences outside the castle.

At the center of Seireitei are the Shrine of Penitence (senzaikyū), a white tower, and Sōkyoku (双殛) Hill, where executions take place

Get Ready Again

I'll now be posting about Soul Society and the 13 Protection Squads
Enjoy!!!

Yoshino Sōma

Yoshino Sōma (相馬芳野, Sōma Yoshino?) (seiyū: Masako Katsuki) is a slim woman with long brown hair. Yoshino claims to oppose her superior and lover, Jin Kariya. She resembles Uryū Ishida's mother in appearance, but it is stated that the Bounts can not produce life. Yoshino seems to be the exception to the rule, as it was stated that she could reproduce. Yoshino also bears a great resemblance to Rantao, the creator of the Bounts. The reason for their resemblance is because Yoshino is a copy of Rantao, since the Bounts are artificial souls that were created based on shinigami souls. She merges with Goethe after Kariya removes her seal, and dies when she is impaled through the chest by Kariya.

Goethe (ゲーテ, Gēte?) is Yoshino Sōma's doll. It takes the form of a claw (on her left hand) and bracelet (on her right hand) when sealed. To unseal Goethe, Yoshino strikes the two pieces together to create a spark, which releases him. Goethe is a fire elemental, able to create and control flame. While mostly humanoid in appearance, it has no legs. It can't be attacked physically, being made of flame, and reforms if dispersed. In Yoshino's last moments, she and Goethe merge to create a stronger, hybrid being, allowing Yoshino to control fire herself.

Yoshi

Yoshi (ヨシ, Yoshi?) (seiyū: Yoko Soumi), a female Bount, has dark green hair and wears a purple traditional Chinese-style pao with beige pants. She seems to be somewhat masculine and intimidating. Yoshi appears very eager to gain power when Jin offers it to her, but she is also somewhat reluctant to be blindly following him. Her doll, Nieder, is a sword and fan connected by a chain, both of which are capable of speaking independently. Yoshi also utilizes her feet for kicking opponents in movements that suggest she is a wushu fighter. This makes her the only close-combat Bount seen so far. During the Bounts invasion of Soul Society, Yoshi encounters Rukia and Ririn and tries her best to maim Rukia in her weakened state. However, Byakuya Kuchiki stops her from delivering the final blow. While fighting Uryū, she reveals that she likes to risk her life fighting to get what she wants, but seems irritated by the fact that she can't do so in the modern world; thus, she followed the other Bount into Soul Society, where she could fight as she liked. Her overconfidence proves her undoing, as Uryū exploits a weakness in her transforming doll to fire an arrow through her chest at point-blank range. Shortly before dying, Yoshi mentions that she had fun.

Nieder (ニーダー, Nīdā?, German for "down") is Yoshi's doll, a combination of a jian and fan which are connected with an extending chain. Both the fan and sword have separate personalities. The jian end has a male voice (although high pitched) and the fan end has a female voice. The fan acts as a shield while the jian is the main weapon. Nieder can transform itself into two different forms: defense and offense. In its defensive form, the fan part of Nieder becomes dominant, enlarging to a size bigger than Yoshi herself and growing armor over Yoshi's left arm. In its offensive form, called Happonjin, the jian part of Nieder becomes dominant and armor extends over Yoshi's right arm. Several energy swords trail behind the main sword, which can be thrown or used to slash from a distance. In either transformation, however, Yoshi can only use one of the weapons, effectively crippling her defenses when in 'jian form' and disabling her offense in 'fan form'. Also, when changing forms, she has to return to her normal form first, which causes a small lag time in which she is defenseless.

Ugaki

Ugaki (宇柿, Ugaki?) (seiyū: Katsumi Suzuki) is a male Bount who has the appearance of a professional middle-aged man. He wears a shirt and tie, glasses, and has his hair combed to one side. Ugaki's doll is Geselle, a large monster summoned from shadows. Ugaki fights using guerilla tactics, using his light-projecting eyes to create shadows for his doll to attack from while he remains away from the fighting. Ugaki helped Kariya to develop the bitto. His doll, in its true form, was severely injured in combat by Renji Abarai's use of his bankai and went out of control, a turn of events implied to be at least partially influenced by Kariya.

Geselle (ゲゼル, Gezeru?, German for "pupil" or "companion") is Ugaki's doll. It is sealed within a pack of cards resembling tarot cards, which Ugaki uses to control the doll's actions. In its normal state, Geselle takes the form of many small, mouth-like eye creatures. Ugaki can see what the eyes see through his glasses, allowing him to control them from a safe distance. Though they are used to spy on people and act as a lookout, the true purpose of the eyes is to project light, which in turn creates shadows. From the shadows, Geselle can manifest its true form, that of a giant, eyeless monster. It can also manifest single limbs and create various melee weapons from them. Geselle's actions are controlled through Ugaki's placement of the cards on a small mat marked with German incantations. The mat bears a resemblance to the Sephirotic, Tree of Life, as the words on the mat, written by the lines on it, correspond to tarot cards and the "paths to God" found between the Sephiroths. The words written by the lines are also the names of tarot cards in the Major Arcana. The primary card is "Wachter" (Wächter is German for 'Guardian') which allows Geselle's eyes to flash a strong light onto objects and create shadows. After "Wachter" is initialized, other cards are chosen which summon Geselle's limbs or morph them into weapons. The card "Dämon Kraft" (Demon Power) summons a giant purple hand that can capture and injure opponents, one card summons spears to impale, and another summons ropes to immobilize.

Sawatari

Sawatari (沢渡, Sawatari?) (seiyū: Yuzuru Fujimoto) seems to be the oldest Bount, but this is merely a by-product of his eating habits. He has been consuming living souls for far longer than any other Bount, causing him to age. Like Utagawa, doing so was part of his secret plot to overthrow Kariya as leader of the Bounts. Sawatari is much like the stereotypical "cranky old man," looking down on younger people. He is usually seen sitting in a large chair that appears to be made of rock. This chair is his doll,Baura, which takes the form of a fish that can swallow opponents whole; its stomach is a link to another dimension, and anything caught inside is eventually dissolved, leaving the soul for Sawatari to absorb. Being a fish-like entity, Baura travels around by "swimming" through solid pojects by means of phasing through a different dimension that only he could access. Also, while in the said dimension, his and Sawatari's spiritual pressure is effectively concealed, until Baura chooses to resurface. Downside is Baura can't travel through tightly-enclosed areas as Nova correctly speculated. After the Bounts invaded Soul Society, Sawatari confronts Mayuri Kurotsuchi. As they fought, it was revealed that Mayuri had been chasing after Sawatari all along with his sensor device. Mayuri initially wanted Sawatari as a research subject, but became annoyed with Sawatari's continued resistance and killed him instead.

Ryo Utagawa

A man who looks like the traditional depictions of a vampire, Ryō Utagawa (宇田川稜, Utagawa Ryō?) (seiyū: Shuusuke Sakino) is Kariya's former right hand man and views all humans as food. His doll is Fried, a snake-like creature that can copy itself. He secretly plots to overthrow Kariya as leader by stealing his seal, but is killed by Maki Ichinose.

Fried (フリード, Furīdo?, Old German for "protection") is Ryō Utagawa's doll. When sealed, it takes the form of a small, gold pocket watch that Ryō keeps on his person. When unsealed, it takes the form of a yellow snake and is usually wrapped around Ryo's shoulders. She can be used as a sword, shield, and whip. Fried also grants Ryō the power to turn objects such as pipes, powerlines, and even rocks into snakes.

Mabashi

A redheaded male Bount, Mabashi (馬橋, Mabashi?) (seiyū: Daisuke Ono) wears strange blue clothing, has a tongue-stud, and seems to be quite cocky in his speech and manners. Unlike the other Bounts, Mabashi isn't afraid to speak his own mind, even if his opinion and ideas do not correlate with Kariya's. His doll is Liz, a small, mouse-like creature that can possess others. Mabashi is initially resistant to drinking the purified soul elixir created by the bitto, but is forced to by Kariya, and he quickly becomes addicted to it. Once the Bounts enter Soul Society, he uses Liz to turn the shinigami on one another. While doing so, he finds Soifon and is defeated when she strikes him in the chest twice with her Suzumebachi.

Liz (リズ, Rizu?) is Mabashi's doll. When sealed, she takes the form of a seed that hangs on Mabashi's necklace. When the seed is dropped onto the ground, it sprouts into a small, flower-like, mouse creature that has the ability to possess others. The possession can be resisted to a small degree, as shown when Rukia was able to temporarily regain control over her body while possessed. Liz is also capable of moving at lightning-fast speed and traveling through the ground. After going to Soul Society, Liz gained the ability to make clones of herself, which she can use to attack and take control of large groups of people. Liz speaks like an elevator operator when moving, as she announces her direction before each move.

Koga Gowa

Koga Gō (古賀剛, Koga Gō?) (seiyū: Tohru Furusawa) is a large and muscular man who resembles a punkish biker with spiky orange hair. Even without using his doll, Koga has impressive physical strength, able to easily overpower Ichigo with just his bare hands. His doll is Dalk, a female metallic doll who can control her molecules and reshape herself at will. According to episode 83, Koga's real name is Claude Gauguin, and he lived in a European country in years past. He has lived for over 12 generations. After a falling out with Kariya over his plan to destroy Soul Society, which Koga found too extreme, Koga attempted to find and stop Kariya himself. He ended up fighting and losing to Tōshirō Hitsugaya instead, as neither he nor Dalk could contend with the extreme cold and long-range nature of Hitsugaya's zanpakutō. He did not die, however, and was secretly taken by Yoruichi Shihouin to Rantao's home, where he was nursed back to health. Upon discovering that he was the last Bount, he apologized for the actions of his race, and Kariya in particular. He was last seen living with Rantao. No mention is made of Dalk's fate; however, considering that Bount are supposed to die with their dolls, it can be assumed either she either still exists in some form - perhaps due to the leg that Hitsugaya cut off and was not shown as being re-obsorbed - or Koga is merely an exception to conventional Bount rules, like Yoshino.

Dark (ダルク, Daruku?) is Koga's doll. She takes the form of a metal sphere with the Bount seal upon it when sealed. When released, she forms into a semi-humanoid/spider-like shape and can control the metal that makes up her body, reforming it into any shape she wishes. She is able to split herself into tiny spheres no bigger than a ball bearing, making it very difficult to destroy her. She uses a variety of attacks in combat, such as creating metallic webs to entrap her opponent, firing pieces of her body as projectiles, and even turning her arms into machine guns to fire makeshift bullets through. After Koga drank the bitto's soul elixir, Dark became even more spider-like, retaining only her humanoid torso. She also gained much more metal to work with. Dark has trouble with cold-based attacks, which make it difficult for her to split her body apart. As a heavy, metal-based creature, she is also vulnerable to Izuru Kira's zanpakutō, Wabisuke, which doubles the weight of anything it cuts. In contrast, Dark seems to be nearly invulnerable to heat. It is revealed in episode 104 that Dalk's core form is a large battle axe that Koga wields.

Jin Kariya

Jin Kariya (狩矢神, Kariya Jin?) (seiyū: Toru Ohkawa) is the leader of the Bounts. According to the cast list in episode 83, his real name was Eugene Currier, but he adopted a Japanese-style name later in his life. He has white hair, a scar on his chin (the result of a Hollow attack which occurred when he was a child), long upward-curving eyebrows, and bright red eyes, and is the most powerful member of the Bount group. Initially, according to Yoshino, his goal was to consume living spirits and gain massive amounts of power. However, this had a 50% chance of ripping open the barrier between the mortal world and the world of hollows. As the series progressed, however, he revealed that his plans were to invade Soul Society. He controls the clan's power to the dolls with a pack of cards referred to as the seal. Kariya also has hidden powers, which allow him to easily defeat hollows and other dolls. He is also able to deflect attacks and immobilize opponents with a single touch. Unlike the other Bounts, Kariya can use the abilities of his doll without it being called out, which is what his tattoo (seal) on his upper body indicates. This would explain why he is able to deflect other dolls' attacks; in episode 95 it is revealed that his doll's ability is to manipulate wind. Although he unlocked the Jōkaishō and apparently gained the ability to annihilate Seireitei, he was defeated after a tremendous fight with Ichigo. Kariya's final words were "Kurosaki, I am..." before he turned to ash, the traditional way that past Bounts have perished.

Flashbacks showing Kariya's childhood as a small boy are seen throughout the Bount episodes. A former shinigami by the name of Ran'Tao however saves him and other bounts and gathers them in a hidden cave system, Ran'tao's appeal to "the 46" is rejected and shinigami are dispatched to annihilate the remaining Bounts. The young Kariya is saved by Ran'Tao however, and is given the first Bount seal to master and control their respective dolls.

Messer (メッサー, Messā?, German for "knife") is Jin Kariya's doll. When called, Messer causes the sky above Kariya to turn dark and the clouds to swirl towards him. Wind from this release can be felt from very far away. Kariya's raised hand and the swirling clouds meet in a massive tornado, after which his forearm and hand cover in metal. Messer is a wind elemental that takes the form of a liquid metal sword hilt in the shape of the Bount crest. The blade is made of a spinning column of wind, resembling a drill bit. It can also use air friction to electrify the blade. Messer is strong enough to contend with Zangetsu, Ichigo Kurosaki's zanpakutō, and his getsuga tenshō attack in bankai form.