Ganryū

is the leader of the Dark Ones.

Appearance
Ganryū wears the same form of armor the other Dark One's wear, only with gold bordering on his as opposed to red. He also wears a long black cape, with a red interior, and what looks like gold frill from his waist, connected to his red obi belt-like sash. He is fairly tall and also has long white hair that reaches down past his shoulders. He also has a scar from his forehead, traced diagonally down to the corner of his jaw.

Personality
Ganryū is calm and observant, able to watch a battle unfold between his subordinates and the Gotei 13 without any sense of fear or dread. Ganryū also holds no regards for manners or formalities, seeing them as irrelevant to fulfilling his objectives. He is also very arrogant, underestimating his opponents' abilities, even taunting them in battle. Overall, Ganryū holds a great amount of bitterness and hatred towards the Soul Society for exiling his clan, determined to destroy it at all costs.

History
Ganryū was once a member of the Ryōdoji Family. However, they were exiled from the Soul Society 1000 years ago, forcing them to reside in the Dangai. Ganryū and his clan wandered throughout the Dangai, until they uncovered the Valley of Screams. Within the Valley of Screams, they discovered existence of Blanks, which were souls without memories. Ganryū and his followers eventually learned how to use the Blanks as a source of their power.

Bleach: Memories of Nobody
Ganryū arrives in the Human World, along with Jai and Mue, and observes Senna using her Shikai to kill the large group of hostile Blanks within the vicinity. As Senna quickly kills the Blanks, Ganryū and his group leave.

Later, Ganryū orders Jai to bring Senna to him, but he is unable to do so, due to interference from Ichigo Kurosaki.

When Senna begins to realize that she is the Shinenju, Ganryū leads the Dark Ones to ambush the Gotei 13, who have come to take Senna into custody. Determined to prove herself as a Shinigami, Senna tries to attack Ganryū. However, Ganryū easily incapacitates her, and the Dark Ones withdraw from their respective fights. Jūshirō Ukitake identifies Ganryū and his followers as the fallen Ryōdoji Family; however, Ganryū denies having any knowledge of Ukitake's claims and identifies his group as the Dark Ones. He then uses the Blanks as bombs, effectively distracting the Shinigami. However, before he can depart, Ichigo activates his Bankai and confronts them alone. Ichigo uses his Bankai's speed to bypass the other Dark Ones and close in on Ganryū, but Ganryū uses a concealed spear to impale Ichigo. Ichigo begins to lose consciousness and plummets from the sky, allowing Ganryū and the Dark Ones to escape from the Shinigami.

Senna regains consciousness after being placed in the center of the Valley of Screams, and demands to know what Ganryū and the Dark Ones plan to do with her. Ganryū explains the history of his clan to Senna, as well as the nature of the Blanks. He further explains that the memories of the Blanks condense into a single object known as the Shinenju and returns to the Human World, and he explains that the Senna is the Shinenju. Ganryū materializes a sword and begins directing the Blanks towards Senna, so he can draw the Soul Society and the Human World into a collision with each other. However, Ichigo interrupts the process and attempts to save Senna. Ganryū stops him and engages Ichigo into battle, along with the rest of the Dark Ones. The Dark Ones, as well as the Blanks, are able to hold Ichigo off, but he soon receives assistance from various captains and officers of the Gotei 13, allowing him to locate Senna on his own.

As Ichigo searches for Senna, a hidden Ganryū taunts Ichigo, telling him that since Senna began merging with the Valley of Screams, he is too late to save her. Becoming infuriated, Ichigo uses a Getsuga Tenshō, which not only kills the Blanks confronting him, but exposes Ganryū's presence. Declaring that he'll save Senna, Ichigo activates his Bankai and begins fighting Ganryū. The two are evenly matched, until Ganryū pins Ichigo against a pillar. Ganryū reveals to Ichigo that, for 1000 years, his clan was forced to live in the Dangai, and that they struggled to live, their hatred for the Soul Society being the only emotion to drive them to survive.

With the Shinenju finally in hand, their wish to destroy the Soul Society is about to come true, and he's not going to let anyone stop him. He then throws several blades at Ichigo, impaling him. Ganryū asks why Ichigo is so determined to save the Shinenju, as it is just an object of condensed memories, and calling it a living thing is absurd. Ichigo tells Ganryū he is wrong, and that Senna is here. He says that was Senna was scared and confused, and she wanted help. He then declares that he swore to protect her and breaks free from his restraints.

With the Valley of Screams collapsing, Ganryū and Ichigo decide to end their fight. Both Ganryū and Ichigo utilize their full power before charging at each other. Ichigo bifurcates Ganryū, killing him, and he dissolves.

Powers & Abilities
Blank Manipulation: Like all of the Dark Ones, Ganryū could manipulate the Blanks for various purposes. His most prominent use of Blanks was when he restricted Ichigo to a tree by transforming one into a dagger, which on impact became an adhesive mass. After this he easily created four more daggers out of the Blanks within seconds, which stayed daggers on impact.

Immense Speed: Ganryū was highly skilled in the art of Shunpo, effortlessly keeping up with Ichigo Kurosaki using his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu.

Enhanced Strength: Ganryū was able to impale Ichigo with his spear by a mere flick of the wrist, defeating him instantly. He was also able to thrust him into a wall several kilometers away in one strike. He also managed to completely disable Senna with a single small punch.

Master Swordsman: Ganryū was able to easily defeat Ichigo on their first encounter in one hit, even though he was using Tensa Zangetsu. In their second bout, he was still on par with the Shinigami, until he released all of his spiritual power, which was higher than his own full power.

Invisibility: While Ganryū used the Blanks to attack Ichigo, he used a Getsuga Tenshō which forced him out of hiding. He was actually standing in front of him the whole time, hidden by some form of invisibility.

Immense Spiritual Power: Having absorbed a large amount of Blanks, Ganryū had an immense amount of spiritual power, being able to equal a Shinigami's speed and power using Bankai without a Zanpakutō of his own. Because of this, he can be considered as powerful as a captain. In his final attack, he cut through a Bankai-enhanced Getsuga Tenshō; at full power he showed a burning yellow-green Reiatsu, matching Ichigo Kurosaki's own blue Reiatsu.

Appearances in Other Media

 * Ganryū features in the fourth volume of Bleach "B" Station's second season.

Quotes

 * "For a millennium, our clan was forced to scrape out an existence surviving only by concealing ourselves in the dank crevices of the Dangai. Our hatred for the Soul Society was the only fuel that drove us to endure that living hell! Then we discovered how to avenge this injustice and obliterate those who condemned us to this wretchedness. Now the moment is at hand. No one is going to stop me! "

Navigation
Ganryū