Shinji Hirako

is a recruiter and the unofficial leader of the Vizard and the previous captain of the 5th Division in the Gotei 13.

Appearance
Shinji has jaw length blond hair with a straight cut and many of his facial expressions reveal his upper teeth, a trait also seen in Nnoitra Jiruga. In the past Shinji wore normal captain robes and had considerably longer hair. As a Vizard Shinji has been seen in standard Karakura school uniform though he usually wears a long brown coat, shirt and tie, some form of hat, and shorter hair.

Personality
Shinji is somewhat comical, adding a bit of levity to situations that are otherwise serious. He has a flippant attitude under normal circumstances and seems to like annoying his associate, Hiyori Sarugaki, which usually earns him a slap from one of her sandals. She in turn shows him absolutely no respect and frequently insults and attacks him; although he is no better, frequently making faces or glib insults at her expense. He also appears to have a history of referring to cute girls he meets as his 'first love', complete with a deadpan look on his face despite the obvious lie (he apparently never did this with Hiyori, further annoying her).

Underneath this though he is quite perceptive regarding people and during his time as a captain was one of the few people who appeared suspicious of his lieutenant Sōsuke Aizen and could apparently sense or see through some of his illusionary capabilities. He also quickly notes parts of Urahara's personality. Aizen even admitted to being somewhat intimidated by him. He is very serious in combat or when angry. He also appears to be one of the older captains since his captain's haori had overlong sleeves (a trend shared by Jūshirō Ukitake, Shunsui Kyōraku, Retsu Unohana and Yamamoto) and during a conversation with Ukitake it was implied that he had been a captain for a long time. However he is not included in Shunsui Kyōraku's list of captains from 100 years before (now 200 years before, because that was said during the TBTP arc).

History
Shinji was the captain of the 5th division approximately 100 years before the main storyline, with Sōsuke Aizen serving as his lieutenant. Unlike the other members of the Gotei 13 Shinji was aware of Aizen's immoral nature and appeared to have some knowledge of the true abilities of his subordinate's Zanpakutō. Believing the seemingly friendly, soft-spoken intellectual was a threat to Soul Society, Shinji decided to choose Aizen as his lieutenant so he could monitor him closely. One night approximately 99 years before the main storyline, a group of Shinigami out on patrol mysteriously disappeared. Kensei Muguruma and Mashiro Kuna who were respectively captain and lieutenant of the 9th division at the time were sent, along with other members of the division to investigate the disappearance. Yamamoto decided to send Captains Love Aikawa, Rose, Hirako and Lieutenants Lisa Yadōmaru and Hachigen Ushoda to the site with Hiyori Sarugaki already heading there. At the site of the disappearances, Shinji and the others are forced to fight Kensei and Mashiro who are unable to control their new hollow abilities. Heavily injured by the fight, the remaining members are easily subdued by Kaname Tōsen and unwillingly subjected to hollowification by Aizen, who used some sort of infectious agent to trigger the change. Gloating over his now helpless captain, Aizen states that although it was wise of Hirako to keep an eye on him, he made a critical error; he refused to socialize and get to know his lieutenant, which made it easy for Aizen to deceive him. Satisfied with the results of his experiment, Aizen prepares to kill the high ranking Shinigami, but is forced to retreat after the arrival of Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi. Urahara quickly takes them to his lab and tries to use the Orb of Distortion to reverse the damage, but fails. After they are sentenced to be executed as Hollows, Urahara gives them untraceable Gigais for their escape to the human world.

Arrancar arc
One hundred years after Shinji was captain of the 5th division, Shinji appears before Ichigo Kurosaki in an attempt to recruit him to become a Vizard. While his initial attempts fail, he promises that no matter what his decision, Ichigo would eventually need to contain his inner Hollow to prevent it from devouring his own soul. Shinji then departs for the time being, receiving some physical abuse from Hiyori when he tells her that Ichigo refused to join them. Hoping to learn how to contain his inner Hollow, Ichigo eventually comes to Shinji and the other Vizards. While he initially attempts to get the information out of them by force, Shinji halfheartedly battles Ichigo. The other Vizards watch the display, noting that Shinji was not even taking him seriously. After Ichigo leaves to go fight Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, Shinji follows behind him and saves both Rukia and Ichigo from Grimmjow's cero attack. He engages Grimmjow and nearly defeats him with his cero, but Ulquiorra comes and retrieves Grimmjow before he can be killed. Shinji's current standing with the Winter War is unknown, as is the standing of the rest of the Vizards.

Hueco Mundo arc
He seems quite angry as he realizes Ichigo has left to Hueco Mundo leaving to them only a word : "thanks". Ichigo calls him "Hirako".

Fake Karakura Town arc
Around the same time when Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, Kaname Tōsen and the top three Espada invade the fake Karakura Town, he and the rest of the Vizard leave their compound, armed and ready for battle, simply saying : "Let's Go".

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Shinji is implied to be a powerful combatant, being the unofficial leader among the group and a former shinigami captain. At one point, when Shinji begins to fight with Ichigo Kurosaki, the other Vizard mention that Ichigo is foolish to battle Shinji and that Shinji is not taking the battle seriously. Shinji was shown able to hold off Kuna Mashiro during her Hollowification metamorphosis without releasing his sword, although it took some effort. Also, in order to become a captain Shinji must have mastered Bankai.

Flash Steps Expert: Shinji has been shown using shunpo very efficiently, to the point where he dodges all of Grimmjow's attacks without his mask or shikai, something Kurosaki could only do while using Tensa Zangetsu. Being a former captain, this is not a surprise.

Zanpakutō
Not much has been revealed about Shinji's Zanpakutō, as he rarely uses or even visibly wears it. The hilt and sheath are red. None of his release states have been shown, and the times that he does seriously fight he seems to rely more on his Hollow mask.


 * Shikai: Not Yet Revealed


 * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed

Vizard
Hollow Mask: Shinji's Hollow mask strongly resembles a pharaoh's mask with a short flowing hood down the back of his neck. Shinji is quite skilled with his Hollow powers, using the increased speed and strength to overwhelm Grimmjow Jeagerjaques in short order before almost catching him in a powerful Cero blast.


 * Cero: The video games also depict him being able to split the Cero blast into multiple smaller beams or a real Yellow/Golden Cero in few games while he uses a large crimson Cero in anime.

Trivia

 * One of Shinji's previous acclaimed crushes was Lisa Yadōmaru, a fellow Vizard; his current is Orihime Inoue.
 * During several points in the anime, Shinji's outfit is depicted to look like Lupin the III, likely as a homage on the part of the animators.
 * In the Turn Back the Pendulum miniseries, Shinji tells Aizen about a (then) new thing called jazz that Aizen would not understand because he is "not hip." This implies that even as a captain, Shinji was just as youth-orientated as he is now.