Sōsuke Aizen

"The gaze into the sun." - Tite Kubo

is the former captain of the 5th Division in the Gotei 13, he later leaves Soul Society with his followers, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen. His Lieutenant was Momo Hinamori.

During his service he secretly conducted research together with his two accomplices on achieving new heights of power by combining the powers of Shinigami and Hollows. When Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends invade Seireitei to rescue Rukia Kuchiki from execution, he manages to lay hands on the Hōgyoku with an elaborate plan involving Rukia's execution and the attempts to rescue her, manipulating most of the other Captains of Soul Society according to his will. After obtaining the Hōgyoku, he declares his intentions openly.

The principal antagonist of the series, he currently resides in Hueco Mundo together with Ichimaru and Tōsen, commanding an army of Arrancar and Hollows, his ultimate goal being to overthrow Soul Society along with the Soul King and take his place as god of the world. The Arrancar, and by extension Aizen as well, is currently at war with the Shinigami.

Appearance


Prior to his departure from Soul Society he appeared as a mild-featured man with brown scholarly hair enhanced by square glasses.

However, during his ascent to Hueco Mundo, he removes his glasses and swept a hand through his hair, revealing menacing eyes and a very different hairstyle (swept back hair with a strand hanging in his face). As he had previously revealed to Renji Abarai the Aizen they all knew never existed, this would seem to be a visual representation of that claim.

Aizen is later shown in Hueco Mundo wearing clothing similar in style to the Arrancar; he is also seated on a throne, implying that he has some level of political power.

Personality
Despite his current villainous status and former position of authority, Aizen is a surprisingly polite, soft-spoken intellectual, often addressing his subordinates by their given names. He rarely shows any sign of alarm or distress and often has entire situations planned out well in advance.

Aizen initially appeared to be a very kind, well-respected Captain and was looked up to by many, especially his Lieutenant Momo Hinamori. This however was just a mask to disguise his true manipulative and very dangerous nature. In truth, he cares very little for his underlings (both past and present), and is willing to use almost everyone around him as pawns in his twisted game of "chess". In his own words, Aizen claims to be unaffected by any form of morals or ethics, which he views as a mere restriction on his potential. He is, therefore, willing to stop at nothing to further his selfish ambitions, including manipulating or killing anyone if he deems it necessary. He is fond of long, complicated, and somewhat convoluted plots, many of which do not have any real reason until he reveals them, and frequently appears to toy with his underlings for amusement. Unlike some of the other Shinigami who appear to have some kind of honor and kindness, including some Espada, Aizen lacks genuine compassion and honor.

During his time as a Captain, he was known to like tofu, while he disliked boiled eggs. In his free time, he often read and he also gave a special lecture of calligraphy at the Shinigami Academy, given that he excelled in this branch of arts. This optional course was immensely popular among the Shinigami students, and many of them felt great sorrow for Aizen's "sudden departure".

As the current commander of his recently-acquired army of Arrancar, Aizen controls his new minions either through acquired respect or fear. Ulquiorra Cifer, one of his noticeably loyal subordinates, revealed in a conversation with Orihime Inoue that they are all "here to further Aizen's ambitions". For more rowdy individuals like Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, he keeps them in line through intimidation and mind games. The only one who appears to see through them is the equally-manipulative Gin Ichimaru. The Arrancar Iceringer also claims that they follow Aizen because he has no fear, something which beings born from fear and despair find inspiring. Other Arrancar occasionally follow Aizen for reasons unique to themselves, such as Szayel Aporro Granz, who follows Aizen with the hopes that he will eradicate the world of all non-Hollows.

Aizen's true objective is to overthrow the king of the Soul Society. As he and his fellow traitor Captains departed the Soul Society, he told Jūshirō Ukitake that "no one has stood on the top of the world", not even the gods, but he aspires to "stand in the heavens and end the unbearable vacancy on the world's throne". To do this, he needs the, a tri-pronged golden key that opens a portal to the dimension that the Soul King resides in. While the location of the key is known only to General Yamamoto, Aizen knows how the original was created and how to manufacture another. To do this, 100,000 souls need to be gathered together (which will kill all the entities used) and vaporize a significant portion of the area used in its forging. His sights are therefore set on Karakura Town, which has an unusually large concentration of spirit particles.

History


Little is known of Aizen's past, except that he spent much of his career in the 5th Division, eventually becoming its Lieutenant under the former Captain, Shinji Hirako. Shinji kept Aizen under his view during this time because he felt there was something dangerous about him. Also, during that time, Aizen met Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen, and somehow managed to lure them to his side.



100 years ago from the current time, Aizen engaged in early experiments on Shinigami/Hollow hybrids which involved using an unknown device to cause spirits to transform into Hollows. He is responsible for turning his former Captain Shinji and 7 other Shinigami into Vizard's in the first place.

Aizen became Captain of the 5th Division later on, and Gin eventually became his Lieutenant and right hand man. Gin and Tōsen later became Captains of the 3rd and 9th Divisions, respectively, but remained loyal only to Aizen. According to Aizen, even when Hinamori was his Lieutenant, he thought of no one but Gin as his subordinate.

At some point, he also saw the potential of Momo Hinamori, Izuru Kira, and Renji Abarai, and took them all into his division. While Kira and Hinamori were obedient and loyal, becoming the Lieutenants of the 3rd and 5th Divisions under Gin and Aizen, respectively, Renji proved to be too rebellious and was transferred to the 11th Division (and later to the 6th, where he too became a Lieutenant).

Soul Society arc
When Rukia Kuchiki is brought back to Soul Society with the Hōgyoku concealed within her body, Aizen quickly manipulates everyone into an elaborate conspiracy. Aizen first kills all the members of the Central 46 Chambers and begins moving Rukia's execution date up. He then begins to plant suspicion within Soul Society, initially speaking of the possibility of a conspiracy with Renji Abarai (without explicitly saying he was behind it) and tries to use Gin's intrusion in repelling Ichigo Kurosaki and the Ryōka to orchestrate suspicion among the gathered captains, particularly Tōshirō Hitsugaya, who witnessed the conversation personally. He later uses his Zanpakutō's ability to trick everyone into believing that he has been killed and has Gin leading everyone to believe Gin himself is the murderer. He also sets up his Lieutenant, Hinamori, to believe that he was likely killed by Hitsugaya, her childhood friend, to get her out of the way. Because of the nature of Rukia's sentence and execution method, the Gotei 13 splits into factions and the captains begin to fight amongst themselves. During the turmoil, Gin executes the overt aspects of the plan, which begins to be revealed when 4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana begins to suspect that there is something wrong with Aizen's supposedly dead body.

Aizen reveals himself by nearly killing his Lieutenant, defeating Hitsugaya, and has Tōsen bring Renji and Rukia to him. Ichigo teams up with Renji to interfere, but Aizen displays his prowess by effortlessly disposing of them, and later finishes off 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura with a level 90 Kidō spell. Afterwards, he removes the Hōgyoku from Rukia's body by using information researched by Kisuke Urahara, though he fails to kill her.

As he prepares to leave, his Zanpakutō is suddenly blocked by Yoruichi Shihōin and he is threatened by death from Soifon's Zanpakutō. As he looks towards Gin for support, Gin is withheld by Rangiku Matsumoto. They are suddenly all surrounded by every Captains and Lieutenant of the Gotei 13. However, before he can be apprehended Aizen is brought to the Hueco Mundo by several Menos Grande, through the use of Negación, along with Gin and Tōsen.

While leaving he removes his glasses and change his hair style by moving his hand over it. He then proceeds to announce his goal to stand atop of the world in the heavens, something no one has ever done before.

Arrancar arc
From there, Aizen changes to clothing style to resemble that of the Arrancar, begins to make several Arrancar, and begins sending them one by one to the material world. He sends Grand Fisher, and two other strong leveled Hollows. Grand Fisher is killed by Isshin Kurosaki and the other two are killed by Ryūken Ishida. Isshin and Urahara contemplate that Aizen sent these psuedo-Arrancar to Earth for information on Ichigo.

Later, he sends Ulquiorra Cifer and Yammy Rialgo to find Ichigo and report on his progress. They almost kill Tatsuki, Chad, and Orihime, and Yammy manages to kill a square radius of people in the park. After the mission is completed, Ulquiorra and Yammy head to a meeting consisting of Aizen and 20 other Arrancar (including fellow Espada members Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Halibel). Ulquiorra, who can crush his right eye, uses the dust from it to show what he has seen himself to the others and Aizen. Grimmjow, Shawlong, and Di Roy, question Ulquiorra and Yammy on why they just did not kill them as ordered, though Ulquiorra claims that Ichigo does not pose much of a threat to Aizen, let alone the Espada. Grimmjow and his Fracción later invade Karakura Town without orders, causing Kaname Tōsen travel and bring back Grimmjow (his Fracción were killed during their unauthorized mission) and punishes Grimmjow himself when Aizen refuses to take action.

Later, after examining Orihime Inoue's powers, Aizen decides to initiate another invasion on Karakura Town, letting Ulquiorra handpick the invasion force; though Aizen personally sends Grimmjow as well. Ulquiorra succeeds on forcing Orihime to go to Aizen's side and brings her to Las Noches, where he has her display her power by restoring Grimmjow's amputated left arm, explaining to the Arrancar present that Orihime's powers are rejection, meaning she is able "reject" anything that has happened. Orihime also restores Grimmjow's Espada tattoo (at Grimmjow's request), which he immediately kills his replacement Luppi with his newly restored arm.

Hueco Mundo arc
Aizen's plan of capturing Orihime is revealed to be a ruse on his part. By kidnapping her, he inspires Ichigo and his friends to attempt a rescue, thereby depriving Soul Society of a valuable military asset. Furthermore, when four Captains assist in her rescue, adding to the three that have already defected, Soul Society is left at half its regular strength. Up until the point where Ichigo has his face off with Ulquiorra, Aizen is mostly seen monitoring Ichigo and his friends alongside the Espada.

Fake Karakura Town arc
As he leaves to destroy Karakura Town, he seals the portals the intruders used to access Hueco Mundo, effectively stranding them there until his return and leaves Ulquiorra in charge of Las Noches. Though Soul Society is able to substitute the town for an abandoned facsimile, Aizen only muses that he will have to travel to Soul Society to destroy the real town after he and his forces (Gin, Tōsen, the top three Espada and their Fraccion) defeat the remaining Captains. Before his group is able to take action, Aizen is trapped in Yamamoto's fire prison and is unable to fight. Nevertheless, he claims that such action will be unnecessary, for that the power of his Espada alone will suffice to defeat the Gotei 13. He is seen again when Hinamori arrives in the Fake Karakura Town to assist Matsumoto. He has a somewhat intrigued look in his eyes upon sensing that his former Lieutenant, whom he assumed he killed, was alive. When Gin asks him if anything is wrong, Aizen calmly states that Hinamori's presence won't make any difference.

Powers & Abilities


Aizen is an extremely potent combatant, well above the standard of most Captain-level Shinigami. While the full extent of his power remains unclear, he implies that he has reached the limit of his potential in all four forms of Shinigami combat: swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, footwork, and Kidō. In addition, his strength and speed are phenomenal and he often makes use of his Zanpakutō's illusionary powers as diversions or distractions. He goes on to state that the only way for him to advance beyond that would be to gain and master Hollow powers.

High Intellect: Arguably the most fearsome trait of Aizen is his tremendous intellect. He is well versed in the history, strategy, tactics of Soul Society. He is privy to knowledge that was unknown to many such as knowing of the existence of the Royal Key, as well as the obscure method in which to make one. He also for over 110 years had been engaging in experiments that involved unique and highly dangerous manipulations of spiritual energy and spiritual particles- destroying the victims while leaving behind their clothes in the same manner they were worn. His most startling experiment involves the Hollowfication of Shinigami, something unseen before and as yet not known to have ever taken place again.

Master Manipulator: Throughout the series since first revealing his true self, he has shown himself to be a very crafty and cunning man. The most noticeable trait is his ability to deceive and manipulate others around them in multiple manners. For years, he effectively was able to convince everyone around him that he was a kind-hearted man with the best intentions for Soul Society while still performing horrific actions. He has a great talent for analyzing and observing everything in his presence, allowing him to quickly understand a person's pattern of thinking to better manipulate them and seemingly always be aware of any danger.

Master Strategist: He has also shown himself as a powerful strategist, capable of formulated well thought-out plans several steps ahead of others. These plans are so involved and detailed and are planned out with the long term in mind. His most well known plan spans over 110 years, a great accomplishment given that it required moving people around like pieces on a chessboard, as well as making sure they played the role he had planned out for them. He is masterful when it comes to plans within plans. His second was kidnapping Orihime allowing him to trap the Ryōka and half the Captains left after the departure of Gin, Tosen and himself, in Hueco Mundo, making it easier for him to accomplish the ends of his first plan.

Master Tactician: He has also shown himself as a powerful and flexible tactician, capable of adjusting seamlessly to any given combat situation. Though it can be said that majority of his tactics rely heavily on his Zanpakutō's special ability. As what better tactic is there than to manipulate all the senses of your opponents, making it easier for one to attack.

Kidō Master: Of particular note is his skill in Kidō and he is capable of using very high ranked spells (even Black Coffin, ranked 90 and Splitting Void, ranked 81) without incantation, and even though he did not control it entirely, utilizing only a third of the spell's original strength, it was sufficient to disable fellow Captain Sajin Komamura. He has even used Kidō of such a high level to block another Kidō attack by Tessai Tsukabishi, who was Captain of the Kidō Corps at the time and reasonably the most proficient Kidō master in Soul Society at the time, while he himself was only a Lieutenant.

Enhanced Strength: He is powerful enough to stop Ichigo’s Bankai with just one finger (albiet Ichigo was already battle-worn from fighting Byakuya Kuchiki) and then almost cut him in half with a single swing of a sword. He also stopped Renji’s Shikai with his bare hand and broke it with one swing, injuring Renji as well. He was even able to stop Komamura's giant blade with his bare hand, proving his strength was more than enough to combat someone of his same level.

Immense Spiritual Power: Even by captain-level standards, Aizen has shown to have tremendous spiritual energy. Marechiyo Ōmaeda commented that Aizen's very spiritual presence is monstrously overwhelming. A hint to his actual level of spirit power is given when he turns Wonderweiss Margera into an Arrancar. When preparing to activate the Hōgyoku, he states that despite its half-awakened state, it can be fully activated when temporarily fusing with someone with twice as much spiritual power (referring to himself) as an average Captain-level Shinigami. The force of Aizen's spiritual power is also great enough to, without any visible effort, bring the 6th Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, to his knees. He has commented that it takes a lot for him to not crush an ant (referring to Renji) in his path.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: By his own claim he has mastered his potential in this area. While the full extent of his prowess has yet to be known from how short his seen battles have been, he has demonstrated the ability to effortlessly fight back an opponent's Shikai with his own blade still sealed. He has also demosntrated the ability perform tremendously powerful and precise strikes capable of striking through very sturdy targets such as Renji's Shikai.

Flash Steps Master: By his own claim he has mastered his potential in this area though whether he means in just his potential or that of those in Soul Society as a whole is not yet known. He is perceived to be so fast that one cannot discern even being attacked by him until after it has taken place. Though its questionable if he is as fast as Yoruichi Shihōin or Soifon who are both the most masterful in this form, especially seeing as they both caught him before he was able to unsheathe his sword to engage in battle before his escape from Soul Society.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: By his own claim he has mastered his potential in this area. He has demonstrated on more than one occasion the ability to effortlessly catch his opponent's flying blades with a single hand. Though its questionable if he is as good as Yoruichi or Soifon as they are both the most masterful in this form.

Zanpakutō

 * In its sealed form, it resembles a normal katana with a green hilt and a hexagonal guard.


 * Shikai: The release command is . The name Kyōka Suigetsu hints at its illusionary properties; the moon reflected in water and a flower in a mirror are things that can be seen but not held. It is a Chinese saying for seeing and desiring something that is a dream that cannot be easily grasped in hand, teaching people about temptations.
 * Shikai Special Ability: Kyōka Suigetsu's Shikai has the ability to place anyone who sees it under a state of 'absolute hypnosis', allowing Aizen to control all five of their senses. The hypnosis is unbreakable, even if the target is aware that they are hypnotized. The only way to avoid the effect is to not see Kyōka Suigetsu at the moment of its release, making the blind Kaname Tōsen the only known character immune to its effects. The effect seems to be permanent, or at the very least long-lasting, as Aizen uses it on nearly all of the Captains and Lieutenants in the Gotei 13 during a ceremonial release of his Zanpakutō well before faking his own death. While the illusions Kyōka Suigetsu creates are quite powerful, they are not perfect; Captain Retsu Unohana was able to detect something was amiss with Aizen's fake corpse, even though she did not realize what until seeing Aizen alive. Shinji also seems to effortlessly see through one of Aizen's illusions during the Turn Back The Pendulum Mini-Series arc, though falls victim to the technique years later. This may be evidence that Aizen needed time to perfect the technique. It is also possible that Aizen allowed Shinji to see him in order to bolster overconfidence in the captain. Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnotic abilities make it a highly useful tool in combat, as Aizen can quickly create simple or complex illusions to deceive opponents. By creating a decoy of himself or other illusions to distract his opponents, Aizen can hide his own movements and attack with impunity; his opponent, meanwhile, will remain focused on the illusion until it's too late to react. The most prominent example of this is his brief fight against Komamura, where an illusionary copy of Aizen is seen melting away after the real Aizen has moved close enough to use the devastating Black Coffin spell.


 * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed.