Vizard

The Vizard, pronounced in English as , is a group of Shinigami that have acquired Hollow powers. Following the battle at the Fake Karakura Town, they have become central combatants against Sōsuke Aizen's Espada.

Overview
The Vizard are the antithesis to the Arrancar as Shinigami who have obtained Hollow powers.

Having begun as Shinigami, the Vizard appear entirely Human and bar those times where they are using their powers are indistinguishable from ordinary Shinigami. To gain access to their Hollow powers, a Vizard dons a Hollow mask. This allows them to augment their Shinigami abilities with Hollow powers, as well as giving them access to some of the more generic Hollow abilities. Their spiritual pressure likewise changes into a mix of Hollow and Shinigami. This process of donning one's Hollow mask is referred to as Hollowfication.

The Vizard have been shown to be former captain and lieutenant Shinigami. They are considered criminals by the Soul Society for committing the ultimate taboo of acquiring Hollow powers; their status as former leaders of Soul Society also marks them as traitors.

During their introduction, they are viewed as reclusive and are thought to be only having loyalty to themselves, for it was unknown what role they would take in the upcoming battle at the fake Karakura Town. However, they are still considered to be valuable allies in the war against Sōsuke Aizen's army of Arrancar, according to Kisuke Urahara. The Vizard haven't shown any sort of hierarchy, preferring a loose-knit organization.

Their intentions are finally revealed when they arrive at the Battle of the Fake Karakura Town. Even after the events that made them outlaws by Soul Society 100 years ago, the Vizard bare no ill will toward the Gotei 13, but they prefer not to consider themselves allies of the former organization they belonged to either. Instead, they expressively confirm themselves enemies of Aizen, and by extension, the Espada, and state that they are allies of Ichigo Kurosaki.



Synopsis
The existence of Shinigami/Hollow hybrids is first hinted at early in the series. In order to regain his Shinigami powers after being stripped of them, Ichigo Kurosaki has his Chain of Fate severed by Kisuke Urahara in order to force him to regain his lost power before becoming a Hollow. Ichigo is only able to succeed once he begins transforming into a Hollow. Ichigo's transformation happens out of sequence, his mask forming first instead of his body breaking apart and reforming, a sign of his resistance to becoming a Hollow, and he emerges as a Shinigami wearing a Hollow's mask, which he breaks off. After he arrived in Soul Society, the Hollow mask reappears on his person on several occasions, even though he repeatedly discarded it, to block mortal and fatal blows. In his fight against Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's inner Hollow took some control of his body, causing his mask to reform around his face. Ichigo is able to regain control and tear off the mask before the transformation completes.

Arrancar arc
Ichigo later discovers that there are other Shinigami who have acquired Hollow powers besides himself. Shinji Hirako, a "boy" carrying a Zanpakutō and a Hollow mask, reveals that these renegade Shinigami call themselves the Vizard. Shinji tries to convince Ichigo to join their group, saying that only he can teach Ichigo how to control his Hollow form and keep it from taking over and destroying everything Ichigo cares about. Ichigo initially refuses Shinji's offer, but relents after realizing he can't control his inner Hollow on his own. Ichigo insists that he's merely using them to learn how to control his inner Hollow.

To accomplish this task, Shinji knocks Ichigo unconscious so he can face his inner Hollow on common ground. As this happens, Ichigo's body transforms into a uncontrollable Hollow form, which the Vizard take turns fighting in order to keep it in check. Ichigo eventually manages to overcome and subdue his inner Hollow (in 62 minutes and 30 seconds), and begins training with the Vizard to have better control over his new powers. Ichigo abandons his training when the town is threatened, despite having little control over his new powers compared to the more experienced Vizard. It is later shown that the Vizard are preparing for battle with unknown intentions.

Fake Karakura Town arc
When the Shinigami begin to lose their respective battles and the Arrancar begin to mount a comeback that culminates in Aizen's escape, the Vizard appear on the battlefield. Shinji briefly greets Aizen in a mocking manner, and then asks his fellow Vizard if there is anyone in the Gotei 13 they would like to speak to. He ends up in a short argument with Hiyori, followed by the others expressing their disinterest in speaking to their former comrades, with the exception of Lisa, who flash steps away. Shinji then approaches Yamamoto to greet him, to which the commander asks if he has come for revenge. Shinji plainly tells him against Aizen, yes, but that he holds no such ambitions against the Gotei 13. Yamamoto asks Shinji if he is right to assume they are then allies, to which Shinji replies that they aren't. However, he clarifies that although they are not on the Gotei 13's side, they are against Aizen and are allies of Ichigo. He then returns to the other Vizard, who bring forth their masks when Fūrā spews forth a huge amount of Gillian class menos from its mouth. They then attacked the Gillian, showing off each of their powers. Shinji, however, confronts Aizen and tells him it's time to finish this off. .

Creation Process
Process 1: This process is based entirely on force of will by a normal soul, though with the intention of gaining Shinigami powers it doesn't have access to or failing and becoming a hollow. Becoming a Vizard is an extremely rare occurrence of this process. When Ichigo's spirit chain was completely eroded he underwent the normal transformation of a plus into a hollow. The significant difference being that normally when a plus transforms into a hollow the spirit form shatters and reconstitutes itself into the new monstrous form. Ichigo's transformation was entirely out of sequence, as the Hollow mask was being formed first while his body was still that of a plus, showing that he was resisting the transformation. Ichigo enters into an internal world where he is forced to find his spiritual powers in a small amount of time, by sheer coincidence he does so, but in the middle of becoming fully transformed into a hollow. Therefore, it is that singular moment that allowed Ichigo to gain both Shinigami powers and acquire hollow powers at the same time.

Process 2: It is unclear how the other Vizard gained their current status. What is known is that Sōsuke Aizen was instrumental in the Hollowfication process (though whether he knew of the full potential of the results is left to be questioned). This process used seems to spread as some form of possible infection through wounds, that has the desired effects on souls with high-level spiritual energy as compared to souls with low-level spiritual energy. Causing those infected great sickness and fatigue until they vomit up a white liquid that forms the beginnings of their Hollow mask, which then proceeds to transform their bodies and warping their minds. Other than that all that is known is that the process is accelerated by aggressive emotions. The conclusive result makes a Shinigami into a primarily hollow-like humanoid, which is a highly unstable transformation causing mindlessness and aggression.

Process 3: Aside from the dangerous method used by Urahara on Ichigo, the Hōgyoku could allow a Shinigami to use Hollow powers (presumably in relation to the Vizard creation), but it has only been shown doing the opposite (creating the Arrancar). Urahara's Hōgyoku played a vital part in the process of making the Vizard currently what they are, as he tried to use it to return them to their previous state. But according to Urahara, what his device did was not what he had intended (turning them into a stable form of complete hybrids) and he considers the solution a failure on his part, though they didn't become complete Hollows due to his intervention and did eventually gain control over their new power.

When Ichigo's Hollow powers started to increasingly manifest while not under his control, Shinji explains that Ichigo's conflict with his inner Hollow is a common symptom other Vizard had to deal with at one point or another in order to master their abilities.

Turn Back the Pendulum arc
Around 100 years before the current storyline, people in the Soul Society started to disappear, but more than simple death, there were no bodies found; only the victims' clothes remained. The situation caused a great uproar in the Gotei 13 as investigations groups where sent out and not heard from again. Due to this, the 9th Division's command structure took it upon themselves to investigate the situation. Kensei Muguruma, then-captain of the Ninth Division, Mashiro Kuna, his then-lieutenant and their subordinates comprising the 3rd to 6th Seats. They were all mysteriously cut down by a then-unknown assailant that succeeded in taking them all by surprise using some unknown method. When much like the previous disappearance their reiastu disappeared the Gotei 13 became worried and sent out a new investigation team personally hand picked by Capatin-Commander Yamamoto to see what has happened. Captains Shinji Hirako of the 5th Division, Love Aikawa of the 7th Division and Rōjūrō Otoribashi of the 3rd Division, along with Lieutenant of the Kidō Corps' Hachigen Ushōda, and Kyōraku's Lieutenant Lisa Yadōmaru all set out to find out where they disappeared to. Urahara's lieutenant, Hiyori Sarugaki was already on her way to collect samples of the disappearance site per Urahara's request.

When the group finally arrives they find Hiyori and then themselves under attack by a Hollowfied Kensei and Mashiro. Even while working as a team they were overpowered by the brutal attacks from the former fellow Shinigami. With the timely arrival of Hachi, Mashiro is bound using Kidō and then after more fighting from Kensei he is bound as well. Hiyori, now being held by Shinji, begins to succumb to the Hollowfication process and attacks Shinji without warning. Then, the others are surrounded with a pitch black darkness unable to sense each other and are systematically cut down. After the darkness is lifted Shinji is the only one still conscious to see that it was all Kaname Tōsen, Kensei's 6th Seat, using his Bankai against them. Shinji tried to question Tōsen about the betrayal of his captain while he and the others were going through various stages of Hollowfication. Aizen, Shinji's lieutenant, then shows up with Gin Ichimaru, Shinji's 3rd Seat in tow, explaining that he was following his orders. Then Aizen begins to explain how he was behind it all and that he had been manipulating Shinji from the start using his Zanpakutō's special ability. He then gives Tōsen permission to get rid of Hiyori whom he attacks. Shinji, who refuses to go down without a fight, engaged in combat with Tōsen. Shinji gained the upper hand due to the increase in his power, but then he succumbed to the Hollowfication process even more and was about to be attacked by Aizen. But the timely arrival of the cloaked 12th Division Captain Kisuke Urahara and Kidō Captain Tessai Tsukabishi stopped him.

Known Vizard
There are eight known Vizard aside from Ichigo Kurosaki. Five of them are men and the other three are women. Three Vizard speak kansai-ben, a dialect spoken in Osaka and Kyoto. All Vizard are former Shinigami Captains or Lieutenants from approximately 100 years before the main storyline. Ichigo Kurosaki is considered one of their number unofficially more or less by the group's and his own admission.

Powers & Abilities
Hollow Mask: The Vizard remains in complete control while wearing their masks, unlike Ichigo's early unstable transformations. As suggested by Aizen, the fusion of the two spiritual entities allows these Shinigami to reach levels of power far surpassing that of either Hollow or Shinigami.

The Vizard use their Hollow powers to augment their existing Shinigami abilities, granting them massive increases in speed, stamina, and strength.

The only known side effects to donning the Hollow masks are the specific time limits, which vary from user to user and can be extended with training, though to what extent is unknown. Most of the Vizard appear to have a limit of about 3 minutes after a century of training, however Mashiro could maintain hers for 15 hours right from the start and Ichigo expanded his limit from 11 seconds to several minutes in a relatively short period of time so the factors influencing the limits of the masks are still unclear. Every time the mask is used, the Vizard's voices echo as a consequence of both their normal voice and their inner Hollow's voice speaking at the same time.


 * Enhanced Speed


 * Enhanced Spiritual Power


 * Enhanced Stamina


 * Enhanced Strength


 * Reiryoku Absorption: Hollow absorb spiritual power (Reiryoku) from their surroundings or ingest it from spiritual beings, while Shinigami produce their own natural spiritual power, some of which is then wasted, or leaked out. By combining these two properties the Vizard can reabsorb the spiritual power that they themselves give off, making their techniques much more efficient. They can also take it in from other sources, further boosting their power.


 * Cero: They also gain access to some Hollow abilities, such as the Cero blast, though only Shinji, Hiyori and Mashiro have been seen using it.


 * Mask Protection: Bodily harm can seemingly be ignored while wearing their masks, as demonstrated by Ichigo's Hollow during his unwilling transformations. The Hollow mask can only be maintained for a certain period before its effects wear off: Ichigo can only hold his transformation for short periods (eleven seconds at first), while the rest can retain theirs for as long as three minutes (with the exception of Mashiro).


 * Power Augmentation: With the acquisition of the mask through the subjugation of one's inner Hollow, a Vizard gains access to an additional and separate source of power - aside from the Shinigami powers he/she already possesses - Hollow powers. The accumulation of both powers greatly augments the powers of the Vizard beyond what a Shinigami and/or Hollow alone would be capable of.

The Vizard's Zanpakutō function in the same manner as those of standard Shinigami; However, they seem to prefer their Hollow powers over their Shinigami powers (with the exception of Kensei). So far, the Vizard who have released theirs are Ichigo, Hiyori, Kensei, Love, Rose, and Lisa.

Trivia

 * There are five Captain-level Shinigami who became Vizard: Shinji, Kensei, Love, Rose, and Ichigo.


 * There are four Lieutenant-level Shinigami who became Vizard: Hiyori, Mashiro, Lisa, and Hachi.


 * Shinji and Kensei are the only Vizard who used to be captains of current Shinigami (i.e. Shinji and Kensei were the Captains of Sōsuke Aizen and Kaname Tōsen respectively).


 * Lisa is the only Vizard who used to be a lieutenant of a current Captain (i.e. Lisa was the Lieutenant of Shunsui Kyōraku).


 * Kensei and Mashiro are the only Vizard who were members of the same squad in the Gotei 13.


 * Hachi is the only Vizard who wasn't a member of an official squad in the Gotei 13 and is the group's only original male member who wasn't a captain, where he served as the Lieutenant of the Kidō Corps.


 * Hachi is the first Vizard to kill an Espada.


 * Although Ichigo dons his mask by "ripping" it from his face, other Vizard appear to have different ways of summoning their Hollow mask (i.e. Hiyori musters it with mere thought, Hachi "slides" it on with one or both hands).


 * Most Vizard tend to undo their masks to buy time for re-usage.