Gin Ichimaru

".....grinning, an act of intimidation." - Tite Kubo

was the captain of the 3rd Division of the Gotei 13 until he betrayed Soul Society, alongside Sōsuke Aizen and Kaname Tōsen. His lieutenant was Izuru Kira. He formerly served as the lieutenant of the 5th Division under Sōsuke Aizen and the 3rd Seat of the 5th Division under Shinji Hirako.

Appearance
Gin is fairly ordinary in terms of clothing, and he doesn't wear any unique items. His overall appearance, however, is not as normal. He keeps his eyes constantly narrowed to slits, rarely ever opening his eyes enough to reveal their bright sky blue-color. Although he appears to be an early to mid twenty-year-old person, he is unusually thin and tall with very sharp features, giving him a skeletal appearance, and bears unusual silver hair. He also keeps his face set in a wide mocking smile, which he only wipes off on rare occasions of annoyance, surprise, confusion, or even sadness.

In Hueco Mundo, his outfit, like Aizen and Tōsen's, had been modified since the three abandoned Soul Society. He now wears a long, white robe over his normal Shinigami hakama. The hilt of his Zanpakutō is visible sticking out from under the robe through the opening down to his waist. Later, Gin wears a white hakama like the Arrancar, instead of the black Shinigami hakama. Gin wears his robe open in a narrow 'V' down to his waist, closed to below the hips, and then open again to the hem, which falls about to mid-calf. His robe has long bell sleeves, into which he hides his hands. The lining of the robe and edges or layers of the under-robe(s) appear to be black. His Zanpakutō is not visible with this outfit.

Personality
Gin is a very mysterious man, since his almost constant smile and slitted eyes, combined with his heavy use of sarcasm and mocking politeness, make it very difficult to discern his thoughts. Many find his demeanor and appearance rather unsettling and there are very few who were willing to trust him even before he was revealed as a traitor. Gin is fully aware of the effect he has on others and more than once has toyed with people's emotional states for his own amusement. Both Rukia Kuchiki and Wonderweiss Margela have shown to be rather frightened of him; Rukia noted to herself that she felt like she was being strangled by snakes whenever he spoke, even if he was not speaking to her directly. Gin speaks with a distinct Kyoto dialect, which is polite, but indirect.

Ever since he was a child, dried persimmons had been his favorite food. Planting and raising many persimmon trees around the Third Division offices, Gin would make the dried persimmons himself before distributing them to other divisions. Due to mistaking a dried sweet potato for a dried persimmon he developed a dislike for the former. During his free time, while still a captain, Gin would often go out for walks around Seireitei. Despite his hobby supposedly being people-watching, it would seem as though he also enjoyed hunting around and searching for an opportunity to create mischief with some poor victim.

Gin has proven himself to be quite perceptive, seeing past Sōsuke Aizen's manipulative personality and into his emotions and feelings, correctly pointing out Aizen was enjoying the invasion by Ichigo and his friends and their successes within Las Noches, which Aizen himself confirmed, and noting Aizen was surprised by the arrival of Momo during the battle of Fake Karakura Town.

History
While living in Rukongai as a child, Gin found Rangiku Matsumoto, a child herself, collapsed on the ground. He offered her some dried persimmon, which he was carrying at the time, telling her that if she could collapse due to hunger, she must have spiritual energy. Rangiku recognized that he must have spiritual energy as well. Following, Gin introduced himself to Rangiku, Rangiku commented on the strangeness of his first name. Gin and Rangiku's shared love of dried persimmon can be traced to that day. Following their meeting, Gin and Rangiku started to live together and it was during their time together that Gin asked Rangiku when her birthday was and she replied she didn't know, as she never really counted the days until she met him. Gin then told her that from then on, the day they met would be her birthday.

Gin also encountered Aizen while he and Rangiku still lived in Rukongai. While gathering firewood in a forest, he spotted Aizen and three other Shinigami (who were kneeling on the ground before him), through a clearing in the brush. Spying on them, he saw Aizen take a ball of pink energy from one of the Shinigami's hands and put it in a glass that contained the Hōgyoku. It was then revealed that earlier, Gin had seen those three Shinigami leaving the area where Rangiku was collapsed, carrying said ball of pink energy that he saw earlier. Realizing that Aizen must be the leader, Gin resolved to kill him.

Gin had a habit of leaving Rangiku most of the time and not telling her where he was going. During one such incident, Rangiku found Gin draped in a Shinigami's shihakushō with blood on his face. When Rangiku asked him what he was up to, he replied that he had decided to become a Shinigami and change things so they would end without Rangiku having to cry. Gin and Rangiku joined the Shin'ō Academy together. Since then, Rangiku has been one of the few people Gin seems to truly care for.

Approximately 110 years ago, Gin graduated from the Academy after just one year, and was given a seated position in the 5th Division. One night, Aizen found Gin after the latter had killed the 3rd Seat of the 5th Division. Aizen praised Gin's efforts and asked his opinion of the 3rd Seat, to which Gin replied that the 3rd Seat was worthless. Aizen immediately gave Gin the now vacant 3rd seat of the 5th Division and covered-up the fact that Gin had killed the 3rd Seat.

9 years later, Gin is shown to be involved in Aizen's plot and assisting him in the Hollowfication of high ranking Shinigami. He is present at the Hollowfication of the investigation team sent by Captain-Commander Yamamoto. He watched the conversation between Shinji Hirako and Aizen. He didn't seem surprised at the arrival of Captains Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi. Aizen proceeded to leave the scene of the crime with his henchmen, stating that "there's nothing more to do there". To stop them from retreating, Tessai performed Hadō #88, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō against them, only to be countered by Aizen using Bakudō #81., Dankū, enabling their escape.

Some time after this, after Aizen became captain of the 5th, Aizen told Gin the secret to avoiding Kyōka Suigetsu's complete hypnosis. Gin was still a child at the time when he was told about it.

Sometime later, Gin served as the lieutenant of the 5th Division under Captain Sōsuke Aizen. Aizen and Gin saved the surviving young recruits of the Shinigami Academy – Momo Hinamori, Izuru Kira, and Renji Abarai, who were out on a field exercise, from a group of huge Hollows. Kira would later become the lieutenant of the 3rd Division under Gin.

Gin eventually became the captain of the 3rd Division around the same time that Byakuya Kuchiki became captain of the 6th Division (less than 49 years ago). Gin, however, even as a captain of his own division, was still a loyal subordinate to Aizen.

At some point during their captaincy, Aizen, Gin and Tōsen secretly visited Baraggan Louisenbairn, the King of Hueco Mundo and Lord of Las Noches. Aizen and Baraggan engaged in a light conversation as Gin and Tōsen watched. Aizen then released his Shikai and showed Baraggan the decimation of his army by the two other captains.

Some time when both he and Isshin Kurosaki were captains, Gin, along with Tōsen and Aizen, continued to conduct Hollowfication experiments whilst attempting to locate Shinji Hirako's group. Asked about their current progress, he told Aizen they had made none. Observing an ensuing fight between Isshin and a Hollow creature on a monitor, Gin noted that the captain left without permission, remarking that this could mean trouble. Dismissing his concern, Aizen requested a closer look. Later, arriving at the scene of the battle with the others, all three wearing Reiatsu-concealing cloaks, Gin watched as Aizen cut down Isshin. Afterwards, Gin notes that Isshin realized the Hollow wasn't the one who cut him, and asks Aizen if it was okay to leave while Isshin was still alive and suspicious of what happened.

Agent of the Shinigami arc
Gin first appears with Kenpachi Zaraki, and both were teasing Byakuya Kuchiki about his sister Rukia Kuchiki being sentenced to death, saying that he is depressed, as a noble family wouldn't stand to have a criminal as a member. Byakuya says that he didn't think lower-class people could understand the feelings of nobles. Kenpachi counters by telling him not really but he is very bright, and since he is so bright why doesn't Byakuya allow him to finish Rukia off before she is executed. Byakuya states he didn't know if with Kenpachi's level he could actually kill people. Kenpachi challenges him and the two were about to engage in combat, but Gin stops Kenpachi by tying him up and carrying him away.

Soul Society arc
After Ichigo Kurosaki defeats the gatekeeper, Jidanbō Ikkanzaka, in his quest to save Rukia Kuchiki, Jidanbō lifts the gate to give Ichigo and his companions access to the interior portion of Soul Society. Upon opening the gate, Ichigo finds Gin Ichimaru waiting for him on the other side. Gin purposefully exerts just enough effort to keep them from entering instead of killing them as he should have.

Later, a meeting of the thirteen division captains is called for him to explain his suspicious actions. Gin, being one of the thirteen captains, should have had no trouble destroying them. Gin merely chalks it up to a mistake on his part.

Upon dispersal of the meeting, 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya overhears a scripted exchange between 5th Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen and Gin, which is meant to further increase his suspicions of Gin's foul play; the exchange hints that Gin intends to kill Aizen.

As a result, Tōshirō later warns Aizen's lieutenant, Momo Hinamori, that Aizen's life might be in danger due to Gin and that Gin's lieutenant, Izuru Kira, on good terms with her, might also be tainted. The next day, Aizen's impaled body is discovered by Momo, who immediately suspects Gin is the murderer; his appearance at the crime scene shortly after the fact and carefree attitude despite the seriousness of the situation only seem to confirm this. In a rage, Momo attacks Gin, but is intercepted by Izuru. Lost in her rage, Hinamori releases her Zanpakutō and fires an energy blast at Gin, but it harmlessly curves away from its intended target. Kira also releases his Zanpakutō in an attempt to stop her, but both are stopped by Hitsugaya and arrested. After they are taken away, Tōshirō notes that Gin was preparing to kill Momo. Gin calmly denies it, and Tōshirō threatens to kill Gin if even one drop of Momo's blood should be shed on his account.

After Gin releases Izuru from his cell, Tōshirō becomes suspicious and confronts the lieutenant and captain together. He is interrupted by Momo, who now thinks that Tōshirō murdered Aizen, and subsequently tries to kill him. She grips her sword so tightly that her hands bleed. Tōshirō acts upon his earlier threat and attacks Gin, releasing his Zanpakutō and warning Kira to get out of the way (he suggests at least a twelve-kilometer gap). During their fight, Tōshirō successfully freezes Gin's left arm, causing him to open his eyes and drop his smile for the first time. Upon being trapped by Tōshirō, he attempts to kill Momo as a distraction, but his attack is blocked by Rangiku Matsumoto, who threatens to fight him if he doesn't stop; Gin relents and disappears without saying a word. Rangiku remembers that Gin has also disappeared in such a way in the past, leaving her to wonder what he was up to.

Later, as Rukia is being led to her execution, Gin briefly appears on the bridge to tease her by giving her hope that he would stop the execution if she asked, only to admit he was lying after doing so, thus destroying Rukia's hard-built peace over her coming execution and showing just how sadistic he can be. It is at this point that Rukia mentions her fear of him. This serves only to increase suspicions that Gin was the orchestrator of her execution.

As Aizen watches Hollowfied Ichigo fighting Byakuya from S.R.D.I., Gin approaches him, wondering if Ichigo already undergone Hollowfication. However, Ichigo is able to regain control over his body, which makes Gin disappointed. But Aizen tells him that there is nothing to worry about as everything is going according to his plan, and that it all begins now.

When Aizen is revealed to be the mastermind behind the entire conspiracy, Gin is revealed to be nothing more than a subordinate and decoy. As Aizen extracts the Hōgyoku from Rukia's body, he instructs Gin to kill her. Gin releases his Zanpakutō, but Byakuya appears and rescues Rukia, taking the hit in her place. Aizen, Gin, and Kaname Tōsen are then cornered by most of the other lieutenants and captains. Gin is captured by his friend, Rangiku. The three escape to Hueco Mundo with the help of the Menos Grande and are deemed traitors to Soul Society. Before leaving, a downbeat Gin tells Rangiku he would have liked to be held by her a little while longer, and apologizes to her.

Arrancar arc
After Kaname Tōsen severs and destroys Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez's arm, Gin accuses Aizen of being cruel and playing with his subordinates just as Aizen comes down from his throne room. Aizen notes that Gin was eavesdropping. Gin points out that Aizen knew that Tōsen would do that as soon as Aizen said what he did. Gin goes on to remind Aizen that they lost five Arrancar. Aizen replies that it is of no concern as they were merely Gillians. Aizen goes on to say that when they have assembled enough Vasto Lordes, the Espada will be complete and then no one will be able to stop them.

Hueco Mundo arc
When Ichigo and his friends invade Hueco Mundo, he, Tōsen, and Aizen go into a meeting with the Espada to talk about the intruders. When Aizen sits down Tōsen and Gin stand behind him.

While Tōsen is monitoring the intruders, he is approached by Gin who calls it a bad hobby of his. Tōsen merely comments that he too must be worried about the intruders since he also came, only for Gin to say that he was joking. When Gin tries to enter he is stopped by Wonderweiss Margela and asks Tōsen to deal with him. As Gin notes how Wonderweiss has gotten attached to Tōsen, Tōsen goes on to explain how pure beings tend to be attracted to one another, although he has yet to determine how Wonderweiss is a pure being. Gin then sees that they have passed into the "Den of Tres Cifras".

Gin is later present with Aizen when the news of Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio's demise is brought to him. When they are left alone, Gin comments on how Aizen seems to be enjoying himself despite the fact that his subordinates are losing and those kids are getting ever closer. Aizen confesses that he is enjoying himself and asks Gin if he finds this strange. Gin states that he does not find this strange and in fact, is feeling something like enjoyment himself.

As Rukia Kuchiki encounters Aaroniero Arruruerie in Kaien Shiba's body, Gin is operating a control panel. Ulquiorra Cifer walks in as he does so, wanting to know about the intruders' progress. Rather than answer the question, Gin comments on the fact that Ulquiorra approached him at all, as he had thought that Ulquiorra hates him. Ulquiorra denies this, and Gin tells him to act friendlier. Gin follows up by saying that he feels lonely after Luppi died. Ulquiorra brings the conversation back on track by asking if Gin has been moving the halls from their original positions. Gin cheerfully denies it, saying that he would not do that to "those kids" and that he also hates sad stories.

He is with Aizen and Tōsen when the former reveals his true plans and leaves with the two to invade Karakura Town.

Equipment

 * Reiatsu Concealing Cloak: A cloak created by Urahara which hides the wearer's spiritual pressure. By incorporating Kidō into the cloak, Aizen states it allows the wearer to blend in with the air around them, almost completely concealing them from sight. Gin used this cloak to accompany Aizen when he struck Isshin Shiba down.

Powers & Abilities


Genius Intellect: When Gin was younger, he was hailed as a child genius. He was highly proficient in his classes at the Shinigami Academy, and he graduated in one year. His skill was already evident at a young age when he gained a seated position in the 5th Division shortly after graduating, ultimately surpassing the previous child prodigy Kaien Shiba, who was already an adult and had taken five years to become a seated officer. Gin has shown himself to be highly manipulative and deceptive. He comes out unscathed due to the calm confusion he plays at, which is a testament to his overall strategy. In his battle with Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Gin was able to manipulate the positions of three people so Hitsugaya would have to choose between saving his own life or Hinamori's without any visible effort. He is capable of simple deception by having his opponent focus on one thing while hiding the true threat. Gin's ingenious mind allowed him to elaborately plot his attempt to assassinate Aizen for over 100 years, managing to be the sole person to persuade Aizen in revealing Kyōka Suigetsu's weakness, hiding his Bankai's true aspect and appearing to betray Soul Society simply for this one goal, and would have succeeded were it not for the unexpected factor of the Hōgyoku returning to Aizen.
 * Psychological Warfare: Gin is a master at toying with his opponent's mind and weakening their resolve.

Master Swordsman: Gin is a highly proficient swordsman. In combat, he doesn't seem the least bit taken back by the abilities of his opponent, even when they seemingly have an advantage. He fights with seemingly no effort behind his attacks, as he always wields his sword with one hand. His combat skills were evident even when he was a child. He easily defeated and killed the former third seat of the 5th Division, who by rank and age should have been more powerful and skilled than him. Gin was able to effortlessly keep the upper hand against Tōshirō Hitsugaya, a Shinigami known for his intellect and skill in Zanjutsu, during their battle. He can maximize the full lethality of his Zanpakutō's special ability to kill multiple targets in one shot, allowing him to be quite deadly at a distance. He is able to mix extreme speed with a calm composure and precise attacks.

Shunpo Expert: After his battle with Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Gin uses Shunpo to retreat. He was also able to fight on even grounds and keep up with Ichigo while the latter was using his Bankai.

Kidō Practitioner: Gin's actual skill level in Kidō is unknown, but he was able to teleport himself and Aizen a considerable distance using "Sentan Hakuja". He was also able to cast "Hakufuku" on Rangiku Matsumoto, preventing Sōsuke Aizen from perceiving her Reiatsu.

Great Spiritual Power: Gin possesses captain-level Reiryoku. Gin, without any visible effort, easily incapacitated Chad, Orihime, Uryū, Makizō, and Ganju with his Reiatsu just by facing their general direction.

Enhanced Durability: Gin is durable enough to withstand a direct hit from Ichigo Kurosaki's Bankai-enhanced Getsuga Tenshō, only suffering a light wound to his forehead as a result.

Zanpakutō

 * It looks like an ordinary wakizashi. The hilt is light-blue with a tsuba made of two slim swirls of metal looping around the blade to make an open oval, resembling an "S".


 * Shikai: It is triggered by the phrase.


 * Shikai Special Ability: In its Shikai, Shinsō's blade glows white and extends at high speed to impale Gin's opponents from a distance. The blade also carries tremendous force when extending, allowing Gin to push both Ichigo Kurosaki and the giant Jidanbō out from under the Seireitei gate, despite the latter being firmly braced under it. In addition, Gin can maintain the extension and swing the activated Shinsō in wide arcs, attacking multiple targets quickly and simultaneously. Shinsō's maximum length is equivalent to one hundred times its original length, earning it the nickname when Gin was younger.


 * Bankai: : In its Bankai form, Gin's Zanpakutō does not change in appearance at all, retaining its small wakizashi form.
 * Bankai Special Ability: Gin's Bankai's abilities are essentially the same as his Shikai's, but its force, cutting power, length and speed are vastly amplified to the point where Gin is capable of swiftly cutting an entire town in half with a single slash while standing a great distance away. As Kamishini no Yari, Gin claims that his sword can extend itself up to 13 km (8.1 miles) at 500 times the speed of sound: exactly 171,500 meters per second in order to arrive at its full length in under 0.08 seconds, which makes it not the longest Zanpakutō, but the fastest. The blade can also retract to its normal size at the same rate. Because the blade's extension and contraction speed is a highly dangerous ability, Gin tends to downplay its speed whenever he talks about his Zanpakutō, and instead focuses on the length and power of the blade in order to gain a psychological advantage over his opponent. However, Gin has also stated that his Bankai is not as fast or as long as he originally claimed, but he hasn't elaborated on this statement further to determine what he is specifically referring to.


 * Kamishini no Yari's true ability, as well as its deadliest aspect, is not based on its length or speed, but rather its ability to turn into dust for just a second when it expands and contracts. There is a deadly poison inside the blade that dissolves and breaks down cells. He can leave a sliver of his Zanpakutō in an opponent when he retracts Kamishini no Yari, allowing him to kill an opponent at any time he chooses to. He does so by uttering the technique name while placing his hand up to the target, which causes the target to completely break down and dissolve at the cellular level from the inside out.


 * : By adopting a stance where he firmly grips Kamishini no Yari with both hands and places the Zanpakutō's hilt squarely on the center of his chest, Gin is able to utilize the tremendous extension and contraction properties of his Bankai to an even more terrifying extent than its normal state. This occurs in the form of a piercing maneuver where the extension and contraction of the blade becomes almost completely unseen to even the most diligent of observers.


 * : This ability repeats the action of extending and subsequently contracting Kamishini no Yari, as observed within the technique Butō, multiple times in rapid succession. The entirety of this process is completed in a mere moment, resulting in the individual steps involved in this technique becoming virtually indistinguishable from each other, generating an apparent mass of blades that leave little opportunity for the intended victim to evade successfully.

Anime Omake Segment: Arrancar Encyclopedia
Gin is the host of the Arrancar Encyclopedia, an Omake Segment that airs at the end of some Anime episodes, where he outlines various facts about Arrancar. Each sketch usually starts with the surprise guest for that segment announcing the name of the sketch, at which point Gin will give a short course on a specific Arrancar topic, such as their standard abilities. Once Gin has finished, the person that announced the name shows up to comment on the topic, usually resulting in a humorous retort by Gin. Outside a few exceptions hosted by other characters (such as Kaname Tōsen, Szayelaporro Granz, Dondochakka Birstanne, and recently Ichigo Kurosaki), all episodes have been directly hosted by him.

Music: Bleach Beat Collection
Bleach Beat Collection First Session Vol 05: Ichimaru Gin is an album inspired by Gin. Gin's seiyū, Kōji Yusa, sings the songs in Gin's voice.
 * Track: 01 - Sekai wa Sude ni Azamuki no Ue ni (The World is Already Above Deceit)
 * Track: 02 - Fuyu no Hanabi featuring Rangiku (Winter Fireworks)
 * Track: 03 - Hyōri (Inside and Outside)
 * Track: 04 - Sekai wa Sude ni Azamuki no Ue ni (Instrumental Version)

Video Games

 * Gin has been a playable character in every Bleach video game to date, except the first Bleach: Heat the Soul. Several of these games have given Shinsō an additional ability called, which is activated with the command . Gin performs Yarisazame by extending Shinsō into the air, causing swords to rain down on his opponent (he also disappears off the screen in the first two DS games for the duration of the attack).
 * He also has another ability where he is able to dash through his foe with a single thrust of his weapon, followed by a sudden amount of rapid strikes out of nowhere. This ability is known as either in Bleach: Blade Battlers (first game only as his finishing special attack, and he finishes with one more thrust of Shinsō default ability), or  in Bleach: Blade of Fate and Dark Souls as his Super Move A. Another version acts as his Super Move in both Blade Battlers games known as, where he rushes past his opponent at high speed, then fires Shinsō behind himself just upon reaching past the opponent.


 * In the games Bleach: Blade Battlers, Bleach: Blade Battlers 2nd and Bleach: Heat the Soul 5, Gin displays the ability to plant his sword into the ground, causing many blades to erupt from the ground and skewer the enemy from below. The former two games, Gin has a special move revolving around this ability known as where he causes his blade to tunnel under the ground to strike up from below, while the very latter game gives the multi-scaled version of the ability the name, where it is one of his Supers. Bleach: Shattered Blade also introduces him the , where he rapidly slashes away with Shinsō.
 * Also in Blade Battlers 2nd, he has an ability as his neutral Super Move known as, where upon firing his Shikai ability, he emits spiritual pale blue energy that runs along the extended wakizashi that spirals in a drilling vortex.


 * His Bankai is playable in Bleach: Soul Resurrección where he is capable of utilizing Būto and Būto Renjin. Additionally, Gin can use an attack called, where he rushes forward in midair while rapidly slashing in all directions.

Sealed Sword Frenzy OVA
Gin, Aizen, and Tōsen are the last three people to be seen in the OVA. They appear after the credits in the Human world having tea. Gin gets the last speaking role of the OVA, telling the audience to be ''"careful on your way home." ''

Censorship

 * When Gin scolds Jidanbō for letting Ichigo go through the gate, he cuts off his entire arm in the manga. In the anime, he only makes a small gash in his arm.
 * When Gin's arm was frozen by Hitsugaya's Zanpakutō, it wasn't grievously wounded, with blood on the ice, in the anime compared to the manga.
 * When Hiyori Sarugaki charges at Aizen, Gin slices her in half at the waist down to the point that her legs land in the rubble apart from her upper body in the manga. In the anime, she is skewered through her stomach instead.

Trivia

 * The color of Gin's eyes has varied throughout the series' medium. They are shown as blue on the cover of Volume 20 and Episode 270 onwards. However, early episodes of the anime depicts them as red, and Bleach: Dark Souls and Bleach: The Blade of Fate has them colored yellow.
 * Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Gin Ichimaru's battle was extended in the anime. Before Hitsugaya released Hyorinmaru, he and Gin engaged in a sword fight that resulted in the latter losing a part of his sleeve.
 * Although only heard in two episodes (22 and 52-53), Gin's "bye bye" has become very popular with the fans and even became the sound of one of Gin's "fast move attack" in Bleach Heat the Soul 5.
 * While it remains the same in the original Japanese version, Shinsō's release command varies in the English dub of the anime ("Impale him," "Slay them," "Pierce his flesh," "Shoot to kill,"), as well as in Bleach: Shattered Blade and the DS series ("Shoot 'em dead").
 * Gin was among the four Bleach characters to make the top 100 list in Newtype Japan's 2007 list of the most popular anime characters.
 * Tite Kubo remarked in a 2004 Shōnen Jump character commentary that Gin's popularity, especially among women, was a great surprise to him, as he had attempted to make Gin creepy and off-putting in appearance.
 * Gin's Shinsō came 8th in the Zanpakutō poll.
 * In the Bleach best bout poll Ichimaru's fight with Hitsugaya came in fifth place.
 * The Shinigami Women's Association published a Photo Collection showcasing Gin named White Snake but it was cancelled.
 * Gin was author of the now suspended column That's Absurd for the Seireitei Communication.
 * Gin's theme song, as chosen by Tite Kubo, is "Snake Tongued Beast" by Saybia.
 * According to the Official Bootleg, Gin possessed incredible skill at needle threading.

Quotes

 * (To Jidanbō Ikkanzaka) "What idiotic rules are you talking about? You misunderstood. Even when the guardian loses, the guardian may still not open the door. If the guardian lost, then that would mean... he must be executed."


 * (To Rukia Kuchiki) "I was just taking a walk and I dropped by to tease you."


 * (To Rukia Kuchiki) "Would you like me to save you?... Just kidding."


 * (To Rangiku Matsumoto) "It would have been nice if my capture lasted a little longer. Farewell, Rangiku. Sorry."


 * (To Ulquiorra Cifer) "I'm not too fond of sad stories."


 * (To Kaname Tōsen about Izuru Kira) "It's nice to see he's still got spirit in him."


 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "I thought you were an interesting kinda kid, but I guess you're actually pretty creepy."


 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "No point doin' anything now. Me an' Aizen go way back, but even I've never seen him like this. Well, I guess that's only natural, seein' as he's gone an' absorbed the Hōgyoku. You get it, right? There's no point fightin' any more. They're all gonna get killed, an' so are you. The end."


 * (To Sōsuke Aizen) "Feelings, eh? Nah, 'fraid not. Don't got none o' them. Didn't I tell ya, back when we first met? I'm a snake. Cold of flesh and devoid of heart. My tongue flicks back and forth, ever in search of new prey, and if I like what I find, I swallow 'em whole."


 * (As a child, to Rangiku Matsumoto) "I've decided. I'm gonna become a Shinigami. I'll become a Shinigami, and change things. I'll make it so you never have to cry again."


 * (To Rangiku, in his dying thoughts) "If you were to turn into a snake tomorrow and begin devouring humans, and from the same mouth you started devouring humans, you cried out to me 'I love you,' would I still be able to say 'I love you' the same way I do today?"

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