Shinji Hirako

Shinji Hirako (平子 真子, Hirako Shinji) is a Vizard and the previous captain of the 5th division in the Gotei 13.

Personality
Shinji's character is somewhat comical, adding a bit of levity to situations that are otherwise serious. He seems to like annoying his associate, Hiyori Sarugaki, which usually earns him a slap from one of her sandals. 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). Although when in combat he is quite serious.

Appearance
Shinji has blond hair and his upper teeth can be seen much of the time he appears. This trait is also seen in Nnoitra Jiruga. Shinji usually wears a suit and tie and some form of hat. In the past Shinji wore normal captain robes and had much longer hair.

History
Shinji was the captain of the 5th division approximately 100 years before the main storyline. His lieutenant was Sōsuke Aizen. He appears to have a knowledge of Aizen's zanpakutō and possibly his intentions. He left the Gotei 13 for unknown reasons.

Synopsis
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. Shiji then departs for the time being, recieving 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 intitially attempts to get the information out of them by force, Shinji halfheartedly battles Ichigo. The other Vizards watch the display, noting that Shinji wasn't even taking him seriously. After Ichigo leaves to go fight Grimmjow, 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.

Abilities
Shinji is implied to be a powerful combatant, being the unofficial leader among the group and a former 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's hollow mask resembles a pharaoh's mask. Shinji is quite skilled with his hollow powers, using cero blasts to easily deal with Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. The video games also depict him being able to split the cero blasts into a pyramid shaped attack. 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.

Trivia

 * One of Shinji's previous acclaimed crushes was Lisa Yadōmaru, a fellow vizard, and 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.