Marechiyo Ōmaeda

is the lieutenant of the Second Division, under Captain Soifon.

Character Outline
He is a large man with an equally large mouth who comes across as arrogant and dull. His largeness is stated by him as a sign of being from a rich family. His skill level as a shinigami remains unknown, however, it is thought that he received his position as lieutenant because of his family's connections. He also seems to be a coward. It is later revealed that this is a ruse he conjured up for one reason or another. He is in fact quite skilled at shunpo and is captain of the "Patrol Corps" in the Special Forces. His overall skill level still remains to be seen and it is unknown if everything up until now was a ruse. He likes to eat fried rice crackers (abura senbei) wherever he is. His captain has been known to beat him up when the crumbs from the crackers fall on her hair.

In an omake in the manga, Marechiyo is shown to come from a rich family. As is typical of many rich families, he has a long name,. His father is named Marenoshin, his mother is Mareka, his older sister is Maremi, his younger brother is Marejirōsaburō, and his younger sister is Mareyo. With the exception of his younger sister, all closely resemble him. Mareyo is more normal looking and sweet, which shocks Izuru Kira, Renji Abarai, and Shūhei Hisagi (these three are replaced by Ichigo and Rukia in the anime's equivalent sketch). Marechiyo thinks his younger sister is ugly.

Soul Society Arc
He is first seen in the Vice-Captain meeting along with the other Vice-Captains. He is later seen following his Captain Soifon while eating Rice Crackers, complaining about the Shinigami arguing about the legitimacy of Rukia Kuchiki's execution when nothing they say or think will affect the final decision. Soifon threatens him by saying that if he gets in the way of her, she will kill him, herself.

As Renji Abarai runs off with the rescued Rukia Kuchiki, Soifon orders him to go after them, soon followed along by Chōjirō Sasakibe and Isane Kotetsu. He release his Zanpakutō to fight Ichigo Kurosaki, but is beaten mere seconds after release as his Shikai was shattered by a bare-handed Ichigo, and he is knocked out with the same punch. He and the other defeated lieutenants are retrieved by Retsu Unohana, where he and Sasakibe were healed by Minazuki and Isane by her captain directly.

Bounto Arc
He and Tetsuzaemon Iba are seen hanging out in Rukongai when Jin Kariya appears and defeats them both.

Shūsuke Amagai Arc
He arrives along with Soifon to stop Ichigo when he breaks into Soul Society but is quickly defeated by Enryu when he releases his zanpakutō.

Fake Karakura Arc
He is seen with his Captain. He starts talking about how Sōsuke Aizen's men have incredible reiatsu, and Soifon tells him that he can leave if he wants.

He panics when Barragan sees through the fake Karakura ruse, before he finds out that Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, Izuru Kira and Shūhei Hisagi are guarding the pillar. He then complains about how he thought they had been excluded from the mission. He asked if the others knew about this, in which they did and Soifon said she told him, but thinks that she may not have told him.

After the fight for the pillars is over and the fight in between begins, he begins to do battle with one of Barragan's unnamed Fraccion and is quickly pummeled, though his Captain is less than concerned. While fighting his opponent releases his zanpakutō and begins to pummel Ōmaeda even further. Ōmaeda tries to outsmart the fraccion, but to no avail. Eventually Ōmaeda proves himself and reveals that his weakness was a ruse and begins to use shunpo like an expert. He then declares his position in Soul Society and releases his zanpakutō and proceeds to deliver a heavy blow to the Fraccion. As Marechiyo taunts his apparently dead foe, the Arrancar rises, clearly annoyed. Suddenly however, a heavy rock strikes him in the side of the head, killing him. Marechiyo looks over and sees that Ggio Vega accidentally knocked it away when he released his Zanpakutō. Marechiyo is suprised to see Soifon overpowered and reasons tat she is too proud to fake losing. As Ggio prepares to "finish" Soifon, Marechiyo boldly grabs the Arrancar and tells his captain to attack. As Ggio prepares to blast Ōmaeda with Cero, Soifon kicks him away, revealing she had been feigning her loss.

Powers and Abilities
Flash Steps Expert: Ōmaeda, being a member of the Special Forces is quite skilled with shunpo.

Zanpakutō
''': It is a normal katana in its sealed state.


 * Shikai: Its shikai command is '''. In its shikai, Gegetsuburi transforms into an oversized spiked ball attached to a chain, similar to a flail, allowing for it to be thrown at a distance at its target.

Its special abilities, if any, are unknown, as he is quickly dispatched by Ichigo Kurosaki during his first activation of it. It doesn't seem to be particularly sturdy, as Ichigo was able to shatter the spiked ball with a single, barehanded punch. However, considering that Ichigo is capable of fighting on par with captain-level shinigami, this may not be indicative of its actual strength, as it seemingly defeats his Fraccion opponent in one blow to the head.


 * Bankai: Not Yet Achieved