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.

Appearance


Prior to his departure from Soul Society he appeared as a mild-featured man with brown scholarly hair enhanced by square glasses. He wears the standard Shinigami uniform with a captain's haori.

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 in which the Soul King resides. 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.



One hundred 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 seven other Shinigami into Vizards 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).

Also, at some point before the storyline begins, he, alongside Captains Gin and Tōsen, secretly visit King Barragan of Hueco Mundo and defeat his army, securing their position as the rulers of Hueco Mundo.

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 captain and lieutenant of the Gotei 13. However, before he can be apprehended Aizen is brought to 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 create 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 pseudo-Arrancar to Earth to look 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 Tia Harribel). 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 (Shawlong, Edrad, Nakeem, Yylfordt, and Di Roy) later invade Karakura Town without orders, causing Kaname Tōsen to 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, Grimmjow, Yammy, Luppi, and Wonderweiss Margera go to invade Karakura Town to capture Orihime. . Ulquiorra succeeds in forcing Orihime to join 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). Grimmjow 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 Fracción) 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 be enough 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.

He is later seen again when Fūrā that arrived in the Fake Karakura Town alongside Wonderweiss Margera blew out the fire prison where Yamamoto had encased him, Gin and Tōsen in. He is heard remarking how the smell of death is splendid and is then seen walking free with his two comrades, believing the smell fits the occasion. Everyone is alerted to his presence, which noticeably scares Izuru Kira, who fears that Soul Society may have lost. However, the Vizard arrived and after a short battle against a group of Gillians, Shinji Hirako confronts Aizen.

Shinji attempts to slash at Aizen, but is then stopped by Kaname Tōsen as Aizen looks on.

As the battle continues and as Barragan comes close to his death, he launches his blade at Aizen in a desperate attempt to kill the person responsible for him losing his position as King of Hueco Mundo. But his own Respira destroys the axe before it can even reach Aizen, who simply looks away. Both Stark and Harribel notice this, and the former even comments on the fact that Aizen has nothing to say at the Segunda's passing.

Powers & Abilities


Aizen is an extremely potent combatant, well-above the standards of most captain-level Shinigami. In addition, his strength and speed are phenomenal, and he often makes use of his Zanpakutō's illusionary abilities as diversions or distractions.

High Intellect: Arguably the most fearsome trait of Aizen is his tremendous intellect. He is well-versed in the history, strategy, tactics of the Soul Society, and is privy to knowledge previously unknown to many, such as knowing of the existence of the ōken, as well as the obscure method in which to make one. He has also created several hollows and Arrancar while being able to avoid arousing any suspicion from most of his fellow Shinigami, most likely due to his Zanpakutō's illusionary abilities. He also for, over 110 years, had been engaging in experiments that involved unique and highly dangerous manipulations of spirit energy and spirit particles. His most startling experiment involves the Hollowfication of Shinigami, something unseen before and still unknown to have ever taken place again. He has an innate knowledge of the Hōgyoku, rivaling that of its creator, Kisuke Urahara, even the extent required for him to destroy it.

Master Manipulator: Throughout the series since his public betrayal of the Soul Society, 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 was effectively able to convince everyone around him that he was a kind-hearted man with the best intentions for the 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 and better manipulate them. He is also 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, making them seem slightly convoluted. 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", such as kidnapping Orihime, allowing him to use her abilities to extend the shelf life of the Hōgyoku, and to trap the Ryōka and 4 Captains after the departure of Gin, Tōsen and himself in Hueco Mundo, making it easier for him to accomplish the ends of his first plan, to create the ōken and gain access to the Royal Dimension.

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 the majority of his tactics rely heavily on his Zanpakutō's special ability, there are few better tactics than manipulating all the senses of your opponents, making it easier for one to attack.

Kidō Master: Aizen has a great mastery at using Kidō spells. He is skilled enough to use Kidō without the use of their incantation; he used the Black Coffin (ranked 90) spell, 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 the Splitting Void (ranked 81) spell to block another Kidō attack by Tessai Tsukabishi, who was Captain of the Kidō Corps and reasonably the most proficient Kidō master in the 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 index finger (albeit Ichigo was already battle-worn from fighting Byakuya Kuchiki) and 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 in the process. 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 presence is monstrously overwhelming. A hint to his actual level of spirit power is given when he turns Wonderweiss Margera into an Arrancar; before activating 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 to his knees. He has commented that it takes a lot for him not to "crush an ant" (referring to Renji) in his path.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: While the full extent of his prowess has yet to be known, he has demonstrated the ability to effortlessly fight back an opponent's Shikai with his own blade still sealed. He has also demonstrated the ability perform tremendously powerful and precise strikes, capable of striking through very sturdy targets, such as Renji's Shikai.

Flash Steps Master: He is perceived to be so fast that one cannot discern even being attacked by him until after it has taken place. Though it's questionable if he is as fast as Yoruichi Shihōin or Soifon, especially seeing as they both caught him before he was able to unsheathe his sword to engage in battle before his escape from the Soul Society.

Zanpakutō

 * In its sealed form, it resembles a normal katana. The only decoration is the crossguard, which is a hexagon instead of a rectangle. The two sides parallel to the blade are long, whereas the four sides above and below the blade are shortened, making it into almost a diamond or prism-like shape. It has a green handle.


 * 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 ability is Complete Hypnosis (完全催眠, kanzen saimin). It controls the five senses to the point that it can make the target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel and smell to be that of the enemy. The initiation condition for the hypnosis is to show the enemy the release of Kyōka Suigetsu. After seeing it just once, that person will completely succumb to the hypnosis. After that, every time it is released, that person will become Aizen's unwilling slave. Since the spell works when you see the ritual, those who can not see are consequently immune to the hypnosis. When he turns off the hypnosis by force of will, the image shown melts away/shatters. Kyōka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis is absolutely flawless; even if the target is aware that they are under the hypnosis, they cannot resist its influence. 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.


 * While the illusions Kyōka Suigetsu creates are quite powerful, they are not perfect towards those of considerable power and skill themselves; 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.


 * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed.

Quotes

 * "Remember this, Tōshirō. Admiration is the emotion furthest from understanding."


 * "No one stands on the top of the world. Not you, not me, not even gods. But the unbearable vacancy of the throne in the sky is over. From now on...I will be sitting on it."


 * "The betrayal you can see is trivial. What is truly fearsome, is the betrayal that you don't see, Captain Hirako."


 * "Kudakero, Kyōka Suigetsu."


 * "Don't use such strong words...it makes you look weak."
 * (To Ichigo) "Hm? I meant to sever you from the waist down, but...too shallow, I guess."


 * "The Sōsuke Aizen you knew...never existed to begin with."


 * "Just remember, don't underestimate me."


 * "What's one or two pieces of dust to scatter?"


 * "Dispersing the enemy's strength...that's the first rule of battle, isn't it?"


 * (To Orihime) "A girl like you should smile more often...Overcast skies blot out the sun and that always brings people's spirits down...So why not let the sun shine for the time being anyway..."


 * "What an interesting ability you have...girl..."


 * (To Orihime) "Please think of the fact that I have shown you this as a sign of my trust in you. Your power is the rejection of events. It reverses everything that has occurred, and annihilates the event itself. It is an extraordinary power. I need your power, Orihime. You will use that power of yours for my sake, won't you?"


 * (To Gin and Tōsen) "That's exactly what the smell of death should be like. The smell of death...splendid isn't it? It fits the situation perfectly."

Appearance in other media
Aizen is an unlock-able character in the Bleach video games. Most games have him as the final boss. He is the last opponent in Bleach: Soul Carnival. He is no doubt powerful and his Black Coffin Kidō spell is one of his best attacks. He also makes use of his Zanpakutō's illusionary abilities throughout most of the games. He is not seen in the films; though, in the second OVA, he is seen drinking coffee at the very end with Gin and Tōsen. He also has his own Bleach Beat Collection, Shinsō and Kyōka Suigetsu.

Trivia

 * According to Aizen's battle stats he is as strong as Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, as they both have their total stats equaling 560/600.
 * Aizen's zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu, is the only revealed zanpakutō with psychological effects.

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