Shock! The True Characters of the Fathers

'''Shock! The True Characters of the Fathers''' is the one-hundred-eleventh episode of the Bleach anime.

Isshin reveals himself as a Shinigami and fights Grand Fisher.

Statistics

 * Original Airdate: January 17, 2007
 * English Airdate: April 18, 2009
 * Opening Song: Rolling Star
 * Ending Song: Sakura Biyori
 * Manga Chapters: Chapter 186, Chapter 187.
 * Kanji: 驚愕！親父達の正体
 * Romaji: "Kyōgaku! Oyajitachi no shōtai"
 * Arc: The Arrancar arc

Summary
Demonstrating on the Hollow, Ryūken shows that all Uryū needed to do was destroy it before it could regenerate. Uryū is more amazed at the fact that his father has Quincy powers since he supposedly hated Quincy. Ryūken, however, remembers that what he had told Uryū a long time ago was that he had not interest and that Uryū had no talent - unlike his son, his own powers don’t disappear so easily. Bringing out his Quincy Cross, Ryūken explains that he inherited every technique and power from Sōken Ishida and was called the last Quincy. When the other Hollow suddenly attacks, Ryūken is able to react immediately and destroy it with one blast. He then shocks his son even more by proclaiming that he can restore Uryū’s powers. However, he has one condition: Uryū must swear to never again have anything to do with the Shinigami.

Meanwhile, Kon is being chased across town by the Grand Fisher who doesn’t know that it’s not really Ichigo in that body. In avoiding the fist of the Grand Fisher, Kon falls off the side of a building, but he is saved by Noba and the other mod souls. After Kon gets teased by Ririn, the Grand Fisher finds him again and sends him on the run. The mod souls decide to help some more by creating an illusionary world around the Grand Fisher and having Kurōdo transform into Ichigo’s Shinigami form. Kurōdo tries to fight the Grand Fisher, but ends up getting knocked back into Ririn and Noba. This causes the illusion to end, and so Kon flees again, this time alone. Getting tired of waiting for Kon to turn into a Shinigami, the Grand Fisher catches Kon and is about to crush him when a force field stops his hand - one generated by the protection charm. It is at this moment that Ichigo’s father Isshin shocks Kon by appearing in Shinigami robes, along with a captain's haori draped over his shoulder.

Across town, both Shinji and the real Ichigo sense a powerful spiritual pressure. Shinji can tell that it’s a Shinigami, but he doesn’t know who, and while he’s thinking, Ichigo jumps away. When Shinji tries to stop him, Ichigo affirms that he’s a Shinigami - not one of the Vizard’s comrades - and then continues on his way. With Ichigo gone, Shinji calls up someone named Sarugaki on the phone and explains that he failed his mission. The person on the phone starts to yell at him, but Shinji then says that it’s only a matter of time, so they should be patient. Back at the Grand Fisher, Isshin has formally introduced himself and now tosses Kon the charm again. He even refers to Kon as “Kon” and reveals that he knew Kon wasn’t Ichigo from the very beginning, pointing out that he never once called Kon “Ichigo.”

The Grand Fisher then smashes his fist into the concrete and says that he has no interest in Isshin. The Hollow only wants to kill Ichigo and demands to know where he is. Claiming that he doesn’t know, Isshin tells the Hollow that he’s going to kill him even if the Grand Fisher doesn’t have any interest. Hearing this, the Grand Fisher unleashes his full power and grows into an even bigger beast than before. When the Grand Fisher calls himself an Arrancar, Isshin knows that it’s a group of Hollows that have tried to remove their masks to gain Shinigami powers. The Grand Fisher then pulls out his enormous Zanpakutō and boasts that the size of the sword represents a person’s spiritual power. Arrancar and Shinigami swing at each other, and in the aftermath, Isshin explains that all Captain-class Shinigami can control the size of their Zanpakutō because otherwise everyone would have swords the size of buildings. As a tear forms across the chest of the Grand Fisher and the Arrancar falls, Isshin finishes the battle by saying that one can’t measure his opponent’s strength by the size of their Zanpakutō.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
Chōjirō Sasakibe, Tetsuzaemon Iba, and Marechiyo Ōmaeda are talking with each other. Chōjirō asks Iba how it's going today and Iba states that it's bad as he changed his sunglasses but nobody noticed. Ōmaeda tells him that changing his sunglasses is nowhere near as good as his sideburns being different. All of a sudden Yachiru Kusajishi appears and states that it's a "lieutenant sober fashion powwow". The lieutenants are then shocked that she said they were sober.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Unnamed Hollow A
 * 2) Ryūken Ishida
 * 3) Uryū Ishida
 * 4) Unnamed Hollow B
 * 5) Yoshi (flashback)
 * 6) Yoshino Sōma (flashback)
 * 7) Kon
 * 8) Grand Fisher
 * 9) Noba
 * 10) Kurōdo
 * 11) Ririn
 * 12) Isshin Kurosaki
 * 13) Shinji Hirako
 * 14) Ichigo Kurosaki

Fights
None.

Powers and Techniques Used
Other powers:
 * Teleportation
 * Illusions
 * Shapeshifting