Izuru Kira/Anime Continuity

is the lieutenant of the 3rd Division in the Gotei 13, formerly under Captain Gin Ichimaru and Captain Shūsuke Amagai.

Bount arc (anime only)
When the Bounts begin attacking living humans, Tōshirō Hitsugaya puts together a team of Shinigami to fight them, consisting of Izuru, Shūhei Hisagi, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Yumichika Ayasegawa. Izuru locates and rescues Ichigo Kurosaki from the Bount Gō Koga, his weight-affecting Zanpakutō giving him an advantage against Koga's Doll. After Koga retreats, Izuru assists Ichigo in rescuing his friend Keigo Asano, eventually making their way to the Urahara Shop.

Later, Izuru and the rest of the Shinigami sent by Hitsugaya assault the Bounts' hideout, but they are all overwhelmed by Ugaki's Doll. Later, when Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai arrive, Izuru and Shūhei assist them. They then urge Ichigo and Renji to continue on while they stay behind.

Later, when the Bounts successfully infiltrate the Soul Society, he is left to guard the entrance of the Seireitei.

The New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

The Third Division gains a new captain, Shūsuke Amagai. Izuru is unsure of this new captain, but is quickly enthralled by him when he defeats the cleaner in the severing dimension single-handedly, while being drunk from a earlier welcoming party. Izuru then watches new training exercises the new captain creates. He is then paired with the new 3rd Seat, Makoto Kibune, to stop runaway Hollows from the old Hollow execution grounds. They stumble upon a 4th Division member cornered by the Hollows. They manage to force the Hollows back, but the member is injured and passes out. Kibune releases his Zanpakutō and mows down everything in his path including the 4th Division member. Izuru stops the blade, but Kibune rants on about how the weak should just die. All three are eventually rescued, but the member is not expected to live due to the sheer injuries he sustained. Izuru talks to his captain and he tells him to watch Kibune carefully, but that he must not be seen.

Izuru then spots Kibune at the Kasumiōji Mansion entering the compound. Amagai proposes joint training between the squads of the Gotei 13, citing the attack of the cleaners against his squad, but his request is denied. That night, Izuru confronts Kibune for entering the Kasumiōji compound, and Kibune denies he did so. An alarm activates shortly afterwards, revealing that there are Hollow in Seireitei. Despite Izuru's orders, the 3rd Division members follow Kibune to attack the Hollows. The various squads fail to reach the Hollows due to the lack of coordination between them. Amagai takes control of the situation and coordinates the squads in destroying the hollows. Elsewhere, Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto reveals that he orchestrated the attack to test Amagai, and approves the joint training.

He finds the kidnapped princess and when he sees her, he tries to free her, but also finds assassins. Izuru manages to take them down, but is not able to stop them from taking the princess. Izuru searches for her, but finds Kibune instead. Kibune releases his Zanpakutō and begins battling Izuru. Izuru manages to gain a small upper hand as he strikes Kibune's Zanpakutō making it heavier, but Kibune makes his blade move even though it is very heavy, revealing it is a Bakkōtō that is making it move. Kibune nearly defeats Izuru, but Izuru manages to break Kibune's Bakkōtō.

Kibune tries to increase his powers with the Bakkōtō once more, but dies in the process. Izuru then faints from his injuries and is sent to the 4th Division for treatment. He reappears at Amagai's suicide asking for his captain to reconsider. He then grieves for his lost captain.

Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc (anime only)
Izuru, along with the captains and other lieutenants and other Shinigami who at least had access to Shikai, were called to the Sōkyoku Hill under the belief they were called by Yamamoto. It was revealed that a rogue Zanpakutō Spirit named Muramasa had called them. He revealed to have captured Captain-Commander Yamamoto and released all the Zanpakutō of the Soul Society from their spiritual bonds to their Shinigami partners. This was then proven true when all the Zanpakutō Spirits appeared in a manifested and humanoid form.

Later, Izuru's timely arrival saves Hisagi from being killed by the latter's Zanpakutō, Kazeshini. Izuru opts to retreat with Hisagi after momentarily incapacitating Kazeshini with Bakudō #37, Tsuriboshi. He is later seen healing Hisagi. Later, when Captain Suì-Fēng surrounds a group of Zanpakutō Spirits, in addition to Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, Izuru joins her and the Onmitsukidō and resumes his battle with Kazeshini. Izuru is surprised at the fact that Kazeshini is Hisagi's Zanpakutō, commenting that he believes that Kazeshini was born of the negative thoughts Hisagi was trying to suppress. Izuru then tells him that Hisagi helps Izuru out a lot, as such Izuru will avenge Hisagi.

Izuru holds Kazeshini at bay using a combination of Kidō and Shunpo, dodging Kazeshini's attacks. He then asks Kazeshini if he is certain that he wishes to continue to attack him directly, given the Shikai ability of Wabisuke. Kazeshini hesitates for a moment, but decides that Izuru is bluffing. However, Izuru takes advantage of Kazeshini's hesitation and the subsequent doubt Kazeshini developed about whether Izuru could or could not perform Shikai to put him down using Hadō #58, Tenran. Izuru proceeds to tie up Kazeshini using Bakudō #63, Sajō Sabaku. He then tells Kazeshini that he had indeed been bluffing. As Izuru considers who to assist first, Wabisuke sneaks up behind him and quickly incapacitates him. Izuru is then seen with Wabisuke bringing his hook down to Izuru's neck and saying "It's over". . At that very instant, a massive explosion of spiritual energy emitted by Captain Kenpachi Zaraki saves him from death. Izuru is then seen being engulfed by Kenpachi's overwhelming spiritual power.

Later, Izuru is caught in the poison mist of Ashisogi Jizō. After the Zanpakutō attack on the 6th Division barracks is over, he is discovered in the rubble by members of the 4th Division. Captain Retsu Unohana orders them to heal him.

After Izuru recovers he joins the Shinigami and Zanpakutō Spirits in the Human World, where they battle the Gillians created by the Hollow transformation of Muramasa. Upon realizing that the number of Gillian will not decrease so long as the Garganta is open, Izuru and the others combine their Reiatsu to seal the Garganta, preventing more Gillian from arriving. After Izuru and his allies defeat the remaining Gillians, Ichigo emerges from the destroyed dome with a defeated Muramasa.

Beast Swords arc (anime only)
Izuru is dispatched along with Tetsuzaemon Iba, Ikkaku Madarame and Shūhei Hisagi to stop the Tōjū gang from terrorizing Rukongai. When ambushed by Kazeshini, Izuru explains to Tetsuzaemon and Ikkaku that according to Hisagi, Kazeshini will not stop until it kills its prey. Izuru is later seen with the others fighting the Tōjū gang. He is also the one who informs Hisagi that Kazeshini has been looking after a baby, a fact he learnt from the other Zanpakutō Spirits. As the Tōjū threat draws to a close, Izuru joins several other Shinigami in aiding their Zanpakutō Spirits fight Kirikaze. He immobilizes Kirikaze with Bakudō #63 Sajo Sabaku. Wabisuke tells him that the Tōjū can turn into mist, but Izuru insists that he can no longer transform. Kirikaze, however, breaks free, surprising Izuru. Working together with Wabisuke, Izuru cuts Kirikaze's sword arm, which slams into the ground. When Wabisuke and the other Zanpakutō Spirits return to their sword forms, Izuru notes that their forms were born from Muramasa's power and were only temporary. He says that they knew the spirits would disappear someday.

Gotei 13 Invading Army arc (anime only)
When Ichigo arrives in Soul Society, Izuru and other senior Shinigami arrest him as a material witness relating to the time gap in the Dangai. Later, Izuru appears with other members of the Gotei 13 in the Human World as they escape the Dangai and fend off Kagerōza Inaba. Izuru participates in a meeting in Ichigo's room, where he listens to Nanao Ise reporting on the situation in Soul Society. When Hisagi states that they should hide Nozomi somewhere while they devise countermeasures, Izuru asks what countermeasures they could come up with. He then asks what to do with Nozomi. Later, when the Reigai of Kenpachi Zaraki breaks out of Urahara's trap and arrives in the Human World, Izuru and the other lieutenants arrive to help Ikkaku fight him. However, Ikkaku dismisses then, saying that they have their own opponents. When more Reigai arrive, Izuru leaves to fight the new arrivals.

Izuru joins Hisagi and together they face the Reigai-Hitsugaya. Despite combining their efforts, they quickly overwhelmed by the Reigai captain, ultimately being pushed back to join their allies. Seeing how bad the situation, it is suggested they rely on Nozomi's newly acquired Shikai and its ability to absorb and redirect spiritual energy. They launch their attacks on Nozomi, who then directs the accumulated energy on the Reigai, defeating all except for the Reigai-Byakuya. The Reigai counters with a blast of his own, knocking everyone except for Ichigo and Nozomi out.

As the Reigais of Kyōraku and Ukitake arrive, an unconscious Izuru, along with Tetsuzaemon, Shūhei and Rangiku are taken to Orihime to be healed. With the arrival of Captain Unohana, Izuru and the others are taken to the Shinigami's temporary base where she treats them. However, she states that their condition is severe. Later after being healed, Izuru joins the other lieutenants in facing the Reigai. While still initially being overwhelmed, Byakuya Kuchiki then realizes the truth behind the Reigai's battle style: they value self-preservation the most and won't attack first in fear of being outnumbered. The lieutenants then team up to fight the Reigai.

Later, the resurrected Ōko Yushima begins his endgame, using his Renzan: Hajō Kūri technique to begin destroying the Soul Society. Before the Shinigami can act, the Reigai step forward, saying that they will stop their fellow Mod Soul's chaotic plan as their goal has always been to protect the Soul Society in their own way. Reigai then destroy the technique at the cost of their own lives.

Zanpakutō
Shikai Power: It is possible for Wabisuke's special ability to be used against itself and Izuru, such as having something it has struck multiple times be used to pin it in place.

Quotes

 * (To Makoto Kibune) "Zankensoki... only when your heart is in balance can you claim to have true strength."


 * (To Makoto Kibune) "The most important thing to me is that everyone in the 3rd Division, above all else, is bound together by trust."


 * (To Makoto Kibune) "I couldn't stop Captain Ichimaru. I am powerless! But I have responsibility! Responsibility to protect the 3rd Division, my friends!"


 * (To Kazeshini) "To fight is something that is done in accordance with the situation. I do not see that escape is something shameful. For me, to insist and to lose is a foolish attitude."