Tōshirō Hitsugaya

"Frozen passion." - Tite Kubo

is the Captain of the 10th Division in the Gotei 13. His lieutenant is Rangiku Matsumoto. Hitsugaya plays the main character in the Bleach-based film Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion. Hitsugaya was voted the most popular character in Bleach in the most recent character poll. Hyōrinmaru, Hitsugaya's zanpakutō, was also voted the most popular zanpakutō in a recent Bleach Poll.

Appearance
Tōshirō Hitsugaya is short (because of his age), has turquoise eyes and short spiked white hair, which tends to draw attention in the Human world. He wears a standard sleeveless captain's garb, save for a green sash around his shoulders held together by a round clip. The sash holds his zanpakutō's sheath in place on his back and is tied to it at either end. He sometimes walks around in his tabi. He is relatively young by Shinigami standards, having the appearance of a kid. In the human world, he wears a black, short-sleeved golf shirt and gray pants, and he also wore the uniform at Ichigo's high school. He is also one of two Shinigami that carry a zanpakutō on their back; the other being Ichigo Kurosaki. Hitsugaya's short stature and the blade's length (about 120cm long) may explain the similar style.

Personality
Hitsugaya is generally mature and serious, in contrast to his free-spirited lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto. Despite their philosophical differences, he and Rangiku seem very close. Hitsugaya is shown to be easily annoyed by others goofing off or drawing unneeded attention to themselves, as he is when he leads a team of Shinigami into Ichigo Kurosaki's school.

Hitsugaya hates anything that he deems childish and hates being described as something close to a child, an elementary school child for example, a further contrast to his appearance. This is shown more in the omake chapters of Bleach, such as the short comics in VJump and the sand castle contest chapter released along with Chapter 238. He also doesn't like the heat. He is also mistaken for a kid in several of the omake chapters, much to his annoyance. During the ending credits of the Sealed Sword Frenzy, he is in the human world and dressed in a young boy's school uniform, and Hinamori has to practically drag him out of hiding. He is overly protective of Momo Hinamori, due to the fact that they were old childhood friends. Hitsugaya dislikes summer and warm weather in general.

It is also known that Tōshirō's favorite food is sweet nattō. His grandmother even used to send it to him into the division quarters. He does not like dried persimmons. Back in his childhood in West Rukongai, he was so skilled with spinning tops that he became the local undefeated champion. He works very hard, but his motive seems to be that if he finishes quickly, he can return to his afternoon nap. He believes in the saying "children who sleep well, grow well", and hopes to grow quickly, a wish shared by his subordinates. Naturally, they do not voice this fact in front of him, for even regularly practicing this adage for so long, he didn't really grow up in height.

Hitsugaya, is usually joked about by many of the other Shinigami in Soul Society as well as by his enemies. Despite these jokes or perhaps because of them, Hitsugaya has developed a cold attitude towards most people, he tolerates these jokes and goes on with his duties. Although he has shown anger toward jokes he doesn't take action against whomever insulted him unless they are his enemies, but he has never overreacted because of them. The only thing he can't tolerate is not being addressed as "Captain Hitsugaya" or an inappropriate use of his name, he worked very hard for the title so he gets angry when not addressed as such. Ironically, however, he does not address any other officer with their title, only their last names. The only people that actually call him by his given name are Ichigo, who is constantly reminded to address him properly, and Hinamori (the only person allowed to get away with it). Hinamori tends to call him "Hitsugaya-kun" and both she and Ukitake occasionally use "Shirō-chan" (シロちゃん) — a nickname meaning "Whitey" (Snowy in the English manga) in reference to his hair — in both cases without any repercussion. In the Shinigami Golden Cup sketches (omakes found at the end of episodes of Bleach), Jūshirō Ukitake comically gives Hitsugaya candy and other food because "Jūshirō" and "Tōshirō" sound similar and because they both have white hair, making them both "Shirō-chan." The first character in Hitsugaya's given name, Tōshirō, means "winter", which is appropriate given his white hair and ice type zanpakutō. Ichigo also calls Hitsugaya by his given name despite his many protests, much to his annoyance, and making him one of three captains Ichigo refers to in this manner (the others being Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki).

During his duel with Gin Ichimaru in the anime, Ichimaru remarks that Hitsugaya is the embodiment of a heavenly guardian that would be reincarnated every few centuries. This is attributed to his given name Tōshirō, which literally means "son of the winter lion (dragon/metaphor for magnificence)".

Even though he has relatively little amount of interaction with Ichigo, he helps in several potentially disastrous events, whenever ordered to by Yamamoto.

History
Hitsugaya comes from the province of Junrin'an in the 1st District of West Rukongai. There, he lived with his grandmother and Momo Hinamori. As a child, Hitsugaya was a bit of a brat who likes to eat watermelons and poke fun at Hinamori. She calls him "Shiro-chan" (Little Shiro in the English dub) and he retorts by calling her "Bed-wetter Momo." The two are close friends and Hitsugaya, despite being younger and much shorter than his friend, always feels that he needs to protect her.

When Hinamori left to become a Shinigami, he stayed behind despite knowing about his power. Her friends from next door were scared of him, although he does nothing to them, and does not visit or talk to him at all. "Granny" and Hinamori are the only ones in the district that weren't afraid of him. He was supposedly "cold as ice" or at least thought to be, and he often wondered if it was due to his appearance or attitude. After Momo had been in the Shinigami Academy for 5 years he began to notice how he hadn't grown an inch, while Hinamori's hair grew longer and she visited less often, seeming to have a goal in life now, and "Granny" was getting skinnier.

It was there that he met Rangiku Matsumoto. She yelled at a shop keeper who was being rude to him and then at him for "lying there crying about it and not standing up like a man" although it was her who knocked him down with her large breasts in the first place, but he shook her off and ran away. During that night he had a vivid dream of his Zanpakutō's spirit not only calling out to him (like in previous nights), but actually materializing in front of him in the form of a large dragon, and trying to tell him its name, which was unfortunately muffled by the strong winds. Soon after, Rangiku was able to track him down and woke him up, telling him that his Reiatsu was uncontrolled and leaking all over the place so it was causing Granny to freeze and get sicker, which may also explain why she got thinner. It was possible that if he stayed for too long while his reiatsu was still uncontrolled, he might have killed her. Rangiku told him to become a Shinigami in order to learn how to control his Reiatsu.

With Hitsugaya's natural talent, he quickly entered the Shinigami Academy and graduated early despite his age. Hinamori continued to call him "Shirō-chan" out of habit and felt she needed to protect him. Because of a promise she had made, she only began to call him "Hitsugaya-kun" after he had achieved his Zanpakutō's Shikai and was recognized as a Shinigami. Highly capable and knowledgeable, he quickly became the youngest of the captains within the Gotei 13 in the entire history of Soul Society.

He is also a friend of Jidanbō Ikkanzaka, the West Gate Keeper, who taught him the "city rules."

Soul Society arc
Introduced along with the rest of the Gotei 13, Hitsugaya's sharp sense of intuition and keen sense of observation leads him to suspect 3rd Division captain Gin Ichimaru of foul play as the circumstances surrounding the coming execution of Rukia Kuchiki become more complicated. He warns Hinamori of these suspicions, which inspires her to attack Gin following Sōsuke Aizen's apparent murder, leading him to lock both her and Izuru Kira in prison. After they are taken away, Hitsugaya asks Gin whether he was planning to kill Hinamori. Gin calmly denies it, and Hitsugaya threatens to kill Gin if even one drop of Hinamori's blood should be shed on his account.

After Gin releases Kira from his cell, Hitsugaya becomes suspicious and confronts the lieutenant and captain together. He is interrupted by Hinamori, who now thinks that Hitsugaya murdered Aizen and subsequently tries to kill him. She grips her sword so tightly that her hands bleed. Hitsugaya acts upon his earlier threat and attacks Gin, releasing his Zanpakutō and warning Kira to get out of the way (he suggests at least a twelve-kilometer gap). During their fight, Hitsugaya successfully freezes Gin's left arm, causing him to open his eyes and drop his smile for the first time. Upon being trapped by Hitsugaya, he attempts to kill Hinamori as a distraction, but his attack is blocked by Rangiku Matsumoto, who threatens to fight him if he doesn't stop; Gin relents and disappears without saying a word.

Seeing how destructive Rukia's execution is becoming and now firmly believing that Gin is the one behind it, Hitsugaya begins to wonder about what recent actions are fabricated and what are true. Eventually he and Matsumoto are interrupted by a Hell Butterfly, which relays a message detailing how Rukia's execution has once again been moved up to the next day. Hitsugaya resolves to stop the execution and disrupt Ichimaru's plan by appealing directly to the Central 46 Chambers.

Upon arriving at the Central Underground Assembly Hall Hitsugaya and Matsumoto discover all 46 members are dead. Hitsugaya surmises they have been dead for at least 2 days, but he is concerned about when as Soul Society has been under martial law and their Headquarters had been locked down since Renji's defeat. Further then that the 13 seals of protection was still active and there was no signs of intrusion. Then Hitsugaya realizes the only possible scenario is that they were killed before they were sealed in and that all the recent orders have been in fact fake. It is then that he realizes that such a plot would be far to elaborate for Gin to carry out by himself. He then is interrupted by Kira and he and Matsumoto give chase. Asking Kira if he was behind the Central 46's death, Kira tells him no and that he arrived just after he did, he also informs Hitsugaya that instead of chasing him he should be protecting Hinamori, he then goes on to explain that she escaped the 10th Division Barracks and how she accomplished it. Realizing now that Hinamori has been following him and Matsumoto the entire time he turns back and orders Matsumoto to handle Kira.

Hitsugaya returns back to the Central 46 Chambers in time to see Aizen alive and well. Extremely confused at this point he is surprised to find Gin and Aizen together and referring to the forces of Soul Society as the enemy. Hitsugaya discovers Hinamori injured and asks Aizen since when did he and Gin become comrades to which Aizen explains that they have always been since he had been a Captain. the only one he ever thought of as his subordinate was Gin. Hitsugaya then states that since the beginning he has deceived everyone. Aizen then explains his reasoning behind the deception, detailing that he was being compassionate and states that admiration is the furthest thing from understanding. Hitsugaya resolves to kill Aizen for the treachery and releases his bankai, only to be completely surprised as Aizen using his Shikai's special ability to confuse his senses allowing him to land a critical blow to Hitsugaya.

After the ordeal 4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana shows up and confronts Aizen who gets away. Unohana takes it upon herself to personally initiate emergency surgery on Hitsugaya and Hinamori. They are found to be in stable condition with lieutenant Kotetsu handling their post-procedural treatments after Aizen's escape from Soul Society.

Later Hitsugaya is seen fully recovered and watching over a still injured and unconscious Hinamori.

Bount arc
During the Bount's all out attack on Humans Hitsugaya orders more Shinigami to enter the real world to fend off the Bount in Karakura Town, stating they can't rely entirely on Ichigo Kurosaki.

When the Bount infiltrate Soul Society, he, along with Renji and Matsumoto, investigate reports of Bount activity in a forest in Rukongai. The Bount, however, are gone by the time they reach the forest. It is in the forest he is confronted by Maki Ichinose Ichinose proceeds to battle Hitsugaya and uses his zanpakutō's ability to confound Hitsugaya, Renji, Matsumoto, Ichigo and Chad. As Ichinose is about to attack Chad he is blocked by the newly arrived 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki. Kenpachi informs Hitsugaya he needs to take the others and stop Kariya from invading the Sereitei.

Later Hitsugaya comes face to face with the Bount Gō Koga, who up until that point had defeated many 10th Division members. Koga summons his Doll Dalk. Hitsugaya'a Shikai easily freezes and shatters Dalk to which Koga releases Dalk's true form, a Battle Axe. In response to this Hitsugaya releases his Bankai, the two continue to battle to which Koga sustains many heavy injuries forcing him to absorb a large amount of spiritual particles to heal himself, but his body begins to reject the spirit particles. In a last desperate attempt Koga tries to deal a killing blow to Hitsugaya but instead receives one himself. Hitsugaya informs his squad that Koga is to receive a proper burial, not realizing Koga has survived.

Arrancar arc
Hitsugaya later leads a group of Shinigami assigned to defend Karakura Town against the Arrancar threat, by dressing up as students at Ichigo's school. It is at this time the Hitsugaya explains to Ichigo the danger that the Arrancar represent to Soul Society. When the group of Arrancar led by Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez attack, Hitsugaya is placed in battle against Shawlong Kūfang. Shawlong easily fends him off, even using Daiguren Hyōrinmaru. The two continue to battle with Hitsugaya's attacks still proving to have little affect on the Arrancar. After some more time Shawlong begins to surmise about Hitsugaya's Bankai. He concludes it wouldn't be right to finish off a Captain when he is weak and that to finish of Hitsugaya while he is in Bankai is far better. He then proceeds to release his true hollow form. He then seriously wounds Hitsugaya.

Shawlong then uses his sharp claws to cut through one of Hitsugaya's Ice wings. He explains the truth of Arrancar's and the Espada to Hitsugaya. Soul Society finally approves the release of their power limit allowing Hitsugaya to fight at full strength. Shawlong questions what the limit release is. To which it is explained that it is a precaution put on Captains and lieutenants when they enter into the real world. Now they can fight at their full power. Hitsugaya then proceeds to use his Ryūsenka technique. Shawlong calls for a retreat of his group, only to be caught by Hitsugaya and frozen to his core.

Though heavily injured, he wins after being allowed to remove his power limit with one blow. However, right after Kūfang's defeat Hitsugaya collapses due to his critical injuries combined with exhaustion.

Hitsugaya is seen sometime later speaking through a video monitor with Yamamoto who is debriefing Hitsugaya on Aizen’s plan concerning the King's Key, and the Head-Captain allows Momo to talk. Hitsugaya is somewhat surprised to see her up and asks her if she should be walking around. Momo tries to persuade him that she is better, though still doesn't look it. Momo apologizes for not believing Hitsugaya and attacking him. Hitsugaya tells her not to worry about as it didn't bother him. He also tells her to get back to bed so she can get rid of those bags under her eyes. Momo thanks Hitsugaya for excepting her apology until he tells her even if she isn't one she looks like a little kid, and if she doesn't sleep more she wont ever grow. Momo yells at him, telling him he isn't one who should talk about growing.

Hitsugaya then reminds her that she is to call him 'Captain Hitsugaya'. As Momo realizes the situation, she asks Hitsugaya if he is going to fight Captain Aizen. To which Hitsugaya says yes, she then asks if he is going to kill Captain Aizen, and then begs him to save Aizen. She explains that what Captain Aizen is doing is bad, but she bets he has a good reason. Expressing her belief that Gin or someone else is forcing him to engage in his actions. She is quickly knocked out by Yamamoto, to whom he hands over her care to his lieutenant, Chōjirō Sasakibe. Yamamoto apologizes to Hitsugaya, saying he was just respecting her wishes allowing her to speak but it was perhaps too soon. Hitsugaya is left angered at the state Aizen has left Hinamori in.

Sometime after being debriefed, Karakura Town is attacked for a second time by the Arrancar. Hitsugaya first pits himself against the 10th Espada Yammy Rialgo. Tōshirō's Shikai freezes the Espada, but only for a moment. Yammy comments that the cold attack felt "refreshing." At this point, Tōshirō realizes even his Shikai at 100% is not enough for the Espada. Their fight is cut short by the new 6th Espada, Luppi who insists on fighting all present at once. He then proceeds to release his true hollow form. But realizing the increase in power the Espada will have, Hitsugaya tries to attack before he is able releasing his Bankai. Though initially unable to defend against Luppi's attacks, being knocked to the ground in a single hit, Hitsugaya comes back with his Bankai renewed and explains its ability. Luppi's inattentiveness gives him ample time to build up a finishing move, using his Sennen Hyōrō technique - just in time to save his subordinates. Luppi escapes death due to Negación, having only been incapacitated by the ice, and promises to kill Hitsugaya in turn.

Upon learning that Orihime has followed the Arrancar back to Hueco Mundo, Hitsugaya and his team return to Soul Society to help in the preparation for the war against Aizen.

Fake Karakura Town arc
When Aizen along with his top three Espada attack the fake Karakura Town, Hitsugaya along with his lieutenant and the rest of the of the Gotei 13 Captains currently not in Hueco Mundo are seen awaiting for Aizen's arrival. After the defeat of four of Barragan Luisenbarn's Fracción, everything turns into an all out war between the remaining Shinigami and the remaining Arrancar. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto ends up facing Tia Harribel and her Fracción. While being surrounded Matsumoto offers her captain to take on all three Fracción, so that Hitsugaya can fight Harribel alone and undisturbed. After Hinamori arrived, Hitsugaya has flashback of when she asked him to help Aizen while Harribel asked why his Reiatsu became disordered. He answered her that he doesn’t know even though he was wondering why Hinamori was here.

Hitsugaya's match against Harribel seemed to have taken a new turn when the latter sensed her Fraccions' defeat. Harribel forces Hitsugaya back with sheer power from her blade swing and unzips her jacket, revealing her rank as the #3 Espada which is tattooed on her right breast. Hitsugaya is shocked to find out that Harribel is only #3 despite her strength. When Harribel taunts Hitsugaya that she has yet to fully demonstrate her strength, Hitsugaya quickly uses Bankai in an attempt to match her very sudden and large increase in power. Harribel rushes him and begins her attack as they come together and lock blades.

During this encounter Harribel knocks Tōshirō to the ground as she mocks him, questioning "whether this is the full strength of a captain". She then promises to end the battle and proceeds to release her zanpakutō. After releasing, Tōshirō comments to himself that her appearance change hasn't changed as much as he predicted, but underestimating her would be a fatal mistake. However, Harribel proves to be in a different league then the young captain slicing the right side of his body from his shoulder before he even realizes it.

Believing that Hitsugaya has been defeated, Harribel turns her attention to General Yamamoto, though before she can take any action toward him, she is attacked by an unseen assailant. Harribel dodges out of the way only to see that it is an unharmed Hitsugaya, she just as quickly counter attacks. Noticeably confused as she had seen him cut down, she turns and sees that she has only struck down a ice clone. Hitsugaya claims that it was a one time technique that he was waiting to use for later in the battle but Harribel's considerable increase in power and speed as of her release was unexpected. He then comments to her not to underestimate a captain's strength.

As their fight ensues, he tells her that he can use any water around him, telling Harribel that she will never reach him. Hitsugaya then attacks Harribel. She reciprocates the situation by melting his ice and stating the iron law of battle. She finally attacks him with his melted ice. Their exchange of attacks continues and Hitsugaya tells her another law of battle. To which Harribel releases a Cero blast at him, which Hitsuguya comments on it being weak. He concludes that the reason her Cero was so weak, as both of them are waiting for the battlefield to become filled with condensation, from this he states that when that happens Harribel will use the opportunity to finish him off with one blow. Hitsugaya grows tired of waiting and states that he has never tried a particular ability in bankai mode before, to which Harribel asks what he is talking about. Hitsuguya then explains that he doesn't have to wait for water, as Hyōrinmaru is the most powerful Ice-based zanpakutō, and all water is his weapon and all heaven is under his command.

He then reveals his never before seen power: Hyōten Hyakkasō. Hitsugaya then asks her name, to which she replies; Tia Harribel. Hitsugaya then states his name and rank before attacking again. As the sky darkens,snow begins to fall from the sky. Harribel attempts to melt the snow with her Hirviendo ability, but the moment her sword touches the snow, ice flowers begin to bloom on her body. Hitsugaya then calmly states that once all one hundred flowers have bloomed, she will die. He then states that she won't be able to avenge her underlings after all.

Seeing the huge creature emerge from the Garganta with Wonderweiss, Hitsugaya looks on at the events taking place. Wonderweiss lets out a huge wail that cracks the ice pillar Harribel is trapped in. Hitsugaya looks surprised as the ice pillar begins to fall apart from around her, and once free, she gazes at him. Hitsgaya is alerted to Aizen's presence when the giant hollow creature blows out the fire prison that he, Gin and Tosen were trapped in. When the Vizard arrive, Hitsugaya is bewildered as to who they are. Hitsugaya is later seen shocked at the large amount of gillian class menos pouring forth from the giant hollow creature's mouth. After the Vizard reveal their mask and easily defeat the numerous gillians, Hitsugaya comments on how powerful they are. While he was contemplating Komamura's declaration that he intends to fight along side the Vizard, Harribel attempts to attack him while his back is turned. Sensing this, Hitsugaya's hand goes to his Zanpakutō. However, the Vizard Lisa Yadōmaru and Hiyori Sarugaki intervene and deflect the blow before Hitsugaya has a chance to unsheath his sword. Following this, he comments on how there doesn't seem to be time to worry about whether the Vizard are friends or foes, essentially agreeing to fight alongside them. Hitsugaya asks Hiyori if he can ask her a question, to which she retorts he needs to keep it short and that she won't tell him anymore about them. Hitsugaya says it's fine and that he wishes only to ask them for a favor. He asks if Hiyori and Lisa can take on the Espada as he wants to go and fight Aizen. Hiyori yells as him, asking him if he is crazy as the Vizard have come here to kill Aizen as well and that Hitsugaya was already having trouble when they arrived, so what makes him think he can take Aizen. Hitsugaya realizes that he was acting irrationally and that he panicked. Hiyori yells at him some more until he apologizes, and she then berates him further and questions his status as a Captain. When she calls him 'shorty,' Hitsugaya grabs Hiyori and screams at her, telling her she is shorter than him. They continue to fight until they are distracted by Lisa rushing off to fight Tia Harribel.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Hitsugaya has proven to be a skilled swordsman in battle, competing on the same level as Ichimaru and Ichigo. Before graduating from the academy, he had already learned Hyōrinmaru's name and obtained access to Shikai. As the youngest Shinigami captain, he is thereby one of the youngest Shinigami to achieve Bankai. His skills in swordsmanship are great enough that he rarely uses even his Shikai in battle, of which he has shown great proficiency with. Instead he relies on Hyōrinmaru's sealed form, only using its Shikai or Bankai when things get tough.

Child Genius: Perhaps the most astonishing trait of Hitsugaya is his brains and natural talent. He is possibly the most gifted Shinigami the Soul Soceity has ever seen besides the scientist, as shown from him entering the Shinigami Academy on his first try despite his young age, graduating from the academy in a single year with the overall highest scores of his class, joining the Gotei 13 shortly afterwards, and then becoming the youngest Shinigami to ever reach the rank of captain. He has been called many things due to this. Renji and Iba have called him a child genius and Ichimaru has called him the embodiment of the "heavenly white angel that blesses Soul Society once a century". In terms of intellect, Hitsugaya has shown to be equally impressive. He was even the first to suspect Ichimaru of treason and saw that there was more to Rukia's execution than what was being said. Shunsui, one of the strongest Shinigami in history, states that because of his genius, within 100 years, Hitsugaya could surpass him.

Immense Spiritual Power: Tōshirō's spiritual power has the same effect as his Zanpakutō as it is an elemental representative of Ice. His Spiritual Pressure is said to be very large and "cold". Even before he became a Shinigami, his spiritual pressure was immense and uncontrollable, not unlike Ichigo, and caused people around him to freeze, namely his grandmother who lived with him at the time. This cold spiritual power of his reflects his attitude as well. He is also the youngest Shinigami to ever achieve their Bankai. He even had visions of Hyōrinmaru's spirit before he attained it or entered the Shinigami academy. He is able to hide his presence well, on several occasions he manages to surprise Hinamori and Matsumoto with his sudden appearances, which leads them to complain about "sneaking up" upon them.

Enhanced Endurance: Despite his young and lean appearance, Tōshirō has shown himself to be a resilient fighter. Even after being stabbed in the stomach, he is still able to fight effectively.

Expert Strategist & Tactician: Despite his age, Hitsugaya has repeatedly shown great instincts and intuition in battle. He is generally aware of everything in his presence and also able to see through most deceptions. For example, he discerned that Gin Ichimaru was more than he seemed, although he was not yet sharp enough to realize it was all part of Aizen's plot. As a Captain, he is a great battle strategist. He is given missions from General Yamamoto to lead teams into the human world many times to deal with large threats. For example, Hitsugaya led the team sent by Soul Society which reinforced Ichigo's group against the Arrancar. In battle, he has shown great instincts against incoming danger as shown from his reaction to Harribel's initial attack after releasing.

Flash Steps Expert: Hitsugaya is highly proficient in flash steps. Repeatedly in battle, he has shown himself able to block and dodge dangerous attacks.

Kidō Expert: Hitsugaya is highly proficient in Kidō and is capable of performing high-level Kidō spells without the incantation.

Zanpakutō
Hyōrinmaru redirects here. For the manifested spirit that appears in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc see Hyōrinmaru (spirit)

When sealed, Hyōrinmaru looks like a normal katana with the exception of the guard, which is in the shape of a four-pointed bronze-colored star. It is about 1.4 meters long, making it as tall as Hitsugaya himself, preventing him from wearing it at the hip. He instead carries it on his back by his green sash over his right shoulder. Hitsugaya is one of three Shinigami that carry a zanpakutō on their back, the others being Ichigo Kurosaki and Hiyori Sarugaki. It is hung by his green sash over his right shoulder. Its hilt is light blue and sheath dark blue. The sheath completely dissolves when he draws his sword.

The spirit of Hyōrinmaru is that of a gigantic, icy blue, serpentine dragon with large wings and an echoing voice. Like Ichigo, Hitsugaya has had a close connection to his blade since first awakening his Shinigami powers. Before Tōshirō began training to control his Shinigami powers and leaking reiatsu, Hyōrinmaru would constantly appear in his dreams in an icy landscape (most likely Tōshirō's inner world) and call out to him, although Tōshirō was still not able to hear him.

Hyōrinmaru is the strongest of all ice-element zanpakutō in Soul Society. As such, Hitsuguya doesn't need water to be present in order for him to use its abilities.


 * Shikai: Hyōrinmaru's release command is . In its Shikai, Hyōrinmaru extends slightly in length, and gains a crescent-shaped blade attached to its hilt by a long metal chain, which can extend greatly if necessary by force of will. The chain itself can be used as an attack or to entangle a target.


 * Shikai Special Ability: Hyōrinmaru allows Hitsugaya to control water and ice. His slashes create an immense amount of spiritual power which overflows from the tip of the blade, creating a flow of ice shaped like a Chinese dragon. The dragon flies towards opponents and instantly freezes anything it touches. Hyōrinmaru can create multiple ice dragons to attack an opponent from various angles. Hitsugaya can also direct his slashes towards the ground and form a wave of ice which rushes over his opponents, overwhelming and freezing them. The chain-blade also freezes anything Hitsugaya traps with it. The power it expels is so overwhelming that in Soul Society (where Hitsugaya is not placed under a limiter), its mere release affects the weather within the immediate vicinity, creating a thunderstorm or a blizzard.


 * Tensō Jūrin (天相従臨): One of Hyōrinmaru's basic powers and its strongest. It allows him to control the weather in the immediate vicinity, or more specifically, control the water in the surrounding atmosphere. Hitsugaya states that this aspect of his powers is not fully mature and that he doesn't like to use it in Bankai mode, as he is unsure of whether he could control it and keep from killing everyone in the vicinity. The ability is usable in both Shikai and Bankai modes.




 * Bankai: : causes ice to flow from Hyōrinmaru onto Hitsugaya, starting at his right arm which ice forms onto in the shape of a dragon's head around sword hand, encasing it up to the hilt; which also changes from the shape of a four-pointed star to that of eight-pointed star. The ice continues forming up over his shoulders with two large wings sprouting from his back and a long tail. The ice forms down his left arm encasing his hand which ends in a claw. Hitsugaya's feet are encased in ice in a similar manner to his left hand which as they to end in claws.


 * Bankai Special Ability: Hyōrinmaru's Bankai has several special techniques.


 * When Hitsugaya stabs his opponents, a huge burst of ice erupts from the point of contact between Hyōrinmaru and the opponents, encasing and freezing them. Hitsugaya can then proceed to shatter the ice and his opponent with it.


 * Hitsugaya creates many ice pillars which encircle him and his enemy. At his command (when he turns his sword 90 degrees counter-clockwise), these pillars then move towards the enemy, enveloping and crushing it. Though this technique is very powerful, Hitsugaya speculates that it takes a considerable amount of time to prepare, and therefore the distraction of his enemy is crucial in successfully completing this attack.


 * Shield of Ice Wings: Hitsugaya is capable of wrapping his wings around himself like a sphere protecting him from any attacks.


 * Daiguren Hyōrinmaru Ice Dragon: Hitsugaya can release a more powerful form of his Shikai attack during Bankai. Instead of creating just a dragon's head attached to a long serpentine tail of ice, Hitsugaya can create a full-fledged dragon with wings matching his own, which can fly independently and encircle his opponents, constricting and crushing before biting them.


 * Bankai Regeneration: During earlier appearances of his Bankai, three flowers of ice used to form floating behind him, each consisted of four purple petals shaped like diamonds. These petals melted away petal by petal as Hitsugaya's battle with the Arrancar Shawlong Kūfang progressed, leading his opponent to speculate that Hitsugaya's Bankai will fade when all twelve petals disappear, assuming that the captain's Bankai was incomplete due to his young age. But he has since surpassed this "stage" as shown during his battle with Luppi (the sixth Espada for a time), where he states that as long as there is water in the surrounding area or atmosphere, his Bankai can regenerate itself indefinitely It should be noted that in his most recent battle with Harribel that the petals have returned with the petals still fading away as he fights.


 * Ice Clone: Once per activation of his Bankai, Tōshirō is able to create and shape a large amount of ice into his exact likeness. It is very life-like as it can appear to bleed. It has yet to be revealed the exact circumstances that limit the use of this ability to one use.


 * Guncho Tsurara (群鳥氷柱, Icicle Flock): Hitsugaya can transform water into ice and then swing his zanpakutō in an arc which fires an array of ice daggers at his target.


 * Hyōten Hyakkasō (氷天百華葬, Frozen Heaven Hundred Flower Funeral): This ability is rarely used by Hitsugaya and only is produced under his Tensō Jūrin power. The ability opens up a huge hole in the clouds through which a large amount of snow falls down on to his opponent. Whoever the snow touches begins to sprout ice flowers all over, which instantly freezes them in a pillar of ice. When the last of the 100 petals falls, the life of the one who touched it will be over.

Relationships
Tōshirō Hitsugaya was the main protagonist during his half of the Soul Society arc, being the first to discover the mastermind behind the events that transpired during The Seireitei Conspiracy, with Gin Ichimaru being his antagonist. After Aizen's emergence into Hueco Mundo, Hitsugaya became a major deuteragonist throughout the remainder of the series and is the most prominent Captain shown in Bleach, being the only one starring in his own feature-length film. Tōshirō has encountered a number of characters in the series, though not nearly as much as Ichigo. The most prominent of these relationships are listed below:

Ichigo Kurosaki
Hitsugaya and Ichigo have little interaction throughout the course of the series, and Ichigo consistently refers to him as "Tōshirō", which Hitsugaya finds both insulting and annoying, repeatedly stating that "the proper way" to address him is to call him "Captain Hitsugaya". However, despite this and their rare interactions, Hitsugaya has some degree of respect for Ichigo, assisting him in Senna's rescue, and explains to his sister (during the Arrancar Arc) that although he doesn't have knowledge of Ichigo's whereabouts, he's confident that Ichigo's working to get stronger. During the movie Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, Ichigo aids the then rogue Tōshirō, unconvinced that he has betrayed Soul Society to help Sōjirō Kusaka. When the final battle occurs, Ichigo tells Tōshirō of his feelings concerning his mother's death, that are much like his own concerning Sōjirō.

An another interesting trait between them, is that Hitsugaya seems to be the only captain that will go against orders to help Ichigo on his cases. This could be because of their bonds or that Hitsugaya just knows that Ichigo usually deals with real threats. Similar to Kurosaki, Hitsugaya also has a high amount of reiatsu, and could not control it as a child.

Momo Hinamori
Hitsugaya and Hinamori are childhood friends and both of them came from Rukongai, District 1. When Hinamori joined the Academy, Hitsugaya was a little bit upset about it because they could not meet as often as they used to do. They have a very close relationship and Hitsugaya cares about the well-being of his friend very much. He even threatened to kill Gin Ichimaru if he spilled a drop of her blood. Hitsugaya even fought with Ichimaru after Hinamori attacked Hitsugaya in the belief that he was the murderer of Aizen.

Rangiku Matsumoto
Although they have very different personalities, they have a very close relationship. It was Matsumoto who convinced Hitsugaya to join Shinigami Academy in order to control his leaking reiatsu.

Jūshirō Ukitake
Ukitake and Tōshirō have great respect for one another, but in omake segments, it is revealed that Ukitake sometimes gives Tōshirō candy and treats. When Tōshirō questions why Ukitake does this, he says that it's because that they're both "Shirō-chan".

Karin Kurosaki
In a filler episode, Tōshirō was asked by Karin to assist her in a soccer match and constantly calls him short and an elementary student giving them a friendly relationship.

Quotes

 * "Sōten ni Zase, Hyōrinmaru!"


 * "Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!"


 * (To Gin Ichimaru) "If you make Hinamori shed even one drop of blood... I'll kill you."


 * "Aizen, you've talked enough. Time to die."


 * (To Ichigo) "That's CAPTAIN Hitsugaya."


 * (To Harribel) "Don't underestimate our strength."


 * (To Harribel) "One faces the most danger during one's best attack. That is also one of the rules of battle."


 * (To Harribel) "All of water is my weapon. All of heaven is under my command."


 * (To Harribel) "Sorry. Guess you won't be able to avenge your underlings."


 * (To Harribel) "...I am captain of the 10th division, Hitsugaya Tōshirō. ...Here I come."


 * "There we go again, old men and their stupid arguments. What a pain." 


 * (About the vizards) "This is crazy...They're just so damn strong. "

In other media
Hitsugaya appears in the second Bleach movie, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, as one of the two main characters. When the "King's Seal," an ancient artifact, is stolen, Hitsugaya goes out in search of the thieves. After crossing paths with and fighting them, he goes missing, leading Seireitei to suspect him of treachery. As Ichigo Kurosaki and others go out in search of Hitsugaya, Hitsugaya himself stumbles across a dark secret concerning a long-dead Shinigami....

Hitsugaya has been a playable character in every Bleach-related video game released so far, the only exceptions being Bleach: Heat the Soul. Oftentimes, he's playable in several different forms, such as his Shikai and Bankai and even in a Gigai. In Bleach: Heat the Soul 4, Hitsugaya is also playable in his school uniform.

He is one of only three Bleach characters to appear in two Bleach Beat Collection albums, the others being Rukia Kuchiki and Ichigo Kurosaki. The first one was a compilation album with Momo Hinamori and his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto where he sang This Light I See. The second one was also a compilation album, this time with the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki where he sang Bleach the Limitation.

Trivia

 * He was recently voted the most popular character in Bleach on the January 26, 2008 Shōnen Jump character poll. He won with 8278 votes, exceeding Rukia Kuchiki by 383 votes.


 * Hitsugaya has used Bankai without effort despite his young age, and he himself had also stated that his full potential is untapped during his battle with Harribel.


 * Hitsugaya and Rukia Kuchiki have both had a Bleach movie's plot centered around them. Coincidentally, both are very popular, and both use water/ice-element Zanpakutō.


 * Currently, Tōshirō has used his Bankai more than any captain, and any character other than Ichigo Kurosaki: a total of 4 times in the manga, 5 in the anime (including his fight against Gō Koga,) and 8 times total (this includes the second OVA, the first movie and the second).


 * His Zanpakutō Hyōrinmaru recently won the first most popular zanpakutō poll in Bleach.


 * Tōshirō and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto both have the strongest elemental type of their kind.


 * Many times in Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion Tōshirō's Bankai can be seen without the petals.


 * Tōshirō is one of the three current captains who doesn't appear during the Turn Back the Pendulum mini arc. The others are Sajin Komamura and Kenpachi Zaraki.


 * There have been two times when Hitsugaya's Bankai special ice attacks have been negated. The first time, it was canceled by Negación when fighting with Luppi, and the second time, it was destroyed by Wonderweiss Margera's war cry when fighting with Tia Harribel.

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