Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-6901880-20130304064503/@comment-27138910-20151218000153

You guys, this was answered during the Lost Agent Arc. He is genetically Half-Human, Half-Quincy (so he should have died during one of the reaping of half-bloods, but it's no surprise he didn't. Uryu didn't die either, and he has way less power.) His soul contains soul reaper power because his dad was a soul reaper in a giga at the time of conception, and his dad's power was intertwined with his wife's inner hollow infection, so she didn't die. And his power is genetic. He and his dad have basically all the same powers (names and stuff).