Gin Ichimaru

".......grinning, an act of intimidation." - Tite Kubo

was the Captain of the 3rd Division of the Gotei 13 until he betrayed Soul Society, alongside Sōsuke Aizen and Kaname Tōsen. His lieutenant was Izuru Kira. Although Gin is also a major antagonist of the series, he does provide a fair amount of amusement throughout the series, usually through random appearances at the end of most episodes of the Arrancar, Hueco Mundo, Captain Amagai, Fake Karakura, and Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arcs, where he outlines various facts about the Arrancar.

Appearance
Gin is fairly ordinary in terms of clothing, and doesn't wear any unique items. His overall appearance, however, is not as normal. Strangely he keeps his eyes constantly narrowed to slits (earning him the nickname "foxface") and he has only opened them fully twice (once during a flashback in battle with a group of Huge Hollows and again during battle with 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya). The color of his eyes is portrayed somewhat inconsistently, being light blue on the cover of manga Volume 20, but blood-red in the anime (the manga volume wasn't released prior to this however, which explains this discrepancy). Although he appears to be an early to mid twenty-year-old person, he is unusually thin and tall with very sharp features giving him a skeletal appearance. He bears unusual silver hair which has a purple tint to it in the anime (his name refers to his hair color; gin [銀] is Japanese for silver). He also keeps his face set in a wide mocking smile, which he only wipes off on rare occasions of annoyance, surprise, confusion, or even sadness.

In Hueco Mundo, his outfit, like Aizen's and Tōsen's, has been modified since the three abandoned Soul Society. He now wears a long, white robe over his normal Shinigami hakama. The hilt of his Zanpakutō is visible sticking out from under the robe through the opening down to his waist. Later Gin is seen wearing a white hakama like the Arrancar, instead of the black ones he was last seen in. Gin wears his robe open in a narrow 'V' down to his waist, closed to below the hips, then open again to the hem, which falls about mid-calf. His robe has long bell sleeves, into which he hides his hands like one does with kimono sleeves. The lining of the robe and edges or layers of the under-robe(s) appear to be black. From other examples, it is likely he is also wearing black tabi with white waraji. His Zanpakutō is not visible with this outfit.

Personality
Gin is one of the most mysterious Shinigami in the series since his almost constant smile and slitted eyes, combined with his heavy use of sarcasm and mocking politeness, make it very difficult to discern his thoughts. Many find his demeanor and appearance rather unsettling and there are very few who were willing to trust him even before he was revealed as a traitor. Gin seems to be fully aware of the effect he has on others and more than once has been seen toying with peoples' emotional states for his own amusement. Both Rukia Kuchiki and Wonderweiss Margera have shown to be rather frightened of him, Rukia noting to herself that she felt like she was being strangled by snakes whenever he spoke, even if he was not speaking to her directly. In the anime, Gin speaks with a distinct Kyoto dialect, which is polite but indirect. His English dubbed voice is also formal and polite, but with a rather mocking and facetious undertone.

Ever since he was a child, dried persimmons have been his absolute favorite food. Gin planted and raised many persimmon trees around the 3rd division offices, and makes the dried persimmons himself, then distributes them to other divisions. Once he wound up eating a dried sweet potato, thinking, "Oh, it's a dried persimmon!" and he hated it. When he has free time, Captain Ichimaru goes on walks around Seireitei. Although his hobby is people-watching, it seems like he is possibly hunting around and searching for an opportunity to create mischief with some poor victim. The gentlemen of the 3rd Division are contrary, and they have the kind of attitude that enjoys that mean-spiritedness. He also has incredible skill at needle threading.

History
Not much is known about Gin's prior history, except that he once saved 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto's life when they were younger, as she almost died from starvation. He tells her if she has collapsed due to hunger she must have spiritual power. She recognizes that he must have spiritual power too and he introduces himself.

Shortly while eating Gin asks Rangiku when is her birthday, to which she says she doesn't know as she never really counted days until she met him. Gin then tells her that from then on, the day that she met him will be her birthday. They have been friends since then. Hence, Matsumoto is one of the few people Gin seems to truly care about.

Approximately 110 years ago Gin graduated from the Shinigami Academy after just one year, and was given a seated position in the 5th Division. When he met Aizen for the first time he already killed the 3rd seat of the 5th Division, calling him worthless, showing that even as a child Gin's powers approached Lieutenant level, and also that he could kill anyone in cold blood, if it served his interests. Aizen immediately gave him the 3rd seat of the Division after the incident, which they both kept secret.

9 years later Gin is shown to be involved in Aizen's plot and assisting him in the Hollowfication of high ranking Shinigami. He is present at the Hollowfication of the investigation team sent by captain-commander Yamamoto. He watches the conversation between Shinji Hirako and Aizen. He doesn't seem surprised at the arrival of captains Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi. Aizen proceeded to leave the scene of the crime with his henchmen, stating that "there's nothing more to do there". To stop them from retreating, Tessai performs Hadō #88. "Hiryugekizokushintenraiho" spell against them, only to be countered by Aizen using Bakudō #81. "Danku", allowing them to escape.

Sometime later Gin served as the lieutenant of the 5th Division under Captain Sōsuke Aizen. He and Gin save the surviving young recruits of Shinigami Academy who were out on a field exercise from a group of hollows. From that time he seems to have seen potential in those recruits, 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).

Gin eventually becomes the captain of the 3rd Division around the same time that Byakuya Kuchiki became captain of the 6th Division (less than 49 years ago). Gin however, even as a captain of his own division, was still a loyal subordinate to Aizen.

At some point during their captaincy Aizen, Gin and Tōsen, secretly visit Baraggan Luisenbarn, King of Hueco Mundo and Lord of Las Noches. Aizen and Barragan engage in a light conversation as Gin and Tosen look on. Aizen then releases his Shikai and shows Baraggan the decimation of his army by the two other captains.

Agent of the Shinigami arc
Gin first appears with Kenpachi Zaraki, and both were teasing Byakuya Kuchiki about his sister Rukia Kuchiki being sentenced to death, saying that he is depressed, as a noble family wouldn't stand to have a criminal as a member. Byakuya says that he didn't think lower class people could understand the feelings of nobles. Kenpachi counters by telling him not really but he is very bright, and since he is so bright why doesn't Byakuya allow him to finish Rukia off before she is executed. Byakuya states he didn't know with Kenpachi's level he could actually kill people. Kenpachi challenges him and the two were about to engage in combat but Gin stopped Kenpachi by tying and carrying him away.

Soul Society arc
After Ichigo Kurosaki defeats the gatekeeper, Jidanbō Ikkanzaka, in his quest to save Rukia Kuchiki, Jidanbō lifts the gate to give Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions access to the interior portion of Soul Society. Upon opening the gate, Ichigo finds Gin Ichimaru waiting for him on the other side. Gin purposefully exerts just enough effort to keep them from entering instead of killing them as he should have.

Later, a meeting of the thirteen division captains is called for him to explain his suspicious actions. Gin, being one of the thirteen captains, should have had no trouble destroying them. Gin merely chalks it up to a mistake on his part.

Upon dispersal of the meeting, 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya overhears a scripted exchange between 5th Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen and Gin, which is meant to further increase his suspicions of Gin's foul play; more specifically, the exchange hints that Gin intends to kill Aizen.

As a result, Tōshirō later warns Aizen's lieutenant, Momo Hinamori, that Aizen's life might be in danger due to Gin and that Gin's lieutenant Izuru Kira, on good terms with her, might also be tainted. The next day, Aizen's impaled body is discovered by Momo, who immediately suspects Gin is the murderer; his appearance at the crime scene shortly after the fact and carefree attitude despite the seriousness of the situation only seem to confirm this. Momo subsequently decides to attack Gin in a rage but is intercepted by Izuru. Lost in her rage, Hinamori proceeds to release her Zanpakutō and fire an energy blast at Gin, which harmlessly curves away from its intended target. Kira also releases his Zanpakutō in an attempt to stop her, but both are stopped by Hitsugaya and arrested. After they are taken away, Tōshirō notes that Gin was preparing to kill Momo. Gin calmly denies it, and Tōshirō threatens to kill Gin if even one drop of Momo's blood should be shed on his account.

After Gin releases Izuru from his cell, Tōshirō becomes suspicious and confronts the lieutenant and captain together. He is interrupted by Momo, who now thinks that Tōshirō murdered Aizen and subsequently tries to kill him. She grips her sword so tightly that her hands bleed. Tōshirō 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, Tōshirō successfully freezes Gin's left arm, causing him to open his eyes and drop his smile for the first time. Upon being trapped by Tōshirō, he attempts to kill Momo 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. Rangiku remembers that Gin has also disappeared in such a way in the past, leaving her to wonder what he was up to.

Later, as Rukia is being led to her execution, Gin briefly appears on the bridge to tease her by giving her hope that he would stop the execution if she asked, only to admit he was lying after doing so, thus destroying Rukia's hard-built peace over her coming execution and showing just how sadistic he can be. It is at this point that Rukia mentions her fear of him. This serves only to increase suspicions that Gin was the orchestrator of her execution.

When Aizen is revealed to be the mastermind behind the entire conspiracy, Gin is revealed to be nothing more than a subordinate and decoy. As Aizen extracts the Hōgyoku from Rukia's body, he instructs Gin to kill her. He releases his Zanpakutō, but Byakuya Kuchiki appears and rescues Rukia, taking the hit in her place. Aizen, Gin, and Kaname Tōsen are then cornered by most of the other lieutenants and captains. Gin is captured by his friend, Rangiku. The three escape to Hueco Mundo with the help of the Menos Grande and are deemed traitors to Soul Society. Before leaving, Gin tells Rangiku he would have liked to be held by her a little while longer, and also apologizes to her (this being another rare moment where he is seen without a smile).

Arrancar arc
Gin is later secretly watching Aizen preceding over the punishment Grimmjow receives at the hands of Kaname Tōsen. After the situation is concluded, he jokingly chides Aizen over his habit of playing around with his subordinates. Gin deduces that Aizen knew that Tōsen would react that way as long as he kept goading him on. Aizen acknowledges that it might have been the case. Gin then tells him that they have lost five Arrancar, but Aizen dismisses it as unimportant as after all they were only Gillians. Aizen explains to Gin that the plan is unchanged and that once they ready the Vasto Lorde and complete the Espada, no enemy will stand in their way.

Hueco Mundo arc
After Chad's defeat by Nnoitra Jiruga, Gin is seen operating some sort of control panel. Ulquiorra Cifer walks in as he does so, wanting to know about the intruders' progress. Rather than answer the question, Gin comments on the fact that Ulquiorra approached him at all, assuming that Ulquiorra hates him. Ulquiorra denies this, and Gin tells him to act friendlier. It would appear that Gin and Luppi were on good terms, as Gin follows up by saying that he feels lonely after Luppi died. However, in a recent omake, Luppi says that he doesn't like Gin very much. Ulquiorra brings the conversation back on track by asking if Gin has been moving the halls from their original positions. Gin denies it cheerfully, saying that he wouldn't do that to "those kids" and that he also hates sad stories.

Fake Karakura Town arc
He later appears with Aizen and Kaname at the fake Karakura Town to do battle with the Gotei 13. However, the three are promptly trapped by the General's Shikai. After Izuru angrily cuts Avirama Redder for lightly mentioning Gin's name, Gin claims that he is pleased that his former lieutenant is doing well in his absence. When Hinamori arrives to help Matsumoto, Aizen appears somewhat fazed by her appearance but when Gin notes this Aizen only states that her presence won't make any difference.

He is later seen again when Fūrā arrives in the Fake Karakura Town, alongside Wonderweiss Margera, and blows out the fire prison that Yamamoto had encased Aizen, Gin and Tōsen in. He is heard remarking about the smell of the Hollow's breath, commenting that it's the smell of death, and is then seen walking free with his two comrades.

After the Vizard shows up, he states how nostalgic it was seeing their faces. Gin is next seen commenting on the noises that Wonderweiss makes calling him a noisy brat that ruins the mood, and expressing that he hates when he's like that. Prompting Tōsen to respond that his words have meaning and that he should just watch. Upon witnessing Mashiro Kuna easily defeat Fūrā, he comments that Fūrā was Wonderweiss's favorite, while smiling more than usual. When Mashiro drop kicks Wonderweiss, he laughs and makes the comment of "poor thing." While the Gotei 13 and the Vizard were fighting the Espada, Ichimaru was fighting against Shinji until Aizen observes the death of the 2nd Espada and 1st Espada and 3rd Espada fight and tells Gin that it was enough and that they were going to end things.

When Hiyori Sarugaki falls for one of Aizen's taunts and begins to charge him, Gin uses his Shikai to bifurcate her at the waist. Gin then casually comments, "that's one down". As the Shinigami and Vizard begin assaulting Aizen, Gin is seen commenting on Aizen's power, noting that while Kyōka Suigetsu's power is formidable, he reiterates the fact that Aizen's power is far beyond their comprehension.

Powers & Abilities


Genius Intellect: When Gin was younger, he was hailed as a child genius. He was highly proficient in his classes at the Shinigami Academy and he graduated in one year. His skill was already evident at a young age when he gained a seated position in the 5th Division shortly after graduating, ultimately surpassing the previous child prodigy Kaien Shiba, who was already an adult and had taken five years to become a seated officer. Gin has shown himself to be highly manipulative and deceptive even when it's evident. He comes out unscathed due to the calm confusion he plays at, which is a testament to his overall strategy. In his battle with Hitsugaya, Gin was able to manipulate the positions of three people so Hitsugaya would have to choose between saving his own life or Hinamori's without any visible effort.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Gin is a highly proficient combatant. In combat, he doesn't seem the least bit taken back by the abilities of his opponent, even when they seemingly have an advantage. He fights with seemingly no effort behind his attacks. His ability to wield his combat skills was evident even when he was a child. He easily defeated and killed the former third seat of the 5th division, who by rank and age should have been more powerful and skilled than him. He is commonly seen using his Zanpakutō's special ability, allowing him to be quite deadly at a distance, which is capable of killing multiple targets in one shot.

Immense Spiritual Power: Gin, without putting out any effort, easily incapacitated Chad, Orihime, Uryū, Makizō, and Ganju with his Reiatsu just by facing the direction they were coming from.

Flash Steps Expert: Though never actually shown using this in combat, after his battle with Tōshirō Hitsugaya, he used an impressive Flash Step to retreat.

Zanpakutō

 * It looks like a ordinary wakizashi. The hilt is light-blue with a tsuba made of two slim swirls of metal looping around the blade to make an open oval, resembling an "S".


 * Shikai: It is triggered by the phrase . In the English Dub, however, he uses a command related to piercing/stabbing and ends the phrase with a personal pronoun (him, her, it) defining who he wants to hit.
 * Shikai Special Ability: In its Shikai, Shinsō's blade glows white and extends at high speed to impale Gin's opponents from a distance. The blade also carries tremendous force when extending, as seen when Gin pushes both Ichigo Kurosaki and the giant Jidanbō out from under the Seireitei gate, despite the latter being firmly braced under it. In addition, Gin can maintain the extension and swing the activated Shinsō in wide arcs, attacking multiple targets quickly and simultaneously.


 * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed

Appearances in other media
Bleach Beat Collection First Session Vol 05: Ichimaru Gin is an album inspired by Gin. It was released in Japan with three unique songs (four total) that include the voice of his seiyū, Kouji Yusa:
 * Track: 01 - Sekai wa Sude ni Azamuki no Ue ni (The World is Already Above Deceit)
 * Track: 02 - Fuyu no Hanabi featuring Rangiku (Winter Fireworks)
 * Track: 03 - Hyōri (Inside and Outside)
 * Track: 04 - Sekai wa Sude ni Azamuki no Ue ni (Instrumental Version)


 * Gin has been a playable character in every Bleach video game to date, except Bleach: Heat the Soul. Several of these games have given Shinsō the additional ability to extend into the air, causing swords to rain down on his opponent


 * Though mostly depicted in story, Gin replaces Kon's "Shinigami's Cup: Golden" sketch to host "Arrancar Research Time" starting in the Arrancar arc, where he outlines various facts about Arrancar. Each sketch starts with one of the Arrancar (or their Shinigami masters) announcing the name of the sketch, at which point Gin will give a short course on a specific Arrancar topic, such as their standard abilities. Once Gin has finished, the person that announced the name shows up to comment on the topic, usually resulting in a humorous retort by Gin. Outside a few exceptions hosted by other characters (such as Kaname Tōsen, Szayel Aporro Granz, Dondochakka Bilstin, and recently Ichigo Kurosaki), all episodes have been directly hosted by him.


 * In the game "Bleach: Heat The Soul 5", Gin displays the ability to plant his sword into the ground, causing many blades to erupt from the ground and skewer the enemy from below. It may be considered as his "Bankai" by some fans, or simply as one of his Zanpakutō's techniques as Bleach: Shattered Blade features an identical attack, albeit, he raises his sword to the sky to call down blades to rain from the sky. No official source, except the video games, ever featured this move. It seems like a way to replace some of his old Video Games' abilities, however, the reason of this change are unknown.

Sealed Sword Frenzy OVA
Gin, Aizen, and Tōsen are the last three people to be seen in the OVA. They appear after the credits in the human world having tea. Gin gets the last speaking role of the OVA, telling the audience to be ''"careful on your way home." ''

Trivia

 * Although only heard in two episodes (22 and 52-53), Gin's "bye bye" has become very popular with the fans and even became the sound of one of Gin's "fast move attack" in Bleach Heat the Soul 5.
 * So far Gin has fully opened his eyes only four times throughout the entire series:
 * In the flashback, when Momo, Izuru, Shūhei, and Renji were attacked by large Hollows.
 * In his battle with Tōshirō.
 * In the captains' tribute ending to him and Izuru.
 * In the opening sequence of the 91st episode.


 * His eyes were also open on the cover of Volume 20, showing that they are blue in the manga, as opposed to the anime's red. Gin also opened his eyes in a cut scene in Bleach: Dark Souls. In the cut scene, his eyes were golden yellow.
 * In the English dub anime of Bleach, Shinsō's release command varies ("Impale him," "Slay them," "Pierce his flesh," "Shoot to kill," and in Bleach: Shattered Blade and the DS series, "Shoot 'em dead").
 * Gin is one of a handful of child prodigies in Soul Society along with Kaien Shiba and Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
 * The last of the two kanji that forms the name of Gin's Zanpakutō (sō) also means "harpoon" or "gun" (written in another way). In Chinese, "sō" means "lance" or "fire weapon."
 * Gin was among the four Bleach characters to make the top 100 list in Newtype Japan's 2007 list of the most popular anime characters.
 * Tite Kubo remarked in a 2004 Shōnen Jump character commentary that Gin's popularity, especially among women, was a great surprise to him, as he had attempted to make Gin creepy and off-putting in appearance.
 * Gin's Shinsō came 8th in the Zanpakutō poll.
 * In the Bleach best bout poll Ichimaru's fight with Hitsugaya came in fifth place.

Quotes

 * (To Rangiku) "It would have been nice if my capture lasted a little longer. Farewell Rangiku. Sorry."
 * (To Rangiku) "Eat. If you can collapse due to hunger you must have spiritual power."
 * (To Rukia) "I was just taking a walk and I dropped by to tease you."
 * (To Rukia) "Would you like me to save you?... Just Kidding."
 * (About Izuru) "I'm happy that he's doin' so well"
 * "I'm not too fond of sad stories"
 * (Comments about Aizen) "All of Captain Aizen's abilities are quite different from everyone else's. Beware of his Kyōka Suigetsu? A useless precaution. Beware of his other abilities? Again, a useless precaution. Whether it's the sky falling, the earth splitting; even if you combined all your wits to take precautions for every misfortune, Captain Aizen's abilities are above all of that."

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