Uryū Ishida

Uryū Ishida is a classmate and companion of Ichigo Kurosaki and is introduced as the last Quincy. He ranked 15th in the most recent Shonen Jump poll, surpassing Soifon by nearly 120 votes.

Appearance
Uryū Ishida is a black-haired, bespectacled teenager of average height. At school, Uryū wears the school uniform along with a tie, while outside he dons white Quincy clothes with blue stripes representing the Quincy cross, and a mantle.

Personality
Uryū is generally shy and quiet, but tries harder to act cool when other people are around. For example, during the Soul Society arc he wears a mantle that serves no purpose other than to make him look cooler, despite the fact that it hinders his movement. He even keeps a spare to that effect. In addition, he also has a tendency to say things with characteristic drama.

Uryū operates on a moral ethic known as the "Pride of the Quincy" and has a strong sense of justice. He has also shown to be very chivalrous, stating that he enacts justice on men who abuse or treat women badly. He demonstrates this at multiple points throughout the series, such as when he tried to defend Rukia Kuchiki from Renji Abarai when he and Byakuya Kuchiki came to the real world to take her, or when he defends Orihime Inoue at multiple points throughout the Soul Society arc. Uryū also has a tendency to not use lethal force in battle, especially if he can win without doing so. Instead, he will simply incapacitate his opponent.

A number of times in the anime and manga it has been demonstrated that he harbors a crush or great affection for Orihime Inoue, one of his friends and classmates, that surpasses his normal chivalry alone.

Uryū does not hold his father, Ryūken Ishida, in high respect; he calls his father by his given name which is considered very rude in Japanese society. Despite this, in the anime Uryū seems mildly offended when Rukia commented that the Ishida's hospital (his father being the present director) is falling apart and Renji replies tactlessly that the hospital is only for show.

Uryū has low blood pressure and hates procrastination. The other things he hates are quite odd: buttons (despite being an expert in sewing) and the word "haphazard." His favorite food is homemade mackerel miso stew. The television program he likes is Don Kanonji's "Bura-Rei". The shadow that jumped out of the crowd at Kanonji's first appearance was in fact Uryū. Like his grandfather, Sōken Ishida, Uryū is left-handed, and he is also a great archer, capable of insane feats of archery.

History
Being only fifteen years old, Uryū doesn't have the same rich history as some of the other characters, especially the long-living shinigami; however, several details about his past are revealed in the series.

As a child, Uryū mostly interacted and trained with his grandfather, Sōken Ishida. His father, Ryūken Ishida, was less than enthusiastic about being a Quincy, claiming that it wasn't a profitable occupation. They don't appear to be on very good terms as a result, given Uryū's casual use of his father's given name. Sōken understands Ryūken's reasoning, since being a Quincy is more about justice than material rewards and Ryūken has a family to support. Sōken told Uryū that he would someday understand his father's motives, but thus far this isn't the case.

At a fairly young age, Uryū's grandfather was killed by hollows right in front of him, while he wasn't able to do a thing to protect him. This is one of the reasons he hates the shinigami, who didn't come to rescue Sōken in time. It is later revealed that the current captain of the 12th Division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, was behind the delay so that Sōken's soul could be collected for study.

Synopsis
After Ichigo Kurosaki gains the powers of a shinigami, Uryū confronts him in an attempt to prove that Quincy are superior. Using some special bait, Uryū attracts a swarm of hollows to Karakura Town so that he and Ichigo can compete to see who can kill the most hollows in a day. This bait, however, also attracts a menos grande, an enemy that forces Uryū and Ichigo to band together. They drive the menos off, but its brief time in Karakura Town attracts the attention of Soul Society. Two shinigami are dispatched to capture a classmate of Uryū's, Rukia Kuchiki. Uryū confronts the two in an attempt to stop them, but is badly injured because of his interference. After they return to Soul Society with Rukia, Uryū realizes that he is not as strong as he thought he was.

Wanting to go and save Rukia, Uryū trains to better equip himself for the next time he needs to battle a shinigami. In a week's time he is able to master the sanrei glove, allowing him to join Ichigo and the rest of a rescue team in going to Soul Society. Their group is split up soon after their arrival, forcing Uryū to sneak around Soul Society with Orihime Inoue to avoid detection. Despite their efforts, the two are found byMayuri Kurotsuchi, who quickly takes a special interest in Orihime's abilities. Uryū sends her away to remove her from harm, and battles Mayuri in order to buy her time.

As their battle progresses, Uryū is proven to be no match. Nevertheless, Mayuri comments on Uryū's Quincy abilities, citing that he has studied thousands of Quincy over the years. After showing Uryū a picture of his most recent test subject, Uryū's grandfather, Uryū decides to defeat the captain at all costs. He removes his sanrei glove, greatly increasing his Quincy powers and allowing him to beat Mayuri. Mayuri is able to escape and Uryū, robbed of his Quincy powers by removing the glove, is easily captured by Kaname Tōsen. He is regrouped with other members of his rescue team that have also been imprisoned, and together they are able to escape. Once reuniting with Ichigo and saving Rukia, the rescue team returns to the human world.

With his Quincy powers gone, Uryū is of little use during the initial stages of the Bount invasion. He accompanies Ichigo and the others from battle to battle, but is unable to make any major contributions. Needing access to his former abilities in order to help his friends, Uryū strikes a deal with Mayuri; if Uryū lets the Bount into Soul Society, Mayuri will briefly restore his Quincy powers. Uryū complies, giving the Bount access to the Soul Society, and receives a Quincy artifact for his troubles. Though inexperienced with it, Uryū is able to use the artifact to kill Yoshi. He later assists Rantao in her battle with Jin Kariya, though the Quincy artifact is destroyed during the fight. Once Kariya and the remaining Bount are defeated, Uryū returns home.

Back in Karakura Town, Uryū is attacked by two incomplete arrancar. He attempts to use some Quincy equipment to defeat the two, but is ultimately unsuccessful. It is not until the arrival of his father, Ryūken Ishida, that the arrancar are vanquished. Disappointed by Uryū's weakness, Ryūken offers to restore his Quincy powers on the condition that Uryū never associate with shinigami again. Uryū agrees and trains with his father whilst arrancar continue to attack Karakura Town. After the third arrancar invasion ends Uryū regains his powers, ending his training.

After learning that Orihime has been captured by the arrancar, Uryū joins Ichigo and the remainder of a rescue team organized to save her. Because Soul Society has abandoned Orihime, Ichigo is technically not acting as a shinigami, giving Uryū a loophole with which to accompany them. After they arrive in Hueco Mundo and their group splits up, Uryū is joined by Pesche Guatiche. Though Pesche continues to annoy Uryū, he proves invaluable in defeating Cirucci Thunderwitch. As they continue on their way they meet Renji Abarai as he is about to be killed by the eighth Espada, Szayel Aporro Granz. Uryū intervenes and is briefly able to drive Szayel off, but Szayel soon returns and forces Uryū, Renji, Pesche into a corner. Just as their last hope of winning fades, Mayuri arrives to save them. He reveals that during their time at Soul Society, he planted bacteria apon Ishida's person to monitor his action, much to the latter's chagrin. With the release of Mayuri's bankai, it appears that the battle with Szayel has drawn to a close.

Powers and abilities
Having undergone formal training and possessing prior experience in combat, Uryū is one of the strongest protagonists in the series, with his victories roughly paralleling Ichigo's throughout the story. As a Quincy, Uryū's main weapon is a bow, but he is also able to use many Quincy techniques and items to augment his abilities, including some high-level techniques such as Ransōtengai, which are rare enough that even Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who had studied over 2000 Quincy, had never seen them in person. Uryū's trademark finishing move involves shooting spiritual arrows at his opponents through their chain link and soul sleep, depriving them of their powers and allowing him to win a bloodless victory. Aside from his Quincy powers, Uryū is well-trained in both mind and body, having substantial athletic abilities and a genius intellect. He also possesses some knowledge of Spanish, as he understands the Spanish terms used by the arrancar.

Bows
Lone Sparrow - When first introduced, Uryū used this bow that looks like a bow made from blue energy. Its size is dependent on the amount of energy flowing through it. With this bow, Uryū is able to kill most hollows in a single strike.

Unnamed bow-As preparation for his travel to Soul Society, Uryū later masters the sanrei glove, greatly increasing his abilities. In this state, Uryū's bow is solid and covered in an intricate pattern. It is attached to his glove by a series of thin struts. This new bow allows Uryū to fire several shots simultaneously. By removing the glove, Uryū attains the Quincy Final Form. The Quincy final form gives him a vast increase in power, enough to defeat a captain class Shinigami with Bankai in only one shot. All the extra energy collects on his right shoulder, much like how a quiver is worn. As a result of removing the glove, however, the Quincy Final Form uses too much power for Uryū's body to handle, causing his body to block his Quincy powers completely after it wears off.

Lone Sparrow on a Silver Cliff - After Uryū regains his powers with the aid of his father, he uses this new Quincy cross, this one resembling a pentacle, and a variant of his original bow.Unlike his original bow, this bow is shaped like a spiderweb and can fire up to 1,200 shots consecutively. Uryū also acquires new battle accessories, one of which is a new Quincy arrow called the "Seele Schneider" (魂を切り裂くもの, lit. that which slits the soul; German for "soul cutter") that can double as an energy sword in melee combat.