User:Mikazuki Kin

Gin Ichimaru (市丸 ギン Ichimaru Gin) 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 Ichimaru is also a major antagonist of the series, he does provide a fair amount of comic relief for the series, usually through random appearances at the end of most episodes of the Arrancar, Hueco Mundo, and Captain Amagai arcs, where he outlines various facts about the 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 and numerical hierarchy. Once Gin has finished, the person that announced the name shows up to comment on the topic, usually resulting in a humorous reaction by Gin.

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"; "stupid freaking-ass clown" in the English dub) and he has only opened them fully twice (once during a flashback in battle with a group of hollows and again during battle with 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya). The color of his eyes is portrayed somewhat inconsistantly, 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). Physically he is unusually thin and very tall with very sharp features giving him a very 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, or confusion.

Personality
Gin is one of the most mysterious characters in the series since his permanent 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 Wonderwice 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 it wasn't to her. 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.

History
Not much is known about Gin's prior history, except that he once saved 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto's life. They have been friends since then. Hence, Matsumoto is one of the few people Gin seems to truly care about. It is also known that Gin served as the lieutenant of 5th Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen before becoming captain of the 3rd Division and that he became captain at the same time as Byakuya Kuchiki. As a child he was considered a genius graduating from the Shinigami Academy after just 1 year, and was already to become a seated position in the 5th Division. When he had met Aizen for the first time he already killed the 3rd seat of the 5 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, about which they both kept secret.

Zanpakutō
Shinso (神鎗, lit. Divine Spear, Viz: Sacred Spear): It looks like a wakizashi (Japanese short sword) normally and the guard is shaped like an 'S'.


 * Shikai: triggered by the phrase "shoot to kill"(射殺せ, ikorose). 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.