Vizard

The Vizards are a group/race of former Shinigami who have acquired Hollow powers.

While the term Vizard is spelled in the manga using kanji meaning, it is pronounced as the English.

Overview
The Vizards are the antithesis to the Arrancar as Shinigami who have obtained Hollow powers. Having begun as Shinigami, the Vizards appear entirely Human, and barring those times where they are using their powers are indistinguishable from ordinary Shinigami. To gain access to their Hollow powers, a Vizard dons a Hollow mask. This allows them to augment their Shinigami abilities with Hollow powers, as well as giving them access to some of the generic Hollow abilities. Their spiritual pressure likewise changes into a mix of Hollow and Shinigami. This process of donning one's Hollow mask is referred to as Hollowfication.

It is unclear what the Vizards are after. The current members of the Vizards have been shown to be former captain or lieutenant-class Shinigami. They are considered criminals by the Soul Society for committing the ultimate taboo of acquiring Hollow powers; their status as former leaders of Soul Society also marks them as traitors. The Vizards are also rejected by Hollows, due to their former status as Shinigami. It is because of this that it can be presumed that the only side the Vizards are on is their own. Regardless, they seem to be valuable allies-to-be in the battle against Sōsuke Aizen's army of Arrancar, as Kisuke Urahara mentioned. The Vizards have not shown any sort of hierarchy, seeming to prefer a loose-knit organization.

Synopsis
The existence of Shinigami/Hollow hybrids is first hinted at early in the series. In order to regain his Shinigami powers after being stripped of them, Ichigo Kurosaki has his Chain of Fate severed by Kisuke Urahara in order to force him to regain his lost power before becoming a Hollow. Ichigo is only able to succeed once he begins transforming into a Hollow. Ichigo's transformation happens out of sequence, his mask forming first instead of his body breaking apart and reforming, a sign of his resistance to becoming a Hollow, and he emerges as a Shinigami wearing a Hollow's mask, which he breaks off. After he arrived in Soul Society, the Hollow mask reappears on his person on several occasions, even though he repeatedly discarded it, to block mortal and fatal blows. In his fight against Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's inner Hollow took some control of his body, causing his mask to reform around his face. Ichigo is able to regain control and tear off the mask before the transformation completes.

Arrancar Arc
Ichigo later discovers that there are other Shinigami who have acquired Hollow powers besides himself. Shinji Hirako, a "boy" carrying a zanpakutō and a Hollow mask, reveals that these renegade Shinigami call themselves the Vizards. Shinji tries to convince Ichigo to join their group, saying that only he can teach Ichigo how to control his Hollow form and keep it from taking over and destroying everything Ichigo cares about. Ichigo initially refuses Shinji's offer, but relents after realizing he can't control his inner Hollow on his own. Ichigo insists that he's merely using them to learn how to control his inner Hollow.

To accomplish this task, Shinji knocks Ichigo unconscious so he can face his inner Hollow on common ground. As this happens, Ichigo's body transforms into a uncontrollable Hollow form, which the Vizards take turns fighting in order to keep it in check. Ichigo eventually manages to overcome and subdue his inner Hollow (in 62 min and 30 sec), and begins training with the Vizards to have better control over his new powers. Ichigo abandons his training when the town is threatened, despite having little control over his new powers compared to the more experienced Vizards. It is later shown that the Vizards are preparing for battle with unknown intentions.

Creation Process
Process 1: This process is based entirely on force of will by a normal soul, though with the intention of gaining Shinigami powers it doesn't have access to or failing and becoming a hollow. Becoming a Vizard is a extremely rare occurrence of this process. When Ichigo's spirit chain was completely eroded he underwent the normal transformation of a plus into a hollow. The significant difference being that normally when a plus transforms into a hollow the spirit form shatters and reconstitutes itself into the new monstrous form. Ichigo's transformation was entirely out of sequence, as the hollow mask was being formed first while his body was still that of a plus, showing that he was resisting the transformation. Ichigo enters into an internal world where he is forced to find his spiritual powers in a small amount of time, by sheer consequence he does so, but in the middle of becoming fully transformed into a hollow. Therefore it is that singular moment that allowed Ichigo to gain both Shinigami powers and acquire hollow powers at the same time.

Process 2: It is unclear how the other Vizards gained their current status. What is known is that Sōsuke Aizen was instrumental in the Hollowfication process (though whether he knew of the full potential results is left to question). This process used seems to spread a some form of possible infection through wounds, that has the desired effects on souls with high-level spiritual energy as compared to souls with low-level spiritual energy. Causing those infected great sickness and fatigue until they vomit up a white liquid that forms the beginnings of their hollow mask, which then proceeds to transform their bodies and warping their minds. Other then that all that is known is that the process is accelerated by aggressive emotions. The conclusive result makes a Shinigami into a primarily hollow-like humanoid which is a highly unstable transformation causing aggressiveness and mindlessness.

Process 3: Aside from the dangerous method used by Urahara on Ichigo, the Hōgyoku could allow a Shinigami to use Hollow powers (presumably in relation to the Vizard creation), but it has only been shown doing the opposite (creating the Arrancar). Urahara's Hōgyoku played a vital part in the process of making the Vizards currently what they are, as he tried to use it to return them to their previous state. But according to Urahara, what his device did was not what he had intended (turning them into a stable form of complete hybrids) and he considers the solution a failure on his part, though they didn't become complete Hollows due to his intervention and did eventually gain control over their new power.

When Ichigo's Hollow powers started to increasingly manifest while not under his control, Shinji explains that Ichigo's conflict with his inner Hollow is a common symptom other Vizards had to deal with it at one point or another in order to master their abilities.

Turn back the Pendulum Arc
Around 101 years before the current time, people in the Soul Society started to disappear, but more than simple death, there were no bodies found; only the victims' clothes remained. The situation caused a great uproar in the Gotei 13 as investigations groups where sent out and not heard from again. Due to this, the 9th Division's command structure took it upon themselves to investigate the situation. Kensei Muguruma, then-captain of the Ninth Division, Mashiro Kuna, his then-lieutenant and their subordinates comprising the 3rd to 6th Seats. They were all mysteriously cut down by a then-unknown assailant that succeeded in taking them all by surprise using some unknown method. When much like the previous disappearance their reiastu disappeared the Gotei 13 became worried and sent out a new investigation team personally hand picked by Capatin-Commander Yamamoto to see what has happened. Captains Shinji Hirako of the 5th Division, Love Aikawa of the 7th Division and Rōjūrō Otoribashi of the 3rd Division, along with Lieutenant of the Kidō Corps' Hachigen Ushōda, and Kyōraku's Lieutenant Lisa Yadōmaru all set out to find out where they disappeared to. Urahara's lieutenant, Hiyori Sarugaki was already on her way to collect samples of the disappearance sight per Urahara's request.

When the group finally arrives they find Hiyori and then themselves under attack by a Hollowfied Kensei and Machiro. Even while working as a team they were overpowered by the brutal attacks from the former fellow Shinigami. With the timely arrival of Hachi, Machiro is bound using Kidō and then after more fighting from Kensei he is bound as well. Hiyori, now being held by Shinji, begins to succumb to the Hollowfication process and attacks Shinji without warning. Then, the others are surrounded with a pitch black darkness unable to sense each other and are systematically cut down. After the darkness is lifted Shinji is the only one still conscious see that it was all Kaname Tōsen, Kensei's 6th Seat, using his Bankai against them. Shinji tried to question Tōsen about the betrayal of his captain while he and the others were going through various stages of Hollowfication. Aizen, Shinji's lieutenant, then shows up with Gin Ichimaru, Shinji's 3rd Seat in tow, explaining that he was following his orders. Then Aizen begins to explain how he was behind it all and that he had been manipulating Shinji from the start using his zanpakutō's special ability. He then gives Tōsen permission to get rid of Hiyori whom he attacks. Shinji, who refuses to go down without a fight, engaged in combat with Tōsen. Shinji gained the upper hand due to the increase in his power, but then he succumbed to the Hollowfication process even more and was about to be attacked by Aizen. But the timely arrival of the cloaked 12th Division Captain Kisuke Urahara and Kidō Captain Tessai Tsukabishi stopped him.

Known Vizards
There are eight known Vizards aside from Ichigo Kurosaki. Five of these are men and the other three are women. Three Vizards speak kansai-ben, a dialect spoken in Osaka and Kyoto. All Vizards are former Shinigami Captains or Lieutenants from approximately 100 years before the main storyline. Ichigo Kurosaki is considered one of their number unofficially more or less by the group and his own admission.

Power & Abilities
Hollow Mask: The Vizard remains in complete control while wearing their masks, unlike Ichigo's early unstable transformations. As suggested by Aizen, the fusion of the two spiritual entities allows these Shinigami to reach levels of power far surpassing that of either Hollow or Shinigami.

The Vizards use their Hollow powers to augment their existing Shinigami abilities, granting them massive increases in speed, stamina, and strength.

The only known side effects to donning the Hollow masks are the specific time limits, though this can be overcome through training and every time the mask is used, the Vizard's voices echo as a consequence of both their normal voice and their inner Hollow's voice speaking at the same time.


 * Enhanced Speed


 * Enhanced Stamina


 * Enhanced Strength


 * Enhanced Spiritual Power


 * Reiryoku Absorption: Hollow absorb spiritual power (Reiryoku) from their surroundings or ingest it from spiritual beings, while Shinigami produce their own natural spiritual Power, some of which is then wasted, or leaked out. By combining these two properties the Vizards can reabsorb the spiritual power that they themselves give off, making their techniques much more efficient. They can also take it in from other sources, further boosting their power.


 * Cero: They also gain access to some Hollow abilities, such as the Cero blast, although currently only Shinji has been seen using it.


 * Mask Shielding: Bodily harm can seemingly be ignored while wearing their masks, as demonstrated by Ichigo's Hollow during his unwilling transformations. The Hollow mask can only be maintained for a certain period before its effects wear off: Ichigo can only hold his transformation for short periods (eleven seconds at first), while the other Vizards have seemingly no limit to how long they can last.


 * Power Augmentation: With the acquisition of the mask via the subjugation of ones inner Hollow. A Vizard gains access to a additional and separate source of power, in addition to the Shinigami powers one already possesses. The accumulation of both powers together greatly augments the powers of the Vizard beyond what a Shinigami and/or Hollow alone would be capable of.

The Vizard's zanpakutō function in the same manner as those of standard Shinigami; however, none of them have explicitly used their releases in combat yet, excluding Ichigo and Kensei. The Vizard seem to prefer their Hollow-like powers to their Shinigami abilities.

Let it be noted that Vizards most likely have other powers that make them even closer to Hollows other than from donning their masks, but Ichigo left them to defend against the Arrancar, so all the powers of a Vizard besides the basics he had to learn quickly on his own. It could be possible that Ichigo's latest transformation is Vizard-related, but will remain uncertain for now.

Trivia

 * There are four captain-level Shinigami who became Vizards: Shinji, Love, Kensei, and Rose.


 * There are three lieutenant-level Shinigami who became Vizards: Mashiro, Hiyori, and Lisa.


 * Hachi is the only Vizard to not be a member of an official squad of the Gotei 13. He was Lieutenant of the Kidō Corps.