Renji Abarai

is the lieutenant of the 6th Division under Captain Byakuya Kuchiki.

Appearance
Renji has brown eyes and long crimson hair, which is usually kept in a high ponytail. As a child, Renji's hairline was leveled. Later, he styled it in a large widow's-peak. His upper body is covered in tribal tattoos, which have increased over time, starting from his early days as an academy student to covering his entire back, much of his chest, his extremities, and even much of his forehead. He wears a standard Shinigami outfit, though he usually includes some sort of headgear, usually expensive glasses, or a white headband when he is saving up to purchase some new glasses. Despite being of appropriate rank, Renji does not wear his Division's lieutenant badge. While out of uniform, Renji often wears a white kimono-like type of night clothing, with pink floral patterns on it, and a dark grey sash tied around his waist. It has also been said "that the women within his Division do not mind that he usually walks around in his night clothing."

Seventeen months after Aizen's defeat, Renji's hair has grown longer and he wears a maroon colored bandanna covering all of the tattoos on his forehead. He also wears long dark straps on each wrist with bandages over his arms.

Personality
Renji is quite dynamic. His personality varies from smug and cocky to disquieted and depressed after a major defeat, but shows himself to be an incredibly serious and determined fighter when confronted with an actual threat. Willing to fight, kill, and die for whatever he believes in, Renji is a dangerous man to those who stand in his way. Yasutora Sado compares his fighting style to that of Ichigo Kurosaki. Renji is determined to surpass his captain, Byakuya Kuchiki, and it's this determination that drives Renji to grow stronger. Renji likes taiyaki (a popular fish-shaped pancake usually filled with sweet bean paste), and has a dislike for spicy food. Renji also likes futsal, and in his free time works on assembling a team from the 6th Division, with success, more or less. The current members are himself, Rikichi, and the 4th, 8th, 13th, and 20th seated officers.

All of Renji's sunglasses are purchased from Seireitei's popular Gin Tonbo store and cost half a year's worth of his pay check. However, every time he wears a pair, they are broken in one way or another. On these occasions, he replaces them with a tied white bandana, until he can purchase a new pair of goggles. His dream is to wear a pair that he himself designed at least once.

Agent of the Shinigami arc
Having been tasked with either arresting or killing Rukia, Renji travels to the Human World with Byakuya and discusses the merit of their orders. Using his goggles, Renji identifies Rukia and confirms that she is inside a Gigai. Renji reveals that he did not believe the information from the Image Office about this. Renji greets and attacks Rukia, saying that she was so lost in thought that she failed to notice a scout from Soul Society standing right behind her. He complains that she has become too soft in the months that she has been missing and demands that she summon the Human that she gave her powers to. When Rukia protests that no such thing happened, Renji questions why she is acting like that. While she is distracted by Byakuya, Renji attacks her, but lets her escape, saying that giving her powers to a Human is a very serious sin for a Shinigami and that they have been appointed to kill the Human. Renji tells her not to try to protect the Human and that his next attack will be serious, but he is interrupted by Uryū Ishida. After asking who he is, Renji cuts Uryū's explanation short and decides to kill him. Renji defeats Uryū in a single attack, and as he is about to kill him, he introduces himself and swings his blade down. However, he is stopped by Ichigo Kurosaki’s arrival.

Surprised to see another Shinigami and further shocked at the size of his Zanpakutō, Renji quickly figures out that Ichigo is the Human who took Rukia's powers, proceeding to attack him. Renji quickly and easily overwhelms Ichigo, injuring him. He states that once Ichigo is dead, Rukia's powers will return, but she will be executed in Soul Society. He ridicules Ichigo for showing up when Rukia was trying to protect him. Ichigo uses the moment to attack Renji, cutting his chin. Byakuya chastises him for being careless and reveals that according to their undercover forces, Ichigo had inflicted a scar upon a Menos Grande 33 hours earlier. Renji laughs this off and asks Ichigo the name of his Zanpakutō. Seeing that Ichigo does not understand him, he activates his Shikai and further injures Ichigo.

After explaining what had just happened to Ichigo, he moves in for the kill. However, Rukia jumps on him and urges Ichigo to run away. Ichigo instead gets up and continues to fight, becoming more powerful, much to Renji's surprise. Ichigo quickly defeats Renji and as he tries to deliver a finishing blow, he is struck down by Byakuya. Awed by Byakuya's abilities, Renji wonders how Ichigo became so powerful so suddenly. Renji stops Rukia from running to the defeated Ichigo's side, telling her that there is no point in her getting into more trouble over a dead person. Rukia protests that it is her fault that he is dead, surprising Renji. When Ichigo grabs Byakuya's leg, Renji is stunned that he is still alive. Rukia surrenders to Byakuya, prompting protests from Ichigo. Renji stamps on his back, telling him to stop making things worse and to be quiet. At Byakuya's behest, Renji opens a Senkaimon and they leave with Rukia.

In the Sixth Division’s barracks, Renji berates Rikichi for failing to look after the Jigokuchō properly. He then visits Rukia in her cell. He tells her to eat something and becomes annoyed when she makes fun of his new rank. Rukia asks if she is going to be executed. Renji tells her that Byakuya is reporting to the Central 46 and that he will most likely appeal for her sentence to be commuted. Rukia disagrees, saying that he will not ask for leniency, surprising Renji. Byakuya later returns and reveals that Central 46 has decided that Rukia will be executed in 25 days time, stunning Renji. After Byakuya leaves, Rukia tries to cheer Renji up by saying that she is alright, as it only makes her more determined to escape and makes fun of his tattooed eyebrows, angering him. Renji leaves, truly saddened and noting that it is not possible for her to escape and that she will be executed. He wonders if this is truly okay with Captain Kuchiki.

Bount arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

The New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

Fake Karakura Town arc
As Ichigo is surrounded by the Exequias outside the Fifth Tower, a healed Renji, along with Sado and Rukia, assists him and frees Ichigo. Renji and Sado then battle a continuous stream of Hollows. Once the Hollows stop spawning, Battikaroa appears. Renji and Sado attempt to fight him, but his sand properties make him immune to their attacks. Seeing their attempts starting to be more successful, Renji and Sado decide to combine their efforts, using their strongest attacks to finally crack the whole of Battikaroa's body and head, defeating him. More Hollows then emerge from the sand.

When their battle is interrupted by the arrival of Yammy Llargo, Sado identifies the Arrancar. Renji recognizes the name from Hitsugaya's report, and questions Sado's assertion that Yammy has grown in size. Upon sensing Ulquiorra Cifer's death, Yammy grows even larger in response to this, ripping apart what is left of his jacket to reveal his tattoo. Renji asks Sado and Rukia if they have faced off against Espada, remarking that Yammy is the weakest Espada, and that they should be able to defeat him with relative ease. However, Yammy activates his Resurrección, revealing that he is the 0 Espada, stunning Renji. Renji is defeated quickly and left lying unconscious on a pile of rubble. Renji is then healed by Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu along with another injured Yasutora Sado and Rukia in a barrier, as Kenpachi Zaraki and Byakuya Kuchiki face off against the giant Espada.

Following Aizen's defeat, Renji, Sado, Rukia, Uryū, and Orihime go to Karakura Town and meet Ichigo, who is resting after recent battle. Suddenly, Ichigo collapses and screams in pain, as Renji and the rest of the group is running towards him. One month later, Renji returns to Soul Society and begins with regular training with Hisagi in order to able to fight Aizen.

Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

Beast Swords arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

Gotei 13 Invading Army arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

The Lost Substitute Shinigami arc
Renji is present when Rukia is ordered to observe Ichigo.

After Ichigo appears to regain his Shinigami powers, he is mocked by Kūgo Ginjō that it only looked that way as he had stolen all of his powers and Rukia would only manage to give him some of her power. However, Renji then reveals his presence and the presence of other Shinigami including Ikkaku, Kenpachi, Hitsugaya, and Byakuya that are observing the scene. Renji states that they all gave some of their Reiatsu to the sword that Urahara created in order to restore Ichigo's powers when he was stabbed with it.

Later, he pairs up with Jackie Tristan as Xcution faces off against the Shinigami. As their battle begins, Jackie berates Renji for not attacking her. He states that he refuses to attack a woman first, whether she is stronger than him or not. He then asks about the exhaust pipes on her shoulders, and Jackie expresses her surprise at him knowing about them. The pipes then secrete a large amount of sludge, covering her body completely. She then stomps the ground, causing the rock formations nearby to topple, while telling Renji that he'd better drawn his sword. She attacks, managing to land a kick on Renji, though it appears to do nothing to him, shocking Jackie. She launches a second attack, kicking at Renji, only for Renji to easily block her, the aftershock destroying a huge stone column. Renji then attacks her with the hilt of Zabimaru, which knocks her out, while telling her that he'd been training the past seventeen months to fight Aizen, and that her lot "just doesn't cut it".

Renji carries Jackie as he searches for a way out of Yukio Hans Vorarlberna's dimension, stating that he had expected an exit to appear after defeating her. Jackie tells him it is likely because she is still alive. Surprised that she is conscious so soon, Renji praises her toughness. He declines her offer to kill her, before noticing that the sky is folding. Jackie states that Yukio had been watching them and is now erasing the dimension they are in. She urges him to kill her so that an exit can appear, but Renji again refuses, insisting that they will leave by force. Jackie comments that he is a good man before there is an explosion.

After the explosion, Ikkaku, Kenpachi, and Yachiru notice Renji coming out of some bushes as Ikkaku scolds Renji of his condition. Renji apologizes and explains that he got out of the dimension he was in, but couldn't move for a while. Ikkaku asks Renji if he defeated his opponent and Renji assumes that she died. Shortly afterwards, Byakuya appears with an unconscious Rukia, while Renji runs towards him, worried about her. Byakuya then leaves her to him, ordering him to take care of her. He stays with Rukia until she wakes up, asking if she is hurt. They then look on as Ichigo breaks apart Yukio's dimension by activating his Bankai. They later witness the climax of Ichigo and Kūgo's battle. Renji brings Kūgo's body to Soul Society as per Yamamoto's instructions. Later, Renji is surprised to see Ichigo in Soul Society and demands to know why he is there. Along with Rukia, he accompanies Ichigo to the captain meeting where the latter requests to retrieve Kūgo's body.

Equipment

 * Ōken Clothing: After training with the Royal Guard, Renji dons special clothing in order to safely return to the Seireitei. These clothes are made from the bones and hair of the members of the Royal Guard, and they possess incredible defensive power, allowing Renji to withstand the friction that results from breaking through the 72 barriers between Soul Society and the Soul King Palace without suffering any damage; Yhwach notes that no Shinigami could hope to wear greater garb. These clothes take the form of a striped bandanna covering his forehead, a black visor covering his eyes, and a striped, fur-hemmed jacket and white double-breasted white cape worn over his standard Shinigami attire. They are destroyed when Mask De Masculine blasts Renji with his Star Flash: Super Nova.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsman: Renji is highly skilled in various swordsmanship techniques. He was trained by the 3rd Seat of the 11th Division Ikkaku Madarame when he was relocated to his division. Before becoming a lieutenant, his skills were great enough to fight on par with Ikkaku's Shikai and earn the rank of 6th Seat Officer in the 11th Division. Renji is able to hold his own against captain-level fighters, and is one of three lieutenants to have attained Bankai (alongside Chōjirō Sasakibe and Rukia Kuchiki).


 * Whip Mastery: What makes Renji so effective in battle is the unique method in which his Zanpakutō operates; Zabimaru is an amalgamation of a whip and a sword. Renji is a versatile fighter because of this, and to effectively wield it is a testament to his skill. Renji has stated that Zabimaru is an extension of his body, like his arms and legs, and he has used it in a variety of ways. He can use its extension ability to attack an opponent from behind, or either the left or right, without giving away the variation of his attack until it is too late. He has considerable skill in using his extension capabilities to constrict opponents, surrounding them from various angles and then retracting Zabimaru in order to crush his adversaries.

Shunpo Expert: Knowing that Zabimaru's Shikai attacks leave him open to counter-attacks, Renji has become very proficient in Shunpo to compensate for this weak point. Renji can even keep up with captain-level Shinigami for an indeterminate amount of time. He knows enough to be informed on their higher level techniques.

Kidō Practitioner: As a student at the Shin'ō Academy, Renji showed poor skill in Kidō. Later, he is skilled enough in the use of the level 31 Shakkahō spell without incantation, but has difficulty using it in rapid succession, as some will explode on him indiscriminately. He also uses a low-level Bakudō spell to restrain multiple targets (albeit they were all unseated officers). Renji also has enough knowledge of Kidō to manipulate it for purposes other than fighting, such as using his Shakkahō spell to illuminate the dark corridors of Las Noches. However, he is only able to create a small light without reciting the full chant.

Great Spiritual Power: Being a lieutenant of the Gotei 13, Renji originally possessed high spiritual energy. Upon learning Bankai, this power increased on a scale from 5-10, with Rukia commenting that it was so high, she could not recognize it until it decreased by the end of Renji's fight against Byakuya, which caused it to become more familiar to her. This spiritual power significantly increased again when Kirio Hikifune provides him with her Reiatsu-induced food, with her noting that his power is completely different from what it was before. This is proven when Renji overpowers Mask, a captain-level combatant who previously defeated Renji soundly, with his Shikai alone during their second encounter. His Reiatsu is light red in color.

Enhanced Strength: Renji possesses great physical strength. When he swings Zabimaru toward Ichigo in their second fight, he easily tosses him into the air, and subsequently pushes him through an entire building about a dozen meters away with relative ease. During the fight with Szayelaporro's unique Fracción, Renji protects Uryū from a direct punch from one of the stronger Arrancar, using both hands, before throwing him aside. Later, by spinning Zabimaru above his head, Renji creates enough force to generate a whirlwind, blowing all of Szayelaporro's Fracción several yards away, despite their massive size. Szayelaporro stated this was a result of Renji's "brute force." Later, after seventeen months of training following Aizen's defeat, Renji's raw strength allows him to nonchalantly block Jackie's strongest Fullbring-enhanced strike, which had enough force to unearth a large portion of the ground with the shockwave, with just the back of his wrist, and effortlessly knock her out with a simple blow to her stomach using the hilt of his sword. After training with the Royal Guard, Renji's strength increased to the point where he created a large crater by elbowing Mask De Masculine in the back of the head and stopped Mask's Star Satsujin Punch with just his bare hand.

Enhanced Endurance: During his fight with Byakuya, Renji is hit directly by every blade from Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, and when he continues to fight he is pierced by five more blades. Even after such terrible damage, he makes a last ditch effort attack, almost piercing Byakuya with Zabimaru, and finally falls defeated. He had enough confidence in his resiliency to use a full-power Hadō #31 on Szayelaporro at point-blank range, willingly taking damage as well.

Enhanced Durability: Renji is a very durable fighter. Seventeen months after Aizen's defeat, Renji takes a direct, ground-shattering strike from Jackie's enhanced "Dirty-Boots" Fullbring unfazed. Likewise, he was able to resist the unique healing properties of Tenjirō Kirinji's hot springs without rotting away after being fully healed for a noticeable period, as well as enduring one of the Royal Guard member's punches while remaining mostly unfazed, a feat that greatly impressed the man. Later, after his training with the Royal Guard and during his fight with Mask, Renji emerged unharmed after withstanding the onslaught of Mask's Star Lariat and being hit by his Star Flash Super Nova.

Zanpakutō
Zabimaru redirects here. For the female and male manifested spirit that appears in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc and the Beast Swords arc see Zabimaru (Zanpakutō spirit).


 * Zabimaru's sealed form resembles a typical katana. It has a rectangular bronze tsuba with a jagged design, and a red handle and sheath.


 * Shikai: Zabimaru's Shikai command is . In its Shikai, Zabimaru transforms into an even longer 6-part segmented blade; each segment is wider than the one preceding it from the hilt, with 2 pick-like protrusions on the front and back of each segment, with the ones on the front much longer than the ones on the back. Zabimaru's segments can grow in number almost without limit. The segments are connected by a stretchable thread, making Zabimaru more useful as a whip than an actual sword, however, it can serve as a regular sword just as easily, thanks to Renji's swordsmanship. Zabimaru's guard and handle remain the same in its Shikai release. Because of the way sword doubles as a whip, Renji states that out of all the Zanpakutō wielded by the lieutenants, Zabimaru is the most difficult to master.


 * Shikai Special Ability: Zabimaru has a rarely used special technique known as:


 * Renji can use his spiritual power to levitate the disconnected or broken segments of Zabimaru into the air, allowing him to execute a one-shot omni-directional attack, however, Renji states that this technique is damaging to Zabimaru, as he can only use it once, and leaves him defenseless. Byakuya later comments that using this technique will prevent Renji from reactivating his Shikai for an unspecified duration.


 * Bankai: : The true form of Renji's Bankai takes on a more compact form that is predominately worn. On his right wrist, Renji gains a gauntlet resembling the top portion of a snake’s skull, with a cowl of red fur surrounding its base. A long, bony tail composed of vertebra-like structures protrudes from the back of the skull, trails behind him and hangs around his waist like a loose sash. At will, Renji can extend a large blade from the snake’s mouth. Renji also gains a large cowl of light fur that hangs down from his left shoulder. Additionally, he gains a pair of pauldrons that form an armored collar, as well as additional vertebral cords that hang down from his waist.


 * Bankai Special Ability: Zabimaru gains special techniques when in Bankai form.


 * The cowl portion of the Bankai transforms into a large, skeletal arm that follows the movements of Renji's own left arm. Hihiō possesses considerable power, having enough strength to crush bones and effortlessly throw around large opponents with relative ease. It is strong enough to effortlessly lift up a large slab of wall and crush it into pieces with minimal force.


 * Upon Renji activating this technique, the vertebrae structure unfurls from around his waist and extends like a tail. The blade portion of the Bankai changes into a larger, serrated form.


 * After impaling the enemy with his blade, Renji clenches his fist, forming jaws of spiritual energy. These jaws then close down on the enemy, forming the visage of a large, serpentine skull, crushing them with its fangs. Simultaneously, Renji fires a blast of spiritual energy through the enemy. The attack is powerful enough to reduce its target to ashes.

Combat
Kidō: Renji's skill in Kidō was never particularly high as he is more melee oriented by nature.

Zanpakutō
Limited Durability (Shikai): Renji's Shikai, while durable to an extent, can ultimately sustain serious damage the longer the fight drags on. While it can withstand dangerously prolonged combat, it has limits in enduring high-level attacks that are conducted by either the enemy or by Renji himself.

Attack Limit (Shikai): While Zabimaru can be stretched to incredible lengths in its whip form, Renji has a limit of three consecutive attacks before having to bring the segments of Zabimaru back together for recovery—leaving him fairly vulnerable. To make up for this, Renji usually relies on Shunpo to evade attacks as he retrieves Zabimaru's segments.

Appearances in Other Media
Renji appears as a playable character in various video games, first appearing in Bleach: Heat the Soul.

Trivia

 * His theme song, as chosen by Tite Kubo, is HAZU's "Norainu", featuring ILL-BOSSTINO.


 * Renji ranked consistently high in the first few character polls, making the top 5 twice, but has now fallen from the Top 10 most popular characters. He ranked 23rd in the 1st, 3rd in the 2nd, 4th in the 3rd and 11th in the 4th.


 * His Zanpakutō, Zabimaru, in Shikai placed 7th, and its Bankai placed 36th, tying with Senna's Mirokumaru.


 * In the Bleach best bout poll Renji's fight with Ichigo tied for third place while his fight with Byakuya made it in sixth place.


 * Renji is nicknamed red pineapple by Jinta Hanakari, a reference to the way his crimson hair is kept in a pineapple top-like ponytail. Renji also occasionally wears a shirt with 'Red Pineapple' printed on the front.


 * Renji had a serial article in the Seireitei Communication titled Let's Do Shikai, a much-touted, three-part series in which Renji gave tips on the essentials of battle.

Quotes

 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "Don't make me laugh! It is your fault that Rukia lost her power. That's why her sentence is so heavy. Don't you get it? It's all because of you that Rukia is going to die! What right do you have to say you want to save her? Quit joking around."


 * "I am really a tramp down to my bones. I hate myself. I bark at the moon, but I don't have the courage to jump and grab it."


 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "I never won once against Captain Kuchiki. Ever since Rukia left, I trained every day, but I still failed. He is too strong. Fighting to get Rukia back is nothing but an impossible dream to me. Kurosaki, I'm probably shameless for doing this, but I have to ask you. Please, you have to save Rukia!"


 * (About Byakuya Kuchiki) "I have always been afraid, always been pretending to follow you closely, always been pretending to sharpen my teeth, when the truth is, I am scared to death just treading on your shadow."


 * (To Byakuya Kuchiki) "For a long time now, before I joined the Gotei 13, the only person that I have always wanted to surpass is you, Captain Kuchiki!"


 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "Showing concern for a warrior's life on the battlefield is an insult to that warrior."


 * "We at this moment head into the decisive battle. Have faith that our blades will not shatter. Have faith that our hearts will not waiver. And even if our paths should diverge, we all share a heart of iron. Swear that even if the ground beneath us should be rent asunder we will live and return to this place again."


 * (To Szayelaporro Granz) "What the hell are you on? I didn't come here to chit-chat with you. I came here to beat the hell out of you guys. I don't give a shit about your life story. If you wanna chat, you can do it all you want while I kill you. But I'm not gonna go easy on you."


 * (To Jackie Tristan) "Only a piece of trash would slaughter a woman in cold blood. To live on as a worthless piece of trash would be just as bad as dying here now."


 * (To Mask De Masculine) "Us villains are dirty by nature."


 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "Listen. I'm only going to say this because you're the only one here to hear it. All this time, for almost as long as I can remember...decades at least, Rukia and I were separated by a distance so great, we couldn't even glimpse one another. But the one who brought us back together was you. That's why I decided. Whenever you found yourself unable to go on, I'd take you onward myself. Carry you if I had to. That's what I've done up to now, and I'll keep on doing it. Forever, until the day you die."

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