Marechiyo Ōmaeda

is the lieutenant of the Second Division, under Captain Soifon. He is also the Corps Commander of the Patrol Corps in the Special Forces.

Appearance
He is a large man (almost twice the height of his captain) with an equally large mouth who comes across as arrogant and dull. He claims that his largeness (he claims that he is "plump") is a sign of good living and his wealth. He is often seen wearing expensive, personalized jewelry.

Personality
His skill level as a Shinigami remains unknown, however, it is thought that he received his position as lieutenant because of his family's connections.

He also seems to be a coward. It is later revealed that this is a ruse he conjured up for one reason or another. He is in fact quite skilled at Flash Step and is corps commander of the Patrol Corps in the Special Forces. Though he does possess the skills equivalent to a vice-captain, his arrogance, cowardly nature and tendency to get in over his head tend to make him appear weaker than his position. He likes to eat fried rice crackers (abura senbei) wherever he is. His captain is known to beat him up when the crumbs from the crackers fall on her hair. It is also known however, that he does not like fish.

Marechiyo is shown to come from a rich family. As is typical of many rich families, he has a long name,. His father is named Marenoshin, his mother is Mareka, his older sister is Maremi, his younger brother is Marejirōsaburō, and his younger sister is Mareyo. With the exception of his younger sister, all closely resemble him. Mareyo is more normal looking and sweet, which shocks Izuru Kira, Renji Abarai, and Shūhei Hisagi (these three are replaced by Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki in the anime's equivalent sketch). Marechiyo thinks his younger sister is ugly. It is also remarked here that he enjoys inviting commoners to his home, probably only to show off his wealth.

Being rich, he was able to install the 2nd Division quarters with floor heating, automatic doors and cooling/heating system.

Marechiyo's speciality is making bracelets, as he can craft gold. All the jewels seen on him are made by himself. He owns a factory named "Ōmaeda Gem-Precious Metals Factory", which makes jewellery. He fries any slacking workers with his yet unknown ability, the Marechiyo Chop.

Soul Society arc
He is first seen in the Lieutenant meeting along with the other Lieutenant. He is later seen following his Captain Soifon while eating rice crackers, complaining about the Shinigami arguing about the legitimacy of Rukia Kuchiki's execution when nothing they say or think will affect the final decision. Soifon threatens him by saying that if he gets in the way of her, she will kill him, herself.

As Renji Abarai runs off with the rescued Rukia Kuchiki, Soifon orders him to go after them, soon followed along by Chōjirō Sasakibe and Isane Kotetsu. He releases his Zanpakutō to fight Ichigo Kurosaki, but is beaten mere seconds after release as his Shikai was shattered by a bare-handed Ichigo, and he is knocked out with the same punch. He and the other defeated lieutenants are retrieved by Retsu Unohana, where he and Sasakibe were healed by Minazuki and Isane by her captain directly.

Bount arc
He and Tetsuzaemon Iba are seen hanging out in Rukongai when Jin Kariya appears and defeats them both.

Shūsuke Amagai arc
He arrives along with Soifon to stop Ichigo when he breaks into Soul Society but is quickly defeated by Enryu when he releases his Zanpakutō.

Fake Karakura Town arc
When Aizen along with his top three Espada attack the fake Karakura Town, He is seen along with his captain and the rest of the Gotei 13 Captains currently not in Hueco Mundo awaiting for Aizen's arrival. He starts talking about how Sōsuke Aizen's army have incredible reiatsu, and Soifon tells him that he can leave if he wants.

He panics when Barragan Luisenbarn sees through the fake Karakura ruse, before he finds out that Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, Izuru Kira and Shūhei Hisagi are guarding the pillars keeping the real Karakura Town in Soul Society. He then complains about how he thought they had been excluded from the mission. He asked if the others knew about this, in which they did and Soifon said she told him, but thinks that she may not have told him.

After the fight for the pillars are successfully defended, the fight between the captains and the remaining Fracción and Espada begin. He engages in battle with Barragan's Unnamed Fracción and is quickly pummeled, though his Captain is less than concerned. While fighting, his opponent releases his Zanpakutō and begins to pummel Ōmaeda even further. Ōmaeda tries to outsmart the Fracción, but to no avail. Eventually Ōmaeda reveals that his weakness was a ruse and begins to use Flash Step like an expert. He then declares his position in Soul Society and releases his Zanpakutō, proceeding to deliver a heavy blow to the Fracción. As Marechiyo taunts his apparently dead foe, the Arrancar rises, clearly annoyed. Suddenly however, Soifon strikes him in the side of the head when she is thrown away by Ggio Vega's attacks, killing him.

Marechiyo is surprised to see Soifon overpowered and reasons that she is too proud to fake losing. As Ggio prepares to "finish" Soifon, Marechiyo boldly grabs the Arrancar in a bear hug and tells his captain to attack. As Ggio prepares to blast Ōmaeda with a Cero, Soifon kicks him away, revealing she indeed had been feigning her loss in order to study the Arrancar's Resurrección. After knocking Ōmaeda back with a punch to the face Soifon tells him if he sees an ally losing to attack the enemy from behind or stand aside if the foe is too strong instead of stepping between them. Marechiyo and Soifon are now about to battle Ggio's master, Barragan Luisenbarn.

Powers & Abilities
Flash Steps Expert: Ōmaeda, being a member of the Special Forces is quite skilled with Shunpō.

Expert Strategist: Ōmaeda is thought to be cowardly and slow. It turns out he is quite fast as he is an expert in flash steps as well as being proficient in combat and making his opponents question his abilities.

Hand-to-Hand combatant

Zanpakutō

 * It is a normal katana in its sealed state.


 * Shikai: Its Shikai command is . In its Shikai, Gegetsuburi transforms into an oversized spiked ball attached to a chain, similar to a flail, allowing for it to be thrown at a distance at its target. Though it's strength is long-range combat, Ōmaeda also uses it as a shield for close-range attacks. However Gegetsuburi tends to crack depending on the power of the opponent, with those with more power making it ultimately shatter. It is notable that against a Fraccion like Ggio Vega, his Shikai cracks but does not break, while a Captain level power such as Ichigo Kurosaki can make it shatter in one punch. This is possibly a sign that Ōmaeda does not train with his Shikai very much or that just like Ikkaku's Bankai it has a great attack power but very little defense.


 * Bankai: Not Yet Achieved

Trivia

 * Omaeda does not appear at the beginning of the most recent Bleach opening, and is facing backwards at the end while everybody else looks on into the sunset. This has led some to believe that he will be one of the Shinigami to die in upcoming chapters...