Shinigami

A guardian of the souls who are going through the circle of transmigration. Namely, they are "balancers." They exterminate Hollows who did evil in the world of the living; they ensure the safe crossing of souls - the Wholes who have lost their way after death - by giving them a soul funeral. Shinigami are the personification of death.

Overview
Unearthly beings living in a world ruled by a different logic that the World of the Living. They possess high Reiryoku and a body of Reishi. They are invisible to those without spiritual powers.

When souls with exceptional spiritual energy train their bodies, they reach the level of Shinigami. The most talented of them become affiliated with various organizations like the Gotei 13 and the Onmitsukidō. Sometimes, a Shinigami is born among the residents of the Rukongai, and in some rare cases from Seireitei.

It is also implied that Shinigami receive salaries, like workers in the real world.

Shinigami have natural supernatural abilities:


 * Longevity: While a Shinigami can "die" as a result of physical injury just as a human being can, they do not age at the same rate and tend to maintain a youth appearance for centuries. Also because they have an extended lifespan they can possibly live for thousands of years.


 * Enhanced Durability: While they can be injured and "die" like regular humans, it takes considerably greater injuries for the latter to occur than it would in humans.


 * Reiryoku: Shinigami also naturally give off Spiritual Energy, which varies greatly in magnitude with the strength of a Shinigami. Additionally, unlike humans, they do not have to eat anything to sustain themselves, though they engage in the act none the less as Shinigami and other spiritual beings only become hungry when they used too much Spiritual Energy within a short amount of time.


 * Zanpakutō: A Shinigami weapon, its shape is similar to a Japanese katana. Low ranking officers are issued an Asauchi sword, but high-ranking officers arm themselves with unique swords generated from their own souls. A Zanpakutō is a physical manifestation of this force concentrated into a blade. All Shinigami have a Zanpakutō, but not all of them carry one with them. Its shape differs depending on its owner.

Exiled Shinigami
There are some Shinigami who exist in exile, namely Yoruichi Shihōin, Tessai Tsukabishi and Kisuke Urahara. They will work with the Gotei 13 and other shinigami like Ichigo Kurosaki, but still exist in exile.

Appearance
Most Shinigami appear like average humans. There are, however, a few Shinigami who are less Human-like in appearance. For example it seems that between Shinigami there are much greater variations in body-sizes than between Humans, as there are real giant-like entities (e. g. the four guards of the four gates to Seireitei) and ones with extremely small stature among them (e. g. Yachiru Kusajishi). This variation seems to occur not just between Shinigami, but also between regular dwellers of Soul Society, too.

Variations do not just occur in size but in overall appearance, too, the most notable example being Captain Sajin Komamura, who appears like an anthropomorphic canine.

Shihakusho: The black kimono worn by Shinigami. It is customary to wear a white undergarment underneath. Some wear bright colored scarves with it or shorten the sleeves. They commonly carry their Zanpakutō which is in most cases tied to their obi sash.

World of the Living

 * the process by which a Shinigami sends wandering Pluses (souls) in the living world and send them to their respective place. Either Soul Society if they are good in life, or to Hell if their life was full of evil acts (such as murders, theft, etc). Konsō is performed by using the hilt of the Shinigami's Zanpakutō, tapping the soul on the head and transporting them to the afterlife.


 * Hollow Cleansing: When a Shinigami slays a Hollow (evil spirit) with their Zanpakutō, they cleanse their sins. Once this takes place, a Hollow will return to its former state as a Plus and is led into Soul Society. This is called sublimation. Souls that live in Soul Society are reborn again into the human world. Not all Hollows are sent to the Soul Society. Since Zanpakutō are only capable of cleansing sins committed after becoming a Hollow, Hollows that committed serious crimes when they were still Human are sent to Hell when they are slain.


 * Also, if they are destroyed by a Quincy, Hollows are completely vanquished and cannot ever return to the Soul Society.


 * Soul Governance: Shinigami are responsible for governing the flow of spirits between the Human World and Soul Society. This is commonly carried out by balancing the total number of souls by moving and managing them in the human world. All of the soul-related jobs are under their authority.

Training
Shinōreijutsuin (Spiritual Arts Academy): An educational organization with a 2,000-year-old history, founded by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. It was once called the Shinigami Academy. It changed to Spiritual Arts Academy when it developed into an institute for the next generation of the Kidō Corps and Onmitsukidō as well the Gotei 13. In the Rukongai, it is still referred to as the Shingigami Academy.

The Shinigami Academy is one of two groups that is not under the jurisdiction of the Central 46 Chambers.

Combat
Zankensoki: Basic Shinigami fighting techniques. Zan refers to sword fighting techniques. Ken refers to unarmed fighting techniques. So refers to moving techniques. Ki refers to Kidō.

Zanjutsu
Sword fighting techniques for the Zanpakutō. The most basic fighting technique.

Hakuda
A unarmed fighting technique that makes use of one's own body in a fight.

Hohō
The name for all high-speed fighting movements based on the Shunpo.

Kidō
Advanced spells that require strong spiritual power, Hadō and Bakudō.

Mission Aids
To aid in their missions, particularly when said missions involve more than simply dispatching a Hollow, Shinigami have a number of unique items to assist them in their duties.


 * Gigai: The temporary bodies that Shinigami use in the world of the living. tHEY were created by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.


 * Jigokuchō: the butterflies that shinigami use to lead them to the world of the living. they are also used as messengers in the soul society.


 * Spiritual Limiter: In addition, it should be noted that all Shinigami captains and lieutenants have their spiritual energy reduced by about 80% when they enter the human world by use of a spiritual limit, represented by a seal called the, which resembles the symbol unique to their division, in order not to cause unnecessarily high damage while there. In extreme cases, where their full power is needed, they can request a limit release. The command to release the seal is.


 * Gokon Tekkō: a glove which has this skull symbol on it, which she uses several times to force the soul out of ones body. Kisuke Urahara also has a skull symbol on the end of his cane, which can be used in the same manner. The skull also appears on Ichigo's Seal of Approval.


 * Artificial souls: as the name suggests, are souls designed by Shinigami scientists to separate a Shinigami's spirit from a Gigai, should they be inhabiting one, or to evict stubborn spirits from their corpses if necessary. It is commonly called Soul Candy, as the Shinigami Women's Association complained that the name "Artificial Soul" was not cute and had it changed.

Modified souls are artificial souls designed to enhance regular human physiology, making them capable of battling Hollows equally. The modsouls are condensed into tiny, candy-like orbs and placed into corpses to achieve their function as soldiers to combat Hollows. They are also more independent to fit with their purpose. The mod souls were exterminated after the experiment was halted due to ethical reasons, since they were intended to be used to reanimate human corpses to use as weapons against the Hollows. But there are still a small amount left; namely Kon, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba.


 * a memory substitution device used on humans who have seen Shinigami or Hollows. Also called Kiokuchikan. When used, a bird's head pops from the top of the device and produces a puff of smoke. The human it is used on is knocked unconscious and wakes up a while later with a new memory. However, the new memory that the human acquires is random and often based on the limits of what they will believe. For example, Ichigo's family merely believed they slept through a truck crashing into their house when it was used on them. Conversely, Orihime Inoue, who has a much more active imagination, believed that her house was attacked by a yakuza gunman.


 * Denreishinki: A vital tool for any Shinigami stationed in the real world, this variation on a cell phone functions both as a regular phone and as a communication line with the Soul Society. It receives information about the time and exact location of a Hollow's emergence via a Global Positioning System (GPS). A Shinigami's kills are also recorded in the phone and can be used as currency (according to the bounty placed on each Hollow).

Substitute Shinigami
A is someone who became Shinigami by obtaining another Shinigami's power, or by going through a much harder and riskier process to transform him/herself into one. Obtaining another Shinigami's power is done by thrusting his/her Zanpakutō into the person's chest who wants to obtain the power. However, the percentage of success is low. In the case of success, the person normally obtains around half of the Shinigami's power, and only temporarily. In Ichigo Kurosaki's case however, the whole power of the original Shinigami, Rukia Kuchiki was transferred into him, due to his enormous innate spiritual power.

This practice is forbidden by the Soul Society, as it can give birth to rogue Shinigami with great power, thereby it is only applied as a last resort measure.

In the case the individual borrowing the power being a Human, several difficulties arise, illustrated by the example of Ichigo. In order to be able to fight as a Shinigami, he has to leave his body and get into soul state, which can only be done if he is "killed" (at least put into clinical death) by the "skull symbol" of another Shinigami, or if he swallows a Soul Candy, forcing his soul out of his body. In the former case, his body needs to be taken care of until he finishes his job and re-enters it.

Soul Society has rules for acting Shinigami. If one appears and the Shinigami recognize his/her existence as being beneficial to Soul Society, they will give that person the "Seal of Approval for acting Shinigami", thus is how the tradition goes. This item serves several functions. One is to identify the owner in the case he/she meets other Shinigami, another is to indicate if Hollows are nearby via an alarm sound. The alarm can only be heard by the owner, and the item itself is only visible to other spiritually aware beings, allowing the owner to keep it with him/herself all day long without attracting unwanted attention. The Seal of Approval can also fulfil the functions of the Shinigami "skull symbol", being able of forcing out spirits out of their bodies, which comes in handy in the case of a Hollow attack, when the Substitute Shinigami has to leave his/her body immediately. The Seal of Approval has a skull symbol similar to, but not identical to the one carried by regular Shinigami engraved on it.

Visored
Shinigami who have gained Hollow abilities, and use them to gain power far exceeding and beyond that of a normal Shinigami or Hollow.