Kidō

is one of the four basic Shinigami combat forms, at least according to Captain Sōsuke Aizen.

Kidō is the technique that Shinigami use to focus their Spiritual Energy into magic spells of various powers. These spells serve a wide variety of uses such as healing, defense, or combat.

Each spell is graded on a scale from 1 to 99, the latter being the most powerful and the most difficult to perform. The scale is a measure of difficulty, as there can be multiple spells which share the same level. To use Kidō, a Shinigami must recite the specific incantation for the spell, which is often long and requires a few seconds to speak. Spell incantations can be bypassed by particularly skilled practitioners, in an act called Eishohaki, though a spell whose incantation is skipped will be significantly weaker than a recited spell. The power of a spell relies on the power of the user, as even a low-level spell can be utterly devastating when utilized by a high-class Shinigami.

There are three main types of Kidō: binding spells, destruction spells, and healing spells. Binding spells, or Bakudō, are a broad category of defensive spells which block attacks or repel and freeze enemies. Destructive spells, or Hadō, refer to offensive spells which harm an enemy or cause damage. Healing spells do not have known names, numbers, or incantations to cast, and simply heal the target.

Forbidden Spells



 * - A forbidden spell used by Tessai along with Spatial Displacement. It is a spell that halts time in a specific area.

Incantation: unknown.


 * — A forbidden spell used by Tessai with Temporal Stasis to teleport a specified portion of space from one point to another, transporting even other active Kidō spells.

Incantation: unknown.

Uncategorized Spells
These spells are not explicitly stated to be in one category or the other.

Non-Spells

 * An advanced technique that combines hand-to-hand combat and Kidō to explosively increase a Shinigami's offensive capabilities. A high-pressured Kidō is installed throughout the user's body, enhancing their arms and legs for battle. The Kidō itself can also be controlled and fired at opponents from the body. Shunkō first appeared being used by Captain Soifon in her fight against her old master, Yoruichi. Soifon states she invented the technique of combining Kido and Hakuda so recently that she had no experience with it in battle, let alone enough time to give it a name. Yoruichi however, reveals Shunkō is the technique's name, and that she invented and mastered the ability long before Soifon. The keisen uniform has no back or sleeves because the fabric will rip apart when the user's back and arms are filled with Kido. Though Yoruichi's Shunkō is perfected, unlike Soifon's version, she still has difficulties controlling it.
 * This technique is an ability Yoruichi used during Shunkō, which nullifies an opponent's Kidō by hitting it with a Kido of perfectly opposite speed and energy. The ability can even neutralize an opponent's movements.


 * — As the name suggests, the Kidō Cannon is basically a high-intensity energy weapon powered by Kidō. It consists of a crystalline focus point attached to the top of a massive pole, with several smaller crystal structures circling up towards the main one. It is powered by hundreds of Shinigami working in concert, creating an energy blast capable of obliterating a small dimension. The blast forms into several animal shapes which roar just before contact. The power of the blast is such that, in addition to destroying its target, it also causes a small amount of damage to both the human world and Soul Society. Despite its power, it is not a reusable weapon, as it burns into a pile of scrap after being fired.


 * Kido Gun- This weapon was developed by the Bount creator Ran'Tao is similar to the Kido Cannon, however unlike the Kido Cannon which can only be fire once this weapon holds more resemblance in functionality to a shotgun, the blasts fired appear to be concentrated spheres of spiritual energy that seem to be quite harmful as seen when Kariya had to dodge the attacks for fear of being hit. It is unknown as to where the Kido Gun's energy source is derived from however it can be assumed that the Quincy spiritual tubes could be used as "shells" and the spiritual energy within the tubes are concentrated and hardened to form the blasts similarly to a Bala blast.