Ganryū

was the evil leader of the Dark Ones and also the main antagonist of Bleach: Memories of Nobody. He was a shinigami exiled to the Valley of Screams for heinous crimes. He plotted revenge against the Soul Society by collapsing the Human world and the Soul Society by further opening the rift between the two through the Valley of Screams. The device to do such required the Memory Rosary, which Ganryū found. Ichigo was able to stop his plan and save the dimensions.

Appearance
Ganryū wears the same form of armor the other Dark One's wear, only with gold bordering on his as opposed to red. He also wears a long black cape, with a red interior, and what looks like gold frill from his waist, connected to his red belt-like sash. He also has a scar from his forehead, traced diagonally down to the corner of his jaw. Interestingly, his eyes are purple, unique to the other Dark Ones.

Personality
As the first movie revolved almost entirely around Senna, the deuteragonist of the film, the Dark Ones all received little character development, with Ganryū displaying several qualities a typical villain is expected to possess; he was selfish, megalomaniacal, cunning, ambitious, arrogant, boastful, and indifferent towards the lives of both his allies and enemies. As such, both Ganryū and the Dark Ones were viewed as "expendable, cliched bad guys" by fans and critics alike.

History
All of the Dark Ones were once a part of the Fallen House of Ryōdoji, exiled 1000 years ago to the Dangai Precipice World. Amazingly, the group somehow managed to avoid the deadly current flowing through the entire Dangai, and resided there for many years. It was in this world that Ganryū, along with the rest of the clan, discovered the souls that evaded transmigration and turned into wandering ghosts: The Blanks. The Dark Ones learned to harness the Blanks as an energy source for their own power learning all the information there is about Blanks, and formulated a plan for revenge against Soul Society. Some time before the events of the film take place, Ganryū lead his clan to the Valley of Screams where they continued to reside.

Memories of Nobody
Ganryū was first seen by Kon, along with Jai and Mue, within the sudden mass of Blanks roaming Karakura Town. His face was not shown, and he, along with his subordinates, vanished. Ganryū commissioned the order to summon Senna later that day -by force if necessary- sending Jai to be her escort. He was the last Dark One to be seen after their second kidnapping attempt, watching the battles unfold in front of him. Senna attacked him first in an attempt to stop the attack, but he easily incapacitated her. He also took care of Ichigo Kurosaki easily by extending his spear to impale him, despite the latter using his Bankai. When Captain Jūshirō Ukitake exclaimed that Ganryū and the others had armor belonging to the banished clan: The Fallen House of Ryōdoji. However, he claimed to have no knowledge of the clan, stating they were from The Clan of Darkness, the Dark Ones. In the Valley of Screams, the Dark Ones tie Senna to a sort of windmill apparatus, serving as the focal point for the Blanks; after this, Ganryū briefly explains their history to her, along with their motive. The number of Blanks is always constant, and when these Blanks reach a certain number they are naturally drawn together in the Valley of Screams. Placed at the center, Senna's body is forcing the Blanks to surround her and restrain the dimension, which will lead to the destruction of the Dangai and the collision of both worlds (living and dead.) Before the plan can come to fruition, Ichigo Kurosaki appears to rescue Senna, and Ganryū proceeds to fight him. Initially holding the upper hand, Ganryū explains to Ichigo while he's pinned down the hatred and suffering the Dark One's felt, and how they are bringing justice to this travesty with their plan. Ichigo however, angrily explains to him that he has no regard to Senna or how she feels, regardless of her status as the Memory Rosary since she exists in the present. Despite this, Ganryū does not see the error of his ways, and battles Ichigo once more in a final clash of power, but Ichigo prevails. Ganryū than turns into gray smoke, his body cut in half.

Powers and Abilities
Blank Manipulation: Like all of the Dark Ones, Ganryū could manipulate the Blanks for various purposes. His most prominent use of Blanks was when he restricted Ichigo to a tree by transforming one into a dagger, which on impact became an adhesive mass. After this he easily created four more daggers out of the Blanks within seconds, which stayed daggers on impact.

Flash Steps Expert: Ganryū was highly skilled in the art of Shunpo, effortlessly keeping up with Ichigo Kurosaki using his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu.

Enhanced Strength: Ganryū was able to impale Ichigo with his spear by a mere flick of the wrist, defeating him instantly. He was also able to thrust him into a wall several kilometers away in one strike.

Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: Ganryū was able to easily defeat Ichigo on their first encounter in one hit, even though he was using Tensa Zangetsu. In their second bout, he was still on par with the shinigami, until he released all of his spiritual power, which was higher than his own full power.

Invisibility: While Ganryū used the Blanks to attack Ichigo, he used a Getsuga Tenshō which forced him out of hiding. He was actually standing in front of him the whole time, hidden by some form of invisibility.

Vast Spiritual Power: Ganryū had an immense amount of spiritual power, being able to equal a Shinigami's speed and power using Bankai without a zanpakutō of his own- so basically he is as powerful as a captain. In his final attack, he was also able to cut through an unnamed Black Getsuga Tenshō; at full power he showed a burning yellow-green spiritual pressure, matching Ichigo Kurosaki's own blue spiritual pressure.

Quotes

 * "We are, The Dark Ones!"


 * "Have you returned for another beating?"


 * "For a millennium, our clan was forced to scrape out an existence surviving only by concealing ourselves in the dank crevices of the Dangai Precipice World. Our hatred for the Soul Society was the only fuel that drove us to endure that living hell! Then we discovered how to avenge this injustice and obliterate those who condemned us to this wretchedness. Now the moment is at hand. No one is going to stop me! "


 * "Come on!"(after he unleashes his full power)

Trivia

 * Ganryū is the only non-manga character from either the Bleach anime or films to defeat Ichigo Kurosaki in less than 15 seconds (about 13 seconds), and with one attack. The only other other characters to do this are Sōsuke Aizen, former 5th Division Captain, and Byakuya Kuchiki, the 6th Division Captain.