Noba

(sometimes incorrectly romanized as Nova) is a Bount sensor created by Kisuke Urahara.

Appearance
In his Gigai, he has the appearance of a young man, wearing a fur coat and a zippered mask, revealing some of his soft red hair and his aqua blue eyes. On his back is a blue shield, used in conjunction with his powers. After fighting the Bount, Sawatari, we see he is thin, with only a few natural muscles. His overall attire makes him look somewhat like a ninja. When out of his Gigai, he inhabits an anthropomorphic turtle plushy in gray dress trousers and a white ruffled shirt with a red bow tie, which Chad purchased specifically for him.

Personality
Similar to his partner, Yasutora Sado, Noba is unusually shy and quiet. When around women, he will zip his mask (in Gigai) or pull his head down into his shirt (in plushy) to show emotion. This is because he is extremely shy and "innocent". One example of this is when Rukia Kuchiki picks Noba up in his stuffed animal form and holds him close to her face, he is seen to blush at the close contact and lowers his head into his shirt. When he works together with Rangiku Matsumoto while fighting one of the Bount, he changed out of his Gigai because they had to touch.

Compared to his far louder and more verbal teammates, Noba is very uncomplaining and easy to get along with. He normally fades into the background, and doesn't annoy anyone, humans and Shinigami alike. In one episode, Renji spits coffee on the table, and Noba cleans it up, then sugars the coffee, all without a word. This goes to show he is the most likely of the Mod Souls to get the job done.

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

At the beginning, Kisuke sent him and the other Modified Souls to test Ichigo and his friends. Ririn would call and tell them what to do, usually involving a lot of running. Noba was instructed to take Orihime Inoue and Chad. In order to get them back, Ichigo, Uryū, and Renji would have to find their way out of a maze, created by Ririn. Uryū manages to do this, and they return their friends. However, one is an imposter. In order to win, they must figure out who it is. Yoruichi then surprises the fake Chad by climbing up the side of the wall. The final game involves rescuing the real Chad from an hourglass before a giant gate, created by Noba, swallows them. Ichigo, relying on his Bankai, loses the game. Kisuke then takes them back to his place where he explains the danger of the Bounts.

Each one of the Mod Souls are assigned to a Human, and Noba is partnered with Chad. Shortly after, he is implanted in his plushy body. They encounter a Bount, Ryō Utagawa, but let him get away. He proceeds to attack Uryū, who is taken to the hospital by Ryo's adversary, Yoshino Sōma. It was there that Hō and Ban's water dolls attack. Due to Noba's new body, though, he is only able to teleport about two meters. Still, he manages to disperse the dolls by severing the twins' telepathic connection. Ganju Shiba then appears and uses fireworks to defeat them.

Ichigo sparks the idea that Noba, Ririn, and Kurodo can inhabit gigais any time they choose, if they help each other. He, Chad, Ururu, and Rangiku then meet the Bount, Sawatari. His doll Baura and Noba use similar methods of bending space, so Noba can sense when the doll will surface instantly before he does, leaving him just enough time to dodge and protect his friends from attack. Ururu, though, still gets swallowed by Baura. In order to save her, Rangiku and Chad distract him long enough to push him through Noba's shield. Sawatari, though, fights his way out, ripping off Noba's shirt and knocking him unconscious. Rangiku then takes out his soul candy and combines his Bount tracking ability with her Kidō. With that, they were able to attack Sawatari just as he surfaced. Afterwards, Sawatari retreated, saying they would finish it later.

When the Bounts break through to the Soul Society, Noba plays a smaller role, usually hanging on Chad's back and watching the fights. When they return to the Human World, they decide to live with Kisuke, as the Bounts are now gone and they are of no use to their partners anymore.

Arrancar arc
Noba features occasionally during the Arrancar arc. He attempts to aid Kon in his escape from the incomplete Grand Fisher along with Ririn and Kurodo, before being saved by Isshin Kurosaki.

Noba also shows up during Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez's assault on Karakura Town, in which he and his fellow mod-souls assist Renji Abarai in his fight against Yylfordt Granz, their efforts, however, are in vain. Noba and the other mod-souls are then saved by the timely arrival of Ururu Tsumugiya.

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

In the living world, it is learned that several Zanpakuto spirits were brainwashed to betray their Shinigami partners by a rogue Zanpakuto spirit named Muramasa. Although Ichigo and the Shinigami are able to stop Muramasa restore most the spirits, several of them had already succeeded in killing their masters, resulting in them transforming into what are known as Tōjū. While Captain Hitsugaya comes to aid in the situation, his lieutenant Rangiku is more interested in having fun, including taking flirty pictures of herself and her Zanpakuto spirit Haineko in photo booths, which Noba blushes at the sight of.

Powers and Abilities
Skilled Tactician Despite being unusually shy, he is somewhat analytical and adept at strategic combat. When fighting the Bounts with Rangiku, the two formed a plan of diversion and sneak attack that worked temporarily on their opponent.

Bount Detection: Along with Kurōdo and Ririn, Noba was created to sense the Reishi residue left over by the Bounts. This is his most useful skill while in plushy form.

Teleportation: Noba has the power to teleport himself and others to any location he's been to. He can also use his spiritual sense to teleport to the location of those with spiritual powers. When he is in his plushy, his teleportation range is limited to about two meters.
 * Wormholes: He can create wormholes to redirect ranged attacks, both physical and energy based, back at the enemy. He does this by using the shield on his back as a focus. Also, he was able to "erase" other objects by sending them to another dimension.

Navigation
Nova Noba Noba