Rangiku Matsumoto

"A voluptuous beauty with an adult charm in the Gotei 13 Squads. With her broad-minded personality, the chances of guys in the 13 divisions who say no to her... do not exist." - Tite Kubo

is the lieutenant of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13, serving under Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya.

Appearance
While she was lieutenant under Isshin Kurosaki, her hair was shoulder length, and she wore a scarf, tied into a knot on her left shoulder.

Rangiku has long and wavy blond hair, blue eyes, full lips, and a beauty mark located under the right side of her mouth. She is well known for her curvaceous figure; her most distinctive feature of it is her very large breasts. She dresses in the garb typical of Shinigami, though she lets her robes hang loose for her ample bosom to be revealed. She wears a thin golden necklace tucked between her cleavage and a long pink scarf over her shoulders. In addition, her lieutenant's armband is worn on her uniform's sash, as opposed to around the arm. She carries her Zanpakutō behind her back. While in her Gigai in the Human World, she has been shown to dress either very provocatively or stylishly. She wears the school uniform with several buttons undone so that she can reveal her ample bosom as she usually does in the Soul Society with her Gotei 13 uniform.

Seventeen months after Aizen's defeat, Rangiku sports a new hairstyle. It is shorter, stopping short of her shoulders and curling near her chin, the left side of which hangs over her face. Her Shihakushō also has a split in it, which runs along the length of her right leg.

Personality
Rangiku tends to be a slacker who dislikes paperwork and loves to drink. She is not the slightest bit modest about her appearance, frequently referring or complaining about her large breasts in normal casual conversation, much to the embarrassment/amusement of anyone around at the time. She is not above using her considerable feminine charms to get her way, as shown when she tries - albeit unsuccessfully - to bribe Ichigo Kurosaki into letting her stay at his house. In fact, she would even consider stripping naked if no one compliments her on her outfit, regardless of how skimpy it may be.

Her easy-going and free-spirited personality makes a sharp contrast to the serious Hitsugaya, but the two seem to be quite close regardless. Rangiku met the young boy prior to him utilizing his power and encouraged him to enter the Shinigami academy. As a lieutenant, she is extremely casual around him, almost constantly by his side and showing deep loyalty to him on several occasions, even though her laziness frequently annoys him.

While she seems somewhat self-centered, she is sensitive to the feelings of others, evident when she sees the concern Hitsugaya has for Momo Hinamori, the guilt Izuru Kira shares with her when Gin Ichimaru is revealed as a traitor, and when Orihime Inoue feels depressed about her role in Ichigo Kurosaki's life. Despite her lackadaisical image, she can be extremely serious when needed and is a capable fighter and strategist, best-shown when she uses clever teasing to manipulate the third Espada's Fracción into squabbling among themselves long enough to drop their guard and leave them open for an attack.

Rangiku's favorite food is dried persimmon, just like that of Ichimaru. She also shares Orihime's very strange taste in food. She dislikes bamboo shoots because she finds their taste too strong and their texture unpleasant. She likes Japanese dancing, and in addition to her Shihakushō robes, she enjoys buying superfluous amounts of clothing from various department stores in the Human world. When she feels like drinking, she finds free people and invites them to come out with her, and then has them treat her to drinks, so that she wouldn't have to spend any money. She is drinking buddies with Shunsui Kyōraku and Shūhei Hisagi.

History
Not much is known about Rangiku's prior history, except that she came from Rukongai. As a child, she was saved by Gin Ichimaru from starvation. He found her by the roadside and told her that if she has collapsed from hunger she must have spiritual power. She recognizes that he must have spiritual power too; Gin confirms that he too has spirit power and proceeds to introduce himself. Rangiku found his name weird.

Following their meeting, they became best friends and began to live together. Although Gin did often leave without telling Rangiku where he was going. It was during this time that Gin asked Rangiku when her birthday was. Rangiku replied that she did not know as she never counted days until she met him. Following the revelation, Gin told her that, that would mean that the day they met was her birthday.

One day, Gin met up with Rangiku as he wrapped a Shihakushō around himself. She asked what he was doing with Shinigami clothes and where he got them. Gin simply replied that he had decided to become a Shinigami and change things, so that they would end without making her cry. Rangiku joined the Shin'ō Academy at the same time as Gin. It is unknown when she graduated. While out at the market, she met Tōshirō Hitsugaya. As she yelled at a shop keeper who was being rude to him, Hitsugaya turned around and was knocked down by bumping into her bosom. She then yelled at him for "lying there crying about it and not standing up like a man", although it was her who knocked him down with her large breasts in the first place, but he shook her off and ran away. Later that night, Rangiku followed Hitsugaya home and was there when he woke up. She immediately told him to stop leaking his Reiatsu everywhere and to get some sleep. She further explained that his grandmother looked pretty cold, which causes Hitsugaya for the first time to notice that the room was exceedingly cold and affecting his grandmother. Rangiku then told him he should become a Shinigami, stating that kids with power as strong as his need to learn how to bring that power under control. She explained that if he stayed the way he was that his power would end up killing his grandmother pretty soon. At first, Hitsugaya wasn't sure what she was talking about, but she calmly placed her hand on his chest and asked him if he heard a voice calling out to him. She explained to him that once he has found that voice, he'll understand how to control his power. She noted to him that for that to happen he must become a Shinigami.

Rangiku worked her way up to the lieutenant of the 10th Division where she served under Captain Isshin Shiba. She would regularly chastise him for neglecting his paperwork. One day, after pummeling him for his perverted comments, they met with Hitsugaya, who was at the time the 10th Division's 3rd Seat. Isshin praised Hitsugaya for finishing his paperwork, calling him worthy of being the next captain. This offended Rangiku, who felt that she should be next in line. Hitsugaya then pointed out that two more people have died recently in Naruki City. Isshin decided to investigate the situation personally, despite Rangiku insisting that he must report first to Yamamoto. Hitsugaya stopped her from following by pointing out that they would only get in the captain's way at their current level.

Later on after work had seemingly returned to normal once more, Rangiku attempted to persuade Isshin to do her paperwork while she went to a dango store for an 'important' mission, only to find he had left a note asking her to cover for him while the captain revisited the Human World. Tearing up the note in anger, Rangiku rants about him taking work too lightly, with Hitsugaya there to remind her of her own attitude.

Soul Society arc
Rangiku is first seen when interrupting a small conversation between 5th Division Lieutenant Momo Hinamori and 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai. She details that the reason that there are so few in attendance at the emergency lieutenant meeting is due to all the captains and lieutenants being scattered around Soul Society on their respective missions. She notes that it will take at least half a day to unite everyone. Rangiku then mentions that she can't find her captain anywhere, which prompts Renji to ask who is her captain. When the report is made that intruders have invaded the Seireitei Rangiku is among the others gathered at the meeting who are informed of those missing in action. When 7th Division Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba notes that the 4th seat of his division is also missing in action, Rangiku asks him if that is Jirōbō the Kamaitachi, to which Iba states that it most likely is.

Rangiku and all of the other lieutenants are alerted when Momo lets out a scream, causing them all to rush to the scene. She then bears witness to the dead body of 5th Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen impaled to the wall of a building with his own sword. She is also the one who restrains Momo after her brief fight with Izuru Kira, when her Captain, Tōshirō Hitsugaya orders them arrested.

She later comes and gives a letter from Captain Aizen to Momo while the latter is being kept in a 5th Division cell. Rangiku makes note that had her captain not found it the letter would have been taken in as evidence and Momo would have never seen it. Rangiku explains that she doesn't know what is in the letter but as a lieutenant she thinks it is a great honor to be a receiver of a captain's final words.

Later, when Hitsugaya faces off with 3rd Division Captain Gin Ichimaru, she stops Ichimaru’s blade from killing an unconscious Momo, thus saving her life. Rangiku apologizes, stating she was going to head back as Hitsugaya had instructed, but she felt the spiritual release of Hyōrinmaru and turned back around. She then tells Gin to put away his sword, as if he doesn't, she will be his opponent. After Gin retreats, she wonders where Ichimaru will go from there. While thus occupied with their own thoughts, a message comes via a Jigokuchō for them stating that the execution of Rukia Kuchiki was being pushed forward. Hitsugaya, determined to get to the bottom of the matter, realizes that the only way to do so would be to stop the execution.

Upon arriving at the Central Underground Assembly Hall Hitsugaya and Matsumoto discover all 46 members are dead. Hitsugaya surmises they have been dead for at least 2 days, but he is concerned about when as Soul Society has been under martial law and their Headquarters had been locked down since Renji's defeat. Further than that, the 13 seals of protection were still active and there were no signs of intrusion. Then Hitsugaya realizes the only possible scenario is that they were killed before they were sealed in and that all the recent orders have been in fact false. It is then that he realizes that such a plot would be far too elaborate for Gin to carry out by himself. He then is interrupted by Izuru and he and Matsumoto give chase. Asking Izuru if he was behind the Central 46's death, Izuru tells him no and that he arrived just after he did. He also informs Hitsugaya that instead of chasing him, he should be protecting Momo. He then goes on to explain that she escaped the 10th Division Barracks and how she accomplished it. Realizing now that Hinamori has been following him and Matsumoto the entire time he turns back and orders Matsumoto to handle Izuru.

When Izuru realizes that Rangiku is now after him and Hitsugaya has gone he stops running. When Rangiku asks him if he was done running, he explains that he has a mission to keep her there. When she asks who gave him that mission he tells her that Gin did. Rangiku tries to reason with him, but Izuru refuses to answer her further. He then tells her that the reason he refuses to answer her is because she is about to die. He then releases his Shikai. He asks Rangiku if she knows about his Zanpakutō's special ability. Rangiku plainly tells him that she doesn't and she assumes no one does as he has never spoken about it. Izuru explains that in fact his former classmates Renji and Momo know of it, but he assures her she will now know it as well. The two face off and Rangiku realizes that her Zanpakutō has become too heavy for her to hold up. Izuru explains the power of his Zanpakutō and tells her how it has affected hers. He notes that she can't carry around that weight. Rangiku explains that if her Zanpakutō is too heavy she just won't carry it. Rangiku then reveals that his weight-affecting Zanpakutō is rendered useless by her Zanpakutō's ability to dissolve into ash. After their fight, Rangiku hears from 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu via Bakudō #77 "Tenteikūra" that Aizen, Gin, and Kaname Tōsen are traitors. Rangiku then runs off to find Hitsugaya.

When she arrives at the Sōkyoku, Aizen is captured. Before Gin can act, Rangiku appears behind him and grabs hold of his arm and places her Zanpakutō at his neck, asking him not to move and effectively placing him under arrest. When the Gillian’s Negación field comes down to save Ichimaru, however, she releases her hold upon him. Ichimaru then expresses his regret that she could have held onto him a little longer. He then bids her farewell and apologizes.

One week later, Izuru visits Rangiku in the 10th Division barracks to apologize. The two get drunk and comment on how they don't need Gin in an effort to remove the feeling of betrayal that they both felt, the events of the week before most likely forgiven.

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

Arrancar arc
Rangiku, along with Yumichika Ayasegawa, Ikkaku Madarame, Renji Abarai, and Rukia Kuchiki are part of the advanced force led by her captain to defend Karakura Town against the threat of the Arrancar. To aid in their mission they dress as students at Ichigo Kurosaki's school. She later stops Ikkaku from beating up Keigo Asano by slapping him in the head and warning him that if he doesn't stop she will tell his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, to which he immediately apologizes. Asano becomes enamored with Rangiku's bosom and states the obvious restrictions of her school uniform, to which she smashes him in the face leaving him sprawled across the floor as she walks away.

While Ichigo speaks to Rukia in his room, Rangiku and the 3 others pop out of a ceiling light and make their way into the room much to Ichigo's displeasure. Kon also becomes enamored with Rangiku's bosom and goes running towards her, but she knocks him away, prompting Ikkaku to ask Ichigo if the reaction is some kind of trend in his world, to which Ichigo states that it is just the way Kon is.

When asked where they will stay as Ichigo explains that they cannot all stay at his house, Rangiku tries to win him over by using seduction (revealing more of herself to Ichigo), but it doesn't work and she resigns herself to going to Orihime's to see if she can stay there.

When the 6th Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez leads an attack on the Human World, Rangiku makes her way to the roof of Orihime's building to meet Hitsugaya. He asks her where Orihime is and she tells him that she has her looking after her Gigai so that she will be out of harm's way. He then tells her to prepare for battle as two of Grimmjow's Fracción, Shawlong Koufang and Nakeem Grindina greet them. As Hitsugaya faces off against Shawlong, Rangiku takes on Nakeem only to be easily defeated by the large Arrancar. Rangiku then proves to be faking her defeat as while she is down and Nakeem distracted by Hitsugaya's fight she takes out her communicator allowing her to get confirmation that the limit release she had previously requested has been approved. She gets up just before Nakeem attempts to step on her, but she easily holds him off with one hand. She then tells the others that the limit release has been approved, causing her, Renji and Hitsugaya to remove their seals. When Nakeem asks what the limit release is she explains its function to him. When he goes to punch her Rangiku simply blocks it with her forearm and tells him that he is slow and states that upon his arrival he showed great speed, she then asks that he do so again. He then disappears and appears behind her and states that it is called Sonído as he launches an attack at her, but before he can land a hit she disappears and reappears behind him and states that around there they call it Shunpo. Before he can react he is dealt a large slash wound on his back. She then releases her Zanpakutō and finishes off the Arrancar. Upon the battle's completion Rangiku runs to Hitsugaya's aid as he has sustained many wounds and she calls for Orihime's assistance to heal him.

Days later while Rangiku is training to attain Bankai, she gets into a small altercation with Ayasegawa about how similar the personalities are between Shinigami and Zanpakutō, they are summarily yelled at by Hitsugaya. She is alerted along with the others of the arrival of an invasion force lead by Grimmjow's replacement, Luppi Antenor. She tries to face off against Wonderweiss Margela but upon seeing his personality mannerisms wonders if it's even okay to fight him. Luppi becomes bored and insists that they all fight against him 4 on 1 as he is going to release and take them all on as a group. Rangiku is surprised when Luppi's release gives him 8 tentacles to control and screams out to her captain when Hitsugaya is attacked by them all at once. Luppi attacks Rangiku, Ayasegawa, and Ikkaku all at once beating them up a good amount before taunting them. Rangiku is eventually ensnared along with the others by one of Luppi's many tentacles. The Arrancar then takes notice of her, taking note that she has a nice body. Detailing that it is so nice and sexy, he asks if he should fill it with holes as he reveals his tentacles' ability to manifest spikes as he proceeds to skewer her on them. But before she can be done in by the attack the tendril is cut off from Luppi by a blast of energy by Kisuke Urahara. Luppi recaptures her while Urahara takes on Yammy, allowing Luppi to taunt her for being so careless, prompting Rangiku to state that he talks too much and she hates guys that talk too much. Luppi threatens her, but is surprised as his other tentacles are frozen by Hitsugaya, who then uses his Sennen Hyōrō technique to crush the Arrancar. Luppi escapes death due to Negación, having only been incapacitated by the ice.

Upon learning that Orihime has followed the Arrancar back to Hueco Mundo, Rangiku and the rest of her team return to Soul Society to help in the preparation for the war against Aizen.

The New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

Fake Karakura Town arc
When Aizen along with his top three Espada attack the Fake Karakura Town, Rangiku along with her captain and the rest of the Gotei 13 captains currently not in Hueco Mundo are seen awaiting for Aizen's arrival. After the pillars that keep the Real Karakura Town in Soul Society are successfully defended and four of Baraggan Louisenbairn's Fracción are killed, Rangiku faces off against all three of Harribel's Fracción by herself while her captain takes on their leader, Tier Harribel. Rangiku gets into verbal warfare with Apacci and Mila Rose causing them to argue among themselves as Sung-Sun criticizes them for taking her bait. She then tells the trio they should have surrounded her when they had the chance, but now that they are all in one spot they have lost any advantage that they had. Rangiku then releases her Zanpakutō, enveloping the three Arrancar in a cloud of ash. When some settles onto Apacci's arm and cuts her Rangiku explains the power of Haineko, to which she then encloses the ash all around them forming it into a twister. She informs them that they should watch out as the ash will cut anyone it touches, but the three tell her that she has underestimated them and combine their Cero to blast their way through, much to Rangiku's surprise before she tries to attack them again.

Apacci makes the statement that she should take a break as the three of them are obviously too much for Rangiku to handle by herself, prompting her to use Shunpo to get in close, but she is caught by Apacci who throws her away. She then uses Haineko to attack the Arrancar from a different angle, but Apacci blocks the attack with a Cero blast, then proceeds to attack Rangiku one on one, but she is interrupted when she is blasted by a fireball from Momo Hinamori's Zanpakutō.

Rangiku is surprised at her arrival though Momo tells her not to worry, as while she may be wearing the 5th Division's lieutenant armband, it is only a symbol of her role as leader of the 5th Division, not as Captain Aizen's subordinate, as he is now an enemy of Soul Society. Even though Rangiku tells her that she understands, she slightly worries as she still addresses him as 'Captain'. They are soon interrupted as Apacci throws her Zanpakutō at them from the cloud of smoke, prompting Rangiku to pull up a shield of ash to block the attack. The three attack all at once, but are soon caught in a "Kidō net", confusing the Arrancar completely. Momo then details to them and Rangiku how she managed to sneak up on Apacci and how she placed the net all around Rangiku, though never thinking she would catch all three in it. Momo then uses her Zanpakutō to ignite the Kidō net causing a massive explosion.

After the attack Rangiku asks Momo if she is okay, to which she states that she is and that she has never done that before. Rangiku then notes that she used #12 Fushibi as she never has seen such a large and complicated one before. Rangiku remarks to herself that Momo made the spells her own and wondered when she got that strong, though she is happy that she is doing better. Unfortunately, the Arrancar escape Momo's attack, and use their Resurrección to heal themselves and then combine their powers to counterattack. Each of them sacrifice their left arm and use them to form a creature with an ability they call Quimera Parca. Apacci states that the creature is their pet and it's made from each of their left arms, and that its name is "Ayon". Rangiku becomes frightened staring into the eyes of the creature and remarks that it's like staring into a deep hole you can't see the bottom of. The creature charges at her as she calls upon Haineko to counter it, but it tears through the right side of her abdomen, severely injuring her as Momo screams out to her. As Rangiku falls from the sky, Momo uses Bakudō #37 Tsuriboshi to catch her as she tells her to hold on, that she will fix her in a second. Momo then notes that the creature has taken out everything under her ribs on the right side and she can't breathe like that, but the creature attacks Momo as well, taking her out with one punch to her stomach sending her flying. Momo is then saved by the timely arrival of 3rd Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira and 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi.

As Izuru heals her, Shūhei and Tetsuzaemon Iba are defeated, and Ayon advances on them. Just as all seems lost, Captain-Commander Yamamoto arrives and easily burns Ayon into oblivion with his Shikai. In response, Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun then attempt an attack on Yamamoto, only to be burned effortlessly by his Shikai. Rangiku, still wounded, is eventually taken into a barrier set up by Izuru, lying unconscious, along with the other wounded officers.

Rangiku later regains consciousness during Ichigo Kurosaki's fight with Gin Ichimaru and manages to see Gin in combat. She is later seen by Izuru running towards their fight. Although the latter frantically screams after her, Rangiku ignores Izuru and keeps running, despite the fact that her wounds were only healed to the point that her life could be sustained.

Rangiku arrives in the Karakura Town in Soul Society as Don Kanonji is trying to fend off Aizen and Gin. Kanonji tries to charge at Aizen with his staff in order to protect Tatsuki Arisawa, but Rangiku blocks his strike from hitting Aizen and saves him, remarking that she made it in time. She tells Kanonji that she will handle Gin and Aizen and that he should take the girls and run. When he tries to protest she threatens him with bodily harm if he does not leave, which he does. Aizen asks Rangiku if she meant that she was in time to save the Humans who just escaped or to stop the destruction of Karakura Town and creation of the Ōken, claiming she is wrong either way.

Gin tells Aizen that he will talk to her and grabs Rangiku. He takes her some blocks away, until Rangiku tells him to let her go, sending her flying down to the roof of a building, landing without injury. Gin asks her why she is there, to which she explains that once his Reiatsu disappeared she went ahead to the Senkaimon and went to the exact location of the Real Karakura Town, which she knew Aizen and Gin were unaware of. When Gin points out he did not ask how she got there, but why she came with such a shaky body, Rangiku asks him isn't it obvious, she came because he is here. She then asks him straight out why he is working under Aizen and why he betrayed Kira despite him believing in him so much. Gin responds by asking her whether she is seriously asking him this. He then asks if Kira really said 'I believed in him, yet he betrayed me,' surprising Rangiku. Gin touches her necklace and asks why she has really come as he moves in close and points his blade at her face, telling her she is in the way.

As Gin departs, Rangiku is left unconscious with a neck wound. Rangiku later awakens feeling out of breath and immediately identifies that Gin used the Hakufuku Kidō spell to knock her out. Rangiku arrives to seen Gin's fallen body and screams out his name. She holds him in her arms; as she realizes he is dying, she cries. Aizen closes in on them as Rangiku grieves for Gin, but Aizen's attention is drawn away from them as Ichigo arrives with his unconscious father to confront him.

Later, after Aizen is defeated, Rangiku goes to visit Momo while she is at the 12th Division Headquarters undergoing organ restoration, but before she can see her, she leaves without a word. She is later seen standing in the shadows as Hitsugaya arduously trains to get stronger. Rangiku thinks of how everyone is moving on, as she recalls how neither Hisagi nor Renji were at their divisions' headquarters; she figures they are both off training somewhere. She notes that she is moving on as well, recalling that whenever Gin disappeared he'd leave her nothing to remember him by and she hated him for that. She then notes that had he left her something then she would probably be stuck in that spot forever and she is sure that he knew that about her. She then silently thanks him as she loved that part of him.

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

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

Gotei 13 Invading Army arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

The Lost Substitute Shinigami arc
When Ichigo regains his powers, he notices that Rangiku's power was used to help restore his own.

The Thousand-Year Blood War arc
While the captains are in a meeting, the lieutenants gather and discuss the situation with the Wandenreich and recent disappearances of Hollows and Rukongai residents. Rangiku listens as Izuru deduces that Shinigami were likely involved in the disappearance of the Rukongai denizens. When the Stern Ritter invade Seireitei, Rangiku and Captain Hitsugaya are confronted by one of the Wandenreich. She listens as Hitsugaya states that he will use his Bankai while she is with him and once it is sealed, they will fight together and devise a method to break the seal.

After they realize that the Wandenreich doesn't seal a person's Bankai, in fact actually stealing them, Hitsugaya tells a shocked Rangiku to hurry up and use Tenteikūra to inform the other captains of what he has discovered to which she quickly complies. Rangiku is later notified via transmitter swords along with the other captains and lieutenants by Rin Tsubokura that Ichigo is currently heading to Soul Society.

When Captain-Commander Yamamoto decides to enter the front line, the two sense Yamamoto's Reiatsu resonate throughout Seireitei. The two find their morale raised as Hitsugaya notes how serious their Captain-Commander is fighting and so the two of them have a duty as Captain and Lieutenant to not be defeated so easily. She agrees with her captain as they face the Stern Ritter member. Rangiku, her captain, and other members of the Gotei 13 are then later surprised to sense Ichigo Kurosaki finally enter Soul Society.

After an unspecified amount of time, the Wandenreich return to attack Soul Society once more causing Matsumoto to join the battlefield alongside her captain where they confront Bazz-B. She goes to tell other Shinigami to retreat while she and her captain deal with Bazz-B. After returning to Hitsugaya, reporting on the retreats, she states it is a good time to start their strategy, and releases Haineko, and Hitsugaya responds by creating an ice wall. Rangiku recalls the Haineko's ashes back into its sword form. Although Bazz-B notes that it's only an ice wall, he notes that he can't melt it. Hitsugaya explains that that is the result of him and Rangiku using their powers in combination.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Swordsman: Rangiku shows a great deal of proficiency in wielding her Zanpakutō. While she can obviously hold her own in a fight, her skill in the wielding of her Zanpakutō comes from her mastery of its special ability. Through sheer imagination in conjunction with her Zanpakutō's special ability, Rangiku has become skilled at taking on large groups at once.

Shunpo: While Rangiku's true skill in Shunpo is unknown, she is skillful enough to keep up with her captain. Her skill has proven great enough to easily out-maneuver an Arrancar capable of fighting at lieutenant-level skill.

Kidō Expert: As a lieutenant, Rangiku has enough of an understanding of Kidō spells to identify them upon sight. Though she is not a common user of this art, she is able to use Bakudō #77 without incantation. Rangiku can also use Hadō #31.

Enhanced Strength: Despite her highly feminine appearance, Rangiku has shown herself to be deceptively strong. During her battle against Nakeem Grindina, she was easily able to hold back the Arrancar's large stomping foot with a single hand and his fist with her forearm, the former while her limiter was still active.

Enhanced Endurance: Rangiku has been shown to have a high level of endurance. She was able to hold her own in a fight against three Espada's Fracción.

Enhanced Durability: Rangiku has been shown to have a high level of durability. She has taken a direct hit from Ayon, resulting in the loss of the entire right side of her abdomen and survived.

High Spiritual Power: Being a lieutenant of the Gotei 13, Rangiku boasts a high level of spiritual energy. She has manifested her Reiatsu and successfully intimidated both Chad and Noba. Her spiritual power is white.

Expert Tactician: Rangiku has proven to be quite intelligent when she needs to be, such as in her battle with Nakeem, whom she fooled into believing that she was unconscious in order to request that the limiters be removed more easily. This was also displayed in her battle with Harribel's Fracción, where she caused them to argue with one another as she attempted to defeat them with one concentrated attack.

Hakuda Practitioner: While mainly using her Zanpakutō in actual combat, Rangiku has, on various occasions showed some noticeable skill unarmed. During various missions to the Human World while in a Gigai, she would use well-coordinated kicks and punches on people with perverted advances. Ikkaku has noted that she should hold back more on her strikes, as she tends to knock out the target.

Zanpakutō
Haineko redirects here. For the manifested spirit that appears in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc and the Beast Swords arc see Haineko (Zanpakutō spirit).


 * The Zanpakutō's form is that of a straight-bladed katana. The tsuba is in the shape of a cat's head, with two triangles on the top half curving into ear-points, and the bottom half tapering down into a single point. It has a dark red handle. Rangiku keeps Haineko behind her clipped onto her waist obi.


 * Shikai: Its release command is.


 * Shikai Special Ability: In its Shikai, Haineko's blade turns to ash, and with a flick of the hilt, Rangiku can cut anywhere the ash has landed on. All the ash that surrounds her opponent(s) might as well be her sword. With simple hand gestures and a thought she can control where the ash goes as well as make it take various forms. Though in this form it takes on the look of scattered ash, each particle is a tiny blade. Rangiku controls the ash to attack from any direction as soon as she moves the hilt, ultimately enveloping and tearing up the enemy. So evidently, Haineko is very hard to fight against in this form. The main attack strength of Haineko comes from how much ash makes contact, thus why it is clumped together. If the ash were to attack the opponent in single particles, the damage would be little to none. The ash can cut through objects as easily as a sword would, similar in principle to Byakuya Kuchiki's Senbonzakura. Rangiku has shown that Haineko can be a defensive weapon as well by having it take the form of a shield to defend against Apacci's attack. This katana is incredibly difficult to use.


 * Rangiku can create an enveloping cloud which she can then enclose around her opponents, turning it into a deadly tornado. This provides her an advantage while fighting groups of enemies.


 * Bankai: Not Yet Achieved. Rangiku has not yet mastered the Bankai of her Zanpakutō, though she is trying to learn it, however, Haineko is just as moody, lazy, and self-centered as Rangiku is, making her progress difficult.

Censorship


Rangiku's fight with Ayon in the anime was severely toned down. In the manga, it was shown that her right side below her rib cage was completely removed, where in the anime, her side was there and it was suggested that her injury resulted only in internal damage.

Another time Rangiku was censored was in Chapter 209: Lift the Limit, in Viz's Shonen Jump magazine. In the magazine she is shown to have an undershirt when she, Renji Abarai, and Tōshirō Hitsugaya, release Gentei Kaijo. However, this edit was removed in Viz's English release of Volume 24: IMMANENT GOD BLUES.

Trivia

 * Rangiku's release command was originally introduced as "Roar" in the English dub, but was later used as "Growl" in the Arrancar arc.
 * Rangiku's inner monologue in episode 60 is different in the English dub than in the Japanese version. The English dub has her inner monologue directed to Izuru while the Japanese version and the manga both have it directed to Ichimaru.
 * In the latest popularity poll, Rangiku placed 21st (in previous ones, she placed 39th and 17th). Her Zanpakutō, Haineko, placed 18th, tying with Sōsuke Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu and Kaien Shiba's Nejibana.
 * While her hair has been consistently colored Golden Blonde in the manga, there is an orange tint to it in the anime, making it appear Strawberry Blonde instead. In addition, the shade of her eyes differs between the manga and the anime.
 * Rangiku's address is 4-6-16 Chidoribashi, District 10, Seireitei, 801 Ibanarō Chidoribashi.
 * She once contributed pictures of Tōshirō Hitsugaya to the Seireitei Communication. She is also the author of the column The Many Faces of a Wet Cat in the uncut pages.

Quotes

 * (To Apacci) "Oh my, you've got pretty good ears. I was convinced that you had bad ears, an ugly face and awful style!"
 * (To Haineko) "Were you always this talkative? I never noticed."
 * (About Gin) "That bad habit you had of always disappearing without telling me where you are going...still hasn't changed."
 * (Upon being asked when her birthday is by Gin) "I don't know, I never really counted days until I met you."

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