Ryūken Ishida

Ryūken Ishida (石田竜弦, Ishida Ryūken) is the son of Sōken Ishida and father of Uryū Ishida. The Director of Karakura Hospital, he is also known as the last Quincy, a status contested by his son.

Character outline
Ryūken appears to be a cold, work-oriented man, and is apparently estranged from his father and son. He detests his status as a Quincy on the grounds that it does not enable one to make a proper living, and would rather focus on saving the living instead of the dead. He even goes so far as to state that the Quincy would become extinct once Sōken's generation died out, urging Uryū not to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. Even though Ryūken scorns his status as a Quincy, his tie has blue crosses all over it, an obvious reference to the Quincy cross. During the anime's Bount arc, there are blue crosses all over the floors and walls of Ryūken's hospital, as well.

Despite his attitude towards being a Quincy, he helps to restore Uryū's lost Quincy powers on the condition that he never associate himself with Shinigami again, even if they were his friends. To this end, he constructed a secret chamber underneath Karakura Hospital which hides Spiritual Energy.

Strangely enough, Ryūken also shares a relationship with Isshin Kurosaki not unlike that of their sons (though seemingly more friendly; Isshin comments that Ryūken never called him "Kurosaki" before in a slightly hurt tone). He comments on Isshin's newly regained powers when the latter pays him a visit, and the two exchange banter about their sons and parenting styles. Their friendship was briefly mentioned when Chad was injured with Isshin telling a hospital worker to tell his boss that Kurosaki needed them and some beds would clear up (though it may have seemed at the time like this was more a threat then a favor).

Arrancar Arc
When his son is about to be killed by two incomplete arrancar, Ryūken saves him with a single arrow, telling him to kill arrancar before they can regenerate. He later trains Uryū on the condition that he never associate with shinigami again. His training is very difficult, and although he tries his best, Uryū can not defeat him before he is shot. Ryūken laments that Uryū's last gintō tecnique should have been Gritz instead of Heizen (he would have easily defeated his opponent). Uryū used Heizen to end the training session rather than injure his father. Ryūken further trains Uryū in the ways of the Quincy before the Arc ends, explaining his son's new bow and techniques.

Hueco Mundo Arc
In the Hueco Mundo Arc, Ryūken is briefly seen conversing with Ichigo's father, Isshin Kurosaki. When Isshin tells him that his son escaped, he replies that whether or not Uryū allows his powers to live or die is completely up to him, and that it is also his choice whether to live or die.

Powers and abilities
Despite turning away from his Quincy heritage, Ryūken is nonetheless extremely powerful. His skill level as a Quincy surpasses that of his son, who is considered a genius by the avid Quincy researcher Mayuri Kurotsuchi. In fact, he knows all the skills and techniques known to the Quincy, having inherited his father's power. When he first appeared as a combatant, Ryūken defeated two incomplete Arrancar with three shots: one to rescue Uryū, and one to kill each arrancar.

Like all Quincy, Ryūken uses a bow as his primary weapon. Unlike other Quincy seen thus far, however, Ryūken is capable of willfully changing its size and can fire multiple shots at once. He can also fire arrows one-handed and at rapid-speed. His bow is white, rather than blue. In the anime, it has a more metallic look to it and is solid, compared to most Quincy bows. Ryūken uses a pentacle to create his bow, and although the artifact is not cross-shaped, it is still called Quincy cross.