Ryūken Ishida

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.

His actual feelings towards his son are hard to place - 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. During their fight, Uryū tries to finish the fight with an attack meant to capture rather than kill, perhaps indicating feelings for his father that made him stay a final blow. Thus Ryūken was able to escape and shoot Uryū, but his somewhat tender tone as he talks to his unconscious son suggests that deep down he also loves Uryū.

Strangely enough, Ryūken also shares a relationship with Isshin Kurosaki not unlike that of their sons (though seemingly friendlier; 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 than 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 technique should have been Heizen instead of Gritz (he would have easily defeated his opponent). Uryū used Gritz 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 & 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 two shots, one to kill each Arrancar. Having undergone formal training and possessing prior experience in combat, Ryūken is most likely one of the strongest living humans in the series.

Quincy Bow & Arrows: Like all Quincy, Ryūken uses a bow as his primary weapon, but unlike other Quincy seen thus far, 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.

Reiryoku Absorption: All Quincy primarily absorb spiritual energy from the atmosphere, and have an easier time collecting this energy in environments with higher concentrations of spiritual particles, such as Soul Society or Hueco Mundo. To a sufficiently powerful Quincy, there is no difference between spiritual particles and spiritual energy as a source of power.

Reiryoku Manipulation: He can manipulate spiritual energy for offensive purposes. He most commonly reshapes spiritual particles into various types of bow and arrows, but can also concentrate spiritual energy into the form of silver tubes. Ryūken uses a pentacle to create his bow, and although the artifact is not cross-shaped, it is still called a Quincy cross.

Gintō Master: Ryūken is able to use the spiritual energy stored in silver tubes to create effects similar to Kidō. He can also use his own energy rather than the energy stored in a silver tube, as seen during the training session between him and his son.

Seele Schneider Master: Ryūken is presumably highly capable of using the soul cutting sword with great proficiency, as he excels over his son in all Quincy techniques.

Genius Intellect & Athletic: Aside from his Quincy powers, Ryūken is well-trained in both mind and body, having substantial athletic abilities and a genius intellect which surpasses his son, who is considered a Quincy prodigy. Due to keeping his physical prowess at it's peak, Ryūken can easily hold out against all but the most resilient opponents during a battle.

In terms of intellect, Ryūken has shown himself to be a very intuitive and perceptive man. Much to Uryū's dismay, Ryūken has repeatedly shown himself easily able to see through his son's antics. When Uryū left to aid Ichigo and Sado in rescuing Orihime Inoue, Ryūken immediately determined what his son was doing without looking at the note his son left.


 * A high level technique, known to be quite rare to ever be encountered. Ryūken is presumably well versed in the use of this ability, since he knows all Quincy techniques.


 * Ryūken is highly skilled in the use of the Hirenkyaku, as he is with all Quincy techniques.

Great Spiritual Power: As a Quincy, Ryūken Ishida has a huge amount of spiritual energy.

Last Quincy Status
Ryūken is able to use many Quincy techniques and items to augment his abilities, including presumably high-level techniques, which are rare in comparison to his son. This is caused by the fact that regardless of his personal wishes and intent, he has inherited all Quincy abilities and techniques from his father, Sōken; after his passing, he has claimed the title of Last Quincy. Apparently he is now using the same, or a similar, pentacle to Sōken's, although whether this has something to do with the title of Last Quincy remains to be seen.

Appearance in other media
Ryūken appears as a playable character in Bleach: Heat the Soul 6.

Trivia

 * In the English version of Bleach Official Character Book Souls, he is called Ryūgen Ishida.
 * Ryūken is the presenter of the Quincy Encyclopedia.
 * The omake chapter of episode 235 showed Ryūken looking deeply at a picture of Uryū as a child, suggesting that he still loves and cares very much for his son. Ryūken even went as far as attacking Isshin when he started bragging about his kids and teased Uryū about being in a "rebellious stage", blaming Isshin for Ichigo's influence on Uryū.

Quotes

 * (To Uryū Ishida) "How many times do I have to tell you, there is no point in saving the dead. That's a Shinigami's job. You should learn how to save the people who are alive. I have no interest in it and you have no talent in it. The Quincy will become extinct with your grandfather's generation, understand?"


 * (To Uryū Ishida, when asked why he hates being a Quincy) "Because you can't make a living from it."


 * (To Isshin Kurosaki, about Uryū) "I have restored his Quincy powers. It is up to him whether they live or die. As well as whether he lives or dies."