Information AboutShinigami (bleach) |
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Beings who are not spiritually aware (including most humans) cannot see, hear, or detect them in any way (though if they move a physical object it would be noticed). They are based in Soul Society , but can travel to the human world and back. Travel to the human world is extremely limited and monitored, and it is a crime to stay in the human world longer than necessary. A shinigami's duties include leading Pluses to Soul Society (a practice called ''soul burial''), and the cleansing of Hollows . Later in the series, more clarification is given and it is revealed that the shinigami also govern the flow of spirits between the two worlds (human and Soul Society). A rogue group of shinigami has also acquired hollow powers. The group is called the Vizard . GOVERNMENT AND LAW The main authority of the shinigami are the Central 46 Chambers (中央四十六室 ''chūō yonjūroku shitsu''), who serve the shinigami royalty (the ruling class of all Soul Society). The Central 46 Chambers are made up of 40 wise men and 6 judges. They are sealed into an enclave in Seireitei called ''seijōtōkyorin'' (清浄塔居林) and no one else may enter it, regardless of their military or civilian status. The decisions of the 46 Chambers are final and may not be questioned by any person, regardless of status. In addition, all decisions by the 46 Chambers are carried out, even if they require the mobilization of the shinigami army. The only shinigami force which does not answer to the Central 46 Chambers is the royal guard (王属特務 ''ōzokutokumu''), which is said to have considerable power and tactical knowledge. The Shinigami Academy also does not answer to the Central 46 Chambers.''BLEACH'' databook; page 98. Judiciary The Central 46 Chambers also act as the shinigami judiciary and are responsible for judging and sentencing shinigami who have committed serious crimes. Punishments for less serious crimes may be given by other authorities, such as shinigami captains. It is implied that the Central 46 Chambers mostly deal with executions. There are several forms of executions in Soul Society, although only two have been revealed:
ARMY The shinigami army is arranged into three corps: Gotei 13 (Thirteen Court Divisions), Demon Arts corps, and the Onmitsukidō (Covert/Special Ops corps). Demon Arts Corps Nothing is known about the demon arts corps (鬼道衆 ''kidōshū''), except that it takes students from the Shinigami Academy who excel in demon arts and that its operations are absolute secrecy.''BLEACH'' databook; page 98. Covert Ops Corps The Covert Ops (隠密機動 ''onmitsukidō''), also called '''Special Ops''' and '''Secret Mobile Unit/Corps''' (the latter being the more accurate translation), has five divisions, the top-ranked one being the Executive Militia (刑軍 ''keigun''). The fifth division is called the Reversal Counter Force, or Correctional Force (裏挺隊 ''riteitai'').''BLEACH'' databook; page 98. Other division names or functions are unknown. Formerly headed by Yoruichi Shihouin , the current leader of the Covert Ops is Captain Soi Fong of the Gotei 13's 2nd Division. Little else is known about the Covert Ops' operations. Ranks The Covert Ops Corps is headed by a corps commander (軍団長 ''gundanchō''), the real-life equivalent being Lieutenant General . It is unknown how other ranks work in the corps, but like in Gotei 13, the leader of the corps generally also commands its top division, the Executive Militia. Unlike in the Gotei 13 however, the corps commander has several bodyguards. Uniforms The general Covert Ops corps uniform appears to be the standard shinigami uniform. However, the Executive Militia uniform is different from the Gotei 13; overall it resembles a Ninja uniform. It has no visible white undergarments and the sash is dark as opposed to white. There is a headpiece that covers the bottom part of the face and sometimes the top, but not the eyes. There are also no sandals like on the standard shinigami uniform, but only socks. Presumably this is for silence of movement. Tight bands are worn on the legs and arms to keep the clothes from moving too much, presumably for the same purpose. Note: In the anime, members of the Executive Militia also wear their head covering on the top, not just the bottom (see image). Also, the sash is black. The leader of the militia wears the same uniform, except that the back and shoulders are exposed. This is because they use an advanced technique, which combines hand to hand combat and demon arts, called ''shunkō'' (瞬閧). When activated, the high spiritual pressure accumulated at the shoulders and back will blasts away clothes at these parts and so the uniform was made without them. The Correctional Force uniform is radically different - soldiers wear a white uniform, long piece of headgear, and a backpack.''BLEACH'' databook; page 98. Gotei 13 The Gotei 13 (護廷十三隊 ''goteijūsantai'') is arranged into 13 divisions (hence the name). Each of the divisions also has a specialization, but not all of them have been revealed yet. Notably, the 4th Division is the medic/supply team, the 11 Division is the battle division (specialization in swordsmanship), and the 12th Division is the research/scientific institute. Additionally, because Captain Soi Fong of the 2nd Division is the covert ops leader, it is possible that is what division two's specialization is as well. Ranks As any other army, the Gotei 13 has ranks. There are 21 officer ranks, but no ranks for non-officers. The ranks and their descriptions are listed below, from highest to lowest. Sōtaichō (総隊長, ''lit.'' General commander or Commander-General) - as the name implies, this is the Commander-General of the Gotei 13. The Commander-General is also the Captain of the 1st Division – it is implied that this is an Ex Officio . The current holder of this title is Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai . Note: this has also been translated as Captain-Commander by some Fansub and Scanlation groups, probably to avoid confusion Taichō (隊長, ''lit.'' unit commander) - this rank is usually referred to as '''captain''' in the English version of the manga, as well as fansubs, scanlations and websites (including Wikipedia). Because of the size of a single Gotei 13 'unit' {Link without Title} (over 200 troops, but probably still a 3-digit number), this rank is also appropriate according to the Size Of The Unit . It should be noted that the Viz translation renders the units as ' Companies ' rather than the widely-accepted 'divisions', which is appropriate in that captains lead companies. However, given that each 'Captain' in ''BLEACH'' leads a major part of a military wing or corps (which is Gotei 13), they could be considered division commanders, and thus also called Generals. Literally however, the rank simply means 'unit commander', which could be practically any officer rank. Captains are the most revered of shinigami (with the Central 46, Demon Art Corps, and Covert Ops Corps leaders possibly being on equal status). Captains are undisputably the most prominent shinigami. Every captain in Gotei 13 history has known bankai, except Kenpachi Zaraki , who won his status through sheer strength. Knowing bankai gives captains a default strength advantage of 5 to 10 times over shinigami who are not able to perform bankai. However, knowing bankai is only a fraction (although a large one) of a captain's power. They have also trained extensively, if they have not mastered, their bankai which allows them to actually use the enormous power and size of their bankai in battle. Captains are also skilled in the use of shunpo, kidou, and generally have excellent knowledge of shinigami history and battle tactics. All of these factors create a huge power-gap between captains and the next highest level; a captain can generally defeat several lieutenants at once without even needing to release his bankai. There are three ways to become a Gotei 13 captain:
Fukutaichō (副隊長, ''lit.'' vice-unit commander) - this is the rank attributed to the 2nd Seat of each division. Since Captain is used to describe a unit commander, vice-captain is the most accurate translation, and is used by most fansub and scanlation groups. (The Viz translation of the manga renders the rank as the even wordier "assistant captain.") However, traditionally in real-life armies, the Lieutenant has been the personal adjutant of the captain and has often been only one lieutenant per captain (as is the case for fukutaichō and taichō in ''BLEACH''). However, this does not apply to modern armies. Therefore, '''lieutenant''' is the correct real-life equivalent of this rank. Holders of this rank in Gotei 13 have also been called adjutants. Lieutenants function as Executive Officer s for their division and take care of day-to-day operations as well as supervise them. They (along with their captain) are not assigned to one specific squad. They generally only know shikai, but are the second strongest in their division. Some have gained bankai; this is natural seeing as they would be the most seasoned and skilled shikai users. However, these lieutenants are still not at the level of a captain for previously mentioned reasons. Seated officers - all Gotei 13 officers who hold lower ranks than the above, are referred to seated officers. Captains have the rank of 1st Seat and lieutenants are 2nd Seat. Next to that, there are 18 more seats (3rd to 20th). 3rd seat officers are ranked higher than 4th seat, etc. There seems to be a distinction between senior and junior seated officers, just like in real-life armies. In Gotei 13, only one person can hold a senior officer rank (such as 3rd or 5th seat), but there are several holdiers of junior officer ranks (e.g. 20th seat). This may vary from division to division however, as there are two 3rd Seats in the 13th Division. In Japanese, the rank is usually spelled using the seat number followed by the word 'seat' (席 ''seki''), e.g. (三席 ''sanzeki''), although sometimes the word 'No.' (第, ''dai'') is used, e.g. (第三席 ''daisanzeki''). The seated officers of 3rd seat and below may be best compared to junior officers, especially non-commissioned ones. Each seated officer apparently leads a squad, although this is not certain. Uniforms Most Gotei 13 personnel wear the standard shinigami uniform, called ''shihakushō'' (死覇装) - a white undershirt, a black Kimono and Hakama , and a white sash. Lieutenants sometimes also wear an armband, which carries their division symbol and its number. They are required to do this when they are summoned to a meeting. Captains wear a white Haori over the usual black shinigami clothes, with the number of their division on the back, inside the Gotei 13 symbol (a rhombus). Gotei 13 officers, particularly captains and lieutenants, often customize their personal appearance or that of their uniform. Some of these modifications include:
Insignia Each of the 13 divisions in Gotei 13 have their own symbol that represents the division's primary role, and in turn, each symbol has a meaning. For instance, the 11th Division symbol is a rhombus with 7 stars and means 'fight' while the camellia symbol of the 6th Division means 'noble reasoning'. Not all symbols and meanings have been clearly revealed. However, the ones that have been are in the illustration to the right (click the image to enlarge). Captain and lieutenant listings The main listings for each division can be found on the Characters In Bleach Series page. Below are the names all captains (1st seat) and lieutenants (2nd seat) in Gotei 13. COMBAT The shinigami have four forms of combat: zanjutsu (swordsmanship), hakuda (hand-to-hand), hohō (foot combat) and kidō (demon arts). Zanjutsu One of the four forms of shinigami combat, and probably the most common, is zanjutsu (斬術, ''lit.'' cutting technique; ''translated as'' swordsmanship). In this form of combat, a shinigami fights with his Zanpakutō . A zanpakutō (''lit.'' soul cutting sword; frequently abbreviated to ''soul cutter'') is a shinigami's weapon, and a measure of his/her power and ability. Initially similar to a Katana , it is a living spirit, tied in to the shinigami that carries it. In addition to its basic form, each zanpakutō has two enhanced forms: ''shikai'' ("initial release"), and bankai ("full release"), in which the shape of the sword varies radically to suit additional needs. Senior shinigami must master the initial release, and only the strongest of the shinigami – usually captains and above – are able to use bankai. Hakuda Not much is known about hakuda (白打, ''lit.'' white hits, refers to hand-to-hand combat), though the shinigami who mentions it is presumably a master of this form since he displays the ability to block sword attacks with his bare hands. Covert Ops corps troops, especially of higher ranks, are known to be well-trained in hand-to-hand combat. Hohō Not much is known about hohō (歩法, foot combat). Flash Steps (''shunpo''), essentially moving faster than normal eyes can follow (so that one appears to teleport), is the only technique that has thus far been implied (in the anime) to belong to this type of combat. Kidō See Also: Demon arts The demon arts (鬼道 ''kidō'') are a type of combat or healing sorcery used by shinigami. Demon arts spells are divided into two major groups: blast spells (破道 ''hadō''), used for direct attack, and binding spells (縛道 ''bakudō''), which are spells that restrain or involves restraining someone. To perform a demon arts spell, one must call out the incantation for the spell, similar to releasing a zanpakutō. It is also possible to bypass the incantation for spells, as with the shikai release, however, each level gets successively harder. Even experienced captains cannot bypass a level 90 spell successfully. TRAINING The majority of training for individuals wanting to become shinigami is done through the Shinigami Academy. This is a 6-year academy, training its students to fight hollows (see ''Combat'') and do soul burial duties. While it is not clear, this academy seems to have been founded by Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai about 2000 years before the main ''BLEACH'' storyline. OPERATIONS AND MISSION AIDS The shinigami undertake a multitude of operations, which include soul burial, battling hollows, etc. Most of these occur in the human world (outside of Soul Society). It should be noted that all shinigami captains and lieutenants have their spiritual energy reduced by about 80% when they enter the human world, in order not to cause unnecessary influence. Because some operations may take a long time, shinigami need a way to stay in the human world for long periods of time (which they can't do in spirit form), interact with the living, or recover their powers when need arises. Thus, the gigai was created. A gigai (義骸), referred to by some fansub and scanalation groups as a "faux body", is an artificial body that allows shinigami to remain in the human world for an extended period (either due to temporary loss of powers or extended missions). While the body is synthetic, it appears and operates in every way to a natural one and is designed to perfectly mimic a living human body. Unlike the normal shinigami body, a gigai is detectable by humans as well as spirits. Because shinigami battle hollows, and there are likely more hollows than shinigami, they may require assistance in battling hollows. Thus, the modsoul (modified soul) project was born. Modified souls (改造魂魄 ''kaizō konpaku'') were a short-lived experiment by the shinigami to create souls specialized in combat that could possess Dead Human Bodies to be used as Soldier s to combat hollows. These artificial combat souls could enhance parts of the body to achieve feats of Superhuman ability such as super-speed or strength. Modsouls were exterminated after the experiment proved to be a failure (due to ethical reasons). One out of a batch of these modsouls was forgotten, and made its way to the human world, where Rukia and Ichigo obtained it and unknowingly let it loose. Despite a standing order to dispose of all modsouls, they let the single one remain, naming it Kon and placing it into the body of a Lion Plushie . Rukia and Ichigo use Kon to possess Ichigo's body (which, in a technical sense, becomes a corpse) when his soul is expelled from his body to fight as a shinigami. NOTES |
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