".......grinning, an act of intimidation."-Tite kubo
Gin Ichimaru (市丸 ギン) was the Captain of the 3rd Division of the Gotei 13 until he betrayed Soul Society, alongside Sōsuke Aizen and Kaname Tōsen. His lieutenant was Izuru Kira. Although Gin is also a major antagonist of the series, he does provide a fair amount of amusement throughout the series, usually through random appearances at the end of most episodes of the Arrancar, Hueco Mundo, Captain Amagai, and Fake Karakura arcs, where he outlines various facts about the Arrancar.
Apperance:
Gin is fairly ordinary in terms of clothing, and doesn't wear any unique items. His overall appearance, however, is not as normal. Strangely he keeps his eyes constantly narrowed to slits (earning him the nickname "foxface") and he has only opened them fully twice (once during a flashback in battle with a group of Huge Hollows and again during battle with 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya). The color of his eyes is portrayed somewhat inconsistently, being light blue on the cover of manga Volume 20, but blood-red in the anime (the manga volume wasn't released prior to this however, which explains this discrepancy). Although physically he appears in his early to mid twenties, he is unusually thin and tall with very sharp features giving him a skeletal appearance. He bears unusual silver hair which has a purple tint to it in the anime (his name refers to his hair color; gin [銀] is Japanese for silver). He also keeps his face set in a wide mocking smile, which he only wipes off on rare occasions of annoyance, surprise, or confusion.
In Hueco Mundo, his outfit, like Aizen's and Tōsen's, has been modified since the three abandoned Soul Society. He now wears a long, white robe over his normal Shinigami hakama. The hilt of his Zanpakutō is visible sticking out from under the robe through the opening down to his waist. Later Gin is seen wearing a white hakama like the Arrancar, instead of the black ones he was last seen in. Gin wears his robe open in a narrow 'V' down to his waist, closed to below the hips, then open again to the hem, which falls about mid-calf. His robe has long bell sleeves, into which he hides his hands like one does with kimono sleeves. The lining of the robe and edges or layers of the under-robe(s) appear to be black. From other examples, it is likely he is also wearing black tabi with white waraji. His Zanpakutō is not visible with this outfit.
Personality:
Gin is one of the most mysterious Shinigami in the series since his permanent smile and slitted eyes, combined with his heavy use of sarcasm and mocking politeness, make it very difficult to discern his thoughts. Many find his demeanor and appearance rather unsettling and there are very few who were willing to trust him even before he was revealed as a traitor. Gin seems to be fully aware of the effect he has on others and more than once has been seen toying with peoples' emotional states for his own amusement. Both Rukia Kuchiki and Wonderweiss Margera have shown to be rather frightened of him, Rukia noting to herself that she felt like she was being strangled by snakes whenever he spoke, even if he was not speaking to her directly. In the anime, Gin speaks with a distinct Kyoto dialect, which is polite but indirect. His English dubbed voice is also formal and polite, but with a rather mocking and facetious undertone.
Ever since he was a child, dried persimmons have been his absolute favorite food. Gin planted and raised many persimmon trees around the 3rd division offices, and makes the dried persimmons himself, then distributes them to other divisions. Once he wound up eating a dried sweet potato, thinking, "Oh, it's a dried persimmon!" and he hated it. When he has free time, Captain Ichimaru goes on walks around Seireitei. Although his hobby is people-watching, it seems like maybe he's hunting around and searching for an opportunity to create mischief with some poor victim. The gentlemen of the 3rd division are contrary, and they have the kind of attitude that enjoys that mean-spiritedness. He also has incredible skill at needle threading.
History:
Not much is known about Gin's prior history, except that he once saved 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto's life when they were younger, as she almost died from stravation. He tells her if she has collapsed due to hunger she must have spiritual power. She recognizes that he must have spiritual power too and he introduces himself.
Shortly while eating Gin asks Rangiku when is her birthday, to which she says she doesn't know as she never really counted days until she met him. Gin then tells her that from then on, the day that she met him will be her birthday.They have been friends since then. Hence, Matsumoto is one of the few people Gin seems to truly care about.
Gin as a child after killing the 5th Squad's 3rd seat.Approximately 110 years ago Gin graduated from the Shinigami Academy after just one year, and was given a seated position in the 5th Division. When he met Aizen for the first time he already killed the 3rd seat of the 5th Division, calling him worthless, showing that even as a child Gin's powers approached Lieutenant level, and also that he could kill anyone in cold blood, if it served his interests. Aizen immediately gave him the 3rd seat of the Division after the incident, which they both kept secret.
9 years later Gin is shown to be involved in Aizen's plot and assisting him in the Hollowfication of high ranking Shinigami.He is present at the hollowfication of the investigation team sent by captain-commander Yamamoto. He watches the conversation between Shinji Hirako and Aizen. He doesn't seem surprised at the arrival of captains Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi.Aizen proceeded to leave the scene of the crime with his henchmen, stating that "there's nothing more to do there". To stop them from retreating, Tessai performs Hadō #88. "Hiryugekizokushintenraiho" spell against them, only to be countered by Aizen using Bakudō #81. "Danku", allowing them to escape.
Gin as Aizen's Lieutenant.Sometime later Gin served as the lieutenant of the 5th Division under Captain Sōsuke Aizen. He and Gin save the surviving young recruits of Shinigami Academy who were out on a field exercise from a group of hollows. From that time he seems to have seen potential in those recruits, Momo Hinamori, Izuru Kira, and Renji Abarai, and took them all into his division. While Kira and Hinamori were obedient and loyal, becoming the Lieutenants of the 3rd and 5th Divisions under Gin and Aizen, respectively, Renji proved to be too rebellious and was transferred to the 11th Division (and later to the 6th, where he too became a Lieutenant).
Gin eventually becomes the captain of the 3rd Division around the same time that Byakuya Kuchiki became captain of the 6th Division (less then 49 years ago). Gin however, even as a captain of his own division, was still a loyal subordinate to Aizen.
Powers & Abilities:
Genius Intellect: When Gin was younger, he was hailed as a child genius. He was highly proficient in his classes at the Shinigami Academy and he graduated in one year. His skill was already evident at a young age when he gained a seated position in the 5th Division shortly after graduating, ultimately surpassing the previous child prodigy Kaien Shiba, who was already an adult and had taken five years to become a seated officer.Gin has shown himself to be highly manipulative and deceptive even when it's evident. He comes out unscathed due to the calm confusion he plays at, which is a testament to his overall strategy. In his battle with Hitsuguya, Gin was able to manipulate the positions of three people so Hitsuguya would have to choose his life or Hinamori's, without any visible effort.
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Gin is a highly proficient combatant. In combat, he doesn't seem the least bit taken back by the abilities of his opponent, even when they seemingly have an advantage. He fights with seemingly no effort behind his attacks. His ability to wield his combat skills was evident even when he was a child. He easily defeated and killed the former third seat of the 5th division, who by rank and age should have been more powerful and skilled than him. He is commonly seen using his Zanpakutō's special ability, allowing him to be quite deadly at a distance, which is capable of killing a multitude of Hollows in one shot.
Immense Spiritual Power: Gin, without putting out any effort, easily incapacitated Chad, Orihime, Uryū, Makizō, and Ganju with his Reiatsu just by facing the direction they were coming from.
Flash Steps Expert: Though never actually shown using this in combat, after his battle with Tōshirō Hitsugaya, he used an impressive Flash Step to retreat.
ZanpakutōShinsō (神鎗, Divine Spear; Viz: Sacred Spear): It looks like a ordinary wakizashi. The hilt is light-blue with a tsuba made of two slim swirls of metal looping around the blade to make an open oval, resembling an "S".
Shinsō impaling several Hollows.Shikai: It is triggered by the phrase "Shoot to Kill" (射殺せ, Ikorose). In the English Dub, however, he uses a command related to piercing/stabbing and ends the phrase with a personal pronoun (him, her, it) defining who he wants to hit.
Shikai Special Ability: In its Shikai, Shinsō's blade glows white and extends at high speed to impale Gin's opponents from a distance. The blade also carries tremendous force when extending, as seen when Gin pushes both Ichigo Kurosaki and the giant Jidanbō out from under the Seireitei gate, despite the latter being firmly braced under it. In addition, Gin can maintain the extension and swing the activated Shinsō in wide arcs, attacking multiple targets quickly and simultaneously.His Bankai has not yet been revealed
Gin Ichimaru (市丸 ギン) was the Captain of the 3rd Division of the Gotei 13 until he betrayed Soul Society, alongside Sōsuke Aizen and Kaname Tōsen. His lieutenant was Izuru Kira. Although Gin is also a major antagonist of the series, he does provide a fair amount of amusement throughout the series, usually through random appearances at the end of most episodes of the Arrancar, Hueco Mundo, Captain Amagai, and Fake Karakura arcs, where he outlines various facts about the Arrancar.
Apperance:
Gin is fairly ordinary in terms of clothing, and doesn't wear any unique items. His overall appearance, however, is not as normal. Strangely he keeps his eyes constantly narrowed to slits (earning him the nickname "foxface") and he has only opened them fully twice (once during a flashback in battle with a group of Huge Hollows and again during battle with 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya). The color of his eyes is portrayed somewhat inconsistently, being light blue on the cover of manga Volume 20, but blood-red in the anime (the manga volume wasn't released prior to this however, which explains this discrepancy). Although physically he appears in his early to mid twenties, he is unusually thin and tall with very sharp features giving him a skeletal appearance. He bears unusual silver hair which has a purple tint to it in the anime (his name refers to his hair color; gin [銀] is Japanese for silver). He also keeps his face set in a wide mocking smile, which he only wipes off on rare occasions of annoyance, surprise, or confusion.
In Hueco Mundo, his outfit, like Aizen's and Tōsen's, has been modified since the three abandoned Soul Society. He now wears a long, white robe over his normal Shinigami hakama. The hilt of his Zanpakutō is visible sticking out from under the robe through the opening down to his waist. Later Gin is seen wearing a white hakama like the Arrancar, instead of the black ones he was last seen in. Gin wears his robe open in a narrow 'V' down to his waist, closed to below the hips, then open again to the hem, which falls about mid-calf. His robe has long bell sleeves, into which he hides his hands like one does with kimono sleeves. The lining of the robe and edges or layers of the under-robe(s) appear to be black. From other examples, it is likely he is also wearing black tabi with white waraji. His Zanpakutō is not visible with this outfit.
Personality:
Gin is one of the most mysterious Shinigami in the series since his permanent smile and slitted eyes, combined with his heavy use of sarcasm and mocking politeness, make it very difficult to discern his thoughts. Many find his demeanor and appearance rather unsettling and there are very few who were willing to trust him even before he was revealed as a traitor. Gin seems to be fully aware of the effect he has on others and more than once has been seen toying with peoples' emotional states for his own amusement. Both Rukia Kuchiki and Wonderweiss Margera have shown to be rather frightened of him, Rukia noting to herself that she felt like she was being strangled by snakes whenever he spoke, even if he was not speaking to her directly. In the anime, Gin speaks with a distinct Kyoto dialect, which is polite but indirect. His English dubbed voice is also formal and polite, but with a rather mocking and facetious undertone.
Ever since he was a child, dried persimmons have been his absolute favorite food. Gin planted and raised many persimmon trees around the 3rd division offices, and makes the dried persimmons himself, then distributes them to other divisions. Once he wound up eating a dried sweet potato, thinking, "Oh, it's a dried persimmon!" and he hated it. When he has free time, Captain Ichimaru goes on walks around Seireitei. Although his hobby is people-watching, it seems like maybe he's hunting around and searching for an opportunity to create mischief with some poor victim. The gentlemen of the 3rd division are contrary, and they have the kind of attitude that enjoys that mean-spiritedness. He also has incredible skill at needle threading.
History:
Not much is known about Gin's prior history, except that he once saved 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto's life when they were younger, as she almost died from stravation. He tells her if she has collapsed due to hunger she must have spiritual power. She recognizes that he must have spiritual power too and he introduces himself.
Shortly while eating Gin asks Rangiku when is her birthday, to which she says she doesn't know as she never really counted days until she met him. Gin then tells her that from then on, the day that she met him will be her birthday.They have been friends since then. Hence, Matsumoto is one of the few people Gin seems to truly care about.
Gin as a child after killing the 5th Squad's 3rd seat.Approximately 110 years ago Gin graduated from the Shinigami Academy after just one year, and was given a seated position in the 5th Division. When he met Aizen for the first time he already killed the 3rd seat of the 5th Division, calling him worthless, showing that even as a child Gin's powers approached Lieutenant level, and also that he could kill anyone in cold blood, if it served his interests. Aizen immediately gave him the 3rd seat of the Division after the incident, which they both kept secret.
9 years later Gin is shown to be involved in Aizen's plot and assisting him in the Hollowfication of high ranking Shinigami.He is present at the hollowfication of the investigation team sent by captain-commander Yamamoto. He watches the conversation between Shinji Hirako and Aizen. He doesn't seem surprised at the arrival of captains Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi.Aizen proceeded to leave the scene of the crime with his henchmen, stating that "there's nothing more to do there". To stop them from retreating, Tessai performs Hadō #88. "Hiryugekizokushintenraiho" spell against them, only to be countered by Aizen using Bakudō #81. "Danku", allowing them to escape.
Gin as Aizen's Lieutenant.Sometime later Gin served as the lieutenant of the 5th Division under Captain Sōsuke Aizen. He and Gin save the surviving young recruits of Shinigami Academy who were out on a field exercise from a group of hollows. From that time he seems to have seen potential in those recruits, Momo Hinamori, Izuru Kira, and Renji Abarai, and took them all into his division. While Kira and Hinamori were obedient and loyal, becoming the Lieutenants of the 3rd and 5th Divisions under Gin and Aizen, respectively, Renji proved to be too rebellious and was transferred to the 11th Division (and later to the 6th, where he too became a Lieutenant).
Gin eventually becomes the captain of the 3rd Division around the same time that Byakuya Kuchiki became captain of the 6th Division (less then 49 years ago). Gin however, even as a captain of his own division, was still a loyal subordinate to Aizen.
Powers & Abilities:
Genius Intellect: When Gin was younger, he was hailed as a child genius. He was highly proficient in his classes at the Shinigami Academy and he graduated in one year. His skill was already evident at a young age when he gained a seated position in the 5th Division shortly after graduating, ultimately surpassing the previous child prodigy Kaien Shiba, who was already an adult and had taken five years to become a seated officer.Gin has shown himself to be highly manipulative and deceptive even when it's evident. He comes out unscathed due to the calm confusion he plays at, which is a testament to his overall strategy. In his battle with Hitsuguya, Gin was able to manipulate the positions of three people so Hitsuguya would have to choose his life or Hinamori's, without any visible effort.
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Gin is a highly proficient combatant. In combat, he doesn't seem the least bit taken back by the abilities of his opponent, even when they seemingly have an advantage. He fights with seemingly no effort behind his attacks. His ability to wield his combat skills was evident even when he was a child. He easily defeated and killed the former third seat of the 5th division, who by rank and age should have been more powerful and skilled than him. He is commonly seen using his Zanpakutō's special ability, allowing him to be quite deadly at a distance, which is capable of killing a multitude of Hollows in one shot.
Immense Spiritual Power: Gin, without putting out any effort, easily incapacitated Chad, Orihime, Uryū, Makizō, and Ganju with his Reiatsu just by facing the direction they were coming from.
Flash Steps Expert: Though never actually shown using this in combat, after his battle with Tōshirō Hitsugaya, he used an impressive Flash Step to retreat.
ZanpakutōShinsō (神鎗, Divine Spear; Viz: Sacred Spear): It looks like a ordinary wakizashi. The hilt is light-blue with a tsuba made of two slim swirls of metal looping around the blade to make an open oval, resembling an "S".
Shinsō impaling several Hollows.Shikai: It is triggered by the phrase "Shoot to Kill" (射殺せ, Ikorose). In the English Dub, however, he uses a command related to piercing/stabbing and ends the phrase with a personal pronoun (him, her, it) defining who he wants to hit.
Shikai Special Ability: In its Shikai, Shinsō's blade glows white and extends at high speed to impale Gin's opponents from a distance. The blade also carries tremendous force when extending, as seen when Gin pushes both Ichigo Kurosaki and the giant Jidanbō out from under the Seireitei gate, despite the latter being firmly braced under it. In addition, Gin can maintain the extension and swing the activated Shinsō in wide arcs, attacking multiple targets quickly and simultaneously.His Bankai has not yet been revealed