Characters (FINISHED)

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Kurosaki Issin

The father of the Kurosaki family, he is a widower, who is the neighborhood doctor, and the only one in their family who can't see ghosts at all. He is very overprotective of Ichigo (As he makes him come in every night by 7:00 pm) and is very strict on the rules. He uses physical violence to tend to matters that he is not very good at talking about, and wishes his son would communicate more with him. He is also a comidian at times with Karin and Yuzu.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Kurusaki Karin

Ichigo's little sister who, although she can see ghosts (in a blurred way), claims she doesnt believe in them - but if the opprotunity presents itself, she will try to make money off of her ability.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Kurosaki Masaki

This is Ichigo's mother who died 6 years ago. She was the most wonderful beautiful woman Ichigo has ever seen and he loved her very much. She died trying to protect him from getting killed - thus proving her love for him. She is near to the hearts of the whole Kurosaki family, and they visit her grave on the day she died every year in her memory.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Kurosaki Yuzu

Ichigo's other younger sister who looks up to him and envies that he can see ghosts so well. She wants to some day be able to see ghosts as well as he can. She feels like its her responsibility to help maintain the family since their mother died.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Kurotsuchi Mayuri

The epitome of a mad scientist, and hence perfect for the job of Twelfth Division Captain. Mayuri paints himself black and white, wears a strange hat, and has altered his body to grant it many strange abilities. His main goal appears to be pursuit of forbidden knowledge at any cost, and he does not hesitate to resort to sadistic or underhanded methods to achieve his ends. Life means nothing to him; he would turn his own men into living bombs if it meant he could do or learn something more easily.

Though Mayuri is completely cold and cruel to everyone he meets, he does have one loyal supporter in the form of his "daughter," Nemu. She is completely devoted to her master, uncomplainingly taking all manner of abuse and even wishing against his death.

On the frequent occasions when Mayuri wants to fight or perhaps revel in a bit of sadism, he wields the bizarre but lethal Ashisogi Jizou.

Shikai: Ashisogi Jizou has one of the freakiest Shikai forms. The blade's hilt is normal, but that's about it. In place of the crossguard are the randomly jutting spikes, but they're longer and have gained trailing cloths. Above the crossguard is the weirdest part: a huge, round, bronze face that looks like a bald, bulging-eyed cross between your typical Area 51 alien and a baby. The thing is at least as big as Kurotsuchi-taicho's own head. The blade itself splits into three wavy prongs that come out at angles from the top and sides of the baby/alien's head, like some crazy set of horns, with the middle prong being the longest. As an ability, Ashisogi Jizou paralyzes the motor nerves of whatever living thing it hits. It doesn't matter what part of the body is struck, the paralysis moves through the body like a poison until the victim is completely immobile. Sadistically, the same poison also amplifies things for the victim's pain receptors, so even the slightest cut hurts like all hell. Captain Kurotsuchi brings about the bizzare change to Shikai with the phrase "kakimushire" (pluck and scratch)
Bankai: KONJIKI ASHISOGI JIZOU (GOLDEN LEGSHREDDER PRIEST)
In Bankai, the weird face on Ashisogi's Shikai gets a gargantuan body... of a sort. The head now looks way more alien-like than it does baby-ish, and it has a huge golden hoop with dangling bells circling it like an oversized halo. The body itself is shrouded in a ragged, grayish cloak that makes it look like a floating ghost. Underneath the cloak is a fat, pasty-pale caterpillar-like torso. Mist constantly streams from the corners of its little, pursed mouth. The most dangerous part of the Bankai, that mist is a specialized poison Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou makes from Captain Kurotsuchi's blood. One good lungful of the stuff is lethal to any living thing within almost two hundred yards of him. Captain Kurotsuchi himself is unaffected, of course. If that doesn't get you, it can sprout a forest of swordblades from it's "neck" area and rumble right over you.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Kurotsuchi Nemu
Kurotsuchi Mayuri's "daughter," created by the Twelfth Division Captain to be his loyal servant. Despite being constantly mistreated by her "father," Nemu remains totally obedient, loyal, and devoted to his goals. She is not, however, a fool, or someone to be taken lightly.

Shikai: We don't even know if uses a weapon, so this is unknown.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Kusajishi Yachiru

Former Captain of the Second Division. Born into the noble Shihouin family, Yoruichi quickly rose to the rank of captain, and was apparently quite talented at the job.

However, the day came when Urahara Kisuke was exiled, which prompted Yoruichi to help him and follow him to the mortal world. She has since stayed near Urahara, though in the form of a black cat (this seems to be a unique talent of hers).

Yoruichi is smart, sarcastic, and extremely confident, bordering on arrogance. She does not hesitate to show off her impressive talents (nor apparently her impressive body, at least to Ichigo). However, she is quite well aware of her limitations, and is content to retreat to gain a tactical advantage.

She does not seem to wield a zanpaku-to (circumstantial evidence suggests that Soi Fong's Suzumebachi was once Yoruichi's), but her talent in combat is impressive. She has mastered kidou, and is possibly the most talented practitioner of shunpo in history. These combine to make her a lethal opponent easily capable of taking on a captain-class enemy, even without a zanpaku-to.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Kyouraku Shunsui

The creatively dressed Eighth Division Captain. As his overcoat, hat, and stubble might indicate, Shunsui is someone who lives life in a carefree manner. He loves to nap, joke, drink, and generally be laid-back about everything that comes his way. When things get serious, however, Shunsui shows that beneath his whimsical exterior lies intelligence, skill, and a sensitive and compassionate character that hates to watch suffering.

Shunsui has an excellent relationship with his vice-captain (if somewhat love-hate on her part), and is also good friends with Thirteenth Division Captain Ukitake Juushiro, who, along with Shunsui himself, was one of the first graduates of Yamamoto Genryuusai's shinigami academy. It seems that Shunsui also has a good relation with Yamamoto, having coined the nickname "Yama-jii."

When Shunsui is forced to fight, he wields the twin-blade zanpaku-to Katen Kyoukotsu with awesome skill.

Shikai: Katen Kyoukotsu is, along with Sougyo no Kotowari, one of only two zanpaku-to that has a twin-blade Shikai.
Bankai: Has yet to be seen  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Madarame Ikkaku

First and foremost, Ikkaku is bald, a fact that is made fun of by many. The 11th Division lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, calls him a cue-ball and pachinko head. As a result of the constant ridicule he gets, Ikkaku is very self-conscious about his baldness, to the point where he will threaten anyone that points it out. He also has distinctive small red patches near his eyes, which were probably painted on.

Despite being ranked as a third seat officer in his division, it has been stated multiple times that he is at lieutenant level. According to Yumichika Ayasegawa, Ikkaku is the 2nd strongest man in the 11th Division. It is unclear whether this explicitly means that he is stronger than any other male in the division (other than Kenpachi), or whether he is the second strongest person in the division (stronger than Yachiru). It was recently revealed that Ikkaku in fact has achieved the final release (bankai) and is actually at captain level, a fact he intentionally hides from everyone with the exception of Yumichika and Renji Abarai. The reason is that he believes that if others knew they would try to force him into becoming a captain. Ikkaku however wishes to remain under Zaraki's command.

In terms of attitude, Ikkaku is exactly the stereotypical 11th Division member - violent, fight-loving, and rude; this has been noted by Tetsuzaemon Iba, among others. However, he has a sense of loyalty and responsibility unlike many other 11th Division members. Ikkaku is fiercely loyal to Kenpachi, under whose command he wants to fight and eventually die.

Ikkaku has many personality traits in common with his division's captain Kenpachi Zaraki, which is why they seem to have so much respect for one another. Ikkaku considers fighting fun, and tries to get as much "fun" as he can out of his opponents, so much that he will take deadly risks to drag out the fight for as long as possible. During a fight with a challenging opponent he has a wide grin on his face not far off of what Zaraki has while fighting Ichigo. He refuses to get assistance in battle even if it means his own death due to his belief that the winner is only determined when the other is dead. However, if he does survive the battle, he considers it good luck.

Ikkaku has almost never been referred to by his last name (Madarame), which is rare in Bleach, although possibly more common in the 11th Division. Only Makizō Aramaki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya have called him Madarame so far. As an odd side note, Ikkaku appears to be one of only two Bleach characters who are left handed. However, Ikkaku has been known to switch hands as he did versus Edorad. He could very well be ambidextrous as seen in his fight with Ichigo; he holds his sword in one hand and attacks with the sheath in the other.

Not much is known about Ikkaku's history, but it's likely that he has been in the 11th Division since becoming a shinigami.

Like Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai, he came from the Rukongai. At some point, he met Yumichika Ayasegawa and the two became friends. They would later have an encounter with Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi before they entered the Seireitei. Zaraki and Ikkaku fought, with Ikkaku losing and nearing death. When he asked Zaraki why he didn't kill him, Zaraki replied that if he killed Ikkaku now, he would never get another opportunity to fight Ikkaku again. He then told him not to seek death, but to consider himself lucky for not having died.

That encounter still remains clear in Ikkaku's memory and he would have no greater honor than another opportunity to fight Zaraki to the death. He had however become so loyal to Zaraki since then that he refused to become a captain because he wished to serve under Zaraki, and possibly fight him again.

His Zan-paku-tu is Hōzukimaru

Shikai: 'Split!' (sakero), looks like a naginata, causing many opponents to believe it to be such, but it is actually a three-section staff
Bankai: Like Renji he has achieved this and is yet to be a captain. Ryūmon Hōzukimaru (Dragon Crest Demon Lamp), it keeps the three-section theme — one end is an oversized Chinese Monk Spade and the other an equally large Dadao, or Chinese Broadsword. Both have a traditional horsehair tassel at the hilt and a long cylindrical weight for a pommel. These sections are connected by a heavy chain to the center section, which resembles a huge Halberd blade, with a parallel handle forged into the blunt side. Utterly massive, the ease with which Ikkaku wields this monstrous weapon is evidence of his inhuman strength. Ikkaku usually holds one blade in each hand and lets the central portion "float" behind him, though he will occasionally spin the entire configuration about using the center handle as a pivot. Ikkaku, Renji, and Ichigo are the only shinigami so far known to have achieved the final release and never been captains within the Gotei 13.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Matsumoto Rangiku

Rangiku is an attractive woman with long wavy fair hair (worn short in her youth). Her most distinctive feature is that she is even more well-endowed than Orihime Inoue.

She dresses in the garb typical of shinigami, though her robes hang loose enough for her ample bosom to be revealed. She wears a necklace and a pink scarf over her arms. In addition, her lieutenant's armband is worn on her uniform's sash, as opposed to around the arm.

Rangiku tends to be a slacker who doesn't like paperwork and likes to drink sake a lot. Her easy-going and free-spirited personality is in sharp contrast with the serious Hitsugaya. Her relationship with Hitsugaya is dubious, though they seem to be quite close. She often slightly embarrasses Hitsugaya by unabashedly talking about her enormous breasts and the troubles they give her, while Hitsugaya loudly protests he doesn't want to hear about it. Rangiku has proven time and time again her loyalty to her captain, and is very protective of him. While she also 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 traitor of Soul Society, and when Orihime feels depressed about her role in Ichigo Kurosaki's life.

Little is told about Rangiku's past. She came from Rukongai and was rescued as a child by Gin Ichimaru; the two soon became friends. In one short chapter from the manga, she was once asked by Ichimaru during her childhood what her birthdate was. She replied that she did not know because she had been alone for as far as she could remember. This possibly meant she was orphaned since birth. When he heard about this, Ichimaru told her that if this was the case, then her birthdate should be set on the day they met.

It is not known how she became a shinigami or how she became lieutenant of the 10th Division. There are strong hints that she had been lieutenant of the 10th Division prior the promotion of the current captain, Tōshirō Hitsugaya.

Rangiku's zan-paku-to is Haineko (Ash Cat)

Shikai: Unare! (Growl!). Its initial release ability remains unknown, even though it has been released twice. It is however known that Haineko will first turn itself into ash. In the anime's filler arcs (Bount), Haineko's ash can physically affect its surroundings, cutting through objects like a sword would. It was seen in the game, Bleach Heat The Soul 3, the ash that Haineko produces can form together into a cat or leopard like animal, like the name.
Bankai: She is currently learning.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Ohmaeda Marechiyo

Ōmaeda has a large body and (also loud) mouth, and comes across as arrogant and dull. His skill level as a shinigami is unknown, though there is speculation that he got his position as lieutenant because of his family's connections. He also seems to be a coward.

Ōmaeda likes to eat abura senbei (fried rice crackers) wherever he is. His captain has been known to beat him up when crumbs from the senbei fall on her hair. He is also seen several times picking his nose.

Ōmaeda comes from a rich family. As typical of many rich families, he has a long name, Marechiyo Yoshiayamenosuke Nikkōtarōemon Ōmaeda. However, no one seems to use it.

His father is named Marenoshin, mother is Mareka, older sister is Maremi, younger brother is Marejirōsaburō, and younger sister is Mareyo. Of his family, all closely resemble him except for his younger sister. Mareyo is more normal looking and sweet, which shocks Kira Izuru, Renji Abarai, and Shūhei Hisagi. Ōmaeda thinks his younger sister is ugly.

As the Bount enter Soul Society, Omaeda and his squad are quickly dispatched by Koga Gowa.

His Zan-Paku-To is Gegetsuburi (five-form head)

Shikai: buttsubuse, Gegetsuburi (smash! Gegetsuburi), the sword turns into a large spiked ball on a chain. Its special ability (if any) is unknown.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Orihime Inoue

I didn't get to do Renji so Orihime will do as I do like both the same. So I'm extremely happy.

A student of Karakura High School, she is a classmate and friend of Ichigo Kurosaki, the protagonist of the series. Like many other friends of Ichigo, she quickly develops spiritual powers of her own after Ichigo becomes a shinigami.

Orihime Inoue has long orange-brown hair which she wears with the bangs behind her ears and hairpins. She never removes her hairpins as they are worn in memory of her brother while her hair is worn long in honor of the promise Tatsuki Arisawa once made to protect her. She also has a large bust, which is occasionally made the subject of jokes in the series.

She is friendly, sensitive, and kind. She comes off as naïve and rather clueless, which is at odds with her consistently high marks in school. She has a tendency to rush into situations without thinking, sometimes leading to embarrassing consequences. At one point in the manga, the schoolgirls ask Rukia if she has feelings for Ichigo. When Rukia denies any such thing, Orihime is disappointed that Rukia does not share her sentiments, because if she had, then it would be two girls against one boy, which of course makes no sense. Orihime has also demonstrated that she is perceptive, mostly when it comes to Ichigo Kurosaki. She also tends to have an overactive imagination and gets carried away thinking of implausible scenarios. Apparently, she is hopeless when it comes to technology because one of the members of the Handicrafts' Club remarks she is not smart enough to use a cell phone, which is why she does not have one.

Through her expanding role in the manga, Orihime has become a more complex character than her earlier archetype suggested. Where in the beginning of the manga Orihime was more happy and goofy, the current manga arc deals with her feelings of uselessness and inner turmoils that had not been addressed previously. Her character being featured along with female leads from other Weekly Shonen Jump series recently also suggests her possible role as a second female lead.

Orihime is in love with Ichigo, and in both the manga and anime her feelings only become more evident as time goes on. She has revealed these feelings both to Rangiku Matsumoto and to Ichigo himself, though he was asleep at the time.

Orihime cooks and eats strange food at home, although she also likes some normal food. Aside from Rangiku Matsumoto and possibly Tessai Tsukabishi, no one shares Orihime's tastes.

Orihime scores the highest marks in school after Uryū Ishida and Ryō Kunieda. Despite her intelligence, she appears to lack "street smarts". She is also a member of the Handicrafts' Club with Ishida and apparently likes to invent very ridiculous sports to play with Tatsuki (like baseccer, a combination of baseball and soccer much like kickball or soccer-baseball except they use a bat to hit the soccer ball instead of their foot).

Like Chad and Ishida, she is in the same class as Ichigo. She is frequently in the company of Tatsuki Arisawa, her best friend and a childhood friend of Ichigo's.

Orihime lives by herself in Karakura, where the story takes place, and is supported by relatives living elsewhere. Previously, she had lived with her older brother, Sora, who was fifteen years older than her. She and her brother were raised by a drunk father and a cheating mother, who always argued and beat their children to vent off steam. It is unknown if her parents are still alive.

When Sora turned 18, he ran away with Orihime, who was three years old, and raised her since. For six years, Orihime and Sora lived in harmony despite the fact that Orihime was bullied in school because of her hair color. One day, Sora gave Orihime a pair of hairpins. However, Orihime refused to wear them because she said they were childish. On the same day, Sora was killed in a car accident and died in the Kurosaki clinic. Orihime has worn the hairpins ever since.

A year after Sora died, Orihime met Tatsuki who defended her from the bullies. They have been best friends ever since.

Spiritual Power: I love her spiritual ability.

As she is not a Shinigami she doesn't carry any type of sword but she does have a gift to summon six fairies.

Orihime's power, the ability of event rejection through "spatial reversal" or "time reversal" allows her to deny and undo past events, making it seem as if they never happened. It has been mistakenly labelled as healing arts, and is so powerful that it encroaches upon the realm of gods, according to Aizen. Curiously, her spiritual energy and powers resemble those of the vizard Hachigen Ushōda.

Orihime's powers initially manifested during the duel between Ichigo and Ishida while trying to protect her friend Tatsuki from Numb Chandelier. She was trained by Yoruichi Shihouin in their usage before attempting to rescue Rukia Kuchiki from being executed in Soul Society.

Orihime's powers are known as the Shun Shun Rikka (盾舜六花, lit. six flowers of the hibiscus shield), and reside in her hairclips (shaped like six-petaled flowers) when unactivated. When activated, they split into six separate manifestations of Orihime's spirit, all named after flowers and each possessing their own unique appearance and personality. They are:

• Shun'ō (Cherry blossom)
• Ayame (iris)
• Tsubaki (camellia)
• Hinagiku (daisy*)
• Baigon (solemn ume)
• Lily

* - Hinagiku means daisy phonetically, but the kanji are different. Individually these kanji can mean 'Invisible fire chrysanthemum'.

Orihime mainly functions in a healing capacity, due to the nature of her powers. Despite her potential to inflict lethal damage, she is highly pacified and only will harm opponents when her life is in danger.

Additionally, thanks to training from Tatsuki, Orihime can physically fight at the first degree black belt level in karate. She also has the uncanny ability to detect Ichigo by scent and by sensing his spiritual pressure, even when masked by the vizard.

Orihime's techniques involve incantations manipulating the Shun Shun Rikka in three different groups. Though Orihime initially needed to chant an incantation to use her techniques, further training has rendered this unnecessary. Her incantation consists of voicing the names of the members involved, followed by the phrase "I reject" (watashi wa kyozetsu suru), a reference to the nature of her powers.

Santen Kesshun (lit. sacred tri-linked shield) - this is Orihime's outer shield, and is her defensive technique. The incantation summons Hinagiku, Lily and Baigon to form a triangular shield of spiritual energy that blocks attacks. This technique repels anything on the outside of the barrier. However, the shield depends on Orihime's mood in order to work or else the shield fails.

Sōten Kisshun (lit. sacred dual return shield) - this is Orihime's inner shield and her 'healing' technique. The incantation summons Ayame and Shun'ō to form a half-oval envelope of light around whatever or whomever Orihime wishes. This ability repels all 'events' inflicted upon the person within the envelope. This is the aspect of her power that piques Sōsuke Aizen's interest in her. She basically 'rejects' all negative events within the shield and returns them to the point before the event happened regardless of when they occurred. This is more than healing as it allows her to re-create any and all parts of the body and repair any damage to the body, no matter how extensive. In Aizen's words she "violates the realm of gods".

Koten Zanshun (sacred solitary cutting shield) - the third incantation is Orihime's double-sided shield and is her offensive technique. The incantation summons Tsubaki, who can split Orihime's enemies in half with a shield when thrown at them. While Tsubaki is a powerful destructive force, he is defenseless and easy to cut with a sword. It also appears that Orihime has to shoot him with conviction to be effective. This ability repels what's on either side of the shield.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Sado Yasutora (Chad or Chaddo)

Chad is a teenager of Mexican descent. He is extremely tall and appears to be much older than he really is. Not only does he possess extraordinary toughness, being able to survive the impact of a falling steel girder on his back and a head-on motorcycle collision, he has superhuman strength: enough to swing telephone poles around with ease.

Chad has a tattoo on his left shoulder which reads 'Amore e Morte' (love and death in Italian) and consists of a heart, snake and angel wings around the heart. In the series, he is usually seen wearing either his school uniform or a Hawaiian shirt. During the Soul Society arc, he wore a plain white sleeveless shirt with a red stripe. He currently dons a dark, long-sleeved shirt with a design similar to his tattoo emblazoned on the left sleeve.

Chad is a quiet person, which is sometimes the subject of jokes. Nonetheless, he is treated equally within his group of friends in Karakura (Ichigo, Keigo and Mizuiro). Chad also has a weakness for cute things, like small animals and Kon.

Chad was born in Okinawa, but taken to Mexico by his parents at a young age. After their deaths, Chad was adopted by Oscar Joaquin de la Rosa, a man believed to be his grandfather, as Chad called him 'abuelo' ('grandfather' in Spanish).

During his early years, Chad was extremely violent; exploiting his advantage in size, he intimidated and hit any other children who annoyed him. Abuelo tried to teach Chad to be gentle, but was initially unsuccessful. One day the fathers of the children Chad fought, seeking to punish him, attacked Chad. Abuelo stepped in for Chad, taking his punishment without retaliation. Chad was inspired by this example to become a decent person. Afterwards, Abuelo gave Chad a Mexican coin. Years later, when Abuelo had died, Chad made a vow that he would never fight unless it was to protect others, as instructed - even if his own life was in danger. The coin would come to symbolise this vow, which Chad now claims to hold more value than his own life.

Much later, this was used against him when some thugs captured him and threatened to destroy the coin. Ichigo saved him from them, and made a pact with Chad that they would fight for each other, because Chad wouldn't fight to protect himself.

When Abuelo died, Chad decided to return to Japan, where he entered Mashiba Junior High School. He met Ichigo slightly before the school year started when he saved Ichigo from being injured by local thugs. Eventually, he and Ichigo graduated from Mashiba and entered Karakura High School.

Because of his constant involvement with gangsters, Chad gained a reputation as a ruthless gangster himself. Others were scared of him when he first entered Karakura High, though this later changed.

Spiritual Powers: Like Orihime Chad has gained an ability from the close proximaty to Ichigo.

When first introduced, Chad had no special powers aside from his unusual strength and could not even see ghosts, although seemingly able to hear them. After his encounter with the cockatiel boy Yūichi Shibata, he started to see the approximate locations of ghosts and hollows, but could not fully see them yet. Finally, after saving Karin Kurosaki from a hollow during the match between Uryū Ishida and Ichigo, Chad started fully seeing spirits.

The same event also awakened his latent spiritual abilites, which manifested itself as armour on his right arm (dubbed the "Right Arm of the Giant"), colored black with a red and white stripe (the colors used on Mexican military dress uniforms). In this form, Chad can fire off powerful energy blasts from his arm. After receiving training from Yoruichi Shihouin, Chad learns to activate his powers at will and gains enough stamina to fire multiple blasts.

After seeing how helpless he was against the arrancar who invaded Karakura Town, Chad requested Kisuke Urahara to train him. Urahara proceeded to pit him in single combat against Renji Abarai's final release. He noted Chad's powers still had room to grow, but they did not resemble Quincy or shinigami powers.

The training was successful, and resulted in the acquisition of a new improved transformation for Chad's arm. Compared with its previous form, the pattern on Chad's arm becomes more intricate, and gives him a massive increase in physical might. Chad also possesses a new special attack called El Directo (The Strike of the Giant, Spanish lit. The Direct). To perform it, the flanges on Chad's arm open up, and he punches the enemy.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Shiba Ganju

An outrageous figure, Ganju wears a vest, scarf, bandanna, and pair of goggles. He is often found with his gang, who all ride large boars. Ganju's boar is named Bonnie.

Because he is not particularly attractive, it has been a running joke in the series that rather than deny this fact, he tends to talk around the subject, especially when Yumichika Ayasegawa makes note of it.

Ganju possesses a deep hatred for shinigami, a hot temper, and a strong ego. Though he always acts tough, he has shown that he also has a softer side, and is easily cowed by his older sister Kūkaku.

Because of his brother Kaien's death at the hands of Rukia Kuchiki when he was still young, Ganju holds a grudge against all shinigami. This grudge is slow to dissipate even after he learns the truth of the incident.

It is implied that after Kaien's death, the Shiba clan lost its status as one of the Noble Clans. There now remain only four Noble Clans, as Shiba had been the 5th. Upon Ganju's introduction, he and Kūkaku are the only remaining members of the clan.

Abilities
Though Ganju is not a shinigami, he is a member of the Shiba clan, and is a relatively powerful fighter on a higher level than the average shinigami. He has a zanpakutō which resembles a meat cleaver or a Chinese Dadao, though he never demonstrates the ability to use initial release (shikai). Ganju's sword skills are limited, so when in combat he relies primarily on his arsenal of fireworks, his agility, and his earth magic.

Exactly how Ganju's earth magic works is never explained, but it is seemingly a specialized type of demon arts (kidō). If so, he must be skilled at it, as he is able to bypass the incantations for his spells. He is able to turn objects into sand and quicksand with his Stone Wave (石波 seppa) ability.  

[StateAlchemist Natsu]

Shiba Kuukaku

An ill-tempered, one-armed fireworks expert who is particularly known for her ridiculously themed houses. Like Orihime Inoue and Rangiku Matsumoto, she has a rather large bust. Her birthday is the first of October. She wears a prosthetic arm in the anime, confusing some fans, since she only has a stub in the manga. Assists Ichigo and company by launching them via a special cannon so they can enter Sereitei. Kūkaku is part of the former-noble clan Shiba. A hollow fused with her brother Kaien, which forced Rukia Kuchiki to kill him. She doesn't seem to be a shinigami, but she knows high level kidō. Kūkaku admits that she would forgive Rukia the moment she apologized for Kaien's death and would hold nothing against her thereafter.