Shinigami (Bleach)

, known as Soul Reapers in the English dub, are a major group of characters in the anime and manga series Bleach. They are enforcers and psychopomps who all share similar supernatural powers.

Shinigami are departed human souls that have gained supernatural powers. As such, their bodies are composed of ectoplasm and they can only be seen by other spiritually aware entities, which excludes most humans. In the series, shinigami, as well as most other types of spirits, are quite capable of influencing their environment. Additionally, they can be injured and die like regular humans, though it takes considerably greater injuries for the latter to occur than it would in regular humans.

The most prominent supernatural power possessed by a shinigami is their zanpakutō, a supernatural sword generated from the shinigami's soul. Shinigami also naturally give off spiritual energy, which varies greatly in magnitude with the strength of a shinigami. A zanpakutō is a physical manifestation of this force concentrated into a blade.

Shinigami operations are based out of Soul Society, which is the afterlife in Bleach. Travel between the human world and Soul Society is extremely limited and monitored, but some shinigami are stationed in the human world to carry out their duties and therefore must often travel between the two. In addition, it is a crime for a shinigami to remain in the human world longer than a certain time limit. A shinigami's duties include leading Pluses (ghosts) to Soul Society in a practice called soul burial (konsō), and the cleansing of hollows (evil spirits). Later in the series, shinigami duties are clarified further, and it is revealed that they are also responsible for governing the flow of spirits between the human world and Soul Society.

Training
The majority of training for individuals wanting to become shinigami is done through the Shinigami Academy. It is a six-year academy, during which time its students learn 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.

Combat
The shinigami have four forms of combat: demon arts, hand-to-hand combat, foot combat, and swordsmanship.

Demon arts
Demon arts (鬼道) are a type of sorcery used by shinigami. They can be used for various purposes, such as healing, attacking, and restraining. Healing seems to be a more general skill, while attacking and binding require an incantation to be recited beforehand. Demon arts spells are divided into two major groups: blast spells (破道), used for direct attack, and binding spells (縛道), which are spells that restrain someone or have other effects. These forms of demon arts spells are performed by calling out a complicated and often long-winded incantation followed by the name of the spell, which causes an effect once the name has been recited. Lesser versions of the spells can be used by calling out the name alone, but their effectiveness is reduced when used in such a fashion.

Hand-to-hand combat
Hand-to-hand combat (白打) in Bleach is not elaborated upon. Special forces troops, especially those of higher ranks such as Soifon, are known to be well-trained in hand-to-hand combat.

Foot combat
Foot combat (歩法), like hand-to-hand combat, is not elaborated upon. Flash Steps (shunpo), a movement technique that allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow, is implied to be part of this category.

Swordsmanship
Swordsmanship (斬術) is the most used form of combat among shinigami, since their zanpakutō is the most effective way of dispatching any given opponent. As the name suggests, it involves using a zanpakutō and its various special abilities to attack an opponent. In addition to its basic form, each zanpakutō has two enhanced forms: initial release (shikai) and final release (bankai), which change the sword's form to unlock its potential and that of its user.

Operations and mission aids
The shinigami undertake a multitude of operations, which include soul burial, battling hollows, and so forth. Most of these occur in the human world. It should be noted that all shinigami captains and lieutenants have their spiritual energy reduced by about 80% when they enter the human world by use of a spiritual limit, represented by a seal resembling the symbol of their division, in order not to cause unnecessary influence while there. In extreme cases where their full power is needed, however, they can request a limit release.

Gigai
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 the need arises. Thus, the gigai was developed.

A gigai (義骸) 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 exactly like a natural one and is designed to perfectly mimic a living human body. Unlike the normal shinigami body, a gigai is detectable by humans who are not spiritually aware.

Modified souls
Because there are far more hollows than shinigami, the modified soul project was born in an attempt to even the gap.

Modified souls (改造魂魄) (modsouls) are human souls designed to enhance regular human physiology, making them capable of battling hollows equally. For example, one modsoul may be able to run many times faster than a regular human while another may be many times stronger than normal. Kon, a recurring modsoul, has enhanced leg-strength. The modsouls are condensed into tiny, candy-like orbs and placed into corpses to achieve their function as soldiers to combat hollows. The modsouls were exterminated after the experiment proved to be a failure (due to ethical reasons). Kon was somehow mixed into a batch of regular artificial souls (Soul Candy) and shipped to Kisuke Urahara's shop, where Rukia and Ichigo obtained it and unknowingly let it loose. Despite a standing order to dispose of all modified souls, they kept Kon and placed him into the body of a lion plushie. Rukia and Ichigo use Kon to possess Ichigo's body (which technically becomes a corpse) when his soul is expelled from his body to fight as a shinigami.

Memory replacement
In some cases, a human witnesses a shinigami purify a hollow or affect his surroundings in a significant way. To keep the incident a secret, shinigami perform memory replacement with an item called kikanshinki (similar to the neuralizer in Men in Black, but produces a puff of smoke instead of a flash). However, the new memory that the human acquires is random and often based on the limits of what they themselves will believe. For example, Ichigo's family merely believed they slept through a truck crashing into their house when it was used on them. Conversely, Orihime Inoue, who has a much more active imagination, believed that her house was attacked by a gun-toting sumo wrestler.

Mobile phone
A vital tool for any shinigami stationed in the real world, this variation on a mobile phone functions both as a regular phone and as a communication line with the Soul Society. It receives information about the time and exact location of a hollow's emergance via text messages. A shinigami's kills are also recorded in the phone and can be used as currency (according to the bounty placed on each hollow).

Government and law
The main authority of the shinigami are the Central 46 Chambers (中央四十六室), 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) which no one else may enter, regardless of their military or civilian status. The decisions of the 46 Chambers are final and unquestionable, regardless of what the decision may involve.

The only shinigami forces which do not answer to the Central 46 Chambers are the royal guard (王属特務), which is said to have considerable power and tactical knowledge, and the Shinigami Academy.

Judiciary
The Central 46 Chambers act as the shinigami judiciary and are responsible for judging and sentencing shinigami who have committed serious crimes, such as murder or treason. 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:
 * Spirit-sealing pit: The spirit-sealing pit is an ancient form of execution in which shinigami criminals are thrown into a pit walled with lethalitystone – a type of stone that absorbs spiritual power, preventing those nearby from using their powers. Hollows are then thrown into the pit with the criminals as the means of execution. The practice was considered too barbaric and discontinued.
 * Sōkyoku (双殛): Sōkyoku is a form of execution usually reserved for those with extremely strong spiritual powers, namely shinigami captains. The Sōkyoku is a giant halberd that utterly destroys a soul on contact. When released, Sōkyoku takes on the form of a phoenix, its true form, called Kikōō. The Kikōō has the destructive power of one million zanpakutō, and that power is increased by more than 10 at the moment it pierces its victim.

Army
The shinigami army consists of three unique elements: the Gotei 13 (Thirteen Court Divisions), the Demon Arts corps, and the special forces.

Demon Arts Corps
There is currently little information on the demon arts corps (鬼道衆), except that it takes students from the Shinigami Academy that excel in demon arts and that its operations are absolute secrecy.

The demon arts corps is responsible for opening the senkaimon (穿界門) between the human world and Soul Society.

Special forces
Also called the Secret Mobile Unit/Corps or Covert Ops, the onmitsukidō (隠密機動) has five divisions. The top rank is the Executive Militia (刑軍), the second is the Patrol Corps (警邏隊), and the fifth division is called the Reversal Counter Force or Correctional Force (裏挺隊). The other two division names or functions are unknown. There is little information about the operations of the special forces.

The special forces are currently run by Captain Soifon of the Gotei 13's 2nd Division. She succeeded Yoruichi Shihouin, who departed Soul Society 100 years previous.

Ranks
The head of the special forces is called commander-in-chief (総司令官). The leaders of each on the five divisions are ranked as corps commander (軍団長), the real-life equivalent being Lieutenant General. Although it is unknown how other ranks work in the special forces, like in Gotei 13, the leader of the forces generally also commands its top division, which is the Executive Militia, but unlike in the Gotei 13, the force commander has several bodyguards.

Uniforms
Although the general special forces uniform appears to be the standard shinigami uniform, 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. A headpiece covers the bottom part of the face and sometimes the top, but not the eyes; they wear no sandals, but only socks, and tight bands are on the legs and arms to keep the clothes from moving too much, which both are presumably for silence of movement. In the anime, members of the Executive Militia also wear their head covering on the top, not just the bottom and wear a black sash instead of a white one.

The leader of the militia wears the same uniform, except that the shoulders and back are exposed. The reason for the empty space is the shunkō (瞬閧) technique, an advanced technique that combines hand to hand combat and demon arts and causes high spiritual pressure to accumulate at the shoulders and back, blasting away the fabric at the shoulders and back.

The Correctional Force uniform is radically different. The soldiers wear a white uniform, a long piece of headgear, and a backpack. 

Gotei 13
The Gotei 13 (護廷十三隊) the organization which most shinigami join. It is split into thirteen divisions (hence the name), with several divisions having certain specializations. The 4th Division is the medical/supply division, the 11th Division is the combat division (specialization in swordsmanship), and the 12th Division is the research/scientific division. It's unclear if the other divisions are specialized, as the three above are the only ones who receive any significant attention apart from their members.

Ranks
As with any army, the Gotei 13 has ranks. There are 21 ranks for officers but no ranks for non-officers. The ranks and their descriptions are below, from highest to lowest.

Commander-General
The Sōtaichō (総隊長) (some fansub and scanlation groups have translated it as Captain-Commander, presumably to avoid confusion) is the leader of the Gotei 13 and the Captain of the 1st Division; the implication is that this is an ex officio. The current holder of this title is Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai.

Unit Commander
A Taichō (隊長), commonly referred to as Captain, are the leaders of the other twelve divisions. While "captain" is not an accurate translation of the rank, it's also appropriate according to the size of the unit they lead. A single Gotei 13 'unit' (隊) is somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 troops. Viz renders the units as 'companies' rather than the widely accepted 'divisions' because captains lead companies in real life. However, given that each Captain in Bleach leads a major part of a military wing or corps, they could be division commanders or Generals. Most literally, the name simply means 'unit commander', which could be practically any officer rank.

Captains are generally the most respected shinigami in Soul Society, with the Central 46 Chambers, Demon Art Corps, and special forces leaders possibly being on equal status. With one exception (Kenpachi Zaraki), all captains are able to perform the final release of their zanpakutō and are generally much more powerful than even their lieutenants. Knowing the final release gives captains on advantage five or ten times the strength of shinigami who are not able to perform it. Their final release is only a fraction of their overall power (albeit a large one), however. They have also extensively trained, if not mastered, their final releases, allowing them to actually use the enormous power and size of their final releases effectively in battle. Most captains are also skilled in the use of flash steps, demon arts, and generally have excellent knowledge of shinigami history and battle tactics. All of these factors create a huge power-gap between captains and the lower levels.

There are three different ways to become a Gotei 13 captain:
 * 1) To take the captain proficiency test (隊首), which requires the ability to perform the final release. Presumably, most shinigami become captains using this method. At least three existing captains, including the Commander-General, have to witness the test.
 * 2) To have personal recommendations from at least six captains and approval from at least three of the remaining seven.
 * 3) To defeat a captain one-on-one with at least 200 witnesses from the captain's division. Kenpachi Zaraki is the only known captain to have achieved his rank using this method.

Vice-unit Commander
Fukutaichō (副隊長), more commonly referred to as Lieutenants, are the 2nd seated officers in each division. Because captain describes the unit commander, vice-captain is the most literally accurate translation that most fansub and scanlation groups use. The Viz manga translation renders the rank as the similar but somewhat longer "assistant captain", while the English dub of the anime uses the term "lieutenant". Although this does not apply to modern armies, traditionally, in real-life armies, the lieutenant has been the adjutant of the captain (as is the case for fukutaichō and taichō in Bleach). 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 officers for their division, taking care of or supervising day-to-day operations. They (along with their captains) are not assigned to one specific squad. They generally only know the initial release of their zanpakutō, but are the second strongest in their division. In the case of a division captain's death, departure, or other circumstances making him unable to perform their duties, the lieutenant acts as the substitute captain until another can be assigned.

Seated officers
Seated officers are the remainder of the officers in the Gotei 13 who hold ranks at or below 3rd Seat. Captains have the rank of 1st Seat and lieutenants are 2nd Seat. Next to that, there are 18 more seats (3rd to 20th). There seems to be a distinction between senior and junior seated officers, just like in real-life armies. In the Gotei 13, only one person can hold a senior officer rank (such as 3rd or 5th seat), but there are several holders 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 [for example, 3rd Seat (三席)].

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:
 * Captain Retsu Unohana of the 4th Division wears an obi sash rather than a standard one.
 * Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of the 6th Division wears an extremely expensive scarf named Ginpaku Kazahana no Uzuginu around his neck and shoulders.
 * Captain Shunsui Kyōraku of the 8th Division is probably the most flamboyantly dressed of the captains, always seen wearing a straw hat and a gaudily-colored haori over his uniform.
 * Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya of the 10th Division has a sword band wrapped around his back, which is made from a long, pale-green cloth connected by a gold clip with star patterns engraved on its face
 * Captain Kenpachi Zaraki of the 11th Division wears a jagged edged haori, unlike the other captains, which was taken from the previous captain.
 * Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe of the 1st Division wears a jinbaori over the shihakushō.
 * Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto of the 10th Division wears a top that is deliberately loose and hangs open to reveal her ample bosom. She wears a pink scarf or stole, and wears her lieutenant's badge around her waist with her sash, tied in a bow.
 * Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi of the 12th Division has a very abbreviated outfit: the hakama is absent, leaving her in something of a mini-skirt version of the kimono that is belted at the waist.

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'. The meanings of all the symbols have not been clearly revealed. All of them seem to be based on flowers. Below is a list of the flowers for each division.

Captain and lieutenant listings
Below are the names all captains (1st seat) and lieutenants (2nd seat) in the Gotei 13.