Gin Ichimaru

.......grinning, an act of intimidation.


Appearance

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 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). Physically he is unusually thin and very tall with very sharp features giving him a very 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.

Personality

Gin is one of the most mysterious beings 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 it was not to her. 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.

A few personal details, however, are known about him, like that his favorite food is dried persimmon, in contrast to his lieutenant. He likes it so much that he grew persimmon trees in the 3rd Division's quarters, and distributed the fruits even to members of other divisions. He dislikes dried taro since he once mistook it for dried persimmon. Ichimaru also likes to observe mortal beings, stroll in his free time, and his specialty is threading needles.

History

Gin as a child after killing the 5th Squad's 3rd seat.
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 hunger. They have been friends since then. Hence, Matsumoto is one of the few people Gin seems to truly care about.

Over a 100 years ago before the current time, when Gin was a child he was considered a genius graduating from the Shinigami Academy after just 1 year, and was already to become a seated position in the 5th Division. When he had 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, about which they both kept secret.

It was around this time that Gin became involved in Aizen's plot and pledged his full loyalty to him. Becoming a part of his plans and assisting in the hollowfication of high ranking Shinigami.

Sometime later Gin served as the lieutenant of 5th Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen before becoming captain of the 3rd Division around the same time as Byakuya Kuchiki. Gin even as a captain of his own division was still a loyal subordinate of Aizen.


Ichimaru as Aizen's Lieutenant

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 evident at the young age when he gained a seated position in the 5th Division shortly after graduating, ultimately surpassing the previous child prodigy Kaien Shiba, who took two years to become a seat officer. Gin has shown himself to be highly manipulative and deceptive even when its evident, he comes out unscathed due the calm confusion he plays at, which is a testament to his overall strategy.

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 where evident even when he was a child. He easily defeated and killed the former third seat of the 5th division, who by rank 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, killing a multitude of Hollows in one shot.

Vast Spiritual Power: Gin without putting out any effort easily incapacitated Chad, Orihime, Ishida, Aramaki, and Ganju with his spiritual pressure just by facing the direction they were coming from.

Flash Steps Expert
Zanpakutō

Shinso (神鎗, Divine Spear; Viz: Sacred Spear): It looks like a wakizashi (Japanese short sword) normally and the guard is shaped like an 'S'.

* Shikai: triggered by the phrase "Shoot to Kill" (射殺せ, Ikorose).

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.

* Bankai: Not Yet Revealed


Shinso Shoot to kill

THIS GUY IS SO STRONG AND SO COOL
HE IS SO FAST
I TINK STRONGER THAN ICHIGO?