Sōsuke Aizen (藍染 惣右介,
Aizen Sōsuke) is the former
captain of the
5th Division in the
Gotei 13;
he later leaves
Soul Society with his followers,
Gin
Ichimaru and
Kaname Tōsen. His lieutenant was
Momo
Hinamori. He is the main antagonist of the series.
Powers & Abilities
Aizen's
Battle Data, clockwise. Top: Offense (100), Top Right: Defense
(90), Bottom right: Mobility (90), Bottom: Kidō/Reiatsu (100), Bottom
Left: Intelligence (100), Top Left: Physical Strength (80).
Total:
560/600.[89]High Intellect: Arguably the most fearsome trait of Aizen is
his tremendous intellect. He is well-versed in the history, strategy,
tactics of the Soul Society, and is privy to knowledge previously
unknown to many, such as the knowledge of the existence of the
ōken,
as well as the obscure method in which to make one.
[90] He has also created several Hollows and Arrancar
while being able to avoid arousing any suspicion from the majority of
his fellow Shinigami, most likely due to his Zanpakutō's illusionary
abilities.
[91][92] He also, for over 110 years, had been engaging
in experiments that involved unique and highly dangerous manipulations
of spirit energy and spirit particles. His most startling experiment
involves the Hollowfication of Shinigami, something unseen before and
still unknown to have ever taken place again.
[93] He has an innate knowledge of the Hōgyoku,
rivaling that of its creator,
Kisuke Urahara, even the extent required for him to destroy
it.
[94][95] He is able to figure out Shinji Hirako's Shikai
ability's true nature and then deduce that it produces an optical
illusion, allowing him to counter its effect.
[96] He effectively deduces the true power of the
Hōgyoku via trial and error of situations that revolve around it.
[97]Master Manipulator: He has shown himself to be a very
crafty and cunning man since his public betrayal of the Soul Society.
The most noticeable trait is his ability to deceive and manipulate
others around them in multiple manners. For years, he was effectively
able to convince everyone around him that he was a kind-hearted man with
the best intentions for the Soul Society, while performing horrific
actions.
[98][99] He has a great talent for analyzing and
observing everything in his presence, allowing him to quickly understand
a person's pattern of thinking and better manipulate them. He is also a
powerful strategist, capable of formulating well-thought-out plans
several steps ahead of others. These plans are incredibly involved and
detailed, and are planned-out with the long term in mind, making them
seem slightly convoluted. His most well known plan spans over 110 years,
a great accomplishment given that it required moving people around like
pieces on a chessboard, as well as making sure they played the role he
had planned out for them.
[100][101][102] He is masterful when it comes to "plans within
plans," such as kidnapping Orihime, allowing him to use her abilities to
extend the shelf life of the Hōgyoku, and to trap the Ryoka and 4
Captains after the departure of Gin, Tōsen and himself in Hueco Mundo,
making it easier for him to accomplish the ends of his first plan, to
create the
ōken and gain access to the Royal Dimension.
[103][104]Master Tactician: He has also shown himself as a powerful
and flexible tactician, capable of adjusting seamlessly to any given
combat situation, if not plan out events well in advance. He understands
the strengths, weaknesses and mannerisms of his enemies and creates
strategies to achieve victory; this includes modifying an Arrancar for
the sole purpose of defeating Yamamoto, a Shinigami whose abilities
surpass his own.
[105]. Though it can be said that the majority of his
tactics rely heavily on his Zanpakutō's special ability, there are few
better tactics than manipulating all the senses of your opponents,
making it easier for one to attack.
[106][107] Despite viewing his power as worlds beyond
others, he is also shown to be highly cautious in battle, placing
special protections on himself so as to leave no blind-spots.
[108]
Aizen
using Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi (Black Coffin).
Kidō
Master: Aizen has a great mastery at using Kidō spells. He is
skilled enough to use Kidō without the use of their incantation; he used
the Black Coffin (ranked 90) spell, and even though he did not control
it entirely (utilizing only a third of the spell's original strength),
it was sufficient enough to disable fellow Captain
Sajin Komamura.
[109] He has even used the Splitting Void (ranked 81)
spell to block another Kidō attack by
Tessai Tsukabishi, who was Captain of the Kidō Corps and
reasonably the most proficient Kidō master in the Soul Society at the
time, while Aizen himself was only a lieutenant.
[110] He can produce powerful protection spells to
his person while in battle.
[111]Immense Strength: He is powerful enough to stop Ichigo's
Bankai with just one index finger (albeit Ichigo
was already battle-worn from fighting
Byakuya Kuchiki) and almost cut him in half with a single
swing of a sword and stopped Renji's
Shikai with his bare hand and broke it with one
swing, injuring Renji in the process. He was also able to stop
Komamura's Shikai with his bare hand, proving his strength was more than
enough to combat someone of his same level.
[112][113][114] Aizen further shows his strength by being able
to effortlessly cut through the sword and wrist of Komamura's Bankai.
[115]Immense Spiritual Power: Even by captain-level
standards, Aizen has shown to have tremendous spiritual energy.
Marechiyo Ōmaeda commented that Aizen's
very presence is monstrously overwhelming.
[116] A hint to his actual level of spirit power is
given when he turns
Wonderweiss Margera into an Arrancar;
before activating the
Hōgyoku,
and states that despite its half-awakened state, it can be fully
activated when temporarily fusing with someone with twice as much
spiritual power as an average captain-level Shinigami (referring to
himself).
[117] The force of Aizen's spiritual power is also
great enough to, without any visible effort, bring
the 6th Espada to his knees
[118]. He has commented that it takes a lot for him
not to "crush an ant" (referring to Renji) in his path. He also claims that
he is more powerful than all of the Espada.
[119] Aizen has shown that his reiatsu is powerful
enough to nullify abilities, such as when he negated Soifon's
Nigeki
Kessatsu technique.
[120]Master Swordsmanship Specialist: While the full
extent of his prowess has yet to be known, he has demonstrated the
ability to effortlessly fight back an opponent's Shikai and Bankai with
his own blade still sealed. He has also demonstrated the ability to
perform tremendously powerful and precise strikes, capable of cutting
through very sturdy targets, such as Renji's Shikai. He was also able to
easily cut down four captains (two which used their Bankai) and four
Vizard (with three being former captains of Gotei 13) with ease.
[121] Flash
Steps Master: He is perceived to be so fast that one cannot
discern even being attacked by him until after it has taken place.
[122] Aizen is shown to easily outmaneuver Ichigo's
Bankai and mask-enhanced speed to the point he could casually lay a hand
on his chest and still dodge a point-blank attack.
[123] He is capable of effortlessly dodging
simultaneous attacks at close range and the evasion of Bankai level
techniques. He moves so fast that opponents commonly do not know his
movements until after he has made them and is skilled enough in his
movements to evade at high speeds even when being attacked from behind.
[124][125] It's questionable if he is as fast as
Yoruichi Shihōin or
Soifon,
especially seeing as they both caught him before he was able to
unsheathe his sword to engage in battle before his escape from the Soul
Society.
[126] Master
Hand-to-Hand Combatant: While preferring to finish his fights
quickly with his Zanpakutō or Kidō, Aizen is a highly capable fighter
unarmed as well. Repeatedly, Aizen has shown himself able to
effortlessly catch his opponent's weapons barehanded. While fighting
offensively, he has shown tremendous agility and dexterity, able to
combine both sword and barehanded skills to simultaneously strike with
his sword and kick opponents with great force.
[127] Zanpakutō
Aizen
revealing his Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu.
Kyōka Suigetsu (鏡花水月,
Mirror Flower, Water Moon): In
its sealed form, it resembles a normal
katana. The only decoration is the
tsuba, which is a hexagon instead of a
rectangle. The two sides parallel to the blade are long, whereas the
four sides above and below the blade are shortened, making it into
almost a diamond or prism-like shape. It has a green handle.
- Shikai: The release command is "Shatter"
(砕けろ, kudakero) and is used to both activate and deactivate it.[128]The name Kyōka Suigetsu hints at its
illusionary properties; the moon reflected in water and a flower in a
mirror are things that can be seen but not held. It is a Chinese saying
for seeing and desiring something that is a dream that cannot be easily
grasped in hand, teaching people about temptations.
Aizen
using Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnotic abilities.
Shikai Special Ability: Kyōka Suigetsu's Shikai ability
is
Kanzen Saimin (完全催眠,
Complete Hypnosis).
[129] It controls the five senses to the point that
it can make the target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass,
feel and smell to be that of the
enemy. The initiation condition
for the hypnosis is to show the enemy the release of Kyōka Suigetsu.
After seeing it just once, that person will completely succumb to the
hypnosis. After that, every time it is released, that person will fall
under the thrall of the hypnosis. The hypnosis is apparently
long-lasting, seeing as the Vizard are still affected by Kyōka Suigetsu
even though they were hypnotized at least 110 years ago. Since the spell
works when you see the ritual, those who cannot see are consequently
immune to the hypnosis.
[130] When he turns off the hypnosis by force of
will, the image shown melts away/shatters. Kyōka Suigetsu's
Complete
Hypnosis is absolutely flawless; even if the target is aware that
they are under the hypnosis, they cannot resist its influence.
[131] Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnotic abilities make it a
highly useful tool in combat, as Aizen can quickly create simple or
complex illusions to deceive opponents. For example, by creating a decoy
of himself, or other illusions to distract his opponents, Aizen can
hide his own movements and attack with impunity. His opponent,
meanwhile, will remain focused on the illusion until it's too late to
react.
[132][133]While the illusions Kyōka Suigetsu creates are quite powerful,
those with considerable power and skill themselves may be able to note
slight differences in the illusions compared to the real thing, even if
they are not able to determine what, precisely, is different. Captain
Retsu
Unohana was able to detect something was amiss with Aizen's fake
corpse, even though she did not realize what until seeing Aizen alive.
[30] Hōgyoku
ImplantationProtective Regeneration: By embedding the Hōgyoku into his
chest, it has been demonstrated to actively protect Aizen by healing his
injuries almost instantly. Aizen was able to take a point-blank level
96 destruction spell and escape only suffering slight burns.
[134] Immediately following that, he took a point
blank mask-enhanced black Getsuga Tenshō and survived the attack.
[135] He can come out unfazed after being hurled into
several buildings.
[136]Strength Augmentation: Aizen's already considerable
strength is further enhanced by the Hogyoku's evolution of his body. He
is able to easily strike through a target's flesh with a single
nonchalant sweep of his bare hands.
[137]Durability Augmentation: Aizen's durability is further
enhanced due to the Hogyoku's evolution of his body. Because of this, he
can withstand a level 91 destruction spell without suffering any
damage.
[138] Transformation
Aizen's
incubation stage.
Chrysalis Form: After Urahara attempts to block the Reiatsu
vents in his wrists with a seal, Aizen emerges from the resulting
explosion unscathed as a phantom-like figure. His face is covered with a
white canvas and his outfit is now a white cloak that is split in four
sections near his waist. There is a cross in the middle of the cloak,
showing where the Hōgyoku is embedded in him.
[139] After a short struggle with
Yoruichi Shihōin, his Zanpakutō becomes
fused to his arm.
[140] Also, when he is attacked, his body appears to
crack and fold under damage, only bleeding when an attack is powerful
enough.
[141] In this form, he has shown:
- Enhanced Durability: His durability is great enough to
block Isshin's Zanpakutō with his foot[142] and withstand a massive punch from an armored
Yoruichi.[143] Even though his body frequently cracks from the
impact of the attacks, he seemingly ignores the cracks and continues
fighting as if unharmed. He takes on Isshin's point-blank Getsuga Tenshō
attack, and seems unfazed by the attack, despite showing a bleeding
gash on his forehead.[144]
- Enhanced Strength: Aizen was strong enough to cause a
shockwave after being knocked down by Yoruichi. This shockwave was fast
enough and strong enough to catch even Yoruichi off guard and
subsequently destroy the Anti-Hierro armor on her left leg.[145] He again causes another shockwave capable of
incapacitating all three of his opponents at once.[146]
- Enhanced Speed: Aizen's newfound power enhances his speed
to the point that even captain-level opponents cannot register his
movements. His speed is so great that he is able to catch the likes of
Yoruichi Shihōin off guard.[147]
The
result of the Hōgyoku's transformation of Aizen.
Fully Evolved Form: After completing his "incubation" stage,
Aizen shed his sleek phantom-like form to reveal a similar form to his
original one, with the addition of long hair and Hollow-like eyes. The
difference in power between his new form and his earlier Chrysalis Form
is currently unknown.
