Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Hitsugaya has proven to be a skilled swordsman in battle, competing on the same level as Ichimaru and Ichigo. Before graduating from the academy, he had already learned Hyōrinmaru's name and obtained access to Shikai. As the youngest Shinigami captain, he is thereby one of the youngest Shinigami to achieve Bankai. His skills in swordsmanship are great enough that he rarely uses even his Shikai in battle, of which he has shown great proficiency with. Instead he relies on Hyōrinmaru's sealed form, only using its Shikai or Bankai when things get tough.
Child Genius: Perhaps the most astonishing trait of Hitsugaya is his brains and natural talent. He is possibly the most gifted Shinigami the Soul Soceity has ever seen besides the scientist, as shown from him entering the Shinigami Academy on his first try despite his young age, graduating from the academy in a single year with the overall highest scores of his class, joining the Gotei 13 shortly afterwards, and then becoming the youngest Shinigami to ever reach the rank of captain. He has been called many things due to this. Renji and Iba have called him a child genius and Ichimaru has called him the embodiment of the "heavenly white angel that blesses Soul Society once a century". In terms of intellect, Hitsugaya has shown to be equally impressive. He was even the first to suspect Ichimaru of treason and saw that there was more to Rukia's execution than what was being said. Shunsui, one of the strongest Shinigami in history, states that because of his genius, within 100 years, Hitsugaya could surpass him.
Immense Spiritual Power: Tōshirō's spiritual power has the same effect as his Zanpakutō as it is an elemental representative of Ice. His Spiritual Pressure is said to be very large and "cold". Even before he became a Shinigami, his spiritual pressure was immense and uncontrollable, not unlike Ichigo, and caused people around him to freeze, namely his grandmother who lived with him at the time. This cold spiritual power of his reflects his attitude as well. He is also the youngest Shinigami to ever achieve their Bankai. He even had visions of Hyōrinmaru's spirit before he attained it or entered the Shinigami academy. He is able to hide his presence well, on several occasions he manages to surprise Hinamori and Matsumoto with his sudden appearances, which leads them to complain about "sneaking up" upon them.
Enhanced Endurance: Despite his young and lean appearance, Tōshirō has shown himself to be a resilient fighter. Even after being stabbed in the stomach, he is still able to fight effectively.[55]
Expert Strategist & Tactician: Despite his age, Hitsugaya has repeatedly shown great instincts and intuition in battle. He is generally aware of everything in his presence and also able to see through most deceptions. For example, he discerned that Gin Ichimaru was more than he seemed, although he was not yet sharp enough to realize it was all part of Aizen's plot. As a Captain, he is a great battle strategist. He is given missions from General Yamamoto to lead teams into the human world many times to deal with large threats. For example, Hitsugaya led the team sent by Soul Society which reinforced Ichigo's group against the Arrancar. In battle, he has shown great instincts against incoming danger as shown from his reaction to Harribel's initial attack after releasing.
Flash Steps Expert: Hitsugaya is highly proficient in flash steps. Repeatedly in battle, he has shown himself able to block and dodge dangerous attacks.
Kidō Expert: Hitsugaya is highly proficient in Kidō and is capable of performing high-level Kidō spells without the incantation.
Zanpakutō
Hyōrinmaru redirects here. For the manifested spirit that appears in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc see Hyōrinmaru (spirit)
Hyōrinmaru
Hyōrinmaru
Ice Ring, Frozen Full Moon氷輪丸Hyōrinmaru
Seiyū (Japanese)
Daisuke Matsuoka
Debut (Manga)
Chapter -15
Debut (Anime)
Episode 230
Appears in
Manga, Anime, Movies & Video Games
Hyōrinmaru (氷輪丸, "Ice Ring", idiomatically "Frozen Full Moon") When sealed, Hyōrinmaru looks like a normal katana with the exception of the guard, which is in the shape of a four-pointed bronze-colored star. It is about 1.4 meters long, making it as tall as Hitsugaya himself, preventing him from wearing it at the hip. He instead carries it on his back by his green sash over his right shoulder. Hitsugaya is one of four people that carry a Zanpakutō on their back, the others being Ichigo Kurosaki, Love Aikawa, and Hiyori Sarugaki. Hitsugaya's short stature and the blade's length (about 120cm long) explains the similar style. It is hung by his green sash over his right shoulder. Its hilt is light blue and sheath dark blue. The sheath completely dissolves when he draws his sword.
The spirit of Hyōrinmaru is that of a gigantic, icy blue, serpentine dragon with large wings and an echoing voice. Like Ichigo, Hitsugaya has had a close connection to his blade since first awakening his Shinigami powers. Before Tōshirō began training to control his Shinigami powers and leaking reiatsu, Hyōrinmaru would constantly appear in his dreams in an icy landscape (most likely Tōshirō's inner world) and call out to him, although Tōshirō was still not able to hear him.[56]
Hyōrinmaru is the strongest of all ice-element Zanpakutō in Soul Society. As such, Hitsuguya doesn't need water to be present in order for him to use its abilities.[57] Hitsugaya's control over Hyōrinmaru's power has been shown great enough to unleash some of its ice powers even in its sealed state.[58]
Shikai Special Ability.
* Shikai: Hyōrinmaru's release command is "Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens" (霜天に坐せ, sōten ni zase; English dub: Reign over the Frosted Frozen Skies). In its Shikai, Hyōrinmaru extends slightly in length, and gains a crescent-shaped blade attached to its hilt by a long metal chain, which can extend greatly if necessary by force of will. The chain itself can be used as an attack or to entangle a target.[59]
Shikai Special Ability: Hyōrinmaru allows Hitsugaya to control water and ice. His slashes create an immense amount of spiritual power which overflows from the tip of the blade, creating a flow of ice shaped like a Chinese dragon. The dragon flies towards opponents and instantly freezes anything it touches. Hyōrinmaru can create multiple ice dragons to attack an opponent from various angles.[60] Hitsugaya can also direct his slashes towards the ground and form a wave of ice which rushes over his opponents, overwhelming and freezing them.[61] The chain-blade also freezes anything Hitsugaya traps with it. The power it expels is so overwhelming that in Soul Society (where Hitsugaya is not placed under a limiter), its mere release affects the weather within the immediate vicinity, creating a thunderstorm or a blizzard.[62]
* Tensō Jūrin (天相従臨): One of Hyōrinmaru's basic powers and its strongest. It allows him to control the weather in the immediate vicinity, or more specifically, control the water in the surrounding atmosphere. Hitsugaya states that this aspect of his powers is not fully mature and that he doesn't like to use it in Bankai mode, as he is unsure of whether he could control it and keep from killing everyone in the vicinity. The ability is usable in both Shikai and Bankai modes.[63]
Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, Tōshirō Hitsugaya's Bankai.
* Bankai: Daiguren Hyōrinmaru (大紅蓮 氷輪丸, Great Crimson Lotus Ice Ring, Grand Crimson Lotus Ice Ring): causes ice to flow from Hyōrinmaru onto Hitsugaya, starting at his right arm which ice forms onto in the shape of a dragon's head around sword hand, encasing it up to the hilt; which also changes from the shape of a four-pointed star to that of eight-pointed star. The ice continues forming up over his shoulders with two large wings sprouting from his back and a long tail. The ice forms down his left arm encasing his hand which ends in a claw. Hitsugaya's feet are encased in ice in a similar manner to his left hand which as they to end in claws.[64]
Bankai Special Ability: Hyōrinmaru's Bankai has several special techniques.
* Ryūsenka (竜霰花, Dragon Hail Flower): When Hitsugaya stabs his opponents, a huge burst of ice erupts from the point of contact between Hyōrinmaru and the opponents, encasing and freezing them. Hitsugaya can then proceed to shatter the ice and his opponent with it.[65]
* Sennen Hyōrō (千年氷牢, Thousand Years' Ice Prison): Hitsugaya creates many ice pillars which encircle him and his enemy. At his command (when he turns his sword 90 degrees counter-clockwise), these pillars then move towards the enemy, enveloping and crushing it. Though this technique is very powerful, Hitsugaya speculates that it takes a considerable amount of time to prepare, and therefore the distraction of his enemy is crucial in successfully completing this attack. [66]
* Shield of Ice Wings: Hitsugaya is capable of wrapping his wings around himself like a sphere protecting him from any attacks.[67]
* Daiguren Hyōrinmaru Ice Dragon: Hitsugaya can release a more powerful form of his Shikai attack during Bankai. Instead of creating just a dragon's head attached to a long serpentine tail of ice, Hitsugaya can create a full-fledged dragon with wings matching his own, which can fly independently and encircle his opponents, constricting and crushing before biting them. [68]
* Bankai Regeneration: During earlier appearances of his Bankai, three flowers of ice used to form floating behind him, each consisted of four purple petals shaped like diamonds.[69] These petals melted away petal by petal as Hitsugaya's battle with the Arrancar Shawlong Kūfang progressed, leading his opponent to speculate that Hitsugaya's Bankai will fade when all twelve petals disappear, assuming that the captain's Bankai was incomplete due to his young age. But he has since surpassed this "stage" as shown during his battle with Luppi (the sixth Espada for a time), where he states that as long as there is water in the surrounding area or atmosphere, his Bankai can regenerate itself indefinitely [70] It should be noted that in his most recent battle with Harribel that the petals have returned with the petals still fading away as he fights.[71]
* Ice Clone: Once per activation of his Bankai, Tōshirō is able to create and shape a large amount of ice into his exact likeness. It is very life-like as it can appear to bleed. It has yet to be revealed the exact circumstances that limit the use of this ability to one use.[72]
* Guncho Tsurara (群鳥氷柱, Icicle Flock): Hitsugaya can transform water into ice and then swing his Zanpakutō in an arc which fires an array of ice daggers at his target.[73]
* Hyōten Hyakkasō (氷天百華葬, Frozen Heaven Hundred Flower Funeral): This ability is rarely used by Hitsugaya and only is produced under his Tensō Jūrin power. The ability opens up a huge hole in the clouds through which a large amount of snow falls down on to his opponent. Whoever the snow touches begins to sprout ice flowers all over, which instantly freezes them in a pillar of ice. When the last of the 100 petals falls, the life of the one who touched it will be over.[74]
Child Genius: Perhaps the most astonishing trait of Hitsugaya is his brains and natural talent. He is possibly the most gifted Shinigami the Soul Soceity has ever seen besides the scientist, as shown from him entering the Shinigami Academy on his first try despite his young age, graduating from the academy in a single year with the overall highest scores of his class, joining the Gotei 13 shortly afterwards, and then becoming the youngest Shinigami to ever reach the rank of captain. He has been called many things due to this. Renji and Iba have called him a child genius and Ichimaru has called him the embodiment of the "heavenly white angel that blesses Soul Society once a century". In terms of intellect, Hitsugaya has shown to be equally impressive. He was even the first to suspect Ichimaru of treason and saw that there was more to Rukia's execution than what was being said. Shunsui, one of the strongest Shinigami in history, states that because of his genius, within 100 years, Hitsugaya could surpass him.
Immense Spiritual Power: Tōshirō's spiritual power has the same effect as his Zanpakutō as it is an elemental representative of Ice. His Spiritual Pressure is said to be very large and "cold". Even before he became a Shinigami, his spiritual pressure was immense and uncontrollable, not unlike Ichigo, and caused people around him to freeze, namely his grandmother who lived with him at the time. This cold spiritual power of his reflects his attitude as well. He is also the youngest Shinigami to ever achieve their Bankai. He even had visions of Hyōrinmaru's spirit before he attained it or entered the Shinigami academy. He is able to hide his presence well, on several occasions he manages to surprise Hinamori and Matsumoto with his sudden appearances, which leads them to complain about "sneaking up" upon them.
Enhanced Endurance: Despite his young and lean appearance, Tōshirō has shown himself to be a resilient fighter. Even after being stabbed in the stomach, he is still able to fight effectively.[55]
Expert Strategist & Tactician: Despite his age, Hitsugaya has repeatedly shown great instincts and intuition in battle. He is generally aware of everything in his presence and also able to see through most deceptions. For example, he discerned that Gin Ichimaru was more than he seemed, although he was not yet sharp enough to realize it was all part of Aizen's plot. As a Captain, he is a great battle strategist. He is given missions from General Yamamoto to lead teams into the human world many times to deal with large threats. For example, Hitsugaya led the team sent by Soul Society which reinforced Ichigo's group against the Arrancar. In battle, he has shown great instincts against incoming danger as shown from his reaction to Harribel's initial attack after releasing.
Flash Steps Expert: Hitsugaya is highly proficient in flash steps. Repeatedly in battle, he has shown himself able to block and dodge dangerous attacks.
Kidō Expert: Hitsugaya is highly proficient in Kidō and is capable of performing high-level Kidō spells without the incantation.
Zanpakutō
Hyōrinmaru redirects here. For the manifested spirit that appears in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc see Hyōrinmaru (spirit)
Hyōrinmaru
Hyōrinmaru
Ice Ring, Frozen Full Moon氷輪丸Hyōrinmaru
Seiyū (Japanese)
Daisuke Matsuoka
Debut (Manga)
Chapter -15
Debut (Anime)
Episode 230
Appears in
Manga, Anime, Movies & Video Games
Hyōrinmaru (氷輪丸, "Ice Ring", idiomatically "Frozen Full Moon") When sealed, Hyōrinmaru looks like a normal katana with the exception of the guard, which is in the shape of a four-pointed bronze-colored star. It is about 1.4 meters long, making it as tall as Hitsugaya himself, preventing him from wearing it at the hip. He instead carries it on his back by his green sash over his right shoulder. Hitsugaya is one of four people that carry a Zanpakutō on their back, the others being Ichigo Kurosaki, Love Aikawa, and Hiyori Sarugaki. Hitsugaya's short stature and the blade's length (about 120cm long) explains the similar style. It is hung by his green sash over his right shoulder. Its hilt is light blue and sheath dark blue. The sheath completely dissolves when he draws his sword.
The spirit of Hyōrinmaru is that of a gigantic, icy blue, serpentine dragon with large wings and an echoing voice. Like Ichigo, Hitsugaya has had a close connection to his blade since first awakening his Shinigami powers. Before Tōshirō began training to control his Shinigami powers and leaking reiatsu, Hyōrinmaru would constantly appear in his dreams in an icy landscape (most likely Tōshirō's inner world) and call out to him, although Tōshirō was still not able to hear him.[56]
Hyōrinmaru is the strongest of all ice-element Zanpakutō in Soul Society. As such, Hitsuguya doesn't need water to be present in order for him to use its abilities.[57] Hitsugaya's control over Hyōrinmaru's power has been shown great enough to unleash some of its ice powers even in its sealed state.[58]
Shikai Special Ability.
* Shikai: Hyōrinmaru's release command is "Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens" (霜天に坐せ, sōten ni zase; English dub: Reign over the Frosted Frozen Skies). In its Shikai, Hyōrinmaru extends slightly in length, and gains a crescent-shaped blade attached to its hilt by a long metal chain, which can extend greatly if necessary by force of will. The chain itself can be used as an attack or to entangle a target.[59]
Shikai Special Ability: Hyōrinmaru allows Hitsugaya to control water and ice. His slashes create an immense amount of spiritual power which overflows from the tip of the blade, creating a flow of ice shaped like a Chinese dragon. The dragon flies towards opponents and instantly freezes anything it touches. Hyōrinmaru can create multiple ice dragons to attack an opponent from various angles.[60] Hitsugaya can also direct his slashes towards the ground and form a wave of ice which rushes over his opponents, overwhelming and freezing them.[61] The chain-blade also freezes anything Hitsugaya traps with it. The power it expels is so overwhelming that in Soul Society (where Hitsugaya is not placed under a limiter), its mere release affects the weather within the immediate vicinity, creating a thunderstorm or a blizzard.[62]
* Tensō Jūrin (天相従臨): One of Hyōrinmaru's basic powers and its strongest. It allows him to control the weather in the immediate vicinity, or more specifically, control the water in the surrounding atmosphere. Hitsugaya states that this aspect of his powers is not fully mature and that he doesn't like to use it in Bankai mode, as he is unsure of whether he could control it and keep from killing everyone in the vicinity. The ability is usable in both Shikai and Bankai modes.[63]
Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, Tōshirō Hitsugaya's Bankai.
* Bankai: Daiguren Hyōrinmaru (大紅蓮 氷輪丸, Great Crimson Lotus Ice Ring, Grand Crimson Lotus Ice Ring): causes ice to flow from Hyōrinmaru onto Hitsugaya, starting at his right arm which ice forms onto in the shape of a dragon's head around sword hand, encasing it up to the hilt; which also changes from the shape of a four-pointed star to that of eight-pointed star. The ice continues forming up over his shoulders with two large wings sprouting from his back and a long tail. The ice forms down his left arm encasing his hand which ends in a claw. Hitsugaya's feet are encased in ice in a similar manner to his left hand which as they to end in claws.[64]
Bankai Special Ability: Hyōrinmaru's Bankai has several special techniques.
* Ryūsenka (竜霰花, Dragon Hail Flower): When Hitsugaya stabs his opponents, a huge burst of ice erupts from the point of contact between Hyōrinmaru and the opponents, encasing and freezing them. Hitsugaya can then proceed to shatter the ice and his opponent with it.[65]
* Sennen Hyōrō (千年氷牢, Thousand Years' Ice Prison): Hitsugaya creates many ice pillars which encircle him and his enemy. At his command (when he turns his sword 90 degrees counter-clockwise), these pillars then move towards the enemy, enveloping and crushing it. Though this technique is very powerful, Hitsugaya speculates that it takes a considerable amount of time to prepare, and therefore the distraction of his enemy is crucial in successfully completing this attack. [66]
* Shield of Ice Wings: Hitsugaya is capable of wrapping his wings around himself like a sphere protecting him from any attacks.[67]
* Daiguren Hyōrinmaru Ice Dragon: Hitsugaya can release a more powerful form of his Shikai attack during Bankai. Instead of creating just a dragon's head attached to a long serpentine tail of ice, Hitsugaya can create a full-fledged dragon with wings matching his own, which can fly independently and encircle his opponents, constricting and crushing before biting them. [68]
* Bankai Regeneration: During earlier appearances of his Bankai, three flowers of ice used to form floating behind him, each consisted of four purple petals shaped like diamonds.[69] These petals melted away petal by petal as Hitsugaya's battle with the Arrancar Shawlong Kūfang progressed, leading his opponent to speculate that Hitsugaya's Bankai will fade when all twelve petals disappear, assuming that the captain's Bankai was incomplete due to his young age. But he has since surpassed this "stage" as shown during his battle with Luppi (the sixth Espada for a time), where he states that as long as there is water in the surrounding area or atmosphere, his Bankai can regenerate itself indefinitely [70] It should be noted that in his most recent battle with Harribel that the petals have returned with the petals still fading away as he fights.[71]
* Ice Clone: Once per activation of his Bankai, Tōshirō is able to create and shape a large amount of ice into his exact likeness. It is very life-like as it can appear to bleed. It has yet to be revealed the exact circumstances that limit the use of this ability to one use.[72]
* Guncho Tsurara (群鳥氷柱, Icicle Flock): Hitsugaya can transform water into ice and then swing his Zanpakutō in an arc which fires an array of ice daggers at his target.[73]
* Hyōten Hyakkasō (氷天百華葬, Frozen Heaven Hundred Flower Funeral): This ability is rarely used by Hitsugaya and only is produced under his Tensō Jūrin power. The ability opens up a huge hole in the clouds through which a large amount of snow falls down on to his opponent. Whoever the snow touches begins to sprout ice flowers all over, which instantly freezes them in a pillar of ice. When the last of the 100 petals falls, the life of the one who touched it will be over.[74]
