There are two distinct entities revealed in Bleach thus far — humans and spirits. The humans are mostly ordinary-like real-life humans, and usually cannot see or sense spirits in any way. About 1 in 50,000 humans, however, can sense spirits and only a third of those humans can see them and sense them clearly. Spirits inhabiting human bodies can be sensed like ordinary humans. Some humans, such as the Quincy, have the power to not only sense but also fight on equal footing with spirits. Humans unable to sense spirits can gain the ability to do so by spending enough time around a large source of spirit energy, as is the case of Chad and Inoue who spent a lot of time around Ichigo. Some spirits have a form anatomically similar to an ordinary flesh body. It is referred to as a "faux body" in BLEACH. This form seems to encompass all of a spirit's being, meaning that there is no distinction between soul and body. Below are some of the enetities found in BLEACH.
|
Shinigami (Death God) Shinigami, or Death God (known as Soul Reapers in the English version) in Bleach are beings whose responsibility is basically to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife. They are made up of spiritual matter and cannot be seen or detected in any way by normal humans. Their archrivals are the hollows. The shinigami mainly use soul slayers (called Zanpakuto) and demon arts, to fight. If a Captain or Lieutenant-rank shinigami travels to the human world, their power level is set to a limit of 20% of their usual strength. They must ask Soul Society for permission to "lift the limit" to release their full power while in the human world. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Zanpakto (Soul Slayer) A Zanpakuto, or Soul Slayer (known as a soul cutter in the English version), is a type of sword used by the Shinigami. The art of using a Zanpakuto is called zanjutsu (swordsmanship). Most Zanpakuto in their sealed form look like katanas, but the shape and form varies by the person. Zanpakuto are not just tools, but also living beings. They are a Shinigami's partner in battle and while they can regenerate if broken, they cannot be replaced. As a Shinigami gains power, the Zanpakuto can change form by allowing the inner being to manifest itself to a greater degree in the outside world. The sword and the inner being are synonymous to each other. It has also been revealed that since Zanpakuto are created with the Shinagami, they also tend to have a personality based on their creator. Zanpakuto are used for many reasons including to fight hollows and other Shinigami as well as to liberate or help pluses ascend to Soul Society. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Humans The humans are mostly ordinary-like real-life humans, and usually cannot see or sense spirits in any way. About 1 in 50,000 humans, however, can sense spirits and only a third of those humans can see them and sense them clearly. In the picture, the black haired girl can sense spirits and the brownish-orange haired girl can sense and see them. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Demi-Hollow This is an earthbound spirit who's evolving into a hollow. It usually takes a while for the earthbound spitit to fully transform into a hollow, but this process can be sped up by forcing the hole in their chest to open. The Demi-Hollow's are held to chains, usually somewhere they consider to be their territory. They are usually only seen when a human steps on their territory and cannot be easily sensed by Shinigami. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Hollows A hollow is a Plus spirit that has lost its heart. They are easily identified by the holes in their chests and their white masks. Any Plus spirit that is not guided to Soul Society by a Shinigami will eventually descend into a hollow. The process normally takes months or years. One can also turn into a Hollow by being devoured by another Hollow. These are the creatures that cause what seem to be random explosions and deaths of humans. To a normal human the concept cannot be grasped because they cannot see a Hollow. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Menos Menos are created by thousands of hollows piling up on top of one another and merging. They are much bigger and stronger than normal Hollows. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Shinigami-Hollow A Shinigami-Hollow is a Shinigami who becomes a hollow or a hollow that becomes a Shinigami. These beings have both the powers of a hollow and Shinigami. All Shinigami have a limit in their power and endurance. The only way to get past that wall is when a hollow becomes a Shinigami or a Shinigami becomes a hollow. Ichigo has a hollow inside him which appears in a time of need (such as when Byakuya was about to kill him). Shinigami-Hollows maintain their Shinigami forms or change into it if they were originally a hollow. They start forming a hollow mask on their face and their eyes become as evil as the hollows. Not only do their looks change, but their power increases by a hundredfold, enabling them to be faster, stronger and powerful than any other being ever known. Captain Aizen's goal is to have powers similar to this. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Pluses These spirits do no harm to humans. They are the souls of those who have died but have not yet become a hollow or sent to Soul Society. It is another one of the Shinigami’s tasks to guide these lost souls to Soul Society where they can finally rest in peace. Pluses are the spirits that are usually targeted by the hollows. Hollow’s purposes are to continue feeding on souls of Pluses and death gods to feed their own hunger for the souls they do not have. Shinigami’s tasks are to send the pluses to soul society by using a soul burial. Their second duty is to kill and purify hollows that interfere with their job or intend to hurt any pluses. All pluses have a severed chain of fate on their chest. They are considered ghosts as no one can see them except ones of spiritual power and Shinigami. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Modified Souls These artificial spirits were created in a form of a pill to be inserted into dead humans, thus giving them a body and were used to fight off hollows. These modified souls are gifted with strength that no normal human would be able to have. But modified souls were to be executed because they were immoral. However a few of them escaped soul society and one of them came into the hands of Ichigo. After nearly losing his body, he found out a modified soul could be put into a stuffed animal and named him Kon. Not too long after his ordeal in Soul Society, he met a group of three who happened to be modified souls with special powers, unlike just superhuman strength and speed like Kon. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Target Leeches They are leeches that are thrown by the Hollow at its enemy, and can explode at the hollows will. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Bounto The Baunto, sometimes alternately translated "Boanto", "Baunto", "Bound" or "Bountou", are like the Quincy. They are a group of human beings with special abilities. Unlike the Quincy who live and die like a normal human, Baunto can live forever by consuming the souls of human beings. Baunto also have "dolls" which they can summon to fight for them. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| Baunto Dolls Each Bounto, after having reached a certain power quota, is able to summon a doll, which is subordinate to him and can grow to have substantial attacking power. Like the Shinigami's Zanpakuto spirit, which must be subdued for the final release (The bankai), the Bounto dolls must also be subdued into subordination by their masters. Dolls must also be released in order to use them. In their unreleased state they look like a variety of items, Dalk for example looks like a metal sphere in her unreleased state. The dolls may even kill a Bounto who is not powerful enough to contain it. |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Bitto The bitto are bee-like beings, created by two of the Bounto, that consume living souls and bring them back in the form of an elixir to the Bount. Once the Bount drink the liquid the bitto bring to them, their power increases significantly. |