Souseke Aizen

Souseke Aizen is a character from the Bleach anime and manga.

Souseke 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 formerly served as the lieutenant of the 5th Division under Shinji Hirako. After waging war against Soul Society with an army of Arrancar, Aizen was defeated by Ichigo Kurosaki and sealed away by Kisuke Urahara, and then imprisoned for his crimes.

Appearance
Prior to his departure from Soul Society, Aizen appeared as a mild-featured man with brown scholarly hair enhanced by square glasses, along with soft brown eyes. He wore the standard Shinigami uniform with a captain's haori. During his ascent to Hueco Mundo, he removed his glasses and swept his hand through his hair, revealing menacing eyes and a very different hairstyle; his hair is now swept back, with a strand hanging down his face.

In Hueco Mundo, Aizen initially wears Arrancar clothes over his shihakushō. After Orihime Inoue is taken to Las Noches, Aizen wears full clothing similar in style to the Arrancar, complete with a pink sash around the waist.

Upon his defeat by Ichigo Kurosaki, Aizen loses all of the physical changes made by his transformation and returns to the physical form he had prior to transforming.

Personality
Aizen is a polite, soft-spoken intellectual, often addressing his subordinates by their given names. He rarely shows any sign of alarm or distress, and often has entire situations planned out well in advance. Whenever confronted, Aizen is casual and uncaring, attempting to draw out a conversation and make small talk, which often infuriates those he is talking to.

Aizen initially appeared to be a very kind, well-respected captain and was looked up to by many, especially his lieutenant, Momo Hinamori. However, this was just a mask to disguise his manipulative, and very dangerous, nature. In truth, he cares very little for his underlings, and is willing to use almost everyone around him as pawns to achieve his goals. He is willing to stop at nothing to further his ambitions, including manipulating or killing anyone if he deems it to be necessary. He frequently toys with his underlings for amusement.

During his time as a captain, Aizen liked tofu, but he disliked boiled eggs. In his free time, he often read, and he gave a special lecture of calligraphy at the Shin'ō Academy because he excelled in this branch of arts. This optional course was immensely popular among the Shinigami students, and many of them felt great sorrow at Aizen's sudden departure.

As the commander of his army of Arrancar, Aizen controls his minions through acquired respect or fear. Ulquiorra Cifer revealed to Orihime Inoue that they are all there to further Aizen's ambitions. Aizen keeps more rowdy individuals like Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez in line through intimidation and mind games. The Arrancar Aisslinger Wernarr claims the Arrancar follow him because he has no fear, something which beings born from fear and despair find inspiring.

Gin Ichimaru has some sense of Aizen's emotions and feelings, correctly pointing out Aizen was enjoying the invasion by Ichigo and his friends and their successes within Las Noches, which Aizen himself confirmed, and noting Aizen was surprised by the arrival of Momo during the battle of Fake Karakura Town. In contrast, Kaname Tōsen has shown no such understanding, and has fallen victim to one of Aizen's more minor mind games when Aizen subtly manipulated him into punishing Grimmjow for him while Aizen himself kept up his appearance of benevolence.

Aizen's true objective was to overthrow the king of Soul Society. As he and his fellow traitor captains were departing from the Soul Society, he told 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake "no one has stood on the top of the world", not even the gods, but he aspires to "stand on the heavens and end the unbearable vacancy on the world's throne".

According to Kisuke Urahara, since mastering the Hōgyoku, Aizen has become less cautious in battle, for Aizen would not have allowed Urahara to use level 90 Kidō before he subdued the Hōgyoku. Aizen admits his new powers allow him to let his guard down. Due to this newfound power, Aizen has developed an arrogant and overconfident attitude, often not even thinking his attacks or defense through any longer like he used to, or even bothering to find out the effects of his opponents' and his own attacks. In his newest form, he has developed a severe superiority complex, believing he is now above both Shinigami and Hollows. Because of his superior attitude and high intelligence, Aizen is easily enraged when facing something or someone which he does not understand; for example, when witnessing Ichigo Kurosaki use Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō, Aizen becomes furious because he is unable to comprehend how a Human has surpassed him.

By the time he is released from Muken, he has reverted to his calm, casual personality, brushing aside Shunsui Kyōraku's praise regarding his current abilities, and somewhat undergoes a change of heart, even being willing to fight against Yhwach and assist Ichigo before returning to Muken. He disagrees with Yhwach's philosophy about combining all three planes of existence to eliminate the fear of death and believes that people would never have the courage to move forward against such a threat in Yhwach's world.

Abilities
Genius Intellect: Arguably, the most fearsome trait of Aizen is his tremendous intellect. He is well-versed in the history, strategy, and tactics of Soul Society, and is privy to knowledge unknown to many, such as the existence of the Ōkenand its method of creation. He has created several Hollows and Arrancarwhile avoiding any suspicion from the majority of Soul Society. For over 110 years, he had been engaging in experiments involving unique and highly dangerous manipulations of Reiryoku and Reishi, including experiments involving the Hollowfication of Shinigami, something which had never been done before. He has an innate knowledge of the Hōgyoku, rivaling that of its creator, Kisuke Urahara, even knowing how to destroy it. He figured out the true nature of Shinji Hirako's Shikai, allowing him to counter its effect. He effectively deduces the true nature of the Hōgyoku via trial and error of the situations which revolve around it.
 * Master Manipulator: Aizen has proven himself very crafty and a cunning man since his public betrayal of Soul Society. He can deceive and manipulate others around him in different ways for a variety of purposes. For years, he convinced everyone around him he was a kind-hearted man with the best intentions for Soul Society while performing horrific actions. He has a great talent for analyzing and observing everything in his presence, allowing him to understand a person's pattern of thinking and better manipulate them. He can formulate well thought out plans several steps ahead of others, some of which have a long term in mind. His most well-known plan spans over 110 years, a great accomplishment which involved moving people around like pieces on a chessboard and making sure they played the role he had planned out for them. He is masterful at plans within plans, such as kidnapping Orihime, allowing him to use her abilities to extend the shelf life of the Hōgyoku and lure many of his enemies into Hueco Mundo to trap them, making it easier for him to accomplish the goal invading the Royal Palace.

Kidō Master: Aizen has immense proficiency in using Kidō spells. He is well-versed in a variety of Kidō types and skilled enough to use even high level Kidō without the use of their incantation, such as Hadō #90 to disable 7th DivisionCaptain Sajin Komamura, albeit only at a third of its power. Even during his time as a lieutenant, he could block high level Hadō spells such as Hadō #88 from the likes of Tessai Tsukabishi, captain of the Kidō Corps and the most proficient Kidō master in Soul Society at the time, with Bakudō #81. He can also produce powerful protection spells while in battle. After his imprisonment in Muken, Aizen is able to cast the strongest Kidō at full power effortlessly, including using Hadō #90 while he was still restrained to a Reiatsu-suppressing chair, and Hadō #99, the most powerful offensive spell of all.
 * Master Strategist & Tactician: Aizen has proven himself to be a masterful and flexible tactician, adjusting seamlessly to any given combat situation, if not planning 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 Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, a Shinigami whose abilities surpass his own. Despite viewing his power as worlds beyond others, Aizen is highly cautious in battle, placing special protections on himself so as to leave no blind spots.

Shunpo Master: Aizen is so fast, opponents commonly cannot discern even being attacked by him until after it has taken place. Aizen can easily outmaneuver Ichigo's Bankai and Hollow mask-enhanced speed, to the point where he could casually lay a hand on Ichigo's chest and still dodge a point-blank attack. Aizen can dodge simultaneous attacks at close-range and evade Bankai-level techniques, and even when being attacked from behind.

Master Swordsman: Aizen is a highly skilled swordsman, with his skill supplemented by his immense strength. He can perform tremendously powerful and precise strikes and cut through very sturdy targets, such as Renji's Shikai and Komamura's Bankai. He cut down four captains (two of which used their Bankai) and four Visored (with three being former captains of Gotei 13) with ease, and easily overpowered a Hollow mask-enhanced Ichigo Kurosaki.

Hakuda Master: While preferring to finish his fights quickly with his Zanpakutō or Kidō, Aizen is a highly capable unarmed fighter. Repeatedly, Aizen has caught his opponent's weapons with a single bare hand. While fighting offensively, he exhibits tremendous agility and dexterity, combining both sword and barehanded skills to simultaneously strike with his sword and kick opponents with great force.

Immense Spiritual Power: Even by captain standards, Aizen possesses a tremendous amount of Reiryoku. When Aizen noted that the Hōgyoku in its half-awakened state can be fully activated when temporarily fusing with someone with at least twice as much spiritual power as an average captain-level Shinigami, he calmly proved able to do so himself. He claims he is more powerful than all of the Espada. Even after spending a year and a half sealed away in Muken and losing most of the powers granted to him by the Hōgyoku, Aizen's Reiatsu increased to the point where restraining him to a Reiatsu-suppressing chair after his release was necessary to keep it in check. His Reiatsu is violet. His immense Reiatsu is the reason why Aizen was chosen as one of the 5 Special War Powers by the Wandenreich. Immense Strength: Aizen is strong enough to stop the blade of 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 sword strike. He can stop the Shikai of both Renji Abarai and Sajin Komamura with just one hand and destroy the former's with a single swing, proving his strength is more than enough to combat a captain-level opponent. Aizen further displays his strength by cutting through the sword and wrist of Komamura's Bankai. Immediately after Shunsui Kyōraku used one key to remove the seal on Aizen's mouth in Muken, Aizen was able to move freely from his bindings without any further intervention from Shunsui.
 * Masterful Reiatsu Control: 2nd Division Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaedastated Aizen's mere presence is monstrously overwhelming. The force of Aizen's Reiatsu is great enough to, without any effort, bring Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, the 6th Espada, to his knees. He has stated it takes a lot for him not to "crush an ant" (referring to Renji, the Sixth Divisionlieutenant) in his path. Aizen's Reiatsu is powerful enough to nullify abilities such as Suì-Fēng's Nigeki Kessatsu, and allow him to remain conscious under the effects of NaNaNa Najahkoop's The Underbelly. After being released from Muken, Aizen displays the ability to use his Reiatsu as a shield that can vaporize living beings that come too close to him, similar to his previous forms when fused with the Hōgyoku. He can focus his Reiatsu to break through dense barriers that are permeated with Reishi.

Immortality: Due to his interaction and subsequent fusion with the Hōgyoku, he has gained some degree of immortality, allowing him to regenerate from the damage caused by Ichigo's Mugetsu (albeit at the cost of his new Hōgyoku powers) and live past his 20,000 year sentence in Muken. He took no damage from using Hadō #90 on himself in an attempt to free himself from the Reiatsu-suppressing chair he was restrained to, despite the technique having destroyed all of Yhwach's remaining eyeball creatures and most of his surroundings. Later, he remained unfazed after being dismembered and impaled by a Soul King-empowered Yhwach, and survived being engulfed by his immense and chaotic Reiatsu.

Zanpakutō
Kyōka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon): In its sealed form, it resembles a normal katana. The only decoration is the tsuba, which is a hexagon. 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" (kudakero) and is used to both activate and deactivate it.


 * Shikai Special Ability: The special ability of Kyōka Suigetsu is Kanzen Saimin (Complete Hypnosis; Viz "Perfect Hypnosis"). It controls the five senses to the point where it can make the target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel, and smell to be an enemy's. The initiation condition for the hypnosis is for the enemy to see Kyōka Suigetsu at the exact moment it is released. After seeing it just once, this person will completely succumb to the hypnosis every time it is released, regardless of how long ago they saw it, as the Visored remain affected even after 110 years. When Aizen turns off the hypnosis by force of will, the image shown melts away or shatters. The complete hypnosis of Kyōka Suigetsu is absolutely flawless; even if the target is aware of being under the hypnosis, they cannot resist its influence. The hypnotic abilities of Kyōka Suigetsu make it a highly useful tool in combat, for Aizen can create simple or complex illusions to deceive his 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 will remain focused on the illusion until it is too late to react. After the Hōgyoku disintegrates his Zanpakutō, Aizen is still able to use its illusionary powers, even against Yhwach's The Almighty; however, unlike previous usage of the "Complete Hypnosis" granted by his Shikai, Aizen implies that he isn't aware of what Yhwach is perceiving at the time, and would have no control over Kyōka Suigetsu's influence on Ichigo had he been exposed to its release. Additionally, the hypnosis only lasted until Yhwach revived himself.


 * Bankai: Not Revealed.

Former Abilities
When Kisuke Urahara's Kidō spell, Kyūjūrokkei Kakafūmetsu, begins to seal Aizen, the Hōgyoku rejects him as its master, which leaves him without the powers it granted him.

Trivia

 * The name of Aizen's Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu, hints at its illusionary properties; the moon reflected in water and a flower in a mirror are things which can be seen, but not held. It is a Chinese saying for seeing and desiring something which is a dream which cannot be easily grasped in hand, teaching people about temptations.
 * Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu came 18th in the Zanpakutō popularity poll. Aizen himself came 23rd in the 4th character popularity poll.
 * Aizen had a column in the Seireitei Communication titled The Yin of the Pine Needle, which is now suspended.
 * The Shinigami Women's Association published a Photo Collection showcasing Aizen named The Smile of the Sun, but it was cancelled.
 * Aizen's theme song, as chosen by Tite Kubo, is "Stand Ablaze" by In Flames.
 * In the manga Aizen cut down Hitsugaya before the latter attacked him. In the anime however, Aizen's brief battle with Hitsugaya was extended. Hitsugaya charges at Aizen and impales him with Daigūren Hyorinmaru, only to realize he was caught in an illusion cast by Kyōka Suigetsu, before being cut down by Aizen.
 * In the anime, the three guardians Aizen has summoned to Sōkyoku hill weren't shown. Instead, Kūkaku Shiba arrived with Jidanbō Ikkanzaka, and used Raikohō to attack Aizen, before he was subdued by Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng.