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Species

Pluses and Hollows

When a human dies, they may come back as a Plus. These ghosts are mostly harmless. It’s the Shinigami’s job to guide Pluses to the Soul Society if their Chain of Fate begins to corrode.

Hollows are the result of a Plus’s Chain of Fate corroding completely. A hole appears in their chest where the chain once was, and the Plus loses control of their actions. Their body takes on a monstrous form, and they grow a mask which must be destroyed to cleanse their soul and return them to the Soul Society.

Shinigami

The Shinigami are souls who guide Pluses and Hollows to the Soul Society. They maintain balance between their home world and the Human World using sentient weapons called Zanpakuto. The most powerful Shinigami are part of a military branch called Gotei 13 which is responsible for protecting the Soul King.

Arrancar

The Arrancar are Hollows who have ripped off their masks to gain powers like those of the Shinigami. Their Zanpakuto functions similarly to those of the Shinigami, but Arrancar do not have access to Shikai or Bankai.

Resurrección is an ability that is unique to the Arrancar, allowing them access to Hollow powers and changing their form to a more monstrous one.

Fullbringer

Fullbringers are humans who are aware of the spirits in their world. They form connections with the souls of inanimate objects, manipulating them to do battle. Not just any human can use Fullbring though. A Fullbringer is born only when a pregnant woman is attacked by a Hollow. This leaves a small amount of Hollow Energy in the baby, allowing them to see the spirits that inhabit their world.

Quincy

The Quincy are a race of humans who wield Spirit Weapons made from Reishi, or spiritual energy. While Shinigami cleanse the soul of Hollows to guide them to the Soul Society, the Quincy eliminate Hollows completely. The Shinigami exterminated most of the Quincy out of the fear that they would overhunt the Hollows, upsetting the balance of the Human World and the Soul Society.

The Visored

Born as Shinigami, The Visored gain Hollow powers when they don their mask in a process known as Hollowfication. The new Hollow powers stack on top of their existing Shinigami powers. The Visored are largely considered to be the inverse of Arrancar, as Visored are Shinigami with Hollow Powers and Arrancar are Hollows with Shinigami powers.

Story Arcs

Agent of the Shinigami

Ichigo Kurosaki led a fairly normal life in Karakura Town, other than the fact that he can see spirits. One of these spirits is Rukia. Ichigo sees that she is injured in a fight with a ferocious spirit called a Hollow, and attempts to help her by temporarily taking part of her Shinigami powers. Ichigo successfully defeats the Hollow, but it turns out he took all of Rukia's power. She asks him to become the spiritual protector of Karakura Town in her absence.

Ichigo isn't the only one fighting with Hollows in town. Uryu Ishida is a member of the Quincy, a bloodline of humans who can manipulate Reishi (spiritual energy) to form weapons. Uryu challenges Ichigo to a Hollow hunting contest, which leads the two to become friends. Two of Ichigo's human friends, Chad and Orihime, discover their own abilities, forming a spiritually powerful friend group.

Later, Rukia is arrested for spending too much time in the human world while recovering from the attack that gave Ichigo his Shinigami powers.

Soul Society

Rukia has been taken to a prison in the spiritual world, so Ichigo and friends enter the Soul Society by firing themselves out of a fireworks cannon. They must fight Shinigami as they make their way toward Rukia's prison. At the end of the previous arc, Ichigo had a near-death experience that solidified his Shinigami powers and allowed him to utilize a Hollow mask for a short time. However, this Hollowfication technique is dangerous because Ichigo risks letting his Hollow form take over his body.

Ichigo learns that Aizen orchestrated his adventure up until now, as Aizen easily defeats him in battle. He kidnaps Rukia and implants in her the Hogyoku, a small blue orb with immense power. Leaving Ichigo, Aizen takes Rukia to a place between the Human World and the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, which he rules over.

Arrancar

Back in the Human World, the Arrancar begin their attack and Ichigo and gang struggle to keep up with their power. This is exacerbated by Ichigo's Hollow form, who actively stops Ichigo's body from moving in battle. This spurs Ichigo to train with a group called the Visored, who have experience as Shinigami with Hollow powers.

While Ichigo trains to defeat his Hollow and learns to use his mask for longer periods, it is revealed that Aizen wants to use Rukia and the Hogyoku to overthrow the Soul King.

A large battle ensues, which ends with Orihime being captured and taken to Hueco Mundo. Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu are advised not to follow her, but do anyway. While battling Arrancar, Rukia and Renji join the fight to everyone's surprise. The group makes their way to Hueco Mundo's capital, Las Noches where the group splits up to cover more ground in an attempt to find Orihime and stop Aizen's plans.

Battle of Karakura

Ichigo and gang continue down separate paths, each fighting with Arrancar. Ulquiorra approaches Ichigo and taunts him before they battle, Ulquiorra completely outclassing Ichigo even with his Bankai and Hollow mask. He leaves Ichigo near death. Grimmjow appears with Orihime and forces her to heal Ichigo so he can fight him at full strength.

Grimmjow unveils his Resurrección form, but Ichigo is able to narrowly defeat him with a new Hollow form and briefly reunite with Orihime before she is captured again and taken to the Human World to take part in Aizen's plan.

Ichigo travels to Orihime's location in a replica of Ichigo's hometown, Karakura Town. Here, Ichigo engages in battle with Aizen and Gin until his father encourages him to defend the real Karakura Town. This is so that Ichigo can undergo another training session in his inner world where he learns an ultimate technique that allows him to defeat Aizen, but loses his Shinigami powers in the process.

Lost Substitute Shinigami

Following his fight with Aizen, Ichigo is left without his Shinigami powers and must adjust to living a normal human life. But old habits die hard. Ichigo stops a robber and returns the (almost) stolen bag to a man named Kugo. He explains that he is part of a group of Fullbringers, spiritually aware humans who can manipulate the souls of inanimate objects like lampposts, chairs, and even the ground itself. Kugo’s group wants to rid themselves of their power, and the only way to do so is to transfer them to a Substitute Shinigami like Ichigo. Turns out, Ichigo already knows a Fullbringer. His friend Chad has a strong connection with the soul of his own skin. This allows him to create defensive armor with his right arm and charge up a powerful technique called La Muerte with his left.

Ichigo trains with Kugo’s gang to develop his own Fullbring connecting with his Substitute Shinigami Badge. He later masters this ability and regains his Shinigami powers, which merge with his Fullbring.

Thousand-Year Blood War

Back and stronger than ever, Ichigo and gang investigate a disturbance in Hueco Mundo. They discover the Quincy are more populous than once thought. Not only that, but a group of Quincies called the Wandenreich can steal Bankai. The Wandenreich, angry that the Shinigami nearly drove them to extinction, launch an attack on the Soul Society, led by Yhwach.

Attempting to stop the attack, Ichigo travels to the Soul Society. He slows down when Quilge traps him in a Reishi prison, but Ichigo breaks free and confronts Yhwach, who reveals that the prison wasn’t built to hold a Quincy. During the battle, Haschwalth breaks Zangetsu (Ichigo’s sword) in half before the Quincies escape.

After trying and failing to restore his Bankai, Ichigo looks for answers in his inner world. He learns that Hollow Ichigo is the true nature of Zangetsu, and the other spirit is part of his Quincy blood. Ichigo returns to the fight wielding two swords that represent his Shinigami powers and his Quincy bloodline.