Sosuke Aizen

Sosuke Aizen is one of the four main antagonists of the series and the leader of the Arrancar army. He was also the former captain of the Fifth Squad before betraying the Soul Society with his followers, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen. His former lieutenant is Vsauce

Information Box

Voice Actors

Japanese Voice Actor
English Voice Actor	Kyle Herbert

Appearance

Aizen is an average height, bespectacled man, with short brown hair that is sweeped back with a single strand to hang down in front of his eyes, and matching brown, menacing eyes. In addition to his basic black shihakusho, he wears a white vest, and on top of this, a white robe, reminiscent of his old captain's haori, with an extended collar and no insignia on the back.

Personality

According to Senjumaru Shutara, a member of the Royal Guard, Aizen is the personification of evil itself. Despite this, he is a polite individual, often speaking in a soft tone, and in a very intellectual manner. He almost always refers to his subordinates by their given names, however, to everyone else, he refers to them by their surnames. He always applies appropriate honorifics to names as well. Aizen does surprisingly well when dealing with confrontation, regarding it with a calm, almost uncaring demeanor. As noted by Shunsui Kyoraku, Aizen has a habit of talking too long, as he likes to make small talk with is enemies and even his subordinates.

The centerpiece of his personality is his deceptive nature. For centuries, during his time in Soul Society, he was able to convince his fellow captains and lieutenants that his was a kind, respectable, and overly caring man. Even in his guise as the Espada leader, it was Aizen's deceptive behavior that allowed him to manipulate the Arrancar, and even gain some of their undying loyalty, with little to no problems. His true nature is one of detachment. In truth, he cares very little for those who serve him, seeing them as pawns in his grand scheme, and mere tools to be used to further his desires. Aizen himself has admitted that there is no code of morals that he follows, claiming that such things have no effect on him, and only would restrict his potential. Gin Ichimaru even noted that Aizen takes great joy in toying with his subordinates emotions, finding it amusing to himself. Unlike other Shinigami, even of an antagonist nature, Aizen seems to have no genuine honor or compassion for anyone or anything.

Another major aspect of his personality is his love for long, complex, and convoluted plots. He is always well prepared for any situation that presents itself, due to the fact that he takes great pride in planning several steps ahead in order to undermine his enemies, especially when they think they have his plans figured out.

Aizen is a natural leader, attracting numerous supporters and subordinates wherever he went. Even after his defection, his former lieutenant, Momo Hinamori, harbored delusions of saving him. He keeps his subordinates in line either by earned respect or intimidation due to his sheer power and intelligence. According to Gin, it is Aizen's above average power that kept the Espada in-line. He also uses mental manipulations on more troublesome individuals such as Barragan Louisenbarin and Grimmjow Jagerjaques in order to keep them firmly under his thumb. He is also fond of using these mental machinations to taunt his opponents, luring them into lowering their defenses and allowing him to deal with them more easily.

Upon being released from his prison, he revealed that his true plan, the "Seat of God Plan", is to overthrown the Soul King and take the role of "god of [this] world". In tandem with this, he has an extreme god-complex. He was infuriated by the idea that lowly beings, such as the Central 46, could sentence him. Likewise, he was infuriated at the thought of a human, such as Ichigo Kurosaki, being stronger than himself. Aizen is also a major believer in power being tangible and is reserved only for certain privileged beings (himself being one of them). He once explained to Sajin Komamura that the captain simply didn't understand his definition of power.

Powers and Abilities

• Genius 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 knowing of the existence of the Ōken, as well as the obscure method in which to make one. He has also created several hollows and Arrancar while being able to avoid arousing any suspicion from most of his fellow Shinigami, most likely due to his Zanpakuto's illusionary abilities. 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. He has an innate knowledge of the Hogyoku, rivalling that of its creator, Kisuke Urahara even the extent required for him to destroy it. 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. He effectively deduces the true power of the Hogyoku via trial and error of situations that revolve around it.
  • Master Manipulator - His plan is dependent upon his abilities of manipulation, which has been shown to be well-versed in. It is this same kind, caring persona that allowed him to deceive the captains and lieutenants while he was still the lieutenant of the Fifth Division himself. He is fond of observing the behaviors and quirks of others, leading himself not only to a better understanding of the individual, but also how best to manipulate said person into doing his desires. He has likened his plans to chess, stating that manipulation of people is essentially like moving the pieces of the chessboard, eluding to how good he had become at it. Aizen's most noticeable manipulation ability is to enact "plans within plans", such as when he captured and kidnapped Orihime Inoue to lure Ichigo and his friends, as well as half the fighting force of the Gotei 13, to Hueco Mundo, where he could trap them and move on to his plans in Karakura Town. This would then make it easier to accomplish his earlier plan of creating the Oken.
  • Master Strategist and Tactician - Aizen is a beyond able tactician, able to adjust his plans to almost any situation presented to him at a moment's notice. He is a master of psychological warfare, being the center of his entire battle strategy, being able to completely break down the will and resolve of his opponents, as well as provoking them to attack him prematurely, leaving openings in their form for Aizen to exploit. He has also made it a personal goal of his to familiarize himself with the strengths, weaknesses, and mannerisms of his opponents, allowing him to devise elaborate strategies for defeating them.
• Kido Grandmaster - Aizen is extraordinarily talented in Kido, having once shown himself to produce more powerful spells than the current Kido Captain of the time, Tessai Tsukabishi. He can wordlessly cast spells in the nineties, such as Hado 90: Kurohitsugi, without an incantation and still bring down captain-level opponents. At full power, and with incantation, his Kurohitsugi spell could warp gravity itself. In addition to this, Aizen has shown the unique ability to cast Kido without even calling out the name of the spell, casting them wordlessly, with just a flick of his wrist, as he did to defend himself against Shunsui Kyoraku's Zanpakuto.
  • Kido Inventor -  In part with his intimate knowledge of the mechanisms of Kido, as well as his own genius, Aizen is capable of inventing Kidō and using it effectively in his arsenal. For example, he invented the Millon Escudo spell, a trigger-shield spell that protects his blind spots upon being struck, and planted it to protect himself against attacks at his neck. It proved strong enough to completely block Ichigo Kurosaki's Bankai-enhanced Getsuga Tensho, without cracking or showing visible signs of stress. He also invented the more simple El Escudo, a simple shield that can block standard concussion attacks.
• Master Swordsman - 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 with his own blade still sealed. He has also demonstrated the ability to perform tremendously powerful and precise strikes, capable of striking through very sturdy targets, such as Renji's Shikai, Harribel's Hierro, and Komamura's Bankai. He was also able to easily cut down four captains (two which used their Bankai) and four Visored (with three being former captains of Gotei 13) with ease. His masterful skill in swordsmanship is even noted when he is able to hold equal grounds with Ichigo Kurosaki on two serperate ocassions.
• Shunpo Master - He is perceived to be so fast that one cannot discern even being attacked by him until after it has taken place. His speed can outmatch Ichigo Kurosaki's Bankai-enhanced speed (even when the latter tried to use Hollowfication to increase his speed).
• Hakuda Master - 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.
• Immortality - Through his fusion with the Hōgyoku, Aizen gained true immortality, as he can neither die from death blows, as shown when he survived Ichigo Kurosaki's Mugetsu, nor die of old age, as commented on by the Central 46.
• Immense Strength - Despite the fact that Aizen is rather petite when compared to captains such as Sajin Komamura and Kenpachi Zaraki, he is actually an immensly strong individual. He was shown to be capable of catching Ichigo's Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, with a single finger and subsequently nearly tear the Substitute Shinigami in two with his blade. Aizen has also been known to contend on an even higher strength level than Komamura himself, stopping the immense blade of the canine captain's Bankai with one hand and subsequently cutting through the blade and the wrist of said Bankai. In the same light, he was able to break the Shikai of Renji Abarai's Zabimaru with a single hand.
• Immense Durability - Aizen shows vastly high levels of physical durability, as he was able to withstand multiple attacks from four Shinigami captains and four Visored, as well as Ichigo Kurosaki's Bankai and Hollow-enhanced abilities, without suffering any marks or scratches during the battle at the Fake Karakura Town.
• Tremendous Spiritual Power - Aizen's spiritual power is well beyond that of an average captain. Before his merging with the Hōgyoku, it was estimated, by himself, to be somewhere around twice that of an average captain. Upon fusion with the Hōgyoku, Aizen's spiritual power skyrockets to where, according to his own explanations, he stands on a plane above most Shinigami, to the point where other Shinigami and humans cannot even detect his spiritual pressure unless he purposely restricts his own power to allow them to do so. When unleashed, his spiritual pressure has a devastating effect on those who feel it. The Sexta Espada was, without any visible effort, brought to his knees by its power and the souls of humans in Karakura Town were vaporized just by coming into contact with it. This same force caused part of Gin Ichimaru's hand to be obliterated upon touching Aizen. Aizen's overwhelming power is what gives him the ability to use the Hōgyoku with such ease. According to his own claim, his power alone is greater than all ten Espada combined.

Zanpakuto

Kyoka Suigetsu (Moon Mirror, Water Flower) - In it's sealed form, it resembles a normal katana. The only decoration is the crossguard, 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" and is used to both activate and deactivate it. The name Kyoka 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.

Shikai Special Ability - Kyoka Suigetsu's Shikai ability is Complete Hypnosis. 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 Kyoka Suigetsu. After seeing it just once, that person will completely succumb to the hypnosis. After that, every time it is released, that person will become Aizen's unwilling slave. Since the spell works when you see the ritual, those who can not see are consequently immune to the hypnosis. When he turns off the hypnosis by force of will, the image shown melts away/shatters. Kyoka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis is absolutely flawless; even if the target is aware that they are under the hypnosis, they cannot resist its influence. Kyoka Suigetsu's hypnotic abilities make it a highly useful tool in combat, as Aizen can quickly create simple or complex illusions to deceive opponents. 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.

While the illusions Kyoka 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. This is how Aizen has deceived many people and killed them, including one of his own allies, the Tres Espada, Tier Harribel. Gin reveals that the sole way to escape Kyoka Suigetsu's ability is by touching the blade itself before complete hypnosis is activated.

Hogyoku Implantation

First Fusion

• Protective Regeneration - By embedding the Hogyoku 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. Immediately following that, he took a point-blank Hollow mask-enhanced black Getsuga Tensho and survived the attack. He can come out unfazed after being hurled into several buildings.
• 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.
• Durability Augmentation

Second Fusion - 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 Hogyoku is embedded in him. After a short struggle with Yoruichi Shihorin, his Zanpakuto becomes fused to his arm. Also, when he is attacked, his body appears to crack and fold under damage, only actually bleeding when an attack is powerful enough.

• Enhanced Strength
• Enhanced Speed
• Enhanced Endurance
• Enhanced Durability
• Enhanced Spiritual Power - After Aizen fuses with the Hōgyoku, both Shinigami and Humans are incapable of sensing his reiatsu, unless he voluntarily lowers his level and allows them to interfere. He compares this to how a two-dimensional being is incapable of interfering with a three-dimensional one. Isshin Kurosaki surmised that Aizen's spiritual power can only be sensed by someone that is at the same level as him.
• Regeneration

Third Fusion

• Enhanced Durability
• Enhanced Spiritual Power

Equipment

• Reiatsu Concealing Cloak

Inventions

• Caja Negacion
• Hollow Research and Development
• Hogyoku

List of Moves and Techniques

• Bakudo #26: Kyokko
• Bakudo #81: Danku
• El Escudo
• Hado #63: Raikoho
• Hado #90: Kurohitsugi
• Hogyoku "Collapse"
• Kido Blast
• Kido Fire
• Millon Escudo
• Power of Hogyoku
• Will of Hogyoku

List of Awakenings

• Hogyoku - Second Fusion
• Hogyoku - Third Fusion

Relationships

Friends/Allies

• Gin Ichimaru
• Kaname Tosen
• The Arrancars
• The Espadas
• Momo Hinamori (Lieutenant, formerly)

Enemies

• Ichigo Kurosaki (Arch-enemy)
• Isshin Kurosaki
• Kisuke Urahara
• Yoruichi Shihorin
• Gotei 13 Captains
  • Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto
  • Soi Fon
  • Retsu Unohana
  • Byakuya Kuchiki
  • Sajin Komamura
  • Shunsui Kyoraku
  • Toshiro Hitsugaya
  • Kenpachi Zaraki
  • Mayuri Kurotsuchi
  • Jushiro Ukitake
• Gotei 13 Lieutenants
  • Chojiro Sasakibe
  • Marechiyo Omaeda
  • Izuru Kira
  • Isane Kotetsu
  • Momo Hinamori (Former Lieutenant)
  • Renji Abarai
  • Tetsuzaemon Iba
  • Nanao Ise
  • Shuhei Hisagi
  • Rangiku Matsumoto
  • Yachiru Kusajishi
  • Nemu Kurotsuchi
• Gotei 13 Seated Officers
  • Ikkaku Madarame
  • Yumichika Ayasegawa
  • Hanataro Yamada
• Visored
  • Shinji Hirako (Former Captain)
  • Kensei Muguruma
  • Love Aikawa
  • Rojuro Otoribashi
  • Hachigen Ushoda
  • Lisa Yadomaru
  • Hiyori Sarugaki
  • Mashiro Kuna
• Rukia Kuchiki
• Uryu Ishida
• Yasutora Sado
• Orihime Inoue
• Karin Kurosaki
• Naruto Uzumaki
• The Five Kage
• Konohagakure
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• New Freedom Fighters

Quotes

• I will eliminate all obstacles before the construction of the Royal Key.
• The will of the Hogyoku understands my heart.