Gin Ichimaru

. It takes the form of a wakizashi when sealed. The guard is shaped like an 'S'. Shinsō's "shikai" is triggered by the phrase nihongo|"shoot to kill"|射殺せ|ikorose; in the anime, this was slightly changed to the declarative "ikorosu". In the English equivalents of the series, the phrase is inconsistent between uses, but mostly uses terms describing stabbing (slay, impale, pierce, etc) coupled with a direct object, i.e. "Slay them." Its first rendering in the Viz translation was "skewer that punk".

In its "shikai", Shinsō's blade glows white and extends at high speed to impale Gin's opponents. In addition to making it a deadly long-range weapon, the extending blade also carries tremendous force without affecting Gin, making it useful for dislodging heavy objects, as seen when Gin pushes both Ichigo Kurosaki and the giant Jidanbō out from under the Seireitei gate, despite the latter being firmly braced under it. Once extended, Gin can maintain the blade's length and swing Shinsō in wide arcs, attacking multiple targets quickly and simultaneously.

While it hasn't been seen in the actual series, various "Bleach" console games have depicted Shinsō as having additional abilities. In ' and ', Gin fires Shinsō into the sky and swords similar to Shinsō's unreleased state rain all around him. In ' Gin shoots Shinsō into the ground and the blade hits the opponent from underneath, whereas in ', a wave of blades instead shoots up from the ground to hit the opponent.

Appearances in other media

"Bleach Beat Collection 5: Ichimaru Gin" is an album inspired by Gin. It was released in Japan with three unique songs (four total) that include the voice of his seiyū, Kōji Yusa:
*Track: 01 - "Sekai wa Sude ni Azamuki no Ue ni" ( The World Already Exists Upon Deceit)
*Track: 02 - "Fuyu no Hanabi" featuring Rangiku (Winter Fireworks)
*Track: 03 - "Hyōri" (Inside and Outside)
*Track: 04 - "Sekai wa Sude ni Azamuki no Ue ni" (Instrumental Version)

Gin has been a playable character in every "Bleach" video game to date, except "".

During the anime's 6th season, Gin occasionally replaces Kon's "Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book: Golden" sketch to host "Arrancar Encyclopedia", where he outlines various facts about arrancar. Each sketch starts with one of the arrancar (or their Soul Reaper masters) announcing the name of the sketch, at which point Gin will give a short course on a specific arrancar topic, such as their standard abilities. Once Gin has finished, the person that announced the name shows up to comment on the topic, usually resulting in a humorous reaction by Gin.

Reception

In both the 2nd and 3rd popularity polls, Ichimaru placed 5th. However, like Renji Abarai, he missed the top 10 of the most recent poll, being replaced with newer characters like Grimmjow Jeagerjaques and Ulquiorra Schiffer. ["Bleach" manga Character Poll; volume 24 tankōbon.] Gin was among the 4 Bleach characters to make the top 100 list in Newtype Japan's 2007 list of the most popular anime characters. Tite Kubo remarked in a 2004 "Shonen Jump" character commentary that Gin's popularity, especially among women, was a great surprise to him, as he had attempted to make Gin creepy and offputting in appearance.

Critics seem to take note of Gin's "interesting design;" IGN says he "has always been a rather odd character with his squinty eyes and cheesy smile" [ [http://tv.ign.com/articles/857/857158p1.html IGN: Gin Ichimaru's Temptation, Resolution Shattered Review] ] and adds "..he can swing a Zanpakutō like it is nobody's business as well, but it is his smile that gets us more than anything else...". [ [http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/765/765837p1.html IGN: The Man Who Hates Shinigami! Review] ] Another IGN review of Bleach volume 17 used Gin as an example of "Bleach's" colorful and well-developed supporting cast, and remarked that his story would be capable of filling a manga series of its own. [ [http://comics.ign.com/articles/761/761593p1.html IGN: Bleach Vol. 17 Review] ]

References