Highlights
- Ichibe Hyosube is an ancient and powerful character in Bleach, known as the strongest Soul Reaper with unique abilities and a considerate personality.
- He is the leader of the Royal Guard, an elite squad responsible for protecting the Soul King, and takes great pride in his squad members.
- Hyosube holds great authority over true names and has named almost everything in the Soul Society.
Introduced in the very late stages of the story, Ichibe Hyosube is a character with great relevance to the world of Bleach. After the demise of Captain General Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, he is suspected to be the strongest Soul Reaper in the series, possessing powers that barely any other characters can hope to rival.
Though he is a very important figure, there is still a lot about him that is shrouded in mystery. He carries himself like a monk and has a considerate personality. He is also loud and upbeat, as well as ruthless in the face of battle. Furthermore, he is highly respected and takes great pride in his role, getting angry if the reputation of his squad members is tarnished in any way.
10 Hyosube is Over 2000 Years Old
Hyosube is one of the oldest characters in the series, having lived for over two thousand years. As you will see later in the article, he was one of the first Soul Reapers to experience a large number of things, even receiving his title from the Soul King himself.
He was born in the old world and, as such, was present before the soul king divided it into the realms of the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the world of the living. He is also partly immortal and can restore himself as long as someone remembers and utters his name.
9 Hyosube Is The Leader of The Royal Guard
The Royal Guard, also known as the Zero Division, is an elite squad of five members with the task of protecting the Soul King. As stated by Shunsui Kyoraku, the five have a combined power greater than that of the entire Gotei 13, and they each have their individual specialties.
Hyosube is the leader of this special division and also the strongest. He takes great pride in his squad members and values every one of them. He also encourages them to treat members of the Gotei 13 with respect, once admonishing Tenjiro Kirinji for his treatment of Sui Feng.
8 Hyosube is a Skilled Calligrapher
Aided by his Zanpakuto, which takes the form of a massive calligraphy brush, Hyosube is capable of writing large calligraphic characters. This is relevant as his powers are directly related to naming and renaming, requiring him to have great skill with the brush.
With his brush, he is able to write characters that can conceal objects or create boundaries. These abilities are unique to him and can be applied on very large scales, as he was able to hide the entire Soul King Palace with the “conceal” character.
7 Hyosube Can Perceive The True Names of Anyone or Object
Hyosube has the ability to determine the true names of anything in existence. As one of the first-ever Soul Reapers, Hyosube has been around for an extremely long period of time, witnessing the creation of a large number of things.
As a result, Hyosube knows the name of every Zanpakuto that has been handed to their respective Soul Reapers. From the moment they stopped being nameless Zanpakuto, Asauchi, till the present, Hyosube is aware of every one of them. For example, he was able to tell Renji Abarai that he had only been uttering half of his Zanpakuto’s name all this while.
6 Hyōsube's Bones Contain the Ōken Within Them.
Throughout previous arcs, the Oken was perceived as a physical key that could be used to gain entry into the Soul King Palace. Obtaining the Oken was Aizen’s main goal, and for the sake of that goal, he was willing to go to great lengths, such as sacrificing the lives of everyone in an entire town.
The Oken, however, does not look like an actual key and is really contained in the bones of the squad members of the Zero Division. Hyosube also revealed that when they were chosen for the position, their bones were modified by the Soul King, which in turn grants them free entry and exit into the Soul King Palace.
5 Hyosube’s Prayer Beads Resemble Those of Akuma From Street Fighter
One of the most powerful antagonists in the Street Fighter franchise, Akuma is a ruthless warrior whose main aim is to grow stronger through fighting tough opponents and using the Satsui no Hado. Appearance-wise, he doesn’t bear much similarity to Hyosube, except that they both sport massive frames.
However, they are both usually seen wearing large prayer beads around their necks. Akuma’s prayer beads hug his neck tighter, belonging to his former master Goutetsu. Hyosube’s beads aren’t as tight, but they both share an enormous size matching their wearers’ respective frames.
4 Hyosube’s Powers Cannot Be Used Against Him
At the start of the Thousand Year Blood War Arc, the Quincy quickly made a reputation for themselves by stealing Bankai belonging to Soul Reapers and using it against them. This, however, would not work against Hyosube, as only he can make good use of his powers. As the controller of all things black, if the power of his Zanpakuto is “stolen” from him, it would have no effect on and be restored after a short while.
This makes him a difficult opponent, especially for the Quincy, since his powers have such a wide application.
3 Hyosube's Zanpakutō Gives Him The Power of Renaming
Hyosube’s true power lies in the fact that he can assign and reassign names with devastating consequences. His Zanpakuto, Ichimonji, is capable of releasing ink that, when splashed on an opponent, causes them to lose their name. The implication of this is that they become a part of Hyosube’s power and become weaker.
In its evolved form, Hyosube’s Zanpakuto is able to change the names of whoever he targets. This gives Hyosube’s target the features of whatever entity they were renamed to and can easily change the tide of a fight.
2 Hyosube Was The First Soul Reaper Whose Zanpakutō Gained an Evolved Form
Hyosube’s weapon, Ichimonji, was the first to ever achieve Bankai. This, however, happened before the name Bankai existed, and as such, when releasing it, he calls out Shin’uchi instead, which translates to True Blade. The evolved form of his Zanpakuto is known as Shirafude Ichimonji, and it takes on the appearance of an extremely long white brush.
This further attests to the fact that Hyosube has been around for a significantly long period and is on a level far different from any other Soul Reaper.
1 Hyosube Named Everything in the Soul Society
Arguably the most telling fact about Hyosube’s importance, he was responsible for giving names to almost every phenomenon present in the soul society. From Zanpakuto to the name “Soul Society,” Hyosube was responsible for all of it. He was given the title “Monk Who Calls the Real Name” by the Soul King and, from then on, wielded great authority over true names and other concepts.
Despite this great responsibility spanning an uncountable number of things, it seems Hyosube is able to recall all the names which he has given out, as shown in his conversation with Renji. He has nigh unparalleled wisdom and knowledge and often shares his insights with those who need guidance.