Uryū Ishida: Difference between revisions

Template:Bleach character info Uryū Ishida (石田 雨竜, Ishida Uryū) is a major character in the manga and anime series Bleach. He is a classmate of Ichigo Kurosaki. He is first introduced as the last Quincy.

Character outline

Uryū Ishida is a black-haired, bespectacled (thus referred to as four-eyes by some classmates) teenager of average height. At school, Uryū wears the school uniform along with a tie, while outside he dons white Quincy clothes with blue stripes representing the Quincy cross, and a cape.

Uryū is generally shy and quiet, but tries extra hard to act cool when other people are around. For example, during the Soul Society arc he wears a long, flowing cape that serves no purpose (actually hindering his movements) for the sole reason that it makes him look cool and even keeps a spare to that effect. He also has a tendency to say things with characteristic drama.

Uryū operates on a moral ethic known as the "Pride of the Quincy" and has a strong sense of justice. He has also shown to be very chivalrous, stating that he does not like the type of men who will abuse or treat women badly. He demonstrates this at multiple points throughout the series, such as when he tried to defend Rukia Kuchiki from Renji Abarai when he and Byakuya Kuchiki came to the real world to take her, or when he defends Orihime Inoue at multiple points throughout the Soul Society arc.

Uryū has low blood pressure and hates procrastination. The other things he hates are quite odd: buttons (despite being an expert in sewing) and the word "haphazard." His favorite food is homemade mackerel miso stew. The TV program he likes is Don Kanonji's "Bura-Rei." A shadow resembling Uryū's jumped out of the crowd at Kanonji's first appearance.

School

At school, Uryū is the highest scoring student. Fitting with his habit of misreading names, Ichigo misreads Uryū's given name as Ametatsu, likely assuming he is female (雨 can also be read as 'ame' and 竜 as 'tatsu', usually in female names).

Uryū is also part of the fine crafts club, being a master of sewing and design. He is the most skilled of the members, and as such, other members of the club often ask him to help them fix their wares. Ishida is the one who repeatedly repairs the stuffed lion Kon, though he generally adds something fancy and unwanted, which annoys Kon. After one of Kon's retaliatory beatings, Uryū sewed a Quincy cross on the back of his head as revenge.

Uryū is an outcast at school, almost never interacting with anyone. He refuses to eat lunch when Ichigo invites him to, but eventually agrees when someone else pays for it. Like some of the other main characters (i.e. Orihime and Yasutora Sado), he lives alone.

History

File:Ishida and his grandfather.jpg

Young Uryū training with his grandfather.

Being only fifteen years old, Uryū doesn't have the same rich history as some of the other characters, especially the long-lived shinigami. Several details about his past are revealed in the series, however.

As a child, Uryū mostly interacted and trained with his grandfather, Sōken Ishida. His father, Ryūken Ishida, was less than enthusiastic about being a Quincy, claiming that it wasn't a profitable occupation. They don't appear to be on very good terms as a result, given Uryū's casual use of his father's given name. Sōken understands Ryūken's reasoning, since being a Quincy is more about justice than material rewards and Ryūken has a family to support. Sōken told Uryū that he would someday understand his father's motives, but thus far this isn't this case.

At a fairly young age, Uryū's grandfather was killed by hollows right in front of him, while he wasn't able to do a thing to protect him. This is one of the reasons he hates the shinigami, who didn't come to rescue Sōken in time. It is later revealed that the current captain of the 12th Division was behind the delay so that Sōken's soul could be collected for study.

Synopsis

Early story

Uryū first appears as a student in Ichigo's class who Ichigo does not recognize by name. A few days after Ichigo becomes a shinigami, Rukia's cell phone begins informing her of hollows only for none to be present once they arrive on the scene. In reality, Uryū had been eliminating the hollows before Ichigo could. He formally introduces himself to Ichigo after three or four false alarms, informing him of his hatred of all shinigami.

Ichigo follows Uryū the next day and Uryū provokes him into a duel to see who can get rid of the most hollows. Using hollow bait, Uryū causes a multitude of hollows to appear in Karakura Town. The bait works much better than expected, causing far more hollows to appear than either fighter is capable of handling alone. The growing number of hollows forces Ichigo and Uryū to fight together. A Menos Grande is eventually attracted by the fighting, which neither Uryū or Ichigo seem capable of dealing with. Uryū tries a somewhat odd method of enhancing his bow: tying Ichigo's sword to his own head, thus allowing him to channel Ichigo's power. Ichigo rejects the idea and attacks on his own, injuring the Menos Grande by releasing a large amount of spiritual energy. The large amount of energy becomes too much for Ichigo to control and Uryū is forced to connect to Ichigo's excess energy and release it using his spirit arrows. Uryū continues shooting out Ichigo's excess energy and vows to keep Ichigo alive so that he can defeat him one day. Due to this, Uryū ends up breaking the promise he made to himself to hate shinigami by saving one.

Soul Society arc

When Rukia is confronted by Renji, who has arrived with Byakuya Kuchiki to arrest her, Uryū tries to save Rukia, making up a flimsy excuse about buying sewing supplies in the middle of the night (though he makes it quite obvious the bag he's carrying is one he brought from home). Uryū fails to do so, however, and Rukia eventually goes back willingly after Ichigo is seriously wounded. After being healed by Kisuke Urahara, Uryū admits that Ichigo is the only one strong enough to get Rukia back.

During the training period before the rescue attempt, Uryū trains by himself for a week using the sanrei gloves, which vastly increase his ability to form and fire spiritual arrows. After the week, Uryū leaves for Soul Society with Orihime, Chad, Yoruichi Shihouin, and Ichigo.

When the group is separated during their entrance into Seireitei, Uryū ends up alone with Orihime. They find their way to the rooftop of a building where Orihime is attacked by Jirōbō Ikkanzaka of the 7th Division. Jirōbō challenges Uryū for the title of "Kamaitachi," which is given to the best projectile user. Uryū easily defeats him, but Jirōbō decides that he can at least defeat Orihime. In response, Uryū easily saves her and shoots two arrows through the two points of Jirōbō responsible for generating spirit power, leaving him powerless and unable to continue his life as a shinigami.

Uryū and Orihime later ambush two 12th Division shinigami, taking their outfits so as to avoid suspicion from the many shinigami patrols. They are confronted by a drunk Makizō Aramaki of the 11th Division, but are "saved" by other 12th Division shinigami. The shinigami are actually under orders to bring them to their captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, and, unbeknownst to them, are used as human bombs in an attempt to disable the pair. Mayuri becomes interested in Orihime's powers, which she uses to defend herself from the explosions. Quite aware of what they're facing, Uryū forces Makizō to take Orihime away while he confronts Mayuri.

Initially, Uryū is little match for the captain-level Mayuri, who, in addition to being able to regenerate his limbs and use his body parts as weapons, can paralyze his opponents with the initial release of his zanpakutō. He even uses his own lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, to disable Uryū long enough to land a hit. Mayuri's callous disregard for his own lieutenant, as well as kicking her for asking for medical assistance, angers Uryū. Mayuri reveals that he created Nemu and mocks his sympathy as part of the meaningless "Quincy pride" they speak about until their last breath. He recalls the last Quincy he researched who kept on calling out the name of his student and shows Uryū a photograph, which depicts none other than his own grandfather. Motivated to defeat Mayuri at any cost, Uryū uses ransōtengai to move his paralyzed body and removes his sanrei gloves, greatly increasing his Quincy powers at the cost of losing them shortly thereafter. Though more than powerful enough to defeat Mayuri in this form, Uryū is ultimately unsuccessful. After Mayuri uses his final release to poison Uryū, earning an arrow through the chest in return, he escapes by reducing himself to a liquid state.

After Mayuri is gone, Nemu gives Uryū the antidote to the poison in gratitude for not shooting her creator and father in the head, which would have been fatal. Uryū finds his way up the stairs to the Shrine of Penitence and realizes that he has truly lost his Quincy powers as his grandfather had warned him would happen. He is then confronted by Kaname Tōsen, who uses his initial release to render Uryū unconscious. Uryū is placed in a holding cell and healed by the 4th Division, where he finds himself with Ganju Shiba and Chad. They are freed by Kenpachi Zaraki and reunited with Orihime. Kenpachi's lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, leads the group to the execution stands, where they wait as Ichigo and Byakuya fight. After Byakuya is defeated, the group tends to Ichigo. They later learn of the elaborate conspiracy surrounding Rukia's execution, masterminded by Sōsuke Aizen. After Aizen escapes to Hueco Mundo, Uryū, Chad, Ichigo, and Orihime depart for the living world. When Uryū departs for his house, he reminds Ichigo that they are still enemies.

Bount arc

In the anime, Uryū never reveals to Ichigo and the rest of the group that he had lost his powers as a Quincy. Ichigo and the others finally realize this after Urahara's "games" with them, when Urahara tells them as much.

During school, when Ririn reveals that there is a Bount nearby, Uryū still follows the group even though Ichigo says not to strain himself. They find Ryo Utagawa about to take the soul of a human lady. A small battle starts and Uryū finds himself cornered by Utagawa. Utagawa realizes that Uryū's a Quincy, and is about to attack him, but Ichigo steps in. Utagawa grabs the human lady and threatens to harm her if anybody moved. Uryū decides that they should not involve an innocent person in their battle and asks for a trade: him for the lady. Once Utagawa traps Uryū with one of his snakes, he knocks Uryū against the ground, rendering him unconscious. Before Utagawa can do anything else, Yoshino Sōma steps in and takes Uryū to what looks like her apartment.

Yoshino tells Uryū the story of the Bount and that she doesn't intend to do anything to him. She tells him instead to stay alive and to not get caught by Kariya. Uryū faints again because of his injury and then finds himself at his father's hospital. The hospital is later attacked by the Bount twins Hō and Ban, who cause the group a fair amount of trouble until Ganju Shiba turns up and uses his fireworks to kill them.

Uryū is later taken captive by the Bount, who claim to need him, and is locked in a room of a mansion owned by Jin Kariya, the Bount leader. Yoshino is also being held there, and Uryū insists on saving her after his friends come to free him. After Kariya's mansion is razed to the ground, both Uryū and Yoshino are treated at the Urahara Shop.

Yoshino eventually tries to defeat Kariya on her own and is followed by Uryū, who watches helplessly as she is killed by Kariya as material for a ritual to create the bitto (soul-sucking insects). Uryū, wanting revenge, tries numerous times to regain his Quincy powers, but can barely manage to form his original bow. However, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's interest in the Bount leads him to desire a research subject. Learning that the Quincy are needed for the Bount to get to Soul Society, he has Nemu give Uryū a Quincy artifact that mimics a Quincy's natural powers, but only for a short time. With his powers restored, Uryū willingly lets the Bount get to Soul Society since his Quincy artifact will be more effective there, not realizing that the same holds true for the Bounts' own abilities.

During their time in Soul Society, Uryū and Ichigo meet Rantao, who looks exactly like Yoshino. Being the creator of the Bounts, Rantao isn't surprised she had a clone among their number. She explains that the Bount are akin to the modified souls, but based on shinigami souls instead of human ones, thus the origin of their powers. She also explains how they were mostly wiped out by the shinigami.

Later, while searching for the Bounts, Uryū runs into the Bount Yoshi. Lacking experience in using his Quincy artifact, the battle goes badly for him at first, since his arrows fire both with inconsistent power and often in curved lines. However, continued use of it allows him to somewhat master it. A misfire of the bow allows him to discover her weakness, which is a lag-time the form changes of her doll. Using this knowledge, he fires an arrow through her chest during the lag period, easily killing her.

After the battle, Uryū is picked up by Chad and Ichigo, who inform him of Kariya's intentions. After being healed by Orihime, he goes in search of Kariya (now the only living Bount) and interrupts his battle with Rantao. Rantao, using the power of the Jōkaishō (a massive source of spirit energy) to temporarily match Kariya, attempts to hold down Kariya so Uryū can fire an arrow through the both of them. Uryū doesn't do so, however, instead firing in such a way as to separate the two without killing either. Once Rantao loses control of the energy she enhanced herself with, Uryū gathers it into a single arrow and fires it into the sky, saving her life and destroying his Quincy artifact in the process. They were saved from certain death from Kariya's hands with Ichigo's timely arrival.

Arrancar arc

After returning to the real world, a hollow appears outside the high school. Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, and the mysterious new transfer student Shinji Hirako run outside. Ichigo easily deals with the hollow, but realizes that Uryū didn't rush out with them. Orihime tells Chad and Ichigo that Uryū seems to be feeling bad and doesn't like to show weakness to other people, which is why he didn't come.

While walking home, Uryū is attacked by two incomplete arrancar which exist as one top-like entity and defends himself in a manner similar to demon arts using spiritual energy he had stored in gintō. Uryū is no match for it after it separates, however, and is rescued by his father, Ryūken. Ryūken easily finishes off the creatures and reveals his Quincy pentacle, the same Quincy "cross" as that of Uryū's grandfather. Ryūken knew about Uryū's trip to Soul Society and calls him a fool for losing his powers. Despite this, Ryūken says that he can restore Uryū's Quincy powers on the condition that Uryū never associates with shinigami again.

While Grimmjow Jaggerjack and five other arrancar fight the shinigami, Uryū trains in a hidden chamber made of soul-synthesized silver and soul-synthesized glass. Ryūken fires arrows at Uryū and tells him that if he can stay alive, he will get his Quincy powers back. After evading arrows for a long time, Uryū gets tired and decides to attack with his last gintō, enveloping his father in a glass tube. Ryūken easily shoots through the prison, piercing Uryū near his heart. Ryūken tells Uryū that getting shot in a certain spot 19 millimeters away from the heart after becoming completely exhausted is the only way to regain Quincy powers and ends the training.

Hueco Mundo arc

When Orihime is captured by Aizen, Uryū shows up at the Urahara Shop with Chad to help Ichigo rescue her. While traveling to Hueco Mundo, he reveals his justification for violating his promise to his father by aiding Ichigo: he is not helping because Ichigo is a friend, but rather because he was abandoned by Soul Society and thus is not technically a shinigami. Isshin Kurosaki, however, believes Ryūken purposely let Uryū go with Ichigo.

Upon their arrival at Hueco Mundo, Uryū and Chad engage two arrancar, named Demōra and Iceringer respectively, telling Ichigo to watch them. While struggling against Demōra, Uryū remembers Ryūken Ishida's advice concerning two-on-two battles, and he switches targets with Chad. Uryū proceeds to summon his new bow and engages the long-range fighter Iceringer after a short chase. Unfortunately for Iceringer, Uryū's skill with projectiles is far beyond his own, allowing Uryū to defeat Iceringer easily.

During their trip to Aizen's palace, the group meets a few "good" hollows and their arrancar companion. They join together and head for Aizen's palace with them, only to be ambushed by a sand monster that seems immune to all their attacks. Nell, the arrancar, explains that the sand monster's weakness is water. Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki arrive on the scene shortly after the announcement, and Rukia's ice-based abilites make defeating the sand monster simple. The five, with their companions, proceed to Aizen's headquarters and, encountering a room with five exits, decide to split up, vowing that they shall meet again alive after their respective battles.

Uryū ends up fighting a female arrancar named Cirucci. Using a whip-like weapon with a ring attached, she proves immune to his attacks while Uryū is unable to defend against her's. Pesshe, one of the friendly hollows, comes running in during the battle, searching for Nell. Neither is too happy to see the other, but they are forced to join forces against Cirucci, who releases her zanpakutō to grow a pair of bladed wings. Uryū and Pesshe continue to have trouble against Cirucci, whose wing blades make effective projectiles, so Uryū changes strategies and produces an energy sword he calls the Seele Schneider. Using the blade, he easily slices through Cirucci's blade attacks.

Cirucci then "sheds" her wing and arm extensions, allowing her to wield her energy in a more concentrated form at their expense. Despite doing so, Uryū's sword proves to be the stronger blade, absorbing energy from Cirucci's attacks with each clash. While Cirucci believes that her longer range will make her the victor, Uryū reveals that the Seele Schneider is in fact a powerful arrow, not a sword, and fires it through her chest. After the battle, Pesshe notes that Cirucci is not dead, but Uryū is unwilling to kill her, saying that it's his choice since he won. Additionally, he reveals that he aimed his final arrow at the source of her spiritual power rendering her powerless.

Powers

See also: Quincy combat

File:Ishida bow.JPG

Uryū's original bow

File:Ishida with sword.png

Uryū's new bow and special sword-like arrow.

Having undergone formal training and possessing prior experience in combat, Uryū is one of the strongest protagonists in the series. As a Quincy, Uryū's main weapon is a bow, but he is also able to use many Quincy techniques and items to augment his abilities.

When first introduced, Uryū uses a bow named Lone Sparrow (弧雀, Kojaku), which looks like a bow made from blue energy. Its size is dependent on the amount of energy flowing through it. With this bow, Uryū is able to kill most hollows in a single strike.

As preparation for his travel to Soul Society, Uryū later masters the sanrei gloves, greatly increasing his abilities. With the gloves, Uryū's bow is solid and covered in an intricate pattern. It is attached to his glove by a series of thin struts. With the gloves, Uryū can fire several shots simultaneously and move almost instantly over short distances. By removing the gloves, Uryū attains the Quincy Final Form. Though it appears essentially the same as with the gloves, albeit with a different outfit, the Quincy final form gives him a vast increase in power. All the extra energy collects as a sort of wing on his right shoulder. As a result of removing the gloves, however, the Quincy Final Form uses too much power for Uryū's body to handle, causing his body to block his Quincy powers completely after it wears off.

In the anime's Bount arc, Uryū recovers his powers for a short period through an ancient Quincy artifact which mimics the natural powers of a Quincy. The artifact produces an appropriate Quincy uniform on demand and creates a new metal bow mounted on Uryū's wrist. The artifact is unstable, however, firing arrows in odd arcs and with inconsistent power levels when first used. Additionally, it is fragile, eventually crumbling apart after repeated use.

In the manga, Uryū permanently regains his powers after getting shot near the heart by his father with an arrow after reaching his physical and mental limits. He uses a new Quincy cross, this one resembling a pentacle, and a variant of his original bow called Lone Sparrow on a Silver Cliff (銀嶺弧雀, Ginrei Kojaku). Unlike his original bow, this bow is shaped like a spiderweb and can fire up to 1,200 shots consecutively. Uryū also acquires new battle accessories, one of which is a new Quincy arrow called the "Seele Schneider" (魂を切り裂くもの, lit. that which slits the soul; German for "soul cutter") that can double as an energy sword in melee combat.