Yoruichi Shihouin

Yoruichi Shihouin
Bleach character
Voiced by	Satsuki Yukino (human form) Shiro Saito (animal form) Wendee Lee (human form) Terrence Stone (animal form)
Profile
Gender	Female
Species	Shinigami, Transforms into a cat
Date of birth	January 1st
Occupation	Ex-commander of the shinigami special forces
Title	22nd head of the Shihōin clan

Yoruichi Shihouin (四楓院 夜一, Shihōin Yoruichi^?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. Yoruichi's last name is Shihōin (四 Shi, 楓 hō, 院 in), but the u is pronounced clearly (Shi-ho-u-in). She is also known to be quite popular with fans, ranking 7th in the most recent popularity poll and earning 3,744 votes, just 8 votes behind Byakuya Kuchiki and surpassing Kisuke Urahara by 68 votes.^[1]

Character outline

Yoruichi Shihouin is a dark-skinned woman who can transform into a black cat for long periods of time. She is intelligent and witty, and is intimately knowledgeable of Soul Society and its workings, as she was the former leader of the special forces. Although of noble birth, she acts differently from other nobles. For instance, she instructed Soifon to refer to her without using honorific suffixes. She also transforms into her human form directly in front of Ichigo on several occasions just to see his reaction to seeing her naked.

Yoruichi tends to avoid battles, preferring to help after a fight is over, but she will step in if she thinks her side cannot win. She was responsible for training Chad and Orihime prior to their entrance into Soul Society. She also supervised Ichigo Kurosaki's bankai training using the methods developed by Kisuke Urahara.

According to Tite Kubo, the author of Bleach, Yoruichi prefers to drink milk, which fits with her practice of transforming into a cat most of the time.^[2]

History

Yoruichi was the former head of the special forces. She was also the first female and the 22nd generational head of the Shihouin family (天賜兵装番, tenshiheisōban^?), one of the four noble families, and earned much respect in Soul Society while she was there. While her age has not been revealed, she refers to Byakuya Kuchiki as "Little Byakuya", implying that she is older than him. About 100 years prior to the Bleach storyline, she helped Kisuke Urahara in his escape from Soul Society and was thus relieved of her high status. Yoruichi and Urahara are close friends,^[3] as they played together daily under the Sōkyoku hill training space,^[4] which Urahara built when they were children, although many incorrectly believe them to be family.

While Yoruichi was the special forces commander, she took in Soifon as a guard and became her mentor and friend. She taught Soifon most of the techniques she knew. As a result, Soifon succeeded her as head of the special forces after Yoruichi's escape from Soul Society.

Since her departure from Soul Society, it has been stated that she "has kept her distance from battle." According to the manga, Yoruichi disappeared over 100 years before the storyline,^[5] but did not fight for 100 years.^[6] Her segregation from fighting seems to be the main reason for Yoruichi's struggle during her fight with Soifon after she returns to Soul Society.

Synopsis

Yoruichi first appears in feline form, and helps train Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado control their powers. Yoruichi leads Ichigo's group into the Soul Society when they attempt to save Rukia Kuchiki, and also leads them to Kūkaku Shiba when they are unable to enter through the Seireitei gates. After being separated from the group, Yoruichi collected information on Rukia's execution. She also rescues Ichigo from being injured by Byakuya's shikai and claims that he cannot fight as he is. She then teaches Ichigo the bankai of his zanpakutō, and later has a battle with Soifon, with Yoruichi easily fending off Soifon once she reveals her most powerful ability. She returns to the human world with Ichigo and his friends.

Yoruichi, alongside Soifon, later actively begin to pursue the Bount once they learn of the Bount's plan to invade the Soul Society, and also saves Ichigo when he is unable to defeat Jin Kariya. Yoruichi also rescued the Bount Koga Gō and took him to the home of Rantao, the Bount's creator, where he was nursed back to health. Yoruichi and Urahara also rescue Ichigo from death at the hands of the arrancar Yammy, and later take Orihime to the training room under Urahara's shop to prevent Aizen from gaining interest in her abilities.

Abilities and items

Yoruichi Shihouin's cat form.

Yoruichi with her zanpakutō, prior to her departure from Soul Society.

As a member of a noble family and head of the special forces, Yoruichi has acquired many powerful abilities and artifacts. One of her most important and unique abilities is that she can transform into a black cat at will. It is unknown if this ability possesses any time limit, but it is unlikely considering she has used it for so long that she is unused to her human form and dislikes wearing clothing (much to Ichigo's chagrin). As a cat, Yoruichi can still channel spiritual power and move with incredible speeds, though she is physically limited by the form. Her transformation also allows her a complete disguise in multiple ways; aside from the physical transformation, her voice as a cat is deep enough for most to assume that she is male.

Yoruichi is also highly skilled in the use of flash steps (瞬歩, shunpo^?), a high speed movement ability. Though this is by no means a unique skill, as most seated officers are capable of performing it to various degrees, Yoruichi holds the title Goddess of Flash (瞬神, shunshin^?) because she has mastered this ability to such an extent that she can appear to be in several places at once and wipe out entire special forces squadrons in moments. The full extent of her abilities remain unclear, but she was able to outrun Byakuya while carrying an unconscious Ichigo over her shoulder. She was able to perform around 300 steps before feeling out of breath. Furthermore, she states that she is out of practice after doing so.

Yoruichi is also skilled with flash cry (瞬閧, shunkō^?), a technique that combines hand-to-hand combat and kidō. It concentrates high-pressure kidō energy around the body, allowing it to be fired at opponents. It can also be used to instantly neutralize an opponent's movement.

Two of Yoruichi's unique items are accessories that allow the user the power of flight. One is a small wand with a skull atop it. By channeling spirit energy into the wand, it produces a tentacle that acts as a harness and a single, bat-shaped wing that acts as a hang glider. No skill or previous experience is required to use it. The other, known as a tentōken (天踏絢, lit. heavenly dancing figure), is a brown mantle with a large draw string closure at the collar and a large brooch displaying the Shihouin family crest. Like the wand, the tentōken seems to require no skill or previous experience to use. It also seems to be superior to the wand, since it allows one to hover in mid-air and doesn't immobilize one of the user's hands.

Another item, though not in Yoruichi's possession, is the device used by Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku to destroy the Sōkyoku. It is a large, shield-like item with the Shihouin family crest stamped on it and a long cord connected to it. When the cord is wrapped around Sōkyoku and two zanpakutō are stabbed into two vertical slots running from its top, their energy flows through the cord and destroys Sōkyoku. Jūshirō Ukitake had it in his possession under some sort of seal.

Zanpakutō

It is unknown whether Yoruichi possesses a zanpakutō, as she relies nearly exclusively on hand to hand combat, shunkō and flash steps. She briefly uses a sword during the "Sealed Sword Frenzy" OVA to dispatch a hollow. She also uses it in the anime during Soifon's flashback about becoming Yoruichi's protégé, where it resembles a kodachi or wakizashi.

Notes and references

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