Tōshirō Hitsugaya

Hitsugaya lived with his grandmother and with Momo Hinamori, whom he considers a very close friend.[2] Hitsugaya excelled in the Soul Reaper academy, becoming the youngest captain in the history of Soul Society with command over Squad 10.[2] Introduced to the Gotei 13, Hitsugaya suspected Squad 3 captain Gin Ichimaru of foul play as the circumstances surrounding the coming execution of Rukia Kuchiki become more complicated.[3] When Hinamori is manipulated into thinking that Hitsugaya killed Sōsuke Aizen, Hitsugaya attacks Gin on the notion that he tricked her. The fight is interrupted when Hitsugaya incapacitates Hinamori, only to be intercepted by his lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto.[4][5] Seeing how destructive Rukia's execution is becoming, Hitsugaya tries to stop it by appealing to the Chamber 46, only to discover all members were killed by Aizen, who faked his death.[6] When Hitsugaya discovers Hinamori injured, Hitsugaya tries to kill Aizen but is defeated.[7]

In a later arc, Hitsugaya leads a group of Soul Reapers assigned to defend Karakura Town against the Arrancar that Aizen has enlisted to his cause.[8] He defeats Shawlong Qufang,[9] and Luppi Antenor,[10] and upon learning that Orihime Inoue has followed the Arrancars back to their home world, Hitsugaya returns to Soul Society to help in the preparation for the war against Aizen.[11] At Karakura Town, he engages the Espada Tier Halibel before she is mortally wounded by Aizen.[12][13] From there, Hitsugaya engages Aizen, and is tricked into stabs Momo in the chest with Aizen taking advantage of the youth's rage of being tricked to cut his left limbs off.[14][15][16] After Aizen's defeat and healed, Hitsugaya resolves to train so that he can more freely use his strongest move as a Soul Reaper, bankai, to protect Hinamori.[17]

When Kugo Ginjo takes all of Ichigo Kurosaki's Fullbring powers, Hitsugaya and several other high-ranking Soul Reapers appear in the human world.[18] To help Ichigo regain his Soul Reaper powers and combat Ginjo, captain-commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto orders the Soul Reapers to give Ichigo some of their spirit energy.[19] Hitsugaya then engages the Fullbringer Yukio Hans Vorarlbena in a cat-and-mouse game, ending with Hitsugaya encasing Yukio in ice, threatening to end his life if he does not release his Fullbring.[20] During the Wandenreich invasion of Soul Society, Hitsugaya loses his bankai to the organization's member Cang Du.[21] But with the help of Kisuke Urahara, Hitsugaya retrieves his bankai from Cang Du and defeat him.[22] However, Hitsugaya ends up as a zombie under the Sternritter Giselle Gewelle. Hitsugaya appears along with a zomified Rangiku, as they, Kensei and Rose fight Mayuri Kurotsuchi's group of revived Arrancars and Squad 11's Ikkaku and Yumichika.[23] Eventually, Mayuri manages to take control of the zombified Soul Reapers with Hitsugaya and Rangiku restored to normal and healed, although their lifespans were shortened. Hitsugaya later joins Byakuya and other Soul Reapers against the sternritter, Gerard. During this battle, the ice petals of Hitsugaya's bankai dissolve. But instead of his bankai deactivating, revealing that the time limit was a sign that it was fully developed prior to the fight, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru's power reaches its full potential while Hitsugaya is transformed into a young adult to better utilize his improved weapon.

He appears in all four films in the series. He fights the Dark Ones with other Soul Reaper comrades in Bleach: Memories of Nobody.[24] Toshiro appears in Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, where he is accused of stealing the King's Seal, an ancient artifact, and stumbles across a dark secret concerning a long-dead Soul Reaper named Sōjirō Kusaka, who was his close friend and rival when he was younger. A one-shot manga chapter focusing on Histugaya's past was released to promote the film, revealing how Hitsugaya learned of his powers.[25] Apparently, Kusaka uses the King's Seal to come back to life for revenge, but in the end is killed by Hitsugaya in a final rematch.[26] He also appears in Bleach: Fade to Black, in which he loses his memories of Ichigo and Rukia, along with the other Soul Reapers. After losing his memories about Rukia's disappearance and Ichigo, Hitsugaya along with other captains try to stop Ichigo from entering the Soul Society.[27] In Hell Verse, he appears to help fight off the Sinners in Karakura Town.[28]

Hitsugaya is featured in the 30 minute original video animation, Sealed Sword Frenzy, in which he is part of the group of captains sent to the real world to seal away the escaped and notoriously dangerous shinigami criminal, Baishin. During their first encounter, he successfully fends off the criminal, though Baishin escapes.[29] Hitsugaya is a common playable character in Bleach-related video game, including the Blade Battlers series and the Nintendo home consoles series.[30][31][32] Special versions of the character such his bankai form is featured in some games such Soul Resurrección,[33] and Hitsugaya in a school costume are unlockable in other games such as Bleach: Shattered Blade.[34] He is also a playable character in the Nintendo DS game, Jump Ultimate Stars.[35] He also appears in two Bleach Beat Collection albums aside. The first one was a compilation album with Hinamori and Matsumoto.[36] The second one was also a compilation album, this time with Ichigo.[37] A Hitsugaya and Hyōrinmaru's album was also released as part of Bleach Breathless Collection.[38] He was initially portrayed by Takashi Nagayama in the Bleach rock musicals.[39] Later, in Shinsei Rock Musical Bleach Reprise, Nagayama was replaced by Yūya Kido,[40] who also was substituted; Takuya Kawaharada took the role.[41]