Isuzu

Biodata

Power Progression

Background and History

Academy and marriage

Isuzu came from Rukongai and had studied at Shin'ō Academy for seventeen years when Jun enrolled. A gifted Kidō student, she tutored him after he missed his instructor’s introductory lesson. She later discovered that he had concealed much of his ability, but agreed to keep his secret and help him train 6 12 14 72.

After Yuzuki’s death, Isuzu and Jun became a couple. Isuzu remained at the academy for sixty years before graduating, then joined the Twelfth Division at Jun’s suggestion. By the time Jun graduated, the two had pledged themselves to each other 14 17.

Soul Reaper career

When Jun was presumed dead during a Hueco Mundo expedition, Isuzu collapsed on hearing the news. Aizen told her he believed Jun was alive; after Jun’s rescue, she rushed to the Fourth Division and cared for him during his recovery 43 46.

Central 46 subsequently punished Isuzu by transferring her to the Thirteenth Division. She and Jun later investigated an old Research Institute accident in the World of the Living, gathered 372 Bount over more than a year, and established a settlement for them. The Bount came to know her as the Clean Clothes God 47 48 50.

Before the battle against Baraggan’s Hollow army, Jun gave Isuzu the created Shikai Thunder Charge. She used it against Hollows when the Soul Reapers’ formations broke apart 65 67.

Isuzu looked forward to the Shimizu Family’s elevation to nobility, but officials barred her from the ceremony because she came from Rukongai. The exclusion hurt her and strengthened Jun’s resolve to change Soul Society’s rules 72.

Death and return

Isuzu was targeted in an assassination plot while accompanying an exploration team into the Forest of Menos. Jun found her with a destroyed Reishi core and temporarily kept her alive with Life Synchronization. As she died, she urged him not to abandon his ambitions 98 99.

Jun used Empty Aspect to preserve her humanity and asked Oka and the Arrancar to help her Hollow form evolve. After she reached Adjuchas, he obtained the Hōgyoku, transferred her humanity into a Hollow body, and completed her Arrancar transformation. The couple reunited 99 118 121.

Later life

At Jun’s request, Isuzu intervened in Yoruichi and Soi Fon’s fight, incapacitated the Punishment Force without killing them, and gave Soi Fon information about Soul Society’s plans. She later joined Jun’s allies after his battle with Yamamoto and visited Hirako’s group with Jun and Nel 152 174 204.

In the afterword, Isuzu and Jun chose reincarnation because they wanted a child, which they could not have as Hollows. They tied their red threads together on the reincarnation machine so they would meet again 261.

Appearance

Isuzu has long hair. After becoming an Arrancar, she has a mask among its strands 36 143.

• Thunder Charge: Her Shihakushō changes into a black bodysuit with goggles, gloves, fitted leather trousers, and heeled shoes fitted with lightning-filled, engine-like devices. Her hair is tied in a ponytail, and a cape on her left shoulder bears the number 1347, marking her Thirteenth Division seat 65.
• Hollow form: As an Adjuchas, she has a humanoid, gorgon-like appearance with snake hair and pale skin 121.

Personality

Isuzu is affectionate and devoted to Jun, supporting his training and his ambitions even when she fears she cannot keep up with him. She can also be jealous: she repeatedly pulls him away when Captain Hikifune embraces him 14 20 56.

At the academy, she took Kidō seriously and insisted on remedial lessons when Nana treated it carelessly. She could nevertheless be absent-minded and playful with her friends 6 9.

Isuzu cares deeply for children and enjoys teaching them. She is also reluctant to harm innocents, using her petrification ability to immobilize the Punishment Force rather than kill its members 85 88 152.

Abilities and Skills

Kidō

Isuzu is a talented Kidō practitioner who taught Jun the foundations of Hadō and Bakudō. Her skill was sufficient for her to qualify for the Kidō Corps or the Research and Development Institute while still at the academy 6 14.

• Shadow Projection, Kyokkō and Body Replacement: She combined Bakudō #29, #26 and #67 to bypass Jun’s warning perimeter, projecting an image, turning invisible, and swapping places with the image 12.
• Tōzanshō: Bakudō #73 can conceal spiritual fluctuations. Isuzu used it to hide Jun’s Hadō practice, though maintaining it consumed substantial spiritual power, and she initially had difficulty casting it 12 13.
• Limitation: Jun noticed weaknesses in her Reishi control during her attempts to cast Tōzanshō 13.

Thunder Charge

A Shikai created by Jun for Isuzu, Thunder Charge specializes in speed and lightning. Its release phrase is “Make the thunder resound, move like lightning! Surge forth! Thunder Charge!” 65.

• Enables high-speed, lightning-powered attacks; Isuzu’s kicks were powerful enough to bring down a Gillian 67.
• Supports hit-and-withdraw tactics, allowing her to evade attacks before charging another target 67.
• Has a sword spirit who regards Jun as her creator and calls Isuzu “Mom” 65.

Shunpo

Isuzu used Shunpo at a speed comparable to a captain-level Soul Reaper’s when she rushed to see Jun after his rescue 46.

Petrification

In her Resurrección, Isuzu can turn targets to stone 152.

• She immobilized the Punishment Force without killing them; the effect wears off with time.
• A target with sufficient Spiritual Power can resist the effect.

Spiritual Power Tester

Isuzu’s recorded attributes showed particularly high Spiritual Flow, which Jun considered useful in combat 25.

Relationships

• Jun Shimizu — Her former student and husband. She supported his training and ambitions; he restored her after her death, and they chose reincarnation together 12 99 121 261.
• Yuzuki Samidare — An academy senior and close friend. Isuzu grieved deeply when Yuzuki died 12 14.
• Nana Onibe — A close academy friend. Nana and Isuzu mourned Yuzuki together when Nana returned to the academy as an instructor 9 14.
• Kirio Hikifune — Isuzu’s captain in the Twelfth Division, who granted her a month of leave to spend with Jun 17.
• Tatara Kōga — A student mentored by Isuzu and Jun; he later learned of Jun’s hidden legacy in the Journal Hall 48 56.
• Kakyō — A Thirteenth Division colleague who became both a teacher and a friend. Isuzu was heartbroken by her death after twenty years of friendship 78 80.
• Oka — Cared for Isuzu’s Hollow form and helped arrange for her evolution after her death 99.