Bleach has brought anime fans some of the most unique and diverse characters in all of anime, including the mysterious Visored. This group of exiled outcasts are some of the fiercest fighters in Bleach, and their history is a long and sordid one, though its importance is felt throughout the series.

Led by Shinji Hirako, this group of former Captains and Lieutenants of the Gotei 13 held their titles long before many of the current Captains had even reached adulthood. The Visored were all very formidable in battle and their ranks among the Gotei 13 is resounding proof of that. But, despite how powerful these one-time Soul Reapers were, they still wound up victims of Sōsuke Aizen's grand scheme. What Aizen did to them would eventually lead to the Captain Commander of the Gotei 13, Genryūsai Yamamoto, sentencing them to execution.

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The Visored all, at some point, were sent to go investigate the mysterious mass deaths and disappearances that were happening all over Soul Society. As they went to investigate, they were all mysteriously cut down. As it turns out, it was Aizen, Gin Inchimaru and Kaname Tōsen who had betrayed their fellow Soul Reapers, but that wasn't all they did. Aizen would kick-start Hollow-fication in each of them, beginning their transformation into frighteningly powerful Hollows with no self-control and an appetite for carnage. After the Visored had succumbed to these transformations, Aizen prepared to murder them, seeing them as failed experiments whom he had no more use for.

Before Aizen could deliver any finishing blows, however, the then Captain of the 12th Division, Kisuke Urahara and the former Kidō Captain, Tessai Tsukabishi, intervened and rescued the Visored. In order to protect his malicious scheme, Aizen framed Kisuke for the Hollow-fication that afflicted the Visored and, as a result, Kisuke was banned from Soul Society indefinitely and the Visored were sentenced to die. Kisuke however, felt that he could still save them, so he worked with Tessai and Yoruichi Shihouin to escape with the Visored into the human world. It was in the human world that Kisuke saved Shinji and his friends, but they were left with a phenomenal power afterward.

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When Ichigo lost control of his inner Hollow, it was Shinji and the other Visored who helped him regain control. They were the only people in either world, Soul Society or Human, that could teach Ichigo how to do this. Like Ichigo, the Visored were also able to wear their Hollow masks, but they could fully control their Hollow forms and could even fire the deadly Cero. After training Ichigo, the Visored would later begin to prepare for battle against Aizen and his invading Espada. Much to the Soul Reapers' surprise, the Visored joined them in the battle against the strongest Espada in Aizen's army, fighting alongside the Gotei 13 for the first time in centuries. After Ichigo defeated Aizen, the Visored were allowed into the Gotei 13 once more, with most of them holding the rank of Captain or Lieutenant.

With their vengeance exacted on Aizen, the Visored were finally able to move forward in life without bearing the weight of revenge. The Visored were some of the most interesting characters in Bleach and some of the very first Hollow-Reaper hybrids long before Ichigo came around. They are deeply rooted in Bleach's history, were pivotal in Ichigo's development and in the defeat of Aizen's strongest Espada. There are many important parts of the Bleach story that would have never happened if not for the Visored.

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