*cough* A little late in the day this time, but it is still Friday where I’m at.

I’ve been a hardcore obsessed little Naruto fangirl for a while now. Despite having watched and truly enjoyed some episodes of Bleach I never really gave it a fair chance until a few days ago. I have downloaded and watched the series up until episode number 83 and all I can say is WOW. Why didn’t I get into this series sooner I wonder, I’ve been totally missing out here! Anyway, in celebration of my latest obsession I thought I’d make this week’s FAnime Friday post a Bleach one, but alas I haven’t seen all of it yet and would feel odd posting about episodes that are so old for everyone else so I opted instead to write about one of my favorite characters from the series.

That was another difficult struggle as I had to decide which one to pick. Ichigo, Rangiku, Gin, Toushirou, Ukitake, Uryuu, Rukia, Yoruichi, Soi Fong and Kenpachi were all strong possibilities but in the end the semi-snarky Shiro-chan won.

Edit: Ah quick question, does anyone know of a site other than Bleach Portal to download the series from? BP’s download links aren’t working and the site I’m currently using has some episodes that weren’t encoded properly. I’m missing episode #13. Does anyone have it or know where to get it?

Birthday: December 20th
Height: 133 cm (4″4)
Weight: 28 kg (61.6 lbs)
Blood type: AB Positive
Zanpakutou: Hyourinmaru
Seiyuu: Romi Paku
Voice actor: Steve Staley

Toushirou Hitsugaya is not only the youngest shinigami (god of death) he is also the youngest shinigami to become a captain as well. He is extremely short, due to his age, and dislikes anything childish or kiddy and is usually very serious. His first name means “winter” which is very appropriate given his cool nature, white hair, and the fact that his zanpakutou (soul sword) is of an ice nature. Not to mention he hates the summer and heat. Poor Shiro-chan strongly dislikes being called anything other than his proper title, Captain Hitsugaya, and thus far only Hinamori (a childhood friend) and Captain Ukitake have had the audacity to call him Shiro-chan “Whitey” due to his hair color without repercussion. Ichigo refers to Toushiro in the familar term by his first name putting Toushirou on equal terms with 11th Squad Captain Kenpachi Zaraki and 6th Squad Captain Byakuya Kuchiki who are also called by their first names by Ichigo.

Toushirou hails from the District 1 (Junrinan) of Rukongai so unlike Rukia, Renji, Kenapchi, Yachiru and several other shinigami he didn’t suffer from extreme poverty and hunger until he was accepted into the Academy. Shiro-chan lived in District 1 with an elderly woman and Momo Hinamori. In flashbacks during the Secret Entry and Rescue Arcs it is revealed that Hinamori entered the Academy and become a shinigami before Toushirou did. At the time Toushirou had no interest in becoming a shinigami in fact! His other closest friend is Jidanbou, the West Gate Keeper, whom he taught the “city rules”.

Toushirou was a bit of a brat as a child and enjoyed teasing Hinamori and calling her bed-wetter-Momo everytime she called him Shiro-chan. He probably only refrains from this retaliation now as it wouldn’t look good for his captain image. It is apparent that even at that age Toushirou felt protective of Hinamori. Despite his young age his natural talent quickily led to his enrollment in the shinigami academy. Hinamori still continued to call him Shiro-chan pubicly but due to a promise she stopped calling him the nick-name and referred to him as Hitsugaya-kun when he managed to achieve his zanpakutou’s initial release. At that point she recognized him as a true shinigami and not long after Toushirou became captain of the 10th squad, quickly surpassing his childhood friend.

Past issues of FAnime Friday:

• Issue #2, June 8, 2007: Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
• Issue #1, June 1, 2007: Introducing FAnime Fridays!

Read the rest of the FAnime Friday issues on the FAnime Friday page! ^_^