Uryū Ishida (石田 雨竜 Ishida Uryū^?, rendered as "Uryū" in the Viz Media manga and "Uryu" in the Viz Media anime and Bleach: The 3rd Phantom) is introduced in the series as a classmate of the Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki, who reveals himself to be a Quincy, a clan of humans which was destroyed by the Soul Reapers. Wanting to prove the Quincies were better, Uryū challenges Ichigo to see who could kill more Hollows. However, once they are overpowered and start working together, they start knowing each other, to the point they become friends. Since then, Uryū appears in the series as an ally from Ichigo, accompanying him in every fight he has.

When first introduced, Uryū uses the most common ability from the Quinces: a bow named Lone Sparrow (弧雀 Kojaku^?), which has a basic form and a luminescent. Being made of free-flowing spirit particles, its size can be affected the amount of spirit particles and spiritual pressure available to it, as seen in his interaction with Ichigo during his first encounter with a Menos Grande. Additionally, he is able to use many Quincy techniques and items to augment his abilities, including some high-level techniques, which are rare enough that even Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who had studied 2661 Quincy, had never seen them in person.

As preparation for his travel to Soul Society, Uryū later masters the sanrei glove, greatly increasing his abilities via a form of resistance training. In this state, Uryū's bow is solid and covered in an intricate pattern. This new bow allows Uryū to fire several shots simultaneously. By removing the glove, Uryū attains the Quincy Final Form. The Quincy Final Form gives him a vast increase in power, enough to defeat a captain-class Soul Reaper with ease. As a result of removing the glove, however, the Quincy Final Form uses too much power for Uryū's body to handle, causing his body to block his Quincy powers completely after it wears off.

After Uryū regains his powers with the aid of his father, he uses a new Quincy cross, this one resembling a pentancle, and a variant of his original bow called Lone Sparrow on a Silver Cliff(銀嶺弧雀 Ginrei Kojaku^?). Unlike his original bow, this bow is shaped like a spiderweb and can fire up to 1,200 shots at once. Uryū also steals a set of Seele Schneiders (魂を切り裂くもの（ゼーレシュナイダー Zēre Shunaidā^?, German and Japanese for "soul cutter"), special arrows which can be used as swords. Seele Schneiders can also be used in a reiatsu-based pentacle with the target at the center. Upon receiving Uryū's spiritual energy, it explodes, a technique called Sprenger. Uryū can also use a special Quincy foot technique calledHiyrenraku, which is similar to the Soul Reaper's shunpo and the arrancar's sonido.

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Renji Abarai (阿散井 恋次 Abarai Renji^?) is the lieutenant of the 6th Division in the Gotei 13 under captain Byakuya Kuchiki. Renji's zanpakutō is Zabimaru (蛇尾丸^?, roughly "snake tail"). Zabimaru is a nue (a baboon with a snake tail), hence his name. Zabimaru's spirit is portrayed as battle-loving and proud, similar in personality to Renji. Both the snake and baboon are capable of speaking, though the baboon is usually the more dominant one.

Zabimaru's shikai command is "howl" (咆えろ hoero^?), although in the English adaptation of the anime the term used is "roar". In such state, it transforms into a segmented blade with a pick-like protrusion on each segment. The segments are connected by a stretchable thread, making Zabimaru more useful as a whip than an actual sword. While Zabimaru can be stretched to incredible lengths in its whip form, Renji has a limit of three consecutive attacks before having to bring the segments of Zabimaru back together for recovery. Renji can also use his spiritual power to separate the segments and surround an opponent with them, allowing him to execute a one-shot omnidirectional attack called higa zekkō (狒牙絶咬^?, "bite of a baboon's broken fang").

Zabimaru's bankai is Hihiō Zabimaru (狒狒王蛇尾丸^?, "baboon king snake tail") and transforms Zabimaru into a massive version of its shikai form resembling a skeletal snake. Unlike its shikai, Zabimaru's segments are held together by Renji's spiritual power, allowing him to separate and reattach them at will. Even if a segment is damaged, Renji can simply detach it and reform Zabimaru. Zabimaru itself, in bankai form, does not literally "cut", Renji usually catches his opponent with the snake-head of his weapon and smashes his opponent into the ground with it. Zabimaru also gains a special technique known as hikōtsu taihō (狒骨大砲^?, "baboon bone cannon") after Renji becomes more adept with using his bankai. The technique fires a dense blast of spiritual energy from Zabimaru's mouth. He can also use a much more powerful higa zekkō, where all the segments detach and sharpen using spiritual energy.

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