Eleventh Division in Bleach: Everything You Need to Know! (Members, Captain, Lieutenant, Powers, Origin & More)

The Gotei 13 is the organization that most shinigami join in Bleach. It is divided into 13 Divisions (hence the name), with several Divisions having different specialties. In this article, we are going to introduce one of the Divisions, and it is going to be one of the most famous Divisions from the whole series – Division 11! The Eleventh Division is known for its fighting spirit and in this article, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the Division, its history, and its members. Here we go.

Eleventh Division of the Gotei 13 – Organization and structure

The task of the 11th Division includes combat operations. The Eleventh Division is a direct combat division with a specialization in sword fighting, leaving aside the other Shinigami arts and thus being one of the most specialized divisions in the Gotei 13. Thus, it is common practice for members of the division to charge your Zanpakutō at all times. They frown on Kido powers.

The division’s doctrine of combat dominance is what draws its members; they see combat as what makes life worth living. This is what separates the Eleventh Division from the rest of the divisions and makes it the strongest division. All members of this division are highly skilled in combat. They believe that if they are going to die at all, they have to die fighting gloriously.

The recruitment process is relatively simple, as both the Captain and former Lieutenant Yachiru have the same criteria, which have been revealed in the Bleach Bootleg to be as follows:

The Eleventh Division definitely focuses on strength and that is their primary aspect. They mostly focus on Zanjutsu and frown on other techniques, as the main point of fighting is a clash between two raw powers. This is why they are so specific and why they are so famous, but also feared among the other Divisions of the Gotei 13.

Who are the known members of the Eleventh Division?

Divisions in Bleach usually number hundreds of Shinigami, but only a small portion of these is ever revealed and even a smaller number is actually named. Here is a list of all the known members of the Eleventh Division:

Who is the Captain of the Eleventh Division?

Kenpachi Zaraki is the only shinigami to become captain of his Division without knowing the name of his Zanpakutō or passing the Shinigami Academy exams. He arrived at this post by killing former Division Captain Kenpachi Kiganjō in front of 200 witnesses. Kenpachi is affectionately nicknamed “Keni” by his former Lieutenant Yachiru, the only one who could talk to him “normally”.

He was already strong in his childhood, having killed thousands of people and even managed to defeat Yachiru Unohana, an extremely powerful criminal who would later become the benevolent Retsu Unohana, the Captain of the 4th Division. Having become a wandering criminal in the Rukongai, he meets a tiny girl with pink hair who seems unaffected by Kenpachi’s Reiastu and seems amused by his nameless Zanpakutō. He then decides to take her under his wing and gives her the name Yachiru, in reference to the person who means the most to him, Unohana, who gave him the most pleasure by fighting her.

He decides to name himself Kenpachi Zaraki, Kenpachi because it is the title given to the strongest Shinigami in combat, and Zaraki because it is the name of the disreputable district from which he came. For him, the greatest suffering is not having a name. Kenpachi’s only passion is fighting, he is also known for his strength and excessive savagery.

He will track Ichigo through all of Seireitei to find and challenge him. This titanic fight ends in a victory for Kenpachi who collapses a few seconds after Ichigo. He really liked the fight against Ichigo and that’s why he wanted to help him, especially by freeing his friends Orihime, Uryû, Chad, and Ganju and protecting them against Sajin Komamura and Kaname Tosen. His division specializes in combat and his men are very loyal to him, especially Ikkaku and Yumichika, whom he knew before becoming a Shinigami.

Kenpachi fights with bells in his hair indicating his position, an eye patch (a creation of the 12th Division) that devours his energy, and by holding his Zanpakutō with only one hand thus creating three handicaps to fight. In his fight against Nnoitora, the Quinto Espada, we learn that he has mastered several kendo techniques, but he nevertheless seems to persist in using them only in case of extreme necessity (he himself says that he does not like the name) and it is only when he is faced with the risk of losing the fight against Nnoitora that he resorts to it.

We later see him when Yammy fights Ichigo. He tells him to leave and fights Yammy with Byakuya with whom he will have some run-ins although they fight together against the Cero Espada. We see him again much later leaving Hueco Mondo saying that it was “mortally boring”. Then, we see him again being scolded by Captain-Commander for losing his haori, saying that it was a real pain.

Later in the Fullbringer arc, he defeats Giriko in one blow and says that it was boring. In the final arc, he advances towards the leader of the Sternritter (who is actually Royd Loyd posing as Yhwach) with the bodies of three of them on his back, which greatly surprises Haschwalth, the right-hand man of Yhwach. Later, he will be beaten by Royd Lloyd having taken the appearance of Yhwach.

We see that he changed his look (like a number of characters close to Ichigo) during the 17 months between Aizen’s downfall and the end of the Fullbringer arc: his hair is no longer attached and he no longer has any bells, he still has an energy-absorbing eye patch but this is attached to his temple and no longer as a headband like before. According to him, this new eye patch would absorb ten times more spiritual energy than before.

He fights the captain of the 4th Division during the Quincy Warr and, according to the current Captain-Commander Shunsui, one of them would end up losing their life. He once fought Retsu Unohana before she joined the Gotei 13; he retained a scar on his right eye and Retsu a scar on her chest. When Shunsui Kyoraku becomes Captain-Commander, he instructs Retsu Unohana to teach Zaraki mastery of Kenjutsu, which would make him even more dangerous.

During his fight against Retsu Unohana, it is revealed that, from an early age, Zaraki was a formidable fighter, stronger than Unohana yet considered an extremely dangerous fighter. During his first fight against Unohana, Zaraki experienced happiness for the first time because he had found a true opponent to his measure. Still too powerful for Unohana and too happy to have found a worthy adversary, Zaraki unconsciously imposed a mental barrier on his abilities that allowed Unohana to win the fight.

The 4th Division Captain fights Zaraki in an effort to break this mental barrier and restore him to his full fighting potential. After a hard fight during which Zaraki will die and is resurrected several times by Unohana, she succeeds and Zaraki, having no more psychic barriers, finds his buried power and begins to hear his Zanpakuto.

According to a passage from a light novel, it is said that Aizen lured Zaraki to Hueco Mundo because he was the only Shinigami he feared (Aizen had found a way to sustain Yamamoto). During the 2nd Quincy Invasion, Kenpachi Zaraki saves Yachiru and Isane from Gremmy, the most powerful Sternritter who can make whatever he imagines come true. He easily finds Quincy’s weak points and pulverizes the giant meteorite created by Gremmy with his Nozarashi blade in Shikai mode.

As Zaraki dominates the fight, Gremmy implodes as he had imagined Zaraki as a monster and that monster has come true inside of him. After his fight, he notices young women, Candice Catnipp, Meninas McAllon, Giselle Gewelle and Liltotto Lamperd slaughtering his subordinates. He is struck down by the beautiful Candice and defeated by the overpowering punch of the pretty Meninas. Unable to move, the young girls play Rock-Paper Scissors to find out who will kill Zaraki but Ichigo crushes them in time. He later takes part in the fight against Gerard and also manages to unlock his Bankai.

Who is the Lieutenant of the Eleventh Division?

Ikkaku Madarame is the current Lieutenant and former third officer of the Division and like all members of its members, he particularly likes combat. He first met Zaraki, his future captain, in the Rukongai, and had a fight with him before either of them was a Shinigami. At the end of a long fight, Madarame ended up losing, but swore to dedicate his life to the only man who could dominate him like this. It is for this reason that he will join the ranks of the 11th Division.

He will be Ichigo’s first opponent in the Seireitei against whom he leads a fierce fight. Ichigo manages to defeat him by remembering his training with Kisuke Urahara. After losing consciousness, he is nursed back to health by Ichigo who asks him for information about the prison where Rukia is locked up. Ikkaku tells him about them and then warns him about his fearsome captain Kenpachi Zaraki.

Later we learn that he is a good friend of Renji. His former Lieutenant, Yachiru, called him “Baldy” or “Pachinko Ball”, much to his annoyance. Despite the great differences between them, it seems that Yumichika is his best friend as they are always seen together. When the Arrancar attacked the human world, he was part of Captain Hitsugaya’s squad. He “stayed” with Keigo (by imposing himself on him after having saved his life), and his big sister fell madly in love with him.

During Shikai, his sword and scabbard merge into a spear whose handle is a three-part nunchaku. We will see later that despite his officer rank, he has mastered the Bankai, but he says he reserves it for his captain Zaraki Kenpachi. He had the opportunity to become a Captain, especially after the departure of Aizen, Gin and Tosen, but he refused: Ikkaku’s greatest dream would be to die in battle alongside his Captain, which is why only a few people know that he has mastered the Bankai (he revealed it to Yumichika Ayasegawa and Renji Abarai, Tetsuzaemon Iba, while Uryu Ishida discovered it on his own; Mayuri Kurotsuchi was informed of it as part of his research and Ichigo learns about it from Mayuri, who realizes that this information had to be kept a secret).

During his fight against the Fraccion Choe Neng Poww, he does not use the Bankai that would have allowed him to win the fight and is defeated, jeopardizing the safety of a pillar holding the false Karakura. Tetsuzaemon punches him and lectures him, saying he must win at all costs and obey orders, even if it means becoming Captain of another division and no longer serving Zaraki.

His Bankai is formed from a semi-circle of sharp iron that sits behind his back to which are attached two halberds similar to those on his shikai, which increase in strength the more they are used. A power gauge, in the shape of a dragon, fills up in this way, and allows you to release a devastating force once full.