Uryu Ishida
A Quincy archer who starts out as Ichigo's rival and becomes one of his most valuable allies.
Uryū Ishida is a Quincy, a descendant of a near-extinct line of priest-like, hollow-hunting archers who were historical enemies of the Soul Reapers. He is voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in the original Japanese anime and by Derek Stephen Prince (now credited as Steve Prince) in the English dub.
Lore & Background
Uryū begins the series holding a deep grudge against all Soul Reapers, Ichigo included, and is one of its early antagonists. The Quincies had been nearly wiped out by the Soul Reapers, because Quincies obliterate Hollows instead of purifying them. Uryū was trained by his grandfather, Sōken Ishida, on whom Mayuri Kurotsuchi later experimented; his father, Ryūken Ishida, is the director of Karakura Hospital.
Reader's Guide
As a Quincy, Uryū gathers invisible spirit particles, called reishi, from the atmosphere and shapes them into spirit-energy constructs, above all a bow and arrow. The same particles fuel his spells and superhuman abilities.
Over time Uryū comes to see Ichigo differently and becomes a valuable ally and a friendly rival. In the Thousand-Year Blood War arc he acts as a double agent for Yhwach.
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Elsewhere in Bleach
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