Ryōga Jōkaihan

"The world is shrinking. The blank edges of the map filled in."

- Ryōga speaking at the change in the world's scene.

Ryōga Jōkaihan (竜駕・上界判, "imperial carriage of heavens judgment") is a shinigami and current captain of the Ninth Division within the , having replaced in the years following the. He is known to be a fair and just captain but he is looked at with some distaste as the previous captain had abandoned the post, leaving it somewhat cursed along with the Captaincy of the and that of the.

Appearance
Ryōga bears the appearance of a boy in his late teens with spiky black hair, tan skin, a lean appearance, and golden eyes. He wears the standard Shinigami attire, with the exception of his Shihakushō (死覇装; Garment of Dead Souls), where, instead of the kosode, he wears a long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat that divides into two at the end and flares out, and he possesses armored plates on his shoulders. Unlike most captain he is almost never seen wearing his Hiori, stating that it is too formal for him and that he would rather try to connect with his subordinates on a mutal level.

Childhood
Ryōga had died young due to while his family lived in Japan. This led tp him living in the alone for sometime. As he trekked around 's 64th district he was found by his future adoptive father the current head of the Jōkaihan Family and he took him in seeing great potential within him. As Ryōga grew and lived humbly with his new family he was trained in how to be a noble in this lesser known noble family as well as learning shinigami basics such as Kidō usage and Shunpo. About two hundred years later he had the appearance of a teenager and was admitted into Shinō Academy.

Time in Shinō
During his time in Shinō, he excelled in Kidō and Zanjutsu, as he was able to generate his own zanpakutō, within his first two years attending but he would not learn its name for another two years. He was noticed by during his term and within his short four year stint at Shinō by special recommendation he was allowed to graduate two years early and join the Third Division as the 6th Seated officer.

Powers and Abilities
When fully expressed the air becomes heavy and the ground slightly quakes. As a captain this reiatsu is fully realized to being on par with other nobles such as or, beinjg able to stun lower ranked officers with a mere glance or small spike of his pressure. In combat he is able to harden this energy similarly to that of the Arrancar's Heirro and block sword strikes with his bare hand.

Kidō Specialist and Inventor: His best skill is his kidō usage as he trained extensively in the art. Ryōga is a prodigy and several attempts havve been made to make him captain of the all were turned down, as he prefers his current position. It was noted at Shinō that Kidō, more particularly Hadō spells come naturally to him as he was shown how to do a level 90 spell and within a few days he was able to replicate it perfectly and within a week he was able to use it without the incantation and have it retain tremendous power.
 * Unnamed Space-Time Kidō: Dabbling in kidō mechanics he was able to develop a spell that temporarily allows him to halt time and then rewind a few minutes or hours or fast forward the same amount of time. This spell does not however allow him to change anything that has already happened or will happen, as he exist outside of time as an observer in either case. This is used solely to learn from a past mistake or see an outcome, but as the future is not set in stone and he is shown only one outcome he prefers not to go to the future often.
 * Unnamed Teleportation Kidō:

Hakuda Combatant:

Shunpo Practitioner:

Zanjutsu Specialist:

High Intellect:

Enhanced Strength:

Spiritual Pressure Sensing:

Zanpakutō
Ijōame (囲繞天, "surrounding heaven") is the name of Ryōga Jōkaihan's zanpakutō and when sealed takes the form of a black katana, that has a simple hilt ornamented with green diamonds, and a crossguard that is shaped like a four-paned window. When not in use it is held in a solid white sheath to contrast the blade, and the sheath is decorated in gold and blue as a contrast again to the simple design of the zanpakutō itself. Shikai Special Ability: After speaking the phrase "Become Realized" (的中, "tekichū") his full shikai is released in a burst of spiritual pressure but the over all look of his zanpakutō does not change. Once released he is able to manipulate the bonds between reishi and control the particles as if they were extensions of himself. Using theses he can create clones of himself, extend his blade by converting it to pure energy attached to the hilt of his zanpakutō or affect the senses of his opponent by attacking them with a flurry of false and real blades.
 * Shikai To release his shikai he calls out the phrase "Praise" (讃賞, "sanshō") to which his blade resonates and then slightly curves back, from his hilt one can see a crystal appear and attached to it a black tassel of sorts. his crossguard also opens and forms a cross-like look. Due to another release phrase is needed to use his full power many have assumed that this is a melee type, not a kidō type.
 * Kamishini Ijōame (神神威・囲繞天, "spirit of god's authority surrounding heaven")
 * Shinki Ijōame (神気・囲繞天,, "divinity surrounding heaven")
 * Inyō Ijōame (陰陽・囲繞天, "cosmic dual forces surrounding heaven")