Renji Abarai is one of the recurring characters in the manga and anime Bleach. He is introduced as Squad 11's Vice Captain/Lieutenant serving under the command of Byakuya Kuchiki and is first seen coming to the human world from Soul Society in order to capture fellow Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki. Renji is a serious person who can and has acted very cocky, looking down on Ichigo when he first obtained his Soul Reaper powers and chastising him for taking Rukia's powers and forcing him to arrest her for and take her back to be executed. Renji is reluctant but ultimately goes along with the rules of the Soul Society despite knowing that his friend he grew up with and went through the Soul Reaper Academy with didn't deserve to die and summons the courage to fight back and save her after losing to Ichigo Kurosaki. This allows Renji to become closer to both Rukia and Ichigo after Rukia is saved, as Renji is the one who travels to Las Noches with Rukia alongside Ichigo and his friends and gets even closer when he and Ichigo need to enter the Reiokyu, or Soul King's Palace, to heal and train after the Quincy's invasion of the Soul Society. Renji is a very cool character who, in my opinion, has a badass design, a badass looking bankai (both old and new), and has a nice bromance with the main character Ichigo.
This Respect Thread will be divided into and cover the following categories:
Soul Reaper Basics
Accolades
Equipment
Zanpaku-to
Kido
Strength
Speed
Durability/Endurance
Here's a little more info on Renji - here.
Soul Reaper Basics
(Ch. 49) As a Soul Reaper, Renji materializes spirit energy from his own soul and manifests it into his zanpaku-to:
(Ch. 35) Reiraku are spirit ribbons, manifestations of spiritual energy, that a good Soul Reaper can sense and a great one can even grab. Being able to sense reiraku allows a Soul Reaper to locate beings with high spiritual power and even track them:
(Ch. 105) In Bleach, a battle between two people is a battle of spiritual power. If one opponent's spiritual power isn't strong enough, they can't even cut a stronger opponent. This is displayed and described by Kenpachi Zaraki when he let's Ichigo Kurosaki get in a free cut during their fight. Ichigo swings as hard as he can but doesn't scratch Kenny and even his hands start to bleed:
(Ch. 187) Although a Soul Reaper's zanpaku-to and spiritual power and directly related, meaning the bigger the zanpaku-to the more spiritual power, Captain-class Soul Reapers know how to hone their blades down to manageable sizes, otherwise they'd be swinging around swords the size of buildings:
Accolades
(Ch. 95) Renji is the Lieutenant of 6th Company, only one seat lower than the Captain's seat:
m (Ch. 100) Renji's Captain, Byakuya Kuchiki, wanted Renji thrown in a cell and discharged from the 13 Court Guard squads after his loss to Ichigo Kurosaki during the Save Rukia Arc, but Renji was too respected by the other Captains and they voted to keep him in and not discharge him:
Equipment
Oken
(Ch. 585) After his first fight with Mask de Masculine where Renji was taken out by a single punch, Squad Zero came down from the Reiokyu to heal him because he would have died if he stayed in the Soul Society. Renji was given an Oken by Squad Zero, which is clothing woven from the bones and hair of the Squad Zero members and designed to protect the wearer from the friction of passing through the 72 barriers between the Seretei and Reiokyu. Yhwach claims there is nothing better than an Oken that a Soul Reaper can have:
Zanpaku-to
Shikai
(Ch. 120) All zanpaku-to have two releases, shikai and bankai. Shikai is the first release and occurs when a Soul Reaper calls out their sword's name and along with bankai, needs to be mastered in order to become a Captain:
(Ch. 127) The essence of Shikai is to communicate and synchronize with your zanpaku-to:
(Ch. 54) Renji's zanpaku-to's name is Zabimaru and he activates his Shikai by saying the phrase "Howl Zabimaru!". His blade becomes a large, segmented weapon with small blades like "teeth" on one side of it. It can be used as a normal sword but also has the maneuverability to act like a whip:
(Ch. 118) Zabimaru comes in the form of an ape with a snake for a tail:
(Ch. 95) Renji extends Zabimaru and even though Ichigo Kurosaki blocks the initial strike he's still sent backwards through at least four walls:
(Ch. 96) Renji swings Zabimaru around during his fight with Ichigo Kurosaki and wrecks havoc on the surrounding buildings:
(Ch. 96) During the time of the Rukia Rescue Arc when Renji had just been promoted to a Vice Captain, Ichigo Kurosaki had deduced that Renji's zanpaku-to, Zabimaru, could only do three consecutive attacks before having to return and "recharge" in a way. Ichigo spent days training with ex-Captain Kisuke Urahara on how to spot the weaknesses in powerful attacks and Ichigo tested his theory during their fight, watching Zabimaru and confirming that after its third attack, it came back to Renji:
(Ch. 275) Renji can swing Zabimaru over his head like a huge propeller in order to charge up for a ranged attack. He does so in his fight with Szayelaporro Granz and after the attack is blocked, he charges forward and wraps the both of them in Zabimaru. This was part of his plan to occupy Szayelaporro in order to buy time for Uryu Ishida to come up with a plan in order to defeat him:
(Ch. 561) Zabimaru is able to block the Stern Ritter Mask de Masculine's Star Flash attack, which had just blown a star-shaped hole in Captain Rojuro "Rose" Otoribashi:
Higa Zekko
(Ch. 174) Renji uses Higa Zekko, where he stabs Zabimaru into the ground and uses the broken shards of his zanpaku-to to attack Sosuke Aizen, surrounding him on all sides and crashing down toward him all at once:
Bankai
(Ch. 120) Bankai is the second release of a Soul Reaper's zanpaku-to and in general, increases the users power by five to ten times. Even if you have exceptional skill and talent, mastering bankai can still take a Soul Reaper up to and at least ten years:
(Ch. 127) Where Shikai is the essence of communicating and synchronizing with one's zanpaku-to, bankai requires a Soul Reaper to externalize the zanpaku-to and force it into submission. It usually takes at least ten years for this training because the zanpaku-to needs to be summoned to our world:
(Ch. 142) A bankai's size is in direct proportion to a Soul Reaper's spiritual pressure. Byakuya Kuchiki tells Renji that because his bankai is so large, it would take him an additional ten years of training even after achieving bankai to master all of its movements:
(Ch. 141) Renji's bankai sees his zanpaku-to transform into a segmented, skeletal serpent named Hihio Zabimaru, The Baboon King:
(Ch. 141) Renji extends Hihio Zabimaru to attack Byakuya Kuchiki, knocking over four large towers and cutting another large tower in half before pushing back Byakuya:
(Ch. 141) The joints on Hihio Zabimaru are held together by Renji's spiritual pressure, so when Byakuya Kuchiki tried to use his Shikai Senbonzakura to destroy the large body of Hihio Zabimaru, Renji separated the joints to protect them from the petals and reformed them back together afterwards:
(Ch. 210) Renji extends Hihio Zabimaru and it completely overpowers the released form of Arrancar No. 13 Ilforte Grantz:
(Ch. 207) That was after he had Gentei Kaijo released, which is a technique that hinders and suppresses the powers of Captains and Vice Captains when they travel to the Human world by up to eighty percent. Before it was released, Ilforte could stop Hihio Zabimaru without having his zanpaku-to released:
(Ch. 210) Renji then goes on to oneshot and actually obliterate Ilforte Grantz with an attack called Hikotsu Taiho:
So-oh Zabimaru
(Ch. 564) When Renji visited Zero Squad member Ichibe Hyosube he learned that what he previously thought was his bankai's name, Hihio Zabimaru, wasn't its actual name but only half it. This meant that Zabimaru only recognized half of Renji and that in order for Renji to utilize its full power, he would need to prove himself to Zabimaru:
Hihioh
(Ch. 564) Renji's true bankai is a more compact version of his old one and with Hihioh, Baboon King, he can extend his left arm and with it a large skeletal arm. This arm grabbed Mask de Masculine, broke his left arm, and then threw him hard enough to crash and destroy a large portion of a tall building:
(Ch. 587) Renji uses Hihioh to throw a large slab of concrete at the Stern Ritter Bazz-B:
Orochioh
(Ch. 564) When using Orochioh, Snake King, the vertebrae hanging around Renji's waist extend behind him and a blade similar to Zabimaru's shikai mode extends out of his snake-head gauntlet:
Zaga Teppo
(Ch. 564) Zaga Teppo, or Snake Fang Cannon, is a move where large serpentine jaws of spiritual energy form around a target and then close down, crushing them with the fangs. When they close, Renji fires a blast of spiritual energy through the target. This move completely burns up the Stern Ritter Mask de Masculine and defeats the Quincy:
Kido
Kido are spells in the Bleach verse and can be used regardless of a Soul Reaper's zanpaku-to abilities.
Hado 31
(Ch. 248) Hado 31 Shakkaho, Red Flame Cannon, is a destruction spell. Renji isn't the most skilled user of Kido and he hasn't mastered this spell, but he attempts to use Hado 31 to create a light in order to see through a dark tunnel in Las Noches:
(Ch. 275) Renji uses Hado 31 in a suicide manner to try and take out the No. 8 Espada Szayelaporro Grantz:
Strength
(Ch. 95) From being pushed back against a wall by Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji sends him flying away with a swipe of his sword:
(Ch. 140) Renji overpowers at least five Soul Reapers and leaps a tall wall in one bound:
(Ch. 274) Renji blocks a large Fracciones's punch with Zabimaru and then sends the Arrancar flying back with a swipe of his sword:
(Ch. 465) Renji easily blocks Jackie Tristan's kick which had enough power to destroy a large rock pillar behind Renji and then oneshots her with the end of his sword:
(Ch. 562) Renji is able to dodge Mask de Masculine's Star Rocket Headbutt and then nearly knock Mask out with an elbow to his head:
(Ch. 562) Renji catches Mask de Masculine's Star Murder Punch with ease in one hand when before Mask's punch oneshot Renji and send him flying across a city block:
Speed
(Ch. 52) Renji notices and dodges an arrow shot at him from Uryu Ishida:
(Ch. 96) Renji is able to dodge Ichigo Kurosaki's counter attack after the latter had figured out that Zabimaru can only attack three times before returning to normal:
(Ch. 140) Renji reacts to Byakuya Kuchiki suddenly appearing behind him to counter his Captain's attack. Renji did however use his past experience and knowledge of Byakuya's fighting style to counter the attack:
(Ch. 140) Renji stops Byakuya Kuchiki from activating his Shikai by attacking him with Zabimaru before Byakuya's zanpaku-to release could finish:
(Ch. 141) During his fight with his Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, Renji activated his bankai and attempted to use it to defeat Byakuya. His bankai, Hihio Zabimaru, is a large, skeletal serpent that should normally make for an easier target due to its large size. Byakuya's shikai, Senbonzakura, releases a thousand petals that he then uses to attack his enemies. Byakuya attempted to use his shikai to destroy Hihio Zabimaru but Renji separated all of his bankai's joints, telling Byakuya that he could see all the blades and was able to dodge them and save Hihio Zabimaru because of that:
(Ch. 208) Renji intercepts Arrancar No. 15 Ilforte Grantz and prevents him from attacking Jinta Hanakuri:
(Ch. 465) Renji easily dodges Jackie Tristan's kick after she powered up with her Fullbring:
(Ch. 561) Renji intercepts Mask de Masculine's Star Beam attack in time to save Captain Rojuro "Rose" Otoribashi. This beam is referred to as "light" by Mask two times and was fast enough to pierce Rose before he could react to it despite looking right at Mask as he fired it:
(Ch. 562) Renji is able to dodge Mask de Masculine's Star Rocket Headbutt and then nearly knock Mask out with an elbow to his head:
(Ch. 562) Renji is able to dodge Mask de Masculine's flurry of hundreds of punches to attack and slice up James on the sidelines so that he couldn't resurrect Mask anymore:
(Ch. 585) Renji is able to send in Zabimaru between Bazz-B and Ichigo Kurosaki and save Ichigo from being blasted in the back of the head:
Durability/Endurance
(Ch. 24) A thing to note and be aware of is that according to Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper's life force is equal to his/her spiritual energy:
(Ch. 55) Renji receives a slash on his shoulder and across his face from Ichigo Kurosaki but would have kept fighting if Byakuya Kuchiki didn't end the fight prematurely:
(Ch. 95) Renji blocks Ichigo's attack but is pushed back into a rock face hard enough to crack it under him and doesn't seem to have it bother him to the point he has a normal conversation with Ichigo:
(Ch. 97/98) Renji has Zabimaru overpowered by one of Ichigo's slashes, is cut from his shoulder to his hip, says he's utterly defeated and couldn't move his legs or arms, but still managed to cross the distance between him and Ichigo to make Ichigo promise to save Rukia Kuchiki:
(Ch. 142/143) Renji is shredded by Byakuya Kuchiki's bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, and he is both alive and has his body intact, something which impresses Byakuya:
(Ch. 143) Renji then is able to stand up and charge Byakuya again in order to keep fighting but is hit with more blades all over his body. Byakuya tells him he is close to dying but applauds him for still being able to breath after being hit with his bankai:
(Ch. 143/144) Despite taking all of that damage from Byakuya's bankai and being near death, Renji still finds the will to stand, destroy one of Byakuya's swords that was in him, and then expel the at least eight other swords near his body:
(Ch. 173) Renji is slashed across the shoulder by Aizen Sosuke but still keeps hold of Rukia Kuchiki in his left arm. This was right after Aizen had caught Zabimaru with his bare hands and didn't move an inch:
(Ch. 207) Renji takes a slash across his body from Arrancar No. 13 Ilfort Grantz:
(Ch. 208) Renji is then stabbed through his chest by Ilfort Grantz's horn after the Arrancar released his zanpaku-to. Renji was weakened in this fight by having his powers restricted by Gente Kaijo. This is because Captains and Vice Captains must have their energy weakened when they travel to the human world. It restricts up to eighty percent of a Soul Reaper's power:
(Ch. 264) Renji falls down a large pit but is fine afterwards:
(Ch. 265) Dondochakka drops in on Renji hard enough to crack the ground under him but Renji is fine afterwards:
(Ch. 275/276) Renji is able to survive using Hado 31 Shakkaho in a suicidal manner in order to try and take out the No. 8 Espada Szayelaporro Granz. Scans of Uryu using his technique wee skipped to show that Renji survived the attack:
(Ch. 295) Renji had a bunch of internal organs crushed by Szayelaporro and his doll but is able to both stay conscious when he should have already fainted and keep attempting to attack the Espada. In order to keep Renji alive to study him and his bankai, Szayelaporro stopped crushing internal organs and moved to tendons, starting with the Achilles Tendon and a tendon in his arm but Renji stayed conscious despite all the pain:
(Ch. 293) Here's Szayelaporro's technique. Once he captures a target, he can create a doll of them that feels whatever he does to the doll. He brushed Uryu ishida's doll's head and Uryu felt something touch his head. The dolls are made so that they could be pulled apart in two without damaging the doll's real body so that Szayelaporro could use smaller dolls for things like internal organs or tendons and crush them, crushing them in the person's real body like he did with Uryu's stomach:
(Ch. 307) Renji was still conscious throughout and after Mayuri Kurotsuchi came, fought and defeated Szayelaporro Grantz:
(Ch. 465) Renji takes a direct hit from Jackie Tristan's kick after she powered up immensely with her Fullbring but shrugs it off and tells her that she's allowed another kick on him since the first one didn't faze him:
(Ch. 465) This is what Jackie could do by simply stomping on the ground:
(Ch. 465) Renji is then completely unfazed after blocking a kick from an even angrier Jackie:
(Ch. 466/473) Although he said he couldn't move for a while, Renji survives being at the center of Jackie Tristan's "suicide" explosion:
(Ch. 520) After healing himself in the hot springs of Zero Squad member Tenjiro Kirinji, Renji emerges twice as powerful and tanks Tenjiro's punch without budging:
(Ch. 520) Just bathing in those waters without special clothing specifically made for it is already an insane durability feat as without the special clothing, the extreme recovery causes a person's body to erode and rupture, and Renji was bathing in those waters with just bandages on:
(Ch. 527) Renji was able to fight against a bunch of no-named zanpaku-to for three days and three nights:
(Ch. 545) Renji was able to grow accustomed to the high density reishi atmosphere while training on Squad Zero Ichibe Hyosube's palace when on the first day he could barely move or breath:
(Ch. 563/564) Renji is able to withstand several of Mask de Masculine's Star Lariat attacks while at full power before then surviving Mask's Star Beam Supernova attack by activating his new bankai:
You're killing it man!