Bleach Quick-tionary

The Gotei 13 (護廷十三隊, goteijūsantai; 13 Division Imperial Guards, or 13 Court Guard Squads in the English dubbed version) is the organization which most Shinigami join, and one of the three main branches of military in Soul Society. It is split into thirteen divisions (hence the name), with several divisions having certain specializations. The Gotei 13 is subservient to the edicts of the Central 46 Chambers. They also have no jurisdiction over any of the noble families. The symbol of the Gotei 13 is a rhombus, all the 13 Divisions symbols are placed within the rhombus on the back of the Captains haori. The Kido Corps, not officially considered as part of the Gotei 13, is still under the authority of the Central 46, and works together with Soul Society, it is why it is actually here, but officially, both Kido Corps and Omnitsukido are not part of the Gotei 13.

As with any army, the Gotei 13 has ranks. There are 20 ranks for officers but no ranks for non-officers. The lower the number is, the higher the rank. The ranks and their descriptions are below, from highest to lowest in terms of strength.

The Commander-general (総隊長, sōtaichō; lit. commander-general, dubbed as head-captain) is the leader of the Gotei 13 and the captain of the 1st Division; the implication is that this is an ex officio or a primus inter pares position. The current holder of this title is Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai.

The captains of Gotei 13

A Captain (隊長, Taichō; lit. Unit Commander) is the leader of one of the thirteen divisions (with the special case of the Commander-General). A single Gotei 13 "unit" (隊) is estimated at about 200-500 troops.[1]

Captains are generally the most respected shinigami within the Soul Society, with the Central 46 Chambers, Kidō Corps, and Special Forces leaders possibly being on equal status. With one exception, all captains are able to utilize the final stage of their zanpakutō, and are more powerful than even their lieutenants. Knowing bankai gives captains an average of five-to-ten times the strength of shinigami who are unable to perform it.[2] They have also extensively-trained, if not mastered, their bankai, allowing them to actually use the enormous power effectively in battle. Most captains are also skilled in the use of Flash Steps, Kidō, and generally have imperssive knowledge of shinigami history and battle tactics. All of these factors create a huge power-gap between captains and lower-ranked officers.

There are three different ways to become a Gotei 13 captain:[3]

1. To take the captain proficiency test (隊首, taishu), which requires the ability to perform Bankai. Presumably, most shinigami become captains using this method. At least three existing captains, including the Commander-General, have to witness the test.
2. To have personal recommendations from at least six captains and approval from at least three of the remaining seven.
3. To defeat a captain one-on-one with at least 200 witnesses from the captain's division. Kenpachi Zaraki is the only known current captain to have achieved his rank using this method.

The lieutenants of Gotei 13
A Lieutenant (副隊長, fukutaichō; lit. Vice-unit Commander, often translated as Vice-Captain) is the 2nd seated officer in each division.[4]

Lieutenants function as executive officers for their division, taking care of or supervising day-to-day operations. They (along with their captains) are not assigned to one specific squad. They generally only know the shikai of their Zanpakutō, but are still the second strongest in their division. In the case of a division captain's death, departure, or other circumstances making him unable to perform their duties, the lieutenant acts as the "substitute captain" until another can be assigned.

Seated officers are the remainder of the officers in the Gotei 13 that hold ranks at or below 3rd Seat. Captains and lieutenants have the ranks of 1st and 2nd Seats, respectfully. Next to that, there are 18 more seats (3rd-to-20th). These ranks are somewhat analogous to junior officers or non-commissioned officers in modern military. There seems to be a distinction between senior and junior seated officers, just like in real-life armies. In the Gotei 13, only one person can hold a senior officer rank (such as 3rd or 5th seat), but there are several holders of junior officer ranks (e.g. 20th seat). This may vary from division to division however, as there are two 3rd Seats in the 13th Division. Seated officers often lead subunits within each division (for example, Hanatarō Yamada is leader of 4th Division's 14th Advanced Relief Team).

A zanpakutō is the main weapon used by both Shinigami and Arrancar In Shinigami, a Zanpakuto usually take the form of a sword, and is used primarily to purify souls. A Shinigami's Zanpakuto has two stages of release, Shikai being the first and Bankai the second. An Arrancar's Zanpakuto may vary in shape more than a Shinigami's. They also have a released form, the difference being that an Arrancar's Zanpakuto is their hollow form and power sealed into a sword, and their release, or Resurrección, returns this power to them. They use primarily Spanish names and terms.