Don Kanonji

Lanky and far from handsome, Kanonji has sunken eyes set off by a mustache and a pair of glasses. His taste in costume runs loud, cycling through gaudy outfits and hats, and he throws on a cape from time to time.

For all his showboating, Kanonji genuinely wants to be a hero, and he refuses to flee a fight because the children who watch him learn courage from his example. He was horrified to discover that the exorcisms he had performed for years actually turned wandering spirits into Hollows. His signature bit is to fold his arms across his chest and let loose a booming laugh, echoed by his devoted fans, and he bills himself as the premier spiritualist of the new century. Prone to muttering his own schemes aloud, he also enjoys Kabuki theater and designs his flashy outfits himself.

Born Misao Kanonji, he adopted the stage name Misaomaru, studied through graduate school, and worked abroad as a show model before returning to Japan. There he built the persona of a spirit medium and launched a television program that at its height reached a quarter of the country.

His path crossed Ichigo Kurosaki's during a live broadcast at a gutted Karakura hospital, where he jammed his spirit stick into a half-formed Hollow and, without meaning to, sped its change into the real thing. He fought the creature at Ichigo's side, insisting he could not run while children looked to him for courage, and afterward was crushed to learn how much harm his exorcisms had caused. Ichigo urged him back to his fans, and he carried on as their hero.

He kept turning up as the series went on. While Ichigo was away he rallied Jinta, Ururu, and Karin into the Karakura Superheroes to guard the town, later served as Karakura-Raizer Spirit against invading Hollows, and during the battle over the fake Karakura Town he even loosed a Kanonball at Aizen before Rangiku Matsumoto ordered him to carry the civilians to safety. Once Aizen was beaten, his life settled back into hosting his show.