Bleach: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Momo Hinamori (2024)

Momo Hinamori is one of the rare truly unhinged characters in Bleach — she fallsfor Captain Sosuke Aizen'swily charms so hard that his "death" utterly devastates her, his being alive brings her great relief, but most bizarre of all, his betrayal doesn't even change her opinion of him.

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She also has a loving relationship with Hitsugaya, but it's clear that his love for her far exceeds vice-versa. Hinamori is problematic in many ways, but she's also an extremely talented warrior when pushed. She can bring downstrong Hollows with a combination of rapid-fire techniques. As such, the list provided here will elaborate on some of her lesser-known character traits.

10 Her Origin Story

Momo Hinamori and Toushirou Hitsugaya grow up together in the Rukongai district of Junrinan, where she had to deal with the latter's childish antics most of the time. Regardless of their constant squabbling, however, it is obvious that they care about each other deeply, even swearing on earth to always be there for the other person.

Interestingly, she greatly enjoys artistic illustration work, being one of the most talented at the Shinigami Academy. Unlike Hitsugaya, however, Hinamori regularly goes to meet his adorable, little grandma still living in Junrinan.

9 She Loves Flower Arrangement

In addition to her usual hobbies (like being a bookworm), Hinamori also enjoys the gentle art of Ikebana, or flower arrangement. There is a club dedicated to this technique in Seireitei and is run by the first Kenpachi, Retsu Unohana, a paradoxical combination if there ever was one.

Hinamori shares the space with Matsumoto and Isane, but it seems that Renji was present for one of their meetings (but this is due to receiving a personal invitation.) Also, Zaraki's Vice-Captain, Yachiru, usually drops in for the refreshments being served.

8 HerChanging Hairstyles

In the beginning, Hinamori had a habit of tying her black hair down in pigtails, but later shifts to her iconic top-knot bun wrapped in a piece of cloth which she maintains for most of the series.

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After the Fake Karakura Town arc, however, her hairdo receives a third alteration: a low-falling bob held in place with the help of a hairclip and ribbon. Finally, in the epilogue, Hinamori is seen with a twisted semi-updo, except she's thankfully given up on that blatantly untrendy handkerchief-cover.

7 She Is Often Reckless

Hinamori's fascination for Aizen is quite psychotic (although one must also consider how deeply he had been manipulating her from the start.) But it's not like she isn't trigger-happy on other occasions, like when she tries to directly fly at Sternritter 'E', Bambietta Basterbine, after she severely injures Hirako Shinji.

Fortunately for her, Captain Komamura blocks her attack midway, telling her that her Zanpakuto is nowhere near powerful enough to defeat The Explode and that she must take better precautions when rushing into battle.

6 Her Time At The Shinoureijutsuin

After being admitted to the Shinoureijutsuin to further her Shinigami aspirations, Hinamori becomes close to Kira Izuru and Renji, and soon all three of them quickly form an informal trio. During one of their practice exercises, the group is discovered by a number of powerful Hollows, but before they can escape, she sees that Hisagi is trapped and about to be brutally murdered.

She runs back into the fray with her two friends, but they only survive because Aizen and Gin suddenly appear to save the day.Maybe that's why she keeps getting herself in the way of the sword.

5 She Wields A Fire-Type Zanpakuto

Hinamori's Zanpakuto is Tobiume, whichapparently refers to "floating plum trees" (explaining why she has afixation for the fruit.) The releasing word is "Snap", which transforms the blade into a multi-forked version of itself.

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It's one of only three fire-based Zanpakutos in Soul Society, the other two being Love Aikawa's Tengumaru and Genryuusai Yamamoto's Ryuujin Jakka. Tobiume produces tightly packed fireballs that create massive explosions, especially in close-quarters combat, making her a dangerous adversary given the right situation.

4 Her Lack Of Professional Growth

Once her hero-worship of Aizen begins, there is no stopping her from finding some way of being near him. To that end, she joins his team (Squad 5), gradually reaching thepoint at which she is appointed his Vice-Captain.

The problem, however, is that she doesn't really move beyond this stage, even in terms of her strength (unlike Rukia and Renji who reach post-Captain levels after their reinvigoration in the Royal Realm.) Even at the end, Hinamori remains Hirako Shinji's subordinate.

3 She's A Kidou Master

Hinamori shows a talent for the magical arts (a.k.a. Kidou) almost immediately after she enrolls at the academy, with Toshirou commending her for her creativity and innovative styles of combat.

In addition to splitting her attacks in such a way that she can strike two opponents simultaneously, Hinamori can also employ a number of Kidou techniques together, producing an elaborate network of offensive and defensive spells. Most impressively, she is able to combine these abilities with Tobiume's fire blasts.Perhaps Kidou should have been included as a major part of her storyline.

2 Her Relationship With Hitsugaya

It's unclear what the whole deal is here — they are (or were) best buddies, but her behavior towards him constitutes something else entirely. She tries to attack him in defense of her Captain's "honor", right until the stabbing, when she realizes that Aizen may not be everything he made himself to be.

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Curiously, her habits don't fully disappear, given that she tries to convince Hitsugaya that Aizen might be the one undergoing exploitation (as if!) Regardless, her bond with her old friend has been reestablished after Ichigo's victory over Yhwach.

1 She's A Lot More Popular Than She Should Be

Forget popular, it's surprising that she isn't outright hated for all her nonsense. And yet,Hinamori has been placed consistently in the top ten or top twenty characters in terms of fan recognition, which is even stranger than her own various shenanigans.

If that's not enough, her Zanpakuto has been ranked in the top twenty as well (although it has barely been used on-screen/page!)It's a good thing that Hinamori isn't a particularly powerful character because otherwise, she would have kept trying to rescue her "innocent" Captain Aizen from his underground prison.

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