Urahara, Kisuke

Kisuke Urahara always wears traditional Japanese wooden sandals and a bucket hat, which has earned him the nickname "sandal-hat" (ゲタ帽子, geta-bōshi?, "Mr. Hat-and-Clogs" in the English version). He is generally a laid-back, jovial fellow, although he can be dead serious when the situation warrants it. Despite his carefree attitude, his speech is always polite, though it is sometimes sarcastic. Yoruichi Shihouin notes that he tends to go over the top with whatever he becomes passionate about. He once described himself as a "mere honest, handsome, perverted businessman." During the Bount arc of the anime, when Ganju Shiba calls Urahara an "old man," Urahara replies that he is the same age as Ganju's sister, Kūkaku Shiba.

[Spoiler] Urahara can usually be found near the scene of an important event, but will rarely step in to intervene, preferring to be in control from outside. After the event is over (i.e. the battle between Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai), he kindly pops up and helps the side he deems fit. Thus far, it has tended to be the side of the protagonists. He often tends to know more than he reveals and tends to have some form of relationship with most of the story's characters. While he is a major driving force throughout much of the story, he is usually only the catalyst, allowing others to do the work for him. Despite his appearance, Urahara is a highly skilled fighter, using a combination of powerful attacks and cunning deceptions, and is capable of holding his own against Espada-level arrancar with nothing more than his shikai. He also likes building large underground training spaces in secret. He built the first one under the Sōkyoku hill in Soul Society with Yoruichi for their training, and created a second one under his shop in the mortal realm for a similar purpose. He is also the former captain of squad 12 until he designed the Orb of Distortion. This is able to create Vizards (Soul Reapers with hollow powers). [/Spoiler]