Need some candy?

A supernatural artifact?

Perhaps an impossible scientific breakthrough before the end of the afternoon?

Kisuke Urahara probably has something in the back.

The eccentric owner of Urahara's Shop is one of *Bleach's* greatest examples of why you should never judge someone by the striped bucket hat. Cheerful, teasing, secretive, and almost suspiciously relaxed, Kisuke presents himself like an oddball shopkeeper who just happens to know considerably more about the supernatural world than anyone reasonably should.

There's a reason for that.

Before opening his little shop in Karakura Town, Kisuke was **Captain of Squad 12** and the **first chief of Soul Society's Department of Research and Development**. He's a brilliant scientist, inventor, strategist, accomplished Soul Reaper, and the sort of problem solver everyone eventually needs when the situation reaches the highly technical stage known as:

**"Well... we're screwed."**

Kisuke also becomes one of Ichigo Kurosaki's most important mentors, providing training, equipment, information, and solutions that routinely make the impossible merely extremely dangerous. His teaching methods occasionally leave out small details.

Like the possibility of death.

Or what he's actually planning.

Or several other things that everyone involved would have appreciated knowing earlier.

Behind the humor, however, is someone frighteningly capable. Whether analyzing an enemy, devising new technology, or wielding his Zanpakuto **Benihime**, Kisuke fights exactly the way he thinks: observe the problem, understand the rules, and then invent a solution nobody else considered.

Fans love Urahara because you're never entirely sure how much he knows.

The safest assumption?

**More than he's telling you.**