Kenpachi Zaraki

Kenpachi Zaraki
Bleach character
Created by	Tite Kubo
Voiced by	Fumihiko Tachiki (Japanese) David Lodge (English)
Profile
Gender	Male
Date of birth	November 19
Occupation	Shinigami
Title	Captain of the 11th Division
Zanpakutō	Unknown

Kenpachi Zaraki (更木 剣八  Zaraki Kenpachi?^?) is a fictional character and supporting anti-hero in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He is the captain of the 11th Division within the Gotei 13. His lieutenant is Yachiru Kusajishi. He placed 9th in the recent 2006 popularity poll taken by Weekly Shonen Jump readers with a total of 3,001 votes.^[1]

Character outline

Kenpachi has a wild and aggressive appearance, fitting with his personality. He wears his captain's jacket without sleeves, and with a more ragged look to it (he acquired his captain's jacket from the previous 11th Division captain, whom he defeated and killed in a duel). He styles his hair into spikes with bells at the tips and wears a special eye patch on his right eye created by the 12th Division to absorb the bulk of his power. Both of these are meant to give enemies an advantage so that he can have even fights with weaker opponents. He has a huge scar on the left side of his face (He apparently had this same scar around the time he found Yachiru). He is also one of the tallest characters in Bleach, towering at 202 cm (approx. 6 ft 7½ in). This is slightly taller than Yasutora Sado and almost double the height of his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi. His stature is often exaggerated even more for dramatic purposes, especially in contrast with Yachiru's.

In one of the "Shinigami Cup" specials after Bleach episodes, Kenpachi is shown attaching the bells to his hair, which apparently takes quite a while to accomplish. The highest bell in particular takes him several hours to attach, as the tip of his hair is just beyond his reach. Occasionally, Yumichika will offer to do it, but Zaraki usually refuses because he thinks that it is weird for someone else to style his hair. Tite Kubo has remarked that Zaraki's hair is the most difficult to draw, tied with Kaname Tōsen's.^[2]

Despite his initial introduction as a lethal foe, Kenpachi later begins to play the role of the comical anti-hero in Bleach: though still self-centered and violent, his actions tend to be for the best and his relationship with his division and others is always portrayed comically. This comical shift is primarily centered around his appearances in the Bleach anime and omake stories, with the exception of the occasional diatribe between himself and Yachiru.

Kenpachi lives for battle (evidenced by his method of attaining his rank) and enjoys a good fight more than anything. He even weakens himself in an effort to make any fight last longer. He also claims that injury and death are nothing but the price one pays for a good fight. Despite his group being the most bloodthirsty of the Gotei 13, they have a code of ethics, though different from the set rules of Soul Society.

Despite his seeming disregard for any strategy in his fights and his self-admitted aversion to thinking during battle, Kenpachi is adept at finding and exploiting weaknesses in his opponents' techniques, such as in his battle with Kaname Tōsen. Apart from his sword skills, he has shown no overt talent in any other forms of shinigami combat; even flash steps, a common skill among most shinigami, are never used by him. However, his overall speed and ferociousness in battle more than make up for his seeming lack of ability in these areas. While he admits to having no sanity or common sense, Kenpachi is actually very perceptive and notices traits in people that others wouldn't notice. For example, he correctly singles out Kaname Tōsen and Gin Ichimaru as the only captains who are afraid to die.

Perhaps due to years of combat experience and time on the battlefield, Kenpachi also has a large degree of physical strength, most clearly evidenced by the fact that he kicked Tosen through a building in their battle, and also when he grabbed Ichigo's giant sword barehanded and reeled both him and the sword in for an attack. His physical strength is matched by his endurance: Kenpachi has been shown to easily ignore most of the injuries he's sustained in battle, not suffering any debilitation despite having multiple slash wounds in his body. Ichigo was unable to even scratch him early on in their fight, causing more damage to himself than Zaraki. He even allowed himself to be stabbed just to grab Tosen's blade and break his bankai's effect.

Though he literally lives for battle, Kenpachi has shown human emotion and caring for two things: his lieutenant Yachiru (who is possibly the only person he cares for) and his name, which he gave himself. Following his battle with Ichigo, in a rare moment of sorrow, Kenpachi talks about the pain of not having a name (as he lived his childhood and early adult years without one), and feels guilty that his sword isn't acknowledged by its name.

Kenpachi also strongly believes the fun comes before working. In every battle, he tries to get as much enjoyment out of it as possible. He also sent his 5th Seat, Yumichika, to fend off the Bount in Karakura Town, as he was the only high-ranking officer who wasn't busy, or rather, busy having fun, as Yachiru was snacking and Ikkaku was napping, while Yumichika was organizing documents.

At times it seems Kenpachi contradicts his own logic, as he on one hand wishes for ever increasing personal power, yet on the other restricts his might and stubbornly refuses to learn the name of his zanpakutō. Insane to a certain extent, Kenpachi is easily one of the most complex characters in the series, as he exhibits a wide range of traits including; reckless abandon, blood lust, peculiar sentiments of affection toward his subordinates, and even the occasional indication of wisdom in the form of terse pep-talks usually given to opponents just before or even during battles. All these factors parallel Ichigo's character giving insight to the inward struggle he seems to contend with.

History

Kenpachi after his first encounter with Ikkaku.

Zaraki's surname comes from the district he once resided in, Zaraki, which is district #80 of the North Alley of Rukongai. District #80 is the worst, most lawless region of Rukongai, full of thieves and murderers (whereas area #1 is the most orderly and law-abiding). While residing in District #80, Kenpachi was nameless. During that time, he became proficient in swordsmanship and killed numerous enemies.

At some point during his travels outside of District #80, he found a small girl and named her Yachiru (八千流), in remembrence of the only person he ever admired, after she showed no fear of his sword. Yachiru came from area #79, Kusajishi (草鹿), where her parents were murdered. The two events were apparently quite close. On that day, he also took on a name: Kenpachi, the title bestowed upon the strongest swordsman, the one who has killed the most. The two developed a father-daughter-like relationship.

Also, at some point (before he became a captain), he fought and defeated Ikkaku Madarame; for this reason, Ikkaku pledged to serve under Kenpachi from there on out (Ikkaku doesn't actually get the chance to do so until he joins the 11th Division), but Ikkaku would still jump at the chance to fight Kenpachi to the death.

After some time had passed, Kenpachi found his way to Seireitei. He defeated and killed the previous captain of the 11th Division (whose identity is currently unknown) and gained his seat in the Gotei 13 in this manner. In the anime, his assumption of the captain's seat caused Maki Ichinose to leave Soul Society. According to the anime, it is also what convinced Ikkaku and Yumichika to join the shinigami.

In an interview, Tite Kubo noted that he would like to go more into depth about Zaraki.^[3]

Synopsis

After Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends arrive in Soul Society, Kenpachi begins to hunt the strongest, and eventually battles Ichigo. During their fight, Ichigo becomes enough of a challenge that Kenpachi removes his eye patch, thus releasing the extra power it has been devouring. The battle ends in a draw, with Ichigo falling first and Kenpachi shortly after, both admitting defeat. Much later on, while searching for Ichigo with his friends in tow, they are headed off by 7th and 9th Division members, and Kenpachi battles the captains Sajin Komamura and Kaname Tōsen, respectively, managing to defeat Tōsen and fight off Komamura before he runs away. He sees Ichigo and his friends off as they leave the Soul Society. Kenpachi also helps fight off the Bount invasion, and successfully manages to defeat, but not kill, Maki Ichinose. During Ichigo's fight with his inner hollow, Zaraki was the form of Ichigo's instinct and desire to win, explaining to him that they were both the type of people who lived to fight battle after battle. Later in the series, Kenpachi is seen with Byakuya Kuchiki, who are both later sent to retrieve Tōshirō Hitsugaya's group and bring them back into the Soul Society.

Zanpakutō

Kenpachi's zanpakutō has no known name, even to its owner. Kenpachi is the only captain of the Gotei 13 who doesn't know the name of his sword, nor can he use his bankai as a result. Despite not knowing its name, it is constantly released.^[4] The sword's appearance is a reflection of Kenpachi's own practice of weakening himself to fight: it is a seemingly worn-down and dull blade with a guard that extends inward from its center. The blade is much longer than that of a standard zanpakutō. Even so, Kenpachi is always seen using his sword with just one hand. Despite its appearance, it is easily capable of cutting through most objects due to Kenpachi's immense amount of spiritual power. This is demonstrated when he stabs straight through Ichigo's zanpakutō and later slices a building in half with carless effort after releasing the full force of his spiritual power.

It appears that after his fight with Ichigo, Kenpachi wishes to learn more about his zanpakutō because he wants to become stronger and can identify with the pain of not having a name. However, he is not yet capable of communicating with his zanpakutō, and it is implied that he continually tries to learn from his zanpakutō so that he can achieve a new tier of power. Zangetsu notes that Kenpachi's disharmony with his sword causes the two to damage each other's power.

In other media

He has also appeared in the second session of Bleach: Beat Collection, together with Kusajishi, Madarame, and Ayasegawa. He has a minor (yet comical) role in the Bleach OVA, and also appears briefly in the Bleach Movie.

Kenpachi also appears in many of the Bleach video games.

References

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