Jūshirō Ukitake
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| Jūshirō Ukitake | |
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| Occupation | Captain of the 13th Division, shinigami |
| Birthday | December 21 |
| Height | 187 cm (6' 1½") |
| Weight | 72 kg (158.7 lbs) |
| Zanpakutō | Sōgyo no Kotowari |
| Theme Song | "Back to the Innocence" by Jonathan Cain |
| Seiyū | Hideo Ishikawa |
| Voice Actor | Liam O'Brien |
Jūshirō Ukitake (浮竹 十四郎 Ukitake Jūshirō?) is a character in the manga and anime series Bleach. He is the captain of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13. His lieutenant was Kaien Shiba, who is now deceased.
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[edit] Character outline
Ukitake is a sickly man with long white hair. In volume 18 of the manga, it is revealed that the illness he suffers from is tuberculosis and his hair turned white three days after his illness surfaced.[1] Although he is limited by his illness to fighting only for short periods of time, he is a powerful warrior. Before the demise of Kaien Shiba, Ukitake often left the daily operations of the 13th Division to him; now, this responsibility is taken care of by his two current third seated officers, Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki. To Ukitake's chagrin, the two constantly compete over which is the better assistant. Ukitake is the only captain who currently has no lieutenant.
He is respected by many, especially by his subordinates, for his honesty, loyalty, and personal sense of justice. The extent of his honor and respect is such that Yoruichi Shihouin leaves Rukia Kuchiki, Hanatarō Yamada, and Ganju Shiba behind when she rescues Ichigo Kurosaki from Byakuya Kuchiki, knowing that Ukitake would not let any harm come to the three.
Like Kaien, Ukitake does not give up when he believes something is wrong and will break the rules if he must. He has been close friends with Shunsui Kyōraku since his youth.
[edit] History
Jūshirō is the eldest son from the low-class aristocrat Ukitake family. He has five brothers and two sisters, who he essentially supports by himself.
Up to 2000 years prior to the current storyline, he, along with Shunsui Kyōraku, was one of the first graduates of Captain Yamamoto's academy. Furthermore, he was personally trained by Yamamoto.
Since he has achieved the rank of captain, it is implied that he must be a powerful fighter, but the true extent of his abilities has not been seen in the series. However, General Yamamoto states that Jūshirō and Shunsui, both of whom he trained himself, possess "greater powers on the battlefield than anyone younger generation, or old".
It is implied that he and Kyōraku are the oldest captains amongst the Gotei 13 with the exception of Yamamoto himself.
[edit] Sōgyo no Kotowari
Ukitake's zanpakutō is Sōgyo no Kotowari (双魚の理 or 双魚理, lit. Truth of Pisces). It is one of only two zanpakutō in Soul Society that exists as a pair. However, unlike Shunsui Kyōraku's Katen Kyōkotsu, Sōgyo no Kotowari only splits into two swords when released. When Ukitake releases shikai, the blades are thin and resemble fishing javelins. Although it resembles Momo Hinamori's Tobiume in appearance, the jitte-like prongs on Sõgyo no Kotowari consist only of a reversed blade on each sword. The two swords are connected by a cord, which is lined with several small charms.
Its initial release (shikai) command is Nami kotogotoku, waga tate to nare. Ikazuchi kotogotoku, waga yaiba to nare.[2] (波悉く我が盾となれ雷悉く我が刃となれ, Every wave be my shield, every thunder become my blade!).
Since Sōgyo no Kotowari's precise abilities and final release (bankai) have not yet been seen in the series, officially, they are still unknown. However, it has been shown to have various abilities in several video games. In the game, Bleach GC: Tasogare Ni Mamieru Shinigami, for Gamecube, Ukitake's zanpakutō uses lightning- and thunder-based abilities. In the Nintendo DS game, Bleach DS: Souten ni Kakeru Unmei, his special attacks involve water, light beams and lightning orbs. In the Sony PSP game Bleach: Heat the Soul 3, Ukitake's attacks are also based on combinations of water and electricity.
[edit] Trivia
- In a Shinigami Sketch, Jūshirō Ukitake comically gives Tōshirō Hitsugaya candy and other food, because Jūshirō and Tōshirō sound similar and they both have white hair, making them both shirō-chan (シロちゃん) - a nickname meaning "whitey" in reference to their hair.
- In VJump, he gives Hitsugaya a strange birthday present that Hitsugaya doesn't really like, a life size figurine of Hitsugaya in a fighting pose.
- His favorite food is umeboshi-chazuke. He doesn't have any food that he dislikes. Ukitake also likes to eat a lot even though his body is weak.
- In the VJump comics, Ukitake has been the target of Soifon and Kiyone Kotetsu, who successfully pin him to a post to photograph him for a picture for the Shinigami Women's Association calendar. He is later rescued by Yoruichi Shihouin.
[edit] References
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| Karakura High School: | Ichigo Kurosaki | Orihime Inoue | Uryū Ishida | Yasutora "Chad" Sado | Tatsuki Arisawa | Keigo Asano |
| Shinigami: | Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai & Chōjirō Sasakibe | Soifon & Marechiyo Ōmaeda | Gin Ichimaru & Izuru Kira | Retsu Unohana, Isane Kotetsu, & Hanatarō Yamada | Sōsuke Aizen & Momo Hinamori | Byakuya Kuchiki & Renji Abarai | Sajin Komamura & Tetsuzaemon Iba | Shunsui Kyōraku & Nanao Ise | Kaname Tōsen & Shūhei Hisagi | Tōshirō Hitsugaya & Rangiku Matsumoto | Kenpachi Zaraki, Yachiru Kusajishi, Ikkaku Madarame, & Yumichika Ayasegawa | Mayuri Kurotsuchi & Nemu Kurotsuchi | Jūshirō Ukitake, Kaien Shiba & Rukia Kuchiki | Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihouin, & Isshin Kurosaki |
| Vizard: | Shinji Hirako | Other Vizard |
| Arrancar: | Ulquiorra | Grimmjow Jaggerjack | Yammy | Wonderwice Margera | Other Arrancar |
| Other characters: | Ganju Shiba | Kon | Ryūken Ishida | Jin Kariya | Other Bounts |
