Kenpachi Zaraki
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Kenpachi Zaraki (更木 剣八 Zaraki Kenpachi ?) is a character from the anime and manga series Bleach. He is the captain of the 11th Division within the Gotei 13. His lieutenant is Yachiru Kusajishi.
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| Kenpachi Zaraki | |
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| Occupation | Shinigami captain of the 11th Division |
| Birthday | November 19 |
| Height | 202 cm (6' 7½") |
| Weight | 90 kg (198lbs)[1] |
| Zanpakutō | Unknown |
| Theme Song | Superpredators by Massive Attack |
| Seiyū | Fumihiko Tachiki |
Contents |
[edit] Character outline
Kenpachi has an unusual-looking appearance. He wears his captain's jacket sans sleeves, and with a more ragged look to it (it is possible that Kenpachi had acquired his captain's jacket from the previous 11th squad captain, whom he defeated and killed in a duel). He styles his hair into spikes with bells at the tips and he wears a special eyepatch, which is later revealed to be an energy-sucking creature, created by the 12th Division, used to contain his immense spiritual pressure. Both of these are meant to give enemies an advantage so that he can have even fights with weaker opponents. He enjoys a good fight more than anything and weakens himself in an effort to make the fight last longer.
He is one of the tallest characters in Bleach, towering at 202 cm (approx. 6 ft 7½ in). This is slightly taller than the giant Chad and almost double the height of his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi (furthermore, in the anime, he appears to be more than twice her height).
His appearance makes him look wild and aggressive. Zaraki lives to fight, and tries to drag out each fight as long as possible and make it as even as possible. He claims that injury and death are nothing but the price one pays for a good fight.
He has no sense of direction, relying on his lieutenant to lead him to places. Unfortunately, the lieutenant doesn't have a sense of direction either. Every time he sees Ichigo, he gives him chase in an attempt to fight him. Also, he gets creeped out by Yumichika Ayasegawa, especially when he preaches about beauty.
Many could look upon Zaraki as a comical anti-hero despite his frightening appearance and his disregard for justice and righteousness, only living for the fight; his team is made up of unusual characters and he responds to them rather comically, like a father who raised oddball children. 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. His fight with Ichigo served as a look into his character.
While he admits to having no sanity or common sense, Zaraki 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. He is also extremely adept at figuring fighting strategies on the fly (i.e. in the fight against Tōsen). Despite his talent at discerning fighting strategies, it should be noted that Zaraki hates having to think in battle (as he said to himself in the same fight).
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. 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.
[edit] History
Zaraki's last name comes from the district he once resided in Zaraki, which is the #80 district of the North Alley of Rukongai. Area #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 Zaraki, Kenpachi was nameless. During that time, he became proficient in swordsmanship and killed numerous enemies.
At some point during his travels outside of Zaraki, he found a small girl and named her Yachiru (八千流). The girl came from area #79, Kusajishi (草鹿), where her parents were murdered. 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, this caused Ikkaku to want to serve under Kenpachi from there on out (although, Ikkaku didn't serve under him until he joined the 11th Division), but Ikkaku would still jump at the chance to fight Kenpachi to the death.
After some time had passed, Zaraki found his way to the Court of Pure Souls (Seireitei). He defeated and killed the previous captain of the 11th Division (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.
[edit] Zanpakutō
Kenpachi Zaraki is the only captain of the Gotei 13 who so far is not able to perform the final release (bankai) of his zanpakutō. During his battle with Ichigo, Zaraki states that his spiritual power is so great that his zanpakutō is constantly released, though he does not know its name.[2] Zaraki always relies on his own strength to fight and does not believe in fighting alongside an ally (a zanpakutō would qualify as one). However, his own sheer power was enough for him to challenge the previous captain of the 11th Division and defeat him.
It appears that after his fight with Ichigo Kurosaki, Zaraki wishes to learn at least the name of his zanpakutō, because he wants to become stronger and can identify with the pain of not having a name. However, even then, he is not yet capable of communicating with his zanpakutō, and continually tries to learn from his zanpakutō so that he can achieve a new tier of power.
[edit] Subordinates
Kenpachi Zaraki's 11th Division has been explored more in-depth than any other division in the Gotei 13. A number of former members include:
- Tetsuzaemon Iba left the division to become the lieutenant of the 7th, under Sajin Komamura. It's not certain that he served under Kenpachi at all, but as he is friends with Ikkaku and Yumichika it's quite likely
- Renji Abarai went from the 5th Division to the 11th before moving on to become the 6th Division lieutenant under Byakuya Kuchiki.
The other 11th division members, who get somewhat of an important role in Bleach are:
- Yachiru Kusajishi - the lieutenant.
- Ikkaku Madarame - 3rd seat, very good friends with Yumichika and Renji.
- Yumichika Ayasegawa - 5th seat, very good friends with Ikkaku.
- Makizō Aramaki - a fairly cowardly shinigami, whom Yachiru likes to call "Maki Maki" or "Moustache Face". He has been in the 11th Division for 10 years.
[edit] Trivia
- Zaraki hates natto, or fermented soy beans. He can never eat it because he can't cut the sticky threads. There is nothing in particular that he likes to eat.
- Apparently he needs to get up fairly early in the morning to style his hair; the bells are particularly difficult to attach. This was illustrated in a recent extra after episode 71, with Kenpachi struggling for hours to reach the top of his hair to attach one last bell. 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 as difficult to draw as Kaname Tōsen's.
- During Ichigo's fight with his inner hollow, Zaraki was the form that Ichigo's instinct and desire to win manifested themselves in, explaining to him that they were both the type of people who lived to fight battle after battle.
- In an interview Tite Kubo noted that he would like to go more into depth about Zaraki. [3]
[edit] References
- ^ Bleach databook; page 140.
- ^ Bleach databook; page 258.
- ^ Kubo Tite x Morita Masakazu Interview
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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 |
