Retsu Unohana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Retsu Unohana | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Shinigami captain of the 4th Division |
| Birthday | April 21 |
| Height | 159 cm (5' 2½") |
| Weight | 45 kg (99 lb) |
| Zanpakutō | Minazuki |
| Seiyū | Aya Hisakawa |
Retsu Unohana (卯ノ花 烈 or 卯の花 烈 Unohana Retsu?) is a character from the anime and manga series Bleach. She is the captain of the 4th Division in Gotei 13 (the medical and supply relief division). Her lieutenant is Isane Kotetsu.
Contents |
[edit] Character outline
Unohana, a soft-spoken, polite, caring woman, uses honorifics when addressing everyone, including her subordinates and rarely shows panic or distress. She wears the standard shinigami captain uniform apart from using an obi instead of the normal sash. Her hair is always worn as one braid in front. She has a close relationship with her lieutenant Isane Kotetsu.
In the anime, after Renji Abarai loses his battle against Byakuya Kuchiki, she heals Renji without hesitating, even though he betrayed Soul Society; Renji himself has no idea that Unohana saved him, as his vision was extremely blurry and fell unconscious after that.
There is some hinting that she might have an interest in Orihime Inoue because of Orihime's unique healing abilities.
Unohana also seems to let her squad members go on leave to the real world from time to time; in the anime she gives Hanatarō Yamada permission to take a break in the real world shortly after the events in Soul Society.
[edit] History
There is little information on her history. There is no information or hint to when she became a captain. It is likely that she has been a captain for a very long time, especially hinted by her white robes having sleeves, a trait shared by all senior captains (with the exception of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who became a captain only approximately 100 years before the storyline, succeeding Kisuke Urahara, but wears long sleeves due to the Gotei 13 Research Department uniform)
[edit] Minazuki
Minazuki or Minadzuki (肉雫唼) is Retsu Unohana's zanpakutō. No coherent translation of Minazuki has been found; the first two characters in its name mean meat/flesh (肉, mi) and droplets (雫, na). The last character (唼, mi) is an obscure character meaning the sound or appearance of birds feeding, according to the Dai Kan-Wa jiten. It may simply be that this is a made-up homonym by the author: minazuki (水無月) is the traditional Japanese word for the sixth lunar month. One possible way to interpret it is "Fleshdrinker." However, this is a largely informal interpretation.
In sealed form, Minazuki is slightly longer than ordinary katanas, and resembles a nodachi. Instead of tying it to her obi, Unohana straps the zanpakutō with a rope which she carries over her shoulder.
It transforms into a giant one-eyed manta-ray-like being, that can both transport a large amount of people, and heal them inside its stomach. This particular trait is what has earned Unohana the title of Soul Society's greatest healer[citation needed]. It is unknown whether this creature is able to attack opponents. It transforms into a green mist and reforms into her zanpakutō's hilt each time Unohana reseals it. Presumably, this is Minazuki's initial release (shikai).
Minazuki's final release (bankai) is unknown.
[edit] Trivia
- The last kanji in Minazuki (唼) is a non-standard (likely deprecated) character, that is, not recognized by Japan's Ministry of Education.
- Unohana is the name of a Japanese dish made from okara.
- Retsu is the Japanese word for cold, line, or a row. However, when combined with the character for woman, her name means womanly strength, which is logical considering her nature.
|
|
|
|---|---|
| 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 |
