Byakuya Kuchiki

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Byakuya Kuchiki
Bleach character
Byakuya Kuchiki by Tite Kubo
Created by	Tite Kubo
Voiced by	Ryōtarō Okiayu (Japanese) Dan Woren (English)
Profile
Gender	Male
Species	Soul Reaper
Date of birth	January 31[1]
Occupation	Soul Reaper captain of the 6th Division
Title	28th Head of the Kuchiki clan
Known relatives	Ginrei Kuchiki (grandfather) Hisana Kuchiki (wife, deceased) Rukia Kuchiki (sister-in-law, adopted sister)
Zanpakutō	Senbonzakura

Byakuya Kuchiki (朽木 白哉, Kuchiki Byakuya^?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He is the captain of the 6th Division in the Gotei 13. His lieutenant is Renji Abarai.

Contents 1 Character outline 2 History 3 Synopsis 4 Abilities 4.1 Senbonzakura 5 Appearances in other media 6 Character reception 7 References

[edit] Character outline

Byakuya Kuchiki is the 28th head of the noble Kuchiki clan, one of the four great noble families in Soul Society.^[1] As such, Byakuya acts in an aristocratic manner — he seems always serene and apathetic towards other people, even when he is actually deeply conflicted. He is also extremely calm, even in battle, and is very seldom surprised by even the most drastic of actions. Ironically, when he was younger, he was quick to anger and very hotheaded, as noted by his grandfather.

Byakuya strongly believes in law and order. As the head of one of the great noble families and as a captain in the Gotei 13, he always works hard for a peaceful society. He thinks that if someone in his position doesn't follow the rules as a good example, then no one will follow them.^[2] He believes that to maintain the order, all law-breakers must be punished, even if that goes against his own wishes. Despite his icy and regal manner, Byakuya cares for and protects those important to him, even referring to Rukia as his "pride".

Byakuya is popular among the female Soul Reapers of Soul Society, and was voted number one in the "captain we desire to release a photo book for" poll taken by the Soul Reaper Women's Association. He likes Chinese bellflowers, night time walks, and spicy food.^[1]

Byakuya wears the standard captain uniform along with a white headpiece called a kenseikan (symbolizing his noble rank as the head of the Kuchiki family) and a white scarf made by the master weaver, Tsujishirō Kuroemon III. The scarf is made from silver-white windflower light silk (ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu) and is a family heirloom handed down through the generations to the head of the Kuchiki family. Ten large houses can be built for the cost of just one such scarf.^[1] In the anime, the scarf is an extremely light green (episodes 52 and 53).

Byakuya seems to have a comic side to himself despite his extremely serious personality. He not only attends the lieutenants' meeting when Renji Abarai is absent, but also implies that he attends the meetings of the Soul Reaper Women's Association when Rukia is absent. As he puts it, "part of a captain's responsibilities are to make sure the lieutenant's responsibilities are taken care of" which was spoken during the Soul Reaper's Illustrated Picture Book in episode 118, to which Renji asks him if he also goes to Rukia's meetings, which is only responded by a smile. In the Soul Reaper's Illustrated Picture Book in episode 113, Byakuya jokingly remarks that he uses Senbonzakura to cut his hair. In one of the omake chapters, Byakuya claims that life in general is not supposed to be entertaining, and even makes up an idea for a game that is not meant to be amusing. It was also shown in an omake chapter that Byakuya has a similar artistic style to Rukia.^[3]

[edit] History

Little is known about Byakuya's early history. When his grandfather, Ginrei Kuchiki, was still the captain of the 6th Division, Byakuya was preparing to take over leadership of the clan, although his grandfather was worried about his rash and hotheaded attitude.^[4] During this time Yoruichi Shihouin would play pranks on him and goad him into games of tag using flash steps,^[5] which she won every time.

Around 55 years before the main Bleach storyline,^[6] Byakuya married Hisana, who was then a commoner from Inuzuri, one of the poorest districts of Rukongai; therefore, he broke the rules by accepting her into the noble Kuchiki family. Shortly before her death, Hisana asked Byakuya to find, adopt, and protect her biological sister, Rukia, whom she had abandoned as a baby. She also made him promise that he would not tell Rukia about her real family, for she believed that by abandoning Rukia when she was younger she was not worthy to be called Rukia's sister.

One year later, during Rukia's time at the academy, Byakuya found her and immediately adopted her into the Kuchiki clan. By adopting her Byakuya respected his wife's last wish, but had broken the rules of his clan again. He later swore upon his parents' graves that he would never break the rules again, no matter what. As a result, he, though entirely apathetic on the surface, is actually deeply conflicted with the matter of Rukia's execution. Should he intervene, it would require breaking the promise to his parents and the rules again; but should he do nothing he would fail to fulfill the last promise he made to his dying wife to protect Rukia as his own sister.

It is implied that Byakuya Kuchiki became captain of the 6th division less than 50 years before the main Bleach storyline (shortly before Rukia had entered the Gotei 13).^[7] Gin Ichimaru became captain of the 3rd Division at the same time, and Gin would commonly start pointless conversations with Byakuya during times they crossed paths.

[edit] Synopsis

Byakuya first appears on a mission with his lieutenant, Renji Abarai, to capture Rukia Kuchiki and kill Ichigo Kurosaki. They succeed in retrieving Rukia, and would have easily killed Ichigo, if not for Rukia's intervention, pleading for Byakuya not to give the finishing blow. Byakuya later interrupts Ganju Shiba and Hanatarō Yamada's attempt to rescue Rukia and, later on, Renji's attempt. When Ichigo succeeded in rescuing Rukia, he and Byakuya have an extended battle, where both use their bankai. However, Ichigo's inexperience with his new release and Byakuya switching to a more powerful form leaves Ichigo at a disadvantage. It was through the temporary emergence of Ichigo's inner hollow that evened the odds out once more. Following Ichigo's inner hollow's forced submission, both channel all their remaining power into one final attack, resulting in Byakuya's sword breaking and Byakuya forfeiting the match. Later, when Sōsuke Aizen orders Gin Ichimaru to kill Rukia, Byakuya pulls her out of the attack and takes it instead. While being treated, Byakuya tells Rukia why she was adopted, apologizes to her and thanks Ichigo. Afterwards, Byakuya's attitude toward Rukia changes significantly. He is seen to care for Rukia in an indirect manner and displays a new view on the idea that the law is never perfect. However, he still appears to view Ichigo with disdain.

When the Bounts' threat to harm Soul Society becomes serious, Byakuya uses the Kuchiki Clan's records to gain information on the Bount for General Yamamoto. Byakuya, aiding Rukia in her battle with Yoshi, attempts to seek out the Bount leader Jin Kariya. The two meet, and engage in a battle that is interrupted by Ichigo and, later, Rantao.

Byakuya reappears to retrieve Tōshirō Hitsugaya's team on General Yamamoto's order near the end of the Arrancar Arc, but he secretly allows Rukia and Renji to assist in Orihime's rescue. He reasons that he was only ordered to bring them back to Soul Society and that what they chose to do afterwards was none of his concern. Byakuya appears later in Hueco Mundo to save Rukia from the 7th Espada, Zommari Leroux. After a quick clash using their speed, in which Byakuya is proven superior, Zommari releases his zanpakutō and takes control of Byakuya's body parts. When Byakuya cuts his left leg and arm tendons to negate the effect, Zommari turns his attention to Rukia, taking control of her body and forcing her own zanpakutō to her neck. Byakuya uses a binding spell to prevent Rukia's movement, then activates his bankai, engulfing Zommari with the millions of blades it creates. Zommari survives the attack, but finds himself powerless before Byakuya. He is killed by a single strike from Byakuya's blade. Once Rukia is revived, Byakuya tells her to rest for the more important battles to come.

[edit] Abilities

Byakuya, as the 6th Division Soul Reaper captain, is skilled in all forms of Soul Reaper combat. In keeping with his rank, Byakuya's abilities allow him to defeat opponents of lieutenant level Soul Reaper without much effort.

Of particular note is Byakuya's speed: he is skilled in the use of flash steps, having trained with (but never surpassed) Goddess of Flash Yoruichi Shihouin.^[8] Yoruichi also taught Byakuya some techniques of her own creation involving flash steps, including one called utsusemi (空蝉, lit. cicada, in reference to their molting), which allows Byakuya to move out of harm's way while leaving an afterimage behind. One of Byakuya's favorite technique as described by Renji is senka (闪花, lit. Flash Blossom）, a flash step combined with a spin to quickly move behind the enemy, followed by a strike aimed to destroy the saketsu chain and the hakusui soul sleep with a combination of two quick thrusts.^[9]

Byakuya has also displayed knowledge of high level kidō spells, able to cast spells up to number 81 without the incantation.^[10] He is adept at using them strategically, such as disrupting the movement of Renji's bankai with a well-timed fire spell and damaging Ichigo's right arm by using a low-level lightning spell at point-blank range to burn a hole through his shoulder.^[11]

[edit] Senbonzakura

Byakuya Kuchiki's zanpakutō is Senbonzakura (千本桜, Senbonzakura^? literally "thousand cherry blossoms," and a reference to Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura). Its shikai is triggered by the command "scatter" (散れ, chire^?). In the English manga the phrase is translated inconsistently; at the start of volume fourteen it is translated as "die", though later in the same volume "scatter" is used instead.

In its shikai, Senbonzakura's blade separates into thousands of slender blades. The release can be negated before it completes, such as when Yoruichi Shihouin wrapped the blade in cloth during Byakuya's short battle with Ichigo. While the blades are too small to see normally, they reflect light in such a way as to appear as cherry blossom petals. Byakuya can control the blades at will, allowing him to shred opponents at a distance and break through almost any defense. While Byakuya can control the blades with his mind alone, using his hands allows him to do so more effectively, making the blades move twice as fast.

Byakuya's bankai, named Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (千本桜景厳, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi^? literally "Vibrant Display of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms"), is essentially a much larger version of Senbonzakura's shikai. To activate it, Byakuya drops his sword. The sword passes through the ground and two rows of giant blades rise up from the ground. These then scatter into millions of tiny blades. The number of blades is great enough that Byakuya can use them for defense and offense at the same time. He commonly forms them into large masses of blades to crush opponents.^[12][13] Like with his shikai, its attack is triggered with the phrase "scatter".

Byakuya's bankai has several forms, achieved by arranging the blades in different patterns. They are activated by saying the name of the technique followed by the name of his bankai. Each form presents a different advantage, such as increasing offense at the expense of defense.

Byakuya's attack form is "massacre scene" (殲景, senkei^?, Viz: "annihilate"), which unites the scattered petals into complete swords that form four rows around Byakuya and his opponent. In this form, Byakuya abandons the defense potential of his many blades and concentrates on killing the enemy. While Byakuya can control these swords as he does his regular blades, he usually attacks with just one in hand. He remarks in his battle with Ichigo that he normally only shows senkei to those he has sworn to "kill by his own hand", Ichigo being the second to see this.^[14] After immobilizing an opponent, he can call in the other blades to hit them while they're trapped. He can also use all the blades at once for one immensely powerful strike.

To overwhelm the defense of an opponent, Byakuya can use "pivotal scene" (吭景, gōkei^?). This aligns every blade in a spherical formation around his opponent, which then collapses into them from every possible angle, leaving no blind spots and no chance to escape.^[15]

Finally, when Byakuya is weakened, he can use "final scene" (終景, shūkei^?, Viz: "last sight"). This condenses every one of his blades into a single sword, drastically increasing its cutting power. The blade appears bright white and its aura takes the form of a bird, earning it the name "white imperial sword" (白帝剣, hakuteiken^?, Viz: "white emperor sword"). Byakuya also grows pure white wings and a halo-like circle in the back, both made of spiritual power.^[16]

[edit] Appearances in other media

Byakuya also appears in the Sealed Sword Frenzy OAV^[17] and also in the feature lenghted movie, Memories of Nobody^[18]. He appears in the Bleach video games such as Blade Battlers Hanatareshi Yabou & Heat The Soul.^[19][20][21] He has two songs in the latest Bleach Beat Collection, a solo entitled 'Yozora no Kawa', and a duet with Rukia Kuchiki entitled 'Listen to One Story'.^[22]

[edit] Character reception

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

He ranked 7th in the most recent popularity poll with 4,010 votes, edging out Orihime Inoue by 35 votes.^[23]

[edit] References

v • d • e Characters in Bleach Protagonists Ichigo Kurosaki · Rukia Kuchiki · Orihime Inoue · Yasutora "Chad" Sado · Uryū Ishida · Renji Abarai · Kisuke Urahara  · Yoruichi Shihōin Soul Reapers Byakuya Kuchiki · Tōshirō Hitsugaya · Kenpachi Zaraki · Mayuri Kurotsuchi · Other Soul Reapers Antagonists Sōsuke Aizen · Gin Ichimaru · Kaname Tōsen · The Espada  · Ulquiorra Schiffer · Grimmjow Jeagerjaques Others Kon · Hollows · Vizards · Quincy · Bounts · Full list