Name: Zaraki, Kenpachi
Gender: Male
Rank:
Division:11
thSeat:Captain
Personality: Despite his initial introduction as a lethal foe, Kenpachi later begins to play the role of the comical anti-hero: 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. He is usually depicted as having a very poor sense of direction, asking his lieutenant Yachiru for directions (who then randomly points in a direction).
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.
Though he literally lives for battle, Kenpachi has shown human emotion and caring for two things: his lieutenant Yachiru (who is one of the few people he is shown to care for, along with Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa) and his name, which he gave himself. Following his battle with Ichigo Kurosaki, 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. Despite his violent tendencies, Kenpachi will usually give up on a fight if his opponent is too injured to fight back, claiming that the fight is no longer fun. However, he will unhesitatingly kill his opponent if they refuse to end their fight on his terms as seen during his battles with Tousen and Nnoitra.
Since he fought Ichigo, he seeks revenge or likely another fight with him since he is a challenging opponent. But he considers Ichigo as part of his squad. In Bount arc he stated he could let Ichigo take care of the Bounts because he will grow stronger then so he can fight him. Though being unable to feel Spiritual Energy, when Ichigo comes in Amagai's arc he knew he was in Soul Society with Rukia.
Kenpachi also strongly believes that fun comes before working. In every battle, he tries to get as much enjoyment out of it as possible. He also sent his 5th seated officer, 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. Kenpachi, when his duties permit it, always takes his afternoon nap. He does not have a particular favorite dish, but he does not like nattō.
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. Irrational to a certain extent, Kenpachi is one of the most complex characters in the series, as he exhibits a wide range of traits; lackadaisical abandon, reckless blood lust, peculiar sentiments of affection toward his subordinates, and even indications 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.
Appearance: Eyepatch on: Eyepatch off:
Kenpachi has a wild and aggressive appearance that fits his personality. He wears his captain's haori without sleeves and has a ragged look to it (he acquired his jacket from the previous 11th Division captain, whom he 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 fight evenly with weaker opponents. He has a huge scar on the left side of his face, apparently gained well before his time in the Gotei 13, and even before finding Yachiru. He is also one of the tallest Shinigami, towering at 202 cm (approx. 6 ft 7½ in). This is slightly taller than Yasutora Sado and more than double the height of his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi. His stature is often exaggerated even more for dramatic purposes, especially in contrast with Yachiru's.
Zaraki's unique hairstyle is partly the result of his habit to take a bath every day before going to sleep, a necessity due to his strong perspiration. During these baths, he usually washes his hair with soap, making it stiff. He began to like this because it was easy to set. Once, he tried a hair treatment recommended by Chōjirō Sasakibe, but his hair became too silky and was impossible to set for a while. Since then, he slightly disliked the lieutenant of the 1st Division.
Kenpachi is once 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.
Zanpakutô Spirit:N/A
Zanpakuto World:N/A
Zanpakuto Personality: N/A
Sealed Zanpakutô :
Shikai Description: N/A
Release:N/A
Bankai:N/A
Abilities:
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Kenpachi's skill with his sword is at the master level, due to the lawlessness of Zaraki district, letting him strike multiple times with changes of attack type (from slash to pierce) without any difficulty. His skills and strength with his sword make it so he always fights with one hand free. He only uses both hands went faced against opponents he feels will beat him otherwise, as shown with Nnoitra. His insane cutting strength is also evident as he is capable of easily cutting through an Espada's Hierro, which is harder than steel using Kendō, as well as slicing apart a skycraper with a mere flick of the wrist. As the Captain of the 11th Division it may be assumed he is the most proficient swordsman in all of Soul Society. Kenpachi has also displayed knowledge and skill in Kendō, though Kenpachi despises using skills and techniques learned from another source.
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: While preferring to use his blade in battle, Kenpachi has demonstrated several times to be very dangerous barehanded as well. He can easily catch an opponent's attack with a single hand and has demonstrated superb skill with throwing weapons.
Vast Spiritual Power: Even by elite captain-levels, his Spiritual Pressure is such that, even when wearing the energy-sealing eyepatch, Kenpachi can fight on-par with two other captain-level opponents, even when they release their Zanpakutō's Bankai without using his full power. He can affect others from seemingly miles away causing them to enter a state of paralysis and confusion and use it as a sort of armor making it impossible for him to be harmed by nothing less than the most skilled or powerful opponents. This is further demonstrated when Ichigo tries to cut Kenpachi at the start of their fight, who deliberately allows Ichigo to strike him; not only did Ichigo fail to cut him, but it was actually Ichigo's hands bleeding instead of Kenpachi, similarly like Arrancar use Hierro. He has also demonstrated enough control to focus and unleash his spiritual pressure in the form of a powerful shockwave. When unsealing his spiritual power is takes the appearance of a skull, most likely his killing intent.
Master Tactician: Despite his seeming disregard for any strategy in his fights and his self-admitted aversion to thinking during battle, Kenpachi is a very insightful man, regularly showing more understanding than one would expect. He is very adept at finding and exploiting weaknesses in his opponents' techniques, such as in his battle with Kaname Tōsen, where he subdued the latter's Bankai while armed only with a Zanpakutō and the one sense that was left accessible by Tōsen's Bankai at the time - that of touch. 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 and seeing what drives a person's actions. For example, he correctly singles out Kaname Tōsen and Gin Ichimaru as the only captains who are afraid to die.
Enhanced Strength: Perhaps due to years of combat experience and time on the battlefield, Kenpachi has a very large degree of physical strength, most commonly displayed by his ability to fight back his opponent's attacks with a single arm. Repeatedly, he has shown clear evidenced of his strength from acts like kicking Tōsen through a building and slamming Komamura over his should with one hand in their battle, as well as when he grabbed Ichigo's giant sword barehanded and reeled both him and the sword in for an attack. He also demonstrated his strength when he rammed through a building fighting Ichigo. He was also able to stop and deflect the fifth Espada, Nnoitra Jiruga's Cero with just his bare hand.
Enhanced Speed: While he possesses no skill for Flash Step, Kenpachi has still shown to be deceptively fast for his size and built. Thanks to his tremendous raw power, Kenpachi's leg strength allows him to move fast enough to instantly close a huge gap of space between him and the opponent and even seemingly disappear from sight.
Enhanced Endurance: His physical strength is matched by his stamina and endurance, Kenpachi has been shown to easily ignore most of the injuries he's sustained in battle (much like a berserker), not suffering any debilitation despite having multiple slash wounds in his body. He even allowed himself to be stabbed just to grab Tōsen's blade and break his Bankai's effect.
Eyepatch Off: Kenpachi removes his eyepatch and his spiritual pressure is released, which creates a yellow aura around him. He is faster, stronger, and deadlier.
History/Background: 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. During his travels outside of District #80, he found a small girl and named her Yachiru, in remembrance of the only person he ever admired, after she showed no fear of his sword. Yachiru came from area #79, Kusajishi, 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 are close and have a father-daughter-like relationship. 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), and wishes for only one thing, to die under Zaraki's command.
After some time had passed, Kenpachi found his way to Seireitei. He defeated and killed the previous Captain of the 11th Division (whose name was also Kenpachi due to it being a nickname assigned to the Captain of the 11th Division regardless of who it may be) 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 Ayasegawa to join the Shinigami. Kenpachi was forced to learn Kendo from Yamamoto because he couldn`t use Bankai. Kenpachi hates using Kendo because his battles would end too quickly with it, so he only uses it if his own life is in danger.
Thu Apr 26, 2012 2:59 am by Aivee
Subject: Kenpachi Zaraki