Kenpachi Zaraki

Kenpachi Zaraki is a character from the Bleach anime and manga.

Kenpachi is the current captain of the 11th Division in the Gotei 13. He is the eleventh Kenpachi to hold the position. His first lieutenant was Yachiru Kusajishi and his current lieutenant is Ikkaku Madarame.

Appearance
Kenpachi is a tall, muscular Shinigami with a wild and aggressive appearance, which fits his personality. He has a long face with pronounced cheekbones, and pronounced, hairless brow ridges. He has green eyes and long, stringy black hair. A noticeable trait in his appearance is a long, thin scar running down the left side of his face and across his left eye, inflicted on him by Retsu Unohana while he was still a child.

In addition to the standard Shinigami uniform, he wears white bandages across his midsection and a sleeveless captain's haori (which belonged to the previous captain and was taken after his defeat), which has a ragged look to it. He styles his hair into stiff strands during his baths, attaching small bells at its tips, and wears a special black eyepatch over his right eye. During his first battle with Ichigo, the eyepatch is more elegant, having a gold-like lining and a chain as one of the straps. He also wore a black choker necklace. Later, he removed the choker and gave his eyepatch normal straps.

17 months after Aizen's defeat, Kenpachi's hair has grown out past his shoulders. He no longer has the bells in his hair. His eyepatch's design has changed again, as it is now a single piece covering his right eye. The eyepatch is black with a grey outline.

Personality
Although he is known to be a violent fighter, Kenpachi's actions tend to be for the best. Kenpachi lives for battle, and enjoys a good fight more than anything. He even holds back in an effort to make any fight last longer. He claims injury and death are nothing but the price one pays for a good fight. Despite his tendency to be brutal, Kenpachi usually stops a fight if his opponent is too injured to fight back, claiming he is not interested in fighting "weaklings who can't fight anymore", and he does not feel obligated to deal a death blow to anyone who cannot fight any longer. However, he will unhesitatingly kill his opponent if they refuse to end their fight, such as during his battles with Kaname Tōsen and Nnoitra Gilga. He also takes his title as Kenpachi seriously, telling Gremmy Thoumeaux that there is nothing the latter can create that he cannot cut because the power his title implies is not to be taken lightly.

Kenpachi's unique hairstyle is partly due to his habit of taking a bath every day before going to sleep, which is a necessity to him due to his strong perspiration. During these baths, he usually washes his hair with soap, making it stiff. He enjoys doing so because it is easy for him to set his hair to his preferred style. He once tried a hair treatment recommended by 1st Division Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe, but his hair became too silky and was impossible to set for a while. Since then, Kenpachi has greatly disliked the lieutenant. Kenpachi attaches the bells to his hair himself, which takes 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. He refuses to get help as he thinks it is weird for someone else to style his hair.

On multiple occasions, Kenpachi has shown great respect to those who can defeat him in a fight and those who can push him to his limit. Ever since Ichigo Kurosaki handed him his first known loss since against Retsu Unohana (though Ichigo considers their fight a loss for him), Kenpachi has considered the latter a member of his Division. Despite Ichigo's refusal to engage in a rematch with Kenpachi as he considers him an ally, Kenpachi constantly expresses his desire for it every time they meet. He also aided Ichigo in his fight against the Bount, doing so as it would make Ichigo stronger for "their anticipated fight". Kenpachi also holds great respect for Unohana, the only person he ever admired, as she was the first person to make him experience the thrill of battle. He readily acknowledges that the two of them are very much alike, and is brought to tears at the thought of being unable to beat her before he dies. Upon inadvertently killing Unohana, Kenpachi was reduced to screaming and begging for her to not die.

Kenpachi sometimes contradicts his own logic in fighting. On the one hand, Kenpachi wishes to increase his own personal power. On the other hand, he conceals his strength to enjoy a fight for as long as possible. Although he thrives for battle, Kenpachi does have emotions. Kenpachi and his lieutenant, Yachiru, have been close ever since they met, and have a father-daughter-like relationship, making Yachiru one of the few people he cares for. However, he has stated if his subordinates interfere in his fights, he will "cut them up first". Aside from Yachiru, Kenpachi deeply gives meaning to his name. Following his fight with Ichigo, Kenpachi talks about the pain of not having a name, as he lived his early years without one. This causes him to feel guilty his sword is not acknowledged by its own name. Since then, he has strived to learn its identity.

Kenpachi strongly believes fun comes before working. One example is when Kenpachi sends his 5th seated officer, Yumichika, to fend off the Bount in Karakura Town, as he is the only high-ranking officer who is not busy, or rather, busy having fun, as Yachiru was snacking and Ikkaku was napping. During his free time, Kenpachi always takes his afternoon nap. He does not have a particularly favorite dish, but he particularly hates nattō.

After killing Unohana and finally learning the name of his Zanpakutō, though he retains his desire to battle and is not overly interested in the details, Kenpachi became somewhat calmer and more focused. He is more willing to listen to reason, having backed down from searching for his missing lieutenant on his own when Nanao Ise explained it would be more practical to have his division conduct the search. Likewise, he shows far more concern for Yachiru than previously; when he discovers she is missing, Kenpachi frantically orders his men to begin looking for her.

Abilities
Master Swordsman: Due to the lawlessness of the Zaraki district, Kenpachi's skill with his sword has been honed to essentially a masterful level, letting him strike multiple times with changes of attack type (from slash to pierce) without any difficulty. While still a child, his prowess was great enough to single-handedly kill hundreds of adult fighters and wound Retsu Unohana, the 1st Kenpachi, in battle. His unpolished skills, but immense might with his sword allow him to always fight with one hand free, only using both hands when facing opponents he feels will beat him otherwise, such as with Nnoitra and momentarily Ichigo. As the captain of the 11th Division, which specializes in sword fighting, he is among the most, if not the most, proficient swordsmen in all of Soul Society.

Kendō: Kenpachi possesses considerable knowledge and skill in Kendō, which Yamamoto forced him to learn before officially joining the Gotei 13, though the training only lasted a day out of fear that Zaraki would become too powerful. However, Kenpachi, who despises using skills and techniques learned from another source, only uses Kendō as a last resort. Hand-to-Hand Combat Expert: While preferring to use his blade in battle, Kenpachi has proven several times to be very dangerous while barehanded, showing considerably effective brawling prowess. He can easily catch an opponent's attack with a single hand, perform powerful punches and kicks, and easily subdue opponents with throws and take-downs. Kenpachi easily overwhelmed several members of the Onmitsukidō, a corp of Hakuda-specialists, despite being battle-worn.
 * Ryōdan (Bisection): A technique which Kenpachi uses when he is gripping his sword with two hands. It allows one to split an opponent down the middle.

Immense Spiritual Power: Even by a captain's standards, Zaraki's Reiryoku is monstrous. He has so much that even while wearing his energy-sealing eyepatch, his prowess is not noticeably hindered as he is still able to fight two captain-level opponents at once who were both using their Bankai. Ganju Shiba estimated his sealed power to be close to or at the same level as Byakuya Kuchiki's Reiatsu. Retsu Unohana, one of the most powerful captains of the Gotei 13, stated she was weaker than him even while he was still a child. After defeating Unohana and releasing himself from his self-imposed limits, he becomes powerful enough to fight on par with and defeat the likes of Gremmy Thoumeauxwithout taking off his eyepatch. Similar to Ichigo, when unleashing a strong enough surge of energy, it becomes visible and yellow in color, sometimes with the appearance of a skull.
 * Unruly Reiatsu Control: By his own admission, Kenpachi has poor control of his spiritual energy as it constantly remains very potent, forcing him to rely on his eyepatch to keep it at a more manageable level. Despite this, he is able to make liberal use of it in a variety of ways. It can affect large areas, spanning miles, and cause others within that area to enter a state of paralysis and confusion. When exerting his energy, the sheer magnitude of Kenpachi's energy can cause considerable damage, destroying the area around him and launching away weaker opponents. Likewise, this can repel or disrupt most enemy attacks and abilities. After his battle with Unohana, Kenpachi gains considerable control over his Reiatsu; prior to Gremmy Thoumeaux creating a structure for he and Kenpachi to fight on, Shinigami in the nearby area were completely unable to detect his Reiatsu.He can also use his Reiryoku for more basic feats, such as standing in midair like other Shinigami.
 * Damage Resistance: The intensity of Kenpachi's Reiryoku also acts as a sort of armor, making it impossible for him to be harmed by anyone not at least at his level of power. This is first demonstrated when he faced Ichigo. At the start of the fight, Kenpachi allows Ichigo to strike him, yet despite leaving himself completely unguarded and not resisting, not only did Ichigo fail to cut him, but Ichigo's hands started to bleed because of the recoil.
 * Shock Wave: He possesses enough control to focus and unleash his spiritual pressure in the form of a powerful shock wave. When using both hands, his shock wave can have a huge radius of destruction.
 * Energy Wave: By striking at the ground, Kenpachi can create an overflowing wave of yellow spiritual energy, which surges forward before crashing into Kenpachi's target.

Specialized Combatant: Kenpachi did not attend the Shin'ō Academy, and has no apparent skill (or interest) in Kidō and Shunpo. Despite that and even before achieving either of his Zanpakutō's released forms, he more than made up for his faults as a captain with his sheer power, resilience, and ingenuity. These traits easily making him one of the strongest Shinigami in the Gotei 13. His immense fighting prowess is the reason why Kenpachi was recognized as one of the 5 Special War Powers by the Wandenreich.

Highly Perceptive Combatant: Despite his seeming disregard for any strategy and his self-admitted aversion to thinking, Kenpachi has regularly displayed more understanding than one would expect. Even Byakuya was impressed by Kenpachi's ability to understand things he has no personal experience with. He is very adept at finding and exploiting weaknesses in his opponents' techniques, and likewise at adjusting to his opponent's attack patterns and battle methods to better counter them. This was demonstrated when he was subdued by Kaname Tōsen's Bankai, leaving him with only his blade and sense of touch, which prompted him to let Tōsen strike him simply so he could catch his opponent. He is also deceptively insightful, able to notice subtle traits in people and see what drives a person's actions; he correctly singled out Kaname Tōsen and Gin Ichimaru as the only captains who are afraid to die. He possesses sharp intuition towards incoming danger, which allowed him to repeatedly dodge Tōsen's assault while still affected by his Bankai. While claiming not to have any common sense, Kenpachi can still theorize, as he deduced that Gremmy Thoumeaux's The Visionary only works on one target at a time and all effects on a previous target will disappear.

Supernatural Strength: Kenpachi possesses a very large degree of physical strength, most commonly displayed by his ability to push back his opponent's attacks with a single arm, even if the opponent's weapons and attacks are gigantic in size. He can carry three full-grown human corpses on his shoulders without any apparent effort. When Pernida Parnkgjas began warping and damaging his arm, Kenpachi ripped it off effortlessly.
 * In his various battles, he has performed superhuman physical feats, such as launching full-grown men through buildings with a kick and slamming his opponents over his shoulder, as well as grabbing Ichigo's large sword to reel him in for an attack. He can also ram clear through a solid wall and launch his opponents back during a weapons clash. He also managed to block the stomp of an enormous Gerard Valkyrie and throw him back a tremendous distance, and even succeeded in tripping up Gerard with just one arm when the Quincy was even larger. With just his bare hand, Kenpachi grabbed and deflected the Cero of the fifth Espada, Nnoitra Gilga.

Enhanced Speed: While he possesses no known skill in Shunpo, Kenpachi is deceptively fast for his size and build. Thanks to the tremendous raw strength in his legs, Kenpachi's natural acceleration more than make up for his lack of Shunpo, allowing him to move fast enough to instantly close a huge gap of space between him and his opponent, and even seemingly disappear from sight. In battle, he can strike with incredible speed in rapid succession, making it highly difficult for his opponents to find an opening and counterattack. During his short battle with Byakuya, Kenpachi manages to keep up with his opponent's incredibly fast Shunpo, a feat which shocked and impressed Byakuya.
 * His sword attacks can easily cut through an Arrancar's Hierro, which is harder than steel, including Yammy Llargo's while he was in his released form, where Kenpachi cut off his leg and knocked the enormous Espada off his feet in a single strike. His extreme cutting strength is also evident from how he sliced apart a skyscraper with a mere flick of his wrist. Against Gremmy's imagination powers, Kenpachi claims that the Quincy's powers cannot come up with anything that he cannot cut, proving so by slicing through Gremmy's self-proclaimed harder-than-steel body.

Supernatural Endurance: His physical prowess is equally shown by his resilience. Kenpachi often ignores most of the injuries he sustains in battle, not suffering any debilitation despite having multiple slash wounds in his body and rarely any signs of pain (much like a berserker). He allowed himself to be stabbed during his fight with Tōsen just to grab Tōsen's blade to dispel his Bankai's effect. During his battle with Nnoitra, he suffered numerous slash wounds, even impaled and almost beheaded with no visual impairment of his fighting performance; Nnoitra noting most people would have already been dead by then. Even after receiving grievous injuries which left him in a comatose state, he healed enough to return to training only days later, showing a high recovery rate as well. Despite having his arm mangled by Pernida's The Compulsory, Kenpachi still managed to nonchalantly hold his sword with that arm.

Supernatural Durability: As resilient as Kenpachi is, he is just as hard to damage. During his battle against Yammy, while Kenpachi was focusing his attention on Ichigo, Yammy delivered a powerful blow with his massive fist, launching Kenpachi several meters and smashing him into a large pillar. Despite the impact, Kenpachi quickly emerged unfazed, claiming it was only a "decent punch" but was still unimpressed. During his battle with Gremmy, Kenpachi remained unharmed after being fired upon by dozens of firearms and having missiles thrown at him, and later withstood the cold vacuum of space and having several clones of Gremmy self-destruct at point-blank range with only moderate injuries. Even after Kenpachi suffered severe organ damage from these attacks, it took the combined effort of four Sternritter to finally take him out of the battle.

Zanpakutō
Nozarashi: Kenpachi was able to imprint onto his Zanpakutō while still an untrained child. The blade is much longer than a standard Zanpakutō's, roughly the size of a nodachi, with a long guard which extends inward from its center, similar to a shinai. The hilt is white, though most of it is wrapped in bandages, as is his sword's sheath. Originally, Kenpachi was the only person in the history of the Gotei 13 who did not know the name of his Zanpakutō before becoming a captain, nor could he perform either of his blade's released states. After his fight with Ichigo, Kenpachi wished to learn more about his Zanpakutō because he wanted to become stronger and he could identify with the pain of not having a name. Zangetsu noted Kenpachi's disharmony with his sword caused the two to damage each other's powers; consequently, Kenpachi could not hear the cry of his sword. Their disharmony left Nozarashi with little spiritual energy and became easier to damage; it is a chipped and seemingly worn-down blade upon its edge. Despite its appearance, Nozarashi can easily cut through most objects: with it, Kenpachi stabs straight through Ichigo's Zanpakutō, and later slices a building in half with no apparent effort after releasing his full power. Later, upon defeating Retsu Unohana in battle and awakening his true strength, Kenpachi finally was able to hear his Zanpakutō's voice.

Shikai: Before Kenpachi knew its name, it was believed by Soul Society that Kenpachi's overwhelming Reiatsu was forcing Nozarashi into a constantly released state due to its more elaborate design. Its release command is Drink. Upon release, Nozarashi takes on the form of a great axe/war cleaver hybrid with a long, cloth-wrapped handle and a tassel attached to the top. Bankai: Unnamed: Upon activation, Kenpachi's Bankai releases a huge wave of energy powerful enough to level nearby buildings. In this form, Kenpachi's skin turns red, and he gains multiple black markings across his face and horns on his forehead, causing him to resemble an oni. His blade becomes an altered version of its Shikai state, with a shorter, more jagged blade resembling a rough cleaver.
 * Shikai Special Ability: In its released state, Nozarashi possesses tremendous attack power, easily destroying a huge meteorite with a single attack. Its cutting power is also greatly enhanced, allowing Kenpachi to effortlessly cut through the bodies of his opponents and even through space itself.
 * Bankai Special Ability: Kenpachi's Bankai grants him tremendous physical strength and cutting power, allowing him to effortlessly topple a gigantic Gerard Valkyrie with a single blow, rip off his arm in a single motion, and cut him completely in half from a considerable distance. While in his Bankai, Kenpachi becomes a mindless berserker, acting without consciousness and regard for his own life.

Trivia

 * His theme song, as chosen by Tite Kubo, is Massive Attack's "Superpredators."
 * In the latest popularity poll, Kenpachi came 15th (in previous ones he came 27th and 9th), and in the Zanpakutō poll, his unnamed Zanpakutō came 29th.
 * He is one of the tallest Shinigami, towering at 202 centimeters (approximately 6 feet 7 inches), making him almost double the height of his lieutenant.
 * He has a very poor sense of direction, at times asking Yachiru for help (even though her sense of direction is just as bad).
 * In the Bleach best bout poll, Kenpachi's fight with Nnoitra came in tenth place.