Kensei Muguruma

is a Vizard and a previous Captain of the Gotei 13. He served as the 9th Division Captain with his Lieutenant Mashiro Kuna.

Appearance
Kensei a tall muscular man with sharp features, short light-gray/silver hair and golden eyes (brown in the anime). He has a 69 tattoo on his chest (the "6" for his last name, "Muguruma", which uses the kanji for "6" in it; the "9" for 9th Division), which the young Shūhei Hisagi saw and later copied by tattooing his face with the same number. During his time as a captain, he wore a standard but customized shihakusho with a rope belt and a sleeveless kimono and haori with black gloves.

Currently his attire is a blue and white basketball jersey with green cargo pants as well as black combat boots and orange fingerless gloves. In the manga his shirt is shown slightly differently, as it appears black with a white and orange outline. He has also acquired a series of golden piercings in his time as a vizard, one in his eyebrow and three on his left ear. He bears a small resemblance to Jin Kariya of the Bounts.

Personality
Unlike some of the other Vizard, Kensei is portrayed as a much more serious character, often angry at the others for their immaturity. A skilled and respected battlefield commander, he has a rather brutal fighting style quite often blasting his opponents apart. When outside of battle he has a blunt and slightly aggressive attitude, trying to cheer up a tearful Hisagi in a manner reminiscent of an army drill sergeant, though he seems more passive as a Vizard. He is most frequently irritated by his former lieutenant Mashiro Kuna due to her childish airheaded manner, he once noted she had the uncanny ability to aggravate him even when asleep.

History
Approximately 100 years ago, Kensei was the captain of the 9th division with Kuna Mashiro serving as his lieutenant, though she easily annoyed him due her childish behavior. Captain Kensei even came across a young Hisagi, who's family was apparently killed by a giant hollow. He easily defeated the hollow, and attempted to cheer up the small boy, telling him to "SMILE!" Hisagi would never forget the captain after this event. During an investigation of mysterious disappearances in Rukongai he fought off a giant Hollow, and saved Shūhei Hisagi in the process, who would eventually become Lieutenant of the 9th division. During the night his entire group was attacked and he was stabbed from behind by Kaname Tōsen. Following this he appeared as a half Hollow and attacked Hiyori Sarugaki and then Shinji Hirako. He was then restrained by Hachigen Ushōda's Kidō Binding Spell. Unfortunately the rest of his friends arecut down by Kaname Tosen, leaving Shinji the only one conscious. He and the others were eventually saved from turning into Hollows by the timely arrival of Kisuke Urahara and Tessai (the current Kido Captain.) Although the Hougyouku stopped the process of Hollowfication, Kensei would be forever changed by this event. Kensei and the rest of the now Vizard escaped to the real world using Gigais created by Urahara, and have been in hiding ever since.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Kensei's zanpakutō takes the form of a combat knife in shikai, and the fact that he could take on hollow Ichigo(using his bankai) during the vizard's training is a testament to his skill. He also knows bankai, as this is a requirement to becoming a captain. He is the only Vizard to release his shikai in battle thus far, as opposed to the others focusing more on their mask's abilities.

Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: During Ichigo's transformation into a hollow, the Vizard took turns fighting him in order to keep him at bay. Lisa was about to be attacked when Kensei knocked him away a good distance with just an elbow strike. He then dodged all of a transforming Ichigo's attacks, despite his use of Tensa Zangetsu, and manages to kicks him. The only times he uses Tachikaze in this fight are when he cuts Ichigo once, and then twice more to fire his spiritual energy. Kensei relies more on his hand-to-hand prowess, and less on his swordplay, making him a very strong combatant.

Zanpakutō



 * When sealed, it is shown as a short katana with a rectangular guard in an 'H' shape and white hilt weaving.


 * Shikai: Kensei's Shikai is triggered by the command in which it shrinks down to the size of a survival/combat knife with a small ring on the hilts blunt edge.


 * Shikai Special Ability: While in this form, Kensei demonstrates the ability to charge and fire spiritual energy from the blade as well as creating a transparent air blade to cut enemies from a distance. He appears to be quite powerful, easily destroying a giant hollow with one blast and blowing off the arm of Ichigo's hollow form. In the video games, his fighting style resembles that of Western boxing combined with Tachikaze.


 * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed

Hollowfication
Kensei is unique among the Vizard so far in that he seems to prefer his Shinigami abilities over his Hollow powers. His hollow self is a large bulky humanoid with armored hands and feet and with a number of thick cylindrical protrusions on its back and forearms.

Vizard
Hollow Mask: His hollow mask resembles a flat hockey face guard with six slitted eye holes in two columns and extensions which frame his head.

Shikai Enhancement: During his hollow metamorphosis, Kensei used his zanpakutō's special ability very efficiently. One of his energy blasts was enough to greatly injure Love Aikawa (his fellow captain.) It seems that his hollow powers increase this special ability explosively, creating enormous blasts by comparison to the already large blasts Kensei can fire.

Quotes

 * "I'm Muguruma Kensei. And I'm gonna crush you"
 * " Are we seriously considering accepting this kid?!"
 * " Blow it away Tachikaze"