Kenpachi Zaraki

"Consume everything, demon of the blood-thirsty sword." - Tite Kubo

is the Captain of the Eleventh Division within the Gotei 13. His lieutenant is Yachiru Kusajishi. Among the current captains of Gotei 13, he is the only one to have obtained his position by defeating and killing the previous Captain of the division. He is well-known for his fanatical love for the carnage of combat and for being the only Shinigami captain who does not know the name of his Zanpakutō.

Appearance
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.

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.

History
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.

Agent of the Shinigami arc
Kenpachi first appears with Gin Ichimaru, and both were teasing Byakuya Kuchiki about his sister Rukia Kuchiki being sentenced to death, saying that he is afraid. Kenpachi then tells Gin that he and Kaname Tosen are the ones afraid of dying. Byakuya says that both wouldn't be agitated on such a serious business, and Kenpachi tells Byakuya that its good to know that he is OK with it. However, Byakuya corrects him and outsmarts Kenpachi, telling Kenpachi that he actually demands a fight with him, and the two were about to engage in combat but Ichimaru humorously stopped Kenpachi by tying and luring him away.

Soul Society arc
After Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends arrive in Soul Society, Kenpachi tells Gin Ichimaru that a captain should have no problem killing a ryoka and Mayuri interrupts shortly but Kenpachi tells him to shut up. Yamamoto breaks up the feud and Kenpachi asks Yamamoto if they`re headed this way. He begins to hunt the strongest ryoka, but his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi guides him in the wrong direction for some time. While he is lost, he comes across the 4th Division's compound and he finds and stops Mayuri from "interrogating" his 3rd Seated Officer, Ikkaku Madarame. Once Mayuri leaves, Ikkaku tells Kenpachi that the ryoka Ichigo is getting stronger and that he is aware of the captain. After awhile, he figures out where Ichigo is heading and proceeds to wait for him to arrive. During their fight, Ichigo proves to be no match for Kenpachi at first, and he ends up supposedly killing Ichigo until after he achieves new power from Zangetsu. Ichigo engages him in battle and he seems to outmatch Kenpachi's movements. Excited and knowing Ichigo's full strength, Kenpachi decides to willingly remove his eyepatch, which keeps his full power sealed, and Ichigo and Kenpachi decide to end the fight with a charge. The battle ends in a draw, with Ichigo falling first and Kenpachi shortly after, both admitting defeat. Yachiru calls for Retsu Unohana to heal Kenpachi, Kenpachi tells Yachiru that he lost but needs to pay him back. He raises his sword and acknowledges that he ignored it for along time and wants it to communicate with him. Kenpachi does not hear it speak and faints which scares Yachiru.

During his recovery in his quarters, Yachiru and Makizō Aramaki bring back Orihime Inoue and he tells her that he will help her find Ichigo. Much later on, Orihime guides Kenpachi, Yachiru, Ikkaku, Yumichika Ayasegawa, and Makizo to Ichigo and finds Yasutora Sado, Uryū Ishida, and Ganju Shiba on the way, freeing them in the process. As they continue to search for Ichigo, Kenpachi realizes that they are being followed, and Captains Kaname Tōsen and Sajin Komamura, as well as their respective lieutenants Shūhei Hisagi and Tetsuzaemon Iba confront them. Kenpachi tells his subordinates to go ahead without him, but Ikkaku and Yumichika stay behind, eager to fight as well. Though reluctant, Kenpachi accepts their help, and they fight against Hisagi and Tetsuzaemon elsewhere. Kenpachi alone battles the Captain Komamura and Captain Tosen and is able to fend them off easily, which leads him to goading them into releasing their bankai. Although Sajin is reluctant to do so, Kaname abliges, revealing that he always had an uneasy feeling about Kenpachi since he became a captain.

When Kaname releases his bankai (which changes a small area in general), Kenpachi learns that he is unable to see, hear, and sense spirt energy. However, he is still able to fight off Kaname with the sense of touch, as he is able to feel when the blade makes contact with his body. However, Kenpachi becomes frustrated with this style of fighting and lets Kaname impale him with his sword. Kenpachi then grabs hold of Suzumushi's hilt and figures out that only by grabbing Suzumushi is he able to see and hear Kaname. Before Kaname can attack him, Kenpachi grabs Suzumushi once more and manages to gravely wound Kaname, which dispells his bankai.

Kaname tries to retaliate, but Sajin blocks a slash from Kenpachi, which shatters his helmet. Kenpachi reveals that he never cared what Sajin looked like (though he was curious) and proceeds to fight against him once he releases his bankai. However, the battle doesn't last long; Sajin senses Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai fighting and abandons his fight with Kenpachi. Yumichika]] appears sometime afterwards and tells Kenpachi the result of his battle. Kenpachi, in turn, tells him that Sajin ran off. He is surprised when seeing Yumichika with no signs of injury against Hisagi, which begins to question him but Yumichika begins to talk about beauty (much to Kenpachi's annoyance). While they do receive Isane Kotetsu's message about Aizen's betrayal, they did not accompany the other captains to Sokyoku Hill.

A week after the incident with Aizen, Kenpachi finds Ichigo training with Ikkaku on his division's grounds. Seeing his wounds healed completely, Kenpachi tries to fight him again, but Ichigo runs off and Kenpachi is unable to find him (even after hours of searching). He does not see Ichigo and his friends when they leave the Soul Society, telling Yachiru that him and Ichigo will certainly meet again because they are the only ones who are what they seem to be.

Bount arc
Kenpachi and his squad feel the presence of a old member from squad 11,Maki Ichinose,he tells everyone to ignore him,he attended the meeting of Mayuri which he asks that his data has been stolen,Kenpachi tells Yachiru that he is aware of this because it could be Maki Ichinose that is responsible that did this,it is later revealed that it was him,Kenpachi also helps fight off the Bount invasion, and successfully defeats Maki Ichinose. He saves Chad from his sudden attack and tells Toshiro Hitsugaya to get out of his sight. Kenpachi easily weakens him but then got trapped in Maki's release. After using his eye patch to get free, Kenpachi then slices Maki and leaves him for dead. This is the second time when he removes his eye patch. Kenpachi also tells Ichigo to fight the bounts to get stronger.

Arrancar arc
Zaraki appears to Ichigo as his instinct and desire to win, explaining to him that they were both the type of people who lived to fight battle after battle. After Orihime is taken to Hueco Mundo, Kenpachi arrives with Byakuya Kuchiki to retrieve Tōshirō Hitsugaya's group and bring them back to Soul Society.

Hueco Mundo arc
Later, in Hueco Mundo, Kenpachi comes to Ichigo's aid during his battle with the Arrancar, Tesla, dealing him a mortal blow with a single strike and then engaging Nnoitra Jiruga in battle. The two fight each other but can not do much to each other. Kenpachi manages to stab Nnoitra in the left eye but he survives due to his hollow hole. Later in the battle, Nnoitra tears off Kenpachi's eyepatch and Kenpachi manages to land a massive blow that critically injures Nnoitra. Nnoitra is confused and Kenpachi reveals to him that the eyepatch he wears seals his power. Infuriated, Nnoitra finally releases his zanpakutō, which heals the injury Kenpachi inflicted upon him after his eyepatch was torn off. Nnoitra lands a single hit on Kenpachi which seemingly incapacitates him and then sets his sights on Yachiru, but Kenpachi recovers and manages to cut off one of his arms. They continue to fight and Kenpachi manages to pin Nnoitra down, but Nnoitra reveals his two hidden arms and pierces Kenpachi's abdomen. Kenpachi becomes excited at this and fights Nnoitra with full force, sustaining many injuries in the process. After being critically wounded by Nnoitra, Kenpachi begins to realize how close to death he is and reluctantly uses kendō, landing a massive blow to Nnoitra. Kenpachi turns to leave but Nnoitra charges him, claiming he can still fight back. Kenpachi manages to land a powerful blow, finally killing Nnoitra. Nnoitra dies on his feet and Kenpachi stands over Nnoitra's corpse victorious, thanking him for a good fight. He then tells Ichigo to get his sword and requests Orihime to heal him; however, Stark arrives to recapture her and he narrowly avoids both Kenpachi's and Ichigo's attack.

Powers & Abilities
Kenpachi is the only captain of the Gotei 13 who doesn't know the name of his sword, nor can he use his Bankai as a result. In addition, he never uses Kidō or Flash Steps. However, he more than makes up for his faults in sheer power making him easily one of the strongest Shinigami.

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 so great 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, his skin being similar to an Arrancar's 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.


 * Eye-Patch Power Seal: Kenpachi wears an eyepatch creted by the 12th Division just for him, that can seal his reiatsu. The patch is constantly eating away at his spiritual energy, but since he has so much of it, it does not hinder him in battle; In fact it makes him just up to par with some other Captains and Espada. The reason for wearing it is that since Kenpachi loves fighting so much, he cannot fight most opponents at full strength without defeating them quickly. He also wears bells to this effect, so the enemy can hear him.



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.

Zanpakutō
Kenpachi does not know the name of his Zanpakutō, and is the only captain of the Gotei 13 who cannot perform Bankai.


 * Shikai: Despite not knowing its name his Zanpakutō is constantly released in some form of released state due to his immense Spiritual Pressure (much like Ichigo's Zangetsu). In other words his Zanpakutō is constantly in a Shikai state without having the additional abilities a Shikai may grant it's user. The sword's appearance is a reflection of Kenpachi's own practice of weakening himself to fight: it is a seemingly worn-down and dull blade with a guard that extends inward from its center. The blade is much longer than that of a standard Zanpakutō. Despite its appearance, it is easily capable of cutting through most objects. This is demonstrated when he stabs straight through Ichigo's Zanpakutō and later slices a building in half with careless effort after releasing the full force of his spiritual power.


 * Shikai Special Ability: Unknown

It appears that after his fight with Ichigo Kenpachi wishes to learn more about his Zanpakutō because he wants to become stronger. He can also identify with the pain of not having a name, however he is not yet capable of communicating with his Zanpakutō, and it is implied that he continually tries to learn from it so that he can just achieve a new level of power. Zangetsu notes that Kenpachi's disharmony with his sword causes the two to damage each other's powers and that he cannot hear the cry of his sword because of that. As it is revealed in later chapters, it is possible that he has at least communicated with his Zanpakutō on some level after his loss to Ichigo. For example, during his fight against Nnoitra he refers to his Zanpakutō as "him".

In some Bleach games, Kenpachi's unnamed sword demonstrates the ability to leave a trail of black dimensional matter every time he swings it. Anything that walks into it suffers damage. It is not possible that these are his Shikai commands or special ability, as in the Bleach DS series his strongest attack is a big shock wave, which is his full spiritual power after removing his eye patch. Kenpachi has this ability in the anime and manga, just not as an attack, although Nnoitra did get countered by it after slashing Kenpachi`s eye patch off. It is likely that this shockwave is as strong as a captain's Bankai in power.


 * Bankai: Not Achieved.

Appearances in other media
Kenpachi appears in the second session of Bleach: Beat Collection, together with Yachiru, Ikkaku, and Yumichika. He has a minor (yet comical) role in the Bleach OVA,which he vacations in the human world with Yachiru, he also appears briefly in Bleach: Memories of Nobody, making sport of one of the Dark Ones. He also appears in the second movie, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion being one of the first to charge in and attack Sōjirō's new dragon form as well as helping out in the final battle.Kenpachi appears in most of the Bleach video games. He is very powerful in the Bleach DS series (which he was considered cheap in Blade of Fate) and Heat the Soul (including Soul Carnival) for PSP. He recently appeared playable in Bleach: Versus Crusade.Unlike the anime,Kenpachi could freely do flash steps anytime like other Shinigami in the only possibly Bleach: The Blade of Fate and Bleach: Dark Souls. He also appears in four of the Rock Musical Bleach performances: Dark of the Bleeding Moon, No Clouds in the Blue Heavens, The All, and Live Bankai Show Code 002. He is portrayed by Shōgo Suzuki.

Trivia

 * Tite Kubo has remarked that Zaraki's hair is the most difficult to draw, tied with Kaname Tōsen's.
 * As said in an interview, Tite Kubo would like to go more in depth about Zaraki and his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi.
 * Kenpachi shares many traits and personality similar to Mitsurugi from the Soul Calibur series and Alucard of the Hellsing series.
 * He seems to have no relationship with the other squads, though he dislikes Sajin Komamura, Kaname Tōsen, Gin Ichimaru, and possibly Mayuri Kurotsuchi for threatening Ikkaku Madarame. He also slightly dislikes Chōjirō Sasakibe, the Lieutenant of Squad 1. Zaraki's Squad, Division 11, also likes to bully members of the 4th division due to stereotyping them to be harmless, though they fear the 4th Squad captain. It's unknown if Kenpachi fears Retsu Unohana or not but she did heal Kenpachi seemingly after his defeat to Ichigo Kurosaki.
 * Kenpachi seems to care for nameless people like him. In Bleach: Dark Souls, he kindly asked the mod soul for his name, he was nameless but Kenpachi asked for him to bring up a name when they meet again which never happened.
 * Kenpachi says the line: "You're in the way. Move!" before his fight with Sajin Komamura and Kaname Tōsen. This line also becomes his 'Speed attack' in Bleach: The Blade of Fate.
 * Kenpachi is one of the captains who were assisting the ryoka before Rukia's execution, others being, Jūshirō Ukitake, Shunsui Kyōraku and Tōshirō Hitsugaya (though indirectly; Hitsugaya was trying to uncover a conspiracy); though Yamamoto had no knowledge of Kenpachi or Hitsugaya's actions.
 * It is likely that Kenpachi has a grudge with Byakuya Kuchiki because Kenpachi wanted a fight from him but stopped by Gin Ichimaru. In Bleach: Shattered Blade, during Byakuya's story mode, Kenpachi tells him that he always wanted to fight him, though a bleach omake claims that they`re on good terms.
 * Zaraki is the only captain that does not know the name of his zanpakuto and thus cannot perform Bankai.
 * As of Bleach OVA 2, Kenpachi (first tasked to go) and Komamura are the only captains that went to the human world once though most captains came to vacation in it after the death of Baishin.
 * Kenpachi ranks at the very bottom at the captain data list,this is because his Kido is ranked as 0 and he cannot use it, however, he makes up for his sheer power which explains why he succesfully defeated Nnoitra, the 5th Espada.
 * Currently, Zaraki has killed the highest ranking Espada so far: Nnoitra Jiruga, the 5th Espada.