Hanatarō Yamada

Hanatarō Yamada (Yamada Hanatarō) is the 7th Seated officer of the Gotei 13's 4th Division, and the leader of this Divison's 14th Advanced Relief Team.

Character Outline
Hanatarō is very timid and nervous. His black hair is a bit long and his bangs frame his face. He tends to be clumsy and easily duped. Hanatarō's kind nature and nervousness results him becoming the victim of many bullies and practical jokes. In fact, he states in an omake chapter in volume 13 that he is "the most bullied kid in the world." Hanatarō's birthday is even on April Fools' Day, so people spend the whole day tricking him as a result. According to Kon, he has "boring but somehow popular with the ladies" looks. Hanatarō is somewhat childish though he appears to be 14 to 16 years old.

Despite Hanatarō's cowardly exterior, he is shown to be very bold at times. After hearing Rukia Kuchiki's story, he attempts to rescue her, despite her recent criminal record and noble heritage. After meeting Rukia's friend, Ichigo Kurosaki, Hanatarō decides to help Ichigo save Rukia, knowing that if he were to be caught he would be imprisoned for betrayal. After watching Ichigo fight for what he believes in, Hanatarō decides that he, too, wants to start playing a more important role rather than watching from the background, and begins to carry his zanpakutō with him.

Hanatarō states when he introduces himself that his name is relatively easy to remember, though Ichigo says otherwise, stating that if his name was Hanako (a girl's name) or Tarō (a boy's name) it would be easy. The name Hanatarō, according to Ichigo, is just confusing. Hanatarō's name is actually a play on the name Yamada Tarō, the Japanese equivalent of John Doe, and Yamada Hanako, the Japanese equivalent of Jane Doe. By combining elements from both, Tite Kubo is probably saying Hanatarō is literally a complete nobody.

Because the 4th Division's combat ability is very poor compared to the other divisions, they are often assigned to perform the chores of cleaning in the Seireitei, such as sweeping the sewers and jail cells. Because of this, Hanatarō and other members of the 4th Division know the sewer system and other esoteric passageways very well and have access to the keys of most buildings.

Synopsis
Hanatarō first meets Ichigo and Ganju Shiba when they attempt to use him as a hostage to escape other shinigami and accidentally bring him with them during their escape. Hanatarō, learning that they want to save Rukia Kuchiki, guides the two to Rukia and heals them after battles. Hanatarō is later caught and imprisoned, despite the impassioned defense put forth by his sympathetic captors. He is later set free by his friend, Rikichi of the 6th Division, so he can heal Renji.

Later on, Hanatarō is sent to the world of the living to investigate the Bount invasion of Karakura Town. However, he ends up healing the wounds of those who encounter the Bount. In this context, Hanatarō mostly appears in the omake segments as comic relief.

In the Hueco Mundo arc, Hanatarō accompanies Byakuya Kuchiki and is annoyed when the latter uses flash steps to go on ahead, a skill Hanatarō is untalented in. When he finally catches up, he is tasked with evacuating Rukia, but is injured when Zommari uses his zanpakutō's control ability to make her attack him.

Shinigami Items
4th Division Medical Pack: As a member of the 4th Division, Hanatarō possesses remarkable healing powers. Instead of his zanpakutō, he often carries around a 4th Division medical pack on his back. Presumably, it contains medical supplies, including a salve, bandages, and rejuvenation pills. One of the known items in this pack is shinten, a green liquid which can knock out anyone with weak spiritual power with one drop, presumably for use as an anesthetic. He is also known to carry a type of large pill with a skull symbol, which is a supplement exclusive to the 4th Division that restores stamina. While the pill given to other 4th Division members works as intended, Hanatarō's is merely a flour-filled placebo given to him as a prank by his upperclassman.

Zanpakutō
Like all other shinigami, Hanatarō possesses a zanpakutō, even though he is rarely seen carrying it. Since his skills lean more towards medical support and not battle, Hanatarō tends to misplace his zanpakutō as he rarely needs to use it.

Hisagomaru (gourd): Prior to its shikai, Hisagomaru has a red gauge on its blade. Hisagomaru is strange in that it heals wounds instead of causing them. While this would seem to make attacking fairly pointless, doing so fills the gauge on the blade. The severity of the wound determines how much is filled.


 * Shikai: Hisagomaru's shikai command is "fulfill" (mitase). When the gauge is full, Hisagomaru automatically initiates its shikai and transforms into Akeiro Hisagomaru (crimson-colored gourd). In this form, it takes the shape of a scalpel. What truky makes Hisagomaru's Shikai unique is that even if the wielder does not know the command phrase to release it, its initial release will still automatically manifest itself once the gauge on the blade has been filled, as Kon, in Hanatarō's spirit-body, found out


 * Shikai Special Ability: concentrates every wound it has absorbed into one massive attack that is usually initiated with a slashing movement that generates a stream of red energy somewhat similar to a Cero, powerful enough to deal a near-fatal wound to a gillian-class menos. Subsequent attacks also have the healing restriction lifted, allowing Hanatarō to attack normally after the transformation, though Akeiro Hisagomaru's form makes that difficult.