Matsuri Kudō

is a character from the video game Bleach: The 3rd Phantom. She was a Shinigami of the Fifth Division during the events of the game.

Appearance
Matsuri has light blonde hair kept in a ponytail on the top of her head. Her bangs are messy and long, leaving a good portion of them in the middle of her face. She wears the standard Shinigami uniform with a headband that has a flower attached to it. Her eyes are bright blue.

Personality
Matsuri is a hard-working individual who takes her duties seriously. She frequently scolds Fujimaru when he doesn't take his work seriously. Despite this, she also cares a lot about Fujimaru and gets along with him very well. She also respects Seigen Suzunami, as he is both Matsuri and Fujimaru's guardian, as well as their captain. She also cares a lot about Seigen's sister, Konoka Suzunami, viewing her as a mother figure.

History
Matsuri and Fujimaru were once in danger of being killed by a hollow, but were saved by the 5th Division Captain, Seigen Suzunami. Later, he adopted them into his noble family. After six years in the Shinō Academy, they joined the 5th Division of the Gotei 13, under Seigen who is their captain. They act on several missions until Arturo Plateado invades the Soul Society. During the final confrontation with Arturo, Matsuri and Fujimaru assisted the captains in fending him off.

Bleach: The 3rd Phantom
After fending off the Arrancar, Matsuri, Fujimaru, Seigen, and Arturo are suspended in time and are transported to the present-day Karakura Town. Matsuri finds herself alone and confused in the new world where upon she meets Don Kanoji and Ichigo Kurosaki. Also during this period she happens apon a girl who is neither a human or shinigami named Shiyo. After defeating a menos grande with Ichigo she is taken by the substitute Shinigami to Uruhara's shop.

Matsuri is suprised to see Uruhara in the human world, initially still addressing him as "Captain" before being told "Mr Uruhara" will suffice. Uruhara pieces together some of the events that must have occurred in the last battle with Arturo and gives Matsuri hope that her brother and father are still alive somewhere too. He gives Matsuri and Shiyo Gigai's to use in order for them go be able to investigate the town and speak to it's inhabitants with Kon as a guide (Kon reacting in a perverted way to their new Gigai).

After familiarizing herself with the human world Matsuri is led back to Soul Society by Yoruichi, who is in cat form and not recognised as the former Squad 2 Captain by Matsuri. they travel with Shiyo to the Soul Society and meet Kukaku Shiba, who agree's to let them stay as long as Matsuri helps with the chores and stops Shiyo from "helping" as she ends up causing more damage than good when attempting to help.

Without explanation the Shiba residence is attacked by a large amount of Hollows, including a Menos Grande. Kukaku and Matsuri go to deal with the threat despite the over-whelming odds. Just as they are battling Squad 7 Captain Sajin Komamura appears alongside Lieutenants Shūhei Hisagi and Izuru Kira and assist with the Hollow threat. After dealing with the Hollow the Shinigami are initially skeptical of Matsuri and her sudden appearance around the same time as the Arrancar, however Komamura agrees to keep her under his supervision and after assisting the team to protect the Human World advance team from a Hollow attack Komamura brings her to the Captain-Commander.

Head Captain Yamamoto recognizes Matsuri and agrees that she can work alongside the Shinigami in an unofficial capacity, being taken under Komamura’s wing. During this time spent around the Shinigami she is shocked to find that many old friends of hers are now high ranking officers, in particular Squad 10 Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya who berates her for calling him lil Shiro. She is also shocked by the news of Aizens betrayal and Kaien Shiba’s death, as both were mentors to her in the past. Matsuri quickly becomes a valued member of the Gotei13 forces proving to be on par with other seated officers. She also comes into contact with some of the Espada including Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Ulquiorra Cifer.

As events begin to unfold Matsuri finds Seigen and Fujimaru are still alive in Hueco Mundo and believe Aizen is correct and that the Gotei 13 should pay for Konoka’s death. After initially failing to convince either that they should come to the Soul Society Matsuri decides to train in order to become strong enough to convince them to return. This training is undertaken by Yoruichi Shihoin who trains her in the same grounds she had previously trained Ichigo Kurosaki. Through a grueling training regime Matsuri eventually achieves her Bankai and as a special technique to deal with Arrancar is taught Shunko by Yoruichi and Soifon. Matsuri decides that she has the power to win her family back although Seigen becomes more irrational and eventually tries to kill her. As the fatal blow is about to land Fujimaru intervenes and is struck instead. After this Matsuri takes her brother to Squad 4 Captain Unohana to be healed and he finally accepts that she was right.

Once Fujimaru is healed and introduced to the Gotei 13 forces, he also integrates himself into the Shinigami world again. During this time Aizen forwards his plans by allowing a monster to attack the Soul Society that is discovered to be Seigen in monstrous form. Also at this point it is discovered that Fujimaru and Matsuri’s friend Shiyo holds within her the soul of Lady Konoka.

With Seigen’s initial attack on Soul Society not going to plan Aizen allows Arturo Plateado to stage his own assault. The twins along with the friends they had made face Arturo again with Shiyo holding the Shisui mirror and finally defeat the Arrancar for good. This defeat was all part of Aizens plan though and the Shisui mirror falls into his hands. With this he intends to disrupt the flow of souls between the Soul Society and the Human World.

After Arturo’s defeat, Matsuri leads an expedition into Hueco Mundo to defeat Aizen. With trusted allies she faces a group of Arrancar and eventually finds Aizen, Gin and Tosen waiting for her with the monstrous Seigen. They fight Siegen again but before being able to defeat him are sucked into an in-between dimension. A final battle ensues against the now gigantic Seigen monster. After putting her father's soul to rest, Matsuri returns to the Soul Society where she is offered an official place in the Gotei 13, however she and her brother decline the offer, preferring to settle in the Human World. Captain-Commander Yamamoto agrees to this citing a need for powerful alllies in the Human World in the build up to the inevitable war with the Espada.

She is later seen in Ichigo's school, trying to teach Fujimaru the alphabet.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: Matsuri has shown to be a skilled swordswoman, using her Shikai effectively in battle.

Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Though Matsuri is only shown fighting with a sword, she was trained extensively in Hakuda by Yoruichi Shihōin.

Kidō Practitioner: Matsuri has shown to have some skill in Kidō as she is able to learn Shunkō, and had knowledge of both Hadō and Bakudō.


 * An advanced technique that combines hand-to-hand combat and Kidō, although Matsuri uses this to amplify the power of her swordsmanship. What is known of it so far is that it can allow her to instantly neutralize an opponent's movement.

Flash Steps: Matsuri has shown that she is able to use Flash Steps, at least on par with Lieutenant-level Shinigami.

High Spiritual Power: As stated by Kisuke Urahara, Matsuri is noted to have a high amount of spiritual power. Early in the game, she boasts a large appetite, which is a sign of high spiritual power. She was also able to learn Bankai within a short time, similar to Urahara and Ichigo.

Zanpakutō
Matsuri's Zanpakutō,, has a rounded-off rectangular guard and a unique rod-like red hilt.


 * Shikai: Its release command is . Its shikai resembles a Guandao, as it has a long, pole-like, handle and a double-edged blade. It also contains a small ax-like blade on the top, just above the hilt.


 * Shikai Special Ability:


 * Matsuri twirls Kotōmaru over her head and compresses spiritual energy within the blade. Afterwards, she swings it, and the area it is swung in is engulfed in a blue pillar of energy.


 * Matsuri swings her Zanpakutō forward, causing four geysers of flames to erupt from the ground.


 * Matsuri raises her Zanpakutō in the air and violet energy surrounds her and engulfs anyone surrounding her. The energy itself can also randomly burn, freeze, shock, or poison anyone caught within the vicinity.


 * Bankai: has a dragon head on her left shoulder and a cape on her waist to foot. On her right shoulder is a piece of gray fur. The blade itself also seems to be composed of a bright pink energy.


 * Bankai Special Ability: Matsuri's Bankai greatly increases the attack power of her Zanpakutō, as well as her defensive strength.


 * The blade of energy becomes much larger and she uses it to slash all enemies within range of this attack.

Trivia

 * Even though her name can be changed before starting the game, during Chapter 21, in the Event Reunion, Fujimaru will still call her Matsuri at the end of the dialogue.
 * In the Zanpakutō Popularity Poll, her Zanpakutō Kotōmaru ranked 52nd, tying with Aaroniero Arruruerie's Glotonería and Ryūsei Kenzaki's Benishidare.