Sajin Komamura

| english             = Kim Strauss

"Unshakeable, stable loyalty." - Tite Kubo

is the Captain of the 7th Division of the Gotei 13. He has the appearance of an antropomorphic canine, making him easily the Captain with the strongest build-up, except for maybe Kenpachi Zaraki, and the largest captain. For a long time, he was self-conscious about his appearance, and used to hide his face behind a helmet. After the revelation of the three traitorous Captains, one of whom was his close friend, Kaname Tōsen, he does not wear a helmet anymore. His Lieutenant is Tetsuzaemon Iba.

Appearance
Komamura is an unusual character in that he is an anthropomorphic canine. He was initially very self-conscious about his appearance, and wears gloves with bracers, that combined with his helmet, conceal his entire body. After his fight with Kenpachi Zaraki (during which his helmet was destroyed) in the midst of the invasion of Soul Society, he gained enough confidence to go without the helmet. His fur is a light brown colour that matches the colour of his gloves. He also wears shoulder pads on top of his haori, large plated boots rather than sandals, and up until his fight with Aizen appeared to also wear some form of chest armour, but hasn't replaced it since Aizen broke it with the Black Coffin spell.

Personality
Physically imposing, Komamura is a gentle giant, as well as a loyal and grateful subordinate. His deep gratitude to Yamamoto for taking him in overrides all his own feelings, and for Yamamoto, he will do anything, even die. Komamura is a serious man, deeply scarred by the times he was spurned by society for his appearance, yet undyingly loyal to the values he holds. Like Ukitake and Unohana, he is not tough or cruel with his division, preferring to lead with impartiality.

An Omake shows him being pleased with the gift of a dog brush from the human world, as he finds the brushes in Seireitei ineffective at brushing his fur. He has also noted that he would possibly use a dog gigai if he were to go undercover in the human world. Not contradicting his appearance, his favorite food is meat, but he dislikes carrots, supposedly because his father once told him that carrots are "not for their kind." It is neither a surprise that he likes dogs, especially ones of mixed breed, and even keeps one, Goro, in the division quarters. In his free time, he takes Goro for strolls.

The betrayal and subsequent departure of his close friend, Kaname Tōsen, may have adversely affected his self-confidence and view of himself, since Tōsen was the first person to have accepted him for who he is, and not what he is. This adverse affect is shown when he describes himself to the Choe Neng Poww as "a mere worm of a man," though he may have been speaking in sarcasm, as Poww previously referred to his opponents as "worms."

When he fights he is cold, ruthless, and calculating. Once the battle is over, he reverts back to his gentle giant self.

History
While practicing once in an open grassy area, Tōsen chances upon someone, and because he is blind, had no idea where the person was. It was only when Komamura spoke that he realized he had talked in the wrong direction. Complimenting Komamura’s ability to hide his presence so well, Tousen said that he had never been able to not feel someone’s presence before, even though his eyes cannot see. Komamura was highly touched, for this was among the first times that he was not looked upon as an outcast.

It is unknown where Sajin originated though Head-Captain Yamamoto gave him the opportunity to join the Gotei 13, even if he was not human.

Later they meet time and again during their time in the Gotei 13 Squads, and Aizen is also introduced to Komamura via Tōsen’s recommendation.

Soul Society arc
Komamura Sajin first appears at the emergency Captain's meeting that questioned Gin Ichimaru’s apparent slip of duty in letting the Ryoka go. Standing next to Kaname Tōsen and Sōsuke Aizen his relatively bigger size was readily apparent, but beyond that little is known of him except that he wears a sort of helmet.

After Aizen’s death, Komamura visits Aizen’s body in the 4th Squad Relief Station, accompanied by Tōsen, whom he appears to be rather close with. He still has not spoken at this point of time.

The first time he speaks is on the day of Rukia Kuchiki's execution itself. As Tetsuzaemon Iba, his lieutenant, rushes towards Komamura, landing in a kneeling position and apologizing profusely for his latecoming, Komamura stops him in mid-sentence. He says that he knows Iba understands that he needed time to think through his own thoughts, for Komamura had reservations about Rukia’s execution that Iba had already perceived. They were, however, overridden purely by Komamura’s deep gratitude for General Yamamoto.

Komamura reveals at this point that because of his appearance, he was always an outcast. Yet Yamamoto took him in and took care of him, and because of this, Komamura always strives to do something for Yamamoto. It is the same reason that has driven Komamura to become a Captain among the Gotei 13 divisions.

At this time, Tōsen appears with Shūhei Hisagi, his lieutenant, and Komamura asks him whether he holds the same view. Tōsen merely replies that his eyes reflect the path of least blood and that he believes he walks the same path as Komamura.

Later, Komamura, Iba, Tōsen and Hisagi stop Kenpachi Zaraki and his group in an open courtyard. Going through the verbal sparring, Zaraki is left with Tōsen and Komamura. Komamura, getting tired of Zaraki’s arrogance, unleashes Tenken upon Zaraki, and Tōsen follows that up with Benihikō. Despite the heavy damage however, Zaraki laughs off the attacks and the three start fighting.

Despite their attacks, Komamura and Tōsen are thrown about. Zaraki sneers at Komamura and asks him to release his Bankai and fight him. Komamura is greatly angered and answers that he does not require Bankai to fight a traitor like Zaraki. It is at this point that Tōsen begins speaking to Zaraki, telling Komamura first that he will "do it".

Though Zaraki beats Tōsen, Komamura stops Zaraki from killing Tōsen, deflecting his blade with one arm and his helmet. Smashed in the process, the helmet falls to the ground in pieces. It is at this time that Komamura’s real appearance is revealed – he has the head of a fox, and his body is also a form of a humanoid fox’s. Releasing his Bankai at this time, Komamura faces Zaraki just as Rukia’s execution starts. After a short while, feeling that Yamamoto was releasing his own spirit power and shikai, he leaves the battleground to rush to Yamamoto’s aid.

Before he gets there, the message that Aizen and Tōsen had betrayed Soul Society reaches him, and he rushes over to the Soukyoku Stand and jumps onto Aizen, who stops his blade with one hand. As Aizen calmly mentions that it has been quite a while since he last saw Komamura’s face, Komamura gets angrier and asks Aizen how he can still smile at this point in time, mentioning as well that he will never forgive Aizen and Tōsen for betraying Soul Society.

Angered at their betrayal, Komamura finally asks Tōsen for an explanation. Getting none, Komamura immediately does Bankai. However, under the hypnosis of Aizen's Zanpakutō, he realizes too late that Aizen is right in front of him. Aizen then does a Hadō Kidō spell (Black Coffin) and defeats Komamura.

Komamura regains consciousness at the time of the three leaving, shouting for Tōsen to get back down. "Why did you become a Shinigami?" he asks. "Was it not for your friend who died? Was it not for justice?" Tōsen replies that he had told Komamura before that "all that is reflected in these eyes is the path of least blood. The path I walk is justice."

A week after that, Komamura stands in front of the grave of Tōsen’s dead friend, asking her what she would have said to stop Tōsen. Then, Hisagi makes his appearance, and Komamura is asked if Tōsen will ever come back. "Without a doubt," he replies. "By our own hands, let us open his eyes."

Bount arc
He is seen fighting the infected Shinigami with Shuhei Hisagi.

Fake Karakura arc
When Aizen along with his top three Espada attack the fake Karakura Town, Komamura, along with his lieutenant and the rest of the of the Gotei 13 Captains currently not in Hueco Mundo are seen awaiting for Aizen's arrival.

During the battles with Barragan Luisenbarn's Fracción, he steps in to save Ikkaku Madarame after his defeat at the hands of Barragan's largest Fracción, Choe Neng Poww. Komamura catches Poww off guard and punches him in to the side of a building. Poww, however, is immediately back on his feet, unscathed, and is also unfazed by the captain being an animal. Poww then proceeds to punch him for several miles and releases his Zanpakutō. Sajin returns and stops an attack from the released Arrancar, who was attempting to attack his lieutenant and Ikkaku, and proceeds to throw the him over his head and in to the ground. Poww, unharmed, says the hit made him "yawn", which is actually him building up a Cero. Sajin then calmly releases his Bankai and "crushes" Poww, killing him in the process.

Some time after the battles against Barragan's Fracción, Komamura is seen along with the casualties while Izuru Kira attends to the injured lieutenants, possibly serving as a protector. He looks up at the sky, viewing the fights between the other captains and the Espada.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Komamura is a master at swordsmanship and is more than capable of holding his own against even the likes of Kenpachi, who is probably one of the most versed in swordsmanship as well as one of the greatest physical combatants in Soul Society.

Enhanced Strength: Due to his immense size, Sajin Komamura has unbelievable physical strength. He was able to throw the resurrección form of the giant Arrancar Choe Neng Poww, who was close to if not the same size as the giant his Zanpakutō produces, and did so with apparent ease.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: While not relying on the most advanced forms of unarmed combat, Komamura's phenomenal strength is enough to warrant his brawling abilities as masterful.

Enhanced Durability: Sajin has been shown to take considerable amounts of damage having taken on a lot of physical damage and still continuing on despite the severity of his injuries, as shown when he refused medical treatments after being hit by Aizen's level 90 Kidō spell.

Enhanced Senses: Because of his animal-likeness, he is seemingly in possession of superior senses.

Animal Communication: It is also known that he is able to talk to animals. Immense Spiritual Power: As a Captain, Sajin boasts a great amount of spiritual energy. When Sajin releases his spiritual energy, it has the same magnitude of his enormous strength, and has the tendency to destroy the area around him, such as the ground directly beneath him.

Flash Steps: Komamura is highly proficient in flash steps with at least the average speed of a captain-level Shinigami.

Zanpakutō
Komamura's Zanpakutō is unusual in that in both of its forms the sword itself never changes, it only gains a glow around it during his Shikai attacks and during his Bankai he gains a glow around his whole body.
 * Shikai: Its Shikai command is . Tenken maintains its form as a regular katana.


 * Shikai Special Ability: In its Shikai, Tenken creates various body parts of a fearsome armored giant to copy whatever body part Komamura moves; for example, should Komamura swing his sword, a gigantic disembodied arm wielding a sword appears and does the same thing. The body's gigantic parts generated by the Initial Release possess strength and attacking power proportionate to their size (though not as great as it could be due to not having a full body), making Komamura's Zanpakutō quite powerful.




 * Bankai: : Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō maintains its form as a regular katana. While in use, Sajin and his katana maintain a glow of spiritual energy.


 * Bankai Special Ability: His Bankai brings forth the entire giant. The giant is about a hundred meters tall. It is a giant samurai that copies the movements of Sajin, with a devastating effect allowing it deal out colossal and massive amounts of damage. Its strength is far that in excess to Sajin's as it is more proportional to its size. It is strong enough to take an Arrancar's Cero point blank and even smother one with its bare hands.

Quotes

 * "Todoroke, Tenken."


 * "Bankai, Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō!"


 * "Oh, nameless friend of Tōsen... What would you have said to stop him?"


 * Come, Zaraki! Time for the killing you love so much!''"


 * "Tōsen! What happened to your justice?!"

Bleach Video Games
Sajin appears in most Bleach games, he is a decent character that moves slowly, but displays very unmatchable strength in close range combat, such as throws, high defense, making him difficult to be defeated. His alternative costume is him with his helmet in most games. Although it's implied that his Bankai mimics his movements perfectly, most games give the two some degree of independence from each other to make it work better as a game mechanic.

Trivia

 * He is the only Shinigami without human body properties.
 * Both Komamura and Hisagi's birthday was after the Aizen incident, both got sake from Iba, along with bones from Ichigo (Rangiku's order) which frightened and upsets him but Matsumoto tells him not to be mad, she started fireworks and Komamura thanked her.
 * He and Hisagi have yet to see Tosen again since they're at the same destination as of now.
 * He never seems to smile, even when he is honored by others.
 * His Bankai is the largest to be seen (without competing with Renji Abarai's and Byakuya Kuchiki's Bankai).