Kenpachi has a wild and aggressive appearance, fitting with his personality. He wears his captain's jacket without sleeves, and with a more ragged look to it (he acquired his jacket from the previous 11th Division captain, whom he defeated and 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 have even fights with weaker opponents. As far as the latter object goes, however, his right eye can still see without an eyepatch. He has a huge scar on the left side of his face, apparently gained well before his time in Soul Society (and even before finding Yachiru). He is also one of the tallest characters in Bleach, towering at 202 cm (approx. 6 ft 7½ in). This is slightly taller than Yasutora Sado and almost double the height of his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi. His stature is often exaggerated even more for dramatic purposes, especially in contrast with Yachiru's.
In the "Shinigami Cup" special after Bleach episode 71, Kenpachi is 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. Tite Kubo has remarked that Zaraki's hair is the most difficult to draw along with Kaname Tōsen's.
Despite his initial introduction as a lethal foe, Kenpachi later begins to play the role of the comical anti-hero in Bleach: 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 depicted as having a very poor sense of direction, and is often depicted in omake stories asking his lieutenant Yachiru for directions to a particular place (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, Yumichika) and his name, which he gave himself. Following his battle with Ichigo, 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.
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 Seat, 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.
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 before becoming a captainPrior to entering Soul Society, Zaraki resided in the most lawless district surrounding Soul Society. He became very proficient with swordsmanship while he was there, eventually adopting the district's name, "Zaraki", as his surname. After leaving the district he found a small girl who, despite her young age, did not fear his sword. Since she had no name, he named her Yachiru (やちる) in remembrance of the only person he ever admired. At the same time he also took on a name for himself: Kenpachi, the title bestowed upon the strongest swordsman, the one who has killed the most. Yachiru became inseparable from Zaraki from that point further, following him wherever he went, usually clinging to his back.
After some time had passed, Zaraki found his way into Soul Society. He defeated and killed the previous captain of the 11th Division and thus gained his seat in the Gotei 13. Ikkaku Madarame, having been previously defeated by Zaraki, joined the shinigami soon afterwards, believing Zaraki to be the strongest person he had ever met and wanting to serve under him until the day he died. As a new captain, Zaraki was begrudgingly forced to learn kendo, though made it a point to avoid using it in battle.
In an interview, Tite Kubo noted that he would like to go more into depth about Zaraki.
Synopsis
After Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends arrive in Soul Society, Kenpachi begins to hunt the strongest, and eventually battles Ichigo. During their fight, Ichigo becomes enough of a challenge that Kenpachi removes his eye patch, thus releasing the extra power it has been devouring. The battle ends in a draw, with Ichigo falling first and Kenpachi shortly after, both admitting defeat. Much later on, while searching for Ichigo with his friends in tow, they are headed off by 7th and 9th Division members, and Kenpachi battles the captains Sajin Komamura and Kaname Tōsen, respectively, defeating Tōsen and fights off Komamura before Komamura runs away. He doesn't see Ichigo and his friends off 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. Kenpachi also helps fight off the Bount invasion, and successfully defeats Maki Ichinose.
During the 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. Later, in Hueco Mundo, Kenpachi comes to Ichigo's aid during his battle with the arrancar Tesla, dealing the arrancar a mortal blow with a single strike and then engaging Nnoitra Jiruga in battle. After sustaining several injuries, Kenpachi emerges victorious by wielding his sword with two hands, a technique taken from kendo, to deal a powerful blow.
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; the Bleach Official Bootleg databook ranks his talent in the former as zero. However, he more than makes up for his faults in sheer power. His spiritual pressure is such that, even when wearing the energy-sealing eyepatch, Kenpachi can fight on-par with other captain-level opponents, even when they release their zanpakutō.
Despite his seeming disregard for any strategy in his fights and his self-admitted aversion to thinking during battle, Kenpachi is adept at finding and exploiting weaknesses in his opponents' techniques, such as in his battle with Kaname Tōsen. 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. For example, he correctly singles out Kaname Tōsen and Gin Ichimaru as the only captains who are afraid to die.
Perhaps due to years of combat experience and time on the battlefield, Kenpachi has a large degree of physical strength, most clearly evidenced by the fact that he kicked Tōsen through a building in their battle, and when he grabbed Ichigo's giant sword barehanded and reeled both him and the sword in for an attack. His physical strength is matched by his endurance: Kenpachi has been shown to easily ignore most of the injuries he's sustained in battle, 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 in the history of the Gotei 13 who cannot perform bankai. Despite not knowing its name, his zanpakutō is constantly released due to his immense spiritual pressure. 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.
It appears that after his fight with Ichigo, Kenpachi wishes to learn more about his zanpakutō because he wants to become stronger and can 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 his zanpakutō so that he can achieve a new tier of power. Zangetsu notes that Kenpachi's disharmony with his sword causes the two to damage each other's power.
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