Kenpachi Zaraki

Name: Kenpachi Zaraki

Age: (unknown)

Race: Shinigami

Kenpachi has a wild and aggressive appearance, fitting with his personality. He wears his captain's haori 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. 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 thing that he needs because of his strong perspiration. During these baths, he usually washes his hair with soap, which makes it stiff. He began to like it, because it was easy to set. Once he tried a hair treatment told to him by Chōjirō Sasakibe, but his hair became too silky and was impossible to set for a time. Since then, he dislikes the lieutenant of the 1st Division a bit.

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.[1]

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