| Byakuya Kuchiki | |
|---|---|
| Bleach character | |
 Byakuya Kuchiki by Tite Kubo | |
| First appearance | Bleach manga chapter 51 Bleach anime episode 15 |
| Created by | Tite Kubo |
| Voiced by | Japanese Ryōtarō Okiayu English Dan Woren |
| Profile | |
| Age | Unknown |
| Gender | Male |
| Species | Soul Reaper |
| Title | 28th Head of the Kuchiki clan |
| Notable relatives | Ginrei Kuchiki (grandfather, deceased) Hisana Kuchiki (wife, deceased) Rukia Kuchiki (sister-in-law, adopted sister) |
| Zanpakutō | Senbonzakura |
Byakuya Kuchiki is the 28th head of the noble Kuchiki clan, one of the four great noble families in Soul Society.[1] As such, Byakuya acts in an aristocratic manner — he seems always serene and apathetic towards other people, even when he is actually deeply conflicted. He is also extremely calm, even in battle, and is very seldom surprised by even the most drastic of actions. Ironically, when he was younger, he was quick to anger and very hotheaded, as noted by his grandfather, Ginrei Kuchiki; similar to the way Ichigo and Renji are now.
Byakuya strongly believes in law and order. As the head of one of the great noble families and as a captain in the Gotei 13, he always works hard for a peaceful society. He thinks that if someone in his position doesn't follow the rules as a good example, then no one will follow them.[2] He believes that to maintain the order, all law-breakers must be punished, even if that goes against his own wishes. Despite his icy and regal manner, Byakuya cares for and protects those important to him, even referring to Rukia as his "pride".
Byakuya is popular among the female Soul Reapers of Soul Society, and was voted number one in the "captain we desire to release a photo book for" poll taken by the Soul Reaper Women's Association. He likes cherry blossoms, night time walks, and spicy food.[1]
Byakuya wears the standard captain uniform along with a white headpiece called a kenseikan (symbolizing his noble rank as the head of the Kuchiki family) and a white scarf made by the master weaver, Tsujishirō Kuroemon III. The scarf is made from silver-white windflower light silk (ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu) and is a family heirloom handed down through the generations to the head of the Kuchiki family. Ten houses can be built for the cost of just one such scarf.[1] In the anime, the scarf is an extremely light green (episodes 52 and 53).
Byakuya seems to have a comic side to himself despite his extremely serious personality. He not only attends the lieutenants' meeting when Renji Abarai is absent, but also implies that he attends the meetings of the Soul Reaper Women's Association when Rukia is absent. In the Soul Reaper's Illustrated Picture Book in episode 118, he remarks"part of a captain's responsibilities are to make sure the lieutenant's responsibilities are taken care of." When Renji asks him if he also goes to Rukia's meetings, Byakuya responds only by smiling. In the Soul Reaper's Illustrated Picture Book in episode 113, Byakuya jokingly remarks that he uses Senbonzakura to cut his hair. In one of the omake chapters, Byakuya claims that life in general is not supposed to be entertaining, and even makes up an idea for a game that is not meant to be amusing. It was also shown in an omake chapter that Byakuya's artistic talent is similar to Rukia's (that is, non-existent). However, Rukia sees it as better than hers.[3]
History
Little is known about Byakuya's early history. When his grandfather, Ginrei Kuchiki, was still the captain of the 6th Division, Byakuya was preparing to take over leadership of the clan, although his grandfather was worried about his rash and hotheaded attitude.[4] During this timeYoruichi Shihouin would play pranks on him and goad him into games of tag using flash steps,[5] which she won every time.
Around 55 years before the main Bleach storyline,[6] Byakuya married Hisana, who was then a commoner from Inuzuri, one of the poorest districts of Rukongai; therefore, he broke the rules by accepting her into the noble Kuchiki family. Shortly before her death from illness, Hisana asked Byakuya to find, adopt, and protect her biological sister, Rukia, whom she had abandoned as a baby. She also made him promise that he would not tell Rukia about her real family, for she believed that by abandoning Rukia when she was younger she was not worthy to be called Rukia's sister.
One year later, during Rukia's time at the academy, Byakuya found her and immediately adopted her into the Kuchiki clan. By adopting her, Byakuya respected his wife's last wish, but had broken the rules of his clan again. He later swore upon his parents' graves that he would never break the rules again, no matter what. As a result, he, though entirely apathetic on the surface, is actually deeply conflicted with the matter of Rukia's execution. Should he intervene, it would require breaking the promise to his parents and the rules again; but should he do nothing he would fail to fulfill the last promise he made to his dying wife to protect Rukia as his own sister.
It is implied that Byakuya Kuchiki became captain of the 6th division about 50 years before the main Bleach storyline (shortly before Rukia had entered the Gotei 13).[7] Gin Ichimaru became captain of the 3rd Division at the same time, and Gin would commonly start pointless conversations with Byakuya during times they crossed paths.
Abilities
As a captain of the Gotei 13, Byakuya is extremely skilled in all forms of Soul Reaper combat. In keeping with his rank, Byakuya's abilities allow him to defeat opponents of captain-level ability without much effort.
Of particular note is Byakuya's speed: he is skilled in the use of flash steps, having trained with (but never surpassed) Flash Master Yoruichi Shihōin.[8] Yoruichi also taught Byakuya some techniques of her own creation that involved flash steps, including one called utsusemi (空蝉, lit.empty cicada, in reference to their molting), which allows Byakuya to move out of harm's way while leaving an afterimage behind. One of Byakuya's favorite techniques, as described by Renji, is senka (闪花, lit. Flash Blossom), a flash step combined with a spin to quickly move behind the enemy, followed by a combination of two quick thrusts to destroy the opponents soul chain and soul sleep in one move, destroying their power.[9] He manages to quickly dispatch Ichigo in their first encounter with this technique only. In his battle with Zommari Leroux, he is able to maintain his composure and fight at full speed, despite being forced to cut the tendons in his left leg and arm to prevent Zommari from gaining control of them.
Byakuya has also displayed knowledge of high level kidō spells, and is able to cast spells up to number 81 without the incantation.[10] He is adept at using them strategically, such as disrupting the movement of Renji's bankai with a well-timed fire spell and damaging Ichigo's right arm by using a low-level lightning spell at point-blank range to burn a hole through his shoulder.[11]
[edit]Senbonzakura
- Spirit: Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa
Byakuya Kuchiki's zanpakutō is Senbonzakura (千本桜, literally "thousand cherry blossoms"). Itsshikai is triggered by the command "scatter" (散れ chire). In the English manga the phrase is translated inconsistently; at the start of volume fourteen it is translated as "die", though later in the same volume "scatter" is used instead. When manifested in the anime Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc, Senbonzakura resembles a masked man in samurai armor with a half-cherry blossom decoration on his helmet.
In its shikai, Senbonzakura's blade separates into thousands of slender, petal-like blades. The release can be negated before it completes, such as when Yoruichi Shihouin wrapped the blade in cloth during Byakuya's short battle with Ichigo. While the blades are too small to see normally, they reflect light in such a way as to appear as cherry blossom petals. Byakuya can control the blades at will, allowing him to shred opponents at a distance and break through almost any defense. While Byakuya can control the blades with his mind alone, using his hands allows him to do so more effectively, making the blades move twice as fast.
Byakuya's bankai, named Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (千本桜景厳, literally "Vibrant Display of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms"), is essentially a much larger version of Senbonzakura's shikai. To activate it, Byakuya drops his sword. The sword passes through the ground and two rows of giant blades rise up from the ground. These then scatter into millions of tiny blades. The number of blades is great enough that Byakuya can use them for defense and offense at the same time. He commonly forms them into large masses of blades to crush opponents.[12][13] Like with his shikai, its attack is triggered with the phrase "scatter".
Byakuya's bankai has several forms, achieved by arranging the blades in different patterns. They are activated by saying the name of the technique followed by the name of his bankai. Each form presents a different advantage, such as increasing offense at the expense of defense.
Byakuya's attack form is "massacre scene" (殲景 senkei, Viz: "annihilate"), which unites the scattered petals into complete swords that form rows of swords around Byakuya and his opponent. In this form, Byakuya abandons the defense potential of his many blades and concentrates on killing the enemy. While Byakuya can control these swords as he does his regular blades, he usually attacks with just one in hand. He remarks in his battle with Ichigo that he normally only shows senkei to those he has sworn to "kill by his own hand", Ichigo being the second to see this.[14] After immobilizing an opponent, he can call in the other blades to hit them while they're trapped. He can also use all the blades at once for one immensely powerful strike. Byakuya demonstrates that Senkei can also be used as a barrier to protect those inside from a barrage of Ceros blasts. He also displays the ability to activate Kageyoshi from inside Senkei, shattering all rows of swords at once.[15]
To overwhelm the defense of an opponent, Byakuya can use "pivotal scene" (吭景 gōkei). This aligns every blade in a spherical formation around his opponent, which then collapses into them from every possible angle, leaving no blind spots and no chance to escape.[16]
As a final attack he can use "final scene" (終景 shūkei, Viz: "last sight"). This condenses every one of his blades into a single sword, drastically increasing its cutting power. The blade appears bright white and its aura takes the form of a bird, earning it the name "white imperial sword" (白帝剣 hakuteiken, Viz: "white emperor sword"). Byakuya also grows pure white wings and a halo-like circle in the back, both made of spiritual power.[17]
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