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Shunsui Kyōraku,bio

Shunsui Kyōraku (京楽 春水, sometimes spelled 京樂 春水, Kyōraku Shunsui?) is a character in the manga and anime series Bleach. He is the captain of the 8th Division in the Gotei 13. His lieutenant is Nanao Ise.

Contents [hide]
1 Character outline
2 History
3 Synopsis
3.1 Soul Society arc
4 Katen Kyōkotsu
5 References



[edit] Character outline
Kyōraku is a laid back and flamboyant man, evident in his style of dress and general attitude. He wears a straw hat and a pink flowered haori over his captain's uniform. Although his haori and obi sash are cheap, his pinwheel hairpin is very expensive.[1]In his off time, he can be seen drinking sake and napping. Other times, he likes to chase after women, which is noted by Yasochika Iemura of the 4th Squad when commenting in his diary. In particular, he often flirts with his lieutenant, Nanao Ise, whom he calls 'my Nanao-chan' (little Nanao). In one of the omake outtakes he told Rangiku Matsumoto to buy Nanao Ise a sexy outfit while in the human world. Matsumoto brings back a skimpy two piece bathing suit which Nanao refuses to try on. He is close friends with 13th division captain Jūshirō Ukitake, with whom he graduated from the shinigami academy and works with often.

Kyōraku tends to use a more familiar speech style than most other characters in Bleach. He generally refers to his fellow captains and shinigami by their first name followed by an honorific, and is the only character who dispenses with honorifics when addressing General Yamamoto, calling him old Yama (Yama-jī). Even Ukitake, who was also taught by Yamamoto, does not do this.

Kyōraku is a peace-loving man who will always try to talk his way out of a fight. However, he does not wish to insult his opponents by not fighting, either, as he explains to Chad. Since he has achieved the rank of captain, it is implied that he must be a powerful fighter, but the true extent of his abilities has not been seen in the series. General Yamamoto states that Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake, both of whom he trained himself, possess "greater powers on the battlefield than any younger generation, or old," suggesting that the two are more powerful than any other captains, with the possible exception of Yamamoto himself.

The slightly eccentric Kyōraku also seems to like making an impression on opponents. In the Soul Society arc, when Kyōraku confronts Chad who had invaded the 8th division area, he has Nanao Ise scatter rose petals over him to make a dramatic entrance. It creates this effect at first, but when Nanao doesn't stop dropping the petals and Kyōraku begins to exhort her to stop in an embarrassing manner, she dumps the whole basket on him, burying him and ruining his entrance.


[edit] History
Shunsui is the second son of the high-ranking noble Kyōraku family. Despite being of such old and prestigious lineage, he disliked studying and training, and because of his behavior was sent against his will to the Shin'ō Reijutsu Academy.[1] Although not much else is known about Kyōraku's history, it is implied that he and Jūshirō Ukitake are the oldest captains in the Gotei 13, with the exception of General Yamamoto. Along with Ukitake, he was the first to become captain as a result of training in Yamamoto's academy.[2]


[edit] Synopsis

[edit] Soul Society arc
Shunsui is first introduced during a meeting between captains over 3rd Divison Captain Gin Ichimaru's failure to capture or kill Ichigo Kurosaki. He and his lieutenant, Nanao Ise later run into Chad after he defeats Shunsui's 3rd Seat officer, and decides to stop Chad. Without even releasing his zanpakutō Shunsui defeats Chad, but doesn't deliver a finishing blow to him and prevents Nanao from doing so. Just after defeating Chad, Nanao is told about Sōsuke Aizen's death and tells her capain, and the two leave to pay their respects.

Shunsui is later present at Rukia Kuchiki's execution, and, following Jūshirō Ukitake's attempt, helps prevent Rukia's death. After fleeing from the scene, Jūshirō and Shunsui are stopped by General Yamamoto, who activates his zanpakuto, and the two captains, doing the same, begin to fight him. Shunsui is later present with most of the other captains and their lieutenants to stop Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen, but proves unsuccessful.


[edit] Katen Kyōkotsu

Katen Kyōkotsu's initial releaseKyōraku's zanpakutō is Katen Kyōkotsu (花天狂骨, lit. Flower Heaven, Crazy Bone, Viz: Flower-Heaven Bone of Madness). His zanpakutō is unique in that it exists as two completely separate swords in both its sealed and initial release states. When sealed, it exists as a daisho sword pair.[3] Its initial release command is "flowers are disturbed, god of flowers weeps, winds of Heaven are disturbed, demon of Heaven laughs" (花風紊れて花神啼き天風紊れて天魔嗤う, hana kaze midarete, kashin naki, tenpū midarete, tenma warau?, Viz: "When the flower wind rages, the flower god roars. The wind of heaven rages, the god of the underworld sneers" wink .

In Katen Kyōkotsu's initial release, the daisho sword pair transforms into two large scimitars or falchions. While the anime and manga have yet to depict what special abilities Katen Kyōkotsu possesses, some Bleach video games do. In those games, Katen Kyōkotsu uses wind to attack opponents from a distance in a fashion similar to the Japanese mythological phenomenon known as kamaitachi. Maple leaves or cherry blossom petals are often seen flowing in the wind when he uses it