General Information
- Birthday: July 11
- Height: 6’3″ (192 cm)
- Weight: 87 Kg
- Eyes: Gray
- Hair: Brown
Shunsui Kyoraku is the Captain of the 8th Division of the Gotei 13. He is one of the strongest captains from the 13 squad captains. He is close friends with J?shir? Ukitake. J?shir? Ukitake and Shunsui Ky?raku are the oldest captains excepts for Squad 1 captain General Yamamoto and Captain Unohana, who were both in the first generation of the Gotei 13. Even though he is very strong, he always tries to talk his way out of fighting. Only because he is a man of peace though. He’s the second son of the Ky?raku family, which is one of the honorable 4 noble families in all of Soul Society. General Yamamoto said that Shunsui Ky?raku and J?shir? Ukitake are the strongest out of all the captains.
Appearance
Shunsui is a tall man with brown hair and gray eyes. He has long hair which is usually tied up in a ponytail. He wears a straw hat and a pink kimono over his captain’s haori. He has thin facial hair around his mouth and cheeks. He also has chest hair, which is visible due to the way he wears his uniform.
Personality
Shunsui is has a very laid back and nonchalant personality. He is seen almost always with a smile on his face. He is usually found drinking saki or taking a nap. He is a known womanizer and often chases after women. He is a peace-loving man and he dislikes violence. He particularly dislike taking the life of an innocent. He usually tries to talk his way out of a fight, but can become very serious and engage in battle when the situation is dire. Shunsui maintains a level of humbleness, even though he comes from one of the noble families and is one of the oldest and strongest captains in Soul Society. He is polite and tends to use familiar speech with most of the other characters.
Soul Society Arc
Shunsui appears before Sado from above like some kind of angel. He tries to get Sado to withdraw or either sit and share a drink. Sado refuses and wants to get by him. Shunsui reveals disliking combat despite being one of most powerful shinigami. Sado requests that the captain remove himself from his path. Shunsui cant as it would be against his orders not to let anyone pass. Sado attacks but Shunsui easily blocks all advances. Shunsui repeatedly tries a peaceful solution to the matter. Sado refuses to back down and forces the captain to strike. Sado survives and continues his attack. Shunsui decides to use both his swords and Sado doesn’t get back up. Nanao comes down wanting to kill Sado. Shunsui points out wanting the human alive for questioning later on. He tells his reluctant assistant to get Sado to the 4th squad headquarters for healing. Shunsui proceeds to the execution grounds. Nanao questions what Shunsui was going to do. Shunsui reveals it was something was going to get him in trouble very soon. He meets Yamamoto, Soifon, and their subordinates to begin the execution. Ichigo Kurosaki arrives to interfer by saving Rukia at last. Shunsui stands idle as Ichigo takes out minor characters. He reveals planning to destroy the Sokyoku with the help of Ukitake . They use the Shihoin Shield to destroy the Sokyoku. Shunsui ends up pit against Yamamoto with Ukitake. They decide to flee knowing Yamamoto would pursue.Nanao follows them to a remote grounds. Shunsui is forced to remove Nanao as she cant withstand the vast spiritual pressure released from Yamamoto. They all prepare to duel when a message is sent across all of Soul Society revealing that Aizen was a traitor.
Karakura Town Invasion
Once Aizen and his Army of Espanda invanded the fake Karakura Town. Yamamoto decides to face Aizen, Gin, and Tosen ot of the fight so the Espada could be dealt with first. Shunsui yells for Ukitake to get down, when he realizes Yamamoto is about to release his Shikai. During the battle against the Arrancar, Shunsui matches himself with the #1 Espada Starrk. Though Ky?raku agrees with Stark’s attitude and tells him that he would have preferred “fake” fighting, but he says that avoiding the fight is not an option this time. Releasing his shikai, he was eventually able to defeat Starrk. He then went on to fight Aizen Sosuke, but was unable to defeat him.
Powers and Abilities
Shunsui is one of the oldest captains in Soul Society and also one of the most powerful. His list of powers and abilities include:
- Master Swordsmanship
- Immense Spiritual Power
- Kido Master
- Shunpo Master
- Enhanced Strength
- Enhanced Durability
- Master Strategist and Tactician: Despite his laid back attitude, Shunsui has repeatedly shown himself to be a perceptive and insightful man. In battle, Shunsui has proven to be very adept at noticing and understanding details in an opponent’s skills or attack patterns.
Zanpakuto
Shunsui’s zanpakuto is rare due to the fact that it consists of two blades. These blades are the smaller wakizashi and the longer katana. Their cross guards are rectangles, with the corners cut off, decorated by a pattern of cherry petals and lines, and each sports a dark-blue handle. Former Head Captain Yamamoto mentioned that Shunsui and Ukitake’s zanpakutos are the only pair zanpakuto’s in Soul Society.
Shikai
Shunsui’s Shikai is Katen Kyokotsu. In it’s shikai state, the two swords become a pair of huge, heavily-curved, black Chinese scimitars with silver edges. In it’s shikai form, Katen Ky?kotsu is to “make children’s games real”. The Zanpakut? makes the rules and anyone who steps within the boundaries of its spiritual pressure is forced to play by those rules, including Shunsui himself. There are multiple games Shunsui can enact all with different rules.
Bankai
Shunsui’s Bankai is Katen Ky?kotsu: Karamatsu Shinj?. When activated, black root-like tendriles spread and his zanpakuto spirit appears. His bankai is his last resort and he makes sure his allies are far far away from him because they will get affected by his bankai. This is the main reason why Ukitake advised Shunsui to not use his bankai against his opponent Starrk as there were allies around him. His bankai creates a aura that covers a large area around him and his opponent which causes the opponent to feel as if it is dark.
The Bankai’s special ability consists of four dans and Shunsui tells a story. They are:
First Dan – The injures that Shunsui inflicted on his opponent or the damage that his opponent inflicted on him will be reflected on each other which basically means that any damage inflicted on Shunsui will also be inflicted on his opponent. He also talks about a man who suffers from the same wounds as his partner but cannot die from them.
Second Dan – Blacks spots appear around the opponents body which causes them to bleed profusely. He continues his story about the man feeling shame for wounding his partner and because of this shame, he becomes incurable ill and collapses in shame.
Third Dan – A massive amount of water engulfs them both. They remain in the water until one of them runs out of reiatsu and drown. The opponent attempts to escape but is pushed down further because the water is inescapable. Shunsui states that the two men both hurl themselves into gushing waters until no Reiatsu remains in their bodies at which they drown.
Final Dan – Shunsui winds a white thread around his opponent’s throat multiple times before pulling it tight which leaves a deep cut in their opponents throat and it expands which results in the opponent’s head getting blown off. He completes his story by talking about a man who pleaded to a woman but the woman mercilessly shears his throat.