My Top Ten Favorite Zanpakuto

So, to the un-excitement of many of my friends (except one =P), here goes my first Bleach-related post (Ank sighs, Nikki closes the window, Aditi goes,'What??'). It's taken me quite some time to get to compiling a list of my favorite (read: coolest =P) Zanpakutō in Bleach. I had to catch up in the manga, and start watching the anime, and think of all the zanpakutō I've liked, look them up on the internet, scout for pictures... you get the idea. And, of course, put them in order..

So.. preeeeesenting...

Top Ten Zanpakutō
From Bleach

1. Senbonzakura: (Byakuya Kuchiki)
Like, DUH. In my head, my favorite character is like Byakuya/ Hitsugaya/ Byakuya/ Hitsugaya/ Byakuya...... -_- But when it comes to zanpakutō, there's no competition. Senbonzakura was my fave from the very beginning. I mean, it's beautiful, powerful, absolutely awesome, graceful, versatile, and amazing to watch in action.

In its shikai, Senbonzakura's blade separates into thousands of slender, petal-like blades. 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.

Isn't that just cool? =DD

Also, I adore its bankai release, and nothing-- i repeat, nothing-- i've read or watched till now has surpassed Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. I'm watching the Ichigo vs. Byakuya battle on the anime right now and I can't wait to see bankai in action. In my opinion, nothing is as powerful as Byakuya's bankai. He can do anything with it. It often makes me wonder why he 'lost' to Ichigo...

Senbonzakura Kageyoshi <3

I just love how he can do anything with it. You just can't defeat such subtle, small yet massive, and skillful attacks, or the big ones, too. Wow. Just W-O-W. I can go on for decades and centuries-- but I have to move on...

Scatter, Senbonzakura.

2. Hyōurinmaru: (Tōshirō Hitsugaya)
*eyes glaze over* What's not to like about Hyōurinmaru? Especially the ice part. You'll see that the only ice-type zanpakutōs I've seen are here on the list, at the 2nd and 3rd spot-- I LOVE ice. Watched Hitsugaya vs. Gin Ichimaru on the anime recently and I have to say that was one of the most enjoyable battles I've watched (until I saw Byakuya vs. Ichigo, obviously). I love the fact that he can take moisture from anywhere for his attacks. Which translates into no weaknesses.

Hyōrinmaru's spirit is a large, winged, Chinese dragon. Hyōrinmaru allows Hitsugaya to control water and ice. The slashes created by Hyōrinmaru gives off an immense amount of spirit power which overflows from the tip of the blade, creating a flow of ice vaguely shaped like Hyōrinmaru's dragon spirit. The dragon flies at opponents and instantly freezes anything it touches. The chain-blade also freezes anything Hitsugaya traps with it.

Bankai. Delightful, to say the least. And it had a lovely illustration in the manga-- I was reading it on my iPod when I loaded that page and was like *.* I tapped 'save image' before you could say 'soul reaper' =P

Hyōrinmaru's bankai has four known special techniques. The first is Ryūsenka which freezes any enemy Hitsugaya stabs, locking them into a cocoon of ice and freezing them to the core. Once frozen, Hitsugaya can shatter his opponent. The second is Sennen which forms a multitude of ice pillars using the moisture in the atmosphere. These pillars hold the enemy prisoner for a thousand years, also freezing them. His third technique, Guncho Tsurara (literally "icicle flock"), he launches a multitude of ice shards in an attempt to impale his opponent. His fourth, and implied most powerful move is called Hyoten Hyakkaso (literally "frozen sky-hundred flowers funeral"). This attack causes 100 snow flakes to fall from the sky, freezing anything they touch in a flower like shape. When all 100 flakes fall, the life of the one trapped by the attack is over.

See? I told you Hyōurinmaru was like *o* !

Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyōurinmaru.

3. Sode no Shirayuki: (Rukia Kuchiki)

Okay, okay. No bankai. And not many illustrations of Rukia's Zanpakutō, seeing that she had no powers left in the beginning, was imprisoned for a good length of time, and wasn't there in Fake Karakura town (as of now).

But I still love the one time she uses her zanpakutō-- and like it says in episode 117, it is one of the most beautiful zanpakutōs of Soul Society. (Yes, being the freak I am, I looked up what episode they said that in. And then watched the episode, much to the annoyance of my brother who wanted to play Fishville on my fb id =P)

But yes, setting Fishville aside, I enjoyed watching the episode, although I thought I'd imagined it better while reading the manga.

For starters, it's snow white from the ribbon on the pommel to the tip of her blade. Even the hilt and blade are white.

Sode no Shirayuki has three abilities which Rukia refers to as dances.First Dance, White Moon- Sode No Shirayuki creates an aura of influence and then freezes everything within it in a column of ice for earth to heaven.Next Dance, White Ripple -Sode no Shirayuki launches a beam of intense cold and ice from its blade into the enemy. Third Dance, White Sword -Sode no Shirayuki infuses itself with shards of ice and pierces through the enemy's armor and freezing everything around and beyond.

I also like the whole 'dance' thing. Calling your attacks as 'dances' most definitely imparts a certain grace to your fight. I think. =P

Dance, Sode no Shirayuki.

4. Zangetsu: (Ichigo Kurosaki)
Zangetsu's not really cool or anything. If you could say one word about it, it would be: big. I think that half the time Ichigo manages to win because of the sheer size of his Zanpakutō. Which, again, is due to his 'impressive' (*snort*) spiritual pressure, so I guess you just have to attribute his wins to his capabilities.

And I find Zangetsu so freaking impractical. It doesn't have a crossguard or hilt, for crying out loud! If your sweaty palms slip on it, you're dead meat! Which is ironic, considering that it reminds me of a butcher's knife =P

Okay. Yeah, you can totally see that I'm determined to hate Zangetsu or something. But I guess that's Ichigo's fault. You see, there's definitely something about Zangetsu. That amazing length can slash and pierce through anything. It's so huge. I also like that it's always in shikai form-- no wasting time pulling out your zanpakutō all gracefully and then calling it out. And it looks pretty impressive. I like Zangetsu's, er..human-ish form (?) a lot too.

As I was saying, I watched Ichigo's bankai a few days ago on the anime. Much more impressive than the manga but *yawn* not so compelling and awe-inspiring as the others. His zanpakutō looks hella better though-- all black (in contrast to Rukia's?) and way smaller.

And lastly, I like the translation of its name-- Moon-cutter. =P

5. Zabimaru: (Renji Abarai)
Ah, now this one's cool. Like its owner, Pineapple-head. I love its shikai form-- it can extend upto god knows where, and my, my, what a peculiar edge! I like those spikes-- very mean-looking. Slice, slice, slice. *cringes*

Zabimaru's spirit is one of the few I've seen-- intriguing. A baboon with a snake as its tail. But whatever-- I like Zabimaru a hell lot. Bankai's not that bad either. Powerful and big... and as of now, not very controllable.

Yeah, I like it a lot, and I can't really explain why. I *might* even consider promoting this to 4th place and bringing down Zangetsu, buuuut... *tilts head thoughtfully* ..whatever. I *could* say that Zabimaru is one hot sword =P =P

Roar, Zabimaru!

6.Sōgyo no Kotowari: (Jūshirō Ukitake)
Mmm.. I like Ukitake quite a lot too. Besides that, I like his zanpakutō. One of the only two twin zanpakutōs in Soul Society, both of which feature on this list. I like its shape in shikai form-- that little long part on the side that kinda juts out backwards? I think that if I had a zanpakutō (ha, in my dreams), it would probably have the same shape. And a name that sounds like Benihime (Urahara Kisuke's zanpakutō). =P

I love this picture ^^

Sōgyo no Kotowari is able to absorb an opponent's energy attacks through the left sword and directs the attack through the connecting rope where the five charms on the rope accelerate the attack faster than it was originally fired and reverses its original course firing the same attack from the right sword, making it much more difficult for the opponent to dodge. The entire process happens so fast that the attack looks as if it originally came from Sōgyo no Kotowari.

Well, again, I can't really say why I like it; I suppose my preference for all the zanpakutō from here on would have no rhyme or reason. The most sensible thing I could say about them is-- 'They're pretty? And really cool powers, too.' XP

Ah well. Here's to the the most graceful dual zanpakutō in Bleach. I wish I knew its Bankai form. *sigh*

Wave, become my shield. Thunder, become my blade. Sōgyo no Kotowari!

7. Katen Kyōkotsu: (Shunsui Kyōraku)
I guess I have a thing for twin Zanpakutōs. Anyways, this one's easy to like. A nice design, one blade for speed and the other for power, and the fact that it has a personality even in battle.

The power of Katen Kyōkotsu is to "make children's games real". The Zanpakutō makes the rules and anyone who steps within the boundaries of its spiritual energy is forced to play by those rules, including Shunsui himself. According to Shunsui, "if you win you live, if you lose you die".

And now, this is why I like Katen Kyōkotsu. Cool , isn't it? I loved reading the manga when Shunsui fought against Starrk and Lilynette. The 'games' they 'played' were awesome, especially the color game:

Irooni (艶鬼, Colorful Demon): This is a color-based game where you say the name of the color you want to cut with your sword and you cannot cut anything else. If the color that you call does not exist on your body, the damage is minimal, even if the attack would normally inflict a much more severe wound. The opposite is true; by calling out a color you're wearing and attacking, the damage given is proportional to the amount of that color on you. To maximize damage, you have to use a color that maximizes the risks to your person as well as your enemy. For example, by wearing black robes and calling "black," one would inflict massive damage on a enemy if struck even if the actual blow itself was minimal or minor, but the caller would also suffer serious damage if he/she is struck by the enemy in return.

Now, if you stop and think about it, there could be so many games like that, and fighting becomes so simple and -- ironically, child's play. Its power does not have limits and anyone fighting with Kyōraku is forced to obey the rules of the game (if they aren't on a suicide mission, that is) and so the game/battle is basically completely in Kyōraku's hands. If only Ukitake didn't ask Kyōraku to not release his Bankai 'where everyone can see' (crap! the mystery!) during the his battle in Fake Karakura Town against Starrk, and Kyōraku had gone on and shown us the damn Bankai. I can't wait to see it.

Flower Wind Rage and Flower God Roar, Heavenly Wind Rage and Heavenly Demon Sneer. Katen Kyōkotsu!

8. Wabisuke: (Izuru Kira)
I think this one's a pretty good piece of work. If I like Kazeshini (right after this) for its power/look/appeal, I like Wabisuke for its unique and very subtle power and shape. Bloody brilliant.

Wabisuke doubles the weight of any object it strikes. The ability can affect both inanimate objects and living beings, and is cumulative. Izuru can continue doubling the weight of his opponent's sword indefinitely. After about eight or nine strikes, most opponents would be unable to lift their swords and are brought down to their knees by the weight of their own weapon. Though the potential of this ability is limitless, a small number of strikes to an opponent's blade is usually all that is needed to render them immobile. Its ability makes it look like he is forcing his opponents to bow their heads in apology for a past decision since it brings his opponents to their knees before him. With them immobile, the hook end of his blade can now show its gruesome function: Izuru can decapitate a fallen opponent by holding the square hook beneath his opponent's neck and lifting, like a reverse guillotine.

Pretty cool, huh? As I said, very unique-- the shape, its power, and its practicality (something a lot of zanpakutō lack, but I guess I think that way only because of my obsession with being practical -_-).

Raise your head, Wabisuke!

9. Kazeshini: (Shūhei Hisagi)
Oooh, I like this one's name. And the shape too, even though Hisagi doesn't like it himself. But I guess he has a point-- it does look like something meant to 'reap life itself'. And it is kinda scary looking, which probably inspires his fear for it.

Kazeshini's Shikai command is "Reap". When released, it takes the form of two kusarigama-like weapons, each with two sickle blades, with one inverted, giving it the resemblance of a fan. The blades are connected to a spiked rod tethered together by a long chain. While in Shikai form, Kazeshini can be swung by its chains in large circles, allowing the bladed portion to spin like a fan. Kazeshini can also be used for entangling an opponent's sword, or other weapons; It can even immobilize opponents. Although he dislikes the shape of his weapon, he is extremely proficient in wielding them; He uses them as projectiles and controls them at range by moving its chains, making Kazeshini's paths unpredictable.

Basically I enjoyed reading the manga when Hisagi fought Findor (sigh, I had to look that freaking arrancar's name up) and I liked Kazeshini's nice-looking shikai right about then.

Reap, Kazeshini.

10. Kyōka Suigetsu : (Sōsuke Aizen)
Yeah, yeah, the enemy's zanpakutō. I find it fascinating, with the whole illusion concept. Very intriguing. If only it didn't have that weird drawback of the illusions only working on people who have seen its release. But I guess it had to be that way for Ichigo to have an advantage over the others when battling against Aizen. Or as Unohana put it in chapter 382, for him to be 'the trump card they needed'.

Kyōka Suigetsu's Shikai ability is Complete Hypnosis. It controls the five senses to the point that it can make the target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel and smell to be that of the enemy. The initiation condition for the hypnosis is to show the enemy the release of Kyōka Suigetsu. After seeing it just once, that person will completely succumb to the hypnosis. After that, every time it is released, that person will become Aizen's unwilling slave. When he turns off the hypnosis by force of will, the image shown melts away/shatters. Kyōka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis is absolutely flawless; even if the target is aware that they are under the hypnosis, they cannot resist its influence.

Oh, and I also like its name:

The name Kyōka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon) hints at its illusionary properties; the moon reflected in water and a flower in a mirror are things that can be seen but not held. It is a Chinese saying for seeing and desiring something that is a dream that cannot be easily grasped in hand, teaching people about temptations-- like the example of a monkey trying to reach the moon, but he can only touch the reflection on the water (reference to the 'water moon' in Aizen's zanpakutō's name).

I guess now we're looking forward to its Bankai release. I can't imagine what it could be.

Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu.

* * *

Well, that pretty much concludes my list of favorite Zanpakutō. *phew* It's taken me ages to get till here. You can't imagine how glad I am, finally being able to finish this post.

Oh, and before I forget-- the zanpakutō that didn't make the list:

Haineko (Rangiku Matsumoto) : Because it was too wispy and frail-looking. And because I didn't like the name too much.

Ruri'iro Kujaku (Yumichika Ayasegawa): Because even though it can drain the opponent's reiatsu (which is pretty cool)... not very awe-inspiring is it?

Shinsō (Gin Ichimaru): *yawn* nice attack, but haven't seen much of it, have we?

Suzumebachi (Soifon): I like the whole cut-the-same-spot-twice-and-you're-dead thing, because it's very practical in battle, but then again there are better zanpakutōs.

Suzumushi (Kaname Tōsen): I like the bankai, but Tōsen is a total LOSER. =P

And that's about it. =D

Meanwhile, I can totally understand how you get more passionate about Bleach when you watch the anime =P I'm getting more and more Bleach-crazy by the second!^^

Like, last Saturday morning, I was half-awake when I suddenly realized I hadn't read Bleach 383 on Friday because I had to go to a wedding and was busy the rest of the day. That's all it took for me to bolt out of bed and run towards my iPod to read it. And that's saying a lot, considering the fact that I was sleeping -_-

I keep hearing things that sound Bleach-related, too. Pieces of the Bleach background score keep playing in my head. My mom saw this recipe for momos and read it out loud and I'm like, What? Momo?! .. Oh sheesh. Of course not. My brother said something that sounded like Kazeshini (though he actually didn't), the TV said 'fry them' and I heard 'Aizen' (LOL), and when I wake up, random Bleach words and thoughts swirl 'round my head (I'm very dazed in the mornings till I brush my teeth). I mean, who randomly thinks of 'the Shiba clan' while looking for the toothpaste? ~.~

And LOL a few days ago I was dropping off Nikki on her floor because she forced me to, and so my voice was dripping was sarcasm while I said something very regal-sounding as a farewell gesture. Only, by accident, I said 'Lady Hisana' instead of 'Lady Nikita'-- the result of watching episode 62 the previous night =P Another one was calling Anushka a 'substitute soul-reaper' instead of a 'substitute laugh partner' or something silly XDXD

I could go on and on about my Bleach obsession, but let's just leave it at this XD Thanks to all my tortured friends (especially Ank) for putting up with me on Fridays and all other Bleach-frenzy days, and thanks to Kaiser for introducing me to Bleach ^^ My life is so happily complete when I follow something intently and am addicted to it. *sigh*

And making this post even more special.. I'm all set to watch episode 100 tonight!! ^^

Last link in the chain: I changed my iPod background to this HAWT pic of Sasuke Uchiha I found recently. Well, before I had a picture of Kai and a blazing Dranzer swirling behind him, and that was actually 'red'-hot, but this picture of Sasuke, it's black and white, and it's waaayyy HAWWWT. *grin*