Summary

• Shunsui Kyoraku is one of the
  Bleach
  strongest characters, and their greatest power is their Zanpakuto.
• Shunsui's Shikai, Katen Kyokotsu, has two blades and brings to life six different children's games.
• Shunsui's Bankai, Karamatsu Shinju, turns opponents into players in a tragic four-act play. His strategic uses of Shikai and Bankai help develop his character and showcase his ingenuity and strength.

Bleach is filled with powerful characters, but there is no doubt that Shunsui Kyoraku is one of the strongest. After the previous Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai falls in battle, the Central 46 unequivocally decides to make Shunsui the next leader of the Gotei 13. A cunning strategist with a monstrous array of Reiatsu, Shunsui demonstrates elite proficiency in standard Shinigami techniques such as Kido Shunpo and Zanjutsu. These assets make him more than formidable, and the most deadly weapon in his arsenal makes him nearly unstoppable.

Shunsui Kyoraku’s greatest advantage in battle is his Zanpakuto, Katen Kyokotsu. One of the few dual-bladed weapons in Soul Society, this Zanapkuto comes with several rules and clauses. Katen Kyokotsu is as interesting as it is robust, as its abilities reflect Shunsui’s personal journey. Although teased in the Soul Society: Rescue arc, its Shikai is only revealed much later. Fans have been waiting to see Shunsui’s Bankai for a long time, and their hopes were more than fulfilled during the Thousand-Year Blood War arc.

Updated May 17, 2024 by Ajay Aravind: THE Bleach The manga ended with the Thousand-Year Blood War arc in 2016, but the anime adaptation didn't release until December 2022. Fans are eager to see their favorite characters duke it out on screen, especially with the third cour coming out in 2024. That said, Shunsui Kyoraku has yet to reveal his full powers at this point in the anime. As such, we've updated this list with some more relevant information.

What is Shunsui's Shikai?

Shunsui's Shikai is known as Katen Kyokotsu

The flowery winds are disturbed, the Flower God sings, the heavenly winds are disturbed, the Heavenly Devil mocks.

The Shikai release command stops Katen Kyokotsu (Bone of Madness Flower-Sky) is relatively longer than other Zanpakuto commands. It reads: “The flowery winds are disturbed, the Flower God sings, the heavenly winds are disturbed, the Heavenly Devil mocks.“When spoken, Shunsui’s katanas transform into dual scimitars, but with more than just a cosmetic upgrade – Katen Kyokotsu’s Shikai ability allows Shunsui to bring children’s games to life.

Anyone within the area of effect of Katen Kyokotsu after its release, including Shunsui, becomes a player of the game and is subject to its rules. The rules vary from game to game, but all are played with the understanding that “You win, you live. You lose, you die."That said, the amount of spiritual power also plays a huge role in any battle between Shinigami. Given his massive Reiatsu reserves, it's clear that Shunsui doesn't need anything more than his Shikai for most battles.

Katen Kyokotsu's Shikai Games, Explained

Shunsui can play six different games using his Shikai.

unstable top emulates a spinning top game in which Shunsui Kyoraku spins at high speed while wielding his twin scimitars. This attack can deal damage and also trap those caught in the high-pressure vortices created by Shunsui's rotation. Daruma Sanga Koronda (Bodhidharma falls) is essentially a game of red light and green light; Shunsui designates an opponent as “it” and must navigate the Reiatsu path of their attack to “marking” (attack them mercilessly) without being caught (attacked violently).

Takaoni (Mountain Demon) increases the attack power of the person who occupies a higher geographical elevation than the other. Irony (Demon of Colors) has combatants declare a color, and both can only attack areas of each other that contain that color. Damage is increased or nerfed based on how much of the declared color is on the declarer's person. This rule is a double-edged sword, as to deal optimal damage the declarer must choose a color that is largely present on his person, meaning that he himself is also susceptible to heavy damage.

In Kageoni (Shadow Demon) the loser is the one who steps on the shadow, a game that allows Shunsui Kyoraku to deal damage by attacking through an enemy's shadow or any shadow he is standing on. He does this by maneuvering into a pocket dimension created in the shadow of where he's attacking, granting him multiple angles of approach at speeds that make it appear as if he's cloned himself. Kageokuri (Shadow projection) creates a shadow clone of whoever is being observed, with the clone's strength proportional to the viewer's Reiatsu.

The most dangerous aspect of Katen Kyokotsu is that Shunsui can seamlessly transition between games without warning. Focusing on the shadow is the only way to defend against Kageoni, but this involves looking at the shadow, the starting point for a game of Kageokuri. Therefore, one must consider the possibility that Shunsui's attack via Kageoni could be a clone produced by Kageokuri. This is one of the many strategies at Shunsui Kyoraku's disposal. This ability to switch at a moment's notice reflects the tendency of children to get bored easily, abandoning one game in favor of another before even finishing the first.

Understanding Shunsui's Bankai Release

He never uses his Bankai when his allies are within range.

Katen Kyokotsu Karamatsu Shinju (Crazy Flower Sky Bone Spirit Withered Pine Love Suicide) is the release of Shunsui Kyoraku's Bankai. He holds Katen Kyokotsu in front of him with its blades facing downwards as shadows project from his body, while Katen Kyokotsu's spirit embraces him. This release and its shadows distort the environment, transforming it into what Shunsui describes as a "dark“,”alone” and “hopeless“space. This distortion of space means that Shunsui must confirm that his allies are at a safe distance before activating his Bankai. Anyone caught within the morbid zone created by Karamatsu Shinju is forcibly thrown into a 4-act play alongside Katen Kyokotsu’s Zanpakuto spirit.

Tameraikizu no Wakachiai (The Sharing of Pain) is the first act. Any injuries are shared between Shunsui Kyoraku and his opponent, but cannot be fatal to either party. The second act is Zanki no Shitone (The Pillow of Shame), in which Shunsui's opponent's body becomes covered in spots that cause him to bleed profusely, as if he were suffering from a highly infectious disease. The third act, Dangyo no Fuchi (The Abyss) plunges Shunsui and the opponent into an ocean of despair. This body of water is inescapable, as its surface rises indefinitely and traps both parties until their respective Reiatsus are drained. Itokiribasami Chizome no Nodobue (Blood-soaked throat cut with thread) is the final act of Bankai and an instant kill technique. Shunsui sheathes his swords as a thread forms around his finger and his opponent's throat. Shunsui pulls to tighten the thread wrapped around the opponent's neck, decapitating them.

Katen Kyokotsu Karamatsu Shinju tells the story of a man consumed by guilt. Consumed by despair over his actions and unable to die, the man throws himself into the ocean until he is left with nothing. Unable to bear the pitiful state of her companion any longer, his wife tightens a cord around his neck and kills him. Shunsui Kyoraku serves as the writer and narrator of the play with his opponent cast as the man and Katen Kyokotsuof the Zanpakuto spirit as the woman.

Shunsui's Shikai and the deadly duality of the games he brings to life show him to be a cunning strategist and a fierce combatant despite his carefree attitude. Meanwhile, Shunsui's Bankai Karamatsu Shinju The story of a man haunted by regret is one that Shunsui Kyoraku lives daily, carrying immense guilt and grief over the death of his brother and the execution of his sister-in-law, Nanao Ise's mother. The battle against Lille Barro, however, helped Shunsui overcome his regret. When Karamatsu Shinju fails to defeat the overpowered Sternritter, he reveals that the Ise clan's Zanpakuto may be the only option. Shunsui and Nanao eventually work together to take down Lille, armed with the ceremonial weapon known as the Shinken Hakkyoken.