El pequeño e increíblemente simpático Yachiru Kusajihi era mejor conocido como el teniente de Kenpachi y presidente de la Asociación de Mujeres Shinigami. Ella era una niña pequeña que amaba mucho a Kenpachi y siempre estaba a su lado para ayudarlo o animarlo. Ella fue uno de los pocos personajes que realmente entendió la profundidad de la personalidad de Kenpachi en Bleach . Y aunque la mayoría de la gente la conoce como un alivio cómico, Yachiru es en realidad uno de los mayores misterios que aún quedan sin respuesta de Bleach , ya que aún no se sabe si en realidad fue la Zanpakutō de Kenpachi todo el tiempo o un personaje independiente que desapareció misteriosamente. En este artículo vamos a intentar dar respuesta a estos dilemas.
Es, en este momento, imposible saber si Yachiru Kusajishi fue en realidad el espíritu Zanpakutō de Kenpachi (Nozarashi) todo el tiempo o un personaje completamente separado. Yachiru Kusajisji desapareció misteriosamente aproximadamente al mismo tiempo que Kenpachi abrió su Bankai, y Kenpachi luego confirmó que ella efectivamente se había ido. Aún así, Kubo no ha confirmado ninguna de las teorías hasta el momento, por lo que es imposible saberlo.
El resto de este artículo se dividirá en tres secciones separadas. El primero presentará a Yachiru Kusajishi y explicará su desaparición; No les contaremos toda su historia. El segundo explorará las peculiaridades de la Zanpakutō de Kenpachi, mientras que el tercero finalmente te dirá todo lo que sabemos sobre la pregunta principal del artículo: ¿Son Yachiru y Nozarashi iguales? Habrá muchos spoilers en el artículo, así que prepárate.
¿Quién es Yachiru Kusajishi en Bleach ?
Yachiru Kusajishi era la teniente de la 11ª División del Gotei 13 bajo el mando del Capitán Kenpachi Zaraki hasta su misteriosa desaparición. Yachiru es muy infantil en muchos aspectos, como lo demuestra su tamaño, actividad y naturaleza mayoritariamente despreocupada. Principalmente se aferra al hombro izquierdo de su Capitán Zaraki Kenpachi. Sin embargo, también puede resultar sorprendentemente intimidante, especialmente cuando está enfadada. Al igual que Kenpachi, ella no tiene sentido de la dirección, pero como Kenpachi depende de sus indicaciones, siempre les resulta difícil llegar a su destino sin ayuda.
A Yachiru le molesta cualquier tipo de crítica y le gusta atacar a la persona que la critica. Otro punto que subraya su carácter infantil es que le gusta poner apodos a la gente.
Yachiru también se convirtió en Shinigami cuando Kenpachi viajó a Seireitei y asesinó al anterior Capitán de la 11ª División para convertirse en el actual. Sobre la vida de Yachiru, antes de que Kenpachi la descubriera, no se sabe nada. Sin embargo, no tenía nombre y fue criada sola en Kusajishi, el distrito 79 del norte de Rukongai. Lo más probable es que haya llegado allí después de fallecer en el mundo real. No habría sobrevivido si Kenpachi no la hubiera encontrado y se la hubiera llevado.
A pesar de su apariencia infantil e inocente, tiene tanta sed de sangre como Kenpachi, lo cual siempre es evidente, incluso si ella misma no lucha. Kenpachi, que no tenía nombre en ese momento, le puso el nombre de la única persona que había atesorado. Eligió tanto su apellido como el de ella según los distritos de Rukongai de donde procedían. Desde ese día, toda la vida de Yachiru giró en torno a Kenpachi, como ella le dijo incluso después de su pelea contra Ichigo.
Durante la segunda invasión de Wandenreich, Yachiru se esconde en una habitación subterránea con Isane Kotetsu, donde este último trata a los soldados heridos, incluidos los dos capitanes, Kensei Muguruma y Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi. Mientras tanto, Yachiru ha reunido suministros y camas para los heridos en los edificios circundantes, por lo que Isane dice que era demasiado peligroso.
Shortly thereafter, the Sternritter V, Guenael Lee, appears, whom Yachiru punches in the face. The Quincy uses his ability multiple times and disappears from the consciousness of his two opponents, but Yachiru still manages to attack him out of sheer instinct. Angered by the ineffectiveness of his powers on her, Guenael attempts an ambush, but Yachiru evades and injures Guenael in the face with her unleashed Zanpakutō, Sanpo Kenjū.
Shortly before the Quincy can start his counterattack, the actual Sternritter V, Gremmy Thoumeaux appears, who summarily kills the fantasy creature Guenael he created. He easily deflects Yachiru’s attack and then uses his abilities to turn her bones into cookies, incapacitating her. At that moment, however, Kenpachi appears, who opposes Gremmy in battle. As the argument progresses, Kenpachi manages to get the Sternritter’s attention, causing the effect on Yachiru’s bones to disappear.
At the Captain’s request, she makes her way back to Isane. When Kenpachi unleashes his Zanpakutō to stop the meteorite Gremmy created, Yachiru recalls the first time the two met. After the battle is over, she appears to have disappeared, leaving behind her shinigami uniform and Lieutenant’s badge. Yachiru then reappears after Kenpachi suffered severe injuries while fighting Gerard Valkyrie. She asks Kenpachi why he’s down and says it’s pretty stupid of him not to have understood “it” yet: If he used her properly, he’d be able to knock down any opponent. Yachiru then seems to transmit the Bankai’s power to Kenpachi.
After that battle, she disappears once again, with Kenpachi later commenting that she’s gone.
Nozarashi: Explaining Kenpachi’s Zanpakutō
It was thought, for a long time, that Kenpachi would never hear the name of his Zanpakutō, thereby being unable to access its full powers. But, during the Quincy War, Kenpachi managed to find out the name of its Zanpakutō – Nozarashi – and used it to help the Shinigami defeat the invaders.
As it turned out, Kenpachi was unable to hear his Zanpakutō’s voice because of the discord between Zaraki and his blade, as noted by Zangetsu, who claimed that this was the cause of their ongoing injury. Because of the absence of harmony, Nozarashi had very little spiritual strength, which made it vulnerable to injury and resulted in a sword with many notches in its extension and noticeable wear on its edge.
Nozarashi, despite its outward look, has the ability to cut through things with ease and was an exceptionally powerful blade. Zaraki used it to cut through Ichigo’s Zanpakutō and later used it to effortlessly split a building in half by releasing his spiritual force. Later, when Kenpachi had defeated Retsu Unohana in battle and unleashed his real might, he had, at last, heard the voice of his sword.
The Soul Society, before Kenpachi discovered its identity, thought that Nozarashi constantly remained in its released state due to Zaraki’s enormous spiritual power, mostly because of the sword’s intricate design. Nozarashi has incredible attack strength in its released condition and is capable of destroying a meteorite with a single blow. Zaraki’s power to slash has also improved, enabling him to pierce through the bodies of his adversaries and even space itself.
And while the spirit of Kenpachi’s Zanpakutō was never revealed, it seems to be tied to Yachiru, who seems to have a special connection to Kenpachi’s Zanpakuto: it should be borne in mind that she disappeared without a trace at the very moment he awakened his Shikai, and reappeared just before he gained Bankai. Before that moment, it is generally thought, Nozarashi’s Zanpakutō Spirit appeared in the form of Yachiru Kusajshi (this is something we are about to discuss in the next section). In addition, the Lieutenant said that if Kenpachi would just “use” “her” (Yachiru) as intended, no one would remain that he couldn’t cut. However, the exact nature of this relationship is not yet known.
Are Yachiru and Nozarashi one and the same in Bleach?
Now that you have the complete background, we can actually answer the question that has been bugging Bleach fans for more than a decade. Tite Kubo has, of course, not given us a definitive answer to this question, so we have to inform you that, sadly, we don’t have any official canon answer to this question, but all the evidence points to one theory being correct, despite a few discrepancies along the way. Kubo wouldn’t really leave such a plot hole in the story, so we think he just enjoys fans debating and doesn’t want to reveal the answer, but the answer is almost certainly there.
As for the issue at hand, there are only two possible theories. Either Yachiru Kusajishi is a manifestation of Kenpachi’s Nozarashi or she is not. Let us discuss the theories.
There is a lot of evidence that points to Yachiru being Nozarashi. Okay, you might argue that the names are different, but we’ve seen bigger shocks in Bleach than this. She seems to have appeared, conveniently, while Kenpachi was fighting. She had no name, and she was ultimately drawn to Kenpachi, despite him being a bloodthirsty killer; she was not afraid of him, on the contrary – she stuck to him, and he took her in and protected her. Later, we see Yachiru follow Kenpachi wherever she goes and although she was quite carefree and childish, she seemed to be somewhat different, more serious, when Kenpachi was fighting in a serious or dangerous fight.
Now, the first part of the manga never really bothered much with Yachiru’s true nature, as she was perceived as being Kenpachi’s Lieutenant and nothing more. Sure, there were scenes that we, retrospectively, could have interpreted as being hints, but when the story was initially published, no one really suspected this. It was only during the Quincy War that this theory came into prominence and only after Kenpachi finally heard the name of his blade. Zangetsu had remarked that Kenpachi was in discord with his sword, which would make sense in Yachiru’s case, as he perceived her as a baby girl he needed to protect and not the true source of his powers.
A manifested Zanpakutō Spirit is nothing unusual, even if we disregard the anime-only arc, and these tend to take on different shapes and sizes; just remember Renji’s and Ichigo’s Zanpakutō Spirits. This would mean that Yachiru being such a manifestation certainly wouldn’t be strange, let alone impossible. She was with Kenpachi the whole time and she cared for him and cheered him on, wanting him to become more powerful along the way.
When Kenpachi actually activated his Shikai, Yachiru suddenly disappeared, leaving only her uniform and her badge. It was thought that it was the end for her, but when Kenpachi was knocked down by Gerard Valkyrie, it seems that she briefly appeared once again. Namely, at that very moment, Nozarashi manifested itself in front of Kenpachi in the form of none other than Yachiru Kusajishi. Now, this might just be a coincidence, as Zanpakutō Spirits can manifest in different forms, but this seems to be too far-fetched and too big of a coincidence to be true.
Namely, we’re not aware of the fact that Zanpakutō Spirits can change their shape however they wanted, which means that Nozarashi couldn’t have chosen to appear as Yachiru on that one occasion simply because it deemed it best at the moment. This either means that Nozarashi really does look like Yachiru, which would mean – in the case that Nozarashi and Yachiru are not the same characters – that there are two identical characters in the series, which wouldn’t really make much sense knowing the lore of Kubo’s canon works, or that Nozarashi and Yachiru are one and the same, which makes a lot more sense when you consider all the facts.
Aún así, existe la posibilidad de que Yachiru y Nozarashi no sean las mismas personas. Esto tendría sentido desde el punto de vista en el que no se había dado absolutamente nada en sentido contrario durante las apariciones iniciales de Yachiru, pero causaría muchos problemas narrativos y agujeros en la trama. Uno de los hechos que siguen recalcando los defensores de esta teoría es el hecho de que Yachiru tiene su propia Zanpakutō que es completamente diferente a la de Kenpachi y que tiene su propio Shikai, también completamente diferente al de Kenpachi y eso es algo que no hemos visto en mucho tiempo. Espíritu Zanpakutō antes. Esto puede explicarse por el hecho de que el Shikai de Yachiru no es un Shikai real, sino más bien un poder que ella tiene. Esto, por supuesto, no ha sido confirmado ni negado por Kubo, por lo que no podemos saberlo con certeza, pero podría ser una posible explicación.
El problema con la teoría de que Yachiru y Nozarashi no son iguales es que crea un enorme agujero en la trama en el que la simple desaparición de Yachiru no tiene absolutamente ninguna explicación; Tampoco tiene sentido desde la perspectiva de la trama. Además, esto no explicaría por qué Yachiru apareció de nuevo justo antes de que Kenpachi activara su Bankai y por qué dijo lo que dijo entonces. Tampoco explicaría que Nozarashi y Yachiru lucieran exactamente iguales.
Y es por eso que realmente pensamos que Yachiru fue, desde el principio, una manifestación de la Zanpakutō de Kenpachi. Tienes que entender que Kenpachi nombró a Yachiru porque no sabía su nombre, al igual que no sabía el nombre de su Zanpakutō. Cuando realmente escuchó a Nozarashi llamándolo, Yachiru, como manifestación, perdió su propósito y regresó a la espada y se convirtió en una con ella. Ella apareció más tarde para darle a Kenpachi el poder de activar su Bankai. Todo esto tiene perfecto sentido y es amigable con la historia en el sentido de que hemos visto elementos de la trama similares a lo largo de la historia. Aún así, hasta que Kubo lo confirme o dé una explicación diferente, sólo podemos especular, pero creemos que no estamos lejos de la verdad con nuestra teoría.
Arturo S. Poe
Arturo S. Poe
Arthur S. Poe ha estado fascinado por la ficción desde que vio Digimon y leyó Harry Potter cuando era niño. Desde entonces, ha visto varios miles de películas y anime, leído varios cientos de libros y cómics y jugado varios cientos de juegos de todos los géneros.
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