Muguruma, Kensei

Seiyuu / Dub

Castro, Mauro· Japanese

Lima, Mauro Eduardo· Japanese

Moser, Károly· Japanese

Obermeyer, Arne· Japanese

Peters, Dustin· Japanese

Sugita, Tomokazu· Japanese

Bléger, Lucas· French

Di Benedetto, Massimo· Italian

Laplante, Aaron· English

Mallow, Dave· English

Melgarejo Falconi, Gustavo· Spanish

Íñigo, Carlos· Spanish

Summary

Kensei Muguruma is a tall, muscular man with sharp features, short silver hair, and golden eyes, though they appear brown in the anime adaptation. He bears a tattoo of the number 69 on his chest; the six represents the kanji for his surname, Muguruma, and the nine signifies his former command of the 9th Division. The young Shūhei Hisagi witnessed this mark and later replicated it by tattooing his own face. During his tenure as a captain, he wore a customized shihakusho with a rope belt, a sleeveless kimono, and a haori, paired with black gloves. His current outfit consists of a blue and white basketball jersey, green cargo pants, black combat boots, and orange fingerless gloves, although the manga depicts the shirt as black with white and orange outlines. As a Vizard, he has acquired several golden piercings, including one in his eyebrow and three on his left ear. He shares a slight resemblance to Jin Kariya of the Bounts. In contrast to other Vizard, Kensei is serious and often irritable toward their immaturity. A skilled and respected battlefield commander, he employs a brutal fighting style that frequently blasts opponents apart. Outside of combat, he maintains a blunt, aggressive demeanor, attempting to cheer up a tearful Hisagi with the intensity of a military drill sergeant, though he appears more passive in his Vizard form. He is particularly annoyed by his former lieutenant, Mashiro Kuna, due to her childish and airheaded nature, once remarking that she could aggravate him even while asleep. The Can't Fear your Own World novels highlight his valour. Approximately a century ago, Kensei commanded the 9th Division, with Kuna Mashiro serving as his lieutenant. While investigating disappearances in Rukongai, he defeated a giant Hollow and saved Shūhei Hisagi, who would eventually become the 9th Division’s lieutenant. That night, his group was ambushed, and Kensei was stabbed from behind by Kaname Tōsen. He subsequently transformed into a half Hollow, attacking Hiyori Sarugaki and Shinji Hirako before being restrained by Hachi’s Kido binding spell. Kisuke Urahara saved him and the others from turning into Hollows or dying, allowing them to escape to the human world. His sealed Zanpakutō, Tachikaze, appears as a short katana with an H-shaped rectangular guard and white hilt wrapping. His Shikai is activated by the command Blow it away, shrinking the blade to the size of a combat knife with a ring on the hilt’s blunt edge. In this form, he can charge and fire spiritual energy or create transparent air blades to strike enemies at a distance. He demonstrated immense power by destroying a giant Hollow with a single blast and severing Ichigo’s Hollow form arm. His video game fighting style blends Western Boxing with Tachikaze techniques. As a former captain, he also possesses Bankai. Kensei is unique among the Vizard for preferring his Shinigami abilities over his Hollow powers. His Hollow self is a bulky humanoid with armored limbs and thick cylindrical protrusions on its back and forearms. His Hollow Mask resembles a flat hockey face guard with six slitted eye holes arranged in two columns, with extensions framing his head.