Bleach fans are confused by the weird relationship between Shunsui Kyoraku and his Bankai, Katen Kyokotsu, but it has a valid explanation.

SUMMARY

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War recently saw Shunsui Kyoraki use his Bankai for the first time.
His Bankai’s physical form, Katen was seen during the third act and the two have a weird relationship.
The two were quite intimate with each other which has led fans to believe that they have a romantic relationship.

Tite Kubo’s Bleach is getting all the fame it deserves with the Thousand-Year Blood War anime series. The series recently released the latest episode, which featured one of the most awaited Bankai revelations in the history of the series. This Bankai belonged to Shunsui Kyoraku, the captain of the 1st Division and Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13.

Shunsui in Bleach | Credit: Studio Pierrot

Shunsui is currently in a battle with Lille Barro, the leader of Yhwach’s elite guard, Schutzstaffel. Episode 9 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War part 3 saw Shunsui bring out his Bankai, and there was a weird connection between Shunsui and his Bankai, Katen Kyokotsu: Karamatsu Shinju. This connection made fans question Shunsui’s relationship with Katen Kyokotsu.

While anime fans won’t know about Shunsui and Katen’s connection, manga fans might have a little bit of knowledge about how it is believed that Shunsui had an intimate relationship with Katen. It is all linked to Nanao Ise, the co-lieutenant of Shunsui, and her Zanpakuto, Shinken Hakkyoken, which will be later revealed in the anime series.

Shunsui’s Relationship With His Bankai

As fans saw, Shunsui’s Bankai, Katen Kyokotsu: Karamatsu Shinju, forces its enemies to act out in a vicious play of a double suicide. This play has four acts, and in the third act, the spirit of his Zanpakuto, Katen, is manifested and hugs Shunsui from behind. Shunsui calls her Ohana, which surprised Katen as she explained that he has some nerve calling her by her nickname.

Shunsui calling Katen Ohana was the first hint about their weird relationship. It hints that Shunsui has an intimate relationship with his Zanpakuto that might involve romantic feelings toward each other. Katen is seen being possessive towards Shunsui, and the two vowed to die beside each other.

Shunsui and his Bankai | Credit: Studio Pierrot

The two Bleach characters share a witty conversation with each other, which gives another hint of their romantic relationship with each other. And while anime fans won’t know this, Ohana also has a child who is the other half of her spirit called Kyokotsu. The speculation around Kyokotsu is that she was the child of Katen and Shunsui.

The Reality of Katen’s Child, Kyokotsu

In the manga series, when Shunsui is unable to beat Lille Barro, he is approached by Nanao, who asks Shunsui to return her Zanpakuto which he hid because of his promise to Nanao’s mother. As the two continued talking about the Ise Clan and their curse that originated from Shinken Hakkyoken (Nanao’s Zanpakuto), Katen’s child, Kyokotsu, emerged out of nowhere.

It was then that Shunsui made the startling revelation that he asked Katen to create Kyokotsu in order to hide Nanao’s Zanpakuto and save her from the curse.

This was a huge revelation that startled Bleach fans, and through this narrative, Tite Kubo dropped the biggest speculation about Katen and Shunsui having a kid together.

This was kind of absurd because Katen is Shunsui’s Bankai, and this takes their relationship to a whole new level. Not only that, he creates an intriguing but weird narrative for the current Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 in Bleach.