Ikkaku Madarame

Template:Bleach character info Ikkaku Madarame (斑目 一角, Madarame Ikkaku) is a character in the manga and anime series Bleach. He is the 3rd seat of the 11th Division in Gotei 13. His captain is Kenpachi Zaraki.

Character outline

First and foremost, Ikkaku is bald, a fact that is made fun of by many. The 11th Division lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, calls him either "cue-ball" or "pachinko head," a result of her fondness for giving people nicknames. As a result of the constant ridicule he gets, Ikkaku is very self-conscious about his baldness, to the point where he will threaten anyone that points it out. Ikkaku's bald scalp is reflective, which causes members of the 8th and 11th Divisions to mistake it as a full moon in one of the anime's omake segments, much to Ikkaku's annoyance. He also has distinctive small red patches near his eyes, which are probably painted on.

Despite being ranked as 3rd seat officer in his division, it has been stated multiple times that he is at lieutenant level. According to Yumichika Ayasegawa, Ikkaku is the 2nd strongest man in the 11th Division. It is unclear whether this explicitly means that he is stronger than any other male in the division (other than Kenpachi) or whether he is the second strongest person in the division (stronger than Yachiru). Ikkaku has even achieved the final release of his zanpakutō, putting him at a level at least beyond that of any ordinary lieutenant. Ikkaku intentionally hides this fact from everyone, with the exception of those he trusts to keep it a secret. The reason he does so is to stay in the 11th Division under Kenpachi, since he believes he might be promoted or forced into becoming a captain if anyone else knew.

In terms of attitude, Ikkaku is a stereotypical 11th Division member — violent, fight-loving, and rude; this has been noted by Tetsuzaemon Iba, among others. He loves fighting so much that he is unwilling to travel anywhere without a sword, resorting to carrying a wooden one when posing as a student at Ichigo's school. He does have a sense of loyalty and responsibility, however, unlike many of the lower-ranked 11th Division members. Ikkaku is fiercely loyal to Kenpachi, under whose command he wants to fight and eventually die.

Ikkaku has many personality traits in common with his division's captain Kenpachi Zaraki, which is why they seem to have so much respect for one another. Ikkaku considers fighting fun and tries to get as much "fun" as he can out of his opponents, so much so that he will take deadly risks to drag out the fight for as long as possible. During a fight with a challenging opponent, he is almost constantly smiling, much like Kenpachi does. Like all 11th Division members, he considers the only honorable battles to be those fought one-on-one and even the threat of death is not a reason to ignore this fact, since as a rule the winner is only determined when the other is dead. He does consider surviving an otherwise lost battle good luck, however. He's also sensible enough to carry a blood-clotting ointment in the hilt of his zanpakutō.

Ikkaku is one of the few characters in Bleach that is referred to by their given name instead of their family name, a rarity in Bleach but seemingly more common amongst the 11th Division. Only Makizō Aramaki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya have called him Madarame so far. As an odd side note, Ikkaku appears to be one of only two Bleach characters who are left handed, the other being Uryū Ishida. It's equally possible he's ambidextrous, however, as he switches to his right hand during his battle with the arrancar Edorad and uses his sword sheath as a secondary weapon in battle.

History

Not much is known about Ikkaku's history, but it's likely that he has been in the 11th Division since becoming a shinigami. During Renji Abarai's time in the 11th Division, Ikkaku was Renji's senpai and taught him how to fight.

Like Rukia Kuchiki and Renji, Ikkaku came from Rukongai. At some point, he met Yumichika Ayasegawa and the two became friends. They would later have an encounter with Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi before they entered the Seireitei. Kenpachi and Ikkaku fought, with Ikkaku losing and nearing death. When he asked Kenpachi why he didn't kill him, Kenpachi replied that if he killed Ikkaku now, he would never get another opportunity to fight Ikkaku again. He then told him not to seek death, but to consider himself lucky for not having died. The encounter is Ikkaku's main reason for staying in the 11th Division, as he wants to continue serving under Kenpachi and might not get a chance to fight him again, otherwise.

Synopsis

Soul Society arc

During the events of the Soul Society arc, Ikkaku acts as foe and later friend to the main character, Ichigo Kurosaki. By the end of the arc it is clear that the two are friends; however, they continue to argue over small things and try to fight each other constantly, in a similar relationship to Ichigo's with Renji Abarai, a close friend of Ikkaku's.

When Ichigo and Ganju Shiba first enter Seireitei, they come across Ikkaku and Yumichika Ayasegawa. Ganju runs away and Yumichika gives chase, leaving Ichigo and Ikkaku alone to fight. They do so, with Ichigo narrowly winning, though both he and Ikkaku are badly injured. Ikkaku considered himself lucky first at having found an opponent without trying, and then for not being killed in the battle.

Later on in the arc, Ikkaku accompanies his captain to take Ganju, Uryū Ishida, Sado Yasutora and Inoue Orihime to Ichigo, so that the former may fight again with him, and ends up fighting Tetsuzaemon Iba. This fight consists of the two fighting for the right to relax while the other brings sake for them to drink.

Bount arc

During the later parts of the Bount arc, Ikkaku and Yumichika head the patrol for Kariya while Kenpachi Zaraki is missing. He also fights with Ichinose at one point, though Ichinose remains invisible during the entire fight and thus escapes unharmed. Ikkaku and Yumichika also direct the sealing of the various spirit power sources scattered about Soul Society, where Ikkaku comically threatens the shinigami that slack off during the task.

On a comical note, during Kon's Shinigami Golden in Episode 109, Ikkaku tells Kenpachi Zaraki that Ichigo defeated the remain Bounts and he went back home. This makes Zaraki angry because he wanted to fight Ichigo, and plans to kill him without so much as a "hello" next time they meet. Ikkaku thinks to himself that Ichigo made the right decision to just go home without meeting Zaraki. In an earlier sketch, he also breaks the fourth wall, complaining about how he thought he was going to get more attention than he actually does.

Arrancar arc

After the events of Soul Society, Ikkaku joins Yumichika, Renji, Rukia Kuchiki, Hitsugaya, and Rangiku Matsumoto on their mission in Karakura Town.

During Grimmjow Jaggerjack's attack on anyone in the human world with any semblance of spirit power, Ikkaku fought one of the arrancar Grimmjow brought with him, Edorad Leones. Staying true to his personality, Ikkaku fights alone, despite Keigo Asano's protests, and takes great delight in the battle. Though it is a close battle, Ikkaku emerges as the victor after reluctantly revealing his final release.

After striking a deal with Keigo, Ikkaku and Yumichika found a place to stay while in the real world. Keigo's sister, Mizuho, also seems to really like Ikkaku because of his bald head.

When the Espada launch a second attack on the human world, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Rangiku and Hitsugaya fight Luppi. Luppi gains the upper hand but Hitsugaya turns the fight around with ease. Ikkaku and the rest of Hitsugaya's task force then learn that Inoue Orihime has followed the arrancar back to Hueco Mundo, and they have returned to Soul Society to help prepare for the war against Aizen.

Hōzukimaru

File:Hozukimaru.jpg

Hōzukimaru's initial release

Ikkaku's zanpakutō is Hōzukimaru (鬼灯丸, lit. Demon Light, Winter Cherry in the Viz translation). It appears like any regular zanpakutō when unsealed, but has a hollow hilt which Ikkaku stores a blood-clotting ointment in. Its initial release command is "grow" (延びろ, nobiro).

Hōzukimaru's initial release is unusual in that Ikkaku slams Hōzukimaru's hilt into its sheath to activate it when saying the command phrase. Once activated, Hōzukimaru takes on the form of what initially appears to be a naginata. While it does technically function as such, it is also a three-section staff (三節棍, sansetsukon), which surprises opponents when they first attack. Ikkaku uses the command "split" (裂けろ, sakero) to separate the sections, after which the sections can independently reconnect and separate again at will.

File:Ryūmon Hōzukimaru.jpg

Hōzukimaru's final release

Hōzukimaru's final release, named Ryūmon Hōzukimaru (龍紋鬼灯丸, lit. Dragon Crest Demon Light), keeps the three-section theme but loses its naginata properties. Instead, it's merely three oversized weapons connected by an equally large chain. Ikkaku's two main weapons are an oversized Chinese Monk's spade and an equally large Dadao. Both have a traditional horsehair tassel at the hilt and a long cylindrical weight for a pommel. The pommels are connected by a heavy chain to the center section, which resembles an oversized Halberd blade with a parallel handle forged into the blunt end and a dragon crest on one side of the blade. Despite all three weapons being of near-ridiculous proportions, Ikkaku wields them easily, displaying his inhuman strength. Ikkaku usually holds one blade in each hand and lets the central portion "float" behind him, though he will occasionally spin the entire configuration about using the center handle as a pivot.

Ikkaku's final release, like his initial release, is also quite unusual. Aside from the increase in power, his final release offers no special abilites. It does, however, get increasingly more powerful as the fight drags on. After he performs his final release, the dragon crest will slowly fill in with crimson dye as Ikkaku's spiritual pressure rises. When the crest is completely filled, Hōzukimaru is at its full power. However, the force of unleashing so much power can leave his zanpakutō's edge brittle afterwards.