Who is Kuukaku?

[Naruto_Demon]

Okay, I was wondering if Kuukaku was ever a Shinigami? Because in Episode 61 she used demon magic that only Shinigami can do. Also What's her relationship with Yoruichi?

If anyone know, could you fill me in
Thanks

[Ichy]

Maybe Yoruichis Fukutaicho in the Spezial Corps?

[Zek]

I think Rukia was mistaken when she said that only shinigami can do kidou back in the first episode. Most likely it's something that any Plus with enough reiatsu can do given proper training. That's why Rukia can do it in a gigai without her shinigami powers. I think the only real defining characteristic of a shinigami is their zanpakutoh. For another example of this, look at reiraku(spirit threads) - Rukia says that only high level shinigami can do that, but shortly afterwards we see that Ishida can do it too, and he's not even dead. If he knew the incantations and trained hard enough I think he could do kidou as well.

[Snubben_Pierre]

there was never a real explanation to kuukaku except that her brother was a shinigami and that she and the kitty (cant bother to type yoruchi because im not sure i spell it right, doh!) are friends.. i cant remember anything for sure though so sorry..and i also believe its like zek said with the kidou thing... hope we get to see kuukaku fight sometime though in a real battle she seems pretty strong =D just thought of something myself though..
when they called every1 to tell them about aizen how did kuukaku know? because did they ever find out that she even was in on the rukia rescue thingy?? or was it just a coincidence that she and jiranbou (or whatever that big gate guard is called) showed up at the same moment?

[Zek]

Originally Posted by Snubben_Pierre

when they called every1 to tell them about aizen how did kuukaku know? because did they ever find out that she even was in on the rukia rescue thingy?? or was it just a coincidence that she and jiranbou (or whatever that big gate guard is called) showed up at the same moment?

It was a coincidence. Kuukaku started heading that way well before Aizen made his move. She probably figured out the situation when she got there.

[Hir0]

Yeah it was a kidou, i think it was hadou 63 or something but it needed a chant

[miko tian]

i'm pretty sure that she was one of the old captains, or at least that she was at once point very powerful. im under the impression that urahara, yoruichi, and kuukaku were all former captains who left because something happened. we don't know much about it, except for the fact that urahara created illegal stuff, and that he was banished, but i really believe that kuukaku had at one point been a high-rankings shinigami :\

i know this is pure speculation, but i just feel like it's the type of thing kubo would do. urahara, yoruichi, and kuukaku to me seem to represent the different styles at soul society -- samurai, ninja, and demon magic :O

[Snubben_Pierre]

Originally Posted by miko tian

i'm pretty sure that she was one of the old captains, or at least that she was at once point very powerful. im under the impression that urahara, yoruichi, and kuukaku were all former captains who left because something happened. we don't know much about it, except for the fact that urahara created illegal stuff, and that he was banished, but i really believe that kuukaku had at one point been a high-rankings shinigami :\

i know this is pure speculation, but i just feel like it's the type of thing kubo would do. urahara, yoruichi, and kuukaku to me seem to represent the different styles at soul society -- samurai, ninja, and demon magic :O

mm that would make sense =) because it isnt so often we hear about a powerful biatch in SS that hasnt had any connections to being a shinigami..i really hope we get to know more about kuukaku =D and ofc urahara and kitty..

[miko tian]

hm ... i'm actually really interested in the SS noble families. i'm pretty sure that byakuya mentioned that Shiba was a noble family, but in that case, why are ganjyu and kuukaku not inside SS? i thought i also remembered byakuya saying that kuchiki and shihouin were noble families too, and when he heard that ganjyu was a shibi, he took him really seriously. the shiba family really interests me -- there's kuukaku, who seems really strong; ganjyu, who's training to be shinigami; and kaien, who used to be squad 13 VC. i wouldn't be at all surprised if kubo brings this up as something really important in later arcs.

[Potatochobit]

she is missing an arm so its pretty obvious that something bad happened to make her retire from whatever she was doing.

[NoSanninWa]

Maybe the arm was lost in a fireworks accident. That has always been my assumption.

[Mr_Anonomis]

Originally Posted by miko tian

i'm pretty sure that she was one of the old captains, or at least that she was at once point very powerful. im under the impression that urahara, yoruichi, and kuukaku were all former captains who left because something happened. we don't know much about it, except for the fact that urahara created illegal stuff, and that he was banished, but i really believe that kuukaku had at one point been a high-rankings shinigami :\

If you'd paid attention, the Shiba family WAS a noble family that got disassociated from the others. Kuukaku and Ganju's older brother, Kaien, had become a shinigami after the split. Kuukaku it seems woudl never have been a shinigami because Kaien was older and all the crap happened wiht him dieing and such, so it seems as though she'd be disinclined to become a shinigami after that.

My assumption is basically this: Byakuya said in his soliloquoy while Ichigo was realising his bankai in front of him that the great noble families have a reiatsu that is higher than a normal person's. This being said and lookigna t how the Shiba family had been a noble family would explain why, even though they haven't formally trained it, they would eb able to use a significant amount of higher level kidou (63 isnt anythign to scoff at, even if it needs the incantation). Also, having been a noble family, connections would open up in some form or another that would allow for Kuukaku and Yorouichi to be friends.

[Flashdance]

Well i dont think that Kukaku liked the shinigami as much as her brother did.
Quote from episode 24 "You who love the shinigami... and died as a shinigami" talking about her brother.
So its not very probable that she was a shinigami before.
Using spiritual energy is not limited to shinigamis because the kids in the slums allready can pack their spiritual energy into a sphere, like Rukia did.

(she draws a circle around the cannon)
(she draws her sword and pushes it into the floor)
"Beyond!
Bronze-colored greed desires thirty-six degrees of control!
Seventy-two pairs of Illusions.
Thirteen pairs of Horn Flutes!
The right hand of the Monkey... (she wraps her arm into a kind of cloth)
grasps the Stars! (the cloth catches fire)
(she hits the floor with the burning arm and the circle drawn on the floor catches fire too)
Embraced by twenty-five Suns,
the cradle of sand will spill blood. (the fire returns to her arm and goes straight up the cannon)
Kakaku fire method no. 2!
KAGIZAKI! (the cannon fires)"

This was the chant Kukaku used to fire the cannon.
This is not a Shinigami chant. Its most likely her very own invention.

[horsdhaleine]

i looked at the previous episodes again... never noticed that her right arm and hand is wooden... and she has a zanpakutou at her back.. daroo? did anybody see it?

[Thewanderer]

Originally Posted by horsdhaleine

i looked at the previous episodes again... never noticed that her right arm and hand is wooden... and she has a zanpakutou at her back.. daroo? did anybody see it?

I would've noticed it in ep92, as I was vigorously checking her out when watching it I didn't see one.

[NoSanninWa]

Originally Posted by horsdhaleine

i looked at the previous episodes again... never noticed that her right arm and hand is wooden... and she has a zanpakutou at her back.. daroo? did anybody see it?

Yeah, she has a short sword strapped to the back of her right shoulder, but we don't know for sure that it is a zanpaktou. The hilt of it can be seen here:

[ShadowClone]

WTF!? From that picture ALL you notice is her SWORD and ARM?? Are you all BLIND?? (j/k)

OK, back on topic: Well, we can only speculate as to what Kuukaku really is/was, whether she was Shinigami or just a very talented member of a (former) noble clan.

Well, one thing we should be happy for: at least she isn't an ARCHITECT (much like Rukia isn't an ARTIST)!

[miko tian]

hm ... we DEFINITELY don't know if it's a soul cutter. ganjyu's sword isn't a zanpakutou, so we can't assume every sword we see in SS in a zanpakutou ...

[Zu Ra]

Actually Kukkaku is Urahara's associate and not Yoruichi's. She does say in SS Arc 1 that she cant refuse Urahara's request to Yoruichi .

Also its

(RUMOURED) Kukkaku aided Urahara's escape hence Shiba clan had fallen from Grace (RUMOURED)

You dont nessecarily have to be a Shinigami to learn Kido ( Demon art's ) .All you need is a strong Leatsu .The Prequisite for a Shinigami is strong Leatsu .

[Pippin4242]

I've always viewed Kuukaku as a potential Shinigami Academy dropout. I can't see her taking to a school environment well, and it has been mentioned within canon (I don't know the exact source) that dropouts are common- up to nine out of ten is a number that springs to mind, though that could be rubbish. I do recall that dropouts keep their zanpakutou, and that there's a name for the nameless zanpakutou of a dropout. In the anime the blade attatched to her shoulder looks quite short, but in the manga it seems longer. In any case that wouldn't matter, because we've seen sealed zanpakutou that are small (Ichimaru Gin) or unusually shaped (does Jidanbou count? I was never quite sure what his position was) or even sealed as two seperate blades (Kyouraku Shunsui).
I also figured that since the reason she'd lost her arm wasn't mentioned she must have blown it off at some point. It added to her general air of madness. But Kubo Tite doesn't often do things without a reason, does he? Perhaps we'll hear more about that at some point...

Tessai used a level 99 kidou spell, didn't he? What are peoples thoughts on that? These days I tend to run with the theory- I think I heard it here- that he was Urahara's fukutaichou.

Concerning noble families, how many major houses are there? Is it four now Shiba is discounted? We know for certain Kuchiki and Shihouin are two. What about Oomeda-fukutaichou's family? I know they're rich, and he has a huge name. Are they a minor noble family? What about Ukitake?

Questions, questions! And while I'm speculating, it seems unlikely that major noble houses could have gone unmentioned for so long... let's throw the name Kurosaki into the ring. Do you think they could have ever been up there? Was Kurosaki taken from Masaki? I can't remember where I heard that. But could Isshin have been a nobleman? I love that thought.

*~Pips~*