What Is Komamura’s Special Power in Bleach?
Sajin Komamura is one of the Bleach characters that we have not talked about much so far, but knowing that his story is going to become very interesting very soon, we have decided to dedicate one article to him. Komamura is a legendary character in the Bleach canon and a character that stood out among the rest in more than one way. And while he was known for being one of the strongest Captains in Bleach, he unlocked an even stronger special power during the Quincy War and in this article, we are going to tell you everything about it.
Sajin Komamura’s special power is known as the Humanization Technique. It is a secret technique of his werewolf clan that allows them to sacrifice their heart in order to transform into a human shell that is both immortal and invulnerable. However, once this technique is used, the user reverts back to their original wolf form and loses all of their Shinigami powers.
Due to its specific evolution and all the changes that Komamura went through during the Thousand-Year Blood War, we have decided to write an article explaining all of these changes to you. Komamura’s powers have proven themselves to be truly amazing and it is necessary for us to explain all of that properly to you. There will be spoilers, so you have to be careful how you approach certain parts of the article.
What is Sajin Komamura’s Humanization Technique?
After the death of Yamamoto and the withdrawal of the Quincy Army, Komamura was, along with many other Captains, in the process of training and preparing for the upcoming second invasion. At one point, in a cave, he talks to a giant wolf he refers to as the “Great Elder”. Komamura explains that he came to learn the family secrets. The Grand Elder laughs at him and replies that his people do not interfere in these matters to keep his peace. He challenges Komamura, threatening to attack him if he persists, and Komamura accepts the challenge.
The secret technique that Komamura was referring to was the Humanization Technique. The Humanization Technique is a secret technique known only to the werewolf clan, whose history – unfortunately – Kubo never explored in detail. We don’t actually know what these guys looked like and how they created and used this technique, mainly because it was told that they were turned into animals because of their crimes, so we don’t actually know all of the historical details. But, be that as it may, Komamura was able to defeat the Grand Elder and learn the Humanization Technique, which is one of the most powerful techniques known to Soul Society.
Komamura, as a member of the werewolf clan, was a wolf (or dog, or fox, but you get the gist). He walked on two feet and had some anthropomorphic elements to his appearance, but was ultimately a wolf. This is why the secret technique is called the Humanization Technique, as it enabled Komamura, as a wolf, to turn into a human. But that was only a trick. Namely, by sacrificing his physical heart, Komamura would be able to transform into a human. But, that was not a real human, despite looking like one.
The human was actually a mere shell. It was never an actual body, although it behaved like a normal, living being. The shell itself was immortal and invulnerable, as all and any damage is done to it would heal instantly. It could also use all of Komamura’s abilities, including the Bankai, and these were also completely immune to any form of harm. This is why this technique was so strong because it made Komamura basically invincible. But, there was a weakness, of course, and a very grave one – namely, the transformation came at a big price.
Due to having to sacrifice his heart, Komamura was actually “dead” in a sense and the Humanization technique was not eternal; it was limited in terms of time, which is why Komamura would, at one point, lose the shell. The details of this have not been explained, so we don’t know whether it depends on the level of Spiritual Pressure or time itself. Be that as it may, once the shell disappears, Komamura turns back into a regular wolf, losing all of his former Shinigami powers and becoming a regular animal. This is why this is an extremely powerful technique, but it comes at a great cost.
What are Komamura’s powers and abilities?
Komamura has enormous physical strength, which can also be inferred from his appearance. This is also shown by the fact that he was able to throw the giant Choe Neng Poww onto the mat without much effort. Komamura was also able to fend off an attack by Zaraki without injury. Since his entire Division consists of strong men, Komamura also has the highest physical strength in the Division.
As a Captain, he also has a high reiatsu, allowing him to amplify his sword blows to throw a blast at the opponent. A special ability of Komamura is to hide his reiatsu. Even Tōsen, who is excellent at feeling Reiatsu, couldn’t locate him exactly when they first met. This talent is also shown by the fact that he comes unexpectedly close to his opponents. This was, for example, seen in the fights against Aizen, Choe Neng Poww, and against Tōsen.
Komamura is very skilled with the sword as he has mastered Bankai and can even hit his small opponents with Shikai and Bankai. In addition, he had received training from Captain-Commander Yamamoto and is therefore also good at using the Zanpakutō. He’s not particularly fast because of his mass, but the ability to hide his reiatsu compensates for this weakness. On the other hand, we have never seen him use Kido and this ability does not seem to be very pronounced.
Komamura is an experienced Captain and a good judge of people’s abilities, so like all other Captains, he recognizes that Ichigo is their last chance against Aizen. He also stopped Ichigo from making a fatal mistake.
Tengen
Tenken is Sajin Komamura’s Zanpakutō and when unreleased, it looks like an ordinary katana with an H-shaped guard plate and a dark blue sword hilt. However, since Komamura is physically much larger than ordinary Shinigami, his Zanpakutō is also larger than normal. Tenken is released with the command “Roar”, after which its Shikai is awakened, summoning different body parts of a giant warrior that obey Komamura and moves as he does. For example, when Komamura swings his sword, Tenken’s body parts do the same.
Komamura’s Bankai is called Kokujō Tengen Myō’ō. This creates a huge warrior that appears about 100 meters tall. Just like in the Shikai, the giant warrior moves like Komamura and can deal tremendous damage, as shown in the fight against Poww. The power of this warrior seems enormous, but this Bankai has the disadvantage that Komamura takes all the damage that the warrior takes. However, since Komamura defeats most opponents with this Bankai after one slash, he often takes this risk.
However, the warrior’s armor offers good protection; even a Kuroi Getsuga cannot kill it. Also, it seems like Komamura has a choice between controlling the giant warrior from the outside or, as in the fight against Kaname Tōsen, being the warrior himself. After Komamura’s human transformation, the Bankai’s appearance also changes: it loses its armor. This new bank has the same strengths as the old one but none of its weaknesses as it is made of pure reiatsu and thus has no real matter.
Why was Sajin Komamura exiled from his clan?
When Tōsen was training in the grasslands, he met Komamura, whose extraordinary appearance he didn’t notice at first due to his blindness. He spoke to Komamura, but realized he was speaking the wrong way and realized that Komamura was so good at hiding his presence that it was almost impossible for him to sense it. He complimented Komamura on this and Komamura was deeply touched as he was not immediately disfellowshipped despite his appearance for the first time.
More than 110 years ago, Yamamoto finally gave him the opportunity to become a Shinigami, which is why he swore eternal allegiance to him until his death. So he met Tōsen again, who introduced him to Sōsuke Aizen. During his career, he became the Captain of the 7th Division. Only later does it turn out that Komamura is a member of the werewolf clan. This clan committed serious crimes in the past and was turned into animals as punishment. Unable to endure the life of seclusion, Komamura left his clan until he was taken in as a Shinigami by Yamamoto.
This brief insight into Komamura’s history actually reveals the reasons why his clan exiled him and why the Grand Elder was so antagonistic towards him when he returned. Although the werewolf clan was considered to be criminals, they rejected their punishment and lived in seclusion from society, amongst themselves. Komamura wanted more and he ventured out of the clan to see the world, thereby betraying them. But, not only that, but he also became an anthropomorphic wolf, as well as a Shinigami, which only added to his betrayal, since it was the Shinigami that were responsible for the clan’s punishment. This is why Komamura was exiled from his clan and why the Grand Elder did not want to assist him at first.