Summary
Initially introduced with the other members of the Royal Guard, otherwise known as the Zero Squad of the Gotei 13, Oh-Etsu Nimaiya has had a major role inBLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War. With his recent romp against the Royal Guard of Yhwach, Nimaiya showed a mercilessness in combat worthy of his position as one of the direct protectors of the Soul King himself.
With his eccentric personality, Nimaiya’s goofiness contrasts with the immensely powerful role he plays in the continuing history of Soul Society and the Seireitei. Who is Oh-Etsu Nimaiya, really?
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Masamune
Oh-Etsu Nimaiya is also known by the moniker 刀神 “Tōshin”, meaning “Sword God”, and holds the position of Third Officer of the Zero Division, representing the West cardinal direction. The Sword God title is a reference to the fact that Nimaiya is the inventor of the Zanpakutō, and directly responsible for forging every single Zanpakutō in existence. He is incredibly proud of this status, often referring to himself (in English) as the “Number One Zanpakutō Creator”. When a Shinigami joins the Gotei 13, they are offered a tabula rasa known as an Asauchi, blank souls that are slowly imprinted with the soul of their wielder, eventually becoming developing their own distinct characteristics and personalities. Eventually, a Shinigamilearns the name of their Zanpakutō, which is effectively a manifestation of an aspect of their soul, and this developing relationship enables them to draw out incredible power through their Shikai and Bankai. When Ichigo and Renji train with Nimaiya after the first invasion of the Quincies, he is accompanied by a number of women that he reveals to be Zanpakutō rather than Shinigami, which greatly surprises Ichigo and Renji because they were indistinguishable from Shinigami or human souls.
Essentially, Nimaiya is capable of forging swords that can become anything, not to mention the fact that these swords come with their own will and consciousness. Beyond that, Nimaiya is the only individual capable of reforging broken Zanpakutō, and he has full knowledge of the location of every single Zanpakutō he creates. Thetwo-tone appearance of Zanpakutō in Shikai formis perhaps a nod at the temper lines orhamonseen on the edges of real-life katana, which arise from the quenching process which sees the spine of the blade cool much less rapidly than the cutting edge due to the application of clay on the relevant areas. The greatest swordsmith in Japanese history is supposedly 13th century blacksmith Gorō Nyūdō Masamune, was said to have been a master of forging blades of immense beauty and quality who perfected something callednie –the incorporation of crystals of martensite (an extremely hard form of steel with a crystalline structure) in the blade that diffuse light and give them a shimmering kind of look. The relevance of this becomes clearer when one considers the Zanpakutō that Nimaiya wields in combat, a blade that he considers a failure because it is too sharp and too smooth to be sheathed.
Suffering From Success
Nimaiya’s Zanpakutō is Sayafushi, written 鞘伏 and translates to “Sheath Dodger”, which is straight to the point – the blade is characterized by its biggest flaw in the eyes of its creator. He created a blade too perfect – no matter how much he cuts and slashes, it never chips or wears down because it was forged to be sharp and smooth to a fault. When he isn’t using it, Nimaiya keeps the sword suspended in a vat of jelly, and when it is swung, the sword makes a zooming noise comparable to a lightsaber possibly due to it cutting cleanly through air. Due to its inability to be sheathed, Nimaiya considers Sayafushi to be a failure because for him if it cannot be sheathed, it is no longer a sword.
Each Zanpakutō has a unique guard, and the hilt colour and design can vary; however, the guard, specifically, communicates a lot about the character and the sword in question.Sajin Komamura’s guard depicts a Vajra(the ritualistic weapon that is a symbol of Indra), while Byakuya’s consists of a number of uniform squares, Ichigo’s Tensa Zangetsu had the Manji (which is interestingly the kanji that puts the “Ban” in “Bankai”); but of all these designs, Nimaiya has the only Zanpakutō that lacks any distinct design whatsoever. It is just a smooth elliptical shape or oval, with no markings on the interior part of the guard leading to and away from the blade. Similarly to the other Zanpakutō, Sayafushi’s guard still communicates the sword’s defining characteristics – its impeccable sharpness and smoothness that make it immune to wear and perpetually clean because blood and other substances merely roll off its frictionless surface.
The Blade is He
Fellow Royal Guard member Kirio Hikifune would describe Nimaiya as an unpredictable, but he’s also quick-witted and resolute when it counts, like in “The Master” whenAskin Nakk Le Vaar’s Deathdealinghad rendered Nimaiya’s own blood toxic, he slit his own throat and had Kirinji replace the blood in his body. Nimaiya is an incredible fighter, and what makes him particularly great is that he adapts to the scenario quickly and, for lack of a better way to say this, he cuts to the chase. In the last three episodes ofBLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2, particularly in “Too Early To Win, Too Late to Know”, Nimaiya was swift to unleash what looked like killing blows on multiple enemies in Yhwach’s Elite Guard without breaking a sweat or waiting around.
Nakk Le Vaar saw the killing intent and minimized the damage he took on the first blow, but Nimaiya and Sayafushi weren’t going to miss a second time. AfterYhwach’s Auswählen restores the downed Quinciesand His Majesty to their true strength, the scales tip once again in favour of the Quincies, and Nimaiya is badly injured as he tries to defeat an invigorated Lille Barro. Up until that point, the swordsmith had not wavered nor lost his usual cheery nature, which may be a reflection of Sayafushi’s nature and vice-versa.
BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2 – The Separationis available to stream onHuluandDisney+.
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