Zanpakuto Club Contest Entry

EDIT: OMG, first place winner! Just, eee! OMG.

OMG, biggest comments entry ever. Download for full sized image. WARNING: It's huge-nourmous!

INFO:

Zanpakuto name: Utahime ( 歌姫 )
Utahime’s name means “songstress”.

Zanpakuto Power: (I felt I needed to clarify this)
Utahime's weapon is sound, transmitted via a mist. This is because Utahime's power "plants" noise in the mind; it isn't noise that reverberates in the air. Therefore Utahime uses mist as the means to carry her sound to opponents, the mist itself deals no damage and is harmless. It is the sound that the mist will afflict opponents with upon contact that is dangerous. It is the sound's effect on the mind that constitutes the attack.

Sealed:
In sealed form Utahime looks similar to a Chokuto, with the addition of a guard. The grip is made from ebony, with red wrapping. The blade is bainitic* steel with a martensitic* edge. The edge appears black, while the rest of the sword shines white. The guard is mild** steel, fashioned into a circle with four protruding “fins” elaborately etched with circular patterns.

<sub>* Bainite is molecularly the springiest form of steel. Martensite is molecularly the hardest form of steel. Both forms are achieved via specific heating methods.

** Generic term for steel that is not hardenable. Stiffer and stronger than pure iron.</sub>


Shikai:
Utahime releases with the command “teigin”*.

When released Utahime tranforms into a kodachi, as the end third of the blade dissolves into a barely visible mist that swirls around the wielder in a (roughly) 2m/7 ft radius, in an attack called “Shinga-kutsuu”**.

Shinga-kutsuu causes an opponent touched by the mist to be instantly overwhelmed by a constant, screechingly loud cacophony of noise within their heads; resulting in mental paralysis (and therefore inactivity) that could last anywhere from a few moments to longer, depending on the individual’s experience and level of discipline. (But a moment’s hesitation is all that is needed to lose the fight.)

_{* Teigin ( 低吟 ), hum, sing lowly
** Shinga-kutsuu ( シンガー苦痛 ), singer-agony}

Bankai:

Utahime becomes Utahime Nousatsu* in Bankai.

In Bankai all of Utahime's blade dissolves; her mist becomes opaque and extends its range to roughly 6m/20ft, completely obscuring the wielder.
Once touched by the mist opponents suffer from mental paralysis like with Shinga-kutsuu, only the Bankai version (Shinga-kayo**) works differently.

Instead of incapacitating opponents via pain, Utahime uses her true voice. Enemies hear a soft female voice singing, and Utahime's power causes hearers to listen so attentively that their minds go blank, their hearts forget to beat and their lungs forget to draw air.
Essentially enemies asphyxiate themselves without Utahime's shinigami having to raise a finger. Like her Shikai though, highly disciplined individuals may be able to shake off Utahime's influence in time, which would leave her shinigami defenseless.

The other major drawback with this bankai is that it takes a substantial amount of energy to maintain it long enough for enemies to die. Therefore Utahime's shinigami usually doesn't attempt to kill opponents with just the power of Bankai, but maintains it long enough so enemies are left dizzy, confused and gasping for air as Utahime returns to Shikai. Shikai is then used to finish enemies off.

_{* Utahime Nousatsu ( 歌姫 悩殺 ), "songstress" and noun meaning to "fascinate; bewitch; enchant"
** Shinga-kayo ( シンガー歌謡 ), singer-song/ballad}

Extra I felt like adding:

Inner World:
The Inner World of Utahime's shinigami is a large circle of grass, surrounded by calm water. This mini grassland is always misty, but it isn't particularly cold.
It is perpetually night in this world, but thanks to the multitude of bright stars that are always visible there is plenty of light to see by.
The faint rustle of the grass and soft eddying of the water seem musical even when Utahime herself is not singing along with them.

Grass brushes by >Deviation here<

Shinigami:
Utahime's shinigami is called Kitsune ( 狐, fox/sly person) Sagiritora (狭霧虎, mist-tiger). She's normally a very quiet, diplomatic person, but will speak out if she feels someone is in the wrong even if she risks upsetting shinigami of higher rank.

Like her name suggests she is a cunning fighter. This is partly due to her strategical intelligence, and partly because, being a small slender person with a subversive power, she is usually at a disadvantage when it comes to physical strength.
She has very good natural intuition, but her tendency to wait to see if she can confirm her feeling sometimes means she loses the advantage of proactive action.

~~~~~~~~~~~

My entry for 's contest, "If You Were A Zanpakuto".

Uuuurgh. I've slowly worked on this since November- each element started off as a separate painting, done in PS CS4. NEVER AGAIN, what a stupid idea...
And of course by the time I finished I hated everything about the dratted thing. But I'm calling it done and uploading it, otherwise I'll never make it in time for the deadline.

I apologize to anyone with any knowledge of Japanese for my most likely atrocious butchery of the language. I love the writing forms and sound of Japanese, but I have absolutely no real knowledge about it!

Bleach and concepts relating to Bleach © Tite Kubo.
All art/ remaining concepts as they are presented in this deviation © Kotorigaro
Take/claim any part of this work and I WILL find you and feed you your guts. And tell these guys > You don't want that. OK?