Gamma Akutabi

Gamma Akutabi (芥火ガンマ, Akutabi Ganma) is a male and a member of the Royal Guard. Prior to this, he was the second captain of the, making him the second Kenpachi, and prior to even that he served as the lieutenant of the Eleventh Division under Hirohito Shōwa. His title in the Royal Guard is the "King of Roses" (薔薇王, Baraō).

Appearance
Gamma is a very tall Shinigami, towering over more average height men, such as Raian Getsueikirite. He possesses long, waist-length, unkempt, silver-colored hair and noticeably bright blueish-silver eyes. Because of his circumstances (he is constantly in Bankai), it is unknown what he normally looks like. In his Bankai, however, he wears a long, ankle-length, white trench coat, with black fur collar and trimmings. Underneath that, he wears a modified version of the standard Shinigami shihakushō; this one being more formfitting and with a more pronounced collar.

His obi, however, has been replaced by a large black belt which bears a large, horned, skull at its center, and his hakama has been replaced with formfitting black slacks. His Bankai also gives him black trench boots, rather than tabi. Another trait his Bankai added to him is his trademark arm of steel. His entire right hand is covered in a black, impenetrable steel, wrapped in blue cloth wrappings. This metal travels all the way up to his right cheek.

Personality
In line with former captains like Seireitou Kawahiru and Shunsui Kyōraku, Gamma has an unusually flamboyant demeanor. Typically he is incredibly laid back, not really caring about the events taking place around him, much less down in Soul Society or the World of the Living. He is also extraordinarily lazy. During his time as captain, he abhorred paperwork so much that he actually hired one of his own squad members to do it for him. According to him, his Zanpakutō actually hates this about him and quite frequently will berate him (in his inner world) because of it.

Nevertheless, he is capable of being completely serious when the times call for it. Whenever someone threatens either himself or his goals, he becomes aggressive and can become completely consumed by his own bloodlust. That being said, like most that held the title of Kenpachi, he highly enjoys battle. He doesn't care in which form that battle takes, so long as he can fight to the fullest of his abilities, he will fight to the death. And, while he is capable of working together with others, when he is particularly interested in an opponent, he insists on fighting one-on-one. He also doesn't adhere to any form of morals in combat, as he will fight any man, woman, or child if they attempt to do battle with him. Gamma's most noticeable trait in battle is his tendency to play around with his opponents, hiding his true power until they prove to him they are worthy of seeing it.

His favorite color is olive green. Gama has also stated his favorite phrase to be "Death in one stroke" (戦一抹, Senichimatsu), which, funnily enough, is also the meaning of his Zanpakutō's Bankai's name. His favorite food is, which is basically a Japanese-style omelet. His least favorite foods are parsley, green peas, and red ginger.

History
Little is actually known about his history. He was the first lieutenant of the Eleventh Division, under Hirohito Shōwa, the first Kenpachi. About a hundred years following this, he soundly defeated the captain in combat, exiling him from Soul Society in the process and allowing Gamma himself to become the new captain. At some point following this, Gamma was promoted to the Royal Guard as one of its founding members.

Zanpakutō
Gamma's sealed Zanpakutō has never been seen, nor its true name ever revealed. According to Raian, he has neither used the sealed state of his Zanpakutō, nor the Shikai form in nearly one thousand years; since the obtaining of his Bankai. Gamma himself has noted feelings of distaste for his Shikai, though he has never commented on his sealed state.
 * Shikai: Unknown
 * Bankai: : His sword in Bankai takes on a most unusual shape. While it appears to be in the form of a tremendous cleaver blade, being almost the size of Gamma himself, the blade itself has several moveable parts and hundreds of tiny jagged blades sticking out on all sides. As such, it has no blunt end, but is rather, one giant edge. A small engine-like appendage sits where the sword's guard should be, which produces a long chain that wraps around his sword-holding arm, and two large exhaust pipes, which eject his reiatsu in tremendous volumes when it prepares to attack. The hilt itself is wrapped in the same blue cloth that surrounds his right arm, which is made completely of metal and is apart of his Bankai. Gamma's Bankai is completely unique to him, in that it is the only constant-release Bankai in the history of Soul Society. Unlike constant-release Shikai, however, he can actually deactivate his Bankai if he pleases, but he chooses, instead, to keep his Bankai active at all times.

Creation & Conception
Gamma originally appeared in 's one-shot manga,, as the central protagonist. Unlike Bleach, which takes place in Japan and in the spiritual dimension, Zombie Power takes place in the western world, in a more modern setting. In the story, Gamma is a 22-year-old powder hunter who desires the zombie powder for the sake of immortality, and has already obtained one "Ring of the Dead" at his introduction in the first chapter. He is one of the most wanted criminals in the manga universe, bearing the highest possible danger level of "S-0," and a bounty of 960,000,000 nīt (the series currency). He apparently once loved a woman who made him change his ways, and it is implied that her death caused him to set out seeking the powder. He fights using his superhuman strength and speed, a steel-plated right arm which allows him to catch bullets, and a large sword-chainsaw hybrid. Other abilities Gamma possesses, which were not fully explored in the course of the story, are mastery of, a fictional ancient sword art which grants him a controllable aura called the "black flame of death", and a berserk state Balmunk refers to as Gamma's "monster."

The Zombie Powder reviewer from considered Gamma to be a typical "bad-ass anti-hero," good at creating mayhem and not much else. IGN's review of the series treated him similarly, saying his role of "protagonist who wields a lot of power and hides a dark secret" was done effectively but not remarkably, and was typical of action shōnen manga.

Trivia

 * In some of the Bleach Popularity polls, Gamma receives around one or two votes for being a favorite character in the Bleach manga (even though he doesn't make any appearances).
 * He also greatly resembles Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, again from the main Bleach manga.

Quotes

 * (To Raian Getsueikirite) "Hey, you! You were about to give up, weren't you?! Stop messing around! 'He will hate you when he wakes up'?! That's bullshit! If he wants to hate, let him! If he wants to punch you, let him! Isn't it better for someone to be alive to hate you, than someone dead to love you?!"
 * (To Raian while fighting Myoken) "Go! Didn't you just say that you came here to save him?! Your duty is to save him! Mine is to beat this guy's ass!"
 * (To Myoken) "Fallen, you say? I don't want to hear that from a piece of shit who betrays his own division just for excitement!"
 * (To Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto) "It is not 'madness' I want. Its 'power'. If I use such huge power only for myself, it becomes madness, however, if I use it to protect the weak...it becomes power!"