Anika Shihōin

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"Live free, my boys."

—Anika's final words, referring to Kusaka and Kenji.^[src]

Template:Shinigami Infobox (Second Division) Anika Shihōin (アニーカ四楓, Shihōin Anīka), known famously as the original Flash Goddess (瞬神, Shunshin), was the first Captain of the 2nd Division in the Gotei 13, the first Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, as well as a member of the Shiseiten's Fourth Generation. In life she was the biological mother of Kusaka Kori, Sojiro Kori, and Yoichi Shihōin, as well as the godmother to Kenji Hiroshi and the one who revealed his status as a member of the noble Shiba clan. Whilst she was Kenji's godmother Anika openly introduced Kenji as her son, and Kenji often introduced her as his mother. She was also a good friend of Michael Yume and his wife Ayane Emiru. During the events of the Winter War Anika gathered a group of reputable exiles to combat Sōsuke Aizen's Privaron Espada in Kagamino City, which included her godson and Kei Yume, whom she once watched over.

Appearance

Anika.

Many remarked upon Anika's youthfulness despite her great age. Even Kenji couldn't quite believe she had been around for nearly two-and-a-half-thousand years when he himself was merely pushing one-hundred, which was a sentiment shared by Van when he met her shortly before her death. On their first meeting Kenji thought that she was only slightly older than he was until being corrected by Kusaka, who told him that she was his mother. Even during the final years of her life Anika remained quite youthful, without a wrinkle at all, passing for a teenager on so many occasions that she stopped correcting those who made the mistake. Kei Yume, who knew Anika as a slightly younger woman, remarked that she hadn't changed a bit in the intervening years. The only way her age could even be discerned at all was by her eyes; which where often said to be ancient. She sported long black hair and blue eyes and generally wore a white kimono-like jacket called an uwagi accompanied by white hakama. Beneath she usually completely avoided wearing the commonplace shitagi and instead wore bandages that covered her chest; revealing her taught stomach. When she actually was seen with her Zanpakutō she usually carried it in her right-hand instead of securing it to her outfit, but even then she almost never carried it into actual battle. As a Captain she also donned the staple white haori, and wore a sleeveless kosode with a hood attachment.

Personality

Anīka's famous glare.

Kenji described Anika as a formidable woman who often beat him to within an inch of his life as a means of violently bringing his power and potential to the surface; this was one reason why, in the words of Kei Yume, Kenji's face drained of colour when Anika's name was mentioned. When Kenji came to her for help after having his resolve dented following the capture of Kusaka, Ino and Kazuma, Anika told him to leave his doubt at the door or she'd save the Illusive Man the trouble and kill Kenji herself.

Once his heritage was revealed Anika revealed herself to have been a good friend of Kenji's mother Aiko, and also revealed herself as his godmother -- this revelation was considered moot by Kenji, as Anika was the earliest teacher of both Kenji and Kusaka, being the latter's mother, and seen Kenji as an actual son due to the brotherly bond between both boys.

Despite her harsh words and actions Anika, even over Annora Hiroshi, was the closest thing to a mother Kenji ever had. She loved the boy like her own and even gave her life to protect him from Averian. She asked him to kill her so it wouldn't be Averian's blow that finished her, resulting in Kenji killing her with his own hand; even so, Anika had no regrets, though Kusaka -- and later Kenji -- claimed that the cut was cruel. This one event set in motion the First Spiritual War; Kenji declared he would crush Averian beneath his boot, with Averian wondering how far Kenji would go to defeat him, initiating the war as a test of his resolve. Even after the Collapse Kenji's drive for vengeance was as strong as ever.

Synopsis

Main Article -- Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).

Part I

Main article -- Bleach: Sun and Moon Chronicles.

Birth of the Bakkōtō arc

• Birth of the Bakkōtō Part I
• Birth of the Bakkōtō Part II
• Birth of the Bakkōtō Part III
• Birth of the Bakkōtō Part IV
• Birth of the Bakkōtō Part V

Trickster arc

• Trickster Strikes Part V
• Trickster Strikes Part VI
• Trickster Strikes Part VII
• Trickster Strikes Part VIII
• Trickster Strikes Part IX
• Trickster Strikes Part XI
• Trickster Strikes Part XII

Exiles arc

• Mastering One's Inner Demons Part III
• Kusaka vs. Kagura Part I
• Party Crashers Part I
• Party Crashers Part II

Machinations arc

• Prototype Unleashed
• The Trap is Sprung

Tsuji Crisis arc

• Darkest Pursuits
• Light in the Darkness
• Into the Light

Bount Incident

• Bount Incident Part I
• Bount Incident Part II

Kagamino City arc

• Counter Operations
• Fun in Atlantic City
• A Favor For Her

Arrival arc

• Survival Against the Odds: Kenji vs. Averian (mentioned)
• Tadashi and Shin vs. Averian (background, unseen)
• March of the Visored (background, unseen)
• Kickoff of the First Spiritual War

Powers and Abilities

Immense Spiritual Power: As one of the original Captains of the Gotei 13 Anika possesses devastating levels of spiritual power, which Kenji described as impressive.

Hakuda Master: Anika is a master of the martial arts and is capable of incapacitating opposition many times her size with casual ease. She moves with the grace of a large cat and is capable of injecting her strikes with tremendous strength.

• Shunkō (瞬閧, Flash War Cry): an advanced technique which has Anika fight by driving pressurized Kidō into her shoulders and back, which enhances her physical abilities to monstrous levels. Her mastery extends to teaching others how to utilize this rare ability.

• Hanki (反鬼, Reverse Demon): An ability which nullifies an opponent's Kidō by hitting it with another one of perfectly opposite speed and energy.

Enhanced Strength: Anika has demonstrated the needed strength to easily incapacitate the likes of Kenji and Kusaka with only one or two strikes, which is indicative of her high strength.

Zanpakutō

Joshin (女神, Goddess). Anika's Zanpakutō is sealed is the form of a katana with a wooden hilt and no guard. When she did carry it on her person she usually did so in her right-hand or carried it from her shoulder via a piece of string wrapped around the guard.

• Shikai: Not Revealed.

Soyogōka.

• Soyogōka (そよ業火, Breath of Hell Fire): with a mere swing of her Zanpakutō Anika could release incredibly powerful waves of condensed reiryoku with enough destructive force to wipe out entire groups of enemy opposition with only a single use. Kenji remarked that this technique was similar to both the Reīssen and the Jitsugen, and that it actually served as the primary source of inspiration for his and Maki's creation of the latter technique.

• Bankai: Not revealed.

Behind the Scenes

• Anīka's appearance is based on Kunieda Aoi from Beelzebub.

Trivia

• Anika claims to have known Michael Yume before he had died. Admittedly, Anika was also close friends with Ayane Emiru, the wife of Michael Yume. Despite Michael's and Ayane's passing, Anika continued to have close ties with the Yume Clan, so much so that she eventually became the babysitter of a young Kei Yume. However, Anika kept her identity from Kei, and was generally referred to as Auntie the majority of the time.