Bleach Fantasy Round 2: Mayuri Kurotsuchi vs. Kefka Palazzo (The Clowns)

VS.

Hope you've been following up on MechG2994 and I's collaboration on Bleach Fantasy Royal Rumble Smack-down Slamma-Jamma Bonanza (Bleach Fantasy for short). So far FF current leads 1-0 against Bleach. However, there are more BF posts to come every Monday & Friday all throughout April-May (posted between 10am-10pm). So today's BF matchup is the clownish appearances of FF's Kefka Palazzo & Bleach's Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Destructive, flamboyant, and bursting with cruelty - these 2 clowns put the F*ck in "Oh F*ck, not clowns!" So without further ado, let's start off Monday with the Clowns ~ Backstory/Role in Story, Powers/Abilities, & Verdict (by MechG2994)

Backstory/Role in Story (Mayuri Kurotsuchi)

Not much is emphasized on Mayuri's upbringing, but we do know that he wasn't the original 12th Division Captain. 110 years ago, Mayuri was locked away in the Maggot's Nest - an underground prison (although it's unconfirmed on why he is in the Maggot's Nest, it is assumed he is enough of a threat to be locked away). There'll be that fateful day where he meets face-to-face with Kisuke Urahara, the-then Captain of the 12th Division who wanted to create the Research & Development Institute. His meeting with Kisuke to join his side allowed him to be free from prison, but if something were to happen to Kisuke ~ Mayuri would assume command of the 12th division. 9 years later, Mayuri, alongside Kisuke (12th Division Captain) & Hiyori (Lieutenant) would become the 3 leading heads of the 12th division. It wouldn't be long before the Visored (Hollowfication of Shinigami) took place and Kisuke, Tessai, Yoruichi, & the Visored experiments (Hiyori, Shinji, Kensei, Love, Rose, Lisa, Mashiro, & Hachigen) were banished from the Soul Society to escape persecution by Central 46. Years later, Isshin Shiba (Ichigo's father) was being questioned (notably the Head Captain & Mayuri himself) on the sudden appearance of a mysterious Hollow, reporting that it was unexpected while at the same time hiding the fact that Isshin met with a Quincy. Mayuri also conducted experiments on Soken Ishida, Uryu Ishida's grandfather/mentor.

During the Rescue Arc, Mayuri is seen alongside the other Captains in determining what to do with the Ryoka (Ichigo, Orihime, Uryu, Chad, & Ganju). Mayuri, curious to fight and conduct experiments on any of the Ryoka, fought against Uryu where he told him of his experimentation on Soken and his disinterest in the Quincy. This greatly outraged Uryu as he angrily fought Captain Mayuri and found himself to be in a touch situation where Mayuri's Zanpaktou was puncturing Uryu's nerves & was poisoning/weakening him. However, after over-extending his Quincy powers, Uryu managed to do a number on Mayuri, but it wasn't enough to do away with him completely as Mayuri liquified his body to escape Uryu's attacks. During his recovery from his fight with Uryu, Mayuri overheard of Aizen's defection from the Soul Society as well as his intentions from the start, but this didn't interest Mayuri one bit. Way way way later in Bleach, Mayuri shows up in Hueco Mundo to assist Uryu & Renji in fighting the 8th Espada in Aizen's army, Szayelapporo Granz. Mayuri, deceiving Szayelapporo Granz into thinking he was getting overwelmed by the Espada's abilities, eventually defeated the Espada by implanting  him with the Superhuman drug, slowing down a person's perception of time (it can make 1 second look like 100 years), After defeating the Espada, Mayuri & his artificial daughter/lieutenant, Nemu, opened up the Garganta in Hueco Mundo to assist the Captains & Ichigo in finding their way back to the Soul Society & Karakura Town. Sometime after Aizen's defeat and imprisonment, a new enemy known as the Wandenreich show up to start war against the Shinigami. Mayuri began analyzing and gathering information on the Wandenreich as well as informing Ichigo that a broken Bankai can no longer be considered a Zanpaktou. He is seen working alongside Nemu on an unknown experiment (probably a weapon/weakness against the Wandenreich) and is met by his former superior, Kisuke Urahara. 

Powers/Abilities (Mayuri Kurotsuchi)

An innovative captain, Mayuri has plenty of tricks up his sleeves. He has created drugs (both antidotes and lethal substances), sensors/monitors, can repair just about anything, traps (EX: a landmine Uryu used), and is adept in chemistry and strategy. What makes Mayuri a scary person to confront is his ability to discern an opponent and instilling fear just by analyzing them thoroughly. His Zanpaktou, Ashisogi Jizo, is capable of severing brain signals from the neural impulses and its Bankai form produces a poisonous gas that is lethal when inhaled. Out of all the Captains in the Gotei 13, Mayuri is the most creepiest one of all and you can't really tell if he's ready to be your ally or your friend. As a Captain, he is neither enemy nor friend - but a madman. 

Backstory/Role in Story (Kefka Palazzo)

Nearly sixteen years before the official plot setting of Final Fantasy VI, Kefka was a test subject for an experiment to develop the first ever Magitek Knight. It was a risky experiment at first because nobody knew how successful it would be. What if the experiment goes wrong and something happens? That’s always a question to ask. Nonetheless, the experiment went on to be performed on Kefka and it proved somewhat to be a successful. Although he did gain great magical powers and abilities, he lost his sanity in the process. Serving as the right hand man of Gestahlian Emperor, Gestahl in the World of Balance, Kefka showed that he was more than just a mere clown and court jester for the Empire. He was a cruel, ruthless, and destructive madman; anybody who speaks against him or the empire itself, will surely fall into his ruthless and deceptive acts. Along with General Leo Christophe, Kefka became one of the spearheads of the Gestahlian military, boosting himself as one of the Empire’s most powerful figures. Kefka was also had a knack for testing things as he used a control device called the Slave Crown and placed it on Terra Branford, the game’s renowned protagonist and used her successfully to kill nearly fifty imperial soldiers.

When Kefka sent Terra to the location of Narshe to acquire a frozen esper (a mystical figure when a human comes in contact with magic), that esper awakened and destroyed the Slave Crown on Terra, freeing her from Kefka’s control. When Kefka heard this, he enacted a relentless search and pursuit to reclaim his “toy doll.” In Kefka’s first search point of Figaro Castle, the castle’s ruler, King Edgar, concealed Terra’s whereabouts, but little did Kefka know he was keeping her in hiding with members of the Returners (the rebellion group against the Gestahlian Empire). As a result, Kefka saw through Edgar’s lies and had the castle burned down, but Edgar escaped with Terra and the Returners and Kefka was livid. During the invasion of the Kingdom of Doma, we see Kefka fully display his ruthless behavior as well as the power struggle between him and General Leo for control of the Gestahlian army. Leo wanted to take down the kingdom with no casualties; Kefka wanted the whole population to die by poisoning the waters. When Leo was called in to report to Emperor Gestahl, Kefka ordered the imperial troops to dump the poison and it was successfully dumped, spelling disaster. Kefka then lead the forces back to Narsche to claim the once frozen esper, roaming the location, but his plan was successfully repealed by Terra and the Returners, but he wasn’t done yet. Busy torturing espers, hearing stories about activating the Warring Triad (three mythical statues representing magical gods) and using dead espers’ magicite to restore it, Kefka grew even more insane and ambitious. He finally kills General Leo, assuming full control of the imperial army and as him and Emperor Gestahl reached the Warring Triad on the Floating Continent, he used the Triads to kill off his former master and Kefka stood alone, gaining the power as a magic god, destroying the World of Balance, and creating a towering structure over the world filled with monsters. Though the world ended, Terra and the Returners still found a sense of hope. As they reached the tower, both tried to restore Kefka’s sanity in vain, but they eventually defeat him, restoring a world now able to thrive without magic.

Powers/Abilities (Kefka Palazzo)

“What a clown, what a freak, this guy’s a fool.” Yeah try saying that to Kefka in front of his face, he will find you and kill everybody in sight to no end just to reach you…and kill you. Aside from his lovable insanity, Kefka may look weak and easily vulnerable. He can feel pain, but that pain easily gets him pissed off even more. As the game progresses however, his power increases and he grows even stronger. He knows a handful of powerful magical spells due to the fact that he is a Magitek Knight experiment.  When he gains power of the espers, his already given powerful magical spells grow stronger and he learns new spells like creating illusions and disabling the powers of the espers due to his immunity as he absorbs their abilities. In controlling the Warring Triad, Kefka becomes an almighty god of magic, his clown face becomes demonic, his body becomes muscular, and he has both angelic and demonic wings. In god form, he can manipulate reality, performing things like elemental, power, and magical manipulation and absorption as well as using the Light of Judgment, a devastating celestial beam that can destroy a whole lot of towns that defy his authority. Overall, Kefka is a cold motherf***** who has no regard for any kind of life.

Verdict (by MechG2994)
And the winner is...

MechG2994 here. Alright, after evaluating these two freaks (in a good way), they both demonstrated why they’re the creepiest and the maddest characters in the respective Bleach and Final Fantasy universes. However, there can only be one, and it was a no brainer that Kefka wins this matchup in my opinion. I think the fact that Kefka was an experiment subject will be used to Mayuri’s advantage, but everything else that Kefka will do, would prove to be too much for Bleach’s mad scientist. There’s no denying that Mayuri is deceptive and a really intellectual Shinigami capable of pulling off over-the-top antics, tricks, and traps, not to mention, he’s a mad scientist/chemist, but what can science, research, and cheap tricks perform on a magic god? Clearly, Mayuri is neither enemy nor friend, which makes him hard to trust, however Kefka, as we all know, is 100% evil and has no remorse on the meaning of life. He poisoned a whole population’s water and he destroyed a whole world, HE DESTROYED A WHOLE WORLD! He did something that most FF villains tried to do but failed, destroy a whole freakin’ world before the heroes could come in and save the day! I’ve seen a lot of articles debating whether or not Kefka or Sephiroth is the best FF villain of all time and I can see why a case is made for Kefka. The dude puts the fear of clowns and jesters to a whole new level; he is the Joker of Final Fantasy with magical and godly powers just wanting to see the world burn. Not putting down Mayuri’s abilities and impact as a character in Bleach or in Anime as a whole, but Kefka’s character is the pure embodiment of chaos, insanity, destruction, and downright creepiness and that is why FF6’s Kefka Palazzo is the clear victor in my verdict.

So who do you think won? Mayuri Kurotsuchi from Bleach or Kefka Palazzo from Final Fantasy VI? Comment below and let us know. Look forward to Bleach Fantasy posts every Monday & Friday (unless specified) around 10am-10pm. As always, you all stay classy now. Friday's BF post will be judged accordingly by yours truly. FF is currently leading 2-0 against Bleach.