Kinshara

In its sealed state Kinshara shows a diamond-shaped guard with softly curved, concave edges and an orange grip. Released, its blade unfurls into a long golden whip capped by a flower from the sal tree it is named for; the lash is extendable and prehensile, and it chimes like softly struck piano keys as it moves.

The sword answers to Rose, a languid, faintly foppish Visored who would sooner tune his guitar or read manga than mind the world around him, and its musical character mirrors his obsession with sound. He brings the blade to life with the release word Play, wielding it with theatrical ease in either hand.

Even before release, Kinshara performs Arpeggio, floating the sword and scabbard into a cross while Rose mimes piano keys; a wire springs out, coils around the target, and constricts to the notes he plays until the victim is torn apart. As a whip, its reach and precision let Rose lash in long sweeps, reverse direction in an instant, impale, or rend a body with a flick. Its signature Shikai technique, the eleventh sonata called Izayoi Bara, has the flowered tip fasten to a foe before Rose taps the whip like a guitar string, sending a sound that swells into a shockwave and levels everything nearby.