Kankuro (Naruto)

Template:Infobox Naruto character Kankuro (カンクロウ, Kankurō) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. He is the second oldest child of the Fourth Kazekage, making him the older brother of Gaara and the younger brother of Temari.

"Kankuro" is the name of a famous ninja, and he often was pictured as a ninja with a crow (Karasu) as his pet. "Kankuro" is also the name of many famous Kabuki actors which shows in his face paint and quirky style of speech in the original Japanese versions.

Personality

In comparison to his siblings Kankuro sees the least amount of development, typically only making appearances to take part in battles. In Part I one noticeable personality trait he displays is an apparent dislike for children, first seen when he attempts to beat up Konohamaru for running into him. This carries over to many of his interactions with other characters as he is noticeably irritated when in the presence of someone younger than him. This is most evident when he is seen with Gaara, who Kankuro is forced to put up with due to the fear his younger brother imposes on him.

File:Sand Siblings.png

Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro in Part II

Despite their apparent differences, Gaara and Kankuro become very close over the timeskip as Gaara begins to confide in Kankuro and shares his dreams of wanting to risk his life to protect Sunagakure. As such, Kankuro has become very protective of Gaara, willing to challenge anyone who puts Gaara down in his presence. When Gaara is captured by Akatsuki, Kankuro rushes to his brother's aid in an attempt to save him. He is quickly defeated and bedridden as a result, though joins Temari in looking for Gaara as soon as he is able to walk. Once Gaara is found and saved, Kankuro joins Temari in thanking Team 7 for saving their brother.

For some reason Kankuro changes the design of his face paint with each of his appearances to correspond with the design of his puppets

In the original Japanese, Kankuro speaks with a distinctive Yokohama accent. He can often be heard ending his sentences with "jaan." This makes him sound tough, as this accent is often used for biker gang members or punk kids (called yankii in Japanese, Yokohama supposedly has many) in manga. It is possible that he was given this accent to make him sound different from the Konoha characters' standard Tokyo Japanese.

Abilities

Kankuro is a talented puppeteer, and with each of his appearances in the major arcs is seen with a new puppet in his arsenal. His "Cat Hat" is even part of the traditional garb of a Bunraku puppeteer. The three puppets that have been introduced were all originally created by Sasori, and came into Kankuro's possession some time after the former left Sunagakure. Similarly, each puppet is destroyed by Sasori years later, and it is unknown if Kankuro will rebuild them. In Part I he carries his puppets with him, though in Part II he starts keeping them in summoning scrolls. Each of these puppets is characterized for the excessive clicking noises they make when moving.

File:New Puppets EP 7.JPG

Kankuro with Karasu, Sanshouo, and Kuroari

Karasu (烏, "Crow") - The first of Kankuro's puppets to make an appearance, Karasu resembles a three-eyed, four-armed humanoid. In Part I, Kankuro typically keeps Karasu wrapped in bandages on his back, and he is able to switch places with it at will using a technique similar to the Body Replacement Technique. Because of Kankuro's enjoyment in installing mechanisms into his puppets, Karasu is very offensive, having numerous concealed weapons and being able to detach any of its limbs for separate attacks.
Kuroari (黒蟻, "Black Ant") - The second of Kankuro's puppets to make an appearance, Kuroari has a much longer head than Karasu and sports two red devil-like horns and six arms. While it does not contain as many hidden weapons as Karasu, each of its arm segments contain a hidden saw-blade which can be used to inflict large slicing wounds to opponents. Kuroari's primary function is to trap opponents within itself while weapons enter the slots along its body to puncture the opponent.
Sanshouo (山椒魚, Sanshōuo, "Salamander") - The third of Kankuro's puppets to make an appearance, Sanshouo stays true to its name and resembles a salamander. Its abilities are unseen in the manga, but in the anime, Sanshouo is shown to have incredible defensive power. It has a frill that swings up to defend against attacks from the front, and a hollow body Kankuro and up to two other people can take cover in to defend against attacks coming from other directions.

Kankuro's puppets seem to be designed to work together to some degree, as seen with Poison Fog, Blind Spot Destroyer (Dokugiri Zuyoku, Baribari Shikaku Renpatsu) where Karasu blankets the area in a smokescreen while Kuroari fires poisoned needles at the blinded opponent. Black Secret Technique Machine One Shot (黒秘技機々一発, Kurohigi Kiki Ippatsu) also displays the puppets' abilities to work together, where Karasu navigates an opponent into Kuroari's torso. Once trapped, Karasu separates its limbs to reveal a number of concealed weapons and enters the slots on Kuroari's body to impale the opponent. Similar in purpose though only needing one puppet, Black Secret Technique Machine Two Shot (黒秘技機々二発, Kurohigi Kiki Nihatsu) calls upon four scythe-like blades to run along the sides of Kuroari's body, reaping the victim inside.

Other media

In the second Naruto movie, Kankuro helps defend Sunagakure from an onslaught of mysterious knights, utilizing Kuroari to battle the seemingly unbeatable foes. Later, in one of the wrecks of the invading ships, he fights one of Haido's henchmen, Kamina. Using Karasu to trick her into thinking it's him, he nearly kills her before she transforms into a bat-like form to escape. Kankuro fights her once again, this time with the help of Shikamaru Nara. Shikamaru sets up an elaborate trap forcing her into Kankuro's puppet Kuroari where the death blow is delivered.

Sources

First Official Data Book (秘伝・臨の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Rin no Sho Character Official Data Book)
Second Official Data Book (秘伝・闘の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book)
Jump's 2nd Great Hero Book's Mini Data Book (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
Naruto anime and manga Guidebook (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
Taken directly from the Naruto manga chapters and anime episodes.