Female Karaki

Zaraki is a very tall, muscular Shinigami with a wild and aggressive appearance. She has a long face with high cheekbones, enlarged canine teeth, and pronounced, hairless brow ridges. She has green eyes and stringy black hair reaching past her shoulders. A noticeable trait in her appearance is a long, thin scar running down the left side of her face and across her left eye, inflicted on her by Retsu Unohana while she was still a child.

Although she is known to be a violent woman who fights for her own interest, Zaraki's actions tend to be for the best. Zaraki lives for battle and enjoys a good fight more than anything. She even holds back in an effort to make any fight last longer. She claims injury and death are nothing but the price one pays for a good fight. Despite her tendency to be brutal, Zaraki usually stops a fight if her opponent is too injured to fight back, not interested in fighting "weaklings who can't fight anymore," and she does not feel obligated to deal a death blow to anyone who cannot fight any longer. However, she will unhesitatingly kill her opponent if they refuse to stop fighting, such as during her battles with Kaname Tōsen and Nnoitra Gilga. She also takes her title as Kenpachi seriously, telling Gremmy Thoumeaux that there is nothing the latter can create that she cannot cut because the power her title implies is not to be taken lightly.

Zaraki strongly believes fun comes before working. One example is when Zaraki sends her 5th seated officer, Yumichika, to fend off the Bount in Karakura Town, as she is the only high-ranking officer who is not busy, or rather, busy having fun, as Yachiru was snacking and Ikkaku was napping. During her free time, Zaraki always takes her afternoon nap. She does not have a particularly favorite dish but particularly hates nattō.

Zaraki regularly shows great respect to those who can push her limits or even defeat her. Ever since Ichigo Kurosaki handed her her first known loss since against Retsu Unohana, Zaraki has considered Ichigo a member of her Division. Despite Ichigo's refusal to engage in a rematch with Zaraki as he considers her an ally, Zaraki constantly expresses her desire for it every time they meet. She also aided Ichigo in his fight against the Bount, doing so as it would make Ichigo stronger for "their anticipated fight." Zaraki also holds great respect for Unohana, the only person she ever admired, as she was the first person to make her experience the thrill of battle, readily acknowledging they are very much alike, and is brought to tears at the thought of being unable to beat her before she dies. Upon inadvertently killing Unohana, Zaraki was reduced to screaming and begging for her to not die.

Zaraki sometimes contradicts her own logic in fighting. While wishing to grow stronger, she uses various methods to restrain her might to make the fight longer and tougher, including fighting with only one hand. Although she thrives for battle, Zaraki is capable of showing complex emotions. Zaraki and her lieutenant, Yachiru, have been close ever since they met and have a father-daughter-like relationship, making Yachiru one of the few people she cares for. However, she has stated if her subordinates interfere in her fights, she will "cut them up first." Aside from Yachiru, Zaraki deeply gives meaning to her name. Following her fight with Ichigo, Zaraki talks about the pain of not having a name, as she lived her early years without one. This causes her to feel guilty her sword is not acknowledged by its own name. Since then, she has strived to learn its identity.

After killing Unohana and knowing she could never cross blades with her admired foe again, Zaraki for the first time in her life felt remorse in her actions. This experience, combined with finally learning the name of her Zanpakutō, made Zaraki become somewhat calmer and more focused. Though she retains her desire to battle and is not overly interested in the details, she is more willing to listen to reason, having backed down from searching for her missing lieutenant on her own when Nanao Ise explained it would be more practical to have her division conduct the search. Likewise, she shows far more concern for Yachiru than previously; when she discovers Yachiru is missing, Zaraki frantically orders her men to begin looking for her.