Fukurou

Seiyū: Kumiko Watanabe

Key: 4

800 Douriki

Fukurou (フクロウ, Fukurou) is a round, oddly-shaped man with a zipper across his mouth, which he must unzip if he needs to speak. Despite having the ability to "zip it", his biggest personality quirk is having a big mouth (both figuratively and literally); he also has the strange habit of saying "chapapa" after almost every sentence. He often blurts things out inconsiderately; in the mission they had before the Straw Hat Pirates invaded Enies Lobby, he announced his team's presence to the town and they were forced to kill 23 people instead of only the three they were supposed to. As the Straw Hat crew's assault on Enies Lobby began, Fukurou tactlessly mentions how weak Spandam is and Jyabura being dumped. Strangely, he calls himself "Fukurou the Silent", and not as strangely adds: "Lover of Rumors". Fukurou's special te-awase (手合わせ, contest) ability allows him to measure the douriki (道力, power level) of his fellow teammates. Being honest, he is the one who ranks CP9 by power.

Fukurou claims he is a master of the soru technique, and is the first CP9 member to have used any variations of the move. With his soru he can move so fast that he is unable to be seen. He says that in this way he is like an owl, unseen and unheard by its prey until it is too late. Coincidentally, fukurou (梟) is the Japanese word for owl, and this is likely where his name comes from. Another possible influence on his name is the word fukuro (袋, bag or sack), as with the zipper on his mouth and his round body he somewhat resembles a bag.

Fukurou's fighting style revolves mostly around a refined punch (the jugon technique), and his strange body frame seems to require him to perform some of the rokushiki slightly different than the other CP9 members do.

In the Enies Lobby battle, Franky ran into Fukurou and fought him. In a tumultuous fight between the two, Franky defeated Fukurou with his powerful Coup De Vent.

Trivia

 * In the Volume 44 SBS, it was revealed that Fukurou had gotten a black belt in an unnamed martial art at an early age. He has also had the zipper across his mouth ever since he was young.
 * In the anime, Fukurou was given a female seiyuu, giving him a voice like a young child. Although this voice doesn't seem to match his appearance, it does somewhat fit his personality, as he often comes across as very playful and innocent.
 * He has an owl theme, due to his name meaning "owl" and how he compares his fighting style to it.
 * Fukurou ranked at 26th in the most recent popularity contest with 202 votes.