Kuwabara's the second-strongest fighter at Sarayashiki Junior High—at least, he's always trying to prove it. Yusuke's got the top spot, which drives him crazy. He runs a small crew with Kirishima, Okubo, and Sawamura, and despite his tough-guy reputation, he's got a real soft heart for kittens, including his own cat Eikichi. Honor means everything to him.
He developed a quick crush on Botan early on, but his real feelings went to Yukina, the ice apparition—not that he knows she's Hiei's sister. That detail definitely complicates things.
His older sister Shizuru's his only real family presence in the story; she and Yukina are the only ones who use his actual given name, Kazuma. His parents barely factor in until late in the manga, when his dad shows up to mention that Yukina will be living with them. By that point, Kuwabara's relationship with Yusuke has completely flipped from bitter rivals to best friends, even though they never stop bickering. He gets along fine with Kurama, but Hiei? They constantly claim to hate each other, even though they're probably closer than they admit.
What sets Kuwabara apart is his sensitivity to reiki—spirit energy. He and his gang just call it "the Tickle," and it's weirdly useful: he can sense ghosts and demons, see spirits, even predict what people are thinking. His signature move is the Rei Ken, a blade made of pure spirit energy. At first he needed a wooden base to create it, but after about a month of practice he could form it from nothing. Eventually he figured out how to make it extend and shrink, and even dual-wield two blades at once.
He can be reckless and impulsive compared to the others, but his loyalty is absolute. He'd risk everything for his friends or for love, and he's genuinely the nicest of the four fighters, even if he hides it under a tough exterior. In a fight, he'll actually get clever when it counts.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
