This list will contain spoilers up to cour 3 of the TYBW anime
Summary
While the lovable cast of characters, intense fight scenes, and compelling villains are all big reasons why so many people have fallen in love withBleach, another is the epic power-ups. Tite Kubo, the author ofBleach, certainly knows how to convey when someone is absurdly strong, as they will usually get the chance to demonstrate their full power as part of one giant showcase. While it’s clear just from looking at a Soul Reaper or Arrancar that they are more than capable of holding their own in a fight, for fans to actually believe that they are a dangerous foe to take on in combat, they need to be able to demonstrate this in practice.
As a result, there have been plenty of occasions where a character is given the chance to go all out with their power, much to the delight of fans, who get to feast their eyes on an epic action scene that will stay in their minds long after they are over and done with. With that being said, these are some of the very best showcases of power inBleach, ranked according to their impact, memorability, and overall presentation.
8Ichigo uses Bankai For The First Time
Ichigo Manages To Keep Up With Byakuya
While Ichigo had managed to take down severalSoul Reapersin his mission to rescue Rukia, the one person he knew he would have no chance of facing in combat was Byakuya. In order to gain enough strength to challenge Rukia’s guardian, Ichigo somehow managed to learn his Bankai in just three days, and to say that his Bankai reveal is memorable would be selling it short, as it’s now become one of the most iconic moments in the entire series.
After awakening the true power of his Zanpakuto, Ichigo becomes lightning fast, to the point where even Byakuya has trouble keeping up with him. Seeing Ichigo clashing blades with Byakuya is truly impressive, considering how little time the protagonist had actually spent in the Soul Society by that point. However, this is also the fight where Ichigo unleashes his Hollow form for the very first time, which even manages to scare Byakuya. Ichigo has had many showcases of his power scattered throughout the series, but this early one is a real standout for many fans.
7Segunda Etapa
Ulquiorra Doesn’t Just Beat Ichigo; He Humiliates Him
ConsideringIchigo had been able to defeat Grimmjow, who was already a pretty powerful Espada, it seemed as though Ulquiorra wouldn’t be too much of a problem for him to handle. While their second fight starts off in Ichigo’s favor, the tables quickly turn once Ulquiorra starts to transform, especially when he reveals his second release, Segunda Etapa. After growing a giant pair of pitch black wings, Ulquiorra throws Ichigo around like a rag doll, tossing him through multiple buildings and completely destroying his body without the protagonist being able to react to any of his attacks.
In the end, Ulquiorra was able to create a hole in Ichigo’s body, which would have killed him for good if it were not for his inner Hollow bringing him back not long after. The idea of a second release for the Arrancar had never even been mentioned up to this point, so it resulted in a shocking moment where Ulquiorra was able to demonstrate to the audience why he deserves to be so feared by his sworn enemies.
6Kenpachi Destroys Gremmy’s Imagination
There Was Nothing Gremmy Could Imagine That Could Harm Kenpachi
As someone who is able to turn anything he can imagine into reality, Gremmy is one ofthe strongest Quincy in all ofBleach, and for a while, it seemed as though virtually nobody would be capable of taking him on. However, Gremmy made the fatal mistake of facing off against Zaaki Kenpachi, who had only recently finished his brutal fight with Unohana. It’s honestly staggering just how much punishment Kenpachi takes in this fight while still being able to dish out damage, and it’s a testament to his overwhelming strength as a captain.
When Gremmy tries to lock Kenpachi in a pocket of space, for example, the captain is able to easily break out in barely any time at all just through his own brute strength, but by far his biggest feat in this battle is slicing apart a meteor. Up to this point, it had been well established that Zaraki was on a whole other level to his comrades when it came to raw power, but slicing and dicing a literal meteorite was undoubtedly his biggest demonstration of power in the series, and one that took all fans by surprise when they first saw it.
5Kyoraku’s Bankai
It’s no surprise that readers of theBleachmanga were immensely excited to see Kyoraku’s Bankai revealed in the anime, considering this is one of the most dazzling and grandiose power-ups in the entire series. During his fight with Lille Barro, Kyoraku decided that he would need to start getting a little creative if he wanted to outmaneuver the deadly marksman, prompting him to reveal his traditional play-themedBankai technique.
With eerie music playing in the background and the entire environment turning a deep yellow, Kyoraku turns the area into his own little playground, allowing him to decimate Lille Barro from the inside out. Not only does he inflict a plague on Lille’s body, he also drowns him in an infinite pool of water, before slicing him in two with one final slash, ending the grand performance with a climactic lethal swing.
4The Almighty
The Quincy King Can See Everything That Can, And Will Happen
Considering Yhwach is the leader of an entire army of Quincy, it makes sense that he would be strong enough to be seen as a true leader, but his ultimate ability wouldn’t be revealed until near the end of the Thousand Year Blood War. During his fight with arch nemesis Ichibe, Yhwach watch reveals his Shrift, The Almighty, an ability which allows him to peer into the future and even change it so that he can avoid being in any kind of danger.
As a way to show this off, he easily evades all of Ichibe’s attacks without even moving a muscle. It’s important to keep in mind that Ichibe is the head ofSquad Zero, the most powerful squad in the Soul Society, so to see Yhwach humiliating him was a great way to emphasize that Yhwach had truly reached otherworldly levels of power. Many fans call this the most broken ability in all ofBleach,and it’s certainly not hard to see why, considering its introduction makes the user look like a literal god.
3Mugestu
Ichigo Uses All Of His Soul Reaper Powers To Take On One Final Form
Once Aizen had begun awakening the Hogyoku, it felt as though there was nobody left who could stop him, especially since he was only moments away from consuming the souls of everyone in Karakura Town. Thankfully though, after some quick training with his father, Ichigo was able to muster up the courage and strength to stand his ground against Aizen one final time, and while he put up an admirable fight, the true extent of his newfound power comes near the very end of the battle when he reveals the Final Getsuga Tensho.
As Ichigo explains, this form can only be accessed by using up every last bit of his Soul Reaper powers, meaning that activating it will turn him into a regular human once it’s finished. Despite being a massive price to pay, the ability itself is absolutely earth-shattering, as Ichigo creates a giant wave of dark Reiatsu which takes down a hyper-powered Aizen in the blink of an eye. It makes sense that, as the protagonist, Ichigo would only become stronger over time, but he honestly felt pretty overpowered at this point in the story, which is completely understandable considering the person he’s up against.
2Aizen Takes Down Everyone
Using His Zanpakuto’s Hypnosis, Aizen Dismantles The Gotei 13 Without Breaking A Sweat
Kyoka Suigetsu, the Zanpakuto owned by Aizen, possesses the ability to hypnotize anyone who lays their eyes on it, and to demonstrate this technique in practice, Aizen decides to use it against the entire Gotei 13 andthe Vizards. After tricking his enemies into believing that they had stabbed him, only for Aizen to reveal that they had actually stabbed Momo due to their hypnosis, every captain and lieutenant threw themselves at Aizen in a rage, only to be cut down one by one, all while a defenseless Ichigo watches on in horror.
As each character slowly falls out of the sky with blood spilling through the air, Aizen lets out a sinister monologue where he asks the Soul Reapers whether they are even aware that they were under his hypnosis in the first place. Taking on even a single captain is no easy task, but eliminating the entire Gotei 13, alongside a few of the Vizards, without picking up a single scratch, is the moment where fans truly get to understand why Aizen is regarded as such an incredible threat by those who are aware of his true abilities.
1Yamamoto Reveals His Bankai
Yamamoto Scorches The Soul Society To Take Down Yhwach Bach
As the head captain of the Gotei 13, fans were well aware that Yamamoto was a Soul Reaper who had reached his status due to his underlying strength, but it’s hard to fathom just how ridiculously powerful this guy truly is when he decides to go all out, as he did against Yhwach. When Yamamoto initially activates his Bankai, he absorbs all the heat in the surrounding area into the tip of his sword, which allows him totear apart entire landscapes of the Soul Society with a single touch.
It doesn’t stop there, though, as there are then three more stages of Yamamoto’s Bankai, which are all just as devastating. Not only does he bring back Yhwach’s dead comrades to attack him, but Yamamoto also becomes a ball of magma who can’t even stand up without burning the floor beneath him. When paired with the jaw-dropping animation in the Thousand Year Blood War anime, this is undoubtedly the most eye-catching and memorable showcase of power in the series, and the perfect example of just how outlandishBleachcan truly get with its power-ups.
