Summary
GivenBleach’s trappings as a shonen show, it’s easy to see why the power displayed in this series is off the charts sometimes. The show is all about people flexing their skills as they wield the weapon of their choice andlay waste to their enemies in the most brutal manner possible. Sometimes, these foes can be so powerful that it takes a Herculean feat of strength to take them out! As a result, many characters in this show have reached immense heights of strength and power, using the suite of skills at their behest to take out monstrous foes with ease.
While the power scaling may not make sense in some battles, there’s no denying that some of thestrongestBleachcharacterswield their abilities like an extension of their own self. These confrontations are a huge part of what makesBleachsuch a captivating series despite its many missteps, with its satisfying battles showcasing a wealth of creative abilities from characters who are more than willing to bring out the big guns when the situation calls for it.
Updated Jul 08, 2025 by Rhenn Taguiam:As Part 4 of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc adaptation has made its announcement, fans of Bleach anticipate quite the exciting showdown between Ichigo and Yhwach to determine the fate of the world - a seemingly impossible thing to do, considering Ichigo is a mere human while Yhwach is literally the son of god. Thankfully, Ichigo’s genetic history has just transformed him into the perfect being to fight such a threat, and humanity is fortunate to have him by its side.
Interestingly enough, fans who are still skeptical of Ichigo’s strength might want to look into the many people he’s encountered in the series, a lot of them positioning themselves as the strongest of their kind. Chief among these is one of the first Substitute Shinigamis, an anthropomorphic wolf, a Fullbring with the ability to control the past, and one of Ichigo’s closest friends.
25Kugo Ginjo
Fullbring: Cross Of Scaffold
When Ichigo loses his Shinigami and Hollow powers after his battle with Aizen, he gets a chance encounter withKugo Ginjo, an encounter that is anythingbutcoincidental. Soon, Ginjo introduces him to Xcution, a group of Fullbringers who initially told Ichigo they would “trade” their powers to give Ichigo his powers back in exchange for their humanity. In truth, Ginjo wanted to exact vengeance on Soul Society, and he wants to “absorb”Ichigo’s powersto do so.
As a Fullbring, Ginjo obtained spiritual powers after his parents were attacked by a Hollow before his birth. This resulted in overall improved abilities, especially Reiatsu and spiritual awareness to contend with both Shinigami and Hollow alike. When activating his Fullbring, the Cross of Scaffold can create projectile attacks. And when he fuses his Substitute Shinigami badge to it, Ginjo can absorb the Fullbrings of others and incorporate them into his abilities. This allowed Ginjo to use Getsuga Tensho upon absorbing Ichigo’s Fullbring and can even unlock a Bankai form similar to Ichigo’s with a more Hollow-focused variant of Getsuga Tensho. Unfortunately, Ginjo isn’t as dominating a threat due to his abilities working best with Fullbringers to absorb powers from.
24Sajin Komamura
Unique Ability: Humanization Technique
At first glance,Sajin Komamurais often mistaken for a harmless anthropomorphic wolf - something he tends to be self-conscious about. And while he often hides his appearance behind armor, beneath it is a loyal and serious Shinigami Captain whose prowess should not be questioned. As a Captain,Komamura is no slouch in combat: he performs well unarmed just as much as he could with a sword - something that, when combined with his immense physical properties, makes him a pretty formidable adversary.
Komamura is also among the few Captains whose Zanpakuto viewers were able to see regularly - his Zanpakuto Tenken can create gigantic phantom copies of whatever Komamura moves, making him capable of devastating entire battlefields. And when activating his Bankai (Kokujo Tengen Myo’o), Komamura unleashes a gigantic living armor that fights alongside him. However, perhaps the greatest of Komamura’s techniques is his Humanization Technique - one where, upon the removal of his own heart, he transforms his body into a mere “shell.” Through this, Komamura becomes human in form but can never truly “die” - all injuries quickly regenerate. Through Dangai Joe, the Bankai will use the totality of Komamura’s life force - which in the end reduces him to a normal wolf.
23Shukuro Tsukishima
Fullbring: Book Of The End
Whenever Tite Kubo introduces a character with a stern look and a calm composure likeShukuro Tsukishima, fans ofBleachdesigns just know he’s a horrifying threat. And true to his design “siblings” Ulquiorra, Uryu, and even Byakuya, Shukuro Tsukishima is an Xcution member with a lonely past and a terrifying gift. Althoughmore amoral and sociopathic than other villains, Tsukishima is extremely loyal to Ginjo- a trait that is perhaps the only saving grace the Xcution leader had that would stop Tsukishima from relishing in torturing him.
This is because aside from immense physical prowess and spiritual energy, Tsukishima’s ace in the hole is his Fullbring: Book of the End. Manifesting through his bookmark, Tsukishima can turn his Fullbring into a sword that cuts through “anything” - and not simply for damage, but rather to “insert” Tsukishima into the victim’s past as someone close to them. Not only will Tsukishima gain knowledge of his victim’s past, but even their abilities. It’s for this reason that Byakuya, genius that he is, couldn’t keep up with Tsukishima as the latter had full knowledge of all of his techniques. It’s only when Byakuya improvised that he managed to land a killing blow on Tsukishima at the risk of his own safety.
22Rukia Kuchiki
Bankai: Hakka No Togame
It’s thanks toRukia Kuchikithat Ichigo got a shot at being a Substitute Shinigami, asan initial mission to protect Ichigo from a Hollowhad gone wrong - prompting her to lend her powers to him. And while Rukia becomes a damsel in distress before Aizen reveals his defection from Soul Society, Rukia becomes a force to reckon with through the rest of the series. Similar to her spellcasting older brother, Rukia is also a Kido specialist, on top of being a skilled swordfighter - with her intellect helping her survive insurmountable odds. Although Rukia is not the prodigious fighter her brother Byakuya was positioned to be, she’s not someone to trifle with.
When Rukia activates her Sode no Shirayuki, her Zanpakuto - hailed as the most beautiful in Soul Society - transforms into a blade that can control ice. Compared to the more aggressive Hyorinmaru, Sode no Shirayuki’s techniques are locked within “dances” with different effects. Rukia’s most potent ability is her Bankai: Hakka no Togame, which envelops her in a dress of pure ice and can freeze anything in her path to absolute zero - rendering them completely and utterly immobile. Due to unlocking her Bankai so late in the story, not much is known about the fullest extent of its abilities. However, considering that Hyorinmaru is considered the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto in existence, it’s reasonable to assume that Sode no Shirayuki is perhaps just a few levels beneath it.
21Hachigen Ushoda
Kido: Time-Space Barriers
Despite his size and rather kind nature,Hachigen Ushodais no pushover among the Visored. Being among the masked,Hachigen is a Shinigami with access to a Hollow Mask- practically implying that not only is he a skilled swordsman, but also capable enough to contain a Hollow’s uncontrollable power and use it to enhance his combat prowess.
However, unlike other Visored who were often within the Gotei 13, Hachigen was the lieutenant of the Kido Corps - Soul Society’s masters of the mystic arts. Hachigen specializes in Bakudo or prohibition spells, often creating barriers to stop foes in their tracks. However, Hachigen especially excels in two areas. First, his Time-Space Barriers can “regress” damage through his barriers, effectively healing others. Second, he has so much knowledge about Kido that he can practically create his hybrid spells to solve situations on the fly.
20Isshin Kurosaki
Zanpakuto: Engetsu
At a glance, Ichigo’s father doesn’t seem that strong by any stretch of the imagination. He’s a goofball who is barely present during some of the major battles in the series, but that doesn’t mean this jovial character doesn’t boast a ton of power. When push comes to shove,Isshinshows everyone why he was once a captain in Soul Society. At least, he was before being thrown out for his forbidden relationship with a Quincy.
There are many times when he displays a ton of power using his Shikai alone, and fans can only hope that his Bankai is revealed during the Thousand-Year Blood War. The fact that he taught Ichigo everything he needed to completely obliterate Aizen and seal the antagonist for good shows that there’s a lot more to Isshin Kurosaki’s character and power that simply isn’t shown on-screen.
19Uryu Ishida
Spirit Weapon: Heilig Bogen
Uryu Ishidais a captivating character, with his background as a Quincy putting him at odds against Ichigo when they first meet. When the final arc kicks off, it seems like Ishida has betrayed his friends and joined the invading Quincy, but it doesn’t take long for fans to find out that he was always going to go back to Ichigo’s side after a time.
His powers are pretty impressive, even if they don’t leave too much of an impact, given the monstrous power displayed by other characters in the series. Still, the way he uses his brains to turn the tide of battle is pretty impressive, and the fact that he managed to hold his own against the fearsome Jugram Haschwalt shows that he’s no pushover.
18Askin Nakk Le Vaar
Vollstandig: Hasshein
One of the members of the Wandereich is deceptively strong.Askin Nakk Le Vaar,is one of the members of the Schutzstaffel, making it clear just how highly Yhwach rates him. The chilling manner in which he uses poison to incapacitate his enemies makes him a pretty cruel and calculating character. He loves dishing out all manner of death when the thirst for battle gets to him.
The fact that his Vollstandig hasn’t even fully manifested in the series yet makes it clear that the reveal of his powers is reserved for upcoming fights, which are bound to be quite bombastic. Fans can’t wait to see his powers and how the Shinigami take him down, if they’re even capable of doing so.
17Gremmy Thoumeaux
The Visionary
Nothing justifies the filthy manner in which a Sternritter as powerful asGremmywas done away with. Sure, this foe served as an excuse for Kenpachi to show his true powers, but some people would argue that this excuse doesn’t justify how poorly Gremmy utilized his power, especially since he could make his wildest imaginations come to life.
Truth be told, Gremmy’s powers are poorly explained, leading many people to speculate that maybe he wasn’t all that powerful as the series built him up to be. His imagination should’ve been boundless, yet he fell at the hands of Kenpachi, who completely obliterated him in the most disrespectful manner possible. Some people argue that he could be more powerful than the Schutzstaffel, which is no mean feat.
16Toshiro Hitsugaya
Bankai: Daiguren Hyorinmaru
The fact thatHitsugayahas to rely heavily on his Bankai all the time to make up for his gap in strength compared to the rest of the Gotei 13 might make most people think that he’s one of the weakest Shinigami in the series. However, there’s a reason why this child prodigy impressed his peers so much that he ended up becoming a Captain at such a young age.
The true extent of his power can be seen during the fight against Gerard Valkyrie, where Hitsugaya reveals just how much work and effort he put into perfecting his Bankai. To use the full extent of Daiguren Hyorinmaru’s potential, he temporarily becomes an adult to harness this power, freezing his foe in a display of pure strength that shows just how much potential he harbors despite his overreliance on his Bankai.
