This list contains spoilers.
A Bankai technique in Bleach is a Soul Reaper's final ace in the hole; a devastating ability that they will only unleash when they feel there's no other way to take down their opponent. While every captain in the Gotei 13 captain possesses a Bankai, these abilities can take on a myriad of different forms, so while some are very straightforward and easy to understand, there are others which come with so many finer details and technicalities that it can take a little longer for fans to fully wrap their heads around how they actually work.
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This, however, can be a huge advantage for the user, considering it makes it extremely difficult for their opponents to know how to go about countering them. Sure, dodging out of the way of a deadly projectile or hard-hitting attack might be easy enough, but when a Bankai is already difficult enough for the user to get a grasp of, it leaves their enemy with little to no hope of understanding it themselves. This especially applies to these Bleach Bankai techniques listed below, which are among the most complex in the entire series.
Senbonzakura Kageyoshi
Ichigo Was Bewildered By Byakuya's Stunning But Deadly Technique
- User: Byakuya Kuchiki
When Ichigo breaks into the Soul Society in an attempt to save Rukia from her imminent execution, it quickly becomes clear that the final obstacle he will need to overcome is her big brother, Byakuya. Despite earning his own Bankai in no more than three days, Ichigo still had an incredibly difficult time dealing with the serious and stoic captain, and it's all because of his Bankai, Senbonzakua Kageyoshi.
The ability may seem pretty easy on the surface, as it essentially fires a swarm of razor-sharp petals towards the enemy to slice them apart in mere seconds. That being said though, what makes it so complex is the smaller details that the user, and their enemy, need to know about. For example, in the Fullbring arc, Tsukushima explains that the user will always have a small Safe Zone around them to keep them protected, but this can be exposed if their target gets too close for comfort. The visual aesthetic of the technique itself, with the swords rising up from each end of the arena and petal blossoms falling from the sky, also don't give very much away for the opponent to make use of, which makes the ability hard to counter, and is ultimately why Ichigo struggled so much at dealing with it.
Ryumon Hozukimaru
A Slumbering Dragon That Doesn't Activate Straight After Calling Out Its Name
- User: Ikkaku Madarame
Most Bankai abilities will be ready to go the moment that the Soul Reaper screams out the command, but Ikkaku's works a little differently. In the Arrancar arc, Ikakku explained that, after unleashing his Bankai, he is then forced to wait a little while until the slumbering dragon decides to finally wake up after receiving a few hits, and though the power he will receive at the end of this process is overwhelming, this is still a pretty hefty drawback which the user always needs to take into account.
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This can actually make this technique a little complicated to understand at first. For example, the user will need to learn how long they will have to wait on average before they can attack, and also what methods they can use to fend off the enemy while they're still powering up. Unfortunately, Ikkaku has only been able to show his Bankai a single time in the series, but that's probably for the best, considering most of the Sternritte would easily take him out while his ability is still charging.
Soo Zabimaru
It's Hard To Keep Track Of Renji's Arsenal Of Deadly Abilities
- User: Renji Abarai
This is specifically referring to Renji's true Bankai, which he obtained after his extensive training with Squad 0. In the early arcs of the story, Renji's Bankai would essentially turn his sword, Zabimaru, into a giant ferocious whip, but in the Thousand Year Blood War, anime he showed off a staggering number of brand-new techniques which honestly make the ability a little hard to keep track of. In his fight with Uryu, not only was Renji able to actually swing around Zabimaru until it caught fire, he was also capable of using a skeletal palm to block attacks, and could even fire out fur projectiles which would come to life and attack the enemy.
Needless to say, this can be a challenging Bankai for the user to fully master, considering how much there is to learn. Rather than specializing in one particular area, this Bankai technique is great for both offensive and defensive purposes, and considering Renji needed to train with the legendary Squad Zero to even acquire it in the first place, it's one that can only be controlled by someone who takes the time to acknowledge how it fully works.
Kamishini No Yari
Gin's Bankai Is So Fast, It's Difficult To Comprehend
- User: Gin Ichimaru
Gin, the former captain of Squad 3, isn't exactly all that keen about showing off his Bankai, considering he only uses it a single time in the entire story. When the devious antagonist does decide to let it rip, Ichigo can barely even comprehend how it works, and it's because it is by far the fastest Bankai in existence. The way it works is, after calling out the name of his sword, Gin's blade can extend as far as the eye can see, and will easily cut apart any buildings or people who get in its way.
However, the traitorous captain also states that the speed of the blade when it extends is 500 times the speed of sound, and though it's hard to tell when Gin is telling the truth, this is such an outlandish statement that it can be difficult to know how to even make sense of it. While it's already hard enough for the enemy to figure out a reliable way to defend themselves against the attack, Gin himself would also have to put in a lot of work to use it safely, since the amount of collateral damage it can cause in a single second is truly unbelievable.
Katen Kyokotsu: Karamatsu Shinju
Kyoraku Leads A Stage Play Which Slowly Leads To His Target's Demise
- User: Shunsui Kyoraku
It's not uncommon to hear Bleach fans call Kyoraku's Bankai their favorite in the series, and it's easy to see why considering how eye-catching and epic it is, especially in the anime. The truth is though, because this is a multi-stage Bankai, it's pretty hard to pick up exactly how it works after seeing it for the first time. In a basic sense, the ability allows Kyoraku to turn the world into his own stage play, where he will then take the enemy through four different acts that will slowly break down their body.
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One moment, he will be inflicting a deadly plague onto his target which will appear like giant black spots on their body, while the next, he will be plunging them underwater where all they can do is desperately try and reach the surface to survive. Just like the man who uses it, there's a lot more to this Bankai than initially meets the eye, and while it may be difficult for the user to get a grasp on it, it's still well worth it considering how easily it enables Kyoraku to take down his opponents.
Zanka No Tachi
The Head Captain Drags His Enemies Through Four Stages Of Hell
- User: Yamamoto Genryusai
While it would be expected that the head captain of the Gotei 13 would possess a powerful Bankai, nobody could have expected just how over the top Yamamoto's final ability would truly be. Similar to Kyoraku, this is another technique which cycles through multiple stages, making it pretty much impossible for Yamamoto's unfortunate enemies to know what to expect next. Initially, Yamamoto fills the top of his blade with a surging fiery energy that can rip apart entire landscapes with a single touch.
This is only the tip of the iceberg though, as he is then able to not only turn his whole body into a fiery tornado, but can also resurrect the dead to surround his enemies and take them down, just in case they were ever looking for a moment to catch their breath. Considering how old Yamamoto is, he's had more than enough time to figure out all the complexities that come along with this deadly Bankai, but anyone else would probably be stumped at how exactly it works, considering everything that there is to know.
Shatatsu Karagara Shigarami No Tsuji
Senjumaru Uses Her Weaving Skills To Spell Out The Enemy's Fate
- User: Senjumaru Shutara
Fans of the Bleach manga were eager to see if Squad 0 would get any extra scenes for the anime, considering they were taken out of the story fairly soon after being introduced in the original source material. Not only was their fight with Yhwach and the Sternritter extended, but Squad 0, specifically Senjumaru, was even able to reveal their Bankai, and though it was a real feast for the eyes to see in action, many fans are still left scratching their heads as to how exactly it operates.
Because Senjumaru is able to weave pretty much anything she can imagine, the Bankai essentially enables her to spell out her target's fate through showing it to them visually, which they are then unable to escape from. For example, Lille Barro was faced with a room of mirrors that would reflect each of his shots, making it pretty much impossible for him to escape. However, because Senjumaru decides to stay tight-lipped about how it works, and with most other characters being completely unaware of the ability itself, it fueled a lot of speculation and discussions to try and deduce what is actually going on here. There's a high chance that there are still several key details about this Bankai which Kubo will be willing to reveal later down the line, but even though it's a pretty complex one, it's still an ability every Soul Reaper would want to get their hands on, considering how devastating it is.
- Release Date
- 2004 - 2012-00-00
- Network
- TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC, BS TV Tokyo
- Showrunner
- Tite Kubo
- Directors
- Mitsutaka Noshitani, Junya Koshida, Hodaka Kuramoto, Yasuto Nishikata, Hiroaki Nishimura, Kazunori Mizuno, Akira Shimizu, Rokou Ogiwara, Kazunobu Shimizu, Akane Inoue, Hikaru Murata, Tomoko Hiramuki, Kazuo Nogami, Taiji Kawanishi, Shigeki Hatakeyama, Eiko Nishi, Takushi Kimura, Koji Aritomi, Ogura Shirakawa, Kiyomu Fukuda, Yukio Okazaki, Mitsue Yamazaki, Yasuhiro Matsumura, Eitarou Ano
- Writers
- Masahiro Okubo, Masashi Sogo, Kenta Shimoyama, Genki Yoshimura, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, Rika Nakase, Michiko Yokote, Natsuko Takahashi, Kento Shimoyama
Cast
-
Masakazu MoritaIchigo Kurosaki (voice) -
Fumiko OrikasaRukia Kuchiki
