We all know that Bleach has some of the strongest and most overpowered characters in a Shounen manga. And by the end of the manga, we got to know the power levels of Captains and other enemies after their Bankai reveals.
All of the characters in this list are powerful enough in a one-on-one fight and can hold onto their own against some powerful foes. Without further ado, let us take a look at the top 20 Bleach strongest characters at the end of the manga.
Note: Here we are not taking the Bleach light novel characters.
Table of Contents
Bleach Strongest Characters
20) Rukia Kuchiki
Rukia Kuchiki revealed her true fighting skills and her power almost at the end of the series. Her Zanpakuto is also another ice-based type, albeit a bit different from Toshiro’s.
Her Bankai has a fearsome ability that freezes her and anything in her range of attack to absolute zero temperature. Even if the opponent moves by a small fraction, they will freeze and shatter from the ice effect.
Rukia has one of the most beautiful Bankai reveals, which was also strong enough to defeat As Nodt. Her Bankai is extremely powerful and can kill opponents with just a slight mistake.
The reason for her taking the last position in Bleach’s strongest characters list is due to her control of her Bankai. She still needs to learn and control her powers effectively to secure an easy win in battles.
19) Renji Abarai
Renji, for most of the series, was not fighting with his full strength and the Bankai we know was not his True Bankai. After learning how to unleash the full potential of his Zanpakuto, he became unstoppable and fended many Sternritters on his own.
His Bankai, at full power, can reduce his opponents to ashes and crush their bones with ease. He gains both offense and defense in his Bankai state, which lets him keep up the attack relentlessly.
Renji’s power increases exponentially when he is on the battlefield, and this is one of his most powerful attributes. His power and his will make him a formidable foe in battle and place him in this Bleach strongest characters list.
18) Mayuri Kurotsuchi
The always-evolving scientist, who has a trick up his sleeve for fighting against any opponent, is also a formidable foe in battle. He comes up with various strategies and plans to win fights and has one of the unique Bankai.
Kurotsuchi’s Bankai strength comes from his always-evolving nature; his Bankai adapts to opponents. It tunes its power depending on the opponent type and devises the most effective counter.
His crafty nature, as well as his all-purpose Bankai, keeps him in the position of the top 20 Bleach strongest characters.
17) Shinji Hirako
The captain of the 5th division, Shinji Hirako, had been honing his abilities for almost a century after the incident with Aizen. He is the perfect character with brains and the strength needed to accomplish his strategies.
Shinji has a powerful Shikai, which will confuse most of his opponents in terms of just devising a counter to his ability. He is very unpredictable with his Shikai and is a strong person to be messed with.
His Bankai was too powerful and would harm any bystanders or allies, and it was banned from using in the presence of allies by Yamamoto. This fact easily earns him a place in Bleach’s strongest characters due to his experience and abilities.
16) Toshiro Hitsugaya
Another Captain who grew stronger after unleashing his True Bankai, Toshiro, can flash freeze any matter with his power in 4 seconds. He froze the huge Gerard Valkyrie in an instant, giving him no time to attack or counter.
Toshiro reached full maturity when he unleashed his True Bankai and reached his peak strength to freeze Gerard. We can easily surmise that Toshiro has one of the strongest ice-based Zanpakuto in Soul Society.
Freezing everything in its vicinity, he successfully managed to trap the Sternritter and shattered his sword into pieces.
15) Byakuya Kuchiki
One of the strongest captains, and head of a famed clan, Byakuya knows how to fare well in a battle and when to retreat. His Shikai and Bankai have the ability for both offense and defense.
Byakuya further grew powerful after learning his True Bankai and unleashed thousands of swords upon Gerard Valkyrie. His abilities are well-recognized by his peers and his subordinates.
Byakuya further managed to defeat many of the Sternritters, only falling short of Gerard Valkyrie’s miracle power.
14) Gremmy Thoumeaux
Gremmy has a fearful ability, which lets him not even use his hands in battle, and he can finish a battle with his imagination and words alone.
His ability lets him make anything he thinks a reality, no matter how far-fetched it is. So as long as he imagines he is invincible, he is. Gremmy put up a great fight with Zaraki and could have defeated the latter if not for his ability to backfire on him.
Even the other Sternritters realize the extent of his powers and try to stay away from him in battle. He managed to create clones, heal himself and rain down meteorites with his power.
13) Jugram Haschwalth
A powerful foe in battle, Jugram easily broke Ichigo’s Bankai without a hitch when Yhwach first invaded Soul Society. This is not an easy feat to achieve, but Haschwalth does this with ease and shatters Ichigo’s spirit.
He has a fearsome ability, which negates any luck to his opponents, making it a fair battle of strength. Haschwalth could have almost defeated Ishida if not for his Antithesis ability.
He is a powerful man picked by Yhwach himself for his abilities and the power to lead the army when Yhwach is not present.
12) Kisuke Urahara
One of the five special war powers listed, put up by Yhwach, was the reason for trapping Aizen when Ichigo could not defeat Aizen even in his Final Getsuga Tensho form.
Kisuke can even revive from near death with his Bankai’s ability, and he can reconstruct anything in its vicinity. Along with healing himself, it reflects Kisuke’s damage to enemies inside a range.
He is more feared for his wits and how he considers every possibility to win a battle, possessing the strength to back it in battle.
11) Askin Nakk Le Vaar
Another one of the undefeated Sternritter, it took the combined effect of Urahara and Grimmjow to defeat him, and even that effort went in vain.
Askin can analyze any damage done to him, based on the Reiatsu, and become invincible to the next attack. He can also generate a large amount of poison over an area and remain undefeated even with Urahara’s wits.
He would have easily defeated Urahara in a one-on-one battle with his powers and his analyzing abilities.
10) Uryu Ishida
Uryu Ishida has a great fighting sense, and he fought on par with Haschwalt, who was picked by Yhwach as his right-hand man. Ishida gained even more power after gaining the Antithesis from Yhwach.
With this ability, he can reverse any damage made to him and reflect it on his enemy. This makes it a very fearful ability in battle, and Ishida used this effectively to defeat Haschwalth in their battle.
9) Lille Barro
One of the most powerful Sternritters from Yhwach’s army, his X-Axis ability and his fighting sense gave him a hard fight against Shunsui. Lille very effectively adapted to Shunsui’s fighting style of games and managed to land a few hits on the latter.
Lille Barro received even more power, as Shunsui was not able to kill him even after using his most powerful Bankai. Shunsui was at the end of his wit and needed to take help from his lieutenant Nao to finish him off.
He would have remained undefeated if not for Nao’s interruption in their battle. Regardless he might have been killed off by Shunsui if he had given in to Zanpakuto’s power.
8) Shunsui Kyoraku
The Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 after Yamamoto’s death, his abilities are recognized and accepted by other Captains and enemies alike. Shunsui was personally trained by Yamamoto, and he was one of the best students taught by Yamamoto.
His Bankai is very strong, and Yamamoto advised it not to use it when nearby any of his allies. He was powerful enough to fight on equal terms with Lille Barro, who has a fearsome ability.
Shunsui’s abilities were well understood and recognized by Yamamoto, which led him to state Shunsui as the next Captain-Commander. He is one of the strongest captains and has his way with enemies with his varied range of attacks.
7) Zaraki Kenpachi
The 11th and the strongest, Kenpachi has one of the most powerful Shikai and Bankai out of the series. His Bankai is so powerful that releasing too much energy will break Kenpachi’s body.
He was powerful enough to be listed on the Yhwach’s special war powers list and was able to defeat some strong Sternritters. Unohana Yachiru, the first Kenpachi herself, accepted that Zaraki was stronger than her or anyone who came after her.
Zaraki’s thirst and love for battle make him even limit his abilities to enjoy a good fight. No doubt, this is a trait of the strongest characters, and Kenpachi falls on that list.
6) Gerard Valkyrie
The strongest Sternritter from Yhwach’s army, Gerard possesses a unique ability to create miracles every time he is on the verge of defeat. He stood his own against fighting against three captains and continuously created problems for all of them.
Valkyrie even withstood the powerful attacks from Kenpachi’s Bankai and instantly regenerated, knocking Kenpachi away. He remained undefeated right until the end, if not for Yhwach absorbing his power.
It’s safe to say that defeating him is nigh impossible for many other characters, and he will be able to miraculously hold his ground against facing multiple Captains.
5) Ichigo Kurosaki
Ichigo is the main character of Bleach and has many special powers in the series due to his unique nature. He can utilize Quincy, Hollow as well as Shinigami powers and transform into a different person entirely.
His Shikai was powerful enough to almost kill Yhwach, and his Bankai threatened Yhwach, leading the latter to break it instantly. He became very powerful by the end of the series, uniting all of his three natures as one.
Ichigo undoubtedly takes 5th place among Bleach’s strongest characters, beating almost all of the characters in the series with his sheer will and strength.
4) Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto
The Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 and the founder of the same, Yamamoto, is one of the most powerful Shinigami. He survived 2000+ years due to his powerful abilities and a fearsome Bankai.
Yamamoto himself stated that Soul Society had not seen a stronger Shinigami than him in the period of 2000 years. Even Yhwach avoided a head-to-head confrontation with Yamamoto because of how powerful the latter is.
He was also the one to defeat Yhwach and his invasion of Soul Society, along with the original Gotei 13. It is not much of a surprise Yamamoto takes 4th place, with his abilities and strength.
3) Ichibe Hyosube
The leader of the powerful squad zero, protecting the Soul King palace, Ichibe is the strongest of them all. He possesses a fearful power, which could have killed Yhwach if not for the latter’s Almighty.
Ichibe’s power was even recognized by Yhwach, and his name appeared on the special war powers list. He is almost immortal and can erase the power of anyone with the powers of his Bankai and Shikai.
Ichibe has been the leading force of squad zero for over two millennia, and his abilities and power speak for themselves. Beating him is almost impossible for any other character with his cumulated experiences and fighting spirit.
2) Sosuke Aizen
Coming to the runner-up is the always evolving indestructible entity, Sosuke Aizen. His strength even managed to affect Yhwach with his Almighty active and after fusing with soul king.
His Shikai, Kyoka Suigetsu, is so powerful that it can affect anyone who is on par and weaker than him. Aizen’s fusion with the Hogyoku further strengthened him and made him invincible.
He will constantly evolve every time he is defeated, which was even hinted at by Kisuke Urahara. Aizen’s strength should be on par with Yhwach for his illusions to take effect.
His strength and abilities directly measure to becoming the second strongest character in this list, and his feats speak miles of his abilities.
1) Yhwach
Yhwach is the most powerful character in the series, possessing a multitude of abilities and vast power. His most broken ability is the Almighty, to which he can alter futures to his will and bypass any ability or even his death.
Yhwach was already powerful enough, but his powers expanded vastly after he fused with the soul king and became unstoppable. No doubt, he takes the top position on this list, easily conquering Yamamoto’s powerful Bankai and bringing the whole of Soul Society to its knees.
He even created many problems for Ichigo over the entire arc and broke his Bankai on multiple occasions. Yhwach could not even die after all the powerful attacks done to him. Not even a fraction of his power was stolen after getting his strength erased by Ichimonji’s Bankai.
Here, we shall conclude our list of the top 20 Bleach strongest characters, ranked on their strength and abilities. This list was made after a comprehensive look at the abilities of each character, along with their control and intelligence in battle.
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Eswar Keshav is an ardent anime fan for more than a decade. Along with this, he also has been following anime and manga updates for years. He is also enthusiastic and passionate when it comes to writing about his favorite things. Combining his love for writing and his love for anime and manga, his articles speak of his love for the genre.
