Bleach: The Characters With The Most Fights, Ranked

Alongside its memorable character designs and deeply thematic story, the Bleach series has also become renowned for its fight scenes. Clashing swords is practically a second language for the Soul Reapers and Arrancar who occupy the Bleach universe, and as a result, it has led to there being numerous exciting battles over the course of the series, with a few familiar faces being involved in more than a handful of them.

Though virtually every combatant in Bleach got a chance to show what they were made of at least once in the series, there were some who raised their Zanpakuto towards the enemy on several occasions, allowing them to have multiple fights to demonstrate their abilities and special techniques to the audience.

8 Ikkaku Madarame

Number Of Fights: 7

Despite not even being a captain, Ikkaku still possesses enough courage to take on numerous opponents throughout the series, often pushing himself far beyond his limit to decimate his opponents. His first fight was against Icihigo, where he would be bested by the Substitute Soul Reaper due to Ikkaku underestimating his newfound opponent.

He would then have numerous battles throughout the Arrancar Arc which is the first time Ikkaku unleashes his ferocious Bankai. However, Ikkaku isn’t a perfect fighter, as Iba reminds him during Fake Karakura Town when he tells Ikkaku that his personal feelings can often get the best of him and can end up costing him battles. Still, he’s proven to be a reliable soldier who his captain, Kenpachi, can always rely on when the going gets tough.

7 Zaraki Kenpachi

Number Of Battles: 8

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the most bloodthirsty member of the Gotei 13 who loves nothing more than swinging his sword at anyone who gets in his way makes an appearance on this list. Kenpachi was one of the few captains to be afforded two fights in the Soul Society arc, but not long after that, he would once again throw himself into the firing line by taking on both Yammy and Nnoitra, making him a true star player of the Arrancar saga of the story.

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Bleach: 8 Best Kenpachi Fights, Ranked

The monster of the Gotei 13, Zaraki Kenpachi, has been involved in some of Bleach’s most epic fights.

During the final war, Kenpachi’s battle tally would rise significantly as he took on the likes of Gremmy, Unohana, and even Gerard Valkyrie. Considering Kenpachi’s wild and unpredictable fighting style, seeing him engage in so many battles has been a real treat for fans, especially those fights where he receives new power-ups like unleashing his Shikai and Bankai for the first time.

6 Toshiro Hitsugaya

Number Of Battles: 10

Hitsugaya, the child prodigy who quickly rose the ranks to captain, is an immensely powerful Soul Reaper whose Zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru, allows him to destroy his opponents through the use of ice-based attacks. This fan-favorite character has thankfully shown up to fight plenty of enemies, first facing off against fellow captain Gin Ichimaru near the beginning of the series and later Aizen, before then taking on Harribel when the Arrancar show up.

One of Hitsugaya’s more underrated fights comes in the Fullbring Arc where he encounters Yukio, but it’s really during the final arc of the series where he gets the most time to shine. Not only does he do-battle with Bazz B and later Gerard Valkyrie, but during his brief period of being a zombie, he even tries to take on Mayuri, which doesn’t exactly end well for the young captain.

5 Uryu Ishida

Number Of Battles: 10

Since the biggest fights in each arc are always reserved for Ichigo, Uryu’s battles can often go under the radar, making it easy to forget just how many intense fights he’s actually been a part of. While he did have a brief skirmish with a few Soul Reapers early on in the Soul Society, it’s his encounter with captain Mayuri which many people look back most fondly on. Another highlight is his duel with Szayelaporro, though this is admittedly a battle that goes on for far too long because of the amount of comedic moments inserted into it.

Uryu even manages to stand his ground against Haschwalth near the very end of the series. If Uryu’s anime feats were taken into account, this number would be much higher considering he’s been made into a one-Quincy killing machine, but since he could still have many more battles ahead of him, there’s no telling as of right now how many he would have exactly.

4 Renji Abarai

Number Of Battles: 10

Every fight that Renji takes part in sees him evolve both mentally and physically, to the point where when he shows up in the Thousand Year Blood War, he’s almost an entirely different person. His duel with Ichigo in the Soul Society convinced Renji to stand up against his own captain as a way to push back against Rukia’s sentencing. Renji would then prove himself as a loyal asset to Ichigo by traveling with him to Hueco Mundo where he would cooperate with Uryu to face off against Szayelaporro, where he was able to experiment with his Zanpakuto abilities a little more.

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Bleach: Most Underrated Captains, Ranked

These Bleach captains often get overshadowed by their comrades, despite the lengths they go to in order to protect the Soul Society.

After taking down Jackie in the Fullbring Arc, and soon later receiving training from Squad 0, Renji obliterates Mask De Masculine and goes on to face numerous other Sternritter throughout the course of the war. Renji possesses an absurd amount of strength by the end of the manga, so while the anime has done a good job of showing him off a little more, it would have been nice to have seen him get just a few more late-stage fights in the original source material.

3 Rukia Kuchiki

Number Of Battles: 10

Despite being absent for almost the entirety of the Soul Society arc due to her imprisonment, Rukia was involved in numerous fights against Hollows before that arc kicked off, including taking down Fishbone D and Shrieker. Her next set of fights would come with the arrival of the Arrancar where she attempted to hold back Grimmjow, and also went toe to toe with Di Roy Rinker, though her most important battle at this stage would be versus Aaroneiro.

Arroneiro would try to disguise himself as Rukia’s late friend Kaien, forcing her to push through the painful memories to defeat the malicious Espada once and for all. Her comical fight with Riruka would then be contrasted with a terrifying battle against As Nodt where Rukia finally revealed her Bankai, before helping out with holding off the other Stenrritter after he was defeated.

2 Byakuya Kuchiki

Number Of Battles: 10

For a while, it felt as though any time Byakuya appeared on screen, it was always as part of an intense battle, especially considering he was presented as the villain for much of the Soul Society arc. Still, while his fights with Ichigo, Zommari, and As Nodt are all standouts, it can be easy to forget that Byakuya has clashed swords with an abundance of other opponents throughout the series.

Whether it’s his stern takedown of Renji, his battle of the minds with Tsukishima, or his rather unusual face-off with Pepe, Byakuya is a captain who never hesitates to raise his Zanpakuto if he suspects someone poses a danger to him and the Sereitei. As a result, Byakuya would often rather blast his enemies to pieces with a quick shot of Senbonzakura than try to resolve things with words.

1 Ichigo Kurosaki

Number Of Battles: 34

Ichigo has had so many fights in the series that every fan has their own unique favorite since there’s such a wide range to choose from. A few highlights include his face-off with Byakuya where Ichigo’s Hollow Powers take over for the first time, and his battles with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra who both pushed the plucky protagonist to his absolute limit. It’s also hard to ever forget his destined battle with Aizen, which caused Ichigo to sacrifice his Soul Reaper powers, though that certainly didn’t stop him from fighting.

As a Fullbringer, Ichigo would engage in even more fights, before battling numerous members of the Quincy army, including taking on Yhwach himself more than a few times. When looking at Ichigo’s first few fights against measly Hollows at the beginning of the series, and the unstoppable monster he becomes by the end, it becomes clear just how much he has learned from being involved in such a staggering number of encounters throughout the story.

Release Date

September 6, 2006

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Seasons

16

Creator

Tite Kubo

Cast

Johnny Yong Bosch , Michelle Ruff , Stephanie Sheh , Jamieson Price , Derek Stephen Prince , Wally Wingert

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Studio

Pierrot

Character(s)

Ulquiorra (voice) , Ryūsei ‘Kenryū’ Kenzaki (voice) , Ugaki (voice) , Avirama Redder , Kurōdo (voice) , Noitora (voice) , Uncredited , Maki Ichinose (voice) , Jinta Hanakari (voice) , Noba , Aaroniero Arruruerie (voice) , Lirin (voice) , Mashiro Kuna (voice) , Wonderweiss Margera (voice) , Hyōrinmaru (voice) , Uryu Ishida (voice) , Nel Tu (voice)

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Producers

Tasuku Honda , Yoshihiko Tominaga , Genki Negishi

Based On

Manga

Story By

Tite Kubo

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Writers

Tite Kubo , Masashi Sogo

Number of Episodes

366

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Network

Funimation

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu

Directors

Noriyuki Abe , Jun’ya Koshiba

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Showrunner

Tite Kubo

MyAnimeList Score

7.96

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