Summary
There was a time whenBleachwas held in high regard as one of the Big Three in shonen anime. Along withNarutoandOne Piece, this manga accomplished many incredible things over time, especially during its Soul Society arc. However, the consensus is that the series lost some of its edge after this incredible arc, but there’s no denying thatBleach’s highlights alone make it well worth a watch.
The protagonist of this tale is a mixed bag, with many people being split down the line when it comes to Ichigo. He’s a pretty decent main character for the most part, although there are times when his blandness can frustrate certain viewers to no end. Thankfully, the wealth of abilities that he can pull out in battle makes him a pretty interesting character during battles, with the most powerful of the lot discussed below.
Updated June 15, 2025 by Ritwik Mitra:Ichigo is a protagonist who splits fan opinion down the middle. Some people aren’t huge fans of his paper-thin characterization and how he barely does anything to break away from the cookie-cutter shonen hero mold. However, other people don’t mind his one-note personality as long as they get to see this hero tackle strong adversaries and reach deep within himself to become as strong as possible.
This hero manages to wow fans with his strength, with some ofIchigo’s strongest powers in Bleachmaking it clear why he can take on the toughest enemies around even after his back is against the wall and victory seems hopeless.
20Soul Control
A Form Of Telekinesis, But Can Only Target Inanimate Objects
At first glance, Soul Control might seem like a really powerful ability to use inBleach. However, Ichigo is only able to manipulate the souls of inanimate objects. This caveat turns it into more of a party trick than anything else.
Soul Control allows Ichigo to move objects without having to maintain any physical contact. If Ichigo somehow managed to use this ability to target living beings, then this could easily become his strongest ability by far, but as it stands, it’s not his best.
19Tracking A Person’s Reiatsu
Observe Energy As Spirit Ribbons To Track Individuals
Ichigo’s natural ability to sense spiritual pressure is unmatched. Even someone as talented as Rukia was astonished that Ichigo could track someone’s Reiatsu without too much effort, even when he wasn’t a Shinigami.
Ichigo can essentially track a person’s Reiatsu by envisioning their energy as ribbons. This allows him to track said person down without too many problems, which is quite impressive and useful in plenty of situations.
18Chain
The Substitute Shinigami Can Call His New Dual Blades Toward Him With A Simple Gesture
Ichigo’s new Shikai is beautiful to look at, with fans loving how his dual-wielding blades make him look stronger than ever before as he enjoys a wealth of new techniques after learning the true name of his Zanpakuto. One of the simpler yet more helpfulabilities Ichigocan use lets him recall his blades to his hand no matter where they may be.
It works like a telekinetic chain of sorts, ensuring that the Substitute Shinigami won’t be defenseless in battle for too long. Ichigo’s ability may not seem all that impressive, but its practical application makes this chain useful in a pinch when Ichigo needs his blades on him at all times against a powerful opponent.
17Reishi Absorption
Ichigo Can Unconsciously Augment His Power By Absorbing Reishi From His Surroundings
Reishi absorption is an ability limited to the Quincy, letting them absorb the energy around them to use in battle. This is in stark contrast to the ability of a Shinigami, who draws energy from within them to fight.
Ichigo was able to absorb Reishi from the atmosphere almost unconsciously at times. This made him even more powerful in battle and turned him into one of the toughest characters in the show by a country mile.
16Shunpo
A Flash Step Technique To Enhance Ichigo’s Speed
Shunpo is a pretty basic technique that most Shinigami need to master to be even slightly effective in combat. However, Shunpo is a classic example of a technique that is exceedingly simple yetcan be extremely effective in the hands of a master. Shinigami who know how to use Shunpo with ease can blindside opponents with the immense speed they display in combat.
Ichigo relies on Shunpo in most battles to keep up with the pace of his opponent. It’s one of the most crucial moves in his arsenal, without which he would have been down for the count multiple times in fights where he emerged victorious at the end of the day. Watching Byakuya be caught off-guard by Ichigo’s immense speed in his Bankai form is something that never ceases to be engaging to this day and is one of the many reasons why the Soul Society arc was such a joy to witness.
15Energy Blast
A Special Technique Used Sparingly By Ichigo In His Fullbring State
Ichigo’s Fullbring powers were pretty underwhelming, with some of these techniques feeling like imitations of his Shinigami abilities. The only unique technique he develops is an energy blast that isn’t really all that effective either.
It’s stated that Ichigo can only launch a few of these blasts before he’s left open for a counterattack. It’s a pretty basic ability that goes away as soon as it’s introduced, with Ichigo gaining the powers of a Shinigami once again.
14Hollow Mask
A Transformation That Enhances Ichigo’s Power By Channeling His Hollow Side
Ichigo enjoys power from a wealth of sources both likely and unlikely, eventually turning him into one of the strongest warriors in the series despite being a Substitute Shinigami. When his Hollow side came out during his duel against Byakuya, it became clear that he needed to master this power instead of letting it take over his body all the time.
After an intense training period with the Visored, Ichigo eventually gained some semblance of control over his powers, letting him summon the Hollow Mask at will during his fight against Grimmjow. It was an impressive use of his powers, and it’s a shame that this pseudo-transformation was eventually forgotten as the series introduced new powers for Ichigo to enjoy.
13Gran Rey Cero
Ichigo Can Use This Technique Independently But Decides To Be Creative About It Instead
While Ichigo can technically use this skill in battle, he hasn’t employed in it a fight. Rather, he combined this powerful Hollow energy blast with his patented Getsuga Tenshou to inflict critical damage on Yhwach, who would’ve died had it not been for his timely use of the Almighty. This makes it clear that independently using a Gran Rey Cero would be enough to take out most of Ichigo’s enemies without him breaking a sweat.
This makes it one ofIchigo’s best abilities inBleachthat he can use to turn the tide of battle in a flash. Given how powerful the Arrancar were when they whipped out this ability, it’s easy to see why Ichigo will be able to make the most of a Gran Rey Cero blast and show his enemies just how out of their depth they are.
12Fullbring Getsuga Tenshou
A Variant Of His Getsuga Tenshou Using Fullbring Powers
Many people consider the Fullbring arc to be one of the worst in the series, despite the unique ideas that Kubo brought to the table. However, the fact that this arc and its characters had very little impact onBleachas a whole was a huge shame, with all this promise being quietly done away with in favor of the Shinigami and Quincy conflict reigning supreme once again. The fact that the anime ended after adapting this insignificant arc was a slap in the face toBleachfans.
However, this arc did have moments where it played around with Ichigo’s suite of powers in a unique way. His Fullbring transformation was pretty unique even if it only lasted for a brief moment. Ichigo was able to wield a unique version of the Getsuga Tenshou in his Fullbring state, which looked pretty neat. It wasn’t as powerful ashis energy blasts as a Shinigami, but it could still do some damage if enemies were hit by it.
11Blut Vene
A Defensive Technique Meant To Protect Quincy From Physical Attacks
The fact that Ichigo is half-Quincy makes hima jack-of-all-trades inBleach. It lets him enjoy the best of all worlds, with his powers being great for a variety of situations. It may make him one of the most overpowered and unbalanced characters inBleach, but fans won’t mind as long as the protagonist brings his A-game to battle.
His Quincy half allows him to use Blut powers, with Blut Vene saving his life in a battle against Yhwach. It’s a simple yet useful defensive technique that hints towards Ichigo’s Quincy blood, with his father finally telling him about his mother and the forbidden relationship they shared, eventually leading to Isshin being cast out of Soul Society.
