Ichigo has grown and become more powerful with every season. We see him go from being just a human to being a soul reaper, a visored and a hollow.
Each and every form of Ichigo was epic and left us with something memorable. Over the years, Ichigo has truly become a great fighter and has become quite strong.
Let’s look back a little and see all the changes our hybrid has gone through over the years and the strongest form of them all.
Ichigo had a total of 8 transformations during 16 seasons. Starting from being a Shinigami, he gradually acquired his Shikai and then bankai. He was the weakest in his Fullbring form and strongest as Final Getsuga Tenshou.
1Ichigo Acquires Soul Reaper Abilities!
Ichigo turns into a soul reaper after acquiring the powers from Rukia Kuchiki. His Zanpakuto is huge, and as noted by Rukia it indicates the amount of reiatsu a soul reaper possesses.
He can easily defeat the Hollows and could also beat Grand Fisher, who consumed hell lots of human souls in the past years and became immensely powerful.
Additionally, he was able to corner Abarai Renji even if we consider the limit pass. He eventually trains under Urahara and becomes even stronger learning Getsuga Tenshou.
After training under Urahara, he becomes strong enough to defeat Ikkaku, Renji and Kenpachi. During his fight with Kenpachi, he finally gets to know the name of his Zanpakuto: Zangetsu.
2The Legendary Bankai Ability
Yoruichi trains Ichigo and he acquires bankai within two and a half days. His bankai is not enormous or flashy, instead, his huge Zanpakuto is condensed into a small blade.
This infuriated Byakuya who thought that Ichigo was lying and that it was a joke. However, when Ichigo effortlessly cut through the Thousand blades which were controlled by his hand.
It was then Byakuya realized that his bankai ability was super speed. However, his bankai became totally irrelevant. He was almost always useless in every battle solely with bankai.
3Hollow Transformation
Ichigo’s Hollow transformation first appears in his fight with Byakuya. He easily overwhelms Byakuya in his bankai state and uses Black Getsuga. He is extremely strong and has heightened instincts.
Initially, Ichigo is scared of his Inner Hollow and afraid of losing control. After encountering the Visoreds he was able to get the Hollow in control and was able to retain his mask for 2 seconds.
When he left for Hueco Mundo, he was able to retain his mask for 8 seconds. He was able to defeat Grimmjow with this transformation.
4Vasto Lorde!
During his fight with Ulquiorra, Ichigo is completely overwhelmed by Espada’s power. He has a hole blasted through his chest, and on listening to Orihime’s cries, he immediately undergoes a complete Hollow Transformation.
In this state, he completely overwhelms Ulquiorra in his Second release. He completely obliterates Ulquiorra and blasts through his inner organs. He then attacks Ishida for trying to stop him.
This indicates that he was not in control in this form, and we do not get to see this transformation again throughout the series.
5Ichigo Undergoes Dangai Training!
Ichigo is considered the sole person who stands a chance against Aizen. However, after Aizen tells him that Ichigo’s entire life was planned by him, his confidence falters.
Isshin appears and restores his confidence. He takes him to Dangai where he sees that the cleaners are destroyed. Isshin eventually decides that this place would be best for training Ichigo.
Ichigo returns after undergoing training in Dangai and since the time flows slowly in the Dangai, Ichigo seems to be taller and he has long hair.
The aura around him looks different and his blade is attached to his right arm. Aizen notes that he is not able to feel any spiritual pressure from Ichigo.
When Ichigo easily drags Aizen by his face, he concludes by saying that Ichigo gave up on his spiritual pressure to gain immense physical strength.
However, Aizen was so much farther from the truth, he couldn’t feel Ichigo’s spiritual pressure because he was on a much higher plane.
Ichigo’s attacks were so powerful that they were slashing mountains and changing landscapes all while Aizen foolishly believed it was his power.
6Final Getsuga Tenshou!
In Final Getsuga Tenshou, Ichigo himself becomes the getsuga. This technique has one major limitation, which makes the user lose all their spiritual power.
Honestly, this was one of the most badass transformations of Ichigo. His appearance also changes drastically in this form.
His hair grows to waist length and changes from orange to black. This form allows him to use Mugetsu which is one of the most powerful techniques.
He defeats Aizen using this form and ultimately loses all his powers.
7Fullbring: Ichigo’s Hybridicity Intensifies!
Ichigo not only has Soul Reaper and Hollow powers but also has Fullbring abilities. It is not a distinct group however and can be considered a subdivision under Hollow powers.
Fullbringers are the people whose mothers were attacked by Hollows during pregnancy. Ichigo to protect his family learns these abilities from Ginjo.
He is not very powerful in this form and it can be considered one of the weakest forms of Ichigo.
8Ichigo Regains His Soul Reaper Powers!
Ichigo’s powers are stolen by Ginjo who is later revealed to have been a substitute soul reaper as well. Ichigo desperately begs Ginjo to return his powers but to no avail.
Rukia appears and stabs him with a blade that contains the spiritual powers of all Gotei 13 Captains allowing him to regain his soul-reaper powers.
He easily defeats Ginjo after regaining his powers and appears even stronger than his base Shikai and bankai.
Ranking: Weakest to Strongest!
Fullbring Ichigo was the weakest, followed by his base Shikai and Bankai forms. When he regained his powers his Shikai and Bankai were slightly stronger.
His Hollow form was powerful, however, nothing compared to his Vasto Lorde Transformation. Ichigo after his Dangai Training was super powerful, he had his Zanpakuto fused to him.
The strongest form of Ichigo over 16 seasons is Final Getsuga Tenshou. It was insanely powerful and even defeated Hogyoku-fused Aizen.
- Fullbring Ichigo
- Shikai
- Bankai
- Shikai and Bankai( regained powers)
- Hollow Mask
- Vasto Lorde Transformation
- Dangai Training Ichigo
- Final Getsuga Tenshou
About Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is the final arc of the Bleach franchise. It premiered on October 11, 2022, and its 52 episodes are streamed by Hulu.
The arc deals with Yhwach, the leader of the Quincies, who has declared war on the Soul Society. Ichigo and the Soul Reapers will face this despicable enemy.
Hollows and Soul Society residents are disappearing, and Ichigo needs to defeat Yhwach before he lays waste to the entire universe.
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