Summary
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During the war with the Quincy inBleach Thousand-Year Blood War,the soul reapers had to step up and become stronger to defend against this powerful threat. After the first invasion, it was a catastrophic defeat for the 13 court guard squads. Several captains and vice-captains trained hard to be able to get their back against the Quincy.
Of course, powerful vice-captains like Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki had drastically improved their powers by the time of the second invasion. Both of them achieved their true Bankai, which landed them important victories against two powerful Sternritter. Let’s analyze which is the most powerful vice-captain inBleach Thousand-Year Blood War.
Rukia Kuchiki, the Ice Princess
A powerful elemental Bankai
After training with Squad Zero following the defeat at the hands of Meninas McAllon, Rukia was able to achieve her Bankai after so long. Once she returned to the Sereiti, she battled the Quincy who had previously defeated and stolen her brother’s Bankai, As Nodt. After surviving the Quincys' fear-based abilities thanks to her brother, Rukia unleashes her brand-new Bankai and completely destroys the Quincy in his final form. Rukia’s Bankai: Hakka no Togame unleashes a massive explosion of absolute zero air that flash freezes everything in its vicinity, including her opponent and herself.Her Bankai is even dangerous for her own safetydue to how new and untrained it is, which means that the use of her Bankai is very limited and conditional, as she has to be incredibly careful when using it.
“I remembered where the heart lies. What’s inside you is indeed Kaien’s spirit body, but… Kaien is not there… Kaien… left his heart with me!”
However, the sheer power of this Bankai cannot be underestimated, as the massive area of effect is extremely advantageous and useful not only against a single enemy, as it was in this fight, but also against a group. While the ability is dangerous for Rukia, the fact that she can essentially one-shot her opponent more than makes up for it. The flash freeze ability is practically instantaneous and extremely powerful, allowing her to end the fight in an instant against enemies that otherwise overpower her.
But the Bankai isn’t Rukia’s only strength. She is also very proficient at Kido and overall swordsmanship. Her powerful resolve and determination also play a big factor in her performance in battle, as sn during her fight with Espada number nine. This is only amplified during the time of the blood war.Rukia’s by all accounts, at Captain levelthanks to her extensive training experience and her incredibly powerful and useful Bankai besides how situational it is.
Renji Abarai, The Stray Dog
Powerful true and versatile Bankai
During the Soul Society arc, Renji achieved Bankai for the first time to use it in battle against his captain, Byakuya, in an effort to save Rukia. However, because of how new and untrained his Bankai was, he was easily defeated by the much more experienced captain. Since then, Renji’s Bankai had been continuously humiliated by numerous enemies until it was revealed by the captain of Squad Zero, Ichibei Hyosube, that his Bankai was merely incomplete, as his Zanpakutou, Zabimaru had only revealed half of his name. After Ichibei tells Renji the full name of Zabimaru, he achieves his true Bankai,which he quickly uses to annihilate Mask The Masculine.
“Us villains are dirty by nature.”
In an anime original battle, he then used this evolved Bankai to battle his Quincy friend Uyuu Ishida, where he had the opportunity to showcase the full extent of his newfound power. During his battle with Ishida, he displayed a wide array of powerful and versatile techniques that completely changed the perception of fans regarding his power level. Thanks to these new inclusions, fans have a better idea of how powerful Renji truly is, as he was only defeated due to how incredibly strong Ishida has become.
Renji’s So’ou Zabimaru is an incredibly versatile ability suited for all ranges and situations. While he doesn’t have the levelheadedness that other soul reapers possess,his sheer power and determinationare incredibly reliable in battle with this new power. He was able to destroy Mask the Masculine incredibly quickly, and he was an extremely dangerous Quincy with the ability to recover from virtually any injury and come back stronger thanks to his special Schift. However, Renji was able to defeat him effortlessly without caring for his overpowered ability. Furthermore, the power he showcased in his fight against Ishida proves that he is well over the standard captain level. And perhaps even comparable to his captain, Byakuya.
For these reasons, Renji Abarai is easily the strongest vice captain by the time of the thousand-year blood war, putting him well above captain level in strength and an incredibly valuable asset for the 13 court guard squads in the war against the Quincy.
Bleach
Cast
Based on Tite Kubo’s battle shonen manga, Bleach centers around Ichigo, a high school student who is dragged into the world of Soul Reapers. The original anime ended in 2012, but it was revived in 2022.
