Not all Bankai are created equal: these 5 Bleach characters have the most underwhelming Bankai in the series.
The newest season of Bleach has revealed a lot about our beloved characters and their powers. The invasion of the Sternritters army has forced the Soul Reapers to pull out the strongest weapons in their arsenal – Bankai. Some reveals have been more impressive than others. Below we listed some of the Bankai that left fans with more questions than answers.
5. Retsu Unohana
Now that the anime has caught up with the manga, viewers finally got their wish – we have witnessed the great Unohana’s Bankai. While aesthetically pleasing and appropriately creepy for its bloodthirsty owner, this Bankai has left many fans disappointed. Considering Unohana’s true powers lay dormant throughout the majority of the series, it would’ve been great to see her use their full potential in a real fight.
4. Hirako Shinji
Shinji has one of the most fascinating Bankai that relies on inverting your senses rather than brute force. In fact, it’s so lethal that its use is prohibited across the Soul Society. Unfortunately, it is also a double-edged sword, dealing damage to foes and friends alike at close range. Due to the special nature of his Bankai, Shinji rarely gets to use it, and the audience rarely gets to see it.
3. Soifon
Soifon’s Bankai is essentially a “one-trick pony” with very limited, albeit incredibly destructive capabilities. It is so underdeveloped, that it’s hard to understand how this could be her most powerful weapon at all. The leader of the Secret Mobile Corps knows it herself and barely uses it, favoring other, stealthier methods of combat that fit her character better.
2. Muguruma Kensei
Kensei’s Tekken Tachikaze is one of the simplest-looking, unimaginative Bankai in the series. Its versatility and scope appear limited, only allowing its owner to defeat his opponents when engaged in close-range combat. We are also left in the dark regarding Tekken Tachikaze’s defensive abilities. Based on what we do know, this Bankai would not stand against any capable enemy wielding an efficient weapon that targets objects beyond one’s arm span.
1. Madarame Ikkaku
Ikkaku’s fragile Ryumon Hozukimaru has long been regarded as the most disappointing Bankai in the Bleach universe. His Zanpakuto’s strongest form is only a step above his Shikai: it is simple, easily breakable, and takes its sweet time to gain full power.
Now that we know that some swords can be quite fussy about their owners, it’s safe to guess that Ikkaku’s current Bankai form is not his final one. He might be stuck in a predicament similar to Renji’s, where he learned it too fast and thus failed to get the real deal right away. Of course, Renji had the advantage of being besties with the main hero, so he got his much-needed power boost faster than Ikkaku.
Certainly, the five Bankai listed above are far from the weakest weapons in Bleach. However, their reveal has left the fans frustrated as the show failed to take advantage of all the untapped potential that was there.