Summary
Tite Kubo’sBleachis one of the most popular shōnen anime ever to grace the medium. Withthe adaptation of its final arcinching ever closer, there remains a considerable amount of hype around the series. It features a young teenager named Ichigo Kurosaki tasked with handling corrupted souls referred to as hollows. However, he is consequently thrown into a larger conflict involving much more powerful supernatural beings, spanning multiple story arcs.
RELATED:Bleach: Ichigo’s Most Powerful Abilities, Ranked
In order to gain the upper hand against many of his opponents, Ichigo has undergone numerous transformationsover the course of the series. This is possible mainly due to the fact that he is of multiple origins and can also complete rigorous amounts of special training in relatively short periods. This list features the strongest of Ichigo’s forms and ranks them according to their strength.
Updated June 11, 2025, by Emedo Destiny:The Soul Reaper, Kurosaki Ichigo, has embarked on a thrilling journey that has seen him grow in many ways. From his humble beginnings as a human to becoming a substitute Soul Reaper and facing off against god-like adversaries, Ichigo’s transformation is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Throughout the story, Ichigo has unleashed a myriad of powerful forms, each a testament to his unyielding determination and incredible strength, always rising to the occasion and surpassing his limits to save the ones he holds dear. The evolution of Ichigo as he faces increasingly formidable challenges is nothing short of extraordinary, and here are his strongest forms.
14Human Form
Born to a human Quincy and a former Soul Reaper squad captain, it goes without saying that Ichigo in his base human form packs a serious punch. He possesses way more strength, speed, and reflexes than the average human.
One of the most iconic scenes in the anime was birthed in his base form, where he called an ambulance for his opponents before the fight despite being outnumbered. He has shown several feats of strength in this form, kicking Ebern quite a distance despitethe latter being an Arrancar.
13Shinigami Base Form
Ichigo always possessed a small amount of reiatsu due to his lineage, and it made him capable of seeing Hollows and Pluses. After a fateful encounter with Rukia, she stabbed him and jumpstarted his reiatsu with her own, Ichigo became a full-fledged Shinigami and his reiatsu reserves multiplied tenfold.
RELATED:Bleach: Biggest Plot Twists In The Entire Series
This set him on a path as a substitute Shinigami, where he takes on the solemn duty of purging Karakura town of malevolent Hollows. With his newfound powers, Ichigo embarks on a series of thrilling adventures, crossing paths with formidable opponents in both the human world and Soul Society, where he is pitted against Captain-class shinigami in epic battles that test his resolve and strength.
12Fullbring
\After losing all of his reiatsu in the aftermath of the fight against Aizen, Ichigo found it hard to adapt to life as a normal human. Desperate to regain his strength, Ichigo embarked on a new journey to uncover an alternative source of power. He learned of his unique connection to Fullbring, a mysterious ability stemming from his mother’ssurvival of a Hollow attack.
Ichigo trained relentlessly, honing his Fullbring powers until he witnessed a profound transformation A sword and bone-like armor emerged, symbolizing the awakening of his latent abilities. This form was tied to his substitute Soul Reaper badge and enabled him to shoot mini Getsuga Tensho.
11Bankai Form
In his relentless pursuit to become a stronger Soul Reaper and save Rukia, Ichigo embarked on a transformative journey that would forever change him. Seeking to achieve Bankai, the pinnacle of a Soul Reaper’s power, Ichigo underwent days of intense training under Yoruichi and Urahara’s watchful eyes, as opposed to the hundreds of years it normally takes.
Equippedwith his newly attained Bankai, Ichigo gained more speed, strength, and a sleek sword. This enabled him to overpower Byakuya and unleash stronger slashes of Getsuga Tensho.
10Hollowfied Ichigo
This form made its first appearance during the final battle between Ichigo and the Gotei 13 Sixth DivisionCaptain Byakuya Kuchiki. After the ruthless captain overpowered him, Ichigo desperately desired to push on, but he, unfortunately, lacked the strength to do so. As Byakuya was about to land the final strike, however, his blade was halted by the hands of a rejuvenated Hollowfied Ichigo.
In this form, Ichigo’s inner hollow takes over, while his outward appearance changes to match it. His eyes turn dark, and a significant portion of his face is covered in a mask resembling a hollow. Soon after its first appearance, Ichigo was able to use his Bankai much more efficiently, following Byakuya’s movements with stunning precision and dealing notable amounts of damage to the famous captain.
9Full Hollow Ichigo
While trying to gain control of his inner hollow, Ichigo is aided through special training by the Vizards, a group of individuals that share similar hollow-like features to Ichigo. During the process, however, Ichigo is temporarily overwhelmed by the White Ichigo within him, causing him to undergo a full hollow transformation in the real world.
This is Ichigo’s most monstrous form as it bears the closest resemblance to a hollow. He is covered in completely white skin with a vicious animalistic appearance and a hollow mask covering an even more significant portion of his face. While in this form, he can fire off powerful energy blasts from his fingertips and fight against different Vizards over long periods.
8Hollow Mask Ichigo
After defeating White Ichigo, Ichigo emerged from the battle with a new appearance and proper control over his powerful hollow transformation. This new form gives Ichigo a hollow mask that covers his entire face, usually sporting a design with a distinct pattern running across the left side of his face.
RELATED:Bleach: Best Fights, Ranked
It is mostly used to support Ichigo’s Bankai form, as it possesses extreme power which even his Shikai cannot contain. Using this form, he was finally able to match the powerfulArrancar Grimmjow Jaegerjaquezafter a humiliating first encounter, and during their final battle, he was even able to defeat him.
7Fullbring Bankai
After losing his shinigami powers in the fight against Aizen, Ichigo spent seventeen months living as a regular human, completely separated from the rest of the soul society. However, after getting involved with a group of special humans known as Fullbringers, he is able to manifest a new type of power. Unfortunately, this power is eventually stolen from him, but his old friend Rukia Kuchiki arrives just in time to restore his original Shinigami powers.
By regaining his Shinigami powers, he also recovered the ability to use his Fullbring, augmenting his regular powers and changing the appearance of his Shihakusho somewhat. Following the activation of his Bankai, it became one of Ichigo’s strongest forms in the series and was used to defeat the powerful Fullbringer Kūgo Ginjō.
6Vasto Lorde Ichigo
During the Fake Karakura Town arc, Ichigo faced off against one of the most powerful Arrancars Ulquiorra Cifer. Unfortunately, this deadly opponent ended up being too much for the orange-haired protagonist to handle. However, after seemingly dying following a fatal blow to his chest, Ichigo reawakened in his menacing Vasto Lord form.
This serves as Ichigo’s true hollow form and belongs to the category of the strongest hollows in the series. While in it, he effortlessly overpowered Ulquiorra, using immense speed to outmaneuver his opponent and delivering powerful blows one after the other. He could even block and destroy one of Ulqiorra’s Lanza del Relámpago spear throws, an attack so powerful that it rivals the force of a nuclear explosion.
5Merged Hollow Ichigo
This form debuted in theThousand Year Blood War arcwhile Ichigo was engaged in combat with the Father of the Quincy, Yhwach. It is one of Ichigo’s final forms appearing in the last few chapters of the manga series, and was created by incorporating every source of power he inherited from his parents.
In this form, he gained significantly more speed and strength, allowing him to go on the offensive against Ywach. Yet the final antagonist remained unimpressed as his power still far surpassed that of Ichigo’s. Ywach’s opinion changed, however, after Ichigo struck him with a Getsuga Tensho mixed with a Gran Rey Cero, an extremely powerful combination of attacks made possible solely due to his new form.
