All of Ichigo Kurosaki's Transformations in Bleach, Explained (2024)

In Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki was born with the ability to see ghosts, and when Hollows attack his family, he becomes a Soul Reaper determined to protect the world and help lost spirits find their way to the afterlife. With its amazing blend of action, adventure, and the supernatural, Bleach is beloved by fans around the world.

As the star of the series, Ichigo Kurosaki is one of the strongest anime characters of all time, and he goes through many transformations to boost his power to exciting new levels throughout the show. No matter what terrifying spirits or other supernatural enemies he may face, Ichigo always trains harder and pushes his powers to their limits, and by the end of the series, he proves himself to be stronger than ever thought possible.

Ichigo's Shinigami Form Marked the Start of His Incredible Journey

At the start of Bleach's story, Ichigo experiences his first transformation when he turns from a mere human into a powerful Soul Reaper thanks to Rukia Kuchiki transferring half of her powers to him. As a result, one of Bleach's best Zanpakuto weapons manifests itself for him to use, with Ichigo now wielding the Zangetsu.

Thanks to his Zanpakuto, Ichigo is able to take on Hollows as well as other formidable opponents. After unlocking his Soul Reaper abilities, Ichigo is still fairly weak in comparison to some of the other characters in the series, but he works hard and trains every day to become stronger.

Ichigo Unlocked His Legendary Bankai Extremely Fast

To get Ichigo ready to take on serious opponents, he quickly undergoes Bankai training after gaining his Soul Reaper abilities. By all standards, Ichigo acquired his Bankai in record time, unlocking it in just two and a half days.

With Ichigo's awesome Bankai transformation, he is able to condense his huge Zanpakuto into a small blade, with his Bankai granting him impressive super speed. His Bankai and Zanpakuto alone aren't enough to make him a serious threat, though, and Ichigo had to endure even more training before he was truly able to hold his own in battle.

Ichigo's Hollow Transformation Saved the Day

The Hollows in Bleach are some of the series' earliest and most terrifying enemies, and Ichigo tapped into their power when his fight with Byakuya left him at death's door. This is one of the first times when Ichigo is seen to be extremely strong, with the Hollow inside granting him boosts to his power as it took over his body to stop him from losing the battle and dying.

The drawback to Ichigo's Hollow transformation is that he loses control and gives himself over to the evil spirit. However, the Hollow version of Ichigo is a skilled fighter, able to use Ichigo's powers to their fullest ability much more easily than Ichigo can when he's in control of himself. With that said, the risks of using his Hollow transformation are typically far too great for Ichigo to deem this transformation worthwhile in most fights.

Vasto Lorde Ichigo was a Terrifying Transformation

The Vasto Lorde are Bleach's most terrifying Hollows, and Ichigo assumed their form in an intense battle against the evil Ulquiorra. Ichigo found himself outclassed and overwhelmed in the fight, with the villainous Espada tearing a hole through his chest that should have killed him if not for the Vasto Lorde's intervention.

Instead of dying, Ichigo awakened his Vasto Lorde form, completely transforming into an unrecognizable demon. Like his previous Hollow transformation, Ichigo appeared to lack any control when in his Vasto Lorde form, with the demon taking over and making quick work of Ulquiorra. This form only appeared once in the entire series, but it easily showed the immense power Ichigo had inside him.

Ichigo's Final Getsuga Tenshou Came with a Major Drawback

After training hard in Dangai, Ichigo finally leveled up and knew he was strong enough to take on the powerful Aizen by using his Final Getsuga Tenshou form. With this transformation, Ichigo united with Zangetsu, taking on a striking new appearance that included long, black hair. In his Final Getsuga Tenshou form, Ichigo gains access to the Mugetsu ability, which creates a blade of deep black Reiatsu in his hand. Ichigo was able to swing this at Aizen, damaging anything caught in its blast.

Mugetsu was the one thing capable of bringing an end to Sosuke Aizen, proving just how far Ichigo had come since his early days as a Soul Reaper. The only problem with this form was the fact that unleashing the Mugetsu left Ichigo completely powerless — weaker than he was before the show even began.

Fullbring Ichigo was Surprisingly Weak

With his battle against Aizen leaving him powerless, Ichigo finds himself weaker than ever before. With Mugetsu giving Ichigo his strongest form in Bleach, it makes sense that this powerful ability came at a great cost. Knowing that he needed to have some sort of protection against the enemies he would face in the future, Bleach's now powerless protagonist set out to train even harder. He soon discovered more about his status as a hybrid, which helped him unlock his Fullbring form. In addition to his Soul Reaper and Hollow powers, Ichigo learned about his status as a Fullbringer; it was thanks to his mother, who was attacked by a Hollow during her pregnancy.

Ichigo trained under Ginjo, learning more about these powers and transforming into his Fullbring form, but it still left him relatively weaker than he was at the start of his journey. Eventually, Ginjo betrayed Ichigo and stole his Fullbring powers, making this form relatively short-lived. It all worked out for the best though, because Ichigo was then able to work with Rukia to regain his Soul Reaper powers, coming back stronger than ever.

Ichigo's Shikai Returned With Augmented Power

Ichigo has one of the most powerful Shikai in the series, and after re-awakening his Soul Reaper abilities, he is able to empower Zangetsu in an exciting new way. Under the tutelage of swordmaster Oetsu Nimaiya, Ichigo learned how to communicate with Zangetsu, leading him to learn more about his hybrid nature as a Quincy and a Hollow.

Nimaiya gave Ichigo not one but two Zanpakutos, essentially doubling Zangetsu's power. Their designs appear to be a nod to his roots as both a Quincy and a Hollow, with one of the swords being long and hollow on the inside. In his dual-wielding form, Ichigo is able to perform exciting new techniques that help him prepare for the Thousand-Year Blood War.

Ichigo's Final Bankai Form is One of His Most Powerful

Now able to wield two Zanpakuto blades, Ichigo unlocks an even more powerful Bankai form than in his early days as a Soul Reaper. He can place the two blades side by side, causing a huge surge of energy to transform him and the swords. The two swords merge into one, similar to his original massive Zanpakuto.

In this transformation, Ichigo physically changes, too, with his eyes glowing yellow and black marks appearing on his face. Ichigo assumes this form during his final battle with Yhwach, proving himself powerful enough to take down one of Bleach's most irredeemable villains.

The Final Zapakuto Pays Homage to Ichigo's Early Days

Ichigo finds himself in a desperate situation when he inevitably faces Yhwach, who has the power of The Almighty, giving him the ability to see the future and alter it to his liking. This makes Yhwach the most difficult villain in the entire series to take down — but luckily fate remained on Ichigo's side.

Ichigo was able to cut Yhwach in half, but the antagonist simply reversed his own death. Yhwach managed to destroy Ichigo's augmented Zanpakuto, but as it began to disintegrate, Ichigo's original prized Zanpakuto appeared in its place. All of Yhwach's meddling in the future comes back to bite him, with his destiny finally catching up with him, allowing Ichigo to use his original Zanpakuto to save the world.

Having Ichigo's original Zangetsu be the weapon he used to save the day at the end of the series was a nice homage to all the powerful forms and transformations Ichigo experienced throughout Bleach. By taking things back to the roots of the series, Ichigo's final battle offered a satisfying conclusion and also showed that he had such impressive strength inside him from the very beginning.

Bleach

TV-14

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Bleachrevolves around Kurosaki Ichigo, a regular always-grouchy high-schooler who for some strange reason is able to see the souls of the dead around him.

Release Date

October 5, 2004

Cast

Masakazu Morita , Fumiko Orikasa , Hiroki Yasumoto , Yuki Matsuoka , Noriaki Sugiyama , Kentarô Itô , Shinichirô Miki , Hisayoshi Suganuma

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

17 Seasons

Creator

Tite Kubo

Production Company

TV Tokyo, Dentsu, Pierrot

Number of Episodes

366 Episodes

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu , Prime Video