Bleach features a huge cast of characters who can do a whole lot more than merely fight each other. These wonderful characters also form strong friendships and may even fall in love, which adds serious emotional depth to the story. As a shonen action anime, Bleach is light on romance, but there are still some lovely romantic pairings all the same, and fans have imagined even more would-be pairings, too.
Shipping is always fun in a fandom like Bleach's, though some ships have more depth and more substance than others. Some Bleach ships are downright strange or dysfunctional, such as shipping Orihime with the brutal Grimmjow, but ten other Bleach ships are healthy, fun, and certainly romantic. A combination of canon and fanon ships show the amorous side of Bleach's story and show what happens when certain characters get their happily ever after.
10 Toshiro Hitsugaya & Karin Kurosaki Have Chemistry as Tsundere Youths
Even if two anime characters spend just a little quality time together, fans will ship them if there is enough personal compatibility. This even counts for Bleach's filler episodes, which depicted Karin Kurosaki and Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya playing soccer in Karakura Town. That sequence gave the two tsunderes some wonderful chemistry as an innocent friendship blossomed between them.
Karin and Toshiro may be kids who aren't ready for a grown-up romance, but they still feel like potential lovers who would get along surprisingly well if they decided to get more serious about each other. They may have a temper, but they're good-hearted people who care deeply for those around them. Still, there's only a little material from the Bleach anime to support this ship, so it ranks last among the ten best pairings in the anime.
9 Byakuya & Hisana Kuchiki Were Happily Married For Five Years
The Bleach anime featured several marriages that started off well and ended in disaster, with Captain Byakuya Kuchiki's marriage being one of them. Years ago, he violated Soul Society tradition by marring a commoner woman named Hisana, a nobody who came from nothing. Against all odds, she convinced Byakuya to marry her, but left her baby sister Rukia behind in the process.
According to the flashbacks, Byakuya and Hisana were happily married for five years until Hisana died of an illness. On her deathbed, Hisana fondly said that her marriage to Byakuya had felt like a wonderful dream, but she did have lingering regrets about abandoning Rukia. So, Byakuya honored his dying wife's wishes and found Rukia, adopting her into the family.
8 Toshiro Hitsugaya & Momo Hinamori Are Childhood Friends
A variety of male/female friendships have inspired some heartfelt pairings in the Bleach community, including Toshiro Hitsugaya's fanon ship with his childhood friend, Lieutenant Momo Hinamori. The two of them grew up in the same community, and both went on to become Soul Reapers, with Momo going first.
During the main events of Bleach, Toshiro tries to act cool and aloof as a Captain, but he can't help trading good-natured verbal jabs with Momo, proving that he still has his childlike innocence intact. Toshiro may deny it, but he is fiercely protective of Momo and will go berserk in battle to protect or avenge her, showing how much he cares. That's definitely a solid foundation for their romantic ship.
7 Kisuke Urahara & Yoruichi Shihoin Are Friends and Fellow Rogues
The genius scientist Kisuke Urahara and his good friend Yoruichi Shihoin are both ex-Captains who sought refuge in Karakura Town, laying low for decades there until the main events of Bleach began. In canon, they're far from lovers, but they have amusing chemistry as a comedic duo of deceptively powerful fighters.
Kisuke owes Yoruichi a big favor after the latter saved him from twisted justice in the Soul Society a century ago, and he won't hesitate to support her in battle and vice versa. It's also amusing how they sometimes tease each other as longtime friends with goofy personalities, which makes their comedy-based fanon ship such a delight to imagine.
6 Rukia Kuchiki & Renji Abarai Grew Up on the Streets Together
The canon Rukia/Renji ship had its start early on, with Rukia and Renji growing up together on the mean streets of the Rukongai District. Renji looked up to the talented Rukia and was highly protective of her, so when Rukia was convinced to go become a Soul Reaper, Renji followed suit and began his own training at the Shin'o Academy.
Rukia and Renji were estranged as friends during the first story arc and the beloved Soul Society arc, but then Ichigo redeemed Renji, which fixed the Renji/Rukia friendship. The two of them even snuck into Hueco Mundo together to support Ichigo's team, and later, they were teammates in the fight against the Sternritter. Ultimately, the two childhood friends married and had a daughter together, the energetic Ichika.
5 Uryu Ishida & Nemu Kurotsuchi Are Surprisingly Sweet Together
The Quincy archer Uryu Ishida met Nemu Kurotsuchi in the Soul Society invasion, and though they were technically enemies, Uryu showed Nemu kindness. Uryu was outraged that Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi abused and exploited Nemu, which inspired Nemu to give Uryu a cure for a deadly poison after the battle was over. That was the start of their surprise friendship.
Later, during Uryu's adventure in the bleak world of Hueco Mundo, he needed help from Mayuri and Nemu Kurotsuchi, which led to a little comedy. Nemu held Uryu down so Mayuri could heal him, and Uryu felt flustered that Nemu's bosom was so close to his face. Even if it was just a gag, though, that scene showed how close Uryu and Nemu had become, and all that makes them rank in the middle among Bleach's best ships.
4 Uryu Ishida & Orihime Inoue Are Good Friends and Go to School Together
Uryu Ishida is shipped not just with Nemu Kurotsuchi, but also with his classmate and friend Orihime Inoue, whom he knows on a deeper level. Even if Orihime ended up marrying Ichigo in the end, Uryu was the first to show a romantic interest in Orihime, hence his ultra-protective ways during their time together in the Soul Society.
Uryu and Orihime had a few moments together, from sneaking around in the Soul Society as a tag team to their experience watching Ichigo fight Ulquirra Cifer in Las Noches. However, while Uryu had a serious crush on Orihime, the latter was totally oblivious and only saw him as a loyal, charming friend. Uryu was probably disappointed, but he was too gentlemanly to show it.
3 Ichigo Kurosaki & Rukia Kuchiki Have Incredible Chemistry as Fellow Tsunderes
The most popular Bleach ship is definitely between protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki and the first Soul Reaper whom he ever met, Rukia Kuchiki. They crossed paths in Bleach's very first episode, when Rukia explained the basics of Soul Reapers and Hollows before lending her powers to Ichigo to defeat Fishbone D.
The IchiRuki ship is based on these two characters' ample screen time together and their strong chemistry as fellow tsunderes. They may butt heads and argue often, but they're still good friends and rely heavily on each other, and fans can't get enough of it. Many fans were bitterly disappointed that IchiRuki didn't become canon, but there were several obstacles to that ship, such as the fact they came from different worlds.
2 Ichigo Kurosaki & Orihime Inoue Were Destined to Fall in Love
The IchiHime ship isn't as popular as IchiRuki among Bleach fans, but it still has plenty of supporters, and most of all, it'sw 100% canon, as the final Bleach manga chapter showed. Ichigo may not have openly returned Orihime's amorous feelings at first, but he did care deeply about her safety and happiness from the very start, at least.
The two of them had some wonderful moments together, such as Orihime's love confession to a sleeping Ichigo, complete with an almost-kiss. The two of them had differing personalities, but they still respect and admire one another a great deal, and got along well. After the main story, Ichigo became more relaxed as a family man, happily raising his son Kazui with his wife Orihime.
1 Isshin Shiba & Masaki Kurosaki Fell in Love After They Fought a Hollow Together
Isshin/Masaki is the most inspiring and heartfelt ship in all of Bleach, canon or not. This official pairing may be an example of a marriage that ended in tragedy, but even so, Bleach fans love the story of how Ichigo's parents met. As flashbacks in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc showed, Captain Isshin Shiba of squad 10 saved a Quincy girl named Masaki Kurosaki from a deadly Hollow called White, and then he gave up his Soul Reaper powers to save Masaki's life from the Hollow's poison.
As the teenaged Masaki grew up, she and Isshin fell in love, and when Masaki was old enough, they married and started a household together. For Isshin and his three children, Masaki was the sun, a warm and bright thing that everyone else revolved around. Thus, Isshin and his kids were absolutely heartbroken when Masaki died at Grand Fisher's hands, but Isshin did keep a huge poster of Masaki in his living room wall to help keep her memory alive in comedic yet touching fashion.
