The shonen anime series Bleach features plenty of powerhouse characters, such as Soul Reapers and Arrancars, but these fighters are not all strong in the same way. Some Bleach warriors are powerful because they have formidable abilities and techniques at their disposal, almost like natural talent. They may be deadly, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're skilled. In fact, some powerful Bleach fighters seem to coast on their talents and don't bother to develop skills such as swordplay and martial arts.
Meanwhile, the most skilled and overall best fighters in Bleach are those who use years or even decades of training to become effective warriors, and that's actually more impressive than a character who relies mainly on an OP technique to crush their enemies. Bleach fans can easily see which characters are the best, most skilled fighters based on their special moves, their sharp battlefield intuition, and their good reputations as swordsmen or martial artists.
10 Grimmjow Jaegerjaques Is Ruthless and Thinks On His Feet
Grimmjow Jaegerjaques may not have been the single most powerful among the ten Espadas, but he definitely had the most physical skill, at least. Grimmjow even defeated Ichigo Kurosaki without using his zanpakuto at all, showing what a fierce martial artist he was. Then he started using his blade, easily keeping up with Ichigo's bankai the entire time.
Grimmjow was not only skilled, but also able to improvise during a tough fight. One example was when he tried to use a point-blank cero on Ichigo, only for Ichigo to block it, so Grimmjow rashly tossed away his zanpakuto to charge a second cero, an unexpected move that delivered results. In his released form, Pantera, Grimmjow became a fast, agile feline warrior with remarkable speed and agility. Still, even all that only makes Grimmjow the 10th most skilled fighter in Bleach, since the rest have even more impressive skills.
9 Uryu Ishida Trained Hard So He Can Hit Any Target
Ichigo's shonen-style rival, the Quincy archer Uryu Ishida, trained for years to hone his skills and become one of Bleach's best fighters. Uryu learned from his grandfather Soken, then underwent later training with his father Ryuken to take his Quincy skills to the next level. He can even make use of Ransotengai, a rare Quincy technique that lets a paralyzed or exhausted Quincy keep fighting.
Uryu boasted remarkble aim and reflexes in every story arc in Bleach, able to tag even the fastest opponents with his arrows and dominate any fight. He also made clever use of a tool called Seeleschneider against Cirucci Sanderwicci to steal her spirit energy and use it for himself, tipping the scales in his favor. Uryu can also use Licht Regen and Hirenkyaku in battle.
8 Kenpachi Zaraki Lives Only For Battle
Kenpachi Zaraki's technique isn't as refined as it could be, but he makes up for that with sheer strength, endurance, and bloodlust in battle. In his formative years, Kenpachi only received minimal training, so he is largely self-taught, which makes his combat prowess all the more impressive.
Kenpachi has sharp instincts and a bold, aggressive attitude in battle, allowing him to find and strike any weak point his enemy may have. He could even fight without shikai or kido spells when fighting powerful foes like Nnoitra Gilga and the Sternritter, but eventually, even Kenpachi needed to power up. He defeated Unohana in a duel to the death and achieved shikai, the melee-oriented Nozarashi.
7 Retsu/Yachiru Unohana Was the First Kenpachi
Captain Retsu Unohana was famed for her gentle, motherly persona as Squad 4's Captain, but when the Gotei 13 was founded, she was actually Captain Yachiru Unohana of Squad 11 and the first Kenpachi. At some point, she changed her name and became a healer, but her deadly skills never went away.
In the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc, Unohana reverted to her Yachiru self and challenged Kenpachi Zaraki to a sword duel to the death. Yachiru had greater skill and might have killed Kenpachi, but she healed him just enough to keep the fight going and coax out Kenpachi's true potential. That allowed Unohana to die in peace, content that the Kenpachi title was in good hands.
6 Ichigo Kurosaki Learned a Lot in Very Little Time
The complete timeline of Ichigo's life makes it clear that he did a lot of training and made a lot of progress in remarkably little time. Unlike Uryu and typical Soul Reapers, Ichigo didn't train since childhood to develop his skills as a fighter. Until he met Rukia Kuchiki, he was simply a punk martial artist, but then he trained with Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihoin, the Visoreds, and even his own father to learn swordplay.
Ichigo rapidly built up his skills to get shikai and bankai, then take control of his inner Hollow to become one of Bleach's most skilled swordsmen. He may lack a Soul Reaper's decades of training and Kenpachi's unbelievable durability, but he makes up for it with hard-won skill and good instincts. Fans might say that sheer plot armor got Ichigo that far, but he definitely earned his victories, too.
5 Toshiro Hitsugaya is a Gifted Swordsman For His Age
Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya of Squad 10 may be younger than his fellow Captains, but he has incredible talent and skill to keep him on parity with most of them. In fact, Captain Shunsui Kyoraku estimated that before long, Toshiro would become stronger than him, which is saying a lot.
Toshiro may be gifted with a powerful bankai named Daiguren Hyorinmaru, but he doesn't coast on it. Toshiro has spent years training hard to sharpen his skills, and it paid off. No matter his youth, Toshiro is one of the Gotei 13's most proficient swordsmen of all, a near-unbeatable opponent in any sword duel. His potential is immense, and he's come a long way, making him in the middle of the pack among Bleach's strongest fighters — but a few characters are stronger still.
4 Soi Fon Mastered the Art of Assassination
The Soul Society has an assassination corps, and its leaders tend to rank among the Gotei 13's most gifted martial artists of all. One example is Captain Soi Fon of Squad 2, who is faster and more agile than almost any other Soul Reaper. With martial arts alone, Soi Fon can take down nearly any foe, and if necessary, she can use her instant-kill shikai to finish the job.
Soi Fon was trained by the legendary Yoruichi Shihoin herself, which explains her immense skill as a well-respected fighter. She even learned to use Shunko, the kido/martial arts style that Yoruichi invented, with Soi Fon's Shunko having a wind theme. Also, as a trained ninja, Soi Fon is capable of near-perfect stealth.
3 Byakuya Kuchiki Is an Elegant and Deadly Warrior With Many Skills
Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, the commander of Squad 6 and the head of the noble Kuchiki family, is one of the best-balanced Soul Reapers in all of Bleach. He uses some of everything that makes a good Soul Reaper, from a finely-honed flash step to swordplay, shikai, bankai, and advanced kido spells. He doesn't use martial arts often, but he still has that option, at least.
Byakuya has a reputation for being one of the Gotei 13's best swordsmen of all, which is no surprise, considering his cushy upbringing and his training. He learned the sword from his grandfather Ginrei, who once served as a Captain, and he evidently learned kido the same way. Early in the Bleach anime, Byakuya was the first example of how a skilled Soul Reaper can strike down an opponent before that enemy can even see what's happening.
2 Sosuke Aizen is Nearly Untouchable in a Sword Duel
In the beloved Soul Society story arc, it became horribly clear that Sosuke Aizen wasn't just a traitor — he was a powerhouse villain who could defend his schemes with incredible combat prowess. He mainly relied on trickery with his shikai, Kyoka Suigetsu, but in a fair fight, Aizen could easily dispose of his enemies even without the use of illusions.
In several major fights, Sosuke Aizen casually outmaneuvered even the strongest Bleach heroes and cut them down with impunity, even when totally outnumbered. Even if Bleach's characters didn't comment on it much, Aizen clearly had highly advanced swordsmanship and reflexes, not to mention powerful kido spells for backup.
1 Yoruichi Shihoin is the Apex of Assassination and Martial Arts
The famed Yoruichi Shihoin was once Squad 2's Captain and personally trained the current Captain, Soi Fon. Even if she never revealed her shikai or bankai, Yoruichi is Bleach's best fighter thanks to her unmatched martial arts, stealth, and her invention/use of the Shunko technique. Even Soi Fon was shocked when Yoruichi easily fought off a mob of ninjas who tried to overwhelm her.
Only when her enemies used special talents did Yoruichi ever struggle in battle. Yoruichi might have a tough time against abilities like The Compulsory when fighting Pernida Parnkgjas, but in a straight fight of swords and fists, Yoruichi has no equal, and everyone knows it. She also has the fastest flash step of all, hence her title as the "queen of flash." That's a vital technique for an assassin martial artist like Yoruichi Shihoin.
