As a battle shonen anime and manga, Bleach lives and dies by its fights. For the most parts, one pillar of the legendary Shonen Jump Big Three lived up to these expectations with its unique powers and compelling cast of fighters. However, some of Bleach's biggest fights stuck out for the wrong reasons.
Bleach is notorious among older battle shonen fans for the inconsistent quality of its fights. Bleach's weakest fights were defined by an overuse of surprise power-ups, absurd plot twists and exhausting predictability. These controversial fights should've ended with a different winner, or they should've at least gone down a different route.
10 Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya vs. Tier Harribel
Winner: Sosuke Aizen
Of the Espada, Harribel suffered the most disrespect. Even if Harribel was the third-ranked Espada, she was immediately defeated by Aizen with just one sword strike. To add insult to injury, Aizen interrupted Harribel's then-ongoing duel against Captain Hitsugaya, leaving their fight at an unsatisfying stalemate.
Although it made sense that someone as overpowered and almost godlike as Aizen could strike Harribel down in a single blow, it was still an abrupt and cheap ending to their duel. Worse, she never unleashed her full might the way the other Espada did. The only consolation was the anime extended Aizen and Harribel's one-sided fight for a bit, and that Harribel survived all the way to Bleach's end.
9 The Zero Squad vs. The Schutzstaffel (Manga)
Winner: The Schutzstaffel
The Zero Squad (or the Royal Guard) were the oldest and most powerful Soul Reapers alive. Some, like Ichibe Hyosube, were so ancient that their Zanpakuto commanded concepts like names. Despite their combined might, the Zero Squad lost off-panel to Emperor Yhwach's elite Sternritter, the Schutzstaffel, in the manga.
This was due in part to Bleach's final manga arc being rushed. Though they were doomed to lose, fans hated how the Zero Squad were so easily beaten after all their prior hype and build-up. Thankfully, the Zero Squad put up a better fight in the anime's finale, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. Here, three of the five Royal Guards only died because they sacrificed themselves for Senjumaru Shutara's Bankai.
8 Captains Byakuya Kuchiki & Zaraki Kenpachi vs. Yammy Riyalgo
Winner: Captains Byakuya Kuchiki and Zaraki Kenpahci
Originally, it was assumed that the Espada were ranked from 10 to 1, with 1 being the strongest. But in Hueco Mundo, Yammy Riyalgo (the tenth Espada) revealed that the elite Arrancar were really ranked from 10 to 0. Yammy was the zeroth Espada, and therefore the strongest in terms of raw power if not skill.
What was one of Bleach's coolest twists turned out to be a waste of time, as Yammy was beaten off-panel by Captains Byakuya and Kenpachi in the manga. Worse, they didn't take Yammy seriously because they were busy bickering. The anime extended the fight by giving Kenapchi more screen time, but it was still a letdown since Yammy didn't have anything beyond his gigantic transformations.
7 Captains Kensei Muguruma & Rojuro Otoribashi vs. Mask De Masculine
Winner: Mask de Masculine
One of fans' biggest hang-ups about the battle for Fake Karakura Town was how Kensei and Rose of the Visored didn't show their powers before the arc ended. At most, Kensei revealed his Bankai before he was defeated off-screen by Wonderweiss Margela. This was somewhat addressed during the second wave of the Sternritter's invasion of the Soul Society, only for their spotlight to be cut short by Mask de Masculine.
Mask was so overpowered that he quickly defeated Kensei and Rose even when they used their Bankai. This made some sense since the captains underestimated Mask and his theoretically bottomless brute strength and healing factor. That being said, it was still frustrating to see the Visored go down so quickly again, especially after they finally revealed their Bankai.
6 Vice Captain Renji Abarai vs. Mask De Masculine, Round 2
Winner: Vice Captain Renji Abarai
The most frustrating thing about Mask de Masculine's dominance over two captains and three vice captains was how quickly his might and Bleach's power scales were nullified by Renji. When Renji returned from the Royal Guard's palace, he was so overpowered that he burned Mask into ash with his newly evolved Bankai.
Renji avenging his failure during the Sternritter's first assault by defeating Mask (who drop-kicked him into oblviion) wasn't bad. The problem was that he did it so effortlessly that some Bleach fans actually felt like he cheated. Renji wasn't challenged in any way by Mask, who was one of the strongest Sternritter around. This adversely also made Kensei and Rose look even more pathetic than they already did.
5 Rukia Kuchiki vs. As Nodt, Round 1
Winner: Rukia Kuchiki
When Rukia returned from the Royal Palace, she used her upgraded strength to overpower As Nodt. What made her victory significant was that As Nodt almost killed Rukia's beloved older brother, Byakuya, and he was the first Sternritter she fought on equal ground. However, she won in such a ridiculous way that it was hard to take seriously.
Rukia countered As Nodt's fear-inducing powers by freezing herself to the point where she was medically dead, because dead people don't fear anything. Even ignoring how preposterous Rukia's solution was even by Bleach's standards, it would've been better if she overcame the fear with her willpower. Worse, As Nodt quickly recovered and overpowered her with his Vollstandig.
4 Captain Byakuya Kuchiki vs. As Nodt, Round 2
Winner: Rukia Kuchiki
One of the most divisive parts of the war between the Soul Reapers and Quincy was Captain Byakuya's fate. During the invasion's first wave, it seemed as As Nodt killed him after stealing his Zanpakuto, Senbonzakura. This would've been the perfect send-off for the captain, only for him to undo the drama by surviving. What's more, Byakuya returned just in time to save Rukia from As Nodt.
Byakuya saving Rukia wasn't a bad idea, but he stole her thunder when he used his newly-reclaimed Zanpakuto to weaken the Sternritter. For comparison's sake, Rukia didn't need saving when she was in a similar situation during her fight against Aaroneiro Arruruerie. It would've been more satisfying if Byakuya and As Nodt had a proper rematch, or if both Kuchikis fought the Quincy from the start.
3 Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi vs. Pernida Parnkgjas (Manga)
Winner: Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi
Captain Mayuri is one of (if not) Bleach's most frustrating fighters. He often won by conjuring unfair, game-breaking Deus ex Machina at will rather than using actual skills or anything established beforehand. This made sense since he was a mad scientist, but it was still annoying to see in action. This was most apparent in his fight against Pernida Parnkgjas.
Just when it seemed as if he would finally be challenged and forced out of his comfort zone, Captain Mayuri defeated the Quincy by pulling out more lifesavers from nowhere, including a poisoned Nemu. He should've defeated the Soul King's left hand in a more convincing and less convenient manner. The anime has the chance to improve this otherwise promising duel.
2 Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Sosuke Aizen, Final Round
Winner: Ichigo Kurosaki
It goes without saying that there was a lot of excitement for the final duel between Ichigo and Bleach's first and most iconic overall villain, Aizen. Unfortunately, the fight was a disappointment because Ichigo easily overpowered Aizen. He only needed to land three hits on Aizen at most before unleashing a giant Mugetsu blast.
Not helping matters was how, at this point in the arc, Aizen was basically a god. It could be argued that Aizen losing so easily was his hubris in action and his ironic doom. However, the fight was still a letdown, especially after Bleach made Aizen so overpowered and omnipotent that he seemed impossible to beat. Ichigo's victory was inevitable, but Aizen's downfall needed more work.
1 Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Emperor Yhwach, Final Round (Manga)
Winner: Ichigo Kurosaki
As Sternritter A: The Almighty and the Quincy's centuries-old ruler, Emperor Yhwach was practically God. Despite being able to rewrite reality, his final fight against Ichigo concluded rather quickly. In fact, their last duel was only around 12 chapters long. The fight was a chore, where Ichigo and Yhawach spammed their biggest attacks until Yhwach ran out of moves.
It could also be argued that Ichigo only won through luck and circumstance. The most egregious instance of this was Uryu Ishida, firing a lethal silver arrowhead that his father gave him at the last second. Granted, this was a symptom of the manga's rushed state, but it was still a letdown. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War needs to make Yhwach's final fight against the heroes more thrilling and less convenient.
