Updated January 6, 2023 by Ernie
The Zanpakutōs are weapons that only Soul Reapers or Shinigamis can use, they are their trademark. They wield the ability to sever spiritual bodies which makes them the perfect weapon to fight against Hollows.
Table of Contents
Every single Shinigami possesses a Zanpakutō, however, not every blade is the same, and each one is unique.
Those weapons are mirrors of their owner’s souls and they develop, power up, and transform using their respective reiatsu. They may be weapons, but they are also living beings as there is a spirit that lives inside the blade, it is that spirit that lends its power to the Soul Reaper.
You may think that the stronger the shinigami, the stronger the Zanpakuto but that’s not actually the case.
The ability that the weapon will possess will reflect the personality of the owner, a lower-ranked Shinigami may get the blade with such an amazing ability that it could surpass the blade of a captain.
So let’s see which Zanpakutos are actually the strongest ones in the series.
POWERFUL ZANPAKTUOS THAT YOU SHOULD REMEMBER
20. Suzumuchi: Kamane Tosen
This terrifying weapon is owned or more correctly was owned by the captain of the 9th Squad, Kamane Tosen.
He might have been the weakest captain of the Gotei 13, however, his partner was here to make up for his lack of talent.
Well, if you ask me I’d say that Suzumuchi just wasted away in his hands but I can’t deny that they were made for each other ( Bleach manga; Chapter 126, page 16).
See, Kamane is blind and yet you won’t find him at any disadvantage in battle since his Zanpakto has the ability to cripple his opponent by seizing his senses before the battle even begins.
His Bankai is even harder to deal with since it traps the enemy in a warped space where all the five senses can slowly be stolen (Bleach manga; Chapter 146, pages 7-16).
19. Suzumebachi: Soi Fon
To be able to wield Suzumebachi you will need extraordinary speed and a hell lot of talent. This weapon isn’t made for everyone but in the hands of the fearsome assassin, Soi Fon it’s abilities are shining on the battlefield.
In its Shinkai form, Suzumebachi will turn into a stinger. If it so much as grazes you, a butterfly mark will appear on your body.
It would’ve been a sick tattoo, but if she managed to strike the same spot a second time, you will instantly die. No matter who you are, no matter how strong you are, your fate is sealed (Bleach anime; Episodes 329-333).
I believe it’s the only Zanpakuto in the entire series that has Shinkai cooler than its Bankai. The Bankai is a mundane giant rocket. Deadly but like “deja vu” you know (Bleach manga; Chapter 360, page 12).
18. Zabimaru: Renji Abarai
Super jealous that Ichigo got to show off his Bankai before he did, Renji trained like a mad madman to get to his level and his efforts paid off.
His Zanpakuto in its Shinkai form was already plenty strong and very difficult to fight against as it could come apart and turn into a super long sword/wip that could cut you up in hundred of pieces in a second (Bleach manga; Chapter 54, pages 17-19).
His Bankai however is imposing to say the least. Zabimaru became an enormous skeleton snake born for physical combat. Its power is unimaginable and it can even fire cero blasts on command (Bleach manga; Chapter 564, pages 10-11).
17. Sode No Shirayuki: Rukia Kuchiki
Elegant and mesmerizing, Sode No Shirayuki is the most beautiful blade in all Seireitei. It’s a delicate rose with thorns that are ready for the kill.
With the Zanpakuto in Rukia’s hands, the Shinigami becomes the Queen of ice. Get too close and you will turn into a frozen statue, stay far and her blades of ice will come and get you.
Not only made for attacking, it’s also very proficient in defense as it can quote the body of the wielder in ice protecting her from danger.
I can’t wait to see what its Bankai will look like. I bet the enemies will beg to get hit by its magnificence (Bleach manga; Chapter 570).
16. Sogyo No Kotowari: Jushiro Ukitake
Jushiro might look easygoing and goofy, but let me assure you, you do not want him as an enemy.
Not only does he possess tremendous strength and talent, but his weapon alone is also enough to make anyone tremble in fear.
In its Shinkai, the Zanpakuto turns into a dual blade, and each blade gains a specific ability. The left one will absorb any attack thrown at it while the right one will send it back to the enemy in an amplified form (Bleach manga; Chapter 156, page 12).
15. Shinso: Gin Ichimaru
Mysterious, intelligent, and extremely sneaky, Gin played us all for the fools we are. Wanting to save Soul Society, he tricked Aizen into thinking he joined his side. But gaining his trust wasn’t easy and demonstrating his strength while demolishing his enemies was the best way to gain it.
We got to see Shinzo in all its glory and it was the sight of the century. It looked like a normal blade with the special ability to change sizes. It can elongate for meters while staying the same weight and it can also bend at the will of the wielder.
Super fast, super powerful, there is nowhere you can hide when you are up against such an overwhelming blade (Bleach manga; Chapter 399).
14. Wabisuke: Izuru Kira
Wabisuke is personally one of my favorite Zanpakutos of the series. Its wielder Kira is an emotionless Shinigami with no presence nor personality.
Looking at him, he reeks of weakness, but that was before witnessing his strength in the battlefield. Armed with his terrifying Zanpakuto, all the opponents who believed they were going to have an easy win swallowed back their thoughts in seconds.
Every time Zabisuke strikes a person, his weight doubles. Not only does his speed get taken away, strike, after the strike, after strike he will end up crushed under the weight of his own body…gruesome (Bleach manga; Chapter 169).
13. Senbonzakura: Byakuya Kuchiki
They say that Sode no Shirayuki is the most beautiful blade of Seireitei but sorry, I will have to reject that thought. That title definitely goes to Senbonzakura.
In its Shinkai form, the Zanpakuto turns into thousands of pink sakura petals sharper than any blade of Earth (Bleach manga; Chapter 141).
Extremely powerful, the Shinkai is in fact nothing compared to the OP Bankai of those swords. Thousands of blades turn into millions of petals.
Spring is back, and the Sakura trees are blooming but they will soon be tainted by the deep red of the blood of Byakuya’s enemies (Bleach manga; Chapter 143).
12. Hyorinmaru: Toshiro Hitsugaya
Toshiro became the youngest Shinigami that was ever appointed captain and it’s in part thanks to his Zanpakuto.
In its Shinkai form, the weapon will grant him complete control over ice. If Rukia is the Queen then Toshiro is definitely the King.
When going into its Bankai form, a dragon of ice will manifest on Toshiro’s back magnifying his power at least tenfold.
However, due to the power of the technique, there is a time limit on how much the technique will stay active. But don’t worry, I don’t believe he will ever need to exert that time (Bleach manga; Chapter 170).
11. Sayafushi: Oetsu Nimaiya
No wonder that the weapon of the “God of the Sword”, the creator of all the Zanpakuto was going to be on this little list. We have to show our respect to the man.
Sayafushi is a diamond-rank weapon and is considered one of the 25 most powerful weapons in the universe and yet it is considered to be a failure by its creator.
The blade is way too sharp while the edge was made too smooth. Well, for me it just sounds like he is being picky.
The weapon was able to cut down four Quincys in one shot, and not some of the weak ones. Thing is I’d rather not give you too many details about the weapon since the last season is still ongoing and I bet none of you want unexpected spoilers (Bleach manga; Chapter 601).
10. Ashisogi ji*zo: Mayuri Kurotsuchi
Mayuri can’t really be considered an expert combatant even though he possesses the title of captain. What he lacks in strength he makes up in intelligence, the man is a real genius.
Ashisogi ji*zo is his Zanpakuto. The first time we saw it might have caused us some nightmares. A giant baby that was supposed to be a blade is just disturbing.
And yet, over the course of the series, you might have realized that the weapon changed which should be impossible but it did and that’s because Mayuri had fun experimenting on his weapon trying to perfect it.
One of the most noticeable abilities is that the enemy can’t put his hands on it. A self-destruct mechanism was installed on the weapon making it impossible to attack the owner (Bleach manga; Chapter 593).
9. Katen Kyokotsu: Shunsui Kyoraku
It’s time to play a game, a children’s game to be exact. The price of losing will be your very own life.
Should be easy to clear, right? In the end, it’s just a stupid game made for brats. But don’t take it lightly, no matter how simple it might be, you still have to guess what the rules are.
I don’t think Shunsui would be nice enough to explain how the game is played before the fight. Katen’s ability is now activated: “children’s games into reality”. Good luck to you my friends, may we see you again, probably in another life (Bleach manga; Chapter 647 – 648)
8. Benihime: Kisuke Urahara
Benihime is a very versatile sword with unique abilities. Its specialty is creating reishi bombs to surround the opponent and turn him into a mesh of flesh. Not suitable for close combat, Urahara usually keeps his distance to fight.
When transformed into Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame, close combat now becomes possible.
The Zanpakuto reorganizes the structure of its owner as well as the environment itself given the edge, and the advantage to the wielder (Bleach manga; Chapter 664 – 665).
7. Sakanade: Shinji Hirako
Sakanade AKA “Counter Stroke” is the blade of the Visore who is now the captain of the 5th division in the Gotei 13.
When Shinji activates the sword’s ability, a pink mist will materialize. Careful not to smell it or you will be hit by “Upside Down World”.
It turns your perspective upside down. Up is now down, right is left, if you go forward you are actually going backward. Confusing stuff.
Even your sense of pain will be flipped. Get slashed on the right hand and you will feel the damage on your left (Bleach manga; Chapter 387).
6. Minazuki: Retsu Unohana
Unohana is the medic of the Gotei 13. As a doctor made for healing, she looks sweet and kind, however, we couldn’t be more wrong.
She is a killing machine in love with battle who only learned how to heal to enjoy the bloodshed for eternity.
She first shows the extent of her full power during the Thousand Year Blood War arc as she was trying to draw out the full potential of Kenpachi.
Her Bankai, Minazuki, turned the entire area into a pool of blood controlled by her. The environment became hers. What’s more, the blade itself into a whip of blood capable of striking opponents from anywhere in any angle (Bleach manga; Chapter 526 – 527).
5. Nozarashi: Zaraki Kenpachi
Nozarashi is the newly awakened Zanpakuto of Kenpachi, a weapon that was awakened thanks to the sacrifice of Unohana.
Kenpachi was already an OP fighter, the only Shinigami that was ever appointed Captain without having a Bankai, nor a Shinkai at that.
His limitless pool of reiatsu was his weapon, but now his overall abilities have been heightened thanks to the skills of his sword.
A monster awakened along its blade, an overwhelming ally that might give the Shinigami a fighting chance against the Quincys (Bleach manga; Chapter 670).
4. Kyoka Suigetsu: Sosuke Aizen
Aizen Sosuke, a master of deception, armed with a Zanpakuto made to alter the reality of any living being, turned him into the second most difficult enemy to deal with.
Kyoka Suigetsu “Perfect Hypnosis” ability will create incredible illusions that will fool all your five senses.
Reality and illusion will be impossible to make apart. He can make you side with him and make you turn your blade again you nakama and you will never be able to know (Bleach manga; Chapter 171).
3. Zangetsu: Ichigo Kurosaki
Ichigo had to go through so many hardships to master the weapon that he was given after turning into a Shinigami. After all that, the least it could’ve done is turn out to be an OP weapon and well, we have to say, Zangetsu did not disappoint.
In its last form, Zangetsu turns into a dual blade is the mark of the Hollow in him while the second is the representation of the Quincys.
Its trademark attack is the “Getsuga Tensho”, an enormous blast of energy that pulverizes anything in its path.
Its Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, magnifies all his physical abilities making them surpass the limits of the possible. In that form, even Yhwach did not stand a chance (Bleach manga; Chapter 683 – 684).
2. Ichimonji: Ichibei Hyosube
Ichimonji is a blade that works in an abstract way. It slashes the name of a “thing”, thus dealing damage to the physical materialization of that “thing”.
He throws black ink on his target, stripping him of his name and then using white ink renaming it to turn the tide of the battle in his favor.
I know it’s confusing, but let me give you an example, take the power of Yhwach, he renamed it making it the power of an ant thus tremendously reducing his strength. Oh yeah, almost forgot, he can also control anything that is black (Bleach manga; Chapter 608).
1. Ryujin Jakka: Shigekuni Yamamoto Genryusai
Genryusai wasn’t the all-mighty captain of the Gotei 13 for nothing. He was extraordinary and so was his Zanpakuto.
A nuclear bomb looks cute in front of Ryujin Jakka, it’s a real natural catastrophe, a weapon made for pure destruction.
In its Shinkai form the Zanpakuto can vaporize anything that comes too close to it. Pillars of flame will manifest all over the place, water will start disappearing from inside your body.
When the Bankai is activated, Zanka no Tachi, the blade will burn at the same temperature as the sun, 27 million °F.
Zanka no Tachi East will concentrate all that heat in the tip of the blade, Zanka no Tachi West will engulf Genryusai into a tornado of flames that isn’t visible to the naked eye.
Zanka no Tachi South will summon an undead army of skeletons consisting of all the enemies that he had slayed in his life.
And finally, Zanka no Tachi North will instantly disintegrate anything the blade touches. All the enemies of Seireitei had one man they never wanted to face and that was Genryusai, even Aizen and Yhwach shared the same fear (Bleach manga; Chapter 508 – 509).
Conclusion
So, which Zanpakuto is your favorite? Which one do you think should have been added to the list? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below? Let’s work together to make the perfect Zanpakuto power ranking!
References
Bleach manga; Chapter 126, page 16
Bleach manga; Chapter 146, pages 7-16
Bleach anime; Episodes 329-333
Bleach manga; Chapter 360, page 12
Bleach manga; Chapter 54, pages 17-19
Bleach manga; Chapter 564, pages 10-11
Bleach manga; Chapter 570
Bleach manga; Chapter 156, page 12
Bleach manga; Chapter 399
Bleach manga; Chapter 169
Bleach manga; Chapter 141
Bleach manga; Chapter 143
Bleach manga; Chapter 170
Bleach manga; Chapter 601
Bleach manga; Chapter 593
Bleach manga; Chapter 647 – 648
Bleach manga; Chapter 664 – 665
Bleach manga; Chapter 387
Bleach manga; Chapter 526 – 527
Bleach manga; Chapter 670
Bleach manga; Chapter 171
Bleach manga; Chapter 683 – 684
Bleach manga; Chapter 608
Bleach manga; Chapter 508 – 509
