Bankai That Are New Or Improved In The Anime

Summary

• Anime-exclusive Bankai scenes in Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War anime showcase enhanced animations and new Bankai.
• Extended fights in the anime add depth to Bankai abilities, making them more impactful and visually stunning.
• The anime clarifies confusing Bankai abilities, adds new scenes to emphasize power, and breathes life into manga moments.

A Bankai activation is always a huge occasion in the series of Bleach, as it refers to when a captain or lieutenant of the Gotei 13 decides to put their full power on display by deploying an immensely powerful ability or technique. While Tite Kubo’s original manga featured a plethora of Bankai for fans to admire, some were only briefly skimmed over, while others were left out entirely for one reason or another.

Thankfully, with Tite Kubo working alongside Pierrot for the new Bleach Thousand Year-Blood War anime, it means the author has been able to encourage the animators to spend just a little extra time on some of these attacks to make them more impactful and memorable. At the same time, there has even been an entirely new Bankai introduced to audiences through the anime too, which is why it is so well worth watching, even for those who have already finished the original source material.

8

Sakashima Yokoshima Happofusagari – Shinji

Shinji Finally Got To Put His Full Power On Show In An Anime-Exclusive Bankai Scene

• First Appearance: Cour 2 Episode 3

Though Shinji gave fans a glimpse into his Zanpakuto’s true power during the Fake Karakura Town where he unleashed his Shikai, which even took Aizen by surprise, his Bankai unfortunately was never revealed, at least in the manga, that is. Shinji has thankfully been granted a lot more screentime in the anime and was even given the spotlight to show off his hypnotic Bankai, which he uses to utterly obliterate a group of Quincy soldiers who manage to surround him.

The Bankai makes Shinji’s enemies believe they are in some kind of inverted world, with all of their senses of belief, justice, and identity being completely flipped around, causing the Quincy to fire arrows off at one another without even realizing what they’ve just done. It’s a devastating Bankai which helps to justify how Shinji ended up earning his Captain position all those years ago.

7

Hakka No Togame – Rukia

Hakka No Togame’s Range And Power Is Emphasized Much More In The Anime

• Episode: Cour 2 Episode 6

Rukia finally unleashes her long-awaited Bankai in the manga during the final few moments of her duel against Sternritter “F”: As Nodt. Though this ice-based technique already looked dazzling in the manga, it was a little difficult to gauge exactly how far-reaching it really was, since, outside of panels showing both Rukia and As being covered in ice, there’s not too much else to see when the Bankai is activated.

When Rukia calls out to Hakka no Togame in the anime, though, there are a few extra scenes that show her ice spreading to the surrounding area at an alarming speed, really highlighting just how quick and dangerous this risky technique truly is, somehow making it look even cooler than it already did.

6

Tekken Tachikaze – Kensei

• First Appearance: Cour 2 Episode 5

Kensei’s Bankai often receives a lot of flak for how basic and ordinary it seems compared to many of the other captains. Simply put, this Bankai allows Kensei to charge up his fists with a staggering amount of power so that he can blow his opponents away with no more than a few deadly quick strikes.

In the manga, this Bankai only receives a few panels before Mask de Masculine humiliates Kensei and leaves him for dead. Though Kensei is still bested by the mask-wearing wrestler in the anime, the vibrant and explosive animation allows his Bankai to look much more impactful and devastating, which is probably how it was supposed to come across in the original chapter.

5

Minazuki – Retsu Onahana

Minazuki’s True Abilities Are Now Much Easier To Understand Thanks To The Anime

• First Appearance: Cour 1 Episode 10

Minazuki, the Bankai of Unohana who reveals her true identity as a Kenpachi at the beginning of the war, was one of the most baffling abilities in the manga, which had many fans scratching their heads upon seeing it for the first time. Because Unohana didn’t really make use of its abilities and continued fighting as normal, fans were left to theorize how exactly it worked, with some believing it allowed her sword to create burning acid, while others thought it had something to do with blinding the enemy through darkness.

Needless to say, it could have been explained a little better, but the anime made things a lot clearer by highlighting the weapons’ true ability to manipulate blood. During her fight with Kenpachi in the anime, Unohana can be seen whipping streams of blood at her opponent, and thanks to the gorgeous animation, it also makes this technique in general look much more deadly and creepy than before.

4

Shatatsu Karagara Shigarami No Tsuji – Senjumaru

A New Bankai Which Managed To Rock The Three Worlds Just From Being Activated

• First Appearance: Cour 2 Episode 13

Despite being hyped up as some of the most formidable warriors in all of the Soul Society, Squad 0 don’t exactly fit this description in the manga, considering they get wiped out by Yhwach and his Schutzstaffel pretty quickly. It was clear to many fans that this was a particular aspect of the story that the anime needed to improve, and not only did this result in an extended fight but also a dazzling Bankai reveal from the ever-mysterious Senjumaru.

Using her clothwork skills, Senjumaru surrounds her opponents in a large space filled with illusions and hypnotic imagery to catch them off guard, before then taking aim at their weakness and dissecting them piece by piece. It’s a ridiculously powerful Bankai that even caused the three worlds to tremble slightly upon being activated, and it certainly did a lot to restore the reputation of Squad 0 significantly.

3

Katen Kyōkotsu Karamatsu Shinju – Kyoraku

The Animation Team Gave Shunsui’s Bankai A Stylish Color Palette To Help It Stand Out More

• First Appearance: Cour 3 Episode 9

Ever since Kyoraku’s devastating Bankai was revealed during the last few chapters of the series, fans had been eager to see this ability one day be animated. It wasn’t that the attack looked weak in the manga, far from it. Instead, it looked so incredibly badass and stylish that it clearly would have benefited from the animation treatment, as proven when it appeared in the episode Don’t Chase A Shadow and blew everyone away with how eye-catching it was.

Upon aiming his two blades down toward the ground, the entire area around Kyoarku turns yellow while tree branches stretch out from under him. The animation team decided to use this yellow tint and traditional music to reference classic Japanese stage plays, which amplifies the appearance and design of the Bankai tremendously for fans to enjoy.

2

Soo Zabimaru – Renji

Renji Finally Got An Opportunity To Use Soo Zabimaru To Its Full Extent Against Uryu

• First Appearance: Cour 2 Episode 5

In the original manga, outside of a brief scuffle with Mask de Masculine, fans don’t really get to see Renji’s Bankai in action for all that long, which was a huge disappointment given how tirelessly he trained with Squad 0 beforehand to boost his power. The anime rectified this by giving Renji a brand-new fight with Uryu, where he’s given plenty of time to show what Zabimaru is truly made of, and it’s fair to say it’s capable of causing some serious chaos when unleashed.

While the blade can extend much further when Bankai is activated, Renji also unlocks several new abilities, including being able to swing his blade around until it catches fire, summoning the fur from his sword to attack the enemy, and shooting out a giant blast of Reishi in an attack called Zagga Teppo that almost wiped Uryu out entirely. Additionally, he can also sprout skeletal hands to defend him, which he uses to try and fend off Uryu’s arrows.

1

Zanka No Tachi – Genryusai Yamamoto

Zanka No Tachi Looks Absolutely Jawdropping In Action Thanks To The Gorgeous Animation

• First Appearance: Cour 1 Episode 6

Yamamoto awakening his fiery Bankai is an incredibly memorable moment in the manga, so while many fans were curious to see how it would be handled in the anime, nobody could have expected it would be given this much love and care. The Fire, which is the episode that showcases Yamamoto’s Bankai, might just feature the best animation ever seen in Bleach in order to get across how unbelievably powerful the head captain’s Zanpakuto truly is.

While the first form of the Bankai already looks strong enough, with him splitting apart entire landscapes of the Soul Society with the tip of the blade, where things really get intense is Zanka no Tachi West, which sees Yamamoto essentially becoming a giant ball of flames. The jaw-dropping animation quality in this episode helps to amplify this legendary Bankai, perfectly illustrating why Yamamoto deserves the title of the Soul Society’s head captain.