The biggest heroes of Bleach's Millennium Blood War

Key Takeaways

• Ichigo's final effort to stop Yhwach makes up for his previous mistakes and shows true heroism.
• Orihime's role as a healer proves to be invaluable, demonstrating her abilities and heroism throughout the arc.
• Mayuri Korutsuchi emerges as a true MVP, showing teamwork by saving lives and eliminating key players.

The Millennium Blood War is an internal conflict. bleach A series where Soul Reaper Captains and Lieutenants face off against their most powerful opponent, the Sternritter. This army of Quincies nearly wiped out the entire Soul Society in their first invasion, even stealing numerous Bankai abilities in the process.

Needless to say, their mission to eradicate the Soul Reapers has almost become a reality. But thankfully, Ichigo and his allies fought back against the Quincy attacks, with several key characters playing a large role in the resistance.

These are bleach A character who deserves all the credit for showing true heroism at the end of the story. Without them, who knows how the centuries-old climax between the Soul Reaper and Quincy would have turned out?

Before jumping in,
Major spoilers for the final episode of the series
Contains the ending shown in the comic.

8 Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo's final effort to stop Yhwach makes up for some of his other mistakes.

• First appearance: Episode 1

Clearly, Ichigo wasn't at his best in the final arc of the story and made numerous big mistakes along the way. However, the protagonist still defends Yhwach more than anyone else, taking out several Bambis who were wreaking havoc on the other Soul Reapers just moments before.

But more importantly, Ichigo's training in Squad 0 and realizing his true Zanpakuto allowed him to take down Yhwach when it really mattered. Sure, he may have gotten some much-needed help from Uryu at the last minute, but Ichigo was the only one confident and strong enough at the time to defeat Yhwach and end the war once and for all. He can be seen as a hero.

7 Orihime Inoue

Orihime's role as a healer makes her a valuable member of the Soul Reaper unit.

• First appearance: Episode 2

It is difficult to believe that Orihime, who stood side by side with Ichigo in the Thousand Year Battle, is the same person as in the previous work. She no longer doubts her abilities and usefulness to the team and instead acts as a key player for the team, taking on the role of healer, saving the lives of countless people throughout the arc.

One particular moment where Orihime shines is after half of Ichigo's chest explodes from one of Uryu's arrows in the anime. Orihime could heal him, but no one else would have been able to reach the Soul Palace fast enough to save him. She also easily heals Ichigo's wounds before he attacks Yhwach in the Soul Palace and saves Ganju from being flattened by Gerard. Orihime honed her abilities to the point where she became not only a useful teammate, but also an underrated hero throughout the entire arc.

6 Ryuken Ishida

Ryuken may be absent for most of the arc, but he joins the fight at the most important moments.

• First appearance: Episode 44

Ryuken is more of a hero who shows up to do big things in the final hours rather than playing a big role in the overall arc. In fact, other than a few conversations with Uryu at the beginning about the Quincy's history, Ryuken is largely absent throughout the entire war, not only does he not team up with the Quincy, he also appears not to oppose the Soul Reapers.

In his final moments, Ryuken sends his son Uryu a silver arrowhead containing the blood clot that killed his wife. Using the unique power contained within the arrow, Uryu was able to hold off the Almighty of Yhwach long enough for Ichigo to deliver the final blow. It has not yet been confirmed if this will or will not change in the anime, but there are several scenes teasing the creation of the Arrow, suggesting that Ryuken will still play an important role in the final few episodes.

5 Kyoraku Shunsui

The leader of the Soul Reaper Corps who defeated a truly dangerous opponent.

• First appearance: Episode 24

Kyoraku does a great job of pushing back the Quincy during the initial invasion of Soul Society, but he actually comes into his own when the Soul Reapers enter the gateway and fight their enemies. Kyoraku shakes off his laziness and takes on the role of leader of the surviving forces, instilling inspiration and courage in them for the fight ahead.

At that point, it was Kyoarku who was able to take down his opponent, Lille Barro, whose hands were covered in Soul Reaper blood. If Kyoraku hadn't unleashed Bankai to take down Lille, Bankai would probably have taken down countless other Soul Reapers from afar and tore through their armies piece by piece with his sniper rifle.

4 Kenpachi Zaraki

Kenpachi prevented the war from ending prematurely by a meteorite.

• First appearance: Episode 20

Kenpachi only appears a few times during the war against the Quincies, but each time he does he shows off his immense power, tearing apart powerful enemies. The biggest example of this is his duel with Gremmy, a Sternritter who can bring anything he imagines to life. Many other characters would have died from being hit by two concrete hands or trapped in a pocket of space. However, Kenpachi's thirst for battle makes him pass all of Gremmy's tough tests.

Of course, Kenpachi could have split the meteor in two, something that even Gremmy's allies are shown to fear in the manga. There's no doubt that this one strike could end the war instantly, and not many characters would possess the same amount of power as Kenpachi needed to stop the war before it reaches the surface.

3 Kisuke Urahara

Urahara's behind-the-scenes work saved the Soul Reaper several times.

• First appearance: Episode 6

While the Soul Reapers do their best to fight the Quincy on the ground, Kisuke is always working to support them from behind, and it's fair to say that he comes out in the clutch at numerous key points in the arc. Early in the second invasion, Kisuke restores the Bankai he had hollowfied, resurrecting several captains and giving them one last chance to fight back.

It is also implied that Kisuke is the one who gathered Riruka and Yukio and created the box used to return to Ichigo and Yhwach in the Soul Palace. Kisuke is also thanked for creating the gateway to the Soul Palace, which he and hundreds of others use to launch the final invasion and even take on members of the Schutzstaffel. It's a good thing the Soul Reapers decided to put their grudge against Kisuke aside just this once. Because without Kisuke, they would have been doomed from the start.

2 Ukitake Jujiro

Ukitake sacrificed his life to prevent the three worlds from colliding.

• First appearance: Episode 9

It's always been established from the beginning of the series that Ukitake, the captain of the 13th Division, suffers from some kind of illness. It won't be until the final issue comes out. bleach The reason fans knew this was in part because of his relationship with Mimihagi, the Soul King's right hand.

When Yhwach forces Ichigo to cut the Soul King in two, the three worlds fall into chaos and fears that they will all collapse as one almost become reality. Ukitake used his bond with Mimihagi to temporarily allow the Soul King's hand to stop Yhwach, buying precious time for his comrades to use to end the battle. He sacrifices his life to maintain balance bleach Prevents the universe from falling into guaranteed destruction.

1 Mayuri Kurotsuchi

From saving the lives of countless comrades to destroying entire zombie armies, Mayuri was the true MVP of Final Arc.

• First appearance: Episode 24

Mayuri experiences quite a unique arc throughout the series. bleachBecause technically what changes is not the person, but how the audience sees him. When he first appeared alongside Uryu in the Soul Society arc, many fans disliked him due to his mistreatment of his subordinates and terrible treatment of Nemu.

However, as the Thousand Year Blood War breaks out, Mayuri's sick and twisted mind allows him to kill many key warriors while saving more than a few of his comrades. Not only is he able to counter and control Giselle's zombie army, but he is also the one who resurrects Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Kenpachi, and countless other Soul Reapers who would otherwise have died or been zombified. Being able to take down one of the four Schutzstaffels, thanks in part to Nemu, along with his efforts to curb Aizen's power and help build the Soul Palace gateway, solidified him as a huge team player in the Final War.