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In order to gain the upper hand against many of his opponents, Ichigo has undergone numerous transformations over the course of the series. This is possible mainly due to the fact that he is of multiple origins and can also complete rigorous amounts of special training in relatively short periods. This list features the strongest of Ichigo’s forms and ranks them according to their strength.
10 Hollowfied Ichigo
This form made its first appearance during the final battle between Ichigo and the Gotei 13 Sixth Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki. After the ruthless captain overpowered him, Ichigo desperately desired to push on, but he, unfortunately, lacked the strength to do so. As Byakuya was about to land the final strike, however, his blade was halted by the hands of a rejuvenated Hollowfied Ichigo.
In this form, Ichigo’s inner hollow takes over, while his outward appearance changes to match it. His eyes turn dark, and a significant portion of his face is covered in a mask resembling a hollow. Soon after its first appearance, Ichigo was able to use his Bankai much more efficiently, following Byakuya’s movements with stunning precision and dealing notable amounts of damage to the famous captain.
9 Full Hollow Ichigo
While trying to gain control of his inner hollow, Ichigo is aided through special training by the Vizards, a group of individuals that share similar hollow-like features to Ichigo. During the process, however, Ichigo is temporarily overwhelmed by the White Ichigo within him, causing him to undergo a full hollow transformation in the real world.
This is Ichigo’s most monstrous form as it bears the closest resemblance to a hollow. He is covered in completely white skin with a vicious animalistic appearance and a hollow mask covering an even more significant portion of his face. While in this form, he can fire off powerful energy blasts from his fingertips and fight against different Vizards over long periods.
8 Hollow Mask Ichigo
After defeating White Ichigo, Ichigo emerged from the battle with a new appearance and proper control over his powerful hollow transformation. This new form gives Ichigo a hollow mask that covers his entire face, usually sporting a design with a distinct pattern running across the left side of his face.
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It is mostly used to support Ichigo’s Bankai form, as it possesses extreme power which even his Shikai cannot contain. Using this form, he was finally able to match the powerful Arrancar Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez after a humiliating first encounter, and during their final battle, he was even able to defeat him.
7 Fullbring Bankai
After losing his shinigami powers in the fight against Aizen, Ichigo spent seventeen months living as a regular human, completely separated from the rest of the soul society. However, after getting involved with a group of special humans known as Fullbringers, he is able to manifest a new type of power. Unfortunately, this power is eventually stolen from him, but his old friend Rukia Kuchiki arrives just in time to restore his original Shinigami powers.
By regaining his Shinigami powers, he also recovered the ability to use his Fullbring, augmenting his regular powers and changing the appearance of his Shihakusho somewhat. Following the activation of his Bankai, it became one of Ichigo’s strongest forms in the series and was used to defeat the powerful Fullbringer Kūgo Ginjō.
6 Vasto Lorde Ichigo
During the Fake Karakura Town arc, Ichigo faced off against one of the most powerful Arrancars Ulquiorra Cifer. Unfortunately, this deadly opponent ended up being too much for the orange-haired protagonist to handle. However, after seemingly dying following a fatal blow to his chest, Ichigo reawakened in his menacing Vasto Lord form.
This serves as Ichigo’s true hollow form and belongs to the category of the strongest hollows in the series. While in it, he effortlessly overpowered Ulquiorra, using immense speed to outmaneuver his opponent and delivering powerful blows one after the other. He could even block and destroy one of Ulqiorra’s Lanza del Relámpago spear throws, an attack so powerful that it rivals the force of a nuclear explosion.
5 Merged Hollow Ichigo
This form debuted in the Thousand Year Blood War arc while Ichigo was engaged in combat with the Father of the Quincy, Yhwach. It is one of Ichigo’s final forms appearing in the last few chapters of the manga series, and was created by incorporating every source of power he inherited from his parents.
In this form, he gained significantly more speed and strength, allowing him to go on the offensive against Ywach. Yet the final antagonist remained unimpressed as his power still far surpassed that of Ichigo’s. Ywach’s opinion changed, however, after Ichigo struck him with a Getsuga Tensho mixed with a Gran Rey Cero, an extremely powerful combination of attacks made possible solely due to his new form.
4 Dangai Form
After Aizen defeated multiple of Ichigo’s companions, Ichigo’s father, Isshin Kurosaki, advised his son to flee to the Dangai, a dimension that stands between the Soul Society and the Human World. While in the Dangai, the flow of time is much different from the flow of time in the real world, so using Aizen’s elimination of Kōtotsu to his advantage, Ichigo trained relentlessly in that space for almost three months.
Due to the density of time within the Dangai, Ichigo returned to the Human World only an hour after departing from the Soul Society. He appeared with longer hair, a slightly taller stature, and a seemingly stronger connection with his Bankai. Shortly after arriving, he was able to overpower Aizen immediately, carrying him over a considerable distance, stopping his Zanpakutō with his bare hands, and countering his Hado 90: Kurohitsugi, all while exerting little to no effort.
3 Final Getsuga Tensho
In the final stages of his battle against Aizen, Ichigo activated the Final Getsuga Tensho with the intention of defeating Aizen once and for all. While training in the Dangai for a little less than three months, Ichigo constantly fought with the merged spirit Tensa Zangetsu. After getting stabbed and accepting the spirit’s blade, Ichigo is finally able to achieve the Final Getsuga Tensho, which he revealed to Aizen was to become Getsuga itself.
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In this form, Ichigo’s hair grows even longer and is dyed pitch black. He is surrounded by a black Reiatsu, and most parts of his body are covered in bandage-like attire from the waist up. This form allowed him to perform the all-powerful Mugetsu, an ability potent enough to paint the sky black and attack Aizen with tremendous force, weakening him enough so that Kisuke Urahara could finish the job.
2 True Shikai Form
After Ywach’s subordinate Jugram Haschwalth broke Ichigo’s Zanpakuto, Ichigo made his way to the Soul King Palace in hopes of being able to repair his broken Bankai. Sometime during this process, it is revealed that the hollow within him was his true Zanpakutō and not Zangetsu, who had been repressing it. After Zangetsu releases his influence, Ichigo is exposed to the true form of his Zanpakutō.
Unlike the single blade Ichigo wielded in his original Shikai form, this true form entails two separate blades, one smaller than the other but with different types of hilts. In this form, he was able to more effectively stand his ground against the Yhwach and his subordinates, proving that he had grown stronger than he previously was without his true Shikai.
1 True Bankai Form
During Ichigo’s final battle against Yhwach, the series protagonist was overwhelmed by Yhwach’s “The Almighty” ability that allowed him to alter the events of the future however he pleased. In addition, Ywach had also displayed his own ability to dual-wield, putting Ichigo at a greater disadvantage. As a result, he merged his two blades together and called forth his true Bankai.
By merging his two blades, Ichigo essentially makes the larger one into a scabbard, with the shorter one representing the blade, both of which are essential parts of a Shinigami’s Zanpakutō. This form was so powerful that Yhwach recognized it as a genuine threat, which, unfortunately for Ichigo, meant the powerful villain would alter the future and break off his Bankai. It is later restored, however, and serves its purpose in Ichigo’s final strike on Yhwach, ultimately killing the series’ final antagonist.
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