6 powerful Bleach characters Shunsui Kyoraku can defeat

In Bleach TYBW, Shunsui Kyoraku replaced Yamamoto as the new Captain Commander. Shunsui is an eccentric and laid-back man who dislikes combat. Even so, he possesses powers befitting the Captain Commander of the Gotei 13. A testament to this, the likes of Askin – a Schutzstaffel member – and Ichigo – Bleach’s main character who was trained by the Royal Guard – were shocked by the Spiritual Pressure of Shunsui’s Bankai.

Anyone within range of Shunsui’s Spiritual Pressure, including Shunsui himself, is forced to behave under the rules of Katen Kyokutsu. This Zanpakuto turns children’s games into reality, allowing Shunsui to dictate the pace of battle with a variety of unpredictable techniques. A mere fraction of Katen Kyokutsu’s abilities was enough for Shunsui to defeat the Primera Espada. The true power of Shunsui’s Shikai was seen in Bleach TYBW, when he used it to corner Lille Barro.

The pinnacle of Shunsui’s strength is represented by Katen Kyokutsu Karamatsu Shinju, a four-part Bankai that gives him reality-warping powers and the ability to kill any Bleach character who isn’t immortal or a god-tier. Even an intangible, Vollstandig-boosted Lille – the very leader of Yhwach’s Schutzstaffel – was helpless against Shunsui’s Bankai, only surviving its effects because he was an ever-evolving, god-like being who resurrected himself.

Six challenging fights that Shunsui Kyoraku would win, matchups analyzed in detail as of Bleach TYBW

6) Shunsui Kyoraku vs Gremmy Thoumeaux

Shunsui vs Gremmy in Bleach (Image via Pierrot Films/Studio Pierrot)

Gremmy Thoumeaux can turn fantasy into reality with the outlandish Schrift power of The Visionary. This Sternritter brings imagination to life, and even his own body is a product of his ability, as his real vessel is a disembodied brain. Gremmy’s reality-warping powers are potentially limitless, but he is too immature to make the most of them, especially against a cunning fighter like Shunsui.

Gremmy is as arrogant as he is insecure, which makes him prone to have a mental breakdown when things don’t go his way. Bleach has shown that he can even imagine his own death if he doesn’t control his thoughts carefully.

Shunsui would turn this to his advantage, using his tricky Shikai techniques to confuse and misdirect Gremmy. Even if Gremmy conjures a meteorite like he did against Zaraki, Shunsui can dodge it by hiding in his shadow dimension.

Granted, Gremmy can heal from most injuries by simply imagining his body to be in its normal state, but his mind would begin to break down. Powers beyond Gremmy’s imagination can destroy him, and Shunsui’s Katen Kyokutsu Karamatsu Shinju should be one of them. It overwhelmed Lille Barro, a Quincy stronger than Gremmy, and someone with a completely intangible body that was boosted by a Vollstandig transformation.

Therefore, not even Gremmy’s imagination should be able to stop Shunsui’s Bankai. Gremmy can’t imagine himself to be out of Katen Kyokutsu Karamatsu Shinju, as it’s an unavoidable curse that reshapes reality to affect its targets as if they were the characters of a theatre play.

The final act of Shunsui’s Bankai would crush Gremmy’s head, but chances are high that the first three acts will be enough to drive him into a mental breakdown and suicide.

5) Shunsui Kyoraku vs Retsu Unohana

Shunsui vs Unohana in Bleach (Image via Pierrot Films/Studio Pierrot)

The most heinous criminal in the Soul Society’s history, Unohana eventually became the captain of the Gotei’s Fourth Division and later the Eleventh Division. Hailed as “Yachiru” for her mastery of zanjutsu, she was known as the first Kenpachi for being the strongest and most violent Shinigami in sword duels.

While Unohana is remarkably strong, the ceiling on her overall power is well below that of Shunsui. Even when using Bankai, Unohana scales to Kenpachi Zaraki’s post-Muken’s base form. Shunsui is much stronger than that, as his show of force against Lille Barro is comparable to, if not better than, what Bankai Zaraki did against Gerard Valkyrie.

After Yamamoto’s death, Shunsui is immediately chosen as the new Captain Commander to replace the former. He was chosen over Unohana, who was instead considered as just a stepping stone for Zaraki to unleash his true potential, a level of power that Shunsui – given his performance against Lille – can match with his reality-warping hax.

Unohana’s formidable swordplay gives her the advantage if both fight in their base forms, but when Shikai and Bankai come into play Shunsui would win. His tricky Shikai techniques would allow him to flank Unohana and inflict serious injuries on her. She would heal those wounds with her special Kido, but that would be useless against Shunsui’s Bankai, as she can’t regenerate when her head is cut off and destroyed.

The blood-like substance generated by Unohana’s Bankai can hardly compare to Shunsui’s reality-warping Bankai. This overwhelmed an intangible Schutzstaffel member – the leader of the group, no less – even when the latter was in his Vollstandig form. The difference in power between Unohana’s Bankai and Shunsui’s Bankai is like night and day, which cements Shunsui’s superiority over Unohana in Bleach.

4) Shunsui Kyoraku vs Byakuya Kuchiki

Shunsui vs Byakuya in Bleach (Image via Pierrot Films/Studio Pierrot)

Byakuya is a skilled and versatile Shinigami who leads the Kuchiki Clan as well as the Gotei’s Sixth Division. After training with the Royal Guard, Byakuya becomes strong enough to defeat several Sternritter at once. To be fair, Byakuya did significantly better than Shunsui against the same opponent, the Sternritter Robert Accutrone.

However, context must also be considered as Shunsui was, by his own admission, extremely nervous during the fight with Robert. This caused him to be hit twice, the first time when he wasn’t expecting the speed of Robert’s Vollstandig, and the second time when he got distracted by Yamamoto’s death.

Given that Shunsui was later able to dodge and flank a much more powerful opponent in Lille Barro, it’s safe to say that, if he had the right mindset and used his Zanpakuto to the fullest, he wouldn’t have had much trouble with Robert.

Shunsui’s evasive Shikai techniques would be perfect for dealing with Byakuya’s Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. Byakuya can manipulate countless petal-like flying blades as he pleases, but Lille Barro’s X-Axis was even more dangerous, as it appeared instantly on the target and couldn’t be blocked. Still, Shunsui avoided it more than once and even managed to pressure Lille in between.

Shunsui could use Kageoni to hide himself in shadows and enter Senbonzakura Kageyoshi’s safe zone, then cast Takaoni to deal massive damage with a surprise attack from above. That’s not to mention Kageokuri and Daruma-san ga Koronda, which would also come in handy.

At worst, Shunsui is resilient enough to withstand some blows from Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, given how he endured several hits from Lille Barro’s Vollstandig-boosted X-Axis.

Shunsui alone pretty much “killed” Lille Barro, which is what Byakuya only managed to do to Gerard Valkyrie after teaming up with the likes of Zaraki and an adult Toshiro Hitsugaya. While Byakuya’s power output is absolutely remarkable, he has no counter to Shunsui’s Bankai which can reflect injuries. This renders Senbonzakura Kageyoshi useless, if not harmful to Byakuya himself, and inflicts lethal damage with a supernatural blade that can’t be stopped in any way.

3) Shunsui Kyoraku vs Oetsu Nimaiya

Shunsui vs Oetsu Nimaiya in Bleach (Image via Pierrot Films/Studio Pierrot)

As a member of the Royal Guard, Oetsu Nimaiya stands out as one of the strongest Shinigami in Bleach. His status is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he is the one who created the Zanpakuto. Oetsu uses his extraordinary speed to cut down his enemies with Sayafushi, a sword whose blade is so sharp that no sheath can contain it.

Oetsu was able to overwhelm three Schutzstaffel members at once, taking them down with his speed and lethal slashing power. Notably, one of them was Lille Barro. However, he only fought a pre-Auswahlen version of the Schutzstaffel, while Shunsui Kyoraku faced an Auswahlen-powered Lille who was going all-out with both his Vollstandig transformation and Schrift.

A pre-Auswahlen Askin Nakk Le Vaar could react to Oetsu’s speed and even outmaneuver the latter. As seen in Bleach TYBW, Askin would have killed Nimaiya with his Deathdealing ability if Tenjiro Kirinji hadn’t helped his fellow Royal Guard.

Shunsui outmaneuvered a post-Auswahlen Lille Barro, forcing him into crisis three times with just his Shikai, while Nimaiya was nearly killed by the same form of Lille. Given his poor showings against the Auswahlen-boosted Lille, Nimaiya would have been powerless in front of the same Quincy’s full-powered Vollstandig, and this is important as Shunsui instead dominated Lille after using Bankai.

Lille survived Shunsui’s Bankai due to being outright immortal but was otherwise helpless against it. Nimaiya’s raw speed is higher than Shunsui’s, but the latter’s Shikai tricks are likewise dangerous.

Shunsui outclasses Nimaiya in terms of endurance, as the Royal Guard member was brought to the edge of death by a single shot from Lille’s X-Axis, while Shunsui could move and fight efficiently even after being shot multiple times by a Vollstandig-amped version of the X-Axis.

Shunsui is tough enough to survive Nimaiya’s assaults and use Bankai. Then, all of the damage will be shared with the Royal Guard. This gives Shunsui a substantial advantage as his endurance and pain tolerance are far superior to Nimaiya’s.

The Captain Commander can further weaken Nimaiya with the Reiatsu-lowering effect of the Bankai’s third act, before beheading him with the fourth and final act of Katen Kyokutsu Karamatsu Shinju.

2) Shunsui Kyoraku vs Sosuke Aizen (before Hogyoku transformations)

Shunsui vs Aizen in Bleach (Image via Pierrot Films/Studio Pierrot)

Aizen is now in a league of his own, as the Hogyoku has made him a transcendent and immortal being far superior to any Shinigami. Before achieving this unfathomable level of might, however, Aizen was already able to outclass most Bleach characters, as evidenced by his ability to cast the most powerful Kido spells, and effortlessly block and destroy Bankai attacks.

Combined with his exceptional Spiritual Pressure and flawless swordplay, what made Aizen almost unbeatable was his Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu, which allowed him to manipulate other people’s five senses. As such, Aizen could trap his opponents into illusions, leaving them hypnotized and unable to react to these attacks.

Aizen placed all the Gotei 13 members under his spell, which enabled him to defeat them with ease during Bleach's Fake Karakura Arc. On that occasion, even Shunsui couldn’t stop Aizen. Trying to stop Toshiro Hitsugaya from attacking Aizen, Shunsui left himself open, and Aizen took the chance to cut him down along with the other Gotei captains.

When Aizen caught Shunsui off guard, he could beat him with a single slash. However, at the time Shunsui did not have the opportunity to use his full power Bankai, nor did he have a fair fight. Bleach TYBW showed Shunsui continuing to fight even after being struck multiple times by Lille Barro’s Vollstandig-boosted X-Axis attacks, meaning that, under normal conditions, he should be able to endure at least some of Aizen’s slashes.

Bleach author Tite Kubo himself hinted that if Shunsui used Bankai against Aizen in Fake Karakura, he might have killed him. This makes sense, as Katen Kyokutsu Karamatsu Shinju affects anyone within range of Shunsui’s Spiritual Pressure, so Aizen can’t escape it even with Kyoka Suigetsu’s hypnosis.

The first act of Shunsui’s Bankai will reflect on Aizen any damage he had done to Shunsui, and the subsequent acts will further weaken the villain until Shunsui cuts his head off in the final act. There’s no way to escape, as the targets of Katen Kyokutsu Karamatsu Shinju are forced to impersonate the characters of the theatre play on which the Bankai is based.

Aizen is a genius, but there’s nothing he could do in this situation. His Hogyoku-powered self would survive, but his Shinigami incarnation can’t. Lille Barro in his Vollstandig transformation should be stronger than the Shinigami version of Aizen, yet he was helpless against the reality-warping effects of Shunsui’s Bankai. The fact that Shunsui’s Bankai affected even Lille’s intangible body suggests that it would overcome Kyoka Suigetsu’s otherwise irresistible tricks.

1) Shunsui Kyoraku vs Zaraki Kenpachi

Shunsui vs Kenpachi Zaraki in Bleach (Image via Pierrot Films/Studio Pierrot)

Zaraki Kenpachi's brute force and Spiritual Pressure are tremendous. After finally unleashing his Zanpakuto’s Shikai and Bankai, he has become an absolute monster that very few Bleach characters can match in combat. Though a wild card that is difficult to control, Zaraki is Shunsui’s strongest subordinate, nothing more and nothing less. He isn’t meant to be overall more powerful than him, just like Unohana wasn’t more powerful than Yamamoto.

While Zaraki’s raw strength is objectively much greater than Shunsui’s, that wouldn’t give Zaraki any advantage in a fight against the current Captain Commander. Shunsui could use cast Daruma-san ga Koronda and Kageokuri to flank Zaraki, rendering his strength useless. Irooni and Kageoni would also allow Shunsui to confuse Zaraki, injuring him despite the strength gap.

No matter how much power Zaraki can release, it would be meaningless if he couldn’t tag Shunsui, something that Lille Barro – whose attacks are unblockable and don’t even travel, as they directly appear on the target – had a lot of trouble doing. This would probably frustrate Zaraki and push him to use Bankai.

When going to Bankai, Zaraki acquires demon-like features and dramatically increases his power, which raises him to the point where he can overwhelm Gerard Valkyrie. However, this causes Zaraki to hurt his own body, which can’t handle his insane power. Instead of fighting Zaraki head-on and getting crushed, Shunsui can simply hide in his shadow dimension to make Zaraki waste energy.

With Zaraki weakened it would be relatively easy for Shunsui to finish him with his Bankai. Zaraki’s Spiritual Pressure is astonishing, but so is Shunsui’s. Even Ichigo – who at that point was used to feeling the Spiritual Pressure of the strongest Bleach characters – was shocked when he sensed it.

For the record, even Pernida’s abilities worked on Zaraki. So, there’s no doubt that Shunsui’s Bankai would work on Zaraki, especially considering that they worked on an intangible, god-like entity as powerful, if not more so, than Zaraki himself.